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HIOCKArillCAL  KRCOKI) 


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SANDUSKY  AND  OTTAWA, 


OHIO, 

CONTAINING 

BIO(;KAIMnCAL    SKKTCUKS   <>l"    PKOMINKNT    AND    RKPKRSENTATIVE 
CITIZENS.  AND  OF  MANY  Ol"  THE  EARLY  SETTLED  FAMILIES. 


-ILLTJSTWATKn- 


J.  m/hekrs  a  CO. 


iv*,. 


FROM  THE  PRESS  OF  WILSON.  HUMPHRYES  *  CO., 
FOURTH  ST.,  LOGANSPORT,  IND. 


Preface. 


Tin?)  importance  of  placing  in  book  form  biographical  histor)'  of  representative 
citizens — both  for  its  immediate  worth  and  for  its  value  to  coming  generations 
— is  admitted  by  all  thinking  people;  and  within  the  past  decade  there  has 
been  a  growing  interest  in  this  commendable  means  of  perpetuating  biography 
and  family  genealogy. 

That  the  public  is  entitled  to  the  privileges  afforded  by  a  work  of  this  nature 
needs  no  assertion  at  our  hands;  for  one  of  our  greatest  Americans  has  said  that  the 
history  of  any  country  resolves  itself  into  the  biographies  of  its  stout,  earnest  and 
representative  citizens.  This  medium,  then,  serves  more  than  a  single  purpose: 
while  it  perpetuates  biography  and  family  genealogy,  it  records  history,  much  of 
which  would  be  preserved  in  no  other  way. 

In  presenting  the  Commemorative  Biographical  Record  to  its  patrons,  the 
publishers  have  to  acknowledge,  with  gratitude,  the  encouragement  and  support  their 
enterprise  has  received,  and  the  willing  assistance  rendered  in  enabling  them  to  sur- 
mount the  many  unforeseen  obstacles  to  be  met  with  in  the  production  of  a  work  of 
this  character.  In  nearly  every  instance  the  material  composing  the  sketches  was 
gathered  from  those  inmiediately  interested,  and  then  submitted  in  type-written  form 
for  correction  and  revision.  The  volume,  which  is  one  of  generous  amplitude,  is 
placed  in  the  hands  of  the  public  with  the  belief  that  it  will  be  found  a  valuable  addi- 
tion to  the  library,  as  well  as  an  invaluable  contribution  to  the  historical  literature  of 
the  State  of  Ohio. 

Tin:   I'LIJLISHEKS. 


\ 


BlOGRAPHlGAk 


ENERAL  RALPH  P. 
BUCKLAND.  Lead- 
ers of  men  in  all  afjes 
have  not  only  pos- 
sessed rare  natural 
and  acquired  abili- 
ties, but  in  almost 
every  instance  they 
have  been  launched 
into  the  stream  of  life  under  circum- 
stances peculiarly  favorable  for  their  de- 
velopment, and  have  had  to  pass  throuj^h 
severe  trials  aiul  discipline  preparatory 
to  their  life  work,  aptly  illiislratinf;  that 
"  There's  a  divinity  that  shapes  our  ends." 
or  "There  is  a  God  in  history.  " 

As  a  hi;,'hly  worthy  example  of  Ameri- 
can leaders  who  have  left  their  indelible 
impress  upon  the  pa^es  of  United  States 
history  we  present  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  His  ancestn*',  his  natural  en- 
dowments, his  education,  his  environ- 
ment and  achievements,  both  in  civil  and 
military  life,  resembling  in  some  respects 
those  of  his  illustrious  cf)ntemporaries, 
Lincoln  and  (irant,  furnish  valuable  ob- 
ject lessons  to  young  Americans,  and  are 
eminently  worthy  of  a  place  in  the  local 
biographical  record  of  the  people  of  a  his- 
toric locality. 

The  ancestor  from  whom  arc  descend- 
ed the  Huckland  families  in  Sandusky 
county.  Ohio,  was  a  citizen  of  Hartford, 
Conn.,  in  Colonial  times,  and  was  of  En- 
glish descent.       His  son.  Stephen  Buck- 


land,  of  East  Hartford,  grandfather  of  our 
subject,  was  a  captain-lieutenant  in  Bige- 
low's  Artillery   Company,  raised   in   Con- 
necticut   during   the    Revolutionary    war. 
[  This  was  an   independent  company,   re- 
i  cruited  earlj-   in  1 776,  and   was  attached 
to  the  Northern  Department,  where  it  ap- 
pears to  have  been  accepted   as  a  Conti- 
nental company.      It  was  stationed  dur- 
ing the  summer  and   fall  at  Ticonderoga 
i  and    vicinity.        Stephen    Buckland    was 
comtnissioned    captain-lieutenant  of  this 
company  January  23,  1776,  and  was  pro- 
'  moted  November  9  to  Maj.  Steven's  Con- 
'  tinental   Artillery.       He  was  afterward  a 
!  captain  in  Col.  John  Crane's  Third  Regi- 
!  ment   of    Continental  Artillery,   commis- 
sioned January  1,  1777.  and  was  detached 
'  with   his  company    to  serve  with   (iates 
against  Burgoyne.      He  was  subsequently 
stationed  at    various  points,    and   was  at 
I'^armington    in    the    winter    of    1777   78. 
I  He  was  furloughed  by  Gen.  Washington 
for  five   weeks,  from  October   30.    1778. 
and    was  on  command    at  Fort  Arnold. 
West  Point,  in  1779.       He  afterward  be- 
came captain    of    a   privateer   which   was 
captured  on  the  second  day  of  April.  17S2. 
by  the  British  brig  •'  Perseverance,"  Ross, 
commander,    and    was    with    his    officers 
confined     in     the    "Old    Jersey"    prison 
ship,  where  he  died  on   the   7th   of    May, 
of  the  same  year.      His  remains  are  prob- 
ably   now,    with    other    martyrs    of    the 
i  prison  ships, buried  in  P'ort  Green,  Brook- 


8 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


]yn,  N.  Y. ,  near  Washington  Place,  in 
that  city.  He  had  married  a  Miss  Mary 
Olmsted,  who  was  born  September  27, 
1774,  and  their  children  were  Mar}'; 
Hannah;  Stephen,  who  died  in  infancy; 
another  child,  also  called  Stephen,  who 
also  died  in  infancy;   Betsey,  and  Ralph. 

Ralph  Buckland,  born  July  28,  1781, 
son  of  Stephen,  came  in  the  year  181 1  to 
Portage  county,  Ohio,  where  he  served 
in  the  capacity  of  land  agent  and  sur- 
veyor. In  18 1 2  he  removed  his  family 
in  a  one-horse  sleigh  from  their  home  in 
Massachusetts  to  Ravenna,  Ohio.  His 
wife's  maiden  name  was  Ann  Kent.  Some 
few  years  after  his  death  Mrs.  Buckland 
married  Dr.  Luther  Hanchett,  who  then 
had  four  children  by  a  former  marriage; 
six  more  children  were  born  to  them. 
Ralph  Buckland  served  as  a  volunteer  in 
Hull's  army  during  the  war  of  18 12.  He 
was  second  sergeant  in  Capt.  John  Camp- 
bell's company,  which  began  its  march 
on  the  4th  of  July,  1S12,  to  join  the  regi- 
ment commanded  by  Col.  Lewis  Cass,  at 
Detroit.  After  great  suffering  and  hard- 
ship, because  of  the  character  of  the 
country  traversed,  they  finalh'  reached 
the  river  Raisin,  and  were  surrendered  by 
Gen.  Hull  on  the  i6th  day  of  August,  as 
prisoners  of  "war.  Mr.  Buckland  returned 
to  his  home  in  Ravenna,  "prisoner  on 
parole,"  and  died  May  23,  1813.  His 
children  were:  An  infant  daughter  who 
died  on  the  way  west,  and  was  buried  at 
Albany,  N.  Y. ;  Ralph  Pomeroy,  our  sub- 
joct;  and  Stephen,  who  for  nearly  forty 
years  was  a  leading  druggist  at  Fremont, 
Ohio. 

Ralph  Pomeroy  Buckland  was  born  at 
Leyden,  Mass.,  January  20,  181 2.  Dur- 
ing his  early  life  he  lived  with  his  step- 
father and  family  on  a  farm,  but  the 
greater  part  of  the  time  previous  to  the 
age  of  eighteen  he  lived  with  and  labored 
for  a  farmer  uncle  in  Mantua,  excepting 
two  years  when  he  worked  in  a  woolen 
factory  at  Kendall,  Ohio'  and  one  year 
which  he  spent   as  clerk   in  a  store.      In 


the  winter  he  attended  the  country 
schools,  and  in  the  summer  of  1830  at- 
tended an  academy  at  Tallmadge,  Ohio, 
where  he  commenced  the  study  of  Latin. 
In  the  fall  of  1831  he  embarked,  at 
Akron,  Ohio,  on  board  a  flat-boat  loaded 
with  a  cargo  of  cheese,  to  be  transported 
through  the  Ohio  canal,  down  the  Mus- 
kingum, Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers  to 
Natchez,  Miss.  At  Louisville  he  secured 
a  deck  passage  on  the  "  Daniel  Boone," 
and  worked  his  way  by  carrying  wood  on 
board.  At  Natchez  he  found  employ- 
ment, and  secured  the  confidence  of  his 
employers  so  far  that  at  the  end  of  a  few 
months  they  put  him  in  charge  of  two  flat- 
boats  lashed  together  and  loaded  with 
1200  barrels  of  flour  for  the  New  Orleans 
market.  On  this  trip  he  served  his  turn 
with  the  rest  of  the  crew  as  company 
cook.  The  voyage  was  successfully  com- 
pleted, and  at  the  solicitation  of  his  em- 
ployers he  remained  in  New  Orleans,  in 
charge  of  their  commission  house.  Here, 
for  a  time,  he  was  under  the  influence  of 
companions  who  indulged  in  drinking, 
gambling  and  other  vices,  and  was  con- 
firmed in  his  resolution  to  avoid  the  evils 
by  the  sudden  death  of  a  fellow  clerk,  a 
victim  of  dissipation.  He  saved  his 
money,  and  spent  his  time  in  the  study  of 
the  Latin  and  French  languages,  and  in 
reviewing  common-school  branches. 

In  June,  1834,  Mr.  Buckland  started 
for  Ohio,  on  a  visit  to  his  mother,  leaving 
New  Orleans  with  the  fixed  idea  of  return- 
ing and  making  that  city  his  future  home. 
He  had  been  offered  several  first-rate 
situations,  but  on  arriving  home  his  moth- 
er induced  him  to  remain  in  the  North. 
After  spending  one  year  at  Kenyori  Col- 
lege, he  began  the  study  of  law  in  the 
office  of  Gregory  Powers,  at  Middlebury, 
now  apart  of  Akron,  Ohio,  and  completed 
it  with  Whitiessy  &  Newton,  at  Canfield, 
being  admitted  to  practice  in  the  spring 
of  1837.  During  the  winter  of  the  pre- 
vious year  he  had  spent  several  months 
pursuing  his  studies  in  the  office  of  George 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPUICAL  RECORD. 


B.  Way,  who  was  then  editor  t>f  the 
Toledo  lilmif,  and  in  whose  temporary 
absence  he  acted  for  a  few  weeks  as  echtor 
pro  tint.  Immediately  after  Mr.  Hiick- 
lund's  admission  to  the  bar,  with  only 
about  fifty  dollars  in  his  pocket,  loaned 
him  by  his  uncle,  Alson  Kent,  he  started 
in  quest  of  a  favorable  location  for  an  at- 
torney. The  failure  of  the  wilil-cat  banks 
was  what  settled  him  in  Lower  Sandusky. 
for  on  arriving  here  he  had  not  good 
money  enough  to  pay  a  week's  board,  and 
was  obliged  to  stop.  He  was  kindly 
trusted  by  Thomas  L.  Hawkins  for  a 
sign,  opened  a  law  office,  and  soon  se- 
cured enough  business  to  pay  for  his  ex- 
penses, which  were  kept  down  to  the 
lowest  possible  point.  At  this  date  he 
was  not  only  without  means,  but  still 
owed  three  hundred  dollars  for  his  ex- 
penses incurred  while  a  student,  and  for 
a  few  necessary  law  books;  but  he  was 
confident  of  ultimate  success,  for  eight 
months  after  opening  up  his  law  office  in 
Lower  Sandusky  he  went  to  Canfield, 
Ohio,  and  married  Charlotte  Boughton, 
returning  with  her  the  following  spring. 
Being  strictly  economical,  their  expenses 
during  their  first  year  of  married  life  did 
not  exceed  $300.  His  credit  was  good 
and  his  business  steadily  increased,  so 
that  at  the  end  of  three  or  four  years  he 
had  all  he  could  attend  to.  He  was  at 
that  time  slender  in  build  and  troubled 
with  dyspepsia,  but  out-door  exercise, 
gained  in  traveling  on  horseback  to  the 
courts  of  adjoining  counties,  during  term 
time,  cured  him  and  gradually  increased 
his  weight  and  physical  strength.  In 
1846  Kutherff)rd  H.  Hayes  became  a 
partner  with  Mr.  Huckland  in  the  practice 
of  law,  and  the  partnership  continued 
until  Mr.  Hayes  removed  to  Cincinnati, 
three  years  later.  He  afterward  had  as- 
sociated with  him  Hon.  Homer  Everett, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Buckland  & 
Everett,  and  still  later  James  H.  P'owler. 
the  finn  name  beconiing  Buckland, 
Everett  &  Fowler.  succeede<l  by   K.  P.  & 


H.  S.  Buckland.  R.  P.  &  H.  S.  Buck- 
land  &  Zeigler.  and  Buckland  &  Buck- 
land. 

From  his  youth  K.  F.  Buckland  took 
an  active  interest  in  politics,  ami  was  a 
strong  partisan,  outspoken  in  his  views. 
He  was  mayor  of  the  village  of  Lower 
Sandusky  (now  Fremont),  in  1843-45. 
and  hehl  other  positions  of  public  trust. 
He  was  a  delegate  to  the  Philadelphia 
Convention  in  1843  which  nominated  Gen. 
Zachary  Taylor  for  the  Presidency.  L'pon 
the  organization  of  the  party  he  became 
a  Republican,  and  never  wavered  from 
his  principles.  In  1855  he  was  elected 
to  the  Ohio  Senate  as  a  Republican,  and 
was  re-elected  in  1S57,  serving  four  years. 
He  was  the  author  of  the  law  for  the 
adoption  of  children,  which  was  passed 
during  his  service  in  the  Senate. 

Mr.  Buckland's  nature  was  intensely 
patriotic  under  the  molding  influences  of 
his  father  and  grandfather,  who  had  been 
soldiers  of  the  American  Republic. 
Hence,  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Rebellion, 
in  1861.  he  threw  his  whole  soul  into  the 
struggle.  His  military  record  is  a  matter 
of  history.  Gen.  Hayes  said  of  him:  "  He 
was  the  best  soldier  of  his  age  in  the  vol- 
unteer service.  "  In  October.  1861.  he 
was  appointed  lieutenant-colonel  by  Gov. 
William  Deniiison,  of  Ohio,  and  given 
authority  to  raise  a  regiment  for  the  three- 
years'  service.  In  three  short  months  the 
glorious  Seventy-second  Regiment,  which 
he  organized,  was  ready  for  the  field,  (^n 
January  10, 1862,  he  was  mustered  into  the 
United  States  service  as  colonel  of  the  Sev- 
enty-second Regiment,  O.  V.  I.,  and  two 
weeks  later  left  with  his  regiment  for 
Camp  Chase,  Columbus,  Ohio.  In  Feb- 
ruary he  was  ordered  to  report  with  his 
command  to  Gen.  W.  T.  Sherman,  at 
Paducah,  Ky.,  and  here  the  regiment  was 
assigned  to  the  Fourth  Brigade,  l*"irst 
Division,  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  and 
Col.  Buckland  placed  in  command  of  the 
brigade.  At  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  the  first 
week  in  April.  18C2.  the  Colonel  won  en- 


10 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


during  fame  as  an  heroic  soldier  and  com- 
mander, and  his  brigade  covered  itself 
with  glory.  Buckland  was  not  surprised 
at  Shiloh,  but  was  expecting  an  attack. 
His  brigade  and  the  Seventy-second  Regi- 
ment were  at  the  keypoint  of  the  fight, 
on  the  extreme  right  of  the  attack,  and 
withstood  the  fierce  onset  of  the  enemy 
on  the  morning  of  the  6th.  When  the 
brigade  did  fall  back,  it  was  done  in  per- 
fect order,  contesting  every  foot  of  the 
ground.  On  the  7th  Buckland's  brigade 
participated  in  the  advance  that  swept  the 
enemy  from  the  field,  and  at  night  they 
rested  in  advance  of  the  position  they  oc- 
cupied on  the  6th.  Gen.  Sherman  al- 
ways accorded  to  Gen.  Buckland  the  high- 
est praise  for  his  bravery  and  coolness  at 
Shiloh,  and  the  splendid  services  rendered 
by  his  brigade.  Had  some  other  man 
been  where  Buckland  was,  the  final  out- 
come of  the  battle  might  have  been  far 
different. 

That  Gen.  Grant  appreciated  and 
recognized  the  military  skill  of  Gen.  R.  P. 
Buckland  is  shown  by  his  letter  to  Gen. 
Sherman,  on  November  10,  1862,  in  re- 
lation to  operations  in  western  Tennes- 
see and  northern  Mississippi.  He  writes: 
"  I  will  not  be  able  to  send  you  any  gen- 
eral officers,  unless  possibly  one  to  take 
command  of  the  forces  that  will  be  left  at 
Memphis.  Stuart  and  Buckland  will 
both  command  brigades  or  even  divisions 
as  well  as  if  they  held  the  commissions 
which  they  should  and  I  hope  will 
hold."*  In  battle  Gen.  Buckland  was 
cool  and  fearless,  but  not  reckless.  He 
looked  well  to  the  comfort  and  health  of 
his  men  on  all'  occasions,  and  this  made 
him  loved  and  respected  by  the  soldiers. 
On  November  29,  1862,  he  was  promoted 
to  the  rank  of  brigadier-general,  for  his 
bravery  at  Shiloh,  and  on  January  26, 
1864,  Gen.  Sherman  placed  Gen.  Buck- 
land  in  command  of  the  District  of  Mem- 
phis,   where    his    administrative   abilities 

*War  of  the  Rebellion.  Official  Records  of  tlie  Union  and 
Confederate  Armies,  Series  1,  Volume  XVII,  Part  II,  page 
336. 


were  exemplified  and  his  integrity  o. 
character  clearly  manifested.  Here  he 
promptly  repelled  an  attack  of  Gen.  For- 
rest, and  put  him  to  flight.  While  serv- 
ing in  the  army,  in  the  fall  of  1S64,  Gen. 
Buckland  was  elected  to  Congress.  He 
remained  in  command  of  the  District  of 
Memphis  for  the  balance  of  the  year,  on 
January  6,  1865,  tendered  his  resignation 
at  Washington  to  the  Secretary  of  War, 
and  was  duly  mustered  out  of  the  service. 
On  August  3,  1866,  he  was  commissioned 
brevet-major-general,  U.  S.  V.,  to  rank 
from  May  13,  1865,  for  meritorious  serv- 
ice in  the  army. 

After  an  honorable  career  in  Congress 
during  the  reconstruction  of  the  Southern 
States,  Mr.  Buckland  returned  to  Fre- 
mont, Ohio,  where  he  resumed  his  law 
practice.  During  recent  years  his  sons, 
Horace  S.  and  George,  were  associated 
with  him  in  the  law  firm  of  Buckland  & 
Buckland,  and  relieved  their  father  of  the 
arduous  work  of  the  profession.  Gen. 
Buckland's  legal  career  was  marked  b}' 
the  same  thorough  integrity,  ability  and 
success  that  characterized  him  in  his  en- 
tire walk  through  life.  To  his  example 
and  influence  the  city  of  Fremont  is  in- 
debted for  much  of  its  material  prosperity 
in  the  matter  of  public  improvements. 
He  erected  the  first  substantial  three- 
story  brick  building  in  that  city,  now 
known  as  Masonic  Block.  In  1853  he 
built  the  residence  he  ever  after  occupied, 
and  it  was  at  that  time  the  finest  dwelling 
in  northern  Ohio.  Subsequent!}'  he  built 
the  three-story  block  at  the  corner  of 
Front  and  State  streets.  He  took  an 
active  part  in  securing  railroads  and  man- 
ufactories for  the  city,  and  always  stood 
in  the  front  rank  of  citizens  who  worked 
for  the  upbuilding  of  Fremont. 

Gen.  Buckland  was  a  charter  member 
of  Eugene  Rawson  Post  No.  32,  G.  A.  R. , 
Fremont,  Ohio,  and  was  its  first  com- 
mander. He  was  a  companion  of  the 
Lo3'al  Legion,  and  a  member  of  the  S.  A. 
J.    Snyder    Command,    Union    Veteran's- 


COMMBMORATIVB  BIOORAPUWAL  RECORD. 


11 


Union;  also  belonjjing  to  the  Society  of 
the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  and  to  other 
army  societies.  He  was  the  life  presi- 
<lent  of  the  Society  of  the  Seventy-second 
Kej^imeiit  O.  V.  I.,  and  was  for  a  time 
president  of  the  Sandusky  County  Pio- 
neer and  Historical  Society.  He  was 
for  forty-hve  years  a  member  of  Croghan 
Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F. ,  and  for  many  years 
had  been  junior  warden  in  and  an  active 
member  of  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Church, 
Fremont.  Thus  for  more  than  half  a 
century  he  had  been  a  conspicuous  figure 
in  Fremont  and  northern  Ohio.  He  was 
a  pioneer  settler,  a  distinguished  lawyer, 
a  gallant  soldier,  an  eminent  member  of 
the  Ohio  State  and  the  National  Legisla- 
tures, and  an  enterprising  and  public-spir- 
ited citizen.  He  was  an  educated  and 
courteous  Christian  gentleman,  and  his 
name  and  his  accomplishments  are  indel- 
ibl\'  stamped  on  the  history  of  the  city  of 
Fremont  and  of  the  Nation.  He  will 
never  be  forgotten.  His  death  occurred 
on  Friday,  May  27.  1S92,  when  he  was 
at  the  venerable  age  of  more  than  eighty 
years.  From  the  announcement  of  his 
death  until  after  his  funeral  many  flags 
floated  at  half-mast  all  over  the  city,  and 
nearly  all  the  business  houses  were  closed. 
At  his  funeral  the  spacious  residence,  the 
grounds  and  the  adjoining  streets  were 
thronged  with  people  anxious  to  pay  the 
last  tribute  of  respect  to  the  departed. 
The  funeral  discourse  was  delivered  by 
Kev.  S.  C.  Aves,  pastor  of  the  Episcopal 
Church,  Norwalk,  Ohio,  and  was  touch- 
ingly  eloquent  and  sympathetic.  .At  the 
close  ex-President  Hayes  paid  a  fitting 
tribute  to  his  life-long  friend  in  a  !)rief, 
concise  and  masterly  manner.  At  the 
tomb,  in  Oak  Wood  Cemetery,  the  Grand 
Artnv  of  the  Republic  conducted  its  im- 
pressive burial  service.  Closely  following 
this  event  many  worthy  tributes  of  re- 
spect were  paid  by  the  various  societies 
of  the  city,  among  which  were  the  Fre- 
mont Har  Association,  the  Union  \'cter- 
an's    Cninii     flu'    Sun-,  nf    Veterans,  the 


Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the 
city  council  of  Fremont,  and  St.  Paul's 
Episcopal  Church. 

The  children  of  Gen.  K.  P.  and 
Charlotte  Buckland  were:  Ralph  Bough- 
ton  I^uckland,  who  died  at  Fremont. 
Ohio,  in  18S0;  Ann  Kent  Buckland.  wife 
of  Charles  M.  Dillon;  .Alson  Kent  liuck- 
land  and  Thomas  Stilwell  Buckland,  both 
of  whom  died  in  infancy;  Caroline  Nichols 
Buckland,  who  died  at  Memphis,  Tenn., 
at  the  age  of  sixteen;  Mary  Buckland, 
who  died  at  the  age  of  six;  Horace  Step- 
hen Buckland,  attorney  at  law,  just 
elected  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas  for  the  second  sub-division  for  the 
Fourth  Judicial  District  of  Ohio  (\\e  mar- 
ried Miss  Elizabeth  Catherine  Bauman, 
of  Fremont)  [a  more  extended  account  of 
Judge  H.  S.  Buckland  is  found  elsewhere 
I  in  this  volume];  and  George  Buckland, 
I  an  attorney  at  law.  of  Cincinnati.  Ohio, 
1  who  married  Grace  Huntington,  daughter 
I  of  J.  C.  Huntington,  of  Cincinnati.  The 
'  General's  grandchildren  are  the  children 
of  his  daughter,  Mrs.  C.  M.  Dillon,  viz. : 
George  Buckland  Dillon,  who  died  in  in- 
fancy; Mary  Buckland  Dillon;  Ralph  Put- 
nam Dillon,  a  graduate  of  the  Case 
School.  Cleveland.  Ohio;  Kent  Howard 
Dillon,  a  student  of  the  same  school; 
Charlotte  Elizabeth  Dillon,  a  student  at 
the  Lake  Erie  Sennnary.  Paincsville. 
Ohio;  Edward  Bonghton  and  Edwin  Dil- 
lon (twins),  who  died  in  infancy,  and 
Charles  Buckland  Dillon. 

Gen.  Bucklands  son,  Ralph  Bough- 
ton  Buckland.  was  a  man  of  more  than 
usual  force  of  character.  At  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  war  he  enliste<l  in  Capt. 
Tillotson's  Company  of  the  Eighth  O.  V. 
I.,  nincty-day-mcn.  and  went  with  that 
company  to  Cincinnati.  Upon  his  return 
his  father  would  not  permit  him  to  re-en- 
list, but  required  him  to  remain  at  home 
to  look  after  the  family  and  his  varied  in- 
terests there,  which  Ralph  did  nobly  im- 
til    the  close   of  the  war.    when  he  went 

Sciiitli  to  Inolc  ;ifliT    j)l.iiit:iliiiiis  which  his 


12 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOOBAPEICAL  RECORD. 


father  had  purchased.  The  venture  not 
proving  profitable,  the  plantations  were 
sold  and  he  returned  to  the  homestead  in 
the  North,  where  he  died  in  1880.  He 
never  married. 

Caroline  Nichols  Buckland  died  of  con- 
gestive fever,  at  Memphis,  Tenn.,  May 
21,  1864.  She  had  gone  down  to  Mem- 
phis in  company  with  her  mother  and 
little  brother  George,  to  visit  her  father, 
who  was  then  in  command  of  the  District 
of  Memphis.  A  few  days  before  the  time 
for  their  return  North,  Carrie  was  taken 
suddenly  ill  with  the  dread  disease,  and 
died  after  an  illness  of  only  three  days. 
On  Sunday  evening,  after  services  at  the 
house,  Carrie  began  her  last  journey,  sur- 
rounded by  the  Seventy-second  Regiment 
O.  V.  I.,  which  by  its  own  request  acted 
as  escort.  She  was  only  fifteen  years  and 
eight  months  old,  and  was  probably  the 
only  young  girl  who  had  a  military  fu- 
neral during  the  war  of  the  Rebellion. 
She  was  brought  home,  and  now  lies 
buried  in  Oak  Wood  Cemetery,  Fremont, 
Ohio.  The  following  lines  were  pub- 
lished in  the  Memphis  Bulletin  at  the 
time  of  her  death: 

WNES  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  MISS  CARRIE  BUCKLAND. 
How  still  she  lies  amid  the  flowers. 

And  nig^ht  itself  seems  dead; 
The  city  sleeps;  no  sound  we  hear 

Save  the  lone  sentry's  tread. 

The  slender  fingfers  slightly  clasp 
Pale  flowers,  sweet  and  white  ; 

All  pure  and  lovely  as  yon  moon 
Of  cold  and  silver  light. 

The  soft,  luxuriant,  pale  brown  hair 
Waves  in  the  evening  wind; 

Yet  in  that  marble,  changeless  face 
No  wave  of  life  we  tind. 

The  fair  face  looks  like  peaceful  sleep. 

The  lips  full  as  in  life; 
Yet  the  red  blood  has  ceased  to  flow — 

Ceased  has  life's  busy  strife. 

A  broken  lily-bud;  no  eye 

Of  earth  may  ever  see 
How  gloriously  it  blooms  above, 

Flower  of  Eternity. 

Were  death  but  an  unchanging  sleep, 
How  sad  would  be  this  night; 

But  there's  a  land  beyond  the  grave — 
A  home  of  living  lig^ht. 

Memphis,  June  18,  1864. 


The  Memphis  Bulletin  said  of  her: 
' '  Three  weeks  ago  she  arrived  with  her 
mother  from  Ohio.  With  all  the  attrac- 
tions of  her  si.xteen  summers  about  her, 
an  amiability  that  won  every  heart,  a 
fascination  of  manner  whose  gentle  influ- 
ence, wherever  she  appeared,  awakened 
interest  and  admiration,  and  a  kind  and 
genial  sympathy  that  captured  affection, 
she  was  everywhere  a  favorite,  and  her 
company  was  sought  and  valued  wherever 
she  became  known. 

"  Fresh  as  the  spring  whose  charms 
at  the  moment  deck  every  hill  and 
meadow,  she  enjoyed  her  advent  to  new 
scenes,  welcomed  with  youthful  zest  the 
appreciative  regard  of  the  new  circle  amid 
which  she  was  introduced,  and  rejoiced 
once  more  to  join  her  honored  and  happy 
sire,  himself  proud  of  the  sweet  blossom 
Providence  had  vouchsafed  as  the  treas- 
ure of  his  life — when  death  plucked  the 
flower  in  the  very  youth  of  its  loveliness, 
and  stamped  the  fleeting  charm  with  the 
impress  of  immortality." 


OSCAR    J.    DONCYSON,    of    Fre- 
mont, Sandusky  county,  is  a   na- 
tive of  the  same,  having  been  born 
March    14,    1862,  a   son  of  Chris- 
tian and  Marie  Magdalen  (Engler)  Doncy- 
son.      The  German  spelling  of  the  name 
was  Danzeison. 

Christian  Doncyson  was  a  native  of 
Dentzlingen,  Baden,  Germany,  born  De- 
cember II,  1 81 2,  son  of  Bernhardt  and 
Anna  (Hugin)  Doncyson,  who  were  also 
natives  of  Baden.  His  mother  died  in 
Dentzlingen  in  181 3,  during  the  Napo- 
leonic war,  and  in  18 1  5  his  father  married, 
for  his  second  wife.  Miss  Christina  Stribin. 
Christian  Doncyson  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools,  and  at  the  age  of  fourteen 
became  a  member  of  the  Evangelical 
Protestant  Church.  He  learned  the  trade 
of  baker,  at  which  he  labored  two  years, 
and  then  worked  in  a  brewery  at  Emmen- 
dingen,    at   the  age  of  twenty-one    com- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BfOORAPnWAL  RECORD. 


18 


mencing  to  serve  in  the  Second  Regiment 
of  Baden  Dragoons  at  Mannheim.  After 
thirteen  months'  service  he  was  honor- 
ably discharged,  at  the  reqin^st  of  his 
father,  who  had  decided  to  emigrate  to 
America. 

The  Doncyson  family  left  their  home 
in  Baden  Jimc  30,  1834,  and  after  a  tedi- 
ous journey  of  nineteen  days  arrived  at 
Havre,  where  they  took  passage  for 
America.  The  company  consisted  of 
Bernhardt  Doncyson  and  wife,  their  sons 
John  and  Christian,  George  Engler  and 
wife,  and  their  children — Marie  Magdalen 
(afterward  wife  of  Judge  Doncyson),  iNfrs. 
Christian  Shively,  ^frs.  Catherine  Ochs, 
George  Engler,  Andrew  Engler,  Henry 
Engler  and  Mrs.  Kosina  I^ongenbach. 
After  a  voyage  of  thirty-seven  days  they 
reached  New  York,  from  which  city  they 
proceeded  by  canal-boat  to  Buffalo, 
thence  on  the  steamer  "Harrison"  to 
Portland  (now  Sandusky  City),  and  by 
boat  to  Lower  Sandusky.  Bernhardt 
Doncyson  bought  eighty  acres  of  wild  land 
in  Sandusky  township,  near  the  mouth  of 
Little  Mud  creek,  where  he  followed 
farming  about  twenty-three  years.  His 
death  occurred  February  i,  1867.  and 
that  of  his  wife  in  July,  1867. 

Christian  Doncyson  assisted  his  father 
in  farm  work  until  1836,  when  he  found 
employment,  as  a  baker,  with  Fred  Wise, 
who  occupied  a  wooden  building  on  the 
site  of  the  Star  Clothing  House,  Fremont. 
He  next  worked  a  few  months  with  Fred 
Boos,  a  baker,  at  Sandusky  City,  and 
then  went  to  Nfanhattan  (now  Toledo), 
Ohio,  where  he  plied  his  trade,  and  where, 
on  P"ebruary  7.  1837.  he  married  Nfarie 
M.  Engler.  Returning  to  Sandusky  county 
he  again  assisted  his  parents  on  their  farm 
until  1838.  when  he  hired  out  to  John 
Stahl  to  nianage  a  bakery  in  a  building 
then  belonging  to  Mrs.  S.  A.  Grant,  near 
the  west  end  of  State  street  bridge.  Lower 
Sandusky.  Here  he  remained  until  1844, 
when  he  and  George  Engler  jointly 
bought  out  John  Stahl's  grocery,  and  con- 


ducted the  business  together  for  several 
years.  In  1853  Mr.  Doncyson  erected  a 
three-story  brick  building  on  ground 
which  he  afterward  sold  to  the  Wheeling 
&  Lake  Erie  Railroad  Company,  and  car- 
ried on  a  grocery  and  provision  store  for 
upward  of  twenty  years.  In  1883  he 
built  a  fine  brick  mansion  on  the  corner 
of  Croghan  and  Wayne  streets,  which  he 
occupied  as  a  family  residence  during  the 
rest  of  his  life.  He  held  various  offices 
of  honor  and  trust  in  his  community,  hav- 
ing been  treasurer  of  Sandusky  township 
from  1846  to  1S62.  county  infirmary  di- 
rector from  1867  to  1878.  probate  judge 
from  1878  to  1884.  member  of  the  city 
council  of  Fremont  two  terms,  and  of  the 
city  board  of  education  twelve  years.  He 
was  quiet  and  unassuming  in  manner,  but 
proved  a  faithful  and  obliging  official. 
During  the  last  ten  years  of  his  life  he 
lived  partly  retired  from  business,  serving 
occasionally  as  deputy  clerk  for  Hon.  E. 
F.  Dickinson  and  Hon.  Joseph  Zimmer- 
man. He  was  for  many  years  a  member 
of  Fort  Stephenson  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M., 
and  worshipful  master  of  the  same.  The 
children  of  Christian  and  Marie  M.  Doncy- 
son, all  born  in  Sandusky,  were:  Chris- 
tena,  wife  of  Leonard  Adier.  a  butcher  on 
East  State  street,  Fremont;  Elizabeth, 
deceased  wife  of  Charles  Geisen.  a  brew- 
er; Lucy  A.,  who  married  Herman  J. 
Gottron.  a  marble  dealer  (both  now  de- 
ceased); Henry  G.,  a  soldier  of  the  Civil 
war,  who  served  in  Company  K.  One 
Hundredth  Regiment  O.  V.  I.,  married 
Miss  Carrie  Brown  and  is  living  at  Tope- 
ka,  Kans. ,  where  he  is  employed  in  the 
pension  office;  John  R.,  a  grocer  of  Fre- 
mont, who  married  Farry  Kent;  Herman 
W..  an  architect,  of  F'remont.  married 
to  Amelia  Hidber;  George  E..  a  liveryman, 
of  Fremont;  0.scarj..  whose  name  intro- 
duces this  sketch;  Ella,  widow  of  Jesse 
Schultz.  whoiwas  a  teacher;  and  two  sons 
and  one  daughter  who  died  in  infancy. 
Judge  C.  Doncyson  died  at  his  home  in 
Fremont,  Ohio.  June   14,  1893,  and  was 


14 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPETCAL  RECORD. 


buried  with  Masonic  honors,  in  Oakwood 
cemetery.  His  wife  preceded  him  to  the 
grave  May  i8,  1892,  at  the  age  of  seven- 
ty-two. 

Oscar  J.  Doncyson,  the  subject  prop- 
er of  this  sketch,  spent  his  youth  in  as- 
sisting his  parents  and  attending  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  his  native  city,  Fremont. 
At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  entered  on  Hfe 
for  himself  as  clerk  in  a  grocery  store.  In 
1886  he  established  a  grocery  and  provis- 
ion store  on  his  own  account;  but  two 
years  later  he  sold  his  grocery  stock,  and 
became  an  employe  in  the  county  audi- 
tor's office,  where  he  served  as  deputy  for 
a  number  of  years.  He  had  previously 
assisted  his  father  in  th«  office  of  probate 
judge.  In  religious  connection  he  is  a 
member  of  Grace  Lutheran  Church;  so- 
cially he  is  affiliated  with  the  German  Aid 
Society  of  Fremont. 


BASIL  MEEK.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  was  born  at  New  Cas- 
tle, Henry  Co.,  Ind.,  April  20, 
1829.  He  came  of  Anglo-Saxon 
ancestry,  his  paternal  great-grandfather, 
Jacob  Meek,  having  come  from  England 
to  Virginia,  whence  later  he  moved  to 
North  Carolina,  finally  settling  in  Mary- 
land. His  maternal  great-grandfather, 
James  Stevenson,  a  native  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, but  moving  to  North  Carolina  and 
finally  settling  in  Tennessee,  served  as  a 
soldier  during  the  war  of  the  Revolution, 
and  held  a  commission  as  captain  in  that 
war.  His  paternal  grandfather,  John 
Meek,  moved  from  his  native  State  of 
Maryland  to  Pennsylvania  when  the  father 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  whose  name 
was  also  John,  was  a  small  boy;  but  after 
a  few  years'  residence  there,  he,  in  1788, 
removed  with  his  family  and  all  his  ef- 
fects to  Kentucky,  settling  at  New  Cas- 
tle, Henry  county,  in  that  State,  where 
he  died  in  1803.  He  had  been  the  owner 
of  slaves,  but  in  his  will  manumitted  the 
last  one  he  owned. 


John  Meek  (father  of  Basil),  a  farmer, 
was  born  in  1772,  near  Ellicott's  Mills 
(now  Ellicott  City),  in  the  State  of  Mary- 
land, going  with  his  father  first  to  Penn- 
sylvania and  thence  to  Kentucky  where 
he  grew  to  manhood,  and  at  New  Castle, 
Ky.,  July  I,  1 792,  was  married  to  his  first 
wife,  Miss  Margaret  Ervin,  who  bore  him 
nine  children — six  sons  and  three  daugh- 
ters— their  names  and  dates  of  birth  being 
as  follows:  William,  May  29,  1793; 
Joseph,  March  3,  1795;  Sarah,  1797; 
Mary,  1800;  Jeptha,  November  3,  1803; 
Jesse,  May  27,  1806;  Elizabeth,  August 
9,  1808;  John  (date  lost);  and  Lorenzo 
Dow,  May  29,  1S12.  These  all  married 
and  raised  families.  Of  them,  Sarah  was 
married  at  Richmond,  Ind.,  to  John 
Smith,  son  of  one  of  the  founders  of  that 
city,  and  Joseph  married  Gulielma,  a  sis- 
ter of  John  Smith.  Mary  became  the 
wife  of  Rev.  Daniel  Fraley,  a  pioneer 
Methodist  preacher  of  Indiana.  The 
last  surviving  one,  Elizabeth,  was  the 
wife  of  Rev.  John  Davis,  a  local  Method- 
ist minister,  who  died  at  Wabash,  Ind.  ; 
she  died  at  Stratford,  Ontario,  Canada,  in 
i893'  aged  eighty-six  years.  John  Meek, 
about  1 812,  moved  from  Kentucky  to 
Wayne  county,  Ind.,  and  settled  at  Clear 
Creek,  on  a  farm  now  embraced  within 
the  limits  of  the  present  city  of  Rich- 
mond. Here  his  first  wife  died  while 
Lorenzo  D.  was  a  small  boy.  He  con- 
tinued to  live  there  some  years,  and  then 
moved  to  New  Castle,  Henry  Co.,  Ind., 
where  in  1827,  he  married  Miss  Salina 
Stevenson,  daughter  of  John  Stevenson; 
she  was  only  twenty  while  he  was  fifty- 
five  years  old  at  the  time. 

There  were  six  children  born  to 
him  of  the  marriage — four  sons  and  two 
daughters — of  whom  are  now  living  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  and  Capt.  James 
S.,  who  was  born  August  17,  1834, 
now  living  in  Spencer,  Ind. ;  Laurinda, 
born  June  2,  1831,  now  the  wife  of 
Stephen  Clement,  of  Newton  Iowa; 
Cynthia  J.,  born  November  29,  1836,  now 


t 


/' 


/( 


COMMSMOltATIVE  BIOORAPmCAL  BBCORD. 


15 


the  wife  of  Jesse  Clement,  of  Scandia, 
Kans.  One  of  the  sons  died  in  infancy; 
the  other  son.  TfioniasJ.,  bt)rn  January 
15,  1843,  died  in  early  manhood.  The 
mother  of  these  died  at  the  home  of  her  son, 
Capt.  James  S.  Meek,  at  Spencer,  Ind., 
in  1S83,  at;ed  seventy-six  years.  In  the 
year  183;  John  Meek  returned  to  Wayne 
county,  and  there  resided  until  1841, 
when  he  removed  with  his  family  to  Mor- 
gan township,  Owen  Co..  Inii.,  then  a 
very  new  and  unimproved  section  of  the 
State,  with  but  very  limited  school  or 
other  privileges.  Here  he  died  in  1849, 
and  was  buried  in  Pleasant  Grove  Ceme- 
tery, in  tliat  township. 

Basil  Meek  was  only  twelve  years  old 
when  his  father  settled  in  Owen  county, 
and,  havinf;  no  opportunity  of  attending 
any  of  the  higher  educational  institutions, 
his  school  education  was  limited  to  that 
of  the  common  schools  of  that  compara- 
tively new  country;  but  being  naturally 
inclined  to  study,  he  improved  every  op- 
portunity that  was  afforded  for  self  im- 
provement, and  to  none  of  these  is  he 
more  indebted  than  to  a  few  years'  resi- 
dence at  the  falls  of  Eel  river — Cataract 
village — in  the  cultured  family  of  Alfred 
N.  Bullitt,  Esq.,  in  whose  store  he  served 
as  clerk.  This  was  a  Kentucky  family 
from  Louisville.  Mr.  Bullitt  was  a  man 
of  fine  abilities,  a  graduate  of  Yale  and 
had  been  possessed  of  what  was  in  his 
day  a  large  fortime  in  Louisville  which 
through  some  misfortune  he  had  lost,  and 
having  an  interest  in  a  large  tract  of  land, 
which  included  the  "  falls."  he  removed  to 
Cataract  village  with  his  accomplished 
family  in  1846,  and  there  kept  a  general 
store.  To  his  valuable  library  of  rare 
books,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  had  ac- 
cess; which,  together  with  the  friendly 
interest  of  Mr.  Bullitt  and  his  family, 
awakened  in  him  a  desire,  and  supplied 
the  opportimity  for  a  higher  and  better 
education  than  could  be  obtained  short  of 
-college. 

While  residing  at  Cataract  village,  De- 


cember 23.  1849,  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Nfiss  Cynthia  A.  Brown,  tiaugh- 
ter  of  .Xbner  Brown,  of  Morgan  township, 
the  result  of  this  union  being  four  chil- 
dren, namely:  Minerva  Bullitt;  Mary  E. ; 
Lenora  Belle,  and  Flora  B.  Of  these, 
Minerva  li.  died  at  Clyde.  Ohio.  Novem- 
ber 22.  1869.  in  the  eighteenth  year  of 
her  age;  Flora  B.  died  in  infancy;  Mary 
E.  is  the  wife  of  Byron  R.  Dudrow.  at- 
torney at  law  of  Fremont;  and  I^enora 
Belle  is  the  wife  of  L.  C.  Grover,  farmer, 
near  Clyde.  The  mother  of  these  died  in 
Spencer,  Owen  Co.,  Ind.,  in  August, 
1861.  On  September  30,  1862.  Mr. 
Meek  married  Miss  Nfartha  E.  .\nderson, 
daughter  of  Alvin  and  Harriet  (Baldwin) 
Anderson,  of  Bellevue,  Ohio.  By  this 
marriage  there  are  two  children,  namely: 
Clara  C,  wife  of  Dr.  H.  G.  Edgerton, 
dentist,  of  Fremont,  Ohio,  and  Dr.  Rob- 
ert Basil,  a  brief  notice  of  whom  follows. 
Our  subject's  grandchildren  are:  Robert 
Basil  Grover.  Mary  B..  Rachel,  Dorothy 
and  Henry  Meek  lidgerton. 

In  1853  at  the  age  of  twenty-four 
Basil  Meek  was  elected  clerk  of  the  cir- 
cuit court  and  moved  from  Cataract  to 
Spencer,  the  county  seat  of  Owen  cotmty. 
He  was  re-elected  without  opposition  in 
1857,  serving  tvvo  terms  of  four  years 
each.  During  these  eight  years  he  de- 
voted such  time  as  could  be  spared  from 
his  official  duties  in  studying  law,  and  in 
1861  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  formed 
a  partnership  with  Hon.  Samuel  H.  Bus- 
kirk,  of  Bloomington,  and  practiced  law 
at  Spencer  for  about  two  years.  In  1864 
he  removed  from  his  native  State  to  San- 
dusky county.  Ohio,  making  at  first  his 
home  on  a  farm  which  is  now  within  the 
village  of  Clyde.  In  1871  he  became  a 
member  of  the  Sandusky  countv  bar,  and 
formed  a  partnership  with  Col.  J.  H. 
Rhodes  in  the  practice  of  law  at  Clyde. 
This  partnership  continued  for  four  vears, 
after  which  he  practiced  alone  until  b'eb- 
ruary  10,  1879.  when  he  entered  upon  his 
duties  as  clerk  of  courts,  to  which  ofti:; 


16 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


he  had  been  elected  at  the  previons  fall 
election  by  a  large  plurality,  running 
ahead  of  his  ticket  in  his  own  village  and 
township  284  votes.  In  the  fall  of  1879 
he  removed  with  his  family  to  Fremont, 
where  he  now  resides.  At  the  close  of 
his  term  he  was  re-elected  clerk  of  courts 
by  a  majority  of  1,100  votes,  and  served 
six  years  in  all.  On  retiring  from  this  office 
he  resumed  the  practice  of  his  profession, 
with  F.  R.  Fronizer  as  partner,  until  he 
was  appointed,  by  President  Cleveland, 
postmaster  at  Fremont.  He  took  charge 
of  this  office  September  i,  1886,  and 
served  until  March  i,  1891,  a  period  of 
four  years  and  six  months.  In  this  office 
he  took  much  interest,  and  devoted  his 
entire  energies  in  rendering  an  efficient 
and  highly  satisfactory  service  to  the 
public.  It  was  during  his  term  and 
through  his  efforts  that  the  free-delivery 
sj'stem  was  extended  to  this  office,  and 
put  into  very  successful  operation  under 
his  management  and  that  of  his  son,  Rob- 
ert B.,  who  was  his  first-assistant  post- 
master. On  April  I ,  I S91 ,  he  became  asso- 
ciated with  his  son-in-law,  Byron  R.  Dud- 
row,  in  the  practice  of  the  law  in  which 
he  has  since  been  engaged,  and  is  senior 
member  of  the  law  firm  of  Meek,  Dudrow 
&  Worst.  As  a  lawyer  he  is  careful  and 
painstaking  in  the  preparation  of  his 
cases,  and  in  their  presentation  he  is  clear 
in  statement  and  forcible  in  argument. 
As  an  advocate  he  believes  in  his  client, 
making  his  cause  his  own  and  serving  him 
with  a  warmth  and  zeal  which  springs  only 
from  a  conviction  of  the  justness  of  his 
client's  cause. 

Mr.  Meek  has  been  a  member  of  the 
board  of  education  since  April,  1894,  and 
also  clerk  of  that  body.  As  a  member  of 
this  board  he  was  influential  in  the  re- 
organization of  the  high  school  in  1895, 
in  creating  the  principalship,  adoptjng 
new  courses  of  study  and  supporting  other 
measures  tending  to  advance  the  interests 
of  said  schools,  and  establish  therein 
methods  of   instruction  both  modern  and 


practical.  He  was  also  active  in  making 
free  Kindergartens  a  part  of  the  public 
school  system  of  the  city,  and  is  chairman 
of  the  standing  committee  on  Kindergart- 
ens. Politically  he  has  all  his  life  been 
a  Democrat,  loyally  supporting  the  meas- 
ures and  candidates  of  his  party,  and 
cheerfully  working  for  the  promotion  of 
its  principles,  serving  on  several  occasions 
as  chairman  of  the  County  Executivft 
Com  mittee,  with  acceptability  to  his  party. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  and  has  been  such 
since  1857.  Asa  lover  of  truth  and  free- 
dom of  thought  and  action,  himself,  he 
is  not  only  resolute  for  what  he  believes 
to  be  the  truth,  but  is  tolerant  of  all  who 
are  seeking  the  same  of  whatever  name 
or  creed. 


ROBERT  BASIL  MEEK,  M.  D., 
son  of  Basil  and  Martha  E.  (An- 
derson) Meek,  was  born  at  Clyde, 
Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  January  14, 
1869.  His  paternal  ancestry  is  given  in 
the  foregoing  sketch  of  his  father.  On 
his  mother's  side  he  is  of  Scotch  descent. 
The  Andersons  were  Covenanters,  and 
during  the  persecutions  waged  against 
their  faith  in  Scotland  they  emigrated  to 
the  North  of  Ireland.  From  here  David 
Anderson,  the  great  ancestor  of  this  fam- 
ily line,  about  the  year  1740,  with  a  col- 
ony of  Scotch  Presbyterians,  who  brought 
with  them  a  minister  and  schoolmaster, 
came  to  this  country  and  settled  first  in 
Massachusetts;  later  in  Lawrence  county, 
N.  Y.  Among  his  children  was  a 
son  named  John,  then  a  small  boy,  who 
here  grew  to  manhood  and  married  Eliz- 
abeth McCracken,  who  also  was  of  this 
colony.  John  Anderson  had  five  sons — 
David,  Samuel,  Joseph,  James  and  John 
— all  of  whom  were  soldiers  of  the  Revo- 
lutionary war,  fighting  for  their  country. 
James  Anderson  married  Betsy  Dodge, 
and  several    children  were   born  to  them. 


COMMEMORATIVE  BWORAPUJCAL  RECORD. 


17 


one  being  Alvin  Anderson,  who  married 
Harriet   Baldwin. 

Amonj,'  the  children  of  Alvin  Ander- 
son was  Martha  E.  Anderson,  who  mar- 
ried Basil  Meek,  and  is  the  mother  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  Robert  B..  who. 
when  he  was  ten  years  old,  mnved  with 
his  parents  to  Fremont,  Ohio,  where  he 
completed  his  elementary  and  high-school 
education.  In  1887,  while  his  father  was 
postmaster  at  this  place,  he  was  appoint- 
ed first  assistant,  and  served  as  such  until 
September,  1890,  rendering  very  efficient 
and  satisfactory  sers'ice  to  the  public, 
among  whom  he  was  universally  popular. 
During  1890-91  he  pursued  a  scientific 
course  at  Adelbert  College.  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  preparatory  to  entering  upon  the 
study  of  medicine.  In  1891  he  entered 
the  Western  Reserve  Medical  College  at 
Cleveland,  where  he  remained  two  years; 
then  became  a  student  in  Woostcr  Medi- 
cal College,  in  that  city,  taking  his  senior 
course  therein,  and  graduating  in  the 
spring  of  1894.  During  his  three-years' 
course  in  the  medical  college  he  spent  his 
vacations  in  the  office  of  his  able  and 
skillful  preceptor.  William  Caldwell. 
M.  D.,  of  Fremont.  In  the  summer  of 
1894  Dr.  Meek  opened  an  office  in  Fre- 
mont and  entered  upon  the  practice  of 
his  profession.  In  the  spring  of  1895  he 
was  chosen  one  of  the  city  physicians  of 
the  board  of  health.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Northwestern  Ohio  Medical  As.socia- 
tion.  In  August,  1895.  he  went  to  Eu- 
rope to  further  pursue  his  medical  educa- 
tion, and  is  now  (1895)  in  N'ienna,  Aus- 
tria, where  he  is  devoting  his  time  to 
study  ill  the  clinics  of  the  large  hospitals, 
and  in  taking  special  courses  under  the 
instruction  of  eminent  professors  in  that 
great  medical  center  of  the  Old  World. 
He  expects  to  return  home  during  the 
sunnner  of  1896,  to  resume  his  practice 
in  Fremont,  in  which  he  was  meeting 
with  very  flattering  success  when  he  gave 
it  up.  temporarily,  to  go  abroad. 

!  >'     Vfcek    is    a  young    man    of    '"'• 


natural  abilities,  and  with  his  medical 
education  received  at  home,  and  the  rare 
opportunities  he  is  now  enjoying  abroad 
for  further  e()uipment,  it  is  safe  to  pre- 
dict for  him  a  useful  and  a  successful 
career  in  his  chosen  profession. 

ROBERT  S.  RICE,  M.  D..  was 
born  in  Ohio  county,  V'a.  (now  W. 
Va.).  May  28.  1805,  and  died  in 
Fremont,  Ohio,  August  5,  1875. 
At  the  age  of  ten  he  came  to  Ohio  with 
his  father's  family,  who  located  in  Chilli- 
cothe,  Ross  county,  the  family  in  181 8  re- 
moving from  that  place  to  Marion  county, 
and  in  1827  our  subject  settled  in  Lower 
Sandusky.  He  worked  at  his  trade  as  a 
potter  until  about  the  year  1847.  when, 
having  long  employed  his  leisure  hours 
in  the  study  of  medicine,  he  commenced 
practice.  Although  he  labored  under  the 
disadvantages  of  limited  educational  op- 
portunities in  his  youth,  and  of  not  hav- 
ing received  a  regular  course  of  medical 
instruction,  his  career  as  a  physician  was 
quite  successful,  and  he  numbered  as  his 
patrons  many  among  the  most  respectable 
families  in  his  town  anil  county. 

Dr.  Rice  was  a  man  of  sound  judg- 
ment, quick  wit,  fond  of  a  joke,  and  sel- 
dom equaled  as  a  mimic  and  story  teller. 
He  was  a  keen  observer,  and  found 
amusement  and  instructicm  in  his  daily 
intercourse  with  men  by  perceiving  many 
things  that  commonly  pass  unnoticed. 
His  sympathies  were  constantly  extended 
to  all  manner  of  suffering  and  oppressed 
people.  He  denounced  human  slavery, 
and  from  an  early  period  acted  politically 
with  the  opponents  of  that  institution. 
He  also  opposed  corporal  punishment  in 
schools,  and  favored  the  humane  treat- 
ment of  children.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Methodist  Protestant  Church,  and 
was  deeply  religious.  In  early  years, 
when  preachers  were  few  in  this  then 
new  country,  he  often  exhorted  and 
preached.      His  public  sjiirit  was  shown 


18 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


on  many  occasions.  He  was  colonel  of 
the  First  Regiment  of  Cavalry  Militia  or- 
ganized in  Sandusky  county,  and  also 
-general  of  the  first  brigade.  He  assisted 
in  running  the  line  between  Ohio  and 
Michigan,  near  Toledo,  Ohio,  the  dispute 
in  regard  to  which  led  to  the  bloodless 
"Michigan  war."  He  served  several 
terms  as  justice  of  the  peace,  and  one 
term  as  mayor  of  Lower  Sandusky. 

On  December  30,  1824,  Dr.  Robert 
S.  Rice  married,  in  Marion,  Ohio,  Miss 
Eliza  Ann,  daughter  of  William  and  Mary 
(Park)  Caldwell,  born  near  Chillicothe, 
Ohio,  March  19,  1807,  and  who  died  at 
Fremont,  Ohio,  January  17,  1873.  They 
had  seven  sons  and  two  daughters:  The 
first  two  were  sons  who  died  in  infancy; 
William  A.  was  born  in  Fremont,  Ohio, 
July  31,  1829;  John  B.  was  born  June  23, 
1832;  Sarah  Jane,  February  20,  1835; 
Robert  H.,  December  20,  1837;  Alfred 
H.,  September  23,  1840;  Charles  F. , 
July  23,  1843;  Emeline  E.,  January  14, 
1847.  Of  this  family  Sarah  Jane  died 
June  20,  1 84 1,  and  Emeline  died  Sep- 
tember 19,   1859. 

John  B.  Rice,  M.  D.,  was  born  in 
Fremont  (then  Lower  Sandusky),  Ohio, 
June  23,  1832,  son  of  Robert  S.  and 
Eliza  Ann  (Caldwell)  Rice.  During  his 
boyhood  he  attended  the  village  schools, 
and  learned  the  printer's  trade  in  the 
office  of  the  Sandusky  Coiiutv  Democrat, 
where  he  worked  three  years.  After  this 
he  spent'two  years  in  study  at  Oberlin 
College,  subsequently  taking  up  the  study 
of  medicine,  and  graduated  from  the 
Medical  Department  of  the  University  of 
Michigan  in  1857,  soon  after  which  he 
associated  himself  with  his  father  in  prac- 
tice at  Fremont.  In  1859  he  further 
prosecuted  his  studies  at  Jefferson  Medi- 
cal College,  Philadelphia,  and  at  Bellevue 
Hospital,  New  York  City.  On  returning 
home  he  resumed  his  practice. 

On  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war 
Dr.  Rice  was  appointed  assistant  surgeon 
■of   the  Tenth  O.  V.  L,  and  served   with 


his  regiment  under  the  gallant  Col.  Lytle, 
through  the  early  battles  in  West  Virginia. 
On  November  25,  1 861,  he  was  promoted 
to  surgeon,  and  assigned  to  his  home  regi- 
ment, the  Seventy-second  O.  V.  I.,  which 
first  felt  the  shock  of  battle  at  Shiloh. 
Through  the  long  years  of  the  war  Dr. 
Rice  served  with  conspicuous  bravery  and 
devotion.  He  was,  on  different  occasions, 
assigned  to  duty  as  surgeon-in-chief  of 
Lauman's  and  Tuttle's  Divisions  of  the 
Fifteenth  Army  Corps,  and  of  the  District 
of  Memphis,  when  commanded  by  Gen. 
R.  P.  Buckland.  To  the  members  of 
the  Seventy-second  regiment  and  Buck- 
land's  Brigade  he  was  as  a  brother.  None 
of  the  thousands  of  soldiers  who  came 
under  his  care  can  ever  forget  or  cease  to 
bless  his  memory.  He  was  always  cheer- 
ful, sympathetic,  and  watchful  for  the 
interests  of  his  comrades.  After  the  Re- 
bellion Dr.  Rice  returned  to  Fremont, 
and  "resumed  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion. His  skill  in  medicine  and  surgery 
was  unsurpassed,  his  practice  was  large, 
and  he  was  called  in  consultation  all  over 
this  section  of  the  State.  There  are  few 
capital  operations  in  surgery  that  he  had 
not  performed  many  times.  Dr.  Rice 
was  a  member  of  the  county,  district  and 
State  medical  societies,  and  for  several 
years  lectured  in  the  Charity  Hospital 
Medical  College,  and  the  Medical  Depart- 
ment of  the  University  of  Wooster,  at 
Cleveland;  his  topics  were  military  surg- 
ery, obstetrics,  etc.  He  contributed  ex- 
tensively to  the  medical  journals  of  the 
country,  and  was  everywhere  recognized 
as  one  of  the  able  men  of  his  profession. 
He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Trom- 
mer  Extract  of  Malt  Company,  and  was 
connected  with  other  enterprises;  he  serv- 
ed on  the  city  board  of  health,  and  was  a 
member  of  the  board  of  pension  examiners ; 
and  he  was  ever  ready,  with  his  means 
and  influence,  to  aid  in  any  project  for 
the  prosperity  and  welfare  of  the  com- 
munity. 

In  1880  Dr.  Rice  was  nominated   for 


COMMJCMUIiATlVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


19- 


Congress  by  the  Republican  p:irt\  of  the 
Tenth  District,  composed  of  the  counties 
of  Krie,  Hancock,  Huron,  Sandusky  and 
Seneca,  and  was  elected  by  the  handsome 
plurality  of  almost  1,400  votes.  He 
served  with  ability  in  the  XLN'IIth  Con- 
gress, receiving  the  commendations  of  his 
constituents  and  the  esteem  of  his  political 
associates  of  both  parties,  and  was  re- 
nominated for  the  XLNHIth  Congress, 
but  declined  the  notnination,  resuming 
the  practice  of  his  profession  and  the 
management  of  the  Trommer  Extract  of 
Malt  Works. 

In  his  demeanor  Dr.  Rice  was  simple 
and  unostentatious.  He  was  always  the 
friend  and  defender  of  the  poor,  the  weak 
and  the  oppressed.  No  one  ever  ap- 
proached him  for  charity  and  was  sent 
away  empty.  No  one  ever  sought  his  ad- 
vice in  hours  of  trouble  that  did  nui  receive 
full  sympathy  and  generous  counsel.  No 
one  has  done  more  than  he  to  aid  worthy 
veterans  in  obtaining  their  haril-earned 
pensions,  and  for  his  services  in  their  be- 
half he  took  no  pay.  Possessed  of  an 
attractive  physical  development,  sound 
judgment  and  rare  common  sense,  the 
versatility  of  his  knowledge  and  the  magic 
charm  of  his  wit  and  humor  made  him 
the  central  figure  around  which  all  were 
delighted  to  gather.  He  always  carried 
his  good  humor  with  him.  and  it  became 
contagious.  He  was  the  master  of  the 
story-teller's  art,  and  often  left  the  mem- 
ory of  a  rollicking  story,  a  hearty  laugh 
or  an  appropriate  joke  to  do  its  good  work 
long  after  he  had  takon  his  departure  on 
his  daily  rounds.  The  affection  in  which 
he  was  held  by  all  tells  the  story  of  his 
life,  and  is  that  life's  best  eulogy,  as  the 
remembrance  of  it  will  be  his  most  fitting 
epitaph.  Dr.  Rice  was  received  into  the 
communion  of  St.  Paul's  Episcopal 
Church;  was  a  member  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  of  the  Loyal  Le- 
gion and  of  the  Masonic  fraternity.  He 
died  January  14.  1893,  and  was  buried  in 
Oakwood  ccmeter)'. 


On  December  \2,  1.S61,  Dr.  Rice 
married  Miss  Sarah  I£..  daughter  of  Dr. 
James  \V.  anil  Nancy  E.  (Justice)  Wil- 
son, of  Fremont,  Ohio,  and  the  children 
born  to  this  union  were:  Lizzie,  born 
September  18,  1865,  and  Wilson,  born 
July  2,   1875. 

RoHKKT  H.  Rue,  M.  D.,  was  born  in 
Lower  Sandusky  (now  Fremont),  Ohio, 
December  20,  1837,  a  son  of  Dr.  Robert 
S.  and  Eliza  Ann  (Caldwell)  Rice.  In 
his  youth  he  attended  the  village  schools, 
and  was  for  several  years  employed  as. 
clerk  in  the  store  of  O.  L.  Nims.  He 
afterward  attended  school  at  Oberlin  Col- 
lege a'ljout  two  years,  and  then  com- 
menced the  study  of  medicine  with  his 
father  and  brother,  John.  Later  on  he 
attended  medical  lectures  in  the  Medical 
Department  of  the  University  of  Michi- 
gan, and  graduated  from  that  institution 
in  March.  1863,  on  his  return  to  Fremont 
engaging  in  the  practice  of  medicine  with 
his  father,  his  brother  John  being  then 
in  the  army.  He  soon  actjuired  a  very 
extensive  practice,  which,  later,  in  part- 
nership with  his  brother.  Dr.  John  B. 
Rice,  he  prosecuted  with  untiring  zeal, 
and  he  has  been  eminently  successful  in 
his  profession. 

In  1872-73  Dr.  Robert  H.  Rice, 
spent  a  year  in  Europe,  during  which 
time  he  traveled  e.xtensively  over  the  con- 
tinent, Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  devot- 
ing some  time,  in  the  medical  schools  of 
Paris  and  Berlin,  to  the  study  of  his 
profession.  His  knowledge  of  the  Ger- 
man and  French  languages,  which  he  had 
ac<iuired  by  his  own  efforts,  and  for  which 
he  has  a  great  fondness,  enabled  him  to 
derive  unusual  pleasure  and  advantage 
from  his  travels  abroad.  On  his  return 
home  he  resumed  his  practice,  and  soon 
after  entered  into  the  establishment  of 
the  Trommer  Extract  of  Malt  Works  at 
Fremont.  Ohio.  Being  possessed  of  a 
kind,  sympathetic  and  generous  nature,  he 
has  won  a  high  place  in  the  esteem  of 
those  with  whom  his    professional    rela- 


20 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGBAPHICAL  BE  CORD. 


tions  have  brought  him  in  contact.  Dr. 
Rice  has  for  some  years  taken  considera- 
ble interest  in  agricultural  pursuits,  having 
greatly  improved  and  reclaimed  a  large 
tract  of  land  by  means  of  a  steam-pump 
apparatus  used  to  remove  surface  water 
whenever  required.  He  aided  in  the  or- 
ganization of  the  Sandusky  County  Medi- 
cal Society,  of  which  he  has  been  secre- 
tary since  its  organization,  and  he  is  also 
a  member  of  the  Ohio  State  Medical  So- 
ciety, and  of  the  American  Medical  Asso- 
ciation. He  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  Fraternity  for  nearly  thirty  years, 
and  has  repeatedly  served  as  presiding 
officer  of  that  body.  Dr.  Robert  H.  Rice 
was  married  June  14,  1865,  to  Miss  Cyn- 
thia J.  Fry,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Abi- 
gail (Rideout)  Fry,  and  their  children  are: 
Henry  C,  Anna  and  Ada. 

William  A.  Rice  was  born  in  Lower 
Sandusky  (now  Fremont),  Ohio,  July  31, 
1829,  a  son  of  Dr.  Robert  S.  and  Eliza 
Ann  (Caldwell)  Rice,  who  were  among 
the  early  pioneers  of  Sandusky  county. 
Nearly  all  his  life  was  spent  in  Fremont, 
Ohio,  where  he  was  widely  known  and 
universally  respected.  For  twenty-five 
years  he  was  one  of  the  leading  dry- 
goods  merchants  of  that  city,  retiring 
from  business  in  1883.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  Protestant  Methodist  Church,  an 
unostentatious  and  consistent  Christian. 
Socially  he  was  a  member  of  Croghan 
Lodge  I.  O.  O.  F. ,  for  thirty  years,  and 
a  member  of  Fremont  Lodge  K.  of  H. 
He  was  a  successful  businessman,  a  pub- 
lic-spirited citizen,  a  loving  husband, 
father  and  friend.  He  died  at  Fremont, 
Ohio,  April  24,  1893.  On  October  8, 
1858,  William  A.  Rice  married  Miss 
Juliet  M.  Moore,  of  Ballville  township, 
by  whom  he  has  four  children,  two  of 
whom  are  deceased.  A  son,  Dr.  James 
M.  Rice,  lives  with  his  mother  on  the 
farm  homestead,  and  a  daughter,  Mrs. 
Hattie  E.  Bates,  resides  in  Illinois. 

James  M.  Rice,  M.  D.,  was  born 
November   5,     1859,    at   Fremont,  Ohio, 


a  son  of  William  A.  and  Juliet  M. 
(Moore)  Rice.  His  boyhood  and  youth 
were  spent  at  the  Fremont  city  schools, 
helping  his  father  in  his  dry-goods  store, 
or  working  with  other  hands  on  his 
father's  farm  near  the  city.  In  the  years 
1879-80-81,  he  attended  achool  at  the 
Adrian  (Michigan)  College,  and,  returning 
to  Fremont,  studied  medicine  with  his 
uncle.  Dr.  J.  B.  Rice,  about  one  year, 
after  which  he  attended  the  Ohio  Medical 
College,  at  Cincinnati,  one  year,  and  then 
took  a  course  in  the  Medical  Department 
of  the  University  of  Louisville,  Ky. , 
from  which  he  graduated,  March  13, 
1894.  Shortly  after  this  he  opened  an 
office  for  the  practice  of  medicine,  in  the 
same  room  formerly  occupied  by  Dr.  J. 
B.  Rice,  opposite  the  City  Hall,  in  Fre- 
mont, Ohio. 


LORENZO  DICK,  the  popular  ex- 
sheriff  of  Sandusky  county,  was 
born  in  Erie  county,  N.  Y. ,  May 
15,  1838,  a  son  of  Jacob  and 
Catharine  (Vogel)  Dick,  who  were  natives 
of  Lorraine,  France,  married  there,  and 
emigrated  to  America,  locating  in  Erie 
county,  N.  Y. ,  where  the  father  died  at 
the  age  of  forty,  and  the  mother  when 
eighty  years  old. 

Our  subject  grew  up  in  Erie  county, 
N.  Y. ,  and  there  learned  the  trade  of 
cabinet-maker.  In  1858  he  removed  to 
Fremont,  Ohio,  where  he  followed  his 
trade  for  several  years  with  success.  At 
the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war  he  enlisted, 
at  Fremont,  Ohio,  October  15,  1861,  in 
Company  H,  Seventy-second  Regiment, 
O.  V.  I.  The  regiment  was  assigned  to 
the  first  brigade,  first  division.  Fifteenth 
Army  Corps.  Mr.  Dick  was  elected  or- 
derly sergeant  by  the  men  of  his  company, 
November  18,  1861.  He  veteranized 
Januar}'  i,  1864,  at  Germantown,  Tenn., 
entering  the  same  company  as  first  lieu- 
tenant. He  had  been  commissioned 
second  lieutenant,  April  6,  1862,   at  the 


COMMEXOItATtVE  DIOOIiAPUWAL  REL'OIW. 


21 


battle  of  Shiloh,  for  meritorious  conduct. 
He  participatcii  in  the  battles  of  Shiloh, 
siege  of  Corinth,  Champion  Hills,  Jack- 
son, Black  River,  the  siege  of  Vicksburg. 
and  numerous  other  engagements.  The 
first  move  of  the  regiment  after  veteran- 
izing was  to  Fadiicah,  Ky..  where  they 
drove  out  the  enemy,  and  then  to  Mem- 
phis, Tenn.  They  soon  after  started  on 
the  Guntown  expedition,  and  here  they 
encountered  the  enemy,  who  had  their 
lines  drawn  up  in  the  shape  of  a  horse- 
shoe, and  into  this  trap  the  Union  boys 
were  led.  Lieut.  Dick  and  about  thirty 
men  of  his  company  were  taken  prisoners, 
andwere  first  sent  to  Andersonville,  whence 
Lieut.  Dick  was  sent  to  Macon,  Ga. , 
where  he  reinained  until  the  first  of  Sep- 
tember. While  in  prison,  Mr.  Dick  was 
commissioned  captain,  but  did  not  know 
of  the  promotion  until  he  reached  home. 
He  was  sent  to  Charleston,  S.  C.,  as 
prisoner,  and  placed  in  a  building  called 
the  "Workhouse,"  which  was  under  fire 
from  the  Union  guns.  At  the  end  of  three 
weeks  he  was  sent  to  Columbia,  S.  C, 
thence  to  Raleigh,  N.  C. ,  thence  to  Wil- 
mington, N.  C,  thence  to  Annapolis, 
Md.,  where  they  were  paroled  and  sent 
home  on  thirty  days'  furlough.  Owing  to 
severe  exposure  in  the  field  and  privations 
during  his  prison  life,  Mr.  Dick  contracted 
rheumatism  and  other  physical  disabili- 
ties. He  was  honorably  discharged.  May 
15,  1865. 

For  some  years  past  Mr.  Dick  has 
been  engaged  in  the  restaurant  and  grocery 
business  in  Fremont,  receiving  a  liberal 
patronage.  He  was  nominated  for  coun- 
ty sheriff  by  the  regular  Democratic  cau- 
cus, and  elected  in  1889;  served  two 
terms,  his  last  one  expiring.  January  i, 
1894.  At  the  spring  election  held  on  the 
first  Nfonday  in  April,  1895,  Mr.  Dick 
was  elected  mayor  of  the  city  of  Fremont, 
Ohio,  which  position  he  now  holds.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Eugene  Rawson  Post, 
No.  32,  G.  A.  R. ,  of  which  he  has  re- 
cently been  elected  commander.      He  has 


for  many  years  been  a  member  of  Fort 
Stephenson  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  is  a 
member  of  Humbolt  Loilge,  K.  of  H., 
and  of  the  German  Mutual  Aid  Society. 
At  Fremont,  Ohio,  April  4,  1864, 
Lorenzo  Dick  married  Miss  Catharine 
licnchler,  who  was  born  in  Germany, 
September  27,  1841,  a  daughter  of  John 
and  Mary  (Eisenhart)  Renchler.  The 
names  and  dates  of  birth  of  the  children 
born  to  this  union  are  as  follows:  Lo- 
renzo, Jr.,  January  9,  1865,  died  January 
24,  1873;  Charles  F.,  October  25,  1866. 
died  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven  years; 
Jacob,  May  9,  1S69;  Katie,  August  6, 
1872;  George,  March  4,  1876;  Gertrude, 
December  12,  1882,  died  in  infancy. 


G 


i:ORGE  SLESSMAN.  .sheriff  of 
Sandusky  county,  Ohio,  was  born 
June  27,  1853,  in  Adams  town- 
ship. Seneca  Co.,  Ohio,  a  son  of 
John  M.  and  Mary  (Freymoth)  Slessman, 
natives  of  Germany,  who  came  to  America 
when  young,  and  after  their  marriage, 
which  took  place  in  Huron  county,  Ohio, 
settled  on  a  farm  in  Seneca  county, 
which  they  made  their  permanent  resi- 
dence. 

The  father  of  our  subject  was  born  in 
1806.  By  trade  he  was  a  wagonmaker, 
but  he  followed  farming  in  Seneca  county, 
and  died  in  1862;  the  mother  is  still  living 
on  the  old  Slessman  homestead,  six  miles 
south  of  Clyde.  They  were  the  parents 
of  eight  children,  four  of  whom  are  living, 
namely:  Barbara,  deceased  wife  of  Charles 
Drumm,  a  farmer  of  lirie  county,  Ohio, 
who  had  two  children,  one  living.  Lizzie, 
and  one  deceased;  John,  a  farmer,  who 
married  Phyan  Peters,  of  Seneca  county, 
and  had  seven  children;  Catharine,  who 
died  in  1885,  and  who  was  the  wife  of 
Jacob  Trott,  a  farmer  of  Seneca  county, 
by  whom  she  had  five  children;  Mary, 
who  married  Samuel  Swartz,  a  farmer 
I  of  York  township,  Sandusky  county;  Mar- 
I  garet,    who    married    Herman    Baker,    a 


22 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHIGAL  RECORD. 


farmer  of  Seneca  county,  and  had  five 
children  (he  died  in  1894);  Samuel,  who 
died  in  childhood;  Henry,  who  died  in 
childhood;   and  George,  our  subject. 

George  Slessman  grew  to  manhood  on 
his  father's  farm,  and  attended  the  public 
schools.  In  1872  he  married  Miss  Clara 
E.  Whiteman,  who  was  born  October  16, 
1852,  a  daughter  of  A.  G.  and  Mary 
(Myers)  Whiteman.  A.  G.  Whiteman 
was  born  in  Ohio,  August  25,  1808,  and 
died  February  8,  1869;  his  wife  was  born 
in  Virginia  February  8,  181 1,  and  died 
November  30,  1878.  He  was  a  Repub- 
lican, and  they  were  both  members  of  the 
Free-will  Baptist  Church.  Our  subject, 
after  marriage,  settled  on  the  Slessman 
homestead,  where  he  dealt  in  live  stock 
for  about  nine  years.  He  then  moved 
upon  a  farm  in  Sandusky  county,  one  mile 
south  of  Clyde,  where  he  engaged  in  farm- 
ing, also  buying  and  shipping  live  stock, 
and  running  a  meat-market  in  Clyde,  for 
about  eight  years.  He  then  sold  out  and 
went  into  the  grain  business  in  Clyde, 
with  which  he  is  still  connected. 

Mr.  Slessman  has  for  some  years  been 
recognized  as  one  of  the  efficient  men  of 
the  Republican  party  of  Sandusky  county. 
In  November,  1893,  he  was  elected  to  the 
office  of  sheriff  of  the  county,  on  the  Re- 
publican ticket,  and  entered  upon  the  dis- 
charge of  his  official  duties  January  2, 
1894.  He  has  an  honorable  standing  in 
society  circles,  being  a  member  of  the 
Knights  of  Honor,  Royal  Arcanum  and 
Knights  of  Pythias.  In  religious  connec- 
tion he  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
Church.  To  George  and  Clara  Slessman 
were  born  children  as  follows:  Lena, 
Allen,  Martin,  Frank,  Mary,  and  two  who 
died  in  childhood — Charlie  and  Leta. 


EDWARD    LOUDENSLEGER.— 
Among  the   honored  pioneer  citi- 
zens of  Fremont,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, the  more   prominent  of  whom 
find  place  in  this  volume,    none  enjoys  to 


a  greater  extent  the  confidence  and  es- 
teem of  the  community  at  large  than  the 
gentleman  whose  name  is  here  recorded. 
He  is  a  native  of  Seneca  county, 
Ohio,  born  February  28,  1836,  of  Penn- 
sylvanian  ancestry,  proverbial  for  their 
healthy  vigor  and  traditional  probity  and 
virtue.  Daniel  Loudensleger,  his  father, 
was  of  Union-county  (Penn.)  birth,  where 
he  was  reared  to  manhood  and  married  to 
a  Miss  Barger.  In  1831  he  and  his  young 
wife  moved  to  Seneca  county,  Ohio,  lo- 
cating in  Flat  Rock,  Thompson  town- 
ship, until  1844,  in  which  year  they  came 
to  Sandusky  county,  making  a  new  home 
in  York  township,  with  by  no  means 
favorable  prospects,  having  a  large  and 
helpless  family  of  children  to  support. 
For  several  years  Mr.  Loudensleger  main- 
tained them  by  renting  farms,  which  he 
worked;  but  as  the  children  grew  up  to 
usefulness,  they  prevailed  on  their  father 
to  purchase  a  farm  (which  he  didj,  the 
boys  promising  to  remain  at  home,  and 
assist  in  the  clearing  up  and  improving  of 
same — and  it  was  in  the  performance  of 
this  duty  that  our  subject  learned  his  first 
lessons  of  industry  and  privation.  Ac- 
cordingly, with  the  assistance  of  the  sons, 
the  father  paid  for  and  improved  his 
farm,  which,  in  1863,  he  sold,  removing 
then  to  Monroe  county,  Mich.,  where,  on 
a  farm,  he  passed  the  rest  of  his  days, 
dying  February  28,  1881.  In  his  polit- 
ical sympathies  he  was  a  Jacksonian 
Democrat,  and  in  religious  faith  he  was 
an  adherent  of  the  Evangelical  (formerly 
known  as  the  Albright;  Church.  His 
wife,  who  was  also  of  Pennslyvania  birth, 
born  in  the  same  locality  as  he,  passed 
from  earth  in  Sandusky  county,  when  the 
subject  of  these  lines  was  a  fourteen- 
year-old  boy.  They  were  the  parents  of 
ten  children,  of  whom  the  following  brief 
mention  is  given:  Mary  Ann  married 
John  Brand,  and  now  lives  in  Columbia 
City,  'Ind. ;  George  is  a  farmer  and  stock 
raiser  at  Blue  Hill,  Neb. ;  Edward  is  the 
subject  of  this   sketch;  Lovina    married 


f» 


« 


(J.  ^^^'^ci^ls^Ci^ 


'C£^^l^7--^ 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPIIICAL  RECORD. 


•2'i\ 


Daniel  Wagner;  William  was  a  farmer 
until  recent  years,  and  is  now  in  the  prod- 
uce business  at  Kockwood,  Mich.;  Ar- 
niinda  married  a  Mr.  Boycr.  and  is  liv- 
ing near  Delta,  Ohio. ;  Matilda  died  at 
the  age  of  eif^hteen  years;  Franklin,  a 
painter  by  occupation,  resides  in  Churu- 
busco,  Ind. ;  two  died  in  infancy.  For 
some  years  after  the  death  of  the  mother 
of  these,  and  until  after  the  marriage  of 
his  eldest  daughter,  Mr.  Loudensleger  re- 
mained a  widower,  and  he  then  married 
a  widow  lady,  Mrs.  Wagner,  by  whom  he 
had  four  children,  vi/. :  Daniel,  who  lives 
on  the  old  homestead  in  Michigan;  Charles 
Wesley,  who  resides  in  the  same  lo- 
cality; Allen,  a  minister  of  the  United 
Brethren  Church,  and  living  n6ar  his 
brothers;  the  youngest  chiKi  died  when 
five  years  old. 

The  education  of  the  subject  proper 
of  this  article  was  limited  to  such  as  was 
acquired  at  the  common  schools  of  his 
boyhood,  consisting  of  three  months'  at- 
tendance in  the  winter  seasons,  many  of 
the  scholars,  our  sul>ject  included,  having 
to  travel  long  distances  through  frozen 
swamps,  and  cross  running  streams  by 
jumping  from  one  chance-fallen  tree  to 
another;  yet,  notwithstanding  all  these 
difficulties  and  obstacles,  the  lad  succeed- 
ed, by  natural  acumen  and  persistent 
study,  in  securing  sufficient  education  to 
enable  him  to  teach  in  the  public  schools 
of  the  county.  .As  an  illustration  of  his 
fidelity  to  his  parents  and  home,  it  is 
worthy  of  record  that  the  salary  he  earned 
during  his  first  term  of  school  he  freely 
ami  filially  han<led  over  to  his  father.  In 
1S4.S  Mr.  Loudensleger  saw  I'remont  for 
the  first  time,  and  he  well  remembers  it 
as  an  essentially  "wooden  town,  "  com- 
posed for  the  most  part  f)f  small  impainted 
frame  buildings;  and  little  did  he  then 
dream  that  he  would  ever  see  the  place 
in  its  present  advanced  condition,  nuich 
less  that  he  himself  would  play  such  an 
important  part  in  its  development  and 
progress  as  the  tide  of  time  has  proven. 


On  November  33.  1861.  he  enlisted  in 
Company  A,  Seventy-second  Regiment 
O.  \.  I.,  which  was  attached  to  the  army 
of  the  Tennessee,  and  the  first  battle  he 
took  part  in  was  Shiloh.  or  Pittsburg 
Landing.  April  6  -7.  1S62,  after  which  the 
regiment  participated  in  the  siege  of 
Corinth,  and  was  then  stationed  at  Mem- 
phis, Tenn..  where  it  lay  till  the  fall  of  iSfo. 
It  was  then  ordered  to  V'icksburg.  but  our 
subject,  being  invalided  in  the  hospital, 
could  not  accompany  it.  and  as  a  conse- 
quence was  placed  on  detached  duty  in 
the  Commissary  Department,  in  which  he 
served  until  mustered  out  of  the  army  at 
Columbus.  Ohio,  December  13,  1864,  the 
term  of  his  enlistment  having  expired. 

Mr.  Loudensleger's  domestic  history, 
sad,  it  is  true,  in  some  particulars,  has 
been  strongly  interwoven  with  his  life, 
which  has  always  been  pacific  in  the  ex- 
treme, and  which  has  been  made  the 
more  noble  by  many  self-sacrifices.  He 
1  has  been  thrice  married:  first  time,  in 
1  1856,  to  Miss  Kmma  Bellows,  a  native  of 
New  York  State,  who  died  in  1859.  the 
mother  of  one  child,  Frances  E. ,  now 
the  wife  of  Frank  J.  Tuttle,  an  attorney 
at  law  of  Fremont,  Ohio  (she  has  two 
children:  Howard  and  Florence).  Mr. 
Loudensleger's  second  marriage,  which 
occurred  after  his  enlistment  in  the  army, 
was  with  Mrs.  Mary  Jane  Stevenson,  «<V 
Stahl,  who  unfortunately  was  soon  griev- 
ously stricken  with  consumption,  and 
during  her  husband's  absence  with  his 
regiment  was  well  nigh  at  the  point  of 
I  death.  Obtaining  a  furlough,  Mr.  Lou- 
densleger returned  hoenc  and  took  his 
wife  back  with  him  to  Memphis,  Tenn  , 
where  she  remained  a  couple  of  winters, 
her  health  thereby  improving  to  such  an 
extent  that  she  became  a  much  stronger 
woman  than  she  had  been  for  several 
years.  When  her  husband  received  his 
discharge  they  returned  to  Memphis, 
Tenn..  for  the  winter,  then  coming  north 
to  Fremont,  and  Mr.  Loudensleger,  hav- 
ing    n«)    special    vocation,    concluded    to 


24 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


purchase  a  lot  whereon  to  build  a  home, 
later  to  look  around  him  for  some  suita- 
ble business  in  which  to  engage.  The 
residence  he  built,  and  the  good  taste  he 
exhibited  in  the  beautifying  of  it,  etc., 
attracted  such  general  attention  that  he 
soon  received  many  offers  from  bidders 
for  the  property  at  advanced  prices.  Sell- 
ing this  house  and  lot  accordingly,  he 
proceeded  in  the  same  way  with  a  second 
and  even  third  residence,  before  he  moved 
into  any  as  a  permanent  home  for  him- 
self and  family;  thus  in  this  unexpected 
manner  was  laid  the  foundation  of  his 
future  vast  real-estate  business  in  Fre- 
mont, where  for  years  he  has  been  recog- 
nized as  one  of  the  leading  dealers  and 
improvers  of  city  property.  The  hand- 
some block  which  bears  his  name,  erected 
in  1888,  and  situated  in  the  business 
center  of  Fremont,  is  acknowledged  to  be 
one  of  the  finest  in  the  city,  and  he  still 
owns  and  deals  in  a  considerable  amount 
of  property. 

A  short  time  after  their  return  to  Fre- 
mont from  Memphis  Mrs.  Loudensleger's 
health  again  gave  way,  and  Mr.  Louden- 
sleger  subsequently  made  many  trips  with 
her  to  the  balmy  South,  sometimes  at 
heavy  expense,  being  absent  from  home 
and  business  entire  seasons;  but  he  never 
complained,  and  when  his  wife  at  last, 
in  1874,  succumbed  to  the  dread  disease 
that  clung  so  cruelly  and  tenaciously  to 
her,  he  had  left  at  the  least  the  conscious- 
ness of  having  done  for  her  all  that  lay 
in  human  power.  He  started  anew,  a 
poorer  man  than  when  he  came  home 
from  tne  war,  and  entered  with  renewed 
vigor  and  resolution  into  the  insurance  and 
real-estate  businesses.  His  third  wife,  a 
sister  to  his  second,  was  Mrs.  Nina  A.  Mil- 
ler, who,  by  her  first  husband,  had  a  son, 
Isaac  T.  Miller,  whom  Mr.  Loudensleger 
reared  as  his  own;  he  is  now  deputy 
postmaster  under  his  stepfather,  and  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Libbie  Setzler,  by  whom  he 
has  one  child,  William.  By  his  present 
wife  Mr.  Loudensleger  has  one  daus^hter. 


Nellie,  who  is  in  her  seventeenth  year, 
and  now  attending  Lake  Erie  Seminary, 
at  Painesville,  Ohio. 

Mr.  Loudensleger  has  filled  many  po- 
sitions of  trust  in  his  city,  and  is  highly 
esteemed  in  business  and  social  circles  for 
his  sound  judgment  and  unquestioned  in- 
tegrity. In  1875  he  was  chosen  one  of 
the  trustees  of  Oakwood  Cemetery,  in 
1878  was  elected  secretary  of  same,  and 
has  served  in  that  incumbency  ever  since. 
His  associate  trustees  were  Gen.  R.  B. 
Hayes,  Stephen  Buckland,  C.  R.  McCul- 
loch  and  Dr.  L.  Q.  Rawson.  In  his  polit- 
ical affiliations  he  has  always  been  active- 
ly identified  with  the  Republican  party, 
and  his  influence  therein  has  ever  been 
felt  for  good.  In  1880  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  city  council,  and  in  the 
second  year  of  his  term  was  chosen  pres- 
ident of  the  same.  At  that  time  the 
mayor  in  office  died,  only  one  month  of 
his  term  having  expired,  and  the  council 
chose  Mr.  Loudensleger  to  fill  the  vacant 
chair,  into  which  he  was  accordingly  in- 
stalled. He  pursued  the  course  repre- 
sented by  the  policy  on  which  his  prede- 
cessor had  been  elected,  a  polic}'  known 
in  the  main  as  the  "  Law  and  Order" 
movement,  and  his  administration  was 
remarkable  for  the  stand  he  took  against 
the  saloons,  many  of  them  being  so  ob- 
trusively open  on  Sundays  that  he  issued 
a  proclamation  to  the  effect  that  all  such 
establishments  should  be  closed  on  the 
Sabbath.  This  proclamation  was  re- 
spected, and  to  all  intents  and  purposes 
its  requirements  were  complied  with  under 
Mr.  Loudensleger's  wise  jurisdiction;  but 
as  soon  as  he  retired  from  office  some  of 
the  saloons  were  again  thrown  open.  He 
also  caused  the  cit}'  to  be  purged  of  all 
manner  of  "fakirs"  et  hoc  genus  otniie, 
thereby  protecting  not  only  the  merchants 
but  the  citizens  in  general. 

On  September  19,  1881,  occurred  the 
death  of  President  James  A.  Garfield,  the 
funeral  on  the  26th,  and  Mayor  Louden- 
sleger issued  the  following  proclamation: 


COMUBMORATTVE  BTOOItAPmCAL  RECORD. 


25 


Concurring-  with  Hon.  Charles  Foster,  Gov- 
ernor of  Ohio,  in  his  suK'trestions  to  the  jwoplc 
of  Ohio,  and  in  view  of  the  deep  .solemnity  of 
the  occasion,  and  as  a  most  deserved  and  liltinp 
act  of  resjiect  to  tlie  memory  of  onr  !anientcd 
President.  I  would  resi)ect fully  suis'jrest  to  the 
citizens  of  Fremont  that  upon  Monday,  the  26th 
inst.,  all  business  pursuits  be  suspended,  also 
that  memorial  services  be  held  next  Sunday  in 
the  city  churches,  and  that  the  hells  in  the  city 
l>e  tolled  duriuK^  the  last  hour  (11  to  12  o'clock) 
of  the  solemn  funeral  rites,  on  Mt)nday. 

Of  this  the  following  acknowledge- 
ments were  received  from  James  G. 
Blaine,  Secretary  of  State  at  the  time; 
By  telegram  September  2  2,  i88i,  "To 
Hon.  E.  Loudcnsleger:  In  the  name  of 
the  sorrowing,  family  of  onr  beloved 
President  of  the  Government  I  tender 
heartfelt  acknowledgements  of  your  touch- 
ing tribute  of  the  love  and  sorrow  of  the 
people  of  Fremont. — James  G.  Blaine, 
Sec'y  of  State."  Also  by  letter  dated 
Department  of  State,  Washington,  Octo- 
ber 13,   iSSi : 

Hi.>i  Honor,  G.  Loudensle^er, 

Mavor  of  Fremont,  Ohio: 
Sir: 

It  affords  me  sincere,  although  mournful, 
gratification  to  make  feeling;  ,icknowledjfe- 
mcnt,  in  the  name  of  the  late  President  (Jar- 
field's  prief-stricken  family,  of  the  many 
heartfelt  tributes  of  sorrow  for  our  common 
loss,  and  of  admiration  for  the  hiRh  character 
of  the  revered  dead,  which  come  to  them  and 
the  American  (Jovernment  and  j>cople  in  this 
hour  of  deep  aHliction  from  every  part  of  the 
Union,  and  especially  for  the  touchinp  notifi- 
cation of  the  President's  death,  made  by  you 
to  the  citizens  of  p'remont  on  the  23d  ultimo,  a 
copy  of  which  I  have  received. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be.  Sir,  your  obt,  ser- 
vant, 

James  G.  Bi.aine. 

In  1 888  Mr.  Loudensleger  was  induced 
to  allow  himself  to  be  nominated  for  the 
mayoralty  by  the  "Law  and  Order" 
party,  Viut  at  the  primaries  the  opposition 
to  that  party  proved  too  strong.  To  his 
position  of  postmaster,  as,  in  fact,  to  all 
other  offices  he  has  held,  he  was  appointed 
without  any  solicitation  on  his  part,  and 
ho  has  tilled  san)e  with  characteristic 
ability  and  hdelity  from  1891,  the  year  of 
his  appointment  by  President  Harrison, 
to    1895,   the   affairs  of  the   office  never 


having  been  more  satisfactorily  conducted 
in  the  history  of  Fremont;  and  Mr.  Lou- 
densleger ascribes  much  of  the  success  of 
the  department  to  his  stepson,  Isaac 
Tickner  Miller,  who,  as  already  stated, 
was  assistant  postmaster  under  him. 

In  religious  faith  our  subject  is  an  ad- 
herent of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  of 
which  he  is  a  trustee,  having  been  elected 
to  that  office  in  1867;  and  he  has  been  an 
elder  of  the  same  for  about  ten  years. 
He  was  a  charter  member  of  Eugene 
Rawson  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  and  is  now  a 
member  of  Moore  Post,  of  which  he  was 
also  a  charter  member.  He  is  the  owner 
of  one  of  the  most  attractive  and  pleasant 
residence  properties  in  Fremont,  adjoin- 
ing that  of  the  family  of  the  late  President 
Hayes. 

ANSON  H.  MILLER,  banker,  of 
I'Vcmont,  Sandusky  county,  was 
born  at  Hinsdale,  N.  H.,  May  2. 
1824.  His  father,  John  Miller, 
was  a  descendant  of  Nathan  Douglas, 
whose  property  was  destroyed  by  the 
burning  of  New  London,  Conn.,  by  the 
British,  during  the  Revolutionary  war, 
and  to  whose  heirs  was  granted  a  portion 
of  the  "  I-'irelands,"  in  New  London 
township,  Huron  Co.,  Ohio.  John  Mil- 
ler, by  inheritance  and  purchase,  came 
into  possession  of  a  large  tract  of  these 
"Firelands,"  and  in  1825  he  removed 
with  his  family  to  Norwalk,  Ohio,  set- 
tling o\\  the  lands  in  New  London  in 
1839.  His  children  were  Celemene, 
John.  .Anson  H.,  Thomas  D. ,  and  Eliza- 
beth D. — five  in  all — of  whom  John  and 
Thomas  D.  are  tieceasetl. 

During  the  residence  of  the  family  in 
Norwalk  Anson  H.  Miller  attended  the 
seminary  at  that  place,  and  during  the 
year  1845  continued  his  studies  at  Milan 
Academy.  In  1847  he  entered  the  em- 
ploy of  Prague  &  Sherman,  lumber  deal- 
ers at  New  Orleans,  remained  there  about 
fourteen  months,  and   after  his  return  in 


26 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


1848  was  engaged  in  farming  on  the  New 
London  lands  until  1S52,  when  he  took  a 
course  of  study  in  the  Br}'ant,  Lusk  & 
Stratton  Commercial  College,  at  Cleve- 
land, after  which  he  accepted  a  position  as 
bookkeeper  in  the  office  of  the  treasurer 
(Dr.  William  F.  Kittrege)  of  the  Toledo, 
Norwalk  &  Cleveland  railroad,  which  he 
held  about  two  years.  In  1854  he  was 
offered  the  position  of  cashier  of  the 
banking  firm  of  Birchard  &  Otis,  Fre- 
mont, Ohio,  made  vacant  by  the  resigna- 
tion of  Rev.  F.  S.  White.  He  accepted 
the  offer,  and  coming  to  Fremont  August 
2,  1854,  entered  at  once  upon  the  duties 
of  the  position.  Judge  Otis,  being  about 
to  move  to  Chicago,  retired  from  the  firm 
of  Birchard  &  Otis,  and  on  the  first  day 
of  January,  1856,  Mr.  Miller  became  a 
partner  with  Mr.  Birchard,  under  the 
firm  name  of  Birchard,  Miller  &  Co.  One 
year  later  Dr.  James  W^  Wilson  came 
into  the  bank  as  partner,  the  firm  con- 
tinuing under  the  name  of  Birchard, 
Miller  &  Co.  They  occupied  a  small, 
one-story  brick  building  on  the  east  side 
of  Front  street,  between  Croghan  and 
State,  and  the  bank  did  a  good  business 
and  prospered,  without  further  change, 
until  1863,  when  it  was  merged  into  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Fremont,  with  a 
paid-up  capital  of  $100,000,  and  an  au- 
thorized capital  of  $200,000.  This  bank 
was  the  fifth  National  bank  organized  in 
the  United  States.  The  articles  of  asso- 
ciation were  signed  by  Sardis  Birchard, 
James  W.  Wilson,  Anson  H.  Miller, 
James  Justice,  R.  W.  B.  McLellan,  Jane 
E.  Phelps,  La  Ouinio  Rawson,  Martin 
Bruner,  Robert  Smith,  Abraham  NefT  and 
Augustus  W.  Luckey.  The  first  board 
of  directors  was  elected  May  27,  1863, 
and  consisted  of  Messrs.  Birchard,  Wil- 
son, Justice,  Bruner,  Smith,  Luckey 
and  Miller.  The  first  officers  of  the 
board  were  Sardis  Birchard,  president; 
James  W.  Wilson,  vice-president;  and  A. 
H.  Miller,  cashier. 

At  the  time  the  old  bank  wns  merged 


into  the  First  National,  Mr.  Miller,  with 
the  help  of  a  young  clerk,  did  all  the 
routine  work  of  the  bank,  which  now  re- 
quires six  experienced  men.  The  bank 
occupies  the  ground  floor  of  its  fine  three- 
story  block,  with  Amherst  stone  front, 
erected  by  the  stockholders,  on  the  south- 
west corner  of  Front  and  Croghan  streets, 
Fremont.  Mr.  Miller  still  holds  the  po- 
sition of  cashier.  There  were  five  pioneer 
National  banks  organized  in  1863  in  the 
United  States,  and^Mr.  Miller  and  Mor- 
ton McMichael,  of  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Philadelphia,  are  the  only  men 
still  living  who  are  occupying  the  same 
positions  in  the  same  banks  that  they  did 
at  the  beginning. 

In  March,  1854,  Mr.  Miller  married 
Miss  Nancy  J.  Otis,  daughter  of  Joseph 
and  Nancy  B.  Otis,  of  Berlin,  Ohio,  and 
children  as  follows  came  to  their  union: 
Mary  O.,  born  April  11,  1856,  who  was 
married  October  3,  1S94,  to  Samuel 
Brinkerhoff,  an  attorney  at  law,  of  Fre- 
mont, Ohio;  Fannie  B.,  born  June  15, 
i860,  who  married  Thomas  J.  Stilwell, 
and  who  died  April  4,  1887;  and  Julia 
E.,  born  March  27,  1865,  who  died 
March  2,  1884. 


WV.  B.  AMES,  M.  D.,  a  practic- 
ing physician  of  Fremont,  San- 
dusky county,  was  born  in  Hu- 
ron   county,    Ohio,    in    1821,    a 
son  of  Jason  C.  and  Sarah  Ann   (Moore) 
Ames,  the  former  born    in   New    Haven, 
Conn.,  the  latter  in  New  York. 

The  parents  of  our  subject  each  re- 
moved in  pioneer  days  to  Huron  county, 
Ohio,  where  they  were  married,  and 
where  the  father  followed  the  trade  of 
shoemaker  in  connection  with  farming. 
They  had  a  family  of  seven  children,  of 
whom  five  are  now  living:  W.  V.  B., 
our  subject;  Cynthia,  wife  of  D.  F.  Web- 
ber, of  Charlotte,  Eaton  Co.,  Mich.; 
Emeline,  widow  of  Smith  Bodine,  of 
Charlotte,    Eaton    Co.,   Mich.,    who   en- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPUICAL  RECORD. 


27 


listed  from  Plymouth,  Huron  Co.,  Ohio, 
as  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  war,  and  died  in 
Libby  prison ;  George  W. ,  who  resides 
at  Sacramento  City,  Cal. ;  Aufjeline, 
wi<low  of  James  Steele,  of  Charlotte, 
Mich.,  who  died  in  1S93;  Catharine, 
widow  of  Mr.  Lewis  Garsey,  of  L'kiah, 
Mendocino  Co.,  Cal.,  and  Edward,  who 
resides  at  Ukiah,  California. 

Dr.  Ames  was  reared  in  New  Haven 
township,  Huron  Co.,  Ohio,  and  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  of  the 
Western  Reserve.  He  bepan  reading 
medicine  in  his  native  county,  and  com- 
menced practice  at  South  Bend,  Ind., 
where  he  remained  from  1845  to  1851. 
He  then  went  by  the  overland  route  to 
California,  locating  in  Yuba  county,  where 
he  prarticeil  medicine  about  four  years, 
having  been  engaged  in  mining  for  some 
time  priortothat.  Abouttheyear  1855  he 
returned  to  Seneca  county,  Ohio,  and 
thence,  in  1858,  moved  to  Fremont, 
where  he  has  since  been  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession.  He  was  mar- 
ried, in  Huron  county,  Ohio,  to  Miss 
Adaline  Harrington,  a  native  of  that 
county,  daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Betsey 
(Taylorj  Harrington,  who  were  early  pio- 
neers of  the  Western  Reserve,  having 
come  from  the  State  of  New  York.  The 
children  of  Dr.  and  .Adaline  Ames  were: 
Elizabeth,  wife  of  Evandor  Dunning,  of 
Eaton  county,  Mich.:  Alice,  wife  of 
Charles  A.  Norton,  of  Kansas  City,  Mo. ; 
William  V.  B.,  a  dentist  of  Chicago,  til.; 
and  Rose,  who  resides  at  home.  Mrs. 
Adaline  Ames  died  May  30,  i860,  and 
Dr.  Ames  subsequently  wedded  Miss 
Catharine  Strohl,  a  native  of  Sandusky 
county,  daughter  of  Peter  Strohl  'now  de- 
ceased), who  was  one  (jf  the  early  pioneers 
of  Ballville  township,  Sandusky  Co.. 
Ohio.  The  children  by  this  marriage 
are:  Nell,  Jane,  and  Frank.  I'rank 
Ames  married  Miss  Grace  Ford,  and  lives 
in  Sacramento,  California. 

Dr.  Ames  is  a  Republican  in  politics, 
but  not  a  partisan.      He  is  one  of  the  old- 


est and  most  successful  medical  prac- 
titioners of  Fremont,  having  built  up  a 
widely  e.xtended  and  lucrative  practice. 
He  owns  valuable  interests  in  Fremont 
and  vicinity,  and  a  fine  farm  in  California. 


JAMES  JUSTICE,  one  of  the  early 
pioneers  of  Sandusky  county,  and 
for  nearly  fifty  years  one  of  the  live 
business  men  of  flower  Sandusky 
(now  Fremont),  was  born  in  Bedford 
county,  Penn..  .August  18,  1794.  a  son  of 
William  and  Illeanor  (Umstedj  Justice, 
the  former  of  English,  and  the  latter  of 
German  ancestry. 

At  about  the  age  of  nine  years  our 
subject  removed  with  his  parents  to  Ross 
county,  Ohio,  near  Chillicothe.  where  he 
received  a  limited  rudimentary  education. 
Here  he  worked  for  a  time  at  the  busi- 
ness of  tanning  hides,  but  discontinued  it 
to  volunteer,  under  Gen.  William  H.  Har- 
rison, in  the  war  of  1812.  He  was  with 
Harrison  at  Fort  Seneca,  at  the  time  of 
the  battle  of  Fort  Stephenson,  August  2, 
18 1 3.  After  the  war  he  resided  at  Chilli- 
cothe, and  resumed  tanning.  Abf)ut  the 
year  1817  he  engaged  in  the  flat-boat 
trade  with  New  Orleans,  by  which  the 
early  settlers  along  the  Ohio  river  found  a 
market  for  their  bacon,  flour  and  whisky, 
in  e.xchange  for  sugar  and  other  groceries. 
In  this  trade  he  displayed  first-class  finan- 
cial talents,  and  accumulated  considerable 
cash. 

On  October  12,  1820.  he  married 
Miss  Eli/a  Moore,  daughter  of  David 
Moore,  and  sister  to  John  and  James 
Moore,  two  well-known  citizens  of  Ball- 
ville, both  millers  and  manufacturers,  and 
both  wealthy  and  enterprising  men. 

In  the  month  of  September.  1822. Mr. 
Justice  removed  from  Ross  county  to 
Sandusky  county,  and  located  at  first  in 
Ballville  township.  His  manner  of  mov- 
ing was  decidedly  primitive,  he  placing 
his  wife  and  child  on  horseback  while  he 
journeyed    with    them    on    foot.      I'or    a 


28 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOOBAPHICAL  RECORD. 


time  after  his  arrival  at  Ballville  he  as- 
sisted his  father-in-law  in  running  his 
grist  and  saw  mill  at  that  place.  In  1S42 
he  removed  to  Lower  Sandusky,  and 
erected  a  tannery  on  the  north  side  of 
State  street,  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  on  the 
west  side  of  the  river.  With  the  tannery 
he  connected  the  business  of  harness 
making  and  shoe  making,  managing  only 
the  financial  department,  leaving  the 
manual  labor  to  expert  workmen  whom 
he  employed  in  the  different  shops.  About 
the  year  1847  he  turned  the  business  over 
to  his  son,  Milton  J.  Justice,  and  gave 
his  attention  to  investing  and  managing 
his  capital.  He  made  large  gains  by  buy- 
ing and  selling  lands,  sometimes  on  his 
own  account,  and  sometimes  in  partner- 
ship with  Rodolphus  Dickinson  and  Sardis 
Birchard.  He  took  a  prominent  part  in 
the  construction  of  the  Tifhn  and  Fostoria 
plank  roads.  When  the  Wyandot  res- 
ervation at  Upper  Sandusky  was  sold, 
and  the  Indians  removed  to  the  Far 
West,  Mr.  Justice  was  selected  by  the 
Government  as  appraiser  of  the  land,  on 
account  of  his  soundness  of  judgment  in 
matters  of  value. 

Shortly  after  coming  to  Lower  San- 
dusky Mr.  Justice  was  chosen,  by  the 
legislature  of  Ohio,  one  of  the  associate 
judges  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of 
Sandusky  county,  which  office  he  filled 
with  singular  promptness  and  fidelity  for 
a  number  of  years,  under  the  first  consti- 
tution of  the  State.  For  a  period  of 
about  ten  years  he  discharged  gratuitously 
and  efficiently  the  duties  of  a  member  of 
the  board  of  education  of  the  city  of  Fre- 
mont, acting  most  of  the  time  as  treas- 
urer. He  was  also  mayor  of  the  village 
for  a  term.  In  the  summer  of  1859  Mr. 
Justice  was  chosen  one  of  the  jurors  in 
the  U.  S.  Court  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  in 
the  famous  "  Wellington  Rescue  case,"  in 
which  thirty-seven  citizens  of  Oberlinand 
vicinit}'  were  prosecuted  and  imprisoned 
at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  for  recapturing  and 
assisting    to    freedom     a    runaway    slave 


He  left  a  large 


named  John  Price,  who  had  left  his  mas- 
ter in  Kentucky  to  escape  to  Canada,  and 
had  been  concealed  at  Oberlin,  where  he 
was  discovered  and  kidnaped  by  the  slave- 
hunters  who  were  on  the  return  to  the 
South  to  restore  him  to  his  master. 

When  the  First  National  Bank  of 
Fremont  was  organized,  in  1863,  Judge 
Justice  placed  some  capital  in  the  stock 
of  that  institution,  and  was  one  of  the 
first  board  of  directors;  and  he  held  this 
position  by  successive  re-elections  until 
his  death.  May  28,  1873. 
estate  to  his  wife  and  children. 

In  person  Judge  Justice  was  a  man  of 
impressive  presence  and  strong  magnetic 
power,  of  large  size,  weighing  over  two 
hundred  pounds,  with  light  hair  and  com- 
ple.xion,  blue  eyes,  and  full,  round  head 
and  face.  In  business  promptness  and 
integrity  no  citizen  surpassed  him.  His 
portraits,  drawn  by  his  son  Milton  with 
remarkable  accurac}',  may  be  seen  at  the 
First  National  Bank,  and  at  Birchard  Li- 
brar3^  presented  by  his  children. 

The  wife  of  Judge  Justice  was  born  in 
Huntingdon  county,  Penn.,  October  13, 
1800.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  years  she 
came  with  her  parents  to  Ross  county, 
Ohio.  Her  father,  David  Moore,  was  of 
full  Scotch  blood;  her  mother  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania.  The  child  Nancy,  which 
she  brought  with  her  on  horseback,  is  now 
the  wife  of  Dr.  James  W.  Wilson,  presi- 
dent of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Fre- 
mont. Their  way  was  through  an  almost 
unbroken  wilderness,  and  on  their  arrival 
here  they  lived  for  a  time  in  a  fisherman's 
shanty  until  their  own  log  cabin  was  fin- 
ished. Their  means  were  scanty,  and  for 
nine  months  she  never  saw  the  face  of 
another  white  woman — only  Indians,  and 
many  of  them  intoxicated.  Her  fireplace 
was  a  wall  of  stones  in  one  corner  of  the 
shanty,  above  which  was  an  opening  in 
the  roof  for  the  escape  of  smoke.  If  the 
rain  put  out  the  fire  she  would  go  to  the 
home  of  the  nearest  neighbor,  a  mile  and 
a  quarter  away,  to   get    live  coals  to  re- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


29 


kindle  il.  Among  her  cooking  utensils 
was  a  Dutch-oven,  an  iron  shallow  kettle, 
with  an  iron  lid  or  cover,  in  which  all  her 
baking  was  done  by  setting  the  kettle 
over  coals  and  piling  coals  and  hot  ashes 
on  the  cover. 

Mrs.  Justice  survived  her  husband 
until  October  17,  1876,  when  she  died  at 
the  advanced  age  of  seventy-six  years. 
Their  chiMren  were:  Nancy  E.  Wilson 
(wife  of  Dr.  Jatnes  W.  Wilson),  Nfinerva 
li.  (relict  of  Hon.  Homer  Everett),  and 
Mrs.  S.  Eliza  Failing  (relict  of  Dr.  John 
W.  Failing),  all  now  residing  in  Fremont; 
Milton  J.  Justice,  a  resident  of  I-ucas 
county,  Ohio,  and  Granville  M.,  who  died 
at  Lower  Sandusky  at  the  age  of  sixteen 
years.  The  old  Justice  homestead  is 
still  occupied  by  Mrs.  Everett  and  Mrs. 
Failing,  who  cherish  the  memory  of  their 
parents,  and  preserve  with  scrupulous 
care  the  old-time  family  relics,  consisting 
of  household  furniture  and  pioneer-day 
portraits. 


WILLIAM  CALDWELL,   M.  D., 
was  born  May  27.  1837,  at  Fre-  1 
mont,  Ohio,  a  son  of    William 
and  Jane  A.  (Davis)   Caldwell, 
who   were  among    the   early    pioneers  of 
Sandusky  and  Ottawa  counties. 

Dr.  Caldwell  spent  his  early  life  in 
securing  a  liberal  education,  and  in  teach- 
ing school.  He  next  attended  Oberlin 
College  several  years,  and  acquired  his 
medical  knowledge  in  the  Medical  De- 
partment of  the  University  of  Michi- 
gan, in  Charity  Hospital  Medical  Col- 
lege, and  in  Bellevue  Hospital  Medical 
College.  New  York,  being  admitted  to 
practice  in  1862.  He  was  assistant  sur-  ' 
geon  of  the  Seventy-second  Regiment 
O.  \'.  I.,  and  served  from  April,  1863,  I 
until  January  4.  1865.  After  the  war  he 
!•  !  Michigan  for  the  practice  of  his 

1'  11.  in   June,    18S0.  taking  up   his 

residence  in  Fremont.  Ohio,  where  he  has 
since    met    with    flattering  success.      Ho 


has  been  a  member  of  the  Hoard  of 
I'nited  States  Examiners  for  Pensions,  is 
ex-president  of  the  Northwestern  Ohio 
Medical  Society,  vice-president  of  the 
Ohio  State  Medical  Society,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  American  Medical  Association, 
as  well  as  the  National  .Association  of 
Railroad  Surgeons.  He  has  also  for  a 
number  of  years  been  a  liberal  contributor 
to  several  medical  periodicals.  His  en- 
terprise is  not  confined  to  his  profe.ssion 
alone,  for  he  takes  a  deep  interest  in  the 
municipal  affairs  of  his  native  city.  So- 
cially he  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
Fraternity. 

On  January  15.  1S6.S,  Dr.  Caldwell 
was  married,  at  Byron.  Mich.,  to  Miss 
Arilla  Cook,  who  was  born  March  1 5. 
1848.  daughter  of  Horace  L.  and  Eliza- 
beth Cook.  Their  children  were:  Bessie 
C,  born  November  10,  1869.  died  August 
12,  1870;  Maud,  born  January  23,  1873, 
who,  after  attending  the  Fremont  City 
schools,  entered  upon  a  liberal  course  of 
study  in  the  University  of  Michigan;  and 
Robert  L. ,  born  October  2  r .   1881. 

William  Caldwell  was  born  De- 
cember 23.  1808,  near  Chillicothe.  Ohio. 
His  father  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of 
1812,  and  was  at  Detroit  when  Gen. 
Hull  surrendered  his  army  to  the  British. 
In  1828  the  family  removed  to  Port  Clin- 
ton, and  four  years  later  William  Cald- 
well came  to  Fremont  (then  Lower  San- 
dusky). On  .August  14,  1836,  he  married 
Jane  .A.  Davis,  and  they  resided  at  Fre- 
mont until  1850.  when  Mr.  Caldwell 
Went  to  California,  remaining  in  that 
State  three  years,  and  on  his  return  set- 
tling in  Elmore,  Ottawa  county.  At  El- 
more he  served  for  eighteen  consecutive 
years  as  justice  of  the  peace,  and  was 
also  township  treasurer  and  a  member  of 
the  village  council  for  a  portion  of  the 
time.  In  1881  Mr.  Caldwell  was  elected 
probate  jtulge  of  Ottawa  county,  and 
moved  to  Port  Clinton;  he  was  re-elected 
in  1884. 

On    .August  14,   1886,  Judge  an«l  Mrs. 


30 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Caldwell  celebrated  their  golden  wedding 
anniversary  at  the  home  of  their  son,  Dr. 
William  Caldwell,  at  Fremont,  Ohio, 
which  was  attended  by  many  distinguished 
guests  from  Fremont  and  Port  Clinton, 
and  at  which  they  were  the  recipients  of 
many  beautiful  and  valuable  presents, 
among  which  was  a  valuable  gold  watch 
for  the  Judge  from  the  courthouse  offi- 
cials of  Ottawa  county.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  his  term  of  office  Judge  Caldwell 
and  his  wife  moved  to  Fremont,  purchas- 
ing the  "  Dryfoos  House,"  on  South 
Front  street,  where,  on  September  9, 
189Q,  the  worthy  couple,  after  a  happy 
married  life  of  more  than  fifty-four  years, 
were  separated  by  the  death  of  Mrs.  Cald- 
well. They  were  the  parents  of  four 
children,  all  born  at  Fremont,  of  whom, 
Charles  died  in  1852  at  the  age  of  thir- 
teen; Robert.  H.  became  a  member  of 
the  Twenty-first  O.  V.  I.,  and  was  killed 
at  the  battle  of  Stone  River,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-two;  and  Dr.  William  and  Miss 
Juliet  Cladwell  are  still  living  in  Fremont, 
Ohio.  Judge  William  Caldwell  died  at  his 
home  No.  415  South  Front  street,  Fre- 
mont, on  May  14,   1892. 

JUDGE  HORACE  S.  BUCKLAND. 
The  subject  of  this  biographical 
sketch  is  a  prominent  attorney  of 
Fremont,  Ohio,  and  on  November 
5,  1895,  was  elected  one  of  the  common 
pleas  judges  of  the  Fourth  Judicial  Dis- 
trict of  Ohio,  comprising  the  counties  of 
Erie,  Huron,  Lucas,  Ottawa  and  San- 
dusky. 

He  is  a  son  of  the  late  Gen.  Ralph  P. 
Buckland,  and  was  born  in  Fremont, 
Ohio,  April  21,  1 85  I.  His  education  was 
gained  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native 
city,  the  preparatory  school  at  Gambier, 
Ohio,  a  like  school  at  East  Hampton, 
Mass.,  Cornell  University,  and  the  Law 
Department  of  Harvard  College.  He 
supplemented  his  school  studies  by  read- 
ing and  practicing   with    his   father,  until 


August  16,  1875,  when  he  was  admitted 
to  the  bar.  Shortly  afterward  father  and 
son  formed  a  partnership,  continuing  their 
practice  in  the  office  which  the  latter  still 
occupies  in  the  Buckland  block,  corner  of 
State  and  Front  streets.  George  Buck- 
land,  a  brother  of  the  Judge,  was  also  a 
member  of  the  firm  from  June  i,  1886, 
until  May  9,  1892,  when  he  withdrew, 
and  moved  to  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  After 
the  death  of  the  General,  which  occurred 
May  27,  1892,  H.  S.  Buckland  became 
his  father's  successor,  and  on  October 
19,  1892,  he  formed  a  partnership 
with  Mr.  D.  B.  Love,  which  still 
continues.  Judge  Buckland's  practice 
has  been  general  and  successful.  His 
knowledge  of  the  law,  his  sound  judicial 
mind,  and  his  fairness  and  integrity  at  the 
bar  and  as  referee  have  been  universally 
admired,  and  his  decisions  have  generally 
been  upheld. 

Judge  Buckland  is  engaged  in  various 
enterprises.  He  is  president  of  the 
Wickland  Mnfg.  Co.,  a  director  of  the 
H.  B.  Smith  Building  and  Loan  .Associa- 
tion, and  is  also  interested  in  other  indus- 
tries. Upon  the  death  of  Gen.  R.  B.  Hayes 
he  was  chosen  his  successor  as  a  director 
of  the  Birchard  Library  Association.  He 
is  an  enterprising  citizen,  always  ready 
with  his  means  and  influence  to  aid  in  the 
general  growth  and  prosperit}'  of  his  city 
and  county.  In  1884  he  organized  the 
Buckland  Guards,  a  local  volunteer  mili- 
tary organization,  which  has  attained  a 
national  reputation.  It  was  named  in 
honor  of  his  cousin,  Chester  A.  Buckland, 
a  young  man  who  died  during  the  Civil 
war  from  wounds  received  at  the  battle  of 
Shiloh.  Our  subject  remained  captain  of 
the  same  until  1891,  when  he  was  elected 
colonel  of  the  First  Regiment  S.  of  V. 
Guards.  In  1893  he  was  elected  com- 
mandant of  the  S.  of  V.  Guards  of  the  U. 
S.  A.,  with  the  rank  of  general,  and  as 
such  had  several  thousand  men,  fully 
armed  and  equipped  at  their  own  expense, 
and   well    drilled,    under    his    command. 


/vWve^fL-     ^      .'Ctc<  e.-A^^ae^^*^^— 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


81 


Updii  his  election  as  commandant  his 
re>,'iinfnt  would  not  acrc|)t  his  resifjnation, 
but  {javc  him  inJcHnitc  leave  of  absence; 
and  at  the  close  of  1894  he  resigned  as 
commandant  of  the  Guards  and  returned 
to  the  ref^inient.  In  1894.  while  sersiiif:; 
as  commandant  of  the  (iuards,  he  held 
two  fielil  encampments,  one  at  Daven- 
port. Iowa,  and  the  other  at  Pittsburf;, 
Penn.,  in  connection  with  the  G.  A.  K. 
encampment.  At  the  former  he  planned 
one  of  the  finest  sham  battles  ever  at- 
tempted, iri  which  the  Guards,  members 
of  theG.  A.  K.,  and  other  military  orf^an- 
izations,  participated.  His  regiment  has 
encamped  in  various  places,  viz. :  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  in  1892;  Columbus.  Ohio,  in 
1893;  and  Pittsburg,  Penn.,  in  1894.  It  is 
needless  to  say  that  the  interest  he  has 
taken  in  military  affairs  has  given  him  a 
wide  ac>]uaintance,  and  added  greatly  to 
his  popularity.  Col.  Buckland  is  also  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  Fraternity,  the 
Sons  of  the  .\merican  Ivevolution.  and  the 
Military  Oriier  of  the  Loyal   Legion. 

During  the  Judicial  Convention  at 
Sandusky.  Ohio.  July  25  and  26.  1895. 
Col.  Buckland  was  imanimously  nomi- 
nated for  Common  Pleas  Judge  on  the 
147th  ballot.  The  convention  was  re- 
markable in  iiKiny  respects,  and  marks  an 
epoch  in  the  political  history  of  the  dis- 
trict. The  Sanduskv  Kt\i^istir,  in  speak- 
ing of  the  nomination,  sajs:  "The  name 
of  Col.  Horace  S.  Buckland  was  present- 
ed to  the  Republican  Judicial  Convention 
by  Dr.  Frank  Creager.  of  Fremont,  in 
the  following  eloquent  address: 

Mr.  ChairiiKin  and  (tcntleiiicn  <>f  the  Con- 
vontimi:  (Jnc  of  the  iticist  notable  features  in 
politics  one.  certainly,  which  attracts  more 
than  anythinp  else  the  attention  of  the  people 
-  is  the  proniinont  |>OHition  to  which  the  young 
men  have  cliinlied  during  the  political  progress 
of  the  New  World. 

From  the  tirst  formation  of  society  he  ha.s 
invarial>ly  been  a  distinctive  feature,  the  prime 
factor  in  the  world"*  history:  and  surely  the 
destiny  of  the  republic  was  never  so  thoroughly 
and  systematically  cemented,  with  such  a  fra- 
ternal bond  of  loyalty  encircling  the  globe, 
binding  man  to  man,  and  brother  to  brother,  as 


it  is  to-day  by  the  young  men  of  the  present 
generation.  Everywhere  we  s»c  the  results  of 
his  ambition  and  energy.  We  find  him  all 
along  the  pathway  of  perpetual  progress.  We 
find  him  upon  the  avenues  of  life,  buckling  on 
the  armor  and  fighting  the  political  battles  of 
his  country.  We  find  liim  in  the  halls  of  Con- 
gress. We  find  him  everywhere  carrying  aloft, 
proudly  and  triumphantly,  that  banner  of 
beauty  and  glory,  with  its  magnificent  embla- 
zonry of  f.tars  and  stripes  the  escutcheon  of 
free  States — the  emblem  of  the  Republican 
party.  No  victory  intoxicates  him;  no  defeat 
dismays  him;  but  with  integrity  too  deeply 
rooted  to  be  shaken  by  the  vicissitudes  of  fate 
he  treads  the  path  of  life  unfalteringly,  still 
laboring  for  the  success  of  the  party  he  so  hon- 
orably represents. 

With  such  an  impulse,  with  such  a  frater- 
nal feeling,  we  come  before  this  convention 
tod.iy  with  the  name  of  one  who  was  born, 
reared  and  educated  within  the  sacred  folds  of 
ourcountry's  banner.  Il  is  with  pleasure,  then, 
that  I  present  the  name  of  Horace  S.  liuckland. 
Perhaps  it  would  be  best  to  take  the  finger  of 
time  and  move  it  backward  over  the  dial  of  hu- 
man progress  and  .see  where  it  stops.  We  will 
find  among  other  things  that  he  is  a  young 
man,  a  gentleman  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the 
term,  and  that  to  know  him  per-onally  is  to 
love  him  dearly.  We  will  find  that  he  belongs 
to  the  Republican  party  as  the  lighthouse  does 
to  the  mariner  who  steers  his  bark  by  its  stead- 
fast rays.  We  will  find  that  he  is  earnest,  in- 
telligent, and  Commands  respect  in  every  posi- 
tion in  which  he  may  be  placed,  particularly  so 
in  the  common  walks  of  life.  Place  him  where 
you  will,  his  fitness  and  fidelity  will  manifest 
themselves,  and  his  true  worth  will  win  ever- 
lasting favor.  You  will  find  that  this  is  the 
first  time  he  has  asked  the  people  for  their  suf- 
frage, and  were  it  not  for  the  urgent  solicita- 
tion of  his  friends  you  would  not  h.ive  heard  of 
him  being  a  candidate.  Yes,  gentlemen  of  the 
convention,  you  will  find  that  he  is  ever  true  to 
his  friends,  self-sacriticing.  not  courting  popu- 
larity, but  .seeking  proficiency  and  good  re- 
sults. 

During  the  Lite  war,  although  too  young  to 
enlist,  he  even  lan  aw.iv  to  do  so,  ;ind  were  it 
not  for  the  timely  discovery  might  have  sealed 
his  youthful  life  in  active  service,  or  else  been 
a  veteran  of  the  army  to-day.  Hut  with  loyalty 
too  deeply  rooted  to  be  shaken  by  the  dissuasion 
of  friends,  he  still  persevered,  until  at  Mem- 
phis, Tenn.,  when  he  was  taken  into  .service  by 
the  musicians  of  the  camp,  marching  at  the 
head  of  the  old  Seventy-second,  proudly  victori- 
ous over  his  youth.  I.,et  it  be  remembered, 
now.  that  the  old  Seventy-second  was  his 
father's  regiment,  and  as  a  mother's  love  goes 
out  to  her  first-born,  who  has  come  to  her  "  'mid 
suffering  and  pain,"  so  the  few  survivors  of 
that  dear  old  regiment  revere  the  name  of  Gen. 
Huckla'id.  whose  honored  remains  lie  sleeping 
tieneatli  the  silent  clo<lsof  <  tak  Wood  Cemetery, 
that  beautiful  citv  of  the  dead,  where  the  wild 


32 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


■winds  chant  his  requiem,  and  where  the  vir- 
tues of  his  life  of  liberty  and  service  will  for- 
ever live  in  the  hearts  of  his  comrades.  *    * 

Such,  then,  is  the  national  character  and 
standing-  of  our  candidate.  A  true  American, 
readj'  to  serve  his  country  at  a  moment's  no- 
tice. A  g-entleman  capable  of  surrounding 
himself  with  the  truest,  the  bravest  and  the 
most  honored  guests  the  world  has  ever  known; 
and  whose  every  act  and  purpose  are  those  of 
an  ideal  citizen.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  he 
enjoys  a  large  and  lucrative  practice,  being 
educated  at  one  of  the  best  law  schools  in  the 
country,  and  is  perfectly  familiar  with  the 
lower  and  higher  courts.  In  his  profession  he 
is  modest  and  just.  His  actions  at  the  bar,  and 
his  conduct  and  decisions  as  referee,  have  gen- 
erally been  upheld.  His  fitness  and  ability 
have  also  been  universally  approved  by  his  as- 
sociates. One  of  the  most  fitting-  testimonials 
that  could  possiblj'  be  offered,  one,  certainlj', 
that  commends  itself  to  this  convention,  was 
the  universal  endorsement  of  the  non-partisan 
meeting  of  the  bar,  which  was  held  in  the  city 
of  Fremont  but  a  few  weeks  ago,  when  he  was 
so  magnanimously  recommended  as  a  person 
particularly  fitted  for  Common  Pleas  Judge. 
No  higher  compliment  was  ever  paid  so  young 
a  practitioner.  It  marks  a  page  in  the  judicial 
history  of  the  country.  Men  who  have  grown 
gray  in  active  practice,  his  fellow  associates 
in  the  temple  of  justice,  his  brother  practition- 
ers at  the  bar — Democrats  and  Republicans 
alike — irrespective  of  party  or  politics,  not 
only  asked,  but  actually  demanded  of  this  con- 
vention the  nomination  of  Col.  Buckland. 
Nay,  more:  knowing  the  principles  of  economy, 
and  the  urgent  appeal  of  tax-payers,  said  that 
it  would  be  the  saving-  of  thousands  of  dollars  to 
this  judicial  district  by  placing  himon  the  bench. 

With  such  a  compliment,  with  such  an  en- 
dorsement, and  in  the  very  face  of  the  brazen 
effrontery  of  power  and  wealth,  he  buckled  on 
the  armor  and  entered  the  race.  It  is  unneces- 
sary to  recapitulate  the  glorious  achievements 
of  that  campaign.  The  people  have  spoken. 
The  farmer  left  the  harvest  and  attended  the 
caucus.  The  merchant  closed  his  store  and 
went  to  the  polls,  and  to-day  we  lay  the  tro- 
phies of  his  victory  at  j'our  feet.     *    *    * 

The  Toledo  (Ohio)  Blade  says  that 
"Col.  Buckland  deserves  all  the  kind 
things  said  of  him  by  his  neighbors.  The 
situation  is  truly  remarkable.  All  the 
prominent  Democratic  attorneys  of  Fre- 
mont have  the  highest  regard  for  him  as  a 
lawyer  and  a  man,  and  openly  e.xpress 
themselves  as  willing  for  the  Democratic 
Judicial  Convention  to  endorse  him.  They 
also  recommended  him  at  the  time  of  the 
non-partisan  meeting  of  the  bar  as  a  per- 
son particularly  fitted  for  the  bench." 


WELCOMED  HOME   FROM  THE   CONVENTION. 

The  Fremont  Journal  sd^ys: 

Several  hundred  citizens  of  all  political 
parties  welcomed  Col.  Buckland  and  the  San- 
dusky county  delegates,  whose  fidelity  for  him 
won  the  day,  on  their  return  from  Sandusky  at 
6:30  Friday  evening.  Music  and  cheers  and 
congratulations  greeted  them  as  thej'  left  the 
train.  Then  the  crowd,  headed  by  the  Light 
Guard  band,  escorted  the  Colonel  to  his  resi- 
dence on  Birchard  avenue.  Here  he  was  in- 
troduced by  Mr.  H.  R.  Shomo  and  made  a  short 
address,  thanking  his  friends  for  their  cordial 
reception,  and  for  the  support  he  had  received 
in  the  contest  for  the  nomination,  and  saying 
if  elected  he  would  try  to  perform  the  duties  of 
the  responsible  position  of  Judge  of  Common 
Pleas  Court  to  the  best  of  his  ability.  His  re- 
marks were  modest  and  in  good  taste.  The 
reception,  which  was  entirely  impromptu,  was 
a  surprise  to  Col.  Buckland,  and  is  an  evidence 
of  the  high  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  by  the 
people  of  our  city. 

At  the  general  election  in  Ohio,  held 
on  the  5th  day  of  November,  A.  D.,  1895, 
Horace  S.  Buckland  was  elected  judge  by 
nearly  8,000  majority,  that  being  the 
largest  majority  ever  given  to  any  candi- 
date in  the  district,  carrying  his  native 
city  and  county,  though  Democratic,  and, 
in  fact,  carrying  every  county  in  the  dis- 
trict but  Ottawa.  He  succeeds  Judge 
John  L.  Greene,  and  will  take  office  May 
9,   1895. 

Judge  Horace  S.  Buckland  was  mar- 
ried June  10,  1878,  to  Elizabeth  Bau- 
man.  He  is  one  of  a  family  of  seven 
children,  three  of  whom  are  living,  the 
other  two  being  George,  a  graduate  of 
Cincinnati  Law  School,  and  Mrs.  Charles 
Dillon,  residing  on  Buckland  avenue, 
Fremont,  Ohio.  The  mother  still  sur- 
vives. 


JAMES  W.  WILSON,  M.  D.,  of  Fre- 
mont, Sandusky  county,  was  born 
in  New  Berlin,  Union  Co.,  Penn., 
February  i,  18 16.  His  grandfather 
James  Wilson,  of  old  New  England  stock, 
about  the  year  1791  went  from  Connecti- 
cut to  eastern  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
married.  His  father,  Samuel  Wilson, 
only   son    of    James    Wilson,    was     born 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


88 


in  Schuylkill  county,  Fenn.  November 
25.  1793-  He  was  married  to  Miss 
Sarah  Nlauck,  a  native  of  Pennsyiva- 
vania,  at  New  Berlin,  and  resided  there, 
a  iimch-esteemed  and  successful  iner- 
chatit,  until  his  death,  November  3,  1X55. 
His  wife,  the  mother  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  died  May  31,  1872,  aged 
eighty- four  years. 

Our  subject  chose  the  profession  of 
medicine,  and  made  his  preparatory 
studies  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Joseph 
R.  Lot/,  of  New  Berlin.  He  subsequent- 
ly attended  lectures  at  Jefferson  Medical 
College,  Philadelphia,  where  he  gradua- 
ted in  March,  1S37.  in  November  of  the 
same  year  commencing  the  practice  of 
medicine  in  Center  county,  Penn.  He 
came  to  Ohit)  in  June,  if>39,  in  company 
with  Dr.  Thomas  Stilwell,  and  settled  in 
Lower  Sandusky  (now  Fremont),  July 
24,  1839.  That  part  of  northwestern 
Ohio  in  which  he  embarked  in  his  pro- 
fessional career  was  a  comparatively  un- 
settled country.  A  few  pioneers,  living 
mostly  in  log  houses  erected  by  their  own 
hands,  had  made  but  a  beginning  of  the 
long  and  laborious  task  of  clearing  the 
land  and  fitting  it  for  cultivation.  The 
soil  was  indeed  of  unsurpassed  richness; 
but  before  it  could  be  subdued  and  brought 
to  the  condition  of  fertility  now  seen  on 
every  hand,  it  was  necessary  that  a  whole 
generation  of  hardy  men  and  women 
should  wear  out  their  lives  in  incessant 
toil.  It  was  a  country  of  sluggish  streams 
and  stagnant  swamps,  and  consequently 
was  a  sickly  country. 

It  is  difficult  to  imagine  the  arduous 
character  of  the  labors  of  the  country 
physician  engaged  in  general  practice  fifty 
years  ago.  He  was  able  to  prove  suc- 
cessful only  under  the  conditions  that  he 
possessed  unusual  powers  of  endurance, 
thorDUgh  devoti<jn  to  the  duties  nf  his 
calling,  self-reliance  and  true  courage. 
Dr.  Wilson  was  successful.  During  the 
years  he  was  engaged  in  the  practice  of 
his  profession  he  ranked  among  the  most 


successful  physicians  in  this  section  of  the 
State.  He  was  distinguished  for  prompt- 
itude and  faithful  punctuality  in  fulfilling 
engagements.  The  urbanity  of  his  man- 
ner made  him  ever  welcome  to  the  bed- 
side of  the  suffering.  His  intelligence 
and  manly  deportment  won  general  con- 
fidence. His  acknowledged  skill,  and 
the  painstaking  care  with  which  he  in- 
vestigated the  cases  snbuiitted  to  his 
judgment,  commanded  the  respect  and 
regard  of  his  fellow  practitioners.  It  is 
probable  that  no  physician  outside  of  the 
large  cities  of  Ohio  has  ever  enjoyed  a 
larger  practice  or  performed  more  arduous 
labor  in  meeting  its  requirements. 

In  consequence  of  severe  exposure 
while  attending  to  this  large  practice,  in 
January,  1S5S,  he  suffered  from  a  severe 
attack  of  pneumonia,  from  the  effects  of 
which  he  has  never  completely  recovered; 
nor  has  he  since  devoted  himself  to  the 
practice  of  medicine.  He  has,  however, 
retained  a  lively  interest  in  the  progress 
of  medical  science,  and  whatever  pertains 
to  the  welfare  of  his  chosen  profession. 
He  is  president  of  the  Sandusky  County 
Medical  Society,  and  a  member  of  the 
Ohio  State  Medical  Society.  During  the 
war  of  the  Rebellion,  in  August,  1862,  he 
was  appointed,  by  Governor  Tod,  surgeon 
for  Sandusky  county  to  examine  appli- 
cants for  exemption  from  draft.  In  1858 
he  was  elected  treasurer  of  the  Sandusky 
County  Bible  Society,  which  trust  he 
kept  until  186S,  when  he  was  chosen 
president  of  said  society.  This  position 
he  has  retained  to  the  present  date,  mak- 
ing thirty-seven  years  of  faithful  and  ctni- 
tinuous  service.  He  has  also  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  l)een  president  of  the  San- 
dusky Coutity  Pioneer  and  Historical  So- 
ciety, in  which  he  takes  a  deep  interest; 
and  he  has  been  president  of  the  Birch- 
ard  Library  Association  since  the  death 
of  ex-President  K.  B.  Hayes,  whom  he 
succeeded  in  that  office. 

On  May  25.  1841.  Dr.  Wilson  was 
married  to  Miss  Nancy  E.  Justice,  daugh- 


34 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


ter  of  Judge  James  Justice,  one  of  the 
early  settlers  of  Lower  Sandusky,  and  for 
a  long  period  a  director  of  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Fremont,  Ohio.  They 
have  four  children — two  sons  and  two 
daughters:  Charles  G. ,  the  eldest  son,  a 
graduate  of  Kenyon  College  and  Harvard 
Law  School,  now  of  the  law  firm  of  Pratt 
&  Wilson,  of  Toledo;  married  Nellie, 
daughter  of  I.  E.  Amsden,  of  Fremont, 
Ohio.  The  younger  son,  James  W. ,  is 
connected  with  the  First  National  Bank 
of  Fremont,  with  his  father.  The  eldest 
daughter,  Sarah  W.,  is  the  widow  of  Hon. 
J.  B.  Rice,  of  Fremont,  Ohio.  The 
youngest  daughter  is  the  wife  of  Charles 
F.  Rice,  of  New  York  City. 

In  1857  Dr.  Wilson  became  a  partner 
in  the  banking  house  of  Birchard,  Miller 
&  Co.  In  September,  1863,  the  bank 
was  merged  into  the  First  National  Bank 
of  Fremont,  -with  Mr.  Sardis  Birchard  as 
president  and  Dr.  James  W.  Wilson  as 
vice-president.  On  January  27,  1874, 
after  the  death  of  Mr.  Birchard,  Dr.  Wil- 
son was  elected  president,  which  position 
he  still  (July,  1895)  holds.  Dr.  Wilson 
was  one  of  the  charter  members  of  the 
Fremont  Savings  Bank  Company,  which 
was  organized  in  18S2,  under  the  State 
laws  of  Ohio.  He  was  elected  a  director 
and  president,  and  has  held  these  posi- 
tions continuously  up  to  the  present  time. 
Thus  has  Dr.  Wilson,  through  a  long 
period,  borne  important  relations  to  the 
principal  financial  institutions  of  Fremont. 
He  is  a  conservative  banker,  and  yet  a 
popular  one,  ever  ready  to  respond  to  the 
demands  of  the  business  public,  and 
watchful  that  the  affairs  of  the  bank  shall 
be  conducted  in  accordance  with  those 
sound  business  principles  which  alone  as- 
sure success  and  safety.  He  has  wit- 
nessed with  deep  satisfaction  the  growth 
of  Fremont,  and  the  remarkable  develop- 
ment of  the  surrounding  country.  It  is 
not  overstating  the  facts  to  say  that  he 
has  never  been  lacking  in  public  spirit  of 
the  commendable  kind,    and    that  he  has 


been  a  liberal  contributor  toward  the  vari- 
ous enterprises  which  have  had  for  their 
object  the  promotion  of  the  prosperity  of 
the  community. 

.  Dr.  Wilson  is  fond  of  reading,  and  it 
has  long  been  his  habit  to  devote  most  of 
his  leisure  hours  to  favorite  books,  peri- 
odicals and  the  current  news.  He  loves 
to  mingle  with  his  fellow  citizens  and  join 
in  pleasant  conversation.  He  is  a  man  of 
conservative  views,  but  liberal  and  toler- 
ant. He  freely  accords  to  others  that 
liberty  of  opinion  which  he  desires  for 
himself.  He  is  firm  in  his  religious  belief, 
and  his  daily  life  is  consistent  with  his 
convictions.  He  is  a  thorough  believer  in 
the  doctrines  ef  Christianit}',  and  that  the 
highest  welfare  of  humanity  can  be  at- 
tained only  through  obedience  to  the  pre- 
cepts of  Jesus  Christ.  For  forty-five  years 
he  has  been  a  member  of  St.  Paul's  Prot- 
estant Episcopal  Church,  its  senior  war- 
den for  more  than  forty  years,  and  he  is  a 
regular  attendant  upon  its  services,  and 
a  liberal  contributor  toward  its  support 
and   its  charities. 


THOMAS  STILWELL,  M.  D.,  was 
born  in  January,  181  5,  in  Buffalo 
Valley,  Union  Co.,  Penn.,  five  or 
six  miles  west  of  Lewisburg.  His 
father,  Joseph  Stilwell,  for  more  than  half 
a  century  an  honored  citizen  of  that  coun- 
ty, died  in  185  i,  aged  seventy-four  years. 
His  mother,  Anna  Stilwell,  died  eleven 
years  later,  aged  eighty-four  years. 

When  Thomas  was  a  child  his  parents 
removed  to  New  Berlin,  the  county  seat 
of  Union  county,  where  he  continued  to 
reside — with  the  exception  of  such  time  as 
he  was  absent  at  school — until  he  left  to 
make  the  West  his  future  home.  After 
a  full  academic  course  at  Milton,  Penn., 
under  the  tuition  of  Rev.  David  Kirk- 
patrick,  a  distinguished  teacher  in  that 
section  of  the  State,  and  a  brief  course  of 
selected  studies  at  La  Fayette  College, 
Easton,  Penn.,  he  entered  upon  the  study 


COMMEMORATtVh:  liWaiiAPniCAL  RECORD. 


85 


of  medicine  with  Dr.  Joseph  R.  Lotz,  at 
New  Berlin,  and  j^railnatcil  at  Jefferson 
^^cdil■al  College,  Philadelphia,  I'enn..  in 
Marrli,  1X39,  the  same  year  locating  at 
Lower  Sandusky.  Ohio.  In  iS4Jhewas 
married  to  Miss  Jerusha  A.  Hoiij;hton.  of 
Canfield,  Mahoning  (then  Trumbull)  Co., 
Ohio,  and  the  children  born  to  this  union, 
five  in  number,  are:  Charles  B. ,  residing 
at  Watertown,  N.  Y. ;  Thomas  J.,  at  St. 
Louis,  Mo.;  Charlotte  E. ,  married  to 
John  T.  Lanman,  living  at  New  London, 
CJonn. ;  Mary,  married  to  \\'.  T.  Jordan, 
of  Louisville,  Ky. ;  and  Anna  M..  at  home 
with  her  parents. 

Ur.  Stilwell  has  always  occupied  a 
place  in  the  front  ranks  of  his  profession. 
For  several  years  he  was  vice  president 
of  the  Sandusky  County  Medical  Society, 
and  for  many  years  a  member  of  the 
State  Medicaf  Society.  He  was  among 
the  first  appointed  pension  examining 
surgeons  (February,  1863},  holding  that 
position  until  he  resigned,  in  1S-9.  To 
his  letter  of  resignation  the  Commissioner 
of  Pensions  replied  in  very  complimentary 
terms,  expressing  regret  for  its  having 
been  tendered.  He  was  afterward  elected 
one  of  the  censors  of  the  Medical  Depart- 
ment of  Western  Reserve  University, 
Cleveland,  having  held  the  same  position 
in  Charity  Hospital  Medical  College, 
afterward  known  as  the  Medical  Depart- 
ment of  Wooster  University.  Dr.  Stil- 
well has  been  a  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  during  the  whole  of  his 
mature  life,  and  has  for  many  years  been 
an  elder. 

The  following  account  of  some  of  the 
Doctor's  e.xpieriences  was  furnished  by  him 
for  W'illianis'  History  of  Sandusky  Coun- 
ty, from  which  we  take  it:  "  Drs.  Wilson 
and  Stilwell  grew  up  together  in  close 
companionship  in  their  Penn.sylvania 
town,  were  fellow  students  in  Dr.  Lotz' 
office,  graduating  at  the  same  college, 
and  formed  the  purpose,  while  yet  otTice 
students,  to  migrate  to  the  West  together. 
Accordingly,  on  the    13th  of  June,  1839, 


in  a  two-horse  covered  carriage,  purpose- 
ly constructed,  with  ample  room  for 
themselves  and  baggage,  which  included 
a  small  stock  of  books  and  instruments, 
they  left  their  home  for  a  Western  pros- 
pecting tour,  with  the  design,  if  no  loca- 
tion to  their  liking  offered  sooner,  of  going 
on  to  Illinois,  at  that  day  the  'Far  West." 
Traveling  leisurely,  they  stopped  long 
enough  at  each  important  town  on  the 
way  to  ascertain  what  inducement  it  could 
offer  two  adventurous  young  men  who 
were  in  the  pursuit  of  bread  and  fame. 
Calling  on  their  professional  brethren, 
both  as  a  matter  of  courtesy  and  interest, 
the  pleasure  of  their  journey  was  much 
increased  thereby.  In  this  way  they 
reached  Lower  Sandusky  Fremont). 
Spending  a  few  days  visiting  friends,  who, 
a  few  years  before,  on  coming  West,  set- 
tled in  the  neighborhood  of  Lower  San- 
dusky, they  continued  on  to  Perry.sburgand 
Maumee.  Herethev  saw  what  had  often 
been  the  exciting  theme  of  their  children — 
a  tribe  of  Indians,  the  Ottawas,  who  were 
encamped  on  the  Hats  opposite  Maumee. 
preparatory  to  their  being  removed  to 
their  new  hunting  grounds  west  of  the 
Mississippi,  assigned  them  by  the  Govern- 
ment. 

•'  [-"inding  the  roadsimpa.ssable  for  their 
carriage,  the  travelers  returned  to  Lower 
Sandusky,  and  turned  south.  At  Tiffin 
they  met  Dr.  Dresbach,  of  lasting  reputa- 
tion in  that  locality  for  his  genial  manner 
and  his  ability  as  a  physician  and  surgeon. 
Advised  by  him,  they  decided  to  remain 
at  Lower  Sandusky,  to  which  they  re- 
turned, and  put  up  at  Corbins  later  the 
'  Kessler  House,'  now  the  Wheeling  rail- 
road depot),  it  being  then  the  24th  day  of 
July.  1839.  A  week  subsequently,  on 
the  2nd  of  August,  the  citizens  of  San- 
dusky and  neighlwring  counties  celebrated 
the  anniversary  of  Croghan's  victory  by 
barbecuing  an  ox  on  the  commons,  now 
the  courthouse  park,  Eleutheros  Cook, 
of  Sandusky  city,  delivering  an  oration 
from  the  porch  of  the  low  frame  dwelling 


36 


COMMEMOBATrVE  BIOGBAPHICAL  RECORD. 


house  erected  a  few  years  before  by 
Jaques  Hulburd,  standing  in  the  middle 
of  Fort  Stephenson,  and  which,  a  few 
years  ago,  was  removed  from  the  grounds 
when  they  became  the  property  of  the 
city  and  Birchard  Library  by  purchase. 
The  breastworks  of  the  fort  were,  at  that 
day,  still  conspicuous. 

' '  Within  a  few  days  after  their  arrival 
both  were  taken  sick  with  fever.  Occu- 
pying beds  at  the  hotel  in  the  same  out-of- 
the-way  room,  they  were  left  prett\'  much 
to  themselves,  to  acquire  experience  as 
patient,  nurse  and  doctor,  all  at  the  same 
time  and  at  their  leisure.  A  new  settler 
had  a  good  deal  to  learn  about  sickness, 
and  but  few  lacked  opportunities  for  ac- 
quiring knowledge  by  personal  experience. 
A  notable  fact  connected  with  the  history 
of  the  hotel  that  season  is  remembered  by 
living  participants,  namely:  That  at  one 
time  for  a  few  daj-s  not  a  woman  remained 
in  the  house  ^filled  as  it  was  with  guests 
and  borders,  of  whom  many  were  sick — ex- 
cept the  landlord's  wife,  and  she,  too,  down 
with  the  fever.  The  women  help  had  all 
gone  home  sick.  It  was  very  hard  to  obtain 
others.  A  colored  man — a  steamboat 
cook — with  man  help  for  general  house- 
work, supplied  their  place. 

"The  sickness  that  season  being  very 
general  all  over  the  town  and  country, 
before  either  had  so  far  recovered  as  to 
be  able  to  do  more  than  leave  their  room, 
they  were  importuned  to  visit  the  sick, 
and  were  compelled  to  comply  long  before 
they  were  fit  for  service.  They  secured 
for  an  office  a  little  one-story  frame  struc- 
ture, which  stood  where  Buckland's 
Block  now  stands,  at  the  corner  of  Front 
and  State  streets.  It  was  an  unpreten- 
tious building,  belonging  to  Capt.  Morris 
Tyler.  Their  neighbors  on  the  south 
were  Morris  &  John  Tyler,  merchants, 
whose  store  occupied  one-half  of  a  low 
two-story  frame  house,  of  very  moderate 
dimensions,  but  for  size  and  appearance 
one  of  the  noted  mercantile  establish- 
ments of   the  town.      To  the   north   they 


were  in  close  proximity  to  Gen.  R.  P. 
Buckland's  law  office,  of  about  the  same 
size  as  their  own,  and  in  no  way  superior 
to  theirs,  excepting  that  it  was  a  shade 
whiter  from  having  probably  had  two 
coats  of  paint,  while  theirs  had  but  one, 
and  that  one  almost  washed  off  by  the 
northeasters  which  swept  its  front,  unob- 
structed, as  now,  by  three-story  blocks, 
on  the  opposite  sides  of  the  street.  This 
office  at  one  time  narrowly  escaped  de- 
struction: A  cannon  fired  at  the  intersec- 
tion of  State  and  Front  streets,  on  tl^e 
occasion  of  a  jollification  in  1842  over 
the  election  of  Wilson  Shannon  as  Gov- 
ernor of  Ohio,  burst,  sending  its  butt  end 
through  the  north  side  of  Gen.  Buck- 
land's  office,  and  but  for  its  wise  discrim- 
ination in  the  interest  of  humanity  it 
would  have  gone  through  the  north  side 
of  the  doctors'  office  as  well. 

"The  'doctor's  ride,'  in  that  day, 
meant  twelve  or  fifteen  miles  in  all  direc- 
tions, and  on  horseback,  mostly  through 
woods  on  newly  cut-out  roads,  often 
paths  for  some  part  of  the  way.  He 
found  his  patients  in  the  scattered  cabins 
in  which  the  farmers  of  Sandusky  county 
then  lived.  During  the  continuance  of 
their  partnership,  and  until  Dr.  Wilson's 
health  became  impaired  by  a  severe  at- 
tack of  sickness  from  exposure,  as  noted 
in  his  personal  biography  on  a  preceding 
page,  they  so  arranged  their  business  that 
their  attendance  upon  patients  was  by  al- 
ternate visits,  making  thus  an  equal  division 
of  the  labor.  He  who  went  on  the  east- 
ern round  to-day  would  go  on  the  western 
to-morrow.  The  '  sickly  season ' — mean- 
ing from  about  the  middle  of  July  to  the 
middle  of  October — was  a  phrase  very 
familiar  in  those  times,  happily  not  appli- 
cable to  this  day,  for  the  State  may  be 
challenged  to  name,  within  her  bounds, 
a  county  now  healthier  than  this  same 
Sandusky.  The  change  has  been  wrought 
partly  by  clearing  up  the  land,  but  mostly 
by  constructing  ditches  to  carry  off  the 
water  that  overspread  the  surface.      Dur- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPIIICAL  RECORD. 


87 


iiiR  the  sickly  season  the  pressure  on 
their  time  was  such  as  to  enable  them  to 
make  the  rouiul  only  once  in  two  days. 
Oftentimes  each  passed  over  the  other's 
route  before  they  met  in  their  office — not 
sceinj;;'each  other  for  days — the  necessary 
conimuiiicatioiis  beinjj  made  on  a  lar^e 
slate  kept  in  tiie  office  for  that  purpose. 
The  story  of  the  daily  ride,  extending  far 
into  the  night,  oftentimes  with  fog  above 
ami  mud  below,  the  weariness  of  body 
and  limb,  the  loss  of  sleep,  the  burden  of 
thought — all  this  now  sounds  like  exagger- 
ation, but  to  those  who  underwent  it  all  it 
is  a  well-reineinbered  and  now  wondered- 
at  realitj".  Their  contemporary  physi- 
cians were  e<iually  hard  pressed. 

"In  the  season  of  which  this  is  writ- 
ten, in  the  cabins  visited,  which  some- 
times meant  every  cabin  on  the  road 
traveled,  it  was  very  exceptional  to  find 
but  one  of  a  family  sick.  To  find  three 
or  four  was  commonly  the  case.  Not 
infrequently  the  whole  family  were  pa- 
tients, and  this  with  no  outside  help, 
sometimes  not  procurable  even  in  times 
of  dire  necessity.  While  extreme  cases 
could  not  fairly  be  given  as  the  general 
experience,  yet  this  class  after  all  consti- 
tuted a  large  proportion  of  the  whole. 
An  enumeration  would  include  cases  of 
scanty  house-room,  of  lack  of  supplies, 
of  distance  from  neighbors,  of  remote- 
ness from  physicians,  of  absence  of  help, 
of  the  number  down  in  a  family,  of  ne- 
glected ones,  of  work  undone,  of  fields, 
such  as  they  were,  unprepared  for  seed. 
These,  in  their  varied  forms,  composed  a 
large  list.  In  making  the  rounds  one 
day  he  whose  circuit  included  a  cabin  to  be 
visited  which  had  recently  been  erected  in 
a  small  clearing,  a  half  acre  or  so,  in  a  dense 
woods,  south  of  where  Hessville  now 
stands,  and  reached  by  passing  through 
David  Berry's  lane  and  then  along  a  path 
which  led  to  the  opening — found,  upon 
entering,  the  man  of  the  house  lying  up- 
on a  bed  in  one  corner  of  the  room,  in  a 
burning    fever;     the    woman    in    another 


part  of  the  room  sitting  upon  the  edge  of 
an  extemporized  bed,  with  a  face  Hushed 
with  fever,  and  wild  with  excitement, 
leaning  over  a  cradle  in  which  lay  their 
little  child  in  spasms,  it  too  having  the 
fever.  (,)uickly  enquiring  of  the  woman 
for  the  water-bucket,  he  was  told  that  it 
was  empty,  that  their  well  had  just  been 
dug,  and  was  un walled  and  uncovered; 
the  only  way  they  had  to  get  water  was 
to  climb  down  a  ladder  that  stood  in  the 
well  and  dip  it  up,  which  neither  had 
been  able  to  do  that  day,  and  no  one  com- 
ing to  the  house,  they  had  no  water.  Pro- 
curing water  from  the  well,  he  remained 
till  the  child  was  relieved  of  the  spasms, 
when,  having  dispensed  the  medicines  ne- 
cessary, he  departed,  telling  them  to  ex- 
pect someone  in  soon,  as  the  result  of  his 
efforts  to  get  somebody,  if  possible,  from 
the  first  house  he  reached  on  the  way. 
"The  fevers  of  this  country  had  pe- 
culiarities which  for  years  have  ceased  to 
be  observed,  and  which  were  the  condi- 
tions exciting  anxiety  in  the  mind  of  the 
doctor  as  well  as  in  the  friends  of  the  sick. 
Intermittent  fever,  one  of  the  forms  very 
common,  was  sometimes  ,with  chills, 
sometimes  without,  as  now,  and  was  man- 
ageable enough  unless,  as  not  infrecpiently 
was  the  case,  it  assumed  a  malignant 
type,  known  in  the  books  as  congestive 
chill,  or  pernicious  intermittent.  With 
the  best  that  could  be  done,  the  cases 
were  often  fatal,  many  times  for  want  of 
care  at  the  critical  perod.  But  more 
marked  was  the  condition  which  attend- 
ed the  latter  stage  of  bilious  remittent 
fever,  the  other  form  of  miasmatic  fever, 
generally  prevalent  in  the  latter  part  of 
summer  and  in  the  autumn  months. 
Whether  it  nm  a  short  or  a  long  course, 
whether  of  high  or  low  grade,  it  usu- 
ally terminated  with  a  sweat  and  ex- 
treme exhaustion.  A  'sinking  spell,' as 
it  was  commonly  called,  was  frequently 
its  dreaded  sc(]uence.  and  the  danger  to 
life  at  the  time  imminent.  .A  failure  on  the 
part  of  the  attendants  then  to  keep  up  the 


38 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


circulation — by  rubbing  the  surface,  by 
applying  warmth  to  the  extremities,  by 
spreading  plenty  of  cover  over  the  bed, 
and  by  administering  stimulants  freely, 
with  liberal  doses  of  quinine — was  sure  to 
seal  the  fate  of  the  patient.  Many  died 
in  this  way.  A  representative  case  oc- 
curred in  a  small  frame  house  of  two 
rooms,  which  stood  on  what  was  then 
open  common  (now  the  corner  of  Croghan 
and  Wood  streets),  occupied  by  a  man 
and  his  family  of  the  name  of  Tyler, 
strangers,  no  relatives  of  the  Tyler  family 
resident  here.  He  was  a  stone  mason, 
and  came  to  work  at  the  courthouse,  the 
building  of  which  had  just  been  com- 
menced. He  and  his  wife  were  taken 
sick  with  the  fever.  No  one  could  be 
found  to  take  the  constant  charge  of  them. 
The  neighbors,  sparsely  settled  then  in 
that  part  of  the  town,  as  they  could  be 
spared  from  home,  went  in,  one  now,  and 
another  then,  and  did  what  they  could, 
but  withal  the  care  was  far  from  what 
their  condition  required.  The  fever  of 
the  husband  yielded  first;  instructions  had 
been  left  as  to  what  was  to  be  done  when 
the  crisis  came,  which  during  the  day  gave 
signs  of  its  near  approach.  The  doctors, 
both  having  reached  their  office  on  their 
return  from  the  country  at  the  same  time 
— about  12  o'clock  at  night — upon  being 
informed  that  a  messenger  had  just  been 
down  for  them  from  the  Tylers,  went  to 
the  house  to  find  the  patient  cold  and 
pulseless,  no  appliances,  no  stimulants 
having  been  used  as  directed,  and  he  died. 
They  had  the  wife  removed  to  a  neigh- 
bor's house.  When  the  crisis  came  to 
her — the  breaking  up  of  the  fever  in  the 
manner  described — she  had  the  necessary 
care  and  lived. 

"And  here  it  should  be  remarked 
that  whatever  allusions  may  have  been 
made  in  this  or  any  other  sketch  of  years 
ago,  to  hardship  suffered  for  want  of  help 
in  times  of  sickness,  it  was  never  refused 
when  it  could  be  given.  To  the  extent 
of  the  ability  to  give  it,  no  neighbor  with- 


held it.  The  brotherly  spirit  displayed  at 
such  times  made  itself  proverbial,  and 
could  the  deeds  to  which  it  prompted  be 
written  they  would  form  a  grand  chapter 
in  the  history  of  Sanduskj'  county." 


BURGOON.  The  ancestry,  from 
whom  are  descended  the  Burgoon 
families  of  Sandusky  and  other 
counties  of  Ohio,  was  John  Bur- 
goon, who  served  in  the  French  army, 
and  about  the  year  1740  emigrated  from 
Alsace,  France  (now  in  Germany),  to 
America.  Here  he  married  and  had  a 
family  of  seven  children:  Charles,  Robert, 
Peter,  Jacob,  Francis,  John,  and  Honore, 
the  only  daughter.  Of  these  Peter  be- 
came a  Methodist  minister;  Honore  mar- 
ried Ulrich  Sate,  and  removed  to  Penn- 
sylvania, but  the  six  sons  all  came  to  Ohio 
in  an  early  daj',  and  their  descendants  are 
found  in  Perry,  Muskingum  and  Morgan 
counties.  The  father  of  this  family  died 
at  his  home  in  Frederick  (now  Carroll) 
count}',  Md.,  and  his  remains  rest  in  the 
St.  John's  Catholic  Cemetery  at  \\'est- 
minster,  he  being  of  that  faith.  The 
mother  was  of  the  Protestant  faith. 

Francis  Burgoon,  son  of  John  Bur- 
goon, the  immigrant,  and  Elizabeth,  his 
wife,  was  born  in  Frederick  county,  Md., 
where  he  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Low,  a 
lady  of  English  descent.  In  1824  they 
moved  to  Perry  county,  Ohio,  in  company 
with  a  colony  of  nineteen  other  families 
from  the  same  neighborhood,  all  related 
to  each  other.  They  both  died  in  Perry 
county,  and  their  remains  rest  in  St. 
Joseph  Catholic  Cemetery,  two  miles 
southeast  of  Somerset.  Their  children 
were:  David,  Mary,  Jacob,  Theresa, 
William,  Rachel,  Peter,  Edith  and  Sarah. 
Of  this  family,  the  youngest  died  in  child- 
hood, and  was  buried  at  Taneytown,  Md. ; 
David  moved  to  Knox  county,  Ohio, 
where  his  descendants  still  reside;  Mary 
married  Joshua  Coe,  and  their  descend- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPniCAL  RECORD. 


89 


ants  are  to  be  found  in  Licking  county, 
Ohio;  Jacobs  descendants  live  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  Somerset,  Perry  Co.,  Ohio; 
Theresa's  descendants  are  found  in  Ver- 
niiUion  county,  Ind. ;  the  descendants  of 
Wilhani  live  in  Carroll  county,  Md. ; 
Rachel  married  Basil  Cue,  and  lived  in  the 
the  vicinity  of  Fremont,  Ohio;  Edith 
married  David  Engler,  and  lived  in  San- 
dusky count)-,  and  was  one  of  the  earliest 
pioneers  of  the  county. 

Peter   Burgeon,  son    of    Francis    and 
Elizabeth  Burgeon,  was  born  in  Frederick 
county,     Md.,     near     Westminster,   July 
13,    iSoo.      His    educational    advantages 
were  limited,  and  for  a  trade  he   learned 
that  of  a  stone  mason.      On  October   18, 
1 82 1,  he  married  Miss  Margaret  Fluegel, 
at  Littlestown,  Penn.,  a  daughter  of  John 
and  Margaret    Hahni  F"lucgel,  who  lived 
near  Westminster,  Md.   John  Fluegel  was 
a  son  of  \'allen  Fluegel,  an  emigrant  from 
Germany,  who    had    settled    on    a    large 
farm    near    Westminster.       Margaret    E. 
(Hahn),  his  wife,  was  a  daughter  of  An- 
drew Hahn.     The   names    and    dates  of 
birth  of  the  children   of  John  and   Mar- 
garet Fluegel  are  as  follows:     Elizabeth, 
February   6,   1791;   John,   July  25,  1793; 
Polly    F.,    January    19,     1795;    Samuel, 
August  18,   1796;  George,   July  23,  179S; 
Margaret,  July  18,  1801;  Henry,  October 
22,  1S02:  Daniel.   June  25,   1804;  Sarah, 
June  3,  1806;  Simon,  June  9,  1808;  Ben- 
jamin,  September    23,    1809;  and    Levi, 
November  29,   181 1,  who    is  still  (1895) 
living.      John    Fluegel,  the   father  of  this 
family,  served  in  the  Revolutionary  army 
as  fife-major;  he  died  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
three,    his  wife   Margaret  at  the  age    of 
seventy-three,  and  their  remains  are  buried 
in  Bausts  churchyard,  near  Uniontown. 
Md.      Of   the    above   named   children   of 
John    and    Margaret    Fluegel,    Elizabeth 
married    Cornelius    Baust,    and    lived  in 
L'niontown,    Md. ;    Polly    married    Jacob 
Miller,    and    lived    in    Jay    county,    Ind.; 
Margaret    married    Peter    Burgeon,    and 
they  became  the  parents  of  our  subject; 


Sarah  married  Peter  Shriner,  and  lived 
near  Union  Mills,  Md.  Three  of  the 
sons — Henry,  Simcm  and  licnjamin — be- 
came ministers  of  the  Gospel.  The 
average  age  of  all  these  sons  and  daugh- 
ters was  upward  of  eighty  years.  Levi 
Fluegel,  now  in  his  eighty-third  year,  is 
living  at  Frizellburg,  Md.  In  religious 
faith  the  family  originally  belonged  to  the 
Reformed  and  Lutheran  Churches,  but 
later  most  of  them  became  members  of 
the  Church  of  G(jd. 

Peter  Burgeon,  the  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, came  west  from  Maryland  in    1824, 
first    locating    in     Somerset,    Perry    Co., 
Ohio,  where  he  worked  at  his  trade  about 
two  years;  then  removed  to  Licking  coun- 
ty, and  there  staid  one  year.      In  October, 
1 829,  he  came  to  Sandusky  county,  Ohio, 
and    settled    in    the   forest   of  the    Black 
Swamp,  on  the  bank  of  the  Little  Mud 
creek,    about     four    miles    northwest    ef 
Lower  Sandusky  fnow   Fremont).      Sev- 
eral tribes   of  Indians  were    living    here 
then,  and  the  woods  were  teeming  with 
wild  animals.     The  Burgeon  family  had 
no  white  neighbors  -nearer  than  two  miles 
distant,  with  the  exception  of  Mrs.  Rachel 
Coe,    who  had    settled   on   an    adjoining 
farm.      Here    Mr.    Burgeon    built    a    log 
cabin,  and    began   to  clear    up  the    land 
with    all  the    energ>'  ef  a  man  ef  pluck, 
resolution      and     perseverance.        Being 
possessed    of     sound    practical    common 
sense,    he     was  often  consulted    by    his 
neighbors    en    matters   ef    business.      In 
connection  with  farming  he  worked  at  his 
trade  about  twelve  years,   and  was  em- 
ployed   on    the  residence    of  Dr.    L.    Q. 
Rawson,    which    was  the     second    brick 
edifice  erected  in  Sandusky  county.     With 
many  of  the  business  interests  ef  the  coun- 
ty   he    became    identified,    and    he   held 
various  offices   ef    honor  and  trust.      In 
politics  he  was  originally  an  ardent  Demo- 
crat, but  during  the   Civil   war  he  was  a 
firm  supporter  of  the  L*.  S.  Government, 
and  from  that  time   forward  he  affiliated 
with    the    Republican    party.       He    was 


40 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


possessed  of  robust  health,  a  strong  physi- 
cal constitution  and  an  iron  will,  and  by 
his  many  sterling  traits  of  manly  charac- 
ter he  gained  and  held  an  honorable 
place  among  the  pioneers  of  Sandusky 
county.  He  died  March  17,  1879,  and 
was  buried  with  Masonic  honors;  his  wife 
passed  away  June  8,  1871,  a  member  of 
the  Reformed  Church.  Their  remains 
rest  in  the  Lutheran  and  Reformed  Ceme- 
tery, four  miles  west  of  Fremont.  Their 
children  were  named  as  follows:  William, 
Washington,  Miranda,  Upton,  Elizabeth, 
Margaret,  Romanus,  David,  Isadore  H., 
Mary  and  Malinda.  Of  these,  William 
Washington  died  July  21,  1846,  aged 
twenty-four  years;  Miranda  married  N. 
R.  Tucker,  a  farmer  of  near  Fremont, 
Ohio;  Upton  married  Nancy  A.  Kerr, 
April  8,  1848;  Elizabeth  died  October  4, 
1835,  aged  six  years;  Margaret  married 
Solomon  Albert,  July  4,  1852;  Romanus 
married  Mary  Taylor,  April  12,  1858  (he 
died  January  14,  i860);  David  married 
Cynthia  Skinner,  May  i,  1863;  Isadore 
H.  married  Eliza  Ann  Chapman,  October 
19,  1865;  Mary  married  August  Baumer, 
September  18,  1862;  Malinda  married  O. 
R.  Smith,  April  6,   1869. 

Major  I.  H.  Burgoon,  railroad  man- 
ager, Fremont,  Sandusky  county,  was 
born  in  Sandusky  township,  Sandusky 
Co.,  Ohio.,  January  25,  1839,  a  son  of 
Peter  and  Margaret  (Fluegel)  Burgoon, 
who  at  that  time  were  living  on  a  200- 
acre  farm  about  four  miles  north  of  Lower 
Sandusky  (now  Fremont),  Ohio.  He 
spent  his  early  life  on  his  father's  farm, 
and  received  a  liberal  education  at  the 
common  schools  of  the  district.  In  the 
fall  of  1858  he  commenced  teaching  a 
country  school,  and  in  the  fall  of  the  fol- 
lowing year  he  attended  Oberlin  College 
three  months,  after  which  he  taught 
another  term  of  winterschool  in  the  coun- 
try. On  September  10,  i860,  he  came  to 
Fremont  and  took  the  position  of  office 
boy  and  clerk  for  Dr.  L.  O.  Rawson,  presi- 
dent of  the  Fremont  &  Indiana  railroad. 


He  remained  in  the  service  of  that  road 
eighteen  years,  as  follows:  From  1861  ta 
1864  he  was  clerk  in  the  president's  office, 
and  freight  and  ticket  agent;  1864  to  1865, 
conductor;  1865  to  1866,  train  master; 
1866  to  1867,  assistant  superintendent; 
1868  to  1872,  superintendent;  1872  to 
•S/S'  general  superintendent;  1875  to 
1878,  receiver;  1878  to  1879,  general 
superintendent  of  the  Lake  Erie  &  Louis- 
ville railroad,  after  the  sale  and  reorgani- 
zation; October,  1879  to  1881,  general 
superintendent  Toledo,  Delphos  &  Bur- 
lington railroad;  August  i,  18S1,  to 
1883,  general  manager  of  the  Ohio  Con- 
struction Company;  1881  to  1885,  gen- 
eral manager  Cleveland,  Delphos  &  St. 
Louis  railroad;  May,  1881,  to  1885,  gen- 
eral manager,  secretary  and  treasurer,  of 
the  Cleveland,  Delphos  &  Western  Tele- 
graph Company,  and  general  manager  of 
the  Cleveland,  Delphos  &  St.  Louis  rail- 
road; May,  1885,  to  June  30, 1886,  general 
agent  of  the  Indiana,  Bloomington  & 
Western  railroad ;  July  i ,  1 886,  to  Decem- 
ber 31,  1890,  receiver  and  general  man- 
ager of  the  Bellaire,  Zanesville  &  Cincin- 
nati railroad;  September  I,  1889,  to  Octo- 
ber, 1 892, general  manager  and  treasurer  of 
the  Terre  Haute  &  Peoria  railroad.  When 
the  Terre  Haute  &  Peoria  railroad  was 
leased  to  the  Terre  Haute  &  Indianapolis, 
he  was  made  superintendent  of  the  Peoria 
division,  serving  as  such  from  October, 
1892,  to  October,  1893.  In  January,  1894, 
he  accepted  the  position  of  general  super- 
intendent of  the  Findlay,  Fort  Wayne 
&  Western  railroad,  under  a  receiver. 
Upon  the  sale  and  transfer  of  this  prop- 
erty, Mr.  Burgoon  was  called  to  Salt 
Lake  City,  Utah,  on  August  15,  1894, 
and  was  appointed  general  superintendent 
and  general  freight  and  passenger  agent 
of  the  Utah  Central  railway,  his  head- 
quarters being  at  Salt  Lake  City,  where 
he  is  at  present,  though  retaining  his  resi- 
dence at  Fremont,  Ohio,  having  here 
many  business  and  social  interests.  Dur- 
ing all  his  management  of  these  roads  he 


COSntBMORATTVE  BTOORAPHWAL  RBCORD. 


41 


made  a  clean  record.  By  his  enterprise, 
prudence,  economy  and  inteprity  he  secured 
the  good  will  and  best  wishes  of  all  par- 
ties concerned.  He  received  many  flat- 
tering testimonials  from  his  superior  offi- 
cers, and  from  those  who  had  confided 
their  interests  to  his  care,  of  which  the 
following  may  serve  as  a  sample:  After 
having  acted  as  receiver  of  the  Lake  Erie 
&  Louisville  railway,  about  three  years, 
Mr.  Burgoon  filed  in  the  court  of  com- 
mon pleas,  of  Sandusky  county,  his  final 
report  and  the  account  of  his  doings  and 
dealings  in  the  management  of  the  road, 
of  which  he  had  full  charge  as  receiver, 
under  direction  of  the  court,  and  his  re- 
port and  accounts  were  confirmed  not 
only  without  a  question  but  by  consent  of 
counsel  on  both  sides,  and  he  was  highly 
complimented  for  his  management  of  the 
affairs  of  the  road,  as  is  shown  by  the 
order  of  confirmation  which  follows: 

And  this  Court,  havinff  examined  the  said 
final  .iccount  and  re|x>rt,  and  found  the  same 
in  all  respects  in  accordance  with  law  and  the 
order  of  the  Court,  and  that  the  said  receiver 
has  duly  jiaid  and  delivered  all  money,  credits 
and  property  of  every  kind  which  came  into  his 
possession  or  control,  by  virtue  of  his  ap- 
pointment and  office  in  accordance  with  the 
order  and  direction  of  the  Court,  and  has  in 
all  respects  well  and  truly  and  faithfully  dis- 
charjred  all  his  duties  as  such  receiver,  it 
is  hereby  ordered  that  the  said  final  report 
and  account  be  and  the  same  is  hereby  ap- 
proved and  confirmed,  and  the  said  Isadore 
H.  nur»foondischarf;ed  from  all  further  account- 
ability as  such  receiver.  And  he  is  especially 
commended  for  the  ability  and  faithfulness 
with  which  he  has  discharg-ed  the  arduous 
duties  of  his  office. 

Approved. 

K.  P.  BrcKLANi)  ANi>  Calvin  S.  Bkice, 
Attorneys  for  Lake   Erie  &  Louisville  Railway 

Company. 

Otis,  Adams  &  Rcsskli., 
Attorneys  for  plaintiffs,  the  trustees. 

On  May  2,  1864.  Mr.  Burgoon  entered 
the  militarj'  service  of  his  country,  as 
private  in  Company  F,  One  Hundred  and 
Sixty-ninth  Regiment,  O.  N.  G.  1.  He 
served  with  his  regiment  at  Fort  Ethan 
Allen,  Virginia,  a  term  of  four  months, 
and  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  sergeant- 


major,  a  position  he  held  until  the  expir- 
ation of  his  term  of  service,  September  4, 
1864,  having  earned  a  record  for  promo- 
tion in  the  discharge  of  his  duties.  He 
wrote  many  interesting  letters  to  his 
home  papers  during  his  time  of  service. 

Nfr.  Burgoon  has  for  many  years  been 
an  active  member  of  the  Sandusky  Coun- 
ty Pioneer  and  Historical  Society,  of 
which  he  is  still  vice-president  and  secre- 
tary, and  has  been  one  of  the  leading 
spirits  in  making  the  annual  reunion 
pioneer  picnics  a  success.  He  takes  a 
laudable  interest  in  all  public  affairs  in 
the  city  of  Fremont,  but  has  never  been 
a  political  office  seeker.  He  was  raised  a 
Democrat,  and  cast  his  first  vote  for 
Stephen  A.  Douglas,  for  president,  since 
which  time  he  has  been  a  I^epublican. 
He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
Fraternity  since  1862,  and  has  taken  all 
the  degrees  in  the  York  Rite,  and  the 
Scottish  Rite  to  the  32d  degree.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Eugene  Rawson  Post, 
G.  A.  R.,  at  Fremont,  Ohio,  and  has  al- 
ways taken  an  interest  in  the  welfare  of 
the  soldiers.  Since  the  year  1888  he  has 
been  president  of  the  One  Hundred  and 
Sixty-ninth,  O.  V.  I.  Regimental  .Asso- 
ciation. 

On  October  19,  1S65,  I.  H.  Burgoon 
was  married  at  Fremont,  Ohio,  to  Miss 
Eli^a  \.  Chapman,  who  was  born  Feb- 
ruary 10,  1844,  at  Marion.  Ohio,  a 
daughter  of  Joseph  and  Uorinda  (Ayers) 
Chapman,  and  their  children  were:  J. 
Chajmian  Burgoon,  born  .\ugust  10,  1874, 
died  September  19,  1874;  and  Charles 
Paine  Burgoon,  born  May  25,  1878.  A 
lasting  honor  was  fittingly  and  worthily 
bestowed  on  Mr.  Burgoon,  when,  on  No- 
vember 18,  1873,  the  citizens  of  the  new 
town,  established  at  the  crossing  of  the 
Lake  Erie  &  Louisville  and  the  Toledo, Tif- 
fin &  Eastern  railroads,  in  Jackson  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  concurred  in  ask- 
ing the  Post  Office  Department  to  name 
the  new  post  office  '"Burgoon"  after  Mr. 
I.  H.  Burgoon,    whcse    uniform  courtesy 


42 


COMMEMORATTVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


as  an  official  of  the  Lake  Erie  &  Louis- 
ville railroad  had  won  for  him  the  best 
wishes  of  the  people  of  that  community. 


s 


HARON  C.  LAMBERSON,  editor 
and    co-proprietor   of    the   Denio- 
Mcsscngcr,  Fremont,  San- 


crntic 

dusky  county,  was  born  in  Serleca 
,  Ohio,  November  i6,  183S,  a  son 
and    Anna    Mary    (Creager) 


county 

of    William 

Lamberson. 

William  Lamberson  was  born  at  Eas- 
ton,  Penn.,  March  23,  181 3,  and  came 
with  his  parents  to  Ohio  in  1830,  locating 
in  the  forests  of  Seneca  county,  where  he 
helped  to  clear  up  a  farm.  In  politics  he 
was  a  radical  Democrat.  He  married, 
January  4,  1838,  and  died  January  15, 
1882.  Ann  Mary  Lamberson  was  born 
in  Montgomery  county,  Ohio,  June  12, 
181 5,  and  died  February  6,  1887,  and 
died  a  member  of  the  Reformed  Church, 
in  which  faith  she  was  reared.  Their 
children  were:  (i)  Sharon  C,  our  sub- 
ject; (2)  Eunice  A.,  wife  of  John  Huston, 
living  near  Dayton,  Ohio;  (3)  Virgil  D., 
a  veteran  of  the  Civil  war,  living  at  Tiffin, 
Ohio;  (4)  Janett  C,  widow  of  Victor  J. 
Zahm,  and  one  of  the  proprietors  of 
the  Democratic  Messenger;  (5)  Her- 
schel  W. ,  a  farmer,  living  at  Ha- 
vana, Huron  Co.,  Ohio;  (6)  Curtis 
M. ,  who  lives  in  Wamego,  Kans. ;  (7) 
Dewitt  C,  who  died  August,  1875;  (8) 
M.  Marcena,  a  maiden  lady,  living  at 
Tiffin,  Ohio.  Daniel  Lamberson,  our 
subject's  paternal  grandfather,  was  born 
near  Easton,  Penn.,  served  in  the  war  of 
18 1 2,  became  a  pioneer  settler  of  Seneca 
county,  Ohio,  and  died  at  a  good  old  age. 
Our  subject's  maternal  grandparents  came 
from  Maryland,  and  settled  near  Dayton, 
Ohio.  Both  of  S.  C.  Lamberson's  parents 
were  of  German  descent. 

Our  subject  was  reared  on  a  farm,  and 
after  receiving  a  common-school  educa- 
tion in  Seneca  county  took  a  course  of 
study    at    Heidelberg    University,    Tiffin, 


Ohio,  from  which  institution  he  graduated 
in  1859,  with  the  first  honor  of  his  class. 
He  followed  school  teaching  and  farm- 
ing, alternating  these  occupations  until 
1873,  when  he  engaged  in  the  mer- 
cantile business  at  Tiffin  for  two  years. 
He  then  became  connected  with  the  coun- 
ty auditor's  office  at  Tiffin,  for  six  years. 
On  April  7,  1885,  in  partnership  with  his 
brother-in-law,  V.  J.  Zahm,  he  purchased 
the  Democratic  Messenger,  the  organ  of 
the  Sandusky  county  Democracy.  His 
partner  died  in  August  of  the  same  year, 
and  Mr.  Lamberson  has  continued  to 
conduct  the  paper  since  that  time.  Polit- 
ically, he  is  a  Jeffersonian  Democrat, 
and  socially,  has  been  a  member  of 
Seneca  Lodge,  No.  35,  I.  O.  O.  F., 
about  thirty  years.  On  April  18,  1887, 
he  was  married,  at  Tiffin,  Ohio,  to  Miss 
Johanna  C.  Zahm,  who  was  born  in 
Buffalo,  N.  Y. ,  November  30,  1838.  Mrs. 
Lamberson's  parents  were  born  in  Ger- 
many and  came  to  America,  her  father  in 
1832,  her  mother  in  1833. 


PETER  BEAUGRAND,  M.  D.,  of 
Fremont,    Sanduskj-  count}-,    one 
of  the  oldest    living   practitioners 
in  the  State  of  Ohio,  was  born  at 
Detroit,  Mich.,  August  26,   1 8 14. 

The  Beaugrand  family  is  of  French 
origin,  the  grandfather  of  Dr.  Beaugrand, 
John  Baptiste  Beaugrand,  having  emi- 
grated from  Bordeaux,  France,  to  Canada 
about  the  year  1760.  But  little  of  his 
life's  history  has  been  preserved;  but  it  is 
believed  that  he  was  a  merchant,  and 
spent  his  life  in  barter  with  the  Indians. 
Dr.  P.  Beaugrand  is  a  son  of  John  B. 
and  Margaret  (Chabert)  Beaugrand,  the 
father  born  in  Three  Rivers,  Canada,  in 
1768.  He  grew  to  manhood  there,  and 
at  the  age  of  twenty-one  migrated  to 
Detroit,  Mich.,  where  he  engaged  in  busi- 
ness as  an  Indian  trader  with  good  suc- 
cess until  during  the  war  of  1S12,  when 
he  was  burned  out  by  the  Indians.      He 


COMMBMORATrVB  BIOORAPniCAL  RECORD. 


48 


removed  with  his  family  to  Fremont  (then 
Lower  Sandusky),  Ohio,  settling;  here 
during  the  first  week  of  January,  1S23; 
he  had  spent  the  previous  year  here  as  a 
trader.  The  mother  of  our  subject  was 
born  in  Detroit,  Mich.,  February  26, 
1781,  and  died  May  12,  1859,  at  Fremont, 
Ohio. 

The  family  consisted  of  ten  children: 
(l)Margaret,  who  married  Kodolphus 
Dickinson,  a  brilliant  young  lawyer,  who 
came  to  Lower  Sandusky  frotn  the  East 
shortly  after  the  Beaugraud  family  took 
up  their  residence  there;  afterward  was 
member  of  Congress,  and  died  during  his 
second  term  in  Congress,  in  1S49.  (2) 
Julia,  who  married  B.  F.  Fletcher,  who 
died  in  1849,  just  after  his  election  for  the 
second  term  to  the  office  of  county  re- 
corder. (3)  Sophia,  who  married  La 
Quinio  Rawson,  a  physician  who  became 
very  eminent  in  his  profession,  and  died 
in  1888.  (4)  Isidore  D. ,  at  one  time 
sheriff  of  Sandusky  county.  (5)  JohnB., 
who  was  a  sailor  and  a  captain  on  the 
lakes;  he  was  strong  and  athletic,  and  of 
a  venturesome  spirit;  in  1 846  he  was  pre- 
sented by  the  mayor  of  Cleveland  with  a 
stand  of  colors  for  safely  bringing  into 
that  port,  during  a  severe  storm,  his  boat, 
having  on  board  a  large  number  of  passen- 
gers. (6)  Peter,  the  subject  of  our 
sketch.  <~)  James,  born  in  I3etroit,  died 
at  Fremont  at  the  age  of  three  years. 
(8)  Richard,  who  was  also  a  sailor  on  the 
lakes,  enlisted,  and  died  during  the  Civil 
war.  (91  Helen  M.,  who  married  M.  S. 
Castle,  an  attorney  at  law,  of  Cleveland. 
Ohio,  where  she  resided  until  her  death 
in  1890.  (10)  James  A.,  who  has  always 
been  engaged  in  clerical  work,  is  now  liv- 
ing in  Racine,  Wis.,  and  is  deputy  clerk 
of  courts  at  that  place;  he  and  the  Doctor 
are  the  only  survivors  of  the  family. 

Dr.  P.  Beaugrand  is  a  man  much 
respected  in  I'roinont  and  vicinity,  both 
as  a  skillful  physician,  and  a  gentleman  of 
culture.  He  has  been  a  student  of  the 
most  ardent  tyj>c  during  a  long  and  busy 


life,  and  is  remarkable  for  his  intellectual 
talents  and  his  genial,  kindly  disposition. 
His  profession  has  been  to  him  as  his 
bride,  for  he  has  led  none  other  to  the  al- 
tar. Quick  in  perception,  broad  and 
charitable  in  his  sympathies,  with  a  mem- 
ory that  has  never  failed,  and  an  integ- 
rity that  has  never  wavered.  Dr.  Beau- 
grand  possesses  the  essential  qualities  of 
a  successful  physician;  and  if  implicit 
faith  in  a  man  by  a  whole  community  is 
of  any  solace  to  him,  as  he  descends  the 
western  slope  of  life,  the  Doctor  should 
be  one  of  the  most  contented  of  mortals. 
He  has  also  been  a  favorite  in  literary  cir- 
cles, there  being  few  important  facts  of 
history  or  science  with  which  he  is  not 
familiar. 

In  1823,  Dr.  Beaugrandcame  with  his 
parents  to  Fremont.  He  recollects  dis- 
tinctly the  trip  from  Detroit  to  Lower 
Sandusky  on  the  ice  on  Lake  Erie,  and 
the  incidents  that  occurred  on  the  way, 
one  of  which  was  the  breaking  of  the  ice. 
by  which  the  parties  in  the  sleigh  all  got 
wet,  and  how  they  all  made  for  the  shore, 
and  built  a  huge  fire  by  which  to  dry 
themselves.  Ho  is  still  able  to  point  out 
the  very  spot  at  which  they  came  ashore 
to  make  the  remainder  of  the  trip  over- 
land. Dr.  Beaugrand  attended  the  com- 
mon schools  here,  and  at  the  age  of  eight- 
een was  a  student  one  term  at  Wells' 
Academy,  Mich.  In  March,  1833,  he  com- 
menced the  study  of  medicine  at  Findlay, 
Ohio,  with  B.  and  L.  O.  Rawson,  and 
when  the  latter  returned  to  I'remont  he 
came  with  him.  During  the  winter  of 
1834-35,  he  attended  medical  lectures  at 
the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons, 
Fairfield,  Herkimer  Co.,  N.  Y.  During 
the  scholastic  year  of  1844-45  ^*^  gradu- 
ated from  the  Ohio  Medical  College,  at 
Cincinnati,  Ohio.  Ik-  began  the  practice 
of  medicine  at  Lower  Sandusky  in  1834, 
continuing  thus  up  to  1845  before  he  took 
the  degree  of  M.  I).,  and  he  now  has  a 
retrospect  of  more  than  sixty  years  of 
professional  life,  at  the  beginning  of  which 


44 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQBAPHWAL  RECORD. 


our  country  was  in  its  infancy.  He  re- 
calls with  accuracy  the  great  questions 
which  agitated  the  public  mind  during 
the  da3's  of  Clay,  Webster,  and  their  il- 
lustrious compeers. 

In  the  spring  of  1864  Dr.  Beaugrand 
was  appointed  surgeon  of  the  One  Hun- 
dred and  Sixty-ninth  Regiment,  O.  V.  I., 
at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  served  one  hun- 
dred days  at  Fort  Ethan  Allen,  Va. 
On  his  return  home  he  resumed  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession,  which  he  still  pur- 
sues, not  from  personal  necessity  but  to 
accommodate  old  patients.  He  has  ac- 
cumulated a  handsome  competence  which 
enables  him  to  complete  the  rest  of  life's 
journey  at  his  ease.  The  Doctor  was  a 
Democrat  before  the  war,  and  during  that 
struggle  voted  for  Republican  candidates; 
but  his  views  at  present  are  Democratic. 
He  has  always  had  a  high  regard  for  his 
mother,  who  was  a  remarkable  woman, 
very  active  in  visiting  the  sick  and  poor 
among  the  early  pioneers,  and  who  was 
very  charitable.  An  oil  painting  of  her 
now  adorns  the  public  library  at  Fremont. 


WILLIAM  E.  LAY.  Since  the 
year  1828,  this  venerable,  intel- 
ligent and  highly-respected  citi- 
zen of  Sandusky  county  has 
lived  upon  the  one  farm  in  Green  Creek 
township,  a  residence  that  is  perhaps 
unequaled  in  the  county.  He  has  been 
an  eyewitness  to  the  growth  of  the  county 
from  its  primitive  condition  to  its  present 
advanced  stage  of  development.  But  the 
feature  of  his  citizenship  is  not  chiefly  its 
duration.  In  public  spirit  and  character, 
he  ranks  among  the  foremost  residents. 

Mr.  Lay  was  born  in  Tompkins  coun- 
ty, N.  Y. ,  October  20,  1809,  son  of  John 
and  Mary  (Squires)  Lay.  John  Lay  was 
born  in  Connecticut  January  22,  1775, 
and  was  the  son  of  Aaron  Lay,  who, 
when  a  young  man,  emigrated  with  two 
brothers  from  England.  One  of  these 
brothers,    James    Lay,    afterward    settled 


near  Buffalo,  N.  Y.  Mary  Squires  was 
born  September  9,  1777,  and  was  married 
January  22,  1797,  to  John  Lay.  Their 
eight  children  were  as  follows:  (i)  Jere- 
miah, born  January  17,  1798,  married  in 
1826,  settled  in  Seneca  county,  Ohio, 
and  died  there  about  1879.  (2)  John, 
born  September  7,  1801,  a  shoemaker  by 
trade,  lived  at  Attica,  Seneca  Co.,  Ohio. 
By  his  first  wife,  Aurora  Ewer,  he  had 
one  child,  Henry,  who  died  young;  b}' 
his  second  wife,  Mary  Silcox,  he  also  had 
one  child,  William,  born  September  6, 
1850,  and  died  June  18,  1873.  John  died 
August  12,  1889.  (3)  Almira,  born  No- 
vember 16,  1803,  married  John  Woodruff, 
lived  in  Jackson  township,  Sandusky 
county,  and  reared  a  large  famil}';  she 
died  in  1874.  (4)  Eustacia,  born  August 
9,  1805,  married  John  Bartlett,  lived  in 
Green  Creek  township,  and  reared  a 
family;  she  died  in  1877.  (5)  Harmon, 
born  June  13,  1807,  died  April  30,  18 10. 
(6)  William  E.  is  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  (7)  Mary  Ann,  born  September 
8,  1 81 7,  married  Hiram  Babcock,  of 
Green  Creek,  and  died  leaving  six  chil- 
dren. (8)  Susan  J.,  born  February  16, 
1820,  was  married  first  to  Jacob  Martin, 
of  Castalia,  by  whom  she  had  one  child, 
and  afterward  to  Horace  Simpson;  she 
died  near  Fremont,  Michigan. 

After  marriage  John  and  Mary  Lay 
settled  in  Seneca  (now  Tompkins)  county, 
N.  Y. ,  but  moved  thence  to  Steuben 
county.  In  18 16  he  migrated  to  Ohio, 
going  by  team  to  Buffalo,  and  there  tak- 
ing passage  on  the  schooner  "American 
Eagle,''  and  landing  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Huron  river.  Living  at  Speers'  Corners 
two  years,  he  moved  to  the  eastern  part 
of  Seneca  county,  and  three  years  later 
crossed  the  Sandusky  river  to  the  western 
part  of  the  county.  He  then  moved  back 
to  Clinton  township  after  five  years,  and 
in  1828,  or  three  years  later,  settled  on 
the  farm  in  Green  Creek  township,  San- 
dusky county,  which  his  son  William  E. 
now    occupies.         Here    the    parents    re- 


COMMBMORATIVB  BIOGRAPHICAL  BBCORD. 


46 


mained  until  their  death.  They  were 
buried  on  Hutternut  Ridge,  or  Lay's 
Cemetery.  John  Lay  was  a  Henry  Clay 
\Vhi},',aiid  he  votetl  at  the  first  election  held 
in  Sandusky  county,  in  1.S19;  in  early  life 
he  was  in  religious  faith  a  close-commun- 
ion Baptist,  and  for  over  thirty  years  he  was 
either  clerk  or  deacon  of  the  Church;  in 
after  life  he  accepted  the  Universalist  faith. 

The  boyhood  of  William  L.  Lay  was 
spent  in  the  wilderness  home  of  his  par- 
ents in  Seneca  and  Sandusky  counties. 
Indians  were  then  abundant,  and  he  had 
more  Indians  for  playmates  than  white 
boys.  The  Seneca  reservation  was  just 
across  the  river  from  the  first  home  of  the 
Lays  in  Seneca  county.  He  received  lit- 
tle education  at  Speers'  Corners,  Huron 
county,  and  scarcely  any  more  in  Seneca 
county.  His  chief  instruction  he  obtained 
sitting  in  his  father's  cabin,  book  in  hand, 
and  reading  by  the  light  of  the  log  fire. 
One  winter  he  attended  school  there,  but 
his  days  were  pretty  well  occupied  by  farm 
work,  and  the  echo  of  his  a.\e  was  heard 
in  the  forest  until  midnight. 

Mr.  Lay  was  married  April  11,  1833, 
to  Margaret  Lee.  who  was  born  in  North- 
umberland county,  Penn.,  September  15, 
1815,  moved  with  her  parents  to  Franklin 
county,  Ohio,  and  thence  in  1823  to 
Seneca  county,  Ohio.  After  marriage  he 
began  housekeeping  on  the  farm  his 
father  had  occupied  five  years  earlier,  and 
has  lived  there  ever  since;  he  now  owns 
2(X)  acres  of  well-improved  land.  Eleven 
children  have  been  born  to  William  and 
Margaret  Lay,  as  follows:  (1;  Polly 
Minerva,  born  January  26,  1834,  died 
July  26  of  the  same  year.  (2)  Harkness 
N.,  born  December  8,  1836,  worked  on 
the  farm  until  the  war  broke  out,  and  then 
enlisted  in  Company  A,  Seventy-second 
O.  \.  I. ;  he  was  orderly  sergeant,  and 
was  taken  prisoner  at  Brice's  Cross  Roads, 
near  Guntown,  Miss.,  June  10,  1864,  with 
247  other  members  of  the  regiment,  and 
was  confined  in  .Andersonville  prison  nine 
months.       Oil  October  4,     186;,    he  was 


married  to  Jemmetta  Almond,  anil  has 
two  children  living — Francis  M.  and  Bes- 
sie. He  has  followed  farming  and  car- 
jjentry  since  the  war,  and  now  lives  at 
Chicago.  (3)  Ann  E.,  born  April  20, 
1839,  died  unmarried  February  25,  1888. 
(4)  Cornelia,  born  July  29,  1840,  married 
Jacob  D.  Le  Fevre  October  4,  1865,  and 
died,  childless,  February  10,  1892.  (5) 
Henry  S.,  born  June  16.  1842,  unmarried, 
lives  at  home  and  operates  the  farm.  (6) 
Clementine. born  August  6,  1844,  at  home, 
unmarried.  (7j  I-'rancis  Marion,  born 
August  24,  1846.  enlisted  in  April, 
1 864,  before  he  was  eighteen,  was  taken 
prisoner  at  Guntown,  June  10,  1864, 
and  died  from  exposure  and  starvation  at 
Savannah.  Ga.,  October  24,  1S64.  (8) 
Fidelia,  born  September  12,  1848,  mar- 
ried Cyrus  Ale.xander  February  2.  1870, 
lives  on  a  farm  in  Erie  county;  they  have 
no  children.  (9)  Alice,  born  August  2, 
1 85 1,  married  December  30,  1892,  to 
Abraham  \'an  Doren,  and  resides  at  Clyde. 
(lOj  William  B..  born  May  15,  1858, 
farmer,  of  Sandusky  county,  married  Alice 
L.  Jones  October  24,  1883;  they  have  no 
children.  (11)  Mabel  V.,  born  July  27, 
i860,  married  Fred  Hutchinson  March  12, 
1884,  and  has  five  sons — Claire  L. ,  Ern- 
est D.,  Karl  A.,  Frank  M.  and  Ralph. 

In  politics,  William  E.  Lay  was  a 
Democrat  until  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri 
Compromise,  when  he  became  a  Republi- 
can. He  cast  his  first  vote  for  .\ndrew 
Jackson  at  his  second  term.  He  is  a  man 
of  the  strictest  integrity,  and  one  of  the 
most  highly  respected  in  Sandusky  county. 
In  social  affairs  he  has  been  a  leader. 
Having  amassed  a  goodly  fortune,  he  con- 
tributes liberally  to  public  enterprises. 
His  family  is  highly  cultured,  and  the  af- 
ternoon of  his  life  is  cast  in  an  atmos- 
phere that  is  most  congenial.  Com- 
manding the  esteem  of  all  good  citizens, 
his  life  reflects  the  abilities  and  virtues 
that  have  lifted  him  to  the  enviable  niche 
he  occupies  in  the  great  social  fabric  of 
our  land. 


46 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOOBAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Progress    is 


LEWIS  W.  WARD 
born  of  courage.  Courage  stands 
erect  and  thinks  while  fear  re- 
treats. Courage  advances  step  by 
step,  believing  in  science  and  in  eternal 
law.  If  properly  guided  by  a  conscience, 
courage  will  achieve  deeds  of  heroism  in 
defense  of  right  and  honor  and  friendship 
worthy  of  the  noblest  knighthood.  As  a 
living  example  of  one  who  in  early  life 
had  the  courage  of  his  convictions,  in 
manhood  dared  where  others  faltered, 
one  who  was  willing  to  forego  his  golden 
schemes  of  wealth  for  the  sake  of  caring 
for  his  widowed  mother,  and  who  later 
kindly  cared  for  other  aged  people  left  in 
his  care,  we  present  the  subject  of  this 
sketch. 

L.  W.  Ward,  insurance  and  real-es- 
tate agent  of  Fremont,  Sandusky  county, 
was  born  in  Reading  township,  near  Som- 
erset, Perry  Co.,  Ohio,  May  27,  1832, 
son  of  Amos  and  Polly  (Shoup)  Ward, 
who  were  natives  of  Pennsylvania.  Amos 
Ward  was  born  in  1797,  and  came  at  an 
early  day  to  Perry  county,  Ohio,  where 
he  married  and  carried  on  farming.  Late 
in  the  fall  of  1834  he  removed  with  his 
family  through  the  wilds  of  Ohio  in  a 
large  wagon  loaded  with  household  goods, 
provisions  and  grain  for  seed,  to  the 
northwestern  part  of  Sandusky  (now  Ot- 
tawa) county,  Ohio,  and  settled  on  160 
acres  of  land  about  midway  between  Port 
Clinton  and  Locust  Point.  He  also  bought 
1 60  acres  in  Washington  township.  As  the 
ground  was  then  frozen  solid,  it  was  easy 
to  get  about  with  a  team  in  the  erection 
of  a  log  cabin  and  sheds,  the  building  of 
fences  and  the  clearing  of  land  for  farm- 
ing purposes.  Work  progressed  fairly 
well,  but  there  were  some  drawbacks. 
The  surrounding  country  being  then  a  wil- 
derness, the  family  were  often  anno3'ed 
by  the  howling  of  wolves  near  their  cabin 
before  they  secured  substantial  doors  and 
windows,  and  for  greater  safety  they  built 
a  high  fence  of  rails  and  poles  to  keep  off 
these    midnight    prowlers.      One  incident 


in  this  connection  is  worthy  of  record.  A 
pack  of  hungry,  howling  wolves  came  in- 
side the  inclosure  one  night,  and  threat- 
ened an  attack.  Mr.  Ward  was  alarmed 
for  the  safety  of  his  family,  and  decided 
to  test  the  mettle  of  his  big  brindle  dog, 
"Lion,"  who  crouched  in  a  corner  for 
fear  of  the  wolves,  by  throwing  him  out 
of  the  cabin  and  making  him  fight  or  die. 
He  did  so.  There  was  heard  a  sudden 
terrific  snarling,  an  encounter  for  a  few 
seconds,  and  then  a  running  away  and  a 
howling  which  died  off  in  the  distance, 
the  dog  having  made  hasty  tracks  for 
Perry  county,  followed  by  the  wolves, 
perhaps,  for  many  miles,  leaving  the  ter- 
rified family  in  quiet  the  rest  of  that  night 
and  for  many  nights  thereafter.  A  few 
weeks  later  the  family  learned  that 
"Lion"  had  indeed  escaped  the  jaws  of 
the  wolves,  and  made  his  appearance  at 
his  old  home  in  Perry  county  in  an  almost 
famished  and  exhausted  condition.  He 
had  made  the  trip  of  about  i  50  miles  in 
an  incredibly  short  time,  as  was  learned 
by  comparing  the  records  of  the  two  fam- 
ilies. The  dear  old  fellow  was  afterward 
taken  again  to  Sandusky  county,  became 
a  great  pet  in  the  family,  and  died  of  old 
age. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year,  after  the 
frost  had  disappeared,  the  family  were 
distressed  to  find  that  the  ground  was  so 
soft  and  spongy  that  they  could  not  use 
their  team  to  go  to  mill  at  Cold  Creek, 
and  for  six  weeks  they  were  obliged  to 
do  without  bread,  except  what  could  be 
made  from  grain  pounded  in  a  mortar  or 
hollow  stone.  There  were  many  other 
hindrances  on  account  of  the  wet  soil. 
After  a  residence  of  about  six  months  in 
this  marshy,  malarious  region,  Mr.  Ward 
died  in  June,  1835,  leaving  a  widow  and 
seven  children  in  the  wilderness.  His 
family  remained  there  for  some  time,  and 
then  moved  upon  the  160  acres  in  Wash- 
ington township,  same  county,  on  what  is 
known  as  the  Limestone  Ridge,  a  few  miles 
southeast  of  Hessville.      The  children   of 


^^f       ^^-Cf-^^h^ 


''J 


-^,^/r~c.^z(^ 


OOMMBMOHATJVB  BWOHAPUWAL  RECORD.- 


47 


Amos  ami  I'ollv  Ward,  born  in  Perry 
county,  were:  Harriet.  John.  Hiram. 
Isaac,  lili/a.  Lewis  W.  (our  subject),  and 
Sarah. 

Lewis  W.  Ward  grew  to  manhood  in 
Washington  township.  Sanihisky  county, 
amid  the  toils,  hardshijis  and  privations 
of  pioneer  life,  in  a  family  bereft  of  a 
husband  and  father  when  they  most  need- 
ed his  assistance.  His  physical  powers 
were  developed  by  a  frecjuent  and  vigor- 
ous use  of  the  axe.  the  mattock,  the  maul 
and  wedge,  and  his  love  of  sport  gratified 
by  the  use  of  a  trust\'  gun.  On  leaving 
his  mother's  roof,  in  1S47,  he  hired  out 
to  A.  W.  Green,  a  neighboring  farnier. 
(or  six  months,  at  $3  per  month.  He  gen- 
erously contributed  one  dollar  of  the 
money  thus  earned  to  rebuild  the  Deal 
Block,  in  Lower  Sandusky,  which  had 
been  destroyed  by  fire.  His  brother  Isaac 
took  jobs  of  clearing  land  for  farmers  at 
$8  per  acre,  and  sometimes  the  broth- 
ers worked  on  the  Western  Reserve  and 
Maumce  pike.  Mr.  Ward's  schooling  in 
the  country  was  very  limited,  and  in  1852 
he  resolved  to  get  a  better  education  by  at- 
tending a  school  taught  in  town  by  James 
Smith,  son  of  Sheriff  Jonas  Smith,  of 
Hallville  township.  He  managed  to  pay 
his  board  and  tuition  by  clerking  evenings, 
morning  and  Saturdays  for  John  F. 
Wooster.  a  druggist.  His  Sundays  he 
usually  spent  at  home  or  in  attendance  at 
the  M.  E.  Church  and  Sunday-school. 
He  next  engaged  as  clerk  on  probation 
with  Mr.  David  Betts.  general  merchant, 
and  suited  his  employer  so  well  that  he 
was  entrusted  with  the  most  valuable 
papers  and  records.  At  the  end  of  about 
three  years  the  store  was  destroyed  by  fire. 
Mr  Ward  was  accustomed  to  sleep  in  the 
store,  and  when  roused  out  of  sleep  by  the 
alarm  of  tire  he  was  so  intent  on  saving  his 
employer's  papers  that  he  neglected  to  save 
his  own  valuables,  consisting  of  a  new 
suit  ol  clothes  and  two  watches.  He 
next  clerked  about  a  year  for  Charles 
Haynes,  and  then  started  for  California. 


He  was  one  of  a  company  of  seventeen 
who  had  agreed  to  go  there  together,  but 
at  the  time  appointed  for  starting  he  alone 
was  ready,  and  so  set  out  alone.  It  took 
him  five  days  to  reach  New  York,  and 
having  just  missed  going  on  the  steamer 
for  the  Panama  route  he  took  a  vessel 
going  by  the  Nicaragua  route,  which  had 
on  board  400  filibusters,  on  their  way  to 
Granada,  South  ,\merica.  In  due  time 
he  arrived  at  'Frisco,  went  up  the  Sacra- 
mento river,  passed  Marysville  to  Sierra 
county,  and  found  work  for  about  two 
years  as  an  honest  miner.  In  1858  he 
returned  to  Ohio  to  visit  and  care  for  his 
mother,  intending  to  go  back  to  Califor- 
nia. Finding  strong  inducements  for  him 
to  remain  in  Fremont,  he  clerked  for  Mr. 
Edgerton,  who  had  taken  the  stock  in 
Betts  &  Kreb's  store,  until  Edgerton 
failed,  after  which  he  clerked  for  Mr.  A. 
Gusdorf.  In  185S  he  bought  out  S.  H. 
Russel,  and  for  eight  years  carried  on  a 
grocery  and  saloon  on  Front  street.  In 
1S66,  his  lease  having  expired,  he  sold 
out  his  stock  and  engaged  in  the  insur- 
ance and  real-estate  business,  in  which  he 
has  continued  ever  since.  His  mother, 
for  whom  he  had  kindly  cared,  died  at 
her  home  in  Elmore  in  1S79. 

On  October  31,  185.S.  Mr.  Ward  mar- 
ried Miss  Julia  E.  Leppelman,  daughter 
of  E.  J.  Leppelman.  who  with  his  wife 
afterward  lived  in  the  family  of  Mr. 
Ward  for  twenty  odd  years.  Mr.  Lep- 
pelman was  killed  by  the  cars  at  a  cross- 
ing of  the  L.  S.  &  M.  S.  railroad,  on 
Main  street.  Fremont.  June  30,  1892;  his 
wife  died  in  July.  1893.  Mr.  Ward  is  a 
regular  attendant  at  St.  Paul's  Episcopal 
Church,  of  which  his  wife  is  a  member. 
Socially,  he  is  a  charter  member  of  Fre- 
mont lodge  No.  204.  K.  of  P..  and  is  also  a 
member  of  L.  W.  Ward  Division  No.  87, 
Uniformed  Rank,  K.  of  P.,  which  was 
named  in  honor  of  him.  He  was  for  many 
vears  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  Mr. 
Ward  served  four  years  as  major  of  the 
Sixth   Regiment,    U.    R.    K.    P.,   and  was 


48 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


reelected   for  four  years,  but  declined   to 
serve  longer. 

Our  subject  is  one  of  the  best  pre- 
served specimens  of  physical  manhood  in 
Fremont,  being  six  feet  tall,  with  broad 
chest  and  shoulders,  erect  carriage,  digni- 
fied appearance  and  commandingpresence. 
His  fondness  for  out-door  sport  and  horse- 
back riding,  from  his  youth,  has  con- 
tributed no  little  to  his  good  health  and 
marked  cheerfulness,  while  his  business 
ventures  have  secured  for  him  a  comfor- 
table competence. 


PROF.  W.  W.  ROSS,  superintend- 
ent of  public  schools,  Fremont, 
Sandusky  county,  and  one  of  the 
oldest  established  and  most  widely 
known  schoolmen  in  Ohio,  was  born  in 
Medina  county,  Ohio,  December  24,  1824. 
The  Ross  family  descended  from  an- 
cient and  time-honored  Scottish  blood. 
Our  subject's  great-grandfather,  Capt. 
Alexander  Ross,  was  an  officer  in  Gen. 
Wolfe's  army  of  invasion,  and  took  part 
in  the  battle  on  the  Plains  of  Abraham, 
Quebec,  which  resulted  in  the  defeat  of 
the  French,  and  the  conquest  of  all  Cana- 
da. For  gallant  services  he  subsequently 
received  a  grant  of  lands  from  the 
Crown,  and  settled  in  Prince  Edward 
county.  Upper  Canada,  in  1785,  where 
he  lived  until  his  death,  in  1805.  Ac- 
cording to  the  genealog}',  as  traced  by  the 
Canadian  cousins  of  W.  W.  Ross, 
"Capt.  Ross  was  a  grandson  of  Alexan- 
der Ross,  Laird  of  Balnagown,  Ross- 
shire,  Scotland,  who  descended  in  direct 
line  from  Hugh  Ross,  of  Rairiches,  who 
was  second  son  of  Hugh,  the  sixth  and 
last  Earl  of  Ross,  of  the  old  family."  The 
fifth  Earl  of  Ross  led  the  Ross-shire  clans 
on  the  field  of  Bannockburn.  In  the  an- 
cestral line  was  Rev.  Alexander  Ross,  of 
Aberdeen,  Scotland,  Chaplain  to  Charles 
I,  of  England,  and  a  distinguished  author 
of  many  religious  works,  both  in  English 
and  Latin. 


When  Capt.  Ross  received  the  grant 
of  lands  in  Canada  he  took  his  family 
from  the  Highlands  of  Scotland  to  live 
there.  His  son  Alexander  was  the  grand- 
father of  our  subject,  W.  W.  Ross.  He, 
Alexander,  was  born  in  Ross-shire,  in 
the  Scottish  Highlands,  not  far  from  the 
site  of  the  castle  of  Macbeth,  before  the 
family  went  to  Canada.  It  is  said  he 
spent  his  life  on  his  father's  estate  in 
Canada,  near  Picton,  Prince  Edward 
Co.,  Ontario.  The  full  details  of 
his  life  history  seem  not  to  be  recorded, 
for  his  son,  Joseph  Ross,  the  father  of 
Prof.  W.  W.  Ross,  was  born,  it  is  known, 
near  Saratoga,  N.  Y. ,  in  1805,  a  few 
months  after  his  father's  death.  Joseph 
Ross  married  Mary  Harkness.  He  was  a 
shoemaker  by  trade,  and  in  his  earlier 
days  spent  his  time  between  New  York 
State  and  Canada.  He  migrated  from  New 
York  to  Medina  county,  Ohio,  in  pioneer 
days,  in  1830,  and  was  one  of  the  first  set- 
tlers at  Seville,  where  he  worked  at  his 
trade  until  he  was  elected  justice  of  the 
peace,  in  which  capacity  he  served  over 
thirty  years 
formation, 

judgment.  His  probity  and  knowledge  of 
law  were  universally  recognized,  and  it 
became  a  proverb  among  the  attorneys 
that  if  a  case  had  been  tried  before  Jus- 
tice Ross  an  appeal  was  useless.  It  is 
said  that  not  a  single  case  tried  before 
him  was  ever  reversed  in  the  higher 
courts  during  his  thirty  years  of  service. 
His  death  occurred  in  1876.  Mary  Hark- 
ness, the  mother  of  our  subject,  was  born 
in  Salem,  Washington  Co.,  N.  Y. ,  in 
1806,  and  is  still  alive,  having  her  resi- 
dence with  her  son,  W.  W.  Ross.  She 
removed  to  eastern  Ohio  about  the  same 
time  as  her  cousins  of  the  same  name 
(Harkness),  who  settled  a  little  farther 
west,  and  who  eventually  became  the 
multi-millionaire  founders  of  the  Standard 
Oil  industrj".  She  was  a  teacher  in  both 
New  York  and  Ohio,  and  was  married  to 
Joseph  Ross  at  Seville  in  1831.     To  their 


He  was  a  man  of  good  in- 
broad    views    and    discerning 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


49 


union  were  born  seven  children:  Alex- 
ander DeW'itt,  wlio  died  at  the  a},'e  of 
seventeen;  Zaccheus,  who  died  in  in- 
fancy; McDonoufjh,  who  died  in  child- 
hood; /achary,  who  now  resides  in  Fre- 
mont; Mary  K. ,  wife  of  William  Decker; 
Albert,  a  farmer,  of  Sandusky  county, 
and  W.  W. 

Prof.  \V.  W.  Ross  received  his  school 
training  almost  exclusively  in  the  com- 
mon and  academic  schools  at  Seville, 
Ohio,  one  term  onl\',  1S52,  having  been 
passed  at  the  Twinsburgh  Institute, 
Twinsburgh,  Ohio.  His  parents  gave  him 
and  his  elder  brother,  .\lexander  De  Witt 
Ross,  their  entire  time  for  school  work, 
besides  rendering  them  much  assistance 
and  encouragement  at  home.  Under  the 
inspiration  and  guidanceof  Charles  Foster, 
a  graduate  of  Dartmouth  College,  who 
was  eminent  as  a  preceptor  and  educator, 
and  who  taught  a  flourishing  school  for 
years  at  Seville,  he  made  rapid  progress, 
and  in  his  earliest  "  teens  '"  was  well  along 
in  algebra,  geometry  and  other  studies,  in 
all  of  which  he  excelled.  [His  teacher,  Mr. 
Foster,  died  during  the  war  of  the  Re- 
bellion, in  which  he  was  serving  as  cap- 
tain.] 

Our  subject  commenced  teaching  when 
sixteen,  in  Seville,  and  for  fourty-four 
years  since  has  been  engaged,  almost  un- 
remittingly, in  school  work,  giving  thirty- 
one  consecutive  years  of  this  time  to 
superintending  the  schools  of  Fremont, 
Ohio.  After  a  first  trial  in  a  small,  select 
school  at  home,  he  taught  two  winter 
schools  in  the  country,  and  then  in  the 
fall  of  1S53  organized  a  select  and  nor- 
mal school  at  Spencer,  Medina  Co.,  Ohio, 
over  which  he  continued  to  have  charge 
for  four  years,  building  up  a  large  and 
flourishing  school  which  drew  pupils  from 
thirty  miles  around.  He  immediately 
thereafter  took  charge  of  the  academy  in 
his  native  village,  which  he  taught  for 
three  years,  beginning  with  the  fall  of  1S57. 
In  both  these  schools  he  established  a 
reputation   as   a  most  successful  teacher. 


He  again  taught  in  Spencer  in  the  fall  of 
1860,  and  in  Wadsworth  in  1861  62;  in 
the  fall  of  1.S62  he  took  charge  of  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  Clyde,  Ohio,  and  after  two 
years  of  successful  work  there  was,  in 
1864,  elected  superintendent  of  the  Fre- 
mont public  schools.  Thirty-one  years 
have  rolled  away,  and  still  Prof.  Ross  is 
holding  his  position  of  superintendent. 
L'nder  his  supervision  great  improvement 
and  progress  ha\e  been  made,  and  Fre- 
mont boasts  that  no  city  is  her  peer  in 
school  equipment. 

During  the  vacations  of  his  school 
work  in  Spencer  and  Seville  Prof.  Ross 
studied  law  under  J.  C.  Johnson,  of  Se- 
ville, Herman  Canfield,  of  Medina  (who 
fell,  while  serving  as  lieutenant-colonel  of 
the  Seventy-second  Ohio  Regiment,  at 
Shiloh  .  and  in  the  office  of  Noble  &  Pal- 
mer, Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1861.  More  or  less  famil- 
iar from  childhood  with  law  proceedings 
in  his  father's  courts,  where  he  was  ac- 
customed to  hear  such  distinguished  men 
as  D.  K.  Carter  (afterward  chief  justice 
of  the  District  of  Columbia)  and  John 
McSweeney  (one  of  America's  most  bril- 
liant bar  orators),  his  early  aspirations 
were  all  in  the  line  of  the  legal  profes- 
sion. His  health  had  partially  failed  him 
some  years  before  his  admission  to  the 
bar,  and  the  apprehension  that  his  health 
and  strength  would  not  justify  the  labors 
necessary  to  eminent  success  in  a  new 
profession  he  continued  to  work  in  a  field 
with  which  he  was  already  familiar,  and 
in  which  he  was  already  assured  of  suc- 
cess. It  was  nearly  a  score  of  years  be- 
fore he  fully  abandoned  the  study  of  the 
law,  but  he  was  eventually  well  satisfied 
with  his  chosen  work,  into  which,  from 
the  first,  he  threw  his  whole  soul  and  all 
his  energies.  He  never  recovered  vigor- 
ous health,  and  has  said  that  he  had  not 
seen  a  perfectly  well  day  in  forty  years. 
Although  achieving  an  immense  amount 
of  work,  he  has  always  found  it  necessary 
to  restrain  his  ambition  within  prescribed 


50 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


limits,  in  order  to  avoid  nervous  exhaus- 
tion. 

He  early  evinced,  through  the  inspira- 
tion of  his  father,  his  academic  school 
life  and  the  environments  of  aiitc-bclhnn 
pioneer  times  on  the  Connecticut  Western 
Reserve,  a  love  for  historical,  dramatic 
and  forensic  literature,  for  public  debate 
and  general  politics.  In  his  earliest 
"  teens "  he  had  read,  re-read  and  re- 
written Plutarch's  Lives  and  gone  through 
Gibbon's  three  thousand  stately  pages. 
Always  punctual  in  his  school  composi- 
tion and  declamation  work,  he  early  laid 
a  foundation  for  subsequent  success  in 
public  speaking  on  the  lecture  and  polit- 
ical platform,  and  in  general  literary  work. 
In  his  earlier  school  work  he  prepared 
many  dramas,  Shakespearean  and  others, 
for  presentation  on  the  school  stage,  and 
found  in  the  preparatory  work  e.xcellent 
elocutionary  drills  both  for  himself  and 
pupils.  He  was  always  an  active  partici- 
pant in  the  debating  societies,  and  the 
mock  congresses  that  on  the  Connecticut 
Western  Reserve  were  wont  to  discuss,  in 
the  years  before  the  war,  the  great  ques- 
tions growing  out  of  slavery,  and  was  an 
active  public  speaker  in  the  Douglas  cam- 
paign of  i860.  His  services  were  always 
in  demand  on  the  Fourth  of  July  occa- 
sions, which  were  unfailingly  observed  in 
his  native  village. 

Prof.  Ross  has  ever  kept  abreast  with 
educational  progress  in  both  local  and 
national  matters.  He  has  served  three 
terms  as  a  member  of  the  Ohio  School 
Board  of  Examiners,  and  was  president  of 
the  same  most  of  the  time.  He  was  a 
candidate  for  State  School  Commissioner 
in  1 87 1,  but  being  a  Democrat  was  de- 
feated. He  has  served  as  president  of 
the  Ohio  State  Teachers'  Association, 
and  also  as  president  of  the  Tri- 
State  Teachers'  Association,  composed 
of  the  States  of  Ohio,  Indiana  and 
Michigan,  and  has  been  quite  a  regular 
attendant  of  the  National  Teachers'  As- 
sociation.     The  honorary  degree  of  M.  A. 


was  conferred  upon  him  by  Western  Re- 
serve College,  Hudson,  Ohio  (succeeded 
by  Adelbert  University).  As  an  educator 
Prof.  Ross  has  few  peers.  He  is  a  man 
of  broad  general  knowledge,  a  close  stu- 
dent of  economics,  and,  like  most  public 
economists,  is  an  ardent  advocate  of 
tariff  reform.  He  has  published  a  series 
of  masterly  pamphlets  on  tariff  reform, 
in  which  he  shows  the  absurdity  of  pro- 
tection, and  handles  McKinleyism  with- 
out gloves.  The  titles  of  some  of  the 
pamphlets  are:  "Tariff  Reform"  (pub- 
lished October  15,  1888),  "Indirect 
Tariff  Taxation,"  and  "Governor  Mc- 
Kinley,  at  Fremont,"  etc.  His  paper 
entitled  "  Free  Text  Books,"  read  before 
the  Ohio  Teachers'  Association,  at  Chau- 
tauqua, N.  Y. ,  and  published  in  Xh.^  Edu- 
cational Jlloiit/ily,  Akron,  Ohio,  and  in 
the  School  Commissioners'  Report  to  the 
Ohio  Legislature,  is  an  able  treatise  in 
favor  of  the  idea  it  suggests.  Prof.  Ross 
is  a  lecturer  of  ability,  and  his  patriotism 
and  true  Americanism  are  evident  in  all 
his  writings  and  lectures.  In  the  Con- 
gressional campaign  of  1894  his  name 
was  urged  by  his  party  friends  for  con- 
gressional honors;  but  he  declined  to 
allow  its  use,  stating  that  he  had  outlived 
all  personal  political  aspirations,  and  was 
conscious  that  he  had  not  the  health  and 
strength  to  stand  the  wear  and  worry  of  a 
congressional  campaign,  especially  the 
labors  of  the  stump.  Mr.  Ross  is  the 
inventor  of  a  set  of  dissected  mathemati- 
cal forms,  and  the  author  of  an  accom- 
panying treatise  for  illustrative  instruction 
in  mensuration  and  concrete  geometry, 
which  have  been  received  with  unqualified 
commendation  by  the  leading  educators 
of  the  country. 

Prof.  W.  W.  Ross  was  married,  in 
1863,  to  Miss  Julia  Houghton,  of  Well- 
ington, Ohio,  and  they  have  three  chil- 
dren: William  DeWitt,  who  has  charge 
of  the  high  school  at  Fremont,  Ohio; 
Clara  J. ;  and  Harry  Houghton.  In  re- 
ligious connection  Prof.  Ross  is  a  member 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPUICAL  RECORD. 


61 


of  the  M.  E.  Church,  and  has  had  charge 
of  the  Sunday-school  about  thirty  years. 
Socially  he  is  a  ineinbcr  of  the  Masonic 
Fraternity. 


I 


JUDGE  JOHN  I.  GARN.  If  history 
teaches  by  example,  the  lessons  in- 
culcated by  biography  must  be  still 
more  impressive.  We  see  exhibited 
in  the  varities  of  human  character,  under 
different  circumstances,  something  to  in- 
struct us  in  our  duty,  and  to  encourage 
our  efforts,  under  every  emergency.  And, 
perhaps,  there  is  no  concurrence  of  events 
which  produce  this  effect  more  certainly, 
than  the  steps  by  which  distinction  has 
been  acquired  through  the  unaided  efforts 
of  youthful  enterprise,  as  illustrated  in  the 
life  of  Judge  John  I.  Gam. 

Our  subject  is  by  birth  a  Pennsylvan- 
ian,  having  been  born  in  Bedford  county 
October  27,  1833,  a  son  of  C.  M.  and 
Elizabeth  (Ickes)  Garn,  both  also  natives 
of  the  Keystone  State,  the  former  born  in 
Bedford  county,  in  1799,  the  latter  in 
York  county.  The  father  was  a  lifelong 
farmer  in  Bedford  county,  dying  there  at 
the  advanced  age  of  eighty-four  years,  the 
mother  passing  away  when  a  few  months 
older;  they  were  members  of  the  Lutheran 
Church,  and  in  politics  he  was  originally 
a  Whig,  later  a  Republican.  Frederick 
Garn,  father  of  C.  M.  Garn,  came  from 
his  native  country,  Holland,  to  America, 
settling  m  Pennsylvania.  Judge  Garn  is 
the  third,  in  the  order  of  birth,  in  a  family 
of  eleven  children,  a  brief  record  of  the 
others  being  as  follows:  Susan  (now  de- 
ceased; married  E.  Conrad,  and  lived  in 
Blair  county.  Penn. ;  Catherine  married 
S.  Mauk.  and  resided  in  Bedford  county, 
Penn. ;  George  lives  in  Sandusky  county, 
Ohio;  Daniel  also  lives  in  Sandusky  coun- 
ty; Hannah  married  John  Kesoberth;  Mar- 
garet lives  in  Bedford  county,  Penn. ;  the 
other  four  are  ileceased. 

Judge  Garn  received  a  liberal  educa- 
tion at  the  public  schools  of   his  native 


place,  and  assisted  his  parents  on  the 
farm  until  he  was  twenty-one  years  old, 
when  he  came  to  Sandusky  county  and 
bought  an  eighty-acre  farm  in  Jackson 
township  which  he  cleared  with  his  own 
hands  and  carried  on  some  eighteen  years. 
He  then  entered  the  service  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad  Company  as  ticket  and 
freight  agent  at  Millersville,  Sandusky 
Co.,  Ohio,  a  position  he  filled  with  effi- 
ciency the  long  period  of  twenty-one 
years,  when  he  came  to  Fremont.  In 
November,  1893,  he  was  elected,  on  the 
Republican  ticket,  probate  judge  of  San- 
dusky county,  taking  his  seat  February 
j  12,  1894.  While  at  Millersville  he  served 
as  justice  of  the  peace  some  fifteen  years, 
which  gave  him  good  insight  into  the 
laws  of  the  State,  thereby  well  qualifying 
him,  in  that  respect,  to  fill  the  position  of 
probate  judge. 

In  January.  1855,  Judge  Garn  was 
united  in  marriage  in  Sandusky  county 
with  Miss  Maria  Garn  (no  blood  relation), 
and  seven  children  were  born  to  them, 
to  wit:  Elizabeth  J.  married  Abram 
Rinebolt.  and  they  have  two  children — 
John  and  Minnie.  Anna  Mary  married 
Henry  Madison,  and  they  have  six  chil- 
dren— Lottie,  Anna.  John,  Charles,  Ida 
and  Grace.  Delilah  married  Robert  Mc- 
Caul,  and  has  one  child,  Minnie.  Han- 
nah is  the  wife  of  .Mexaiider  Claycom, 
and  has  one  child,  Delilah.  Sarah  C.  is 
at  home.  Minnie  is  at  home.  John  mar- 
ried and  is  now  deceased;  he  was  a  tele- 
graph operator.  In  religious  faith  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Garn  are  members  of  the  Evan- 
gelical Church,  and  they  are  both  highly 
respected  in  the  community;  socially  he 
is  affiliated  with  the  Knights  of  Honor. 

AK.  FERGUSON.  M  D.— The 
old-time  pioneers  of  the  far-famed 
Black  Swamp,  who  transformed 
a  howling  wilderness  into  the  gar- 
den spot  of  northern  Ohio,  are  fast  pass- 
ing   away.      Especially  is  this  noticeable 


52 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


in  the  case  of  the  pioneer  preachers, 
doctors  and  lawyers,  who  traveled  on  foot 
or  on  horseback  through  dense  forests, 
along  winding  obscure  roads  or  Indian 
trails,  to  visit  their  patrons  in  lonely 
cabins,  to  administer  their  primitive  rem- 
edies for  the  ailments  of  mind,  body  and 
soul.  As  an  example  of  one  of  the  best 
preserved  medical  gentlemen  of  those 
early  days,  who  is  now  an  octogenarian, 
and  whose  tales  of  adventure  and  privation, 
experienced  and  observed  among  the  early 
settlers  in  Woodville  township,  Sandusky 
county,  Ohio,  would  fill  a  volume,  we  in- 
troduce the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

Dr.  A.  R.  Ferguson,  Ballville  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  was  born  in 
Trumbull  county,  Ohio,  on  September 
20,  1 8 14,  a  son  of  Samuel  and  Mary 
(Ralston)  Ferguson.  Samuel  Ferguson 
was  born  in  Antrim  county,  Ireland,  and 
came  to  America  with  his  parents  when 
he  was  sixteen  years  of  age,  settling  in 
Beaver  county,  Penn.  He  was  the  young- 
est of  the  family,  a  farmer  by  occupation, 
a  Democrat  in  politics  and  a  member  of 
the  Seceders,  a  branch  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church.  About  the  year  1808  he 
married  Mary  Ralston,  who  was  then 
living  at  the  home  of  her  uncle,  Nathaniel 
Ralston.  In  Trumbull  county,  Ohio, 
during  the  war  of  1812,  SamuelFerguson 
and  Nathaniel  Ralston  were  drafted  into 
the  U.  S.  military  service,  and  were  sent 
under  Gen.  Wadsworth  to  guard  the 
mouth  of  the  Sandusky  river.  Mary 
Ralston  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  in 
1776,  and  died  in  Trumbull  county,  Ohio, 
in  1854.  The  children  of  Samuel  and 
Mary  Ferguson  were:  (i)  James,  a  car- 
penter and  joiner,  of  Warren,  Trumbull 
Co.,  Ohio,  born  in  18 10,  died  in  1840;  (2) 
Andrew,  a  farmer,  same  locality,  born 
in  1812,  died  in  1889;  (3)  Archibald  R., 
our  subject;  (4)  William,  a  lawyer,  who 
went  to  the  West  and  died  there;  (5) 
John,  born  in  18 16,  who  died  in   Kansas. 

Our  subject  grew  to  manhood  in  Trum- 
bull county,  where    he  attended  common 


schools,  and  spent  several  years  at  Farm- 
ington  Academy.  He  studied  medicine 
about  four  years  under  John  W.  Seely, 
one  of  the  pioneer  doctors  of  Trumbull 
county,  who  became  one  of  the  leading 
stockholders  in  the  Western  Reserve  Bank 
at  Warren,  Ohio.  In  the  fall  of  1839 
Dr.  Ferguson  located  and  began  the  prac- 
tice of  medicine  in  Woodville,  Sandusky 
Co.,  Ohio.  Here  he  kept  a  small  drug 
store,  and  served  the  country  people  as 
family  physician  for  many  miles  around, 
during  a  period  of  about  twenty  years, 
traveling  usually  on  horseback.  His 
practice  was  unusually  lucrative,  netting 
him  $1,000  the  first  year.  In  addition  to 
his  medical  projects,  the  Doctor  also 
found  time  and  means  to  engage  in  sev- 
eral other  enterprises  which  were  profit- 
able. He  was  for  a  time  proprietor  of  an 
ashery,  a  dry-goods  store,  a  saw  and  grist 
mill,  and  he  built  at  Woodville  the  nicest 
tavern  stand  then  known  in  Sandusky 
county.  He  owned  the  first  buggy  ever 
used  in  Woodville,  for  which  he  bought 
the  wood-work  of  a  wagon-maker  at 
Tiffin,  Ohio,  had  the  ironing  done  at 
Lower  Sandusky,  and  did  the  painting  of 
it  himself.  During  the  construction  of 
the  Toledo,  Norwalk  &  Cleveland  rail- 
road through  Sandusky  county.  Dr.  Fer- 
guson was  emplo3'ed  by  the  projectors  of 
the  road  to  assist  in  securing  the  right  of 
way  through  Woodville  township,  and  to 
solicit  subscriptions  to  stock  from  indi- 
viduals and  trustees  in  Ballville  and  Green 
Creek  townships.  When  the  route  was 
changed  so  as  to  pass  through  Elmore 
instead  of  Woodville,  the  Doctor  lost  no 
time  in  selling  out  his  property  in  Wood- 
ville and  locating  in  Ballville  township, 
which  has  been  his  permanent  home  since 
that  time.  The  Doctor's  enterprise  and 
public  spirit  were  recognized  by  his  neigh- 
bors in  his  election  to  the  office  of  justice 
of  the  peace  two  terms  in  succession,  and 
to  the  office  of  sheriff  of  Sandusky  county, 
two  terms.  During  the  past  twenty  years 
he   has  devoted  most  of  his  time  to  the 


COMMEMORATn^E  BIOORAPniCAL  RECORD. 


68 


improvement  of  his  model  farm  of  200 
acres,  lyinj;  two  miles  east  of  Fremont, 
and  to  the  raisinp  of  choice  farm  products. 
He  was  for  several  years  president  of  the 
Sandusky  Comity  Farmers'  Club,  and  has 
since  that  time  kept  in  touch  with  the 
best  methods  of  agriculture  by  the  read- 
ing of  select  farming  literature.  He  has 
also  taken  an  active  interest  in  educa- 
tional matters  in  his  neighborhood.  From 
his  many  tales  of  pioneer  adventure  we 
give  the  following  as  a  sample:  Once  upon 
a  time  a  man  came  after  the  Doctor  from 
the  present  site  of  Pemberville  to  secure 
his  services  for  a  sick  friend,  and  returned 
homeward  on  foot  through  a  dense  forest, 
walking  some  distance  in  advance  of  the 
Doctor,  who  followed  on  horseback. 
Thinking  to  play  a  joke  on  the  Doctor, 
he  turned  aside  and  stood  behind  a  tree, 
and  howled  in  imitation  of  a  wolf.  The 
Doctor,  not  suspecting  deceit  in  his  fellow 
traveler,  yelled  and  shouted  to  scare  away 
the  supposed  wolf,  but  kept  briskly  on  his 
way.  In  a  few  minutes  he  heard  the  howl 
of  a  real  wolf  in  an  opposite  direction. 
In  a  short  time  the  man  who  had  raised 
the  tirst  howl  was  alarmed  by  the  howling 
of  a  pack  of  wolves,  and  had  to  run  like 
a  deer  to  escape  being  attacked  by  them. 
He  afterward  told  the  Doctor  that  he 
came  near  losing  his  life  by  trying  to  play 
this  unkind  trick  on  him  at  the  wrong 
time. 

Dr.  A.  K.  Ferguson  was  married  in 
1843  to  Miss  Marietta  Hart,  a  native  of 
New  York,  who  died  at  W'oodville,  Ohio, 
in  1850.  They  had  two  children:  (i) 
Archibald,  who  resides  at  Tiffin.  Ohio, 
was  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  war,  served  as 
bugle  boy  in  the  One  Hundred  and 
Eleventh  O.  \'.  I.,  and  now  receives  a 
pension;  has  two  children,  Lillie  and 
Clarence.  (2)  Mary,  who  died  at  Tiffin. 
Ohio,  at  the  age  of  thirty-one,  and  was 
buried  in  Mt.  Lebanon  Cemetery,  Ball- 
ville  township. 

After  the  death  of  his  first  wife  Dr. 
Ferguson    married,  in    1855,    Sevilla    E. 


Cook,  who  was  born  January  5.  1835.  in 
New  York  State,  a  daughter  of  John  G., 
and  Lucy  (Martin)  Cook.  Her  father 
was  born  in  1 776,  in  Massachusetts,  and 
her  mother  in  New  York.  Her  father  was 
wont  to  say:  "I  lived  si.x  weeks  under 
the  King  of  England,  and  then  rebelled." 
He  died  in  1861,  praying  for  the  success 
of  the  Union  army.  His  parents  were 
English,  and  came  to  America — a  part  of 
the  "  Pilgrim  Fathers."  The  children  of 
Dr.  Ferguson  by  his  second  marriage 
were :  William,  who  grew  up  on  his 
father's  farm,  married  Miss  Georgia  \'an- 
demark,  of  Green  Creek  township,  and 
their  children  are — Mabel,  Charles,  Fred 
and  Edward  Glenn;  Edward,  who  mar- 
ried Miss  Nattie  Young,  and  whose  chil- 
dren are  -  Ha/el,  Kupert  and  Clifton; 
Lillie  B.,  wife  of  Kelly  N.  Myers,  drug- 
gist, Fremont,  Ohio,  whose  children  are — 
Hazel  and  Cecile;  Nellie,  wife  of  George 
Harris,  whose  children  are — Hallie, 
Archie,  George  J.,  and  Ruth;  Lulu,  wife 
of  Hiram  Smith,  of  Fort  Wayne,  Ind., 
who  has  one  child— \'eta;  Sevilla  E., 
living  at  home;  Frank  R.,  a  citizen  of  the 
State  of  Washington,  who  married  Clara 
Whitmore,  and  has  two  children — Wan- 
eta  and  Wan;  and  Fannie  G.,  Alice  and 
John  Albert,  living  with  their  parents. 


R 


EV.  MICHAEL  LONG.  Any  pio- 
neer record  of  the  Black  Swamp, 
in  northern  Ohio,  which  does  not 
give  an  account  of  the  old-time 
traveling  preachers  or  circuit  riders,  who 
did  so  much  to  cheer  the  homes  of  the 
early  settlers,  must  be  incomplete,  and 
any  list  of  such  itinerants  which  does  not 
include  the  familiar  name  of  Rev.  Michael 
Long  is  untrue  to  history.  For  more  than 
fifty  years  he  traversed  this  region  in 
every  direction,  and  thousands  loved  to 
listen  to  the  voice  of  his  unstudied  elo- 
quence. 

Rev.  Michael  Long  was  bom   May  3, 
1814.  in   Guernsey  county,  Ohio,  son  of 


•54 


COMMEMOBATIVE  BIOORAPEICAL  RECORD. 


Daniel  and  Margaret  (Brill)  Long,  natives 
of  Pennsylvania.  He  vvas  reared  to  farm 
work,  and  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools.  At  an  early  age  he  joined  the 
United  Brethren  Church,  and  at  the  age 
of  twenty-one  years  was  licensed  to  preach 
the  Gospel.  In  1834  he  migrated  from 
Guernsey  to  Sandusky  county,  Ohio, 
where  he  married,  on  April  20,  1837, 
Miss  Sarah  Gear,  of  the  same  county,  and 
they  lived  at  various  places  most  conven- 
ient to  his  fields  of  labor.  On  April  26, 
1836,  he  joined  the  Sandusky  Conference, 
and  was  assigned  to  a  circuit  of  twenty- 
eight  appointments,  at  which  he  preached 
regularly  every  four  weeks,  requiring  for 
each  round  a  travel  of  four  hundred  miles, 
for  the  most  part  through  the  forests, 
either  on  foot  or  on  horseback.  For  his 
services  the  first  year  of  his  ministry  he 
received  a  salary  of  forty  dollars.  His 
circuit  the  second  year,  and  indeed  for 
quite  a  number  of  subsequent  years,  was 
much  like  the  first,  with  salary  ranging 
from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five  dollars. 

He  was  an  active  itinerant,  and  for 
fifty  years  was  continuously  employed  by 
the  Conference  as  missionary,  pastor  or 
presiding  elder,  which,  with  one  year's 
subsequent  service  as  supply,  made  fifty- 
one  years  of  active  itinerant  life.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Conference  and  present 
at  every  session  for  fifty-six  years,  never 
missing  the  opening  prayer.  For  many 
years  he  was  almost  constantly  engaged 
in  revival  work,  for  which  he  was  natur- 
ally fitted.  His  voice  was  wonderfully 
strong,  clear  and  voluminous,  his  nature 
genial  and  his  deportment  dignified.  He 
was  directly  instrumental  in  the  conver- 
sion and  addition  to  the  Church  of  about 
five  thousand  persons.  He  solemnized 
more  marriages  and  preached  more  fu- 
neral sermons  than  any  other  minister 
within  the  bounds  of  his  acquaintance,  and 
he  no  doubt  traveled  longer  and  suffered 
more  privations  than  any  other  minister 
in  his  Conference.      His  unwritten  stories 


of  daring  adventure  and  hair-breadth 
escapes  would  fill  a  volume.  When  trav- 
eling in  the  Maumee  Valley  he  sometimes 
passed  trains  of  Indians  half  a  mile  long. 
He  was  endowed  with  remarkable  phys- 
ical powers,  and  could  endure  hunger  and 
fatigue  with  little  apparent  discomfort. 
He  was  a  friend  to  the  so-called  higher 
education,  and  encouraged  it  in  his  family, 
the  fruits  of  this  being  manifest  in  the 
honorable  standing  of  his  three  sons  in 
the  active  ministry.  He  and  his  noble 
wife  were  examples  of  economy  after 
which  it  would  be  well  for  many  of  our 
young  people  to  pattern.  Starting  in  life 
with  scarcely  an3-thing  of  this  world's 
goods,  they  lived  within  their  small  in- 
come, and  so  managed  that  a  small  per 
cent,  was  saved  year  after  year  until  they 
were  able  to  provide  a  comfortable  home 
for  themselves  and  family,  near  Fremont, 
and  render  aid  in  the  education  of  their 
children  at  college.  Mrs.  Long  died  at 
the  family  residence  on  January  15,  1889, 
and  his  death  occurred  at  the  home  of  his 
nephew,  Rev.  James  Long,  at  Weston, 
Ohio,  November  17,  1891.  Their  chil- 
dren were:  Martha  Jane,  deceased  wife 
of  John  Ernsberger;  Desire  Angeline, 
wife  of  Martin  Maurer;  Rev.  N.  S.  Long, 
of  the  U.  B.  Church;  Rev.  B.  M.  Long,  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church;  Calista,  wife 
of  J.  W.  Worst;  and  Rev.  Milon  De  Witt 
Long,  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 


FRANK  HEIM.  That  a  review  of 
the  life  of  such  an  energetic  and 
enterprising  individual  as  is  the 
subject  of  this  memoir  should  have 
prominent  place  in  the  pages  of  a  work  of 
this  kind  is  peculiarly  proper;  because  a 
knowledge  of  men,  whose  substantial 
record  rests  upon  their  attainments  and 
success,  must  at  all  times  exert  a  whole- 
some influence  on  the  rising  generation 
of  the  American  people,  and  can  not  fail 
to  be  more  or  less  interesting  to  those  of 
maturer  years. 


q/7Ccu^(^ 


COMMEMOUATIVH  BIOORAPHWAL  RECORD. 


55 


Mr.  Heim  was  born  February  26, 
1852,  in  tlie  State  of  New  York,  a  son  of 
Albert  and  Margaret  (Malkanuisj  Heim. 
natives  of  Hessia,  Germany,  the  father 
born  August  28,  1826,  the  mother  in 
1 83 1.  They  were  married  in  the  Father- 
land, soon  afterward  emigrating  to  the 
United  S  ates,  for  a  time  sojourning  in 
New  York  State,  whence,  in  1853,  they 
came  to  Fremont,  where  the  father  fol- 
lowed his  trade,  that  of  carpenter,  and  was 
also  in  the  retail  liquor  trade.  He  died 
November  25,  1867;  the  mother  passed 
away  in  1871.  Children  as  follows  were 
born  to  them:  Frank,  subject  of  sketch; 
Joseph,  now  living  in  Indian  Territory; 
William,  conducting  a  dry-goods  busi- 
ness in  Fremont,  and  Clara,  Henry 
and  Charles,  all  three  at  home.  The 
maternal  grandmother  of  this  family 
died  in  Germany  at  the  age  of  ninety 
years. 

The  subject  proper  of  these  lines  was 
about  a  year  old  when  his  parents 
brought  him  to  Fremont,  and  at  the 
public  schools  of  that  city  he  received 
a  liberal  education,  at  the  age  of  eigh- 
teen commencing  business  for  his  own 
account  in  the  retail  licjuor  trade.  In 
1877  he  purchased  an  interest  in  the 
Fremont  Brewery  Co.,  of  which  he  is 
now  the  president,  and  since  he  has  been 
associated  with  the  concern  its  output 
has  been  increased,  whilst  many  im- 
provements have  been  made.  He  is 
also  president  of  the  Electric  Light  and 
Power  Co.  of  Fremont,  and  of  the 
Opera  House  Co.  As  a  public-spirited 
and  liberal  citizen,  he  is  more  or  less 
identified  with  most  enterprises  tending 
to  the  welfare  of  the  city  and  the  com- 
munity at  large. 

On  March  27.  1890,  Mr.  Heim  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Delilah 
Soward,  who  was  bom  in  Seneca  county, 
Ohio,  daughter  of  Thomas  Soward.  In 
politics  our  subject  is  a  Republican,  and 
in  religious  faith  a  member  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church. 


SARDIS  BIRCHARD.  merchant, 
banker  and  philanthropist,  Fre- 
mont, Sandusky  county,  was  born 
at  Wilmington,  Windham  Co., 
Vt.,  January  15,  1801.  Both  of  his  par- 
ents died  when  he  was  yet  a  child,  the 
father,  Roger  Birchard,  in  1805,  the 
mother,  Drusilla  (.•\ustin)  Birchard,  in 
181 3.  Both  of  his  grandfathers  were 
Revolutionary  soldiers.  His  grandfather, 
Elias  Birchard,  died  of  disease  contracted 
in  the  service  toward  the  close  of  the  war. 
His  grandfather,  Capt.  Daniel  Austin, 
served  as  an  officer  under  Washington 
throughout  the  war.  and  survived  many 
years.  The  Birchards  were  among  the 
first  settlers  of  Norwich,  Connecticut. 

When  the  mother  of  our  subject  died, 
five  children  survived  her,  Sardis  being 
the  youngest.  He  was  placed  in  charge 
of  his  sister,  Sophia,  wife  of  Rutherford 
Hayes  (father  of  Gen.  R.  B.  Hayes),  be- 
came one  of  their  family,  and  lived  with 
them  at  Dummerston,  Vt.,  until  181 7, 
when  he  accompanied  them  in  their  emi- 
gration to  Ohio.  In  N'ermont  young 
Birchard  had  acquired  the  rudiments  of  an 
English  education,  by  an  irregular  at- 
tendance at  such  schools  as  were  in  ex- 
istence at  that  day  in  the  country  towns 
of  that  State.  He  had  also  become  an 
expert  hunter  and  horseman,  for  a  boy  of 
his  age,  and  gained  some  knowledge  of 
business  in  the  store  of  his  brother-in-law, 
Mr.  Hayes.  In  Ohio  he  worked  with  the 
latter  in  building,  farming,  driving  and 
taking  care  of  stock,  and  employing  all 
his  spare  time  in  hunting.  He  was  able 
with  his  rifle  to  supply  his  own  and  other 
families  with  turkeys  and  venison.  In 
1822  his  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Hayes,  died, 
leaving  a  widow  and  three  young  children 
and  a  large  unsettled  business.  Of  these 
children  of  his  sister,  the  eldest,  Lorenzo. 
was  drowned  at  the  age  of  ten  years; 
Fanny  became  the  wife  of  William  A. 
Piatt,  of  Columbus,  Ohio;  and  the  young- 
est, Rutherford  Birchard  Hayes,  born  the 
year  of  his  father's  death,  1822,  became 


56 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


the  nineteenth  President  of  the  United 
States.  Mr.  Birchard,  who  was  barely 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  at  once  assumed 
the  duties  of  the  head  of  the  family,  and 
applied  himself  diligently  to  the  manage- 
ment of  the  unsettled  affairs  of  the  es- 
tate, and  the  care  of  the  household.  In- 
heriting from  his  father  what  was  con- 
sidered a  handsome  start  for  a  young  man, 
possessing  a  genial  and  friendly  disposi- 
tion and  being  fond  of  wild  sports  and 
wild  company,  with  no  one  to  look  up  to  as 
entitled  to  control  or  advise  him,  his  fu- 
ture might  well  have  been  regarded  with 
apprehension.  He  was  then  a  slender, 
delicate,  handsome  youth,  with  engaging 
and  popular  manners,  and  was  a  favorite 
among  the  young  people  in  the  new  coun- 
try. Warmly  attached  to  his  sister  and 
her  children,  he  devoted  himself  to  their  in- 
terests and  was  the  mainstay  of  the  family. 
While  yet  a  boy  he  was  hired  to  help 
drive  some  hogs  to  Fort  Ball  (now  Tiffin), 
Ohio,  to  feed  the  first  settlers,  in  1817. 
This  was  his  first  visit  to  the  Sandusky 
region.  His  first  visit  to  Lower  San- 
dusky was  made  in  1824,  in  company  with 
Benjaming  Powers,  a  merchant  of  Dela- 
ware, Ohio.  They  stopped  at  Leason's 
tavern,  a  log  house  on  the  east  side  of 
Front  street,  where  Shomo's  Block  now 
stands.  The  pickets  were  still  standing 
around  Fort  Stephenson,  and  the  ditch 
was  quite  perfect.  The  village  then  con- 
tained about  two  hundred  inhabitants. 
After  a  trip  to  Portland  (now  Sandusky 
City),  they  returned  home,  and  the  same 
fall  Mr.  Birchard,  with  Stephen  R.  Ben- 
nett as  partner,  bought  and  drove  to  Bal- 
timore, in  the  first  cold  weather  of  the 
winter,  a  drove  of  fat  hogs.  Mr.  Birchard 
has  narrated  two  incidents  of  the  trip: 
The  young  men  had  to  swim  their  hogs 
across  the  Ohio  river  at  Wheeling,  and 
came  near  losing  all  of  them  by  the  swift 
current  of  the  river.  By  great  exertion, 
and  at  considerable  risk  to  themselves, 
they  got  all  but  four  or  five  across.  In 
the  meantime  they  were  overtaken  on  the 


road  by  a  tall  fine  looking  gentleman  on 
horseback,  who  had  also  a  carriage  drawn 
by  four  horses,  and  two  saddle  horses 
with  attendants.  The  gentleman  helped 
Mr.  Birchard  get  the  hogs  out  of  the  way, 
chatted  with  him  about  the  state  of  the 
markets,  and  the  prospects  of  the  weath- 
er, and  advised  him  as  to  the  best  way  to 
dispose  of  his  hogs  at  Baltimore.  This 
gentleman  turned  out  to  be  Gen.  Jackson, 
on  his  way  to  Washington  after  the  Pres- 
idential election  of  1824,  in  which  he  re- 
ceived the  highest  vote,  but  was  not 
finally  the  successful  candidate. 

In  the  summer  of  1825,  while  mowing 
in  the  hay  field,  Mr.  Birchard  was 
seriously  injured  in  health  by  over-exer- 
tion, his  ambition  not  allowing  him  to  fall 
behind  the  stronger  men.  From  the  ef- 
fects of  this  he  never  fully  recovered.  In 
the  winter  of  1825-26  he  was  confined  to 
his  bed  by  an  attack  called  "consump- 
tion," and  it  was  supposed  that  he  would 
not  live  until  spring;  but  his  cheerful  dispo- 
sition and  the  elasticity  of  his  constitution 
carried  him  through.  In  the  month  of 
May  he  set  out  on  horseback  eastward, 
making  short  daily  journe3's  as  his  strength 
would  permit,  and  in  due  time  reached 
Vermont,  where  he  remained  until  the  ap- 
proach of  winter,  when  he  traveled  south 
to  Georgia  and  remained  until  the  spring 
of  1827.  This  year  he  made  his  first 
purchase  of  goods  as  a  retail  dry-goods 
merchant.  He  went  to  New  York  with- 
out money  and  without  acquaintances, 
but  soon  found  a  friend  in  William  P. 
Dixon,  who  sold  him  a  stock  of  goods  in 
his  line,  and  recommended  him  to  others. 
His  stock  of  goods  was  made  up  and 
shipped  to  Cleveland,  himself  accompany- 
ing it,  intending  to  sell  to  laborers  on  the 
Ohio  canal,  which  was  then  being  built 
from  Cleveland  southward.  On  passing 
down  into  the  Tuscarawas  valley  he  be- 
camed  dissatisfied  with  that  trade,  sold 
part  of  his  goods  to  another  trader,  and 
took  the  rest  to  Fort  Ball  (now  Tifiin),  on 
the  west  side  of  the  Sandusky  river.    Here 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPUICAL  RECORD. 


hT 


he  remained,  trading  successfully  with  the 
new  settlers,  until  December,  1S27,  when 
he  removed  to  Lower  Sandusky,  having 
decided  to  go  with  Dr.  L.  Q.  Rawson, 
who  preceded  him  a  few  days.  He  at 
first  went  into  business  alone  in  a  store, 
on  the  corner  of  Front  and  Croghan 
streets,  where  the  Dryfoos  clothing  house 
now  stands,  which  was  erected  and  owned 
by  Richard  Sears,  who  had  made  a  for- 
tune, trading  with  the  Indians,  and  had 
left  for  Buffalo,  N.  Y.  in  the  spring  of 
1827. 

Though  there  were  three  other  stores 
in  the  place  and  two  distilleries,  Mr. 
Birchard  received  the  Indian  trade  to  a 
large  e.vtent  by  refusing  to  sell  them 
liquor.  He  was  in  trade  three  or  four 
years,  and,  having  accumulated  about  ten 
thousand  dollars,  considered  himself  rich 
enough  to  retire.  About  the  year  1831, 
however,  he  formed  a  partnership  with 
Rodolphus  Dickinson  and  Esbcn  Husted, 
himself  furnishing  the  capital.  The  firm 
name  was  R.  Dickinson  &  Co.,  and  they 
soon  had  in  operation  one  of  the  largest 
retail  stores  north  of  Columbus  and  west 
of  Cleveland,  their  yearly  sales  amount 
ing  to  fifty  thousand  dollars,  the  sales  being 
largely  on  credit.  Mr.  Birchard,  with 
Richard  Sears,  bought  the  first  sailing 
vessel  (each  owning  an  equal  interest),  a 
schooner  named  "John  Richards,"  worth 
then  four  thousand  dollars,  and  of  about 
one  hundred  tons  burden.  The  first  ship- 
ment of  wheat  out  of  Lower  Sandusky  was 
made  on  this  schooner,  and  it  was  prob- 
ably the  first  one  sent  eastward  from  any 
port  west  of  Cleveland. 

The  Indians  with  whom  Mr.  Birchard 
chiefly  traded  were  the  Senecas.  They 
drew  an  annuity  from  the  State  of  New 
York,  payable  at  Albany,  amounting  to 
$|,7CX3,  and  among  Mr.  Birchard's  cus- 
tomers, whom  he  trusted  during  the  year, 
were  Tall  Chief.  Hard  Hickory,  Seneca 
John,  Curley  Eye,  Good  Hunter  and 
others.  Before  the  annuity  was  paid  he 
would  get  authority  to  draw  money,  signed  I 


by  the  chiefs,  and  go  to  Albany  to  collect 
it.  This  he  did  three  times,  with  some 
risk  but  without  loss.  Besides  the  Seneca 
tribe  he  also  traded  with  the  Wyandots,. 
Ottawas,  and  a  few  Delawares.  The 
Senecas  owned  a  reservation  of  forty 
thousand  acres  east  of  the  Sandusky 
river,  on  the  line  of  Sandusky  and  Seneca 
counties.  Their  principal  settlement  was 
north  of  Green  Spring,  where  they  had  a 
mill  near  the  site  of  where  Stoner's  mill 
stood  later.  Their  Council  House  was 
not  far  from  the  mill,  northwestward. 
Mr.  Birchard  attended  some  of  the  Indian 
dances,  both  in  the  daytime  and  at  night, 
and  was  present  at  the  religious  ceremony 
of  burning  the  white  dogs.  The  Indians 
danced  in  the  Council  House,  in  the  center 
of  which  was  a  fire  over  which  was  boiling 
a  pot  of  corn  and  meat  Their  musicians 
had  in  their  hands  some  bundles  of  deer 
hoofs,  which  they  rattled  and  pounded  on 
a  skin  stretched  over  a  hoop.  Among 
the  white  men  who  joined  in  the  Indian 
dance,  were  Mr.  Birchard,  Rodolphus 
Dickinson,  Judge  Justice,  and  Mr.  Fifield. 
Mr.  Birchard  was  the  guest  at  night  of 
Hard  Hickory,  and  he  was  called  by  the 
Indians  "Ausequago, "  or  the  man  who 
owns  the  most  land.  Seneca  John  was 
in  the  habit  of  trading  with  Mr.  Birchard, 
and  called  at  the  store  to  see  the  amount 
of  indebtedness  the  evening  before  he 
was  killed  by  Coonstick  and  Steele  for 
witchcraft.  His  friend, Tall  Chief,  settled 
the  account  for  him  later,  as  he  believed 
that  no  Indian  can  enter  the  happy 
hunting  grounds  of  the  Spirit  Land  untif 
his  debts  are  paid.  This  chief  was  a  man. 
of  great  dignity  of  manner  and  character. 
In  their  business  transactions  these  In- 
dians were  generally  very  honest.  They 
would  not  steal  as  much  as  the  same  num- 
ber of  whites  with  the  same  opportunities. 
Mr.  Birchard  sometimes  had  his  store 
room  full  of  Indians,  sleeping  all  night  on 
the  floor,  with  no  watch  or  guard,  and  he 
himself  sleeping  on  a  cot  near  them.  The 
Indians  paid  for  goods  mostly  in  deer  skins. 


58 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


finely  dressed,  and  in  coon,  muskrat,  and 
sometimes  in  mink,  otter  and  bear  skins. 
The  Indians  dressed  these  skins  much  bet- 
ter than  white  men  could. 

In  1835  Mr.  Husted  died,  and  his 
place  in  Mr.  Birchard's  firm  was  taken  by 
George  Grant,  who  had  been  a  clerk  in 
the  establishment  since  its  formation.  He 
was  a  man  of  great  business  capacity  and 
energy,  of  prepossessing  appearance,  tall, 
slender,  of  fine  address  and  full  of  life  and 
ambition.  He  died  in  1 841,  at  the  age 
of  thirty-two,  after  which  the  firm  was 
dissolved,  and  the  business  settled  by  Mr. 
Birchard. 

On  the  first  day  of  January,  1851,  Mr. 
Birchard,  in  partnership  with  Lucius  B. 
Otis,  established  the  first  banking  house 
in  Lower  Sandusky,  under  the  name  of 
Birchard  &  Otis.  On  the  removal  of 
Judge  Otis  to  Chicago,  in  1856,  Mr. 
Birchard  formed  a  partnership  with  Anson 
H.  Miller,  and  a  year  later  with  Dr. 
James  W.  Wilson,  under  the  name  of 
Birchard,  Miller  &  Company.  In  1863 
the  First  National  Bank  of  Fremont  was 
organized,  and  the  banking  house  of 
Birchard,  Miller  &  Co.,  was  merged  into 
it.  This  was  the  second  National  Bank 
organized  in  Ohio,  and  the  fifth  in  the 
United  States.  Mr.  Birchard  was  elected 
president  of  the  bank  at  its  organization, 
and  he  held  that  position  by  re-election 
until  his  death. 

When  Mr.  Birchard  came  to  reside  in 
Lower  Sandusky  there  were  only  two 
lawyers  in  the  place:  Harvey  J.  Harmon, 
was  cultivating  the  island  in  the  river, 
and  Rodolphus  Dickinson,  a  graduate  of 
Williams  College,  Mass.,  who  had  a  good 
knowledge  of  the  law,  having  studied 
under  Judge  Gustavus  Swan,  in  Colum- 
bus, Ohio.  The  latter  was  active  in  the 
politics  of  his  time,  was  thrice  elected  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  Public  Works, 
and  twice  elected  to  Congress,  and  died 
while  a  member  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  United  States,  in  1849. 
For   his    private  virtues  and    his    public 


services  he  is  still  held  in  grateful  remem- 
brance by  the  people  not  only  of  San- 
dusky county  but  throughout  northwest- 
ern Ohio. 

There  were  no  church  buildings  in 
Lower  Sandusky  in  1827.  Religious 
meetings  were  held  in  a  log  school  house 
that  stood  nearly  where  the  high  school 
building  is  on  Croghan  street.  Court 
was  held  in  the  same  building,  until  the 
frame  court  house  was  finished,  in  which 
Rev.  H.  Lang  afterward  lived.  The 
preachers  were  Rev.  Mr.  Harrington,  a 
Presbyterian,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Montgomery, 
a  Methodist  missionary,  who  lived  with 
the  Seneca  Indians,  near  Fort  Seneca. 

During  the  years  that  intervened 
between  his  arriving  at  manhood  and  his 
death,  Mr.  Birchard  was  ever  conspicu- 
ous in,  and  the  ardent  promoter  of,  every 
good  work  designed  to  advance  the  wel- 
fare of  the  town  of  his  residence.  As  has 
been  stated,  he  was  connected  with  the 
first  enterprise  that  opened  river  and  lake 
commerce  between  Fremont  and  Buffalo. 
Appropriations  by  the  State,  for  the  con- 
struction of  the  Western  Reserve  and 
Maumee  road,  had  in  him  an  early,  un- 
tiring, and  efficient  advocate;  and  through 
his  efforts  in  circulating  petitions  through 
the  State  to  influence  public  opinion,  and 
thus  secure  favorable  legislation,  that 
work  was  doubtless  completed  many  years 
earlier  than  it  otherwise  would  have  been. 

He  ne.xt  became  enlisted  in  the  enter- 
prise of  constructing  the  Toledo,  Nor- 
walk  &  Cleveland  railroad.  The  chances 
then  were  that  the  northern  and  rival 
route,  now  known  as  the  Northern  Divi- 
sion, would  be  constructed  first,  and  a 
long  struggle  ensued  between  the  sup- 
porters of  each  route.  In  connection 
with  C.  L.  Boalt,  of  Norwalk,  Mr. 
Birchard  was  so  effective  in  advancing 
the  success  of  the  southern  route,  by  the 
pledge  of  every  dollar  of  their  private 
fortunes,  and  thus  raising  the  funds  to 
prosecute  the  work,  that  the  issue  turned 
in  their  favor,  and  the  work  went  on  to 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQRAPUICAL  RECORD. 


50 


completion  that,  but  for  their  extraordin- 
ary efforts,  would  probably  not  have  been 
finished  for  many  years  afterward.  Mr. 
Boalt  was  made  the  first  president  of  the 
road,  upon  the  organization  of  the  com- 
pany, and  heartily  co-operating  with  him, 
Mr.  Hirchard,  through  his  inlluence  with 
leading  capitalists  of  New  York,  was 
successful  in  obtaining  the  necessary 
means  to  push  forward  the  work. 

Mr.  Birchard  was  a  Whig  while  that 
party  existed,  and  subsequently  an  earn- 
est supporter  of  the  Republican  party, 
the  administration  of  Abraham  Lincoln, 
and  the  prosecution  of  the  war  for  the 
Union.  Hospitable,  warm-hearted  and 
friendly,  in  addition  to  his  contributions 
to  religious  and  benevolent  objects,  he 
cheerfully  aided  all  really  charitable  ob- 
jects. He  had  a  deep  sympathy  for  the 
poor,  and  could  not  bear  to  know  suffer- 
ing without  offering  relief.  During  the 
last  years  of  his  life,  when  poor  health 
required  confinement  at  home,  he  left 
with  Mr.  Miller,  cashier  of  the  bank, 
standing  instructions  to  contribute  liber- 
ally to  worthy  charities.  His  tenderness 
and  solicitude  for  the  unfortunate  is  illus- 
trated by  a  letter  which  Mr.  Miller  still 
preserves.  It  was  written  on  a  cold, 
stormy  day  in  early  winter,  and  reads  as 
follows:  "Mr.  Miller:  What  a  storm! 
I  fear  many  poor  people  are  suffering. 
If  you  hear  of  any  such,  give  liberally 
forme.      S.  Birchard." 

In  1 87 1,  Mr.  Birchard  presented  to 
the  city  of  Fremont  the  large  park  be- 
tween Birchard  avenue  and  Croghan 
street,  and  the  small  triangular  park  at 
the  junction  of  Birchard  and  Buckland 
avenues.  In  1873  he  set  apart  property 
amounting  to  fifty  thousand  dollars  for 
the  purpose  of  establishing  a  free  public 
library  in  Fremont,  appointed  trustees  to 
take  charge  of  the  fund,  and  provided 
for  their  perpetuity.  The  first  collection 
of  books  was  placed  in  Birchard  Hall, 
on  the  corner  of  Front  and  State  streets. 
In    order    to    obtain  a  location    suitable 


for  putting  up  a  library  building,  the 
trustees  united  with  the  city  council  to 
purchase  the  Fort  Stephenson  property 
at  a  total  cost  of  $18,000,  the  trustees 
paying  $6,000,  and  thus  was  secured 
the  famous  historic  locality  to  the  people 
of  Fremont  forever.  From  the  address  of 
Kev.  Dr.  Bushnell, delivered  at  the  laying  of 
the  corner-stone  of  the  Birchard  Library 
Building,  July  18,  1878,  we  take  the  fol- 
lowing: •'  It  was  not  in  his  thought,  at 
first,  that  this  bequest  of  his  should  be 
coupled  with  the  commemoration  of  the 
defense  of  Fort  Stephenson,  but  the 
proposal  to  join  with  the  city  council 
in  this  movement  received  his  hearty 
consent.  And  thus  the  building  itself 
with  its  uses,  and  the  site  on  which  it 
stands,  combine,  like  strands  of  gold, 
to  form  a  cord  of  hallowed  recollections 
ever  attaching  our  thoughts  alike  to  the 
deed  of  heroic  defense,  and  to  the  be- 
quest of  kindly  esteem.  For,  I  wish 
personally  to  take  this  occasion  to  sa^' 
that  the  bequest  for  this  library  was 
born  in  Mr.  Birchards  heart,  of  the 
most  kindly  consideration  for  the  people 
of  Fremont  and  of  Sandusky  county. 
I  know  whereof  I  speak,  for  this  is  not 
a  mere  inference.  He  first  determined 
to  devote  a  liberal  sum  of  money  to 
some  public  benefit  which  all  might  have 
opportunity  to  enjoy;  as  to  the  especial 
form  of  it  he  took  council,  and  what  he 
said  to  others  I  do  not  particularly  know, 
but  he  repeatedly  expressed  to  me  in  this 
connection,  his  kindly  feeling  toward  all 
in  the  community." 

Mr.  Birchards  gifts  to  the  city  are 
estimated  at  $70,000,  or  about  one-fifth 
of  his  estate.  In  addition  to  these  gifts 
made  during  his  lifetime  he  made  in  his 
will  bequests  to  Oberlin  College,  to  Home 
Missions,  to  the  Fremont  Ladies'  Relief 
Society,  and  to  the  Conger  Fund,  a  fund 
designed  for  the  relief  of  superannuated 
preachers. 

Mr.  Birchard  was  benevolent  to  a 
degree  and  in   a  manner   known  only  to 


-•eo 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


his  most  intimate  friends.  Aid  in  neces- 
sity was  extended  to  many  when  none 
knew  it  except  the  recipients,  and  per- 
haps a  friend  whom  he  consulted.  Mr. 
Birchard  was  especially  devoted  to  the 
fine  arts,  and  during  his  eventful  life  made 
a  fine  collection  of  oil  paintings,  which 
will  eventually  form  one  of  the  chief  at- 
tractions of  Birchard  Library.  Among 
them  is  an  oil  painting  of  his  favorite 
horse,    "Ned." 

In  May,  1857,  Mr.  Birchard  became 
a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Fremont,  and  he  remained  in  its  com- 
munion the  remainder  of  his  life.  He 
contributed  constantly  to  its  incidental 
and  benevolent  funds.  He  also  contrib- 
uted $7,000  to  the  erection  of  the  new 
edifice  now  occupied  by  the  congregations. 
In  this  he  took  especial  satisfaction.  He 
also  aided  other  congregations  without 
distinction  of  denomination.  He  gave 
most  satisfactory  evidence  of  sincerity  in 
his  religious  experience,  and  died  in  per- 
fect composure  of  mind.  He  had  talked 
much  with  his  friends  concerning  death, 
and  seemed  to  be  altogether  ready.  He 
was  one  of  the  marked  characters  in  the 
■early  history  of  the  country,  and  his  life 
was  fortunately  spared  to  a  ripe  old  age. 
Of  him  it  may  well  be  said,  as  the  faith- 
ful steward  he  received  the  gifts  of  for- 
tune and  gave,  in  his  turn,  freely  as  he 
had  received.  He  died  January  i,  1874, 
aged  seventy-three  years.  His  funeral  was 
attended  by  the  largest  concourse  of  citi- 
zens ever  assembled  on  such  an  occasion 
in  this  vicinity.  As  a  testimony  of  respect 
to  the  deceased  all  the  stores  and  shops  of 
the  city  were  closed  from  one  o'clock  un- 
til four,  in  the  afternoon,  when  he  was 
laid  to  rest  in  Oak  Wood  Cemetery. 


REV.  PATRICK  O'BRIEN,  pastor  of 
St.  Ann's  Congregation,  Fremont, 
was    born    at     Piltown,     County 
Wexford,    Ireland,    February   20, 
1844.      He  arrived  in   America  on  April 


15.  1857,  being  at  that  time  only  thirteen 
years  old. 

Like  all  young  men  of  his  age  and  na- 
tionality, seeking  a  home  in  the  New 
World,  our  subject  applied  himself  as- 
siduously to  the  task.  The  American 
Civil  war,  as  the  reader  well  knows,  com- 
menced in  1861,  and  our  subject  haviiig 
imbibed  that  spirit  of  patriotism  which  is 
so  characteristic  of  his  race,  handed  down 
to  him  by  his  undeniable  Celtic  ancestors, 
donned  the  blue,  enlisted  in  the  Northern 
army  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  the  Re- 
public in  preserving  the  life  of  the  Union. 
Owing  to  ill  health  he  could  not  render  his 
adopted  country  that  assistance  for  which 
he  had  hoped;  however,  he  did  his  duty 
as  a  loyal  subject  of  ' '  Uncle  Sam, "  to  the 
best  of  his  ability,  actuated  by  the  purest 
patriotic  motives,  until  by  reason  of  ill 
health,  he  was  discharged  from  the  or- 
ganization in  which  he  had  enlisted.  Af- 
ter his  return  from  the  service  he  resumed 
his  studies,  and  very  soon  realized  that 
his  vocation  was  that  of  a  priest.  He  was 
encouraged  by  his  parents  and  friends  in 
this  idea,  and  attended  college  with  a  view 
of  studying  for  the  sacred  ministry.  Fi- 
nally, Bishop  Rappe  received  him  into 
St.  Mary's  Seminary,  at  Cleveland,  Ohio, 
as  a  student,  and  in  a  short  time  the  stu- 
dent became  master  of  philosophy  and 
theology,  and  the  late  lamented  Rt.  Rev. 
Bishop  Gilmour,  D.  D.,  bishop  of  Cleve- 
land, ordained  him  priest  July  21,   1872. 

Father  O'Brien  has  been  recognized 
by  those  who  know  him  as  one  of  the 
ablest  priests  in  Ohio,  and  especially  in 
oratory  he  is  unsurpassed  anywhere  in 
this  section.  He  has  had  charge  of  the 
largest  congregations  in  the  diocese  of 
Cleveland;  was  for  some  years  pastor  of 
the  Immaculate  Conception  parish  in 
Toledo,  Ohio,  one  of  the  largest  English- 
speaking  congregation  in  that  city.  He 
was  transferred  from  the  Immaculate 
Conception  parish  to  St.  Francis  De- 
Sales,  on  Cherry  street,  Toledo,  and  re- 
mained there  a  short   time,  when  he   was 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


61 


again  transferred  to  the  pastorate  of  St. 
Patrick's  Congregation  of  Cleveland,  the 
largest  congregation  in  the  diocese. 
While  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's  he  built  one 
of  the  finest  schoolhouses  in  the  State, 
which  is  an  ornament  not  only  to  the  city 
of  Cleveland  but  to  the  State  of  Ohio. 

Owing  to  the  hard  work  that  he  was 
compelled  to  do  at  St.  Patrick's,  our  sub- 
ject was  broken  down  in  health  to  a  cer- 
tain extent,  and,  procuring  a  leave  of  ab- 
sence, he  traveled  abroad  extensively, 
making  a  flying  trip  to  Ireland  on  his 
way  to  Rome  and  Jerusalem.  During  his 
absence  he  wrote  very  interesting  letters 
on  his  travels  abroad,  which  were  pub- 
lished in  the  leading  journals  of  this  sec- 
tion. W'hile  visiting  in  the  Holy  Land 
he  encountered  a  severe  rain  storm,  and 
the  result  was  that  he  contracted  rheuma- 
tism, and  it  was  on  this  account  that  he 
asked  to  be  relieved  from  the  charge  of 
St.  Patrick's,  and  to  be  sent  to  a  place 
where  he  would  not  be  required  to  do  so 
much  work.  His  request  wns  granted, 
and  he  was  transferred  to  St.  Ann's,  Fre- 
mont, Ohio. 

While  Father  O'Brien  is  a  celebrated 
poet,  patriot  and  writer,  perhaps  his 
principal  work  outside  the  priesthood  is 
that  which  he  gives  to  the  temperence 
cause.  He  has  been  identified  with  the 
Catholic  Total  Abstinence  Union  of 
America  since  its  organization,  or  nearly 
so,  and  has  held  many  prominent  offices 
in  the  Union.  He  is  to-day  president  of 
the  C.  T.  A.  U.,  of  Ohio,  and  at  a  recent 
convention  held  in  New  York  City  was 
chairman  of  the  committee  on  resolutions, 
and  drafted  the  resolutions  which  created 
so  much  discussion  at  the  National  con- 
vention. He  is  a  thorough  American  in 
every  sense  and  meaning  of  that  word,  and 
is  respected  and  has  always  been  respected 
by  Protestants  and  Catholics  alike.  He 
was  assigned  to  the  pastorate  of  St.  Ann's, 
Fremont,  Ohio,  in  1893,  and  he  has  been 
a  valuable  accession  to  the  roll  of  the 
prominent  pastors  and  citizens,  and  both 


he  and  the  temperance  and  other  organ- 
izations of  St.  Ann's  have  done  a  vast 
amount  of  good  in  the  community. 


SAMUEL  DOLL.  Among  the  active 
spirits,  which  the  oil  and  gas  dis- 
coveries in  Sandusky  county  have 
brought  to  the  front  in  business 
circles,  the  name  of  Samuel  Doll  stands 
prominent.  He  is  a  widely-known  pio- 
neer of  Jackson  township,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1892  he  organized  the  S.  Doll 
Gas  &  Oil  Co.,  of  which  he  is  now  vice- 
president.  The  company  has  leased  a 
large  amount  of  land,  and  is  pushing  the 
new  industry  with  energy  and  dispatch, 
and  with  marked  success,  having  opened 
fourteen  or  more  wells,  the  majority  of 
which  have  produced  gas  in  paying  quan- 
tities. 

Mr.  Doll  was  born  in  Jackson  town- 
ship, March  3,  1835,  son  of  John  and 
Catherine  (DayhofT)  Doll.  The  father 
was  born,  in  1797,  in  Bedford  county, 
Penn.,  married  in  that  State,  and  in  1S34 
migrated  to  Ohio,  settling  in  Jackson 
township.  Sandusky  county,  where  he  re- 
mained until  his  death,  in  1865.  He 
was  a  Democrat  in  ante-bellum  times,  but 
during  the  closing  years  of  his  life  he 
voted  the  Republican  ticket.  His  wife, 
Catherine  Dayhoff,  was  a  native  of  Mary- 
land, and  died  in  1875  at  the  age  of 
sixty-four  years.  A  large  family  of  chil- 
dren were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Doll,  as 
fellows:  Two  who  died  in  infancy;  Joshua, 
who  enlisted  in  the  army  during  the 
Civil  war,  and  died  in  Tennessee;  John, 
who  married  Margaret  A.  Sprout,  and 
died  in  1890,  leaving  four  children — Ralph 
P.,  Nancy,  William  and  Fmma;  Daniel 
(deceased),  who  married  Adeline  Kennon 
and  had  six  children — Alice,  Byron  D., 
Elmer,  John,  Peter  and  Nettie;  Samuel, 
subject  of  this  sketch;  Mary  E.,  who 
became  the  wife  of  Solomon  Warner,  of 
Jackson  township,  and  has  had  seven 
children — Emma,    Laura,  Elsie,  Charles, 


62 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOOBAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Chauncey.Estelle  and  Blanche;  Sarah  A., 
who  died  young;  Noah,  a  resident  of 
Neosho  county,  Kans. ,  whose  children 
are  Alfred,  Chalmer,  Edith,  Henry  and 
Mary;  one  who  died  young;  Susan,  wife 
of  Isaac  Hite,  of  Jackson  township,  and 
mother  of  the  following  children — Doro- 
thy, William,  Francis,  Irvin,  Milan, 
Edward,  Lee,  Verna  and  Franklin;  and 
Jacob,  who  enlisted  in  the  fall  of  1864, 
and  died  at  Camp  Chase,  Ohio. 

Samuel  Doll  was  reared  in  the  pioneer 
wilderness  of  Jackson  township.  Educa- 
tional facilities  were  meager,  and  the 
ambitious  boy  or  girl  must  perforce  stimu- 
late his  or  her  waking  mental  powers  by 
poring  over  books  beside  the  log  blaze 
in  the  home  cabin.  Education  was  ob- 
scured, or  wholly  ignored.  Other  needs 
were  pressing.  The  clearing  of  the  land 
was  the  prime  consideration,  and  the  lad 
who  could  swing  the  ringing  axe  the 
lustiest  was  the  hero  of  the  day  rather 
than  the  pale-faced  youth  who  could  spell 
down  the  entire  school.  Mr.  Doll  amply 
filled  the  requirements  of  that  day,  as  he 
does,  too,  at  the  present  time.  He  was 
a  young  man  of  almost  gigantic  stature, 
and  of  unusual  strength  and  activity,  and 
even  to-day,  though  he  has  turned  his  six- 
tieth year,  he  can  do  more  physical  work 
than  many  a  man  at  forty.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1S59,  to  Mary  Hummel,  who  was 
born  in  Scott  township,  April  12,  1839, 
daughter  of  George  J.  Hummel,  a  native 
of  Germany,  and  to  this  union  were  born 
eleven  children,  as  follows:  A.  J.,  born 
June  6,  1 860,  who  married  Emma  J.  Beau- 
man,  and  has  a  family  of  two  children 
■ — John  F.  and  Jay;  Mary  C. ,  wife  of  J.  F. 
Hartman,  and  mother  of  three  children — 
George,  Clark  and  Vera;  Harmannus, 
born  September  2,  1861,  died  in  infancy; 
John,  born  in  1862,  died  November  7, 
1872,  Lucy  M.,  wife  of  William  Hey- 
man,  of  Sandusky  county,  and  the  mother 
of  two  children — Cecil  and  Veva;  Eddie, 
who  died  in  1872,  aged  four  years,  nine 
months  and    twenty-seven  days;   George, 


who  died  November  12,  1872,  aged  two 
years,  one  month,  twenty-two  days;  Elsie, 
wife  of  F.  B.  Rollins;  Orville  and  Arvilda, 
twins;  and  Estella.  Mrs.  Doll  died  Jan- 
uary 21,  1889.  She  was  a  devoted  wife 
and  mother,  and  a  devout  member  of  the 
United  Brethren  Church,  where  Mr.  Doll 
also  worships.  Mr.  Doll  served  in  the 
Union  army  during  the  summer  of  1864 
at  Fort  Ethan  Allen,  near  Washington, 
and  he  is  now  a  member  of  Manville  Moore 
Post,  G.  A.  R. ,  Fremont.  He  is  a 
prominent  member  of  the  P.  of  L  Our 
subject  devoted  his  life  exclusively  to 
farming  up  to  the  time  he  entered  the 
oil  business,  and  now  owns  a  large  and 
well-cultivated  farm,  which  he  has  always 
tilled  with  signal  profit  and  success. 


GEN.  RUTHERFORD  BIRCH- 
ARD  HAYES,  the  better  part 
of  whose  life  is  so  closely  inter- 
woven with  the  history  of  this  en- 
tire nation — whether  we  speak  of  him  as 
General,  Governor,  or  President — was 
born  at  Delaware,  Ohio,  October  4,  1822. 
He  was  descended  from  George  Hayes, 
a  native  of  Scotland,  who  came  to  Amer- 
ica in  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  settling  at  Windsor,  Conn.  Ruth- 
erford Hayes,  of  the  fifth  generation  from 
this  George  Hayes,  was  born,  in  1878,  in 
West  Brattleboro,  Vt.,  and  in  181 3  mar- 
ried Sophia  Birchard,  of  Wilmington,  in 
that  State,  "  a  lady  of  fine  intellect  and 
lovely  character."  In  18 17  the  family 
moved  to  Ohio,  the  trip  being  made  in  a 
covered  wagon  and  consuming  forty-seven 
days,  and  in  the  town  of  Delaware  they 
settled.  Here  in  July,  1822,  Mr.  Hayes 
died,  leaving  a  wife  and  one  daughter, 
and  in  less  than  three  months  the  future 
president  of  the  United  States  was  born, 
a  posthumous  child.  The  estate  and 
management  of  the  family  affairs  were  en- 
trusted to  Sardis  Birchard,  Mrs.  Hayes' 
brother,  then  a  young  man,  who  took  a 
loving  interest  in  his  sister's  welfare,  and 


LUCY  WEBB  HAVES. 


1 

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K.  II.  11. \^  IS. 


COMMEMOUATIVB  BIOQRAPUICAL  RECORD. 


68 


became  very  fond  of  his  young  nephew, 
takiiifj  him  under  his  immediate  charge. 
The  lad  received  his  early  education  at  the 
common  schools,  attended  an  academy  at 
Norwalk,  Ohio,  and  in  1837  went  to  Isaac 
Webbs  school  at  Middletown,  Conn.,  to 
prepare  for  college.  In  1842  he  gradu- 
ated from  Kenyon  College,  valedictorian 
of  his  class.  During  this  school  period 
he  spent  a  large  part  of  his  vacation  time 
at  the  residence  of  his  uncle  at  Lower 
Sandusky  (now  Fremont),  Ohio;  in  the 
meantime  his  sister  had  married  William 
A.  Flatt,  of  Columbus,  and  the  mother 
made  her  home  in  that  city.  Having  con- 
cluded to  make  the  profession  of  law  his 
life  work,  Mr.  Hayes  commenced  study 
in  the  office  of  Thomas  Sparrow,  of  Col- 
umbus, Ohio,  and  was  graduated  at  the 
Law  School  of  Harvard  University,  in 
1S45,  on  May  10  of  which  year  he  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  at  Marietta,  Ohio. 
He  began  practice  at  Lower  Sandusky 
(now  Fremont)  where,  in  April,  1846,  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  Hon.  Ralph  P. 
Buckland  (now  also  deceased). 

In  1S49  he  opened  a  law  office  in  Cin- 
cinnati, where  he  soon  attracted  attention 
through  his  ability  and  acquirements,  and 
where  he  successfully  pursued  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  till  the  breaking  out 
of  the  war  of  the  Rebellion.  In  1 856  he 
declined  a  nomination  for  judge  of  the 
Hamilton  County  Court  of  Common  Pleas. 
Two  years  later  he  was  appointed  city 
solicitor  of  Cincinnati,  and  served  until 
April.  1861.  On  the  organization  of  the 
Republican  party,  he  at  once  became  one 
of  its  active  supporters,  being  attracted 
thereto  by  his  strong  anti-slavery  senti- 
ments. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  he  was 
elected  captain  of  the  militarv'  company 
formed  from  the  celebrated  Cincinnati 
Literary  Club.  In  June,  1861,  he  was 
appointed  major  of  the  Twenty-third 
O.  V.  I.,  and  in  July  following  his  regi- 
ment was  ordered  to  West  Virginia.  Gen. 
Hayes'  verj-  gallant  and  meritorious  mili- 


tary career  has  been  overlooked  in  the 
prominence  given  to  his  political  life.  An 
examination  of  his  record  in  the  army 
shows  that  such  brave,  gallant  and  able 
service  has  rarely  been  equalled,  even  in 
the  annals  of  war. 

In  August,  1864,  while  fighting  under 
Sheridan  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  Gen. 
Hayes  was  nominated  by  a  Republican 
district  convention,  in  Cincinnati,  as  a 
candidate  for  Congress.  He  was  elected 
by  a  majority  of  2,400.  The  General 
took  his  seat  in  Congress  December  4, 
1865,  and  was  appointed  chairman  of  the 
Library  committee.  In  1S66  he  was  re- 
elected to  Congress.  In  the  House  of 
Representatives  he  was  prominent  in  the 
councils  of  his  party. 

In  1867  he  was  the  Republican  can- 
didate fur  governor  of  Ohio,  and  elected 
over  Judge  Thurman.  In  1869,  he  was 
re-elected  governor  of  Ohio  over  George 
H.  Pendleton.  In  1872,  despite  his  fre- 
quently expressed  desire  to  retire  from 
public  life,  Gen.  Hayes  was  again  nomi- 
nated for  Congress  by  the  Republicans 
of  Cincinnati,  but  was  defeatad. 

In  1873  he  returned  to  Fremont,  and 
the  next  year  inherited  the  considerable 
estate  of  his  uncle,  Sardis  Birchard.  In 
1875,  notwithstanding  his  well-known 
desire  not  to  re-enter  public  life,  he  was 
again  nominated  for  governor  of  Ohio, 
and,  although  he  at  first  declined  the  honor, 
he  was  subsequently  induced  to  accept 
the  nomination,  and  after  a  hard-fought 
canvas  was  elected  over  William  Allen  by 
a  majority  of  5,500!  This  contest,  by 
reason  of  the  financial  issue  involved,  be- 
came a  national  one,  and  was  watched 
with  interest  throughout  the  country,  and 
as  a  result  he  was  nominated  for  the 
Presidency  on  the  seventh  ballot  of  the 
National  Republican  Convention  which 
met  at  Cincinnati  June  14,  1876.  The 
doubtful  result  of  the  election  in  three 
Southern  States  threw  the  whole  country 
into  a  state  of  an.xiety  which  continued 
until  inauguration  day;    but  Gen.  Hayes 


64 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


was  declared  elected  by  the  highest  author- 
ity in  the  government,  and  on  the  4th  of 
March,  1877,  he  took  his  seat  in  the 
Presidential  Chair. 

The  administration  of  President 
Hayes,  although  unsatisfactory  to  ma- 
chine politicians,  was  a  wise  and  conserv- 
ative one,  meeting  with  the  approval  of 
the  people  at  large.  Throughout,  his 
administration  was  intelligently  and  con- 
sistently conducted  with  but  one  motive 
in  view — the  greatest  good  to  the  country, 
regardless  of  party  affiliation.  That  he 
was  eminently  successful  in  this,  and  was 
as  wise,  patriotic,  progressive  and  benefi- 
cial in  its  effects  as  any  the  country  has 
enjoyed,  is  the  judgment  of  every  intelli- 
gent person  who  gives  it  an  unbiased 
study. 

On  the  expiration  of  his  term,  ex- 
President  Hayes  retired  to  his  home  in 
Fremont,  Ohio.  Here  he  died  January 
17.  1893.  of  neuralgia  of  the  heart,  deeply 
lamented  not  only  by  relations  and  friends, 
but  by  the  entire  nation,  whose  welfare 
he  had  ever  at  heart.  That  he  was  pre- 
eminently a  soldier,  his  career  as  such,  his 
interest  in  the  Grand  Army,  the  Loyal 
Legion,  the  Union  Veterans  Union,  and 
all  other  organizations  associated  with  the 
army,  prove  beyond  peradventure.  As  a 
lawyer  he  was  successful;  as  a  congress- 
man he  was  popular;  as  Governor  and 
President  he  revealed  the  statesman.  He 
was  never  idle — wherever  duty  called  there 
was  he  ever  to  be  found,  and  in  this  re- 
spect the  many  claims  upon  his  time  made 
him  almost  ubiquitous. 

Gen.  R.  B.  Hayes  was  the  recipient 
of  the  degree  of  LL.  D.  from  Kenyon, 
1868;  Harvard,  1877;  Yale,  1880;  and 
Johns  Hopkins  University,  1S81.  He 
was  commander-in-chief  of  the  military 
order  of  Loyal  Legion;  was  first  president 
of  the  Society  of  the  Army  of  West  Vir- 
ginia. He  was  president  of  the  John  F. 
Slater  Education  Fund,  and  one  of  the 
trustees  of  the  Peabody  Fund — both  for 
education  in   the    South.      He    was    also 


I 


president  of  the  National  Prison  Reform 
Association,  and  a  trustee  of  a  large  num- 
ber of  charitable  and  educational  institu- 
tions. After  leaving  the  Presidency,  Mr. 
Hayes  was  actively  engaged  in  education- 
al, reformatory  and  benevolent  work,  and 
became  president  of  many  societies  and 
associations,  the  chief  object  of  which  was 
the  welfare  of  his  fellow-men.  Indeed, 
his  life  from  beginning  to  end  was  a  very 
busy  one,  and  no  less  beautiful. 

On  October  30,  1S52,  Gen.  R.  B. 
Hayes  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Lucy  Webb,  who  was  born  August  28, 
1 83 1,  in  Chillicothe,  Ohio,  at  that  time 
the  Capitol  of  the  State,  daughter  of  Dr. 
James  and  Maria  (Cook)  Webb,  and 
descended,  on  both  sides  of  the  house, 
from  Revolutionary  stock.  Miss  Webb 
was  instructed  by  the  university  profes- 
sors, preparatory  to  entering  the  Wes- 
leyan  Female  College  at  Cincinnati,  and 
it  was  while  attending  this  institution  that 
Mr.  Hayes  made  her  acquaintance.  Mrs. 
Hayes  first  became  known  to  the  outside 
world  during  the  Civil  war,  and  in  the 
army,  among  volunteer  soldiers,  she  found 
ample  opportunity  for  the  exercise  of  her 
rare  faculties  in  making  people  happy. 
Upon  learning  of  the  severe  wound  re- 
ceived by  her  husband  at  the  battle  of 
South  Mountain,  she  hastened  east  and 
joined  him  at  Middletown,  Md.  As  soon 
as  he  was  able  to  be  about  she  would 
spend  a  portion  of  each  day  in  the  hos- 
pitals, cheering  and  comforting  the  wound- 
ed of  both  armies  with  delicate  attentions 
and  tokens  of  sympathy.  Eminently 
social  and  domestic,  her  residence, 
"Spiegel  Grove,"  was  seldom  without 
visitors,  and  was  always,  in  every  station, 
mistress  of  her  own  household.  The  fol- 
lowing named  children  were  born  to  Gen. 
and  Mrs.  Hayes:  Birchard  A.  Hayes,  of 
Toledo;  Webb  C.  Hayes,  of  Cleveland; 
Rutherford  P.  Ha3'es,  of  Columbus,  and 
Fannie  and  Scott  R.  Hayes,  of  Fremont. 
Eight  years  of  beautiful  private  life  were 
granted   Mrs.    Hayes,  years    which    were 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPmCAL  RECORD. 


Co 


filled  to  the  brim  with  joy  and  occupa- 
tion. On  June  21,  1889,  she  was  stricken 
with  apoplexy,  resulting  in  paralysis,  and 
on  the  2Sth  her  soul  took  flight.  She 
took  an  interest  in  all  charities,  and  was  a 
leader  among  the  originators  of  the  Sol- 
diers' and  Sailors*  Orphans'  Home  in 
Ohio.  She  was  also  a  member  of  the 
Womans'  Relief  Corps  of  the  State  of 
Ohio.  To  her  husband  and  herself  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Fremont 
is  largely  indebted  for  its  beautiful  Church 
edifice. 


T.WLOR  FULLER,  president  of 
the  Peoples  Bank  at  Clyde,  is  a 
business  man  of  recognized  and 
deser\ed  prominence  among  the 
diversified  interests  of  Sandusky  county. 
He  is  one  of  those  sound,  conservative 
men,  whose  judgment  is  rarely  if  ever  at 
fault.  He  possesses  a  mind  of  those 
qualities  which  thoroughly  grasp  the  sub- 
ject it  engages  itself  upon,  determines  its 
relation  to  extraneous  matters,  and  finally 
passes  unerring  judgment  upon  the  con- 
sequences of  given  conditions.  He  is 
thoroughly  conversant  with  the  principles 
which  rule  in  the  commercial  world. 
Men  like  him  are  needed  in  every  com- 
munity to  give  voice  to  sound  business 
principles,  and  to  give  proper  direction  to 
enterprise  and  industrj-. 

Mr.  Fuller  comes  of  sterling  pioneer 
stock.  He  was  born  in  Townsend  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  March  29,  1840, 
son  of  William  and  Emma  M.  (Levisee) 
Fuller.  William  Fuller  was  one  of  the 
hardy  and  respected  pioneers  of  Sandusky 
county  who,  perhaps,  met  with  more  than 
his  share  of  severe  hardships  and  misfor- 
tunes, but  whose  strength  of  character 
conquered  every  obstacle  and  bore  him 
safely  on  to  eventual  comfort  and  af- 
fluence. William  Fuller  was  born  in 
Hawley,  Mass. ,  Januarj-  23,  1799.  His 
father  was  Jason  Fuller,  a  native  of  Con- 
necticut,   where    he    was  born    May  24, 


1767.  When  a  young  man  Jason  Fuller 
moved  to  Massachusetts,  and  there  mar- 
ried Fhilanda  Taylor.  In  18 16  he  moved 
with  his  family  to  what  is  now  Livingston 
county,  N.  Y. ,  and  here  his  wife  died  two 
years  later,  aged  forty-nine  years.  Jason 
Fuller  died  October  25,  1819,  at  the 
home  of  his  son  William,  in  Milan  town- 
ship, Huron  county.  He  had  been  a 
farmer  through  life.  Both  he  and  his 
wife  were  honest,  upright  people,  and 
members  of  the  Baptist  Church.  They 
had  eight  children,  as  follows:  Cynthia, 
who  married,  in  Massachusetts,  Silas 
Pratt,  moved  in  1824  to  Sandusky  county, 
Ohio,  and  died  here;  Rachel,  who  mar- 
ried Amos  Hammond,  in  New  York  State, 
and  died  in  Michigan;  Philanda,  first  wife 
of  James  Morrill,  died  in  Massachusetts; 
Electa,  second  wife  of  James  Morrill,  died 
in  Kansas;  William,  father  of  Taylor  Ful- 
ler; John,  who  married  Rhoda  Powell  in 
Green  Creek  township,  and  died  in  Ne- 
braska; Betsey,  who  married  Ichabod 
Munger  in  New  York  State,  and  died  in 
Michigan;  Thomas,  who  married  Margaret 
Ewart  in  New  York,  and  died  in  Michigan. 
William  Fuller  remained  in  his  father's 
family  until  F"ebruary,  1818.  He  then 
started  alone  and  afoot  for  the  wilds  of 
Ohio,  arriving  thirteen  days  later  in  Milan 
township,  Huron  county,  where  his  father, 
his  eldest  sister  and  his  youngest  brother 
joined  him  two  weeks  later,  and  took  pos- 
session of  a  tract  of  land  for  which  Jason, 
the  father,  had  previously  negotiated. 
William  engaged  to  clear  ten  acres  as  a 
compensation  for  his  time  during  the  two 
remaining  years  of  his  minority.  In  July 
of  the  same  year  he  returned  to  New 
York  and  to  Massachusetts  on  business. 
While  at  the  New  York  home  his  tnother 
died,  before  the  father  could  arrive. 
Here  William  Fuller  married  Mehetable 
Botsford,  November  7,  1818,  and  in  Feb- 
ruary, with  his  wife  and  his  father,  re- 
turned to  Ohio  with  a  yoke  of  oxen  and  a 
sled,  the  journey  consuming  twenty-two 
days.      His  father  died  in  the   following 


66 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


autumn,  and  William  continued  to  re- 
side in  Milan  township  until  1824,  cul- 
tivating and  clearing  land  which  his 
father  had  negotiated  for,  but  had  never 
purchased.  In  1823  William  Fuller 
purchased  forty  acres  in  Green  Creek 
township,  Sandusky  county,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1824  moved  to  the  little  place 
and  began  to  clear  and  improve  it. 
But  misfortunes  overtook  him.  He  was 
taken  ill  in  June,  and  was  unable  to  work 
until  late  in  August.  Through  the  fall  he 
suffered  with  ague.  During  the  following 
summer  he  could  do  scarcely  any  work. 
In  August,  1826,  his  oxen  ran  away, 
throwing  his  eldest  child  from  the  cart, 
and  killing  him.  The  same  month  his 
wife  and  youngest  child  died.  Leaving 
his  two  remaining  children  in  the  care  of 
his  sister,  Mrs.  Hammond,  he  returned  to 
New  York  State  and  worked  there  four 
years.  He,  in  Livingston  county,  married 
Cynthia  Havens,  May  15,  1831,  and  with 
her  returned  to  his  home  in  Green  Creek 
township.  In  1S34  he  bought  wild  land 
in  Townsend  township,  and  again  began 
a  pioneer  career.  Death  entered  his 
household  January  23,  1835,  and  again 
took  away  his  wife.  Left  with  four  chil- 
dren to  care  for,  he  could  not  well  break 
up  housekeeping,  and  on  July  6,  1835,  he 
married  Marcia  M.  George,  a  native  of 
New  York  State.  She  survived  her  mar- 
riage just  one  year.  Mr.  Fuller  was 
again  united  in  marriage  October  19, 
1837,  this  time  to  Emma  M.  Levisee,  who 
survived  him.  She  was  born  in  Lima, 
N.  Y. ,  March  24,  1818,  daughter  of  Aaron 
and  Anna  (Lyon)  Levisee. 

Aaron  Levisee  was  born  in  New  Jersey, 
June  19,  1774,  son  of  James  Levisee,  who 
had  previously  moved  to  that  State  from 
Connecticut.  Aaron  was  the  eldest  child 
of  a  family  of  nine  children.  His  boy- 
hood was  passed  in  Connecticut  and 
Massachusetts.  He  acquired  a  fair  -edu- 
cation, followed  the  seas  three  years  as 
clerk  of  a  sailing  vessel,  then  taught 
school.        While    teaching    a     term    at 


Lanesborough,  Mass.,  he  had  for  a  pupil 
Anna  Lyon,  whom  he  soon  after  married. 
She  was  born  at  Lanesborough,  May  13, 
1778,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Thankful 
Lyon,  both  natives  of  Massachusetts. 
After  marriage  Aaron  and  Anna  Levisee 
lived  in  Massachusetts,  in  Greenfield,  Sara- 
toga Co.,  N.  Y. ,  in  Lima,  Livingston  Co., 
N.  Y. ,  and  in  Allen,  Allegany  Co.,  N.  Y. 
Here  Aaron  Levisee  died  June  18,  1828. 
Four  years  later  the  widow  migrated  with 
her  children  to  Townsend  township,  San- 
dusky Co.,  Ohio.  In  1844  she  moved 
to  the  home  of  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Thank- 
ful Botsford,  near  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.,  and 
died  there  July  3,  1845.  The  nine  chil- 
dren of  Aaron  and  Anna  Levisee  were 
Almedia,  born  August  i,  1799,  married 
Ezra  Lyons,  and  died  in  Townsend  town- 
ship, Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  June  28,  1853; 
Eveline,  born  June  21,  1801,  married 
Hubbard  Jones,  and  died  in  Townsend 
township  June  13,  1873;  Thankful,  born 
July  15,  1804,  married  David  Botsford, 
and  died  in  Washtenaw  county,  Mich. ; 
Eliza  Ann,  born  May  6,  1806,  first  mar- 
ried to  Jonathan  Wisner,  afterward  to 
Joseph  Cummings  (she  died  in  Townsend 
township  November  6,  1838);  John  L. 
and  Sarah  L.  (twins),  born  July  4,  1809, 
the  former  a  prominent  citizen  of  Town- 
send  township,  died  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
six,  the  latter  dying  at  the  age  of  four  years 
in  1813;  Sarah  Sophia,  born  February 
14,  181 5,  married  Charles  Gillett,  and 
died  in  Steuben  county,  Ind. ,  March  16, 
1847;  Emma  M.,  born  March  24,  181 8; 
and  Aaron  Burton,  born  March  18,  1821, 
a  prominent  lawyer  of  Fargo,  North 
Dakota. 

After  his  marriage  to  Emma  M.  Levi- 
see, William  Fuller  continued  farming  in 
Townsend  township.  His  industry  and 
patience  were  rewarded  in  time.  He  ac- 
quired much  land,  and  each  of  his  five 
sons  who  grew  to  maturity  were  helped 
to  a  farm  by  their  father.  William  Fuller 
was  a  Democrat  until  1856;  but  from  that 
time  to  his  death,  which  occurred  Janu- 


COintEMORATIVB  BIOORAPHTCAL  RECORD. 


67 


ar)- 7,  1S84,  he  wasa  Rcpublicin.  In  re- 
ligious faith  lie  was  a  Universalist.  Two 
children  by  his  first  wife,  Uavid  and  John, 
grew  to  maturity.  David  was  born  July  8, 
1S21,  married,  for  his  first  wife,  Mary  Z. 
Hi;;lcy,  and,  for  his  second,  Eli/a  J. 
Plumb.  He  died  May  18, 1879.  John, born 
April  7,  1823.  married  Eliza  Mallory,  and 
removed  to  Branch  county,  Mich.  By  his 
second  wife  William  Fuller  had  two  chil- 
dren: William  T.,  who  was  born  April  lO, 
1832,  married  Mary  J.  Van  Buskirk,  and 
resides  at  Townsend;  and  Cynthia  M., 
born  November  2,  1833,  and  died  Decem- 
ber 22,  1853.  One  child  was  born  to  his 
third  wife,  Jason  E.,  who  died  in  infancy. 
Three  children  were  born  to  William  and 
Emma  M.  (Levisee)  Fuller,  as  follows: 
Taylor,  James  and  Albert.  James  was 
born  October  13.  1844,  married  Betsey 
Richards,  and  lives  in  Townsend  town- 
ship; Albert,  born  June  22,  1846,  died 
September  26,   1849. 

Taylor  Fuller,  the  eldest  of  these  three 
children,  grew  up  on  the  farm  in  Town- 
send  township,  and  attended  the  district 
schools.  He  enlisted  in  August.  1862,  in 
Company  K,  One  Hundred  O.  \'.  I., 
which  was  organized  at  Toledo.  The 
regiment  was  sent  to  Kentucky,  and  oper- 
ated against  the  forces  of  Gen.  Kirby 
Smith.  During  the  winter  of  1862-6311 
remained  in  the  vicinity  of  Lexington, 
and  in  the  fall  of  1863  crossed  the  moun- 
tains to  Kno.wille,  Tenn.  A  detachment 
of  240  men,  sent  up  to  the  Virginia  State 
line  to  guard  the  railroad,  was  captured 
by  the  Rebels.  The  regiment  was  en- 
gaged in  nearly  every  battle  of  the  Atlanta 
campaign,  then  returned  to  Tennessee, 
and  met  Hood  at  Columbia.  Franklin  and 
at  Nashville.  After  Hood's  defeat  at 
Nashville,  Mr.  Fuller,  then  a  sergeant, 
went  with  the  command  to  North  Caro- 
lina. It  was  actively  engaged  at  Wil- 
mington and  assisted  in  the  capture  of 
that  city,  then  moved  to  Goldsboro  and 
met  Shermans  army.  The  regiment  was 
mustered    out    at    Greensboro.     N.    C, 


June  20.  1865,  and  discharged  at  Cleve- 
land, July  I,  following.  Sergt.  Fuller  was 
a  faithful  soldier,  and  was  with  the  regi- 
ment during  the  whole  of  its  active  and 
eventful  service.  Returning  to  his  home, 
he  again  took  up  the  vocations  of  peace. 
On  December  3.  1867,  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Lina  E.  Stone,  who  was  born 
in  Seneca  county.  Ohio,  April  15,  1843. 
Their  only  child,  Dermont  E.,  was  born 
November  6,  1868,  and  was  educated  in 
the  schools  of  Clyde  and  at  the  Ohio 
Wesleyan  University,  Delaware;  he  is 
now  assistant  cashier  of  the  Peoples  Bank 
at  Clyde.  Taylor  Fuller  began  house- 
keeping on  a  farm  in  Townsend  township 
which  he  had  previously  purchased,  but 
later  settled  on  his  present  farm  in  York 
township.  Besides  looking  after  his  farm- 
ing interests  he  has  been  one  of  the  lead- 
ing stock  farmers  at  Clyde  for  ten  years 
or  more,  and  for  a  number  of  years  he 
has  been  a  prominent  wool  dealer  also. 
He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Peo- 
ples Bank,  which  was  organized  in  1883 
with  a  capital  stock  of  $50,000,  and  which 
is  one  of  the  leading  and  prosperous  finan- 
cial institutions  of  the  county.  He  served 
as  vice-president  continuously  until  elected 
to  his  present  responsible  position  of  presi- 
dent of  the  bank.  In  politics  Mr.  Fuller 
is  a  pronounced  Republican.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  G.  .\.  R..  and  of  the 
U.  V.  U.  No  man  in  the  township  ranks 
higher  as  a  public-spirited  citizen,  and  as 
a  capable  business  man. 


SAXTON  SQUIRE  R.ATHBUN 
(deceased).  For  over  seventy  years 
this  venerable  and  hearty  pioneer 
was  a  resident  of  Green  Creek 
township.  Sandusky  county,  and  at  the 
time  of  his  death  he  was  one  of  the  oldest 
settlers  of  the  county.  When  his  people 
came  to  the  wilderness  there  was  not  a 
residence  of  any  kind  between  Green 
Creek  township  and  Sandusky  Bay,  and 
Indians   inhabited   the   woods   on  every 


68 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


side.  It  was  in  1820  that  Jonathan  Rath- 
bun,  grandfather  of  Saxton  S.,  migrated 
from  Genesee  county,  N.  Y. ,  to  Ohio, 
settling  first  in  Lorain  county,  and  four 
years  later  coming  to  the  farm  in  Green 
Creek  township  lately  occupied  by  S.  S. 
Rathbun,  where  he  permanently  located. 
Jonathan  Rathbun  was  one  of  three 
brothers  who  emigrated  from  England  to 
America  and  the  fourth  in  a  family  of  ten, 
children.  He  settled  in  Tyringham, 
Mass.,  and  later  migrated  with  his  family 
to  Genesee  county,  N.  Y.  He  had  four 
sons — Clark,  Chaplin,  Lucius  and  Mar- 
tin— and  four  daughters — Sally,  Marvel, 
Eliza  and  Laura — all  of  whom  moved  with 
him  to  the  Western  home. 

Chaplin  Rathbun,  father  of  Saxton  S., 
was  born  in  Tyringham,  Mass.,  July  3, 
1793.  He  was  married  in  New  York 
State  to  Lucinda  Sutliff,  who  was  born 
on  the  Genesee  river.  New  York  State,  in 
1792,  and  whose  grandfather.  Gad  Sut- 
liff, a  ship  carpenter  by  vocation,  emi- 
grated from  England,  and  died  in  New 
York  State,  at  the  age  of  ninety-three 
years.  Many  of  his  descendants  now 
live  in  Lorain  county,  Ohio,  among 
them  being  William  H.  H.  Sutliff,  of 
Wellington.  The  children  of  Chap- 
lin and  Lucinda  Rathbun  were  as 
follows:  Saxton  S. ,  born  in  Genesee 
county,  N.  Y. ,  June  3,  1813;  Jeannette, 
who  married  James  Cleveland,  and  died 
in  Green  Creek  township;  Jonathan,  who 
died  aged  seven  years;  Catherine,  who 
married  Christian  Huss,  and  died  in  1894; 
Lucinda,  married  to  Morris  Lemmon,  and 
died  in  Steuben  county,  Ind. ;  Sarah,  who 
married  H.  Foster,  and  died  recently  in  La 
Grange  county,  Ind. ;  Bliss,  who  died  in 
Green  Creek  township,  aged  twenty- 
five  years;  Eliza,  wife  of  John  Hunter,  of 
La  Grange  county,  Ind.  Chaplin  Rath- 
bun died  January  i,  1865.  He  was  a  man 
of  large  size,  hardy  constitution  and  mus- 
cular frame.  In  politics  he  was  a  Whig 
and  Republican  successively. 

Saxton    S.    Rathbun    was    a    lad    of 


eleven  years  when  his  parents  entered  the 
dense  wilderness  which  covered  the  now 
fertile  farms  of  Green  Creek  township. 
The  educational  possibilities  of  the  back- 
woods were  not  great,  but  he  took  ad- 
vantage of  such  opportunities  as  the  fron- 
tier then  afforded.  He  attended  a  school 
in  a  log  cabin  wherein,  as  a  substitute  for 
a  window,  a  hole  was  cut  in  a  log  and 
paper  pasted  over  the  opening.  On 
April  9,  1S35,  he  was  married  to  Bar- 
bara E.  Huss,  born  in  Lancaster  county, 
Penn.,  December  27,  18 16,  and  their 
children  were  as  follows:  (i)  Edwin,  born 
March  10,  1837,  who,  while  a  river  man, 
unmarried,  died  of  yellow  fever  at  St. 
Louis,  Mo.,  in  1880.  (2)  Norton  G., 
born  September  19,  1839,  now  of  Green 
Creek  township,  an  ex-county  commis- 
sioner, married,  and  is  the  father  of  three 
children — Edwin,  Arthur  and  Herman. 
(3)  Burton,  married,  and  is  the  father  of 
one  child — Leonard.  (4)  Thaddeus,  who 
died  aged  eight  years.  (5)  James,  who 
yielded  up  his  life  for  his  country  on  the 
battlefield  of  Stone  River,  December  30, 
1862,  after  a  service  of  nearly  two  years; 
he  was  a  member  of  the  121st  Illinois 
Regiment,  in  the  division  of  Gen.  Rose- 
crans;  was  six  feet  one  inch  tall  in  his 
stockings;  alwa3's  read}'  for  duty,  and  the 
best  man  in  his  regiment;  the  bereaved 
father  went  to  Tennessee  and  brought 
home  the  remains.  (6)  Norman  died  of 
t3'phoid  fever,  aged  twenty-two  years. 
(7)  Chaplin  L.  married,  and  is  the  father 
of  eight  children — Harry,  Edith,  Fannie, 
James,  Nina,  Lucy,  Ollie  and  Mabel.  (8) 
Lucinda  is  the  wife  of  Charles  Storer  and 
the  mother  of  five  children — Alice,  Bes- 
sie, Mary,  James  and  Carrie.  (9)  Brace, 
of  Eaton  Rapids,  Mich.,  is  the  father  of 
three  children,  one  of  whom  died  at  the 
age  of  four  years,  those  living  being  Ban- 
nie  and  Bertha.  (10)  Orvilla,  wife  of  H. 
Sackrider,  of  Fremont,  is  the  mother  of 
five  children,  two  of  whom  died  in  in- 
fancy, the  living  being  Lynn,  Blanche 
and  Grace.      (11)   Jacob  died  in  infancy. 


COMlfEMOIiATIl'E  DWQIiAPUICAL  RECORD. 


69 


(i2)  John  E.,  connected  with  the  Oak- 
wood  Cemetery  Association,  of  Fremont, 
for  the  past  fifteen  years,  has  one  child — 
Ferra  Fern. 

After  his  marriage  Mr.  Rathbun  pur- 
chased eifjhty  acres  of  land  in  Green 
Creek  township.  The  original  deed  for 
the  land  bears  the  signature  of  Andrew 
Jackson,  President,  under  date  of  1832, 
and  Mr.  Rathbun  paid  for  the  land  by 
working  fur  $  1  o  per  month.  Nobly  aided 
by  his  wife,  he  essayed  the  task  of  clear- 
ing the  land,  and  gradually  increased  the 
acreage  until  it  developed  into  the  pres- 
ent excellent  farm  of  200  acres,  all  of 
which  was  acquired  and  improved  by  its 
worthy  owner  and  his  faithful  helpmeet 
and  co-worker,  whose  loss  by  death,  oc- 
curring March  13.  1894,  he  deeply 
mourned.  The  rearing  and  educating  of 
their  large  family  consumed  much  of  her 
time,  but  she  proved  equal  to  the  stern 
responsibilities,  and  to  her  Mr.  Rathbun 
ascribed  due  meed  for  the  efficient  man- 
ner in  which  she  contributed  to  the  accu- 
mulation of  the  estate.  In  politics  Mr. 
Rathbun  was  a  Democrat  until  the  open- 
ing of  the  Civil  war,  after  which  time  he 
was  a  Republican.  He  was  trustee  of 
the  township  fourteen  years.  In  the  es- 
teem of  his  fellow  citizens  no  man  ranked 
higher  than  this  brave  and  earnest  pio- 
neer. His  life  work  was  well  done,  and 
its  remembrance  will  Imger  long  in  the 
memories  of  men.  He  passed  from  earth 
February  3,   1895. 


WB.  HEIM.  Among  the  enter- 
prising and  successful  young 
business  men  of  Fremont,  San- 
dusky county,  may  be  justly 
mentioned  William  B.  Heim,  of  the  well 
known  dry-goods  firm  of  Heim  &  Barnum, 
corner  of  Front  and  State  streets.  Al- 
though of  German  parentage,  Mr.  Heim 
is  a  native  of  the  "  Buckeye  State,"  hav- 
ing been  born  in  Fremont,  Ohio,  June  6, 


1S57,  a  son  of  Albert  and  Margaret  (Mal- 
kamus)  Heim. 

William  B.  Heim  entered  business  life 
as  a  clerk  in  the  dry-goods  store  of  J. 
Ryan,  in  1875,  and  remained  in  that  ca- 
pacity until  1882.  Having  mastered  the 
problems  involved  in  mercantile  transac- 
tions thoroughly,  and  economized  his 
time  and  means,  he  found  himself  ready 
to  embark  in  an  enterprise  for  himself, 
and  in  1S85  became  a  member  of  the  firm 
of  Heim  &  Richards,  successors  to  J. 
Ryan.  This  firm  was  afterward  changed 
to  Heim  &  Barnum,  our  subject  remain- 
ing connected  with  the  firm.  There  are 
few  men  in  any  community  who  can  boast 
of  having  gained  the  confidence  of  the 
public  more  thoroughly  than  he;  and  this 
has  been  done  by  fair  dealing  and  genuine 
courtesy.  The  store  of  Heim  &  Barnum, 
No.  1 16  N.  Front  street,  is  86  by  23  feet, 
and  they  occupy  part  of  the  second  story  of 
of  the  building;  eight  clerks  are  employed. 

Mr.  Heim  was  married  in  1887  to 
Miss  Clara  A.  Dorr,  of  Fremont,  and  they 
have  one  child,  Bogniard.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Heim  are  both  possessed  of  good  educa- 
tional ideas,  and  their  aim  is  to  give  their 
son  the  advantage  of  modern  methods  of 
culture.  Mr.  Heim  is  a  Democrat,  a 
member  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
and  of  the  National  Union. 


HON.  JOHN  KELLY  (deceased), 
who,  for  the  long  period  of  over  half 
a  century,  was  a  resident  of  what 
is  known  as  the  Peninsula,  Ottawa 
county,  was  born  in  the  city  of  Truy,  N.Y., 
December  14,  1809.  In  the  fall  of  18 18 
he  came  to  Ohio  with  his  father,  the  fam- 
ily settling  at  Sandusky,  at  that  time  a 
wilderness  inhabited  by  Indians  and  wild 
animals.  In  1832  our  subject  moved  to 
the  Peninsula,  and  on  July  23,  1835,  was 
married  to  Elizabeth  Pettibone,  soon 
after  which  event  he  purchased  the  farm 
whereon  he  passed  the  rest  of  his  days. 
Mr.    Kelly    enjoyed    about   the   usual 


70 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


school  advantages  of  pioneer  days,  and, 
such  as  they  were,  they  ended  with  his 
fourteenth  year;  but  his  extreme  fondness 
for  reading  in  a  measure  suppHed  the 
deficiencies  of  his  early  training.  The 
Bible,  the  Iliad,  Shakespeare,  Goldsmith, 
Scott,  Burns  and  Byron  were  among  his 
favorite  books  and  authors.  He  was  a 
man  of  strong,  resolute,  independent 
character,  possessed  of  deep  convictions 
which  were  not  shaken  in  the  least,  even 
if  all  the  world  disagreed  with  him.  He 
would  allow  himself  to  be  under  no  obli- 
gations to  any  one,  and  would  not  suffer 
anybody  to  have  any  power  or  control 
over  him.  He  would  deny  himself  a  ne- 
cessity before  he  would  contract  a  debt 
that  might  embarass  him  in  the  future. 
He  was  very  exact  in  the  performance  of 
all  his  engagements;  a  debt  with  him  must 
always  be  paid  on  the  day  it  fell  due. 
Though  not  pretending  to  a  knowledge  of 
the  details  of  the  law,  he  was  well-versed 
in  legal  maxims,  and  had  such  rare  judg- 
ment in  their  application  that  he  was 
often  called  upon  by  his  neighbors  for 
legal  advice,  and  in  this  way  ofttimes 
rendered  them  material  aid.  He  had  a 
retentive  memory,  and  could  repeat  en- 
tire many  of  the  longer  poems  of  his 
favorite  poet,  Burns.  He  never  held  a 
public  position  that  was  not  given  with- 
out asking.  He  served  his  township  as 
justice  of  the  peace  for  twelve  consecu- 
tive years,  and  held  various  other  minor 
public  positions.  In  1862  he  was  elected, 
on  the  Republican  ticket,  to  represent  the 
Thirtieth  Senatorial  District  in  the  Fifty- 
fifth  General  Assembly  of  Ohio,  wherein 
he  served  a  term  of  two  years — 1862-63. 
Mr.  Kelly  firmly  believed  in  an  over- 
ruling Providence,  in  retribution  for  evil 
doing,  and  in  good  works  as  an  infallible 
index  of  good  character;  further  than  which 
it  is  doubtful  whether  he  had  any  formu- 
lated belief.  Upon  this,  as,  indeed,  upon 
every  subject,  he  did  his  own  thinking; 
he  accepted  nothing  upon  authority,  scout- 
ing the  idea  that  a  man  jiiiist  believe  any- 


thing. He  felt  that  the  average  Church 
creed  was  too  detailed  and  definite  to  be 
wholly  true,  or  even  reverent. 

He  passed  from  earth  April  18,  .1883, 
at  the  age  of  seventy-three  years,  after 
but  two  days'  illness,  although  he  had 
been  in  feeble  health  for  many  years,  the 
immediate  cause  of  his  demise  being  con- 
gestion of  the  lungs.  His  death-bed  was 
surrounded  by  his  wife  and  every  one  of 
his  living  children,  who  mourned  the  de- 
parture from  their  midst  of  a  kind,  affec- 
tionate husband  and  loving,  indulgent 
father. 


HON.  WILLIAM  KELLY,    one   of 
Ottawa  county's  prosperous  farm- 
ers and  stock  dealers,  is  a    native 
of  the  county,  having  been  born 
March    17,    1838,   in   Danbury   township, 
and  is  the  son  of  the  Hon.  John  Kelly,    a 
sketch  of  whom  precedes  this. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared 
on  a  farm,  during  this  time  receiving  a 
common-school  education,  which  was 
afterward  supplemented  bj'  a  two-years' 
course  at  Oberlin  College.  About  this 
time  he  made  his  choice  of  a  companion 
who  was  to  share  with  him  the  joys 
and  sorrows  that  might  await  him,  and 
on  March  27,  1859,  he  wedded  Miss 
Laura  Lockwood,  also  a  native  of  the 
county,  born  May  20,  1840,  and  a  daugh- 
ter of  Edward  J.  and  Lydia  (Ramsdell) 
Lockwood,  a  sketch  of  whom  follows. 
The  young  couple  started  out  on  life's 
journey  full  of  hope  and  with  bright  pros- 
pects of  success,  which  time  has  shown  to 
have  been  fully  realized.  To  this  union 
have  come  four  children — one  son  and 
three  daughters — to  wit:  (i)  Arthur  A. , 
born  February  23,  i860,  married  to  Jen- 
nie Latimore,  and  they  are  now  the  par- 
ents of  two  children — Edward  L. ,  born 
February  8,  1888,  and  Mary  Gertrude, 
born  January  25,  1895.  (2)  Mary  E., 
born  August  6,  1862,  and  married  to  Dr. 
Carl    Esch,     of    Cleveland,     Ohio.      (3) 


Thr^ 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAFUICAL  RECORD. 


71 


Josephine,  born  March  17,  1864,  mar- 
ried to  Dr.  K.  L.  Waters,  of  lilniore, 
Ohio.  (4)  Lydia,  born  October  17,  1S75, 
still  livinj;  with  her  parents. 

Mr.  Kelly  has  always  been  engaged 
in  agricultural  pursuits,  including  dealing 
in  live  stock,  and  besides  general  farming 
he  has  engageii  extensively  in  the  culture 
of  fruit,  an  industry  for  which  the  Penin- 
sula, on  which  his  farm  is  located,  has 
become  noted.  He  is  energetic  and  pub- 
lic^pirited,  and  has  held  many  positions 
of  local  trust.  Always  identified  with 
educational  interests  of  Port  Clinton,  he 
served  as  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Edu- 
cation for  over  seventeen  years,  and  for 
ten  years  was  its  president.  He  was  like- 
wise several  times  elected  a  member  of 
the  council,  which  incumbency  he  filled 
with  ability.  In  1890  he  held  the  posi- 
tion of  receiver  for  the  Lakeside  &  Mar- 
blehead  railroad,  having  been  appointed 
by  the  court  pending  the  adjustment  of 
difficulties  among  its  stockholders.  In 
this  position  he  managed  the  affairs  of  the 
company  with  such  prudence  and  faith- 
fulness that  the  court  allowed  him  a  lib- 
eral compensation,  and  -what  was  more 
gratifying  to  him  -conmiended  him  highly 
for  his  ability. 

In  1891  Mi;  Kelly  was  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Seventieth  General  Assembly 
of  Ohio,  on  the  Republican  ticket  in  a 
county  largely  Democratic,  and  in  1893 
he  was  again  honored  by  a  re-election. 
While  in  the  Seventieth  Mr.  Kelly  served 
on  several  important  committees,  promi- 
nent among  which  was  the  "Committee 
on  I'ish  Culture  and  Game."  In  this  ca- 
pacity he  secured  the  passage  of  an  act 
reimbursing  fishermen  for  large  losses 
sustained  by  them  in  consequence  of  the 
destruction  of  their  nets  by  the  Fish  War- 
den under  an  act  afterward  declared  un- 
constitutional. During  the  same  session 
he  was  instrumental  in  securing  the  pass- 
age of  a  joint  ditch  law.  In  speaking  of 
Mr.  Kelly's  efforts  in  this  instance,  we 
can  do  no  better  than   to  quote    the    7"<>- 


licio  Bti- oi  April  19,  1S92,  a  Democratic 
paper,  reading  as  follows:  '  ■  Representa- 
tive Kelly,  of  Ottawa,  last  evening  se- 
cured the  passage  of  his  bill  amending 
the  existing  statutes,  so  that,  in  the  con- 
struction of  a  joint  ditch,  reviewers  shall 
assess  the  damages  to  be  paid  by  the  up- 
per county.  This  is  a  fight  between  Ot- 
tawa and  Wood  counties.  Representa- 
tive James  fought  the  bill  at  every  stage 
of  the  proceedings,  but  the  quiet,  unas- 
suming ways  of  Kelly,  of  Ottawa,  cap- 
tured the  House,  as  he  made  one  of  the 
ablest  business-like  arguments  that  has 
been  delivered  on  the  floor  of  the  House 
this  winter.  His  influence  over  fellow 
members  of  the  House  consisted  largely 
in  the  fact  that  he  was  never  known  to 
introduce,  favor  or  support  any  measure 
savoring  of  schemes;  but  was  ever  on  the 
alert,  watching  closely  every  measure  un- 
der consideration,  and  always  taking  sides, 
favoring  or  approving  every  measure 
pending  before  the  House,  as  the  interest 
of  his  constituents  and  the  welfire  of  the 
State  might  dictate." 

In  the  Seventy-first  General  Assem- 
bly, he  was  again  placed  on  several  im- 
portant committees,  one  of  these  being 
appointed  by  the  Speaker  under  a  resolu- 
tion passed  by  the  House.  Mr.  Kelly 
was  made  chairman  of  this  committee, 
whose  duty  was  to  prepare  plans  for  re- 
modeling the  State  House  with  a  view  to 
making  room  for  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  State  to  hold  its  sessions,  this  body 
having  been  increased  by  a  former  Legis- 
lature to  six  members  in  order  to  facili- 
tate the  work  of  the  court  and  to  get  im- 
portant cases  disposed  of,  by  making  two 
divisions  of  the  court,  making  more  room 
necessary.  The  work  was  acceptably 
done,  but  never  executed  for  want  of  a 
fund  from  which  to  make  an  appropria- 
tion for  carrying  on  the  same.  Sir.  Kelly 
likewise  was  instrumental  in  securing  the 
'•  passage  of  a  law  allowing  courts,  whose 
I  term  expired  by  limitation,  to  reconvene 
!  at  once  when  in    the   midst    of  a  lengthy 


72 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


case,  to  complete  it,  saving  much  time 
and  needless  expense. 

Mr.  Kelly  has  always  been  a  promi- 
nent and  influential  leader  in  public  af- 
fairs, possessing  almost  unrivaled  gifts  of 
persuasive  eloquence  and  convincing 
logic.  He  is  courteous  in  debate,  fer- 
tile in  resource,  and  a  powerful  sup- 
porter of  any  cause  to  which  he  may  give 
his  sanction.  These  characteristics,  in 
connection  with  his  able  work  in  the 
Legislature,  brought  him  into  prominence, 
and  made  him  the  recipient  of  many 
complimentary  notices  from  the  Press  of 
the  Ninth  Congressional  District.  At  the 
Republican  convention  held  in  Toledo, 
June  19,  1894,  Chairman  of  the  Conven- 
tion complimented  the  convention  on  hav- 
ing so  many  candidates,  any  one  of  whom 
would  make  admirable  representatives, 
mentioning  Mr.  Kelly's  name  among  the 
number.  When  the  time  came  for  nom- 
inations, the  Hon.  William  Miller,  of  Ot- 
tawa, and  Presidential  elector  who  cast 
the  vote  of  his  Congressional  District  for 
Mr.  Harrison  the  second  time,  announced 
the  name  of  William  Kelly,  ''the  only 
man  who  had  twice  carried  that  Bourbon 
stronghold."  The  Toledo  Blade  oi  that 
date,  in  speaking  of  the  different  candidates 
before  the  convention,  says:  "Mr.  Kelly  re- 
ceived a  continuous  ovation  all  last  evening 
from  his  many  friends,  not  only  from  To- 
ledo, but  also  from  the  other  delegations." 

With  this  brief  account  of  his  life  and 
work,  we  leave  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
in  the  enjoyment  of  good  health  at  his 
pleasant  home  in  Port  Clinton,  surround- 
ed with  the  comforts  of  life,  and  the 
well-earned  confidence  and  esteem  of  his 
many  friends,  the  ripened  fruit  of  a  dili- 
gent and  honorable  life. 

Edward  J.  Lockwood,  who  for  over 
seventy  years  has  been  a  continuous  resi- 
dent of  Ottawa  county,  and  to-day  is  one 
of  the  few  surviving  pioneers  who  have 
been  spared  to  see  flourishing  towns  and 
productive  farms  and  orchards  supplant 
the  primeval  forests,  was  born  in  the  city 


of  Albany,  N.  Y.,  August  17,  18 13,  and 
is  a  son  of  Col.  Samuel  M.  and  Mary 
(Doughty)  Lockwood,  the  former  a  na- 
tive of  Stamford,  Conn.,  the  latter  of 
New  York  Cit)'. 

The  parents  and  five  members  of  their 
family  came  to  Ottawa  county  a  short 
time  prior  to  the  arrival  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  when  it  was  a  part  of  Huron 
county,  a  wild  and  uncultivated  tract  of 
land,  and  they  participated  in  all  the 
trials  and  hardships  that  fall  to  the  lot  of 
early  settlers.  C3n  November  9,  18 17, 
Mrs.  Col.  Lockwood  died  in  Danbury, 
Ottawa  county,  Ohio,  and  on  November 
30,  1818,  Col.  Lockwood  was  again 
united  in  marriage,  this  time  to  Gertrude 
Doughty  (a  sister  of  his  former  wife),  who 
survived  him  many  years,  dying  June  6, 
1875,  at  Plasterbed,  Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio. 
The  children  by  the  latter  union  are  John 
Wickliffe  Lockwood,  Horace  A.  Lock- 
wood,  A.  Piatt  Lockwood,  Hon.  James 
K.  Lockwood,  Lane  Lockwood,  Laura 
Lockwood,  Emeline  Lockwood  and  Imo- 
gene  Lockwood.  Col.  Lockwood  was  one 
of  the  energetic  pioneers  of  this  country. 
He  made  quite  a  history,  a  part  of  which 
was  his  service  for  four  terms  in  the  Leg- 
islature of  Ohio,  serving  two  terms  in  the 
House  of  Representatives,  and  two  terms 
in  the  Senate.  He  was  president  of  the 
first  railroad  built  in  Ohio. 

Our  subject,  who  is  the  only  surviving 
member  of  Col.  Lockwood's  family  by  his 
first  wife,  was  reared  as  a  farmer  boy,  re- 
ceiving a  limited  education  in  the  old  log 
schoolhouse  near  his  home.  After  com- 
ing to  Ottawa  county  he  worked  in  the 
quarries  at  Plasterbed,  where  for  some 
years  he  operated  a  stationary  engine, 
afterward  receiving  a  position  as  engineer 
on  a  steamboat;  but  the  greater  part  of 
his  life  has  been  devoted  to  agricultural 
pursuits,  and  his  industry  and  close  atten- 
tion to  business  have  made  his  farm  one 
of  the  finest  in  Ottawa  county.  He  set 
the  first  vineyard  and  the  first  peach  and 
quince  orchard  that  was  set  on  the   Pen- 


COMMEMORATIVB  BIOORAPUWAL  RECORD. 


78 


insula,  a  locality  that  has  since  become 
so  famous  as  a  fruit-f^'rowiuf^  section. 

Edward  J.  Lockwood  has  been  twice 
married;  first  time  to  Lydia  Ramsdeli,  a 
dauf:;hter  of  Jacob  and  Experience  Kams- 
deil,  who  where  ainonj;  the  honored  pion- 
eers of  Ottawa  county.  Hy  this  union  there 
were  born  four  daughters:  Laura,  now 
the  wife  of  Hon.  Kelly,  of  Port  Clinton; 
Ellen,  wife  of  William  Sloan,  who  is 
livinjj  in  Portafje  township,  Ottawa  coun- 
ty; Experience;  and  Elizabeth,  wife  of 
George  K.  Marshall,  of  Mansfield,  Rich- 
land Co.,  Ohio.  The  mother  of  this 
family  died  March  24,  1890.  and  Mr. 
Lockwood  subsequently  married  Mrs.  Julia 
(Streeter)  Wonnell,  widow  of  James  Won- 
nell,  Esq.,  of  Portage  township,  and  a 
daughter  of  Solomon  and  Sarah  (Arnold) 
Streeter,  of  New  Hampshirf. 

Mr.  Lockwood  has  never  desired  or 
sought  the  honor  or  emoluments  of  public 
office,  preferring  to  give  his  time  and  at- 
tention to  the  duties  of  his  farm,  yet  he 
has,  by  the  earnest  solicitations  of  his 
friends,  accepted  and  efficiently  filled  var- 
ious positions  of  trust  in  the  township. 
In  his  political  views  he  was  formerly  a 
Whig,  giving  his  first  vote  for  William 
Henrv  Harrison,  and  when  the  Republi- 
can party  was  formed  he  joined  its  ranks, 
and  is  still  one  of  its  earnest  advocates. 
Although  well-advanced  in  years,  and  one 
of  the  oldest  citizens  in  Ottawa  county, 
Ohio,  he  is  still  hale  and  hearty  and  more 
active  than  many  men  that  are  some  years 
his  junior.  He  gives  his  personal  atten- 
tion to  his  large  and  productive  farm,  and 
spends  his  evenings  amidst  the  surround- 
ings of  his  comfortable  home  in  Port  Clin- 
ton, where  he  has  many  friends  who  hold 
him  high  esteem. 


JUDGE    MALCOLM    KELLY,  who 
since    the    latter    part   of    1S91   has 
been   judge  of  the  court  of  conunon 
pleas  of   the  first  subdivision  of   the 
Fourth    Judicial    District    of    Ohio,    is  a 


native  of  Ohio,  son  of  Hon.  John  Kelly, 
having  been  born  July  31,  1S44,  in  Dan- 
bury  township,  Ottawa  county,  on  his 
father's  farm.  Here  he  grew  up,  going 
to  school  winters  and  working  on  the  farm 
summers. 

During  the  years  i860  and  1861  he 
attended  the  high  school  at  Sandusky, 
and  the  winter  before  he  was  twenty-one 
years  of  age  he  taught  his  first  country 
school.  During  the  winters  of  1865-66 
and  1866-67  he  again  taught  school,  and 
in  spring  of  the  latter  year  entered  the 
Business  Institute  at  Oberlin,  Ohio,  but 
in  consequence  of  sickness  did  not  finish 
his  course  till  the  latter  part  of  the  sum- 
mer of  1868.  As  soon  as  his  course  was 
completed  he  was  offered  the  position  of 
teacher  in  that  institute,  which  he  ac- 
cepted, and  he  continued  in  that  position 
till  the  spring  of  1870,  when  he  returned 
home,  remaining  there  for  a  year.  In  the 
spring  of  1 87 1  our  subject  began  the  study 
of  law  in  the  office  of  Homer  Goodwin,  at 
Sandusky,  Ohio,  and  in  the  following 
October  entered  the  law  department  of 
Michigan  University,  Ann  Arbor.  Mich., 
where  he  was  graduated  in  March,  1873, 
and  received  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of 
Laws.  Immediately  thereafter  he  was 
admitted  to  practice  in  the  State  of  Michi- 
gan. In  .\pril  following  he  formed  a 
partnership  and  commenced  the  practice 
of  law  in  Chicago,  having  been  admitted 
to  the  bar  of  Illinois.  During  the  entire 
winter  following  he  was  suffering  from  ill- 
ness, and  had  to  submit  to  a  severe  surg- 
ical operation;  afterward,  in  April,  re- 
turning to  Chicago,  where  he  remained 
till  late  in  the  fall.  .At  that  time  he  sold 
out  his  interest  in  the  partnership,  and 
removed  to  Port  Clinton.  Ohio,  where  he 
has  ever  since  made  his  home. 

Early  in  1875  Judge  Kelly  was  admit- 
ted to  practice  in  Ohio,  and  he  then 
formed  a  partnership  with  T.  L.  Magers 
now  of  Tiffin  under  the  firm  name  of 
Magers  &  Kelly,  which  partnership  was 
dissolved  in  1878.      Our  subject  c<intinued 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


the  law  practice  without  any  other  busi- 
ness connection  till  the  fall  of  1891,  when 
he  was  elected  judge  of  the  court  of  com- 
mon pleas,  to  fill  the  unexpired  term  of 
Judge  J.  L.  DeWitt,  and  was  elected  for 
the  full  term  next  following.  He  assumed 
the  duties  of  the  office  in  the  latter  part 
of  1 89 1,  and  has  ever  since  been  acting  in 
that  capacity  with  his  characteristic  abil- 
ity and  zeal. 

In  1876  Judge  Kelly  was  married  to 
Miss  Susie  Smith,  and  they  have  three 
children — two  daughters  and  one  son. 
The  Judge  in  his  political  preferences  is  a 
Republican,  has  served  on  the  board  of 
school  examiners  of  Ottawa  county,  and 
was  mayor  of  Port  Clinton  one  term.  In 
religious  faith  he  is  a  member  of  the  Con- 
gregational Church.  For  the  past  two 
years  he  has  held  the  position  of  presi- 
dent of  the  German-American  Bank  of 
Port  Clinton. 


WILLIAM  D.  SHERWOOD,  re- 
tired farmer,  Fremont,  San- 
dusky county,  was  born  in  Sen- 
eca county,  Ohio,  April 22, 1822, 
a  son  of  William  D.  Sherwood  and  Martha 
(Allen J,  daughter  of  David  Allen,  of  Es- 
sex county,  N.  J.,  who  was  a  brother  of 
Col.  Ethan  Allen,  of  Vermont,  famous 
for  bravery  in  Colonial  days. 

The  father  of  our  subject  was  born  on 
a  farm  in  Dutchess  county,  N.  Y.,  which 
lay  on  the  Hudson  river,  and  has  since 
become  a  part  of  New  York  City.  He 
was  educated  in  the  city  schools,  studied 
law,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  prac- 
ticed law  a  few  years.  During  the  war 
of  1 8 1 2  he  served  as  captain  of  a  com- 
pany of  Jersey  Grays,  and  also  as  colonel 
of  a  regiment;  during  the  latter  part  of 
the  war  he  served  as  commissary.  After 
his  marriage  he  began  the  manufacture  of 
edged  tools,  at  Plainfield,  N.  J.,  and  con- 
tinued at  the  same  with  good  success 
about  ten  years,  employing  usually  about 
forty  men.      In  1 820  he  sold  his  plant  and 


moved  to  the  then  wilds  of  Seneca  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  north  of  Tiffin,  where  he  en- 
tered 820  acres  of  government  land,  on 
which  not  a  stick  of  timber  had  been  cut 
except  sufficient  to  open  a  winding  road 
through  the  woods  from  Lower  Sandusky 
to  Delaware,  Ohio.  He  cleared  about 
fifty  acres  for  farming  purposes  and  erect- 
ed a  double  hewed-log  house,  a  part  of 
which  was  afterward  sided  up  with  boards, 
and  is  still  (1895)  standing  as  one  of  the 
oldest  pioneer  landmarks.  Six  years  later 
he  sold  this  land  to  different  parties, 
among  whom  were  the  Souders  and  the 
Stoners,  and  himself  located  on  160  acres 
of  government  land  on  Green  creek,  three 
miles  east  of  Lower  Sandusky.  .  This  was 
in  1826,  when  the  country  was  a  wilder- 
ness, and  Indians  and  wild  animals 
roamed  the  forests  in  all  directions  at 
their  will.  With  herculean  labor  he  cut 
the  heavy  timber  from  one  hundred  acres, 
and  cleared  the  land  for  farming  pur- 
poses, using  ox-teams  and  pioneer  imple- 
ments. 

Physically,  Mr.  Sherwood  was  a 
heavy-set  man,  muscular,  five  feet  eight 
inches  in  height,  of  light  complexion,  with 
blue  eyes,  and  in  the  enjoyment  of  robust 
health,  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  pow- 
erful men  in  the  settlement.  He  could 
wield  an  axe  or  a  maul,  or  drive  a  yoke 
of  oxen  at  loggings,  or  plow  among  roots 
and  stumps  to  pioneer  perfection.  Among 
his  scattered  neighbors  he  was  public- 
spirited  and  progressive,  and  held  the 
offices  of  school  director  and  township 
clerk  for  a  number  of  years.  In  politics 
he  was  an  Old-line  Whig,  and  in  religious 
faith  a  Universalist.  His  first  wife  died 
near  Tiffin  in  1822.  For  his  second  wife 
he  married  Miss  Lois  Emerson,  sister  of 
Jesse  Emerson,  late  of  Ballville  township. 
Mr.  Sherwood's  death  occurred  in  Au- 
gust, 1846,  and  he  was  laid  to  rest  in  a 
burial  lot  on  his  farm  which  he  had  pre- 
viously given  to  the  public  for  a  ceme- 
tery, now  known  as  the  Dana  Cemetery. 
The  children  of  William  D.    Sherwood, 


OOMMBMORATfVB  BIOORAPUWAL  RECORD. 


75 


Sen.,  by  his  first  marriage  were:  James, 
Mary.  Janettc.  Kuth,  Nancy,  Joseph,  John 
and  William  U. 

William  D.  Sherwood,  our  subject, 
spent  his  childhood  anionfj  Indian  [ilay- 
mates,  and  prow  up  to  hard  work  on  his 
father's  farm.  He  helped  to  set  out  one 
of  the  first  apple  orchards  in  Sandusky 
county.  In  1839  he  went  to  Iowa,  then 
a  territory,  to  locate  land,  and  spent  a 
year  among  the  Mus(]uaka  Indians,  whom 
he  taught  many  things,  and  by  whom  he 
was  a  petted  hero.  He  next  took  a  trip 
to  Tennessee  and  Kentucky,  to  visit  his 
brother  James,  and  while  there  engaged 
in  steamboating.  In  1S45  he  returned 
to  Ohio,  where  he  married  Miss  Mary  E. 
Scovill,  and  farmed  for  his  father.  In 
the  fall  of  the  same  year  he  moved  to 
Burlington,  Iowa,  where  for  four  years 
he  assisted  his  brother,  Joseph,  to  run  a 
steamboat  wood-yard.  In  1849  his  wife 
died  of  cholera,  and  he  then  abandoned 
business  for  a  time.  In  the  spring  of 
1850  he  started  for  California  with  a  party 
of  prospective  miners,  by  the  overland 
route.  They  drove  ox-teams,  and  took  a 
herd  of  cattle  with  them  over  the  plains 
and  mountains  and  across  the  rivers,  oc- 
cupying six  months  and  one  day  on  their 
journey.  They  operated  gold  mines  chiefly 
on  the  Yuba  and  Feather  rivers.  In  the 
winter  of  1853-54  Mr.  Sherwood  re- 
turned to  Fort  Seneca,  Ohif).  where,  after 
farming  one  year,  he  married  Miss  Frances 
Elizabeth  Harris,  daughter  of  Mark  Har- 
ris. In  1856  he  engaged  in  the  tanning 
business  at  Fostoria.  and  continued  there 
until  1861.  within  which  time  he  held  the 
offices  of  township  trustee  and  mayor  of 
the  village.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil 
war,  in  iS^n,  Mr.  Sherwood,  as  first  lieu- 
tenant, joined  Company  B,  Fifty-fifth  O. 
v.  I.,  under  Col.  J.  C.  Lee,  of  Tiffin,  and 
se^^•ed  with  his  regiment  about  a  year, 
when,  on  account  of  impaired  health,  he 
resigned  and  returned  to  Fostoria.  In 
1865  he  came  to  Fremont,  and  bought  a 
tannery  of  Jesse  S.  Van  Ness.      This  he 


worked  about  two  years,  when  he  sold 
out  and  purchased  the  property  now  oc- 
cupied as  a  parsonage  by  the  pastor  of 
St.  Ann's  Catholic  Church,  where  his 
family  resided  several  years.  Here  he 
suffered  another  attack  of  the  gold  fever, 
and  went  on  the  newly-constructed  Union 
Pacific  railroad  westward  as  far  as  he 
could,  to  Evanston,  300  miles  east  of 
Salt  Lake  City,  from  which  place  his  party 
were  obliged  to  "  stage  it "  to  Diamond 
City,  a  distance  of  1,200  miles,  crossing 
the  Rockies  twice,  and  suffering  many 
hardships.  In  1870  he  returned  again  to 
Fremont,  and  for  two  years,  kept  the 
"  Croghan  House  "  billiard  saloon,  and  for 
one  year  a  saloon  on  Front  street.  In 
1874  he  sold  out,  and  went  again  to  Cali- 
fornia to  engage  in  mining  on  the  Yuba 
river.  He  operated  a  hydraulic  mine,  at 
great  expense,  on  Slate  creek,  and  sunk 
about  ten  thousand  dollars.  Two  years 
later  he  returned  to  Ohio,  and  for  six 
years  kept  a  saloon  on  Croghan  street, 
Fremont,  where  the  A'<"i'i-  office  is  located. 
In  the  meantime  he  bought  lot  1018,  on 
Hayes  avenue,  which  he  improved  as  a 
place  of  residence.  Later  he  kept  a  sa- 
loon, two  years,  on  the  corner  of  Garrison 
and  Front  streets.  His  second  wife  died 
October  2, 1884,  and  on  December  26, 1888, 
he  married  Miss  Ida  May  Hawk,  daugh- 
ter of  Joseph  Hawk,  a  pioneer  of  Green 
Creek  township.  His  children  by  his  first 
wife  were  Alice  and  John,  those  by  the 
second  wife  being  Norman  C,  Eugene  H., 
and  William  D. ;  those  by  his  third  wife 
being  Harry  Allen  and  Olive  May. 

Mr.  Sherwood  has  held  various  local 
offices.  He  has  been  sanitary  policeman, 
health  officer,  street  commissioner,  asses- 
sor, and  since  he  quit  keeping  saloon  has 
been  janitor  of  the  Union  Club  room.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  Fraternity 
and  of  Eugene  Kawson  Post,  G.  A.  R. ; 
in  politics  a  Republican,  and  in  religious 
faith  a  Universalist.  A  full  account  of 
his  exploits  would  fill  volumes.  Though 
past   his    three    score   and  ten   years  his 


76 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


health  is  good,  his  mind  clear  and  his 
memory  undimmed;  results  which  he  at- 
tributes to  the  fact  that  he  never  used 
tobacco  in  any  form,  nor  intoxicating 
drinks,  nor  indulged  in  gambling,  nor  in 
any  social  impurity. 

Norman  C.  Sherwood,  treasurer  of  the 
Trommer  Extract  of  Malt  Co.,  Fremont, 
was    born    at    Fostoria,    Ohio,    May    17, 

1857,  a  son  of  William  D.  and  Frances 
E.  (Harris)  Sherwood.  His  childhood 
was  spent  at  Fostoria  where  he  attended 
the  village  schools,  and  at  the  age  of  eight 
years  he  came  with  his  parents  to  Fre- 
mont, where  he  grew  to  manhood,  mean- 
while attending  the  city  schools.  At  the 
age  of  twenty  he  took  a  position  as  book- 
keeper in  the  above  named  company,  and 
has  remained  with  them,  serving  in  vari- 
ous relations,  for  a  period  of  more  than 
eighteen  years,  and  becoming  a  stock- 
holder in  the  same.  Being  possessed  of 
a  genial  and  social  nature,  he  is  popular 
in  the  various  social  circles  of  Fremont. 
He  has  served  as  chorister  of  the  M.  E. 
Church  for  a  number  of  years  very  ac- 
ceptably; is  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
Fraternity,  and  in  politics  is  a  Republi- 
can. On  April  19,  1882,  he  married  Miss 
Susan  Lewis,who  was  born  November  16, 

1858,  at  Fremont,  Ohio,  daughter  of  B. 
W.  Lewis.  Their  children  are:  Charles 
Lewis,  Norman  Dickinson,  Jeannette  and 
Norma,  all  born  in  Fremont. 


LEVI  WOLFE,    a   farmer    of  San- 
dusky township  Sandusky  county, 
was  born  April  10,   1836,  in  Union 
county,    Penn.,  a   son  of  Michael 
and    Margaret    (Engleman)    Wolfe,    who 
were  of  German  descent. 

Mr.  Wolfe's  paternal  great-grand- 
father was  one  of  three  brothers  who 
emigrated  from  Germany  to  America,  and 
served  with  Washington  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  and  later  settled  in  Union 
county,    Penn.       This  great  ancestor   of 


the  Wolfe  families,  from  whom  our  sub- 
ject is  descended,  died  in  Union  county, 
Penn. ,  at  the  age  of  eighty  years.  Amongst 
the  first  settlers  in  the  Buffalo  Valley  was 
George  Wendell  Wolfe,  who  served  as  a 
private  in  Capt.  Clark's  company.  Col. 
Patton's  regiment,  in  the  Revolutionary 
war,  in  1776.  He  had  seven  sons:  Mich- 
ael, Peter,  John  (surnamed  the  strong), 
Jacob,  Christian,    Leonard   and  Andrew. 

Michael  Wolfe,  the  eldest,  and  grand- 
father of  our  subject,  was  a  man  of  large 
stature  and  robust  health,  as  were  also 
his  father  and  brothers,  who  were  noted 
for  feats  of  strength.  He  was  a  black- 
smith by  trade.  He  married  Miss  Cath- 
arine Smith,  and  settled  on  a  farm  in 
Union  county,  Penn.,  where  he  died. 
Their  children  were:  George,  Margaret, 
Mar3',  Elizabeth,  Abraham,  Julia,  John, 
Michael  (Jr.),  and  Catharine,  of  whom 
all  except  John  became  heads  of  families, 
and  only  three  are  now  living — Elizabeth, 
Julia  and  Catharine,  who  are  widows. 

Michael  Wolfe  (Jr.),  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, was  born  August  6,  1809,  in  Union 
county,  Penn.,  and  on  January  31,  1833, 
married  Miss  Margaret  Engleman,  who 
was  born  August  17,  1812,  in  Union 
county,  Penn.  She  was  the  daughter  of 
Solomon  and  Anna  M.  (Bruner)  Engle- 
man, the  former  of  whom  was  born  Octo- 
ber 2,  1753,  in  Maryland,  the  latter  on 
December  i,  1753,  in  Lehigh  county, 
Penn.  They  died  in  Union  county,  Penn. 
Their  children  were:  Elizabeth,  David, 
Amelia,  Jonathan,  John,  Margaret,  Rachel 
and  Tobias,  all  of  whom  became  heads 
of  families  except  Jonathan.  Of  these, 
only  Margaret,  mother  of  our  subject,  is 
now  living.  In  1843  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wolfe 
came  to  Ohio,  moving  from  Pennsylvania 
in  a  one-horse  and  a  two-horse  wagon, 
and  located  on  a  farm  two  miles  west  of 
Fremont,  on  Muskallonge  creek,  in  San- 
dusky township.  Michael  Wolfe  had 
twice  previously  walked  and  staged  the 
distance,  a  journey  of  more  than  four 
hundred  miles  through  the  forests. 


COMMEMORATIVE  DIOOIiAPnWAI.   l;i:roiiD. 


11 


The  recortl  of  the  children  of  Mich- 
ael and  Margaret  Wolfe  is  as  follows: 
Two  sons,  one  born  June  2,  1834,  and 
another  March  28,  1835,  died  in  infancy. 
Levi,  born  April  10,  1836,  is  mentioned 
farther  on.  Solomon  Wolfe,  born  Feb- 
ruary 8,  1838,  was  married  January  16, 
1862,  to  Mahala  Bowlus,  who  was  born, 
April  21,  1839,  and  they  had  five  chil- 
dren— George  W.  (who  was  killed  by  a 
traction  engine  when  a  young  man), 
Kosa,  Catharine,  Jessiah  and  Howard; 
they  live  in  Seneca  county,  Ohio,  where 
Solomon  Wolfe  is  a  farmer  and  grain 
thresher;  he  is  a  I^epublican  in  politics, 
and  a  member  of  the  M.  P.  Church. 
Jessiah  Wolfe,  born  February'  17,  1840, 
was  married  May  9,  1867,  to  Elizabeth 
Loose;  they  had  three  children — one  that 
died  in  infancy,  and  Clarence  and  Monroe; 
they  live  at  Lindsey,  Ohio,  where  Jes- 
siah is  engaged  in  the  grain,  produce  and 
live-stock  business.  Andrew  J.  Wolfe, 
born  July  19,  1842,  married  Jemima 
Stults,  February  16,  1865  (he  is  men- 
tioned farther  on).  One  son,  born  June 
6,  1844,  died  in  infancy.  Jane  Ellen, 
born  May  27,  1845,  was  married  in  July, 
1879,  to  A.  D.  Hook,  of  Fremont,  Ohio, 
proprietor  of  a  shirt  factory;  they  have 
no  children.  Catharine  Ann,  born  No- 
vember 29,  1847,  was  married  February 
16,  1 87 1,  to  William  L.  Baker,  of  the 
firm  of  Engler  &  Baker,  grain  and  pro- 
duce dealers,  of  Fremont;  they  have  two 
children — Harry  M.  and  Verna  L.  Mar- 
garet Savilla,  born  January  25,  1850, 
was  married  in  1872  to  James  U.  Hensel, 
a  farmer  west  of  Fremont;  they  had  five 
children — two  living,  Nora  and  Mabel, 
and  three  deceased.  Two  other  children 
of  Michael  Wolfe  dietl  in  infancy.  In  the 
spring  of  1865  Michael  Wolfe  moved 
from  his  farm  on  the  Muskallonge  creek 
to  his  farm  on  the  Western  Reserve  and 
N!aumee  pike,  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his 
labor  and  economy,  where  he  lived  until 
his  death,  April  15,  1879.  He  was  ever 
a  kind  and  devoted  husband,  an  affection- 


ate father,  always  looking  after  the  wel- 
fare of  his  children,  and  it  is  said  of  Mr. 
Wolfe  that  he  never  had  an  enemy. 

Levi  Wolfe,  our  subject,  came  with 
his  parents  from  Union  county,  Penn., 
to  Sandusky  county,  Ohio,  when  seven 
years  of  age,  and  grew  to  manhood  on 
his  father's  farm.  He  received  his  early 
education  in  the  country  schools,  and 
later  attended  several  terms  in  the  Fre- 
mont schools  and  at  Oberlin  College.  On 
December  17,  1857,  he  married  Chris- 
tiana M.  Lantz,  who  was  born  July  31, 
1836,  in  Northumberland  county,  Penn., 
daughter  of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Dieffen- 
bach)  Lantz,  whose  other  children  were 
Mary  Ann,  Simon,  Nicholas,  Kosanna, 
John,  Henry,  Philip,  and  Emanuel,  all 
of  whom  came  to  Ohio  about  the  year 
1846,  and  settled  on  a  farm  in  Washing- 
ton township,  Sandusky  county.  In  May, 
1864,  Mr.  Wolfe  enlisted  in  the  One 
Hundred  and  Si.xty-ninth  Regiment,  O. 
\'.  I.,  under  Col.  Nathaniel  E.  Haynes, 
in  Company  H,  Capt.  Jacob  D.  Thomas, 
and  served  four  months  at  P"ort  Ethan 
Allen,  Virginia,  one  of  the  defences  of 
Washington  City,  whun  Gen.  Early  at- 
tempted to  take  it.  Mr.  Wolfe  was  hon- 
orably discharged  in  September,  1 864,  and 
resumed  farming  in  Jackson  township. 
A  year  later  he  removed  to  the  old  home 
farm,  which  he  conducted,  and  also  en- 
gaged in  grain  threshing.  He  operated 
one  of  the  first  steam-threshing  machines 
in  the  county.  In  1883  he  abandoned 
farming,  moved  to  Fremont,  and  sold 
farming  implements  and  machinery.  In 
1 884  he  went  to  his  mother's  farm,  to  man- 
age and  care  for  her,  and  continued  the 
sale  of  farm  machinery.  In  1895  here- 
moved  to  Fremont,  his  present  residence. 

The  children  of  Levi  and  Christiana 
Wolfe,  which  includes  two  pairs  of  twins, 
are:  (ij  Robert  Andrew,  born  October 
31,  I S58,  who  married  Miss  Jane  Druck- 
enmiller,  November  6,  1879.  and  had  si.x 
children — Blanche  B.,  Harry  and  Clyde, 
who   are    living,  and  Claude,  Daisic   E. , 


78 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


and  James  O.,  deceased.  In  1885  the 
family  moved  upon  a  prairie  farm  in 
Edwards  county,  Kans.  (2)  Lydia  Ce- 
cilia, born  February  25,  i860,  died  Feb- 
ruary 17,  1862.  (3)  Catharine  Cadilia, 
born  February  25,  i860,  married  Feb- 
ruary 20,  1882,  to  John  J.  Stein,  whose 
children  are — Essie  A.,  Minor  W.,  Mary 
C. ,  and  Matilda  W.  Mr.  Stein  is  a 
butcher  by  trade.  In  1890  he  removed 
with  his  family  to  Lewisburg,  Penn. , 
where  he  had  formerly  resided,  and  is  at 
present  engaged  with  the  Quaker  City 
Meat  &  Provision  Company,  at  Sunbury, 
Penn.  (4)  Emma  Rosanna,  born  April 
28,  1 861,  married  Elliott  T.  Fox,  Feb- 
ruary 23,  1887,  whose  children  are — Adda 
Corinne,  and  George  Chester.  Soon  af- 
ter their  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fox 
moved  upon  a  new  prairie  farm  in  Ed- 
wards county,  Kans.  {5)  Ellen  Helena, 
born  July  19,  1862,  who,  August  10,  1883, 
married  David  Svvinehart,  and  whose 
children  are — Alva  A.,  and  Merrill  James. 
Mr.  Swinehart  lives  on  his  father's  farm 
in  Washington  township.  (6)  James  H., 
born  October  31,  1863,  married  November 
18,  1 89 1,  Miss  Kate  Boyer,  of  Fremont, 
and  has  one  child,  James  Robert.  J. 
H.  Wolfe  is  assistant  secretary  of  the 
Lehr  Agricultural  Company,  Fremont. 
(7)  Chester  Edward,  born  November  28, 
1865,  married  November  28,  1889,  Miss 
Hattie  Waggoner,  and  lives  on  the  Samuel 
Waggoner  farm,  five  miles  west  of  Fre- 
mont. (8)  Michael  John,  born  No- 
vember II,   1867,  married  September  18, 

1889,  Miss  Minnie  Boyer,  of,  Fremont, 
and  has  one  daughter — Corinne  W. ; 
M.  J.  Wolfe  is  a  butcher  in  the  em- 
ploy of  the  Quaker  City  Meat  &  Pro- 
vision Company,  Sunbury,  Penn.,  where 
he  resides.  (9)  Margaret  Elizabeth,  born 
November    11,    1867,    married    June    26, 

1890,  Calvin  Benner,  a  blacksmith,  of 
Fremont,  and  has  two  sons — James  Levi, 
born  March  27,  1891,  and  Robert  Rice, 
born  January  18,  1894.  (10)  AddaSavilla, 
born  August  5,  1874,  married,  Augusts, 


1894,  William  H.  Hensel,  a  farmer,  four 
miles  west  of  Fremont. 

In  politics  Levi  Wolfe  is  a  Republi- 
can, and  has  held  various  local  offices. 
He  has  cared  kindly  for  his  aged  mother 
who  has  been  an  almost  helpless  invalid 
for  the  last  two  )'ears,  and  who  has  now 
reached  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-three. 


WASHINGTON  GORDON.  For 
more  than  half  a  century  the 
name  of  Gordon  has  been  closely 
identified  with  the  growth  and 
progress  of  Ottawa  county,  more  particu- 
larly with  Salem  township.  The  family 
is  of  Scotch  ancestry  on  the  father's  side, 
while  the  mother  is  of  Yankee  parentage. 
The  parents  and  grandparents  of  our  sub- 
ject were  natives  of  Somerset  county, 
N.  J.  The  first  members  of  the  family 
to  settle  in  Ohio  were  John  and  Rachel 
(Smith)  Gordon,  parents  of  our  subject, 
who  removed  from  Somerset  county,  N. 
J.,  in  I  S3 1,  and  located  in  Salem  town- 
ship. After  residing  here  for  about  six 
months,  they  removed  to  Harris  town- 
ship, where  they  remained  three  years,  at 
the  end  of  that  time  returning  to  Salem 
township,  making  it  their  place  of  abode 
during  the  remainder  of  their  lives.  They 
were  honored  and  respected  people,  and 
had  a  large  circle  of  warm  friends.  The 
father  passed  away  November  7,  1S51, 
preceded  to  the  grave  by  the  mother,  who 
departed  this  life  March  3,   1842. 

In  every  community  various  pursuits 
are  followed  which  add  to  the  material 
prosperity  of  the  neighborhood,  while  ad- 
vancing the  interests  of  the  individual. 
Among  the  worthy  representatives  of  the 
commercial  class  in  Ottawa  county,  there 
is  no  one  more  highly  respected  than 
Washington  Gordon,  of  Salem  township, 
a  self-made  man,  who  is  now  a  prosperous 
lumber  dealer  of  Oak  Harbor.  He  was 
born  in  Harris  township,  Ottawa  Co., 
Ohio,  January  9,  1834,  and  since  his  in- 
fancy   has    resided    in    Salem    township, 


^'. 


c 


■^  "t  t^l  I 


C-^l"^ 


COyfJdF.yrORATIVE  BWORAPmCAL  RECORD. 


79 


being  to-day  one  of  its  oldest  residents. 
His  educational  advantages  in  early  life 
were  of  a  very  limited  nature,  his  boyhood 
having  been  largely  occupied  with  the 
arduous  duties  that  accompany  farming  in 
a  new  region.  Not  wishing,  however,  to 
engage  in  agricultural  pursuits  through 
his  entire  business  career,  he  turned  his 
attention  to  the  manufacture  of  lumber, 
and  is  one  of  the  leaders  in  this  line  of  in- 
dustry in  Ottawa  county. 

On  July  7,  1857,  in  Portage  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county,  was  celebrated  the 
marriage  of  Mr.  Gordon  and  Miss  Mar- 
garet Kymers,  who  was  born  in  Stark 
county,  Ohio.  January  25,  1834.  daugh- 
ter of  Frederick  and  Catherine  (William- 
son i  Kymers,  who  came  to  Ohio,  and 
settled  in  Ottawa  county  in  1S41.  liy 
this  union  there  were  six  children:  Will- 
iam H.,  born  June  13,  1858,  and  died 
December  8,  i860;  Frank,  born  August 
13,  i860,  died  February  25,  1867;  Will- 
iam, born  December  15,  1862,  now 
prosecuting  attorney  of  Ottawa  county 
(on  September  12.  1893,  he  was  married 
to  Elizabeth  Gernhard,  who  was  born 
December  8,  1874.  daughter  of  Conrad 
and  Augusta  (Wilke)  Gernhard.  who 
came  from  Germany);  Eva,  born  Janu- 
ary 31,  1865,  married  October  11,  1882, 
to  William  Hleckner,  postmaster  at  Oak 
Harbor  (Mr.  Bleckner  was  born  Febru- 
ary 14,  1854);  Nora,  born  June  20,  1867, 
wife  of  H.  A.  Kilmer,  of  Oak  Harbor; 
and  Harry  J.,  born  November  7,  1870, 
now  a  school  teacher. 

Mr.  Gordon  capably  served  for  many 
years  as  treasurer  of  Oak  Harbor,  for 
four  years  was  county  treasurer,  was  jus- 
tice of  the  peace  three  years,  and  was 
a  member  of  the  board  of  education  of 
Oak  Harbor.  In  all  these  positions  he 
dis'  barged  his  duties  with  protnptness  an<l 
tiilility.  and  won  the  commendation  of 
all  concerned.  Socially,  he  is  connected 
with  Oak  Harbor  Lodge,  No.  495,  F.  & 
A.  M.,  and  in  his  political  affiliations  he 
is    a    stanch    advocate     of     Democratic 


principles.  The  family  attend  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Mr.  Gor- 
don is  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary 
natural  ability,  and  has  made  good  use  of 
his  opportunities  in  life.  With  a  gener- 
ous sympathy,  kindliness,  and  a  desire  to 
live  an  upright  and  helpful  life,  he  has 
endeared  himself  to  a  large  circle  of 
friends.  He  has  devoted  himself  to  his 
business — pleasure  coming  as  an  after 
consideration — and  his  success,  therefore, 
has  been  but  the  consequence  of  a  natural 
law.  His  prosperity  is  well  merited,  and 
his  honorable  straightforward  career  has 
earned  for  him  the  prominence  he  now 
enjoys  in  the  community. 


PETER    SFIELDENNER.    farmer 
and    importer     of     thoroughbred 
horses,  Fremont,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, was  born  October  25.  1840,  in 
1  I^orraine,    France,   a  son  of  I-'rancis  and 
I  Elizabeth     (Gerber)    Spieldenner.       The 
j  father  was  a    native  of    the    same  place, 
and  a  farmer  by  occupation.      In  1845  he 
emigrated   to    .America    with    his  family, 
and    locating    in    Washington    township, 
Sandusky  Co.,   Ohio,   bought   forty  acres 
of  the  forest  land,   which   he  cleared   up 
for  a  home.    Here  he  died  September  15, 
1 850,  aged  forty-seven  years,  four  months, 
three  days,  leaving    a   wife   and  five  chil- 
dren,   viz. :    Peter,    the    subject    of  this 
1  sketch;    Frank,    who    resides    in   eastern 
Ohio;     Margaret,      who     married     John 
Nomene,  and  resides  in    Putnam  county, 
Ohio;     Elizabeth,    who     married     Peter 
Nomene.  and  resides   in   Putnam  county, 
Ohio;  and  John,  who  lives  with  his  broth- 
er   Frank.      The   mother   of    this  family 
passed  away    February    28,    1895.  at  the 
advanced  age  of  eighty  years,  si.x  months, 
three  days. 

.After  the  death  of  Francis  Spielden- 
ner. our  subject  remained  with  the  family 
to  provide  and  care  for  them  until  the 
children  were  all  grown  up.  on  which  ac- 
count he  was  deprived  of  educational  ad- 


80 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


vantages,  but  he  mastered  the  rudiments 
of  English  and  German  by  private  study 
at  home.  On  May  2,  1865,  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Mary  Snider,  and  they  have  two 
children:  Fredolina,  who  married  John 
L.  Reineck,  of  Fremont,  Ohio,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  Hetrick,  Bristol  &  Co., 
dealers  in  hardware,  and  Adolph,  unmar- 
ried, who  lives  with  his  parents.  Two 
children  died,  Johannah  at  the  age  of 
seventeen,  and  one  in  infancy.  Mrs. 
Spieldenner  is  the  daughter  of  Martin  and 
Mary  (Flatz)  Snider,  and  was  born  No- 
vember 19,  1846,  in  Tyrol,  Austria,  being 
educated  at  Wolfurt,  near  Bregenz. 
When  she  was  twelve  years  old  her  par- 
ents came  to  America,  and  the  family  set- 
tled in  Rice  township,  Sandusky  county, 
Ohio.  The  mother  died  on  the  second 
day  after  reaching  Fremont.  The  chil- 
dren remained  at  home  until  their  mar- 
riage, and  the  father  is  now  living  at 
Millersville  with  his  son-in-law,  F.  Fish- 
er. He  was  born  November  11,  1806, 
in  Austria,  and  was  alwavs  a  farmer;  his 
wife,  born  in  1809,  died  June  25,  1859,  and 
was  buried  in  Ludwick  Cemetery.  There 
were  fourteen  children  in  the  family,  six 
of  whom  are  living,  one  in  California  and 
the  others  in  Sandusky  county.  Mrs. 
Spieldenner's  maternal  grandmother,  May 
Ann  Grising,  was  born  in  Austria  about 
1778. 

After  his  marriage  Peter  Spieldenner 
settled  on  a  farm  in  Ballville  township 
and  followed  agriculture  exclusively  for 
about  six  years;  then  moved  to  Sandusky 
township,  where  he  bought  eighty-five 
acres  of  land  west  of  Fremont,  just  out- 
side the  corporation,  on  which  he  now 
lives.  Upon  his  removal  to  this  place  he 
engaged  in  buying  and  shipping  live  stock 
to  Eastern  markets,  chiefly  to  Buffalo, 
N.  Y. ,  and  a  few  years  later  he  became 
interested  in  the  breeding  of  horses,  be- 
coming an  importer  of  French  stallions. 
He  went  to  France  about  the  year  1882, 
and  purchased  two  Percheron  stallions, 
which  he  brought  to  Fremont.      For  sev- 


eral years  subsequent  to  this  he  devoted 
his  attention  to  the  breeding  of  horses, 
and  on  a  second  trip  to  France  he  im- 
ported six  stallions.  While  abroad  in 
Europe  he  traveled  through  Scotland, 
England  and  parts  of  France,  visiting  his 
relatives  in  Paris.  During  the  last  thirty 
years  Mr.  Spieldenner  has  been  well 
known  in  the  vicinity  of  Fremont  as  a 
popular  auctioneer,  being  able  to  speak 
both  German  and  English  fluently.  He 
is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  has  served 
as  trustee  of  Sandusky  township.  He 
and  his  family  are  members  of  St. 
Joseph's  Catholic  Church  of  Fremont. 


LAUREL    ELMER     ROBINSON, 
M.  D.,  a  successful  and  thoroughly 
trained     medical     practitioner    of 
Clyde,  Sandusky  county,  was  born 
in  Holmes  county,  Ohio,  August  14,  1845, 
son    of    Basil    \V.    and   Elizabeth   (Blair) 
Robinson. 

The  father  was  born  at  Danville,  Ivnox 
county,  in  18 18,  and  now  lives  at  Mt. 
Vernon,  Ohio,  a  successful  retired  farmer 
and  stock  dealer.  He  bought  horses  and 
sheep  extensively,  selling  them  at  Chi- 
cago and  in  other  markets.  The  pater- 
nal grandfather  of  B.  W.  Robinson  emi- 
grated from  Scotland  about  the  middle  of 
the  last  century,  and  settled  near  Harris- 
burg,  where  he  was  engaged  in  general 
merchandising.  He  died  possessed  of 
considerable  property,  and  his  will  is  now 
in  the  possession  of  B.  W.  Robinson. 
William  Robinson,  one  of  the  sons  of 
this  Scotch  emigrant,  was  a  member  of 
one  of  the  early  legislatures  of  Ohio. 
Solomon  Robinson,  another  son,  father  of 
B.  W.,  migrated  from  Pennsylvania  to 
Ohio   in    1799   or  1800.      He   had  eleven 


children,  the  eldest  of  whom  was  born  in 
Ohio  in  1801.  Solomon  Robinson  died 
of  apoplexy  in  his  eighty-sixth  year  on 
the  farm  he  had  cleared  near  Mt.  \'ernon. 
Only  three  of  his  children  survive:  Dan- 
iel,   of  Lima;  Mrs.  Brooks,    of   Newark; 


COMMBMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


81 


and  B.  \V.  The  latter  is  a  Republican 
in  politics;  and  a  nionibor  nf  the  Baptist 
Church.  His  wife,  liiizabcth  Blair,  was 
born  in  Ashland  county.  Ohio,  in  1821. 
and  died  in  1S89.  Her  father  was  a 
Scotch  emigrant;  her  maternal  grand- 
mother was  stolen  from  Ireland  by  a 
brother,  and  educated  in  America.  The 
mother  of  Elizabeth  Blair  is  said  to  have 
been  the  first  white  child  born  west  of  the 
Ohio  river.  When  a  child,  during,'  the 
early  Indian  troubles,  she  witnessed, 
through  a  crack  in  the  stockade,  the  mas- 
sacre of  her  brother — twenty-one  years 
old — and  of  her  sister — two  years  younjjer 
— both  victims  of  the  tomahawks  and 
scalping  knives  of  the  savages.  B.  W. 
and  Elizabeth  Robinson  had  five  chil- 
dren, four  of  whom  lived  to  maturity,  as 
follows:  Kovilla,  who  married  John  God- 
frey Jones,  a  Methodist  minister,  and  a 
graduate  of  Kenyon  College,  and  now  re- 
sides near  Portsmouth:  Laurel  Elmer, 
subject  of  this  sketch;  W'infteld  Scott,  a 
physician,  who  was  educated  at  Mt.  Ver- 
non. Ohio,  and  Philadelphia,  Penn..  and 
who  died  in  1893;  R.  J.,  also  a  physician, 
now  deceased;  and  one  child  that  died  in 
infancy. 

Laurel  Elmer  Robinson  was  educated 
at  Mt.  X'ernon.  In  1868  he  entered  the 
U.  S.  regular  army  as  hospital  steward 
for  a  term  of  five  years,  passing  a  strict 
technical  examination  before  his  appoint- 
ment could  be  made  effective.  From  this 
service  Dr.  Robinson  received  great  pro- 
fessional benefit.  He  was  stationed  in 
Arizona  during  the  Indian  troubles  of 
1870,  and  in  his  professional  capacity  was 
often  under  fire  from  the  savages.  His 
hat  brim  was  once  shot  off,  ami  bullets 
several  times  pierced  his  clothing.  He 
was  under  Gen.  Crooks  comman<l,  and 
not  infrequently  prescribed  medicine  for 
this  unassuming  commander,  but  brilliant 
Indian  fighter.  Retiring  from  the  army 
service.  Dr.  Robinson  completed  a  course 
of  study  at  Rush  Medical  Ctjilege,  gradu- 
ating with  the  class  of    1874.      He  prac- 


ticed two  years  at  Mt.  Vernon  with  his 
brother,  R.  j.,  then  three  years  at  Re- 
public, Seneca  county,  and  in  1879  set- 
tled permanently  at  Clyde,  where  he  has 
since  built  up  a  large  practice.  Dr.  Rob- 
inson was  married  at  Mt.  \'ernon.  in 
1876,  to  Miss  Cora  B.  McElroy.  and  four 
children  have  been  born  to  them — How- 
ard, Lester,  Carl  and  Russell;  the  latter 
died  in  June,  1894,  aged  two  years  and 
si.\  months.  Dr.  Robinson  is  a  member 
of  the  Sandusky  County  Medical  Society, 
and  in  politics  he  is  a  Republican. 


SB.  TAYLOR.  M.  D.,  physician 
.ind  surgeon,  Fremont,  Sandusky 
county,  has  been  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  medicine  for  thirty 
years.  He  was  born  at  Lower  Sandusky. 
Ohio,  March  19,  1844.  son  of  Austin  B. 
and  Delia  A.  (Pettibone)  Taylor.  His 
father  was  born  in  Newfane,  \'t.,  in  1814, 
and  at  the  age  of  twenty-four  came  to 
Lower  Sandusky,  Ohio,  to  clerk  for  Sardis 
Birchard,  of  the  firm  of  Birchard,  Dick- 
inson &  Grant,  whom  he  afterward  suc- 
ceeded in  business,  and  was  one  of  the 
pioneer  merchants  of  the  village.  He 
died  February  22,  1863.  Dr.  Taylor's 
mother  was  born  in  Granby.  Conn.,  in 
1822.  daughter  of  Hon.  Hiram  Pettibone. 
a  native  of  Connecticut,  who  in  1S36 
came  to  Lower  Sandusky,  and  was  one 
of  its  first  attorneys.  He  died  at  Fond 
du  Lac,  Wis.,  in  1886;  his  wife  died  at 
Fremont  in  1854.  Mrs.  Taylor  died  in 
1888.  at  Fremont,  Ohio. 

The  children  of  Austin  B.  and  Delia 
A.  Taylor  were:  Mary,  who  died  in  1857. 
at  the  age  of  fourteen;  Sardis  B. ,  our 
subject;  Charles,  who  died  in  Dunlap. 
Iowa,  in  1891;  George,  who  died  in  At- 
tica. Harper  Co..  Kans..  in  1891;  Oscar 
W..  who  died  in  Dunlap,  Iowa,  in  1891; 
Austin  B.,  who  resides  at  Dunlap,  Iowa; 
and  Delia,  who  is  a  teacher  of  German 
I  in    the    Fremont     public    schools    (Miss 


82 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Taylor   is   a  graduate  of  Wells  College, 
N.  Y.). 

Dr.  S.  B.  Taylor  was  reared  in  Fre- 
mont, there  receiving  his  primary  educa- 
tion in  the  public  schools,  and  subse- 
quently passed  through  the  Preparatory 
Department  of  Western  Reserve  College, 
at  Hudson,  Ohio.  He  then  commenced 
the  study  of  medicine  at  Cleveland,  Ohio, 
under  Dr.  S.  R.  Beckwith,  and  later  en- 
tered Cleveland  Medical  Institute,  from 
which  he  graduated  with  the  class  of 
1864.  He  afterward  attended  Starling 
Medical  College,  Columbus,  Ohio,  from 
which  he  graduated  with  the  class  of 
1872.  He  began  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession in  1864,  in  the  capacity  of  assist- 
ant-surgeon of  the  One  Hundred  and 
Sixty-ninth  Regiment,  O.  V.  I.,  at  Fort 
Ethan  Allen,  Va.,  and  since  that  time  he 
has  been  in  constant  practice  at  Fremont, 
Ohio.  He  was  physician  at  the  County 
Infirmary  from  1868  to  1872,  and  he  is 
now  president  of  the  Sandusky  County 
Soldiers'  Relief  Commission,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Sandusky  County  Medical 
Society,  of  which  he  was  the  first  libra- 
rian. Dr.  Taylor  is  a  member  of  Dick- 
inson Tent  No.  21,  K.  O.  T.  M.,  of 
which  he  has  been  physician,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  Eugene  Rawson  Post  No.  32, 
G.  A.  R. ,  numbering  170  members,  of 
which  he  has  been  surgeon  for  twelve 
years.  He  was  aide-de-camp  to  the  G. 
A.  R.  for  Sandusky  county  in  1890.  He 
is  a  Democrat  in  politics.  Dr.  Taylor  is 
a  lineal  descendant,  great-grandson,  of 
Brig. -Gen.  Chauncey  Pettibone,  who 
served  in  the  Revolutionary  war. 


JOSEPH  L.  RAWSON.  Few  fam- 
ilies have  honored  the  memory  of 
an  illustrious  line  of  English  ancestry 
more  than  has  the  Rawson  family  in 
Sandusky  county,  Ohio.  Depending 
whoU}'  upon  their  own  exertions,  each  has 
left  the  impress  of  his  life  and  character 
upon    the    history  of    the   community  in 


which  he  lived  and  labored.  As  an  honored 
representative  of  the  Rawsons  we  present 
the  one  whose  name  opens  this  article. 

Joseph  L.  Rawson,  surveyor,  was 
born  in  Fremont,  Ohio,  in  1835,  a  son  of 
Dr.  L.  Q.  and  Sophia  (Beaugrand)  Raw- 
son,  the  former  of  English  and  the  lat- 
ter of  French  descent.  Dr.  Rawson  was 
a  native  of  Irving,  Franklin  Co.,  Mass., 
born  September  4,  1804,  a  son  of  Lemuel 
Rawson,  who  was  also  a  native  of  Massa- 
chusetts, born  January  18,  1767.  Lemuel 
Rawson  was  a  tanner  by  trade  until  1812, 
after  which  he  was  a  farmer;  he  was  mar- 
ried on  September  8,  1 791,  to  Miss  Sarah 
Barrus,  and  after  farming  successively  at 
Orange,  New  Salem  and  Irving  Grant, 
Mass.,  until  1836,  came  to  Bath,  Summit 
Co.,  Ohio,  where  he  remained  until  Sep- 
tember 20,  1844,  when  his  wife  died,  and 
he  then  removed  to  Lower  Sandusky. 
Their  children  were:  Sallie  Rawson, 
who  was  first  married  to  Capt.  Jesse 
Thompson,  and  after  his  death  to  Mr.  B. 
Hubbard,  who  settled  in  Putnam  county, 
Ohio;  she  died  October  15,  1853.  Lemuel, 
born  December  14,  1793,  died  October  6, 
1866;  he  settled  on  the  Rawson  farm,  in 
South  Orange,  Mass.  Secretary  Rawson, 
who  practiced  medicine  in  Summit  county, 
Ohio,  forty-two  years,  after  which  he 
went  to  DesMoines,  Iowa,  where  he  died 
in  1 89 1,  aged  ninet3'-five  years;  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
Elizabeth,  twin  of  Secretary,  died  when 
two  years  old.  Abel  Rawson,  an  attorney 
at  law  of  Tiffin,  Ohio,  died  in  1871.  Bass 
Rawson,  who  was  a  hatter  b}'  trade,  and 
later  a  physician  and  surgeon  of  Findlay, 
Hancock  Co.,  Ohio;  he  died  in  1891, 
aged  ninety-two  j'ears.  Hannah  Rawson, 
wife  of  John  Galbraith,  of  Seneca  county, 
Ohio;  she  died  in  September,  1867.  L. 
Q.,  father  of  our  subject.  Alonzo  Raw- 
son,  who  published  a  weekly  paper  at 
Athol,  Mass. ,  called  the  Freedom  Sentinel, 
until  1833,  when  he  cametoTifiin,  Ohio, 
and  published  the  Independent  Chronicle 
two  j'ears;    after  this    he  engaged    for  a 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


88 


time  ill  mercantile  pursuits,  and  then 
studied  and  practiced  medicine;  he  died  at 
Colton,  Ohio,  November  25,  1864,  aged 
fifty-eight  years. 

Dr.  L.  y.  Rawson  was  reared  and 
educated  in  Massachusetts,  and  in  1824 
attended  a  medical  college  at  Cincinnati, 
Ohio.  He  began  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine in  1825,  in  Wyandot  county,  and  in 
1826  came  to  Lower  Sandusky,  whence 
after  a  brief  stay  he  then  went  east  and  en- 
tered the  Medical  College  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania,  where  he  finished 
his  education  and  received  the  degree  of 
M.  D. ;  he  returned  to  Sandusky  county, 
and  continued  in  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession until  1855.  He  held  various  of- 
fices of  honor  and  trust  in  hiscoiimiunity, 
for  a  time  serving  as  clerk  of  courts,  and 
also  as  clerk  of  the  supreme  court  from 
1836  to  1851.  From  1853  he  devoted 
part  of  his  time  to  the  building  of  the 
Lake  Erie  &  Western  railroad,  of  which 
he  was  president  several  years.  The 
town  of  Kawson  was  named  after  him, 
as  was  also  Kawson  avenue,  Fremont. 
He  was  considered  a  man  of  good  finan- 
cial ability  and  force  of  character.  On  July 
8,  1829,  Dr.  Kawson  was  married  to 
Miss  Sophia  Beaugrand,  at  Lower  San- 
dusky (now  Fremont),  Ohio,  who  was 
born  October  20,  1810.  a  daughter  of 
John  11  Beaugrand,  one  of  the  early 
pioneers  of  the  lilack  Swamp,  who  was 
a  merchant  at  Maumee  from  1 802  to  1812. 
He  had  married  in  1802,  at  Detroit, 
Mich.,  Miss  Margaret  Chabert,  daughter 
of  Col.  Chabert  de  Joucaire.  of  the 
French  army.  Dr.  L.  Q.  Kawson  died  at 
Fremont,  in  September,  1888,  and  his 
wife  in  May.  1882.  Their  children  were: 
Milton  E.,  a  physician,  who  graduated 
from  Cleveland  Medical  College,  practiced 
medicine  in  Grand  Haven  and  Muskegon, 
Mich.,  and  at  Fremont,  Ohio;  Xavier  J., 
who  died  in  infancy;  Joseph  L. ,  whose 
name  opens  this  sketch;  Josephine,  who 
died  in  childhood;  Ko.xine  H.,  born  in 
1838,  and  died  in  1846;  Eugene  A.,  born 


March  14,  1840,  a  soldier  of  the  Civil 
war,  who  died  July  22,  1864,  and  after 
whom  a  G.  A.  R.  Post  is  named  (he 
enlisted  in  the  Twelfth  New  York  In- 
fantry, was  transferred  in  December, 
1861,  to  the  Seventy-second  Regiment, 
O.  V.  I.,  with  the  rank  of  adjutant,  and 
soon  afterward  received  the  rank  of  major 
which  he  held  up  to  the  time  of  his 
death.  He  participated  in  the  battles  of 
Shiloh,  first  liuU  Run,  siege  of  Corinth, 
V'icksburg,  and  other  engagements  of  less 
note.  During  a  skirmish  near  Guntown, 
Miss.,  July  15,  1864,  he  received  a  wound 
which  resulted  in  his  death  a  week  later, 
at  Memphis,  Tenn.);  and  EstelleS.,  born 
March  2,  1849,  wife  of  L.  .\.  Russell,  of 
Cleveland,  Ohio. 

Joseph  L.  Rawson  was  reared  and 
educated  in  Fremont,  and  occasionally 
performed  farm  labor.  He  took  up  civil 
engineering,  which  he  followed  for  a  time, 
and  for  about  ten  years  also  had  charge 
of  a  grain  elevator  at  the  docks  in  Fre- 
mont. In  September,  1859,  he  married 
Miss  Margaret  A.  Gelpin,  of  Fremont, 
Ohio,  whose  parents  were  Lyman  and 
Martha  (Stevenson)  Gelpin,  the  former 
from  New  York  State,  the  latter  from 
Maryland,  both  having  come  to  the 
Western  Reserve  at  an  early  day,  where 
they  died.  To  our  subject  and  wife  Avere 
born  three  children:  Sophia  E.,  born 
July  4,  i860,  wife  of  Theodore  Harris,  a 
merchant  of  Tecumseh,  Mich.,  who  has 
one  child,  Jennie  May;  Jennie  A.,  born 
February  7,  1863,  wife  of  Dr.  O.  H. 
Thomas,  of  Fremont,  Ohio,  and  La 
yuinio  G.,  born  October  28,  187 1,  an 
attorney  at  law  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  who 
read  law  with  James  H.  Fowler,  Fre- 
mont, attended  the  Cincinnati  Law 
School,  from  which  he  graduated,  stand- 
ing fifth  in  a  class  of  ninety-seven,  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1891. 

Our  subject  is  a  Republican  in 
politics;  his  family  are  members  of  the 
St.  Pauls  Episcopal  Church.  The  Raw- 
son  family   is  of  English  ancestry,  being 


84 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


descended  from  Edward  Rawson,  who 
came  to  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts,  in 
1636-37,  and  settled  at  Newbury,  Mass. 
Some  of  the  family  line  were  ministers, 
some  sea  captains,  and  others  physicians. 
The  family  have  a  coat  of  arms  traced 
back  to  England,  and  a  well-written 
book    of  family  genealogy. 


IVl 


AJOR  EUGENE  ALLEN 
RAWSON.  Prominent  among 
the  patriotic  and  brave  young 
men  of  Sandusky  county,  who 
voluntarily  sacrificed  their  lives  on  the 
altar  of  their  country  during  the  Civil  war, 
1861-65,  was  he  whose  name  introduces 
this  article. 

^^'hile  a  student  at  Homer,  N.  Y.,  and 
just  about  finishing  his  academic  course 
preparatory  to  entering  Yale  College,  he 
promptly  responded  to  Abraham  Lincoln's 
first  call  for  volunteers  by  enlisting  in  the 
Twelfth  New  York  Regiment.  In  the 
capacity  of  private  he  took  a  noble  part 
in  the  battle  of  Bull  Run,  evincing  great 
coolness  and  bravery.  In  December, 
1 86 1,  he  was  appointed  adjutant  of  the 
Seventy-second  Reginent  O.  V.  I.,  by  the 
governor  of  Ohio,  and  was  accordingly 
transferred  to  it  by  the  War  Department. 
He  left  Fremont  with  the  regiment  in 
January,  1862,  when  it  moved  to  Camp 
Chase,  preparatory  to  going  to  its  final 
destination — Paducah  and  the  Southwest. 
He  shared  its  perils  after  it  joined  the 
army  of  the  Tennessee,  and  moved  down 
the  Mississippi  to  Pittsburg  Landing. 
Many  boys  of  the  regiment  were  sick  with 
the  diseases  peculiar  to  that  Southern 
climate,  and  Mr.  Rawson's  natural  buoy- 
ancy of  spirit  and  cheerful  sprightly  man- 
ner did  no  little  to  drive  away  despond- 
ency. A  few  incidents  will  give  an  idea 
of  his  bravery.  On  Frida}'  preceding  the 
battle  of  Shiloh,  at  the  head  of  Company 
B,  Adjutant  Rawson,  with  forty  men, 
having  only  a  fallen  tree  for  their  breast- 
work, kept  six  hundred   Rebel  cavalry  in 


check  for  several  hours,  until  relieved  by 
the  timely  arrival  of  Col.  Buckland. 
When  the  battle  opened  on  Sunday 
morning,  April  6th,  and  the  Rebels  came 
like  an  avalanche  upon  the  unsuspecting 
Union  troops,  Buckland's  brigade  re- 
sponded to  the  beat  of  the  "long  roll" 
with  such  alacrity  that  they  stood  in  the 
very  front  of  Sherman's  Division,  ready 
for  action,  before  the  enemy  had  gained 
rifle  distance  of  their  position.  Col.  R. 
P.  Buckland  being  in  command  of  the 
brigade,  the  command  of  the  regiment 
devolved  upon  Lieut. -Col.  Canfield,  and 
as  Major  Crockett,  the  only  other  field 
officer  of  the  regiment  had  been  taken 
prisoner  two  days  previous.  Adjutant 
Rawson,  by  common  consent  assumed 
the  duties  of  major  for  the  occasion.  At 
the  first  or  second  fire,  Lieut. -Col.  Can- 
field  fell  mortally  wounded,  and  Adjutant 
Rawson  alone  remained  to  command  the 
regiment,  and  cheer  the  boys  who  stood 
steadfast  amid  the  storm  of  leaden  hail 
that  mowed  through  their  ranks,  until 
Col.  Buckland,  seeing  their  extremity, 
came  to  their  relief.  The  horse  of  Adj. 
Rawson  was  shot  from  under  him,  and 
another  that  had  been  sent  for  him  was 
captured  before  it  reached  him,  but  he 
performed  his  duties  promptly  and  effi- 
ciently on  foot.  He  distinguished  himself 
later  in  the  three-days'  fight  at  Pittsburg 
Landing,  at  the  siege  of  Corinth,  in  the 
pursuit  of  Forrest  through  Tennessee,  in 
the  marches,  skirmishes  and  battles  from 
Memphis  to  Vicksburg,  in  the  pursuit  of 
Johnson,  under  Sherman,  to  Jackson,  in 
the  return  to  Memphis,  and  in  the  expe- 
dition into  Mississippi. 

After  the  Seventy-second  had  re-en- 
listed as  veterans,  and  after  the  main  body 
composing  Sherman's  expedition  had 
moved  southward,  a  small  force  of  about 
1,600  men  was  sent  out  on  the  venture- 
some expedition  of  making  a  feint  into  the 
enemy's  country,  where  they  were  hold- 
ing a  position  on  the  bank  of  the  Talla- 
hatchie to  intercept  and  defeat  the  cross- 


COMVEMORATTVB  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


86 


ing  of  reinforcements  moving  to  the  sup- 
port of  Sherman.  Of  this  small  force, 
theScventy-second  regiment,  under  Lieut. - 
Col.  Eaton  and  Maj.  Kawson  formed  a 
part.  Tlie  latter  officer  had  been  pro- 
moted by  common  consent  to  the  rank  of 
major,  and  performed  his  part  of  the  un- 
dertaking with  rare  good  judgment  and 
intrepidity.  From  the  badly  managed 
expedition  of  which  the  Seventy-second 
regiment  ft)rmed  a  part,  which  was  sent 
out  from  Nfemphis  under  Gen.  Sturgis, 
and  which  ended  so  sadly  at  Guntown  and 
Kipley,  in  .Mississippi.  Maj.  Rawson 
reached  Memphis  with  such  of  the  officers  ' 
and  men  as  were  saved  from  the  general 
disaster;  marching  over  eighty  miles  with- 
out food  or  rest,  in  less  than  forty-eight 
hours.  The  Seventy-second  regiment 
acted  as  a  rearguard  to  the  fleeing  troops, 
and  valiantly  beat  back  the  pursuing  foe 
until  out  of  animunition  and  having  their 
supplv  train  destroyed  by  the  Kebels, 
when  they  were  at  last  forced  to  make 
good  their  escape  by  flight  after  250  of 
their  men  had  been  captured.  Scarcely 
rested  from  this  scene  of  suffering,  the 
Seventy-second  regiment,  imder  Maj. 
Kawson,  started  again,  under.  Gen.  A.  J. 
Smith,  to  encounter  the  same  foe.  Com- 
ing up  to  the  enemy  at  Tupelo,  Miss., 
Maj.  Kawson  was  mortally  woundeil  at 
Old  Town  Creek,  while  gallantly  leading 
a  charge  against  the  Kebel  lines.  He 
was  borne  from  the  field  and  conveyed 
back  to  Memphis,  where  he  died  July  22, 
1864,  aged  twenty-four  years.  His  re- 
mains were  embalmed  and  sent  home  to 
Fremont,  Ohio,  where  with  appropriate 
ceremonies  they  were  interred  in  Oak 
Wood  Cemetery.  Kcsolutions  of  respect 
were  adopted  by  the  remaining  officers  of 
the  regiment,  and  forwarded  for  publica- 
tion to  the  Press  of  Sandusky  county. 
In  the  year  1881,  the  first  organization  of 
the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  at  I're- 
mont,  was  named  after  Maj.  Eugene  Al- 
len Kawson.  and  among  its  charter  mem- 
bers were  Gen.  K.  P.  Huckland  and  Gen. 


R.  B.  Hayes,  the  latter  of  whom  donated 
the  use  of  Hirchard  Hall  to  the  Post.  free, 
as  long  as  they  shall  maintain  their  organi- 
zation. 

Major  Rawson  was  the  son  of  Dr.  La 
Quinio  and  Sophia  (I^eaugrand)  Rawson, 
and  was  born  at  Fremont,  Ohio,  March 
14.  1S40.  While  absent  from  his  regi- 
ment on  furlough.  August  31.  1863,  he 
married  Miss  Jennie  Snyder,  an  amiable 
and  accomplished  lady  of  Cortland.  New 
York. 


JD.  BEMIS,  M.  D.,  is  a  native  of 
Ohio,  born  in  Elyria,  March  14. 
1858,  a  son  of  Eri  and  Lydia  A. 
fGriswold)  Bemis,  the  former  of 
whom  was  a  well-to-do  farmer  of  I^orain 
count}'  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil 
war.  At  that  time,  tired  with  the  spirit 
of  patriotism,  he  gave  his  services  to  the 
government,  for  the  preservation  of  the 
Union,  by  enlisting,  in  .\ugust,  1862,  in 
Company  E,  First  Ohio  Light  Artillery 
(Edgerton's  Batteryi,  in  which  he  bravely 
served  until  he  died  at  Nashville,  Tenn., 
July  13,  1863;  his  remains  were  sent 
home  to  Elyria  for  burial.  The  mother 
of  our  subject  also  died  in  comparatively 
early  life,  leaving  four  children,  namely: 
Charles,  who  lives  in  Elyria,  Ohio;  H. 
E.,  in  California;  Dr.  J.  D. ;  and  Clara, 
now  the  wife  of  C.  W.  Benton,  of  Elyria, 
Ohio. 

The  subject  of  these  lines  after  the 
death  of  his  parents  was  placed  in  care 
of  his  uncle.  Dr.  Griswold,  of  Elyria, 
Lorain  county,  and  attended  the  schools 
of  that  city  until  he  was  about  nine  years 
of  age,  when  he  was  received  into  the  Sol- 
diers and  Sailors  Orphans  himie.  at 
Xenia.  Ohio  (of  which  institution  his 
uncle  had  just  been  appointed  superin- 
tendent .  remaining  there  until  he  was 
thirteen  years  old.  This  brings  us  now 
to  1871.  at  which  time  our  subject  re- 
ceived, at  the  hands  of  Lieut. -Gov.  J.  C. 
Lee.  the  appointment  of  bill-room   mes- 


86 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGBAPHICAL  RECORD. 


senger  for  the  Ohio  Senate,  in  which  ca- 
pacity he  served  two  years.  During  the 
State  Constitutional  Convention,  1873-74, 
he  was  appointed  page,  and  later  he  filled 
the  office  of  assistant  sergeant-at-arms, 
under  appointment  from  M.  R.  Waite, 
president  of  the  convention,  and  after- 
ward chief  justice  of  the  United  States. 
In  1874-75  Dr.  Bemis  attended  Baldwin 
University,  and  from  there  returned  to 
Elyria,  where  he  pursued  the  stud}'  of 
medicine  in  the  office  of  Dr.  Perry,  having 
previously  studied  at  intervals  with  the 
aid  of  his  uncle's  medical  library.  From 
Dr.  Perry's  office  he  went,  in  1876,  to 
the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute,  Cincin- 
nati (Ohio),  graduating  thereat  in  1879, 
and  then  came  to  Fremont,  where  he  at 
once  commenced  the  practice  of  his 
chosen  profession,  and,  as  a  hard  student 
of  advanced  ideas  in  both  medicine  and 
surgery,  has  placed  himself  in  the  fore- 
most rank  of  skilled  practitioners  in  the 
county. 

In  1892  the  Doctor  was  elected  health 
officer  for  the  city  of  Fremont,  and  is  at 
present  filling  the  incumbency  with  his 
proverbial  skill  and  efficiencj',  the  quality 
of  which  is  well  evidenced  by  the  present 
high  sanitary  condition  of  the  city.  In 
1892  he  was  appointed  a  member  of  the 
United  States  Board  of  Pension  Examin- 
ing Surgeons,  and  has  been  its  secretary 
since  189^. 


WILLIAM  A.  CLEMONS,  famil- 
iarly known  as  "Judge  dem- 
ons," one  of  the  most  prominent 
citizens  of  Ottawa  county,  was 
born  in  Erie  county,  Ohio,  December  15, 
1 829,  and  is  a  son  of  Alexander  and  Ange- 
line  (Hollister)  demons,  the  former  a 
native  of  Maine,  the  latter  of  Connecticut. 
They  were  of  Scotch  ancestry  on  the  ma- 
ternal side,  but  the  demons  family,  as  far 
as  known,  originated  on  the  Isle  of  Guern- 
sey, where  two  little  boys,  Isaac  and 
»     John  demons,  were  stolen  while  on  their 


way  to  school,  and  brought  to  America, 
locating  at  Salem,  Mass.,  in  the  early 
part  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

Our  subject  is  descended  from  Isaac, 
who  afterward  located  in  the  State  of 
Maine,  and  became  the  father  of  two 
sons — Edward  and  John.  The  former 
had  four  sons — Jock,  Samuel,  Jabez,  and 
Frank — and  these  four  brothers  removed 
to  Madison,  N.  Y.,  in  1795.  The  first 
named  became  the  father  of  three  sons 
and  two  daughters.  Samuel  had  one  son 
and  two  dughters;  Jabez,  two  sons  and 
three  daughters;  Frank  had  three  daugh- 
ters. Jabez  became  the  father  of  David 
demons,  the  father  of  the  celebrated 
humorist,  who  is  best  known  to  the  world 
as  Mark  Twain.  John,  the  brother  of  Ed- 
ward, had  three  sons  and  three  daughters, 
namely:  John,  Jonathan,  Eli,  Ruth, 
Hannah  and  Eunice.  John  wedded  Mary 
McLellan,  of  Gorham,  Maine,  and  their 
children  were — Cary,  Andrew,  Alexander, 
John,  Eunice,  Ai,  Elijah,  Nancy,  Samuel 
and  William.  Ruth,  a  sister  of  the  father 
of  this  family,  became  the  wife  of  Col. 
Charles  Wadsworth,  son  of  Gen.  Peleg 
Wadsworth,  of  Revolutionary  fame,  and 
the  brother  of  the  mother  of  Henry 
Wadsworth  Longfellow.  Hannah  mar- 
ried William  Cotton.  The  mother  of 
John  demons,  and  the  great-grandmother 
of  our  subject,  was  Abigail  Wetherbee, 
who  lived  to  be  one  hundred  and  four 
years  old,  and  left  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
four  descendants. 

Alexander  demons,  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, was  born  in  Hiram,  Maine,  February 
II,  1 794,  and  was  a  cabinet  maker  by 
trade,  but  after  locating  in  Ottawa  county 
engaged  in  stone  quarrying.  He  was  one 
of  the  best  known  and  most  prominent 
men  of  his  day.  He  was  married  February 
1 1, 1824,  to  Almira  Angeline  Hollister, who 
was  born  in  Glastonburg,  Conn.,  April  5, 
1806.  Their  children  were:  Winslow, 
born  in  Sandusky,  Ohio,  December  29, 
1824;  Milo,  born  April  6,  1S27,  and  died 
March  6, 1 888  ;William  Alexander;Phineas 


nui  lA 


OOXMEilORATIVB  BWORAPHWAL  RECORD. 


87 


Harrison,  born  February  i6,  1832;  Sarah, 
born  March  4,  1834;  Frances,  born  April 
6,  1836;  Myron  Ehjah,  born  l-'ebruary 
25,  183S;  Albert  Alonzo,  born  April  9, 
1840;  Lucian  Monroe,  born  November 
28,  1S41;  Lester  Newton,  who  was  born 
in  1843,  and  died  March  5,  1S46;  Lucia 
Louise,  who  .was  born  in  December, 
1844,  and  died  November  20,  1849;  Hub- 
bard Mortimer,  born  March  27,  184S;  Ai 
Jay.  born  June  17,  1S50;  Eunice,  who 
died  March  6.  1888;  and  one  son  who 
died  in  infancy. 

When  our  subject  was  three  years  old 
he  was  brought  by  his  parents  to  Dan- 
bury  township,  Ottawa  county,  and  he  is 
to-day  an  honored  pioneer  whose  resi- 
dence covers  a  period  of  sixty-three  years. 
His  father  passed  away  March  12, 
1 886.  his  mother  on  March  24,  1861. 
William  obtained  a  limited  education  in 
the  district  schools,  and  then  worked  in 
his  fathers  quarry,  after  which  he  en- 
gaged in  business  for  several  years  with 
his  brothers,  but  later  was  associated  with 
no  partner.  Since  1891  he  has  lived  re- 
tired, enjoying  a  rest  which  he  truly 
earned  and  well  deserves. 

Mr.  demons  was  married  at  Marble- 
head  Lighthouse,  January  i,  1856,  to 
Alvira  V'..  daughter  of  J.  B.  and  Arvilla 
( Knappj  Keyes.  the  former  a  native  of 
New  York,  the  latter  of  \'ermont.  Her 
father  was  born  May  8,  181  5,  was  a  sea- 
faring man,  and  for  several  years  light- 
house keeper,  at  Marblec  ead.  He  was 
niarried  December  24,  834,  to  Mrs. 
Arvilla  Wolcott.  who  wjjJborn  Septem- 
ber 21,  1810,  and  February  21.  1830, 
married  W'illiam  B.  Wolcott.  In  her 
family  were  i-ight  children:  Harrison  W. 
born  February  21,  1S31;  Mary  F.,  born 
December  20,  1832,  and  Arvilla  A.,  born 
April  21.  1835,  all  three  now  deceased; 
Alvira  V.,  born  September  17,  1837; 
Charles  M..  born  October  28,  1840,  now 
living  in  Sandusky  City;  Thomas  J.,  born 
December  28,  1842,  is  at  Berlin  Heights. 
Ohio;  Jane  Ellen,  born  March   21,  1845, 


•  died  in  infancy,  and  Jennie  V. ,  born  Sep- 
ten)ber  5,  1846,  now  the  widow  of  Hor- 
ace  Fond,    of    Elyria.      The   father  died 

I  July  20,  1891,  the  mother  on  June  8, 
1892. 

Our  subject  and  his  wife  have  had 
twelve  children,  as  follows:  Ada  \'. ,  born 
February  16,  1857,  now  the  wife  of 
Richard  Coorty,  a  prominent  merchant 
of  Marblehead;  Arvilla  C,  born  March 
I,    i860,    and    died    December    3,     1869; 

I  Cora  A.,   born  April  19,  1862;  Sarah  E., 

i  born  July  12,  1864;  James  A.,  born 
August  29,  1866,  a  merchant  of  Marble- 
head;  Charles  B. ,  born  August  22,  1868, 
now  a  member  of  the  crew  of  the  Mar- 
blehead life-saving  station;  Francis  J.,  of 
Marblehead,  born  April  12,  1870;  Harry 
R.,  born  November  12,  1S72;  Clarence 
M.,  and  Clement  M.,  born  June  17,  1874, 
and  died  in  infancy;  Walter  L. ,  born 
July  26,  1876:  and  Erie  May,  born  Feb- 
ruary 21,   1879 

In  his  political  views,  Mr.  Clemons  is 
a  Republican.  His  business  enterprises 
have  been  generally  successful,  and  by  in- 
dustry, integrity  and  perseverance  he  has 
accumulated  a  snug  fortune,  ami  to-day 
is  in  a  position  to  enjoy  the  rest  which  he 
has  so  well  earned.  He  has  lived  in  Mar- 
blehead for  sixty-three  years,  and  has  ap- 
plied himself  to  business  pursuits  unfalter- 
ingly, never  failing  to  discharge  his  pe- 
cuniary obligations,  and  his  business  rec- 
ord is  without  a  blemish.  Most  of  the 
pioneers  of  the  county  have  passed  to 
their  long  homes,  yet  they  were  men  of 
sterling  integrity  who  left  the  impress  of 
their  individuality  upon  the  community 
with  which  they  were  identified.  The 
log  cabins  of  the  early  ^  'ttlers,  in  which 
all  received  a  hearty  wccr«me,  have  dis- 
appeared, and  in  their  place  stand  hand- 
some and  imposing  res'  <ences.  Where 
once  there  was  not!  inp^j'ut  a  dense  forest 
there  are  now  wiH.  cultivated  farms  and 
fruit  orchards,  and  most  of  this  change 
has  taken  place  within  the  memory  of 
Mr.  Clemons.     The  good  old  pioneer  days 


88 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOOBAPHICAL  liECORB. 


have  passed,  but  he  well  remembers  the 
generosity  and  helpfulness  which  charac- 
terized the  early  settlers.  He  was  fav- 
ored with  but  few  advantages  in  his  youth, 
yet  he  made  the  most  of  his  opportuni- 
ties, and  is  known  as  a  straightforward 
business  man,  a  public-spirited  and  pro- 
gressive citizen,  an  affectionate  husband 
and  kind  father,  and  a  trusted  friend  and 
neighbor  whose  example  is  well  worthy  of 
emulation. 


ELIJAH  CULBERT,  who  has  been 
a  resident  of  Sandusky  township, 
Sandusky    county,    for    the  past 
several   years,  is   a  native  of    Ire- 
land, born  August  9,   1821,  in   the  city  of 
Belfast,  County  Antrim. 

William  Culbert,  grandfather  of  our 
subject,  was  born  in  County  Donegal, 
Ireland,  and  was  there  married  to  Sophia 
Greer,  of  the  same  nativity,  by  whom  he 
had  four  children,  as  follows:  David  (our 
subject's  father);  Sophia,  who  married 
Hugh  Patton,  and  died  in  Belfast;  Mary, 
who  married  William  Ross  (they  both  also 
passed  away  in  Belfast);  and  Andrew, 
who  was  drowned  about  the  year  1830  at 
Belfast.  The  parents  both  died  i.;  that 
city.  The  family  are  of  Scotch  descent, 
the  father  of  William  Culbert  having 
migrated  from  Scotland  to  the  North  of 
Ireland. 

David  Culbert,  eldest  son  of  William 
and  Sophia  (Greer)  Culbert,  and  father  of 
Elijah,  was  born  in  County  Donegal,  Ire- 
land, removing  to  Belfast  with  his  father's 
family.  He  was  a  wholesale  and  retail 
merchant  in  glass,  oils  and  colors.  In  his 
native  land  he  married  Eleanor  Patton, 
who  was  born  in  Newtownards,  County 
Down,  Ireland,  and  a  record  of  the  chil- 
dren of  this  uni'^n  is  as  follows:  David, 
born  January,  t-^-\'J,  died  July,  1888,  at 
Southampton,  Cour/,-  .  of  Bruce,  Upper 
Canada  (now  Province  of  Ontario) ;  Will- 
iam, born  October  23,  1819,  died  in 
Toronto,  Canada,  July  16,   1893;   Elijah, 


who  is  the  subject  proper  of  this  sketch, 
comes  next;  Mary,  born  in  1823,  died  in 
Belfast,  Ireland,  in  1828;  Sophia,  born 
in  1825,  was  married  in  1857  to  John 
Moore,  and  died  in  Lindsay,  Canada,  in 
1877;  Thomas,  born  August  12,  1828, 
died  December  20,  1877,  at  Cape  Croker. 
County  of  Bruce,  Upper  Canada  (now 
Province  of  Ontario);  Isaac  Cookson, 
born  in  1830,  died  in  Lindsay,  Canada, 
November,  1856;  Mary  Amelia,  born 
January  19,  1834,  in  Lindsay,  Canada, 
died  September  12,  1855,  in  Toronto, 
Canada.  All  the  others  were  in  the  city 
of  Belfast,  Ireland,  and  on  April  26,  1833, 
the  family  set  sail  for  the  New  World, 
Little  York,  Upper  Canada  (now  the  city 
of  Toronto,  Ontario),  being  their  destina- 
tion. From  there,  after  a  brief  sojourn, 
they  moved  to  Lindsay,  County  of  'Vic- 
toria, where  the  mother  died  May  6, 
1853,  the  father  on  Good  Friday,  1856. 
He  was  a  man  of  mark  in  his  day,  and 
while  a  resident  of  Lindsay  held  four 
commissions  under  the  Canadian  govern- 
ment, to  wit:  commissioner  of  the  Court 
of  Queen's  Bench;  commissioner  of  the 
Court  of  Requests;  justice  of  the  peace 
(under  commission  from  the  Governor 
General  of  Canada);  and  postmaster  at 
Lindsay,  holding  all  the  offices  up  to  the 
time  of  his  death. 

Elijah  Culbert,  of  whom  this  memoir 
more  particularly  relates,  was  a  lad  of 
twelve  summers  when  he  accompanied 
the  rest  of  his  Hther's  family  across  the 
ocean.  On  A,  ril  30,  1846,  he  was  mar- 
ried at  Port  H  5e,  Canada,  to  Miss  Eliza 
Day,  Rev.  Joan  Genley  officiating;  in 
1848  he  moved  to  Lindsay,  where  he  re- 
sided nine  years,  and  then  left  Canada 
for  the  United  States,  making  his  first 
home  under  the  Stars  and  Stripes  at  East 
Hamburg,  Erie  Co. ,  N.  Y.  From  there 
he,  in  1859,  removed  to  Fremont,  San- 
dusky Co.,  Ohio,  where  he  engaged  in 
the  nursery  business  for  a  short  time,  or 
until  his  enlistment  in  the  Union  army 
during  the  Civil  war,  an  account  of  which 


VOMMEMORATiVB  BIOORAPUICAL  HECORD. 


S« 


will  presently  be  given.  Since  his  dis- 
charge from  the  army  in  June,  1865,  he 
has  been  enfjaf^ecl  more  or  less  in  af;ricul- 
tural  pursuits. 

To  Elijah  and  Eliza  (Day)  Culbert 
were  born  ten  children,  as  follows:  (i) 
Eleanor  Jane,  born  in  Toronto,  Canada, 
March  2.  1S47,  died  in  Lindsay,  Canada, 
September  2,  1848.  (2)  Sophia  Eliza- 
beth, born  in    Lindsay,    Canada,  January 

21,  1S49.  graduated  from  the  Fremont 
rOhio)  public  schools,  and  is  a  teacher  in 
the  Fremont  Grammar  Schools  of  twenty- 
five  years'  standing.  (3)  Thomas  Andrew, 
born  in  Lindsay,  Canada,  July  5,  1851, 
died  at  the  same  place,  March  7,  1853. 
(4)  Samuel  James,  born  in  Lindsay.  July 

22,  1853,  married  Margaret  Conly,  and 
has  three  children — Gracie.  Walter,  and 
one  whose  name  is  not  given  fhe  lives  in 
Michigan.  (5)  John  Patton,  also  born  in 
Lindsay.  Canada,  September  1,  1855, 
died  in  Ballville  township,  Sandusky  Co. , 
Ohio,  November  13,  1893;  he  married 
Lena  Cook,  and  has  six  children — Jessie, 
Eva,  George  \V.,  Wilbur.  Susan  and 
Lula.  (6)  Letitia  Emily,  born  in  Lind- 
say. Canada,  September  2,  1857,  was 
married,  in  1880,  to  John  Nickles,  by 
whom  she  had  the  following  children — 
Lottie,  Maud,  Lucy  E.,  Helen  S. ,  .Addie 
E..  Walter  W.,  and  Kuth.  the  last  named 
dying  Augiu^t  11.  1894.  (7)  Charles 
Henry,  born  in  Ballville  township,  San- 
dusky Co.,  Ohio,  December  24.  1859. 
and  died  unmarried.  December  10.  1889, 
in  Sandusky  township.  (8)  Albert  Ed- 
ward, born  in  Ballville-^township,  San- 
dusky Co. .  Ohio,  March  27,  rS62,  married 
Mary  Rose,  and  has  three  children — 
Chester,  Stella  and  Ralph  P.  (9)  Mary 
Eleanor,  born  in  Ballville  township.  San- 
dusky Co. ,  Ohio,  January  15.  1866,  and 
is  still  living  at  home,  single.  (lo^  Edgar 
Augustus,  born  in  Sandusky  township. 
Sandusky  Co..  Ohio.  June  25.  1868. 

War  record  of  Elijah  Culbert  is  as 
follows,  from  his  own  graphic  pen;  "On 
September    7.    1 863.  I    enli.sted    at    Fre- 


mont, Ohio,  in  Company  \,  Twelfth  O. 
V.  C.  for  three  years  or  during  the  war. 
My  regiment  belonged  to  the  Fourth  Cav- 
alry Brigade,  Twenty-third  Corps,  Army  of 
the  Cumberland.  I  participated  in  three 
battles,  the  first  being  at  Mt.  Sterling, 
Ky. .  when  we  encountered  Gen.  John 
Morgan, Gen.  Marmaduke  and  others.  The 
engagement  commenced  in  the  early  morn- 
ing of  Thursday,  June  9,  1864,  and  con- 
tinued until  9  A.  M. ;  at  10  A.  M.  Morgan 
was  reinforced  and  the  fight  was  renewed, 
lasting  till  3  I'.  M..  Morgan  being  defeated 
in  both  engagements,  and  terribly  used 
up.  On  the  Ticktown  pike  his  dead  lay 
like  ranks  of  cordwood,  presenting  a  hor- 
rible sight  such  as  I  wish  never  to  set  eyes 
on  again.  At  3:30  i-.  m.  the  Rebels  start- 
ed for  Lexington,  Ky.,  twenty-six  miles 
from  Mt.  Sterling,  and  there  plundered 
the  stores  and  banks,  besides  looting  the 
government  corrals  of  the  best  horses 
and  mules  they  could  lay  their  hands  on, 
destroying  the  remainder.  Our  divisiort 
lay  at  Mt.  Sterling  that  afternoon  and 
night,  on  the  following  morning  proceed- 
ing to  Lexington.  Morgan's  rear  guard 
leaving  that  city  just  as  our  advance 
guard  was  entering  it.  At  this  time  we 
wep.'  under  Gen.  Burbridge,  who  for  some 
re'-3on  halted  our  division  on  the  main 
street,  keeping  the  men  standing  at  their 
horses  heads  all  day.  At  night  we  pur- 
sued the  Rebels,  and  reached  Paris  about 
sunrise  Saturday  morning.  Jtme  11,  where 
we  remained  all  day;  the  following  night 
found  us  riding  to  Cynthiana,  overtaking 
Morgan  on  the  morning  of  June  12,  with 
whom  we  had  another  stubborn  tussel. 
again  defeating  him.  This  was  Morgan's 
last  fight,  for  we  slew  and  took  prisoners 
a  great  number  of  his  inen;  most  of  the 
remainder  sought  safety  in  the  mountains, 
while  Morgan  himself  and  his  generals 
fled  to  Tennessee,  where  he  was  after- 
ward betrayed  by  a  woman  and  killed. 

"My  third  and  last  engagement  oc- 
curred on  Sunday.  October  2.  1864.  at 
Sallville.   \'a..    when    we    foutrht    airaiust 


90 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Gens.  Earl}',  Breckenridge,  Roberts, 
Jackson  and  others.  It  looked  as  if  the 
mountains  were  covered  with  the  Con- 
federate soldiers,  so  vast  was  their  num- 
ber, at  least  five  to  one  of  us.  We  ex- 
pected to  be  reinforced  by  Gen.  Gillam, 
but  his  corps  did  not  arrive  in  time; 
however,  we  kept  the  enemy  at  bay  all 
day,  and  at  night  our  division  retreated. 
Our  officers  detailed  men  to  light  fires  on 
the  mountains  and  the  Rebels  thought 
they  had  us  all  '  bagged, '  but  our  men 
got  safely  awa}'.  Tfie  Eleventh  Michi- 
gan Cavalry  was  rear  guard  at  first,  on 
this  retreat,  and  next  day  fought  like 
good  fellows,  but  were  unable  to  check 
the  enemy,  who  were  now  in  full  pursuit, 
and  Gen.  Gillam  then  ordered  the  Twelfth 
Ohio  Cavalry  to  act  as  rear  guard.  In 
this  engagement  I,  among  hundreds  of 
others,  was  taken  prisoner,  and  we  were 
at  first  confined  in  an  old  shed  at 
Fort  Breckenridge,  Saltville,  six  days, 
where  we  were  stripped  of  our  boots  and 
clothing,  and  fed  on  nothing  but  a  little 
flour  once  a  day.  On  the  night  of  Octo- 
ber 8.  a  bitterly  cold  night,  we  were 
hustled  off,  half-naked  as  we  were,  to 
Glade  Springs,  eight  miles  distant,  where 
we  changed  cars  for  Lynchburg,  but  had 
to  wait  several  hours  for  the  train,  dur-jig 
which  time  we  tramped  up  and  down  the 
station  platform  on  our  bare  feet,  al- 
though the  ice  and  snow  was  several 
inches  deep.  When  we  reached  Lynch- 
burg prison  we  were  driven,  like  so  many 
hogs,  into  the  yard  which  was  paved  with 
nigger-heads,  and  most  of  the  prisoners 
had  to  pass  the  night  there.  I  was  more 
fortunate,  being  permitted  to  sleep  with 
some  others  in  a  sort  of  boarded-up 
place  under  the  stairs,  but  were  nearly 
suffocated  to  death  when  the  doorway 
closed.  From  Lj'nchburg  we  were  con- 
veyed to  Libby,  arriving  there  October 
13,  where  our  first  day's  rations  consisted 
of  one  tub  of  '  Mississippi  pea  soup  '  to 
be  divided  among  1 50  famishing  men. 
Having   no  such    luxury    as    a  spoon  or 


ladle  we  were  content  to  dip  the  soup  up 
with  the  half  of  a  tin  tobacco  box,  and 
pass  it  round.  This,  however,  was  too 
slow  a  process  for  a  lot  of  starving  men, 
so  three  or  four  of  the  boys  grabbed  the 
tub,  and  turning  it  to  one  side,  as  many 
as  could  get  their  heads  into  it  at  a  time 
did  so;  then  they  had  to  be  choked  off 
to  allow  others  to  get  a  chance,  and  such 
pushing,  crawling  and  fighting  over  that 
tub  I  never  saw  equaled  except,  perhaps, 
by  a  lot  of  pigs  at  a  newly-filled  swill 
trough. 

"I  was  confined  in  Libby  until  No- 
vembers, 1864,  and  was  removed  to  Pem- 
berton  prison,  at  which  time  the  cold  was 
intense.  There  were  300  men  on  each 
floor,  and  when  time  to  '  retire  '  at  night 
we  would  divide  into  three  squads  of  100 
e3ch;  one  squad  would  take  the  center  of 
the  floor,  the  other  two  being  stretched 
out  by  the  walls.  Before  lying  down  we 
would  take  a  sort  of  plebiscite  vote  as  to 
which  side  we  would  lie  on — '  right  or 
left ' — and  once  down  we  could  not  '  turn 
over '  until  another  vote  was  taken,  the  ma- 
jority always  carrying  the  day — or  rather 
'the  night.'  This  is  only  one  example 
of  the  many  methods  we  unfortunates 
used  to  adopt  in  order  to  keep  ourselves 
warm;  but  in  spite  of  all  our  precautions 
many  of  our  poor  boys  were  badly  frozen. 
Our  rations  generally  consisted  of  pieces 
of  corn  bread  (two  inches  square,  the 
flour  being  made  of  corn  and  cob  ground 
together)  every  twenty-four  hours,  and  if 
any  mules  got  ly  lied  in  battle,  and  any 
bones  were  left  after  the  Confederates 
had  picked  them  clean,  we  got  the  bones. 
I  have  even  seen  some  of  our  boys  hunt 
in  the  spittoons  for  any  stray  bones, 
which,  if  found,  they  would  take  to  a 
windlass  near  by,  crush  them  between  the 
cogs  and  then  swallow  the  fragments. 
But  I  will  refrain  from  dwelling  further  on 
such  disgusting  episodes,  true  though 
they  be,  those  I  have  here  related  being 
mild  in  comparison  to  many  I  could  record. 
In   December,    1864,    I  was   seized   with 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPUICAL  RECORD. 


91 


congestive  chills,  and  had  to  run  up  and 
down  the  prison  floor  for  three  consecu- 
tive days  and  nights,  or  die.  On  Christ- 
mas Day.  1S64.  I  was  carried  to  the  Con- 
federate Hospital  No.  21.  Carey  street, 
Richmond,  the  prison  doctor  who  sent 
me  there  affirming  that  I  could  not  live 
more  than  two  or  three  hours.  [Only  titc 
iiyini:;u\rc  scut  to  the  liospitixl !\  It  was 
found  I  had  pleuro-pneumonia,  and  I  live 
to  be  able  to  say  that  I  was  the  only  pneu- 
monia patient  in  my  ward  who  survived! 
"  On  the  5th  day  of  February,  1865,  I 
was  paroled,  and  same  day  left  Libby 
prison  for  home,  after  being  a  captive 
four  months  and  three  days.  On  Sun- 
day, February  5,  1865,  we  left  Rich- 
mond, Va.,  on  the  steamboat  "Cyrus  Al- 
lison '  which  conveyed  us  to  Aikens  Land- 
ing, on  the  James  river,  where  I  once 
more  beheld  'Old  Glory,'  at  the  sight  of 
which  tears  came  unbidden  to  my  eyes. 
Aikens  Landing,  some  nine  miles  from 
Richmond,  was  neutral  ground,  set  apart 
for  the  exchange  of  prisoners.  At  this 
time  one  thousand  and  twenty  of  us  were 
paroled  and  sent  north,  the  Northern 
steamer  '  City  of  New  York  '  taking  us 
down  the  river,  on  Sunday  afternoon,  as 
far  as  Bermuda  Hundred,  where  we  re- 
mained until  morning,  when  we  started 
for  Fortress  Monroe;  thence  crossed 
Chesapeake  Bay  to  Annapolis,  Md. , 
which  city  we  reached  on  Tuesday  morn- 
ing in  a  furious  snow-storm.  All  the 
clothing  I  had  on  was  a  ragged  pair  of 
pants,  an  old  unlined  blouse,  with  no 
shirt  under  it,  a  well-wr.rn  pair  of  shoes, 
four  sizes  too  large  for  my  weary  feet, 
most  of  which  apparel  had  been  stripped 
from  the  dead  bodj'  of  one  of  my  com- 
rades in  the  hospital — in  fact  the  dead 
had  to  be  stripped  in  order  to  provide 
covering  for  his  lii'ine^.  But  at  Annapolis 
'  Uncle  Sam  '  supplied  us  with  new  and 
comfortable  clothing.  After  remaining 
in  camp  there  si.Nteen  days,  we  were  sent 
to  Camp  Chase.  Columbus.  Ohio,  where, 
not  having  fully  recovered  my  health  and 


strength,  I  received  a  thirty-days'  fur- 
lough. On  this  I  went  home,  but  took  a 
relapse  and  became  very  ill,  so  much  so 
that  I  was  under  the  necessity  of  having 
my  furlough  twice  renewed  before  I  was 
able  to  return  to  parole  camp  at  Colum- 
bus. On  June  10,  1865,  I  received  my 
discharge  from  the  service  by  War  De- 
partment Order  No.  770.  Thus  ends  the 
record  of  my  army  service." 

In  May,  1886,  Mr.  Culbert  was  mus- 
tered into  Manville  Moore  Post  No.  525, 
G.  A.  R. ;  was  junior  vice-commander  in 
1890;  elected  senior  vice-commander  in 
1 89 1,  and  post  commander  in  1892.  On 
September  4,  1889,  he  commenced  re- 
cruiting for  S.  A.  J.  Snyder  command  of 
Union  \'eterans  Union,  an  organization 
composed  only  of  the  soldiers  who  were 
in  active  service  at  least  six  months,  a 
part  of  the  time  at  the  front  engaged  in 
actual  warfare.  On  Novembers,  1889, 
he  had  his  command  ready  for  muster-in, 
which  was  effected  by  Gen.  Loomis,  of 
Norwalk,  Ohio,  at  that  time  Department 
commander  in  the  State.  Mr.  Culbert 
was  elected  its  first  colonel;  for  two  years 
was  staff  officer  on  Gen.  Ellis'  staff;  in 
1893  was  elected  lieutenant-colonel,  and 
in  1894  was  appointed  colonel  by  Gen. 
W.  T.  Clark,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  which 
position  he  holds  at  the  present  time. 


CAPTAIN    ANDREW    NUHFER. 
retired    farmer,   Woodville,    San- 
dusky county,  was  born   in  Bava- 
ria,  Germany,  October  19.  1819, 
a  son  of  Nicholas  and  Eve  (Weaver)  Nuh- 
fer.  also  natives  of  Bavaria. 

They  came  to  America  and  first  set- 
tled in  Lancaster  county,  Penn.,  in  the 
fall  of  1S35.  where  for  two  years  they 
engaged  in  the  nursery  business.  In  1839 
the\'  removed  to  Maumee  City,  Ohio, 
remained  two  years,  and  then  located  in 
Woodville  township.  Sandusky  county, 
on  the  Western  Reserve  and  Maumee 
turnpike,  three  nules  east  of  Woodville. 


92 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Here    Nicholas    Nuhfer  died,    two    years 
later,  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight  years,  and 
his  wife  at  the  same  age,  in  1854.    While 
in   Germany  they  were    members   of  the 
Roman   Catholic    Church,  but    soon  after 
coming   to    Ohio   they  joined    the   M.  E. 
Church.      Their  children,  all  born  in  Ger- 
many, were:    (i)  Frederick,  a  soldier  and 
sailor;     (2)     Margaret,    now    dead,    who 
married   William    Geyer,    of  Washington 
township;    (3)    Anthony,    a    baker,     now 
living  at  Maumee,  Ohio,  who,  at  the  time 
of    his    parents'    emigration,  was    in    the 
German    army,  as   body    guard    to    King 
Otto,  whom   he  accompanied   to    Athens, 
Greece,  and    to  other  parts  of  the  East, 
but,  wishing  to  accompany  his  parents  to 
the  New  World,  escaped  from  a  fort  by  a 
ruse,  made  his  way  to  France,' and  thence 
to  the   United   States;   (4)  Nicholas,  who 
died  in    Toledo,  Ohio,  in    1892.  was   for- 
merly a  well-known  minister  of  the  Ger- 
man   M.    E.    Church;   (5)    Maria,  wife  of 
William  Behrends,  now  living  in  Illinois; 
(6)  Andrew,  our  subject;   (7)    Catharine, 
wife   of  Rev.    E.    Riemenschneider,   who 
was  sent  as  a  missionary  to  Germany,  by 
the    M.    E.     Church,    where    she     died; 
(8)  Helen,  who   married  Jacob  Artz,  and 
now  lives  at   Lindsey,  Ohio. 

Our  subject  first  came  to  Woodville 
with  his  parents.  Later  he  spent  three 
seasons  as  fireman  and  assistant  en- 
gineer on  lake  steamers.  After  having 
learned  the  blacksmith  trade  in  Maumee 
City,  he  returned  to  Woodville  and  started 
a  blacksmith  shop,  buying  his  tools  in 
Buffalo,  and  the  first  hard  coal  ever 
burned  in  Woodville  township.  He  car- 
ried on  his  trade  at  this  place  with  good 
success  for  twenty  years,  until  the  fall  of 
1 86 1,  when,  under  a  commission  from 
Gov.  Tod,  as  second  lieutenant,  he  en- 
listed and  organized  Company  D,  Seven- 
ty-second Regiment,  O.  V.  I.  This  com- 
pany was  composed  largely  of  the  best 
young  men  of  Woodville  township,  and 
they  subsequently  chose  him  captain. 
At  the  head  of  this  company  he  followed 


the  various  fortunes  of  his  regiment,  par- 
ticipating in  all  its  campaigns  and  en- 
gagements, except  when  incapacitated  by 
wounds  or  confined  in  Rebel  prisons.  At 
the  battle  of  Shiloh  he  was  wounded, 
but  he  remained  with  his  company  until 
the  enemy  were  driven  from  the  field. 
For  his  bravery  and  soldierly  conduct  on 
this  occasion  he  received  special  mention 
in  the  report  of  Col.  R.  P.  Buckland 
who  commanded  the  brigade.  Owing  to 
the  serious  nature  of  his  wound  he  was 
sent  to  the  General  Hospital  at  Cin- 
cinnati, where  his  limb  barely  escaped 
amputation,  and  he  was  shortly  after 
ordered  home  to  recuperate.  As  soon 
as  he  was  able  to  walk  about  he  re- 
joined his  command  at  Monterey,  Miss., 
and  later  participated  in  Grant's  futile 
campaign  in  northern  Mississippi;  helped 
guard  our  line  of  communications  along 
the  Memphis  and  Charleston  railroad; 
took  a  part  in  the  campaign  which  re- 
sulted in  the  fall  of  Vicksburg;  was  in 
two  battles  at  Jackson,  Miss.,  in  the  latter 
of  which  he  commanded  the  skirmish 
line  which  drove  the  enemy  into  their 
breastworks  on  the  day  prior  to  their 
evacuation;  was  with  the  advance  on 
Brandon,  and  for  a  short  time  was  in 
command  of  the  regiment  at  Oak  Ridge, 
in  October,  1863. 

The  regiment  having  by  this  time  been 
much  reduced  in  numbers,  Capt.  Nuhfer 
was  sent  home  in  charge  of  a  recruiting 
party.  While  he  was  engaged  in  this 
duty,  the  regiment  veteranized,  and  he 
rejoined  it  after  its  veteran  furlough.  He 
was  with  it  at  Paducah  when  Gen.  Forrest 
made  his  attack,  and  when  Sturgis  made 
his  first  expedition  into  northeastern 
Mississippi.  On  the  second  and  ill-fated 
Guntown  expedition,  along  with  about  250 
other  officers  and  men  of  his  regiment,  he 
was  taken  prisoner  by  the  forces  under 
Gen.  Forrest  and  conve3-ed  to  Anderson- 
ville  prison.  Here  Capt.  Nuhfer,  as  the 
ranking  officer  of  the  regiment,  and  being 
able  to  speak  German,  was   requested  b}- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BWOHAPIflCAL  RECORD. 


UU 


his  comrades  to  interview  Capt.  Wirz.  in 
cominanil  o(  the  prison,  and  pet  hinj  to 
allow  all  the  officers  and  men  of  the 
Seventy-second  regiment  to  remain  to- 
gether. The  request  was  made,  but  W'irz 
refused  and  at  once  became  abusive.  He 
held  the  privates  at  Anderson vi lie.  but 
sent  the  officers  to  Macon,  Ga.  When 
the  latter  place  was  threatened  by  Union 
troops,  they  were  sent  to  Charleston,  S. 
C,  then  to  Columbus,  S.  C,  then  to 
Raleigh.  N.  C,  then  to  Goldsboro.  N.  C. 
and  thence  to  points  in  \'irginia  and  to 
Wilmington.  N.  C,  for  exchange,  after  a 
continenientof  nine  months.  At  Columbia, 
S.  C,  Capt.  Nuhfor  was  taken  down  with 
fever,  and  would  have  died  had  it  not 
been  for  his  iron  constitution  and  the  care 
he  received  from  a  brother  officer,  Lieut. - 
Col.  \'on  Helmrich,  formerly  an  officer  in 
the  Prussian  arm) ,  who  also  loaned  him 
a  sum  of  Confederate  money.  After  his 
exchange  he  was  furloughed  for  thirty 
days  to  recover  his  health,  and  meanwhile 
the  war  closed. 

Capt.  Nuhfer  married,  October  23, 
1843.  Miss  Elizabeth  Shuler.  of  Perrys- 
burg.  Wood  Co..  Ohio,  born  in  Witten- 
berg, Germany.  Their  children  were: 
(1)  John  George,  of  Fremont,  Ohio,  who 
married  Miss  Olivia  J.  Totten,  by  whom 
he  had  one  child,  George  Bartlett,  after 
which  she  died,  and  he  afterward  married 
Mrs.  Martha  G.  Hafiford;  (2)  Caroline, 
deceased  wife  of  Theobald  Schunck,  who 
had  five  children — George  D.,  Charles. 
Caroline.  William  and  .Albert;  (3)  Sophia, 
who  married  John  Otjen.  and  had  four 
childron^ — Caroline  E..  Nellie  O..  Kate 
and  William:  (4)  Daniel,  who  died  in  in- 
fancy; f5)  Catharine,  who  became  second 
wife  of  Theobald  Schunrk;  (6j  .\gnes 
Amelia,  dcrcased  wife  of  George  Hlake. 
who  had  one  child — Flossie;  (j)  Esther 
Elizalicth.  unmarried,  who  died  at  the 
age  of  twrnt) -seven;  fS)  Charles  A., 
fanner  of  Wondville  township,  who  mar- 
ried Caroline  Haker.  and  has  a  son — 
Elmer  L. :  (9;  Minnie,  wife  of  John  Blake. 


whose  daughter,  ^finnie  E..  died  shortly 
after  the  <leiith  of  her  mother,  who  was 
aged  twenty-one;  ( lOy  William,  a  clerk  in 
Toledo,  who  married  Miss  Sarah  Unger. 
who  has  a  son — Earl  A. 

Since  the  war  Capt.  Nuhfer  has  been 
engaged  in  mercantile  business,  the  sale 
of  hardware,  the  management  of  his  farm 
property,  fifty  acres  just  outside  of  the 
Woodville  village  limits,  and  in  the  over- 
sight of  his  real  estate  in  the  oil  region. 
For  fourteen  years  he  was  village  post- 
master, under  the  administration  of  Presi- 
dents Grant  and  Hayes.  He  has  twice  been 
nominated  for  county  treasurer  by  the 
Republicans,  and  in  each  election  polled 
more  than  his  party's  vote.  He  has  been 
township  trustee  six  years,  and  a  member 
of  both  township  and  village  school 
boards  for  some  twelve  years,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  city  council.  He  has  always 
tried  to  promote  the  interests  of  his  adopt- 
ed county  in  the  lines  of  education,  tem- 
perance and  religion.  For  the  last  thirty 
years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Evan- 
gelical Association.  During  his  residence 
of  fifty-five  years  in  Woodville,  he  has 
seen  it  grow  from  a  collection  of  half  a 
dozen  scattered  houses  to  hundreds  of 
handsome  homes  occupied  by  well-to-do 
and  happy  families.  Of  the  early  pio- 
neers of  the  place,  only  he  and  his  faith- 
ful wife  remain. 


HON.  JOSEPH  /IMMEKMANN. 
editor  of  the  Fremont  Courier,  the 
German  organ  of  the  San<lusky 
county  Democracy,  was  born  in 
the  city  of  Mainz,  Germany.  June  19. 
i8;i.  .After  his  graduation  in  the  Prot- 
estant public  schi>(>ls  of  his  native  city  he 
studied  the  languages  and  prepared  him- 
self for  mercantile  pursuits,  under  private 
tutors.  In  1866  he  came  to  America, 
and.  afi  :i  years  of  newspaper  work 

in  Peiin  .ind  Ohio,  he  in  1S77  took 

editorial  charge  of  the  Fremont  Coiirii-r, 
to  succeed   Judgi-    I"     Wilmer.      In    f'*'^' 


94 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


he  was  elected  member  of  the  board  of 
education,  and  was  re-elected  in  i8S6  and 
1889,  serving  as  president  of  the  board 
six  j'ears  and  clerk  two  years.  While 
presiding  over  the  deliberations  of  the 
board  he  displayed  great  executive  ability, 
and  under  his  administration  three  fine 
new  school  buildings  were  erected  in 
Fremont,  while  all  his  dealings  with 
school  officials,  teachers  and  the  public, 
were  characterized  by  good  tact  and  judg- 
ment. He  is  a  stanch  friend  of  the  pub- 
lic-school system,  and  keeps  thoroughly 
informed  on  all  matters  pertaining  to  ed- 
ucational peogress. 

In  1885  Mr.  Zimmerniann  was  elected 
State  senator  of  the  Thirtieth  District  of 
Ohio,  consisting  of  the  counties  of  Erie, 
Huron,  Ottawa  and  Sandusky,  and  was 
re-elected  in  1887.  As  a  State  senator 
he  was  in  favor  of  every  measure  tending 
toward  educational  progress,  and  was  also 
one  of  the  most  active  promoters  of  the 
compulsory  education  law  now  on  the 
statutes  of  Ohio,  which  has  worked  so 
well  for  the  promotion  of  the  interests  of 
Ohio's  school  youth.  Though  a  Demo- 
crat in  a  legislative  body  which  was  two- 
thirds  Republican,  he  was  elected  chair- 
man of  the  committee  on  public  printing. 

On  October  6,  1S91,  he  was  ap- 
pointed, by  Gov.  Campbell,  probate  judge 
of  Sandusky  county  to  fill  the  vacancj' 
caused  by  the  death  of  Judge  E.  F.  Dick- 
inson, and  in  November  following  was 
elected  to  that  office  by  the  people,  by  a 
large  majority.  Since  that  time  he  has 
devoted  his  attention  to  professional 
duties  as  editor  of  the  Courier.  His  of- 
fice is  in  the  New  Opera  House,  corner 
of  Arch  and  State  streets,  and  is  well 
supplied  with  literary  helps,  a  well  se- 
lected library,  maps  and  pamphlets. 
Judge  Zimmerniann  is  the  author  of  the 
Criminal  History  of  Sandusky  County, 
published  by  Williams  Brothers  in  1882, 
giving  a  detailed  account  of  the  Sperry 
and  the  Thompson  murder  trials.  He 
also   wrote    the    first    Masonic   history  of 


Fremont.  Socially  he  is  a  member  of 
Fort  Stephenson  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  Mc- 
Pherson  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  the  Knights 
of  Honor,  B.  P.  Order  of  Elks,  and  other 
organizations.  Since  1877  Mr.  Zimmer- 
mann  has  been  local  representative  of  the 
Cunard,  the  Hamburg-American  and  the 
North  German  Lloyd  lines  of  ocean 
steamers. 


AB.  LEVISEE,  familiarly  known 
as  Judge  Levisee,  was  born  in 
Livingston  count}'.  State  of  New 
York,  March  18,  1821.  In  1832 
he  migrated,  with  his  mother,  an  older 
brother  and  a  sister,  to  Ohio,  and  settled 
in  Sandusky  county,  where  the  brother 
and  sister  still  live.  The  mother  died,  in 
July,  1845,  3-t  the  home  of  an  elder  daugh- 
ter in  Michigan. 

Sandusky  county  was  at  that  time  es- 
sentially a  wilderness,  interspersed  here 
and  there  with  hardy  pioneer  settlers — 
most  of  them  located  right  in  the  solid 
woods,  with  but  little  to  aid  them  save 
their  brave  hearts  and  strong  arms.  Here 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  with  an  axe  or 
a  hoe  in  his  hands,  from  one  end  of  the 
year  to  the  other,  practically  "grew  up 
with  the  country."  The  only  educational 
facilities  he  enjoyed  in  his  youth  were 
those  afforded  by  the  primitive  log  school- 
houses,  with  such  teachers  as  the  time 
could  furnish.  It  was  in  these  circum- 
stances that  he  lived  and  grew  to  the 
years  of  early  manhood.  In  the  meantime 
he  had  become  inspired  with  a  purpose  to 
improve  his  education.  Under  the  impulse 
of  this  thought  he  labored  in  season  and 
out  of  season  to  accumulate  the  necessary 
means  wherewith  to  accomplish  this  great 
purpose.  At  length,  in  March,  1844, 
with  the  few  hundred  dollars  thus  gather- 
ed at  the  slow  rate  of  $10  to  $11  per 
month,  he  went  to  Ann  Arbor  and  became 
a  student  at  the  University  of  Michigan, 
where  he  pursued  the  regular  undergrad- 
uate course  until   November,   1847.      For 


CM 


COMMBMORATIVB  BIOORAPHWAL  RECORD. 


95 


want  of  means  to  continue  his  studies 
lonjier  at  the  University,  he  left  without 
a  degree  and  went  directlj'  to  Louisiana, 
where  he  taught  in  a  private  school  in 
Baton  Rouge  a  short  time,  and  then  went 
to  Alabama.  He  spent  about  two  years 
teaching  in  Selma  and  Montgomery,  and 
in  the  spring  of  1850  went  to  Talladega, 
and  there  established  an  independent 
private  school,  which  he  continued  to  con- 
duct some  three  years,  and  which  won  for 
him  a  wide  reputation  as  a  successful 
teacher.  One  of  his  students  entered  the 
Junior  Class  at  Princeton,  New  Jersey, 
while  one  entered  the  Junior  Class  of  the 
University  of  Alabama  at  Tuscaloosa,  and 
others  in  the  lower  classes.  The  board 
of  regents  of  the  last-named  school  recog- 
ni2ed  his  scholarship  and  efficiency  as  a 
teacher  by  conferring  on  him  the  honorary 
degree  of  A.  M. 

During  the  years  1853  and  1854  our 
subject  attended  law  lectures  in  New 
York;  then  returned  to  Alabama  and  was 
tendered  the  presidency  of  the  teaching 
faculty  of  the  Female  Collegiate  Institute 
at  Talladega,  which  he  accepted  tempor- 
arily to  accommodate  the  board.  At  the 
close  of  1854  he  resigned  the  same,  and 
went  to  Louisiana  to  enter  upon  the  prac- 
tice of  law,  and  located  at  Shreveport  in 
March.  1855.  where  he  continued  to 
practice  until  1877,  including  nearly  five 
years,  during  which  he  occupied  the  bench 
as  judge  of  his  district.  The  Judge's 
thorough  education,  previous  mental  train- 
ing and  studious  habits,  brought  him 
rapidly  forward  in  his  new  profession  in 
which  he  achieved  a  high  degree  of  finan- 
cial success,  and  an  enviable  reputation 
as  a  jurist  and  attorney.  In  1875  76  he 
held  the  position  of  commissioner  of 
United  States  Circuit  Court. 

In  politics  Judge  Levisee  was  a  fol- 
lower of  Clay  and  Webster  while  they 
lived.  He  was  a  Republican  and  Anti- 
Secessionist  in  i860,  and  took  a  decided 
staml  against  the  secession  movement. 
He  remained  in  Louisiana  during  the  en- 


tire war;  was  nominally  in  the  Confeder- 
ate service  from  July,  1863,  to  the  close, 
as  an  attache  of  the  Inspector  General's 
department,  with  the  rank  of  first  lieuten- 
ant. He  was  never  assigned  to  any  com- 
mand. In  April,  1868,  he  was  elected 
judge  of  his  Judicial  District,  and  was  re- 
elected in  the  general  election  of  1873  by 
at  least  1,500  majority  and  was  "counted 
out."  By  that  time  the  survivors  of  the 
lost  cause  had  partially  recovered  from 
the  fright  incident  to  their  defeat.  The 
returned  brigadiers  and  their  subordinates, 
together  with  the  small  politicians,  were 
reorganizing  the  Rebellion  under  the 
auspices  of  the  White  League.  It  was 
the  same  old  fight  under  changed  circum- 
stances and  a  new  name.  The  White 
League  was  the  paramount  authority  in 
the  State  at  that  time,  and,  of  course, 
dominated  all  elections  and  dictated  the 
results.  In  1874  Judge  Levisee  was  elect- 
ed a  member  of  the  State  Legislature, 
and  was  "counted  out;  "  but  under  the 
Wheeler  Compromise  the  leaders  of  the 
White  League  were  themselves  compelled 
to  admit  that  he  was  elected  and  he  held 
his  seat.  In  the  National  campaign  of 
1876  he  was  a  candidate  for  Presidential 
elector  for  the  Fourth  Congressional  Dis- 
trict of  Louisiana,  comprising  an  area  of 
not  less  than  ten  thousand  square  miles. 
He  made  at  his  own  indiviilual  expense  a 
thorough  canvass  of  the  entire  District, 
which  was  the  first  time  that  it  had  been 
undertaken  by  any  Republican.  He  went 
up  and  down  throughout  the  District, 
rallied  the  negroes  in  great  mass  meet- 
ings, told  them  their  rights,  and  encour- 
aged and  emboldene<l  them  to  assert  their 
rights  in  a  proper  and  legal  way  by  regis- 
tering and  voting.  The  result  was  a 
larger  majority  in  that  District  than  the 
entire  Republican  majority  in  the  State. 
But  he  was  "counted  out"  again;  and 
this  time  it  required  the  National  Elec- 
toral Commission  to  settle  the  matter.  At 
length,  disgusted  and  weary  of  the  insane 
strife  that  had  raged  about  him  so  long. 


96 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


he  determined  that  the  opportunities  of 
life  were  too  valuable  to  be  further  thrown 
away  in  such  bootless  contest,  and  at  the 
cost  of  professional  prestige  and  wealth 
honorably  earned  by  useful  service,  he 
abandoned  the  home  of  his  adoption  to 
find  again  a  place  where  he  could  live  a 
free  life  and  enjoy  the  equal  privileges  of 
a  citizen. 

For  three  years  from  July,  1878,  he 
held  the  position  of  a  Government  Agent 
in  the  Internal  Revenue  Service,  at  the 
close  of  which  period  he  resigned  that 
position,  and  in  1881  located,  with  his  son, 
in  North  Dakota.  In  addition  to  his 
other  professional  labors  in  Dakota,  Judge 
Levisee  rendered  a  highly  appreciated 
service  to  the  bar  of  that  then  Territory 
by  the  preparation  and  publication  of  an 
annotated  edition  of  the  Dakota  Codes, 
which  was  approved  and  adopted  by  the 
Legislature  and  the  profession,  and  is  still 
in  general  use. 

After  e.xperiencing  the  vicissitudes  of 
frontier  life  for  twelve  years  in  North 
Dakota,  the  Judge  began  to  feel  that  it 
was  time  to  retire  from  active  pursuits, 
and  to  prepare  for  the  end.  He  returned 
to  his  old  home — the  home  of  his  child- 
hood and  youth.  Here  in  the  beautiful 
village  of  Clyde,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio, 
he  has  built  for  himself  a  sumptuous  place 
of  abode.  Here,  in  elegant  retirement, 
amid  his  books  and  maps,  he  spends  the 
evening  of  his  long  and  useful  life,  sur- 
rounded by  all  that  can  make  old  age 
agreeable,  blessed  with  excellent  health 
and  cheered  by  thfe  merited  friendship  and 
esteem  of  all  who  know  him. 


RW.  SANDWISCH,  ex-sheriff  of 
Sandusky  county,  was  born  in 
Woodville  township,  that  county, 
July  20,  1846,  a  son  of  Hermon 
and  Catharine  (Mergel)  Sandwisch.  The 
father  was  born  in  Hanover,  Germany, 
in  181 1,  and  died  at  Woodville  in  1854, 
of  Asiatic  cholera.      He  had  come  to  this 


country  a  young  man,  married  in  this 
country  and  worked  at  the  blacksmith 
trade.  The  mother  was  born  in  Hanover, 
Germany,  in  18 10,  came  to  this  country, 
and  is  still  living  as  one  of  the  pioneers 
of  Woodville.  Their  children  were: 
Mary  Jane,  wife  of  Jacob  Bishoff;  Louisa, 
wife  of  Benedict  Emch;  R.  W.,  our  sub- 
ject; J.  G.,  in  Bowling  Green,  Ohio;  and 
Emeline,  who  married  C.  G.  Bradt,  a 
contractor,  living  at  Atlanta,  Georgia. 

Our  subject  grew  to  manhood  in  Wood- 
ville township,  on  a  farm,  learned  the 
blacksmith  trade  in  early  life  at  Wood- 
ville, and  later  worked  two  years  at  the 
same  in  Toledo,  Ohio.  In  the  fall  of 
1868  he  opened  a  blacksmith  shop  in 
W^oodville,  which  he  operated  himself  for 
eighteen  consecutive  years,  making  twen- 
ty-two years  of  work  at  his  trade.  For 
several  years  past  he  has  been  promi- 
nently identified  with  politics  in  Wood- 
ville township  as  an  ardent  Democrat. 
He  was  first  elected  supervisor  of  roads, 
and  afterward  justice  of  the  peace  for 
three  terms.  He  became  the  regular 
nominee  of  the  Democratic  party  for 
sheriff,  and  was  elected  to  that  position 
in  1885,  taking  charge  of  the  office  in 
January,  1886.  In  1887  he  was  re-elect- 
ed, serving  a  second  term.  After  leaving 
the  sheriff's  office  he  engaged  in  selling 
farming  implements,  and  in  that  capac- 
ity traveled  extensivel}'  over  Sandusky 
county. 

Mr.  Sandwisch  was  married,  in  1868, 
to  Miss  Clarinda  Swartzman,  who  was 
born  in  Woodville  township,  January  11, 
1849,  a  daughter  of  Isaac  Swartzman,  a 
native  of  Pennsylvania,  and  an  early 
pioneer  of  Woodville  township.  They 
have  children  as  follows:  Albert  H., 
born  May  30,  1869,  who  was  his  father's 
deputy  when  he  held  the  office  of  sheriff, 
and  is  engaged  with  him  in  business  at 
the  present  time.  Catherine  Lovisa,  born 
September  20,  1871,  living  at  home;  and 
Adolph  Franklin,  born  January  18,  1877. 
Mr.     Sandwisch     is     a    member    of    the 


COMMEMORATIVB  BIOGRAPHIOAL  RECORD. 


y? 


I.  O.  O.  F..  MclMiersoii  Lodge.  No.  637. 
Fremont,  and  has  tilled  all  the  chairs  in 
the  subordinate  loilfje.  having  been  a  mem- 
ber since  1S70.  He  is  also  a  member  of 
Fort  Stephenson  Masonic  Lodge.  Fre- 
mont, and   has   taken    the    third    degree. 


C.\PTAIN  B.  S.  OTTEN.  In 
scanning  the  pages  of  this  volume 
one  will  tyid  the  history  of  many 
men  who  nave  made  a  success  of 
life  in  various  lines  of  terrene  occupations; 
but  the  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  man 
who  has  been  highly  successful  not  only 
on  land,  but  also  on  the  sea. 

Many  a  time  has  Capt.  Otten  stood  on 
the  deck  of  his  vessel  in  the  night  time 
and  ga^ed  at  the  great  clock  whose  face  is 
the  blue  heavens,  the  markings  on  which 
are  the  glittering  stars,  and  whose  hand 
is  the  silver  moon.  With  his  sextant  he 
has  measured  the  moons  distance  from 
some  prominent  star,  thus  determining 
the  variation  of  his  chronometer.  Then 
on  a  beautiful  morning  we  again  see  him, 
measuring  the  altitude  of  the  sun,  by 
which  means  he  determined  the  latitude 
and  longitude  of  his  vessel,  thus  enabling 
him  to  guide  her  safely  into  port. 

Capt.  B.  S.  Otten,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  now  one  of  the  most  prominent 
merchants  of  Woodville,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, was  born  in  Hanover,  Germany,  Jan- 
uary 26,  1835.  son  of  Herman  and  Anna 
(Juils)  Otten,  both  of  whom  dieil  in  their 
native  country,  the  former  at  the  age  of 
eighty-tivc  years,  and  the  latter  at  the  end 
of  her  three-score  years  and  ten.  To 
them  were  born  six  children,  as  follows: 
Margaret  and  Etta,  who  now  live  in 
Germany;  Marie,  who  came  to  America, 
and  settled  in  Woodville;  Herman,  a 
commission  merchant  in  Germany;  B.  S. ; 
and  Gerhard,  who  lives  in  Pember\ille, 
Ohio 

Our  subject  attended  the  public 
schools  of  his  native  place  until  about 
si.\teen  years  of  age,  when  he  went  to  sea 


on  the  Atlantic  as  mast-boy,  in  which 
capacity  he  served  si.v  years.  He  then 
returned  to  Ciermany  and  took  a  full 
course  in  navigation  at  one  of  the  leading 
schools  of  that  country,  graduating  there- 
from in  1859,  after  which  he  resumed 
sailing,  putting  into  practical  use  the 
studies  of  his  college  course.  Mr.  Otten 
now  entered  marine  life  as  mate,  in  which 
position  he  served  for  two  years,  when  he 
was  given  a  ship  and  made  captain  there- 
t  of,  serving  ably  in  this  capacity  for  thir- 
teen years.  Be  it  said  to  his  credit  as  a 
j  sea  captain  that  while  he  encountered 
severe  storms,  he  never,  in  the  entire 
I  time  he  had  charge  of  a  boat,  lost  a  man 
I  by  accident.  His  first  wife.  Betty  Bring- 
i  man,  who  accompanied  him  many  a  time 
on  long  journeys  on  the  sea.  was  born  in 
1850.  and  they  were  married  in  1S72. 
To  their  union  came  one  child.  Otto  I)., 
born  July  19,  1874,  in  Baltimore,  Md., 
who  never  saw  his  mother,  as  she  died 
the  ne.xt  day  after  his  birth.  She  was 
the  daughter  of  John  and  Rebecca  (Bring- 
manj  Bringman.  the  former  of  whom  was 
a  sea  captain  for  many  years,  and  now 
resides  in  Wood  county,  Ohio;  his  wife 
died  some  time  ago.  In  January,  1876, 
Capt.  Otten  marrieii  Miss  Matilda  Bring- 
man (a  cousin  of  his  former  wife),  who  is 
a  daughter  of  Borchard  and  Marguerite 
Bringman.  Borchard  Bringman  was  also 
a  sea  captain,  and  was  drowned  in  the 
Atlantic  while  on  a  voyage;  the  mother 
still  lives  in  Germany.  To  them  were 
born  five  children,  of  whom  Mrs.  Otten 
is  the  second:  her  brother  Gustav  was 
:  washed  overboard  in  a  high  sea  and  buried 
I  in  a  watery  grave,  as  was  also  her  brother 
Borchard.  The  grandfathers  on  both 
sides  were  sea  captains. 

On  leaving  the  sea,  Capt.  Otten  was 
for  two  years  engaged  .is  ship  chandler 
in  Baltimore,  Md. .  after  which,  in  1876, 
he  sold  out,  anil  came  to  Woodville,  San- 
dusky Co.,  Ohio,  where  two  years  later 
he  embarked  in  the  general  mercantile 
business,    which   he   ha-;   ••>••■•  -^incc  sue- 


98 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


cessfully  conducted.  Mrs.  Otten  is  a 
thorough  business  lady,  and  is  well  ac- 
quainted with  their  extensive  mercantile 
business,  being  often  found  assisting  in 
the  different  lines  of  their  enterprise.  To 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Otten  have  been  born  six 
children,  three  of  whom  are  living,  name- 
ly: Anna,  who  is  now  in  the  store;  Etta, 
who  is  devoting  her  time  to  study  in  the 
public  schools  of  Woodville;  and  Olga. 
The  family  is  one  of  the  most  prominent 
in  Woodville,  in  both  a  business  and 
social  way.  Capt.  and  Mrs.  Otten  are 
highly  esteemed  by  all  who  know  them, 
while  their  beautiful  brick  residence  on 
Main  street  is  a  standing  witness  to  their 
admiration  of  a  modern  home. 


ISAAC  MARVIN  KEELER,  senior 
editor  of  the  Fremont  Journal,  and 
one  of  Fremont's  most  respected  citi- 
zens, is  of  Puritan  parentage  on  both 
sides  of  his  family.  Of  his  ancestors  to 
the  seventh  generation,  Ralph  Keeler 
came  from  England  in  1639,  settling  at 
Hartford,  Conn.,  and  Matthew  Marvin 
preceded  him  in  1635.  His  grandfathers, 
Luke  Keeler  and  Isaac  Marvin,  emigrated 
with  their  families  to  Ohio  in  wagons 
from  Norwalk,  Conn.,  in  181 7,  coming 
by  way  of  Pittsburg  and  making  the  trip 
in  six  weeks.  Two  of  their  children,  Eri 
Keeler  and  Sally  Marvin,  both  born  in 
Connecticut  in  the  last  year  of  the  pre- 
ceding centur}',  were  married  in  July, 
1 821;  and  Isaac  Marvin  Keeler  was  born 
in  Sharon  township,  Richland  Co.,  Ohio, 
September  8,  1823.  Five  years  later  the 
father,  Eri  Keeler,  and  the  grandfather, 
Luke  Keeler,  were  among  the  incorpora- 
tors of  the  town  of  Norwalk,  Ohio,  named 
after  their  old  home,  Norwalk,  Conn. 
Eri  Keeler  died  April  11,  1894,  lacking 
but  a  few  days  of  being  ninety-five  years 
of  age. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  lived  at 
Norwalk  until  1840,  when  he  came  to 
Lower  Sandusky  (now  Fremont),  and  en- 


tered the  office  of  the  Lower  Sandusky 
J r/iio- as  Sin  apprentice.  Between  1843 
and  1849,  Mr.  Keeler  was  temporarily 
in  Milan,  Norwalk,  Sharon  and  New  York, 
and  in  1850  was  commissioned  postmaster 
at  Fremont,  serving  in  that  capacity  two 
years.  In  1854  he  purchased  the  Fre- 
mont Journal,  the  predecessor  of  which 
was  established  in  July,  1829,  which  he 
edited  and  published  until  1865,  during 
all  the  bitter  years  of  the  Civil  war,  sell- 
ing the  office  at  last  on  account  of  poor 
health,  and  going  into  the  insurance  and 
i  real-estate  business.  In  December,  1877, 
he  repurchased  the  Journal,  and  in  asso- 
ciation with  his  son,  S.  P.  Keeler,  con- 
tinues to  edit  the  paper. 

Mr.  Keeler  was  married  June  23,  1847, 
to  Anna  F.  Hulburd,  of  Lower  Sandusky, 
who  died  October  26,  1850,  leaving  one 
child.  On  May  12,  1857,  he  married 
Janette  Elliot,  daughter  of  Judge  Samuel 
and  Linda  (Hayes)  Elliot,  of  Brattleboro, 
Vt.,  by  whom  he  has  two  children — one 
son  and  one  daughter.  In  the  more  than 
fifty  3'ears  of  his  residence  in  Fremont 
Mr.  Keeler  has  not  only  watched  its  de- 
velopment from  a  rough  frontier  hamlet 
into  a  beautiful  and  thriving  city,  but  he 
has  been  prominently  instrumental  in  that 
development;  and  while  his  voice  and 
pen  have  ever  been  on  the  side  of  muni- 
cipal progress  they  have  never  swerved  in 
time-serving  expediency  from  what  was 
pure  and  just  and  of  good  report. 


BYRON  A.  FOUCHE,  attorney  at 
law,  Fremont,  Sandusky  county, 
was  born  in  Wayne  county,  Ohio, 
September  8,  1858,  a  son  of 
Josiah  and  Susannah  (Stutzman)  Fouche. 
The  father  of  our  subject  was  born  in 
Somerset  count}-,  Penn.,  in  1830,  where 
he  grew  to  manhood,  and  whence  he 
came  at  the  age  of  twenty-three  to 
Wayne  county,  Ohio,  where  he  still  re- 
sides. He  was  a  school  teacher  by  pro- 
fession,    and     followed    his    vocation    in 


COUMBMORATTrB  BIOORAPHTCAL  RECORD. 


99 


Wayne,  Holmes  and  Tuscarawas  coun- 
ties for  many  years.  He  finally  settled 
on  a  farm  where  he  is  now  passing  his 
declining  years. 

Our  subject's  mother  was  born  in 
Wayne  county.  Ohio,  in  1833,  and  here 
she  grew  to  womanhood  and  became  the 
wife  of  Josiah  Fouche.  Nine  children — 
two  sons  and  seven  daughters — were  the 
fruits  of  their  marriage.  Our  subject's 
paternal  grandfather  was  born  in  1793, 
either  in  France  or  in  Somerset  county, 
Penn.  He  emigrated  thence  to  Holmes 
county.  Ohio,  where  he  died  in  1873. 
His  father  (subject's  great-grandfather) 
was  a  native  of  France,  enlisted  under 
Lafayette,  came  to  America,  and  assisted 
the  Colonies  in  the  Revolutionary  war. 

Byron  A.  Fouche  attended  the  com- 
mon schools  in  his  native  place,  and  then 
the  University  of  Wooster,  at  Wooster, 
Ohio,  from  which  he  graduated  in  the 
class  of  1883.  He  worked  his  own  way 
through  college  by  teaching  school.  He 
studied  law  in  the  office  of  the  famous 
criminal  lawyer  and  advocate,  John  Mc- 
Sweeny,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1886  He  located  in  Fremont.  Ohio,  in 
1888.  He  is  at  present  Deputy  State 
Su|>ervisor  of  Elections  for  Sandusky 
county.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican. 
On  December  31,  1887,  he  married  Miss 
Jane  Parmeter.  at  Caanan,  Wayne  coun- 
ty, Ohio 


WKIGLEY  BROTHERS,  proprie- 
tors of  the  Daily  and  Weekly 
A'tTi'j-,  Fremont,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, are  sons  of  James  and  Mary 
(Haywood)  Wrigley.  James  Wrigleywas 
born  in  eastern  Pennsylvania,  September 
25.  1821,  and  died  December  16,  1878. 
His  wife  was  born  in  Lancashire,  England, 
in  18^4,  and  came  when  a  child  with  her 
parents  to  .\mcrica.  She  resided  at  Dcni- 
son.  Iowa,  where  she  died  July  15,  1895. 
To  them  were  bom  ten  children,  of  whom 
seven  are  hving:   Alfred  C,  December  19, 


1849:  Mark  H.,  July  12,  1853;  James 
B..  February  21.  1859;  Alice  J.;  Ger- 
trude \'. ;  Anna  A. ,  wife  of  Philip  A. 
Schlumberger:  and  Mary  H.  All  of  the 
daughtersreside  at  Fremont.  Ohio,  except- 
ing Mrs.  Schlumberger. 

The  Wrigley  Brothers  are  natives  of 
the  town  of  Conshohockcn,  Penn.,  where 
they  grew  up,  attended  the  public  schools 
and  learned  the  printer's  trade.  They 
were  proprietors  of  the  Conshohockcn 
Reeonler,  a  weekly  paper,  from  1877  un- 
til i88t.  when  they  sold  it  and  removed 
to  Denison,  Iowa,  where  they  bought  the 
Denison  Review,  which  they  published  in 
English  and  German.  In  18S8  they  sold 
out,  and  next  published  the  Boone  Week- 
ly Repiibliean.  at  Boone.  Iowa,  about 
four  years.  In  June,  1892,  they  purchased 
the  Fremont  .Wrij,  the  only  daily  paper 
in  Fremont,  Ohio,  with  a  circulation  of 
1.250,  and  also  publish  a  weekly,  which 
has  a  circulation  of  3,200.  It  is  devoted 
to  the  business  interests  of  Fremont  and 
Sandusky  county,  furnishes  fresh  and  re- 
liable news  from  all  parts  of  the  world  in 
a  brief  and  attractive  form,  and  is  neutral 
in  politics.  The  proprietors  are  sparing 
no  pains  to  make  it  the  best  local  paper  in 
northern  Ohio. 


HG.  EDGERTON.  D.  D.  S.  The 
name  Edgerton  is  of  English 
origin,  but  representatives  of  that 
family  have  been  many  years  in 
the  United  States. 

Prominent  among  the  business  men 
and  manufacturers  of  Fremont.  Sandusky 
county,  for  nearly  half  a  century  has  been 
Chester  Edgerton.  who  was  born  in 
Pawlct.  \t.,  in  1819.  and  came  to  Ohio 
in  1844.  He  is  now  seventy-six  years 
old.  and  is  living  retired.  He  was  an  at- 
torney in  his  day.  and  a  very  successful 
collector.  He  was  also  for  a  number  of 
years  engaged  in  the  lumber  business,  as 
a  member  of  the  firm  of  Edgerton  Bros. ; 
by  fair  dealing  and  close  attention  to  busi- 


100 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOOBAPHICAL  RECORD. 


ness  he  accumulated  a  small  fortune,  and 
is  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  success- 
ful men  of  the  early  days  of  Fremont. 
He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  in  the 
year  1847  was  elected  mayor  of  the  city. 
In  1845  he  married  Miss  Augusta  F. 
Fusselman,  who  was  born  in  1826,  and 
six  children  were  born  to  them:  Frank, 
now  living  in  Tennessee;  Hattie,  wife  of 
G.  Ivinney,  an  attorney  at  law,  of  Fre- 
mont; Fannie  A.,  who  died  in  1879; 
Maude,  wife  of  Lieut.  John  Garvin,  U.  S. 
N. ;  Chester,  living  in  Kansas  City,  Mo. ; 
and  H.  G. 

Dr.  H.  G.  Edgerton  was  born  in  Fre- 
mont, Ohio,  April  23,  1859,  and  was  edu- 
cated in  the  Fremont  public  schools  and 
at  Oberlin  College.  He  began  the  study 
of  dentistry  in  1875,  and  graduated  from 
the  Dental  Department  of  the  University 
of  Ann  Arbor  (Mich.)  in  1881,  with  the 
degree  of  D.  D.  S.  He  practiced  his  pro- 
fession at  Toledo,  Ohio,  one  year,  and 
then  came  to  Fremont,  where  he  has  had 
a  leading  practice  for  several  years  in  his 
pleasant  rooms  over  the  First  National 
Bank.  He  is  a  Republican,  a  member  of 
the  I\nights  of  Pythias  and  of  the  National 
Union,  and  is  connected  with  several 
social  clubs  of  the  city.  On  January  29, 
1884,  he  married  Miss  Clara  Meek, 
daughter  of  B.  Meek,  an  attorney  at  law, 
and  four  children  have  been  born  to  them: 
Mary  B.,  Rachel,  Dorothy  and  Henry 
Meek. 


JOSEPH  KINDLE,  attorney  at  law, 
Fremont,  Sandusky  county,  was 
born  at  Caroline,  near  Republic, 
Seneca  county,  Ohio,  December 
9,  1858,  a  son  of  Gottlieb  and  Mary 
Magdalena  (Michels)  Kindle. 

Our  subject's  father  was  born  in 
Triesen,  Principahty  of  Lichtenstein, 
Germany,  and  emigrated  to  America  in 
1852.  He  had  followed  the  trade  of 
blacksmith  in  the  Fatherland,  but  on 
settling  in   Seneca  county,    Ohio,  upon   a 


farm,  he  devoted  his  time  to  agricultural 
pursuits,  and  did  only  his  own  black- 
smithing.  Our  subject's  mother  was 
born  in  Baden,  Germany,  in  1837,  and 
came  with  her  father's  family  to  San- 
dusky county,  Ohio,  when  three  years 
old.  Here  she  grew  to  womanhood,  be- 
came the  wife  of  Gottlieb  Ivindle,  and 
died  March  i,  1866.  Their  children 
were:  Regina,  who  married  Frank  Bin- 
sack,  of  Fremont,  Ohio;  Rosa  Ann,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  eighteen;  Mary  Ann, 
who  is  unmarried;  and  Joseph,  our  sub- 
ject. 

Joseph  Kindle  came  with  his  parents 
at  an  early  age  to  New  Riegel,  Ohio, 
where  he  attended  school  until  he  was 
fourteen  years  of  age,  also  a  parochial 
school,  in  which  he  was  at  the  head  of 
his  classes  at  the  age  of  eleven,  and  kept 
his  place  as  they  progressed  upward  for 
three  years.  In  August,  1871,  the 
family  removed  to  Green  Creek  township, 
Sandusky  county,  where  they  remained 
about  five  years.  In  March,  1876,  they 
moved  to  Sandusky  township,  near  Book- 
town,  at  the  mouth  of  Muskallonge 
creek,  upon  a  farm  where  the  parents 
lived  and  died.  After  settling  up  his 
father's  estate,  our  subject,  being  of  a 
literary  turn  of  mind,  sought  the  halls  of 
learning  to  qualify  himself  for  an  occupa- 
tion better  suited  to  his  tastes.  He  at- 
tended school  two  years  at  Notre  Dame 
University,  South  Bend,  Ind.,  devoting 
the  first  year  to  a  commercial  course, 
from  which  he  graduated,  and  received 
his  diploma,  and  the  second  year  he  took 
a  mixed  course,  scientific  and  literary,  in 
a  line  with  the  study  of  law.  On  his  re- 
turn from  school  he  followed  the  occu- 
pation of  bookkeeping  for  a  year,  and 
then  went  into  a  general  mercantile  busi- 
ness for  himself,  in  which  he  continued 
with  good  success  for  ten  years,  most  of 
the  time  at  Fremont,  Ohio.  He  then 
sold  out  and  resumed  the  study  of  law 
with  the  firm  of  Meek  &  Dudrow,  and, 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  on   December  8, 


COMMEMORATIVB  BIOOKAPIIICAL  RECORD. 


101 


1892.  He  now  has  an  office  on  Croghan 
street,  Fremont,  opposite  the  First 
National  Hank. 

Mr.  Kiiullc  is  a  man  of  large  stature, 
manly  form  and  commanding  presence. 
He  possesses  great  strength  and  power  of 
endurance,  physically  and  intellectually, 
which,  coupled  with  his  ability  to  use  the 
German  language  as  fluently  as  the 
English,  gives  him  a  vast  advantage  over 
the  ordinary  man.  He  is  a  Democrat  in 
politics,  and,  as  were  his  parents  before 
him,  he  is  an  ardent  Roman  Catholic. 
He  is  one  of  the  most  prominent  tnem- 
bers  of  Branch  No.  290,  Catholic  Knights 
of  America,  also  a  member  of  Branch  No. 
8,  Catholic  Knights  of  Ohio,  of  which 
Branch  he  is  the  present  president,  and  is 
a  member  of  St.  Josephs  Parish.  He 
has  been  an  officer  of  trust  in  these  so- 
cieties during  nearly  all  the  time  of  his 
membership  therein,  and  has  represented 
them  in  diftorent  state  councils. 

Mr.  Kindle  was  married  April  28, 
1884,  to  Miss  Mary  Drum,  daughter  of 
Jacob  and  Anna  (Durnwald)  Drum.  Her 
father  was  a  Union  soldier  in  the  late 
war,  and  is  now  a  member  of  Eugene 
Rawson  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  Fremont,  Ohio. 
The  children  of  Joseph  and  Mary  Kindle 
are:  Frank  J.,  Edward  A.,  Gertrude  M., 
and  Laura  Ann. 


FRANK  E.  SEAGER,  prosecuting 
atti>rney  for  Sandusky  county,  was 
born  in  Ballville  township,  San- 
dusky Co..  Ohio,  October  17. 
1861,  a  son  of  Charles  D.  and  Caroline 
(Hoover)  Seager,  natives  of  Sandusky 
county.  Charles  I).  Seager  was  an  only 
son  of  Charles  L.  Seager,  a  native  of  New 
York  State,  who  came  west  in  1835,  was 
one  of  the  early  pioneers  of  Sandusky 
county,  and  died  in  1843.  Our  subject's 
maternal  grandparents.  Lawrence  Hoover 
and  wife,  were  natives  of  Germany,  and 
also  came  at  an  early  day  to  Sandusky 
county;  they    are    both   now  dead.      Our 


subject's  parents    were    married    in  Ball- 
ville township,  Sandusky  county,  in  1858. 

Frank  E.  Seager  was  reared  in  the 
place  of  his  nativity,  attended  the  com- 
mon schools  and  the  Fremont  city 
schools,  later  the  Normal  University,  at 
Ada,  Ohio,  where  he  completed  the  clas- 
sical course  in  1886,  and  then  attended 
the  Northwestern  College,  at  Naperville, 
III.,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1887. 
He  then  began  studying  law,  alternating 
that  with  teaching  winter  schools.  He 
located  in  Fremont  in  1888.  and  entered 
the  law  office  of  Finefrock  iJv:  Brinkerhoff, 
for  the  purpose  of  continuing  his  law 
studies  and  engaging  in  the  insurance  and 
loan  business.  He  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1893.  and  in  1S94  was  elected 
prosecuting  attorney,  which  office  he  still 
holds. 

Socially,  our  subject  is  a  member  of 
Croghan  Lodge,  No.  77,  I.  O.  O.  F. . 
and  Fremont  Encampment.  No.  O4.  He 
is  also  a  member  of  the  Uniformed  Rank, 
Patriarchs  Militant,  and,  of  the  Masonic 
Fraternity,  a  Royal  Arch  Mason.  He  is  an 
active  member  of  the  Church  of  the  Evan- 
gelical .Association;  was  for  several  years 
its  efficient  Sunday-school  superintendent; 
he  also  superintends  a  Sunday-school  at 
Ballville  village.  In  politics  he  has  al- 
ways been  a  Republican,  and  takes  an 
interest  in  local  and  national  affairs.  On 
May  16,  1895.  Mr.  Seager  was  married, 
at  New  Carlisle,  Clark  Co.,  Ohio,  to  .Miss 
Marie  Gates. 


FRED  R.  FRONIZER,  attorney 
at  law.  Fremont,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, was  born  near  Buffalo,  N.  Y., 
in  1852,  son  of  Henry  and  Mary 
(Young)  Fronizer.  natives  of  Germany, 
who  emigrated  to  New  York,  where  they 
were  married.  In  1853  they  came  to 
Sandusky  county.  Ohio,  locating  in  Ball- 
ville township,  where  they  followed  farm- 
ing. The  mother  died  in  1885.  Their 
children    were:   Fred    R..     our    subject; 


102 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


John,  a  carpenter,  of  Fremont;  Simon,  a 
contractor  and  grocer;  Matilda,  who  died 
at  the  age  of  four;  Lana;  Susan;  Katty, 
and  Joseph. 

Our  subject  was  reared  to  farm  labor, 
and  attended  the  country  schools.  At 
the  age  of  eighteen  he  entered  upon  life 
for  himself,  attended  the  Fremont  city 
schools,  and  taught  country  schools  in 
the  winter  seasons  to  pay  his  way.  Later 
he  went  to  a  Normal  school  at  Fostoria, 
Ohio,  for  a  few  terms,  and  then  taught 
the  Woodville  High  School  two  years.  In 
the  spring  of  1874  he  commenced  the 
study  of  law  in  the  office  of  J.  T.  Garver, 
in  the  meantime  continuing  to  teach 
winter  schools,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  April,  1877.  He  held  the  office  of 
justice  of  the  peace  in  Ballville  township 
six  years,  and  in  1887  was  elected  to  the 
office  of  prosecuting  attorney  for  San- 
dusky county,  which  he  held  six  years. 
He  was  county  school  examiner  from 
August,  1 88 1,  to  1887.  Mr.  Fronizer  is 
a  life-long  Democrat,  and  a  member  of 
the  M.  E.  Church  of  Fremont.  Socially, 
he  is  a  member  of  Croghan  Lodge,  No. 
"/"J,  I.  O.  O.  F.  He  was  married,  in 
Sandusky  county,  to  Miss  Isabella  Boyer, 
daughter  of  George  Boyer,  a  pioneer  of 
Washington  township,  that  county,  and 
two  children  have  blessed  their  union — 
Irvin  F.  and  Harry  L. 


DAVID  GORDON.  For  more  than 
half  a  century  the  name  of  Gor- 
don has  been  closely  identified 
with  the  growth  and  progress  of 
Ottawa  county,  and  more  particularly  with 
Salem  township.  The  family  is  of  Scotch 
ancestry  on  the  father's  side,  the  mother's 
people  being  Yankees. 

The  parents  and  grandparents  of  our 
subject  were  natives  of  Somerset  county, 
N.  J.,  and  the  first  members  of  the  fam- 
ily to  settle  in  Ohio  were  John  and  Rachel 
(Smith)  Gordon,  who  removed  from  Som- 
erset county,  N.  J.,  in  1831,  and  located 


in  Salem  township.  After  residing  here 
some  six  months  they  removed  to  Harris 
township,  where  they  remained  for  three 
years,  and  returning  then  to  Salem  town- 
ship made  it  their  place  of  abode  during 
the  remainder  of  their  lives.  They  were 
honored  and  respected  people,  and  had  a 
large  circle  of  warm  friends.  The  father 
passed  away  November  7,  1851,  the 
mother  on  March  3,   1842. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  famil}- 
has  been  identified  with  Ottawa  county 
since  pioneer  days,  and  David  Gordon  is 
now  the  oldest  living  resident  of  Salem 
township.  He  is  numbered  among  the 
prominent  and  progressive  farmers  and 
stock  raisers,  and  has  a  home  pleasantly 
situated  about  one  mile  and  a  half  from 
Oak  Harbor.  Born  in  Somerset  county, 
N.  J.,  March  19,  1827,  he  came  to  Salem 
township  with  his  parents  when  only  four 
years  old,  and  since  1831  has  been  a  con- 
tinuous resident  of  the  farm  he  now  owns. 
The  township  in  those  days  was  an  un- 
broken wilderness,  without  roads  and 
without  schoolhouses,  the  latter  being  at 
that  time  considered  a  needless  luxury.  In 
consequence  David  Gordon  received  very 
meager  privileges  for  obtaining  a  literary 
education.  From  early  life  he  was  ob- 
liged to  engage  in  the  arduous  duties  of 
developing  a  new  farm,  a  work  that  had 
to  be  accomplished  with  rude  machinery, 
for  the  wonderful  inventions  in  farm  im- 
plements were  then  a  thing  of  the  future. 
He  perseveringly  continued  his  labors, 
however,  and  is  still  engaged  in  farming, 
now  on  an  extensive  scale,  being  number- 
bered  among  the  most  prosperous  agricul- 
turists of  his  adopted  county. 

Mr.  Gordon  was  married,  December 
I,  1 85  I,  in  Erie  township,  Ottawa  county, 
to  Miss  Caroline  Redding,  who  was  born 
in  Warren  county,  N.  J.,  February  9, 
1827,  daughter  of  David  B.  and  Anna 
(Engler)  Redding,  natives  of  New  Jersey, 
who  located  in  Ottawa  county  in  1839. 
Ten  children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.    Gordon,   but  the  eldest  died  when 


-/^  L^T-'/y^ 


Cr'i  ^r'  ^S^-^-t 


C0MM3M0RATIVE  DIOQRAPUICAL  RECORD. 


108 


only  a  (ew  hours  old.  The  others  are 
John,  who  was  born  September  lo,  1854, 
and  is  now  a  prominent  farmer  of  ICrio 
township;  Rachel  and  Cornelius  (twins), 
born  February  22,  1S57,  of  whom  Cor- 
nelius was  drowned  February  27,  1S59, 
and  Rachel  is  the  wife  of  \V.  A.  Kisenhour, 
who  was  clerk  of  Ottawa  county,  and  is 
now  a  farmer  of  Erie  township;  David  and 
George  (twins),  born  January  9,  1859, 
the  former  a  resident  of  Montana,  the  lat- 
ter a  prominent  farmer  of  Salem  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county;  Kvaline,  born  Feb- 
ruary 3,  i860,  deceased  in  infancy;  Cath- 
erine, born  July  26,  1862.  who  died  in  in- 
fancy; Marian,  born  September  i  5.  1864, 
who  also  died  in  infancy;  and  Helen,  born 
May  16,   1865. 

Mr.  Gordon  is  a  charter  member  of 
Oak  Harbor  Lodge  No.  495,  F.  &  A.  M.. 
and  belongs  to  Fremont  Chapter  No.  64, 
R.  A.  M.,  and  Fremont  Council  No.  61, 
K.  T.  He  and  his  family  attend  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  in  poli- 
tics he  is  a  stanch  supporter  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party.  He  is  numbered  among  the 
honored  pioneers  of  Ottawa  county,  who 
have  witnessed  its  growth  and  develop- 
ment from  the  days  of  its  infancy,  and  in 
the  work  of  progress  and  advancement  he 
has  ever  borne  his  part  as  a  faithful  citizen. 


DR.  FRANK  CREAGER,  the  well- 
known  dentist  of  Fremont,  San- 
dusky county,  was  born  July  25, 
1850,  in  York  township,  San- 
dusky Co..  Ohio,  on  the  farm  of  David 
Moore,  about  four  miles  southwest  of 
Bellevue,  Ohio,  son  of  Jacob  and  Mar- 
garet Ann  Creager.  The  parents,  who 
were  of  'German  descent,  came  from 
Hagerstown,  Maryland. 

In  early  life  our  subject  removed 
with  the  family  to  White  Pigeon,  Mich., 
and  thence  to  Elkhart  county,  Indiana, 
where  he  was  reared  on  a  farm,  and 
where  he  received  a  common-school  edu- 
cation. In  1865  he  commenced  the  studv  ! 
7 


of  dentistry  with  Dr.  H.  H.  Boswell,  of 
Rochester,  N.  Y.,  and  in  1870  accepted 
a  situation  as  an  assistant  in  the  office  of 
Drs.  Cummins  and  Hawk,  of  Elkhart, 
Ind.,  remaining  with  them  three  years. 
To  these  gentlemen  he  is  indebted  for 
much  of  his  early  education  in  dentistry. 
In  1873  he  located  in  Fremont,  Ohio, 
for  the  practice  of  his  profession,  soon 
establishing  a  large  and  lucrative  busi- 
ness, and  gaining  the  national  reputation 
he  now  enjoys.  He  also  enjoys  the  d  s- 
tinction  of  having  spent  more  years  in 
active  practice  than  any  other  dental 
practitioner  in  the  history  of  Sandusky 
county.  It  is  needless,  however,  to  speak 
of  him  in  a  professional  light,  for  his 
skill  as  an  operator  and  his  mechanical 
abilities  are  extensively  known.  The 
prominent  positions  he  has  occupied  in 
the  various  dental  societies  of  the  country 
are  also  matters  of  history.  He  has  one 
of  the  finest  dental  offices  in  the  State, 
provided  with  all  the  modern  improve- 
ments and  appliances  known  to  the  pro- 
fession, many  of  which  are  of  his  own 
invention. 

On  March  11,  1875,  Dr.  Frank 
Creager  was  married  to  Miss  Clara  L. 
Moore,  of  Hallville,  Ohio,  daughter  of 
John  and  Eli/a  Moore;  the  children  born 
to  them  were  Edna,  Volta,  Grace,  Bes- 
sie and  Frankie  Bon.  The  first  two  died 
of  diphtheria  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
winter  of  1880,  Edna  dying  February 
19,  and  Volta  on  the  29th  of  the  same 
month,  only  a  difference  of  ten  days 
in  the  time  of  their  deaths.  When 
twenty-one  years  of  age  Dr.  Creager 
joined  the  Masonic  Fraternity  at  Bris- 
tol, Ind.,  but  shortly  afterward  he 
took  a  dimit  and  united  with  Brain- 
ard  Lodge  No.  336,  F.  &  A.  M.. 
Fremont,  and  has  been  an  active  mem- 
ber ever  since.  He  is  now  the  master  of 
the  Lodge,  a  position  he  has  held  con- 
tinuously for  three  terms,  and  under  his 
guidanceship  it  has  ac<iuire<l  an  enviable 
reputation       In  fni  ii  i-;  conceded  to  be 


104 


COMMEMOBATIVE  BIOGBAPHICAL  RECORD. 


one  of  the  best  working  Lodges  in  the 
State.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Grand 
Council,  Royal  Arcanum;  but  the  efforts 
which  brought  him  most  prominently  be- 
fore the  people  were  in  the  interest  of 
the  National  Union  (a  similar  beneficial 
organization),  and  especially  the  local 
Council  which  was  named,  in  honor  of  his 
little  girl,  "Edna."  The  loss  of  this 
child,  their  first-born,  was  a  severe  blow 
to  the  parents,  and  the  honor  thus  be- 
stowed by  his  associates  in  naming  the 
Council  after  her  perhaps  made  the  Doctor 
take  more  than  the  usual  interest  in  its 
welfare.  Edna  Council  was  instituted 
December  3,  1883,  with  forty-nine 
charter  members,  and  Dr.  Creager  was 
chosen  its  first  president.  The  following 
January  he  was  re-elected,  and  the  of- 
ficers and  members  went  to  work  in  such 
an  earnest  manner  that  in  less  than  six 
months  the  roll  was  swelled  to  more  than 
a  hundred  members,  and  Dr.  Creager's 
nameappears  on  nearly  all  theapplications. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  Ohio  State  As- 
sembly, which  was  held  in  the  city  of 
Fremont  June  10,  1884,  he  was  chosen 
Senator  for  two  years,  being  one  of  the 
first  Senators  elected  by  the  Councils  to 
represent  the  Order  in  that  Supreme  body. 
The  Edna  Ritual  was  exemplified  by  the 
Council  to  the  members  of  the  Assembly 
during  their  stay  in  the  city,  and  although 
in  rather  a  crude  state,  it  was  well  re- 
ceived. At  the  session  of  the  Senate  in 
1884  Dr.  Creager  was  elected  speaker, 
and  also  a  member  of  the  Finance  Com- 
mittee. At  the  session  of  1885,  held  in 
the  city  of  Chicago,  he  was  elected  vice 
president,  and  was  also  retained  on  the 
Finance  Committee,  of  which  he  was  a 
valuable  member.  During  1885  he  was 
a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Laws. 
At  the  session  of  the  Senate  held  at  Mans- 
field in  1886,  he  was  chosen  president, 
and  on  his  return  home  was  met  at  the 
depot  by  the  council  in  a  body,  and  es- 
corted to  his  residence  on  Main  street, 
where  he  was  most  cordially  received  by 


his  neighbors  and  the  members  of  his 
Council.  The  following  year  he  was 
unanimously  re-elected  president  of  the 
Senate,  and  was  also  made  a  life  member 
of  that  Supreme  body — one  of  the  highest 
honors  within  its  gift.  In  1888  he  re- 
vised the  Ritual  originally  prepared  by 
him,  which  has  been  unanimously  en- 
dorsed by  every  Council  and  member  of 
the  Order. 

In  1 89 1,  during  the  session  of  the 
Senate  at  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  he  presented 
to  the  assembly  a  beautiful  and  impres- 
sive Burial  Service,  in  perfect  keeping 
with  the  tenets  of  the  Order,  which  has 
been  universally  admired.  His  last  and 
best  effort,  however,  in  ritualistic  work, 
was  the  Public  or  Private  Installation 
Ceremony  written  and  arranged  by  him 
in  1894.  It  is  a  scholarly  production, 
and  commends  itself  to  nearly  all  the  fra- 
ternal societies  of  the  country.  It  can 
truly  be  said  that  Dr.  Creager  has  tried  to 
serve  the  order  faithfully  and  well — 
"With  malice  toward  none,  with  charity 
for  all. "  Taking  the  office  at  a  time  when 
affairs  at  headquarters  were  not  in  the 
best  condition,  he  has  triumphantly  come 
through  it  all,  and  to-day  the  National 
Union  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  leading 
beneficial  societies. 

Dr.  Creager  is  a  pleasant  and  fluent 
speaker,  most  of  his  addresses  being  in 
connection  with  the  Grand  and  Supreme 
bodies  with  which  he  is  affiliated.  In 
1895  he  entered  actively  into  the  cam- 
paign which  terminated  in  the  nomina- 
tion of  Col.  Horace  S.  Buckland  as  a  can- 
didate for  common  pleas  judge,  announc- 
ing his  name  to  the  convention  in  an  elo- 
quent speech,  which  was  most  enthusias- 
tically received. 


JACOB    GABEL.      The    value    of    a 
biographical  work,  such   as  the  one 
in  which  these  sketches  are   found, 
is  readily  conceded  when  one  realizes 
how  fast  the  old  landmarks  are  disappear- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPniCAL  RECORD. 


105 


ing  in  the  onward  march  of  time,  and  how 
few  are  left  of  that  generation  of  brave 
pioneers  under  whose  patient  strokes  the 
forests  gave  place  to  well-tilled  fielils  with 
their  wealth  of  golden  grain,  and  these, 
in  their  turn,  to  busy,  thriving  villages, 
which  anon  grew  into  cities,  the  smoke  of 
whose  countless  iniUistries  ascend  without 
ceasing,  and  the  names  of  whose  citizens, 
famous  in  statesmanship,  war  or  com- 
merce, have  become  known  throughout 
the  world. 

The  men  and  women  who  contributed, 
even  in  the  humblest  way,  to  the  planting 
and  growth  of  this  great  commonwealth, 
must  feel  a  laudable  pride,  when,  them- 
selves in  the  sere  and  yellow  leaf,  they 
can  look  back  on  lives  spent  in  honest 
industry  and  patient  toil,  and  see  the  re- 
sults in  the  happy  homes  and  wonderful 
progress  of  the  State,  which  has  been  the 
birthplace  of  so  many  great  men,  and 
which  holds  so  enviable  a  place  in  the 
Union.  Of  the  early  settlers  ot  this  State, 
as  well  as  others,  many  were  of  German 
birth,  and  to  no  class  of  people  is  the 
country  more  indebted  for  its  substantial 
properity.  Hardy,  industrious  and  frugal, 
they  were  well  adapted  to  confront  the 
obstacles  which  lay  in  the  path  of  the 
pioneer,  and  to  them  and  their  children 
are  due  the  thanks  of  those  now  enjoying 
the  benefits  of  their  labors. 

Jacob  Gabel,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  who  is  now  enjoying  at  his  pleas- 
ant home  in  Fremont,  Sandusky  county, 
the  rest  earned  by  a  long  life  of  activity, 
was  born  May  4.  1821.  in  Alsace.  Ger- 
many. His  parents.  Jacob  and  liarbara 
(Lebald)  Gabel.  who  were  natives  of  the 
same  place,  sailed  for  America  in  1829. 
when  their  little  lad  was  about  eight 
years  old.  Their  first  location  was  at 
Buffalo.  N.  Y.,  where  they  were  engaged 
in  farming  for  seven  years.  In  1836  they 
removed  to  Ohio,  and  settle<l  in  what  was 
known  as  the  Black  Swamp,  in  Jackson 
township,  four  miles  from  Fremont.  Their 
home  was  a  small  log  cabin,  in  the  midst 


of  a  dense  forest;  no  roads  through  the 
timber,  no  neighbors,  no  comforts  or  con- 
veniences of  any  kind,  and  mud,  mud 
everywhere.  Nothing  daunted,  their  busy 
hands  cleared  away  the  trees,  tille<l  the 
gnjund,  sowed  and  reaped  the  abundant 
harvests  and  reared  the  children  who 
came  to  cheer  their  loneliness.  On  this 
farm,  wrested  from  the  wilderness  by  in- 
cessant toil,  Jacob  Gabel,  Sr. ,  lived  his 
long  life,  dying  in  1S72,  at  the  advanced 
age  of  eighty-nine  years,  five  months  and 
some  days.  The  mother  passed  away  in 
1866,  at  the  ripe  age  of  eighty-two  years. 

To  this  worthy  couple  were  born  six 
children — three  sons  and  three  daughters 
— all  of  whom  lived  to  a  goodly  age: 
Joseph,  a  farmer  in  I^allville  township. 
Sandusky  county,  who  lived  to  be  eighty- 
two  years  old;  Michael,  who  followed 
farming  in  Jackson  township,  and  died 
when  si.\ty-two  years  old;  Jacob,  our  sub- 
ject; Catharine,  who  married  Louis 
Schutz,  and  resided  in  Ballville  township, 
where  she  died  at  the  age  of  si.xty;  Eliza- 
beth, who  married  George  Rimmelspach- 
er,  and  Magdalena.  wife  of  Adam  Bien- 
sack. 

Jacob  Gabel.  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  grew  up  on  his  father's  farm,  and 
at  the  age  of  twenty-three  was  married  to 
Miss  Magdalena  Durr.  who  was  born 
January  20,  1826,  in  Wurtemburg,  Ger- 
many, and  came  to  this  country  when 
twelve  years  old.  making  her  home  in 
Ottawa  county.  Their  marriage  took  place 
in  I-'remont,  Nfay  12.  1845.  and  the 
young  couple  took  up  their  abode  with  the 
father  of  our  subject,  where  they  resided 
until  the  death  of  the  fornier.  A  large 
family,  eleven  children  in  all.  was  born 
to  this  estimable  couple,  and  on  February 
13.  1876.  the  beloved  wife  and  mother 
passed  away,  leaving  behind  her  a  most 
gracious  memory  of  a  loving  and  well- 
spent  life.  The  follcwing  brief  record  is 
given  of  the  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Gabel:  (1)  Catherine,  born  May  8,  1846, 
married    Joseph   Dolweck.    and    lives   in 


106 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


'Ottawa  county,  this  State;  she  is  the 
another  of  six  children — Clara  (who  mar- 
ried Fred  Bauer;  they  reside  in  Cleveland 
and  have  one  child,  Helen),  Lena,  Jacob, 
John,  Frank  and  Alpha.  (2)  Peter,  born 
October  25,  1847,  niarried  and  living  in 
Fremont,  has  seven  children — Rosa, 
Anna,  Katie,  Mamie,  Alois,  Herman  and 
Estella.  (3)  Caroline,  born  May  22, 
1850,  married  John  Busold,  and  lives  in 
Fremont;  they  have  had  four  children, 
of  whom  the  following  are  living:  Rosa, 
Frances  and  Lidwina.  (4)  Jacob,  born 
November  20,  1852,  is  married,  and  lives 
in  Jackson  township;  his  children  are 
seven  in  number:  Henry,  Ella,  Minnie, 
Edward,  Herman,  Max  and  Clara.  (5) 
Mary,  born  March  3,  1855,  married 
Joseph  L.  Fegelist,  lives  in  Bellevue,  and 
has  three  children — Ervin,  Leander,  and 
Oliver.  (6)  Charley,  born  April  21, 
1857,  lives  in  Jackson  township,  and  has 
had  four  children — Frances,  Lucy,  Leo, 
and  Hedwig  (deceased).  (7)  Frank,  born 
May  25,  1859,  lives  in  Fremont,  and  has 
four  children — Lidwina,  Alphonse,  Oscar 
and  Olive.  (8)  Louis,  born  May  28,  1 861, 
lives  in  Jackson  township,  and  has  four 
children — Ida,  Roman,  Cletus  and  Clem- 
ent, thelatter  two  being  twins.  (9)  John 
S.,  born  June  23,  1864,  lives  in  Jackson 
township,  and  has  three  children — Flo- 
rine,  Walter  and  Bernard.  (10)  Albert, 
born  September  29,  1866,  lives  in  Jack- 
son township,  and  has  one  child — Anna. 
(11)  William,  born  September  i,  1870,  was 
educated  in  the  Ohio  Normal  University, 
and  subsequently  clerked  in  the  drug 
store  of  Thomas  &  Grund,  in  Fremont, 
after  which  he  accepted  the  position 
which  he  now  holds,  that  of  bookkeeper 
in  the  First  National  Bank  of  Fremont. 
He  is  a  Democrat,  and  an  active  member 
of  the  Young  Men's  Sodality  of  St.  Jo- 
seph's Church. 

Jacob  Gabel,  the  father  of  this  inter- 
esting family,  has  for  fifty  years  been  a 
successful  farmer  in  Jackson  township, 
where  he   now   owns   some   600   acres  of 


land,  accumulated  by  industr}'  and  econ- 
omy. He  gives  the  credit  for  his  success 
to  his  noble  wife,  who,  he  thinks,  was  the 
best  woman  in  the  world.  After  her 
death  he  could  not  bear  the  loneliness  of 
country  life,  and  came  to  Fremont,  where 
he  resides  with  his  daughter  Caroline. 
Although  he  has  given  up  the  care  of  his 
farm  to  his  sons,  he  frequently  goes  out 
to  it  and  looks  after  his  interests  there. 
He  also  owns  a  grocery  store  in  Fremont, 
which  is  managed  by  one  of  his  sons. 
In  politics  Mr.  Gabel  is  a  Democrat,  and 
in  religion  a  devout  Catholic.  His  father 
was  one  of  the  founders  of  St.  Joseph's 
Church  in  Fremont.  The  last  years  of 
his  life  are  passing  peacefully  by  in  the 
society  of  his  numerous  children  and  grand- 
children, with  the  sustaining  thoughts  of 
a  life  well  spent,  and  the  hope  of  a  glori- 
ous immortality. 


CALEB  TAYLOR  (deceased)  was 
born  in  Mar3land,  October  20, 
1800.  His  parents  moved  to  Vir- 
ginia when  he  was  a  lad  of  seven 
years,  and  after  living  there  two  years 
located  in  Belmont  county,  Ohio,  where 
they  remained  until  1828,  in  that  year 
moving  to  Richland  county,  Ohio, 

In  the  spring  of  1822  Caleb  Taylor 
was  united  in  marriage,  in  Belmont  coun- 
ty, with  Sarah  Yost,  who  was  born  in 
that  county,  October  21,  1802.  Her 
parents  were  of  German  ancestry.  For 
nine  years,  or  until  1837,  Caleb  Taylor 
worked  at  his  trade  of  blacksmithing  and 
also  at  farming,  and  in  that  year  located 
in  Sandusky  county,  Ohio,  on  an  eighty- 
acre  tract  of  timberland,  the  greater  part 
of  which  he  had  cleared  by  the  time  of 
his  death.  He  passed  away  on  January 
12,  1 87 1,  at  the  age  of  seventy-one  j'ears. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Caleb  Taylor  had  eleven 
children,  as  follows:  John,  a  carpenter, 
who  married  Barbara  Shrively,  and  had 
six  children;  Elizabeth,  who  married  Eli 
Reeves,  a  retired  carpenter  of  Gibsonburg, 


COXUBMORATTVE  BIOORAPmCAL  RECORD. 


107 


Ohio;  Lydia,  who  livos  in  Oregon,  mar- 
ried to  Christian  Rhcinhart,  by  whom 
she  had  five  children;  Ben,  who  died  in 
1864  in  the  war  of  the  Rebellion;  Will- 
iam, who  died  at  the  age  of  seventeen; 
George,  who  died  in  Michigan  June  12, 
1893,  at  the  age  of  sixty  years;  J.  B.,  a 
resident  of  dibsonburg,  Sladison  town- 
ship, who  married  Cynthia  Campbell,  and 
has  had  two  children;  Enoch,  born  April 
I,  1837;  Hannah,  who  married  Eli  Khein- 
hart,  a  farmer  of  Indiana;  Mary  J.,  who 
married  James  Wells,  a  weaver,  and  lives 
in  Hradncr,  Wood  Co.,  Ohio;  and  Aaron, 
who  died  in  infancy.  Mrs.  Taylor  is  still 
living,  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety- 
two,  having  her  home  with  her  daughter 
at  dibsonburg  part  of  the  time,  and  on 
the  old  homestead.  She  has  for  the 
greater  part  of  her  life  been  a  devout 
member  of  the  German  Baptist  Church. 

Enoch  Taylor,  a  son  of  Caleb  Taylor, 
always  lived  at  home,  excepting  the  time 
he  was  in  Steuben  county,  Ind.,  where  he 
bought  forty  acres  of  land  on  which  he 
lived  two  years.  On  December  i,  1864, 
he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Elizabeth 
Rheinhart,  who  was  born  June  4,  1844, 
and  they  have  had  five  children,  namely: 
Martha  A.,  who  died  young;  L.  C,  a 
school  teacher  in  Gibsonburg.  Madison 
township,  who  received  most  of  his  school- 
ing at  the  district  school,  attended  school 
one  term  at  Angola,  Ind.,  and  one  at 
Fostoria,  Ohio  (he  married  Eliza  Schnei- 
der); George  W..  born  January  29,  1875, 
who  works  at  home;  Mary  E.,  born  March 
31,  1877;  and  Orphia.  born  March  28, 
1883.  Mrs.  Taylor's  parents.  Christian 
and  Barbara  Raymer*  Rheinhart,  were 
natives  of  Pennsylvania. 

In  1863  Enoch  Taylor  took  his  father 
to  a  railroad  station,  and  on  their  return 
home  the  team  became  frightened  and  ran 
away,  throwing  him  out  and  fracturing 
his  right  shoulder,  which  injury  has  caused 
him  a  great  deal  of  inconvenience  in  later 
years.  In  1876.  by  a  kick  from  a  horse 
in  the  forehead,  his  skull  was   fractured, 


and  he  was  picked  up  for  dead,  but  after 
two  months  he  was  able  to  get  around 
again.  Since  then  his  eyesight  has  been 
impaired.  He  has  always  worked  hard 
from  his  youth,  and  since  the  death  of 
his  father  has  had  charge  of  the  old 
homestead. 


DAVID  GARN.  Jr.  The  entrance 
of  the  darn  families  into  Wash- 
ington township,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, dates  back  as  early  as  1834. 
They  have  been  widely  and  favorably 
known  as  enterprising  farmers  and  busi- 
ness men,  and  the  parents  of  our  subject 
were  among  the  early  pioneers  of  the 
Black  Swamp. 

David  Garn,  Jr.,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  born  June  3,  1846,  in  Wash- 
ington township,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  a 
son  of  David  Gam  and  NIargaret  fickes) 
Garn,  the  former  of  whom  died  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1S48.  David  Gam's  earlier  edu- 
cational advantages  were  limited,  but  he 
afterward  attended  the  high  school  at 
Fremont  two  terms;  Normal  school  at 
Milan.  Ohio,  two  terms;  and  business 
college  at  Oberlin,  Ohio,  one  term.  He 
was  a  Union  soldier  in  the  war  of  the 
Rebellion,  having  enlisted  at  Fremont, 
Ohio,  May  2,  1864,  in  Company  G,  One 
Hundred  and  Sixty-ninth  Regiment,  O.  V. 
I.,  and  served  four  months  at  Fort  Ethan 
Allen,  Virginia,  where  he  suffered  from 
sunstroke  and  camp-fever.  On  Septem- 
ber 4,  1864.  he  was  honorably  discharged 
at  Cleveland,  Ohio.  He  was  a  member  of 
Eugene  Rawson  Post,  No.  32,  G.  A.  R., 
at  Fremont.  Ohio.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
David  Garn.  Sr. ,  were  born  children  as 
follows:  Sarah,  wife  of  Daniel  Swickard; 
Daniel,  who  was  a  member  of  Company  K, 
One  Hundred  and  Sixty-ninth  O.  \.  I. 
(he  married  Miss  Hattie  King,  and  their 
children  are  —  Ella,  Mary,  William,  .Albert, 
Edward,  Samuel);  Mary,  wife  of  Michael 
Weible,  farmer  of  Sandusky  township 
(they  had  one  child,  who  with  parents  are 


108 


COMMEMOBATIVE  BIOORAPEICAL  RE  COED. 


all  deceased);  Isaac,  a  commission  mer- 
chant,   of  Vinton,    Iowa,  born    February 

9,  1 84 1,  married  to  T.  C.  Mitchell,  daugh- 
ter of  Jacob  Mitchell  (Isaac  was  a  mem- 
ber of  Company  G,  One  Hundred  and 
Eleventh  O.  V.    I);   Alexander,  born  July 

10,  1843,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  war, 
in  Company  I,  Seventy-second  Regiment 
O.  V.  I.,  and  died  near  Memphis,  Tenn. ; 
David,  Jr.,  is  the  subject  of  our  sketch. 

David  Garn,  Jr.,  was  married  in  San- 
dusky county,  January  20,  1884,  to  Miss 
Anna  Hoffman,  who  was  born  August  10, 
1864,  at  Hagerstown,  Md.,  a  daughter  of 
Jacob  and  Johanna  (Lesher)  Hoffman. 
Their  children  are:  Firm,  born  December 
10,  1884;  Ray,  born  January  3,  1886; 
David,  born  June  10,  1887;  Leo,  born 
February  6.  1895.  Mr.  Garn  is  a  mer- 
chant at  Helena,  Ohio,  and  has  held  the 
office  of  notary  public  and  of  postmaster 
since  1885.  He  previously  held  the 
offices  of  precinct  assessor,  school  direc- 
tor and  clerk  of  the  board  of  public 
schools  for  eleven  years. 


WILSON     DWIGHT     (deceased) 
was  a  son  of  Josiah  and  Abigail 
(Fish)    Dwight,    and    was    born 
June  I,   1 8 19,  upon  a  farm  near 
Cincinnatus,  New  York. 

When  seventeen  years  of  age  he  came 
to  Huron  county,  Ohio,  where  he  rented 
land  and  engaged,  in  his  own  behalf,  in 
agricultural  pursuits.  One  year  later  his 
father's  family  also  came  to  Huron  coun- 
ty, purchased  a  farm,  and  Wilson  made 
his  home  with  them  until  he  had  passed 
his  twenty-seventh  birthday  anniversary, 
when  he  wedded  Electa  Osterhout.  To 
this  union  came  four  children,  viz. : 
Charles  G. ,  who  died  when  eight  years  of 
age;  Jennie  M.,  deceased  wife  of  James 
Swisher;  Emma  L. ,  wife  of  William  Lev- 
ering, a  contractor,  of  Findlay,  Ohio;  and 
Flora  Bell,  wife  of  Lester  Wilson,  an  at- 
torney at  law  of  Fremont,  Ohio. 

Shortly  after  his  marriage,  Mr.  Dwight 


moved  to  La  Grange  county,  Ind.,  and 
purchased  a  farm  upon  which  he  resided 
for  three  years,  when  he  sold  out  and  re- 
turned to  Ohio,  buying  a  farm  in  Groton 
township,  Erie  county.  Here  he  made 
his  home  until  1873  when  he  removed  to 
Clyde,  Ohio,  and  purchased  a  splendid 
home  where  his  widow  now  resides. 
During  the  twenty-two  years  of  his  resi- 
dence in  Clyde,  although  he  lived  a  quiet 
life  and  gave  little  attention  to  business 
other  than  a  general  supervision  of  his 
farm,  he  came  to  be  universally  known  as 
a  man  of  kind  and  accommodating  dis- 
position, and  the  personification  of  honesty 
and  integrity.  He  passed  away  June  6, 
1895,  and  was  laid  to  rest  in  the  beauti- 
ful McPherson  cemetery,  adjoining  the 
village. 


DAVID  R.  RUSSELL,  who  in  his 
lifetime  was  an  honored  citizen  of 
Riley  township,  Sandusky  count}", 
was  born  November  23,  1855,  in 
Castalia,  Erie  Co.,  Ohio,  and  is  a  son  of 
Alonzo  and  Sarah  (Baker)  Russell,  both 
also  natives  of  Ohio,  the  father  born  in 
Erie  county,  April  8,  1823,  the  mother 
in  Castalia,  Erie  Co.,  Ohio,  March  28, 
1829.      They    were    married  August    28, 

1848,  and  were  the  parents  of  eight  chil- 
dren   as    follows:       Sophronia,     born    in 

1849,  and  now  living  in  Erie  county, 
Ohio,  was  married  to  James  Lemon,  who 
died  in  1881;  Lafayette  born  in  1851, 
married  Nettie  Lemon,  and  the}'  have 
two  children  (they  live  in  Erie  county); 
Mary,  born  in  1853,  married  George  Rig- 
gel,  and  they  have  had  four  children 
(they  live  in  Huron  county,  Ohio);  David 
R. ,  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Emma, 
born  in  1857,  married  Eugene  Zabst,  and 
they  have  one  child  (they  live  in  Bay 
City,  Mich.);  Frank,  born  in  1859,  died 
at  the  age  of  eighteen  years;  George,  born 
in  1 86 1,  married  Maud  Upton,  by  whom 
he  has  four  children  (they  live  in  Mis- 
souri); and   Sarah,  born  in  1863,  married 


COMMBMORATIi'E  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


100 


Hiram  Harris,  and  has  two  children  (they 
live  in  Miclii^^an). 

Aion/o  Kussell  when  a  yoiinfj  man 
was  employed  by  the  day.  After  his 
marriajje  he  moved  to  Michigan,  bought  a 
farm  there,  lived  on  it  for  two  years,  and 
then  seilinj^  it  removc<l  to  Erie  county, 
Ohio,  where  he  worked  four  years  for  a 
man  by  the  name  of  David  Richmond. 
He  saved  his  money  and  bought  fifty 
acres  of  land,  later  purchasinj;  sixty-five 
more.  He  died  February  7,  1874.  since 
when  his  widow  has  managed  two  farms. 

David  K.  Kussell.  the  subject  proper 
of  these  lines,  was  raisetl  by  his  parents, 
received  a  common-school  education,  and 
worked  at  home  until  his  marriajje.  On 
May  2,  1S82,  he  was  wedded  to  Miss 
Harriet  Livingstine.  who  was  born  April 
8.  1S63.  in  Sanilusky  county,  and  five 
children  have  blessed  their  union,  as  fol- 
lows: Sadie  May,  born  March  7.  1883; 
Charles  David,  born  February  9,  1883; 
Rosa  Harriet  Gertrude,  born  I'obruary  2, 
1887;  Clara  Catherine,  born  November 
12.  1 888;  and  John  Robert,  born  Sep- 
tember 5.  1891.  Of  these  children.  Sadie 
May  died  January  17,  1895.  aged  eleven 
years,  ten  months  and  ten  days.  The 
father.  David  R.  Russell,  departed  this 
life  September  26,  1895.  at  the  age  of 
thirty-nine  years,  ten  months  and  three 
days.  He  died,  of  enlargement  of  the 
spleen,  at  the  home  of  his  sister  in  West 
Bay  City,  Mich.,  whither  he  had  gone  for 
the  benefit  of  his  health,  and  his  remains 
were  brought  back  to  his  home  by  his  fath- 
er-in-law, Charles  Livingstine,  and  were 
laid  to  rest  in  the  Scotch  cemetery  in  Riley 
Riley  township.  Sandusky  county.  The 
services  at  the  funerals  of  both  father  and 
daughter  were  comlucted  by  Rev.  V.  Feifler. 
in  Grace  Lutheran  Church,  at    Fremont. 

After  their  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
David  R.  Russell  settled  in  Riley  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  her  father  having 
given  her  thirty-three  acres  of  land  there. 
In  1884  Mr.  Russell  bought  thirty-five 
acres  adjoining,  paying  for  it   at  the  rate 


of  seventy-five  dollars  per  acre.  As  did 
his  father  before  him  in  political  matters, 
he  voted  the  Republican  ticket,  and  he 
donoted  liberally  toward  the  support  of 
the  Lutheran  Church. 


Gi:ORGE  REYNOLDS,  a  retired 
farmer  of  Sandusky  county,  living 
in  Ballville  village,  near  Fremont, 
was  born  March  9,  1S17,  in  Essex 
count)',  N.  Y. ,  near  Eli^abethtown,  son 
of  Daniel  and  Betsey  (Adams;  Reynolds. 
Daniel  Reynolds  was  born  near  Sara- 
toga Springs,  N.  Y.  In  1834  he  migrated 
to  Ohio  with  his  son,  George  Reynolds, 
and  settled  in  Lorain  county,  near  Elyria, 
where  he  remained  for  some  years.  In 
the  latter  part  of  his  life  he  removed  to 
Ballville  township,  Sandusky  county,  on 
land  now  occupied  by  his  son  George, 
where  he  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-six.  the 
mother  also  passing  away  at  the  same 
age.  Mr.  Reynolds  was  a  Whig  in  poli- 
tics, a  descendant  of  an  old  Yankee  family. 
There  were  eleven  children  born  to  him 
and  his  wife — Lyllis,  George,  Harry, 
Melissa,  Ransom,  Daniel,  Rosetta,  Phile- 
mon. Lucinda.  Edgar  and  Rousseau — six 
of  whom  are  still  living. 

George  Reynolds  spent  his  youth  and 
attended  school  in  the  State  of  New  York. 
After  coming  to  Ohio,  he  resided  about 
five  years  in  Elyria,  and  afterward  re- 
moved to  Fremont,  settling  in  Ballville 
township,  where  he  has  resided  on  the 
same  farm  for  fifty  years.  He  has  a  tract 
of  145  acres  of  land  under  a  high  state  of 
cultivation,  lying  on  the  east  bank  of  the 
Sandusky  river.  Here,  on  F'ebruary  6. 
1844.  he  married  Miss  Maria  Prior,  who 
was  born,  November  i,  1823,  in  Sandusky 
county,  on  their  present  farm.  A  brief 
record  of  their  children  is  as  follows:  ,1) 
Chauncey.  born  October  17.  1844.  mar- 
ried Miss  Effie  Bender,  and  they  have  two 
chiklren  -  George  and  Bessie.  (2)  Cyn- 
thia, born  June  6.  1850,  married  T.  L. 
Parker,  and  now  resides  with  her  parents 


110 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


(they  have  one  child,  Effie,  who  married 
James  Hill,  and  has  a  daughter — Delia 
Irene).  (3)  Orrin,  born  May  23,  1855, 
was  an  attorney  at  law,  and  died  at  Fre- 
mont, Ohio,  in  1879.  (4)  Delia,  mar- 
ried R.  W.  Mitchener,  and  they  have 
two  children — Kent  and  Robert  Don- 
nell.  (5)  Ransom,  born  May  15,  1859,  is 
unmarried,  and  is  living  with  his  parents. 
All  the  married  children  were  married  on 
the  home  farm.  Our  subject  is  a  Repub- 
lican in  politics,  and  for  about  eight  years 
has  been  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church, 
with  which  his  wife  has  been  united  from 
childhood,  she  being  the  oldest  living 
member  of  that  organization  in  Fremont. 
Mrs.  Reynolds  is  one  of  the  old  pioneers 
of  Sandusky  county,  and  can  relate  many 
incidents  of  early  pioneer  life. 


HON.  SOLOMON  W.  REED.— 
Among  the  men  of  mark  of  Ottawa 
count},  and  representative  citizens 
of  this  section  of  Ohio,  stands  the 
gentleman  whose  name  is  here  recorded. 
A  native  of  Sandusky  township,  San- 
dusky Co.,  Ohio,  born  February  9,  1840, 
he  was  there  educated  at  the  public 
schools,  and  also  learned  the  trade  of 
carpenter  with  his  father,  who  was  born 
about  the  year  18 10,  in  Pennsylvania, 
and  died  in  1869.  The  mother  of  our 
subject  passed  away  on  November  4, 
1895,  s^t  the  age  of  seventy-seven  years. 
This  honored  couple  were  the  parents  of 
fourteen  children — seven  sons  and  seven 
daughters.  At  the  age  of  twenty-three 
3'ears  our  subject  moved  to  Elmore,  Ot- 
tawa county,  where  he  has  ever  since, 
now  a  period  of  thirt3'-two  years,  been  a 
highly-esteemed  citizen.  For  one  year 
he  was  engaged  at  his  trade,  and  then 
embarked  in  lumbering  and  farming,  bus- 
inesses he  still  carries  on,  in  connection 
with  which  he  is  also  interested  in  the 
manufacture  of  staves  and  headings.  In 
1870  Mr.  Reed  appraised  the  real  estate 
of  Harris  township  to  the  unqualified  sat- 


isfaction of  all  concerned,  thus  establish- 
ing a  recognition  of  his  adaptability  for 
positions  to  which  good  judgment  is  an 
importance  essential.  In  iS92the  "oil 
boom  "  reached  Elmore,  and  our  subject 
at  once  embarked  in  that  speculation,  and 
he  has  since  put  down  fifteen  wells,  most 
of  which  are  producing.  In  1893  he 
purchased  of  Caleb  Klink  the  Elmore 
Wagon  and  Carriage  Factory,  in  which 
he  placed  the  machinery  for  the  manu- 
facture of  heading,  staves  and  lumber, 
and  in  his  various  businesses  he  now  em- 
ploys an  average  of  some  seventy-five 
hands.  In  the  year  just  mentioned  he 
was  appointed  assignee  for  the  Ottawa 
County  Bank,  located  at  Elmore. 

Mr.  Reed,  in  his  political  proclivities, 
is  an  ardent  supporter  of  Democratic 
principles,  and  in  1895,  justly  appreciat- 
ing his  merits  and  abilities,  that  party 
placed  him  in  nomination  as  representa- 
tive of  Ottawa  county  for  the  Ohio  State 
Legislature.  On  the  5th  of  November,  same 
year,  he  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  374 
over  his  opponent,  Emery  Thierwechter, 
of  Oak  Harbor,  which  in  itself  is  substan- 
tial enough  evidence  of  his  popularity. 

In  i860  Hon.  S.  W.  Reed  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Emma  Hetrick, 
daughter  of  George  and  Catherine  Het- 
rick, and  to  this  union  have  been  born 
eight  children,  to  wit:  Saloma  (Mrs.  John 
Reber,  of  Elmore),  William  Lester  (de- 
ceased, who  for  several  years  prior  to  his 
death  was  engaged  with  his  father  in 
business),  EmbroT.  (a  farmer  at  Elmore), 
Franklin  M.  (in  a  lumber  and  stave  busi- 
ness), Ella,  Edwin  E.,  Eva  and  Warrie 
W.  The  entire  family  enjoy  the  high- 
est esteem  and  regard  of  the  community 
in  which  they  live. 


EMBRA    T.    REED.      Among    the 
younger  representatives  of  the  ag- 
ricultural interests  of  Ottawa  coun- 
ty   is   this    gentleman,    who    was 
born  on    March   10,   1865,  in  Washington 


COMHEMORATirE  BIOORAPnWAL  RBCORD. 


Ill 


township,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  a  son  of 
Solotnon  Wilson  and  Etneline  (Hetrick) 
Reed.  The  former  was  born  in  Wash- 
ington township  about  1840,  and  his  first 
business  venture  was  the  purchase  and 
sale  of  horses  which  he  secured  for  the 
Union  army  during  the  war  of  the  Ke- 
belhon.  In  i860  he  married  Miss  Het- 
rick, who  was  born  in  the  same  locality  in 
1 838.  and  they  became  the  parents  of  eight 
children — five  sons  and  three  daughters — 
seven  of  whom  are  now  living;  William 
Lester  died  in  1890  from  an  injury  re- 
ceived several  years  before. 

The  boyhood  days  of  our  subject  were 
spent  under  the  parental  roof  at  Elmore, 
Ohio,  and  he  there  obtained  his  educa- 
tion. In  1884.  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  he 
started  on  a  trip  through  the  South  and 
West,  first  going  to  Texas,  thence  to  Cali- 
fornia, where  he  remained  a  year,  and 
then  on  to  Montana,  returning  to  his  Ohio 
home  by  the  way  of  North  Dakota.  He 
continued  with  his  father  through  the 
winter,  and  in  the  succeeding  spring  went 
to  New  Mexico  and  to  Colorado,  where 
for  two  years  he  was  engaged  in  silver 
mining.  On  the  expiration  of  that  period 
he  made  his  way  to  Oregon  and  Washing- 
ton, remaining  in  that  section  of  the 
country  for  nine  months  when  he  again 
came  to  Ohio. 

On  October  11.  1888.  Mr.  Reed  was 
joined  in  wedlock  with  Miss  Julia  James. 
of  Elmore,  who  was  born  in  Harris  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county,  January  21,  1867. 
She  was  educated  in  the  district  schools, 
and  until  her  marriage  remained  at  home 
with  her  parents.  Her  father,  Orin  James, 
was  born  in  Sandusky  county,  Ohio, 
February  7,  1S32,  and  came  to  Ottawa 
county  during  his  boyhood.  He  married 
Miss  Mclvina  Richards,  who  was  born  in 
Ottawa  county  in  1830,  and  died  in  1873. 
Three  children  grace  the  union  of  our 
subject  and  his  wife:  Le  Koy  Trask,  born 
July  28.  i88y;  Carl  Ue  Witt,  born  De- 
cember 28,  1892;  and  Arzella,  born  Sep- 
tember 23.  1894.      For  a  year  after  his 


marriage  Mr.  Reed  lived  in  Findlay, Ohio, 
engaged  in  the  cooperage  business.  He 
then  came  to  Harris  township,  Ottawa 
county,  and  took  charge  of  one  of  his 
father's  farms  which  he  is  still  operating. 
He  is  also  engaged  in  raising  stock  for 
the  local  trade,  and  is  doing  a  good  busi- 
ness. In  his  political  views  he  is  a  Repub- 
lican. He  and  his  wife  hold  membership 
with  the  Disciple  Church  of  Elmore,  and 
are  highly-esteemed  residents  of  his  lo- 
cality, having  many  friends.  He  has  the 
culture  which  travel  brings,  and  many  in- 
teresting incidents  which  he  can  relate  of 
his  journey  make  him  an  entertaining  com- 
panion. 


CS.  KEATING.  Although  he  has 
long  since  passed  his  allotted 
three  score  years  and  ten,  and 
has  now  entered  his  eightieth 
year,  tliis  well-beloved  old  gentleman  of 
Clyde,  Sandusky  county,  is  at  this  writ- 
ing as  erect  in  figure,  as  quick  in  action, 
as  a  man  of  half  his  years.  His  eye- 
sight is  keen,  and  he  is  yet  an  active  fol- 
lower of  Nimrod  and  of  Walton.  Each 
summer  he  visits  the  haunts  of  noble 
game,  and  the  favorite  nooks  of  the  trout 
and  the  muskallonge,  while  his  pleasant 
home  is  adorned  with  numerous  and 
valuable  trophies  of  the  chase.  In  this 
respect  it  resembles  rather  some  old  ba- 
ronial hall  than  a  modern  dwelling  house, 
and  for  each  trophy  Mr.  Keating  has  an 
interesting  storj-. 

He  was  born  in  Main  April  8,  18 16, 
son  of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Mathews) 
Keating,  both  also  natives  of  the  "Pine 
Tree  State."  John  Keating  was  a  man 
of  earnest  convictions.  About  1819  he 
with  his  wife  and  family  made  the  long 
and  tiresome  journey  by  wagon  from 
Maine  to  Ohio,  settling  near  Zanesville, 
whore  he  farmed  and  followed  the  trade 
of  millwright.  In  1825  he  moved  to  a 
farm  in  Clinton  township,  Seneca  county. 
There  was  then  but   one  frame  house  in 


112 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Tiffin.  He  cut  a  wagon  road  from  Tif- 
fin to  his  little  log  cabin  in  the  woods 
two  and  a  half  miles  away,  and  soon 
after  found  employment  as  a  ship  carpen- 
ter at  Sandusky,  Huron  and  Fremont, 
following  that  trade  for  ten  years  or 
longer.  He  was  also  a  Baptist  minister, 
and  preached  the  Gospel  at  frequent  in- 
tervals from  a  sense  of  right,  and  not  for 
emoluments,  and  each  Sunday  he  made 
long  trips  on  horseback  through  the  mud 
and  woods  to  fill  these  clerical  appoint- 
ments. He  had  nine  children  as  follows: 
John  M.,  who  died  at  the  old  homestead 
after  marriage;  Joseph,  a  boss  ship- 
builder, who  married  and  lived  at  Toledo, 
where  he  was  accidentally  killed  at  the 
age  of  fifty-six  years;  Edward  and  Ed- 
win, who  both  died  young;  Capt.  A.  C. 
Keating,  of  Clyde;  C.  S.,  subject  of  this 
sketch;  Henry  A.,  who  lives  on  the 
pike  below  Clyde;  George  L.,  residing 
on  the  old  homestead  near  Tiffin;  Louisa, 
who  married  Elias  Jackson,  and  is  now  a 
widow,  living  in  Indiana  (Mr.  Jackson 
died  several  years  ago);  Elizabeth,  mar- 
ried to  Charles  Sloat,  now  living  in  Cali- 
fornia; and  one  child  who  died  in  infancy. 

C.  S.  Keating  grew  to  manhood  on  ; 
the  pioneer  farm  in  Seneca  county,  re- 
ceiving a  scant  education  in  the  log  school 
houses  of  that  age.  He  paid  for  one 
term  of  instruction  by  chopping  trees, 
and  remembers  that  one  tree  which  he 
tackled  was  too  large  for  him,  and  he  was 
obliged  to  call  his  father's  assistance  in 
felling  it.  He  remained  on  the  home 
farm  till  twenty-two  j'ears  of  age,  then  en- 
tered the  shipyard  at  Marblehead  as  car- 
penter; he  followed  this  trade  at  Lorain, 
on  the  Black  river,  at  Vermilion,  Huron 
and  Fremont,  for  about  two  years.  On 
December  i,  1839,  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Olive  E.  Butler,  born  near  Rock- 
land, Maine,  August  29,  1822,  a  distant 
relative  of  Ben.  Butler.  She  is  the  daugh- 
ter of  Brackett  and  Nancy  (Mathews) 
Butler,  the  former  of  whom  was  of  En- 
glish ancestry,  and  by  his  wife  Nancy  had 


five    children,    as   follows:    Myra,    wife  of 
Samuel   Russ,    of  Boston,    Mass. ;   Lucj', 
who  died   at  Clyde,    the  wife  of   Gilbert 
Perry;  Olive;  Marie,  wife  of  Charles  Brad- 
bury; Amanda,  now  Mrs.  Boston,  of  Bos- 
ton,   Mass.      Mrs.    Butler   died    in    1827, 
and  Mr.  Butler  married  again,  b}-  his  sec- 
ond marriage  rearing  a  family;  he  died  in 
Indiana.      Olive  met  her  future   husband 
while  visiting  in  Ohio.      Mr.  Keating  be- 
gan   housekeeping    at    Hedges    Springs, 
Seneca  county.      He  lived  there  six  years, 
and  followed  his  trade  of  ship  carpenter 
at  Fremont  as  well.      He  also  cleared  up 
some  land  in  Adams    township,    Seneca 
county,    and   farmed    there     for    several 
years;  then   bought   timber  land    on   the 
pike  below  Clyde,    paying  $14  per  acre, 
and  selling  it  for  $80  per  acre  during  the 
Civil    war.       At  the  close  of    the   war   he 
bought  another  farm.      He  lived  on   the 
place    about   six    3'ears,    then    moved    to 
Clyde,    where  he   now  resides.      To   Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Keating  were  born  four  children, 
a  brief  record  of  whom  is  as  follows:      (i) 
Joseph   B.,  born  July  8,   1841,  was  edu- 
cated in  the  Clyde  schools  and  in  a  Com- 
mercial   College    at    Cleveland,    followed 
railroading  and,  subsequently,  the  jewelry 
business;  he    died    at    Huntington,    Ind., 
February  25,   1889,  leaving  two  children 
— Laura  and  Truman.      (2)  Alice  K.,  the 
widow    of    William   Weaver,     is    an    in- 
structor in  the  public  schools  at  Hunting- 
ton, Ind.      (3)    Russ,    born    October    29, 
1853,  is  a  traveling  salesman  at  Fond  du 
Lac,  Wis  ,  for  the  Diebold  Safe  &  Lock 
Co. ;  he  is  married  and    has    one    child — 
Charles.       (4)    Walter  L. ,  born   January 
17,  1859,  engaged  in  the  safe  business  at 
La  Crosse,  Wis.,  is  married  and  has  one 
child — Florence.      Mr.  and  Mrs.  Keating 
celebrated  their  golden  wedding  in    1889. 
Mrs.  Keating  is  an  active  member  of   the 
Methodist  Church,  and  an  earnest  worker 
in  the  temperance  cause.      Her  father  was 
a  Baptist  from  boyhood,  and  was  a  leader 
in  the  Church    choir,    having  a    cultured 
voice. 


OOMMKMOHATiyE  BIOORAPUICAL  RECORD. 


118 


Mr.  Keating  has  not  yet  lost  his  keen 
zest  f(jr  the  gun  ;ind  fishing  rod.  He  at- 
tributes his  well-preserveil  eyesight  and 
his  unimpaired  vitahty,  not  so  much  to 
his  hardy  physique  as  to  the  excellent 
care  he  has  taken  of  himself.  The  tro- 
phies of  his  skill  which  adorn  his  home 
recall  the  lines  of  Walter  Scott,  in  "The 
Lady  of  the  Lake:" 

Here  jjrins  tin-  wolf  a.s  when  lie  dieil. 
There  haii).;.-  the  wild  cat's  brindled  hide. 
And  all  around,  the  walls  to  tfr.ice, 
Han^  trophies  of  the  fi)fht  and  chase. 

In  the  year  1852  Mr.  Keating  became 
a  I'ree  Mason  at  Clyde,  Ohio,  joining 
Monticello  Lodge  No.  244.  In  politics 
he  is  non-partisan,  with  a  predilection 
toward  the  Republican  party.  Convic- 
tion and  principle  dominate  his  ballot  as 
well  as  his  religion,  and  his  relations  to 
his  fellow  men.  He  is  a  genuine-hearted 
man,  held  in  highest  esteem  by  all  who 
know  him. 


JOHN  L.  LEV  I  SEE  is  one  of  the 
comparatively  few  men  born  so  far 
back  as  1809.  He  is  the  oldest  man 
in  and  one  of  the  earliest  pioneers  of 
Tovvnsend  township,  Sandusky  county, 
having  located  there  on  October  29,  1 83 1 . 
His  parents  were  Aaron  and  Anna  (Lyon) 
Levisce. 

James  Levisee,  his  paternal  grand- 
father, was  born  in  Connecticut,  and  went 
from  there  to  New  Jersey.  He  had  two 
sons:  Aaron  Levisee,  born  in  New  Jersey, 
July  9,  1774,  and  John.  During  their 
younger  days  these  brothers  followeil  the 
sea.  While  their  vessel  was  lying  off  the 
coast  of  South  America,  a  number  of  the 
crew  were  stricken  with  yellow  fever,  in- 
cluding the  brothers,  Aaron  and  John. 
When  they  reached  New  York,  John  died 
in  the  hospital  there,  but  .Aaron  survived, 
although  all  his  hair  fell  out.  leaving  him 
entirely  bald.  In  1798  Aaron  Levisee 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Anna  Lyon. 
win,  was  born  in  Massachusetts,  and  their 


children  were:  Almeda,  born  August  i, 
1799;  .Xvelina,  June  21,  1801 ;  Thankful. 
July  15,  180?;  Eliza  Ann,  May  6,  1806; 
John  L.  and  Sarah  L. ,  July  4.  1809;  two 
who  died  in  infancy;  Sophia,  born  Feb- 
ruary 14,  1815;  Emma,  born  March  24. 
1818;  and  .\arnn  Hurton,  born  .March  18. 
1821.  Of  these,  the  survivors  arc:  John 
L. ,  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Emma, 
widow  of  William  Fuller,  of  Townsend 
t<jwnship,  Sandusky  township;  and  .\.  H. 
Levisee,  of  Clyde,  Green  Creek  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county.  Aaron  Levisee, 
Sr.,  died  June  18,  1828.  in  Allen,  Alle- 
gany coimty,  N.  Y. ;  his  widow  died  in 
1S45.  Mrs.  Levisee  was  a  daughter  of 
Thomas  and  Thankful  Lyon. 

John  L.  Levisee  was  born  in  Charles- 
ton, Ontario  Co.  (since  Lima,  Livingston 
Co.),  N.  Y. ,  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Gen- 
esee river,  and  went  with  his  parents  to 
Allegany  county  in  182^.  .At  the  age  of 
twenty-two  he  left  his  native  State  to 
make  him  a  home  in  the  unbroken  wil- 
dernessof  northern  Ohio.  His  mother  and 
the  other  members  of  the  family  came  in 
the  following  year.  Of  these  sturdy  pio- 
neers, it  could  well  be  said:  "There 
were  giants  in  those  days" — giants  in  en- 
durance, strength  and  courage.  Here 
Mr.  Levisee  worked  for  five  years,  clear- 
ing and  preparing  a  tract  of  land.  At  the 
end  of  that  time  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Diana  Stanley,  who  \sas  born 
in  Jefferson  county,  N.  Y.,  October  25, 
1810.  They  have  the  following  named 
children:  Sarah,  born  May  5,  1838;  .Anna, 
July  28,  1840;  Elizabeth,  October  27, 
1842;  Eliza,  August  18,  1844;  Mary  Jane. 
October  23,  1846;  Civilia,  January  30. 
1849;  David.  November  21,  1850;  and 
Chauncey,  May  23,  1855.  Mrs.  Levisee 
was  a  ilaughter  of  .Asa  and  Anna  Stanley, 
of  York  township.  Sandusky  county,  and 
was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Church; 
her  death  occurred  July  4,  1835. 

On  November  15,  1866,  Mr.  Levisee 
again  married,  taking  for  his  second  wife 
Mrs.    Statira    E.    (Cable;    Reynolds,   who 


114 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPEICAL  BECOBD. 


was  born  in  Lorain  county,  Ohio,  June  7, 
1830,  a  daughter  of  Shubael  and  Ehza- 
beth  Reynolds,  and  thej'  had  two  chil- 
dren: Francis  A.,  born  August  12,  1868, 
and  Willie,  born  July  12,  1870,  and  died 
December  14,  1870.  In  his  younger  days 
Mr.  Levisee  worked  somewhat  at  the 
carpenter  trade.  He  lives  on  the  farm, 
which  he  cleared  over  sixty  years  ago,  but 
retired  from  the  active  supervision  of  the 
place  several  years  since,  and  his  son 
Chauncey  now  has  the  management.  Mr. 
Levisee  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and 
in  Church  connection  is  a  Universalist. 


FJ.  WHITTEMORE,  M.  D.,  a 
prominent  and  leading  physician 
and  surgeon  of  Clyde,  Sandusky 
county,  was  born  in  Massachu- 
setts, January  15,  1831.  In  the  Willis- 
ton  Seminary  of  East  Hampton,  Mass., 
he  was  prepared  for  college,  after  which 
he  entered  the  New  York  University, 
where  his  literary  education  was  com- 
pleted, graduating  in  the  class  of  1851. 
Later  he  became  a  student  in  the  med- 
ical department  of  the  same  university, 
where  he  received  the  degree  of  M.  D. 
In  Plymouth,  Conn.,  he  began  the  prac- 
tice of  his  chosen  profession,  and  re- 
mained there  for  ten  years — the  follow- 
ing years  in  New  Haven,  Conn.,  until 
about  four  years  ago,  when  he  came  to 
Ohio,  leaving  his  son,  a  skillful  physician, 
in  charge  of  his  extensive  practice.  He 
belongs  to  the  Allopathic  school,  and  in 
New  Haven  did  a  general  practice;  but 
since  coming  to  the  Buckeye  State  has 
made  a  specialty  of  chronic  diseases,  and 
his  practice  has  grown  so  rapidly  that  he 
has  almost  more  than  he  can  attend  to. 
He  has  ever  been  a  close  student  of  his 
profession,  and  well  deserves  the  liberal 
patronage  which  he  receives. 

The  Doctor  is  a  son  of  Amos  and 
Clara  (Hamilton)  Whittemore,  both  na- 
tives of  Massachusetts,  the  former  born 
at  Spencer,  the  latter  at   Chester.      The 


father  began  business  as  an  agriculturist, 
but  later  became  connected  with  railroad 
work,  serving  for  many  years  as  yard- 
master.  He  was  of  English  descent,  the 
great-grandfather  of  our  subject  coming 
from  Wales  at  an  early  day,  locating  in 
New  England,  where  the  grandfather  was 
born.  The  maternal  grandfather,  John 
Hamilton,  came  to  the  New  World  from 
Ireland,  and  during  the  Revolutionary 
war  served  as  lieutenant  in  the  Continen- 
tal army,  which  rank  he  was  holding  at 
the  time  of  Burgoyne's  surrender.  The 
father  of  the  Doctor  was  called  from  this 
life  about  1862,  at  the  age  of  seventy-six 
years;  the  mother  passed  away  at  the  age 
of  fifty-seven  years.  They  left  one  son 
besides  our  subject — Louis  W. ,  a  resident 
of  Hartford,  Connecticut. 

At  Plymouth,  Conn.,  Dr.  Whitte- 
more was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Fallah  Terry  (now  deceased),  daughter  of 
Eli  Terry,  who  made  the  first  clock  in  this 
country,  and  was  the  first  large  manu- 
facturer of  clocks  in  the  United  States. 
His  father,  a  resident  of  Windsor,  Conn., 
constructed  the  first  wooden  clock.  To 
the  Doctor  and  his  wife  have  been  born 
four  children:  (i)  Dr.  Frank  H.,  a  gradu- 
ate of  Bellevue  Hospital  Medical  College, 
New  York,  who  also  studied  in  Europe, 
and  has  succeeded  to  his  father's  prac- 
tice in  New  Haven,  Conn. ;  he  is  mar- 
ried and  has  one  child — E.  Reid.  (2) 
William  R. ,  who  studied  law,  but  is  now 
traveling.  (3)  Clara,  wife  of  Rev.  E. 
Oakley,  of  Romeo,  Mich.;  they  have  three 
children — Frank,  Ralph  and  Roy.  (4) 
Lillie  (now  deceased),  who  married  Charles 
L.  Knapp,  a  manufacturer,  of  New  York 
City;  they  made  their  home  in  Brooklyn. 
For  his  second  wife  Dr.  Whittemore  wed- 
ded, in  1887,  Miss  Alice  J.  Blackman,  of 
New  Haven,  Connecticut. 

Although  he  has  but  lately  come  to 
Sandusky  county,  Dr.  Whittemore  has 
made  many  warm  friends,  and  has  secured 
a  lucrative  practice.  He  uses  his  right 
of  franchise  in  support  of  the  Republican 


COMMEMOliATlVB  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


115 


party;  while  in  religious  faith  he  belongs 
to  the  Congregational  Church.  He  oc- 
cupies quite  a  prominent  position  among 
the  medical  fraternity  and  holds  member- 
ships with  the  State  Medical  Association, 
and  also  with  the  Sandusky  County  Medi- 
cal Society. 


JAMES  RAMAGE,  postmaster  at  Gib- 
sonburg,  Sandusky  county,  has  been 
a  resident  of  that  city  for  about 
twenty-two  years,  and  is  held  in  the 
highest  esteem  by  his  fellow  citizens.  He 
is  now  holding  the  office  of  postmaster 
for  the  second  time,  having  been  ap- 
pointed under  Cleveland's  first  adminis- 
tration, and  again  under  his  present  one. 
Abner  Kaniage.  the  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, was  born  in  Fayette  county,  Penn., 
and  came  to  Ohio,  settling  in  Holmes 
county  in  1823,  where  he  carried  on 
farming.  He  was  born  in  1800  and  died 
in  1 86 1.  He  was  married  in  Holmes 
county  to  Mi.ss  Susannah  Custer,  who 
was  born  in  Leesburg,  Penn. ,  and  was 
a  full  cousin  of  Gen.  Custer,  who  was 
massacred  by  the  Indians  on  the  Little 
Hig  Horn,  during  the  Indian  troubles  in 
the  West  some  years  ago.  Mrs.  Ramage 
was  about  fifty  years  old  at  the  time  of 
her  death.  She  was  the  mother  of  ten 
children,  of  whom  our  subject  is  the  eld- 
est, the  others  in  the  order  of  birth  be- 
ing as  follows:  Mary,  who  married  John 
Malone,  is  deceased;  Sarah,  who  married 
a  Mr.  Mitchell,  is  also  deceased;  John  J. 
lives  in  Delaware  county,  this  State  (he 
enlisted,  at  the  commencement  of  the  war 
of  the  Rebellion,  and  served  all  through 
the  struggle,  receiving  a  severe  wound  in 
the  hip;  he  went  to  the  front  as  orderly 
sergeant,  and  returned  as  second  lieuten- 
ant; he  was  with  Sherman  on  his  march 
to  the  sea.  On  his  return  home  he 
sened  two  terms  as  county  auditor  of 
Delaware  county,  Ohio/.  Elizabeth  died 
in  youth;  George  is  a  practicing  physician 
at     Jennings,     La.     (he    was    an   assist- 


ant surgeon  through  the  war);  William 
lives  in  Memphis.  Tenn. ;  Delila  married 
M.  J.  \'anSsvearengen.  and  lives  in  Illi- 
nois; Lydia  died  when  sixteen  y^ars  old; 
Hampton  lives  in  Findlay,  this  State. 
The  Kamagcs  are  of  French  descent, 
and  were  early  pioneers  in  America.  The 
Custers  are  of  Pennsylvania-Dutch  stock. 

James  Ramage  grew  to  manhood  in 
Holmes  county,  this  State,  in  his  boyish 
da_\s  attending  the  common  schools  which 
were  held  in  log  schoolhouses.  with 
puncheon  floors,  greased  paper  for  win- 
dows, and  slab  seats  and  desks.  He 
worked  on  his  father's  farm  until  twenty- 
eight  years  of  age.  in  the  meantime,  when 
twenty-five  years  old.  marrying  Miss 
Christma  Mills,  who  was  born  in  Tu.sca- 
rawas  county,  Ohio,  in  1831,  and  died  in 
1886.  This  worthy  couple  were  the  par- 
ents of  nine  children,  as  follows:  Eliza- 
beth, now  the  widow  of  S.  C.  Bevington. 
and  living  with  our  subject  (she  has  two 
children — Elsie  and  Floyd);  .•Kbner  N., 
who  died  when  seven  months  old;  Joseph, 
who  died  when  three  ^ears  old;  Ida.  de- 
ceased at  the  age  of  two  years;  Elmer,  who 
died  when  about  ten  months  old;  John, 
unmarried  and  living  at  home;  Alice,  now 
the  wife  of  P.  A.  Rust  (they  have  two 
children — Florence  and  Dewitt);  Hattie, 
who  died  when  nineteen  years  old;  and 
Rena.  at  home. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  learned  the 
carpenter's  trade  in  Holmes  county  when 
he  was  twenty-eight  years  of  age,  and 
followed  that  occupation  until  1 861.  He 
then  entered  the  dry-goods  business  at 
Middletown.  Holmes  county,  and  carried 
same  on  for  four  years,  when  he  sold  out 
an<i  went  to  Mansfield,  this  State,  work- 
ing at  his  trade  for  about  four  years.  In 
1873  he  came  to  Gibsonburg,  at  the  time 
the  Pennsylvania  railroad  was  being 
built,  and  has  worked  at  his  trade  most  of 
the  time  except  when  acting  as  postmas- 
ter. Mr.  Ramage  has  always  been  a 
stanch  Democrat,  and  has  been  active  in 
promoting  the  interests  of  his  party.       In 


116 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


religious  faith,  he  has  been  a  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  for  about 
thirty  years;  socially,  he  belongs  to  the 
I.  O.  O.  F. ,  and  is  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  lodge,  at  Genoa. 


FRED  CURTISS.  The  annals  of 
the  lives  of  some  men  read  more 
like  a  romance  than  sober  history, 
on  accout  of  the  adventurous  turn 
of  their  mind,  and  the  circumstances  un- 
der which  they  have  lived,  causing  them 
to  roam  from  place  to  place.  Among  these 
is  the  gentleman  whose  name  introduces 
this  sketch  ,  and  who  is  engaged  in  the 
grocery  business  in  Clyde,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty. In  Green  Creek  township,  that  coun- 
ty, he  was  born  September  i6,  1855,  and 
is  a  son  of  Charles  and  R.  J.  (Hurd)  Cur- 
tiss. 

Tradition  has  been  more  often  con- 
sulted and  relied  upon  than  recorded 
facts,  and  as  a  consequence  the  English 
origin  of  the  Curtiss  family — like  Homer's 
birth-place — has  many  locations.  It  is 
believed  that  our  subject  is  descended 
from  the  Curtiss  family  of  Stratford, 
Conn.,  who  are  known  to  have  lived  there 
in  1658,  as  the  record  shows,  and  were  de- 
scended from  William  Curtiss,  the  founder 
of  the  family  in  America  being  one  of  the 
passengers  on  board  the  ship  "Lion," 
which  arrived  in  Boston  harbor,  Sunday 
evening,  September  16,  1632.  The  pa- 
ternal grandfather  of  Fred  was  born  in 
New  York  State,  and  came  to  Ohio  at  an 
early  day,  locating  in  Sandusky  county, 
where  his  son  Charles  was  born;  but  the 
former,  who  bore  the  name  of  Benjamin 
Curtiss,  died  when  his  son  was  a  mere 
child.  The  mother  again  married,  and 
the  son  was  reared  by  his  uncle,  James 
Cleveland.  After  his  marriage  the  father 
of  our  subject  settled  on  the  farm  near  his 
uncle,  and  after  clearing  up  this  tract  he 
sold  and  bought  the  old  homestead  in 
Townsend  township,  Sandusky  county, 
whese   he  engaged    in    farming,  but    later 


became  a  merchant  of  Clyde,  and  was 
thus  engaged  until  the  time  of  his  disap- 
pearance. He  had  been  unfortunate  in 
business,  and  those  who  knew  him  best 
assert  that  he  was  swindled  by  his  part- 
ners. He  took  the  matter  deeply  to 
heart,  and  one  day,  saying  he  was  going 
hunting,  he  started  out  with  his  gun  and 
was  never  heard  of  afterward.  His  fate 
will  doubtless  always  be  an  unrevealed 
mystery.  This  occurred  when  our  sub- 
ject was  only  five  years  old,  and  his 
mother  was  left  with  five  helpless  chil- 
dren and  only  five  dollars  of  visible  means 
for  their  support.  She  was  born  in  San- 
dusky county,  and  is  still  living  at  the  age 
of  sixty-six  years. 

The  family  comprised  (i)  Benjamin, 
who,  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years,  enlisted 
in  the  United  States  army.  His  mother 
afterward  secured  his  release  on  the 
grounds  of  his  minority,  but  as  he  was 
anxious  to  go  into  the  field  he  re-enlisted 
for  actual  service,  which  he  experienced 
until  the  close  of  the  war,  after  which  he 
came  home  on  a  visit.  He  then  went  to 
the  Pacific  coast  where  he  remained 
twenty-two  years,  most  of  the  time  being 
in  the  employ  of  the  government,  but  for 
the  past  few  years  he  has  been  in  the 
timber  business.  (2)  Frank,  who  also 
served  in  the  regular  army,  subsequently 
secured  a  position  with  the  government, 
hauling  supplies  to  the  great  Northwest. 
He  became  a  hunter  and  trapper  of  Wash- 
ington and  Idaho,  and  in  the  latter  State 
was  married,  but  he  now  resides  in  Seneca 
county,  Ohio.  (3)  Fred  is  next  in  order  of 
birth.  (4)  Mary  is  the  wife  of  Robert  Foster, 
of  Townsend  township,  Sandusky  county. 
(5)  Ada,  who  lives  in  London,  Ohio,  is 
the  wife  of  George  J.  Holgate.  As  the 
mother  was  unable  to  support  the  family, 
the  boys  were  obliged  to  go  among  strang- 
ers as  soon  as  they  were  able  to  earn  their 
clothes  and  board,  and  consequently  the 
early  life  of  Fred  Curtiss  was  not  a  very 
pleasant  one.  At  an  early  age  he  began 
peddling  fruit  on  the  cars  and  around  the 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPniCAL  RECORD. 


117 


depot,  after  which  he  drove  milk  wagon, 
ice  wapoii  and  dray,  and  later  became 
brakenian  fur  the  Lake  Shore  &  Miclii- 
gan  Southern  railroad.  On  quitting  that 
occupation  he  worketl  for  one  season  on 
the  farm  of  Wiliiain  McPherson,  a  brother 
of  Gen.  McFherson,  and  for  a  while  lived 
with  the  General's  mother,  working  during 
the  winter  for  his  board  and  being  allowed 
to  attend  school,  while  during  the  sum- 
mer season  he  was  employed  in  a  brick 
yard. 

On  attaining  the  age  of  nineteen  years, 
after  a  series  of  trials  and  vicissitudes, 
Mr.  Curtiss  determined  to  act  on  Horace 
Greely's  advice  to  "Go  West"  and  grow 
up  with  the  country-  Accompanied  by 
an  old  friend,  he  accordingly  started  for 
Wisconsin,  and  on  arriving  in  New  Lis- 
bon, that  State,  he  secured  employment 
in  a  dry -goods  store,  where  he  remained 
six  months.  He  then  went  to  Minnesota, 
and  thence  to  Iowa,  but  found  no  per- 
manent employment.  At  Siou.x  City, 
Iowa,  he  engaged  with  the  captain  of  a 
steamboat  to  work  his  passage  still 
farther  west.  He  stood  the  life  of  a 
"  roustabout  "  until  he  reached  I'ort  Ran- 
dall, whence  he  proceeded  to  Yankton, 
S.  Uak.,  and  later  went  to  V'ermillion,  in 
the  same  State.  On  reaching  the  latter 
place  he  had  but  twenty-five  cents  re- 
maining, and  employment  was  a  neces- 
sity. While  looking  around,  to  his  great 
surprise  he  met  Frank  Haywood,  the 
friend  whom  he  had  left  in  Wisconsin. 
Through  that  gentleman  he  soon  found 
employment  in  a  brickyard,  where  he  re- 
mained until  securing  a  better  position  in 
a  sawmill  up  the  river,  where  he  received 
$2.00.  On  leaving  that  place  he  went  to 
Nebraska,  thence  to  Missouri,  and  still 
later  we  find  him  in  Kansas,  where  he 
went  to  work  as  a  stock  drover,  remain- 
ing there  until  shipping  time  in  the  fall, 
when  he  came  East  with  the  stock. 

On  returning  home  Mr.  Curtiss  be- 
gan work  with  J.  L.  Ames,  a  farmer  of 
Sandusky  county,  with  whom  he  remained 


for  four  or  five  years,  after  which  he  be- 
gan railroading  again  as  brakeman.  On 
giving  up  his  position  he  was  employed  by 
his  uncle,  T.  P.  Hurd,  of  Clyde,  until  he 
started  in  business  for  himself.  He 
opened  his  present  store  in  1886,  where 
he  carries  a  full  and  complete  line  of 
staple  and  fancy  groceries,  and  has  now 
the  largest  trade  of  any  dealer  of  the 
kinil  in  the  city. 

In  1885  Mr.  Curtiss  wedded  Miss 
Catherine  Mulchy,  a  native  of  Sandusky 
county,  where  thej-  are  both  widely  and 
favorably  known.  He  holds  membership 
with  the  Masonic  Fraternity,  belonging 
to  the  Blue  Lodge,  Clyde,  and  is  also  a 
member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  As  a 
man  and  citizen  he  is  respected  and  es- 
teemed by  the  community  in  which  he 
lives,  and  enjoys  the  regard  and  confi- 
dence of  all  who  know  him.  He  is  now 
serving  as  director  of  the  First  National 
Bank.  Politically  he  votes  with  the  Dem- 
ocratic party. 


JACKSON  TINNEY  (deceased)  was 
born  in  Niagara  county.  N.  Y. ,  June 
15,  1832.  and  died  at  Greensburg, 
Ohio,  June  24,  1891.  His  father, 
Stephen  Tinney,  was  a  native  of  Massa- 
chusetts, and  his  mother,  Julia  Scott,  was 
born  in  New  York.  When  Jackson  was 
only  one  year  old  his  parents  moved  to 
Lenawee  county,  Mich.,  where  they 
remained  six  years,  thence  removing  to 
Ohio,  and  settling  in  Scott  township, 
Sandusky  county,  in  the  spring  of  1839. 
where  the  family  has  since  resided.  He 
was  the  third  son  in  a  family  of  four  chil- 
dren. 

On  Jidy  4,  1S63,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Miss  Sarah  Inman,  daugh- 
ter of  William  Inman,  one  of  the  pioneer 
settlors  of  Scott  township;  as  a  result  of 
this  union  two  children  have  been  bom — 
one  son  and  one  daughter.  His  wife  and 
children  survive  him.  His  worth  as  a  citi- 
zen was  appreciated,  as  is  shown  by  the 


118 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


fact  that  he  was  several  times  elected 
township  clerk,  while  in  1890  he  served 
as  appraiser  of  the  real  estate  of  Scott 
township,  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  the 
public  and  with  credit  to  himself.  He 
was  a  man  of  honesty  and  upright  char- 
acter. On  the  day  before  his  death  he 
worked  as  usual  in  the  field,  but  in  the 
evening  complained  of  feeling  ill,  and  took 
some  home  remedies,  thinking  he  would 
feel  better  in  the  morning.  About  mid- 
night he  rapidly  grew  worse,  and  died 
early  Wednesday  morning  of  heart  di- 
sease before  a  physician  could  be  sum- 
moned. His  health  failed  about  one  year 
before  his  death  when  he  had  an  attack 
of  the  "grip,"  from  which  he  never  re- 
covered. He  died  June  24,  1891.  His 
funeral  occurred  on  Friday  following  his 
death  from  the  M.,E.  Church,  of  Greens- 
burg,  the  services  being  preached  by  Rev. 
S.  Kaiser,  of  Gibsonburg,  the  text  se- 
lected being  Matthew  vi:  25.  The  inter- 
ment was  made  in  Metzger  Cemetery. 

Mrs.  Tinney,  widow  of  our  subject, 
was  born  at  Fremont,  March  7,  1841. 
When  she  was  a  child  her  parents  came 
to  Scott  township,  where  her  father 
cleared  a  farm  and  made  a  home  for  him- 
self and  family.  For  fourteen  years  he 
was  assessor  of  Scott  township,  and  was 
an  esteemed  citizen  of  the  community  in 
which  he  lived.  Mrs.  Tinney  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  of  Scott  town- 
ship. 

Alfred  W.  Tinney,  the  son  of  Jackson 
Tinney,  was  born  May  7,  1864,  on  the 
farm  where  he  now  lives.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  common  schools  of  the  town- 
ship, in  the  Fremont  High  School,  and 
Normal  at  Ada.  For  several  years  he  has 
been  one  of  the  most  successful  teachers 
of  Sandusky  county,  and  is  pronounced 
by  those  who  know  him  as  one  of  the 
ablest  young  men  of  Scott  township.  In 
addition  to  his  school  work  he  carries  on 
the  old  farm  of  his  father  as  well  as  a 
small  farm  of  his  own.  He  is  always 
found  attending  to  his  business,  never  hav- 


ing any  time  for  the  frivolous  things  of 
life.  Cora,  his  sister,  now  Mrs.  Kleinhen, 
was  born  August  8,  1868,  and  acquired  a 
common-school  education  at  home.  She 
was  married  June  2,  1893,  to  Oscar  Klein- 
hen,  and  they  now  live  at  Tinney;  they 
have  one  child,  Ida  Loree,  born  August, 
1894. 


CAPTAIN  WILLIAM  J.  LAUNDY, 
who  now  lives  a  quiet  and  peace- 
ful life  on  his  well-improved  farm 
near  Green  Spring,  Sandusky 
county,  after  a  thoroughly  successful  and 
prosperous  career  on  the  great  inland 
lakes,  is  by  birth  an  Englishman;  but  it 
would  be  difficult  to  find  in  this  coun- 
try a  native-born  citizen  more  intensly 
patriotic  than  he.  His  ancestry  were 
liberty-loving  people,  and  Captain  Laun- 
dy  reveres  the  stars  and  stripes  as  the 
only  flag  to  which  he  now  owes  any  alle- 
giance. 

He  was  born  in  the  county  of  Essex, 
England,  April  26,  1842,  and  is  a  son  of 
Henry  and  Sarah  Ann  (Fletcher)  Laundy, 
people  of  Cambridgeshire,  England,  the 
former  of  whom  was  a  gardener  for  Sir 
John  Young.  Grandmother  Laundy  was 
a  preacher  in  the  Friends  Church  in  Eng- 
land, and  in  her  old  age  wrote  many 
letters  to  her  descendants  in  America. 
The  father  of  Henry  Laundy  was  a  re- 
ligious refugee  in  England  from  Germany. 
Sarah  Ann  Fletcher,  wife  of  Henry  Laun- 
dy, was  an  Episcopalian.  When  William 
J.  was  a  small  child  his  parents  emigrated 
to  Canada  from  England  in  a  sailing 
vessel,  the  trip  consuming  eleven  weeks. 
They  located  on  the  St.  Lawrence  river, 
nine  miles  below  Kingston,  thence,  in 
1 86 1,  removing  to  Huron  county,  Ontario, 
where  they  died  at  the  ages  of  eighty- 
two  and  eighty-four  respectively,  eight 
days  apart.  Henry  Laundy  was  an  or- 
thodox Quaker,  a  strong  anti-slavery  man, 
and  an  active  "agent"  for  the  "under- 
ground railway." 


OOMMEHORArtVS  BWOIiAPJIWAL  llECOHD. 


119 


At  the  ajje  of  about  twenty  William 
J.  crossed  the  border  to  the  United  States 
(or  the  express  purpose  of  taking  up  arms 
in  behalf  of  its  national  preservation. 
He  expected  to  join  his  brother  Fletcher, 
who  was  a  meniberof  an  independent  com- 
pany of  Illinois  cavalry:  but  before  he 
reached  him  Fletcher  had  lost  his  health 
in  military  service,  and  strongly  dissuaded 
William  from  enlistinfj.  The  latter,  there- 
fore, went  to  Milwaukee,  where,  in  1S63, 
he  went  on  the  lakes.  He  commenced 
as  a  watchman,  and  worked  up  rapidly 
to  the  position  of  master,  or  captain,  in 
which  capacity  he  plied  many  years  be- 
tween Huffalo  and  Chicago,  being,  all 
told,  some  twenty-three  years  on  the 
lakes.  In  1879  he  had  purchased  his 
present  farm,  located  close  to  Green 
Spring,  Sandusky  county,  and  when,  in 
1883,  he  resigned  his  captaincj",  he  came 
to  his  fertile  acres,  and  has  been  here 
ever  since. 

In  1872  Capt.  Laundy  was  married  to 
Miss  Deborah  A.  Rouse,  who  was  born 
in  Ottawa  county,  Ohio,  December  20, 
185 1,  youngest  daughter  of  George  La- 
throp  and  Mary  (Knapp)  Rouse,  both  of 
old  New  England  stock,  the  former  born 
in  New  York  State  September  18,  1809, 
the  latter  on  September  13,  1818.  They 
were  married  in  Danbury  township,  Ot- 
tawa Co.,  Ohio,  .\i>ril  27,  1838,  and  were 
early  pif)neers  of  that  county.  Subse- 
quently they  removed  into  the  village  of 
Marblehead,  where  Mr.  Rouse  was  for 
many  years  engaged  in  general  merchan- 
dising, and  where  he  to  some  degree  fol- 
lowed his  trade  of  ship  carpenter.  He 
died  May  26,  1853,  and  his  widow  sub- 
sequently married  Robert  Killey;  she  still 
lives  at  Marblehead.  George  L.  and 
Mary  Rouse  were  the  parents  of  eight 
children,  as  follows:  Sabra.  born  Jan- 
uary 8,  1839,  married  Dominick  Barn- 
holt/er.  and  died  July  22,  1895;  Laura, 
born  .August  3,  1S41,  wife  of  John  Bos- 
chen;  Lucretia,  born  Januar)-  10,  1843, 
married    James  Fletcher,    and  died    De- 


cember II,  1856;  Betsy,  born  September 
24,  1844,  married  T.  Sexton,  and  died 
March  20,  1864;  George  Lathrop,  born 
June  17,  1846,  lives  near  Grand  Island, 
Neb.;  Ida,  born  April  24,  1848,  died  un- 
married. May  26,  1894;  Joseph,  born 
July  30,  1850,  died  February  24,  1864; 
and  Deborah.  Robert  and  Mary  Killey 
had  three  children,  of  whom  Frances, 
born  December  15,  1S55,  and  now  the 
wife  of  Frederick  Daily,  survives. 

To  William  J.  and  Deborah  Laundy 
three  children  were  born,  their  names  and 
dates  of  birth  being  as  follows:  Fannie, 
September  13,  1882;  Mary,  August  i, 
1888;  Luff,  August  19,  1893.  Capt. 
Laundy  is  a  man  of  extensive  information 
and  broad  and  liberal  views.  He  has 
been  a  great  traveler,  and  his  wide  ex- 
perience in  life  has  left  upon  his  receptive 
mind  deep  impressions,  thoroughly  as- 
similated by  his  reflective  faculties.  His 
wife  is  a  bright,  sensible  business  woman, 
and  the  devoted  couple  have  the  universal 
esteem  of  the  community  in  which  they 
live. 


WILLIAM  J.  HAVENS.  As  a 
pioneer  of  the  Black  Swamp,  a 
region  lying  between  the  San- 
dusky and  Maumee  rivers,  ex- 
tending several  miles  on  each  side  of  a 
line  drawn  from  Fremont  to  Perrysburg, 
and  as  one  who  has  spent  the  greater  part 
of  a  busy  life  in  helping  to  subdue  the 
dense  forests,  reclaim  the  marshes  and 
change  the  once  howling,  malarial  wilder- 
ness into  one  of  the  choicest  and  healthi- 
est garden  spots  of  the  Buckeye  State, 
the  subject  of  our  sketch  is  well  worthy 
of  place  in  these  pages.  Having  his  resi- 
dence on  the  old  parental  homestead 
which  he  has  so  grandly  improved  and 
beautified,  he  is  able  to  appreciate  the 
marvelous  changes  which  have  taken 
place  in  this  region  within  the  last  half 
centur)",  and  is  worthy  of  the  modest 
laurels  of  pioneer  heroes. 


120 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPEICAL  RECORD. 


The  grandfather  of  our  subject  was 
WilHam  Havens,  a  farmer,  hving  in  the 
State  of  New  Jersey,  who  married  a  Miss 
Mackley,  and  about  the  year  1815  re- 
moved with  his  family  of  eight  children 
to  Franklin  county,  Ohio,  and  settled  on 
Black  Lick  creek,  about  twelve  miles 
east  of  Columbus.  Here,  after  experi- 
encing the  usual  vicissitudes  of  pioneer 
life,  he  died  in  1820;  his  wife  passed 
away  twenty  years  later.  Their  children 
were  Mary,  Thomas,  Susan,  John,  Sarah, 
Henry,  Martha  and  William,  all  now 
dead  e.xcept  William,  who  is  eighty-one 
years  of  age. 

Henry  Havens,  the  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, was  born  in  New  Jersey,  in  1809, 
and  at  the  age  of  six  years  came  with 
his  father's  family  to  Ohio.  He  grew 
up  on  the  home  farm  in  Franklin  coun- 
ty, his  educational  advantages  being 
very  limited.  In  the  fall  of  1 831,  having 
saved  up  his  hard-earned  money,  he  came 
to  Sandusky  county  and  entered  160  acres 
of  government  land  in  Section  10,  Jack- 
son township,  at  $1.25  per  acre.  He 
was  married  the  same  year  to  Miss  Sarah 
lams  (daughter  of  Hugh  lams,  who  died 
in  1837),  and  on  March  10,  1832,  moved 
upon  his  farm  in  the  Black  Swamp.  The 
moving  party  were  ten  days  on  the  way 
through  the  forests,  being  obliged  to  cut 
out  their  way  as  they  went  among  logs 
and  underbrush.  They  built  a  double 
log  cabin  in  which  they  lived  comfortably 
for  twelve  years,  when  they  built  a  frame 
residence,  and  herein  he  resided  until 
within  one  year  of  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred in  1853,  when  he  was  aged  forty- 
four  years;  his  wife  died  in  185  i,  at  the 
age  of  thirty-eight.  Their  children  were 
William  J.,  Hugh,  Birchard,  Mahala, 
Ora  and  Mary  J.  Henry  Havens  was  a 
highly-respected  citizen,  and  held  the 
office  of  justice  of  the  peace  in  his  town- 
ship for  a  term  of  years.  He  was  one 
of  the  jurors  in  the  first  murder  trial  ever 
held  in  Lower  Sandusky,  known  as  the 
Sperry  case. 


William  J.  Havens  was  born  Decem- 
ber 13,  1833,  in  Jackson  township.  He 
received  only  a  common-school  education, 
but  by  reading  and  observation  he  has 
developed  a  broad  and  liberal  intelligence. 
For  many  years  he  has  been  engaged  in 
mixed  farming,  the  raising  of  grain  and 
live  stock  of  superior  quality,  and  at  one 
time  was  the  owner  of  over  five  hundred 
acres  of  land,  only  two  hundred  acres  of 
which  he  now  retains,  having  divided  the 
remainder  among  his  sons.  He  has  given 
special  attention  to  the  breeding  and  fat- 
tening of  fine  hogs,  while  his  farm  is  a 
model  one  in  point  of  culture.  Mr. 
Havens  is  a  public-spirited  citizen,  and 
has  held  various  offices  of  honor  and  trust 
in  his  community,  such  as  land  appraiser, 
town  clerk,  treasurer,  trustee,  and  mem- 
ber of  the  board  of  education.  In  1S63 
he  enlisted  in  Company  B,  Fiftieth  Regi- 
ment, Ohio  Home  Guards,  became  first 
lieutenant  of  his  company,  and  in  the  fall 
of  that  year  assisted  in  the  guarding  of 
Johnson's  Island,  in  Sandusky  Bay,  where 
Rebel  officers  were  confined  as  prisoners 
of  war.  In  the  spring  of  1864,  when 
Abraham  Lincoln  called  on  Ohio  for 
troops,  and  Gov.  Brough  responded  with 
40,000  Home  Guards,  Mr.  Havens  went 
with  his  regiment  to  Cleveland,  Ohio, 
where,  after  consolidation  with  other 
companies,  they  were  mustered  into  the 
United  States  service,  and  he  took  his 
place  as  first  lieutenant  of  Company  H, 
One  Hundred  and  Sixty-ninth  O.  V.  I. 
They  were  sent  to  the  defense  of  Wash- 
ington, D.  C. ,  and  were  also  located  four 
months  at  Fort  Ethan  Allen,  Va.,  where 
Mr.  Havens  was  taken  down  with  malar- 
ial fever,  which  impaired  his  health  and 
rendered  him  unfit  for  service.  After 
returning  with  his  regiment  he  resumed 
farming.  Mr.  Havens  is  a  member  of 
the  Sandusky  County  Pioneer  and  Histor- 
ical Society,  of  Manville  Moore  Post,  G. 
A.  R.,  Fremont,  and  of  the  One  Hundred 
and  Sixty-ninth  O.  V.  I.  Regimental  As- 
sociation.   He  is  a  Republican  in  politics. 


COltMEMORATlVE  BIOORAPBJCAL  RECORD. 


i2r 


and  in  religious  affiliation  is  a  member  of 
the  U.  B.  Church,  with  which  he  and  his 
wife  united  in  18O8. 

On  October  i,  1852.  William  J.  Hav- 
ens married  Miss  Ann  M.  Padcn.  daufjhter 
of  Alexander  and  Maria  ReMisbur;;)  Paden, 
who  migrated  from  Maryland,  where 
they  were  both  born,  the  father  in  Hagers- 
town,  the  mother  in  Middletown.  The 
children  born  to  this  union  were  George 
W. ,  who  married  Marcella  Swickard,  and 
has  two  children — Frank  and  Dora;  Ann 
Rebecca,  who  married  Jerome  N'oorhies, 
and  haii  two  children — Stella  who  dietl 
at  the  age  of  seven  years)  and  Lula;  John 
F..  who  married  for  his  first  wife  Ann 
Fry  (by  whom  he  had  one  child,  Ida), 
and  after  her  death  weddeti  Miss  Fanny 
Winters,  by  whom  he  had  four  children; 
Charles,  who  married  Miss  Celiette  War- 
ner, and  has  two  children,  Milo  and  Rus- 
sell; Frank,  who  married  Avikia  Winters, 
and  whose  children  are  Flavel.  Robert, 
Essie,  Ray.  and  one  son  unnamed;  James, 
who  died  in  Denver.  Col.,  at  the  age  of 
twenty  years;  two  children  who  died  in 
infancy;  Emma  Jane,  who  married  C.  C. 
Ritter.  and  has  one  child,  \irgil;  Orrviile. 
who  married  Miss  Cora  Fought,  daughter 
of  William  Fought,  of  dibsonburg,  Ohio, 
and  whose  children  are  Chattie  and  Orlie. 


SOLOMON  S.   WRIGHT,   an  hon- 
ored  pioneer  of    Scott   township. 
Sandusky  county,  was  born  in  St. 
Lawrence  county.    N.    Y..  August 
35.  1816,  and  died  in    Helena,  Sandusky 
county.  Ohio.  June  5,   1892. 

He  came  to  Ohio  with  his  parents  in 
1835,  settling  in  Scott  township,  whore 
he  resided  until  1877,  when  he  purchaseil 
a  store  in  the  village  of  Millersville.  Mr. 
Wright,  like  his  brother,  settli-d  in  Scott 
township  when  it  was  comparatively  a 
wilderness,  and  lived,  not  only  to  see  it 
one  of  the  best  agricultural  townships  in 
Sandusky  county,  but  helped  to  make  it 
such,  clearing  and  making  for  himself  a 


good  home,  and  an  excellent  start  in  life 
for  his  children.  In  1856  he  was  married 
I  to  Miss  Louesa  Brownell.  formerly  of 
Rhode  Island.  Mr.  Wright  began  his 
career  as  a  merchant  in  the  little  village 
of  Greensburgh  (Tinney),  in  1856.  and 
the  firm  of  S.  S.  Wright  &  Brother  was 
well  and  favorably  known  throughout 
Sandusky  and  adjoining  counties  as  one 
of  the  most  substantial  county  general 
merchants  in  that  part  of  the  State.  Mr. 
Wright  was  a  man  noted  for  his  integrity 
and  uprightness  of  character.  He  left  a 
wife  and  two  sons.  His  funeral  services 
were  held  at  his  residence  at  Helena. 
June  7,  1892.  the  sermon  being  preached 
by  Rev.  Schumaker.  of  Tiffin,  and  the  in- 
terment was  made  in  Mctzgcr  Cemetery. 
His  wife.  Louesa  Brownell.  was  born 
October  12.  1837.  in  Rhode  Island,  and 
now  makes  her  home  near  Fremont. 
Her  father.  Horace  Brownell.  was  a  na- 
tive of  Rhode  Island,  born  in  181  1.  In 
1S30  he  came  to  Ohio,  bought  a  farm  in 
Scott  township,  where  he  died  June  10, 
1869.  He  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of 
Scott  township,  making  for  himself  and 
family  a  comfortable  home  from  the 
wilderness  where  he  first  located.  His 
wife  was  born  in  Rhode  Island  in  1813, 
and  died  at  Gibsonburg.  in  February. 
1887.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Amasa 
and  Debora  (Ross)  Harris,  who  were  the 
parents  of  four  children:  Elias;  Louesa. 
born  October  12.  1837;  Julia,  born  May 
15,  1842;  and  Mary,  born  October  12. 
1844.  Louesa  Brownell  s  ^^!rs.  Wright 
paternal  grandfather.  George  Brownell. 
was  born  alxiut  1786;  his  wife.  Mary 
Bussey,  was  born  about  1790.  They 
had  one  child.  Horace  Brownell.  Mrs. 
Wright's  maternal  grandmother.  Debora 
Ross,  was  born  about  1773.  and  was  the 
mother  of  a  large  family. 

The  children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Solomon  S.  Wright  are  as  follows:  Silas 
E..  born  January  22.  1857.  completed 
his  education  in  Fostoria  Normal  School, 
and  has  been  associated  with  his  father 


122 


COMMEMORATIVE  BTOGBAPHICAL  RECORD. 


in  business  at  Millersviile;  on  December 
21,  1885,  he  was  married  to  Anna  Schu- 
maker,  of  Toledo;  about  1S88  they  left 
Millersviile  and  located  on  the  farm  where 
he  now  lives,  and  where  he  has  erected  a 
good  house  and  outbuildings.  Mr.  Wright 
is  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F. ,  and  politic- 
ally is  a  Democrat.  To  them  have  been 
born  two  children — Inez,  born  October 
18,  1886,  and  Martin,  born  January  9, 
1890.  Mrs.  Wright  was  born  December 
3,  1864,  in  Toledo,  where  she  was  edu- 
cated, after  which  she  learned  dressmak- 
ing, which  she  followed  until  her  marriage. 
She  is  the  daughter  of  John  C.  and  Mary 
Schumaker.  Her  father  was  born,  Au- 
gust II,  1829,  in  Hanover,  Germany; 
his  wife  was  also  born  in  the  same  place 
in  1833;  they  were  married  April  i,  1853, 
and  had  a  family  of  six  children.  Mrs. 
Wright's  paternal  grandfather  was  born 
in  Germany  in  18 14,  as  was  also  his  wife, 
^bout  the  same  year. 

W.  R.  Wright,  the  other  son  of  S. 
S.  Wright,  was  born  January  19,  1864,  in 
Scott  township,  where  he  received  his  edu- 
cation, and  at  nineteen  years  of  age  went 
into  the  livery  business  at  Gibsonburg, 
after  one  year  transferred  his  business  to 
Millersviile,  where  he  remained  three 
years.  He  then  sold  out  and  settled  on 
the  farm  where  he  now  lives  at  Tinney. 
In  1889  he  married  Miss  Louisa  Snear- 
ing,  of  Fremont,  who  was  born  March 
2,  1865,  in  Sandnsky  county;  she  was 
educated  in  Fremont,  and  afterward  made 
a  specialty  of  music  under  Prof.  Dickin- 
son. For  five  terms  Mrs.  Wright  was  a 
teacher  in  the  public  schools  of  Sandusky 
county.  Her  father,  Sophferia  Snearing, 
was  a  fine  linguist,  writing  and  speaking 
fluently  three  different  languages.  He 
was  born  in  France  about  1830.  In  1856 
he  was  married  to  Mrs.  Nancy  Miner,  /u'e 
Nancy  Stull,  who  was  born  in  Reading, 
Penn.,  in  1829.  Four  children  were  born 
to  them.  Mrs.  Snearing's  parents  were 
born  in  Germany,  and  moved  to  this 
country  in  1827. 


GEORGE       D.       CLEVELAND, 
though  still  in  the  prime  of  life, 
has  witnessed  a  wonderful  trans- 
formation    in    the     land    about 
Clyde,    Sandusk}'  county,    in    the   village 
itself,  and  in  the   conditions   under  which 
the  people  here  live. 

He  is  the  son  of  honored  pioneers, 
James  and  Jeannette  (Rathbun)  Cleve- 
land, and  was  born  in  Green  Creek  town- 
ship, Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  September  9, 
1838.  In  his  youth  Clyde  was  known  as 
Hamer's  Corners,  and  only  a  few  build- 
ings were  then  grouped  here.  The  old 
stage-coach  lumbered  lazily  through  the 
straggling  village,  stopping  at  the  inn  for 
refreshments,  while  the  passengers  dream- 
ed about  the  time  when  they  might  hope 
to  reach  their  destination.  There  were 
then  no  railroads.  '  The  inhabitants  had 
not  the  thrifty  and  bustling  metropolitan 
airs  of  the  present  citizens,  but  the  trans- 
position has  been  made,  swift,  it  seems, 
as  the  shifting  panorama.  To  one  who 
has  seen  it  all,  as  has  George  D.  Cleve- 
land, the  change  has  been  almost  magical. 
Clark  Cleveland,  Sr. ,  his  grandfather, 
migrated  with  his  wife,  Jemima  (Butler), 
and  family  early  in  the  century,  from  Mount 
Morris, Livingston  Co.,  N.  Y. ,  to  northern 
Ohio.  He  first  settled  in  the  forests  of 
Huron  county,  and  had  made  improve- 
ments, when  he  learned  that  his  title  to 
the  land  was  not  good.  He  then  packed 
up  his  few  household  effects,  and  pene- 
trated deeper  into  the  western  wilderness, 
entering  eighty  acres  of  government  land 
in  Green  Creek  township,  and  there 
building  his  second  pioneer  cabin  some 
time  prior  to  1822.  Here  he  remained 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1S31, 
in  his  seventy-first  year.  The  children 
of  Clark  and  Jemima  Cleveland  were  as 
follows:  Abigail,  who  married  Oliver  Hay- 
den;  Cozia,  who  married  William  Hamer; 
Moses;  Sally,  whose  first  husband  was 
Benjamin  Curtis,  her  second,  AlpheusMc- 
Intyre;  Clark,  Jr.,  who  married  Eliza 
Grover,  and  left  six  children;   Polly,  who 


co.v.vE.voiiATrrf:  BiooR.ipnrcAL  record. 


123 


married  Timothy  Babcock;  Betsy,  who 
married  Samuel  Baker, and  James.  James 
Cleveland  was  born  at  Mount  Morris,  X.  V. , 
March  14,  1S06,  and  migrated  with  his 
father  to  the  pioneer  home  in  northern 
Ohio.  He  remained  with  his  father  until 
his  marriafje.  March  3,  1S31,  to  Jeannette 
Kathbun,  who  was  born  in  (icnesee  coun- 
ty, N.  v..  May  9,  181  5,  daughter  of  Chap- 
lin and  Lucinda  (Sutliff)  Kathbun,  pio- 
neers of  Green  Creek  township,  Sand.usky 
county.  At  the  time  of  his  marriage 
James  Cleveland  had  saved  money  enough 
to  buy  forty  acres  of  land  in  Green  Creek 
township,  a  part  of  the  old  Sawyer  farm. 
For  five  years  he  was  clearing  and  culti- 
vating the  land.  Then  during  one  winter 
he  rented,  with  his  father-in-law,  a  saw 
and  grist  mill  on  Green  Creek,  several 
miles  from  the  farm.  He  supported  his 
family,  and  accumulated  enough  lumber 
to  build  a  barn  on  his  farm,  and  in  the 
spring  he  returned  to  his  farming  opera- 
tions, and  purchased  some  additional  land. 
In  1S41  he  took  a  contract  to  grade 
a  half  mile  of  the  ^faumee  and  Western 
Reserve  turnpike.  He  moved  his  family 
near  the  scene  of  the  operations,  and 
upon  its  completion  five  months  later  re- 
turned to  the  farm  richer  by  $600,  paid 
in  "State  scrip."  A  part  of  this  he 
traded  for  building  hardware,  and  erected 
a  large  frame  dwelling  in  1845.  Mean- 
while he  kept  adding  more  acres  to  his 
now  quite  extensive  farm.  He  was  a 
sagacious,  tireless,  thrifty  pioneer,  and  at 
the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred 
September  1,  1878,  he  owned  nearly 
4(X>  acres  of  land,  containing  some  of  the 
best  and  most  extensive  improvements 
His  wife,  who  survived 
1891,  was  a  woman  of 
and  was  in  every  sense 
ambitions  and  plans  for 
She  ably  seconded  his 
efforts  to  secure  a  competence  that  might 
support  them  in  their  declining  years.  In 
physique  somewhat  below  the  medium 
size,  scarcely  weighing  1 20  pounds  in  her 


in  the  county, 
until  August   8. 
unusual  energ)'. 
worthy    of    his 
advancement. 


'  best  days,  she  left  nothing  undone  to  ad- 
vance the  interests  of  her  family.  When 
her  husband  was  clearing  up  the  farm 
she    hauled     the   rails     which     he    split 

!  and  made  the  fences  with.  Once,  when 
help  was  scarce,   she   fastened  her  child 

I  to  her  back  by  a  shawl,  and.  thus  burden- 
ed, she  planted  and  hoed  corn  in  the 
field.  Her  first  calico  dress  she  earned 
by  picking  ten  quarts  of  wild  straw- 
berries, and  walking  to  Lower  Sandusky, 
where  she  traded  them  at  a  shilling  a 
quart  for  five  yards  af  calico  worth  two 
shillings  a  yard.  Few  pioneer  families 
in  Sandusky  county  have  left  a  worthier 
record  than  that  of  the  Clevelands.  Ten 
children  were  born  to  James  and  Jeanette 
Cleveland,  as  follows:  James,  born  De- 
cember 3,  1 83 1,  who  reared  a  family  and 
died  in  1890,  a  farmer  of  Green  Creek 
township;  Eliza,  born  November  29, 
1833,  married  A.  J.  Harris,  of  Clyde, 
and  died  in  1861,  leaving  two  children; 
Clark  R.,  of  Green  Creek  township,  born 
April  I.  1836;  George  D..  of  Green 
Creek  township,  born  September  9,  1838; 
Lucinda,  born  May  29,  1841,  married 
Horace  Taylor;  Chaplin  S.,  born  July 
28,  1844.  a  resident  of  Green  Creek 
township;  John  H.,  born  November  21, 
1847.  died  October  28,  1879.  leaving  one 
daughter;  Sarah,  born  September  22, 
1 85  I.  married  Charles  Sackrider.  and  now 
living  on  the  old  homestead;  Mary,  born 
February  25,  1854,  married  George  Cros- 

!  by,  of  Clyde;  Charles,  born  December 
30,  1857,  died  December  14,   1879. 

George  D.  Cleveland  grew  to  man- 
hood on  his  father's  farm  near  Clyde,  and 
attended  the  schools  in  that  village.  He 
was  married  in  1864  to  Miss  Rosa  Metz. 
who  was  born  in  Seneca  county,  near 
Green  Spring,  in  1842.  She  died  in 
1880,  leaving  three  children:  Clark.  Min- 
nie and  Olivia;  Bertie  died  aged  thirteen 
months.  The  second  and  present  wife 
of  Mr.  Cleveland  was  Miss  Mattie  Stroup, 
who  was  born  April  30.  i860,  in  Craw- 
ford county,  where  she  was  raised.     She 


124 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPMWAL  RECORD. 


was  married  June  29,  1882,  to  George 
D.  Cleveland.  After  living  a  few  years 
•elsewhere  Mr.  Cleveland  settled  on  his 
father's  old  homestead.  He  has  been 
buying  out  the  heirs,  and  now  owns  135 
acres  located  just  outside  the  corporation 
limits  of  Clyde.  He  is  engaged  in  gen- 
eral farming  and  stock-raising,  and  in  later 
years  he  has  also  devoted  considerable 
attention  to  fruit.  He  has  built  an  excel- 
lent barn,  and  his  improvements  are 
among  the  best  in  the  township.  In 
politics  Mr.  Cleveland  is  a  Democrat,  and 
as  a  thrifty  progressive  citizen  he  has  few 
equals. 


JOHN  FRABISH  (deceased)  belonged 
to  that  class  of  valued  and  progres- 
sive citizens  to  whom  any  commu- 
nity owes  its  advancement  and  pros- 
perity, and  his  death  was  a  loss  to  the 
entire  county.  He  was  born  in  Saxony, 
Germany,  August  16,  18 14,  and  was  a 
son  of  Godlup  Frabish,  a  farmer  of  Sax- 
ony. He  acquired  his  education  in  his 
native  town,  and  then  began  learning  the 
shoemaker's  trade.  In  1838  he  crossed 
the  Atlantic  to  America,  locating  in 
Wheeling,  W.  Va.,  where  he  followed 
shoemaking  for  a  short  time,  later  com- 
ing to  Ohio,  where  he  engaged  in  the 
same  pursuit  in  Fremont. 

In  1852  Mr.  Frabish  became  a  resi- 
dent of  Woodville  township,  Sandusky 
county,  where  he  purchased  one  hundred 
acres  of  land  covered  with  timber.  There 
were  no  roads  in  the  localit}',  and  only 
two  other  settlers  in  the  neighborhood. 
In  true  pioneer  style  he  began  life  upon 
this  place,  building  a  log  cabin  and  con- 
tinuing the  work  of  cultivation  and  im- 
provement. His  task  was  a  hard  one,  for 
his  farm  implements  were  crude;  but  un- 
daunted he  continued  his  labors,  cutting 
down  the  trees,  removing  the  stumps  and 
planting  crops  which  soon  yielded  to  him 
good  harvests.  He  had  to  cut  his  grain 
with  a   sickle  and   thresh  it   with    a  flail, 


for  the  improved  machinery  of  to-da}'  was 
then  unknown.  He  hauled  his  products 
to  the  mill  at  Green  Springs  with  ox- 
teams,  a  distance  of  twenty-four  miles, 
and  there  had  it  ground  into  flour  that 
the  family  might  have  bread.  He  had  to 
go  to  Fremont  to  market,  and  went 
through  all  the  experiences  and  hardships 
of  pioneer  life;  but  time  and  his  arduous 
labor  brought  a  change,  and  a  substantial 
frame  residence  took  the  place  of  the 
rude  cabin,  a  fine  orchard  supplanted  the 
wild  forest  trees,  ditches  for  drainage 
were  dug,  barns  and  out-houses  were 
built,  and  all  the  improx'ements  and  ac- 
cessories of  a  model  farm  were  added. 
Around  the  home  is  a  well-kept  lawn,  and 
in  front  is  an  ornamental  hedge  fence, 
making  the  Frabish  farm  one  of  the  fin- 
est in  the  township. 

Mr.  Frabish  was  married  in  Fremont, 
Ohio,  in  1842,  to  Mrs.  Rosenia  (Walters) 
Bowers,  a  sister  of  Lewis  Walters,  and 
widow  of  John  Bowers.  For  more  than 
a  quarter  of  a  century  this  happy  couple 
lived  together  in  their  cabin  home,  shar- 
ing in  the  trials  of  pioneer  life,  the  wife 
encouraging  and  aiding  her  husband  in  all 
possible  ways.  She  died  in  1869,  and  in 
1870  Mr.  Frabish  married  Mrs.  Hester 
(Mohler)  Tucker,  widow  of  Thomas 
Tucker,  who  was  a  native  of  New  York, 
and  a  farmer  by  occupation.  Removing 
to  Ohio,  he  (Mr.  Tucker)  followed  the 
same  pursuit  in  Madison  township,  San- 
dusky county.  He  was  married  in  Fre- 
mont in  1856  to  Hester  Mohler,  and  they 
became  the  parents  of  four  children — Nel- 
son Tucker,  a  farmer  of  Woodville  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county;  Addie,  wife  of 
Reuben  Clink;  Sebastian,  who  died  in 
childhood,  and  Franklin,  who  died  in  in- 
fancy. Mrs.  Frabish  was  born  in  Basel, 
Switzerland,  in  1833,  and  came  to  this 
country  in  1847. 

Mr.  Frabish  was  a  well-known  and 
highly-esleemed  citizen,  and  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  held  the  office  of  township 
supervisor,  being  elected   on   the  Repub- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOOIiAPHJCAL  RECORD. 


125 


lican  ticket.  He  was  also  a  director  of 
schools  for  a  number  of  years,  taking  a 
deep  interest  in  the  cause  of  education. 
He  was  unfaltering  in  his  support  of  the 
Republican  party. and  in  his  religious  views 
was  a  German  Methodist.  His  life  was 
that  of  an  upright  and  just  man,  whose 
kindness  and  generosity  were  manifest 
toward  all.  He  was  a  loving  husband 
and  good  neighbor,  his  genial  disposition 
winning  for  him  many  friends,  and  mak- 
ing him  very  popular  with  all  classes  of 
people.  His  integrity  and  honor  were 
above  question,  and  his  fidelity  to  the 
best  interests  of  his  adopted  county  was 
shown  in  his  devotion  to  everything  cal- 
culated to  prove  of  public  benefit — in- 
deed, this  Biographical  Record  would  be 
incomplete  without  a  sketch  of  his  life.  He 
passed  away  in  1892  at  the  advanced  age 
of  seventy-seven  years,  five  iiK^nths,  twelve 
days,  mourned  by  all  who  knew  him.  Mrs. 
Frabish.  a  most  estimable  lady,  still  re- 
sides on  the  homestead,  which  is  now 
operated  bv  her  son.  Nelson  Tucker,  who 
was  married,  in  1882,  to  Miss  Emma 
Rearick,  oT  Woodville,  Sandusky  Co., 
Ohio,  and  resides  with  his  mother.  She 
is  now  surrounded  with  the  comforts  of 
life,  and  enjoys  the  esteem  of  a  large  cir- 
cle of  friends. 


JAMES  CAMPBELL.  One  does  not 
have  to  be  very  old  to  recall  the 
time  when  the  greater  part  of  the 
magnificent  State  of  Ohio  was  a 
"howling  wilderness,"  nor  even  to  have 
been  a  participant  in  the  work  of  the  pio- 
neer settlers,  clearing  away  the  mighty 
forests,  cultivating  the  virgin  soil,  building 
roads  and  bridges,  and  subduing  Nature 
until  she  became  the  obedient  servant  of 
her  masters.  Then,  as  the  years  rolled 
by,  these  same  pioneers  have  seen  the  re- 
sults of  their  labors  in  busy  hamlets,  towns 
and  cities,  in  schoolhouses  and  churches, 
and,  best  of  all,  in  their  children  grown 
to  be  strong  and   noble  men  and  women. 


who  take  their  places  among  the  wisest 
and  best  of  the  land.  Happy  the  people 
who  have  watched  the  steady  progress  of 
the  glorious  Buckeye  State  in  her  march 
to  prosperity  and  honor. 

Among  the  early  settlers  of  Sandusky 
county  were  the  parents  of  our  subject, 
James  and  Nancy  (Mickminj  Campbell, 
who  came  hither  December  2,  1835,  from 
Beaver  county,  Penn.,  and  settled  on 
eighty  acres  of  land  in  Madison  township. 
The  father  was  born  March  17,  1796,  in 
Beaver  county,  Penn,  of  Scotch  and  Irish 
descent,  his  paternal  grandparents  being 
natives  of  Ireland,  those  on  his  mothers 
side  coming  from  Scotland.  The  mother 
was  born  in  1794,  in  Pennsylvania,  and 
died  in  November,  1878,  in  Sandusky 
county.  When  this  worthy  couple  came 
west  and  took  up  their  abode  in  Sandusky 
county,  they  settled  in  the  midst  of  a 
forest.  With  the  assistance  of  their 
.'turdy  boys  a  space  was  soon  cleared,  a 
log  cabin  erected,  and  the  almost  inces- 
sant stroke  of  the  a.\es  told  daily  of  fallen 
trees,  whose  space  was  speedily  converted 
into  fruitful  fields,  smiling  with  golden 
harAests.  On  this  land,  wrested  from  the 
wilderness,  the  brave  pioneer  passed  the 
remainder  of  his  peaceful  life,  closing  his 
eyes  in  death  March  17,  1861,  at  the  age 
of  seventy-three  years.  His  wife  survived 
until  November  20.  1878. 

.\  family  of  nine  children  composed 
the  parental  household,  of  which  our  sub- 
ject was  the  youngest.  The  others  in 
order  of  birth  were  as  follows:  Robert, 
born  June  19,  1823,  lives  in  Madison 
township,  where  he  carries  on  farming; 
Elisan,  born  July  17,  1825,  died  May  10, 
1848;  Mary,  born  March  15,  1827,  is  the 
wife  of  .Adam  Ickes,  a  farmer  in  Steuben 
county,  Ind. ;  Daniel,  born  September  16, 
1828,  lives  in  Indiana;  Louise  Jane,  born 
April  3,  1830,  died  August  8,  1832; 
Beisilvc  born  December  19,  1831,  died 
July  16,  1862;  George,  born  December 
1 1,  1833,  is  a  farmer  of  Madison  township; 
Sinthiann,   born    September  8,    1836,    is 


126 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQRAPEICAL  RECORD. 


the  wife  of  Jonathan  Taylor,  and  lives  in 
Madison  township. 

James  Campbell,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  born  in  Madison  township, 
August  1 6,  1839,  on  the  home  farm  one 
half  mile  from  Gibsonburg.  His  early 
days  were  spent  in  the  hard  work  which 
falls  to  the  lot  of  a  pioneer's  son,  and  he 
chopped  timber  and  cleared  away  brush 
with  his  father  and  brothers,  the  only 
break  in  the  steady  labor  being  the  few 
weeks  in  the  depth  of  winter,  when  he 
attended  the  primitive  schools  of  those 
days  and  gained  what  meager  stock  of  in- 
formation could  be  imparted  in  that  short 
space  of  time.  He  grew  up,  however,  to 
be  a  strong  and  sturdy  young  man,  and 
in  1862,  at  the  age  of  twenty-three,  fired 
with  the  patriotism  which  is  inborn  in  a 
native  American,  he  laid  aside  his  axe 
and  plough  and  donned  the  Union  blue, 
enlisting  in  Company  H,  One  Hundred 
and  Sixty-ninth  Regiment  O.  N.  G. 
They  were  sent  to  Virginia  to  guard  the 
Capital  from  the  advancing  Rebel  army, 
and  were  on  duty  for  i  i  5  daj's.  He  then 
returned  to  the  farm  and  resumed  his 
peaceful  occupations. 

On  April  11,  1878,  Mr.  Campbell  was 
married  to  Miss  Caroline  Zorn,  daughter 
of  Christian  and  Catherine  (Snyder)  Zorn, 
her  parents  being  natives  of  Germany. 
Mrs.  Campbell  is  the  eldest  of  four  chil- 
dren, viz.:  Caspar,  unmarried  and  living 
in  Deuel  county.  Neb. ;  Philip,  who  lives 
in  the  same  county,  married  Miss  Santa 
Hartman,  and  has  one  child;  Mary,  who 
is  the  wife  of  John  Blausley,  also  living  in 
Deuel  county,  Neb.,  and  has  three  chil- 
dren. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Campbell  have  had 
a  family  of  six  children,  of  whom  one  is 
dead;  their  names  and  dates  of  birth  are 
as  follows:  Eda,  August  3,  1879;  Eli, 
August  I,  1 881;  Nelia,  September  15, 
1883;  Ira,  July  24,  1886  (died  June  28, 
1891,  aged  four  years,  eleven  months  and 
four  days);  Matilda,  June  6,  1892;  and 
Ray,  July  1 1,  1894. 

Mr.  Campbell  has  always  lived  upon 


the  home  farm,  he  buying  the  interests  of 
his  brothers  and  sisters  after  the  death  of 
the  father.  He  has  upon  this  property 
nine  oil  wells,  which  yield  him  an  income 
of  $50.  per  month.  He  is  a  Democrat 
in  politics,  and  a  man  of  integrity  and  good 
business  ability.  While  he  is  not  con- 
nected with  anyreligious  body,  he  believes 
in  Christianity,  is  a  reader  of  the  Bible, 
and  donates  liberally  to  all  good  causes. 
He  has  filled  the  office  of  school  director. 
His  wife  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
Church. 


FLETCHER  HARTSHORN.  The 
subject  of  this  memorial  was  born 
March  17,  1831,  at  Danbury,  Ot- 
tawa county,  where  he  spent  the 
days  of  his  boyhood,  youth  and  early 
manhood.  He  was  a  son  of  Wyatt  and 
Jane  (Kelly)  Hartshorn,  the  former  born 
October  16,  1793,  the  latter  on  Septem- 
ber 17,  1805.  His  parents  were  married 
on  the  1 8th  of  March,  1824,  and  he  was 
the  fourth  in  their  family  of  eight  chil- 
dren: Catherine  D.,  born  March  8,  1825, 
became  the  wife  of  George  Mallory,  May 
18,  1845;  Isaac  B.,  born  November  11, 
1826,  married  Matilda  Bryson,  January 
28,  1853;  Byron,  born  January  i,  1829, 
wedded  Mary  Knapp,  July  28,  1853; 
Sarah  M.  was  born  August  17,  1833; 
Alfred,  born  October  31,  1835,  married 
Jane  Mathews,  August  31,  1859;  Harriet, 
born  December  27,  1837,  became  the 
wife  of  Charles  D.  Johnson,  February  1 3, 
1859;  and  Jane,  born  September  17, 
1842,  married  Marshall  Durov,  March  6, 
1864. 

His  studious  habits  enabled  Fletcher 
Hartshorn  to  quickly  master  all  that  the 
common  schools  of  that  day  had  to  teach, 
and  to  this  he  added  a  course  of  study  at 
Delaware  and  Oberlin.  At  an  early  age 
he  left  school  to  take  charge  of  his  father's 
business,  and  was  soon  brought  to  notice 
as  a  business  manager  by  the  success 
which    attended    his    efforts.       Soon     his 


vO  /. 


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^ 


y^     J^/i^/:j^n  * 


COMMBMORATIVB  BWORAPmCAL  RECORD. 


127 


financial  abilities  became  well  known  in 
the  commercial  circles  in  which  he  moved. 
His  energy  was  untiring  and  his  integrity 
beyond  question.  His  sagacity  and  in- 
sight led  to  many  desirable  offers  of  busi- 
ness connections,  some  of  which  he  made 
available.  He  had  the  Midas  touch — all 
ventures  seemed  to  prosper  under  his 
hands.  He  became  interested  at  different 
times  in  farming,  grazing,  fruit  growing, 
the  handling  and  shipping  of  live  stock, 
speculating  in  real  estate,  and  later  in  the 
manufacture  and  shipment  of  lime.  In 
furtherance  of  the  last-named  enterprise, 
contiguous  to  his  extensive  quarries  and 
kilns,  he  built  the  work  that  is  known  as 
Hartshorn's  Dock. 

Mr.  Hartshorn  was  a  man  of  strong 
reliance,  resolute  character,  always  re- 
markably reticent  in  matters  concerning 
himself.  In  such  an  active  career  he 
must  have  met  with  disappointments,  but 
he  made  no  mention  of  them.  He  was  an 
enthusiast  in  outdoor  sports,  his  dogs  and 
gun  furnishing  the  pastime  in  which  he 
most  delighted.  He  was  a  royal  enter- 
tainer, and  in  his  younger  days  delighted 
in  playing  the  host  to  his  bachelor  friends, 
and  later  his  home,  until  darkened  by  the 
affliction  under  which  he  suffered,  was  a 
model  of  hospitality.  When  a  student  at 
Oberlin,  he  was  converted,  united  with 
the  Congregational  Church,  and  often 
acted  as  teacher  in  the  Sabbath-school. 
He  was  free  from  narrowness  and  bigotry, 
had  an  open  hand  for  all  worthy  objects 
of  charity,  and  accepted  nothing  but  good 
works  as  proof  of  good  character. 

On  December  9,  1869,  Mr.  Harts- 
horn was  united  in  marriage  with  Ann 
Jemmctta  lilwell,  the  eldest  daughter  of 
H.  H.  Klwell,  a  former  resident  of  San- 
dusky, Ohio,  now  of  Danbury  township, 
Ottawa  county.  Two  children  were  born 
of  this  union — Lee,  born  December  10, 
1872,  died  January  25,  1873;  and  F. 
Pierre,  born  June  4,  1875,  still  residing 
on  the  homestead.  Remaining  on  his 
(arm  for  several  years,  his  time  and  en- 


ergies were  given   to  the  development  of 
its  superior  resources. 

While  still  a  young  man  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  a  prosperous  and  rapidly  increas- 
ing business,  Mr.  Hartshorn  was  stricken 
with  paralysis.  The  best  medical  advice 
was  summoned,  mineral  springs  sought, 
and  every  known  means  employed,  hop- 
ing to  prevent  a  recurrence  of  the  dread- 
ed malady.  Few  may  know  the  deep 
anxiety  which  his  case  elicited  from  all 
his  friends.  His  aged  mother,  who  still 
survives  him,  with  her  superior  intelli- 
gence and  skill;  with  the  accumulated  ex- 
perience of  years,  gave  her  loving,  watch- 
ful care,  striving  with  a  mother's  solici- 
tude to  lessen  his  sufferings.  His  young 
wife,  with  devotion  unparalleled,  was 
ever  at  his  side  to  comfort  and  cheer,  and 
to  minister  to  his  every  want.  But  the 
insidious  disease  could  not  be  eliminated. 
The  attacks  were  repeated,  and  as  time 
passed  slowly  but  surely  he  was  forced  to 
yield  to  the  blighting  intUience,  and  at 
length  became'  a  hopeless  invalid. 
Through  years  of  physical  suffering, 
though  disappointed  in  hopes  and  aspir- 
ations, his  unimpaired  mind  was  actively 
engaged  with  his  business  interests,  which 
he  advised  and  dictated  with  the  clear- 
ness and  precision  of  former  days  until  a 
short  time  before  the  end  came. 

Mr.  Hartshorn  knew  his  life  work 
was  well  done,  his  loved  ones  abundantly 
provided  for,  and  he  often  expressed  a  de- 
sire to  be  released  from  the  life  which  was 
now  a  burden,  to  enter  into  rest — to  go 
to  his  leather's  house,  and  there  in  the 
beautiful  mansion  prepared  for  him,  abide 
the  coming  of  his  beloved  whom  he  was 
to  leave  for  a  short  time.  He  knew  his 
time  was  very  brief  at  most — a  mere  frag- 
ment, as  he  indicated  by  measurement 
upon  his  wasted  finger — when  they  might 
join  him  there.  As  these  thoughts  were 
presented,  the  light  in  his  dimming  eyes 
grew  brighter  and  an  expression  of  satis- 
faction and  trust  came  to  his  countenance. 
By  faith  in  the  precious  promises  vouch- 


128 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPEICAL  RECOBD. 


safed  him,  he  had  gained  a  victory  over 
death.  The  tardy  messenger  came  on 
Sunday  morning,  December  22,  1889. 
The  church  bells  were  tolling  the  hour  of 
six  as  the  released  spirit  took  its  flight, 
leaving  in,  our  presence  the  "temple"  un- 
tenanted; the  seeming  requiem  of  the  bells 
unbroken.  The  wife  and  only  living  child, 
though  bowed  with  sorrow  inexpressible, 
could  not  ask  that  he  might  longer  remain 
this  side  of  the  "portal."  For  weary 
years  they  had  witnessed  the  ravages  of 
relentless  disease  ;  with  tender  sympathy 
felt  his  affliction — had  been  "  sad  in  his 
sadness,"  and  now  they  were  "glad  in  his 
gladness"  and  they  saw  him 

Sustained  and  soothed 

By  an  unfaltering  trust,  approach  the  grave. 
Like  one  who  wraps  the  drapery  of  the  couch 
About  him  and  lies  down  to  peaceful  dreams. 

The  obsequies,  conducted  by  Rev. 
George  Peeke,  pastor  of  the  Congrega- 
tional Church,  were  observed  at  the  fam- 
ily residence  on  East  Washington  street, 
Sandusky,  Ohio,  Tuesday,  December  24, 
at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Mrs. 
Mary  Robinson  assisted  by  Messrs.  Mc- 
Fall  and  Talcott  of  the  Aeolian  Quartette, 
rendered  with  much  feeling  the  beautiful 
hymn,  ' '  Weary  of  Earth  and  Laden  With 
my  Sin."  Rev.  Peeke  selected  for  the 
subject  of  his  sermon  the  following  appro- 
priate text,  taken  from  St.  Paul's  Second 
Epistle  to  Timothy,  second  chapter  and 
twelfth  verse:  "If  we  suffer,  we  shall  reign 
with  Him."  After  an  eloquent  and  pa- 
thetic address  on  the  sufferings  of  man- 
kind and  the  reward  thereof,  he  referred 
to  the  departed  in  the  following  touching 
manner: 

"The  scope  of  these  remarks  applies 
to  our  departed  friend,  Fletcher  Harts- 
horn. God  called  him  toward  suffering 
in  order  to  prepare  him  for  divine  no- 
bility. During  seventeen  years  he  has 
been  a  sufferer,  and  during  the  past 
nine  years  a  sufferer  confined  to  his  home, 
shut  in  from  the  busy  activities  he  so  much 
loved.      The  keenness  of  his  suffering  can 


be  somewhat  estimated  by  considering 
the  exceptional  vital  force  with  which  he 
was  endowed.  He  was  a  man  with  im- 
mense vital  powers,  which,  had  he  care- 
fully considered,  might  have  given  him 
an  active  life  until  four-score  years,  but 
his  ambition  to  achieve  business  success, 
coupled  with  a  desire  to  see  all  his  affairs 
progress  rapidly  and  hormoniously,  made 
him  unsparing  in  his  application  to  every 
detail  of  business.  Early  in  his  business 
life  he  paid  the  price  of  his  devotion  by  a 
paralytic  shock.  The  last  nine  years 
were  years  of  patient  waiting  and  uncom- 
plaining suffering.  It  was  a  signal  and 
unusual  providence  that  called  so  strong 
a  man  to  so  many  years  of  trial  apart  from 
that  business  life  with  which  his  sympa- 
thies were  entwined.  None  but  the  un- 
seen witnesses  of  God's  moral  kingdom 
can  know  what  a  soul  so  placed  could  suf- 
fer. A  disciplining  providence  placed  him 
in  the  hottest  fires,  but  it  melted  his  dross 
and  refined  his  gold.  The  result  of  this 
trial  was  an  unwavering  faith,  a  beautiful 
confidence  in  God.  His  frequent  express- 
ion was  'It  is  all  right,  all  right.'  Dur- 
ing all  his  years  of  trial  this  was  his  un- 
swerving attitude.  To  sit  nine  years 
wasting  away  and  waiting  for  the  end  and 
to  feel  '  It  is  all  right '  is  the  very  sub- 
limity of  confidence  and  trust.  His  kind- 
ness was  as  marked  as  his  confidence. 
The  tendency  of  suffering  is  to  make  one 
sensitive,  acerb  and  impatient.  None  of 
these  in  our  friend.  His  soul  was  serene 
and  sweet.  Conspicuous  above  all 
shone  his  remarkable  patience.  He  suf- 
fered and  was  resigned.  His  royalty  was 
apparent  day  by  day.  His  patience 
was  truely  sublime.  No  saint  ever 
suffered  martyrdom  with  more  appar- 
ent submission  and  fortitude  than  he. 
During  my  six  years  acquaintance  with 
him,  he  has  been  to  me  a  constant 
wonder.  To  the  end  he  resigned  in  true 
nobility.  All  that  suffering  can  do  for  a 
soul  seemed  to  have  been  produced  in 
Fletcher     Hartshorn,   and     we    devoutly 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPIIICAL  RECORD. 


129 


recognize  the  fact  that  he  won  the  crown 
of  spiritual  martyrdom.  Such  siifTerinR 
as  his  could  only  lead  to  humble  trust  in 
Christ.  His  confessions  of  confidence 
and  hope  were  clear  and  explicit.  Pa- 
tiently he  waited  for  the  hour  of  deliver- 
ance, and  after  the  fierce  conflict  of  years 
he  rests; 

Asleep  in  Jesus,  blessed  sleep, 

From  which  none  ever  wake  to  weep." 

The  services  were  concluded  with  the 
singing;  of  that  beautiful  hymn  "  Lead 
kindly  light  amid  th'  encircling  gloom." 
The  burial  was  in  Oakland  Cemetery. 
The  spires  of  the  "  Silent  City"  were 
casting  lengthening  shadows  across  our 
pathway  when  we  left  him  to  his  long 
coveted  rest. — [The  foregoing  is  from  the 
pens  of  his  loving  and  devoted  wife  and 
her  mother,  Mrs.  H.  H.  Elwell.] 

In  connection  with  the  above  sketch 
so  ably  written,  there  is  little  to  add, 
though  it  might  truthfully  be  said  of  the 
deceased  that  he  was  a  man  of  fine  edu- 
cation, broail  and  general  reading,  and 
of  a  genial,  sunn)'  temperament,  and 
every  citizen  in  Ottawa  county  was  his 
warm  friend.  In  his  domestic  life  he  was 
a  devoted  husband  and  lather,  attentive 
to  his  home  duties  through  all  his  under- 
takings; economical,  yet  given  to  acts  of 
kindness  and  deeds  of  charity  where  de- 
serAed.  Always  busy  himself,  he  had  no 
sympathy  for  the  shiftless  and  idle;  but  to 
the  unfortunate  he  was  a  kind  and  help- 
ful friend,  whose  sympathy  was  shown  in 
acts  rather  than  words,  and  in  all  plans 
for  the  advancement  of  his  community, 
his  active  co-operation  could  be  relied  up- 
on. 

No  biography  of  Mr.  Hartshorn  would 
be  complete  which  failed  to  make  men- 
tion of  his  most  estimable  wife  and  widow. 
Side  by  side  for  twenty  years  they  jour- 
neyed along  life's  pathway  together,  mu- 
tually encouraging  and  helping — he  a  kind 
husband  and  indulgent  father — she  a 
faithful  w  ifc  .md  loving  mother.      During 


his  long  and  tedious  illness,  she  was  not 
only  his  constant  attendant  and  faithful 
I  nurse,  but  also  looked  after  his  business 
matters,  in  connection  with  his  quarry  in- 
terests, and  in  these  matters  not  only 
proved  her  love  and  devotion,  but  also  her 
excellent  executive  ability  as  a  thorough 
business  woman. 


EDWIN  C.  TINNEY,  one  of  the 
pioneers  of  Scott  township,  is  a 
son  of  Stephen  Tinney,  and  was 
born  in  Niagara  Co.,  New  York 
State,  June  0,  1828.  When  five  years 
old  he  moved  with  his  parents  to  Lena- 
wee county,  Mich.,  where  he  lived  six 
years;  thence  came  to  Scott  township, 
Sandusky  county,  where  he  has  since 
lived.  After  the  death  of  his  father  there 
was  quite  an  indebtedness  on  the  farm, 
but  the  boys  remained  at  home  and  paid 
up  the  debt,  during  which  time  they  added 
one  hundred  acres  to  the  original  pur- 
chase. When  all  was  paid  the  four  chil- 
dren— three  boys  and  one  girl — divided 
the  property  among  them,  our  subject 
taking  the  eighty  acres  where  he  now 
lives  at  Tinney.  On  his  farm  is  a  very 
productive  gas  well,  which  supplies  the 
home  with  fuel  and  light. 

On  November  25,  1858,  Mr.  Tinney 
was  married  to  Miss  Catherine  Wiggins, 
of  Tinney,  and  to  them  were  born  two 
children:  Ida  May,  born  March  2.  i860; 
and  Charlie,  born  September  21,  1862,  at 
Tinney.  Ida  was  educated  in  the  district 
school,  ancl  the  Normal  at  Fostoria  and 
Fremont  High  School.  She  made  a 
specialty  of  music  under  Prof.  Menkhous. 
of  Fremont,  and  for  fourteen  years  has 
been  a  teacher  of  instrumental  music,  she 
finding  this  preferable  to  public-school 
teaching,  in  which  she  was  engaged  for  a 
time.  The  son  Charlie  was  educated  in 
the  Mansfield  Normal  and  in  the  district 
schools.  He  was  one  of  Sandusky  coun- 
ty's most  promising  teachers,  and  had 
also  acquired  an  enviable  reputation  as  an 


130 


COHMEhORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


editor,  his  first  work  in  that  line  being  on 
the  Daily  Herald  oi  Fremont;  durinjj  the 
last  years  of  his  life  he  was  local  and 
managing  editor  of  the  Fremont  Messen- 
ger. He  died  in  the  prime  of  life  Janu- 
arj'3i,  1885.  Mrs.  Tinney,  wife  of  our 
subject,  was  born  January  22,  1837,  in 
Scott  township,  Sandusky  county,  daugh- 
ter of  John  and  Jane  (Kell}')  Wiggins. 
She  was  educated  in  the  country  schools, 
and  was  for  a  time  a  teacher  in  Sandusky 
county.  When  she  was  a  child  her 
mother  died,  leaving  her  with  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Andrew  Swickard,  by  whom  she  was 
brought  up  and  with  whom  she  lived  un- 
til she  was  sixteen  years  of  age,  after 
which  she  made  her  home  with  D.  S. 
Tinnej"  until  her  marriage.  Her  father, 
John  Wiggins,  was  one  of  Sandusky  coun- 
ty's early  settlers,  coming  hither  when 
the  country  was  new,  and  began  the 
clearing  of  the  forest  and  making  a  home 
for  himself  and  family.  He  died  in  1841, 
at  an  early  age,  his  wife  dying  in  1S44. 
Mrs.  Tinney 's  parents  are  thought  to  have 
been  born  about  the  year  1808. 


E 


LI  REEVES.  A  man  can  not  hold 
public  office  without  either  gain- 
ing the  confidence  and  esteem  of 
his  fellow  citizens,  or  incurring 
their  distrust  and  animosity.  That  he 
can  retain  the  same  office  or  be  elected  to 
others  equally  responsible,  for  long  terms 
of  years  is,  therefore,  proof  that  he  has 
performed  his  duties  in  an  acceptable  man- 
ner, and  is  popular  in  both  public  and 
private  life.  The  record  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  who  since  boyhood  has  been 
a  resident  of  Gibsonburg,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, illustrates  this  argument.  For  twenty 
terms  he  filled  the  important  position  of 
township  assessor;  he  was  a  notary  public 
for  eighteen  years;  justice  of  the  peace 
from  1854  to  i860,  and  township  clerk 
for  si.K  years.  In  all  these  capacities  he 
earned  the  commendation  of  the  com- 
munity by  his  integrity  of  character  and 


upright  dealings,  while  his  genial  disposi- 
tion has  gained  him  many  warm  personal 
friends. 

Mr.  Reeves  was  born  February  7, 
1 819,  in  Burlington  county,  N.  J.,  son  of 
David  and  Grace  (Rineer)  Reeves,  the 
former  born  in  1 778,  in  Burlington  county, 
N.  J.  David  Reeves  was  married  in 
1807,  and  with  his  family  came  to  Ohio 
in  July,  1 82 1,  settling  in  Salem,  Colum- 
biana county.  Here  he  worked  at  his 
trade  of  a  carpenter  until  1832,  when  he 
removed  to  Cleveland,  Ohio,  remaining 
one  3'ear.  He  then  located  in  Madison 
township,  Sandusky  county,  and  was 
elected  count}'  survevor,  which  office  he 
filled  eleven  years.  At  the  expiration  of 
that  time  he  removed  to  Fremont,  and 
again  worked  at  his  trade  for  several 
years,  when  he  returned  to  Madison  town- 
ship and  there  died  in  1849;  his  wife  sur- 
vived him  until  1871,  dying  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  ninety  years.  They  had 
a  large  family,  thirteen  children  in  all,  of 
whom  four  are  living. 

Eli  Reeves  was  married  September 
26,  1844,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Taylor,  who 
was  born  December  2,  1824,  in  Belmont 
county,  Ohio,  daughter  of  Caleb  and 
Sarah  (Yost)  Taylor,  the  former  born  Oc- 
tober 22,  1800,  in  the  State  of  Maryland, 
the  latter  on  October  21,  1802,  in  Bel- 
mont county,  Ohio.  The  father  came  to 
Ohio,  in  18 10,  living  in  Belmont  county, 
where,  on  arriving  at  manhood,  he  rented 
some  land  which  he  farmed  until  1822. 
In  that  year  he  was  married,  and  then  re- 
moved to  Richland  county,  where  he 
lived  nine  years,  at  the  end  of  which  time 
he  took  up  his  residence  in  Madison  town- 
ship where  he  spent  the  rest  of  his  days, 
dying  in  1S73.  The  mother  is  still  living 
at  the  venerable  age  of  ninety-three  years, 
and  makes  her  home  with  our  subject  and 
his  wife.  She  was  the  mother  of  eleven 
children,  six  of  whom  are  living.  At  the 
time  of  his  death  Mr.  Taylor  owned  a 
farm  of  120  acres,  eighty  of  which  he 
cleared. 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


181 


To  our  subject  and  his  wife  have  been 
born  ten  children,  two  of  whom  died  in 
infancy;  the  others  in  order  of  birth  are  as 
follows:  Lucinda,  born  April  38,  1845; 
Melissa,  November  i,  1847;  Miriam,  Sep- 
tember 18,  1849;  R.  D.,  October  13, 
185 1 ;  John  C  ,  April  2\.  1854;  Sarah  A., 
September  17,  iS'o;  Candis  E.,  October 
6,  1864,  and  Grace  S.,  December  27, 
1866.  Nfr.  Reeves  be^an  to  learn  the 
carj)enter's  trade  when  eleven  years  old. 
In  later  life  he  bought  twenty  acres 
of  land,  and  afterward  purchased  eighty 
acres  more.  He  retired  from  active  work 
in  1889.  In  politics,  he  is  a  Democrat. 
Popular  with  all  classes,  and  interested  in 
everj'thing  pertaining  to  the  welfare  of 
the  community,  he  enjoys  the  respect  and 
esteem  of  all. 


I 


CONRAD  OBERST.  Prominent 
among  the  surviving  pioneers  of 
Madison  township,  Sandusky 
county,  stands  this  well-known 
agriculturist,  who  is  a  native  of  Germany, 
bom  near  the  city  of  Lx>uden.  Baden, 
near  the  River  Rhine,  September  10, 
1827. 

John  Ol)erst.  the  father  of  our  subject, 
was  a  native  of  W'urtemburg,  Germany, 
and  followed  the  trade  of  a  wagon  maker 
in  his  native  country'  until  1832,  when  he 
crossed  the  Atlantic  to  America,  the 
voyage  occupying  ninety  days.  He  was 
married  in  Germany  to  Barbara  Ault,  and 
they  became  parents  of  eight  children: 
Daniel,  a  farmer,  who  died  in  Indiana: 
John,  who  also  followed  farming,  and 
died  in  that  State;  Conrad;  George,  who 
died  and  was  buried  in  Nebraska;  Maria, 
widow  of  F'-t'-r  Bowman,  a  farmer  of 
Jackson      •  county; 

Elizabeth,   .  .1..:;...    ...,  a  farmer 

of  Nebraska;  Catherine,   wife  of  Solomon 

Hineline.  f   •• 

pursuits  ill 

farmer  of  Indiana,  who  served  m  the  Civil 

war,  and  still  carries  a  bullet  by  which  he 


was  wounded  at  Lookout  Mountain.  On 
coming  to  this  country,  John  Oberst  lo- 
cated in  Bay  township,  then  a  part  of 
Sandusky  county,  but  now  in  Ottawa 
county,  Ohio,  where  he  farmed  140  acres 
of  land.  He  was  one  of  the  signers  of 
■  on  to  - 
ntly  he  ,  i 

in  Sandusky  county,  which  he  owned  and 
operated  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  and 
he  also  followed  his  trade  in  this  country. 
His  wife  died  in  Ottawa  county.  They 
experienced  all  the  hardships  and  incon- 
veniences of  life  in  such  an  unsettled  re- 
gion, and  they  were  often  obliged  to  go 
as  far  as  Fremont  to  mill.  Their  stock 
of  provisions,  at  the  time  of  their  com- 
mencing life  in  Ohio,  consisted  of  one 
bushel  of  cornmeal,  one-half  bushel  of 
U,xi-i:n  roffi.-i-.  forty  pounds  of  maple  sugar 
iiiiil  fourteen  liuiii-jis  of  potatoes,  but  no 
meat  whatever,  and  they  ate  many  a 
meal  from  the  old  chest  in  which  their 
wearing  apparel  was  kept. 

Conrad  Oberst  attended  the  schools  of 
Bay  township,  and  at  the  tender  age  of 
twelve  years  began  to  earn  his  living  by 
working  on  his  father's  farm,  also  cutting 
and  hewing  timber  for  building  purposes 
to  be  used  for  dwelling  houses,  barns, 
bridges,  etc.  He  continued  to  make  his 
home  under  the  paternal  roof  until  twenty- 
two  years  of  age,  when  he  went  to  Erie 
county,  and  worked  for  one  year  as  a 
farm  laborer,  being  employed  by  the 
month.  Later  he  came  to  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, and  worked  by  the  year  for  his  brother 
on  the  latter's  f  r 
.\fter  two  years  , 

ried,  and  then  operated,  on  shares.  160 
acres  of  land  owned  by  his  brother,  bein;; 
thus  engaged  for  several  years,  durint,' 
which  time,  through  industry  and  econ  - 
my,  he  saved  enough  capital  with  which 
to  purchase  forty  acres  of  wooded  land  in 


tion  he  sold  out.  with    the 
going  to  Michigan;  this  plan 


.vjljll- 


132 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


ed,  however,  and  purchasing  another  farm 
in  Sandusky  county,  set  about  its  further 
improvement  and  development.  He  has 
erected  a  substantial  residence,  good 
barns  and  other  outbuildings,  planted  an 
orchard  and  made  all  the  improvements 
that  are  found  upon  a  model  farm,  and 
is  also  the  owner  of  three  oil  wells,  which 
are  now  operated  by  a  Toledo  oil  firm. 

On  September  i6,  1853,  in  Madison 
township,  Sandusky  county,  Mr.  Oberst 
married  Betsy  Florence,  who  was  born 
April  21,  1S32,  and  is  one  of  the  twelve 
children  of  John  and  Lydia  (Roberts) 
Florence.  Her  father,  a  prominent  farmer 
of  Madison  township,  died  in  i860;  her 
mother  passed  away  in  1862.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Oberst  became  the  parents  of  eight 
children,  the  eldest  of  whom  was  Jennie; 
Robert  is  engaged  in  farming  and  bee 
culture  in  Jackson  township,  Sandusky 
county  (he  married  Hattie,  daughter  of 
Peter  Bauman,  a  farmer  of  Jackson  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county);  Ellen  is  the  wife 
of  Augustus  Bowman;  Frank  is  a  con- 
tractor and  builder;  Lucy  is  engaged  in 
school  teaching;  Harry  is  a  farmer  and 
oil  pumper  (he  married  Minnie,  daughter 
of  John  Peoples,  an  agriculturist  of  Madi- 
son township,  Sandusky  county);  Tillie  is 
the  wife  of  William  Peters,  an  oil  operator 
of  Woodville  township,  Sandusky  county; 
John  M.,  who  is  a  farmer  and  oil  operator, 
married  Minnie,  daughter  of  Casper  Dau- 
sey,  an  oil  speculator  of  Rollersville,  Ohio. 

Mr.  Oberst  was  for  many  years  elected 
trustee  of  Madison  township,  of  which  he 
was  treasurer  some  eight  years,  and  dur- 
ing the  Civil  war  he  had  at  one  time  over 
$2,000  in  his  log  cabin  belonging  to  the 
township.  He  was  also  elected  constable, 
filling  that  position  for  a  long  period,  in- 
cluding the  trying  times  between  i86i 
and  1865.  He  also  did  police  duty,  and 
his  service  often  equaled  in  danger  and 
hardships  that  of  the  "boys  in  blue  "  at 
the  front.  He  would  have  gone  to  the 
war  had  it  been  possible,  but  there  would 
have  been  no  one  left  to  care  for  his  wife 


and  children;  so  he  discharged  his  duties 
to  his  family  by  remaining  at  home,  and 
to  his  country  by  helping  to  send  substi- 
tutes for  those  drafted,  until  he  paid  $175. 
He  has  held  the  office  of  school  director, 
was  clerk  of  school  District  No.  9  for  a 
number  of  years,  is  still  serving  as  director 
and  is  one  of  the  most  earnest  and  effi- 
cient advocates  of  the  cause  of  education  in 
this  locality,  doing  all  in  his  power  to  ad- 
vance the  standard  of  the  schools  and 
secure  capable  teachers.  While  serving 
as  trustee  he  did  much  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  township  in  the  way  of  mak- 
ing roads.  His  duties  of  citizenship  have 
ever  been  faithfully  performed,  and  his 
irreproachable  service  in  office  won  him 
the  confidence  and  respect  of  all.  For 
some  years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the 
band  of  Rollersville,  playing  the  tuba. 
His  success  in  life  has  been  secured 
through  his  own  enterprising  and  well- 
directed  efforts,  and  industry  and  energy 
are  numbered  among  his  chief  character- 
istics. In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  and 
he  and  his  family  attend  the  Disciple 
Church.  He  and  his  estimable  wife  are 
now  enjoying  the  fruits  of  their  former 
toil,  and  the  high  regard  of  many  warm 
friends  who  respect  them  for  their  genu- 
ine worth. 


M 


D.  WELLER,  attorney  at 
law,  Fremont,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty. It  is  generally  admitted 
that  rural  pursuits  and  rural 
scenes  are  most  conducive  to  health, 
happiness  and  contentment,  which  city 
life  and  the  mere  accumulation  of  wealth 
can  never  impart.  As  a  professional 
gentleman  who  enjoyed  these  favorable 
environments  in  his  younger  days,  and 
who  appreciates  their  salutary  intfuence 
on  him  in  later  life,  we  present  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch. 

Mr.    Weller    was  born  in   Thompson 
township,    Seneca  county,  Ohio,  May    9, 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQRAPUICAL  RECORD. 


188 


i860,  a  son  of  John  and  Christena 
(Orneri  Wcller.  The  father  of  our  sub- 
ject was  born  in  Freeburfj,  Snyder  Co., 
Penn.,  March  18,  1831,  a  son  Isaac  and 
Elizabeth  Weller,  well-to-do  farmers  of 
that  county,  and  who  died  there.  John 
Weller  catne  from  Pennsylvania  to  Ohio 
when  a  young  man,  and  worked  as  a 
farm  hand  about  a  year  at  Osceola, 
Crawford  Co.,  Ohio;  then  four  years  on 
the  njodel  farm  of  George  Close,  north  of 
Bellevue,  Ohio;  then  si.\  years  for  Daniel 
Close,  one  of  the  substantial  farmers  of 
Seneca  county;  then  one  year  for  his 
next  neighbor.  Edward  Kern,  taking  good 
care  of  his  earnings  and  investing  them  in 
real  estate.  He  first  bought  and  moved 
upon  a  farm  of  eighty  acres,  which  in  the 
pioneer  days  constituted  a  part  of  what 
was  known  as  the  Henry  Miller  farm,  on 
the  Kilburn  road,  northwest  of  West  Lodi. 
This  he  sold  a  few  years  later,  and  then 
bought  the  John  Payne  farm,  in  Adams 
township,  which  he  likewise  sold.  He 
afterward  bought  and  sold  other  landed 
property,  until  he  now  owns  about  500 
acres,  some  of  which  is  valued  at  $125 
per  acre.  Mr  Weller  was  self-reliant, 
never  had  a  dollar  given  him,  but  accumu- 
lated all  his  property  by  hard  work,  econ- 
omy and  prudent  investments.  In  all  his 
deals  he  never  gave  a  mortgage  in  his  life. 
His  school  education  was  limited  to  three 
months,  in  Pennsylvania,  but  he  snatched 
many  spare  moments  from  his  daily  toil  for 
self-instruction  in  the  common  branches 
of  an  English  education.  In  185 1,  he 
married  Miss  Christena  Orner,  daughter 
of  Joseph  and  Elizabeth  (Keller)  Orner. 
of  Adams  township,  Seneca  Co.,  Ohio, 
and  their  children  were:  Henry  J.,  attor- 
ney at  law.  in  the  firm  of  McCauley  & 
Weller.  Tiffin,  Ohio;  .Amanda,  wife  of  John 
Dornbach,  a  farmer  of  .Adams  township. 
Seneca  county;  M.  D.,  our  subject;  Laura, 
wife  r>f  Louis  Hreyman.  a  railroad  man. 
of  Republic,  Ohio;  De.xter  B.,  a  (.inner, 
living  with  his  parents;  Andrew  J.,  a 
farmer,   living  on  one  of  the  old   home- 


steads; Emma  C,  at  home;  one  that  died 
in  infancy;  B.  Jay,  also  at  home. 

Our  subject  grew  up  on  his  father's 
farm  where  he  learned  valuable  lessons  in 
practical  agriculture,  and  from  which  he 
attended  a  country  school  near  by.  He 
made  such  rapid  progress  in  his  studies 
that  at  the  age  of  seventeen  he  was  able 
to  teach  a  country  school  with  good  suc- 
cess. After  spending  one  whole  year  in 
attendance  at  the  Bellevue  Union  schools, 
he  resumed  teaching  winter  schools  and 
working  on  a  farm  during  the  suunner 
seasons;  by  the  age  of  twenty-two  he  had 
taught  seven  terms  of  school  in  the  vicin- 
ity uf  his  home,  his  last  term  being  at  Flat 
Rock,  Ohio.  .Mr.  Weller  began  the  study 
of  law  in  April,  1S83,  with  Smith  &  Kin- 
ney, Fremont,  Ohio,  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  December  l,  1885,  and  has  been  in 
the  legal  practice  at  Fremont  and  vicinity 
ever  since.  From  August,  1887,  to  Au- 
gust, 1 89 1,  he  was  in  the  firm  of  Weller  cS: 
Butman,  in  fire  and  life  insurance.  In 
1884  he  was  chosen  secretary  of  the  San- 
dusky County  Agricultural  Society,  and 
held  that  office  four  years  with  credit  to 
himself  and  profit  to  the  society.  He  is 
at  present  a  member  of  Croghan  Lodge 
No.  jj,  I.  O.  O.  F. ,  and  of  Brainard 
Lodge,  and  Fremont  Chapter,  F.  &  \.  M., 
also  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  Clyde. 
Ohio,  and  last,  but  not  least,  of  the  Fre- 
mont German  .Aid  Society. 

Mr.  Weller  was  married  January  30. 
1889,  to  Miss  Carrie  Smith,  daughter  of 
S.  H.  Smith,  grain  and  lumber  merchant, 
of  Green  Spring,  Ohio.  Her  mother's 
name  was  Van  Sickle.  Both  of  her  par- 
ents came  from  New  Jersey.  She  was 
reared  at  Green  Spring,  attended  the 
I'nion  schools  of  that  village  and  then  the 
academy,  from  which  she  was  the  first 
graduate,  and  had  the  honor  of  receiving 
her  diploma  from  the  hands  of  ex-Presi- 
dent K.  B.  Hayes,  chairman  of  the  board 
of  trustees  of  that  instituti<jn.  She  after- 
wards taught  school  in  Seneca  county, 
and  later  took  a  course  in  painting  in  an 


134 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


art  school  at  Cleveland,  Ohio.  In  addi- 
tion to  his  law  practice,  Mr.  Weller  is  at 
present  engaged  in  a  general  loan  and  real- 
estate  business.  He  is  the  owner  of 
landed  property  in  the  oil  and  gas  region, 
Wood  county,  where  he  has  several  oil 
wells  in  operation.  In  politics  he  is  a 
Democrat;  his  wife  is  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church. 


CHRISTOPHER  STREETER  is 
one  of  the  best  known  old  pioneers 
of  Green  Creek  township,  San- 
dusky county.  He  was  born  in 
Heath,  Franklin  Co.,  Mass.,  April  9, 
181 5,  son  of  David  and  Sylva  (Roach) 
Streeter,  the  former  of  whom  was  a 
native  of  the  same  county,  and  a  farmer 
by  occupation.  He  was  a  lifelong  resi- 
dent of  Massachusetts,  where  he  died  at 
the  age  of  seventy  years;  the  mother  died 
when  about  sixty  years  of  age.  The 
family  is  one  of  old  New  England  stock. 
Our  subject  broke  away  from  the  an- 
cestral ties  in  his  young  manhood  at  the 
age  of  twenty-two  years,  and  sought  a 
home  in  the  then  distant  West.  In  1837 
he  disposed  of  his  interest  in  the  home- 
stead, and  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year 
came  to  Ohio  by  means  that  now  seem 
insufferably  tedious  and  slow.  He  settled 
on  a  farm  in  York  township,  Sandusky 
county,  which  he  opened  up,  erecting  a 
small  dwelling.  On  December  3,  1835, 
he  had  married  Miss  Louisa  Kennedy,  and 
to  them  were  born  four  children:  Edward, 
born  in  Heath,  Mass.,  June  25,  1837; 
Albert,  born  September  29,  1839;  and 
Alonzo  and  Lorenzo,  born  June  25,  1842, 
the  latter  of  whom  died  September  30, 
1 851;  the  mother  passed  from  earth  De- 
cember 26,  1851.  Thus  within  the  space 
of  three  short  months  Mr.  Streeter  lost 
a  dear  child,  and  the  partner  of  his  youth, 
who  died  with  the  confident  hope  of 
Heaven  and  a  bright  place  on  the  Resur- 
rection morn.  Edward,  the  eldest  son, 
is  married,  and  had  five  children — Lydia, 


Charles,  Ira,  Louisa  and  Levi — of  whom 
Louisa  died  while  young.  Albert,  the 
second  son,  married  and  had  four  chil- 
dren— Minnie,  George,  Alice  and  Mabel — 
the  last  named  dying  young.  Alonzo 
married,  and  had  seven  children — Waller, 
Roly,  Elmer,  Clarence,  Abbie,  Nora 
and  Lena,  of  whom  Abbie  died  young. 
On  February  2,  1853,  our  subject  mar- 
ried his  present  wife,  Henrietta  Clark. 
Mr.  Streeter  in  politics  has  been  a  Whig 
and  a  Republican,  and  cast  his  first  Presi- 
dential vote  for  William  H.  Harrison. 
In  religious  faith  he  has  been  a  promi- 
nent member  of  the  Advent  Church.  He 
has  been  an  eminently  successful  farmer, 
and  accumulated  300  acres  of  well-im- 
proved land.  This  farm  he  divided  among 
his  three  son — one  hundred  acres  each — 
and  there  they  reside  with  their  families. 
In  1882  Mr.  Streeter  erected  a  fine  brick 
residence  in  Clyde,  where  he  now  lives  a 
retired  life,  with  the  respect  and  esteem  of 
the  entire  community  in  which  he  dwells. 


DAVID  A.  C.   SHERRARD.     This 
prosperous    farmer    of    Sandusky 
county,  Ohio,  near  Fremont,  was 
born  January   10,    1820,  at  Rush 
Run,  Jefferson  Co.,  Ohio,  a  son  of  Robert 
Andrew  and  Mary  (Kithcart)  Sherrard. 

Robert  Andrew  Sherrard  is  a  descend- 
ant of  Huguenot  ancestors  who,  having 
been  driven  out  of  the  north  of  France,  fled 
to  the  Lowlands  of  Scotland  and  afterward 
removed  to  Ireland.  A  coat  of  arms,  and 
a  pedigree  in  tabular  form,  were  in  ex- 
istence in  1872,  tracing  the  lineage  of  the 
Sherrard  family  back  to  Robert,  whose 
father  emigrated  with  the  Duke  of  Nor- 
mandy. There  were  two  brothers,  Hugh 
and  William  Sherrard,  whose  father  came 
over  from  Scotland  about  17 10,  and  set- 
tled in  Limavady,  County  Londonderry, 
Ireland.  Here  Hugh  and  William  were 
born,  and  when  the  former  arrived  at 
manhood  he  married  and  settled  across 
the    Bann    Water,    near  Coleraine.      He 


MRS.  NARCISSA   T.  SHERRARD. 


^./>^/Ke-A/-^</-^<^. 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   BECOBD. 


185 


had  a  son,  Hugh  Sherrard,  who  emi- 
grated to  America  in  1770,  and  settled  on 
Miller's  run,  in  Washington  county, 
Pennsylvania. 

William  Sherrard,  from  whom  are 
descended  the  Sherrard  families  in  San- 
dusky county,  Ohio,  was  born  in  1 720  in 
Limavady,  where  he  carried  on  the  busi- 
ness of  farming  and  linen  weaving.  He 
died  wealthy  in  1781.  In  1750  he  mar- 
ried Margaret  Johnston,  by  whom  he  had 
five  children — John,  Elizabeth,  Margaret, 
James  and  Mary.  John  Sherrard  was 
born  about  1750,  immigrated  to  America 
in  1772,  and  on  May  5,  1784,  married 
Mary  Cathcart,  by  whom  he  had  chil- 
dren as  follows:  William  J.,  David 
Alexander.  John  James,  Robert  Andrew, 
Ann  and  Thomas  G.  The  last  named 
was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Sandusky 
county,  and  was  foumi  dead  in  Sandusky 
river  April  21,  1824,  supposed  to  have 
been  murdered  by  parties  who  had  rented 
his  brother  John's  sugar  camp,  of  which 
he  was  manager  at  the  time.  John 
Sherrard  was  with  Col.  Crawford's  expe- 
dition against  the  Indians  at  Upper  San- 
dusky, during  which  he  had  many  nar- 
row escapes.  Robert  Andrew  Sherrard 
was  born  May  4,  1 7.S9,  and  married  Mary 
Kithcart,  by  whom  he  had  five  children: 
Mary  Ann,  Joseph  K.,  David  A.  C, 
Elizabeth  and  Robert.  For  his  second 
wife  Robert  A.  Sherrard  married  Miss 
Jane  Hindnian,  by  whom  he  had  seven 
children:  Nancy,  who  for  the  past 
twenty-one  years  has  been  principal  of 
the  Female  Seminary  of  Washington, 
Penn. ;  J.  H.,  a  Presbyterian  minister  at 
Kockville,  Ind. ;  June;  Susan;  Sarah,  de- 
ceased; William,  deceased;  and  Thomas 
J.,  who  is  also  a  Presbyterian  minister, 
now  preaching  in  Chambersburg.  Penn. 
During  the  winter  of  1894-95  three  of 
the  sons  of  Robert  A.  Sherrard  paid  a 
visit  to  Hurof)e,  visiting,  among  other 
places,  England,  Scotland,  Ireland.  Ger- 
many, France  and  Italy,  in  which  latter 
country    they    trod    the     streets    of     old 


Rome;  thence  they  journeyed  to  Egypt 
and  Palestine;  near  Limavady,  Ireland, 
they  found  some  of  their  cousins  living. 
Robert  Andrew  Sherrard  was  the  author 
of  a  genealogy  of  the  Sherrard  family  of 
Steubenville,  which  was  edited  by  his  son, 
Thomas  Johnston  Sherrard,  in  1890. 

David  A.  C.  Sherrard,  our  subject, 
grew  to  manhood  on  his  father's  farm, 
two  miles  southwest  of  Steubenville,  Ohio. 
On  June  i,  1844,  he  came  to  Sandusky 
county  on  horseback,  and  immediately 
began  to  improve  the  forest  land  which 
he  had  bought  of  his  father.  For  about 
three  weeks  he  made  his  home  in  a  hewed- 
log  house  which  he  had  rented  of  his 
uncle  Thomas,  and  which  was  said  to  be 
the  first  hewed-log  house  erected  in  Ball- 
ville  township,  having  been  put  up  in 
1823.  He  then  returned  to  Jefferson 
county,  and,  on  the  4th  of  September 
following,  set  out  from  there  with  his  wife 
and  seven-weeks-old  child,  in  a  covered 
two-horse  wagon,  arriving  at  Lower  San- 
dusky September  12.  He  finished  clear- 
ing up  nine  acres,  fenceti  it,  plowed  it  and 
sowed  it  to  wheat,  and  then  commenced 
the  struggle  of  clearing  up  a  home  in  the 
Black  Swamp.  His  timber  was  chopped 
into  cordwood,  and  sold  in  Lower  San- 
dusky. In  October,  1851,  Mr.  Sherrard 
took  the  job  of  clearing  off  the  timber  on 
Sections  24,  25,  26  and  half  of  27,  for  the 
T. ,  N.  &  C.  railroad  (now  the  Lake  Shore 
&  Michigan  Southern),  and  graded  half  a 
mile  of  the  road-bed  east  and  west  of  Lit- 
tle Mud  creek.  In  May  and  June,  1852, 
he  furnished  and  delivered  timber  for 
bridges  over  the  Muskalounge  and  over 
Little  Mud  creek,  and  hauled  and  deliv- 
ered timber  for  Big  Mud  creek  and  Nine- 
Mile  creek  bridges.  On  September  20, 
1852,  he  left  home  with  men,  teams  and 
tools  for  Hardin  county,  Ohio,  where  he 
had  a  contract  on  the  Pittsburgh  &  Fort 
Wayne  railroad,  spending  thirteen  months 
at  grading  Sections  43  and  45  of  that 
road.  In  .\ugust.  1853,  he  contracted  to 
clear  and  grade  Sections  2,  3  and  4  of  the 


136 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOORAPHICAL   RECORD. 


Fremont  &  Indiana  railroad  (now  the 
Lake  Erie  &  Western);  he  also  sent  part 
of  his  men  and  teams  to  work  upon  the 
Pittsburg  &  Fort  Wayne  railroad,  grading 
the  road-bed.  In  the  summer  of  1854 
the  finances  of  the  Lake  Erie  &  Western 
Company  failed,  and  the  work  stopped. 
In  March  and  April,  1854,  he  bought  wild 
land  in  various  places,  at  second  hand, 
giving  as  part  pay  some  horses  and  oxen 
which  he  had  been  using  on  public  works; 
he  bought  forty  acres  in  Barry  county, 
Mich.,  320  acres  in  Ottawa  county,  Ohio, 
and  eighty  acres  in  Sandusky  county, 
Ohio.  These  lands  he  kept  from  ten  to 
twenty  years,  and  sold  them  at  a  profit. 
In  January,  1858,  he  bought  of  his  father, 
R.  A.  Sherrard,  the  east  half  of  the 
northwest  quarter  of  Section  5,  Ballville 
township,  which  is  now  half  of  his  home 
farm.  He  dealt  in  real  estate  in  Kansas, 
and  in  Putnam  and  Fulton  counties,  Ohio, 
and  he  and  his  son,  J.  F.  Sherrard,  bought 
a  farm  in  the  oil  and  gas  region  west  of 
Fremont,  which  they  have  leased  to  the 
Carbon  Company  of  Fremont  for  a  term 
of  years.  Mr.  Sherrard  was  the  first  man 
to  ship  lime  in  barrels  from  Fremont, 
Ohio,  to  the  glass  works  at  Wheeling,  W. 
Va. ,  in  1864,  and  he  continued  this  for 
eighteen  years,  also  shipping  largely  to 
other  points  for  the  manufacture  of  glass 
and  paper,  and  for  plastering  purposes. 
During  the  Civil  war  Mr.  Sherrard  bought 
horses  for  the  Ohio  cavalry.  Since  1875 
he  has  rented  his  farms  and  bought  up 
live  stock,  cows  and  sheep  for  Eastern 
men,  who  sold  them  principally  in  New 
Jersey.  He  has  now  125  acres  under 
cultivation  on  each  of  his  two  farms.  In 
1 89 1  he  bought  a  farm  of  190  acres  in 
Alabama,  ten  miles  north  of  Huntsville, 
on  which  his  two  daughters,  with  their 
husbands  and  families,  reside.  This  land 
is  very  productive,  yielding  large  crops  of 
clover,  corn,  wheat,  oats  and  garden  vege- 
tables. In  politics  Mr.  Sherrard  has  acted 
with  the  Whig  and  Republican  parties. 
On  July  4,   1843,  our  subject  married 


Catharine  M.  Welday,  by  whom  he  had 
three  children — Laura  A.,  Keziah  W.  and 
Elizabeth  C.  The  mother  of  these  died 
September  29,  1847,  and  on  Febru- 
ary 24,  1848,  he  wedded  Narcissa  T. 
Grant,  by  whom  he  had  children,  as 
follows:  Harriet  B.,  Robert  W. ,  John 
F.,  Emma  V.,  Mary  J.,  Rose  T. , 
and  Ida  M.  Of  this  large  family, 
Laura  A.  married  Benjamin  Mooney, 
and  their  children  are  Lottie  S.,  Emma, 
Mary  A.  and  Nettie.  Keziah  W.  married 
Homer  Overmyer,  and  their  daughter, 
Dora,  is  the  wife  of  Clifton  Hunn.  Eliz- 
abeth C.  married  J.  S.  Brust,  and  they 
have  a  daughter — Ida.  Harriet  B.  mar- 
ried Charles  E.  Tindall,  and  died  Sep- 
tember 16,  1873;  they  had  a  daughter, 
Hattie,  who  married  William,  son  of  A. 
J.  Wolfe,  a  farmer  west  of  Fremont,  Ohio. 
Robert  W.  is  fully  mentioned  farther  on. 
John  F.  married  Jennie  E.  Bowlus,  by 
whom  he  had  five  children — Harry,  Ida, 
Robert,  Zelpha  and  Don.  Emma  V. 
married  Josiah  Smith,  and  to  them  were 
born  the  following  named  children:  Mi- 
lan, Robert,  Jesse,  Howard,  Orie,  Lulu 
and  Granville.  Mary  J.  married  David 
W.  Cookson,  and  they  have  a  son — Clar- 
ence. Rose  T.  married  John  R.  Tindall, 
and  they  have  had  three  children — Mabel, 
Louis  and  Etta.  Ida  M.  is  the  wife  of  J. 
U.  Bodenman,  a  druggist,   of   St.  Louis. 


ROBERT  W.  SHERRARD,  of  the 
firm  of  Plagman  &  Sherrard,  deal- 
ers in  groceries,  provisions  and 
queensware.  East  State  street, 
Fremont,  Sandusky  county,  was  born 
December  21,  1849,  'n  Ballville  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  Ohio,  a  son  of  D. 
A.  C.   Sherrard. 

Our  subject  grew  to  manhood  on  a 
farm  in  the  vicinity  of  Fremont,  and  at- 
tended the  country  and  city  schools.  He 
remained  with  his  parents  until  he  was 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  while  yet  in 
his  "teens"  began  to  alternate  each  year 


CO.V.Vt:.V(>HATJVE   BIOaiiAPUICM.    UKCORD. 


18; 


between  teaching  country  school  in  the 
winter  season  and  farininj;  the  rest  of  the 
time.  In  the  si)rinf,'  of  1872  he  attended 
the  State  Normal  School  at  Lebanon, 
Ohio,  and  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year 
and  the  sprinf^  of  the  next  he  attended 
the  Seneca  Cuuntv  Academy  at  Republic, 
Ohio,  then  in  charge  of  Prof.  J.  Fraise 
Richards.  He  then  taught  four  more 
terms  of  winter  school,  alternating  with 
farming.  In  1885  he  bought  out  the  in- 
terest of  John  Ulsh,  in  the  firm  of  Plag- 
man  &  Ulsh,  grocers,  and  has  since  con- 
tinued in  the  same  place  with  his 
brother-in-law,  C.  H.  Plagman.  By  en- 
terprise, fair  dealing  and  good  manage- 
ment this  firm  have  built  up  a  prosperous 
trade.  Our  subject  is  a  Republican  in 
politics,  and  has  held  various  local  offices. 
He  and  Mrs.  Sherrard  are  members  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  socially  he 
belongs  to  McPherson  Lodge,  I.  O.  O. 
F. ,  to  the  Order  of  the  Red  Cross  and 
the  Equitable  Aid  Union. 

Robert  \V.  Sherrard  married,  on  May 
18,  1875,  Miss  Clara  A.  Karshner,  who 
was  born  November  23,  1855,  daughter 
of  Daniel  and  Lydia  (Robinson)  Karsh- 
ner, of  Riley  township,  Sandusky  Co., 
Ohio.  Daniel  Karshner,  born  September 
9,  1822,  was  a  son  of  John  and  Christena 
(Drum)  Karshner,  both  of  whom  died  at 
an  advanced  age  in  Riley  township.  The 
children  of  Daniel  Karshner  were:  F'rank, 
who  married  Louisa  Niester;  Charles, 
who  died  in  childhood;  Alfred  L. ,  unmar- 
ried; Clara  A.,  wife  of  Robert  W.  Sherrard; 
Ella  L.,  who  died  when  aged  seven; 
Sarah  L. ,  wife  of  H.  C.  Plagman;  Anna 
N.,  wife  of  John  N.  Smith;  Edwin  U., 
who  married  Mary  Bardus;  and  Willis 
C,  who  died  at  the  age  of  fifteen. 

Mrs.  Clara  A.  (Karshner)  Sherrard 
grew  to  womanhood  in  Riley  township, 
attended  the  country  schools  and  the 
Fremont  High  School,  and  taught  three 
terms  of  school  in  the  vicinity  of 
her  home  in  Riley  and  Sandusky 
townships.      She    now    presides    over    a 


neat  family  residence  on  East  State 
street,  honored  by  its  historic  connection 
with  Gen.  Bell,  one  of  the  earliest  pio- 
neers of  Lower  Sandusky.  The  children 
of  Robert  W.  and  Clara  A.  Sherrard  are 
Blanche  Mae,  born  March  10,  1876,  and 
Zella  Gertrude,  born  January  18,  1884; 
the  former  is  a  graduate  of  the  I*"remont 
High  School,  and  the  latter  is  a  student 
of  the  same. 


S.\LES  A.  JUNE  was  born  in 
Tompkins  county,  N.  Y.,  August 
2,  1829,  son  of  Peter  June.  In 
1833  he  came  with  his  father's 
family  to  Ohio,  locating  in  Sandusky 
city,  where  he  remained  until  1849,  when, 
at  the  age  of  twenty  years,  he  went  to 
Cleveland  to  learn  the  trade  of  machinist. 
During  the  period  from  1849  to  1856 
Mr.  June  alternated  between  sailing  on 
the  lakes  as  an  engineer  in  the  summer 
time,  and  working  in  the  Cuyahoga  shops 
in  the  winter  time.  About  the  year  1857 
he  went  to  Brantford,  Canada,  where  he 
became  connected  with  sawmilling,  and 
took  a  contract  for  furnishing  lumber  for 
a  branch  of  the  Grand  Trimk  railroad. 
He  had  a  partner  in  the  business,  and  the 
enterprise  was  successful,  they  furnishing 
lumber  for  the  western  end  of  the  Buf- 
falo \-  Lake  Erie,  then  known  as  the 
Buffalo  A:  Lake  Huron  Branch,  Grand 
Trunk  railroad.  Mr.  June  next  took  a 
contract  to  build  a  plank  road  into  the 
oil  regions  of  Canada,  at  Ennisskillen, 
which  he  completed  just  before  the  Civil 
war  broke  out  in  the  United  States.  He 
then  returned  to  Cleveland.  Ohio.  In 
1862  he  went  to  Buffalo  and  assisted  in 
building  and  finishing  out  the  United 
States  steamer  "Commodore  Perry." 
and  became  engaged  as  an  engineer  on 
the  vessel,  in  the  employ  of  the  United 
States  Government,  continuing  thus  until 
the  latter  part  of  1865.  .After  this  he 
superintended  the  building  of  a  propellor 
for  the  Fremont  Steam  Navigation  Com- 


138 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


pany,  and  ran  her  on  the  lakes  until  about 
1867,  at  which  time  he  started  a  boiler 
works  in  Fremont,  Ohio.  After  opera- 
ting these  works  about  eight  years  he  sold 
out  to  D.  June  &  Co.,  remaining  in  the 
employ  of  said  company,  and  being  a 
partner  in  the  same  until  1890.  In  the 
year  1891  he  received  an  appointment 
from  the  United  States  Lighthouse  Board 
at  Washington,  D.  C. ,  to  go  to  Cleve- 
land, Ohio,  and  superintend  the  build- 
ing of  engines  and  boilers  of  two  light- 
house boats,  the  "Columbia"  and  the 
"Lilac;"  the  latter  boat  is  now  on  the 
coast  of  Maine,  and  the  former  on  the 
coast  of  Oregon.  In  the  fall  of  1892  Mr. 
June  returned  to  Fremont  and  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  the  boiler-scale 
solvent,  which  has  been  introduced  into 
all  the  leading  boiler  shops  of  Ohio,  and 
is  presumed  to  be  a  great  success. 

Sales  A.  June  was  married  to  Miss 
Jane  J.  Campbell,  who  was  born  in  Cuya- 
hoga county,  Ohio,  December  29,  1827, 
daughter  of  John  N.  and  Jane  (Quiggin) 
Campbell,  and  three  children  were  born  to 
them,  of  whom  (i)  Adelaide  J.,  born  May 
10,  1857,  was  married  in  1880  to  William 
Waugh,  a  Scotchman,  who  is  a  whole- 
sale fur  dealer  at  Montreal,  P.  O. ;  their 
children  are  Florence,  Oliver  S.,  Marion 
and  William. 

(2)  Peter  J.  June,  born  September  6, 
1858,  grew  to  manhood  and  received  his 
education  in  Fremont,  where  he  learned 
the  trade  of  mechanical  engineer  in  the 
shops  of  D.  June  &  Co. ,  subsequently  going 
to  Cleveland,  where  he  worked  in  the  Cuy- 
ahoga shops  and  for  the  Globe  Shipbuild- 
ing Co.  several  years.  After  this  he  fol- 
lowed steamboating,  as  engineer,  on  the 
lakes  from  1S78  until  1892,  during  the  sum- 
mer seasons,  for  several  lines,  running  the 
"Conestoga,"  "Gordon  Campbell,"  and 
"Lehigh,"  of  the  Anchor  Line;  the 
"Wocoken,"  "  Egyptian  "  and  "  Cormo- 
rant, "of  the  Winslow  Fleet;  the  "  North- 
ern Light,"  of  the  Northern  Steamship 
Co.,  and    the    "City    of  Toledo,"  of  the 


Toledo  &  Island  Steam  Navigation  Co. 
In  the  season  of  1890  he  had  charge  of 
the  McKinnon  Iron  Works  at  Ashtabula, 
Ohio.  He  is  now  a  partner  in  the  Fre- 
mont Boiler-Scale  Solvent  Co.,  Fremont, 
Ohio.  Mr.  June  was  married  at  Tyler, 
Texas,  to  Miss  Jennie,  daughter  of  J.  C. 
and  Agnes  (Boyd)  Jones,  who  were  from 
Beaver  county,  Penn.,  and  of  Welsh  de- 
scent. They  have  one  child,  Robert  F. , 
born  October  24,  1887. 

(3)  Elmer  Ellsworth,  youngest  in  the 
family  of  Sales  A.  June,  was  born  in  1861, 
and  died  when  nine  months  old. 

In  politics  Sales  A.  June  and  his  son 
are  Republicans.  They  are  members  of 
the  Masonic  Fraternity,  the  former  hav- 
ing attained  the  seventh  and  the  latter  the 
third  degree. 


GEORGE  JUNE,  retired  farmer  and 
horse  dealer,  Fremont,  Sandusky 
county,  was  born  in  the  town  of 
Dryden,  Tompkins  Co.,  N.  Y. , 
December  26,  1822,  son  of  Peter  June. 
He  came  with  his  father's  family,  in  1833, 
to  Sandusky  city,  where  he  attended 
school  a  few  terms,  as  he  could  be  spared 
from  work. 

At  the  age  of  fifteen  George  June  left 
home  to  work  on  his  own  account,  going 
with  his  brother  Daniel  to  serve  as  team- 
ster, in  the  construction  of  mason  work 
in  Maumee  (Lucas  county)  and  vicinity, 
and  helped  build  the  first  poor  house  in 
Lucas  county.  In  1838  he  went  south  to 
Springfield,  Cincinnati  and  other  cities  in 
quest  of  work.  He  drove  a  stage  for  the 
Ohio  Stage  Company,  on  the  National 
road,  about  eleven  years,  and  also  drove 
stage  for  some  time  at  Bellefontaine,  his 
wages  being  usually  about  $14  per  month 
and  board.  After  this  he  went  to  Cincin- 
nati, and  engaged  first  as  a  common  hand 
to  assist  a  stock  company  in  shipping  live 
stock  down  the  Mississippi  river;  but  his 
natural  tact  and  his  long  experience  in 
handling  horses  soon  caused  him  to  be  put 


OOMMBMORATTVE   BTOORAPHWAL   RECORD. 


180 


in  charge  of  large  consignments  of  horses 
on  vessels,  as  foreman.  For  about  ten 
years  he  went  south  in  the  fall,  and  re- 
turned in  the  spring.  Having  accumu- 
lated some  money,  he  invested  it  in  a 
large  farm  in  Sandusky  county,  whereon 
he  afterward  settled.  During  the  Civil 
war  Mr.  June  furnished  cavalry  horses  for 
the  Ohio  troops,  at  the  rate  of  nearly 
2,000  per  year.  He  shipped  the  first  car- 
load of  horses  that  ever  was  shipped  from 
Fremont  to  Boston,  and  has  shipped 
many  a  carload  since.  By  his  long  and 
active  out-door  life,  and  his  temperate 
habits,  he  has  retained  robust  health  in  a 
green  old  age. 


JOHN  GEIGER,  farmer,  of  Fremont, 
Sandusky  county,  was  born  in  Baden, 
Germany,  March  12,  1819,  a  son  of 
John  and  Josephine  (Cramer)  Geiger. 
His  father  was  born  in  the  same  place, 
and  was  by  occupation  a  glass-cutter  and 
window-grainer.  He  died  at  the  age  of 
forty-eight  years.  His  widow  came  to 
America,  and  died  at  the  advanced  age  of 
ninety  years,  in  Reed  township,  Huron 
Co.,  Ohio.  Their  children  were:  Law- 
rence, who  died  at  the  age  of  forty-eight 
years  in  Shannon  township  (he  was  a 
farmer  and  wagon-maker  by  trade);  Rosa, 
who  married  a  Mr.  Nesser,  and  died  in 
Huron  county;  Mary  Ann,  a  widow,  liv- 
ing in  Huron  county;  Frances,  who  died 
young  in  Germany;  John,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  and  Rudolph,  who  lives  in 
Sherman  township,  Huron  county. 

Our  subject  worked  by  the  month  and 
by  the  year  until  he  came  to  America, 
and  continued  thus  for  some  time  after 
coming  here.  On  March  14,  1840,  he 
landed  in  New  York  City  after  a  voyage 
of  forty-eight  days,  and  shortly  after 
came  to  Huron  county,  Ohio,  where  he 
settled.  He  borrowed  $8.00  in  Buffalo 
from  an  old  schoolmate  with  which  to 
come  to  Ohio,  where  he  worked  for  $8 
per  month  at  harvesting.     After  working 


for  a  while  on  a  farm  he  commenced 
wagon-making,  but  in  about  two  weeks 
he  was  taken  sick  with  a  fever  which  did 
not  leave  him  until  cold  weather — in 
fact,  it  was  the  ague.  He  left  Huron 
county  to  get  rid  of  it,  coming  to  Fremont 
in  the  fall  of  1840,  and  remaining  in  the 
region  of  the  Black  Swamp  about  three 
months,  after  which  he  went  to  where 
Toledo  now  is,  but  failing  to  get  any  busi- 
ness he  returned  to  Bellevue.  When  he 
left  Huron  county  he  owed  a  doctor  bill, 
to  pay  which  he  had  to  sell  his  clothes. 
He  had  had  the  ague  every  other  day, 
and  the  rest  of  the  time  was  employed 
driving  a  team,  but  he  only  received  two 
dollars  of  his  wages  in  money,  the  rest  in 
trade  to  the  amount  of  si.x  dollars.  In 
the  latter  part  of  February  he  had  a  fall- 
ing out  with  his  employer,  and  would  not 
stay  with  him  over  night.  He  concluded 
to  go  away  ten  or  twelve  miles,  to  Green- 
field township,  and  on  the  way  he  went 
through  a  wilderness  and  found  himself 
on  a  prairie.  Here  he  fell  into  a  ditch 
where  the  water  was  up  to  his  waist,  but 
he  managed  to  get  out,  and  proceeding 
on  his  way  fell  into  another  ditch  in  try- 
ing to  jump  it,  this  time  losing  his  bundle 
of  goods.  He  now  was  soaking  wet,  but 
he  had  saved  his  money.  He  went  on 
until  he  saw  a  light,  which  he  followed. 
The  light  went  out,  but  he  found  a  house, 
and  when  the  door  opened  he  dodged  in 
without  invitation  among  a  Yankee  fam- 
ily, with  whom  he  could  not  talk  a  word 
of  English.  He  was  not  slow,  however, 
in  making  his  wants  known  by  gestures, 
at  which  the  Germans  are  so  apt,  and 
was  at  once  providecl  for;  but  he  shool 
with  the  ague,  which  was  worse  than  th< 
wet.  He  got  to  Greenfield  township 
and  then  started  for  Huron.  On  the  way 
he  took  a  chill,  and  lay  down  till  it  was 
over.  On  reaching  Huron  he  got  on  a 
boat,  but  he  was  too  sick  to  sit  up,  so  he 
lay  down  in  a  bunk  and  waited  till  the 
boat  should  get  ready  to  go,  saying  to 
himself,  •'  Let  the  boat  go  where  it  will," 


140 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


and  fell  asleep.  The  boat  started,  and 
on  the  voyage  he  got  seasick,  but  the 
ague  left  him,  and  the  next  morning  he 
was  in  Cleveland,  where  he  found  work. 
When  he  was  getting  off  the  boat  they 
stopped  him  to  get  his  passage  money. 
He  said,  "No  monish. "  He  got  a  kind 
Dutchman  to  help  him  out,  whom  he  paid 
later.  Subsequently  going  to  Buffalo,  he 
was  employed  there  as  a  hostler,  earning 
$25.  He  then  took  passage  to  Canada, 
where  wages  were  good,  and  worked  there 
two  years  for  a  Dutchman  at  twelve  dol- 
lars per  month.  His  employer  was  a 
kind  man,  and  paid  him  $200  in  good 
money.  After  working  for  others  and 
earning  some  more  money  Mr.  Geiger  re- 
turned to  Huron  county,  Ohio,  and  bought 
forty  acres  of  land  in  Sherman  township. 
Here  at  Milan  he  started  a  brick-yard, 
and  continued  to  run  it  about  si.x  years. 
He  hauled  lumber  sixteen  miles  with  one 
horse  to  build  his  house,  paying  out  every 
dollar  he  had  for  it,  and  gave  a  chattel 
mortgage  for  a  barrel  of  flour.  He  sold 
these  forty-two  acres  and  bought  seventy- 
two  acres  between  Norwalk  and  Milan, 
which  he  fitted  up  for  a  home,  and  after- 
ward traded  it  off  for  one  hundred  acres 
in  Sherman  township,  upon  which  he 
moved  and  went  to  farming  during  the 
Civil  war.  He  was  drafted  on  the  first 
draft,  and  hired  a  substitute,  but  he  was 
loyal  to  the  Government.  From  Sher- 
man township  he  moved  to  Peru  town- 
ship, where  he  was  again  drafted,  and 
here  he  put  in  a  substitute  for  three  years, 
or  during  the  war.  When  he  was  to  be 
drafted  a  third  time  he  was  exempted  by 
this  last  substitute.  In  Peru  he  cleared 
up  a  farm  of  160  acres.  Mr.  Geiger  is  a 
Republican  and  a  Catholic. 

On  June  11,  1847,  John  Geiger  mar- 
ried Miss  Catharine  Grabner,  who  was 
born  January  30,  1823,  in  Bavaria,  and 
the  children  born  to  this  union  were: 
John  J. ;  Laura,  who  married  Louis 
Hours  and  had  children  as  follows — Fan- 
nie, Metz,  Alpha,  Arthur  and  two  others; 


Mary,  who  married  Albert  Smith  and  had 
children — Rosa,  Alta,  Charles  and  Frank; 
Frank,  who  married  Mary  Hippie,  and 
had  six  children,  and  Mathias,  who  mar- 
ried Ann  Bitzer,  and  whose  children  were 
Herod,  Alice,  Theresa,  and  Ada  May. 
Mr.  Geiger  moved  to  his  present  resi- 
dence May  8,  1891.  Mrs.  Geiger  was  a 
daughter  of  Lawrence  and  Ivatharine 
(Ohl)  Grabner,  who  landed  in  America 
after  a  passage  of  eight  weeks  on  the 
ocean,  and  settled  in  Huron  county,  Ohio, 
in  1839.  Mr.  Grabner  died  at  fifty-three 
years  of  age.  His  children  were:  Mary, 
who  married  John  Suter;  Margaret,  who 
married  Casper  Kirgner;  Catharine,  now 
Mrs.  Geiger;  John,  who  married  Rebecca 
Bigler  (now  deceased),  and  Peter,  who  is 
also  deceased. 


JOHN  B.  LOVELAND,  of  Fremont, 
Sandusky  county,  was  born  Feb- 
ruary 20,  1827,  in  New  Haven  town- 
ship, Huron  Co.,  Ohio,  of  English 
descent,  his  great  ancestor  having  settled 
in  the  Connecticut  Valley  in  the  year  1635. 
At  the  age  of  nineteen  Mr.  Loveland 
left  his  father's  home  and  farm  for  Ober- 
lin  College,  which  was  then  a  manual  la- 
bor institution,  and  here  for  four  years 
he  paid  his  way  with  manual  labor  dur- 
ing term  time,  and  by  teaching  district 
schools  during  the  winter  vacations.  In 
1854  he  took  a  position  as  teacher  in  the 
Fremont  Union  Schools,  which  he  held  for 
ten  years  with  credit  to  himself  and  to  the 
entire  satisfaction  of  all  concerned.  He 
next  served  as  superintendent  of  schools 
at  Bellevue,  Green  Spring  and  Woodville, 
adjoining  towns  in  the  same  county,  and 
during  his  connection  with  these  schools 
he  was  a  member  of  the  Sandusky  County 
Board  of  school  examiners,  faithfully  dis- 
charging the  duties  of  his  office  for  the 
term  of  fourteen  years.  He  was  also  an 
officer  of  the  Sandusky  County  Teachers' 
Institute  some  twenty-five  years.  Having 
found  leisure  time  for  the  study  of  law,  Mr. 


COMMKMOUATIVK    DIOGRAPUICAL    IlfCOIiD. 


141 


Loveland  was  admitted  to  the  bar  March 
20,  1876,  by  the  district  court  at  Fre- 
mont, but  he  does  not  make  the  practice 
of  law  a  specialty,  preferrin;^  the  retire- 
ment of  his  farm  just  outside  the  city 
limits.  He  is  the  author  of  "The  Love- 
land  Genealogy."  in  three  large  octavo 
volumes,  published  in  1892-95.  Mr. 
Lovelaiui  is  a  stanch  Kepublicaii,  and  be- 
lieves that  the  mission  of  the  Republican 
party  is  not  yet  ended.  He  cast  his  first 
vote  in  1848  for  the  nominee  of  the  Free- 
Soil  party,  in  1852  voted  for  John  P. 
Hale,  candidate  of  the  new  party,  in 
1856  for  John  C.  Fremont,  and  in  i860 
for  Abraham  Lincoln.  From  first  to  last 
he  was  opposed  to  slavery.  He  is  a  de- 
cided advocate  of  temperance  and  prohi- 
bition, uses  no  tobacco,  and  despises  the 
use  of  alcohol  in  all  its  forms  as  a  bever- 
age. He  believes  the  use  of  the  one  is 
the  stepping-stone  to  the  use  of  the  other. 

John  13.  Loveland  was  married  at  New 
Haven,  Huron  Co.,  Ohio,  August  22, 
1850,  to  Miss  Martha  Jane,  daughter  of 
Nicholas  and  Delilah  (Hunsicker)  Watts. 
She  was  born  in  Owasco,  N.  Y. ,  March 
3,  1831,  and  died  at  Fremont,  February 
27,  1883,  the  mother  of  children  as  fol- 
lows: Martha  Amelia,  born  July  31,  185  i, 
died  August  22,  1851;  Nicholas  Eugene, 
born  November  20,  1852;  and  John  El- 
mer, born  December  22,  1862.  On  April 
22,  1884,  John  B.  Loveland,for  his  second 
wife,  married,  at  Fremont,  Mrs.  Harriet 
Newell  Fa.xson,  //<V  Loveland,  who  was 
born  at  Waterville,  Penn.,  February  17, 
1838.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  our  subject 
united  with  the  Free-Will  Baptist  Church 
in  New  Haven,  and  he  and  Mrs.  Love- 
land arc  now  members  of  the  M.  E. 
Church  at  Fremont. 

N.  E.  Loveland,  farmer,  of  Green 
Spring,  Ohio,  was  born  in  Greenfield 
township,  Huron  county,  November  20, 
1852,  and  spent  his  early  life  on  his  fa- 
ther's farm  at  Fremont.  In  1 872  he  gradu- 
ated from  the  Fremont  High  School,  after 
which  he  served  as  superintendent  of  the 


Port  Clinton  and  Woodville  schools.  He 
studied  law  with  the  firm  of  Everett  & 
F'owler,  Fremont,  and  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  by  the  district  court,  March  20, 
1876,  subsequently  practicing  his  profes- 
sion at  Columbus  Grove  and  at  Fremont, 
but  he  has  now  retired  to  his  farm.  He 
is  a  strong  advocate  of  temperance,  and 
in  politics  is  a  Republican.  On  November 
16,  1876,  he  married  Miss  Annie  Parker, 
of  Green  Spring,  who  was  born  there 
July  24,  1857.  They  are  both  members 
of  the  Seventh-Day  Advent  Church.  The 
names  and  dates  of  birth  of  their  children 
are  Bertha  Eugenie,  December  15,  1S77; 
Grace  Eola,  April  25,  1883;  Roy  Dana, 
April  2,  1886;  Daisy  Melita,  June  3,  1889; 
and  Ernest  Eugene,  October  20,  1892. 

J.  Elmek  Loveland,  an  emyloye  in 
the  Carbon  Works,  was  born  at  Fremont, 
December  22,  1862,  and  received  his 
education  in  the  F'remont  city  schools. 
His  present  residence  is  on  a  lot  of  land 
adjoining  that  of  his  father.  On  October 
29,  1882,  he  was  married,  at  Clyde, 
Ohio,  to  Miss  Anna  Murphy,  who  was 
born  in  New  York  city  September  i, 
1864,  daughter  of  Michael  and  Nora 
(Dillon)  Murphy,  and  their  children  are: 
Martha  Hazel,  born  April  22,  1884; 
Herman,  born  September  26,  1887;  and 
John  Talcott,  born  July  22,   1892. 


JOHN  F.  GOTTRON.  proprietor  of 
stone  quarry,  and  dealer  in  building 
stone,  lime,  etc.,  at  Fremont,  San- 
dusky county,  is  a  native  of  same, 
having  been  born  there  July  21,  1855,  a 
son  of  Philip  and  Clara  (F"ertig)  Gottron. 
Philip  Gottron  was  born  September 
12,  1812,  in  Mumbach,  Germany,  where 
he  grew  to  manhood,  and  was  engaged  in 
the  lime  and  the  roofing-tile  business  un- 
til he  emigrated  to  America.  He  was 
mayor  of  Mumbach,  and  at  different  times 
held  other  public  offices,  serving  as  a 
member  of  the  city  council.  In  1834  he 
came  to  America,    locating    in  Fremont, 


142 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOORAPEICAL    RECORD. 


Ohio,  where  he  conducted  a  hotel  for 
some  years  and  a  brick-yard.  About  the 
year  1862-63  he  did  the  first  extensive 
business  in  hme  in  Fremont.  He  bought 
a  part  of  the  extensive  quarries  now 
owned  by  his  sons,  and  carried  on  a  prof- 
itable trade,  retiring  from  business  in 
1878;  he  died  in  1881.  He  was  a  Dem- 
ocrat in  politics,  and  a  Roman  Catholic 
in  religious  faith.  His  wife  was  also  born 
in  Mumbach,  Germany,  where  they  were 
married,  and  she  came  with  him  to 
America,  dying  April  26,  1871.  They 
had  eleven  children  (two  of  whom  were 
born  in  America),  as  follows:  Margaret, 
wife  of  George  Engler,  of  the  firm  of 
Engler,  Baker  &  Co.,  stock  and  grain 
buyers,  Fremont,  Ohio;  Clara,  widow  of 
Philip  Setzler;  Herman,  who  died  at  the 
age  of  thirty-four;  Frank,  who  is  foreman 
of  the  kilns  in  connection  with  his  broth- 
ers' business  at  Fremont,  Ohio;  Anna, 
widow  of  Andrew  Hodes;  Anthony  N., 
keeper  of  a  restaurant  at  Fremont,  Ohio; 
Rosa,  wife  of  S.  Geier,  of  Cleveland, 
Ohio;  Barbara,  wife  of  W.  G.  Andrews; 
of  Cleveland,  Ohio;  Adam,  who  is  a  part- 
ner with  his  brother  John  F.  in  the  stone 
quarry,  of  Fremont,  Ohio;  John  F. ; 
and  Philip,  who  married  Miss  Ellen  Hid- 
ber,  and  lives  at  Fremont,  Ohio. 

John  F.  Gottron  was  reared  in  Fre- 
mont, where  he  attended  both  parochial 
and  public  schools,  and  assisted  his  father 
in  business.  At  the  age  of  thirteen  he 
was  taken  out  of  school  to  do  work  in 
lime-kilns,  continuing  thus  until  he  was 
twenty,  when  he  went  to  Cleveland.  Ohio, 
and  worked  a  year  and  a  half  on  Broad- 
way and  Central  avenue,  for  a  brother- 
in-law,  after  which,  in  1877,  he  returned 
to  Fremont,  where  he  has  been  engaged 
in  the  lime  business  ever  since.  When 
the  Gottron  Brothers  started  in  this  busi- 
ness, our  subject  had  only  $20  and  his 
brother  $100.  In  1890  they  bought  out 
all  competitors,  and  now  have  full  con- 
trol of  the  business.  They  furnish  founda- 
tion   stones    for  buildings    and    bridges, 


employing  twenty-five  men  in  the  sum- 
mer season  in  the  quarries,  and  ship  lime 
to  various  parts  of  Ohio,  Michigan,  In- 
diana, Pennsylvania  and  New  York. 

On  October  3,  1882,  John  F.  Got- 
tron married  Miss  Bertha  Andrews,  who 
was  born  June  13,  1859;  she  received  a 
part  of  her  education  in  a  convent  in 
Germany.  Her  parents  were  Christo- 
pher and  Mary  (Fertig)  Andrews,  the 
father  born  in  North  Germany  January 
8,  1828,  and  the  mother  June  11,  1824, 
in  Bensheim.  They  both  came  to 
America  in  childhood.  He  died  March 
27,  1878;  she  is  living  with  her  daugh- 
ter at  Fremont,  Ohio.  Their  children 
were:  William  G. ,  who  married  Barbara 
Gottron,  and  is  in  the  milling  business  at 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  being  vice-president 
and  one  of  the  principal  stockholders  in 
the  Broadway  Mills  Co.,  of  which  he  was 
one  of  the  organizers;  T.  M.,  living  at 
Cleveland;  Catharine,  wife  of  A.  N.  Got- 
tron, of  Fremont,  Ohio;  and  Bertha,  wife 
of  our  subject. 

After  marriage  Mr.  Gottron  moved  to 
his  home  in  the  Fourth  ward  of  Fremont, 
and  during  the  second  year  thereafter 
was  elected  to  the  city  council,  of  which 
he  was  president  from  1885  to  1889,  and 
served  as  clerk  for  four  years  following. 
In  1894  Mr.  Gottron  completed  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  homes  in  the  city  at 
the  corner  of  Birchard  avenue  and  Mon- 
roe street,  where  he  now  resides.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
the  Catholic  Knights  of  Ohio,  the  Order 
of  Elks  and  of  the  German  Aid  Society. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gottron  have  two  children: 
Mabelle  and  John  F. ,  Jr. 


M 


ERLIN  BABCOCK,  one  of  the 
substantial  and  popular  farmers 
of  York  township,  Sandusky 
county,  comes  of  pioneer  stock. 
He  was  born  in  Ontario  county.  New 
York,  June  27,  1819,  son  of  Elisha  and 
Prudence  (Hinkley)  Babcock,  both  natives 


cv^'/^'^'i^    '-^^/i'^^^^^^ 


\- 


OOilMEMORATIVB   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


148 


of    Stevens    township,    Rensselaer  Co., 
New  York. 

I£lisli:i  Babcock  was  born  in  1783,  of 
remote  Holland  ancestry,  but  he  himself 
always  used  to  insist  that  he  was  a  Yan- 
kee. He  was  a  Whig  in  politics.  In 
\^2l  he  migrated  by  team  with  his  family 
from  New  York  to  Green  Creek  town- 
ship, Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  where  he 
purchased  government  land,  and  was 
among  the  earliest  settlers,  the  family 
living  (or  a  few  weeks  in  -an  old  sugar 
shanty  while  a  cabin  was  being  erected. 
The  parents  went  to  their  long  rest  many 
years  later,  after  they  had  converted  the 
wilderness  into  a  fruitful  farm.  To  Elisha 
and  Prudence  Babcock  were  born  five 
children,  as  follows:  Laura,  who  first 
married  P.  C.  Chapel,  and  for  her  second 
husband  wedded  J.  C.  Coleman,  a  grocer 
of  Fremont,  where  she  died;  Esther,  who 
married  George  Waldorf,  of  Allegany 
county,  N.  Y.,  and  died  there;  Clark, 
who  married  Ann  Lee,  and  was  a  farmer 
of  Porter  county,  Ind.;  Hiram,  who 
married  Mary  Ann  Lay,  and  after  her  de- 
cease wedded  Josephine  Woodruff,  and 
who  died  in  Green  Creek  township,  in 
1886,  leaving  seven  children;  Merlin,  the 
youngest  child,  is  the  only  survivor  of  the 
family. 

Merlin  Babcock  was  but  four  years  of 
age  when  he  migrated  with  his  parents  to 
Sandusky  county.  He  remained  on  the 
old  homestead  in  Green  Creek  township 
until  he  was  twenty-seven  years  old,  in 
his  youth  attending  school  in  winter  about 
three  months,  and  in  summer  two  months. 
For  his  first  wife  he  married  Almira  Uir- 
1am,  a  native  of  Massachusetts.  She  died 
in  1846,  leaving  three  children:  Sarah, 
wife  of  John  J.  Craig,  of  Coffey  county, 
Kans. ;  Callie  B.,  who  married  G.  M. 
Kinney,  by  whom  she  had  one  child, 
Merlin,  and  who  now  keeps  house  for  her 
father;  and  Frank,  a  resident  of  Gibson- 
burg,  who  has  five  chiKlren — Burton, 
Edith,  Amy,  Chauncey  and  Jesse.  After 
the  death  of    his  first  wife  Mr.  Babcock 


left  his  father's  homestead  and  moved  to 
his  present  farm  in  York  township.  Here 
he  married  Agnes  E.  Donaldson,  by  whom 
he  had  one  child,  John  C,  now  a  resi- 
dent of  Nevada.  He  engaged  in  general 
farming  for  a  time,  then  removed  to  Wads- 
worth,  Nevada,  and  there  engaged  in  the 
hotel  business.  After  his  wife  died  in  the 
western  home  he  returned  to  Sandusky 
county,  and  has  since  resided  on  his  farm 
in  York  township.  In  politics  Mr.  Bab- 
cock has  been  a  Henry  Clay  Whig.  He 
cast  his  first  vote  for  W.  H.  H  Harrison, 
and  also  voted  for  his  grandson,  Benjamin 
Harrison,  for  President.  Mr.  Babcock 
remembers  hearing  Gen.  Harrison  make 
a  speech  at  Old  Fort  Meigs  in  1840.  He 
remembers,  too,  with  vividness,  the  re- 
markable change  that  has  come  upon  the 
face  of  the  country  during  the  past  fifty 
years,  and  among  other  things  the  three 
old  mills  on  Coon  creek,  near  Clyde,  that 
ran  several  months  each  year,  that  stream 
then  being  filled  from  bank  to  bank,  in 
striking  contrast  to  the  present  attenuated 
How  of  water.  He  served  York  town- 
ship for  nineteen  years  as  assessor,  and 
has  filled  various  other  local  offices.  Mr. 
Babcock  is  an  upright  citizen,  and  is  with- 
out an  enemy.  At  his  old  home  in  York 
township  he  enjoys  the  serenity  and  com- 
fort which  should  crown  a  life  so  well  spent 
as  his  has  been,  and  he  commands  the 
highest  respect  and  esteem  of  a  wide  cir- 
cle of  friends  and  acquaintances. 


A  J.  HALE,  station  agent  of  the 
Lake  Shore  &  Michigan  Southern 
railroad,  Fremont,  was  born  in 
Steuben  county,  N.  Y.,  May  25, 
1828,  son  of  Samuel  and  Sarah  Hale. 

Samuel  Hale  was  born  in  Massachu- 
setts, and  his  wife  in  Connecticut,  whence 
she  early  removed  to  western  New  York, 
and  there  grew  to  womanhood.  They  were 
married  at  Albany.  He  was  first  a  lumber 
dealer  in  various  sections  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  and  later  a  general  merchant. 


144 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


doing  business  at  Tyrone,  Steuben  county. 
He  died  in  1842,  at  the  age  of  fifty-seven 
years,  and  sfie  died  at  Lake  Geneva,  in 
1857,  at  the  age  of  sixty-three,  a  member 
of  the  Baptist  Church.  Ten  children 
were  born  to  them,  nine  of  whom  grew 
to  maturity. 

A.  J.  Hale  was  reared  in  Steuben 
county,  N.  Y. ,  and  attended  the  public 
schools  until  thirteen  years  of  age.  He 
then  served  as  clerk  in  a  store,  in  New 
York  State,  for  two  years  when,  in  1842, he 
came  to  Bellevue,  Ohio,  and  was  there 
actively  engaged  in  business  until  1852, 
when  he  removed  to  Fremont,  becoming 
agent  for  the  Lake  Shore  &  Michigan 
Southern  railroad,  in  1857,  which  position 
he  filled  until  1861.  At  the  outbreak  of 
the  Civil  war,  in  1861,  he  helped  to  raise 
the  first  company  of  three-year  men  in 
Fremont,  and  entered  the  service  as  sec- 
ond lieutenant  of  Company  E,  Twenty- 
fifth  O.  V.  I.  After  serving  with  the 
company  a  short  time  at  Camp  Chase, 
Columbus,  Ohio,  he  was  appointed  and 
commissioned  quartermaster  of  the 
Twenty-fifth  O.  V.  I.,  under  Gov.  Tod, 
at  the  suggestion  of  Gen.  R.  B.  Hayes. 
Mr.  Hale  had  not  sought  the  position, 
but  was  chosen  on  account  of  his  fitness 
for  the  place.  His  regiment  was  assigned 
to  duty  with  the  army  of  Western  Virginia 
and  he  became  senior  regimental  and 
post  quartermaster,  in  October,  1863, 
resigning  his  post  and  returning  to  Fre- 
mont, where  he  resumed  his  old  place  as 
ticket  and  freight  agent  for  the  combined 
offices  of  the  Lake  Shore  &  Michigan 
Southern  and  the  Lake  Erie  &  Western 
railroads.  He  continued  thus  until  1880, 
when  the  increasing  business  of  the  roads 
demanded  that  the  business  departments 
be  separated,  and  he  became  freight  and 
station  agent  for  the  Lake  Shore  alone, 
and  is  now  acting  in  that  capacity.  His 
long  period  of  service  before  the  public 
and  his  excellent  qualities  as  a  citizen 
have  made  him  one  of  the  best  known 
and  most  highly  respected  citizens  in  the 


community.  In  fraternal  affiliation  he  is 
a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Honor  and 
of  the  Royal  Arcanum.  Mr.  Hale  was 
married,  in  Bellevue,  Ohio,  in  1850,  to 
Miss  Elizabeth  A.  Simkins. 


ALBERT  VOGT  BAUMANN  is  a 
native   "Buckeye,"   having  been 
born  in  Fremont,  in  1S59,  a  son 
of   Jacob    and    Elizabeth    (Vogt) 
Baumann,   natives   of   Switzerland,   who 
came  from  their  native  country  to  Fremont 
in  1854. 

Jacob  Baumann,  his  father,  has  been 
identified  with  the  business  interests  of 
Fremont  since  1856,  and  by  his  persever- 
ance and  strict  attention  to  business  has 
acquired  a  competency  which  places  him 
in  the  front  rank  as  one  of  the  solid,  sub- 
stantial business  men  of  Fremont.  He  is 
and  always  has  been  an  active  Democrat 
in  politics,  but  never  seeking  ofifice.  His 
wife  died  January  7,  1892,  aged  fifty-six 
years.  Their  children  were:  Jacob  Bau- 
mann, Jr.,  of  Fremont;  Emma  Baumann, 
who  died  recently;  Elizabeth  Baumann, 
at  home;  and  Albert  Vogt,  our  subject; 
they  also  had  an  adopted  daughter,  named 
Hattie. 

Our  subject  grew  to  manhood  in  Fre- 
mont, attended  the  city  schools,  and  then 
took  a  thorough  business  course  at  East- 
man College,  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.  He  has 
been  identified  with  the  progress  and  de- 
velopment of  his  native  city  since  his  boy- 
hood days,  and  has  taken  an  active  in- 
terest in  everything  designed  for  the  good 
of  the  county.  He  has  recently  become 
prominent  among  the  oil  and  gas  men  of 
Sandusky  and  adjoining  counties.  In  1884 
and  1885  he  was  principal  owner  and 
manager  of  the  Democratic  Messenger, 
the  organ  of  the  Sandusky  County  Demo- 
cracy at  Fremont.  He  was  elected  city 
clerk  in  1882,  and  served  in  that  capacity 
for  six  years,  having  been  twice  unani- 
mously re-elected.  In  1884  he  received 
the   nomination  of   the  Democratic  party 


OOtniEMORATIVB  BIOORAPHIOAL  RBCORD. 


145 


for  auditor  of  Sandusky  county,  and  was 
defeated  bv  William  L.  Baker.  In  1887 
he  was  ajjain  nominated  by  the  Demo- 
cratic party  for  county  auditor,  and  was 
elected  over  Nfr.  Baker,  who  defeated  him 
three  years  previous.  In  1891  he  was  re- 
nominated and  re-elected  county  auditor, 
receiving  the  largest  niajority  of  any  on 
the  county  ticket.  His  whole  time  and 
attention  is  now  devoted  to  his  business 
interests,  which  have  become  extensive, 
mainly  through  his  persevermg  nature  and 
untiring  efforts.  He  is  largely  interested 
in  The  Fremont  Gas  Company  and  The 
Fremont  Electric  Light  Company,  being 
a  director  in  each  and  secretary  and  treas- 
urer of  both  companies.  In  January, 
1889,  Mr.  Baumann  was  married  at  Fre- 
mont to  Miss  Anna  Rose  Greene,  daugh- 
ter of  Judge  John  L.  Greene,  of  Fremont. 
To  their  union  were  born  two  children: 
Albert  Vogt,  Jr..  and  Elsie  Elizabeth. 
To  his  wife  and  children  he  is  devotedly 
attached. 


C.\PTAIN  O.  L.  SHANNON  was 
born  in  Sandusky  township,  San- 
dusky Co.,  Ohio,  March  30,  1848, 
grew  up  there  and  attended  the 
district  schools.  Being  a  weakly  child, 
the  physicians  ordered  that  he  should  take 
a  voyage,  hence  he  started  on  one  on  the 
lakes  when  he  was  a  boy  ten  years  old. 
He  succeeded  in  sustaining  himself  from 
the  outset,  and  sailed  on  the  lakes  every 
summer.  He  finally  went  before  the  mast, 
remaining  in  that  capacity  until  his  mar- 
riage, in  1873,  to  Miss  Delia  Morrow, 
who  was  born  in  Sandusky  City,  Ohio,  in 
1854,  and  ilied  in  1876,  leaving  one  child, 
Le  Roy,  who  is  now  a  drug  clerk  in  Fre- 
mont, Ohio.  Our  subject's  second  wife, 
Martha  F.  (P'linck),  was  born  in  Erie 
county,  in  1867,  married  in  1882,  in  Lo- 
rain, Ohio,  and  has  two  children:  Wilson 
O..  and  Westford  ¥. 

After  his  first  marriage  Mr.  Shannon 
located  in  Fremont,  where  he    served  in 


various  occupations  until  1874,  when  he 
passed  the  examinations  in  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  and  received  his  certificate  as  mas- 
ter seaman  and  first-class  pilot  on  the 
Great  Lakes.  He  has  sailed  a  boat  near- 
ly every  summer  since  after  his  location 
in  l-'remont,  also  operated  his  farm  in 
Sandusky  township  in  connection  with 
sailing;  but  five  years  since  he  located  per- 
manently in  Fremont.  He  is  still  com- 
manding a  steamer.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  I.O.O.F.  and  of  the  Disciples  Church 
of  Lorain,  Ohio.  His  wife  is  also  a  mem- 
ber of  that  Church.  Capt.  Shannon  is 
well  known  on  the  lakes  and  around  Fre- 
mont. 

John  Shannon,  father  of  our  subject, 
was  born  March  2,  18 13,  in  the  "  Block 
House"  at  Scioto,  which  was  erected  as 
a  fortress  during  the  war  of  181  2.  The 
name  Shannon  is  of  Low-Dutch  origin, 
descending  from  our  subject's  great-grand- 
father, George  Shannon.  He  came  to 
America  in  the  seventeenth  century,  lo- 
cated at  Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  and  was 
well-to-do  financially.  He  died  about  the 
year  1828,  at  an  advanced  age.  He  had 
two  children:  John  and  George,  the  lat- 
ter of  whom,  our  subject's  grandfather, 
came  west  to  Ohio  in  1809.  Soon 
afterward  he  was  married,  in  Sandusky 
county,  to  Mary  Whittaker,  who  was 
born  in  that  county  in  1 799,  and  died 
in  1827.  She  was  the  daughter  of 
James  and  Elizabeth  (Fulks)  Whittaker, 
who  were  both  stolen  by  a  party  of  In- 
dians from  the  Mohawk  Valley,  New  York 
State.  The  great-grandfather  of  our  sub- 
ject was  about  two  years  old  and  his  great- 
grandmother  about  four  years  old  when 
they  were  taken  to  Lower  Sandusky  (now 
Fremont),  which  was  then  the  headquar- 
ters of  the  Indians  in  this  section.  They 
were  reared  by  Indians,  and  by  some 
means  were  made  head  of  the  Indian 
tribes.  They  were  married  by  Indian 
ceremonies.  In  due  course  of  time  they 
established  a  trading  post  on  the  Whit- 
taker Reserve,  which  was  given  them  by 


146 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


the  Indians.  They  also  had  a  trading 
post  at  Upper  Sandusky.  Mr.  Whittaker 
kept  that  post,  and  Mrs.  Whittaker  the 
one  on  the  Whittaker  Reserve.  The  In- 
dians traded,  from  many  miles  around,  at 
Lower  Sandusky,  and  recognized  the 
Whittakers  as  their  rulers  and  chiefs. 
Mr.  Whittaker  had  a  partner  at  Lower 
Sandusky,  and  was  poisoned  by  him  so 
that  he  died;  he  was  hurried  on  the  Whit- 
taker Reserve.  Our  subject's  grand- 
mother died  in  the  spring  of  1832.  They 
had  children  as  follows:  Isaac,  Nancy, 
Mary  (subject's  grandmother),  James, 
Rachel,  Charlotte  and  George.  Our  sub- 
ject's father  saw  and  knew  all  of  them 
except  Nancy,  who  was  married  early  in 
life  to  a  Mr.  Wilson,  and  moved  to 
Canada.  In  1 832-33  two  of  her  daughters 
visited  here,  and  afterward  a  young  man 
came  and  staid  a  short  time;  he  was  here 
at  the  time  of  grandmother's  death,  but 
was  never  seen  afterward.  The  rest  of 
that  branch  of  the  family  died  in  Canada, 
or,  at  all  events,  all  trace  of  them  has 
been  lost.  Isaac  died  in  Indiana;  James 
died  in  White  Pigeon,  Mich.,  where  he 
had  been  a  merchant  (our  subject's  father 
was  there  at  that  time);  Rachel  married 
James  A.  Scranton,  of  Lower  Sandusky, 
and  was  a  prominent  figure  here  for  years; 
Charlotte  died  single;  George,  the  young- 
est, died  in  Indiana. 

Our  subject's  paternal  grandfather 
never  knew  what  became  of  his  uncle 
John.  Grandfather  married  asecond  time, 
but  nothing  positive  is  known  of  their 
history.  He  was  a  farmer  and  a  great 
hunter.  He  made  hunting  his  chief  occu- 
pation, and  employed  others  to  operate 
his  farm.  He  died  at  the  age  of  forty- 
two,  and  his  wife  at  thirty-si.x.  They  had 
eight  children,  six  of  which  grew  to  ma- 
turity: Elizabeth,  married  to  Samuel 
Hubble,  a  ship  carpenter  at  Fort  Miami; 
James,  who  died  near  Oregon;  John,  sub- 
ject's father;  William,  a  farmer,  who  died 
at  Genoa,  Ohio;  Rachel,  who  died  young; 
Samuel,  who  died  at  Plaster  Bed,  Ottawa 


Co. ,  Ohio,  and  Jacob,  who  died  in  Fulton, 
Ohio.  Our  subject's  father,  John  Shan- 
non, is  the  only  one  of  these  now  living. 
Capt.  Shannon's  paternal  grandpar- 
ents went  away  for  safety  from  the  war 
in  the  fall  of  1812,  and  subject's  father 
was  born  in  the  block  house  built  at 
Scioto,  to  protect  the  whites  against  the 
Indians.  While  a  party  of  whites  were 
digging  potatoes  and  tending  other  crops 
they  were  attacked  by  Indians,  and  the 
paternal  grandfather  of  our  subject  was 
so  badly  wounded  that  he  had  to  crawl 
two  days  and  nights  to  reach  a  friendly 
Indian's  cabin,  and  was  assisted  back  to 
Scioto.  He  was  severely  wounded  in  the 
back,  from  which  he  suffered  two  years, 
during  which  time  the  doctor  took  thirty- 
one  pieces  of  bone  from  his  back.  He 
was  a  strong  man  and  a  great  hunter. 
Our  subject's  father  grew  up  among  the 
Indians,  was  a  great  hunter  in  the  early 
days,  and  is  still  a  noted  duck  shooter. 
On  October  i,  1840,  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Eveline  Patterson,  who  was  born  in 
Onondaga  county,  N.  Y. ,  in  1824.  She 
died  October  9,  1893.  They  had  ten 
children:  Sarah,  Emma  Jane,  Julia  (who 
married  Andrew  Franks,  and  lives  in 
Michigan),  Capt.  O.  L.  (oursubject),  John 
W.  (who  lives  in  Sandusky  township),  and 
Fannie  (wife  of  Frank  Scheffler,  of  Fre- 
mont, Ohio);  the  rest  of  the  children 
died  young.  After  the  death  of  our  sub- 
ject's mother,  his  father,  John  Shannon, 
married  Mrs.  Sophia  Peter,  who  was  a 
widow  at  that  time. 


BYRON  R.  DUDROW,  a  resident 
of  Fremont,  Sandusky  county,  is 
a  native  of  Ohio,  born  March  i, 
1855,  in  Adams  township,  near 
Green  Spring,  Seneca  county,  and  is  a 
son  of  David  W.  and  Mary  J.  (Rule) 
Dudrow,  the  former  of  whom  was  born 
October  25,  1825,  in  Frederick  county, 
Md.,    a    son    of    David    and     Elizabeth 


OOMMEMORATIVE   BIOORAPEICAL   RECORD. 


147 


(Hines)  Dudrow,  also  natives  of  Mary- 
land, born  of  German  ancestry. 

David  W.  Dudrow  settled  in  Seneca 
county,  Ohio,  in  1845,  becoming  the 
owner  of  a  large  farm  there,  which  he 
conducted  up  to  the  time  of  his  decease, 
prospering  himself  and  assisting  others  to 
prosper,  his  life  presenting  a  striking  ex- 
ample of  industry,  integrity  and  unselfish- 
ness. On  January  8,  1853,  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Mary  J.  Rule,  who  was  born 
in  Seneca  county,  Ohio,  daughter  of 
Daniel  and  Jane  (Grosscost)  Rule,  to 
which  union  were  born  eight  children, 
four  of  whom  died  in  infancy,  and  three 
sons  and  one  daughter  are  yet  living,  to 
wit:  Byron  R.,  in  Fremont,  Ohio;  Will- 
iam and  Fred,  in  Adams  township,  Sene- 
ca county,  engaged  in  farming  and  stock- 
raising;  and  Jennie,  with  her  mother  on 
the  old  homestead.  On  May  16,  1888, 
the  father,  David  W.  Dudrow,  met  with 
a  fatal  accident,  being  instantly  killed  by 
the  kick  of  a  horse. 

Daniel  Rule,  grandfather  of  Byron  R. 
Dudrow,  was  born  October  28,  1801,  on 
the  banks  of  the  Susquehanna  river,  in 
Perry  county,  Penn.,  was  of  Teutonic  de- 
scent, and  spoke  the  German  language 
fluently,  while  his  wife.  Jane  (Grosscost), 
was  of  Scotch-Irish  lineage.  In  the  fall 
of  1824  he  moved  to  Seneca  county, 
Ohio,  at  which  time  the  Seneca  Indians 
lived  on  the  Seneca  Reservation,  and  he 
became  well  acquainted  with  many  of 
them,  some  of  whom  were  Redmen  of 
note  in  their  day,  including  the  famous 
warrior  chief  Small  Cloud  Spicer,  who  at 
that  time  was  a  resident  of  the  Sandusky 
Valley.  Samuel  Rule,  brother  of  Daniel, 
owned  and  improved  a  large  farm  in  Me- 
nard county.  111.,  dying  there  November 
7,  1884,  while  George,  a  half-brother  of 
Daniel,  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  San- 
dusky county,  Ohio.  Daniel  Rule's 
grandfather  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  serving  under  Gen.  Wash- 
ington, and  participated  in  the  siege  of 
Yorktown;  after  the    surrender  of  Com- 


wallis  he  returned  to  his  home  in  south- 
ern Pennsylvania,  and  there  succumbed 
to  an  abscess  which  had  formed  in  his 
side. 

Byron  R.  Dudrow.  the  subject  proper 
of  these  lines,  received  his  elementary 
education  at  the  district  schools  of  the 
neighborhood  of  his  place  of  birth,  which 
was  supplemented  with  a  course  of  study 
at  the  Union  schools  of  Tiffin  and  Clyde, 
Ohio.  This  for  a  few  years  occupied  his 
winter  days,  his  summers  being  passed 
for  the  most  part  in  assisting  on  his 
father's  farm  in  Adams  township.  In 
the  autumn  of  1872  he  entered  the  Pre- 
paratory Department  of  Baldwin  Uni- 
versity, Berea,  Ohio,  remaining  there 
continuously  until  June,  1877,  returning 
home  only  for  his  vacations.  By  close 
application  and  hard  study  he  gained  one 
year  upon  his  class,  and  did  not  require  to 
attend  college  during  the  session  of  1877- 
78;  but  in  the  latter  year  he  returned  to 
Berea,  and  on  June  6th  graduated  from 
Baldwin  in  the  classical  course,  receiving 
the  degree  of  B.  A.  On  June  9,  1881, 
the  degree  of  M.  A.  was  conferred  upon 
him. 

On  June  18,  1877,  Mr.  Dudrow  com- 
menced the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of 
Basil  Meek,  at  Clyde,  Ohio,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  by  the  District  Court, 
April  26,  1879.  He  did  not,  however,  at 
once  enter  into  active  practice,  but 
served  as  deputy  clerk  of  courts  of  San- 
dusky county  from  the  time  of  his  ad- 
mission to  the  bar  until  April  26,  1880, 
at  which  time  he  commenced  the  practice 
of  the  law.  He  has  been  engaged  in  the 
trial  of  some  prominent  cases,  and  with 
success.  One  of  the  most  important 
trials  in  which  he  has  engaged  was  the 
defense  of  Mrs.  Lizzie  Aldridge.  who  was 
charged  with  the  murder  of  her  husband, 
John  Aldridge,  the  trial  taking  place  at 
Hastings,  Neb.,  in  June,  1889.  Mrs. 
Aldridge  was  acquitted,  and  of  Mr.  Dud- 
row's  efforts  in  this  case  the  Hastings 
(Neb.)  ^<*/»«/^/;Vfl«  said:      "Mr.  Dudrow, 


148 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOORAPHIOAL   RECORD. 


of  Fremont,  Ohio,  was  an  earnest  and 
pleasing  talker;  every  word  and  action 
had  power  and  weight  that  exerted  an  in- 
fluence upon  the  jurors."  The  Adams 
county  (Neb.)  Democrat,  also  speaking 
of  his  able  argument  at  the  same  trial, 
said:  "Of  Mr.  Dudrow,  of  Fremont, 
Ohio,  it  may  be  said  that  during  the  trial 
he  won  the  good  opinion  and  admiration 
of  our  people  by  his  manly,  eloquent  and 
logical  argument  to  the  jury,  and  by  the 
able  manner  in  which  he  conducted  the 
part  of  the  case  assigned  to  him."  From 
1883  till  1888  Mr.  Dudrow  practiced  law 
in  partnership  with  H.  R.  Finefrock,  and 
since  1891  he  has  been  associated  with 
his  father-in-law,  Basil  Meek,  and  John 
W.  Worst. 

On  November  21,  1878,  Mr.  Dudrow 
was  united  in  marriage  at  Clyde,  Ohio, 
with  Miss  Mary  E.  Meek,  daughter  of 
Basil  Meek,  and  who  for  several  years 
had  been  a  teacher  in  the  Clyde  public 
schools.  In  his  political  predilections 
our  subject  is  a  Democrat,  and  has  three 
times  been  elected  to  the  office  of  city 
solicitor  of  Fremont,  his  services  in  that 
capacity  covering  a  period  of  six  years. 
Besides  his  residence  on  Birchard  avenue, 
Fremont,  he  owns  a  300-acre  farm  in 
Townsend  township,  and  he  is  considered 
one  of  Sandusky  county's  most  useful, 
progressive  citizens. 


HA.  VAN  EPPS.  Thirty  years 
have  passed  since  the  ' '  cruel 
war"  waged  between  the  North 
and  South  was  ended,  and  even 
the  youngest  of  the  men  who  served  their 
country  in  those  dark  days  are  growing 
old.  But  they  never  tire  of  the  stories 
of  camp  life,  of  forced  marches  through 
the  burning  heat  and  deadly  swamps  of 
the  South,  of  hair-breadth  escapes  and 
desperate  encounters,  or  of  the  dreary 
days  in  Libby  Prison,  or  the  lingering  hor- 
rors of  Andersonvilie  and  Belle  Isle.  A 
few  more  years,  and  these  stories  will  be 


handed  down  by  their  descendants,  for 
the  old  soldiers  will  have  answered  to 
their  last  roll  call,  and  will  have  passed 
beyond,  happy  in  the  thought  that  they 
leave  behind  them  a  government  united 
and  at  peace.  While  they  live,  how- 
ever, it  is  our  privilege  to  honor  them  for 
their  noble  deeds,  and  to  show  our  grati- 
tude for  the  bravery  and  zeal  with  which 
they  defended  the  homes  and  institutions 
so  dear  to  us. 

It  is,  therefore,  with  pleasure  that  we 
are  enabled  to  give  the  record  of  the 
veteran  whose  name  opens  this  sketch, 
and  whose  recollections  of  the  war  are 
always  listened  to  with  delight,  especially 
at  the  camp-fires  and  reunions  of  the 
"boys  in  blue."  Mr.  Van  Epps  is  a 
ready  writer,  and  portrays  most  vividly 
the  scenes  which  were  enacted  under  his 
personal  observation,  especially  the  story 
of  Grierson's  raid,  in  which  he  was  an 
active  participant.  The  limits  of  a  bio- 
graphical sketch  will  not  permit  an  ex- 
tended account  of  Mr.  Van  Epps'  life 
during  the  war,  but  the  following  brief 
story  of  his  career  will  prove  of  interest 
to  his  many  friends  and  acquaintances. 

H.  A.  Van  Epps  was  born  in  Middle- 
bury,  Wyoming  Co.,  N.  Y. ,  March  8, 
1842,  and  came  of  good  old  Knicker- 
bocker stock.  His  father,  Charles  Van- 
Epps,  was  born  on  the  Mohawk  river,  N. 
Y. ,  and  removed  to  Middlebury,  Wyoming 
Co.,  N.  Y. ,  in  1806.  He  was  a  carpen- 
ter by  trade,  and  subsequently  engaged  in 
farming;  in  politics  he  was  a  Democrat. 
He  died  in  Middlebury  in  1854.  Our 
subject's  mother,  whose  maiden  name 
was  Betsy  Wilson,  was  born  in  Middle- 
bury in  1812,  and  died  in  1893  at  the 
good  old  age  of  eighty-one  years.  She 
was  the  mother  of  children  as  follows: 
Elizabeth,  who  married  H.  M.  Choat, 
and  lives  in  Darien,  Genesee  Co.,  N.  Y. ; 
Jane,  who  died  when  ten  3'ears  old; 
Charles,  who  lives  on  the  old  homestead 
in  Middlebury,  and  is  iifty-five  years  old; 
H.    A.,    our   subject;  Fayette,    deceased 


OOMMEMORATIVE    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


140 


when  quite  young;  Delphene,  who  lives 
in  Darien,  N.  Y.,  and  is  unmarried; 
George,  who  died  when  fourteen  years 
old.  Mrs.  Van  Kpps'  father  was  a  na- 
tive of  Vermont,  of  sturdy  Yankee  ances- 
tors, and  held  the  rank  of  colonel  in  the 
war  of  1812. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  grew  to 
manhood  on  the  home  farm  in  Middle- 
bury,  assisting  his  father  in  agricultural 
pursuits  and  obtaining  his  schooling  in  the 
district  schools  and  Wyoming  Academy. 
In  March,  1861,  he  went  to  Carroll 
county.  111.,  where  he  was  engaged  in 
(arming.  When  the  call  to  arms  sounded 
throughout  the  land  the  patriot  blood  in 
his  veins  responded,  and  laying  aside  all 
personal  considerations  he  enlisted  Sep- 
tember 5,  1 861,  in  Company  B,  Seventh 
Illinois  Cavalry,  for  the  three-years'  ser- 
vice. When  the  three  years  had  expired 
the  Rebellion  was  still  unsubdued,  and  on 
February  10,  1864,  he  re-enlisted  in  the 
same  company  and  regiment,  and  re- 
mained until  the  close  of  the  war,  being 
honorably  discharged  November  12,1865, 
after  a  continuous  service  of  four  years 
and  two  months.  During  this  time  he 
received  several  well-earned  promotions. 
In  1863  he  was  made  a  corporal,  in  1864 
a  sergeant,  and  April  20,  1865,  he  was 
appointed  second  lieutenant. 

During  these  four  years  Mr.  Van- 
Epps  followed  his  regiment  through  a 
considerable  portion  of  Missouri,  Tennes- 
see, Mississippi,  Alabama  and  Louisiana. 
He  was  in  si.xty-three  engagements,  great 
and  small,  among  which  were  the  follow- 
ing: The  siege  of  Corinth,  in  the  spring 
of  1862;  battle  of  Corinth,  in  October, 
1862;  luka;  Coffeeviile;  Colliersville; 
Lynnvillc;  West  Point;  Okalona;  Sum- 
mersville;  siege  of  Port  Hudson;  fight  at 
Clinton,  La. ;  CampbcUsville,  Tenn. ; 
Shoal  Creek,  Franklin  and  Nashville, 
when  Hatch's  brigade,  of  which  he  was 
a  member,  captured  three  forts  or  re- 
doubts. He  was  also  with  his  regiment 
when  following  Hood  on  his  retreat  from 


Nashville  to  the  Tennessee  river,  a  dis- 
tance of  125  miles.  This  was  a  terrible 
experience,  the  marches  being  made 
through  rain,  sleet  and  snow,  and  when 
the  weary  soldiers  reached  Gravel  Springs 
no  food  was  to  be  obtained,  and  for  two 
weeks  they  lived  on  parched  corn. 

Mr.  Van  Epps  also  took  an  active  part 
in  the  famous  "  Grierson  Raid,"  from  La 
Grange,  Tenn.,  to  Baton  Rouge,  La. 
He,  with  his  company,  was  detached  from 
the  balance  of  the  command  and  remain- 
ed alone  for  five  days  in  the  very  heart  of 
the  Rebels'  country,  during  which  time, 
it  is  estimated,  they  traveled  four  hun- 
dred miles,  being  in  the  saddle  night  and 
day  and  enduring  untold  hardships.  While 
on  picket  duty  at  Coldwater,  Tenn., 
guarding  a  bridge  eight  miles  from  camp, 
the  enemy  charged  upon  his  company, 
capturing  all  but  five  of  them — himself 
among  the  number — who  made  their  es- 
cape by  running  across  the  fields.  They 
finally  reached  camp  at  Colliersville,  giv- 
ing the  alarm  in  time  to  save  the  entire 
command  from  being  captured,  as  the 
enemy  shortly  made  their  appearance,  ex- 
pecting to  take  the  Union  soldiers  by  sur- 
prise. They  met  with  a  warm  reception 
instead,  and  were  badly  defeated.  While 
acting  as  sergeant  Mr.  \an  Epps  com- 
manded his  company  for  five  months,  and 
at  the  second  day's  battle  before  Nash- 
ville, while  engaged  with  the  enemy  in 
the  woods,  his  captain,  who  at  the  time 
was  acting-major,  fell  mortally  wounded; 
under  Mr.  Van  Epps'  leadership  his  little 
band  held  the  Rebel  line  in  check  while 
the  dying  officer  was  removed  from  the 
field.  Mr.  Van  Epps  served  under  Gens. 
Rosecrans,  Denver,  Hatch,  Grierson, 
Wilson,  Thomas,  Banks  and  McPherson, 
in  different  divisions  and  army  corps. 
While  escaping  almost  miraculously  any 
serious  accident  during  his  long  term  of 
service,  he  was  not  without  some  mishaps. 
While  on  drill  in  the  summer  of  1864.  he 
was  thrown  from  his  horse  and  received  a 
severe  injury    from    wlii.h    bi-  b.is  never 


150 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOORAPHTCAL   RECORD. 


fully  recovered.  He  was  taken  with  the 
measles  while  at  Bird's  Point,  Mo.,  and 
was  removed  to  the  hospital  at  Mound 
City,  111.,  and  also  spent  about  five  wee.ks 
in  the  hospital  at  Town  Creek,  Ala.,  suf- 
fering from  fever. 

After  the  war  was  over  Mr.  Van  Epps 
returned  to  his  home  in  New  York,  where 
in  1867  he  was  married  to  Miss  Ellen 
Bailey,  who  died  July  16,  1872.  To  this 
union  three  children  were  born:  Gertrude 
E. ;  Leona  M.,  and  Elmer  A.  Mr.  Van- 
Epps  was  married,  the  second  time,  to 
Miss  Isadora  Cornell,  who  was  born  at  Lin- 
don,  Genesee  Co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1847.  Two 
children  have  been  born  of  this  marriage 
• — Ethel  A.  and  Ernest  C.  Our  subject 
followed  farming  with  success  in  New  York 
until  he  sold  out  and  came  west.  Locat- 
ing in  Fremont,  in  1881,  he  purchased  the 
Starr  ilouring-mills.  These  he  remodel- 
ed to  the  roller  process,  adding  the  latest 
improvements,  and  also  erecting  fine  ele- 
vators. He  carried  on  these  mills,  doing 
a  large  merchant  and  domestic  business, 
until  the  close  of  the  year  1893,  when  he 
disposed  of  this  property,  and  the  follow- 
ing April  purchased  the  flouring-mills  and 
warehouse  at  New  London,  Ohio,  and  is 
at  present  operating  the  same.  During 
his  residence  in  Fremont  he  made  many 
friends  and  was  considered  one  of  the  sub- 
stantial business  men  of  the  town.  He 
served  four  years  in  the  city  council,  and 
he  is  past  commander  of  the  G.  A.  R. 


WILLIAM  DRIFTMEYER,  a  sub- 
stantial and  prosperous  farmer 
of  Madison  township,  Sandusky 
county,  was  born  November  26, 
1816,  in  Hanover,  Germany.  His  parents, 
Louis  and  Isabelle  (Tichen)  Driftmeyer, 
rope  makers  by  vocation,  lived  in  Ger- 
many and  died  there,  the  mother  in  1822, 
the  father  in  1843. 

In  early  life  William  Driftmeyer  re- 
ceived a  good  German  education.  He 
worked   out   by   the   day  till   the    age   of 


twenty-one  years,  and  in  1842  he  came 
to  America,  immediately  after  landing 
coming  to  Ohio  and  renting  forty  acres  of 
land  in  Madison  township,  Sandusky 
county,  on  which  he  lived  one  year. 
Then  he  bought  forty  acres  of  timber 
land,  twelve  of  which  he  sold,  and  cleared 
the  remainder,  later  buying  forty  acres, 
then  twenty,  then  another  forty,  all 
timber  land,  which  he  cleared. 

On  January  31,  1843,  William  Drift- 
meyer was  united  in  marriage  with  Mary 
Cook,  a  daughter  of  Henry  Cook,  and 
they  have  had  eight  children,  of  whom 
William,  born  July  16,  1844,  died  at  the 
age  of  seventeen;  Henry,  born  October 
21,  1845,  lives  in  Washington  township, 
Sandusky  county;  Mary,  born  November 
26,  1847,  married  John  Michael,  a  farmer 
of  Michigan,  and  they  have  had  two 
children;  Eliza,  born  August  6,  1850, 
married  Fred  Demschroeder,  of  Wood- 
ville  township,  Sandusky  county,  by 
whom  she  has  had  four  children;  Sarah, 
born  November  11,  1852,  married  Will- 
iam Helambrecht,  a  farmer,  and  they  have 
had  si.\  children;  Frederick,  born  May  5, 
1855,  married  Mary  Wendler,  by  whom 
he  has  had  two  children,  and  lives  in 
Washington  township;  Sophia,  born  De- 
cember 30,  1857,  married  Henry  Kilgus, 
and  they  have  had  two  children,  of  whom 
one  is  deceased;  and  Louis,  born  Febru- 
ary 2,  1862,  married  Minnie  Friar, 
whose  parents,  Henry  and  Rebecca  (Sam- 
sell)  Friar,  live  in  Madison  township. 
Mrs.  William  Driftmeyer's  parents  lived 
and  died  in  Germany. 

Mr.  Driftmeyer  laid  out  the  road 
which  separates  Washington  township 
from  Madison  and  Woodville  townships. 
The  first  oil  well  in  Madison  township 
was  drilled  on  his  land,  and  on  the  land 
upon  which  he  makes  his  home  in  that 
township  he  has  six  good  oil  wells  that 
yield  six  hundred  barrels  monthly;  and  on 
a  thirty-seven-acre  tract  in  Washington 
township  he  has  two  wells  that  will  aver- 
age two  hundred  barrels  each  month.    Mr. 


^ 


fL^^- 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


151 


Driftmeyer  is  a  Republican  in  politics. 
and  has  been  repeatedly  honored  with 
public  office,  having  been  trustee  for  two 
years,  and  road  supervisor  and  school 
director  for  many  terms.  In  religious 
affiliation  he  is  a  member  of  the  German 
M.  E.  Church  of  Elmore. 


JH.  CLAUSS,  president  and  man- 
ager of  the  Clauss  Shear  Company, 
Fremont,  Sandusky  county,  was 
born  in  New  York  City  June  4,  1855. 
His  parents  were  Henry  and  Jennette 
(Flersch)  Clauss,  natives  of  Germany, 
who  emigrated  to  America,  sojourned  for 
a  time  in  New  York  City,  finally  locating 
in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  where  they  now  re- 
side. 

J.  H.  Clauss  was  reared  in  Cleveland, 
where  he  received  somewhat  limited  school 
privileges.  His  business  experience  from 
the  time  he  was  fourteen  years  old  was 
that  of  apprentice  in  a  German  printing 
office,  porter  in  a  wnglesale  millinery 
house,  and  bookkeeper  for  a  brass  manu- 
factory. He  did  not  like  to  work  for 
others,  so  after  attaining  his  majority  he 
began  business  on  his  own  account  as 
manufacturer  of  cigar  bo.xes.  in  Cleveland. 
This  he  carried  on  some  four  years,  after 
which  he  sold  out,  and  seeing  a  chance  at 
Elyria,  Ohio,  went  there  and  invested 
what  means  he  had  in  the  Shear  Com- 
pany in  that  city.  Seeing  that  the  con- 
cern was  not  on  a  safe  footing,  he  manipu- 
lated affairs  so  that  he  became  secretary 
and  treasurer,  and  finally  full  manager. 
The  business  thrived  under  his  control, 
and  he  remained  there  until  August,  1887, 
when  he  sold  out  the  boiler,  engine,  and 
a  part  of  the  fixtures  of  the  plant,  and 
removed  the  rest  to  Fremont,  Ohio,  here 
meeting  with  unprecedented  success  in 
the  history  of  shear  manufacturing;  but  a 
check  was  put  upon  his  prosperity  for  a 
brief  period  by  his  entire  factory  being 
burned  to  the  ground  on  January  1 7,  1 889. 

With    his    characteristic    enterprise  Mr. 
10 


Clauss  at  once  resolved  to  rebuild,  this 
time  with  brick,  the  former  having  been  a 
frame  structure.  The  dimensions  were: 
Main  building,  165x40  feet;  two  wings, 
each  96x40,  all  three  stories  high,  with 
a  basement  and  engine  room  60x40. 
The  building  of  this  was  accomplished 
from  January  17  till  March  4,  in  the 
short  space  of  forty-six  days,  and  is  said 
by  authority  to  have  been  the  most  ex- 
peditious work  of  like  magnitude  ever  ac- 
complished. The  building  is  located  on 
East  State  street,  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Sandusky  river,  and  is  one  of  the  hand- 
somest plants  of  any  kind  to  be  found  in 
Ohio.  The  magnitude  of  the  Clauss 
Shear  Company  is  not  appreciated  until 
we  realize  that  it  is  by  far  the  largest  con- 
cern of  the  kind  in  the  world.  They  give 
employment  to  250  men  in  the  shops, 
have  twenty  traveling  salesmen  in  the 
United  States,  two  in  Canada  and  seven 
in  Europe.  They  have  a  branch  office  at 
Kansas  City  fMo. ),  in  New  York  City,  in 
Toronto  (Ontario^,  and  in  London  (Eng- 
land). The  building-up  of  this  vast  indus- 
try is  due  entirely  to  the  business  sagacity 
and  enterprise  of  J.  H.  Clauss.  He  has 
pushed  the  trade  into  all  parts  of  the 
world.  By  the  erection  of  this  vast  manu- 
factory in  Fremont,  Mr.  Clauss  has  con- 
tributed largely  to  the  city's  growth  and 
prosperity.  Aside  from  this  he  also  mani- 
fests a  leading  spirit  in  all  social  and  local 
affairs.  He  has  just  completed  an  elegant 
new  residence  on  Hirchard  avenue,  which 
is  considered  not  only  the  finest  in  Fre- 
mont, but  one  of  the  finest  in  northern 
Ohio.  Mr.  Clauss  is  a  stanch  Republi- 
can, and  a  Scottish  Rite  Mason  of  the 
Thirty-second  Degree. 

WEN  DEL  SPRANG  and  wife  are 
among  the  wealthiest    and  most 
prosperous    residents    of  Green 
Creek,  Sandusky  county.   Their 
success  in  life   is  due   to    frugal    habits, 
unfailing    industry    and    sagacious   judg- 


152 


COMMEMORATIVE   BI06RAPBICAL   RECORD. 


ment  in  farming.  For  the  latter  quality 
Mr.  Sprang  is  indebted  to  his  wife,  for 
when  he  came  to  Sandusky  county  he  was 
wholly  ignorant  of  farming  life,  and  from 
his  efficient  helpmeet  he  received  his  first 
instructions  in  rural  pursuits.  That  the 
teachings  were  sound  maybe  judged  from 
the  signal  success  that  has  attended  the 
lives  of  this  devoted  couple. 

Mr.  Sprang  was  born  in  Grafenhausen, 
Baden,  Germany,  September  19,  1833, 
son  of  Thomas  and  Euphemia  (Me3-er) 
Sprang,  who  in  1852  emigrated  to  Amer- 
ica, locating  near  Sandusky,  where  he 
bought  a  small  piece  of  land  and  worked 
as  a  laborer.  He  died  in  1877,  aged 
sixty- nine  years,  and  his  wife,  who  was 
born  September  15,  18 10,  died  October 
3,  1880.  They  were  members  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  and  had  seven 
children,  four  of  whom  lived  to  maturity, 
as  follows:  Philip,  who  was  killed  by  a 
falling  tree  at  Wolf  Creek;  William,  fa- 
tally crushed  by  the  cars  at  Mansfield; 
Wendel;  and  Mary  E.,  wife  of  Godfrey 
Young,  of  Green  Creek  township.  The 
paternal  grandfather  of  Wendel  Sprang 
was  killed  at  his  home  in  Germany,  in 
181 3,  by  Napoleon's  French  soldiers,  dur- 
ing their  retreat  from  the  disastrous  Rus- 
sian campaign;  the  soldiers  had  demanded 
food  which  he  was  unable  to  supply. 

In  1858  Wendel  Sprang  was  married, 
in  Brownhelm township,  Lorain  Co.,  Ohio, 
to  Anna  Margaret  Mary  Jaeger,  who  was 
born  in  Bavaria,  Germany,  July  31,  1835, 
daughter  of  Adam  John  and  Anna  Do- 
rothea (Schellhouse)  Jaeger.  Her  pater- 
nal grandfather  was  by  birth  a  Frenchman. 
Mrs.  Sprang  was  only  three  years  old 
when  she  came  to  America  with  her 
parents,  who  settled  in  Brownhelm  town- 
ship, Lorain  Co.,  Ohio,  where  her  only 
brother,  John  Henry  Jaeger,  now  lives. 
After  their  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sprang 
settled  in  Sandusky  City,  and  began  house- 
keeping with  a  capital  of  $150.  Mrs. 
Sprang  sewed  for  two  shillings  a  day,  and 
Mr.  Sprang  worked  in  a  stave  factory  for 


75  cents  a  day,  one-half  of  which  amount 
was  payable  in  store  goods,  and  Mr. 
Sprang  says  he  would  have  preferred  to 
work  for  50  cents  per  day  in  cash.  Thus 
they  lived  for  two  years,  at  the  expiration 
of  which  time  they  had  $250,  which  they 
deemed  a  sufficient  sum  to  begin  farming 
with.  Coming  to  Green  Creek  township, 
Sandusky  county,  they  bought  twenty- 
five  acres  of  land  at  $19.00  per  acre, 
reserving  $50,  with  which  to  build  a  house 
and  "start  on."  It  seems  remarkable 
that  with  this  small  start  the  couple  could 
make  much  progress  in  life;  but  to-day 
they  own  250  acres  of  fertile  and  well- 
improved  land.  During  the  first  season 
Mrs.  Sprang  cradled  all  the  wheat,  while 
Mr.  Sprang  bound  it.  Mr.  Sprang  had 
done  no  farm  work  up  to  that  time,  and 
his  wife  with  good  humor  tells  many 
amusing  stories  of  how  she  had  to  teach 
him.  When  the  Lake  Shore  road  was 
under  construction  he  chopped  and  hewed 
ties  in  the  woods,  and  she  loaded  them 
on  the  wagon  and  hauled  them  to  the 
roadbed.  Mrs.  Sprang  also  assisted  him 
in  sawing  with  a  cross-cut  saw.  She 
laughingly  remarks  that  if  it  were  neces- 
sary she  could  do  the  same  work  now,  so 
excellent  is  her  health  and  robust  her 
strength.  It  is  no  wonder  that  with  a 
helpmeet  like  Mrs.  Sprang  his  success 
has  been  so  great.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sprang 
have  one  son,  John  H.,  and  two  grand- 
sons, Henry  W.  and  William  Harrison. 
In  politics  Mr.  Sprang  is  a  Democrat. 
His  religious  faith  is  that  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  and  his  wife  is  a  devoted 
Lutheran;  but  they  have  never  permitted 
their  differences  of  belief  to  mar  their 
domestic  harmony  nor  cast  a  shadow 
upon  their  common,  interests. 


PHILIP  BRADY,  who  is  numbered 
among  the  leading  and  influential 
farmers    of    Clyde,    Green  Creek 
township,   Sandusky  county,  is  a 
native  of  County  Wexford,  Ireland,  born 


OOMMEMORATIVS   BIOORAPUICAL   RECORD. 


158 


in  1824.  His  parents,  Terrance  and 
Mary  (Clear)  Brady,  were  both  born  in 
County  \N'cxford  and  were  of  old  Celtic 
stock.  The  father  died  on  the  Emerald 
Isle,  after  which  the  mother  came  to 
America,  where  her  death  occurred  at 
the  age  of  seventy  years.  They  were 
farming  people  of  Ireland,  where  the 
grandfather,  Patrick  Brady,  also  carried 
on  agricultural  pursuits,  and  for  genera- 
tions the  family  occupied  the  same  home- 
stead. 

Our  subject  is  one  of  a  family  of 
eight  children,  comprising  six  sons  and 
two  daughters,  and  the  eldest  sister  still 
occupies  the  ancestral  home.  In  order 
of  birth  they  are  as  follows:  Ellen,  still 
a  resident  of  Ireland;  Thomas,  who  died 
in  Clyde,  Ohio;  Patrick,  who  makes  his 
home  in  Wisconsin;  Mary,  who  was  the 
wife  of  Matthew  Nolan,  and  died  in  this 
country:  Michael,  a  resident  of  Clyde; 
and  Martin  Philip  and  James.  Philip, 
the  subject  of  this  memoir,  grew  to  man- 
hood in  his  native  land,  with  such  meagre 
school  and  other  advantages  as  were 
available  to  him.  Like  so  many  of  his 
countrymen  who  love  the  greatness  of 
American  liberty,  he  resolved  to  cast  his 
fortunes  under  the  flag  of  the  young  re- 
public, and  make  it  his  adopted  land. 
Accordingly  at  the  age  of  si.xteen  he  em- 
barked for  the  Western  World.  He  took 
passage  on  board  a  ship  leaving  Ross, 
Ireland,  and  in  due  time  reached  Quebec, 
Canada.  He  found  his  first  employment 
in  the  New  World  with  farmers  in  Lower 
Canada,  but  subsequently  came  to  the 
United  States,  where  he  worked  on  the 
railroads,  or  at  any  emplovment  which 
he  could  find. 

Desiring  to  become  a  permanent  resi- 
dent, Mr.  Brady  purchased  five  acres  of 
land  near  Clyde,  Ohio,  and  by  frugality 
and  thrift  soon  became  the  owner  of  a 
good  home.  This  he  subsequently  sold, 
and  then  bought  a  tract  of  uncleared 
and  unimproved  land  north  of  Clyde. 
Here   he   found  in  the    densely    wooded 


land  ample  field  to  exert  all  his 
energy  and  indu.-;try;  but  stubborn 
nature  yielded,  and  Mr.  Brady  is  now  the 
proud  proprietor  of  an  excellent  and  well- 
tilled  farm.  It  has  now  all  been  cleared, 
and  there  is  no  better  land  to  be  found 
anywhere  in  the  county.  His  old  log 
house,  which  he  erected  tnany  years  ago, 
is  still  standing  as  a  relic  of  the  times 
that  were,  and  a  memento  of  the  hard- 
ships of  pioneer  life.  At  Elyria,  he  wed- 
ded Miss  Mary  Keating,  a  native  of 
County  Carlow,  Ireland,  and  to  them 
have  been  born  eight  children,  as  follows: 
Mary  is  the  wife  of  John  Furlow,  of  Buck- 
ley, Wash.,  and  they  have  two  children 
— John  and  Eustatia;  Ella  is  the  ne.\t  in 
the  family;  Joseph  is  a  resident  of  Buck- 
ley, Wash. ;  Maggie  is  the  wife  of  Grant 
Andrews,  a  merchant  of  Millersville,  San- 
dusky county,  and  they  have  two  children 
— Mabel  and  May;  John.  Philip,  Jr.,  Kit- 
tie  and  Martin  complete  the  family. 

On  his  arrival  in  the  New  World,  Mr. 
Brady  had  only  a  few  shillings  left;  but 
by  enterprise,  industry  and  economy  he  is 
now  one  of  the  well-to-do  citizens  of  San- 
dusky county.  He  is  a  man  whose  honesty 
and  integrity  are  above  (juestion;  is  of  a 
happy,  genial  disposition,  and  th<iroughly 
enjoys  a  good  joke.  In  his  political  views 
he  strongly  adheres  to  the  principles  of 
the  Democratic  party,  and  he  and  his 
family  are  members  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church. 


GRANT  FORGERSON,  a  substan- 
tial farmer  and  public-spirited 
citizen  of  Rice  township,  San- 
dusky county,  was  bom  in  that 
county,  February  22,  1829.  He  is  a  son 
of  Thomas  and  Mary  (Hull)  Forgerson, 
who  were  born  March  30,  1795,  and  I'eb- 
ruary  1,  1810,  respectively,  the  father  in 
Orange  county.  New  York. 

Thomas  P'orgerson  worked  for  his  fa- 
ther, Sidney  I'orgerson,  in  New  York 
State,  and  in  18 19  came  with  him  to  F^re- 


154 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


mont,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  the  father 
buying  a  home  here  which  he  occupied 
till  his  death  in  1830.  On  July  5,  1827, 
in  Sandusky  county,  Thomas  Forgerson 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Mary  Hull, 
and  five  children  were  born  to  them,  as 
follows:  Grant,  the  subject  of  this  sketch; 
Dorcas  A.  and  Wilford  N.,  born  August 
2,  1832;  Christina,  born  December  10, 
1835;  ^^^  Thomas,  born  February  17, 
1 84 1.  In  1 830  Thomas  Forgerson  moved 
to  Rice  township,  and  in  1833  bought  124 
acres  of  land,  where  he  lived  up  to  the 
time  of  his  decease.  He  was  township 
clerk  and  trustee,  and  for  four  years  was 
school  director. 

In  1844,  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years. 
Grant  Forgerson  entered  the  Mexican 
war  as  a  drummer  boy  in  Company  C, 
Fourth  O.  V.  I.,  in  company  with  his 
uncle,  Isaac  Swanck,  who  was  quite  up 
in  military  tactics.  He  and  his  com- 
rades started  from  home  in  wagons,  being 
conveyed  to  Maumee  City,  thence  jour- 
neying via  canal  to  Cincinnati,  and  from 
there  to  New  Orleans.  Reshipping,  they 
crossed  the  gulf  to  Brazos  Island,  and 
went  up  the  Rio  Grande  river  as  far  as 
Matamoras,  where  they  remained  six 
weeks,  then  proceeding  to  Vera  Cruz  and 
on  to  Pueblo,  Me.xico,  where  they  were 
stationed  until  the  close  of  the  war,  Mr. 
Forgerson  being  in  the  service  for  about 
a  year.  There  are  few  men  who,  like 
himself,  have  engaged  in  actual  warfare 
before  reaching  the  age  of  eighteen  years, 
and  he  can  relate  many  interesting  experi- 
ences which  he  underwent  during  his  serv- 
ice. After  the  war  he  came  back  to 
Rice  township,  and  then  going  west 
remained  two  years,  again  returning  to 
Rice  township.  On  January  i,  1854,  he 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Nancy  Park, 
who  was  born  in  Ohio  April  29,  1835,  and 
they  had  four  children,  namely:  (i)  Mary 
E.,  born  October  8,  1854,  married  Joseph 
Young,  and  they  live  in  Rice  township; 
(2)  James  G.,  born  Oct.  29,  1856,  mar- 
ried Clara  House,  and  seven  children  were 


born  to  them,  as  follows — Mabel,  Janu- 
ary 26,  1883,  Hattie,  June  6,  1884,  Jes- 
sie, December  22,  1887,  Addie,  January 
26,  1889,  Clara,  July  9,  1890,  Laura, 
February  19,  1892,  and  Scott,  November 
15,  1894;  (3)  Addie,  born  Feb.  24,  1861, 
married  Frank  Foster,  and  they  live  in 
Fremont,  Sandusky  county  (they  have 
three  children,  namely:  Louis,  born  June 
19,  1884;  Achiel  Grant,  born  December 
28,  1886,  and  Ida,  born  March  28,  1893); 
(4)  Ida  N.,  born  February  i,  1861,  died 
November  17,  1861,  and  was  buried  in 
Rice  township. 

Grant  Forgerson  is  engaged  in  gen- 
eral farming,  having  166  acres  of  land 
worth  one  hundred  dollars  an  acre.  He 
was  clerk  of  Rice  township  for  two  years, 
and  school  director  and  supervisor  for 
twelve  years.  In  politics  he  is  a  good 
Republican,  and  in  religious  affiliation  be- 
longs to  the  Presbyterian  Church,  as  does 
his  entire  family.  In  1861  Mr.  Forger- 
son became  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F. 
at  Fremont,  joining  Croghan  Lodge  No. 
T/,  and  he  has  passed  all  the  Chairs;  he  is 
also  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Honor, 
Lodge  No.  95.  He  is  a  gentleman  of 
mild  manners,  is  widely  known  as  an  en- 
tertainer, and,  it  is  almost  needless  to  add, 
his  friends  are  numerous. 


EMANUEL  WENGERD  is  a  well- 
known  farmer  and  minister  resid- 
ing in  Washington  township,  San- 
dusky county,  and  has  the  respect 
of  all  who  know  him.  Having  a  wide 
acquaintance  in  this  locality,  we  feel  as- 
sured that  the  record  of  his  life  will  prove 
of  interest  to  many  of  our  readers,  and 
gladly  give  it  a  place  in  this  volume. 

Mr.  Wengerd  is  numbered  among  the 
native  sons  of  Ohio,  his  birth  having  oc- 
curred on  the  old  family  homestead  in 
this  State  February  i,  1849.  He  is  a 
son  of  Joseph  W.  and  Marden  Julie 
(Walter)  Wengerd,  who  at  an  early  day 
migrated  westward  from  Pennsylvania  and 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGHAPniCAL   RECORD. 


155 


took  up  their  residence  upon  the  farm 
which  was  the  birthplace  of  their  son 
Emanuel.  The  father  was  at  that  time 
about  thirty  years  of  age.  and  there  re- 
mained until  he  passed  from  earth,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-two.  His  wife  passed 
away  when  seventy-six  years  old.  Mr. 
VVengerd  was  one  of  nature's  noblemen, 
his  life  filled  with  jj;ood  deeds  and  kind 
actions.  He  was  generous  and  benevo- 
lent, a  good  supporter  of  the  Church  and 
of  all  interests  that  were  calculated  to 
benefit  humanity.  When  he  was  taken 
away  the  community  lost  one  of  its  best 
citizens,  but  he  left  to  his  family  the. price- 
less heritage  of  a  good  name. 

The  gentleman  whose  name  begins 
this  record  profited  by  the  good  teachings 
and  e.xample  of  his  parents, and  the  lessons 
which  he  learned  in  his  youth  have  borne 
splendid  fruit.  He  was  trained  not  only 
to  habits  of  industry,  but  also  learned  and 
developed  those  traits  which  in  any  place 
command  the  respect  of  all.  He  now 
devotes  his  time  and  energies  to  farming 
and  to  work  for  his  fellow  men.  and  has  a 
good  property  in  Wa.'^hington  township, 
Sandusky  county,  its  neat  and  thrifty  ap- 
pearance well  indicating  his  careful  super- 
vision. 

On  December  31.  1869,  Mr.  Wengerd 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Mar- 
garet Nichols,  daughter  of  Peter  Nichols, 
a  well-known  resident  of  Sandusky  coun- 
ty. Two  children — George  F.  and  Ar- 
thur W. — came  to  bless  and  gladden  their 
home,  which  was  a  bright  and  happy 
spot  until  the  hand  of  death  was  laid  upon 
the  wife  and  mother.  Mr.  Wengerd  re- 
mained single  for  a  year,  and  then  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Catherina 
A.  Snyder,  whose  parents,  William  and 
Sarah  (Heller)  Snyder,  are  residents  of 
Seneca  county.  Ohio;  Nfr.  Snyder  is  a 
miller  by  occupation.  This  marriage  was 
blessed  with  three  children;  John  M.. 
Charles  S.  and  Howard  H..  of  whom 
Charles  S.  is  the  only  one  now  living; 
John  M.  died  at  the  age  of  eight  years, 


and  Howard  E.  in  infancy.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Wengerd  have  many  warm  friends 
in  this  community,  and  their  own  home  is 
noted  for  its  hospitality. 


ABf^AHAM  BLANK,  one  of  the 
most  popular  and  highly-esteemed 
citizens  of  Sandusky  county,  car- 
ries on  agricultural  pursuits  in 
Woodville  township,  and  is  also  engaged 
in  speculating  in  oil.  Although  an  East- 
ern man  by  birth,  he  possesses  the  typ- 
ical Western  spirit  of  progress  and  enter- 
prise. A  native  of  Columbia  county, 
Penn,  ;he  was  born  September  9,  1827, 
son  of  William  Blank,  and  a  brother 
of  Amos  Blank,  the  latter  a  well-known 
resident  of  Sandusky  county. 

In  1836,  when  a  child  of  nine  sum- 
mers, our  subject  accompanied  his  parents 
and  the  other  members  of  the  family  to 
Ohio,  locating  in  Madison  township,  San- 
dusky county,  where  he  worked  on  his 
father's  farm.  They  were  the  earliest 
settlers  of  that  portion  of  the  county,  and 
went  through  all  the  experiences  and 
hardships  of  pioneer  life.  Abraham  re- 
ceived but  limited  educational  privileges, 
for  schools  were  few  and  far  between,  and 
the  advantages  afforded  therein  were  not 
always  of  a  superior  quality.  In  the 
practical  school  of  experience,  however, 
he  has  learned  many  valuable  lessons, 
and  through  reading,  experience  and  ob- 
servation has  become  a  well-informed 
man.  He  continued  working  on  the  farm 
of  his  father  from  early  boyhood  until 
1873,  when  he  started  out  in  life  for  him- 
self, purchasing  120  acres  of  land,  all  of 
which  was  covered  with  timber.  With 
characteristic  energy  he  began  to  clear 
the  place;  the  trees  fell  one  by  one  before 
his  sturdy  strokes,  and  acre  after  acre  was 
placed  under  the  plow  and  made  to  yield 
a  golden  tribute  in  return  for  the  care 
and  cultivation  he  bestowed  upon  it.  He 
erected  a  dwelling  house;  also  built  barns 
and  outbuildings,  put  up  fences  which  di- 


156 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


vided  the  place  into  fields  of  convenient 
size,  planted  an  orchard  and  made  other 
general  improvements  which  add  to  the 
value  and  attractive  appearance  of  the 
place.  He  also  engaged  in  the  oil  busi- 
ness, and  in  two  years  made  in  speculation 
upward  of  $31,000. 

Mr.  Blank  has  traveled  extensively 
through  both  the  Southern  and  Western 
States,  going  on  business  trips  to  Ken- 
tucky, Indiana,  Chicago,  Michigan  and 
Wisconsin,  where  he  owns  large  tracts  of 
land.  He  is  a  man  of  broad  and  liberal 
views,  and  is  well  liked  and  very  popular 
with  all  classes  of  people,  being  highly 
respected  throughout  the  county  in  which 
he  makes  his  home,  where  his  acquaint- 
ance is  a  wide  one.  For  several  years  he 
has  held  the  office  of  trustee  of  Woodville 
township,  and  during  his  administration 
a  number  of  roads  and  bridges  were  con- 
structed, as  well  as  ditches  and  other  im- 
provements. He  is  a  stanch  Democrat, 
warmly  advocating  the  principles  of  the 
party.  An  entertaining  conversationalist, 
he  can  relate  many  interesting  instances 
of  pioneer  life  in  this  locality.  He  is 
still  engaged  in  the  oil  business  in  connec- 
tion with  his  nephew,  and  has  practically 
retired  from  farming,  having  acquired  a 
handsome  competence  which  supplies 
him  with  all  the  comforts  and  many  of  the 
luxuries  of  life. 


WILLIAM  W.  POORMAN  is  num- 
bered among  the  leading  agri- 
culturists of  Sandusky  county, 
having  for  many  years  been  iden- 
tified with  its  growth  and  upbuilding.  He 
was  born  in  Townsend  township,  San- 
dusky county,  January  15,  1828,  a  son  of 
John  and  Phoebe  (Wetsel)  Poorman,  the 
former  of  whom  was  born  in  1773;  the 
latter  was  born  about  1793,  and  died  in 
Detroit,  Mich.,  at  the  advanced  age  of 
eighty-three.  Their  family  numbered  four 
children.  The  Poormans  are  of  German 
descent. 


At  an  early  age  our  subject  accompa- 
nied his  parents  to  Sandusky  Cit}^  Ohio, 
where  his  father  was  engaged  in  the  gro- 
cery business  until  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred at  the  age  of  sixty  3'ears.  When 
William  was  a  youth  of  fifteen,  he  accom- 
panied his  mother  and  the  other  members 
of  the  family  to  Fremont,  where  he 
worked  in  an  ashery  for  two  years,  at  the 
end  of  which  time  his  mother  removed  to 
Ballville  township,  Sandusky  county,  pur- 
chasing forty  acres  of  wild  land.  This 
our  subject  and  his  brother  cleared,  mak- 
ing there  a  comfortable  home.  The  wild 
land  \yas  transformed  into  rich  and  fertile 
fields,  and  a  good  farm  resulted  from  their 
earnest  and  persistent  labors.  While  re- 
siding on  that  farm  Mr.  Poorman  was 
married,  January  6,  1850,  to  Miss  Je- 
mima Ann  Hutson,  of  Ballville  township, 
a  native  of  Franklin  county,  Ohio,  born 
December  4,  1829.  Her  father,  James 
Hutson,  was  born  February  13,  1807,  and 
died  June  18,  1893;  her  mother,  who 
bore  the  maiden  name  of  Elizabeth  Stultz, 
was  born  August  28,  1828;  they  were  the 
parents  of  the  following  children:  Mrs. 
Poorman,  John,  Peter,  Vincent,  William 
M.,  Nathaniel  W.  and  James  S.  The 
mother  of  this  family  passed  away  August 
4,  1877.  The  paternal  grandfather  of 
Mrs.  Poorman  was  John  Hutson,  who 
married  a  Miss  Needles.  The  former  was 
born  in  Maryland  about  1784,  and  served 
in  the  war  of  1812;  the  latter  was  born 
about  1787,  and  lived  to  be  104  years 
of  age.  The  maternal  grandparents  ■^vere 
Peter  and  Elizabeth  (Cliner)  Stultz,  the 
former  born  in  1776,  the  latter  in  1780. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Poorman  have  one  child, 
Emma  A.,  born  October  2,  1850,  and  ed- 
ucated in  Fremont.  On  November  i, 
1867,  she  became  the  wife  of  Robert  A. 
Forgrave,  of  Scott  township,  Sandusky 
county,  and  to  them  have  been  born  four 
children,  one  of  whom,  a  son,  is  now 
living. 

For    a  year  after  his  marriage,    Mr. 
Poorman    lived    on  the   farm  which  his 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOORAPHICAL   RECORD. 


157 


mother  had  purchased,  and  then  removed 
to  the  villaRc  of  Ballvillc,  where  he 
resided  some  six  years.  Purchasing  107 
acres  of  land  in  Section  15,  Scott  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  that  farm  has 
since  been  his  home.  The  greater  part 
of  this  farm  was  in  its  primitive  condition; 
but  by  patient  toil  he  has  made  it  one  of 
the  best  places  in  the  neighborhood,  the 
forest  trees  giving  way  to  fields  of  golden 
grain,  and  the  log  cabin  to  the  spacious 
frame  dwelling.  There  are  also  good 
outbuildings,  and  all  modern  improve- 
ments. In  1890  he  leased  the  entire  farm 
to  the  Sun  Oil  Company  for  an  annual 
rental  of  $1, 100  and  one-eighth  of  the  oil 
produced  on  the  farm.  Four  wells  are 
now  in  operation,  yielding  about  fifty 
barrels  per  day,  and  Mr.  Poorman  there- 
fore secures  a  good  income.  He  has 
served  as  township  treasurer,  and  for  sev- 
eral terms  has  been  township  trustee, 
discharging  his  duties  in  a  most  creditable 
and  acceptable  manner.  His  political 
support  is  given  to  the  Democracy,  and 
he  is  a  progressive  and  public-spirited 
citizen,  giving  his  aid  to  and  co-operation 
with  everything  pertaining  to  the  welfare 
of  the  community. 

Robert  A.  Fcjrc.rave  was  bom 
November  27,  1842,  in  Pcrrv  county, 
Ohio,  and  is  one  of  the  five  children  born 
to  Robert  \V.  and  Mary  (Kuhn)  Forgrave. 
The  father  was  born  in  Philadelphia  in 
1807,  and  was  a  pioneer  of  Perr>'  county; 
the  mother  was  born  in  1818;  her  father, 
Adam  Knhn,  was  also  a  native  of  the 
Keystone  State,  and  lived  to  the  advanced 
age  of  ninety-two  years.  Mr.  Forgrave 
was  educated  in  the  common  and  select 
schools  of  the  neighborhood,  and  for  some 
years  engaged  in  teaching  in  Sandusky 
county,  at  one  time  being  principal  of  the 
high  school  at  Oak  Harbor,  while  his  wife 
was  teacher  of  the  primary  department. 
In  1861  he  joined  the  Union  army,  and 
for  four  years  aided  in  the  defense  of  the 
old  flag  and  the  cause  it  represented,  par- 
ticipating in  some  of  the  most  hotly  con- 


tested engagements  of  the  war,  including 
the  battles  of  Cold  Harbor,  Petersburg 
and  Spottsylvania,  and  was  at  Appomat- 
tox when  Lee  surrendered  to  Grant.  At 
the  close  of  the  war  he  returned  to  Scott 
township,  and  for  some  years  successfully 
carried  on  agricultural  pursuits.  He  then 
leased  his  land  to  the  oil  company,  and 
as  the  flow  of  oil  is  a  good  one  he  derives 
an  excellent  income  therefrom.  He  is  a 
man  of  good  business  ability,  and  his  man- 
agement of  his  business  affairs  has  made 
him  a  substantial  citizen. 


AB.  KEMMERLING.  The  hardy 
pioneers  of  the  Northwest,  who 
developed  the  land  out  of  which 
some  of  the  proudest  States  of 
our  Union  were  constructed,  were  men 
not  only  of  muscle  but  of  brains;  men 
who  combined  great  endurance  and  in- 
dustry with  intelligence  and  religious  prin- 
ciple, and  with  their  wives,  as  brave  and 
courageous  as  themselves,  reared  up  their 
children  in  such  habits  of  thrift  and  mor- 
ality that  the  country  has  reason  to  be 
proud  of  them. 

Of  such  worthy  parentage  was  born 
the  subject  of  our  sketch,  a  well-known 
and  prosperous  dry-goods  merchant  of 
Gibsonburg,  Sandusky  county,  who  is 
among  the  youngest  of  the  men  in  that 
place  to  carry  on  an  independent  busi- 
ness, and  who  may  be  styled  a  self-made 
man.  He  was  born  in  Madison  township, 
Sandusky  county,  October  12,  1863.  A 
brief  sketch  of  his  parents,  Peter  and 
Catherine  (Unger)  Kemmerling,  will  be 
read  with  interest  by  their  friends:  His 
father  was  born  in  Union  (now  Snyder) 
county,  Penn.,  near  Louistown,  Septem- 
ber 27,  1813.  Here  he  spent  his  boy- 
hood days,  and  in  1835,  when  twenty-two 
years  of  age,  came  to  Ohio,  locating  in 
Wooster,  where  he  lived  two  years,  re- 
nioving  in  1837  to  Madison  township.  In 
that  early  day  this  part  of  Ohio  was  a  wil- 
derness, just  as  it  left  the  hand  of  nature, 


158 


COMMEMORATIVE    BIOOBAPSICAL   RECORD. 


and  dense  forests  covered  the  face  of  the 
country,  in  which  wild  animals  abounded. 
Deer  were  plentiful,  and  wolves  made 
night  hideous  with  their  howls.  Settlers 
were  few  and  far  between,  but  their  hos- 
pitality was  freely  given,  and  they  greatly 
enjoyed  visiting  each  other.  Mr.  Kem- 
merling  on  coming  here  entered  govern- 
ment land,  which  he  cleared,  and  began 
farming.  This  occupation  he  followed 
until  1873,  when,  yielding  to  the  infirmi- 
ties of  old  age,  he  retired  from  active 
work  and  took  up  his  residence  in  Gibson- 
burg.  Early  in  life  he  became  identified 
with  the  Evangelical  Church,  and  for 
many  years  was  a  local  preacher,  at  the 
same  time  working  on  his  farm.  He 
traveled  all  over  that  section  of  the  coun- 
try on  horseback,  as  was  the  custom  in 
those  days,  holding  meetings  at  different 
points,  sometimes  being  for  weeks  on  the 
road.  The  life  was  one  of  hardship,  but 
no  one  can  tell  the  amount  of  good  ac- 
complished by  these  pioneer  preachers, 
the  advance  guard  of  the  great  army  of 
Christian  people  who  now  fill  the  churches 
of  our  land.  Mr.  Kemmerling  was  faith- 
ful in  his  self-imposed  task  until  he  grew 
old  and  his  voice  gave  out,  and  he  was 
obliged  to  cease  preaching.  He  died  Oc- 
tober II,  1893,  regretted  by  all  who  knew 
him.  He  was  an  old-time  Whig,  and  la- 
ter, when  the  Republican  party  was 
formed,  joined  its  ranks. 

The  mother  of  our  subject,  who  was 
the  second  wife  of  Mr.  Kemmerling,  was 
born  March  23,  1835,  daughter  of  Abra- 
ham and  Elizabeth  (Snyder)  Unger,  and 
is  still  living.  She  became  the  mother  of 
five  children,  as  follows:  Salome,  who 
married  Charles  Fairbanks,  and  lives  in 
Madison  township;  Samantha,  wife  of 
Alpheus  Fraunfelter,  living  in  Gibson- 
burg;  A.  B.,  our  subject;  Franklin,  living 
in  Cleveland,  Ohio;  and  Lillie,  wife  of 
James  Bowerson,  who  lives  in  Cleveland. 
By  his  first  marriage  our  subject's  father 
had  thirteen  children,  five  of  whom  are 
deceased;    the     others    are:     Catherine, 


wife  of  David  Garn,  living  in  Indiana; 
James,  John  and  Edward,  all  of  whom 
live  in  Michigan,  and  who  were  all  sol- 
diers in  the  Union  army  during  the  Civil 
war;  Mary,  married  to  Mr.  Mowry,  and 
living  in  Illinois;  Maggie,  married  to  H. 
Overmyer,  and  living  in  Indiana;  Julia, 
wife  of  James  Garn,  of  Indiana,  and  El- 
len, who  married  H.  C.  Brost,  and  re- 
sides in  Michigan. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  grew  to 
manhood  in  Madison  township,  attending 
the  schools  at  Gibsonburg  and  gaining  a 
common-school  education.  At  twenty- 
two  years  of  age  he  began  taking  contracts 
for  timber  from  a  railroad  company,  which 
business  he  carried  on  until  nearly  two 
years  ago,  in  the  meantime  clerking  at 
times.  On  November  16,  1893,  he 
bought  out  the  dry-goods  firm  of  J.  W. 
Miller,  of  which  he  is  the  sole  proprietor. 
He  is  doing  a  flourishing  business,  and 
ranks  among  the  best  and  most  progres- 
sive citizens  of  Gibsonburg.  Mr.  Kem- 
merling was  married  February  26,  1891, 
to  Mrs.  Emma  Downing,  who  was  born 
in  Cornwall,  England,  in  1859,  and  they 
have  one  child.  Bliss.  Socially  Mr.  Kem- 
merling is  affiliated  with  the  I.  O.  O.  F., 
K.  of  P.,  K.  O.  T.  M.,  P.  O.  S.  of  A.  and 
F.  &  A.  M. ;  in  politics  he  is  a  Repub- 
lican. 


DANIEL  KERNS  is  one  of  the  most 
widely-known  and  highly-respect- 
ed citizens  of  Sandusky  county — 
a  man  whose  well-spent  life  has 
gained  for  him  the  esteem  of  all  with 
whom  business  or  social  relations  have 
brought  him  in  contact.  He  was  born 
June  23,  1817,  in  Columbiana  (now  Ma- 
honing) county,  Ohio,  son  of  Abraham 
and  Elizabeth  (Misheye)  Kerns,  who  were 
natives  of  Pennsylvania,  where  the  pater- 
nal grandfather,  George  Kerns,  was  also 
born. 

The  parents  of  our  subject  removed  to 
Ohio  during  its  pioneer  days,  and  settled 


c4y.  79' ^^^f^ 


COMMEMORATIVB   BIOORAPniCAL   RECORD. 


150 


upon  an  8oo-acre  tract  of  land  that  form- 
ed a  part  of  WashinRtoii  township,  San- 
dusky county.  The  place  being  then 
heavily  covered  with  timber,  Mr.  Kerns 
at  once  began  to  clear  and  improve  it, 
and  at  the  time  of  his  death  all  but  a  few 
acres  had  been  placed  under  the  plow. 
He  was  an  industrious  and  energetic  man, 
and  those  traits  of  industry  and  economy 
which  had  so  much  to  do  with  his  success 
were  early  instilled  into  the  minds  of  his 
children.  The  family  was  a  large  one, 
numbering  eleven  children,  namely:  >fary, 
who  was  killed  by  accident  during  her 
early  girlhood;  John,  of  Wayne  county, 
Ohio;  Anna,  who  became  the  wife  of 
Michael  Powell,  and  died  leaving  four 
children — Albert,  Richard,  Susan  and 
Lydia;  Sarah,  who  became  the  wife  of 
Samuel  Powell,  and  died  when  well  ad- 
vanced in  years,  leaving  a  large  family; 
Jacob,  a  retired  farmer  of  Alliance,  Ohio; 
Daniel,  subject  of  this  sketch;  Solomon; 
Lydia;  Lavina;  Josiah,  an  M.  E.  minister 
of  Kansas;  and  Isaiah,  of  Newton,  Iowa, 
land  agent,  notary  public  and  abstracter 
of  titles. 

Thus  amid  the  wild  scenes  of  the  fron- 
tier Daniel  Kerns  was  reared,  and  with 
the  family  shared  in  the  usual  e.xperiences 
of  pioneer  life.  He  remained  at  home 
with  his  (ather  until  his  twenty-first  birth- 
day, attending  the  district  school  in  the 
winter,  and  aiding  in  the  labors  of  the 
farm  through  the  summer  months.  On 
attaining  his  majority  he  began  studying 
for  the  ministry,  and  after  a  thorough 
course  returned  to  his  home  and  became 
a  circuit  preacher,  traveling  through 
Washington  township.  After  remaining 
here  for  a  year,  he  went  to  Illinois,  being 
the  first  minister  to  establish  an  Evan- 
gelical society  in  the  city  of  Chicago, 
where  he  spent  one  year,  and  then  again 
returning  to  Sandusky  county  was  placed 
on  the  Marion  circuit.  The  succeeding 
seven  years  of  his  life  were  devoted  to 
ministerial  work,  and  then,  on  account  of 
ill  health,    he  was  compelled  to    retire. 


During  this  time  he  had  saved  what  little 
he  earned,  and  he  now  invested  his  capital 
in  eighty  acres  of  farm  land,  which  owing 
to  his  care  and  cultivation  has  become 
valuable  property.  In  the  years  that  fol- 
lowed he  devoted  his  energies  to  agricul- 
tural pursuits  until  1886,  when  he  retired 
from  active  business  life  and  took  up  his 
residence  in  Lindsey.  He  still  retains 
possession  of  his  farm,  which  comprises 
285   acres  and  yields  him  a  good  income. 

On  March  30,  1843,  Daniel  Kerns 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Julia, 
daughter  of  Rev.  Michael  and  Polly  (Wolt) 
Walter,  whose  family  numbered  four  chil- 
dren— John,  Julia,  Susan  and  Katie.  The 
marriage  of  our  subject  and  his  wife  has 
been  blessed  with  thirteen  children:  Caro- 
line Mary,  born  March  5,  1845,  and  be- 
came the  wife  of  William  Collar;  Almira, 
born  October  28,  1846,  died  at  the  age 
of  four  weeks;  Rebecca  P.,  born  Novem- 
ber 5,  1847,  became  the  wife  of  W.  W. 
Smith,  a  farmer  of  Sandusky  county,  and 
they  have  two  children;  Lidda  Anna, 
born  January  17,  1850,  is  the  wife  of 
Theodore  Kerns,  a  coal  dealer  of  Cleve- 
land, Ohio,  by  whom  she  had  one  child, 
now  deceased;  Isaiah  M.,  born  August  9, 
1 85 1,  died  at  the  age  of  nine  years;  Ben- 
jamin F. ,  born  September  22,  1853,  is 
deceased;  Josiah,  born  January  19,  1856, 
and  John  C,  born  April  22,  1857,  are 
both  deceased;  Obadiah,  born  July  3, 
1859,  is  a  farmer;  Emma,  born  August 
21,  1 86 1,  is  the  wife  of  John  Slates,  a 
miller  by  trade,  residing  near  Fremont, 
and  they  have  two  children;  Allen,  born 
November  5,  1863.  is  a  farmer;  Ida,  bom 
May  9,  1866.  died  at  the  age  of  eighteen 
years;  Dora  V.,  born  October  9,  1868,  is 
the  wife  of  Charles  Schaebner,  a  razor 
grinder,  and  they  have  one  child. 

Mr.  Kerns  was  formerly  a  member  of 
the  Grangers.  He  votes  with  the  Prohi- 
bition party,  and  is  a  warm  advocate  of 
the  cause  of  temperance,  giving  his  sup- 
port to  all  reforms  and  measures  calcu- 
lated to  uplift  humanity  in  general.      His 


ICO 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOORAPEICAL   RECORD. 


noble  Christian  life  is  one  well  worthy  of 
emulation,  and  all  who  know  Daniel 
Kerns  have  for  him  the  highest  regard. 


JOHN  MALCOLM,  one  of  the  sub- 
stantial and  influential  citizens  of 
Clj'de,  exemplified  in  his  younger 
days  the  nobility  of  labor  in  a  man- 
ner so  thorough  as  few  of  his  compeers 
have  done.  He  is  a  native  of  Scotland, 
and  brought  with  him  to  Ohio  a  rugged 
constitution,  an  invincible  spirit,  a  latent 
gift  of  energy  which  was  expended  upon 
the  primeval  forests  of  Ashland  county 
with  telling  effect.  It  has  been  said  that 
the  Malcolm  family  cleared  up  more  land 
than  any  other  in  Ashland  county.  In 
one  year  it  cleared  off  forty-two  acres, 
fenced  it,  and  put  the  virgin  soil  in  wheat. 
In  that  elder  day  the  recital  of  this  feat 
meant  more  than  it  does  now,  for  the 
present  generation  can  not  so  well  grasp 
the  tremendous  amount  of  labor  involved 
in  the  primitive  clearing  of  land  as  could 
their  forefathers  who  did  the  work.  Labor 
was  then  the  cardinal  virtue,  the  chief 
avenue  to  success. 

Mr.  Malcolm  was  born  at  Aberdeen, 
Scotland,  October  15,  1821,  son  of  Alex- 
ander and  Barbara  (Richie)  Malcolm. 
Alexander  Malcolm  was  a  gardener,  and 
his  father,  William  Malcolm,  was  a  milk- 
man, among  whose  customers  was  the 
Aberdeen  Lunatic  Asylum.  Two  sons  of 
William  Malcolm,  Arthur  and  James,  par- 
ticipated in  the  battle  of  Waterloo,  one 
of  the  most  fateful  in  the  world's  history. 
They  were  stationed  in  the  famous  wheat 
field,  where  the  regiment,  or  rather  the  re- 
mains of  it,  had  ' '  formed  square, "  and  for 
some  time  were  confronted  on  three  sides 
by  Napoleon's  heavy  cavalry,  who  charg- 
ed them  again  and  again  without  breaking 
the  square.  Both  were  wounded,  and 
both  drew  subsequent  pensions  for  their 
injuries.  A  son  of  Arthur  Malcolm,  Ar- 
thur by  name,  and  also  a  daughter,  now 
reside  at  Akron,  Ohio.      Alexander   Mal- 


colm in  1835  emigrated  with  his  large 
family  to  America.  Landing  at  New  York 
he  came  directly  to  Ohio,  and  after  spend- 
ing several  months  in  Westfield  township, 
Medina  county,  and  Savannah,  Ashland 
county,  he  purchased  one  hundred  acres 
of  forest  land  in  Ruggles  township,  in  the 
latter  county.  There  were  then  no  roads, 
game  abounded,  and  bands  of  wandering 
Indians  still  strolled  through  the  premises. 
Here  Alexander  fashioned  for  himself  his 
permanent  home,  clearing  the  land  and 
farming  industriously  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  when  he  was  aged  sixty- 
seven  years.  His  faithful  wife,  ten  years 
his  senior,  preceded  him  to  the  grave  by 
about  eighteen  months.  He  was  a  Presby- 
terian in  religious  faith,  and  an  unwaver- 
ing Whig  and  Republican  in  politics.  His 
family  of  ten  children  was  as  follows: 
Alexander,  who  died  in  mature  life;  Archi- 
bald, a  resident  of  Northwest  township, 
Williams  county;  William,  who  reared  a 
family,  and  passed  away  many  years  ago 
(his  eldest  son  David  died  in  the  Civil 
war);  John,  subject  of  this  sketch;  Jane, 
wife  of  Conrad  Brandeberry,  of  Mont- 
pelier,  Williams  county;  James  (retired), 
of  New  London;  Charles,  who  died  un- 
married; Thomas,  who  reared  a  family  in 
Williams  county,  and  died  there;  Robert, 
who  reared  a  family  in  Ruggles  township, 
and  is  now  deceased;  David,  who  died  at 
the  age  of  two  years. 

John  Malcolm  was  in  his  fifteenth 
year  when  he  came  with  his  father's  fam- 
ily to  Ohio.  He  assisted  his  father  on 
the  farm,  but  after  the  latter's  start  there 
was  an  abundance  of  labor  in  the  family, 
and  John  became  a  clerk  for  King  & 
Gunn,  of  Medina,  afterward  King  & 
King.  After  a  clerkship  of  several  years 
he  returned  to  the  farm,  where  he  re- 
mained until  his  marriage,  in  1844,  to 
Miss    Harriet   S.  Munger,  who   was   born 

Livingston    county,    N.    Y. ,    April    5, 


m 


1826,  and  the  daughter  of  Jehiel  and  Be- 
linda (Janes)  Munger,  both  natives  of 
New   York.      In    1831    they  migrated   to 


OOmfEMORATrVB   BTOORAPmCAL    RBCORD. 


161 


Ohio  and  settled  in  Townsend  township, 
Sandusky  county,  where  the  father  died 
in  1845.  and  the  mother  some  years  later. 
Here,  too,  died  the  father  of  Jehiel,  also 
named  Jehiel  Munj,'er,  an  Enfjlishman  by 
birth.  The  children  born  to  Jehiel  and 
Belinda  Mungerwere  as  follows:  Chapin 
Richard,  who  reared  a  family  and  died  in 
Oregon;  Clarissa,  who  died  in  chiKlhood; 
William  K..  who  died,  unmarried,  in 
Townsend;  Hiram  .\.,  of  Clyde;  Harriet 
S. ,  wife  of  John  Malcolm;  Daniel  N., 
who  died  in  California,  unmarried;  Tem- 
ple Jane,  deceased  in  childhood;  Tylei 
E.,  also  deceased  in  childhood;  Axie  I., 
who  married  Edward  Wheeler,  and  died 
in  Rochester  township,  Lorain  Co.,  Ohio; 
Jehiel,  a  bachelor,  residing  in  California; 
Theresa  M.,  whose  child  by  her  first  mar- 
riage, Rufey  Jordan,  was  the  first  woman 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  the  United  States 
(she  practiced  at  Seattle,  Wash.,  and  died 
at  Chicago  during  the  \\'orld's  Columbian 
E.xposition.  Theresa  M.  married,  for  her 
second  husband,  Simeon  Ketchel,  of  Cold- 
water,  Mich.). 

After  marriage  John  and  Harriet 
Malcolm  began  housekeeping  on  a  farm 
in  Ruggles  township,  Ashland  county. 
He  helped  to  clear  up  the  old  farm,  then 
bought  I  36  acres  and  helped  clear  it  also. 
Since  marriage  he,  with  his  own  hands, 
cleared  100  acres  or  more,  and  he  still 
owns  106  acres  of  fine  land  in  Ruggles 
township.  He  was  engaged  in  grain  and 
stock-farming  until  1866,  when  he  re- 
moved with  his  family  to  Clyde,  and  he 
has  since  been  a  resident  of  that  city. 
Mr.  Malcolm  has  two  children,  Barbara 
B.  and  Marvin  J.,  the  former  of  whom  is 
the  wife  of  B.  F.  Rogers,  and  lives  on 
Piety  Hill,  at  Clyde;  her  children  are 
Malcolm,  Lillie  and  Archie.  Marvin  J. 
is  married  to  Adelaide  Rober,  and  lives  at 
Clyde.  Mr.  Malcolm  has  been  marshal 
of  Clyde  for  nearly  five  years.  He  has 
served  as  cemetery  trustee  three  years, 
and  for  twenty-seven  years  has  been  a 
prominent  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  V.     In 


politics  he  is  a  Republican.  In  June, 
1888.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Malcolm  took  a  pro- 
tracted trip  to  California,  visiting  friends 
at  Yuba  City,  Sutter  county,  and  travel- 
ing extensively  on  the  Pacific  coast.  He 
now  lives  a  retired  life  in  the  full  enjoy- 
ment of  the  comforts  which  have  come  to 
him  after  a  busy  and  well-spent  career. 


AB.  FRENCH.  There  are  lives 
which  rise  so  high  above  the 
level  of  the  masses  as  to  give  to 
the  disinterested  spectator  the 
impression  of  picturesque  Alpine  scenery, 
in  contrast  to  the  monotony  of  the  prai- 
rie. Spirits  are  born  to  dwell  in  a  human 
incasement  of  a  fiber  more  delicate,  of  a 
strength  more  tenacious  and  of  a  mental 
force  more  subtle  and  elusive  than  falls 
to  the  usual  lot  of  mortal  man.  The  ca- 
reer of  A.  B.  French,  a  prominent  citi- 
zen of  Clyde,  is  a  most  remarkable  one, 
remarkable  for  the  strange  powers  he  has 
possessed  and  exercised  among  men;  re- 
markable for  its  literary  excellence;  re- 
markable for  the  various  channels  in 
which  his  efforts  have  been  successfully 
exerted.  As  lecturer.  Spiritualist,  orator, 
nurseryman,  author  and  lawyer,  in  what- 
ever he  has  undertaken,  he  has  excelled. 
Mr.  French  was  born  in  Trumbull 
county,  Ohio,  September  13,  1838,  son 
of  Samuel  and  Amelia  (Belden)  FVench, 
the  former  of  whom  still  survives;  the 
latter  died  in  1879.  Samuel  French  was 
born  in  Oswego  county,  N.  Y.,  October 
2,  1815,  son  of  Byron  F'rench,  a  New 
Englander  of  Puritan  stock.  Amelia  Bel- 
den was  born  near  Hartford,  Conn.,  in 
1812,  daughter  of  Asel  Belden.  Byron 
French  and  Asel  Belden  were  both  early 
pioneers  in  the  wilderness  of  northeastern 
Ohio,  and  here  their  son  and  daughter 
married.  Samuel  French  is  a  representa- 
tive type  of  the  sturdy  Jacksonian-Demo- 
crat.  In  his  school  d.iys  A.  B.  French, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  a  pre- 
cocious youth.       He  acquired  his  lessons 


162 


COMMEMORATIVE    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


without  apparent  effort,  and  easily  led  his 
class  in  mental  attainments.  It  was  dur- 
ing these  days  that  perhaps  the  greatest 
crisis  of  his  life  occurred.  Spiritual  rap- 
pings  began  to  be  heard  in  his  native 
town.  The  mother  and  sister  of  Mr. 
French  were  among  the  first  to  be  in- 
fluenced. They  were  both  highly  me- 
diumistic.  A.  B.  was  at  the  age  of  six- 
teen a  student  at  Western  Reserve  Semi- 
nary, at  Farmington,  with  an  enviable 
record,  high  ambition  and  the  brightest 
prospects.  During  vacation  he  was  at 
work  on  his  father's  farm  one  day,  when, 
weary  and  athirst,  he  sought  the  house. 
Entering,  he  found  mother  and  sister 
both  entranced.  To  him  it  was  a  strange 
manifestation,  and  filled  his  mind  with 
dread.  He  attempted  to  leave,  but  invisi- 
ble beings  commanded  him  to  stay.  Power- 
less, he  sat  down.  A  strange  spell,  such 
as  he  had  never  before  experienced,  came 
over  him.  He  seemed  both  asleep  and 
awake.  Mortified  and  humiliated,  he 
strove  to  shake  off  the  influence,  but  it 
held  him  fast.  He  began  to  talk  and  he 
kept  on  talking.  His  destiny  had  come. 
His  school  days  were  over.  The  inspira- 
tion of  the  spirit  world  moved  him.  He 
found  no  rest  save  when  obeying  its  be- 
hest. At  schoolhouse  and  hall  in  neigh- 
boring towns  he  lectured.  He  constantly 
rebelled,  for  the  public  silently  condemn- 
ed, and  the  sensitive  boy,  then  without 
prophetic  eye,  keenly  felt  the  ostracism 
to  which  he  was  subjected.  Repeatedly 
he  avowed  that  he  would  never  speak 
again,  but  the  influences  held  him  fast. 
Before  he  was  twenty  years  of  age  he  had 
more  calls  than  he  could  fill.  His  fame 
had  widely  extended.  His  charm  of  ut- 
terance and  the  new  strange  thoughts  he 
voiced  held  spellbound  the  crowds  that 
nightly  greeted  him.  Wherever  he  went 
a  revival  of  pentecostal  times  was  in  his 
midst.  The  operation  of  the  psychic 
force  is  thus  described.  When  Mr. 
French  with  closed  eyes  first  began  to 
speak  he  was  almost    unconscious.       His 


condition  slowly  changed  till  it  blended 
with  the  normal  state.  Thoughts  surged 
irresistibly  for  utterance  at  times,  and  the 
audience  was  carried  along  by  the  liood  of 
thought.  Mr.  French's  powers  have 
been  exercised  mostly  in  speaking,  but  to 
some  extent  in  writing,  and  there  appear 
equally  successful. 

In  the  summer  of  1859  Mr.  French 
removed  to  Clyde.  In  1863  he  started  a 
nursery,  with  an  outlook  not  especially 
encouraging  for  the  enterprise,  as  his 
means  were  limited,  but  by  untiring  energy 
and  liberal  dealing  he  has  built  up  a  com- 
manding business,  which  ranks  among  the 
largest  in  this  line  in  the  State,  and  now 
requires  the  services  of  fifty  laborers  and 
salesmen.  In  1870  he  began  reading  law, 
in  1871-72  attended  the  Law  Department 
of  the  University  of  Michigan,  at  Ann 
Arbor,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at 
Tifiin  in  1872.  Mr.  French  began  prac- 
ticing law  at  Clyde  in  partnership  with 
Judge  John  M.  Lemmon.  Their  clientele 
grew  rapidly,  and  our  subject  was  retained 
in  many  important  cases;  but  his  health 
failed,  and  in  1875,  after  three  years' 
practice,  he  was  compelled  to  retire.  He 
has  never,  however,  withdrawn  from  the 
platform.  His  services  have  been  actively 
sought  in  many  capacities.  While  devot- 
ing his  attention  to  his  nursery  chiefly,  he 
has  lectured  on  Sundays,  delivered  various 
public  addresses,  including  many  funeral 
discourses,  and  has  perhaps  officiated  at 
more  funerals  than  any  other  speaker  of 
his  age.  His  happy  manner  of  present- 
ing the  glorious  truths  of  immortality,  and 
glimpses  of  a  new  and  beautiful  existence 
beyond  the  fleeting  shadows  of  this  life, 
has  made  calls  upon  his  services  very 
numerous.  In  1876  Mr.  French  was 
unanimously  nominated  on  the  Republi- 
can ticket  for  representative,  and  made  a 
noteworthy  run,  pulling  the  Democratic 
majority  of  800  down  to  about  200,  re- 
ceiving in  his  own  township  the  largest 
vote  ever  given  any  one  candidate.  In 
1878,  when  absent   from   home,   he  was 


COMMEMORATIVE   BtOGHAPniCAL    RECORD. 


I6« 


again  unanimously  nominated,  but  refused 
the  honor.  From  1881  to  1888  he  was 
en^aped  almost  exclusively  in  lecturing, 
and  from  18S8  to  1.S90  was  a  member  of 
the  Lyceum  Bureau  of  Chicago,  and 
while  lecturing  before  Spiritualistic  audi- 
ences on  Sunday,  addressed  many  literary 
and  church  societies  from  Omaha  to  Bos- 
ton with  marked  success.  He  has  every 
natural  endowment  of  the  popular  orator, 
and  has  won  an  enviable  reputation  under 
difficulties  known  only  to  his  most  inti- 
mate friends.  During  the  past  few  years 
ht  has  devoted  most  of  his  time  to  his  ex- 
tensive nursery  business,  and  the  building 
up  and  improvement  of  the  village  of 
Clyde,  in  which  he  takes  especial  interest 
and  pride. 

In  1892  there  was  published  a  volume 
of  lectures  entitled  "  Gleanings  from  the 
Platform,  by  A.  V>.  French."  The  lec- 
tures included  "William  Denton,"  "Leg- 
ends of  Buddha,"  "Mohammed,  or  the 
Faith  and  Wars  of  Islam,"  "Joseph  Smith 
and  the  Book  of  Mormon.  '  "Conflicts  of 
Life,"  "The  Power  and  Permanency  of 
Ideas,"  "The  Unknown,"  "Probability 
of  Future  Life,"  "Anniversary  Address," 
"The  Egotism  of  Our  Age, "  "  \\'hat  is 
Truth,"  and  "Decoration  .Address." 
These  lectures,  which  are  artistic  gems  of 
literature,  fairly  illustrate  the  author's 
lucid  literary  style,  and  his  originality  of 
thought  and  expression.  The  volume  has 
had  an  extensive*  circulation,  and  is  a 
valuable  addition  to  American  literature. 
The  voluminous  contributions  of  Mr. 
French  to  the  Spiritual  Journal  have 
been  widely  disseminated.  In  his  busy 
life  have  been  blended  the  expression  of 
a  rare  psychic  faculty  and  the  exercise  of 
business  abilities  of  a  high  order.  He  has 
associated  in  the  incorporation  of  Clyde, 
has  served  in  the  city  council,  and  has 
ever  been  identified  with  its  best  inter- 
ests. 

In  1859  Mr.  French  was  married  to 
Miss  S.  A.  Dewey,  and  to  them  were  born 
two  children:  William   B.,  who  died  at 


the  age  of  twenty-nine  years,  leaving  one 
child,  and  Miss  L.  L.,  who  married  A. 
Byers,  and  has  two  children.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1891.  Mr.  French  was  married  to 
Mrs.  Marv  E.  Thomas,  of  Cardington, 
Ohio. 


FREDERICK  FABING,  gas  and 
steam-fitter  and  plumber,  Fre- 
mont, Sandusky  county,  is  one  of 
the  oldest  established  business 
men  in  the  city.  He  is  a  native  of  France, 
born  in  Lorraine  June  14,  1832,  a  son  of 
John  and  Mary  Ann  (Greiner)  Fabing, 
who  were  also  natives  of  Lorraine. 

John  Fabing  in  early  life  learned  the 
trade  of  gunsmith  and  jeweler,  which  he 
followed  until  he  came  to  .America.  In 
1834  he  emigrated,  locating  in  Fayette- 
ville,  Onondaga  Co.,  N.  Y. ,  and  there 
pursuing  his  trade  until  1844,  when  with 
the  sweeping  tide  of  emigration  westward 
he  came  to  the  village  of  Lower  San- 
dusky, now  Fremont,  Sandusky  Co., 
Ohio,  and  established  a  home.  His  death 
occurred  July  2,  1845,  his  wife  surviving 
until  1882,  when  she  died,  at  Fremont,  at 
the  age  of  seventy-nine  years.  Their 
children  were:  Catharine,  wife  of  John 
Young,  of  Pilot  Hill,  Cal. ;  John,  a  farmer 
of  Jackson  township,  Sandusky  county, 
who  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-two  years; 
Lena,  who  married  in  1S45,  and  died  in 
1847,  leaving  two  children;  one  that  died 
in  infancy;  Frederick,  subject  of  this 
sketch;  and  Barbara,  wife  of  M.  Hazel- 
tine,  of  Baker  City,  Oregon.  Mr.  Fabing 
was  a  Democrat  and  a  member  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church. 

Frederick  Fabing  attended  the  com- 
mon schools  in  Fayettcville,  N.  Y. ,  until 
twelve  years  of  age,  when  he  came  with 
his  father's  family  to  Sandusky  county, 
Ohio.  He  remembers  distinctly  the  open 
winter  of  1844,  the  voyage  on  shipboard 
from  Buffalo  to  Sandusky  City,  the  subse- 
quent trip  to  Lower  Sandusky,  all  the 
way  by  boat,    and    the    landing    at    that 


164 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOORAPBICAL   RECORD. 


place  on  the  24th  of  December,  1844. 
The  famous  "  Black  Swamp"  was  then  a 
wilderness,  and  only  ten  or  twelve  families 
had  settled  between  here  and  Toleflo. 
He  used  to  engage  in  the  sports  of  the 
time,  hunting  deer  and  other  wild  game 
in  the  deep  forests.  In  1850  Mr.  Fabing 
joined  a  caravan  to  cross  the  Western 
Plains  to  California.  This  caravan  was 
in  charge  of  a  Mr.  McClure,  who  was 
familiar  with  the  Indians  and  believed  in 
treating  them  kindly,  adopting  military 
rule  for  the  government  of  his  men  in  or- 
der to  prevent  any  mistreatment  of  the 
Indians.  On  one  occasion  a  man  of  his 
party  shot  at  a  buck  and  squaw  sitting  on 
a  log  some  distance  away,  but  did  not  hit 
them;  McClure  at  once  had  the  offender 
arrested  and  tried  by  court-martial — by 
which  the  man  was  condemned  to  be  tied 
across  a  wagon  wheel  during  a  half-day's 
travel  over  the  sandy  plain,  so  that  his 
head  and  feet  were  alternately  up  and 
down.  Most  of  the  party  remonstrated, 
but  McClure  was  firm  in  carrying  out  the 
verdict,  claiming  that  if  the  Indians  had 
been  shot  or  even  slightly  wounded  the 
whole  caravan  might  have  been  massa- 
cred. On  being  released  the  man  was 
more  dead  than  alive,  but  he  soon  re- 
covered, and  it  is  needless  to  say  that  he 
did  not  shoot  at  the  Redmen  again  during 
the  journey.  Another  precaution  of  Mc- 
Clure for  the  safety  of  his  party  was  that 
of  not  allowing  any  Indians  into  his 
camp.  He  posted  his  pickets  outside, 
and  when  Indians  came  to  beg  food  they 
were  given  coffee,  sugar,  salt,  etc.,  which 
was  divided  up  amongst  them,  and  they 
went  away  peaceably.  In  this  manner 
the  caravan  passed  through  the  most  pow- 
erful tribes  of  the  West  unmolested.  The 
party  fared  well  until  near  the  end  of 
their  journey,  when  rations  became  short. 
From  the  time  they  reached  the  valley  of 
the  Humboldt  river  until  they  entered 
California  each  man  got  only  one  cup  of 
soup  (made  from  a  cow  so  poor  that  there 
was  nothing  left  upon  her)  and  a  handful 


of  crackers  per  day.  Upon  nearing  points 
where  supplies  could  be  had  a  couple  of 
men  were  sent  ahead  on  the  best  horses 
they  had,  and  they  purchased  flour,  for 
which  they  were  obliged  to  pay  two  dol- 
lars per  pound,  and  eighteen  dollars  worth 
of  it  was  cooked  into  cakes  for  the  crowd 
for  one  dinner.  The  first  appearance  of 
white  men  after  crossing  the  Missouri 
river  was  at  Fort  Laramie  on  the  Upper 
Platte,  where  one  company  of  United 
States  troops  was  located.  Mr.  Fabing 
walked  all  the  way  across  the  plains,  ex- 
cept one  day  in  each  week,  when  he  was 
obliged  to  drive  a  team. 

On  reaching  California,  in  August, 
1850,  he  engaged  in  gold  digging,  at 
Cold  Springs,  near  Placerville,  remaining 
there  until  fall,  when  he  went  to  Shasto, 
on  Clear  creek,  where  he  continued  dig- 
ging with  good  success  in  1854.  He  re- 
turned home  by  way  of  the  Panama  route 
and  New  York  City,  remaining  a  short 
time  to  visit  with  friends,  returned  to  the 
gold  field  by  the  Tehuantepec  route,  lo- 
cated on  the  upper  branch  of  the  Amer- 
ican river  for  a  time,  and  then  returned 
to  Shasto.  Here  he  had  fair  success  and 
secured  enough  gold  to  pay  him  for  all 
his  time.  Mr.  Fabing  in  1857  returned 
to  Fremont,  and  in  1862  became  con- 
nected with  the  Fremont  Gas  Company, 
with  which  he  continued  about  twenty- 
eight  years,  most  of  the  time  in  the  ca- 
pacity of  superintendent.  He  became 
interested  and  skilled  in  the  gas- 
fitting  and  plumbing  business,  which 
he  followed  in  connection  with  his 
other  duties,  so  that  on  retiring  from 
the  office  of  president  he  found  him- 
self controlling  the  chief  trade  in 
that  line  in  Fremont.  In  1865  Mr. 
Fabing  and  Mr.  Heim  jointly  built  the 
block  which  bears  their  names,  Fabing 
&  Heim,  and  the  former  still  hold  his  in- 
terest in  it.  He  is  also  one  of  the  heavi- 
est stockholders  in  the  Opera  House 
Company.  In  politics  he  is  a  Repub- 
lican.     In    1865    he   joined   the    Masons, 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOORAPffWAL   RBCORD. 


Irtli 


being  a  member  of  Fort  Stephenson 
Lodf^e.  No.  225,  of  I'remont.  and  ad- 
vancetl  in  Masonry  to  Knight  Templar, 
becoming  a  member  of  De  Molay  Com- 
mandcry,  No.  9.  K.  T. .  Tiffin,  Ohio. 
In  1858  Mr.  Fabing  married  Miss  Mary 
J.  Webber,  who  was  born  in  Alsace, 
Germany,  in  1833. 


EDWARD  H.    RUSSELL,   a  real- 
estate   and  insurance  agent,   and 
manager  of  the  Opera  House,  Fre- 
mont, Sandusky  county,  was  born 
at  I'remont  June  14.  1S55,  son  of  Henry 
S.  and  Margaret    Hawkins;  Russell. 

Henry  Shubel  Russell  was  born  in 
Morgan  county,  Ohio,  in  181 7,  and  came 
to  Lower  Sandusky,  now  F'remont,  with 
his  father,  in  pioneer  days.  He  was  a 
master  builder  and  contractor.  He  served 
as  sheriff  of  Sandusky  county  from  1865 
to  1869;  he  married  in  Lower  Sandusky, 
in  1843,  a  daughter  of  Thomas  L.  Haw- 
kins, a  local  preacher  of  the  M.  E.  Church, 
from  Franklin  county,  Ohio.  Mr.  Haw- 
kins and  his  wife  were  natives  of  Ken- 
tucky, and  came  in  1817  to  Lower  San- 
dusky, of  which  town  he  was  one  of  the 
incorporators,  and  he  was  a  man  of  re- 
markable pluck  and  energy.  He  was  a 
cabinet  maker,  and  to  get  water-power 
built  the  mill-race  which  is  still  in  exis- 
tence at  F'remont,  and  erected  thereon  a 
sawmill.  In  politics  he  was  an  Old-line 
Whig.  In  March,  1856,  he  moved  to 
\'inton,  Iowa,  where  he  and  his  wife  died 
at  an  advanced  age.  To  Henry  and  Mar- 
garet (Hawkins)  Russell  were  born  four 
children:  Frank  W.,  who  enlisted  August 
7,  1862.  at  I'remont.  Ohio,  in  Company 
K,  One  Huii(ire«ilh  Regiment,  O.  \ .  I., 
went  into  active  ser^•ice,  was  captured  at 
Limestone  Station,  Tenn.,  September  8, 
1 863.  and  died  in  a  Rebel  prison  at  Rich- 
mond, Va.,  July  24.  1864:  Henry,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years;  Ella,  wife 
of  C.  A.  Freeman,  a  grocer  of  Fremont, 
Ohio;  and  Edward  H.,  whose  name  intro- 


duces this  sketch.  The  fathers  death 
occurred  May  18,  1876.  In  politics,  he 
was  a  Democrat. 

Edward  H.  Russell  was  reared  in  the 
city  of  I-'rcmont.  and  educated  in  the  jnib- 
lic  schools.  On  leaving  school  he  trav- 
eled as  business  manager  of  a  theatrical 
company  for  a  period  of  eight  years,  and 
then  returned  to  Fremont  to  engage  in 
the  insurance  business.  In  1890  he  took 
stock  in  the  Fremont  Opera  House  Com- 
pany, and  became  its  business  manager. 
Socially,  Mr.  Russell  is  one  of  the  charter 
members  of  Fremont  Lodge  No.  204, 
Knightsof  Pythias;  a  charter  member  and 
Past  Exalted  Ruler  of  IVemont  Lodge 
No.  169,  B.  P.  O.  E. ;  a  charter  member 
and  first  financial  secretary  of  Sherman 
Lodge  No.  III.  A.  O.  U.  W. ;  a  member 
of  Edna  Council  No.  64.  National  I'nion; 
and  a  charter  member  and  first  presiding 
officer  of  Onoko  Tribe  No.  140.  Improved 
Order  of  Red  Men.  On  January  9.  1883. 
Mr.  Russell  married  Mi.ss  Laura  L.  Sny- 
der, daughter  of  Maj.  S.  A.  J.  Snyder,  of 
the  Seventy-second  Regiment,  O.  V.  I., 
ex-postmaster  of  Fremont,  who  died  in 
1889,  and  whose  widow,  Clementine 
(Creager),  resides  in  I'remont,  Ohio. 
The  children  of  E.  H.  and  Laura  L.  Rus- 
sell are:  .Arthur  McKnight,  Major  Henrj', 
Harry  Allen  and  Paul  Edward  Russell. 
Mrs.  Russell  is  a  member  of  St.  Paul's 
Episcopal  Church. 


STARR  \  TUNNINGTON.  pro- 
prietors of  the  Fremont  Steam 
Laundry,  are  well-known  business 
men  of  Fremont,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, and  have  been  engaged  in  their  present 
enterprise  since  1.S90.  Their  excellent 
work,  especially  in  the  line  of  shirts,  col- 
lars and  cuffs,  has  gained  for  them  an  ex- 
tended reputation,  and  been  the  means 
of  establishing  a  trade  which  comes  to 
them  from  all  over  Northern  Ohio,  and 
also  from  Michigan  and  Indiana,  within 
a    radius  of    1 50  miles.      They  have   the 


166 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


finest  plant  and  the  best  equipments 
for  a  laundry  that  the  most  advanced 
ideas  in  machinery  and  methods  have 
been  able  to  perfect.  Besides  these  almost 
perfect  appliances  and  skilled  operators, 
Fremont  affords  them  a  quality  of  water 
not  to  be  found  elsewhere.  With  these 
advantages  and  the  well-known  business 
ability  and  integrity  of  its  managers,  the 
success  of  the  enterprise  is  assured.  Of 
the  proprietors  themselves,  the  following 
sketches  will  be  of  interest. 

H.  J.  Starr  was  borninElyria,  Ohio, 
in  1857,  and  is  the  son  of  Horace  Starr, 
of  Starr  Brothers,  who  were  for  years 
among  the  leading  merchants  of  north- 
ern Ohio,  and  were  very  prominent  in 
Elyria.  He  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  of  his  native  place,  and  on  arriv- 
ing at  manhood  took  charge  of  a  Boston 
mining  compan}'.  Later  he  filled  the  po- 
sition of  commissary  for  a  railroad  con- 
struction company  in  Virginia.  When 
this  work  was  completed  he  decided  to 
take  up  some  business  more  permanent 
in  its  nature,  and  with  Mr.  Tunnington 
purchased  the  laundry  which  they  are 
now  operating.  Mr.  Starr  is  a  man  of 
excellent  business  abilities,  very  accommo- 
dating, and  of  a  quiet,  pleasant  disposi- 
tion which  makes  him  friends  wherever 
he  goes.  He  is  very  popular  with  the 
people  of  Fremont,  and  is  a  good  citizen. 

F.  M.  Tunnington,  the  other  partner 
in  this  firm,  is  a  native  of  this  State,  hav- 
ing been  born  in  Cleveland,  December  19, 
1858.  He  grew  to  manhood  in  Elyria,  and 
learned  the  trade  of  a  printer  in  the  office 
of  the  Republican  in  that  place,  working 
at  this  about  seven  years  in  Elyria  and 
Cleveland.  He  subsequently  embarked 
in  the  laundry  business  in  Cleveland  for  a 
short  time,  and  then  went  to  Friendship, 
N.  Y. ,  where  he  perfected  himself  in  the 
details  of  the  business,  carrying  on  a 
laundry  there  for  two  years.  He  then 
sold  out  and  went  on  the  road  for  a  year, 
selling  laundry  fixtures  and  machinery. 
Returning    to    Elyria    he    purchased    a 


laundry,  but  subsequently  disposed  of  it, 
and  with  his  present  partner,  Mr.  Starr, 
came  to  Fremont,  where  they  have  estab- 
lished the  fine  plant  which  has  already 
been  spoken  of.  Mr.  Tunnington  is  an 
expert  in  his  line,  and  it  is  mainly  due  to 
his  advanced  methods  of  doing  work  that 
the  Fremont  Steam  Laundry  has  acquired 
its  enviable  reputation. 


M 


ARIv  THRAVES,  farmer  and 
dealer  in  live  stock,  Ballville 
township,  Sandusky  county, 
was  born  in  Nottinghamshire, 
England,  December  7,  1832,  a  son  of 
William  and  Marilla  (Graves)  Thraves, 
whose  history  appears  elsewhere. 

Our  subject  came  with  his  parents  to 
America  when  he  was  eleven  years  of 
age,  and  grew  up  on  a  farm  in  Washing- 
ton township,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio.  In 
the  latter  part  of  1859  he  went  to  Fre- 
mont to  learn  the  trade  of  blacksmith, 
serving  an  apprenticeship  under  Solomon 
Lansing,  who  afterward  removed  to  Mich- 
igan, and  after  whom  it  is  probable  the 
city  of  Lansing  was  named.  In  Decem- 
ber, 185 1,  Mr.  Thraves  started  for  Cali- 
fornia by  way  of  the  Panama  route,  tak- 
ing passage  on  a  steamer  at  New  York 
bound  for  the  town  of  Chagres,  at  the 
mouth  of  Chagres  river,  on  the  Isthmus 
of  Panama.  The  trip  was  a  most  haz- 
ardous one,  the  steamer  losing  one  of  her 
side-wheels  and  being  nearly  wrecked, 
making  it  necessary  to  put  in  for  repairs 
on  the  way.  Upon  reaching  the  Isthmus 
of  Panama,  the  passengers  were  rowed 
and  poled  up  the  river  Chagres,  in  small 
boats,  by  the  natives,  and  were  some- 
times obliged  to  land  and  walk  while  the 
boats  were  carried  around  the  rapids. 
After  leaving  this  river  the  passengers 
had  to  make  an  overland  trip  of  twenty- 
five  miles  before  reaching  the  Pacific 
coast.  The  men  walked,  while  the  wo- 
men rode  mules  furnished  by  the  citizens. 
To  the  consternation  of  Mr.  Thraves  and 


^-^iiaA   s^^ 


'^l^i^-iA^ 


OOMMBMORATIVK   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


IGi 


his  fellow  travolers,  upon  rcachinR  the 
port  on  the  Pacific,  they  learned  that  the 
re^;ular  steamer  was  already  so  loaded 
with  passengers  that  they  could  not  get 
aboard,  and  that  nothinf,'  remained  (or 
them  but  to  take  a  sailing  vessel  for  the 
vovape  to  San  I'rancisco.  The  N'aiider- 
bilt  Line,  with  whom  they  had  shipped 
from  New  York,  had  no  steam  line  on  the 
Pacific,  and  so  they  took  pjissage  on  the 
brif;  "  NlarRaret."  They  put  out  to  sea 
with  a  fair  wind,  but  when  within  one 
degree  of  the  equator  struck  a  dead  calm, 
in  which  they  were  obliged  to  lie  helpless 
(or  two  weeks,  during  which  time  twelve 
of  the  passengers  took  sick  and  died. 
They  finally  succeeded  in  pulling  into  the 
harbor  of  San  Bias,  Mexico,  where  the 
brig  lay  (or  a  week,  to  the  no  small  solic- 
itude o(  the  250  passengers.  The  re- 
mainder o{  their  voyage  was  tedious  in 
thf  e.xtreme.  Perhaps  apprehending 
further  trouble,  the  captain  of  the  brig 
put  it  in  charge  of  the  mate,  and  himself 
remained  behind.  Provisions  ran  short, 
and  for  the  last  three  weeks  each  person 
had  to  live  upon  three  spoonsful  of  cooked 
rice  and  a  pint  of  coffee  per  day;  and  up- 
on reaching  San  Francisco  there  was  not 
a  half  bushel  of  rice  left  on  board  the 
brig,  and  no  other  article  of  food  what- 
ever. They  had  been  thirteen  weeks  up- 
on the  sailing  vessel,  whereas  only  four- 
teen days  were  requisite  to  make  the  trip 
by  steamer. 

Unlike  most  other  men  wht)  went  to 
California'  at  that  period,  N(r.  Thraves 
turned  his  attention  at  once  to  farming, 
the  raising  of  wheat  and  other  grains  in 
Sacramento  county,  a5>  on  account  of  the 
high  price  of  flour  ($50  per  sack)  it  was 
more  profitable  than  gold  mining  to  one 
who  knew  more  about  farming  than  about 
mining.  In  the  month  of  June.  1S5O, 
Mr.  Thraves  returned  home  to  Ohio,  and 
remained  among  his  friends  until  the  fol- 
lowmg  .Xpril.  when,  with  his  brother 
William,  he  started   back    for  California. 

On  crossing  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  they 
11 


met  with  a  sad  accident.  The  train  upon 
which  they  were  riding  was  wrecked,  and 
William  Thraves,  with  sixty  others,  was 
crushed  to  death;  more  than  360  were  in- 
jured. All  those  who  were  killed  were 
buried  on  the  Isthinus.  Controlling  his 
grief  as  best  he  could,  our  subject  com- 
pleted his  journey  to  California,  where  he 
followed  gold  mining  in  Yuba  county,  on 
the  American  river.  In  1858  he  made  a 
trip  into  British  Columbia  and  Vancou- 
ver Island.  In  December,  i860,  he  re- 
turned to  Ohio,  where  he  has  since  that 
time  been  engaged  in  his  favorite  pursuit 
of  farming  and  stock  raising,  in  which  he 
has  been  remarkablv  successful. 

In  politics  our  subject  is  a  Democrat, 
and  though  not  an  office  seeker  has  held 
various  offices  in  his  township,  where  he 
is  justly  recognized  as  one  of  the  leading 
and  most  enterprising  citizens.  He  has 
for  many  years  been  a  member  of  the  I. 
O.  O.  F. ,  at  Green  Spring,  Ohio. 

On  April  3,  1862,  Mark  Thraves  was 
married  to  Miss  Sarah  Htifford.  who  was 
born  April  17.  1834.  daughter  of  Cornel- 
ius and  Mary  Jane  (Zook)  HufTord.  with 
whom  she  came  to  Sandusky  county, 
Ohio,  when  two  years  old.  and  has  since 
lived  here.  Her  education  was  obtained 
in  the  district  schools  of  Ballville  town- 
ship, and,  with  the  exception  of  two  years 
previous  to  her  marriage,  she  resided  with 
her  parents.  Her  father  was  born  in 
1806  in  Kentucky,  became  an  early  pio- 
neer of  Ohio,  and  died  in  Ballville  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county.  March  14.  1884. 
being  buried  in  Washington  Chapel  Cem- 
etery. Washington  township.  Sandusky 
county;  he  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade, 
and  a  model  farmer.  His  wife  was  born 
in  1809  in  Pennsylvania,  died  in  1882, 
an<l  was  also  laid  to  rest  in  the  above- 
named  cemetery.  Their  children  were: 
Sarah  (Mrs.  Thraves).  Simon.  Elizabeth 
(Mrs.  N.  Rathbun).  Catharine  (Mrs.  J. 
Emerson),  and  Martha  (Mrs.  Ferrenberg), 
all  of  whom  are  living.  .Mrs.  Thraves' 
paternal  grandfutlur    |.(r<ili  Ifufford,  was 


168 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPSICAL   RECORD. 


born  in  Kentucky  in  1770,  and  died  in 
Ohio  in  1850;  his  wife,  Catharine  Crea- 
ger,  was  born  in  Ohio  about  the  same 
date.  Her  maternal  grandfather,  Abram 
Zook,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1765. 
The  children  of  Mark  and  Sarah  Thraves 
were  Delphin,  born  February  28,  1863; 
William,  born  May  15,  1865,  and  married 
to  Ida,  daughter  of  Walter  F.  and  Emma 
(Young)  Huber;  Mattie  M. ,  born  October 
30,  1869,  and  Ida  F.,  born  August  15, 
1867. 

The  Thraves  Family.  Samuel 
Thraves,  the  great  ancestor  from  whom 
are  descended  the  Thraves  families  in 
Sandusky  county,  Ohio,  lived  and  died  in 
Nottinghamshire,  England.  He  married 
Miss  Ann  Moult,  and  their  children  were: 
John,  Elizabeth,  William,  Thomas, Grace, 
George,  Faith,  Robert  and  Mark.  About 
the  year  1830  Thomas  came  to  New  York 
city,  where  he  died,  leaving  one  son. 
George  came  to  America  in  1833,  and 
settled  in  Virginia,  where  he  died  in  1882, 
leaving  several  sons,  one  of  whom,  Joseph, 
went  to  California. 

William  Thraves,  son  of  Samuel, 
was  born  December  27,  1799,  in  the  town 
of  Tythby,  Nottinghamshire,  England,  of 
Anglo-Saxon  descent.  He  was  live  feet 
ten  inches  in  height,  with  blue  eyes  and 
flaxen  hair,  and  when  in  the  vigor  of  man- 
hood weighed  about  180  pounds.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Church  of  England,  and 
his  occupation  was  that  of  butcher.  In 
1827  he  married  Miss  Marilla  Graves, 
who  was  born  December  29,  1799,  in  the 
village  of  Austin,  Nottinghamshire.  She 
was  also  a  member  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land. The  names  and  dates  of  birth  of 
the  children  born  to  them  in  England 
were:  George,  July  19,  1828;  Ann,  July 
19,  1828;  Robert,  May  14,  1830;  Mark, 
December  7,  1832;  Faith  Elizabeth,  March 
20, 1835;  William,  July  15,  1837;  Thomas, 
September  6,  1839.  In  1844  the  entire 
family  emigrated  to  America,  and  settled 
in  Washington  township,  Sandusky  Co., 
Ohio,  where  they   followed   farming  and 


stock-raising,  and  here  the  youngest  son, 
Levi,  was  born  March  2,  1847.  I"  1854 
they  settled  upon  a  farm  of  eighty  acres, 
in  Ballville  township,  which  they  had 
bought.  This  was  their  family  home  for 
many  years,  and  here  William  Thraves 
and  his  sons  followed  farming  and  dealing 
in  live  stock  with  good  success.  In  1882 
he  retired  from  active  life  to  a  quiet  home 
which  he  had  bought,  adjoining  the  farm 
of  his  son,  Mark.  William  and  Marilla 
Thraves  celebrated  their  golden  wedding 
in  1877.  She  died  April  2,  1883,  after 
which  Mr.  Thraves  lived  here  and  there 
among  his  children  at  his  own  pleasure 
until  August  21,  1889,  when  he  passed 
away  at  the  home  of  his  son,  Mark.  Both 
were  buried  in  McGormley  cemetery, 
Ballville  township.  Of  their  children, 
Ann  M.  Thraves  married  John  Crowell, 
and  subsequently  moved  to  California, 
where  they  both  died — she  in  1867,  he  in 
1882 — leaving  three  children.  Robert 
Thraves  is  in  Camptonville,  Yuba  Co., 
Cal.  Faith  E.  Thraves  married  Henry 
Bowman,  and  died  in  1867.  William 
Thraves  (son  of  William,  Sr. ,)  was  killed 
in  a  railroad  accident  on  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama  in  1856,  and  buried  there. 
George,  Mark  and  Thomas  are  all  farmers 
of   Ballville  township,  Sandusky  county. 


GEORGE  THRAVES,  farmer  and 
dealer  in  live  stock,  son  of  Will- 
iam Thraves,  was  born  in  Eng- 
land, July  19,  1828.  Heattended 
school  a  few  terms  in  Nottinghamshire, 
and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  came  with  his 
father's  family  to  America,  into  the  region 
of  the  Black  Swamp,  about  four  miles 
west  of  Lower  Sandusky  (now  Fremont), 
Ohio.  Here  he  endured  some  of  the  toils 
and  privations  incident  to  pioneer  life, 
and  attended  a  few  terms  of  school  in  the 
country.  After  working  on  a  farm  for 
several  years  he  served  an  apprenticeship 
at  the  blacksmith  trade  in  Lower  San- 
dusky with   Mr.    Lansing,    afterward  fol- 


COMMEilORATIVS   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


169 


lowiiifj  his  trade  about  two  years  in  the 
shop  of  Samuel  Moore,  in  Fremont.  Ohio. 
On  April  14.  1853,  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Mary  Jane  Crowcll,  who  was  born  in 
Sandusky  township,  in  1829,  a  daughter 
of  Samuel  and  Mary  (Link)  Crowell.  She 
had  received  a  very  liberal  education,  and 
had  tau>;ht  several  terms  of  school  in  the 
country  districts. 

In  1.S55  Mr.  Thraves  and  his  wife  went 
to  California  by  the  Panama  route,  and 
located  in  Yuba  county  where  he  bou},'ht 
a  mining  claim  and  worked  at  gold  min- 
ing about  four  months.  He  then  sold  his 
claim  and  bought  a  blacksmith  shop  in 
which  he  worked  about  one  year,  doing  a 
thriving  business.  The  society  of  the 
miners  not  being  congenial  to  his  wife,  he 
returned  with  her  to  Ohio  in  1858,  and 
purchased  a  farm  of  eighty  acres  in  Ball- 
ville  township.  Sandusky  county.  Here 
he  followed  mi.xed  farming  and  stock  rais- 
ing for  about  thirty-tive  years  with  good 
success.  Mr.  Thraves  has  been  an  active 
friend  of  education  in  his  neighborhood, 
having  held  the  t>ffice  of  local  director  for 
twelve  years,  and  taken  a  deep  interest  in 
the  literary  exercises  of  the  young  people. 
He  also. held  the  office  of  township  trus- 
tee, and  other  positions  of  honor  and 
trust  in  the  community.  He  has  been  a 
member  of  Croghan  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F. , 
at  Fremont,  Ohio,  since  1852,  and  held, 
at  intervals,  all  the  offices  of  the  subor- 
dinate lodge.  In  politics  he  was  a  Whig 
until  the  Know-nothing  agitation  in  1856, 
ever  since  when  he  has  been  a  Democrat. 
Mrs.  Thraves  became  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Protestant  Church,  near  her 
old  home,  three  miles  west  of  Fremont. 
She  proved  a  faithful  and  acceptable  work- 
er in  Sunday-school  and  society  work,  and 
maintained  a  high  standar<l  of  C'hristian 
character.  She  die<i  at  her  home  August  5. 
1885.  and  was  buried  in  McGormley  Ceme- 
tery. Mr.  Thraves  has  continued  to  reside 
on  the  farm  with  his  youngest  daughter. 
Lillie.  The  children  of  (ieorgeatui  .Mary 
Jane  Thraves  were;   (ij  Samuel,  whuiiicd 


in  infancy.  (2)  Ann  Marilla.  born  in  San- 
dusky county,  Ohio.  July  2.  1S55.  mar- 
ried to  Charles  Young.  September  25, 
1878.  and  their  children  arc:  Justin  Irv- 
ing, born  July  13,  1879,  and  Elsie  Lois, 
born  December  21,  1883.  (3)  Mark  Eu- 
gene, born  April  18.  1859.  now  residing 
in  the  vicinity  of  Los  Angeles,  Cal.  (4) 
Ida  Hortense,  born  July  4.  1861,  mar- 
ried to  George  Sommer.  of  Green  Creek 
township,  October  18,  1882,  and  their 
children  are  Wilbur,  born  in  September. 
1883;  Fred,  born  in  October.  1885;  Bar- 
bara, born  in  September,  1887;  Robert, 
born  in  November  1891,  and  Corinne,  in 
August,  1893.  (5)  Meade  George,  attor- 
ney at  law,  Fremont,  Ohio,  born  F"eb- 
ruary  15,  1863,  who  was  married  April  9, 
1890,  to  Miss  Mary  M.,  daughter  of  Ever- 
ett .\.  and  Maria  L.  C.  Bristol;  she  was 
born  at  Fremont.  Ohio.  November  2. 
1 868.  (6)  Lillie  May.  born  September 
13.  1865.  who  was  married  April  9,  1895, 
to  Merritt  Cornell  Huber,  of  near  Green 
Spring,  Ohio. 

LEWIS  K.  WRIGHT,  the  subject 
proper  of  this  sketch,  has  seen  the 
development  of  Scott  township, 
Sandusky  county,  from  the  time  it 
was  a  wilderness  down  to  1895.  He  was 
born  July  13,  1812.  and  is  the  son  of 
William  and  Polly  (Stjuire)  Wright,  who 
were  born  in  Vermont  in  1784.  and  Can- 
ada in  1788.  respectively. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-four  years  our 
subject  came  to  Scott  township,  Sandusky 
county,  at  a  time  when  no  roads  were 
made  in  the  township,  and  when  it  took 
two  days  to  go  to  I'remont  and  back,  a 
distance  of  ten  miles.  He  cleared  a  fine 
farm,  and  made  :i  coTnfortable  home  for 
himself  and  family,  which  he  is  now  en- 
joying in  his  old  age.  On  May  7,  1835, 
he  was  married  to  Miss  Finette  Lock- 
wood,  of  Madrid,  N.  Y..  and  their  union 
was  blessed  with  three  children :  ( 1 )  Ellen 
r.,    born   Sfpi.inbi-r  4,  1 836,  now  rcsid- 


170 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


ing  with  her  father  and  mother  at  Tinney, 
Ohio;  (2)  Levi  L. ,  born  September  12, 
1838,  married  to  JuHa  Green,  of  Fremont, 
and  now  residing  in  Lincoln  county, 
Tenn.,  and  (3)  William  L. ,  born  in 
Cuyahoga  county,  Ohio,  September  26, 
1847,  and  married  to  Almeda  Tinney, 
daughter  of  Darwin  Scott  and  Sarah  (Wig- 
gins) Tinney,  pioneers  of  Scott  township 
(to  them  were  born  three  children — Clara 
F.,  born  September  3,  1874,  was  gradu- 
ated in  music  from  the  Musical  School  of 
Indianapolis,  Ind.,  June,  1895;  Ralph  R., 
born  September  29,  1880,  is  also  a  mu- 
sician and  member  of  the  Tinney  Cornet 
Band,  and  Stella  E.,  born  September  9, 
1882,  who  is  also  developing  her  musical 
talent  on  the  piano;  the  children  inherited 
their  musical  talents  from  their  father, 
who  is  a  violinist  and  also  a  cornetist;  he 
in  turn  inherits  his  ability  in  this  line  from 
his  mother  and  her  ancestry);  William  L. 
is  a  merchant,  having  a  general  store  at 
Tinney,  Ohio,  and  is  also  engaged  with 
his  father  in  farming.  Politicall}'  the 
Wright  family  are  Democrats.  Mrs.  Will- 
iam Wright  was  born  March  5,  1852,  at 
Tinney,  Ohio,  where  she  has  always  re- 
sided. 

The  father  and  mother  of  our  subject 
were  pioneers  of  Sandusky  county,  Ohio, 
and  the  fatherdied  in  1856.  They  reared 
a  family  of  four  children,  of  whom  our 
subject  is  the  only  one  living;  the  other 
children  were:  Martin,  born  in  1810; 
Harriet,  born  in  18 14,  and  Solomon,  born 
in  1816.  Our  subjects  paternal  grand- 
mother was  born  about  1756,  and  died  in 
1820;  she  was  born  in  Vermont,  and 
moved  to  New  York,  where  she  married 
Solomon  Squire.  The  maternal  grand- 
father of  our  subject  was  born  in  Lower 
Canada  in  1756,  and  was  the  father  of 
three  children. 

Levi  Lockwood,  the  father  of  our  sub- 
ject's wife,  was  born  April  24,  1781,  in 
Vermont,  and  died  January  13,  1854;  he 
went  to  New  York,  and  thence  to  Ohio, 
locating  near  Cleveland,    where  he  died. 


His  wife  was  born  March  20,  1788,  in 
Connecticut;  they  were  married  March  30, 
1803,  and  were  the  parents  of  ten  chil- 
dren; she  died  October  10,  1850,  in 
Brighton,  Ohio.  The  paternal  grand- 
father of  .Mrs.  Wright,  Nathaniel  Lock- 
wood,  was  born  in  1750,  in  Connecticut; 
he  moved  to  Vermont,  thence  to  New 
York,  and  died  in  1830.  His  wife,  Annie 
(Bostwick),  was  born  about  1754  in  Ver- 
mont, and  moved  to  New  York.  Mrs. 
Wright's  maternal  grandfather,  Reuben 
Stone,  was  born  about  1756,  and  his  wife, 
Deborah  (Comstock),  was  born  about  the 
same  time,  and  died  in  1855. 


FRANK  M.  METCALF,  as  a  pro- 
duce merchant  of  Clyde,  has  a 
wider  acquaintanceship  than  most 
citizens  of  that  city  can  claim. 
In  the  parlance  of  trade  he  is  a  "  hustler," 
and  the  splendid  business  which  he  does 
is  the  fruit  of  his  own  unremitting  efforts. 
Ever  since  he  came  from  the  service  of 
his  country  as  a  veteran  he  has  followed 
his  present  vocation,  save  three  years 
which  he  spent  in  the  mining  regions  of 
Arizona. 

Mr.  Metcalf  was  born  in  Monroe 
county,  Mich.,  May  11,  1843,  son  of 
Joseph  and  Sarah  (White)  Metcalf. 
Joseph  Metcalf,  who  was  born  in  Ver- 
mont in  1810,  migrated  when  a  boy  with 
his  father,  Samuel  Metcalf,  from  the 
Green  Mountain  State  to  New  York  State, 
and  subsequently  to  Toledo,  Ohio,  whence, 
after  engaging  there  for  some  years  in  the 
lumber  trade,  he  removed  to  Monroe 
county,  Mich.,  and  there  followed  the 
same  business.  In  1843  he  returned  to 
Ohio,  locating  in  Wyandot  county,  where 
his  father,  Samuel  Metcalf,  died  aged 
eighty-si.x  years.  In  1857  Joseph  came 
to  Clyde,  where  he  died  two  years  later. 
Joseph  Metcalf  was  a  public-spirited  and 
enterprising  citizen.  In  New  York  State 
he  had  been  appointed  captain  of  militia, 
and  he  also  served  there  as  justice  of  the 


COMMEMORATIVE   BlOORAPniCAL    RECORD. 


171 


peace.  For  several  terms  he  was  justice 
of  the  peace  in  Michigan,  and  in  W'yandot 
county  he  was  elected  to  the  same  judicial 
office.  He  was  a  man  of  ripe  judgment, 
possessing  that  rare  common  sen.se  upon 
which  all  law  decisions  rest,  and  few  of 
the  decisions  he  made  were  ever  reversed. 
He  was  well-read  in  law,  and  acquaint- 
ances frequently  consulted  him  in  business 
and  legal  matters.  Sarah,  his  devoted 
wife,  who  was  born  in  St.  Lawrence 
county.  N.  Y. ,  in  1820,  is  at  this  writing 
still  living  at  Clyde,  an  active  lady  for  her 
many  years.  She  was  one  of  the  organ- 
izers of  the  \N'oman's  Relief  Corps  in 
Clyde,  and  has  since  been  an  active  mem- 
ber of  the  same.  Both  her  sons  fought 
upon  Southern  battlefields  for  national 
union.  Her  parents  died  at  Berlin 
Heights,  l£rie  count)',  aged  eighty-si.\  and 
eighty-seven  years,  respectively.  The 
three  children  of  Joseph  and  Sarah 
(White)  Metcalf  were  Judge  L. ,  Louisa 
and  Frank  M. 

Judge  L.  Metcalf  was  born  in  Monroe 
county,  Mich.,  in  1839.  He  enlisted  in 
Company  K.  One  Hundreth  O.  V.  L,  and 
was  taken  prisoner  at  the  battle  of  Lime- 
stone Station,  Tenn.,  in  1863.  He  was 
imprisoned  on  Belle  Isle  and  at  Richmond, 
\'a.,  about  a  year.  He  never  recovered 
from  the  effects  of  prison  life,  and  died 
in  1874,  as  a  result  of  the  indescribable 
hardships,  the  starvation  and  exposure  to 
which  he  was  subjected.  Louisa  was  born 
March  2.  1841,  and  married  Henry  Miller, 
of  Clyde.      She  died  in  186;. 

Frank  M.  Metcalf  was  fourteen  when 
his  parents  came  to  Clyde,  and  here  for 
several  years  he  attended  the  village 
schools.  In  July,  1861,  when  eighteen 
years  of  age,  he  was  one  of  a  company 
of  young  men  from  Clyde,  Green  Spring 
and  Tiffin,  formed  to  join  a  regiment  of 
sharpshooters  in  New  York  City,  but  that 
r<".,'iM)ent  not  being  fully  recruited  they 
I  nlisted  in  the  First  United  States  Chas- 
seurs, and  were  afterward  assigned  as  the 
Sixty-fifth    N.    Y.    V.    I.     This  regiment 


saw  hard  service  from  the  start.  In  a 
letter  to  the  editor  of  the  Xalionat 
Tribune,  Washington,  D.  C,  and  pub- 
lished in  the  issue  of  June  21,  1894,  F. 
M.  .Metcalf  thus  recounted  a  few  of  his 
army  experiences  as  follows: 

Editor  Natiiinal  Tribnnr:  Well  do  I  rcinein- 
bcr  the  .skirmishes  during  the  fall  of  '61  in  Vir- 
ffinia  above  the  Chain  Hridfre;  also.  McClellan's 
move  toward  Centerville.  and  our  return;  also, 
the  trip  on  the  Peninsula;  Yorktown;  the  hot 
fiyht  at  WilliamsburK^.  and  the  ti|ifht  around 
Kichinond:  how  (Jen.  Casey's  troops  were  forced 
back  from  their  breastworks  by  the  Confeder- 
ate troops. 

The  First  U.  S.  Chasseurs  were  sent  across 
the  railroad  to  reinforce  the  Thirty-first  Pcnn. 
and  Brady's  battery.  After  Casey  and  Couch 
had  been  driven  back  we  were  north  and  rear 
of  the  Confederates,  picking  up  prisoners.  At 
this  time  a  man  rode  over  to  us  from  the  ene- 
my's lines  and  told  us  we  would  all  be  captured. 
Tlie  boys  were  inclined  to  give  him  the  laugh. 
He  said  he  was  only  doing  his  duty:  also,  that 
the  woods  to  our  right  and  front  were  full  of 
Southern  troops,  which  we  soon  found  ti>  be  a 
fact.  This  man  again  rode  back  to  the  enemy's 
lines.  The  question  has  always  been  in  my 
mind,  who  was  he?  He  at  least  showed  us 
where  his  sympathies  lay.  We  then,  on  a  dou- 
ble-quick, fell  back  through  a  strip  of  woods; 
Uradv's  battery,  near  the  railroad,  with  the 
Thirty-first  Penn.  and  Cha.sseurs  behind  an  old 
rail  fence  and  woods  in  front.  The  enemy 
ma.ssed,  and.  amid  a  deadly  fire  of  shell  and 
canister  and  musketry,  charged,  and  would 
have  captured  our  battery  but  for  the  timely 
arrival  of  a  portion  of  Sumner's  Corps,  which 
turned  the  tide  of  battle  here.  After  the  Chas- 
seurs saw  the  First  Minn,  forming  behind  them 
they  felt  safe,  as  these  two  regiments  had  seen 
service  together  before.  Our  infantry  reserved 
their  fire  until  the  enemy  were  within  a  few 
xoAs  of  our  line  of  battle.  The  rebel  loss  was 
terrible;  the  ground  was  covered  with  their 
dead  and  wounded.  They  made  a  noble  fight. 
This  was  their  first  repulse  and  defeat  that 
day.  The  next  day  our  troops  retook  the 
ground  lost  the  day  before,  but  the  loss  on  both 
sides  was  heavy. 

My  memory  will  ever  follow  the  marches 
and  battles  of  the  army  of  the  Potomac — Mal- 
vern Hill,  Manassas,  South  Mountain,  Antie- 
tani,  Fredericksburg,  under  Ournsidc  and  Hook- 
er. The  Chas.seurs  were  the  second  regiment 
to  cross  the  river  below  Fredericksburg. and  its 
skirmishers  the  last  to  rccross  after  the  fight 
under  llurnaide.  After  the  Pennsylvania  Re- 
serves had  made  their  fatal  charge  the  writer 
was  with  the  triKips  who  relieved  this  command. 
The  moans  of  the  dying  and  the  ap|>eals  of  the 
wounded  in  front  of  us  was  enough  to  touch 
the  hardest  heart.  During  Hooker's  Chanccl- 
lorsville  fight  the  Sixth  Corps  wa«  below  Fred- 


172 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


ericksburg.  At  night,  about  10  or  11  o'clock, 
the  Chasseurs  were  deployed  as  skirmishers, 
and  advanced  to  drive  the  Confederates  out  of 
the  city.  We  met  with  such  resistance  we  con- 
cluded to  wait  for  daylig-ht.  The  writer  and 
fifteen  or  twenty  men  were  with  the  Chasseur 
colors  on  the  Richmond  turnpike.  We  ran 
against  their  reserve  pickets,  who  were  behind 
a  barricade  across  the  road.  They  had  us  at  a 
disadvantage,  and  we  had  to  either  be  shot 
down  or  run  to  the  rear  or  front.  We  gave 
them  a  volley,  fixed  bayonets,  and  with  a  gen- 
uine Yankee  yell  charged  them  from  their  po- 
sition. They  then  withdrew  their  forces  from 
the  city  back  into  their  intrenchments  on  the 
heights,  probably  thinking  the  balance  of  our 
troops  were  at  our  heels.  We  kept  hid  in  the 
city  until  morning,  between  the  two  lines,  not 
daring  to  show  ourselves  to  either  side,  and  ex- 
pecting to  be  captured  by  the  Johnnies,  but 
came  nearer  being  shot  the  next  morning  by 
our  own  troops  before  we  could  make  them  be- 
lieve we  belonged  to  the  Chasseurs. 

History  tells  how  Marye's  Heights  were  cap- 
tured at  the  point  of  the  bayonet  by  the  troops 
under  our  old  Col.  Shaler.  The  general's  metn- 
ory  will  ever  be  fresh  in  the  minds  of  the  sol- 
diers in  that  charge  by  the  daring  and  courage 
he  displayed  riding  along  the  line,  and  with  his 
presence  encouraged  the  boys  charging  the  en- 
emy's works.  The  next  morning  found  the 
Sixth  Corps  silently  recrossing  the  Rappahan- 
nock, where  we  all  breathed  freer,  as  we  could 
tell  by  the  distant  "boom,  boom"  to  our  right 
and  rear  that  Gen.  Hooker  had  run  against  a 
snag  at  Chancellorsville.  The  writer  was  with 
the  Sixth  Corps  at  Gettysburg,  Wilderness, 
Spottsylvania,  Cold  Harbor,  Petersburg, 
against  Early's  raid  on  Washington,  and  Cedar 
Creek;  but  space  will  not  permit  making  men- 
tion of  incidents  during  these  hard-fought  bat- 
tles.    Where  are  the  Chasseurs  now? 

After  the  war  Mr.  Metcalf  returned  to 
Clyde  and  engaged  in  the  produce-ship- 
ping business.  During  the  three  years — 
1882-85 — he  was  located  in  the  Santa 
Rita  mountains,  Arizona,  looking  after 
the  interests  of  the  Salero  Mining  and 
Milling  Co.,  of  New  York  City,  and  also 
operating  silver  mines  of  his  own  there. 
Mr.  Metcalf  is  a  man  of  energetic,  push- 
ing habits,  and  he  has  thereby  built  up  a 
large  trade.  He  is  a  prominent  member 
of  the  U.  V.  U.  command  at  Clyde.  Mr. 
Metcalf  was  married  in  February,  1 886,  to 
Miss  Emma  J.  Miller,  daughter  of  Lyman 
Miller.  Her  three  brothers  were  in  the 
war  of  the  Rebellion,  and  the  oldest  was 
shot  and  killed  in  that  war. 


GEORGE  J.  BLOOM.  Among  the 
thousands  of  emigrants,  of  vari- 
ous nationalties,  who,  during  the 
last  half  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, have  come  to  our  shores  from  the 
overcrowded  hives  of  population  in  the 
Old  World,  none  have  contributed  more 
to  our  national  prosperity  and  the  stabil- 
ity of  our  American  institutions,  than 
those  who  came  from  the  German  Father- 
land. Wherever  they  have  settled,  whether 
in  the  busy  marts  of  our  rapidly  growing 
cities,  the  stirring  lumber  and  mining  re- 
gions of  the  mountains,  or  the  broad  fer- 
tile prairies  of  the  West,  they  have,  as  a 
class,  established  an  enviable  reputation 
for  industry,  frugality  and  thrift,  and  are 
to-day  among  our  most  trustworthy  and 
law-abiding  citizens.  As  a  gentleman 
possessing  these  characteristics,  in  a  mod- 
est way,  we  present  the  subject  of  this 
sketch. 

George  J.  Bloom,  retired  farmer,  Fre- 
mont, Ohio,  was  born  in  Baden,  Germany, 
November  25,  1836.  His  parents  were 
Jacob  Bloom  and  Barbara  (Florien),  the 
former  of  whom  was  also  born  in  Baden, 
where  he  followed  the  trade  of  shoemaker, 
and  after  his  marriage  in  the  year  1854, 
emigrated  with  his  family  to  America. 
They  took  passage  in  a  sailing  vessel,  en- 
countered severe  storms  and  adverse 
winds,  and  were  fifty-four  days  on  the 
ocean.  Proceeding  westward,  they  came 
to  Sandusky  county,  Ohio,  and  settled  on 
a  forty-acre  farm  in  Ballville  township, 
on  which  they  made  their  home.  After 
a  useful  and  exemplary  life,  and  living  to 
see  his  children  in  good  circumstances, 
Jacob  Bloom  died,  July  2,  1883.  His 
wife,  Barbara,  was  born  in  Alsace,  France 
(now  Germany),  and  passed  away  at  the  age 
of  forty-five,  after  faithfully  performing 
her  duties  as  a  helpmeet  to  her  hus- 
band and  mother  to  her  children.  Her 
father,  Joseph  Florien,  a  pioneer  of  San- 
dusky county,  died  here  at  the  advanced 
age  of  one  hundred  and  nine  years.  His 
children   were:     Joseph,    Barbara,    Mag- 


COMMBMORATIVK    BIOORAPUICAL    RECORD. 


178 


dalene.  Catharine,  Georpe  and  Julia. 
The  children  of  Jacob  and  Harbara  Bloom 
were:  Jacob,  a  physician,  who  lived  in 
Indiana  and  died  in  Ballviilc  township, 
Sandusky  county  (he  was  unmarried); 
Willian).  who  is  enRaped  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  potash,  at  Fostoria,  Ohio;  George 
J.,  our  subject;  Barbara,  who  married 
Lewis  Mutchler,  and  lives  on  a  farm  near 
Green  Spring;  and  Mary,  wife  of  George 
Bloom,  a  laborer,  at  Fremont,  Ohio. 

Our  subject  went  to  school  in  his  na- 
tive city  of  Baden  about  eight  years,  also 
attending  the  services  of  the  Lutheran 
Church,  and  learned  the  trade  of  barber. 
At  the  age  of  eighteen  years  he  came  with 
his  father's  family  to  Sandusky  county, 
Ohio,  where  he  assisted  his  parents  in  the 
purchase  and  clearing  up  of  a  farm,  be- 
sides working  several  years  as  a  farm  hand 
among  the  neighbors,  learning  the  meth- 
ods of  well-to-do  farmers.  On  February 
1 8,  1863,  he  married  Miss  Annie  Cole- 
man, who  was  born  February  2,  1841,  in 
Hanover,  Germany,  of  which  place  her 
parents,  Frederick  and  Marie  (Stratman) 
Coleman,  were  also  natives;  they  emi- 
grated to  America  in  1845.  and  settled 
near  Woodville,  Ohio,  where  the  father 
died  in  1887,  aged  eighty-one  years,  and 
the  mother  at  the  age  of  thirty  years. 
Their  children  were:  Annie,  wife  of  our 
subject;  William,  a  farmer,  living  in  Ot- 
tawa county,  Ohio;  Henrj',  a  farmer  of 
Sandusky  county;  John,  a  soldier  of  the 
Civil  war,  now  an  employe  of  the  Lake 
Shore  &  Michigan  Southern  railroad, 
living  at  Fremont,  Ohio,  and  Frederick, 
living  at  Woodville,  Ohio. 

After  his  marriage  Mr.  Bloom  settled 
on  a  farm  near  Green  Spring,  Ohio,  where 
he  lived  about  nine  years.  He  then  sold 
his  farm  and  bought  another  near  Genoa, 
in  Ottawa  county,  on  which  he  remained 
four  and  a  half  years,  when  he  again  sold, 
next  buying  a  farm  of  eighty-five  acres  in 
Ballville  township,  about  three  miles 
southeast  of  Fremont,  which  he  greatly 
improved  and  made  his  home  thereon  for 


seventeen  years.  He  was  quite  successful 
in  the  raising  of  grain  and  the  rearing  of 
live  stock.  In  the  year  1893  he  bought 
property  in  and  removed  to  Fremont,  to 
give  his  children  the  advantages  of  the  city 
schools.  This  property  he  traded,  a  year 
later,  for  a  farm  of  seventy-three  acres 
(formerly  the  Thraves'  homestead),  ad- 
joining his  other  farm  in  Ballville  town- 
ship. 

Mr.  Bloom  has  been  a  Democrat  in 
politics,  but  is  not  a  partisan.  He  and 
his  wife  were  reared  in  the  doctrines  of 
the  Lutheran  Church,  but  during  the  last 
twenty  years  have  been  worthy  members 
of  the  Evangelical  Association.  Their 
children  were:  Caroline,  wife  of  Charles 
Martin,  a  farmer,  who  has  four  children — 
Ralph,  Blanche,  Vinnie  and  Mabel; 
Amelia,  who  married  Oscar  Lemon,  and 
has  two  children — George  Edward  and 
Hazel;  and  Mary,  Barbara,  Anna,  George, 
Ida  and  Charles,  all  of  whom  arc  unmar- 
ried and  living  with  their  parents. 


FREDERICK  SMITH,  a  resident 
of  Sandusky  township.  Sandusky 
county,  was  born  in  Baden,  Ger- 
many, June  2,  1829,  a  son  of 
John  and  Catharine  (Ernst)  Smith.  The 
parents  were  also  born  in  Baden,  the 
father  August  24,  1783,  the  mother  No- 
vember 5,  1787;  both  died  in  Rice  town- 
ship, Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  where  they 
had  settled  in  the  then  forest.  John 
Smith  served  in  the  Napoleonic  wars,  be- 
ing with  the  staff  of  officers.  He  was  on 
the  famous  march  to  Russia,  where  so 
many  thousand  soldiers  were  fro/en,  and 
was  one  of  the  few  who  escaped  impris- 
onment. 

Frederick  Smith  grew  to  manhood  in 
Sandusky  county,  and  attended  the  com- 
mon sclujols  a  short  time.  He  remained 
with  his  parents  on  the  farm,  and  by  dili- 
gence and  hard  labor  cleared  ofT  the 
heavy  timber  and  drained  a  large  tract, 
now  some  of  the  finest  farming  lands   in 


174 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


the  county.  In  1852  he  married  Miss 
EHzabeth  Kaiser,  born  in  France,  Febru- 
ary 22,  1830,  who  is  still  living. 
He  and  his  wife  remained  with  his  parents 
until  their  death,  in  1870,  soon  after 
which  time  he  removed  to  his  present 
home  in  Sandusky  township,  but  a  short 
distance  from  Fremont.  His  brick  resi- 
dence is  one  of  the  finest  in  the  township. 
Mr.  Smith  and  his  family  are  members  of 
the  Lutheran  Church;  in  politics  he  is  a 
Democrat,  and  has  held  public  offices  for 
twenty-two  years.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Smith  were  born  children  as  follows: 
Christina,  deceased;  Frederick,  Jr.,  who 
is  married  to  Caroline  Loganbach;  Car- 
oline, wife  of  Lewis  Nicholas;  J.  Will- 
iam, married  to  Maud  Kinman;  Eliza- 
beth, Clara,  Amelia,  all  at  home,  and 
Edward  F. ,  now  at  Toledo,  Ohio. 


GEORGE  W.  KENAN.  Among 
the  hardy  sons  of  toil  who  have 
subdued  the  towering  forests, 
drained  the  malarious  swamps 
and  developed  the  vast  agricultural  re- 
sources of  the  region  of  northern  Ohio 
known  as  the  Black  Swamp,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  deserves  honorable  men- 
tion. Beginning  at  the  very  foot  of  the 
ladder,  at  the  age  of  ten,  he  patiently 
worked  his  way  up  the  rounds,  step  by 
step,  until  he  reached  the  height  of  com- 
petence. 

George  W.  Kenan  was  born  July  31, 
1824,  a  native  of  Perry  county,  Ohio. 
His  paternal  grandfather,  James  Ivenan, 
was  born  about  177S,  in  Ireland,  and  died, 
in  1858,  in  Jackson  township,  Sandusky 
Co. ,  Ohio.  The  grandmother  was  born  in 
1780.  They  reared  a  famih'  of  eleven 
children,  three  of  whom  are  yet  living. 
The  father  of  our  subject,  Silas  Kenan, 
was  born  February  3,  1807,  near  Wheel- 
ing, W.  Va.,  and  migrated  thence  to 
Perry  county,  Ohio,  where  he  remained 
until  1835,  the  year  of  his  removal  to 
Jackson     township,     Sandusky     county, 


where  he  resided  till  his  death  in  1875. 
He  married  Barbara,  daughter  of  Jacob 
and  Mar}'  Overmyer,  of  Harrisburg, 
Dauphin  Co.,  Penn.,  the  father  born  in 
Pennsylvania  about  1784,  the  mother 
about  the  same  time.  They  reared  a 
family  of  nine  children,  only  one  of 
whom  survives,  Peter,  now  aged  eighty- 
five  years,  and  a  brief  record  of  them  is 
as  follows:  Barbara,  Mrs.  Kenan,  was 
born  February  20,  1802.  Hugh,  a 
farmer  in  Jackson  township,  married  Miss 
Nellie  Yost,  and  has  eight  children — 
Henry,  Harrison,  Mary,  John  I.,  Frank 
Mitchell,  France,  Martha  and  Hiram — • 
three  of  whom  are  living;  he  is  a  Demo- 
crat, and  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
Church.  Margaret  married  Hugh  Mitch- 
ell, a  farmer,  and  has  four  children;  Mr. 
Mitchell  is  a  Democrat  and  a  Baptist. 
Lewis,  a  farmer  of  Jackson  township,  like 
his  brothers,  is  a  Democrat  and  a  Baptist, 
is  married  and  has  five  children — Susan, 
Ellen,  Ben,  Catharine  and  Hugh.  Eva 
married  Rev.  Mr.  Dahouf.  Catharine 
married  Emanuel  Roberts,  and  had  two 
children,  both  now  deceased.  Polly,  who 
married  Benjamin  Hammit,  a  farmer  of 
Iowa,  has  eight  children;  he  is  a  Demo- 
crat and  a  Baptist.  Peter,  also  a  farmer 
in  Iowa,  married  Elizabeth  Hill,  and  had 
five  children;  he  is  also  a  Democrat  and 
Baptist.  The  name  of  the  ninth  child  is 
Betsy. 

The  children  of  Silas  and  Barbara 
Kenan,  parents  of  our  subject,  were: 
Hugh,  who  died  in  childhood;  George  W. ; 
Thomas  J.,  born  in  1826,  who  married 
Jemima  Housman,  and  was  killed  in  a 
runaway  at  Fremont,  Ohio,  December 
31,  1 864,  being  preceded  to  the  grave  by 
his  wife,  who  died  August  23,  1864;  Peter, 
born  November  22,  1829,  who  was  mar- 
ried March  4,  1856,  to  Sarah  A.  Hodgson 
and  has  had  one  child;  William  Manville, 
who,  in  1878,  married  Miss  Sylvia  A. 
Powell  (he  has  a  fine  collection  of  Indian 
relics);  Minerva,  born  December  6,  1830, 
who    married    William  Jackson,  of  Fre- 


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CoMimMuliATlVK   BIOORAPUICAL   RBCORD. 


175 


inont,  Ohio,  and  has  two  children — 
Thomas  G.  and  Charles  H.  (Mr.  Jack- 
son is  a  Republicanj;  Mahala,  born  April 
24,  1832,  who  married  Thomas  J.  lild- 
ridpe,  a  farmer  of  Indiana,  who  was  a 
soldier  in  the  Civil  war  (he  is  a  Repub- 
lican and  a  member  of  the  U.  B.  Church); 
Francis,  a  blacksmith  of  Green  Sprinp, 
Ohio,  who  married  Kli^a  Strouse.  and  has 
four  children — Ellen,  Minerva,  William 
O.  and  Birchard  (he  served  in  the  Civil 
war  in  Company  I,  Seventy-second  O.  V. 
1);  Mary  Ann.  who  married  Charles 
Robinson,  a  farmer  of  Michigan,  and  has 
six  children — Francis.  Milo.  Charles,  Clif- 
ford. Howard  and  Minnie  (Mr.  Robinson 
is  a  Republican  and  a  member  of  the  M. 
F.  Church;  he  was  a  soldier  in  the  Civil 
war);  Oscar,  who  is  a  farmer  near  Gales- 
bur;,',  III.,  married  Margaret  Ickes,  and 
has  five  chiklren  (he  is  a  Republican  and 
a  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church);  and 
Caroline,  born  July  10,  1847,  who  mar- 
ried Daniel  Condon,  a  carpenter  and 
school  teacher,  and  died  July  25.  187 1 
(they  had  a  child  that  died  in  infancy; 
Mr.  Condon  is  a  Republican). 

Our  subject  started  out  to  work  on  a 
farm  by  the  month  when  he  was  only  ten 
years  of  age.  saved  his  money  and  made 
prudent  investments,  and  is  now  enjoying 
the  fruits  of  his  early  economy  and  in- 
dustrj'.  At  the  age  of  twenty-seven.  Oc- 
tober 13,  1851,  he  married  Miss  Elizabeth 
I'osey,  who  was  born  August  30,  1832, 
and  they  had  seven  children,  of  whom, 
Orin  married  Angeline  King,  and  has  two 
children — I*"rank  ami  Lulu  (he  is  a  Demo- 
crat and  a  member  of  the  U.  B.  Church); 
Charles,  who  is  a  farmer,  married  Mary 
Cooksf)n  (he  is  a  Democrat  and  a  member  of 
the  Evangelical  Association);  Lodemie 
V     'lied  Michael   Mowery.  and  has  three 

-Iren  —  Charles,  Lewis  and  Webb;  Mar- 
shall, a  farmer,  married  Miss  Carrie  Smith 
(he  is  a  Democrat);  Lorema  married 
Elijah  Voorhies,  a  farmer  of  Seneca  coun- 
ty he  is  a  Republican  and  a  member  of 
the-   r.  H.  Cliunh;.   I'r.ink    ;i  farmer,   of 


Jackson  township,  married  Miss  Clara 
Havens  (he  is  a  Democrat);  the  name  of 
the  seventh  child  is  Barbara  A.  Mrs. 
Kenan  is  the  daughter  of  Isaac  and  Sabra 
(Preston)  Fosey.  both  of  whom  were  na- 
tives of  Pennsylvania,  the  former  born  in 
1804  near  Philadelphia,  the  latter  in  18 10 
in  Mercer  county.  They  had  a  family  of 
children  as  follows:  Sarah.  Elizabeth 
(Mrs.  Kenan),  Sabra,  Luther,  Rachel  and 
Hannah  (twins),  Harriet,  Bell.  Susanna, 
Martha,  Mary.  John,  David,  Esther  and 
William,  ten  of  whom  are  living.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Posey  migrated  to  the  Black 
Swamp.  Ohio,  .when  Mrs.  Kenan  was  but 
two  years  of  age,  and  the  father  died  in 
1858.  the  mother  September  20,  1888. 
Grandmother  Elizabeth  Preston  was  born 
in  England,  about  1777,  and  had  six  chil- 
dren, four  of  whom  are  living.  Mrs. 
Kenan's  paternal  grandfather,  Micaga 
Posey,  was  a  major  in  the  Revolution- 
ary war. 

The  first  land  Mr.  Kenan  bought  was 
180  acres  in  Jackson  township;  he  next 
purchased  122  in  Scott  township,  then 
about  200  of  his  neighbor's  land,  making 
in  all  327  acres.  He  has  retired  from 
farn)ing,  his  .son,  G.  F.  Kenan,  operating 
the  farm;  but  during  his  active  life  he 
cleared  many  acres  of  heavily-timbered 
land  which  he  now  owns.  He  has  leased 
his  land  in  Scott  township  to  the  Stand- 
ard Oil  Co.,  receiving  a  snug  income  from 
this  source.  In  politics  he  is  a  stanch 
Democrat,  and  in  religious  faith  a  member 
of  the  Baptist  Church,  to  which  he  con- 
tributes liberally. 


z 


ACHARV  TAYLOR.  In  the  two 
worlds  of  Clyde.  Sandusky  county, 
its  business  and  its  social  circles, 
the  names  of  Zachary  Taylor  and 
his  accomplished  wife  rank  as  lead- 
ers; and  in  the  joyous  and  prosperous 
lives  of  these  two  people  the  two  spheres 
arc  most  happily  blended.  Mrs.  Taylor, 
while  possessing  all  the   womanly  graces 


176 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


of  her  sex,  has  a  keen  business  sense,  a 
rare  taste  and  judgment,  exercised  in  the 
selection  of  stock  which  attracts  to  her 
husband's  dry-goods  store  the  best  trade 
from  a  wide  region  of  country.  The  mer- 
cantile career  of  Mr.  Taylor  has  not  been 
one  succession  of  successes.  Sunlight  has 
followed  shadow,  but  through  it  all  runs 
the  gleam  of  mercantile  ability.  As  a 
child  of  six  years  Zachary  Taylor  sold  ap- 
ples on  the  train  and  peddled  molasses 
candy.  At  the  age  of  thirteen  years  he 
went  behind  the  counter  for  W.  B.  Clock, 
and  for  ten  years  he  clerked  for  various 
firms  before  entering  business  for  himself. 
He  has  become  a  prominent  merchant  of 
northern  Ohio,  and  is  distinctively  a  self- 
made  man — one  who  realizes  the  talis- 
manic  powers  of  industry  and  business 
push. 

Mr.  Taylor  was  born  at  Clyde  Sep- 
tember 1 6,  1849,  son  of  George  W.  and 
Abigail  C.  (Whitcher)  Taylor.  George 
W.  Taylor  was  born  in  Rensselaer  county, 
N.  Y. ,  in  1825,  and  comes  from  old  Ver- 
mont stock  of  Scotch  and  Irish  ancestry. 
He  learned  the  saddler's  trade  in  New 
York  and  followed  it  at  Troy  and  at  New 
York  City.  Coming  west,  he  worked  at 
his  trade  for  a  short  time  at  Milan  and 
Sandusky,  and  about  1S45  came  to  Clyde. 
Here  he  conducted  a  dry-goods  and  gro- 
cery store  for  a  time,  but  later  returned 
to  the  saddlery  business.  He  was  a  Re- 
publican in  politics,  and  his  blameless  life 
was  dominated  by  a  spirit  of  practical 
Christianity.  He  died  of  paralysis  in 
1 88 1.  Abigail  (Whitcher), wife  of  George 
W.  Taylor,  was  born  at  Gasport,  N.  Y. , 
February  3,  1828,  and  migrated  with 
her  brothers  and  her  widowed  mother  to 
Milan,  where  she  met  her  future  husband. 
The  Whitchers  are  of  English  extraction. 
Generations  ago  three  unmarried  brothers 
of  the  name  came  to  America,  two  of 
whom  returned  to  England,  where  they 
acquired  wealth  and  died  childless.  The 
third  married  in  America,  and  from  him 
the   present    Whitchers    in    this  country 


have  descended.  An  absence  of  legal 
records  prevents  the  representatives  from 
obtaining  the  English  inheritance.  The 
Whitchers  are  hardy,  frugal,  honest  peo- 
ple, of  great  industry,  and  it  is  from  his 
mother  that  Zachary  Taylor  has  inherited 
his  push  and  executive  business  ability. 
To  George  W.  and  Abigail  Taylor  four 
children  were  born:  Erastus,  accident- 
ally killed  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years, 
while  hunting;  Zachary;  Emma  A.,  wife 
of  L.  C.  Carlin,  a  real-estate  dealer  of 
Findlay,  and  Ida  L. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-three  Zachary 
Taylor,  in  partnership  with  G.  S.  Rich- 
ards, established  at  Clyde  a  dry-goods 
business,  which  they  conducted  seven 
years.  In  the  latter  years  they  did  not 
prosper,  and  were  compelled  to  make  an 
assignment;  investigation  revealed  that  a 
confidential  clerk  had  been  a  large  em- 
bezzler. Left  penniless  at  thirty  by  this 
betrayal  of  trust,  Zachary  Taylor  went 
on  the  road;  first  traveling  through  Ohio 
and  Indiana  for  E.  M.  McGillen  &  Co., 
of  Cleveland,  for  three  years,  then  for 
Mills  &  Gibb,  a  New  York  house.  In 
1888  Mr.  Taylor  was  again  on  his  feet 
financially.  He  re-established  a  business 
at  Clyde  in  dry  goods,  carpets,  furnishing 
goods,  etc.,  which  has  grown  rapidly. 
He  now  employs  from  six  to  seven  clerks, 
and  occupies  two  floors,  25  x  100  feet, 
centrally  located.  When  he  opened  his 
business  in  1888  most  of  the  best  trade  of 
Clyde  was  going  elsewhere,  but  he  put  in 
a  line  of  goods  that  could  not  be  excelled, 
and  as  a  result  Clyde  not  only  holds  her 
own  in  trade,  but  draws  upon  that  of 
other  neighboring  cities. 

Mr.  Taylor  was  married,  October  2, 
1877,  to  Miss  Julia  R.  Klink,  who  was 
born  December  24,  1861,  daughter  of 
Rev.  Charles  M.  and  Julia  (Black)  Klink. 
Rev.  Klink  was  an  English  Lutheran 
minister.  He  was  born  at  Newville, 
Cumberland  Co.,  Penn.,  in  1824,  son  of 
John  George  and  Elizabeth  (Humes) 
Klink.     John  G.  Klink  was  born  in  Eng- 


COMMEMORATIVE   BTOORAPiriCAL   RECORD. 


177 


land  of  Knglish  and  German  parentage. 
He  was  a  man  of  force  and  character, 
but  without  titled  name.  Elizabeth 
Humes,  the  girl  he  loved  and  married, 
was  the  daujjhter  of  an  English  lord,  and 
for  her  plebeian  marriage  she  was  dis- 
inherited. The  young  couple  emigrated 
to  America,  settling  at  Newville,  Penn.. 
and  here  Mr.  Klink  acquired  wealth.  He 
was  a  man  of  temperate  habits,  and  was 
highly  honored  for  his  integrity  and  many 
other  virtues.  Charles  M.  Klink  attended 
a  theological  seminary  at  Cincinnati, 
Ohio,  expecting  to  become  a  Presbyterian 
minister,  but  at  the  earnest  solicitation 
of  his  father  he  was  ordained  a  minister 
of  the  English  Lutheran  Church.  At 
Cincinnati  he  met  his  future  wife.  Miss 
Julia  Black.  She  was  born  at  College  Hill, 
a  suburb  of  Cincinnati,  and  was  a  cousin 
of  Henry  Ward  ISeechcr.  Mr.  Klink  was 
introduced  to  her  by  that  afterward  dis- 
tinguished divine,  who  was  a  fellow  stu- 
dent at  the  seminary.  Many  years  of  his 
pastoral  work  were  spent  by  Rev.  Klink  at 
Middletown.  Md.  He  was  there  during 
the  Civil  war,  and  had  just  completed  a 
new  church  when  the  battle  occurred  in 
that  vicinity.  His  new  church  was  con- 
verted into  a  hospital,  and  the  wounded 
and  disabled  soldiers  were  the  first  bene- 
ficiaries of  the  new  upholstered  seats. 
His  health  failing,  Kev.  Klink  came  to 
Ohio.  He  purchased  the  Uriah  Lemon 
farm,  south  of  Sandusky,  and  sitting  in  a 
chair  he  preached  on  the  last  Sunday  of 
his  life:  he  died  in  1S62.  To  Kev.  and 
Mrs.  Klink  six  children  were  born:  Mary 
Elizabeth,  wife  of  Arthur  G.  Ellsworth,  a 
farmer  of  Sandusky  county;  George  A., 
in  the  oil  busine.ss  at  Cleveland.  Ohio; 
John    W. ,    a    farmer    of    Eaton    Kapids, 

Mich. ;  Jennie  E.,  wife  of  \V.  E.  Bunker, 
of  Eaton  Kapids,  Mich.;  Julia  R. ;  and 
William  E.,  an  insurance  agent  of  Rich- 
mond, \'a.  To  /achary  and  Julia  Taylor 
one  child,  Z.  Arthur,  was  born  March  1 1, 

1881. 

Mrs.  Taylor  is  a  member  of  the  M.  E. 


Church  and  a  leader  in  Church  work.  She 
has  been  a  member  of  the  choir,  and  as  a 
Sunday-school  teacher  her  class  grew  in 
a  short  time  from  eighteen  to  fifty-six 
members.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Taylor 
are  members  of  the  Chosen  Friends,  and 
he  is  now  Regent  of  the  Koyal  .Arcanum. 
In  politics  he  is  a  radical  Republican.  In 
business  Mrs.  Taylor  is  of  great  assistance 
to  her  husband.  It  would  be  difficult  to 
find  anywhere  a  woman  of  superior  or 
even  equal  business  abilities.  In  busi- 
ness and  social  relations  they  work  as  one 
individual.  Mr.  Taylor  is  a  great  "home 
man,"  and  perhaps  carries  more  insur- 
ance than  any  other  resident  of  Clyde. 
The  city  is  indebted  to  this  couple  per- 
haps as  to  no  other  for  the  charms  and 
refinements  of  its  better  life. 


DANIEL  BEMIS,  widely  known  as 
a  liberal  and  well-to-do  farmer  of 
York  township,  Sandusky  county, 
was  born   in   Ontario  county,  N. 
Y. ,  July  3,  1825,  son  of  James  and  Anna 
(Merely)  Bemis,  both  natives  of   Connec- 
ticut. 

James  Bemis,  when  a  young  man, 
emigrated  from  his  native  State  to  New 
York,  and  about  1832  came  to  Ohio.  He 
located  in  Groton  township,  Erie  county, 
erected  a  shop  on  his  farm,  and  for  many 
years  engaged  jointly  in  clearing  and  till- 
ing the  soil,  and  in  following  his  trade  of 
blacksmithing.  He  was  an  Old-line 
Whig,  and  died  before  the  war.  Both  he 
and  his  wife  were  buried  at  Bellevue. 
Their  family  of  nine  children  were  as  fol- 
lows: James,  who  died  in  Clyde,  aged 
seventy-two  j-ears;  Harriet  Nichols,  who 
died  at  her  home  in  Clyde  October  i, 
1894;  Chauncey,  of  Strawberry  Point, 
Iowa;  Shepherd,  of  Bowling  Green; 
Daniel,  subject  of  this  sketch;  Harvey, 
who  died  at  his  home  in  Illinois,  in  Sep- 
tember, 181J5;  Sally  Ann,  wife  of  James 
Tuck,  of  Lansing,  Mich. ;  Emeline.  wife 
of  John  Gardner,  of  York  township;  and 


178 


COMMEMORATIVE    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


Leonard,  who  died  at  the  age  of  fourteen 
years. 

Daniel  Bemis  grew  to  manhood  on  his 
father's  farm  in  Erie  county,  and  received 
his  education  in  the  district  schools.  He 
was  married,  March  2,  1854,  to  Cordelia 
Laughlin,  who  was  born  July  8,  1835,  in 
Erie  county,  daughter  of  John  and  Harriet 
(Call)  Laughlin.  John  Laughlin  was  born 
in  Beaver  county,  Penn.,  March  3,  1796. 
His  father  was  a  native  of  Ireland.  John 
Laughlin  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of 
1 812,  and  when  a  young  man  he  came  to 
Berlin  township,  Erie  county,  where  he 
married  Harriet  Call.  She  was  born  in 
New  York  State,  November  26,  1807, 
daughter  of  Rev.  Call,  who  was  a  Baptist 
missionary  among  the  Indians.  He  had 
married  a  Miss  Cross,  and  settled  in  Ber- 
lin township,  Erie  count}'.  After  marriage 
John  and  Harriet  Laughlin  lived  in  Berlin 
township  until  1842,  and  then  moved  to 
Beaver  county,  Penn.  Nine  years  later 
they  returned  to  Erie  county,  where  the 
father  died  soon  after,  on  September  3, 
1 851;  the  mother  survived  until  Novem- 
ber 19,  1857.  The  children  of  John  and 
Harriet  Laughlin  were  as  follows:  Melissa, 
born  April  7,  1833,  married  Reuben  Met- 
calf,  and  lives  in  Muscatine  county,  Iowa; 
Cordelia,  wife  of  Mr.  Bemis;  Levi,  born 
September  17,  1837,  lives  in  Wood  coun- 
ty, Ohio;  Cyrus,  born  December  24, 
1839,  enlisted  in  the  autumn  of  1861  in 
Company  F,  Forty-ninth  O.  V.  I.,  and 
died  at  Louisville,  Ky. ,  in  August,  1864, 
from  a  wound  received  in  service;  Hud- 
son, born  May  9,  1842,  died  July  li, 
1857;  Clara,  born  August  i,  1846,  mar- 
ried Zeno  Bush,  and  died  August  23,  1875; 
Dana  Franklin,  born  September  23,  1850, 
died  March  12,   1852. 

After  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bemis 
began  housekeeping  on  a  farm  in  Erie 
county,  and  remained  there  until  1856, 
when  they  removed  to  Sandusky  county, 
where  they  have  since  resided.  To  them 
have  been  born  children,  as  follows: 
Emeline,  born  April    11,    1855,  died  June 


19,  1856;  Daniel  H.,  born  July  11,  1858, 
died  April  18,  1865;  George  Laughlin, 
born  May  12,  1861,  married  and  has  one 
child — Edna — born  March  12,  1888  (they 
live  in  Sandusky  county);  Effie,  born 
July  25,  1863,  died  April  5,  1864;  Fred 
H.,  born  February  16,  1865,  married 
Nellie  Pickering,  and  they  are  the  parents 
of  three  children — Elsie,  Zeno  and  Her- 
bert; Zeno,  born  June  14,  1870,  resident 
of  Iowa;  Clara  B.,  born  March  i,  1875, 
at  home;  and  Burton  W. ,  born  July  i, 
1877,  at  home.  Mr.  Bemis  takes  an  active 
interest  in  politics,  and  is  a  stanch  mem- 
ber of  the  Republican  party. 


GEORGE  B.  SMITH,  dental  sur- 
geon, one  of  the  leading  profes- 
sional men  of  Fremont,  Sandusky 
county,  is  a  fair  example  of  the 
success  which  may  be  attained,  even  early 
in  life,  by  concentration  of  purpose  and 
thoroughness  of  preparation  in  any  chosen 
calling. 

Dr.  Smith,  who  was  born  May  5,  1864, 
in  Ballville  township,  Sandusky  county, 
was  the  son  of  a  farmer,  but  decided  to 
forsake  the  pursuit  of  agriculture  which  so 
many  of  his  ancestors  had  followed,  and 
to  prepare  himself  for  a  professional  ca- 
reer. His  early  education  was  acquired 
in  the  district  school,  that  ahna  mater  to 
which  so  many  of  the  brilliant  minds,  not 
only  of  Ohio,  but  of  numerous  other 
States,  owe  allegiance,  this  being  followed 
by  a  course  in  the  high  school  at  Fre- 
mont. He  began  the  study  of  dentistry 
under  Dr.  Cregar,  of  the  same  city,  and 
afterward  attended  the  Dental  College  at 
Philadelphia,  Penn.,  from  which  he  was 
graduated  in  1887.  He  returned  to  Fre- 
mont and  at  once  entered  upon  his  pro- 
fession, in  which  he  has  been  eminently 
successful,  having  built  up  a  large  and 
constantly  increasing  practice. 

Dr.  Smith  is  so  admirably  equipped 
for  his  work,  both  from  natural  ability  and 
thorough    acquaintance   with   its   details. 


OOMMEMORATIVB   BJOQRAPUWAL   RECORD. 


70 


that  the  public  place  the  utmost  contideiice 
in  his  professional  skill.  Added  to  this, 
his  well-known  integrity  and  many  de- 
lifihtful  social  qualities  render  him  a  very 
agreeable  companion,  and  it  follows  as  a 
matter  of  course  that  he  occupies  a  promi- 
nent place  in  the  community.  He  is 
president  of  the  lipworth  League  of  Fre- 
mont, and  is  also  a  member  of  the  I.  O. 
O.  F.  He  is  non-partisan  in  politics,  but 
rather  leans  to  the  Republican  party,  with 
which  he  generally  casts  his  vote.  On 
May  I,  1893,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Iva 
M.  Fitch,  who  was  born  in  Angola,  Ind., 
and  is  a  daughter  of  Dr.  John  and  Kmma 
Fitch.  Dr.  Fitch  died  from  the  effect  of 
wounds  received  in  the  army;  his  widow 
still  resides  in  Fremont.  The  pleasant 
home  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Smith  is  the  resort 
of  a  large  circle  of  friends. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  add  here  a 
short  sketch  of  the  immediate  family  of 
our  subject.  His  father,  John  C.  Smith, 
who  is  a  farmer  of  Ballville  township, 
was  born  in  Warren  county,  N.  J.,  July 
9,  1828.  He  was  a  son  of  William  and 
Sarah  (Trimmer)  Smith,  of  Dutch  de- 
scent. William  Smith's  father  was  Peter 
Smith,  who  was  born  in  Holland,  emi- 
grated to  the  United  States,  served  dur- 
ing the  Revolutionary  war,  and  died  in 
New  Jersey.  William  Smith  grew  to 
manhood  in  New  Jersey,  where  he  fol- 
lowed farming  and  teaming.  He  removed 
to  Ferry  county,  Ohio,  in  1839,  and  to 
Ballville  township,  Sandusky  county,  in 
1847,  where  he  cultivated  a  farm;  he  died, 
in  1865.  at  the  age  of  seventy-tive  years. 
In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat.  His  wife 
died  July  3,  1858,  aged  si.xty-four  years. 
Their  children  were:  Henry,  who  is  a 
grocer  at  Newark,  Ohio;  Sarah,  married 
to  Jacob  R.  Cole,  a  farmer  of  Ballville 
township;  William,  a  farmer,  who  mar- 
ried Sarah  Sibbrel,  and  was  for  eighteen 
years  treasurer  of  Ballville  township  ; 
George,  a  farmer,  married  to  Fli^abeth 
Petty;  John  C  who  was  married  Novem- 
ber  I,   1850,    to  FUcnora   Bowland,    and 


Hannah  Maria,  who  died  when  eleven 
years  of  age.  The  children  of  John  C. 
and  Kllenora  Smith  were  as  follows: 
Susan,  born  October  4,  1 851,  married 
Judge  Kelley,  of  Port  Clinton,  Ohio,  their 
children  being  Amy,  Bessie  and  Donnell; 
Frank  P.,  born  July  27,  1855.  is  a  farmer 
(he  married  Laura  Spade,  and  has  two 
children,  Homer  and  Cleve),  and  George 
B.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 


AARON  SMART.  This  well-known 
farmer  and  lumber-mill  owner  has 
been  identified  with  the  growing 
interests  of  Townsend  township, 
Sandusky  county,  for  a  period  of  thirty 
years.  Much  of  the  prosperity  of  this 
township,  as  well  as  of  the  village  of 
V'ickerv,  is  due  to  his  profjressiveness  and 
indomitable  industry,  and,  knowing  and 
appreciating  this  fact,  his  fellow-citi/ens 
hold  him  in  high  esteem  and  regard. 

Mr.  Smart  was  born  in  Erie  county, 
Ohio,  December  18.  1842.  and  is  a  son  of 
Pettis  and  Sophia  (Kraemer)  Smart,  who 
had  a  family  of  eight  children,  of  whom  the 
following  named  five  survive:  Camellia, 
wife  of  Franklin  Plantz,  residing  in  Kan- 
sas; Aaron,  the  subject  of  this  sketch; 
Elizabeth,  wife  of  John  Leary,  residing 
in  Wood  county;  Martha,  wife  of  F"red- 
erick  Wallie,  living  in  Elmore;  and  La- 
fayette, residing  near  Fremont.  When 
four  years  of  age  Aaron  Smart  came  with 
his  parents  to  Madison  township,  San- 
dusky Co.,  Ohio,  his  boyhood  days 
being  spent  here  upon  his  fathers  farm, 
and  he  received  his  education  in  the  dis- 
trict schools.  Here  he  resided  until  1861, 
in  which  year  he  enlisted  in  Company  A, 
One  Hundred  and  Eleventh  O.  V.  I.,  and 
served  his  country  faithfully  for  three 
years  during  the  war  of  the  Rebellion, 
taking  part  in  no  less  than  thirty-one  en- 
gagements. He  was  mustered  out  and 
finally  discharged  at  Cleveland  in  the 
spring  of  1865,  and  went  to  Fremnnt, 
Sandusky   county,     whither    his    parents 


180 


COMMEMORATIVE    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


had  removed  during  his  absence.  He  there 
again  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  for 
about  a  year,  removing  to  Townsend  in 
1866,  since  which  date  he  has  been  a  con- 
tinuous resident  of  that  township,  closely 
identified  with  its  varied  interests. 

In  Riley  township,  Sandusky  county, 
January  i,  1867,  Aaron  Smart  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Abigail  Lutes,  who  was 
born  in  Stark  county,  Ohio,  March  30, 
1846,  daughter  of  Adam  and  Elizabeth 
(Faber)  Lutes,  and  they  had  ten  children, 
eight  of  whom  are  now  living,  their  names 
and  dates  of  births  being  as  follows:  John 
W. ,  August  6,  1870;  Samuel  M.,  March 
II,  1872;  Clara  B.,  June  10,  1875  (she  is 
now  the  wife  of  Ernest  Werman);  Wes- 
ley P.,  November  3,  1877;  Aaron  L. , 
December  27,  1879;  Zella  E.,  January  9, 
1882;  Roscoe  C,  May  8,  1884;  and 
Glennie  G.,  March  3,  1886.  Politically, 
Mr.  Smart  is  a  good,  active  Democrat. 
He  has  served  his  township  efficiently  as 
trustee  for  six  years,  and  has  also  held 
other  township  ofBces.  Both  he  and  his 
family  attend  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church. 


HENRY  SCHROEDERwasbornin 
Hanover,  Germany,  October  19, 
1829,  and  is  a  son  of  Charles 
and  Julia  (Glaisecik)  Schroeder. 
Charles  Schroeder,  a  shoemaker  in  Ger- 
many, came  with  his  family  to  America 
in  1842,  and  located  in  Woodville  town- 
ship, Sandusky  Co.,  Ohi^.  Here  he 
bought  eighty  acres  of  timberland,  cleared 
it,  and  made  it  his  home  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  February,  1882.  His 
widow  died  in  1893. 

Henry  Schroeder  was  reared  on  his 
father's  farm,  and  obtained  a  good  En- 
glish and  German  school  education.  In 
his  eighteenth  year  he  went  to  Toledo, 
Ohio,  where  he  worked  three  years  at  the 
shoemaker's  trade.  He  then  returned  to 
Woodville,  Sandusky  county,  and  became 
associated    in     business     with    Nicholas 


Smith,  continuing  for  only  three  months, 
when  he  built  a  shop,  and  went  into  busi- 
ness for  himself.  In  1852  Henry  Schroe- 
der was  united  in  marriage  with  Sophia 
Dickmeyer,  by  whom  he  has  had  eight 
children,  as  follows:  Lucy,  who  married 
Fred  Sandwisch,  of  Woodville  township; 
Richie,  who  married  Henry  Snyder,  and 
lives  in  Michigan;  Carrie,  who  married 
Gus  Shepherds,  and  is  living  in  Michigan; 
Minnie  is  deceased;  Charles  married  Amy 
Kinker,  of  Toledo,  Ohio;  William  lives  in 
Michigan;  Harry  died  in  infancy;  Sophia 
is  deceased.  Mrs.  Henry  Schroeder  died 
December  18,  1874,  and  in  October,  1876, 
Mr.  Schroeder  again  married,  taking  to 
wife  Angeline  Shepherds,  daughter  of 
Harmony  Shepherds,  a  farmer  of  Indiana. 
Mr.  Schroeder  still  has  forty  acres  of 
valuable  land  in  Woodville  township,  San- 
dusky county,  which  he  rents  out.  He  is 
a  Democrat  in  politics,  has  been  superin- 
tendent of  roads,  is  trustee,  and  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Lutheran  Church. 


HG.  GIBBONS  is  a  leading  real- 
estate  dealer  of  Clyde,  Sandusky 
county,  and  is  a  native  of  New 
York  State,  born  July  27,  1842, 
at  Lisbon,  St.  Lawrence  county. 

On  his  father's  side  he  is  descended 
from  old  English  stock,  while  on  his 
mother's  he  claims  Scotch  descent.  His 
paternal  grandparents  in  an  early  day 
emigrated  from  their  native  land,  Eng- 
land, to  Upper  Canada  (now  Province  of 
Ontario),  where,  in  the  then  village  of 
Renfrew,  they  passed  the  rest  of  their 
lives.  Their  children  were:  James,  Will- 
iam, George,  Joseph,  Thomas  and  Mary, 
of  whom  James  was  a  ship  captain  on 
the  lakes  many  years;  William  and  George 
were  extensive  lumber  and  timber  mer- 
chants; Thomas  was  the  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, and  will  be  more  fully  spoken  of 
presently;  Mary  married  Philip  Thomp- 
son, all  of  whom  made  their  home  in  the 
vicinity  of  Renfrew,  Canada. 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOQRAPUICAL   RECORD. 


l^l 


Thomas  Gibbons  was  born  at  Renfrew, 
Canada,  in  1810,  whence  he  moved  to 
New  York  State,  making  a  permanent 
settlement  there.  For  many  years  he  was 
clerk  of  the  court  at  Canton,  St.  I^aw- 
rence  county,  and  enjoyed  a  wide  popu- 
larity. He  owned  a  larpe  farm,  and  at 
one  period  of  his  life  was  a  steamboat 
clerk  on  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  at  another 
time  conducting  a  mercantile  business. 
He  was  married  at  Canton,  N.  Y..  to 
Isabella  Thompson,  who  was  born  in 
Scotland  in  18 10,  and  when  an  eight- 
year-old  girl  came  to  America  with  her 
parents,  who  settled  in  St.  Lawrence 
county,  N.  Y.,  where  they  followed  agri- 
cultural pursuits.  To  Thomas  (libbons 
and  his  wife  were  born  eleven  children,  a 
brief  record  of  whom  is  as  follows:  (i) 
William  was  a  veteran  in  the  war  of  the 
Rebellion,  and  was  made  prisoner  at  the 
battle  of  Spottsylvania  Court  House, 
where  he  was  wounded;  he  died  recently 
in  St.  Lawrence  county,  N.  Y.  (2)  James 
was  a  clerk  in  Ogdensburg,  N.  Y.,  for 
about  fifteen  years,  and  subsequently  fol- 
lowed the  trade  of  jeweler.  (3)  Jona- 
than was  a  wholesale  merchant  at  Flack- 
villo.  St.  Lawrence  Co.,  N.  Y.  (4)  Isaac 
ran  a  mail  stage  for  many  years  at 
Ogden,  N.  Y.,  and  is  now  a  wholesale 
merchant  at  Hermon,  N.  Y.  (5)  Mary 
Jane  married  Lli  Vandelinder,  and  they 
live  at  DeKalb  Junction,  N.  Y.  (6)  Ag- 
nes married  Samuel  Baxter,  a  farmer  and 
<lairyman  of  DeKalb,  N.  Y.  (7)  H.  G. 
is  the  subject  proper  of  this  sketch.  (8) 
Marcelia  married  Joseph  Lawrence,  and 
they  are  residents  of  New  York  State. 
(9)  Susannah  married  Thomas  McConkey, 
and  they  moved  to  Toronto,  Canada, 
where  they  died.  (10)  George  is  a  whole- 
sale and  retail  merchant  at  DeKalb  Junc- 
tion, N.  Y.,  where  he  is  a  leading  politician. 
(II)  Helen  married  Albert  Lawrence,  a 
furniture  dealer  of  DeKalb  Junction,  N.  Y. 
The  parents  of  this  numerous  family  died, 
the  father  in  i860,  the  mother  in  1874. 
H.  G.  Gibbons  received  a  liberal  edu- 


cation at  the  public  schools  of  the  vi- 
cinity of  his  place  of  birth,  subsequently 
attending  college  at  Canton.  N.  Y.,  after 
which  he  went  to  Canada  and  there  taught 
school  some  seven  years.  Returning  to 
New  York  State,  he  did  not  long  tarry 
there,  having  concluded  to  try  his  fortune 
in  the  then  Far  West.  After  a  brief  resi- 
dence in  Chicago,  however,  he  "drifted" 
from  there  to  New  Orleans,  whence  after 
a  stay  of  some  three  months  he  returned 
north,  and  in  1863  took  up  his  tenjporary 
abode  in  Cleveland.  Ohio.  brom  there 
he  once  more  proceeded  to  New  York 
State,  thence  a  second  time  to  Canada, 
where  he  again  took  up  the  profession  of 
school-teacher.  At  the  end  of  about  a 
year  he  returned  to  the  United  States,  and 
in  Riley  township.  Sandusky  Co..  Ohio, 
made  a  more  permanent  settlement.  Here 
for  twenty  years  he  taught  school,  be- 
coming a  representative  "dominie,"  a 
veritable  reproduction  of  the  school-mas- 
ter Oliver  Goldsmith  had  in  his  mind's  eye 
when  he  penned  the  lines: 

A  man  severe  he  was,  and  stern  t<i  view: 
I  knew  him  well,  as  every  truant  knew; 

Well  had  the  boding  tremblers  learned   to 
trace 
The  day's  disasters  in  his  morninp  face. 

After  this  e.xtensive  and  honorable  pro- 
fessional career  Mr.  Gibbons  retired  from 
the  field  of  pedagogy  to  engage  in  other 
pursuits,  among  which  may  be  mentioned 
the  selling  of  farm  machinery  among  the 
agricultural  classes,  more  recently  taking 
up  the  real-estate  business,  in  which  latter 
occupation  he  is  at  present  extensively 
engaged  in  the  city  of  Clyde. 

Mr.  Gibbons  has  been  twice  married 
first  time  m  1869  to  Miss  Sarah  Van  Bus- 
kirk,  who  was  born  in  Riley  township, 
Sandusky  Co..  Ohio,  and  who  passed 
away  two  years  after  marriage,  leaving 
one  child,  Justin  R.,  born  February  11, 
1868,  died  April  16,  1888.  For  his  sec- 
ond wife  Mr.  Gibbons  was  married  in  1871 
to  Miss  Sarah  Hawk,  who  was  born  in 
Green    Creek    township,    Sandusky    Co  , 


182 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


Ohio,  November  i,  1848,  and  the  record 
of  the  children  born  to  this  union  is  as 
follows:  (i)  Maude  M.,  born  March  14, 
1874,  is  one  of  the  most  estimable  young 
ladies  of  Clyde,  and  is  at  present  assisting 
her  father  in  his  real-estate  business;  (2) 
Mabel  L. ,  born  December  28,  1882;  (3) 
Harry  G.,  born  October  21,  1886;  (4) 
Clyde,  born  April  13,  1890,  died  Decem- 
ber 8,  1890.  Mr.  Gibbons  is  a  man  of 
impulsive  yet  sympathetic  temperament, 
scourging  all  that  is  wrong  with  unrelent- 
ing lash,  and  cleaving  to  what  is  right 
with  fierce  tenacity.  To  his  enemies  he 
is  generous,  though  antagonistic;  to  his 
friends  he  is  faithful  and  sincere.  In  his 
political  preferences  he  is  an  ardent  Dem- 
ocrat, and  he  enjoys  the  esteem  and  re- 
spect of  a  wide  circle  of  friends. 


GEORGE  A.  ZIMMERMAN,  one 
of  the  well-to-do  farmers  of  Green 
Creek  township,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, and  a  citizen  of  high  type, 
who  is  interested  in  all  affairs  of  public 
moment,  is  by  birth  a  Marylander.  He 
was  born  in  Frederick  county,  that  State, 
October  29,  1830,  and  is  the  son  of 
George  and  Rosanna  (Barrack)  Zimmer- 
man. 

His  father  was  of  the  old  Pennsylvania- 
German  stock,  and  was  born  in  the 
"  Keystone  "  State.  He  was  by  trade  a 
shoemaker,  and  also  engaged  extensively 
in  farming.  He  was  a  man  of  thrifty 
habits,  and  by  industry  accumulated  a 
competence.  He  died  in  Frederick  county 
at  the  age  of  sixty-four  years.  In  relig- 
ious belief  he  was  a  Lutheran;  while  his 
wife  was  a  member  of  the  German  Re- 
formed Church.  The  family  of  George 
and  Rosanna  Zimmerman  consisted  of 
eight  children,  as  follows:  William;  Mary, 
now  Mrs.  Shank;  Wesley  (deceased); 
Minerva,  wife  of  Oliver  Lease;  Barbara, 
wife  of  C.  Myer;  Theodore  Jacob  (de- 
ceased), all  of  the  State  of  Maryland, 
and  George  A.,  subject  of  this  sketch. 


George  A.  Zimmerman  was  reared  in 
Maryland,  attending  the  district  schools 
and  assisting  on  his  father's  farm.  In  the 
spring  of  1857,  at  the  age  of  twenty-sev- 
en years,  he  came  to  Tiffin,  Ohio,  and  in 
the  autumn  of  the  same  year  he  moved  to 
Sandusky  county.  On  the  13th  of  Sep- 
tember, i860,  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Mary  Ira,  a  native  of  Germany.  The 
union  of  George  and  Mary  Zimmerman 
has  been  blessed  by  the  birth  of  four 
children,  as  follows:  Francis  (deceased) 
and  Franklin  (twins),  born  December  5, 
1 861;  Rosanna,  born  January  2,  1864 
(died  March  2,  1893),  and  George  Wes- 
ley, born  June  14,  1875.  The  son  Frank- 
lin is  a  prominent  minister  of  the  Ohio 
Conference  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
receiving  his  collegiate  and  theological 
education  at  Delaware,  Ohio,  and  Bos- 
ton Theological  Seminary.  Rev.  Zim- 
merman began  his  ministr)'  in  i  889,  and 
was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Grove,  of  Find- 
lay,  Ohio.  Four  children  have  been  born 
to  them,  namely:  Ruth,  Paul,  Helen  and 
Kenneth.  The  younger  son,  George,  is 
now  engaged  in  tilling  his  father's  farm, 
and  promises  to  soon  be  one  of  the  suc- 
cessful agriculturists  of  Sandusky  county. 

Mr.  Zimmerman  is  a  prominent  and 
consistent  member  of  the  Green  Spring 
M.  E.  Church,  being  a  liberal  contributor 
to  all  the  Christian  charities,  and  prac- 
ticing in  his  daily  walk  all  he  professes. 
Mrs.  Zimmerman  is  no  less  known  for 
her  many  virtues,  being  a  life  member  of 
of  the  Women's  Foreign  Missionary  So- 
ciety of  the  M.  E.  Church,  and  a  cheer- 
ful laborer  in  all  Church  work. 


AMBROSE  KERNAHAN,  deceas- 
ed. If  character  counts  for  aught, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  a 
wealthy  man.  His  neighbors 
learned  by  experience,  if  they  did  not  ac- 
quire the  knowledge  by  intuition,  that  the 
word  of  Mr.  Kernahan  was  worth  its  face 
value    any  time,    that  he  never  made  a 


AMIlRoSK    KF.RNAHAN. 


M> 


COMMJCMOaATIVB   DIOORAPUICAL   liECOliD. 


188 


[iromise  without  fiiltilling  it,  unless  cir- 
cumstances, impossible  to  control,  arose 
to  prevent.  This  regard  for  his  word, 
however,  was  not  a  hobby  with  Mr.  Ker- 
nahan,  nor  was  it  the  absorbing  quality  of 
his  mind;  it  was  only  an  index  to  the 
moral  and  mental  soundness  of  the  man. 

He  came  of  Scotch-Irish  stock,  and 
was  born  in  Livinjjston  county,  N.  Y., 
July  19,  1S36,  son  of  Alexander  and  Han- 
nah (Clapp)  Kernahan.  Alexander  Ker- 
nahan  was  born  in  Ireland  about  i8cx5, 
ami  when  a  young  man  emigrated  to 
.\morica,  settling  first  in  Onondaga  county, 
N.  v..  where  he  worked  for  eight  dollars 
per  month,  and  subsequently  moving  to 
Livingston  county,  N.  Y.,  whence,  in  1S54. 
he  came  to  Sandusky  county,  Ohio,  where 
he  bought  land  and  spent  the  remainder  of 
his  years,  dying  in  1876.  In  politics  he 
was  a  Republican,  and  in  religious  belief 
a  Presbyterian.  Strict  in  his  habits,  he 
was  universally  esteemed.  Hannah 
(Clapp)  was  a  native  of  England,  and 
died  in  Sandusky  county.  The  children 
of  Alexander  and  H-annah  Kernahan  were 
five  in  number,  three  of  whom — Ambrose, 
James  and  Eliza  —grew  to  maturity. 

Ambrose  Kernahan  was  reared  to 
fariTiing  on  his  father's  land  in  Green 
Creek  township.  He  was  a  strong  Union 
man  during^  the  Civil  war,  and  was  a 
member  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Sixty- 
ninth  O.  V.  I.,  which  in  1864  was  called 
out  in  the  one-hundred-days'  service,  and 
liid  guard  duty  at  I'ort  Ethan  Allen  and 
Washington  when  Gen.  Jubal  A.  Early 
was  making  a  demonstration  against  the 
capital  city  of  the  nation.  After  the  war 
he  settled  on  the  farm,  and  in  1870  he 
married  Miss  Elizabeth  McKinney,  who 
was  born  in  New  York,  July  29.  1840. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kernahan  had  no  chil- 
ilrcn.  Mr.  Kernahan  was  a  prominent 
member  of  Eaton  Post  No.  55,  G.  A.  R., 
of  Clyde.  He  was  engaged  in  general 
farming,  and  was  progressive  and  thor- 
ough in  his  methods,  being  recognized  as 
one  of  the   best  farmers  in  Green  Creek 


township.  He  was  a  keen  observer,  not- 
ing with  intelligent  care  the  magnitude  of 
the  changes  which  occurred  in  doing 
business  since  his  boyhood  days,  a  half 
century  ago.  He  was  popular  in  the 
conmiunity  wherein  he  had  so  long  had 
1  his  home,  and  when  he  was  called  from 
earth,  on  January  15,  1895,  his  fellow 
citizens  mourned  the  departure  of  a 
much  beloved  and  deservedly  esteemed 
man. 


HOMER   BRUBAKER,  a   success- 
ful farmer  and  a   jirominent  and 
popular  citizen  of  Madison  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  was  born 
February  9,   183S,  and  is  a  son  of  John 
and  Esther  Brubaker. 

John  Brubaker  was  born  in  Bedford 
county,  Penn.,  in  the  year  1801,  and 
married  Esther  Miilur,  who  was  born 
in  Pennsylvania  in  181 1.  Her  father's 
name  was  John  Miller.  Mr.  Brubaker 
came  to  Ohio  in  1830,  and  located  on  an 
eighty-acre  tract  of  timber  land,  where 
he  afterward  lived.  He  died  there  in 
1848,  and  his  wife,  surviving  him,  died  in 
1889.  They  had  ten  children,  namely: 
Jacob,  married  Susan  Mills,  a  farmer  in 
Indiana,  and  they  have  hail  nine  chil- 
dren; Elida  died  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
one;  Elizabeth  married  John  Kelly,  a 
farmer  in  Illinois;  Susan  married  William 
Scott,  they  had  nine  chiKircn,  and  both 
parents  are  now  dead;  Mary  was  twice 
married,  first  time  to  Lee  Mills,  and  they 
had  four  children;  after  the  death  of 
Mr.  Mills  she  married  Daniel  Smith,  and 
they  live  in  Waterloo.  Ind. ;  Michael  mar- 
ried Susan  Miller,  and  they  had  six  chil- 
dren; he  died  in  1864.  Henry  was  twice 
married;  first  time  to  Elizabeth  Kline, 
by  whom  he  had  two  children,  both  of 
whom  died  young ;  his  second  wife 
was  Mary  Sturtevant,  and  they  had 
three  children,  one  of  whom  died 
young;  Henry  died  in  1870,  and  the 
widow  and  her  two  children  went  west, 


184 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


where  she  married  again.  Mahelia  died 
young.  John,  now  a  farmer,  married 
Delia  Garn;  they  have  had  seven  chil- 
dren, and  they  now  live  in  Jackson  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county;  and  Homer  is 
the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

During  his  earlier  years  Homer  Bru- 
baker  lived  at  home,  and  worked  out  at 
times  until  he  married.  On  October  23, 
1858,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Margaret  Ickes,  who  was  born  February 
9,  1840,  and  they  have  had  the  follow- 
ing named  children:  Alfred,  now  an  oil 
speculator  and  farmer,  born  March  i, 
1862;  Ida,  born  February  22,  1864,  mar- 
ried Albert  Klotz,  and  they  have  had  two 
children,  and  live  in  Washington  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county;  Gary,  born  March 
II,  1869,  died  December  25,  1879; 
Laura,  born  July  20,  1875,  married  John 
Allison,  of  Oil  City,  Penn. ;  Stella  was 
born  September  24,  1877;  Lester  and 
Lesta  (twins)  were  born  January  4,  1S81, 
and  Lesta  died  February  16,   1881. 

Mrs.  Brubaker's  father,  George  Ickes, 
was  born  August  7,  1800,  and  died  in 
1890.  Her  mother,  whose  maiden  name 
was  Margaret  Croyle,  was  born  February 
20,  1803,  and  died  April  18,  1867.  They 
had  thirteen  children,  two  of  whom  died 
young.  The  others  are:  Henry  married 
Susan  Stainer,  and  they  had  eight  chil- 
dren. Adam  married  Mary  Campbell, 
and  they  live  in  Indiana.  Catherine  mar- 
ried Ed  Burkett,  of  Washington  town- 
ship, and  they  have  had  twelve  children. 
Thomas  married  Margaret  Long,  and 
they  have  had  four  children;  they  live  in 
Scott  township,  Sandusky  county.  Bar- 
bara married  John  Valentine,  and  they 
have  had  two  children;  they  live  in  Madi- 
son township.  Susan  died  young.  Sarah 
married  David  Miller,  a  farmer  in  Wash- 
ington township,  and  they  have  had  six 
children.  Michael  married  Ellen  Russell, 
and  they  have  had  two  children;  they 
live  in  Nebraska.  Margaret  is  Mrs. 
Homer  Brubaker.  Sophia  married  John 
Rosenburg,  who  died,  and  she  afterward 


married  Jacob  Clapper,  and  they  have 
had  four  children;  they  live  in  Madison 
township.  George  married  Mary  Garn, 
and  they  have  had  one  child;  they  live  in 
Grand  Rapids,  Mich.  George  Ickes  (Sr.) 
came  to  Ohio  in  the  fall  of  1832  and  en- 
tered eighty  acres  of  land  in  Madison 
township,  on  which  he  built  a  log  cabin, 
wherein  he  lived.  He  was  one  of  fifteen 
who  attended  the  first  election  in  Madison 
township,  which  was  held  in  an  old 
blacksmith  shop  owned  by  Jacob  Garn. 
He  did  a  great  deal  in  making  roads  and 
settling  up  Madison  township,  and  was 
well  known  far  and  near.  At  that  time 
the  nearest  gristmill  was  at  Fremont, 
Sandusky  county,  and  it  took  them  sev- 
eral days  to  make  the  trip. 

About  the  time  of  his  marriage  Homer 
Brubaker  rented  120  acres  of  land,  on 
which  he  lived  one  year,  then  bought 
thirty-seven  acres  where  Gibsonburg  now 
stands,  which  cost  him  six  hundred  dol- 
lars. He  lived  on  this  land  seven  years, 
then  sold  it  and  bought  ninety-five  acres, 
and  later  twenty-five,  after  which  he 
moved  upon  this  property  and  has  lived 
here  ever  since.  He  also  has  120  acres 
in  Madison  township,  Sandusky  county, 
known  as  the  George  Ickes  property.  He 
deals  in  horses  and  cattle.  His  land  is 
situated  in  the  oil  belt,  and  has  been 
leased  to  the  Standard  Oil  Company.  Mr. 
Brubaker,  as  is  also  his  wife,  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Evangelical  Church  at  Gibson- 
burg. He  is  a  Democrat,  has  several 
times  held  different  offices  such  as  those 
of  school  director  and  supervisor,  and  is 
well  liked  in  the  community. 


JOHN  SNYDER,  who  is  successfully 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  in 
Sandusky  county,  his  home  being  in 
Washington  township,  is  numbered 
among  the  native  sons  of  that  county, 
where  he  was  born  May  25,1 846.  His  par- 
ents were  James  and  Elizabeth  (Fought) 
Snyder. 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


185 


His  father  was  born  in  Berkeley 
county.  Nirginia.  December  15,  1800.  He 
was  in  his  early  life  one  of  the  hardy  and 
exemplary  young  men  who  sought  early  a 
a  home  in  the  wilds  of  the  Western  coun- 
try, which  was  then  principally  inhabited 
by  will!  animals,  savage  beasts  and  veno- 
mous reptiles.  His  father  was  a  mill- 
wright; also  the  owner  of  a  large  grist- 
mill, and  his  vigorous  and  reliable  son 
Jamts  was  the  miller.  This  was  his  prin- 
cipal occupation  until  he  arrived  at  the 
age  of  twenty-three  years.  Having  never 
attended  school,  except  about  two  months, 
in  all  his  life,  he  had  at  that  time  a  very 
limited  knowledge  of  books,  and  nearly 
everything  else  save  what  his  father  as  a 
millwright  had  taught  him.  The  thrilling 
stories  of  Western  hunters  and  adventur- 
ers, which  he  had  frequcntl)'  heard,  had  in- 
spired within  him  adesire  to  emigrate  west- 
ward, and  to  obtain  for  himself  a  satisfac- 
tor)'  knowledge  as  to  the  truth  of  these 
statements.  The  necessary  arrangements 
were  soon  made,  and  in  the  spring  of 
1825  he  bade  adieu  to  the  home  of  his 
childhood  with  all  its  endearments,  and 
came,  in  company  with  his  brother-in- 
law,  Andrew  Miller,  in  a  two-horse  wagon 
to  the  central  part  of  Ohio,  where  he 
spent  about  two  years  in  different  parts 
of  the  State  working  at  times  for  a  shill- 
ing a  day.  He  then  concluded  to  return 
home  and  visit  his  father's  family  and 
friends.  With  but  a  few  dollars  jingling 
in  his  pockets,  and  with  no  friend  to  ac- 
company him  save  his  rifle,  he  set  out  on 
foot  f(jr  his  fathers  home  in  \'irginia. 
There  was  a  long  and  dreary  road  stretch- 
ed out  before  him;  but  his  determination, 
supported  by  his  physical  strength,  was 
more  than  equal  to  the  task.  He  accom- 
plished his  journey  in  safety,  subsisting 
principally  upon  what  game  he  killed 
along  the  way. 

He  remained  at  home  a  few  months, 
and  again  set  out  on  foot,  and  came  to 
Ferry  county.  Ohio,  where  he  soon  after 
married  Elizabeth,  a  daughter  of  Michael 


Fought,  with  whom  he  lived  peaceably 
and  happily  from  that  time  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  July  20,  1876.  He  came 
to  this  county  in  1 830.  and  in  Washington 
township  entered  eighty  acres  of  govern- 
ment land,  upon  which  he  built  what  he 
called  a  snug  little  log  cabin.  He  was 
now  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  large  for- 
ests, extending  for  many  miles  in  every 
direction.  The  tall  and  stately  trees  pre- 
vented even  the  sun  from  shining  down 
upon  the  little  log  cabin  which  he  had 
built.  The  hungry  wolves  and  other  wild 
animals  would  come  at  night  and  howl 
and  bark  around  his  door,  as  though  they 
craved  him  for  their  prey.  It  was  not 
long,  however,  until  he  had  cleared  away 
a  spot  of  ground  upon  which  to  raise 
some  corn,  which  was  the  only  grain  that 
he  could  raise  for  a  number  of  years. 
Thus  he  obtained  for  himself  and  family 
a  scant  living,  for  a  few  years  subsisting 
chiefly  upon  cornbread  and  wild  game. 
His  neighbors  were  few  and  far  away,  and, 
being  as  poor  as  he,  could  therefore  give 
him  but  little  or  no  assistance.  He 
would  frequently  carry  a  bushel  of  corn 
to  mill  all  the  way  to  Lower  Sandusky 
(now  Fremont),  eight  miles  through  the 
mud  and  water,  and  return  the  same  day, 
and  then  take  mush  and  milk  for  his 
supper.  He  was  firm  and  determined  in 
everything  he  undertook.  Patience,  per- 
severance and  hard  labor  procured  for 
him  and  his  companion  a  comfortable  and 
pleasant  home  which  has  been  their  en- 
joyment for  a  number  of  years.  His 
companion  died  September  17,  1881,  aged 
seventy-two  years,  six  months,  and  six- 
teen days,  a  grand  and  heroic  woman,  no 
work  being  too  laborious  for  her  to  do  for 
the  comfort  of  her  family.  There  were 
eleven  children  in  the  family:  Eii^a  Ann, 
wife  of  Philip  Kluts,  a  Jackson  township 
farmer;  she  was  the  eldest  of  the  family 
of  children,  was  born  in  Perry  county, 
and  died  in  Sandusky  county  May  12. 
1890.  aged  sixty  years,  three  months, 
five  days;  she  was  a  faithful  member  of  the 


186 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


United  Brethren  Church;  her  hope  was 
very  bright,  and  she  requested  her  friends 
to  meet  her  in  heaven.  Sarah,  wife  of 
Joel  Dershem,  a  farmer,  was  born  January 
5,  1832,  and  died  January  25,  1895;  she 
was  a  faithful  member  of  the  Methodist 
Church,  and  her  prayer  was  turned  to 
praise  before  her  spirit  took  its  flight. 
Jacob  Snyder,  the  oldest  of  the  boys,  a 
a  highly  respected  citizen,  in  religious  be- 
lief belongs  to  the  Reformed  Church. 
William  Snyder  died  when  about  a  year 
old.  James  Snyder  died  in  January,  1 862. 
Levi  Snyder,  a  farmer  in  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, is  in  Church  belief  a  Methodist.  Sam- 
uel Snyder  is  living  in  Fremont,  a  respected 
citizen.  Noah  Snyder,  by  occupation  a 
restaurant  man,  lives  in  Fremont.  John 
Snyder,  the  seventh  son,  is  the  subject 
proper  of  these  lines,  and  will  be  more 
fully  referred  to  presently.  Elizabeth  be- 
came the  wife  of  Jackson  King,  a  Sandusky 
county  farmer,  who  died,  and  afterward 
she  was  the  wife  of  Samuel  Lay,  living  in 
Fremont.  Ertima,  the  youngest,  is  the 
wife  of  James  Seagraves,  a  farmer  living 
in  Michigan.  The  children  are  worthy 
representatives  of  that  class  which  consti- 
tutes America's  best  citizens,  and  they 
owe  it  all  to  the  training  they  received 
under  the  parental  roof. 

John  Snyder  can  distinctly  remember 
when  he  could  sit  in  his  father's  half- 
bushel  measure,  twelve  inches  in  diameter, 
very  comfortabl) ,  and  as  soon  as  he  was 
able  to  carry  a  hoe  he  went  into  the  corn- 
field, and  has  ever  since  been  accustomed 
to  hard  work.  On  October  2,  1873,  he 
was  joined  in  wedlock  with  Miss  Mahala 
Cookson,  a  daughter  of  one  of  the  lead- 
ing farmers  of  Sandusky  county,  and  they 
have  one  child,  Mabel,  born  September 
25,  1884.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Snyder  are 
widely  known  throughout  the  communit}', 
and  have  a  wide  circle  of  friends  and  ac- 
quaintances who  esteem  them  highly  for 
their  sterling  worth.  Mr.  Snyder  is  a 
warm  advocate  of  temperance  principles, 
while  in  religious  belief  he  is  a  Methodist. 


THEODORE  BROWN,  one  of  the 
progressive   and    highly-respected 
citizens  of  Clyde,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, is  a  native  of  Ohio,  born  near 
Republic,    Seneca    county,    December  8, 
1844,    a   son     of    Elijah    and    Catherine 
(Sherrick)  Brown. 

The  birth  of  the  father  occurred  near 
Frederick  City,  Md. ,  May  31,  1806,  and 
his  father,  who  was  a  native  of  England, 
and  in  this  country  kept  a  hotel,  died 
when  his  son  was  quite  young.  In  1828 
the  latter  emigrated  to  Perry  county, 
Ohio,  where  he  married  Miss  Sherrick, 
and  to  them  were  born  seven  children: 
Henry,  born  in  1837,  was  a  telegraph 
operator  of  Baton  Rouge,  La.,  where  he 
died  of  yellow  fever  in  1856;  William, 
born  in  1838,  is  a  telegraph  operator  of 
Brainerd,  Minn. ;  Eliza  Jane,  born  in 
1840,  married  Edward  Crockett,  and 
lives  near  Green  Springs,  Seneca  Co., 
Ohio;  Mary,  born  in  1842,  died  at  the 
age  of  two  years;  Theodore  is  the  next  in 
order  of  birth;  Ann,  born  in  1848,  mar- 
ried Wesley  Miller,  and  resides  on  the  old 
homestead  in  Seneca  county;  and  Sam- 
uel, born  in  1851,  is  married  and  lives  at 
Ottawa,  Kans.  In  1841  the  father  located 
in  Scipio  township,  Seneca  Co.,  Ohio, 
three  miles  northwest  of  Republic,  where 
he  entered  a  tract  of  land  from  the  gov- 
ernment, which  he  cleared  and  developed, 
and  on  that  place  made  his  home  until  his 
death  January  9,  1885.  He  identified 
himself  with  the  cause  of  Christ  in  early 
life,  uniting  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  Politically,  he  first  supported 
the  Whig  party,  but  later  became  a  Dem- 
ocrat. His  wife,  who  was  born  in  Perry 
count}',  Ohio,  in  181 1,  is  still  living,  mak- 
ing her  home  with  her  children,  and  she 
also  is  a  consistent  member  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church. 

On  the  old  farm  near  Republic,  Theo- 
dore Brown  was  reared  to  manhood,  at- 
tending the  district  schools,  and  assisted 
in  the  management  of  the  home  place 
until    reaching    the    age    of    twenty-four 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOQRAPUICAL   RECORD. 


187 


years,  with  the  exception  of  one  year, 
which  was  spent  as  fireman  on  a  railroad. 
He  now  began  operating  his  father's  farm 
on  his  own  account,  and  there  remained 
until  1885,  when  he  located  on  a  farm  at 
Lakeside.  Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio,  which  he 
carried  on  for  three  years,  when  he  again 
removed  to  Republic,  thence  to  Lakeside 
whore  he  lived  nine  months,  thence  to 
Green  Creek  township.  Sandusky  county, 
arriving  here  in  1 886.  Here  he  purchased 
1 18  acres  of  fine  land. 

On  September  2.  1S68,  Mr.  Brown 
and  Miss  Nellie  Hogg  were  married,  the 
ceremony  being  performed  by  Kev.  Ed- 
ward Jewett,  of  Sandusky,  Ohio,  one  of 
the  oldest  ministers  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  He  has  also  baptized 
the  two  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  lirown 
— Robert  H..  who  was  born  August  5, 
1872,  and  Thomas  W.,  who  was  born  May 
22,  1874,  and  on  February  14,  1894,  was 
married  to  Ida  Smith;  they  now  make 
their  home  with  our  subject.  Mrs.  Brown 
was  born  in  Paterson,  N.  J.,  October  25, 
1837;  but  her  childhood  was  passed  in 
Sandusky  county,  where  she  received  an 
excellent  education  in  the  public  and  high 
schools,  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years 
she  began  teaching,  which  occupation  she 
followed  in  this  locality  and  at  Put-in- 
Bay  Island  until  she  was  married. 

Mrs.  Brown  is  a  daughter  of  Thomas 
and  Jeannette  (Lachlison)  Hogg.  Her 
mother  was  born  in  Preston,  England, 
November  11,  181  i,  and  in  her  maiden- 
hood came  to  America.  In  1836.  at  Pat- 
erson. N.  J.,  she  wedded  Mr.  Hogg,  and 
by  her  marriage  became  the  mother  of 
three  children — Nellie,  now  Mrs.  Brown; 
Robert,  an  engineer  on  the  Lakeside  & 
Marblehead  Short  Line  railroad,  and  Isa- 
bel, living  near  Lakeside,  Ottawa  Co., 
Ohio.  The  mother  died  at  Sandusky, 
Ohio,  in  1844.  The  father  was  also  a  na- 
tive of  Preston,  England,  born  March  16, 
1808.  He  learned  the  trade  of  a  ma- 
chinist, and,  after  coming  to  America, 
worked  for  a  number  of  years  in  the  Rogers 


Locomotive  Works  at  Paterson,  N.  J. 
When  the  Mad  River  &  Lake  Erie  rail- 
road was  built,  Mr.  Hogg  was  sent  west 
in  charge  of  a  locomotive  for  that  com- 
pany, the  first  one  purchased  by  it,  and 
the  pioneer  railroad  locomotive  west  of 
the  Alleghany  mountains.  This  was  in 
1837,  and  he  made  the  trip  over  the  Hud- 
son river,  Erie  canal  and  Lake  Erie,  land- 
ing at  Sandusky.  Ohio.  After  getting  this 
engine,  "Sandusky"  by  name,  up  and  in 
operation,  he  was  induced  to  remain  as 
its  engineer;  and  later  he  was  made  mas- 
ter mechanic  on  that  road.  After  the 
death  of  his  first  wife,  Mr.  Hogg  wedded 
Mary  Driver,  a  native  of  Montreal.  Can- 
ada, and  by  this  union  four  children  were 
born — Stella,  Alice  and  Nettie  (twins), 
and  Thomas.  The  mother  is  still  living 
and  resides  near  Lakeside,  Ohio.  For 
many  years  Mr.  Hogg  followed  railroad- 
ing, but  in  1867  he  retired  to  his  farm  in 
Danbury,  Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio,  where  his 
death  occurred  April  21.  1881.  He  was 
a  man  of  unusual  physical  and  mental 
vigor;  of  strong  will  and  honest  purpose, 
and  made  his  mark  wherever  he  went. 

Theodore  Brown,  the  subject  proper 
of  this  sketch,  attended  the  lectures  given 
by  Miss  Frances  E.  Willard  at  Lakeside, 
Ohio,  and  by  her  was  converted,  becom- 
ing a  strong  Prohibitionist.  He  voted  that 
ticket  when  only  two  others  were  cast  in 
Green  Creek  township.  Sandusky  county. 
He  and  his  wife  are  earnest  members  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  They 
enjoy  the  friendship  of  a  large  circle  of  ac- 
quaintances, and  are  numbered  among 
the  prominent  and  influential  citizens  of 
Sandusky  county. 


ORSON     HIGLEV,     a     successful 
farmer    and    one    of    the    oldest 
residents  of  Townsend  township, 
Sandusky    county,    is    a    son    of 
Hezckiah  and  Jerusha  (Clock)  Higley,  and 
was  born  in  Cayuga  county,  N.  Y.,  June 
24,  1827. 


188 


COMMEMORATIVE    BIOORAPHICAL   RECORD. 


Hezekiah  Higley  was  born  of  English- 
Scotch  ancestry  in  New  York  State  in 
1794.  Heenhsted  in  the  American  army, 
served  during  the  war  of  1812,  and  was 
honorably  discharged.  In  1824  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Jerusha  Heath, 
who  was  born  in  New  York  State  in  1797, 
and  they  had  the  following  children: 
Anson,  who  died  at  Hudson,  Mich. ;  Orson, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch;  William,  of 
Seneca  county;  George,  who  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Seventy-second  O.  V.  I.,  and 
died  in  hospital;  Laura,  Mrs.  Cyrus  Dan- 
iels, who  died  in  Riley  township,  Septem- 
ber, 1894;  Sophia,  Mrs.  David  Fuller 
(deceased);  and  Sophronis,  who  died  at 
home  in  June,  1861.  In  1829  Mr.  Hig- 
ley moved  to  Erie  county,  Ohio,  and  five 
years  later  to  the  then  unbroken  wilder- 
ness of  Riley  township,  in  this  county. 
The  only  means  for  finding  one's  way  was 
to  follow  trails  or  "blazed"  trees,  as  no 
roads  had  been  marked  out  in  the  entire 
township.  Mr.  Higley  bought  and  cleared 
forty  acres  which  a  few  years  after  he 
traded  for  eighty  acres  of  land  in  Town- 
send  township,  where  he  made  his  home 
during  the  remainder  of  his  life.  Shortly 
before  his  death  the  government  began  to 
substantially  reward  him  for  his  services 
in  the  war  of  1812,  by  granting  him  a 
pension.  He  died  January  19,  1886;  Mrs. 
Higley  preceding  him,  having  passed  away 
in  1880. 

When  Orson  Higley  was  but  two  years 
old  his  parents  came  to  Ohio,  where  the 
meager  education  which  was  granted  him 
was  obtained.  He  remained  at  home 
helping  his  father  until  185  i,  and  on  June 
15,  of  that  year,  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Permelia  A.  Twiss,  who  was 
born  December  21,  1831,  in  Wayne 
county,  N.  Y.,  and  they  had  one  child, 
a  daughter,  Lydia  L. ,  born  June  24,  i860. 
Mrs.  Higley's  parents,  Clark  and  Polly 
(Tyler)  Twiss,  came  to  Huron  county, 
Ohio,  in  1844.  After  a  few  years  they 
went  to  Riley  township,  from  there  com- 
ing  to  Townsend  township,  where  Mrs. 


Twiss  died.  Mr.  Twiss  died  in  Michigan 
while  visiting  his  daughter  Lovina,  wife  of 
Sullivan  Davenport;  she  died  March  16, 
1883.  Shortly  after  his  marriage  Mr. 
Higley  bought  forty  acres  of  land  from 
his  father,  and,  when  his  brother  went  to 
the  army,  purchased  the  remainder  of  the 
farm.  He  cared  for  his  father  nineteen 
years  prior  to  his  death.  Mr.  Higley  has 
had  the  privilege  of  seeing  the  virgin  for- 
est give  way  to  well-tilled  fields  and  pretty 
meadows,  which  are  monuments  to  the 
industry  and  energy  of  the  pioneers.  In 
politics  Mr.  Higley  has  been  a  Republican 
since  the  organization  of  the  party. 

Lydia  L.  Higley,  who  was  an  only 
child,  was  married  December  25,  1878, 
to  Jerome  Bixby,  of  Castalia,  Erie  Co., 
Ohio,  and  they  have  had  one  child.  Pearl 
J.,  born  March  25,  1885.  Mr.  Bixby 
was  formerly  a  general  merchant  at  Cas- 
talia, but  is  now  an  insurance  agent.  For 
nine  years  Mr.  Higley  was  interested  with 
Mr.  Bixby  in  the  store;  but  city  life  was 
not  congenial  to  a  man  of  Mr.  Higley's 
temperament,  and  he  returned  to  the 
farm. 


SAMUEL  F.  JONES,  a  prosperous 
and    inliuential    farmer  of    Green 
Creek  township,  Sandusky  county, 
was  born  in  Wayne  county,  Ohio, 
October    9,     1825,    son  of  Nicholas  and 
Elizabeth  (Pierce)  Jones. 

Nicholas  Jones  was  a  native  of  West 
Liberty,  Penn.,  and  his  father,  Samuel 
Jones,  was  born  in  Edinburgh,  Scotland. 
Nicholas  was  reared  in  Pennsylvania,  and 
when  a  young  man  migrated  to  Wayne 
county,  Ohio,  where  he  married  Elizabeth 
Pierce  (a  first  cousin  to  President  Pierce), 
and  lived  for  some  years.  About  1835  he 
moved  to  Thompson  township,  Seneca 
county,  and  had  his  home  there  for  many 
years.  He  died  near  South  Bend,  Ind., 
about  1868,  at  the  age  of  seventy-five 
years,  and  was  buried  there;  his  wife 
lived    to    the    age    of    eighty-two    years. 


COMMKMORATH'E    DIOORAPIIICAL    RECORD. 


180 


Nicholas  Jones  was  a  man  of  about 
niccliuni  weight — 135  pounds.  In  relgi- 
ious  belief  he  was  a  Universalist,  and  in 
politics  a  Whig  and  a  Republican.  His 
ten  children  were  as  follows:  Erneline, 
who  married  Joseph  Highland,  and  died 
in  Indiana,  aged  fifty  years;  Uriah,  who 
died  near  South  Hend,  I nd.,  aged  seventy- 
one  years;  John,  who  now  lives  near 
South  Bend,  Ind. ;  Elizabeth,  who  died 
aged  thirty-two  years,  wife  of  David  Clay; 
Samuel  F.,  subject  of  this  sketch;  Lu- 
cretia,  widow  of  Sylvanus  Wright,  of 
Fremont;  Johanna,  wife  of  C.  Rector,  of 
Norwalk;  Mary,  wife  of  James  Shoup,  of 
Clyde;  Margaret,  wife  of  Daniel  White- 
man,  living  in  Indiana;  Silas,  a  resident 
of  Illinois. 

At  about  the  age  of  sixteen  years 
Samuel  F.  Jones  left  the  home  farm  in 
Seneca  county  and  came  to  Sandusky, 
where  for  ten  years  he  engaged  in  farm- 
ing. He  then  began  railroading  at  San- 
dusky City,  and  for  ten  years  ran  an  ex- 
press train  engine  on  the  Baltimore  & 
Ohio  road  (then  the  old  Sandusky,  Mans- 
field &  Newark  railroad).  From  the  loco- 
motive Mr.  Jones  stepped  down  to  the 
farm  in  Green  Creek  township,  which  he 
has  ever  since  operated.  On  October  30, 
1S34,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Ellen  M. 
Almond,  who  was  born  in  New  Jersey 
.August  3,  1832,  daughter  of  Thomas  and 
Mary  (Lachlison)  Almond.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Jones  four  children  have  come,  as 
follows:  Alice,  born  in  May,  i860,  wife 
of  W.  B.  Lay;  Lawrence,  senior  member 
of  the  Cutlery  Works  Co.,  who  married 
Miss  Jessie  Russell,  a  cousin  of  Gen.  Mc- 
Pherson.  and  has  three  children — Lamar, 
Margaret  and  Maurine;  Nellie,  at  home; 
and  Robert,  engaged  in  the  cutlery  busi- 
ness at  Clyde,  who  on  October  iS,  1894. 
wedded  Miss  lone  Smith,  and  has  one 
child — Dorothy.  Mr.  Jones  has  ninety- 
eight  and  one-half  acres  of  fertile,  well- 
improved  and  very  productive  land,  well 
tilled  and  laid  out  in  fine  fruits,  and  is 
engaged    in    general    farming    and    fruit- 


growing, raising  wheat,  oats,  potatoes, 
etc. ;  and  all  the  buildings  and  improve- 
ments that  now  are  upon  the  place  were 
put  there  by  his  own  hands.  In  politics 
Mr.  Jones  is  a  Republican,  and  while  not 
a  church  member  he  inclines  toward  the 
Universalist  belief;  Mrs.  Jones  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Episcopal  Church.  He  has  by 
his  g(jod  judgment  and  business  ability, 
aided  by  natural  industry,  accumulated  a 
comfortable  competence,  and  is  one  of 
the  most  prosperous  citizens  of  his  town- 
ship. 


SAMUEL  SPROUT  is  numbered 
among  the  native  sons  of  Sandusky 
county,  and  has  not  only  witnessed 
the  growth  and  development  of 
this  region,  but  has  also  borne  an  active 
part  in  the  work  of  progress  and  upbuild- 
ing, and  well  deserves  mention  among  the 
honored  pioneers. 

Mr.  Sprout  was  born  in  Scott  town- 
ship, October  1,  1840,  on  the  farm 
which  he  now  owns,  and  which  has  al- 
ways been  his  place  of  residence.  His 
parents,  Samuel  and  Nancy  (Long) 
Sprout,  cast  in  their  lot  among  the  early 
settlers  of  Sandusky  county  when  it  was 
largely  an  unbroken  wilderness.  The 
father  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  June 
15,  1807,  removed  to  Guernsey  county, 
Ohio,  in  1S25,  and  ten  years  later  came 
to  Sandusky  county,  where  from  the  gov- 
ernment he  entered  a  claim  that  has 
never  passed  from  the  possession  of  the 
family.  His  wife  was  born  April  27, 
1S12,  and  died  January  10,  1887,  her 
husband  surviving  until  April  21,  1890. 
Ten  children  graced  their  union:  Mrs. 
Margaret  Doll,  John,  Sarah  Elizabeth, 
Samuel,  Michael  (born  September  27, 
1842;,  Marion,  Casaline,  James  (de- 
ceased), Mrs.  Mary  Jane  Hayes,  and  Mrs. 
Nancy  Hippie  The  paternal  grandfather 
of  our  subject  was  born  in  Ireland  about 
1766.  and  died  in  Seneca  county,  Ohio, 
about  1 856,surviving  his  wife  several  years. 


190 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOORAPHICAL   RECORD. 


In  her  maidenhood  she  was  Mary  Hilter- 
brand,  and  was  a  native  of  Germany. 
The  maternal  grandfather,  Daniel  Long, 
was  born  in  Sweden,  and  married  Miss 
Brill,  a  native  of  Germany.  In  the  war 
of  1812  he  served  as  a  soldier,  and  he 
was  numbered  among  the  pioneers  of 
Ohio. 

In  a  manner  not  unlike  that  of  other 
farmer  boys,  our  subject  spent  his  \'outh 
and  bore  his  part  in  the  development  of 
the  old  home  farm,  working  hard  through 
summer  months,  while  the  winter  afforded 
him  an  opportunity  for  education  in  the 
district  schools,  which  he  eagerly  utihzed. 
Thus  he  was  employed  until  August, 
1862,  when,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two 
years,  he  joined  his  country's  troops  in 
defense  of  the  Union,  and  was  a  member 
of  Company  K,  One  Hundred  and  First  O. 
V.  I.  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He 
participated  in  a  number  of  hotly-con- 
tested engagements,  and  at  the  battle  of 
Stone  River  his  clothing  was  pierced  by 
no  less  than  nine  bullets,  and  his  canteen 
completely  shattered.  He  also  partici- 
pated in  the  battles  of  Perryville,  Liberty 
Gap  and  those  of  the  Atlanta  campaign, 
and  followed  Hood  from  Columbus  to 
Franklin.  He  was  also  in  the  two-days' 
battle  at  Nashville,  which  resulted  in  vic- 
tory for  the  Union  soldiers,  and  altogether 
was  a  very  faithful,  loyal  citizen,  one  who 
gallantly  followed  the  old  flag  until  it  was 
planted  in  the  capital  of  the  Southern 
Confederacy.  At  the  close  of  the  war 
Mr.  Sprout  returned  to  the  farm  where  he 
now  lives,  and  began  operating  120  acres, 
which  he  purchased  in  1883.  His  landed 
possessions  now  aggregate  170  acres,  and 
all  that  he  has  has  been  acquired  entirely 
through  his  own  efforts.  He  certainly 
deserves  great  credit  for  his  success  in 
life,  and  his  example  should  serve  as  a 
source  of  encouragement  to  others. 

On  February  13,  1889,  Mr.  Sprout 
married  Miriam  Kuhn,  of  Fremont,  Ohio, 
who  was  born  in  Allen  county,  Ohio, 
March  11,  1854.      Her  parents,  John  and 


Mary  (Miller)  Kuhn,  were  pioneers  of 
Sandusky  county,  as  was  also  her  grand- 
father, Adam  Kuhn,  who  was  born  about 
1800,  and  died  at  the  advanced  age  of 
eighty-two.  Of  his  family  of  nine  chil- 
dren, six  are  yet  living.  The  maternal 
grandmother,  Maria  Myers,  was  born 
about  1796,  and  departed  this  life  in  1866, 
having  for  many  years  survived  her  hus- 
band. The  parents  of  Mrs.  Sprout  were 
both  born  in  1823,  and  are  still  living. 
Their  family  circle  numbered  ten  children: 
Maria,  wife  of  John  Myers,  of  Wood 
county,  Ohio;  Harriet,  who  became  the 
wife  of  George  Gephart,  and  died  about 
1882;  Charlotte,  at  home;  Mrs.  Sprout; 
Paul  Luther  and  Isaac  N. ,  who  are  resi- 
dents of  Wood  county;  Philip  M. ;  John 
}V. ;  Charles  M. ;  and  Theodore  Allen. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sprout  are  highly- 
esteemed  people  of  Scott  township,  and 
their  pleasant  home  is  noted  for  its  hospi- 
tality and  good  cheer.  The  farm  is  well 
developed,  the  fields  being  under  a  high 
state  of  cultivation,  and  the  improve- 
ments in  keeping  with  the  accessories  of 
a  model  farm  of  the  nineteenth  century. 


NB.  MASON,  who  has  been  act- 
ively identified  with  both  the  busi- 
ness and  agricultural  interests  of 
Sandusky  county,  is  a  native  of 
New  York  State,  born  in  Canandaigua 
April  9,  1839. 

Our  subject's  parents,  John  B.  and 
Laura  (Shaw)  Mason,  were  natives  of 
Massachusetts  and  Canandaigua,  N.  Y. , 
respectively.  In  1856  they  came  to  San- 
dusky county,  Ohio,  but  after  a  residence 
of  two  years  here  migrated  still  farther 
west,  to  Wisconsin,  where  they  made  a 
permanent  home.  The  father  died  there 
in  July,  1888;  the  mother,  while  on  a 
visit  to  her  son  in  Clyde,  in  1885,  was 
suddenly  taken  ill  and  died.  This  worthy 
couple  lived  to  celebrate  their  golden  wed- 
ding.    Theirfamily  were  as  follows;  Van- 


COMMEMORATIVK   BIOORAPHICAL   IIKCURD. 


101 


Rensselaer,  who  was  lost  when  only  eight- 
een years  of  ape  while  on  a  whaling  voy- 
age to  the  South  Pacific  Ocean;  Joseph, 
who  died  in  1885  from  disease  contracted 
while  in  the  service  of  his  country  (he 
was  in  the  Thirtieth  Wisconsin  In- 
fantry); lili/a,  wife  of  Martin  Booth,  of 
Plainfield,  Wis.  (he  served  in  the  Six- 
teenth Wisconsin  Infantry);  N.  B.,  our 
subject;  John  Colby,  who  resides  at  Fre- 
inf)nt,  Ohio  (he  was  in  the  liighth  O.  \'. 
I.);  Mary,  who  wedded  Bemis  Culbert- 
son,  who  was  a  soldier  in  the  Thirty-sec- 
ond Wisconsin  Infantry,  and  who  died 
shortly  after  the  war  from  disease  con- 
tracted while  in  the  service,  and  Brooks  H. 
Mason  (they  now  reside  at  Lake  Mills, 
Wis);  and  Fred  E.,  who  died  at  Ashland, 
Wis.,  when  a  young  man.  The  father  of 
this  family  was  a  soldier  in  the  Mexican 
war.  He  was  first  a  Methodist  clergy- 
man, later  becoming  a  minister  of  the 
Baptist  Church. 

The  school  privileges  enjoyed  by  N. 
B.  Mason  were  those  of  the  common 
schools,  and  he  also  attended  Madison 
Academy  for  one  and  a  half  years.  At  the 
age  of  fourteen  he  engaged  to  carry  the 
mails  and  passengers  on  the  old  stage 
coach  between  Ontario  and  Rochester, 
sometimes  driving  four  horses,  and  some- 
times three  abreast,  conveying  mail,  ex- 
press and  passengers.  In  1856,  at  the  age 
of  seventeen  years,  he  came  west  "with  his 
parents  to  Sandusky  county,  locating  near 
Clyde.  On  February  22,  1859,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Elizabeth  L. 
Carlton,  daughter  of  Rev.  Thomas  J. 
Carlton,  and  to  this  union  came  children 
as  follows:  Nellie,  wife  of  R.  G.  Tyler, 
of  Greene,  Iowa,  who  has  one  son  and 
one  daughter — Carl  and  N'ira;  Elizabeth, 
who  died  when  six  years  of  age;  Nate  H., 
a  postal  clerk  between  Cleveland  and 
Chicago  on  the  I^ake  Shore  railroad  (he 
wedded  .\llie  While,  and  they  have  two 
sons — Hi>ward  and  James);  George  A., 
who  wedded  Annie  \\hitc,  and  has  one 
daughter — Nellie;  Maude,  wife  of  O.  C. 


Perrin,    of   Greene,    Iowa;  and  May,   at 
home. 

On  October  12,  1861,  Mr  Mason  en- 
listed in  Company  A,  Seventy-second  O. 
V.  I.,  and  served  until  July  21,  1865, 
participating  in  all  engagements  in  which 
his  command  took  part  until  the  time  of 
his  capture  by  the  enemy,  June  1 1,  1864; 
he  was  taken  near  Davis  Mills,  Miss.,  and 
conveyed  to  Andersonville,  where  he  was 
kept  until  the  following  September,  when 
he  was  transferred  to  Florence,  S.  C, 
and  paroled  at  Wilmington,  N.  C,  March 
I,  1865.  During  his  service  he  was  cap- 
tured three  times,  escaping  twice,  and  he 
was  in  every  southern  State  but  Texas. 
After  the  war  he  returned  to  Clyde.  Since 
residing  here  he  has  followed  various  pur- 
suits, having  been  engaged  in  merchan- 
dising, publishing  and  farming.  Mr. 
Mason  is  a  member  of  the  U.  V.  U.  and 
G.  A.  R. ,  was  first  post  commander  of 
McPherson  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  in  1867,  and 
was  first  captain  of  McPherson  Guards, 
organized  August  15,  1878.  On  March 
17.  '873,  he  organized  the  first  hook  and 
ladder  company,  of  which  he  was  made 
foreman.  Socially  he  has  been  an  active 
Odd  Fellow  for  twenty-seven  years,  pass- 
ing all  the  Chairs  in  the  Subordinate 
Lodge  and  all  save  one  in  the  Encamp- 
ment. In  politics,  he  is  a  radical  Repub- 
lican; he  is  now  serving  as  justice  of  the 
peace,  and  also  as  trustee  of  his  township. 

While  a  prisoner  of  war  at  Florence, 
S.  C. ,  Mr.  Mason  was  chosen  by  his  com- 
rades chief  of  the  Federal  Police,  a  force 
of  270  men  organized  fimong  the  prisoners 
to  keep  good  order  in  the  prison,  the  ap- 
pointment being  confirmed  by  Col.  Iver- 
son,  the  prison  commandant.  He  de- 
clares the  sufferings  of  the  prisoners  there 
were  even  greater  than  at  .Andersonville. 
Most  of  them  had  been  prisoners  for 
many  months,  and  were  very  destitute  of 
clothing,  many  being  almost  naked  and 
barefooted.  .\bout  fourteen  thousand 
persons  were  taken  to  Florence;  about 
three  thousand  were   paroled  in  October 


192 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


and  November;  the  balance  (except  those 
who  died)  remained  until  the  first  of 
March,  1865.  Their  only  shelter  was 
holes  dug  in  the  ground,  some  of  them 
roofed  over  with  limbs  and  pine  boughs 
covered  with  earth.  Their  food  was  one 
pint  of  corn-meal  per  day,  and  for  ninety- 
three  days  no  other  was  issued  except  two 
rations  of  salt,  a  table-spoonful  to  five 
men;  two  rations  of  sorghum  molasses, 
one  barrel  to  11,000  men;  two  rations  of 
rice,  one  pint  to  five  men.  Many  ate 
their  corn-meal  raw,  and  what  was  cooked 
was  mostly  mush  cooked  in  tin  cups  and 
tin  cans.  Mr.  Mason  says  the  most  of 
his  regiment  (the  Seventy-second  Ohio  In- 
fantry) were  from  Sandusky  county.  Of 
the  1,400  on  the  muster  rolls  about  380 
are  yet  living.  His  regiment  lost  heavily 
at  Shiloh  and  at  Vicksburg,  and  at  Gun 
Town,  or  Brice's  Cross  Roads,  the  regi- 
ment lost  eleven  officers  and  238  men. 
About  1 70  landed  in  Andersonville;  seven- 
ty-eight (or  over  45  per  cent)  died  while 
prisoners  of  war;  six  were  shot  after  being 
captured,  and  nine  perished  on  the  steam- 
er "Sultana,"  above  Memphis,  on  April 
27,  1865. 

Mr.  Mason  asks:  "  Do  the  people  of 
this  country  appreciate  the  sacrifice  made 
by  the  Union  prisoners  of  war  .-'  Do  they 
realize  that  34, 000  men  died  in  the  prison 
pens  of  the  South,  as  men  were  never 
called  upon  to  die  before .''"  Men  have 
died  for  home  and  countr)',  and  for  prin- 
ciple upon  the  scaffold,  the  wheel  and  the 
rack,  in  the  dungeon  and  upon  the  bat- 
tlefield; but  never  before  did  thousands 
of  men  refuse  liberty  with  a  dishonored 
name,  and  suffer  on  from  hunger  and  ex- 
posure until  they  died  gibbering  idiots. 
And  now  even  before  one  generation  has 
passed  these  same  men  are  almost  for- 
gotten! They  are  remembered  only  in 
the  homes  made  sad  and  desolate  by  their 
tragic  death!  Millions  upon  millions  of 
money  have  been  paid  for  ' '  Piles  of 
Granite"  and  "Heaps  of  Bronze"  to 
commemorate  the  heroism  of  a  few,  while 


the  graves  of  these  martyrs  are  marked  by 
gray  marble  tablets  that  cost  two  dollars 
and  forty  cents  each;  and  more — thous- 
ands of  these  same  markers  are  inscribed 
"  Unknown." 


HENRY    MOOK,    farmer    of    York 
township,    Sandusky  county,    was 
born    in    Union    county,     Penn., 
January    10,    1814,    son  of    John 
and  Rosina  (Sorrel)  Mook,  both  of  whom 
were  natives  of  Pennsjdvania.     His  grand- 
father was  from   Germany. 

John  Mook,  the  father  of  our  subject, 
died  in  the  State  of  New  York,  whither 
he  had  removed  from  Pennsylvania,  and 
he  subsequently  took  up  his  home  in 
Ohio.  After  living  some  years  with  his 
children  in  that  State,  he  was  taken  back 
to  New  York  State  at  the  request  of  his 
son  Samuel,  a  minister  of  the  Evangel- 
ical Association,  so  that  in  his  old  age  he 
might  be  cared  for  in  his  former  home, 
and  he  died  there  in  the  eighty-fifth  year 
of  his  age.  He  was  the  father  of  twenty- 
three  children,  and  our  subject  is  the 
youngest  by  the  first  wife,  and  the  four- 
teenth child.  The  children  of  John  Mook 
by  his  first  wife  were:  Jacob,  three  that 
died  in  infancy,  Samuel,  Polly,  Betsey, 
Anthony,  Conrad,  John,  Catharine,  Su- 
san, Daniel  and  Henry.  Of  this  family, 
Henry  Mook  is  at  this  writing  (1894)  the 
only  surviving  member.  After  the  death 
of  his  first  wife,  John  Mook  married  Polly 
Polkie,  by  whom  he  had  nine  children: 
Mary,  Benjamin,  Ambrose,  Elias,  Effie, 
Solomon,  Sampson,  Barbara,  and  one 
that  died  in  childhood. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  went  with 
his  parents  to  the  State  of  New  York 
when  he  was  about  eleven  3ears  old,  and 
lived  with  them  at  various  places  until  the 
age  of  twenty-three.  He  then  came  to 
Ohio,  spent  one  winter  in  Thompson 
township,  Seneca  county,  and  the  next 
spring  located  in  York  township,  San- 
dusky county,  on  land  where  he  has  since 


COMMEMORATIVE   B/OGItAPmCAL   HBOORD. 


198 


resided.  Here  he  erected  a  log  house  and 
kept  bachelors  hall  for  several  jears  while 
enRaged  in  clearing  up  a  farm.  In  addi- 
tion to  agricultural  pursuits  Mr.  Mook 
spent  the  fall  of  eight  seasons  threshing 
grain  for  his  neighbors  with  an  old-fash- 
ioned eight-horse-power,  open-cylinder 
machine,  without  separator,  going  as  far 
south  as  Lodi,  in  Seneca  county.  He 
threshed  in  this  way  as  many  as  400  bush- 
els per  day.  He  has  been  an  active,  ener- 
getic, hardworking,  economical  farmer, 
and  has  accumulated  a  handsome  prop- 
erty for  his  children;  a  substantial  brick 
house  and  a  convenient  bank  barn  adorn 
his  farm.  In  religious  connection  he  and 
his  family  are  members  of  the  Evangelical 
Association.  He  contributed  liberally  for 
the  erection  of  a  church  building  not  far 
from  his  residence.  He  has  reached  the 
age  of  four  score  years  with  a  vigor  of  body 
and  mind  which  enables  him  to  see  and 
appreciate  the  wonderful  changes  going 
on  in  the  world  about  him,  and  especially 
the  great  improvements  in  the  method  of 
farming. 

In  1837  Henry  Mook  married  Miss 
Catharine  Hoyer,  who  was  born  in  Penn- 
sylvania, June  26,  1 8 14,  and  died  in  York 
township,  August  17,  1890.  Their  chil- 
dren were:  Sarah,  born  October  4.  1S41; 
Christina,  born  August  7,  1844,  died  June 
23,  1866;  James  Milton,  born  July  20, 
1847,  and  Lovina,  born  April  30,  1852. 
Christina  Mook  married  Michael  Filsinger 
December  2  2.  1864,  and  they  have  one 
son.  John,  who  is  married  and  has  two 
children — Pearl  and  Morris;  after  the 
death  of  his  first  wife,  Christina,  Mr. 
Filsinger  married  her  sister  Sarah,  by 
whom  he  had  four  children — Emma.  \'cr- 
nie,  Martin  and  Charles.  Emma  married 
Daniel  Swartz,  and  they  have  one  child — 
Lulu.  James  M.  Mook  married,  in  1870. 
Miss  Mary  Gahn.  who  was  born  in  the 
Black  Swamp,  west  of  Fremont.  Ohio,  a 
daughter  of  Kev.  Conrad  Gahn.  and  was 
educated  in  the  Cincinnati  schools;  their 
children  are — Charles,   Granville,   Myrtle 


and  Lovina;  James  M.  Mook  is  at  present 
manager  of  his  father's  farm,  and  is  taking 
care  of  his  father  in  his  declining  years. 
He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  a  member 
of  the  Evangelical  Association,  and  of  the 
l-'armers"  Alliance.  Lovina  Mook,  daugh- 
ter of  Henry  Mook,  married  Martin  Rich- 
ards, and  they  live  on  one  of  Mr.  Mook's 
farms,  east  of  the  homestead;  they  had 
one  child  that  died;  she  is  a  member  of 
the  Evangelical  Association. 


LEONHARD  SCHNEIDER  was 
born  August  31,  1842,  in  Austria, 
Europe.  His  father,  Martin  Schnei- 
der, was  born  November  1 1 .  1 806, 
in  Austria,  and  married  Anna  Maria  Flatz. 
They  came  to  America  in  1859,  landing 
in  New  York,  where  they  remained  for  a 
short  time,  after  which  they  continued 
their  journey  to  Ohio,  locating  in  Jackson 
township.  Sandusky  county.  The  mother 
died  shortly  after  their  arrival.  In  that 
family  were  seven  children:  Frank,  who 
was  born  in  1831,  and  died  September  i, 
1887;  John  G. ,  born  in  1836,  and  mar- 
ried Mary  Reineck;  Regina,  born  in  1834, 
and  became  the  wife  of  Casper  Haltmeier; 
Martin,  born  in  1844,  and  now  living  in 
California;  Johanna  became  the  wife  of 
Ferdinand  Fischer,  by  whom  she  has  one 
son,  named  Frank,  born  in  1874;  Mary 
became  the  wife  of  Peter  Spieldenner, 
and  they  have  two  children:  Fredolina, 
now  the  wife  of  John  Reineck,  and  a  son 
named  Adolph. 

Leonhard  Schneider,  our  subject,  spent 
the  days  of  his  boyhood  and  youth  in  the 
land  of  his  birth,  was  reared  in  his  par- 
ents' home  and  obtained  his  education  in 
the  public  schools  of  the  neighborhood. 
When  the  family  sailed  for  America  he 
bade  adieu  to  friends  and  native  land,  and 
came  with  them  on  the  long  voyage  across 
the  Atlantic,  which  took  them  thirty  days. 
He  has  since  been  a  resident  of  Ohio,  and 
to-day  is  numbered  among  the  leading  and 
influential  farmers  of  Rice  township,  San- 


194 


COMMEMORATIVE    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


dusky  county.  Having  arrived  at  years 
of  maturity  he  chose,  as  a  companion  and 
helpmate  on  life's  journey,  Miss  Rosa  Bin- 
sack,  and  their  home  has  been  blessed 
by  the  presence  of  five  children:  Anna, 
the  eldest,  is  now  the  wife  of  Albert  Darr, 
a  resident  farmer  of  Rice  township,  San- 
dusky county,  and  they  have  three  chil- 
dren; the  other  members  of  the  family — 
Ida,  Rudolph,  Edward  and  Arnold — are 
still  under  the  parental  roof. 

In  1 86 1  the  father  of  our  subject  pur- 
chased seventy-three  acres  of  land  in  Rice 
township — the  place  upon  which  Leon- 
hard  now  resides — paying  for  the  same  at 
the  rate  of  seven  dollars  per  acre.  Eight 
years  later,  in  1879,  he  sold  the  place  to 
his  second  youngest  son,  Leonhard,  for 
$2,000.  It  is  a  good  property,  highly 
cultivated  and  improved,  and  the  neat 
and  thrifty  appearance  of  the  place  indi- 
cates the  careful  supervision  of  the  owner. 
In  1887  he  built  a  new  barn,  and  in  1892 
he  erected  the  new  house,  at  a  cost  of 
$3,000.  In  connection  with  general  farm- 
ing he  successfully  engaged  in  stock  deal- 
ing, raising  cattle,  horses  and  hogs.  He 
■  successfully  manages  his  business  inter- 
ests, and  his  energy  and  industry  have 
brought  to  him  a  comfortable  competence, 
which  numbers  him  among  the  representa- 
tive farmers  of  the  neighborhood.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  and  in  religious 
belief  he  is  a  Catholic. 


GEORGE  W.  KING,    a  well-to-do 
farmer  of  Ballville  township,  San- 
dusky county,  was  born  in   Pick- 
away county,    Ohio,    March   20, 
1849. 

His  father,  John  King,  was  born 
March  2,  1819,  in  Fairfield  county,  Ohio, 
and  married  Miss  Mary  Mowry.  Their 
children  were:  (i)  Catharine,  wife  of  Val- 
entine Moshier;  she  died  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one  years,  leaving  one  son,  John, 
living  in  Allen  county,  Ohio.  (2)  Mary 
is  the  wife  of  Valentine  Moshier,  a  farm- 


er, residing  in  Allen  county,  Ohio.  (3) 
Elizabeth  is  the  wife  of  David  Roberts, 
of  Scott  township;  she  died  at  the  age  of 
forty-four  years,  and  is  buried  in  Oak- 
wood  Cemetery.  (4)  Lydia  is  the  wife 
of  William  Reichelderfer,  by  whom  she 
had  four  children — Hattie,  George,  Frank 
and  Lettie — and  after  his  death  she  mar- 
ried, in  1890,  William  Slates,  a  farmer 
of  Tipton  county,  Ind.  (5)  George  W. 
is  our  subject.  (6)  Sarah,  born  in  1851, 
in  Pickaway  county,  is  the  wife  of  Jacob 
Mowery,  a  farmer  of  Michigan.  (7)  John, 
born  1854,  married  Miss  Carrie  Hunlock, 
and  has  one  son,  John  Clarence.  (8) 
Jacob,  born  November  20,  1856,  is  a 
farmer  in  Ballville  township,  married  to 
Miss  Fredie  Crites,  and  has  two  chil- 
dren— Omer  and  De  Witt.  (9)  Elmira, 
born  in  1859,  is  the  wife  of  John  Searfoss, 
a  farmer  of  Scott  township,  and  has  two 
children — Bessie  and  Stella.  (10)  Perry, 
a  farmer  of  Scott  township,  born  in  1861, 
married  Sadie  Hunlock,  and  has  four 
children — Pearl,  Iva,  Hazel  and  Carrie. 

Our  subject  started  out  in  life  for  him- 
self at  the  age  of  twenty-two  with  the 
health,  pluck  and  perseverance  which  en- 
sures success.  He  worked  three  years 
in  the  oil  fields  of  Warren  county, 
Penn.,  then  returned  and  worked  at  his 
trade  as  a  carpenter  until  December  9, 
1875,  when  he  married  Miss  Mary  J. 
Ludwig,  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Louisa 
(DeLong)  Ludwig,  farmers  of  Allen 
county,  Ohio.  He  next  farmed  in  Jack- 
son township  one  year,  then  five  years  in 
Allen  county,  and  on  his  return  to  San- 
dusky county,  bought  eighty  acres  of 
Jacob  Ludwig  for  $4,500.  On  January 
30,  1882,  he  moved  upon  the  farm  where 
he  now  lives,  remained  nine  years,  then 
located  near  Fremont,  where  he  remained 
three  years,  finally  moving  back  on  the 
farm  of  133  acres,  which  cost  him  $10,000. 
Here  he  follows  mixed  farming,  raising 
grain,  grass,  fruit  and  live  stock,  with 
good  success.  He  is  a  man  of  enterprise 
and   public  spirit,    and   has   held  various 


COMMEMOHATIVS   BIOORAPBWAL   RECORD. 


195 


public  offices.  The  children  of  George 
W.  and  Mary  Kinp  are:  M.  Louisa,  born 
April  7.  iSSo;  Ada  M..  September  19, 
18S3:  Charles  L..  July  9.  188 5;  and  Mvan 
M. ,  September  n ,  1 889.  The  brothers 
and  sisters  of  Mrs.  King  are  Isaac,  John, 
Charles,  Obed  and  Jacob. 


M 


j.  KEINBOLT,  a  farmer  and 
stockman  of  Jackson  township, 
Sandusky  county,  was  born  Oc- 
tober 15,  1828,  in  Seneca  coun- 
ty, Ohio.  His  father,  Michael  Kcinbolt, 
was  born  in  Germany,  whence  he  emi- 
grated to  .America,  where  he  married  Miss 
Louisa  Kechner.  whom  he  first  met  on 
the  steamer  which  brought  them  to  the 
New  World. 

He  worked  about  two  years  as  a  com- 
mon day  laborer,  then  five  years  for  an 
Indian  chief  near  Tiffin,  Ohio,  by  the 
name  of  Spicer.  During  these  years  he 
saved  enough  to  buy  forty  acres  of  gov- 
ernment land  at  $1.25  per  acre,  in  Seneca 
county,  Ohio.  One  year  later  he  bought 
eighty  acres  more  at  the  same  rate.  After 
a  life  of  toil  and  self  denial,  he  and  his 
wife  passed  away,  among  the  early  pio- 
neers, and  are  buried  in  the  cemetery  at 
Tiffin, Ohio.  Their  children  were:  Joseph, 
born  1838,  died  June  4,  1862;  George, 
who  married  Amelia  Haldrom,  and  had  a 
family  of  seven  children;  Catharine,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  thirty  years;  Charles, 
who  married  and  has  eight  children,  and 
lives  on  the  old  homestead;  Daniel,  who 
married  Catharine  Riser,  and  has  seven 
children;  and  Mary,  wife  of  Nicholas 
Workman  (both  are  deceased  and  are 
buried  at  Tiffin,  Ohio). 

On  leaving  home  our  subject  worked 
about  four  years  among  farmers  as  a  day 
laborer,  then  rented  a  farm  and  remained 
on  it  twenty-three  years.  He  then  bought 
tracts  at  different  times,  amounting  in  all 
to  336  acres,  valued  at  $100  per  acre.  He 
is  a  model  farmer,  and  keeps  pure  Jersey 
cattle  and   fine-bred   horses.      Mr.   Rein- 


bolt  is  a  Republican,  and  he  has  held  vari- 
ous offices  of  trust  in  his  township.  He 
is  a  consistent  member  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church.  On  October  16,  1862, 
he  married  Miss  Annie  Fanning,  born  in 
New  York  City,  and  they  have  three  chil- 
dren: James  F.,  born  July  30,  1864, 
and  married  to  Libbie  Chariot,  their 
children  being:  Michael  J.,  Julia,  and 
Irene;  James  A.,  who  married  Rosine 
Bower,  and  their  children  are:  Carl  M., 
Annie  and  Pauline;  and  Mary  E.,  born 
September  11,  1872,  was  the  wife  of 
Peter  Nape. 


JOHN    G.\BEL,    a   successful   farmer 
and  substantial  citizen  of  Rice  town- 
ship,   Sandusky   county,    was   born 
May  28,  1853,  and  is  a  son  of  John 
M.    and    Mary  (Wyce)  Gabel,   who  were 
born   in  Germany  in    1812   and  in    1822, 
respectively. 

John  M.  Gabel,  father  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  before  his  marriage  worked 
for  his  father,  Jacob  Gabel,  on  the  farm 
in  Germanj',  and  at  the  age  of  eighteen 
came  with  him  to  this  country,  settling  in 
Buffalo,  N.  Y.  He  lived  there  about  four 
years,  then  moved  to  Jackson  township, 
Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  where  he  bought 
forty  acres  of  land;  later  purchased  190 
acres  more,  and  there  lived  until  about 
1873.  He  then  moved  to  F"remont,  San- 
dusky county,  and  resided  there  with  his 
daughter  until  his  death.  He  worked 
hard  for  all  his  money.  When  he  first 
came  to  this  country  he  was  a  good  Dem- 
ocrat and  a  Catholic.  John  M.  Gabel 
died  in  1874,  his  wife  preceding  him  to 
the  grave  in  1870.  They  were  the  par- 
ents of  seven  children,  six  of  whom  were 
as  follows:  (i)  Jacob  died  at  the  age  of 
six;  (2)  Katie  at  the  age  of  five,  and  (3) 
Laney  at  the  age  of  one  year;  (4)  Magda- 
lena  married  Henry  Hodcs,  who  died  in 
1887  (they  lived  in  Fremont,  and  had 
three  children — Celia,  Henry  and  Joseph); 
(5)  John  M.  married  Mary  Richards,  who 


196 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


died  in  1880,  after  which  he  married  Anna 
Miller,  and  they  live  in  Fremont;  (6) 
Elizabeth  married  Mr.  Dolnick,  by  whom 
she  had  ten  children — Michael,  born 
April  28,  1870;  Mary,  born  in  1871; 
Rosie;  Elizabeth,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
three  years;  Allie,  Celia,  Edith,  Urbin, 
Clara  and  Teresa;  (7)  John  Gabel  was 
united  in  marriage  on  June  29,  1873,  in 
Jackson  township,  Sandusky  county,  with 
Celia  Dorr  (who  was  born  January  6, 
1855),  and  lived  there  until  1880,  when 
he  sold  out  and  moved  to  Rice  township, 
in  the  same  county,  and  bought  fifty- 
three  acres,  paying  one  hundred  dollars 
an  acre  for  it.  Their  children  were  as 
follows:  Edward,  born  August  10,  1876, 
and  died  January  9,  1879;  Ida  M.  was 
born  November  13,  1877;  Allie  C,  March 
4,  1879;  Sylvester  P.,  June  5,  1880; 
Horbert  M.,  June  19.  1881;  Charles  D., 
October  9,  1883;  Julie  L.,  May  20,  1884; 
Urbin,  March  31,  1887;  Cornelia  C, 
born  June  22,  1890,  and  died  September 
28,  1893;  and  Corlette  G.,  born  Novem- 
ber 6,  1894.  In  1874.  when  John  Ga- 
bel's  father  died,  he  left  him  eighty  acres 
of  land  in  Jackson  township,  Sandusky 
county.  Mr.  Gabel  is  engaged  in  general 
farming.  He  is  much  respected,  is  well 
and  favorably  known  in  the  community 
in  which  he  lives,  has  been  constable  of 
Rice  township  for  five  years,  school  di- 
rector four  years  and  supervisor  seven 
years. 


JACOB  G.  METZGER,  one  of  the 
intelligent,  liberal-minded  farmers 
of  Green  Creek  township,  Sandusky 
county,  enjoys  the  possession  of  a 
competency,  and  he  believes  the  state- 
ment made  by  Gen.  Washington,  that 
agriculture  is  the  noblest  vocation  cf  man. 
He  lives  in  ease  and  comfort  upon  his 
well-tilled  and  well-cared-for  farm  of  127 
acres,  made  profitable  by  his  good  busi- 
ness ability  and  his  inherited  aptitude  for 
a  farming  life. 


Mr.  Metzger  was  born  in  Adams  town- 
ship, Seneca  county,  November  2,  1842, 
son  of  Samuel  and  Rebecca  (Heltzel) 
Metzger.  The  great-great-grandfather  of 
Mr.  Metzger,  who  was  a  Revolutionary 
soldier  under  Gen.  Washington,  was  the 
son  of  Archibald  Metzger,  twin  brother 
of  Gen.  Theodore  Metzger,  an  able  of- 
ficer in  the  German  army.  The  Rev- 
olutionary soldier  was  lost  in  the  woods 
of  Pennsylvania  and  probably  starved  to 
death.  His  remains  were  afterward  found 
and  identified  by  means  of  gun  and  cloth- 
ing. He  had  emigrated  from  Germany 
to  America  in  Colonial  times,  and  his  son, 
the  great-grandfather  of  Jacob,  was  the 
only  child  aboard  the  ship  that  escaped 
the  fatal  ravages  of  smallpox.  The  son 
of  this  fortunate  child,  Jacob  Metzger  by 
name,  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and  ac- 
quired the  trade  of  a  shoemaker.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  United  Brethren  Church, 
and  in  the  autumn  of  181  3  migrated  with 
his  family  from  Union  county,  Penn.,  to 
Pickaway  county,  Ohio,  settling  on  a  farm 
near  Circleville. 

Samuel  Metzger,  his  son,  was  born  in 
Union  county,  Penn.,  in  April,  181  3,  and 
was  but  si.x  months  old  when  he  came  to 
Pickaway  county,  Ohio.  He  grew  up  on 
the  farm,  and  before  he  was  of  age  he 
came  to  Adams  township,  Seneca  county, 
where  he  entered  a  farm  in  the  wilder- 
ness. Returning  to  Pickaway  county,  he 
married,  in  April,  1834,  on  his  twenty-first 
birthday,  Rebecca  Heltzel,  who  was  born 
in  Shenandoah  county,  Va.,  in  18 12,  the 
daughter  of  Henry  Heltzel,  an  old-time 
schoolteacher,  of  German  ancestry,  and 
an  early  pioneer  of  Pickaway  county, 
Ohio,  who  afterward  removed  to  Noble 
county,  Ind.,  where  he  was  elected  county 
recorder  and  served  as  such  for  many 
years.  After  marriage  Samuel  and  Re- 
becca Metzger  moved  to  the  new  pioneer 
home  in  Adams  township,  Seneca  county, 
where  he  proved  in  subsequent  years  to  be 
one  of   its  best    farmers,    and  where  he 


COMAtEMOIiATH'E  DIOGIiAPmCAL  RECORD. 


197 


lived  until  1 88 1 .  Ho  then  moved  to  Green 
Creek  township,  Sandusky  county,  and 
lived  near  his  son  Jacob,  until  his  wife's 
death,  in  1S90.  He  died  April  11.  1893, 
at  the  home  of  his  son.  Samuel  Metzger 
at  the  time  of  his  death  owned  205  acres 
of  choice  land,  and  owed  not  a  dollar. 
He  wuscareful  in  his  business  transactions 
and  scrupulously  honest.  In  politics  he 
was  a  Democrat,  and  in  reliRious  faith  a 
prominent  member  of  the  United  Breth- 
ren Church.  He  was  an  ordained  ex- 
horter  in  the  Church,  possessed  a  remark- 
able memory,  and  had  almost  the  whole 
Bible  at  his  tonfjue's  end.  He  was  de- 
votedly attached  to  the  work  of  his 
Church,  and  was  perhaps  its  chief  sup- 
porter in  Adams  township. 

Five  children  were  born  to  Samuel 
and  Rebecca  Met/per,  as  follows:  (i)  H. 
H.,  born  in  1836,  a  farmer  of  Adams 
township,  Seneca  county,  who  married 
Rebecca  Urinkwater  and  had  five  chil- 
dren—  Alton  (who  died  aged  two  and  a 
half  years);  Ida  J.;  James;  Hulda  F. ,  and 
Olive.  (2)  John  C  of  Adams  township, 
Seneca  county,  who  first  married  Sarah 
A.  Miller,  by  whom  he  had  three  children, 
now  living — .Mvvilda  E.,  Gertrude  and 
Samuel  H. ;  after  his  first  wife's  death  he 
wedded  Mrs.  L.  Berrj',  by  whom  he  has 
one  child — Julia  C.  (3)  Sarah  .\. ,  mar- 
ried to  C.  W.  King,  of  Noble  county, 
Ind.,  and  d'ed  leaving  two  children — 
Maud  M.  and  MiKlrcd  (j..  who  now  make 
their  home  with  Jacob  Metzger,  our  sub- 
ject. (4)  Jacob  is  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  (5)  Lavina  married  Alfred  F"ront/, 
and  has  three  children — Rebecca,  Roy 
and  Dora  F. ;  she  lives  on  the  old  home 
farm  in  Adams  township,  Seneca  county. 

Jacob  Metzger  grew  to  manhood  on 
his  father's  farm  in  Seneca  county,  and  in 
1S64,  as  a  member  of  Company  B,  he 
served  in  the  Washington  campaign  of  the 
One  Hundred  and  Sixty-fourth  O.  \ .  I. 
When  mustered  out  in  the  fall  of  1864  he 
joined  a  construction  corps,  which  oper- 
ated   through   Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Ala- 


bama, Georgia  and  \\'est  Virginia.  Six 
months  later  he  returned  home  and  was 
married,  April  27,  1865,  to  Sarah  Jane 
Shellhammer,  who  was  born  in  Adams 
township,  Seneca  county,  January  30, 
1845.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Metzger  have  one 
child,  Alva  E.,  a  well-educated  and  suc- 
cessful veterinary  surgeon  at  Clyde.  In 
politics  Jacob  Metzger  is  a  Democrat.  In 
manners  he  is  genial  and  affable.  He  is 
remarkably  well  versed  in  public  matters, 
and,  while  engaged  in  general  farming,  he 
takes  a  deep  interest  in  all  the  affairs  and 
conilitions  of  mankind.  No  man  stands 
higher  in  the  esteem  of  his  fellow  men. 


WILLIAM  WOODFORD,  a  suc- 
cessful farmer,  and  one  of  the 
prominent  citizens  of  Riley 
township,  Sandusky  county,  was 
born  May  28,  iS^i.  He  is  a  son  of  Syl- 
vester and  Sarah  (Lowrie)  Woodford, 
both  born  in  America,  the  former  on  Jan- 
uary I,  t786,  the  latter  on  January  17, 
1788. 

They  had  a  family  of  nine  children,  as 
follows:  Zerah,  born  April  6,  181 2,  mar- 
ried Sarah  Karshner;  they  were  engaged 
in  farming  in  Riley  township,  and  had  a 
family  of  five  children;  Zerah  died  June 
27.  1872;  Aurilla,  born  December  28. 
1814,  married  Elijah  Higbee,  a  farmer  in 
Riley  township,  and  they  had  one  child; 
the  wife  and  mother  died  January  30,  1886; 
Lois,  born  April  24,  181 7,  became  the 
wife  of  William  Laird,  and  they  had  three 
children;  the  wife  and  mother  died  Jan- 
uary 30,  1846;  Sylvester,  born  June  16, 
1819,  died  October  28,  1836,  at  Shippens- 
burg,  Penn. ;  Martin,  born  August  24, 
1821,  married  Mary  Homer,  who  lives  in 
Kansas,  and  he  died  February  5,  1884; 
Lorinda,  born  September  23,  1823,  died 
in  1839;  Luther,  born  December  27, 
1825,  lives  in  Kansas;  William  is  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  and  Sidney,  born  July 
20,  1S33,  died  January  2  1,  1839.  Syl- 
vester   Woodford    (Sr. )    came    to    Ohio, 


198 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


settled  in  Trumbull  county,  and  bought 
eighty  acres  of  land,  on  which  he  lived 
until  1834,  when  he  moved  to  Riley  town- 
ship and  here  bought  160  acres  of  land, 
upon  which  he  lived  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  September  2,  1834,  about 
three  months  after  they  had  settled  at 
their  new  home,  and  his  wife,  Sarah, 
passed  away  four  days  before  him,  viz. : 
August  29,  1834.  He  voted  the  Old-time 
Whig  ticket,  and  was  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church. 

After  the  death  of  his  parents,  William 
Woodford,  being  only  a  little  more  than 
three  years  old,  was  taken  to  Vienna 
township,  Trumbull  Co.,  Ohio,  and  was 
placed  in  the  family  of  a  relative,  where 
he  was  reared  and  educated,  working  a 
part  of  each  year  on  a  farm  to  the  age  of 
eighteen,  when  he  commenced  teaching 
school.  He  followed  this  vocation  one 
year  in  Ohio,  taught  one  year  more  in 
Mercer  county,  Penn.,  then  went  to  Ken- 
tucky, where  he  continued  teaching  school 
for  eleven  years.  He  is  now  engaged  in 
general  farming.  In  1861  he  came  to 
Riley  township,  where  he  married  Rachel 
Gibbs,  who  was  born  October  15,  1832, 
and  they  have  a  family  of  five  children, 
namely:  William  C,  born  April  28,  1862, 
and  died  August  27,  1862;  Clara  J.,  born 
September  13,  1863;  Alva,  born  Septem- 
ber 9,  1866;  Ada,  born  May  16,  1869; 
and  Louis,  born  March  8,  1854,  and  mar- 
ried to  Dora  Lindsay,  who  died  February 
12,   1888. 

Isaac  Woodford,  grandfather  of  Will- 
iam Woodford,  marriec^  Sarah  Fuller,  of 
Burlington,  and  they  had  ten  children — 
seven  sons  and  three  daughters,  namely: 
Isaac,  married  Statira  Cowles,  by  whom 
he  had  twelve  children,  ten  of  whom — 
four  sons  and  six  daughters — lived  to 
marry,  and  two  died  in  childhood;  Darius 
married  Bethiah  Bass,  and  they  had  six 
children;  Asaph  married  Alma  Potter,  and 
they  had  fourteen  children;  Sylvester, 
father  of  our  subject,  comes  next; 
Romanty  married  Betsy  Hart,  and  they 


had  twelve  children;  Sidney  married 
Betsy  Wheeler  (no  children);  Zerah  mar- 
ried Minerva  Potter,  and  they  had  six 
children;  Huldah  married  Nathaniel 
Clarke,  and  they  had  eight  children;  Cyn- 
thia married  Theodore  Humphreys,  and 
was  left  a  widow  with  five  or  six  children 
(she  afterward  married  Ely  Alderman); 
Sarah  married  Chauncey  Wheeler,  and 
they  had  six  children — two  sons  and  four 
daughters.  Of  this  large  family  of  chil- 
dren, all,  save  one,  were  professing  Chris- 
tians. 

Our  subject  votes  the  Democrat  ticket, 
and  has  been  honored  with  public  office, 
having  been  justice  of  the  peace  for 
twelve  years,  township  clerk  for  six  years, 
and  school  director  and  supervisor. 


RICHARD  E.  BETTS,  a  substantial 
farmer  of  Green  Creek  township, 
Sandusky  county,  is  more  than  a 
tiller  of  the  soil  or  the  owner  of  a 
productive  and  finely  located  farm;  he  is 
a  student  of  the  world's  history,  and  by 
means  of  the  leading  newspapers  from  va- 
rious cities  he  is  thoroughly  informed  upon 
the  varying  phases  of  current  national  af- 
fairs. He  is  distinctively  a  man  of  ideas. 
He  wants  first  the  facts  of  history.-  His 
clear  and  well-trained  intellect  can  then 
make  proper  deduction  from  these  facts, 
and  the  opinions  thus  formed  are  modern, 
considerably  in  advance  of  those  held  by 
the  average  citizen.  His  deep  convic- 
tions are  inherited,  and  have  received  an 
additional  impetus  from  associations. 
His  ancestors,  of  Quaker  faith,  came  from 
England  in  Cromwell's  time.  His  father- 
in-law,  "Uncle"  George  Donaldson,  was 
one  of  the  most  noted  Abolitionists  in 
northwestern  Ohio,  at  a  time  when  Abo- 
lition sentiment  was  a  reproach  and 
stigma,  often  a  menace  to  personal  safety. 
Mr.  Betts  was  born  in  Cayuga  county, 
N.  Y.,  December  30,  1829,  son  of  Zach- 
ariah  and  Mariah  (Mitchell)  Betts.    Zach- 


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■1 


COMMEMORATIVE   BJOGBAPUICAL   RECORD. 


100 


ariah  Betts  was  born  in  Bucks  county. 
Penn..  December  24,  1793.  In  Crom- 
well's time  three  brothers  named  Betts 
came  to  America,  settlinj,'  near  Philadel- 
phia. The  eldest,  who  had  an  entailed 
inheritance  in  lingland,  at  one  time  placed 
in  jeopardy,  returned  to  that  country  when 
political  turmoil  subsided.  The  younger 
two  remained  in  America  and  founded  a 
numerous  family  of  their  name,  Zachariah 
being  one  of  the  descendants.  His  wife, 
Mariah  Mitchell,  was  born  March  4,  1798. 
After  marriage  Zachariah  Betts  moved  to 
Aurora,  Cayuga  Co.,  N.  Y. ,  where  he 
farmed  for  many  years,  and  in  1834  he 
moved  to  Honey  Creek,  Seneca  Co., 
Ohio,  where  he  purchased  a  large  farm. 
Many  years  later  he  removed  to  La  Grange 
county,  Ind.,  where  he  died  February  3, 
1868,  his  wife  surviving  until  July  23, 
1874.  In  politics  he  was  a  Whig.  In 
early  life  he  held  allegiance  to  the  Quaker 
faith,  but  later  became  a  member  of  the 
Protestant  Methodist  Church.  In  physique 
he  was  a  man  of  powerful  frame.  The 
nine  children  of  Zachariah  and  Mariah 
Betts  were  as  follows:  Edward  L. ,  born 
December  18,  1.S21,  serveil  in  an  Indiana 
regiment  in  the  army  of  the  Potomac  dur- 
ing the  Civil  war.  and  died  in  La  Grange 
county,  Ind.,  March  2,  1894:  Howard 
M.,  born  August  25,  1823,  for  thirty 
years  a  druggist  at  La  Grange,  Ind. ; 
Louis  C. ,  born  October  i,  1825,  moved 
to  Iowa  in  1856,  and  died  at  Mt.  Pleasant, 
that  State,  November  19,  18O7;  Albert 
P.,  born  .August  27,  1827.  a  tanner  and  cur- 
rier at  Republic;  Richard  E. ,  subject  of  this 
sketch;  Elizabeth  A.,  wife  of  Van  Norris 
Taylor,  of  Wolcottville,  Ind. ;  Thomas 
C. ,  born  August  20,  1833,  an  e.\-soldier 
of  the  Civil  war,  ex-sheriff  of  La  Grange 
county,  Ind.,  now  living  at  La  Grange; 
Martha  M.,  born  April  30.  1836,  lives, 
unmarried,  at  La  Grange,  Ind.  ;  Emiline, 
born  January  14,  1838.  wife  of  Nelson 
Sclby.  of  La  Grange,  Indiana. 

Richard  E    Betts   was  five  years  old 
when  he  migrated  with  his  parents  from 

13 


New  York  to  Seneca  county.  Ohio.  He 
was  reared  on  his  father's  farm,  and  Oc- 
tober 28,  1852,  he  married  Miss  Lavinia 
Donaldson,  who  was  born  in  Pickaway 
county, Ohio, in  1823,  daughter  of  "Uncle  " 
George  and  .\nn  (Patterson)  Donaldson, 
the  former  of  whom  was  born  in  Center 
county,  Penn.,  July  7,  1793,  the  latter  on 
January  15,  1796.  He  learned  the  black- 
smith's trade,  and  lived  for  a  time  in 
Lycoming  county,  Penn. ;  then  migrated 
with  his  family  in  a  one-horse  wagon  to 
Pickaway  county,  Ohio,  arriving  with  a 
capital  of  five  dollars.  Seven  years  later 
he  moved  to  Tiflin,  and  in  1833  to  Green 
Creek  township,  Sandusky  county,  where 
he  followed  his  trade  and  farmed.  Him- 
self and  wife  were  Methodists,  and  in 
political  convictions  he  was  a  radical  Abo- 
litionist. He  was  connected  with  the 
"underground  railroad,"  and  once  sent 
his  team  with  five  runaway  negroes, 
concealed  beneath  straw  and  carpets,  to 
Sandusky  City,  whence  they  escaped  to 
Canada.  "Uncle"  George  Donaldson 
was  the  most  noted  character  of  his  time 
in  this  part  of  the  country.  On  account 
of  his  Abolitionism  an  attempt  was  made 
to  expel  him  from  the  M.  E.  Church.  He 
gave  James  G.  Birney,  Abolition  candi- 
date for  President  in  1840,  the  only  vote 
cast  for  him  in  Green  Creek  township, 
and  for  its  numerical  insignificance  the 
judges,  who  were  in  sentiment  stronganti- 
Abolitionists,  refused  to  count  it.  Mr. 
Donaldson  died  September  14,  1873,  his 
wife  November  30.  1863.  Their  nine  chil- 
dren were  as  follows:  James,  born  Febru- 
ary 13,  1820,  died  November  15.  1843; 
W'illian).  born  February  25,  1821,  died 
April  21,  1846;  Rol)ert,  born  November 
21,  1822,  died  December  30,  1846;  La- 
vinia, wife  of  Mr.  Betts;  Susannah,  born 
August  ri,  1827,  wife  of  W.  Dixon,  of 
Rome  City.  Ind.;  Saul,  born  December 
20,  1829,  residing  in  La  Grange  county, 
Ind.;  David,  born  April  10,  1831,  died 
December  13,  1881;  Elizabeth,  born  Au- 
gust   14,    1834,  died    October  11,    1858; 


200 


Commemorative  biographical  record. 


Nanc}'  Ann,  born  June  29,  1839,  died 
January  7,   1850. 

After  his  marriage  Mr.  Betts  lived  for 
several  years  in  Seneca  county.  He  then 
came  to  Sandusky  county,  bought  a  farm, 
and  for  two  years  lived  with  his  father-in- 
law.  In  1856  he  purchased  his  present 
farm,  and  has  occupied  it  ever  since.  He 
owns  114  well-cultivated  acres,  and  en- 
gages in  general  farming.  Mr.  Betts  cast 
his  first  Presidential  vote  for  J.  P.  Hale, 
anti-slavery  candidate  for  1852,  and  in 
1 876  voted  for  Peter  Cooper  on  the  Green- 
back ticket.  He  has  been  a  prominent 
member  of  Monticello  Lodge  No.  244,  F. 
&  A.  M.,  for  many  years.  He  is  a  firm 
believer  in  Spiritualism,  as  was  also  his 
wife,  who  passed  from  earth  in  February, 
1895.  She  was  a  lady  of  high  mental  and 
moral  attainments.  In  political  affairs 
Mr.  Betts  thinks  the  election  of  million- 
aires to  Congress  and  the  various  State 
Legislatures  is  highly  detrimental  to  the 
best  interests  of  the  people. 

Mr.  Betts  has  a  number  of  relatives  on 
his  mother's  side  residing  near  Rochester, 
N.  Y. ,  among  them  an  aunt,  Sarah  Co.x 
(sister  to  his  mother),  who  is  now  at  the 
advanced  age  of  ninety  years,  with  her 
faculties  unimpaired.  Mr.  Betts'  weight 
at  the  present  time  is  260  pounds. 


GEORGE  A.  BURMAN,  of  Wood- 
ville,  Sandusky  county,  was  born 
January  17,  1844,  son  of  Ernest 
H.  and  Elizabeth  (Maenert)  Bur- 
man,  the  former  of  whom  was  born  De- 
cember 4,  181 1,  in  the  Kingdom  of  Han- 
over, Germany. 

Ernest  H.  Burnian  was  married  in  his 
native  countr\-,  came  to  America  in  1843, 
settling  in  \^'oodville  township,  Sandusky 
Co. ,  Ohio,  where  he  bought  eighty  acres 
of  land  on  which  he  made  improvements. 
He  died  September  9,  1891,  a  member  of 
the  Lutheran  Church.  Our  subject's  mo- 
ther was  born  in  181 5,  and  died  in  1875. 
Their  children  were  Carrie,  who  died  in 


Germany;  Carrie,  who  married  G.  Otten; 
George  A. ;  Henry,  who  died  when  seven 
years  old;  Louis,  a  blacksmith,  now  living 
in  Toledo;  Harman,  who  works  in  the 
car  shops  at  Toledo;  Fred,  who  died  in 
infancy;  and  Elizabeth,  who  married  K. 
Kuhlman,  of  Ottawa  county,  Ohio. 

Mrs.  George  A.  Burman  is  a  daughter 
of  H.  H.  and  Clara  (Fochthous)  Kuhlman, 
the  former  of  whom  was  born  in  Hanover, 
in  1 812,  and  died  September  4,  1887;  the 
mother  was  born  in  1 8 1 7,  and  is  still  living. 
They  had  six  children:  Henry  Kuhlman, 
living  at  Woodville;  Carrie,  who  married 
FredTaulker;  Eliza,  who  died  when  three 
years  old;  one  that  died  in  infancy;  Will- 
iam, who  is  living  on  the  old  homestead; 
and  the  wife  of  our  subject.  George  A. 
Burman  and  his  wife  were  both  born  in 
the  same  house  in  Woodville  township, 
she  on  July  2 T,  1851.  Her  parents  came 
to  America  the  year  before  his,  and  when 
his  parents  came  they  moved  into  the 
same  house,  and  our  subject  was  born 
while  they  were  living  there.  They  were 
both  reared  in  Woodville  township,  and 
attended  the  primitive  district  schools. 
They  were  married  November  16,  1871, 
and  the  children  born  to  them  were  Car- 
rie, born  March  10,  1873,  who  died  when 
one  year  old;  George,  born  May  27,  1875, 
who  is  now  a  grocer  of  Tiffin,  Ohio; 
Henry,  born  September  4,  1878,  now 
studying  for  the  ministry  of  the  Lutheran 
Church,  in  Capitol  University,  Columbus, 
Ohio;  Clara,  born  July  i,  1880,  died  Au- 
gust 19,  1882;  and  August,  born  October 
18,  1883. 

Our  subject  as  he  grew  to  manhood 
found  himself  possessed  of  strong  mechan- 
ical powers  and  of  natural  skill  as  a  work- 
man, and  so  without  serving  an  appren- 
ticeship he  became  a  good  carpenter  and  an 
all-around  wood  workman;  he  also  became 
an  engineer,  and  ran  a  stationary  engine 
in  the  mills  at  Woodville  for  seventeen 
years,  and  he  has  worked  in  the  Lake 
Shore  yard  in  Toledo.  He  has  never  de- 
voted his  time  to  farming,  but  some  years 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOORAPEICAL   RECORD. 


201 


since  .purchased  the  old  homestead  in 
Woodville  township,  which  he  now  owns, 
and  which  contains  eight  good  oil  wells 
at  present.  Mr.  Burman  was  one  of  the 
first  men  in  this  section  to  invest  in  the 
developing  oil  business  here,  and  as  the 
result  of  his  investment  he  recently  sold 
out  his  interest  in  his  lease  wells  for  $r  5,- 
000.  As  a  result  of  his  ample  means 
from  this  source  he  is  now  in  good  finan- 
cial circumstances,  but  he  still  does  some 
work  himself  to  pass  the  time  away.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  and 
in  politics  is  a  Democrat. 


SAMUEL  J.  YETTER,  junior 
member  of  the  livery  firm  of 
Harvey  &  Yetter,  and  one  of  the 
popular  and  reliable  business  men 
of  Clyde,  was  born  in  Townsend  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  February  6,  1866, 
a  son  of  Charles  and  Mary  (Speaker)  Yet- 
ter, both  of  German  descent. 

His  father  was  born  near  Harrisburg, 
Penn.,  in  1840,  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen 
years  came  with  his  parents  to  Ohio,  first 
locating  at  Chicago  Junction,  Huron 
county.  Later  he  came  to  Sandusky 
county  where  he  engaged  in  farming  in 
Townsend  township,  and  there  the  mother 
of  our  subject  died  at  the  age  of  thirty- 
two  years.  They  were  married  near  Cas- 
talia,  Ohio,  and  by  their  union  five  chil- 
dren were  born:  (i)  George,  drowned 
in  Lake  Erie,  off  Kelly's  Island,  at  the 
age  of  twenty-one  years.  He  was  cap- 
tain of  a  fishing  smack,  could  swim  well, 
but  was  struck  with  a  boom  while  turn- 
ing the  boat.  (2)  Henry  is  a  farmer  of 
Riley  township,  Sandusky  county.  (3) 
Samuel  J.  is  ne.xt  in  order  of  birth.  (4) 
Ella  is  the  wife  of  G.  W.  Reddock,  of 
Riley  township.  (5)  Nettie  is  the  wife  of 
Ward  Strohl,  a  hay  dealer  and  presser, 
of  Clyde.  After  the  death  of  his  first 
wife  Mr.  Yetter  wedded  Miss  Lois  Baker, 
and  they  have  three  children — Bert,  John- 


nie and  Mabel.  In  political  sentiment 
the  father  is  a  Republican. 

In  the  schools  of  Townsend  township, 
Sandusky  county,  the  early  education  of 
Samuel  J.  Yetter  was  received,  after 
which  he  entered  the  public  schools  of 
Clyde,  and  for  one  term  was  a  student  at 
the  Normal  in  Ada,  Ohio.  On  the  com- 
pletion of  his  education  he  taught  for  one 
term,  but  at  the  end  of  that  time  re- 
turned home,  where  for  a  year  he  worked 
on  the  farm.  He  then  entered  a  grocery 
store  in  Clyde,  where  he  clerked  some 
three  years,  and  for  the  same  length  of 
time  resided  in  Michigan.  He  then  re- 
turned to  Clyde,  where  for  one  year  he 
served  as  hotel  clerk,  and  in  1892  be- 
came interested  in  his  present  business, 
which  he  has  since  conducted  with  e.\- 
cellent  success.  The  firm  have  the  only 
first-class  livery  in  the  city,  and  they  re- 
ceive a  liberal  patronage. 

Though  young  in  years  Mr.  Yetter  is 
one  of  the  most  energetic  and  enterprising 
business  men  of  Clyde,  and  is  highly  es- 
teemed and  respected  by  all  who  know 
him.  He  has  a  wide  circle  of  friends  and 
acquaintances,  among  whom  he  is  famil- 
iarly known  by  the  name  of  "Sammie." 
Socially,  he  is  identified  with  the  Royal 
Arcanum,  while  his  political  affiliations 
are  with  the  Republican  party. 


PETER  J.  BEIER,  one  of  the  wor- 
thy citizens  that  the  Fatherland 
has  furnished  to  Ohio,  was  born  in 
Laembach,  Kurferstanthum  Hes- 
san,  Germany,  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Cath- 
erine (Geable)  Beier,  natives  of  the  same 
countr)-.  They  had  a  family  of  eight 
children,  as  follows:  (i)  Fronie,  the  eld- 
est, was  born  in  Germany,  in  1831,  and, 
is  the  wife  of  Michael  Siferd,  a  farmer 
now  living  in  Minnesota,  by  whom  she 
has  ten  children.  (2)  Agnes  is  the  wife 
of  Miran  Hoffman,  and  they  have  five 
children — Joseph,  Annie,  Frank,  Clara, 
and  Willie.      (3)  Maggie,   born   in   1833, 


202 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOORAPBICAL   RECORD. 


died  and  was  buried  in  Germany  in  1871. 
(4)  John  Joseph  married  Catherine  Kirch- 
gar,  and  they  have  eight  children.  (5) 
Annie  is  the  wife  of  Conrad  Busolt,  a  resi- 
dent of  Fremont,  Ohio,  and  their  family 
numbers  eight  children.  (6)  Peter  J.  is 
the  next  younger.  (7)  Budenz  married 
Nicholas  Goodbellat,  and  resides  in  Ger- 
many; they  have  three  children.  (8) 
Westena  is  the  wife  of  Albert  Konney, 
and  they  have  one  child,   Nellie,   born  in 

1883. 

In  the  land  of  his  birth  our  subject 
was  reared  to  manhood,  and  the  days  of 
his  boyhood  and  youth  were  quietly 
passed.  He  came  to  the  United  States 
and  to  Sandusky  county,  Ohio,  in  1866, 
has  been  a  resident  of  Rice  township  since 
1874,  when  he  purchased  forty  acres  of 
land,  which  was  still  in  its  primitive  con- 
dition, being  covered  with  a  thick  growth 
of  trees.  He  cleared  all  this  himself, 
plowed  and  planted  it,  and  in  course  of 
time  the  once  wild  tract  was  transformed 
into  rich  and  fertile  fields.  As  his  finan- 
cial resources  increased  he  e.xtended  the 
boundaries  of  his  farm  until  it  now  com- 
prises eighty  acres.  In  1890  he  built  a 
house  at  a  cost  of  $1,550,  and,  in  1892,  a 
barn  at  a  cost  of  $1,000,  and  is  now  en- 
gaged in  general  farming  and  stock  rais- 
ing. He  has  a  well-improved  place,  and 
is  meeting  with  good  success  in  his  under- 
takings. His  possessions  have  been  ac- 
quired entirely  through  his  own  efforts, 
and  he  may  well  be  termed  a  self-made 
man,  for  he  started  out  in  life  for  himself 
empty-handed,  and  his  success  is  the  re- 
ward of  labor  and  perseverance. 

On  June  14,  1870,  Mr.  Beier  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Catherine  Bean- 
sack,  a  native  of  Fremont,  Ohio,  and 
twelve  children  were  born  to  them,  their 
names  and  dates  of  birth  being  as  fol- 
lows: Clara,  May  28,  1871;  Mary  L. , 
May  9,  1873;  Lewis  H.,  June  i,  1875; 
Frank  J.,  March  12,  1877;  Matilda  C, 
February  26,  1879;  Charles  M.,  Decem- 
ber 21,  1881;  William  A.,   February   15, 


1883;  Leo  J.,  March  13,  1885;  Rudolph 
C. ,  July  25,  1887;  Rosa  K.,  September 
19,  1890;  John  A.,  June  8,  1892;  Roman 
P.,  May  16,  1895.  Of  these,  Clara  be- 
came the  wife  of  George  Widman,  and 
they  have  one  son,  Joseph,  who  was  born 
in  Sandusky  township;  Roman  P.  died 
May  21,  1895,  and  the  rest  are  still  under 
the  parental  roof.  In  his  political  views 
Mr  Beier  is  a  Democrat;  in  religious  be- 
lief he  is  a  Catholic. 


AMOS  BLANK,  a  prosperous  and 
representative  farmer  of  Wood- 
ville  township,  Sandusky  county, 
was  born  April  20,  1841,  and  is  a 
son  of  William  and  Anna  (Hess)  Blank. 
William  Blank  was  born  in  north 
Cumberland  county,  Penn.,  in  1790,  came 
west  and  settled  near  Rollersville,  San- 
dusky Co.,  Ohio,  in  the  spring  of  1836. 
He  married  Anna  Hess,  and  they  became 
the  parents  of  eleven  children,  namely: 
George,  David,  Abraham,  Peter,  Amos, 
Mary,  Elizabeth,  Matilda,  Melinda,  Will- 
iam and  Emeline,  all  now  living  but  three. 
When  Mr.  Blank  came  to  Ohio  he  rented 
a  piece  of  land  of  J.  M.  King  for  two 
years,  then  moved  to  Madison  township, 
Sandusky  count)',  where  he  bought  eighty 
acres  of  timber  land,  commenced  clearing, 
and  put  up  a  cabin  with  a  stone  chimney. 
The  country  was  very  wild,  and  bears  and 
wolves  were  plentiful  and  troublesome. 
The  nearest  mill  was  at  Fremont,  and  it 
took  several  days  to  make  the  trip.  Mr. 
Blank  helped  lay  out  and  make  most  of 
the  roads  in  the  vicinity,  and  cleared  up 
over  100  acres  of  land.  He  held  several 
township  offices,  and  always  voted  the 
Democratic  ticket.  At  the  time  of  his 
death  he  left  440  acres  of  valuable  land. 
He  died  June  8,  1 87 1 ,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
one  years,  five  months  and  thirteen  days; 
his  wife  died  in  1844,  and  was  laid  to  rest 
in  Sugar  Creek  cemetery. 

On  August  30,  1868.  Amos  Blank  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Emma  J.  Clifford, 


COMMEMORATIVE    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


203 


who  was  born  at  Wellington,  Lorain  Co. , 
Ohio,  August  20,  1848,  and  they  have  had 
eight  children,  namely:  Florence  A., 
born  January  i  5,  1870,  died  July  11,  1871 ; 
Amos  B.,  born  October  24,  1871,  unmar- 
ried and  living  at  home,  and  has  been  in 
the  oil  business  since  1889,  having  several 
hundred  acres  of  oil  land  leased,  also 
owner  of  960  acres  of  land  in  Henry 
county,  Ohio;  Myrtie  M.,  born  May  17, 
1873,  married  S.  F.  Osborne,  a  telegraph 
operator,  July  i ,  1 893 ;  John  P. ,  born  Janu- 
ary 12,  1875;  Iva  B.,  born  April  28,  1877, 
married  Charles  F.  Haggerty,  and  they 
have  one  child — Charles  Amos,  born  Sep- 
tember 4,  1894;  Willie  H.,  born  Decem- 
ber 5i  1880;  Bertha  L. ,  born  March  15, 
1882,  and  Effie  J.,  born  March  12,  1886. 
After  his  marriage  Amos  Blank  oper- 
ated a  sawmill  in  Woodville  township 
from  1866  to  1872,  then  sold  out  to  Tille 
Brothers,  and  bought  1 20  acres  of  partly- 
cleared  land.  Recently  he  purchased  a 
farm  of  180  acres  near  Napoleon,  Henry 
Co.,  Ohio,  and  removed  on  said  farm, 
but  still  owns  the  120-acre  farm  in  San- 
dusky county.  He  raises  bees  very  ex- 
tensively, also  cattle  and  horses,  and  car- 
ries on  general  farming.  Mr.  Blank  do- 
nates liberally  to  the  cause  of  religion  and 
prohibition  of  the  liquor  traffic.  In  poli- 
tics he  was  always  a  Democrat  until  1886, 
when  he  joined  the  Prohibitionists,  and 
has  since  worked  hard  for  that  part}'. 
Socially  he  is  a  Mason,  is  very  popular, 
and  much  esteemed  for  his  many  good 
qualities.  His  grandparents  were  Hol- 
landers, and  his  grandfather  served  in  the 
war  of  18 1 2. 


CHARLES  CLINK,  a  practical  and 
progressive  agriculturist  of  Wood- 
ville township,  Sandusky  county, 
was  born  December  23,  1843,  in 
the  township  which  is  still  his  home,  and 
is  the  second  son  of  Caleb  Clink.  The 
family  is  well-known  throughout  this  lo- 
cality   and  his  brothers — Jacob,   Reuben 


and  A.  J. — are  prominent  farmers  and 
stock  dealers.  In  the  district  schools  he 
acquired  a  fair  education,  while  his  father's 
farm  afforded  him  physical  training,  and  he 
was  there  employed  from  an  early  age  until 
he  had  reached  his  twenty-fifth  year.  He 
then  entered  a  dry-goods  store  at  Wood- 
ville, where  he  spent  three  years  in  the  ca- 
pacity of  clerk,  after  which  he  was  for 
several  years  a  salesman  in  a  similar  house 
in  Elmore.  He  was  employed  in  the  same 
capacity  for  four  years  in  Pemberville, 
and  during  all  that  period  gave  general 
satisfaction,  winning  for  himself  the 
good  will  of  his  employers,  and  the  con- 
fidence of  his  customers. 

On  leaving  Pemberville,  Mr.  Clink  re- 
turned to  Woodville  township,  locating  on 
an  eighty-acre  tract  of  timber  land,  on 
which  he  built  a  small  frame  house  and 
installed  his  family  therein.  His  next 
task  was  to  remove  the  trees  and  stumps 
upon  the  place,  and  transform  it  into 
fields  of  rich  fertility.  Some  of  the 
timber  was  sold  for  manufacturing  pur- 
poses, and  tree  after  tree  fell  beneath 
his  sturdy  strokes  until  sixty  acres  had 
been  cleared  and  highly  cultivated,  while 
a  fine  orchard  of  five  acres  yields  to  him 
its  fruits  in  season.  Good  fences  divide 
the  place  into  fields  of  convenient  size, 
the  latest  improved  machinery  is  there 
seen,  and  the  accessories  and  conveniences 
of  a  model  farm  may  there  be  found. 
Mr.  Clink  has  worked  early  and  late  to 
accomplish  this  desired  result,  and  now 
has  the  satisfaction  of  being  the  owner  of 
one  of  the  finest  farms  in  his  section. 
The  small  frame  house  into  which  he  first 
moved  his  family  has  been  replaced  by  a 
large,  substantial  and  ornamental  dwell- 
ing which  was  erected  at  a  cost  of 
$1,800.  The  surrounding  grounds  pre- 
sent a  picturesque  appearance,  and  the 
neatness  and  taste  there  displayed  indicate 
the  progressive  spirit  of  the  owner. 

Mr.  Clink  was  married  February  28, 
1869,  in  Pemberville,  Ohio,  to  Miss  Caro- 
line Pember,  daughter  of  Hiram  Pember, 


20-4 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOORAPHWAL    RECORD. 


in  whose  honor  the  town  of  Pemberville 
was  named.  He  was  born  in  New  York, 
and  there  learned  the  trade  of  black- 
smithing  and  iron  working.  In  the 
Empire  State  he  married  Matilda  Heath, 
and  in  1832  removed  to  Ohio  with  his 
family,  locating  in  Wood  county,  where, 
with  others,  he  founded  the  town  of 
Pemberville.  Eight  children  were  born 
of  that  marriage,  three  of  whom  are  liv- 
ing: Adeline,  the  first  white  child  born 
in  that  section  of  Wood  county,  and  now 
the  wife  of  Charles  Stabler,  a  farmer  of 
Pemberville;  Still  well,  a  retired  farmer  of 
Kansas;  and  Caroline,  wife  of  our  subject. 
The  father  died  in  1878,  the  mother  on 
September  2,  1874.  Three  children  bless 
the  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clink,  viz. : 
Maud,  born  in  Pemberville,  Wood  county. 
May  12,  1874,  educated  in  Woodville 
township,  Sandusky  county,  and  mar- 
ried October  16,  1890,  to  B.  I.  Ross,  a 
resident  of  Mansfield,  Ohio,  employed  as 
a  railroad  engineer  (he  has  been  em- 
ployed by  the  Pennsylvania  Company- 
twelve  years);  Claude,  born  September  5, 
1876,  in  Woodville  township,  attended 
the  district  schools  and  the  Normal  of 
Ada,  Ohio,  and  is  now  engaged  in  opera- 
ting in  the  oil  fields;  the  third  child  died 
in  infancy.  In  1884  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clink 
adopted  a  nine-weeks-old  baby  boy  by 
the  name  of  Frank  C.  Foster,  who  has 
since  been  one  of  the  family. 

For  six  terms,  Mr.  Clink  has  been 
elected  and  served  as  supervisor,  and  has 
also  been  school  director  four  years,  dis- 
charging his  duties  with  a  fidelity  worthy 
of  all  commendation.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Foresters  Association,  and  of  the 
Masonic  Lodge  of  Pemberville,  while  the 
family  attend  the  Peoples  Church  of 
Woodville.  Mrs.  Clink  is  a  member  of 
the  Lady  Maccabees,  Harmon  Hive  No. 
36,  and  the  son  Claude,  is  a  member  of 
the  Knights  of  the  Maccabees,  DeMolay 
Tent  No.  211.  In  their  pleasant  home 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clink  are  enjoying  the 
fruits  of  their  former  toil,  and  throughout 


the  community  are  held  in  the  highest 
regard  by  a  wide  circle  of  friends  and 
acquaintances. 


CHARLES  B.  HUTCHINSON,  one 
of  the  leading  and  most  progress- 
ive farmers  of  Green  Creek  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  is  a  na- 
tive of  same,  born  in  Green  Creek  town- 
ship March  21,  1848.  In  all  matters  of 
public  interest  Mr.  Hutchinson  is  wide- 
awake, and  by  his  progressive  ideas  is 
doing  much  for  the  people  of  his  native 
and  neighboring  townships. 

Nathaniel  Hutchinson,  great-grand- 
father of  our  subject,  was  a  native  and 
resident  of  Cambridge,  whose  three  sons — 
John,  Thomas  and  Joseph — in  181 8  mi- 
grated to  Clark  county,  Ohio.  John 
after  a  short  period,  removed  to  Wabash, 
Ind. ,  where  he  and  his  family  fell  victims 
to  an  epidemic  .  of  fever.  Thomas  re- 
mained in  Ohio  some  twenty  years,  and 
then  removed  to  La  Grange  county,  Ind., 
where  he  died.  Joseph,  grandfather  of 
Charles  B.,  was  born  April  21,  1782,  and 
was  married  in  his  native  State,  in  Octo- 
ber, 1805,  to  Mary  A.  Hodgman,  who 
was  born  in  Cambridge,  Mass. ,  October 
10,  1783.  After  coming  to  Ohio  they  re- 
sided in  Clark  county  until  April,  1827, 
when  they  moved  to  Green  Creek  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county.  Joseph  Hutchin- 
son was  a  mechanic,  and  followed  his 
trade  through  life.  After  locating  on  a 
farm  in  Green  Creek  township  he  went 
to  Monroeville,  Ohio,  and  there  worked 
for  about  six  years,  then  returning  to  his 
farm  and  remaining  until  his  death,  in 
January,  1S55;  his  wife  died  in  1851. 
This  couple  had  eight  children,  as  follows: 
Mary  A.,  born  September  9,  1807,  mar- 
ried Ashel  Franklin  in  Clark  county,  June 
14,  1829,  and  died  in  May,  1848;  Joseph 
H.,  born  April  17,  1809,  died  November 
24,  1823;  Charlotte,  born  February  7, 
181 1,  married  S.  S.  Kellogg,  of  Huron 
county,  February  10,  1831,    died  in  Feb- 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOORAPHICAL   RECORD. 


205 


ruary,  1854;  Louisa,  born  September  12, 
1 8 14,  who  married  Elisha  Lake,  and, 
after  his  death,  Charles  Petty,  died  in 
Woodbury  county,  Iowa;  Josiah  B.,  born 
November  30,  1817,  died  May  28, 
1836;  Alfred,  father  of  Charles  B.,  born 
September  17,  1820;  Phcebe  M.,  born 
May  29,  1825,  married  Noble  Perin,  who 
died  in  Andersonville  prison  during  the 
war  (she  lives  in  Green  Creek  town- 
ship); Joseph,  born  May  29,  1830,  fatally 
crushed  by  a  loaded  wagon,  from  which 
he  fell. 

Alfred  Hutchinson  was  seven  years  old 
when  his  parents  settled  in  Green  Creek 
township.  The  schools  at  that  period 
were  very  primitive;  but  he  received  the 
best  education  the  locality  afforded.  At 
the  age  of  eighteen  years  he  began  an  ap- 
prenticeship to  the  brick-layer's  and  plas- 
terer's trade,  which  he  followed  for  about 
thirty  years.  He  was  married  April  6, 
1843,  to  Mary  M.  Dirlam,  born  in  Massa- 
chusetts August  18,  1823,  daughter  of 
Orrin  and  Annis  (Gibbs)  Dirlam,  both 
born  in  Blandford,  Mass.,  the  former  on 
February  22,  1792,  the  latter  on  August 
18,  1797.  Annis  Dirlam  died  in  Massa- 
chusetts November  6,  1830,  and  three 
years  later  Orrin  Dirlam  migrated  with 
his  seven  children  to  Green  Creek  town- 
ship, Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  where  he  en- 
tered a  large  tract  of  land.  These  seven 
children  were  as  follows:  Sarah,  born 
September  28,  18 18,  married  Samuel 
Chapin,  and  died  in  Clyde  September  10, 
1873;  Orrin  M.,  born  February  7,  1820, 
died  in  1889  in  Sullivan,  Ashland  county; 
Dolly  Almira,  born  October  27,  1821, 
married  Merlin  Babcock,  and  died  March 
26,  1848;  Mary  M. ;  Franklin,  born  De- 
cember 12,  1824,  resident  of  Townsend 
township,  Sandusky  county;  James  M., 
born  February  21,  1826,  a  resident  of 
Wood  county;  and  Spencer,  who  died  in 
infancy.  For  his  second  wife  Orrin  Dir- 
lam married  Elvira  Smith,  who  was  born 
in  Massachusetts  April  18,  1807.  By  this 
marriage  he  had  nine  children:    Henry  S., 


born  February  9,  1843,  who  enlisted  in 
the  army  at  Cleveland,  and  while  acting 
captain  of  his  company  was  seriously 
wounded  at  the  battle  of  Chickamauga, 
dying  from  the  effects  of  the  wound  De- 
cember 18,  1865;  Zadoc,  born  September 
16,  1836,  resident  of  Clyde;  Verrazano, 
born  July  25,  1839,  served  in  the  army 
and  died  August  3,  1882;  Theodore,  born 
January  22,  1842,  participated  in  the  one- 
hundred-days'  service,  now  living  in  Lo- 
rain county;  Sidney,  born  September  8, 
1844,  a  resident  of  New  London;  Minerva, 
born  January  2,  1847,  died  November  8, 
1879;  Walter  S.,  born  January  28,  1853, 
a  resident  of  Lorain  county;  and  two  chil- 
dren who  died  young.  Orrin  Dirlam  was 
the  father  of  sixteen  children,  fourteen  of 
whom  grew  to  maturity.  He  died  at 
Huntington,  Lorain  county.  May  20,  1882. 

The  children  born  to  Alfred  and  Mary 
M.  (Dirlam)  Hutchinson  were  as  follows: 
Zemira,  born  December  2, 1844,  enlisted  in 
Company  A,  Seventy-second  O.V.  L,  and 
died  in  prison  at  Florence,  S.  C,  October 
30, 1864;  Charles  B.,  subject  of  this  sketch; 
Fred,  born  January  28,  1861,  married 
Mabel  Lay,  daughter  of  William  E.  Lay, 
and  has  five  sons — Clare,  Ernest,  Karl, 
Frank  and  Ralph;  Fred  lives  on  a  farm  in 
Green  Creek  township.  Alfred  Hutchin- 
son died  on  the  old  homestead  in  Green 
Creek  township  in  1 889,  and  his  widow 
at  this  writing  still  resides  there.  Neither 
had  been  identified  with  any  Church  or- 
ganization, but  both  believed  in  and  fol- 
lowed practical  Christianity.  Their  lives 
have  been  illustrations  of  their  belief  that 
to  do  good  is  the  highest  function  of  man. 
Alfred  Hutchinson  during  his  lifetime  was 
recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  citizens 
of  his  community,  and  he  was  elected  to 
many  of  the  township  offices. 

Charles  B.  Hutchinson,  his  son,  is 
likewise  one  of  the  most  prominent  men 
of  the  township  to-day.  He  possesses 
business  ability  of  an  advanced  order,  and 
his  capacity  is  demonstrated  by  his  visible 
works.      He  was  thoroughly  educated  in 


206 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOQRAPniCAL   RECORD. 


the  common  branches,  and  in  addition 
attended  the  Clyde  High  School.  On 
November  i6,  1864,  when  only  sixteen 
years  old,  he  enlisted  in  Company  B, 
Second  U.  S.  A.  Regulars,  and  was  in 
service  four  months  when  his  parents,  on 
account  of  his  youth,  succeeded  in  getting 
him  back  on  the  farm.  When  a  few 
days  under  twenty  years  of  age,  March 
17,  1868,  he  married  Miss  Emma  Strick- 
land, who  was  born  in  Clyde  in  April, 
1850.  They  started  young  in  life,  but 
during  the  happy  and  successful  career 
that  followed  they  have  never  had  cause 
to  regret  their  early  marriage.  Seven 
children  have  been  born  to  them,  five  of 
whom  survive,  as  follows:  Dr.  A.  F.,  who 
is  a  graduate  of  Clyde  High  School  and  of 
the  class  of  1893  in  the  Medical  Depart- 
ment of  the  University  of  Michigan  (he 
married  Miss  Mildred  Ward,  and  is  now 
practicing  medicine  at  Banfield,  Barry 
Co.,  Mich.);  Chella,  a  Clyde  High  School 
graduate  of  1892,  at  home;  Lotta,  Lou 
and  Delmer.  Claude  died  at  the  age  of 
eight  years  and  Floyd  at  the  age  of  four 
years.  Since  his  marriage  Mr.  Hutchin- 
son has  been  engaged  in  farming.  He 
owns  1 1  5  acres  of  choice  land,  and  in  his 
methods  no  farmer  of  the  township  is 
more  progressive  or  successful.  In  poli- 
tics he  is  a  Republican.  He  is  taking 
pains  to  carefully  educate  his  children, 
and  in  all  things  he  is  public-spirited  and 
enterprising. 


HENRY  MILLER  was  born  in  To- 
ledo, Lucas  Co.,    Ohio,  Septem- 
ber 23,    1835,   son   of   Fred    and 
Sophia  (Mintkink)  Miller,  natives 
of    Hanover,     Germany,     who    came    to 
America  in  1835,  and  settled  in   Toledo, 
Ohio. 

Fred  Miller  secured  a  position  in  a 
sawmill  in  Toledo,  and  worked  there 
about  two  months;  then  removed  to  Wood- 
ville,  Sandusky  county,  where  he   bought 


twenty-five  acres  of  timberland  as  an  in- 
vestment. This  he  sold  a  short  time 
afterward,  and  then  bought  eighty  acres, 
later  eighty  more,  and  lived  on  this  land 
till  1865,  when  he  moved  to  the  village 
of  Woodville,  where  he  passed  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life,  dying  in  1873;  his 
widow  passed  away  in  1 890.  Seven  chil- 
dren were  born  to  Fred  and  Sophia  Mil- 
ler, as  follows:  Frederick,  who  lives  in 
the  village  of  Woodville;  Henry,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch;  Sophia,  who  married 
John  Horseman;  William,  who  lives  in 
the  village  of  Woodville;  Detrick,  Mary 
and  Harmon. 

At  the  tender  age  of  three  years  Henry 
Miller  was  taken  sick  with  an  affection 
known  as  the  rickets,  and  from  that  time 
until  his  sixteenth  year  he  was  confined 
to  his  bed.  After  that  he  improved  some- 
what, and  endeavored  to  secure  an  edu- 
cation, of  which  he  felt  the  need,  all  the 
more  as  the  disease  had  left  him  unfit  for 
manual  labor.  In  1859  he  went  to  work 
for  Jacob  Nagle,  as  an  apprentice  to  learn 
the  harness-maker's  trade.  Afterward  he 
entered  into  the  service  of  Daniel  Coe.  in 
the  harness  business  in  Elmore,  Harris 
township,  Ottawa  county,  and  remained 
there  four  years.  In  1864  Mr.  Miller 
bought  out  his  employer.  Shortly  after- 
ward his  place  of  business  was  burned, 
and  he  then  came  back  to  Woodville, 
Sandusky  county,  and  entered  into  the 
harness  business.  Here  he  has  conducted 
business  ever  since.  He  is  a  Republi- 
can in  politics,  and  in  religious  connec- 
tion is  a  member  of  the  German  Methodist 
Church. 


HUFFORD  FAMILY.     The  great 
ancestor   from    whom    have    de- 
scended the  Huffords   now   living 
in   Sandusky  county,    Ohio,   was 
Jacob  Hufford.      He  was   born  in    Mary- 
land in  1772,  where  he  learned  the  trade 
of  blacksmith.      It  was  in  his  native  State 


^   ^  /^ 


i^4 


c/ay^u^     ^-^^/^^'^' 


^/'^t?C^ 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


207 


that  he  met  and  married  Miss  Catharine 
Creager,  and  shortly  after  their  marriage 
they  came  to  Kentucky,  where  for  a  few 
years  Mr.  Hufford  worked  at  his  trade. 
About  1811  they  emigrated  to  Greene 
county,  Ohio,  where  they  hved  until  1836, 
during  which  time  Mr.  Hufford  continued 
at  his  trade,  and  it  was  here  that  his  chil- 
dren— Cornelius,  Jacob, Elizabeth,  James, 
Levi,  William,  Isaac  and  Catharine — 
were  born  and  brought  up.  In  1836  this 
ancestor  came  to  Sandusky  township, 
Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  where  he  purchased, 
in  Section  31,  200  acres  of  land,  which 
was  held  in  the  family  until  about  1881. 
After  his  death,  in  1851,  the  land  was 
owned  by  his  sons,  Jacob  and  William. 
None  of  the  children  of  this  old  pioneer 
are  now  living,  the  last  one,  James,  hav- 
ing died  in  the  spring  of  1895.  The  de- 
scendants of  the  children  of  Jacob,  the 
pioneer,  are  now,  many  of  them,  living  in 
Sandusky  county,  and  it  is  of  one  of  them, 
William  T.  Hufford,  and  of  his  father, 
James,  whose  portraits  are  here  given, 
that  we  now  write. 

James  Hufford,  the  third  son  of 
Jacob  Hufford,  was  born  November  23, 
18 1 2,  in  Greene  county,  Ohio,  and  came 
with  his  parents  to  Sandusky  county,  in 
1836.  Here  hestarted  in  life  forhimself, his 
only  endowments  being  good  health  and 
a  determination  to  accomplish  something 
in  the  world.  In  June,  1837,  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Susan  Arnold,  of  Greene 
county,  and  to  them  were  born  three 
children:  George  W.,  born  in  1838,  and 
died  at  Memphis,  Tenn.,  during  the  Re- 
bellion, a  member  of  the  Seventy-second 
Regiment,  O.  V.  I. ;  Harriet  A.,  who  mar- 
ried William  Slates;  and  Joseph  M.,  born 
in  1845,  and  died  in  1868.  Mrs.  Hufford 
was  called  from  earth  June  23,  1846,  and 
was  buried  in  Muskalonge  Cemetery. 
On  December  24,  1847,  Mr.  Hufford  was 
married  to  Elizabeth  Fisher,  of  Sandusky 
county.  She  was  born  in  Perry  count}', 
Ohio,  January  9,  1829,  and  came  with 
her   parents  to  Sandusky    county   when 


eight  years  of  age,  where  she  has  since 
lived.  Mrs.  Hufford  is  a  daughter  of 
William  and  Jane  (Anderson)  Fisher,  the 
former  of  whom  was  born  and  married  in 
Virginia,  and  to  them  were  born  five  chil- 
dren, three  of  whom  are  now  living:  Mrs. 
Hufford,  George  Fisher  and  Mrs.  Margaret 
Hummell;  the  father  died  in  1872,  the 
mother  in  183 1.  To  Mr.  Hufford  by  his 
second  wife  was  born  one  child,  William 
T.  Hufford,  whose  sketch  follows. 

James  Hufford  was  a  highly  esteemed 
citizen,  and  an  affectionate  husband  and 
father.  He  was  a  very  intimate  friend  of 
Dr.  Wilson,  president  of  the  First  National 
Bank,  of  Fremont,  Ohio.  By  hard  work 
and  strict  integrity  he  accumulated  a  hand- 
some property,  west  of  Fremont.  At  his 
death,  which  occurred  March  31,  1895,  he 
owned  277  acres  of  as  fine  land  as  can  be 
found  in  Sandusky  county.  Mr.  Hufford 
had  all  of  his  business  settled,  his  will  exe- 
cuted and  his  son,  William,  appointed 
executor  of  his  estate.  The  property  is 
to  remain  intact  during  the  life  of  Mrs. 
Hufford,  then  descend  to  the  children- — 
William  T. ,  and  his  half  sister. 

William  T.  Hufford  was  born  Sep- 
tember 26,  185 1,  in  Sandusky  township. 
He  was  educated  in  the  high  school  at 
Fremont,  Ohio,  and  was  for  seven  years 
a  teacher  in  the  Sandusky  county  public 
schools.  On  December  25,  1873,  Mr. 
Hufford  was  married  to  Miss  Sarah  J. 
Rideout,  of  Sandusky  county.  Since  their 
marriage  they  have  resided  on  the  old 
homestead,  on  which,  in  1894,  Mr.  Huf- 
ford erected  one  of  the  finest  dwellings  to 
be  found  in  Sandusky  county,  either  in  the 
city  or  country,  the  plan  of  the  house  be- 
ing designed  by  Mr.  Hufford,  himself.  It 
is  finished  inside  in  oak,  which  Mr.  Huf- 
ford took  from  his  own  timber  lot.  The 
style  of  the  house,  both  inside  and  out- 
side, is  modern  in  every  way;  the  sitting- 
room  and  parlor  are  provided  with  hand- 
some grates  and  mantels.  The  house  is 
heated  from  cellar  to  garret  by  a  furnace, 
thus  freeing  the  rooms  from  all  dust  and 


208 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPniCAL    RECORD. 


litter  attending  tiie  use  of  stoves.  On  en- 
tering the  sitting-room  from  the  porch 
one  is  brought  in  front  of  a  fine  piano, 
which  instrument  is  played  by  Mrs.  Huf- 
ford  herself,  while  at  either  end  of  the 
piano  stands  a  base  viol,  and  on  top  of  the 
piano  lies  a  violin,  which  instruments  are 
played  by  the  two  boys  at  home.  The 
musical  development  of  those  who  inhabit 
the  house  serves  to  make  the  modern  ar- 
chitecture of  the  building  more  highly  ap- 
preciated. Mr.  Hufford,  like  his  father, 
is  a  thorough  business  man,  and  highly 
respected  by  all  who  know  him.  His 
ability  to  give  facts  and  dates  connected 
with  the  lives  of  his  ancestry  is  remarka- 
ble, thus  showing  that  any  subject  that  in 
any  way  engrosses  his  attention  is  thor- 
oughly mastered. 

To  William  T.  Hufford  and  his  wife 
have  come  three  children:  (i)  Eugene 
L. ,  born  September  26,  1S74,  whose  edu- 
cation was  completed  in  Adrian  College, 
Michigan;  he  was  married  April  3,  1894, 
to  Estella  Smith,  of  Sandusky  county.  (2) 
James  F.,  born  April  13,  1877,  and  (3) 
Ray  v.,  born  May  4,  1884.  Mrs.  Huf- 
ford, the  estimable  wife  of  our  subject, 
was  born  December  25,  1853,  in  San- 
dusky county,  where  she  received  her  edu- 
cation in  the  country  schools.  She  has 
paid  considerable  attention  to  music,  and 
it  is  from  their  mother  that  the  children 
inherit  their  musical  taste.  Mrs.  Hufford 
is  the  daughter  of  William  and  Mary  Ann 
(Huggins)  Kideout,  the  former  of  whom 
was  born  February  10,  18 19,  a  carpenter 
by  trade,  though  he  followed  farming  as 
his  principal  occupation;  he  died  April  6, 
1892.  His  wife  was  born  March  4,  1822. 
To  them  were  born  si.\  children,  Mrs.  Huf- 
ford being  next  to  the  youngest,  and  the 
only  daughter  in  the  family;  her  brother, 
Lafayette,  died  at  F"ort  Ethan  Allen,  Va., 
July  3,  1864  (he  belonged  to  the  One 
Hundred  and  Sixty-ninth  Regiment,  O. 
V.  I.);  another  brother,  Frank,  lives  in 
Ottawa,  111.,  and  two  other  brothers,  Ar- 
thur and  John,  live  in  Tuscola,  Illinois. 


HIRAM  P.  DEYO.  one  of  the  pros- 
perous and   influential  farmers  of 
York  township,  Sandusky  county, 
was  born   in   Erie   county,  Ohio, 
December  31,    1845,  son  of   John    P.  and 
Sarah  A.  (Foster)  Deyo. 

John  P.  Deyo,  better  known  as  "  Dr. 
Deyo,"  for  in  his  younger  years  he  was  an 
active  practitioner  of  medicine,  still  sur- 
vives at  the  ripe  old  age  of  ninety  years, 
and  is  now  a  member  of  his  son  Hiram's 
household.  He  was  born  December  14, 
1804,  in  Ulster  county,  N.  Y. ,  and  when 
about  nineteen  years  of  age  migrated  to 
Ontario  county  in  the  same  State.  At 
Geneva  he  studied  medicine  under  a  pre- 
ceptor, and  began  to  practice.  In  the 
spring  of  1833  he  migrated  to  Ohio,  mak- 
ing the  journey  on  horseback.  His  par- 
ents, William  and  Elizabeth  (Ketcham) 
Deyo,  both  of  whom  were  born  in  New 
York,  east  of  the  Hudson  river,  also  mi- 
grated to  Ohio.  William  Deyo,  the  son 
of  Henry  Deyo,  of  Holland  birth,  was  a 
carpenter  and  joiner  by  trade,  and  died 
in  his  pioneer  home  in  Erie  county,  Ohio, 
at  the  age  of  sixty-five  years.  He  had 
served  his  country  as  a  soldier  in  the  war 
of  1812.  His  wife,  Elizabeth  Ketcham, 
was  of  New  England  parentage.  She 
lived  to  the  age  of  eighty-six  years.  Dr. 
John  P.  Deyo  settled  in  Huron  county, 
four  and  one-half  miles  north  of  Belle- 
vue,  and  was  the  pioneer  phj'sician  in 
that  locality,  making  his  visits  on  horse- 
back and  carrying  his  medicines  about 
with  him  in  saddlebags.  After  his  father's 
death  he  quit  the  active  practice  of  his 
profession  and  settled  on  the  old  home- 
stead in  Erie  county,  which  was  part  of 
the  "  P'irelands,"  and  which  had  been 
purchased  before  he  moved  to  Ohio.  He 
was  married,  April  4,  1836,  to  Sarah 
Foster,  who  was  born  in  Erie  countv, 
N.  Y.,  March  24,  1819.  To  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Deyo  were  born  the  following  chil- 
dren: Maria  L. ,  born  in  Erie  county 
November  9,  1 840,  married  to  Henry 
Miller    and    living    in  Clyde;  Allen   H., 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


209 


born  June  i,  1S43,  now  a  farmer  near 
Sedalia,  Mo.;  Hirain  P.,  subject  of  this 
sketch;  Frank  F.,  born  December  2, 
1847,  living  at  Pekin,  111.;  B.  W.,  born 
November  11,  1850,  a  resident  of  Clio, 
Mich.;  Delavan  J.,  born  November  18, 
1852,  implement  dealer  at  Sandusky 
city;  William  J.,  born  April  29,  1855, 
died  March  5,  1858;  Fred  W. ,  born  Sep- 
tember 10,  1858,  a  salesman  at  Sandusky 
city;  and  two  children,  who  died  in  in- 
fancy. 

Hiram  P.  Deyo  grew  to  manhood  on 
the  home  farm  in  Erie  county,  attending 
the  district  schools  and  also  taking  a  term 
or  two  at  Milan.  He  was  married,  Jan- 
uary 6,  1870,  to  Francis  P.  Thompson, 
who  was  born  in  Thompson  township, 
Seneca  Co.,  Ohio,  November  5,  1845, 
daughter  of  William  and  Hannah  (Hol- 
man)  Thompson.  William  Thompson 
when  a  boy  came  from  Pennsylvania  with 
his  parents,  who  settled  in  Thompson 
township,  Seneca  county.  He  died  at 
the  age  of  seventy-five  years,  in  Erie 
county.  Children  as  follows  were  born 
to  William  and  Hannah  Thompson: 
Sarah  Ann,  who  married  Theophilus 
Gardner,  and  is  now  deceased;  Delia, 
wife  of  Charles  Russell,  of  York  town- 
ship; Josiah,  who  lives  on  the  old  home- 
stead; William  H.,  of  Thompson  town- 
ship, Seneca  county,  and  Celesta  M. 
wife  of   S.  E.  Bardwell,  of   Erie    county. 

Mr.  Deyo  has  been  a  lifelong  farmer, 
except  for  about  eight  months,  when  he 
was  on  the  road  as  a  Baltimore  &  Ohio 
express  messenger.  He  came  from  Erie 
county  to  York  township,  Sandusky 
county,  purchasing  the  excellent  farm 
of  eighty-seven  acres  which  he  now  culti- 
vates. Mr.  Deyo  affiliates  with  the  Peo- 
ple's party,  and  himself  and  wife  are  con- 
sistent members  of  the  M.  E.  Church. 
They  have  one  child.  Miss  Stella  Deyo,  a 
handsome  and  highly-accomplished  young 
lady.  She  taught  her  first  school  at  the 
age  of  fourteen  years,  and  has  since  taken 
a    thorough  course  of  instruction  in  the 


Musical  Conservatory  at  Oberlin.  She  is 
now  a  teacher  of  vocal  and  instrumental 
music,  and  is  one  of  the  most  popular 
belles  in  the  social  life  of  Sandusky 
county. 


CHARLES  HURLBUT.  This 
young  and  enterprising  agricul- 
turist and  oil  speculator  of  Madi- 
son township,  Sandusky  county, 
was  born  February  28,  1867,  son  of  E.  A. 
and  Christina  (Blank)  Hurlbut.  He  is  a 
representative  of  prominent  families  of 
the  community,  being  a  nephew  of  Amos 
and  Abraham  Blank,  leading  farmers  of 
Sandusky  county. 

When  Charles  was  quite  a  young  man 
his  father  went  west,  and  he  then  lived 
with  his  uncle,  Abraham  Blank,  who  cared 
for  him  and  his  mother.  His  elementary 
education  was  obtained  in  the  schools  of 
Woodville  township,  Sandusky  county, 
and  for  a  short  period  he  pursued  his 
studies  in  Gibsonburg,  afterward  working 
on  his  uncle's  farm  until  he  had  arrived 
at  years  of  maturity.  Having  a  desire  to 
to  see  the  W^estern  States,  he  started  in 
188S  for  California,  traveling  through 
Colorado,  Arizona,  Texas  and  New  Mex- 
ico, and  at  last  reaching  the  Golden  State. 
He  visited  many  portions  of  California, 
spending  some  time  in  Los  Angeles,  San 
Diego,  San  Francisco  and  other  points  of 
interest,  and  upon  the  return  trip  he  vis- 
ited Kansas,  remaining  some  months  in 
that  State. 

On  reaching  Ohio  again,  he  took  up  his 
residence  upon  his  uncle's  farm,  which 
has  been  his  home  continuously  since. 
Three  years  ago  he  entered  into  partner- 
ship with  his  uncles  and  other  enterpris- 
ing business  men  of  the  township  in  the 
formation  of  a  company  for  oil  specula- 
tion, of  which  he  was  made  secretary  and 
treasurer.  This  concern,  which  is  a  purely 
local  one,  is  meeting  with  good  success. 
Besides  aiding  in  the  operation  of  the 
large   farm   belonging  to    his    uncle,  Mr. 


210 


COMMEMORATIVE    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


Hurlbut  himself  owns  140  acres  of  rich 
and  arable  land  in  another  part  of  the 
township,  which  is  now  highly  cultivated 
and  on  which  he  is  making  some  exten- 
sive improvements. 

On  September  25,  1890,  Mr.  Hurlbut 
led  to  the  marriage  altar  Miss  Elsie  R. 
Krotzer,  a  daughter  of  Ira  W.  Krotzer,  a 
farmer  of  Madison  township,  Sandusky 
county.  Two  children  bless  this  happ}- 
marriage — Ira  W.,  born  August  2,  1891, 
and  Walter  H.,  born  July  15,  1893.  Mr. 
Hurlbut  is  a  very  intelligent  and  enter- 
prising young  man,  and,  possessing  good 
business  tact  and  ability,  has  met  with 
success  in  his  undertakings.  Within  the 
past  year  he  has  erected  a  beautiful  home, 
the  finest  in  the  neighborhood,  which 
stands  as  a  monument  to  his  industry. 
He  possesses  a  genial,  affable  disposition, 
is  widely  and  favorably  known  through- 
out the  county,  and  is  popular  with  all. 
His  business  integrity  is  above  question, 
and  commands  universal  confidence  and 
respect.  Socially  he  is  connected  with 
Gibsonburg  Lodge  No.  687,  I.  O.  O.  F., 
and  in  politics  he  supports  principles  rather 
than  party,  and  is  a  stalwart  Silverman. 


GEORGE  BOWE,  son  of   George 
Bowe,  Sr. ,  and  Catherine  (Weg- 
stein)  Bowe,  was  born  August  i. 
1835,   on  the  old    homestead  in 
Section     7,     Scott    township,    Sandusky 
county,  and  where  his  brothers  first  saw 
the  light. 

In  May,  1861,  Mr.  Bowe  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Mary  Bordner,  of 
Freeport,  Ohio,  and  shortly  after  their 
marriage  they  settled  in  Section  18,  Scott 
township,  where  they  remained  three 
years;  about  1863  he  built  a  house  on  his 
own  farm  and  removed  there.  Sixty 
acres  of  his  farm  were  heavily  timbered  at 
that  time,  which  he  has  cleared  and  made 
of  it  one  of  the  model  farms  of  the  town- 
ship; later  Mr.  Bowe  added  to  his  first 
piece  of  land  until  he  now  has  210  acres. 


In  addition  to  his  arduous  work  as  a 
farmer  he  followed  threshing  for  twenty- 
eight  years,  wearing  out  several  machines 
and  making  money  at  the  business.  Like 
his  brothers,  Mr.  Bowe  entered  into  the 
oil  business,  and  like  them  made  several 
leases  of  his  farm  before  one  was  made 
that  resulted  in  any  practical  benefit.  Fi- 
nally, February  17,  1895,  he  leased  his 
farm  to  the  Sun  Oil  Company,  for  one- 
sixth  of  the  oil  produced.  Four  wells  are 
now  being  operated,  and  a  well  is  to  be 
put  in  each  sixty  days  until  twelve  wells 
are  down.  The  wells  now  in  operation 
produce  about  twelve  barrels  of  oil  per 
day,  or  six  barrels  each.  The  oil  is 
pumped  to  Toledo  through  an  oil  pipe. 
While  a  well  was  being  put  down  on  his 
neighbor's  land  Mr.  Bowe's  barn  acciden- 
tally took  fire  and  was  completely  de- 
stroyed. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bowe  have  come 
children  as  follows:  W.  M.,  born  Feb- 
ruary 25,  1862,  resides  on  the  old  farm; 
he  was  married  October  i,  1885,  to  Ro- 
sette Day,  of  Rising  Sun,  Ohio,  and  they 
have  one  child,  Shurley,  born  October 
20,  1889.  Ellen  Catherine,  born  June  19, 
1864,  is  the  wife  of  Wilbert  Phillips. 
Charles  Henry,  born  October  30,  1866, 
married  Ellen  Roush,  of  Rising  Sun,  Ohio. 
Fanny  is  Mrs.  W.  Day,  of  Rising  Sun. 
Mary  Elizabeth,  born  July  8,  i86i,  was  a 
teacher  in  Sandusky  county  a  few  years 
before  her  marriage;  she  married  J.  H. 
Burnette,  of  Rising  Sun.  R.  G.,  born 
May  I,  1873,  was  also  a  teacher  for  two 
years.  Roscoe  F.  was  born  December  1 9, 
1877.  Verna  L.  was  born  February 
II,  1880.  Mrs.  Bowe  was  born  October 
II,  1 838,  a  daughter  of  Michael  and  Leah 
(Buchtel)  Bordner.  When  she  was  only 
a  young  girl  her  mother  died,  and  she 
was  obliged  to  assist  in  the  household  du- 
ties for  her  father. 

Michael  Bordner  was  born  February 
28,  18 12,  in  Pennsylvania,  where  he  lived 
until  he  was  fifteen  years  old.  He  then 
came    to  Stark   county,  Ohio,  where,  on 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOORAPHICAL   RECORD. 


211 


December  ii,  1S34,  he  married  Miss 
Leah  Buchtel,  of  that  county.  For  eight 
j'ears  he  worked  at  shoemaking,  but  dur- 
ing the  latter  part  of  his  active  life  he  fol- 
lowed agricultural  pursuits.  He  is  now 
living  in  Bradner,  Wood  county,  at  the 
age  of  eighty-three  years,  a  pleasant  and 
genial  old  gentleman.  His  wife  died  in 
1859,  and  was  buried  in  the  Bradner 
Cemetery.  To  them  were  born  children, 
the  names  and  dates  of  birth  being  as  fol- 
lows: Henry,  September  9,  1S36,  died 
in  the  Civil  war;  Mary,  Mrs.  Bowe;  Lucy, 
January  25,  1841,  died  September  24, 
1894;  Calvin,  April  30,  1S43,  who  died 
July  28,  1862,  in  the  army;  Rachel,  Au- 
gust 9,  1846;  Ellen,  September  14,  1848; 
Alfred,  January  28,  1851;  and  Sarah, 
March  24,  1855.  After  the  death  of  his 
first  wife  Mr.  Bordner  married  Miss  Polly 
Yohe,  who  is  also  deceased. 

Peter  Bordner,  the  paternal  grand- 
father of  Mrs.  Bowe,  was  born  about  the 
year  1766  in  Pennsylvania,  and  died  in 
1816;  his  wife,  Catherine  (Cotherman), 
was  born  in  1770  and  died  in  1866.  Mrs. 
Bowe's  maternal  grandfather,  Henry 
Buchtel,  was  born  about  1790  and  died 
in  1875;  his  wife,  Elizabeth  Avers,  was 
born  about  1791,  and  died  in  1850.  They 
had  fifteen  children — two  sons  and  thir- 
teen daughters. 

George  Bowe,  Sr. ,  father  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  was  born  in  France  in 
1802,  came  to  America  in  1832,  settling 
in  New  York  State,  near  Buffalo,  where  he 
remamed  three  years,  thence  moving  to 
Ohio,  where  in  Scott  township  he  entered 
210  acres  of  land,  one-half  for  his  sister, 
and  the  balance  for  himself.  In  the 
winter  of  1834-35  he  married  Catherine 
Wegstein,  a  daughter  of  Michael  Weg- 
stein,  and  born  in  Baden,  Germany,  181 3. 
To  them  were  born  ten  children,  three  of 
whom  died  in  infancy,  the  others  being: 
George  (our  subject),  Jacob,  Frederick, 
Henry,  Michael,  Jr.,  David  and  Mary  C. ; 
Frederick  and  Mary  C. ,  died  some  time 
ago;  the  others  are  yet  living.    Mr.  Bowe's 


father  was  an  old  pioneer  of  Scott  town- 
ship. He  owned  at  one  time  600  acres 
of  land,  which  he  divided  among  his  chil- 
dren, thus  giving  each  a  start  in  life,  from 
which  they  have  progressed  and  become 
well-to-do,  highly  esteemed  by  all  who 
know  them.  His  wife,  the  mother  of  our 
subject,  died  July  9,  i89i,and  was  buried 
in  the  Bradner  Cemetery. 

Our  subject's  maternal  grandfather, 
Michael  Wegstein,  was  born  about  the 
year  1779  in  Baden,  Germany,  where  he 
was  married.  In  1832  he  started  for 
America,  and  during  the  voyage  his  wife 
died  and  was  buried  in  mid-ocean.  In  his 
family  there  were  six  children,  of  whom 
only  two  are  living;  one  son,  Capt. 
Michael  Wegstein,  of  Company  H,  Sev- 
enty-second Ohio  Regiment,  was  killed  at 
the  battle  of  Shiloh. 


JM.  YEAGLE  is  of  that  type  of  citi- 
zenship most  valuable  to  any  com- 
munity. That  people  is  perhaps 
best  governed  that  is  least  governed; 
but  the  withholding  of  governmental  re- 
straint is  only  possible  when  the  people  are 
in  themselves  sufficiently  self-restrained. 
Mr.  Yeagle  has  learned  the  value  of  at- 
tending strictly  to  his  own  business,  and 
also  of  attending  to  it  well.  Denied  the 
advantage  of  a  higher  education  himself, 
he  has  made  it  a  duty  to  give  to  his  chil- 
dren that  which  he  lacked. 

Our  subject  was  born  in  Sandusky 
county  February  26,  1846,  son  of  Michael 
and  Sarah  (Kreilick)  Yeagle,  the  former 
of  whom  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in 
1 8 10,  and  died  in  December,  1893,  a  re- 
spected farmer  of  Sandusky  county.  In 
politics  he  was  a  Democrat,  and  in  re- 
ligious faith  a  Lutheran.  His  wife,  also 
a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  was  born  in 
181 3,  and  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-five 
years.  They  had  seven  children,  as  fol- 
lows: Mary,  wife  of  John  Faden,  of  Ot- 
tawa county;  Jeremiah;  Henry;  Catherine, 
who   married  John   Henrick;  J.  M.,  sub- 


212 


COMMEMORATIVE   HIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


ject  of  this  sketch;  Sarah,  who  married 
Joseph  Leiser,  and  Lavina,  who  married 
Israel  Burkett.  J.  M.  Yeagle  grew  up  in 
the  county  of  his  birth,  attending  the 
schools  of  Rice  township.  In  1871  he 
married  Miss  Mary  Flatz,  who  was  born 
in  Germany,  May  30,  1848,  and  after  his 
marriage  he  purchased  and  settled  on  a 
farm  in  Salem  township,  Ottawa  county, 
where  he  remained  about  ten  years.  He 
then  farmed  for  two  years  near  Fremont, 
and  in  1890  purchased  his  present  farm 
of  seventy  acres  in  Green  Creek  township. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Yeagle  have  six  children: 
Cyrus,  born  October  15,  1871,  who  was 
married  May  i,  1894,  to  Pheama  Tuttle, 
and  lives  at  Toledo;  John,  born  December 
28,  1872,  a  graduate  of  Green  Spring 
Academy,  and  a  student  at  Adelbert  Col- 
lege, Cleveland;  Irene,  born  April  7,  1875, 
a  student  at  the  Fremont  schools;  Charles, 
born  April  20,  1876,  also  a  student  of 
Green  Spring  Academy;  Michael,  born 
July  I,  1878.  attending  the  Clyde  High 
School,  and  William,  born  January  26, 
1 88 1.  Mr.  Yeagle  is  a  fruit  and  grain 
fanner.  He  has  highl\'  improved  his  pro- 
ductive acres,  and  last  year  he  erected  one 
of  the  best  frame  residences  in  Green 
Creek  township.  He  is  progressive  in  his 
views  and  well-to-do.  His  easy  financial 
situation  is  due  to  his  own  industry  and  to 
the  care  and  management  which  he  has 
bestowed  upon  his  property. 


SAMUEL  BOOR  has  pushed  his 
way  through  the  ranks  of  the 
many,  and  stands  among  the  suc- 
cessful few,  being  numbered 
among  the  prosperous  agriculturists  of 
Scott  township,  Sandusky  county.  He 
is  also  one  of  the  honored  veterans  of  the 
Civil  war,  and  a  valued  and  progressive 
citizen. 

Mr.  Boor  was  born  in  Bedford  county, 
Penn.,  August  27,  1835,  and  when  a 
child  came  with  his  parents  to  Sandusky 
county,    the  father  purchasing    160  acres 


of  land  in  Jackson  township  for  $500. 
This  he  cleared,  making  for  himself  and 
family  a  comfortable  home  in  which  he 
spent  his  remaining  days.  He,  too,  was 
a  native  of  Bedford  county,  born  in  1799, 
and  was  descended  from  Holland  ances- 
try, while  his  wife,  who  was  born  in  1 804, 
was  of  French-Irish  lineage.  They  had 
a  family  of  ten  children,  namely:  Josiah, 
May  E.,  Margaret,  Jane  C,  W.  C. , 
Samuel,  Annie,  James,  S.  E.,  and  F. 
M.,  eight  of  whom  are  now  living.  James 
entered  the  naval  service  during  the 
Civil  war,  and  died  while  defending  his 
country.  The  maternal  grandmother  of 
our  subject  was  born  about  1766,  and 
made  the  journey  from  the  Keystone 
State  to  Ohio  in  a  carriage,  returning  by 
the  same  convej'ance. 

Mr.  Boor,  whose  name  opens  this  re- 
\\q\\\  remained  on  the  home  farm  until 
twenty-two  years  of  age,  when  he  made 
a  trip  to  Kansas,  at  the  time  of  the 
great  slavery  agitation  there;  but  there 
was  too  much  danger  and  excitment  con- 
nected with  life  in  that  State,  and  he  re- 
moved elsewhere,  spending  a  year  in  the 
West.  He  then  returned  to  his  old  home 
in  Sandusky  county,  and  after  the  open- 
ing of  hostilities  joined  the  boys  in  blue 
of  Company  I,  Seventy-second  O.  V.  I. 
When  his  three-years'  term  expired  he 
re-enlisted,  continuing  at  the  front  until 
the  close  of  the  war.  He  was  actively 
engaged  in  many  battles,  including  Shiloh, 
Corinth,  Jackson,  Vicksburg,  Nashville 
and  Mobile,  and  at  the  first  named  re- 
ceived a  bullet  wound  in  the  right  leg, 
though  he  fought  the  remainder  of  the 
daj-.  The  succeeding  day,  however, 
he  was  unable  to  walk.  He  was 
a  loyal,  faithful  soldier,  in  whom  the 
Union  cause  found  an  able  defender. 

On  the  close  of  hostilities  Mr.  Boor 
returned  to  his  home.  On  September  11, 
1869,  he  married  Miss  Ellen  Snyder, 
who  was  born  in  1847,  daughter  of 
George  N.  and  Mary  (Harmon)  Snyder, 
of    Scott    township,     Sandusky    county. 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPBWAL  RECORD. 


213 


Her  father  is  still  livini;  in  Scott  town- 
ship, at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-seven. 
He  was  born  March  6,  i8oS,  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, son  of  Philip  and  Elizabeth  (New- 
man) Snyder,  the  former  of  whom  was 
born  in  1770.  In  an  earl}'  tlay  George 
N.  Snyder  came  to  Sandusky  county, 
and  he  voted  at  the  first  election  held  in 
Scott  township,  more  than  fifty  years 
ago,  ranking  among  the  honored  pioneers. 
On  April  14,  1S34,  he  wedded  Mary  Har- 
mon, and  they  had  six  children — one 
who  died  in  infancy;  Elizabeth;  M.  L. ; 
Harvey;  Mary  Ellen,  and  Sarah.  The 
mother  of  this  family  died,  and  on  June 
20,  1872,  Mr.  Snyder  married  Mrs. 
Alexander  Houston,  who  was  born  De- 
cember 14,   1825. 

Upon   their  marriage    Air. 


Boor  located    upon    the  farm 


and    Mrs. 
which   has 


since  been  their  home — originally  a  part 
of  the  farm  owned  by  John  Scott,  in 
honor  of  whom  the  township  was  named. 
Our  subject  has  seen  the  forest  give  way 
before  the  woodman's  axe,  the  log  cabin 
supplanted  by  the  commodious  dwelling 
and  the  ox-sled  replaced  by  modern 
vehicles.  He  has  aided  in  the  general 
work  of  improvement  and  development, 
having  his  own  farm  under  a  high  state 
of  cultivation,  good  fences  enclosing 
well-tilled  fields,  ample  barns  and  out- 
buildings providing  shelter  for  grain  and 
stock,  while  a  substantial  residence,  built 
in  modern  style  of  architecture  and  roofed 
with  slate,  is  the  pleasant  home  of  the 
family.  In  addition  to  his  extensive 
farming  interests,  Mr.  Boor  is  largely 
engaged  in  buying  and  selling  stock, 
frequently  purchasing  cattle  in  Chicago, 
which  he  fattens  and  ships  to  Buffalo. 
He  has  found  this  a  profitable  branch 
of  his  business.  His  career  is  that  of 
a  self-made  man  who  has  worked  his 
way  upward  from  a  humble  position  to 
one  of  affluence,  and  he  deserves  great 
credit  for  his  success  in  life. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.   Boor  had  five  chidren, 
two    of    whom    died    in    infancy:      Mary 


was  born  July  28,  1873;  Jes.;ie,  born 
October  6.  1876,  is  successfully  engaged 
in  teaching  in  Sandusky  county;  J.  C, 
born  January  12,  1S80,  is  at  home. 
The  family  occupies  an  enviable  posi- 
tion in  social  circles,  and  the  Boor  house- 
hold is  noted  for  its  hospitality.  Mr. 
Boor  has  served  for  several  years  as 
trustee  of  his  township,  and  for  two 
j'ears  was  county  commissioner  of  San- 
dusky county,  discharging  his  duties 
w'ith  the  same  fidelity  and  conscientious- 
ness which  characterized  his  military 
career.  , 


JACOB  CRAMER,  a  farmer  of  Jack- 
son township,  Sandusky  county,  was 
born  April  i,  1857,  in  the  township 
where  he  now  resides.  His  father, 
Conrad  Cramer,  was  born  November  10, 
181 1,  and  in  1841  married  Catharine 
Miller,  who  was  born  April  i,  1818, 
daughter  of  Isaac  Miller,  of  Alsace,  Ger- 
many, a  market  gardener  by  occupation, 
whose  other  children  were  Barbara  and 
Margaret.  Our  subject's  grandparents 
lived  and  died  in  Hessen  Cassel,  Ger- 
many. His  grandfather  was  a  brewer  by 
trade,  and  also  owned  and  operated  100 
acres  of  land  in  Germany. 

Jacob  Cramer  was  one  of  a  family  of 
five  children:  Conrad,  born  in  1844, 
who  is  a  wholesale  grocer  of  Toledo, 
Ohio,  married  Miss  Hulda  Swigart,  and 
has  two  children — Frances  and  Roy;  po- 
litically he  is  a  Republican.  Anna,  born 
in  1846,  married  Henry  Lance,  a  farmer 
of  Riley  township,  and  has  two  children — 
Frank  and  Myrtie;  he  is  a  member  of  the 
U.  B.  Church.  Catharine,  born  in  1848, 
became  the  wife  of  John  Hollinger,  a 
dealer  in  agricultural  implements,  and  a 
member  of  the  firm  of  Hollinger  &  Pal- 
mer, of  Fremont,  Ohio;  in  politics  he  is  a 
Democrat.  Jacob  is  our  subject.  William, 
born  in  1865,  a  farmer  by  occupation, 
married  Miss  .'\manda  Smith,  of  Jackson 
township,  arid  their  children  are  Walter, 


214 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOORAPBWAL   RECORD. 


Frank  and  Esther;  he  affiliates  with  the 
Democratic  party,  and  is  a  member  of  the 
U.  B.  Church. 

Jacob  Cramer  remained  at  home  with 
his  parents  until  his  twenty-first  year, 
working  on  the  farm,  and  saving  enough 
money  to  buy  fifty-two  acres  of  land  in 
the  spring  of  1882.  This  he  sold  three 
years  later  and  bought  the  forty-acre  lot 
where  he  now  resides  for  $3,200;  he  has 
since  that  time  bought  forty  acres  more 
in  Seneca  county.  His  home  farm  is  sit- 
uated eleven  miles  west  of  Fremont,  and 
two  miles  north  of  Kansas,  Ohio.  Mr. 
Cramer  is  a  strong  Prohibitionist,  and  in 
religious  connection  is  a  member  of  the 
U.  B.  Church,  of  which  he  is  a  liberal 
supporter.  On  December  i,  1881,  he 
married  Mary  J.  Humphrey,  who  was 
born  December  24,  i860,  a  daughter  of 
Isaac  and  Rebecca  Humphrey  (deceased). 
They  have  two  children— Cora  May,  born 
August  21,  1883,  and  Clarence  J.,  born 
November  14,    1886. 


NELSON  R.  TUCKER,  a  prosper- 
ous farmer  and  extensive  land- 
owner of  Sandusky  township, 
Sandusky  county,  was  born  April 
16,  1823,  in  Jefferson  county,  N.  Y.  The 
great  ancestor  of  this  Tucker  family  came 
from  England  to  America  before  the  Revo- 
lutionary war,  and  settled  in  Massachu- 
setts. He  was  a  farmer.  One  of  his 
sons,  Caleb  Tucker,  married  Miss  Kate 
Billins,  at  Shrewsbury,  Mass,  where  he 
afterward  carried  on  farming.  Here,  ac- 
cording to  the  custom  of  the  times,  he 
bought  a  colored  man-servant  to  assist 
him  in  farming,  and  a  colored  female- 
servant  to  help  his  wife  about  the  house- 
work. They  treated  these  slaves  kindly, 
finally  giving  them  their  liberty.  Caleb 
Tucker  afterward  bought  a  farm  near 
Johnstown,  N.  Y. ,  where  he  reared  a 
family  of  eleven  children,  namely:  Na- 
thaniel B.,  Melinda,  Hiram,  Caleb,  Katie, 


Parmelia,  Henry,  Harriet,  Thomas,  Jane 
and  Ezekiel. 

Nathaniel  B.  Tucker  was  born  Octo- 
ber 29,  1797,  and  on  June  16,  1821,  mar- 
ried Miss  Mary  Ann  Ballard,  daughter  of 
Rufus  and  Martha  (Swartwout)  Ballard. 
Rufus  Ballard  was  a  son  of  Thomas  Bal- 
lard, a  soldier  of  the  Revolutionary  war, 
who  lived  in  the  Mohawk  Valley,  Mont- 
gomery county,  N.  Y. ,  and  was  the  own- 
er of  several  slaves,  who  worked  as  farm 
hands.  The  children  of  Nathaniel  B. 
and  Mary  Ann  Tucker  were:  Nelson  R., 
Mary,  Henry  and  Phoeba.  In  1825  the 
family  moved  from  Jefferson  county,  N. 
Y. ,  to  St.  Lawrence  county,  N.  Y. ,  which 
was  then  a  wilderness,  and  they  at  first 
had  only  one  neighbor  within  a  radius  of 
eight  miles.  About  the  year  1835  they 
moved  to  Jefferson  county,  and  in  1836 
again  located  in  St.  Lawrence  county. 
About  the  year  1838  Nathaniel  Tucker 
took  a  prospective  trip  west,  and  traded 
his  fifty  acres  in  New  York  for  eighty  acres 
in  Sandusky  county,  Ohio,  whither  the 
family  moved  in  June,  1839,  proceedingto 
Sackett's  Harbor,  where  they  took  boat 
for  Buffalo,  thence  to  Cleveland,  thence 
to  Portland  (now  Sandusky  City),  and 
thence  across  the  country  to  their  destina- 
tion near  the  mouth  of  ^iuskalonge  creek, 
about  five  miles  north  of  Lower  Sandusky, 
now  Fremont.  They  made  the  trip  of 
600  miles  in  seven  days.  Their  money 
had  dwindled  down  to  $27  in  specie,  which 
Mr.  Tucker  now  paid  out  for  a  cow  and  a 
barrel  of  flour.  He  found  work  among 
some  neighbors  at  fifty  cents  per  day,  and 
he  once  took  an  eight-days'  job  of  "  grub- 
bing" for  Mr.  Thomas  Holcomb  for  a  pig 
that  weighed  si.xty  pounds.  Being  a 
shoemaker  by  trade,  he  soon  found  work 
among  neighbors  at  cobbling,  or  "whip- 
ping the  cat,"  as  it  was  called.  After 
working  for  Jeremiah  Everett  on  a  farm 
during  the  hot  weather  of  July,  Mr.  Tuck- 
er and  his  son  Nelson  were  taken  ill  with 
bilious  fever,  and  the  rest  of  the  family 
also  took  sick,  one  after  the  other,  with 


X 


D 


Z 

< 


2i 


COMMEMORATIVE    BIOOBAPHICAL    RECORD. 


215 


the  same  malady,  until  there  was  not  one 
left  well  enough  to  hand  the  rest  a  drink 
of  water.  Kind  neighbors,  however,  came 
to  look  after  them  until  those  who  were 
first  sick  began  to  recover.  Their  first 
family  doctors  were  L.  O.  Rawson  and  P. 
Beaugrand.  By  patient  endurance  of  pri- 
vations, self-denying  sacrifices,  untiring 
industry,  and  prudent  management  this 
pioneer  family  gradually  improved  their 
condition  and  rose  to  competence. 

Nathaniel  Tucker  was  a  lithe,  active 
man,  of  medium  height,  with  blue  eyes 
and  a  light  complexion.  He  was  of  a 
social  disposition,  and  in  his  younger  days 
was  an  expert  dancer.  He  and  his  wife 
became  members  of  the  M.  E.  Church  in 
New  York  State,  and  after  settling  in 
Sandusky  county  united  with  the  Church 
of  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ  at  a  re- 
vival meeting  held  by  Rev.  M.  Long,  in 
their  neighborhood,  in  1840.  Religious 
services  were  held  for  many  years  in  the 
Tucker  schoolhouse,  which  was  built  on 
the  Tucker  farm.  Mr.  Tucker  died  at 
the  home  of  his  son.  Nelson  R.  Tucker, 
July  15,  1884,  at  the  age  of  eighty-seven 
years,  eight  months,  seventeen  days,  and 
was  buried  in  Brier  Hill  Cemetery,  near 
his  old  farm.  His  venerable  wife  survives 
him  to  cheer  their  grandchildren  by  her 
acts  of  kindness  and  her  stories  of  pioneer 
experiences.  She  was  a  member  of  the 
Pioneer  and  Historical  Society  of  San- 
dusky County,  and  at  the  last  picnic  pre- 
vious to  her  death  took  the  annual  "bou- 
quet" given  to  the  oldest  lady  pioneer 
present.  She  passed  away  September  19, 
1892,  at  the  age  of  ninety-one  years,  three 
months,  nineteen  days.  She  was  buried 
beside  her  husband. 

Nelson  R.  Tucker  came  to  Sandusky 
county  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  and  remained 
in  his  father's  family  until  after  he  was 
married.  Among  his  recollections  of  child- 
hood days  is  a  trip  he  once  made,  at  the 
age  of  eight,  to  mill  on  horseback,  five 
miles,  with  a  sack  of  wheat,  returning 
with  the    flour.       On    leaving   home    he 

14 


bought  eighty  acres  of  land  in  Washington 
township,  but  finding  it  too  stony  he  sold 
it  and  bought  in  Sandusky  township  the 
site  of  his  present  home,  where  he  now 
owns  240  acres  of  fertile  land,  which  has 
been  extensively  tiled.  He  follows  gen- 
eral farming  and  takes  pride  in  raising  the 
best  crops  of  grain  and  grass,  and  the 
most  profitable  breeds  of  live  stock. 
During  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  Mr. 
Tucker  was  a  decided  Union  man.  In 
his  earlier  years  he  was  a  Democrat  until 
the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise, 
when  he  joined  the  Republican  party; 
subsequently  he  became  a  Greenbacker, 
and  more  recently  has  cast  his  influence 
with  the  Peoples  party.  He  was  the  first 
organizer  of  the  Farmers  Alliance  in  San- 
dusky county,  where  he  organized  thir- 
teen lodges,  and  he  served  as  their  lec- 
turer. He  is  now  one  of  the  leading 
members  of  the  Patrons  of  Industry  of 
Sandusky  county,  and  in  all  things  that 
pertain  to  the  advancement  and  progress 
of  his  neighborhood  Mr.  Tucker  has  ever 
been  in  the  front  rank.  He  has  been  in 
advance  of  his  time,  but  on  account  of 
his  enterprise  and  push  he  has  succeeded 
in  bringing  the  community  to  his  stand- 
ard. Through  his  efforts  was  brought 
about  the  construction  of  the  Oak  Harbor 
and  Fremont  pike,  which  was  opposed  at 
first  and  is  now  admired. 

On  March  16,  1843,  Nelson  R. 
Tucker  married  Miranda  Burgoon,  daugh- 
ter of  Peter  Burgoon,  one  of  the  pio- 
neers of  Sandusky  county.  Their  chil- 
dren were:  Adelia  M.,  born  July  9, 
1844,  and  died  in  infancy;  Barrette,  born 
October  26,  1845,  and  died  when  eleven 
months  old;  Martha  Ann,  born  January 
17,1 848,  is  unmarried,  and  lives  on  the  old 
farm;  Mary  E.,  born  November  26,  1851, 
married  John  C.  Parish,  now  deceased, 
and  had  four  children — Perry,  Fos- 
ter C,  Boswell  E.,  and  Gouldie  L. ; 
Rachel  T.,  born  November  20,  1853, 
who  married  Peter  Klinhaunce,  and  had 
children  as  follows — Nelson,  Sadie,  Rod- 


21G 


COMMEMORATIVE    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


ney  and  Bessie;  Hattie,  born  January  14, 
1855,  who  married  Charles  Baker,  and 
has  one  child — Glenn;  Nellie  Ida,  born 
November  24,  1857,  who  married  R.  R. 
Strubble,  and  has  one  child — Carl;  Julia, 
born  December  24,  1859,  who  married 
D.  B.  Hartmann,  and  their  children  are 
— Ralph,  Rollo,  Roswell,  Roscoe  and 
Mabel;  Charles  C,  born  March  7,  1861, 
who  married  Minnie  E.  Nowlan,  Decem- 
ber 6,  1883,  and  has  had  four  children — 
Harry  Lee,  Elmer  R. ,  Mae  E. ,  and  Ada; 
Lillie  v.,  born  January  14,  1865,  who 
was  married  April  18,  1889,  to  G.  W. 
Strang,  and  has  two  children — Ray  and 
Paul;  John  P.,  born  January  16,  1867, 
who  married  Fannie  Hartman,  and  lives 
on  the  farm.  Mr.  Tucker  was  educated 
in  the  district  school;  he  is  a  man  of  fine 
appearance  and  large  physique,  and  an 
ardent  member  of  the  Peoples  party. 
The  mother  of  this  large  family  passed 
to  the  home  beyond  F"ebruary  3,  1895. 
Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Tucker  were  noted 
for  their  generosity,  kindness  and  charity. 
They  took  great  pleasure  in  lending  a 
helping  hand  to  everybody,  and  especially 
to  people  in  times  of  need.  They  suc- 
ceeded in  instilling  good  principles  in 
their  children.  And  as  they  pass  from 
this  life  the  community  where  they  have 
lived  realizes  that  they  have  been  bet- 
tered by  their  having  lived  in  it. 


SAMUEL   FOSTER,    one    of    the 
progressive   and    prosperous   agri- 
culturists of  Washington  township, 
Sandusky  county,    is   a  native  of 
same,    born   in    the  village  of    Hessville, 
February    16,    1838,    a  son  of  John  and 
Susan  (Runkle)  Foster. 

The  parents  of  our  subject,  well-to-do 
farming  people,  were  both  born  in  Perry 
county,  Ohio,  to  which  State  the  paternal 
ancestry  came  from  Pennsylvania,  and 
the  maternal  from  the  State  of  Virginia. 
In  Washington  township,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty,  John   Foster,    father  of  Samuel,  pur- 


chased of  the  government  160  acres  of 
timber  land,  and  removed  thither  in  1832. 
This  property  he  set  to  work  to  clear  and 
improve,  in  course  of  time  developing  a 
fine  farm.  Here  our  subject's  mother  died 
in  January,  1S55,  the  father  subsequently 
marrying  Mrs.  Catherine  (Overmeyer) 
Foster,  widow  of  his  brother.  John  Fos- 
ter was  called  from  earth  January  30, 
1889,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-one 
years,  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Lutheran  Church.  He  was 
one  of  seven  children,  all  of  whom  are 
now  deceased.  His  second  wife  died 
September  30,  1888. 

Samuel  Foster,  whose  name  intro- 
duces this  sketch,  is  one  of  si.\  children: 
Christian,  a  farmer  of  Wood  county, 
Ohio;  Samuel;  Noah,  a  farmer  of  Wash- 
ington township,  Sandusky  county;  Em- 
anuel, now  a  resident  of  East  Toledo, 
Ohio;  Lucinda  (Mrs.  Charles  Dodd),  de- 
ceased; and  Sophia  (deceased).  Our 
subject  remained  at  home  up  to  the  age 
of  twenty-one  years,  being  the  mainstay 
of  his  father,  and  as  a  consequence  his 
education  was  somewhat  limited.  On 
leaving  home  he  first  found  employment 
for  eight  months  on  the  farm  of  J.  B. 
Mugg,  in  Townsend  township,  Sandusky 
county,  then  returning  to  the  parental 
roof  remained  there  during  the  winter 
months.  In  the  following  spring  he  moved 
to  Van  Wert  county,  this  State,  where  he 
was  employed  some  ten  months,  after 
which  he  again  returned  to  Sandusky 
county  and  worked  for  his  wife's  parents 
(for  he  had  in  the  meantime  married)  on 
their  farm.  For  two  years  he  farmed  320 
acres  of  land  on  shares,  and  then  bought 
eighty  acres  in  Freedom  township,  Wood 
county,  on  which  he  resided  some  six 
months,  at  the  end  of  that  time  purchas- 
ing the  eighty-four  acres  in  Washington 
township  whereon  he  now  has  his  home, 
having  built  a  comfortable  residence,  be- 
sides commodious  barns  and  outhouses. 

On  August  8,  1 86 1,  Mr.  Foster  was 
married  to  Miss  Mary  Humberger,  daugh- 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


217 


ter  of  Benjamin  and  Mary  (Zartman) 
Humberger,  and  nine  children  were  the 
result  of  this  union,  a  brief  record  of  them 
being  as  follows:  Franklin  A.,  born  July 
5,  1862,  is  now  a  farmer  of  Jackson  town- 
ship, Sandusky  count}';  William  H.,  born 
December  2,  1863,  is  a  farmer  near  Four- 
Mile  house,  Sandusky  county;  Calista, 
born  January  28,  1866,  married  Edward 
Snavley,  of  Jackson  township,  Sandusky 
county;  Orpha  A.,  born  Februarj' 8,  1868, 
married  H.  D.  Jenning,  a  farmer  in 
Michigan;  Elmer,  born  March  20,  1870, 
is  a  farmer  in  Scott  township,  Sandusky 
county;  Wilmer,  born  March  20,  1870, 
is  now  in  the  oil  business  in  Madison 
township,  Sandusky  count}';  Adelbert, 
born  November  16,  1874,  is  in  Madison 
township,  in  the  oil  business;  Grace,  born 
March  i,  1877,  died  July  27,  1887; 
Allen  |.,  born  Decembers,  1881,  lives  at 
home.  Mr.  F"oster  in  politics  is  a  Demo- 
crat, is  a  member  of  the  school  board, 
and  also  serves  as  road  superintendent; 
he  is  identified  with  the  Reformed  Church, 
and  is  a  good,  substantial,  well-known 
and  honored  citizen  of  the  township  in 
which  he  lives. 


HENRY  HUGHES.  Among  the 
\oung  men  of  Fremont  who  have 
worked  their  own  way  in  the 
world,  and  by  manliness,  honesty 
and  pluck  achieved  success,  our  subject 
takes  an  honorable  place.  He  was  born 
in  Scott  township,  Sandusky  county,  De- 
cember 16,  1866,  son  of  Michael  and 
Catharine  (Conolly)  Hughes. 

Michael  Hughes  was  a  native  of  Coun- 
ty Tyrone,  Ireland,  and  came  to  America 
when  eighteen  years  of  age.  He  stopped 
in  Philadelphia  one  summer,  and  then 
coming  west  located  on  a  farm  in  Scott 
township,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  in  which 
township  he  still  resides;  he  is  now  fifty 
years  of  age.  His  wife  died  April  2,  1892. 
They  had  ten  children,  two  of  whom  died 
in  childhood;  the  living  are:     Henry  (our 


subject),  Mary,  Ellen,  Sarah,  Lillie  May, 
Michael,  William  and  George.  Mr. 
Hughes  is  a  member  of  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic Church,  and  in  politics  he  is  a  Demo- 
crat. 

Henry  Hughes  grew  to  manhood  on  a 
farm  in  Scott  township,  in  the  region  of 
the  Black  Swamp,  where  he  attended 
country  schools  until  such  time  as  he  suc- 
ceeded in  perfecting  himself  so  as  to  be 
able  to  secure  a  certificate  for  teaching. 
This  he  obtained  in  1883,  and  at  the  age 
of  seventeen  taught  the  summer  term 
of  the  Millersville  school,  and  for  six  con- 
secutive winter  terms  thereafter  he  was 
engaged  for  the  same  school.  In  the 
spring  of  1888,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one, 
he  was  elected  assessor  of  Scott  town- 
ship, and  was  re-elected  the  following 
spring.  In  the  fall  of  1888  he  began  the 
study  of  a  special  course  of  surveying  and 
civil  engineering,  at  the  Ohio  Normal 
University,  Ada,  Ohio,  graduating  with 
honor.  He  located  in  Fremont  in  1890, 
and  has  since  remained  here,  engaging  in 
surveying  and  civil  engineering  in  San- 
dusky and  adjoining  counties. 

On  January  2,  1894,  Mr.  Hughes  was 
married  to  jNIiss  Mamie  Ouilter,  an  esti- 
mable and  accomplished  lady,  who  was 
born  in  Fremont,  Ohio,  daughter  of  Tim- 
othy M.  and  Mary  (Reardon)  Ouilter,  na- 
tives of  Ireland.  Her  father  is  a  retired 
grocer  of  Fremont,  Ohio.  A  son,  Henry 
Melvin  Hughes,  has  blessed  the  union  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hughes,  born  January  25, 
1895.  ^ff"-  Hughes  was  elected  surveyor 
of  Sandusky  county  in  the  fall  of  1894, 
and  in  the  spring  of  1895  was  chosen  city 
civil  engineer  of  the  city  of  Fremont. 


SOLOMON     HUMBERGER      has 
spent  his  entire  life  in  the  locality 
which  is  still  his   home,  Washing- 
ton township,    Sandusky    county, 
having  been  born  there  October  19,  1840. 
He   is   a  son  of  Benjamin   and  Mary 
(Zartman)  Humberger,   who  were  reared 


218 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


in  Perry  count}',  Ohio.  The  paternal 
grandparents  were  residents  of  Lancaster 
county,  Penn.,  and  the  maternal  grand- 
parents also  lived  in  the  Keystone  State. 
The  respective  families  came  to  Ohio 
when  the  Indians  were  more  numerous 
than  the  white  settlers,  and  were  honored 
pioneers,  actively  identified  with  the  up- 
building and  development  of  the  com- 
munity in  which  they  located.  The  father 
of  our  subject  was  born  April  22,  1809, 
son  of  Peter  and  Mary  (Snyder)  Humber- 
ger,  and  the  mother  was  born  February 
19,  1 81 3,  daughter  of  Jonathan  and  Bar- 
bara (Anspaugh)  Zartman.  Their  mar- 
riage was  celebrated  in  Perry  county, 
Ohio,  and  in  1834  they  took  up  their  res- 
idence in  Washington  township,  Sandusky 
county,  where  the  father  entered  160 
acres  of  wild  government  land,  the  deed 
for  which,  signed  by  Andrew  Jackson,  then 
President  of  the  United  States,  is  still  in 
the  possession  of  our  subject.  This  is 
the  old  homestead  which  is  still  owned  by 
Solomon  Humberger,  and  which  the  fa- 
ther made  his  place  of  residence  until  his 
death,  February  25,  1864.  His  wife  sur- 
vived him  a  little  over  one  year,  passing 
away  July  26,  1865.  The  family  of  this 
worthy  couple  numbered  ten  children,  as 
follows:  Melinda,  widow  of  David  Hen- 
dricks, resides  in  Missouri,  and  has  ten 
children;  Margaret  died  at  the  age  of  four- 
teen years;  Levina  is  the  wife  of  Barn- 
hart  Faust,  of  Michigan,  and  has  ten  chil- 
dren; Mary  is  the  wife  of  Samuel  Foster, 
a  resident  farmer  of  Washingon  township 
(Mrs.  Foster  having  part  of  the  old  home- 
stead), and  has  nine  children;  Lucinda 
became  the  wife  of  E.  F.  Whitney,  and 
died  leaving  four  children:  Samuel,  Isa- 
bella, Elizabeth  and  Barbara,  all  of  whom 
died  in  childhood;  Solomon  is  the  subject 
proper  of  these  lines. 

Solomon  Humberger  has  passed  all 
his  life  on  the  homestead,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  about  eight  weeks,  when  away 
on  a  visit.  He  early  became  familiar 
with  farm  work  in  its  various  departments. 


and  is  now  a  thorough-going  agriculturist, 
successfully  managing  his  business  inter- 
ests and  having  thereby  secured  a  com- 
fortable competence.  Upon  his  father's 
death  he  bought  out  the  interests  of  the 
other  heirs  in  the  old  home  place,  and  is 
now  sole  owner;  in  1890  he  erected  his 
present  commodious  and  substantial  resi- 
dence. In  the  same  year  he  leased  his 
land  to  the  Standard  Oil  Company,  and 
they  have  sunk  six  wells,  each  of  which 
produces  at  present  twelve  barrels  of  oil 
daily. 

On  March  22,  1866,  Mr.  Humberger 
wedded  Miss  Hetty  A.  Burkett,  daughter 
of  Leonard  and  Fannie  (Cotzmeyer)  Bur- 
kett. Nine  children  blessed  this  union: 
David,  born  January  6,  1867,  who  resides 
in  Lindsey;  Cora  Ellen,  born  February 
8,  1868,  wife  of  Samuel  Kretzer,  who  is 
in  the  oil  business  in  Washington  town- 
ship, Sandusky  count}';  Ira,  born  June  14, 
1870;  Orva  Allen,  born  October  17, 
1873;  William  F. ,  born  October  26,  1874; 
Rosa,  born  July  31,  1876,  wife  of  Charles 
Waggner;  Benjamin  L. ,  born  July  18, 
1879;  George  W. ,  born  September  13, 
1880,  and  Cornelia  L. ,  born  July  26, 
1884.  Since  attaining  his  majority  Mr. 
Humberger  has  been  identified  with  the 
Democratic  party,  and  has  been  honored 
with  several  local  offices,  having  served 
as  school  director  and  road  supervisor, 
and  for  nine  years  filled  the  position  of 
trustee,  his  long-continued  service  well 
indicating  his  fidelity  to  duty  and  the 
confidence  reposed  in  him — a  confidence 
that  has  never  been  betrayed. 


DOMINICK  SMITH  is  a  worthy 
representative  agriculturist  of  San- 
dusky county,  and  at  the  same 
time  a  representative  of  its  early 
pioneers.  He  was  born  in  Wittenberg, 
Germany,  July  10,  1830,  son  of  Bern- 
hardt and  Theresa  (Krimm)  Smith,  and 
there  received  a  liberal  education  in  the 
German  language. 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


219 


In  1854  Mr.  Smith  came  to  America, 
and  wending  his  way  to  what  is  now  Fre- 
mont, Sandusky  Co. ,  Ohio,  arrived  there 
about  the  time  of  the  construction  of  the 
Lake  Erie  &  Western  railroad.  It  was 
in  the  construction  of  this  railway  that 
Mr.  Smith  did  his  first  day's  work  in  Ohio, 
arranging  with  the  contractor  for  perma- 
nent employment.  At  the  end  of  the  first 
month  of  Mr.  Smith's  hard  labor  in  this 
capacity  the  contractorhad  left  the  county, 
and  our  subject,  as  well  as  the  other  la- 
borers, received  no  remuneration.  Pen- 
niless and  in  debt  for  his  board,  Mr. 
Smith  made  his  way  to  the  neighborhood 
in  which  he  now  resides,  and  engaged  to 
work  for  a  Mr.  John  Rearick  during  the 
winter  for  his  board.  In  the  spring  work 
opened  on  the  old  jail  at  Fremont  and  also 
in  the  stone  quarry,  and  here  our  subject 
found  employment  and  learned  the  trade 
of  stone-cutting,  which  he  followed  for 
about  ten  years. 

During  this  time  Mr.  Smith  had  be- 
come a  warm  friend  of  the  Rearick  fam- 
ily, especially  the  daughter,  Barbara,  with 
whom  he  was  united  in  marriage  June  10, 
1857.  Mr.  Smith  and  his  estimable  wife, 
by  hard  labor  and  economy,  secured  a 
fine  home  in  Sandusky  township,  four 
miles  west  of  Fremont,  where  Mrs.  Smith 
departed  this  life  on  December  20,  1891, 
aged  sixty-six  years,  five  months  and  ten 
days.  She  was  an  affectionate  wife,  a 
kind  and  loving  mother,  and  a  lady  highly 
esteemed  in  the  community.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Smith  came  two  sons,  of  whom 
Charles  L.,  born  November  22,  1859, 
was  married  December  25,  1888,  to  Miss 
Emma  Hiett,  and  is  now  on  the  old  home- 
stead, caring  for  his  father  in  his  declin- 
ing years.  He  is  a  highly  respected  citi- 
zen and  one  of  the  progressive  agricultur- 
ists of  his  time.  He  has  one  child,  a 
son,  Ralph  W.  John  Smith,  born  April 
3,  1 86 1,  received  his  early  literary  train- 
ing in  the  Fremont  High  School  under 
Prof.  W.  W.  Ross,  and  completed  his 
education  at   Kenyon   College,   of  which 


institution  he  is  a  graduate.  Since  fin- 
ishing his  college  course  Mr.  Smith  has 
been  engaged  in  the  teacher's  profession, 
in  which  he  is  eminently  successful.  For 
nearly  three  years  he  was  principal  of  the 
high  school  of  Napoleon,  Ohio,  and  for 
the  past  six  or  seven  years  has  held  a 
similar  position  at  Findlay,  Ohio.  Prof. 
Smith  is  also  clerk  of  the  board  of  exam- 
iners at  Findlay,  in  which  capacity  he  is 
making  his  natural  adaptability  to  his 
profession  felt  in  the  furtherance  of  mod- 
ern educational  ideas.  On  September  2, 
1886,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Addie 
Miller,  and  to  their  union  has  been  born 
one  son,  Walter. 

Bernhardt  Smith,  the  father  of  our 
subject,  was  born  in  Germany  in  1801, 
was  a  farmer  by  occupation  and  for  four 
years  an  officer  in  the  German  army.  He 
married  Theresa  Krimm,  also  a  native  of 
Germany,  and  to  them  were  born  the  fol- 
lowing named  children:  Dominick,  Amos, 
John,  Bernhardt,  Philip,  Francis,  Sardis, 
Theresa,  Amelia,  and  Edith.  Dominick 
Smith  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  is  an 
active  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  as 
was  also  his  wife,  and  the  entire  family  are 
noted  in  the  neighborhood  in  which  they 
.live  for  intellectuality  and  respectability. 
Mr.  Smith  came  to  America  penniless, 
but  by  honest  industry  and  strict  integrity 
he  has  accumulated  a  nice  property  and 
gained  the  confidence  of  all  who  know 
him.  His  success  is  meritorious,  and  in 
language  stronger  than  pen  can  express 
shows  the  true  make-up  of  the  man. 


JOHN  DYMOND,  who,  as  a  soldier 
on  the  Union  side  in  the  war  of  the 
Rebellion,  was  one  of  the  "boys  of 
'61,"  is  well  and  favorably  known  in 
Green  Creek  and  other  neighboring  town- 
ships, as  well  as  in  York  township,  San- 
dusky count}',  which  is  at  present  his 
home.  He  is  a  son  of  William  Dymond, 
and  was  born  in  Devonshire,  England, 
December  25,  1842. 


220 


COMMEMORATIVE    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


William  Dymond  was  born  in  Devon- 
shire, England,  in  1807.  He  worked  at 
his  trade,  which  was  that  of  a  mason, 
both  before  and  after  coming  to  America. 
In  185 1  he  crossed  the  stormy  Atlantic 
and  cast  his  fortunes  in  this  "land  of  the 
free,"  which  his  son  John  showed  by  his 
courageous  deeds  a  few  years  later  is  the 
"home  of  the  brave."  He  first  located 
at  Bellevue,  Huron  county,  his  family 
coming  one  year  later.  Being  of  a  roving 
disposition,  he  went  to  Illinois  in  1854, 
locating  in  Rockford,  where  he  remained 
but  one  year,  returning  to  Bellevue,  pre- 
ferring to  live  among  the  peaceful  settlers 
of  Ohio  rather  than  in  the  crude  Western 
society  of  nearly  forty  years  ago. 

In  his  boyhood  John  Dymond  received 
a  common-school  education,  and  he  was 
but  little  past  nineteen  when,  on  August 
16,  1 86 1 ,  he  enlisted  in  Company  F,  Forty- 
ninth  O.  v.  I.  After  serving  for  thirteen 
months,  during  which  time  he  was  in  the 
battles  of  Munfordville,  December  17, 
1 861,  and  Shiloh,  April  7,  1862,  at  which 
latter  place  half  of  his  knife  was  shot  out 
of  his  pocket.  He  was  discharged  for  dis- 
abilit}-,  and  on  recovering  his  health  he 
re-enlisted,  August  17,  1863,  in  Company 
B,  First  Ohio  Volunteer  Heavy  Artillery. 
He  served  until  the  close  of  the  war,  and 
was  mustered  out  July  25,  1865.  In  the 
fall  of  1867  John  Dymond  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Miss  Sarah  Cupp,  who  was 
born  in  York  township  January  31,  1849, 
and  they  had  six  children,  four  of  whom 
are  now  living,  namely:  William  E.,  an 
employe  of  the  Nickel  Plate  road  at  Colby, 
Sandusky  county;  John  V.,  who  is  at 
home;  Ada  M.,  wife  of  Frank  Tea,  of 
York  township;  and  Essy  M.,  at  present 
living  with  her  grandparents  in  Kansas. 
After  his  marriage  Mr.  Dymond  farmed 
in  York  township  for  severel  years,  and 
then  in  February,  1878,  moved  to  Kansas, 
where  the  death  of  Mrs.  Dymond  occurred 
in  September  of  that  year.  Later  the  be- 
reaved family  returned  to  Ohio. 

On  May  4,  1880,  John  Dymond  was 


again  married,  this  time  to  Mrs.  Sophia 
Douglas,  and  they  have  had  four  children, 
as  follows:  Edward  C,  born  April  26, 
i88[;  Louis  H.,  August  30,  1882;  Ezra 
E.,  June  27,  1884,  and  Mary  E.,  Feb- 
ruary 23,  1888.  Mrs.  Dymond  is  a 
daughter  of  Daniel  and  Ruth  Jones,  and 
was  born  August  16,  1847,  her  maiden 
name  being  Sophia  Jones.  Mr.  Jones  is 
now  eighty-two  years  old,  and  is  living 
with  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Jones  being  dead. 
Sophia  Jones  was  united  in  marriage  with 
^^'illiam  Douglas  on  March  28,  1867,  and 
their  children  were:  EmmaT.,  wife  of 
William  Lawrey,  of  Green  Creek  town- 
ship; Lottie  R. ,  wife  of  William  Spitler, 
of  Tiffin,  Seneca  county;  and  Alvin  and 
Celia  at  home.  Mr.  Douglas  died  Jan- 
uary 2,  1877,  and  in  1880  his  widow  mar- 
ried  Mr.  Dymond. 

Mr.  Dymond  cast  his  first  vote  for 
Lincoln,  then  he  embraced  Democratic 
principles,  and  for  years  cast  his  ballot 
for  the  candidates  he  preferred,  and  ex- 
pounded Jeffersonian  doctrines;  but  within 
the  past  few  years  he,  like  many  others, 
has  lost  faith  in  the  old  parties,  and  joined 
the  party  of  radical  reform,  the  People's 
party.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dymond  are  both 
members  of  the  conservative  wing  of  the 
United  Brethren  Church. 


SILAS     M.    TEACHOUT.    a   well- 
known   resident  of  Benton    town- 
ship, Ottawa  county,  where  since 
1 891    he  has  been  engaged  in  the 
insurance    business,   was  born  in   Lorain 
county,  Ohio,  June  23,  1831,  son  of  James 
and  Eliza  (Haywood)  Teachout. 

The  grandfather  of  our  subject  was  a 
native  of  Scotland.  His  father,  James 
Teachout,  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  was 
born  about  1780,  and  the  mother  in  1800, 
both  in  New  York  State.  The  father  had, 
by  long  illness,  become  somewhat  unbal- 
anced mentally,  and  on  hearing  that  his 
son  was  very  sick  he  left  the  house  and 
was  afterward  found  on  the  beach  of  Lake 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


221 


Erie;  it  is  supposed  the  news  of  his  son's 
severe  ilhiess  so  overcame  him  that  pro- 
bably he  accidentally  tell  into  the  lake. 
The  mother  died  in  1836.  The  father's 
health  being  poor  at  the  time  of  the 
mother's  death,  it  became  necessary  for 
him  to  break  up  housekeeping,  and  put 
the  children  out.  Mr.  Teachout,  our 
subject,  being  ne.xt  to  the  youngest  child, 
was  thus  at  the  age  of  five  years  put 
out  among  strangers  to  find  a  home.  His 
advantages  for  an  education  were  very 
limited,  it  being  necessary  for  him  to 
work  early  in  life.  However,  he  was  de- 
termined to  secure  a  liberal  education,  to 
acquire  which  he  worked  by  the  month 
on  farms  during  the  summer  to  clothe 
himself,  and  in  winter  worked  for  his 
board  in  order  that  he  might  attend  the 
district  school.  "Where  there's  a  will 
there's  a  way." 

At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  went  into 
the  "  Weedle  Hotel,"  in  Cleveland,  re- 
maining there  one  year,  and  then  for  six 
months  worked  in  the  "Forest  City 
House,"  also  in  Cleveland,  going  thence  to 
Buffalo,  where  he  was  employed  in  a  res- 
taurant a  few  months.  He  then  shipped 
on  a  steamer  running  between  Chicago 
and  Buffalo,  on  which  he  spent  the  sea- 
son, and,  later,  was  porter  in  the  "  Lake 
House,"  at  Sandusky  about  a  year. 
Thence  removing  to  Columbus,  he  con- 
tinued the  same  line  of  business  some 
three  years,  or  until  1856,  in  the  "  Xeal 
House,"  when  he  again  commenced  farm- 
ing. After  working  by  the  month  for 
two  summers,  he  rented  a  farm  which  he 
worked  t\vo  years. 

In  1863  Mr.  Teachout  enlisted  in  Com- 
pany G,  One  Hundred  and  Twent\'-third 
O.  V.  I.,  and  served  until  the  end  of  the 
war,  participating  in  the  battles  of  New- 
market, Mount  Crawford,  Lynchburg  and 
Cedar  Creek,  and  in  other  engagements. 
He  was  also  in  hospital  five  months.  On 
the  retreat  from  the  battle  at  Lynchburg, 
two  hundred  miles,  he  with  the  remainder 
of  his  company  was   without  rations  for 


four  days,  the  only  nourishment  being 
coffee;  when  the  provision  wagon  came 
the  soldiers  did  not  stop  to  cook  their 
meat,  but  eat  it  raw  along  with  their 
hard-tack.  After  his  honorable  discharge, 
May  13,  1865,  Mr.  Teachout  returned  to 
Ohio,  and  in  Sandusky  opened  a  restau- 
rant, which  at  the  end  of  one  year  he  sold 
out,  moving  to  Oak  Harbor,  Ottawa 
count}',  where  for  some  time  he  was  em- 
ployed in  getting  out  axe-helve  timber. 
In  the  spring  of  1867  the  whole  family 
were  taken  sick  with  fever  and  ague,  which 
made  it  impossible  for  them  to  do  any- 
thing for  nearly  a  year,  and  when  able  to 
renew  work  Mr.  Teachout  found  employ- 
ment in  the  sawmill  of  Doolittle  &  Co., 
with  whom  he  remained  until  1868,  when 
he  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  flat 
barrel  hoops.  This  business  he  carried 
on  some  fifteen  years,  in  1883  building  a 
shop  of  his  own;  but  in  1891,  the  timber 
having  become  very  scarce,  he  abandoned 
the  business  and  commenced  handling  in- 
surance (fire  and  tornado),  in  which  line 
he  has  since  continued  with  gratif3'ing 
success. 

On  May  15,  1853,  Mr.  Teachout  was 
married  to  Miss  Julia  McAul,  of  Sandusky, 
Ohio,  and  to  their  union  came  two  chil- 
dren: Mary  Ann,  born  March  18,  1854, 
died  May  10,  1854,  and  Albert,  born  July 
8,  1858.  On  May  14,  1S60,  the  mother 
of  these  died,  her  malady  being  consump- 
tion of  the  bowels,  and  is  buried  in  San- 
dusky city.  After  her  death  Mr.  Teach- 
out continued  to  work  on  farms  for  two 
years,  and  in  the  meantime,  on  June  22, 
1 861,  he  was  wedded  to  Miss  Sarah  Mc- 
Namara,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio.  By  this 
marriage  there  were  nine  children,  six  of 
whom  are  living,  their  names  and  dates 
of  birth  being  as  follows:  Cornelius 
Walter,  October  i  8, 1 862  ;  Delia  May,  Feb- 
ruary 16,  1866;  Silas  William,  June  4, 
1868;  Lillie  Maud,  May  3,  1873;  Myron 
W. ,  April  2,  1876,  and  Harvey  S.,  Feb- 
ruary 14,  1878.  On  July  17,  1 88 1,  Mr. 
Teachout's    second  wife  died,    and    Sep- 


222 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


tember  30,  same  year,  her  eldest  daugh- 
ter passed  away;  they  were  buried  in 
Benton  township  cemetery.  On  October 
28,  1884,  Mr.  Teachout  wedded,  for  his 
third  spouse.  Miss  Elizabeth  Gilbert,  of 
England.  This  union  has  been  blessed 
by  one  child.  Mr.  Teachout  is  therefore 
the  father  of  twelve  children,  eight  of 
whom  are  living.  His  eldest  son,  Albert, 
has,  during  the  past  ten  years,  been  en- 
gaged in  the  barrel  stave  business  in  Lucas 
county,  Ohio.  Another  son,  Myron  W., 
now  nineteen  years  of  age,  is  one  of  the 
promising  teachers  of  Ottawa  county. 
He  is  full  of  perseverance  and  determin- 
ation to  make  a  success  of  anything  he 
undertakes.  He  has  the  pleasant  faculty 
of  winning  friends  wherever  he  goes,  and 
has  the  good-will  and  love  of  all  his  pupils, 
without  which  no  teacher  can  e.xpect  suc- 
cess. 

On  February  25.  1877,  Silas  M.  Teach- 
out became  a  member  of  the  First  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Graj'town,  Ottawa  Co., 
Ohio;  on  September  11,  1877,  he  was 
chosen  and  ordained  ruling  elder  of  that 
Church,  since  which  time  he  has  been  a 
consistent  Christian,  and  a  large  share  of 
the  time  he  has  been  a  faithful  worker  for 
Christ  in  the  Sabbath-school  and  other 
Christian  work. 


J 


MARION  HAWK.  Most  soldiers  of 
the  great  Civil  war  look  back  upon 
their  army  e.xperiences  with  fond 
memories.  There  were  thrilling  ad- 
ventures, imminent  dangers,  deeds  of 
heroism,  hair-breadth  escapes,  that  rise 
in  their  recollections  like  living  pictures, 
and  too  often,  to  look  on  the  other  side, 
scenes  of  sadness  and  distressing  death. 
It  is  doubtful  if  there  is  in  Sandusky  coun- 
ty a  surviving  soldier  of  the  war  whose 
career  during  the  momentous  struggle  was 
more  thrilling  than  that  of  J.  Marion 
Hawk,  now  a  leading  farmer  and  citizen 
of  Green  Creek,  his  native  township. 

He  was  born  March  31,  1845,  and  is 


the  son  of  Joseph  and  Sarah  (Tillotson) 
Hawk,  the  former  of  whom  was  born  in 
Pickaway  county,  Ohio,  in  1814.  His 
father,  Conrad  Hawk,  a  native  of  Penn- 
sylvania, was  an  early  pioneer  of  Pick- 
awa}'  county,  later,  about  1824,  settling 
with  his  family  in  Green  Creek  township, 
Sandusky  county.  Joseph  was  about  ten 
years  old  when  he  came  to  Green  Creek 
township,  and  he  was  a  lifelong  citizen 
there,  dying  in  1889.  He  was  twice  mar- 
ried, first  time  to  Sarah  Jane  Tillotson,  by 
whom  he  had  four  children:  William,  who 
died  in  Michigan;  Maria,  who  married 
Joseph  King,  and  died  in  Green  Creek 
township;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Henry 
Baker,  of  Green  Creek  township;  and  J. 
Marion,  subject  of  this  sketch.  The 
second  wife  of  Joseph  Hawk  was  Martha 
Harris,  by  whom  he  had  the  following 
eight  children:  Sarah,  wife  of  H.  G.  Gib- 
bons, of  Clyde;  Alva;  Mary,  wife  of  B. 
Snyder,  of  Fremont;  Charles  and  Ida 
(twins),  the  former  a  resident  of  Oregon, 
the  latter  the  wife  of  S.  Sherwood,  of 
Fremont;  Byron;  Anna,  wife  of  Cyrus 
Harnden,  of  Clyde;  and  Etta,  wife  of 
Cyrus  Kessler,  of  Cleveland.  The  mother 
of  this  family  is  still  living. 

J.  Marion  Hawk,  usually  known  as 
Marion,  was  reared  on  the  farm,  and  dur- 
ing his  boyhood  attended  the  district 
schools.  He  was  barely  si.xteen  when 
Fort  Sumter  was  fired  upon,  and  between 
impetuous  patriotism  for  his  country's 
flag,  and  the  love  of  excitement,  he  was 
eager  to  enlist,  but  his  father  frowned 
upon  his  wishes.  Yielding  to  his  impulses, 
in  the  fall  of  1861,  Marion  ran  away  from 
home  and  enlisted  in  Company  D,  of  the 
gallant  Third  Cavalry  Volunteers.  He 
remained  with  the  regiment  for  three 
years  and  nine  months,  during  which  long 
period  the  history  of  the  regiment  was  his 
historv.  It  was  in  constant  and  perilous  ser- 
vice throughout  Tennessee,  Alabama  and 
Georgia.  While  on  his  way  home  in  the 
fall  of  1864  he  and  a  number  of  comrades 
were  taken  prisoners  at  Columbia,  Tenn. 


Jk/.  /V^. 


r 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


223 


They  were  escorted  to  a  prison  atCahaba, 
Ala. ,  and  thence  were  transferred  to  the 
stockade  at  Macon,  Ga.,  where  they  re- 
mained two  months.  While  here  he,  with 
a  few  companions,  attempted  an  escape. 
They  had  tunneled  over  loo  feet,  and 
were  almost  read}' to  escape,  when  a  Con- 
federate officer  noticed  the  string  attached 
to  a  small  pan  used  in  drawing  out  the 
dirt,  and  pulled.  The  prisoner  in  the 
tunnel,  thinking  it  was  a  companion,  cried 
out:  "No,  wait;  it  is  not  full  yet."  "You 
had  better  come  out,"  drawled  the  officer, 
and  the  countenance  of  the  grimy  tunneler 
fell  when  he  emerged  and  beheld  the  grey 
coat.      All  the  work  had  been  in  vain. 

When  removed  from  the  Macon 
stockade  to  a  train,  Mr.  Hawk  and  sev- 
eral others  felt  that  the  dreaded  Ander- 
sonville  was  their  destination,  so  eight  of 
them  resolved  to  escape.  They  were  in 
a  stock  car,  near  the  front  end  of  the 
train,  and  surrounded  by  three  guards, 
but  knocking  down  the  guards  they 
jumped  from  the  swiftly  moving  train.  A 
Rebel  guard  on  a  following  car  aimed  his 
musket  at  Mr.  Hawk,  but,  noticing  the 
gray  jacket  which  he  wore,  and  which  he 
had  traded  for  as  a  protection  in  a  pos- 
sible emergency  like  this,  the  guard  re- 
frained from  shooting.  The  train  passed 
by  and  the  eight  prisoners  made  the  best 
of  their  newly-found  liberty.  They 
tramped  through  tangled  swamp  and  mire 
until  nearly  sunset,  when  the  ominous 
blast  of  a  horn  told  them  that  the  South- 
erners were  in  pursuit.  They  separated, 
five  starting  one  way,  three  another. 
Mr.  Hawk  and  his  two  companions 
reached  the  edge  of  a  swamp.  Beyond, 
the  water  was  deep,  and  the  baying  of 
the  bloodhounds  grew  louder.  Recap- 
ture was  certain,  and  to  climb  trees  was 
the  onl\' means  of  safety  against  the  dogs. 
The  two  companions  climbed  trees  upon 
the  dry  land,  but  Mr.  Hawk,  to  give  the 
"Johnnies"  all  the  trouble  possible, 
waded  a  long  distance  into  the  swamp, 
till  it  was  waist  deep,  then  climbed  a  tree 


himself.  This  was  February  2,  1865, 
and  the  weather  was  raw  and  chilly.  He 
heard  the  "  Rebs  "  arrive,  and  take  away 
the  two  companions.  After  dark  he  de- 
scended, waded  ashore  and  tramped  on 
alone  quite  a  distance,  when  a  light  ap- 
peared. Approaching,  for  he  was  hungry 
and  tired,  and  ready  to  meet  any  human 
being,  he  found  on  investigation  that  the 
light  was  in  a  negro  shanty.  Gaining  ad- 
mission, he  was  asked  if  he  was  one  of 
the  escaped  Yankees  whom  the  Confed- 
erates were  pursuing  with  bloodhounds, 
and  he  admitted  that  he  was.  The  col- 
ored man  fed  him,  and  assured  him  that 
if  he  would  take  dirt  from  a  grave  and  rub 
it  on  his  feet  and  clothes  the  scent  of  the 
bloodhounds  would  be  destroyed.  They 
urged  him  to  take  the  precaution,  and 
two  darkeys  procured  some  of  the  magic 
mold.  Though  skeptical,  he  tried  the 
charm,  and  somewhat  refreshed  con- 
tinued on  his  weary  journey  north- 
ward ail  that  night,  and  until  three 
o'clock  the  next  day,  when  the  bay- 
ing of  hounds  and  the  blast  of  horns  in- 
formed him  that  relentless  pursuers  were 
on  his  track.  He  was  then  in  an  open, 
rolling  country,  and  knew  that  further 
flight  was  useless.  Selecting  a  scrub  oak, 
large  enough  to  bear  his  weight  and  keep 
him  beyond  the  fangs  of  the  hounds,  he 
climbed  the  tree  and  awaited  the  inev- 
itable. Soon  the  bloodhounds  were  leap- 
ing, and  howling,  and  gnawing  at  the 
base  of  the  tree.  Their  howls  were  hid- 
eous and  deafening.  Three  elderly  men 
appeared  on  horseback  and  requested 
him  to  descend.  He  complied,  where- 
upon the  dogs  became  uncontrollable  and 
Air.  Hawk  quickly  regained  his  lofty 
perch.  The  old  gentlemen  finally  si- 
lenced the  hounds,  and  the  escaped  pris- 
oner frankly  admitted  his  identity.  Upon 
the  return  journey  he  was  permitted  to 
ride  each  of  two  horses  alternately,  but 
not  the  third,  which  was  a  superior  ani- 
mal, and  Mr.  Hawk  thus  lost  an  oppor- 
tunity to  make  another  break  for  liberty, 


224 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


for  he  had  resolved  to  risk  the  shotguns 
of  the  old  men  if  once  mounted  on  the 
fast  horse.  But  thoujjh  each  of  the  three 
old  gentlemen  walked  alternately  they 
kept  the  best  horse  to  themselves.  Stop- 
ping at  night  at  a  farmhouse,  Mr.  Hawk 
was  left  without  a  guard;  but  the  blood- 
hounds, let  loose  outside,  deterred  him 
from  attempting  to  escape. 

Mr.  Hawk  was  forthwith  sent  to  An- 
dersonville,  and  there  met  his  seven  late 
companions,  all  of  whom  had  preceded 
him.  He  saw  the  notorious  Capt.  Wirz, 
and  was  imprisoned  there  about  two 
months.  Luckily  Mr.  Hawk  did  not  fare  so 
badly  as  many  of  his  compatriots.  He 
and  four  other  prisoners  had  a  tent  and  kept 
a  peanut  stand;  also  bought  corn  meal 
from  the  Rebel  guards  and  sold  it  to  the 
prisoners.  At  the  end  of  two  months  he 
had  $6  in  greenbacks  and  about  $600  in 
Confederate  money.  Prisoners  were 
being  exchanged  every  few  days,  and  the 
Rebel  officials  were  compelling  the  prison- 
ers to  pay  for  the  privilege  of  being  placed 
on  the  e.xchange  list.  By  giving  up  all 
their  money  and  other  effects  Mr.  Hawk 
and  his  companions  finally  got  out.  They 
were  placed  on  a  cattle  car  and  sent  to 
Vicksburg,  where  thej'  were  exchanged. 
Here,  with  about  twenty-two  hundred  other 
passengers,  mostly  Union  soldiers,  but  in- 
cluding a  few  Confederates  and  a  few 
women,  he  boarded  the  ill-fated  "Sul- 
tana." The  history  of  tiiat  steamer  is 
well  known.  It  blew  upabout  eight  miles 
above  Memphis,  April  27,  1865,  and  over 
seventeen  hundred  passengers  were  lost. 
Mr.  Hawk  was  on  top  of  the  boat  near 
the  pilot  house  when  the  e.xplosion  oc- 
curred. Putting  on  his  clothes  he  rolled 
up  his  blankets,  and  looking  around  for 
some  means  of  escape  he  saw  a  stateroom 
door  lying  loose,  and  took  possession. 
The  scene  was  horrible  beyond  descrip- 
tion. There  were  mangled  dead  and 
dying  lying  about,  and  hundreds  were 
wailing,  who  must  choose  between  a  death 
by  fire  or  water.      Watching  his  oppor- 


tunity' Mr.  Hawk  shoved  off  with  his  door. 
He  swam  bravely  for  a  while,  but  was 
seized  with  cramps  in  his  legs,  and  got 
badl}'  tangled  in  the  vines  and  debris  of 
the  river  drift.  Finally  reaching  shore  he 
made  his  way  northward,  and  was  hon- 
orably discharged  from  service  May  15, 
1865. 

He  returned  to  his  father's  farm,  and 
was  married,  in  1870,  to  Miss  Mary  A. 
Bower,  who  was  born  in  Sandusky  City 
March  21,  1850.  Her  parents  were  na- 
tives of  Baden,  Germany.  Mr.  and  Nfrs. 
Hawk  have  three  children:  Pranklin  M., 
born  August  6,  1873;  Irma  G.,  born  Au- 
gust 10,  1876;  and  Ruth  E.,  born  June 
7,  1885.  Mr.  Hawk  owns  104  acres  of 
good  land,  and  is  decidedly  one  of  the 
best  farmers  in  his  township.  He  is  tall 
of  stature,  well  informed,  and  socially,  a 
leader.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat.  He 
is  a  prominent  member  and  now  chancellor 
commander  of  the  K.  of  P.,  and  is  also 
past  colonel  of  the  U.  V.  U. 


A  J.  CASTLE,  one  of  the  substan- 
tial farmers  of  York  township, 
Sandusky  county,  has  won  ad- 
miration by  his  sure  and  steady 
rise  to  comfort,  possesses  unquestioned 
integrity,  and  has  acquired  a  modest 
competency  by  his  own  unaided  efforts. 
He  was  born  in  Erie  county  December 
26,  1 84 1,  a  son  of  John  and  Rhoda  (Mc- 
Gill)  Castle. 

John  Castle,  the  father,  was  born  in 
Lycoming  county,  Penn.,  in  1800,  son  of 
David  Castle,  of  Scotch-Irish  extraction. 
When  a  young  man  John  Castle  migrated 
to  Groton  township,  Erie  county.  Here 
he  married  Rhoda  McGill,  who  was  born 
in  Groton  township  in  181  3,  of  New  Eng- 
land parentage.  John  Castle  in  1852  re- 
moved to  Thompson  township,  Seneca 
county,  and  four  years  later  he  came  to 
York  township,  Sandusky  county,  where 
he  lived  until  his  death  in  1867.  He  was 
a  man  of  tall  stature  and  hard)-  constitu- 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOORAPHICAL   RECORD. 


225 


tioii,  and  had  been  sick  less  than  two 
days  when  he  died.  He  threshed  the  day 
he  became  ill  and  died  diirin<(  the  follow- 
ing night.  In  politics  John  Castle  was  a 
Republican.  In  early  life  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  M.  E.  Church,  but  later  he  be- 
came connected  with  the  U.  B.  Society 
near  his  home.  His  wife  survived  until 
1881. 

A.  J.  Castle,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
remained  with  his  father,  attending  the 
common  schools,  until  he  was  eighteen. 
He  then  began  farm  work  by  the  month 
until  August  22,  1862,  when  he  enlisted 
in  Company  B,  One  Hundred  andTwentj'- 
third  O.  V.  I.  The  regiment  was  as- 
signed to  the  Eighth  Corps  in  West  Vir- 
ginia, and  served  three  years.  Mr.  Castle 
participated  in  the  battles  of  Winchester 
(Va.),  Newmarket,  Piedmont,  Lynch- 
burg, Snicker's  Ford,  Berry  ville,  Fisher's 
Hill,  Cedar  Creek,  High  Bridge  and 
others.  He  saw  Gen.  Sheridan  on  his 
famous  ride  to  Winchester,  Va. ;  was 
mustered  out  in  June,  1865,  returned 
home  and  resumed  farming,  working  also 
in  a  sawmill.  Including  his  military  serv- 
ice, Mr.  Castle  worked  for  si.xteen  years 
for  monthl)'  wages. 

In  1880  he  was  married  to  Miss  Alice 
Moyer,  who  was  born  in  Sandusky  county 
October  14,  1856,  daughter  of  Samuel 
and  Eve  (Kline)  Moyer,  both  natives  of 
Union  county,  Penn.  The  father,  who 
was  of  German  ancestry,  was  born  in 
1804,  the  mother  in  18 10.  They  married 
in  Pennsylvania,  and  about  1S53  migrated 
to  York  township,  Sandusky  county. 
Later  Samuel  Moyer  removed  to  Michi- 
gan, where  he  died  in  1876;  his  wife  after 
lived  in  Kansas,  whence  she  returned  in 
May,  1895;  a  few  weeks  later  she  was 
stricken  with  paralysis,  and  died  at  the 
home  of  Albert  Streeter  August  2,  1895. 
To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Castle  four  children 
have  been  born:  Mabel,  Carmi,  John 
and  Rhoda.  After  his  marriage  Mr.  Cas- 
tle rented  a  farm  and  continued  to  till  the 
land  of  others  until  three  years  ago,  when 


he  purchased  a  fertile  farm  of  forty-three 
acres.  He  is  engaged  in  general  farming 
and  in  raising  vegetables,  especially  cab- 
bages. In  politics  he  is  a  Republican. 
His  wife  is  a  member  of  the  U.  B.  Church. 
Mr.  Castle  was  in  1894  elected  trustee 
of  the  township.  He  has  many  friends, 
and  bears  the  reputation  of  being  an  un- 
usually successful  farmer. 


GEORGE  WALTERS,  a  promi- 
nent and  substantial  farmer  of 
Woodville  township,  Sandusky 
countv,  is  a  native  of  that 
county,  born  February  3,  1855,  and  is  a 
son  of  Louis  and  Anne  (Hinnes)  Walters. 
Louis  Walters  was  born  in  \\'itten- 
berg,  Germany,  in  1809,  received  his 
education  in  his  native  town,  and  en- 
gaged in  farming.  When  but  a  young 
man  he  came  to  the  United  States,  lo- 
cating first  in  Virginia,  where  he  drove 
teams  for  a  livelihood.  In  Wheeling,  \'a., 
on  February  12,  1834,  Louis  Walters 
married  Anne  Hinnes,  who  was  born  in 
Hanover,  Germany,  and  they  had  the 
following  children:  Rosina,  born  in  Febru- 
ar3%  1836,  wife  of  Edward  Swit^keble, 
a  farmer  of  Michigan;  John,  born  in 
1838,  and  died  in  Libby  prison  during 
the  Civil  war;  Louis,  born  in  1840,  now 
a  farmer  in  Michigan;  Peter,  born  in 
1842,  who  also  resides  in  Michigan; 
Rebecca,  born  in  1844,  wife  of  Henry 
Clockems,  of  Michigan;  Wesley,  born 
February  14,  1853,  and  burned  to  death 
in  the  fire  on  the  homestead,  in  1894; 
David,  a  farmer;  George,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch;  and  Mary,  born  August  11, 
1858,  now  the  wife  of  Albert  Windier,  a 
farmer  of  Ohio. 

Louis  Walters  remained  in  Virginia 
three  years,  and  after  his  marriage  came 
to  Sandusky  county,  Ohio,  where  he 
bought  eighty  acres  of  land,  all  in  tim- 
ber, and  inhabited  by  wolves,  deer,  and 
other  denizens    of    the    forest.      Having 


226 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


built  a  log  cabin  for  himself  and  family, 
when  there  were  only  two  other  settlers 
in  the  neighborhood,  he  went  to  work 
with  a  stout  and  willing  heart  to  make  a 
farm  from  the  wilderness.  The  trees 
soon  gave  way  before  the  axe  in  the 
the  hands  of  the  hardy  woodman,  and 
the  stumps  and  gnarled  and  interlacing 
roots  of  the  forest  monarchs  were  sup- 
planted in  a  short  time  by  stalks  of 
corn  and  waving  fields  of  wheat.  While 
the  summer  sun  was  still  high  in  the 
heavens  he  garnered  the  golden  grain, 
and  when  the  leaves  took  on  the  brilliant 
hues  of  the  declining  year  he  threshed 
out,  with  swinging  ilail,  the  myriads  of 
kernels,  the  bounty  of  the  harvest.  And 
this  he  bore  for  many  miles,  on  bended 
back,  with  toiling  feet,  to  the  mill  that 
ground  for  those  who  brought,  and  then 
returned,  while  autumn  winds  sighed 
through  the  woodland,  sometimes  when 
wintry  blasts  blew  keen  and  chill.  And 
thus  bread  was  provided  for  himself  and 
family.  Many  were  the  hardships  he 
endured  while  laboring  to  make  a 
farm  and  home  for  his  family.  There 
were  no  roads  or  ditches,  and  he 
often  had  to  wade  through  the  water 
that  stood  in  places  on  his  land.  But 
from  year  to  year  the  good  work  was 
continued,  with  ever-increasing  facilities, 
until  the  eighty  acres  were  cleared,  and 
most  of  the  superfluous  water  drained 
off  with  suitable  ditching.  He  erected  a 
good  dwelling  house,  built  a  barn  and 
outhouses,  planted  a  fine  orchard  and 
made  various  other  improvements,  event- 
ually finding  himself  the  possessor  of  one 
of  the  finest  and  best  cultivated  farms  in 
the  township  of  Woodville.  Mr.  Walters 
was  a  stanch  Republican,  and  always 
took  a  deep  interest  in  the  political  affairs 
and  school  matters  of  the  township.  He 
died  on  the  homestead  in  July,  1893,  at 
the  ripe  age  of  eighty-four  years, 
lamented  by  a  large  circle  of  friends, 
and  by  his  sorrowing  wife  and  family. 
His   widow,    who   is  still    living,    resides 


with  her  son  David,  who  is  caring  for  her 
in  her  old  age. 

George  Walters  attended  school  in 
Woodville  township,  worked  with  his 
brothers  on  his  father's  farm,  helped  to 
clear  the  homestead,  ditch  the  land, 
plant  the  orchard,  and  in  the  general 
routine  of  daily  toil.  His  father  divided 
the  farm  between  him  and  one  of  his 
brothers,  and  he  attended  to  its  culti- 
vation and  built  a  very  fine  dwelling 
house.  In  1894  this  was  destroyed  by  a 
fire,  in  which  he  lost  all  his  household 
effects,  and,  saddest  of  all,  his  brother 
was  burned  to  death.  The  property 
lost  was  valued  at  over  $3,000,  but 
there  was  an  insurance  of  $2,000.  Mr. 
\\'alters  is  now  constructing  a  fine  dwell- 
ing house  on  the  ruins  of  his  old  home, 
at  a  cost  of  $2,400,  and  when  completed 
it  will  be  one  of  the  finest  in  the  town- 
ship. 

On  December  29,  1882,  George  Wal- 
ters was  united  in  marriage  with  Helen 
Nuhfer,  daughter  of  Anthony  Nuhfer, 
and  they  ha\e  had  two  children:  Frank, 
born  September  29,  1883;  and  Carroll, 
born  February  27,  1891.  Mr.  Walters 
has  two  oil  wells  on  his  farm,  which  is 
one  of  the  best  cultivated  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. He  is  an  industrious,  hard- 
working man,  an  enterprising  citizen, 
is  much  respe.cted,  and  has  many  friends. 


JOSEPH  JORDAN  is  highly  respected 
as  one  of  the  most  industrious  and 
prosperous  citizens  of  York  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county.  It  is  the 
theory  of  Mr.  Jordan  that  if  each  mem- 
ber of  society  will  carefully  attend  to  his 
own  affairs,  the  great  body  politic  will 
fare  well.  He  thinks  that  human  char- 
acter in  the  main  is  sound  and  honest, 
and  therefore  does  not  need  officious  in- 
spection. Acting  on  this  opinion  and  be- 
lief he  has  assiduously  applied  himself  to 
the  work  that  lay  before  him,  and  the  re- 
sults have  been  gratifying  to  himself  and 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


227 


a  source  of  commendation   for   his  many 
friends. 

Mr.  Jordan  was  born  in  Thompson 
township,  Seneca  county,  in  September, 
1835,  son  of  Adam  and  Sophia  Jordan. 
Adam  Jordan  was  born  in  Union  county, 
Penn.,  in  1S07,  and  his  father,  who  was 
of  French  ancestry,  was  a  native  of  the 
same  county.  The  grandfather  lived  to 
the  age  of  only  forty,  but  the  grand- 
mother attained  the  ripe  old  age  of  ninety- 
seven  years.  About  1836  Adam  Jordan 
migrated  with  his  family  from  Pennsyl- 
vania to  Thompson  township,  Seneca 
county,  and  later  he  came  to  York  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county;  he  was  a  member 
of  the  Lutheran  Church,  and  died  in  1862. 
His  wdfe,  who  was  born  in  181 7,  lived 
until  1869.  Their  children  were  as  fol- 
lows: Sarah,  wife  of  U.  Weaver,  of 
Lucas  county;  Martin,  also  of  Lucas 
county;  Lucy  (now  the  widow  of  John 
McCauley),  of  Bellevue;  Joseph,  subject 
of  this  sketch;  Mary  Ann,  unmarried,  liv- 
ing on  the  old  homestead;  George  W. , 
who  also  lives  on  the  old  homestead; 
Hannah,  a  maiden  lady;  James,  of  Belle- 
vue; and  John,  who  died  aged  twenty-six 
years. 

Joseph  Jordan  grew  up  in  York  town- 
ship, and  in  his  youth  worked  on  the 
home  farm.  He  also  thoroughly  learned 
the  trade  of  brick  burning,  and  followed 
that  occupation  some  eighteen  or  twenty 
years  in  Sandusky  county,  part  of  the 
time  at  Fremont.  Mr.  Jordan  is  in  a 
great  measure  self-educated.  In  1858  he 
was  married  at  the  age  of  twenty-three 
years  to  Miss  Hannah  Gamby,  who  was 
born  in  Huron  county  in  1836,  and  six 
children  have  been  born  to  them:  Adam, 
Samuel,  Alice,  Clara,  Minerva  and  Irvin. 
Of  these,  Adam  married  Susan  Spriggs, 
and  lives  on  an  adjoining  farm  (he  has  one 
child — Carmi);  Samuel  died  at  the  age  of 
twenty-seven  years;  Alice  is  also  deceased; 
Clara  is  the  wife  of  George  Parker;  Mi- 
nerva is  at  home;  Irvin  is  married  to  Miss 
Gertrude    Diment.      Mr.  Jordan   after  his 


marriage  lived  for  a  time  in  Green  Creek 
township,  then  purchased  his  present 
farm  of  104  acres  in  York  township,  and 
has  lived  there  twenty-one  years.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry, 
and  in  local  politics  he  votes  rather  for 
the  man  than  for  the  part}'. 


ANDREW  PFEIFER,  a  prominent 
farmer  of  Green  Creek  township, 
Sandusky  county,  was  born  in 
Hesse,  Germany,  December  11, 
1856,  a  grandson  of  Andrew  Pfeifer,  and 
son  of  Conrad  Pfeifer  and  Elizabeth 
(Simon)  Pfeifer.  Conrad  Pfeifer  was 
born  in  Hesse,  and  was  by  occupation  a 
railroad  man.  He  was  killed  by  acci- 
dent, at  his  employment,  at  about  the 
age  of  fifty.  Mrs.  Elizabeth  (Simon) 
Pfeifer  was  born  in  the  same  locality, 
and  died  in  Germany  at  the  age  of  sixty. 
She  was  the  mother  of  six  children: 
Adam,  who  now  lives  in  Germany,  and 
is  a  railroad  man ;  Henrj-,  a  farmer  in 
Fulton  county,  Ohio;  Catharine,  who 
married  Fred  Schaffer,  and  now  resides  in 
Huron  county,  near  Norwalk;  Andrew, 
the  subject  proper  of  this  sketch;  and 
Elizabeth  and  Conrad  (twins),  the  latter 
of  whom  was  drowned  when  thirteen 
years  of  age. 

Andrew  Pfeifer  came  to  America  at 
about  fifteen  years  of  age,  landing  at 
New  York  City,  whence  he  proceeded  di- 
rectly to  Sandusky  City,  Ohio,  where  he 
found  employment  as  a  laborer  on  a 
farm,  at  which  he  continued  six  years. 
Having  judiciously  saved  his  earnings,  he 
rented  a  farm,  purchased  the  necessary 
equipments,  and  commenced  doing  bus- 
iness for  himself.  He  farmed  in  Erie 
county  about  nine  3'ears.  In  1881  he 
married  Miss  Katie  Strack,  who  was  born 
in  Germany  January  6,  1853,  a  daughter 
of  Philip  Jacob  and  Marguerite  (Gross) 
Strack,  the  former  of  whom  was  a  laborer 
in  Germany,  and  died  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
eight;    the  latter,    now    eighty  years    of 


228 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


age,  resides  at  Sandusky  City.  Six  of 
their  children  grew  to  maturitj':  PhiHp, 
who  Hves  at  Sandusky  City;  a  daughter 
who  married  WilHam  Gross,  of  Bellevue; 
W'iHiam,  Hving  in  Sandusky  City;  Chris- 
tian, of  the  same  place;  Margaret,  who 
married  a  Mr.  Wise,  and  lives  in  Belle- 
vue; and  Katie,  wife  of  our  subject. 

The  names  and  dates  of  birth  of  the 
children  born  to  Andrew  and  Katie 
Pfeifer  are  as  follows:  Katie  M.,  Oc- 
tober 21,  1883;  Henry  E.,  May  9,  1885; 
Frederick  A.,  April  6,  1887,  George  A., 
December  15,  1888;  Charles  A.,  April 
14,  1891;  and  William  J.,  March  29, 
1894.  The  two  eldest  were  born  in  Ox- 
ford township,  Erie  Co.,  Ohio,  the  others 
in  Green  Creek  township,  Sandusky 
county. 

In  1887  Mr.  Pfeifer  purchased  160 
acres  of  land  in  Green  Creek  township, 
near  Green  Spring,  which  he  has  worked 
to  good  advantage  up  to  the  present 
time.  With  a  farm  of  more  than  the 
average  in  size  and  fertility,  rendered 
still  more  productive  by  careful  cultiva- 
tion, Mr.  Pfeifer  bids  fair  to  become  one 
of  the  most  substantial  men  in  his  com- 
munity. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pfeifer  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Lutheran  Church,  and  for  peo- 
ple of  their  years,  having  the  greatest 
portion  of  life  still  before  them,  they  have 
been  unusually  successful. 


EDWARD  JESCHKE  was  born  in 
Pomerania,    Germany,    May    25, 
1858,  and  is  a  son  of  August  and 
Augusta  (Runje)  Jeschke,  both  of 
whom  were  born  in  Germanj',  and  came 
to  America  in  August,   1874. 

August  Jeschke,  although  quite  old, 
still  follows  his  trade  of  blacksmith,  and 
does  an  amount  of  work  every  day  that 
many  a  younger  man  might  emulate. 
Charles,  born  January  24,  1846,  and  Ed- 
ward, the  subject  of  this  sketch,  are  the 
only  ones  remaining  of  the  five  children 


of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  August  Jeschke,  who 
are  at  present  living  with  their  son  Charles. 
Edward  Jeschke  received  a  common- 
school  education  in  his  native  land,  which 
he  left  for  the  United  States  in  the  spring 
of  1873.  Coming  at  once  to  Townsend 
township,  Sandusky  county,  which  is  still 
his  home,  he  worked  at  the  blacksmith's 
trade  for  several  years.  He  then  opened 
a  store  and  saloon  in  Vickery,  Townsend 
township,  which  he  continued  until  ' '  local 
option  "  was  carried  in  the  township,  pro- 
hibiting the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors. 
In  November,  1879,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Miss  Bena  Mapus,  who  was 
born  March  28,  1861.  Of  their  nine 
children,  seven  are  still  living,  their  names 
and  dates  of  birth  being  as  follows:  Mary, 
July  6,  1881;  Hannah,  October  23,  1883; 
Fred,  April  17,  1885;  Pearl,  June  i,  1887; 
August,  December  14,  1888;  Charles, 
November  12,  1890;  and  John.  January 
30,  1894,  all  living  at  home.  Mr.  Jeschke 
now  represents  the  Stang  Brewing  Co. , 
of  Sandusky  county,  at  Gibsonburg.  In 
politics  he  is  an  ardent  believer  in  and 
defender  of  the  Democratic  doctrine. 


DANIEL  I.  GARN,  a  citizen  of  Fre- 
mont, Sandusky  county,  was  born 
in  Union  township,  Bedford  Co., 
Penn.,  March  31,  1844.  His 
father.  Christian  Garn,  was  born  Februarj' 
13.  '799>  in  the  same  locality,  and,  in  the 
fall  of  1826,  married  Catherine,  daughter 
of  Henry  Ickes,  a  native  of  the  Keystone 
State. 

Our  subject  was  one  of  a  family  of  ten 
children:     (i)    Catherine,    born   April    6, 

1828,  who  married  Solomon  Mauk,  and 
their  children  were — George,  Louisa, 
Christian,  Joseph,  Hannah,  Jane,  Will- 
iam, Frank  and  Annie;  politically  the  sons 
were  Democrats,  and  in  religious  affiliation 
the  family  were  members  of  the  Reformed 
Church.      (2)    Susan,    born    in    October, 

1829,  married  to  Edward  Conrad,  a 
mason  by  trade,  who  was  a  member  of 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHIVAL   RECORD. 


229 


the  Reformed  Church,  and  in  pohtics  a 
Democrat;  they  had  children  as  follows — 
Elizabeth,  John,  George,  Joseph,  Daniel, 
Abner,  Edward,  Mary  and  Levi.  (3)  Mar- 
garet, born  October  i,  1831,  married 
Adam  Briggle,  a  farmer,  member  of  the 
Reformed  Church;  the  result  of  their 
unipn  was  children  as  follows — Hannah 
and  Daniel.  (4)  John  I.  was  born  October 
27i  1833,  probate  judge  of  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  in  politics  a  Republican,  and  a 
member  of  the  Evangelical  Association; 
the  names  of  his  children  are:  Jane, 
Hannah,  Delilah,  Mary, Catherine,  Minnie 
and  John  C.  (5)  Jacob  died  in  childhood. 
(6)  George,  born  1838,  a  farmer  in  Jack- 
son township,  married  Elizabeth  Walters, 
and  they  had  two  children — William  and 
Emma;  he  was  a  member  of  the  Evangel- 
ical Association,  and  in  politics  was  a 
Democrat.  (7)  Hannah,  born  February 
27, 1 84 1,  married  John  Kisaberts,  a  farmer 
of  Seneca  county,  Ohio;  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Evangelical  Association,  polit- 
ically a  Republican.  (8)  Daniel!.,  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch;  and  two  that  died  in 
infancy. 

Daniel  I.  Garn  grew  to  manhood  in 
the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  and  at  the  age 
of  twenty  years  was  drafted  into  the  mili- 
tary service  of  the  United  States,  in  the 
war  of  the  Rebellion,  serving  in  Company 
G,  Ninety-first  Pennsylvania  Infantry, 
Army  of  the  Potomac.  He  went  to  Cham- 
bersburg,  then  on  to  Richmond,  Va.  He 
was  in  the  Weldon  Railroad  raid,  and 
helped  destroy  the  track,  so  as  to  cut  off 
connection  with  Nashville,  Tenn.  Being 
taken  sick  there  with  fever,  he  was  sent 
to  City  Point  Hospital,  and  later  to  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  where  he  lay  from  Febru- 
ary 28  until  May  10,  when  he  returned 
home.  He  was  in  Washington  City  at 
the  time  President  Lincoln  was  shot,  April 
14,  1865.  After  his  return  from  the  war, 
Mr.  Garn  worked  at  the  cooper  trade 
twelve  years,  carried  on  farming  for  his 
father  seven  years,  then  came  to  Ohio 
and  settled  in    Scott  township,  where  he 


remained  five  years,  thence  moving  to 
Jackson  township,  where  he  resided  five 
years.  He  is  now  a  resident  of  Fremont, 
Ohio.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics, 
and  is  identified  with  the  Reformed 
Church.  In  1892  he  was  elected  justice 
of  the  peace,  and  has  held  other  offices  in 
his  township. 

On  July  29,  1866,  Mr.  Garn  married 
Miss  Virginia  Griffith,  who  was  born  April 
23,  1842,  a  daughter  of  William  and  Sarah 
Griffith,  natives  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
their  children  are:  (i)  Lilian  Grace,  born 
Mayg,  1 867,  married  Henry  Ickes,  ablack- 
smith  in  Cambria  county,  Penn. ;  he  is  a 
Republican  in  politics,  and  is  a  member 
of  the  Lutheran  Church;  they  have  three 
children — Charles,  Bruce  and  Ralph.  (2) 
Charles  H.,  born  August  27,  1869,  living 
at  home;  in  politics  he  is  a  Republican. 
(3)  Harry  E.,  born  March  9,  is  a  law 
student,  and  affiliates  with  the  Republican 
party.  (4)  Lizzie,  born  November  20, 
1874,  is  a  graduate  of  Heidelberg  Acad- 
emy, at  Tiffin,  Ohio,  and  a  teacher  in 
Jackson  township.  (5)  Susan,  born 
March  27,  1877,  is  a  student  at  the  Fre- 
mont High  School.  (6)  William  Arthur, 
born  September  13,  1879. 


JASON  GIBBS,  one  of  the  most  sub- 
stantial and  well-to-do  citizen  of 
Riley  township,  Sandusky  county, 
was  born  August  31,  1825,  and  is  a 
son  of  Jonas  and  Rachel  (Daniel)  Gibbs. 
Jonas  Gibbs  was  born  in  1762;  he  was 
married,  in  Vermont,  to  Rachel  Daniels, 
who  was  born  in  1794,  and  in  1808  they 
located  at  the  mouth  of  Pipe  creek,  in 
Huron  county,  Ohio,  bought  300  acres  of 
land,  and  lived  there  twelve  years.  They 
then  removed  to  Riley  township,  San- 
dusky county,  here  purchasing  a  thousand 
acres  of  land,  and  two  years  later  five 
hundred  acres  more.  Here  they  passed 
the  remainder  of  their  lives,  Mr.  Gibbs 
dying  in  1834,  Mrs.  Gibbs  in  1848.  They 
had   seven    children,   a    brief    record  of 


230 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOORAPHICAL   RECORD. 


whom  is  as  follows :  Isaac  died  at  the 
early  age  of  eighteen,  unmarried.  Cynthia 
married  Joseph  H.  Curtis,  by  whom  she 
had  three  children,  and  they  lived  in 
Riley  township;  subsequent!}'  she  married 
William  Pierson,  by  whom  she  had  eight 
children.  Boa  married  Mr.  Dean,  and 
they  had  eight  children;  they  live  in  Riley 
township.  Jonas  married  Rosina  Linsey, 
and  they  had  two  children;  he  died  in 
1852,  she  in  1876.  Jeremiah  married 
Jane  Conrad,  and  they  live  in  Riley  town- 
ship. Jason  is  the  subject  of  these  lines. 
Luther  married  Emma  Buskirk,  and  they 
had  four  children;  they  live  in  Riley  town- 
ship. Rachel  married  Lewis  Barkheimer, 
and  to  their  union  has  come  one  child; 
they  are  also  residents  of  Riley  township. 
After  his  father's  death,  Jason  Gibbs 
remained  with  his  mother  on  the  farm 
until  his  twenty-first  year.  On  March 
28,  1846,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Elizabeth  Conrad,  who  was  born  in  San- 
dusky county,  where  she  has  alwaj's  lived, 
daughter  of  John  and  Sarah  (Tuttle)  Con- 
rad, who  were  the  parents  of  eleven  chil- 
dren. John  Conrad  was  born  in  Ohio  in 
1795,  and  died  in  Sandusky  county, 
February  3,  1869;  his  wife  died  June  11, 
1883,  aged  eighty-four  jears,  nine  months, 
sixteen  days.  Mrs.  Gibbs'  paternal 
grandmother  was  born  in  1784;  her  ma- 
ternal grandfather.  Van  Rensselaer  Tut- 
tle, was  born  in  1772.  After  this  mar- 
riage Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gibbs  moved  to  Riley 
township,  where  he  bought  a  thousand 
acres  of  land.  They  became  the  parents 
of  four  children,  as  follows:  Albert  mar- 
ried Amelia  Wright,  and  they  have  two 
children — Charles  and  Burton  P. — one 
of  whom,  Charles,  died  young.  Luther 
married  Almira  Beebe,  and  they  have  had 
ten  children;  they  live  in  Riley  township. 
Burton  married  Jane  Beebe,  and  they 
also  live  in  Riley  township;  they  have  had 
two  children — Charles  A.  and  William  J. 
John  married  Laura  Botsford,  and  they 
have  had  six  children;  they  make  their 
home  in  Riley  township. 


Mr.  Gibbs  has  been  very  successful  in 
his  dealings,  and  is  well  liked.  He  cleared 
300  acres  of  his  land  himself,  which  took 
him  nearly  five  years,  and  has  been  engaged 
in  general  farming,  the  raising  of  fine 
hogs,  and  for  several  years  has  also  oper- 
ated two  sawmills.  Besides  his  property 
here  he  has  847  acres  of  valuable  land  in 
Tennessee,  on  which  his  oldest  son  re- 
sides. In  1893  Mr.  Gibbs  retired.  He 
attends  the  Lutheran  Church,  is  a  Repub- 
lican in  politics,  and  has  been  honored 
with  public  office,  having  been  supervisor 
for  twenty  years.  One  of  Mr.  Gibbs' 
uncles,  Luther,  was  killed  at  Huron,  Ohio, 
by  the  falling  of  a  block  from  a  ship's 
mast;  another,  Jerry,  was  killed  by  In- 
dians at  Sandusky  (the  night  before  his 
rjiurder  he  dreamed  that  the  Indians  came 
to  his  home  and  killed  him). 


H  I NTZ  FAMILY.  Instances  of  fam- 
ilies who  rise  to  afifluence  and  in- 
fluence under  the  most  untoward 
circumstances  are  sufficiently  rare 
to  excite  comment,  and  lead  the  uninitiated 
to  inquire  what  the  faculty,  or  combina- 
tion of  faculties,  might  be  that  would  pro- 
duce a  result  so  fortunate  to  the  people 
most  closely  interested.  It  can  be  said  of 
the  Hintz  family  that  they  came  of  good 
stock,  but  it  so  happened  that  misfortune 
swept  away  father  and  provider  and  left 
mother  and  two  helpless  young  sons  ab- 
solutely penniless  in  a  strange  land.  They 
did  not  remain  in  that  condition,  thanks  to 
the  irrepressible  qualities  that  lay  dor- 
mant in  their  young  natures.  But  the 
ascent  was  for  a  time  painfully  slow.  The 
story  of  their  rise  is  most  interesting,  and 
the  lesson  of  their  lives  instructive. 

John  J.  Hintz,  the  grandfather  of 
Christian  and  William  Hintz,  was  a  pros- 
perous stock  raiser  of  Mecklenburg,  Ger- 
many. No  one  in  the  neighboring  dis- 
tricts bore  a  more  excellent  reputation 
than  he.  In  wordly  affairs  he  was  pros- 
perous,   in  character  above  reproach,  in 


^ 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


231 


religion  a  sturdy  defender  of  the  Lutheran 
faith,  and  in  intfuence  powerful.  He  died 
at  the  age  of  sixty-four  years.  He  had 
married  a  Miss  Hintz,  and  to  them  were 
born  seven  children.  But  by  the  inequal- 
ities of  the  feudal  system  which  then  held 
undisputed  sway  in  Germany  the  goodly 
heritage  fell  solely  to  the  eldest  son,  John, 
while  the  younger  children  where  left  to 
scramble  for  their  bread  as  best  they  could. 
John,  thus  left  independent,  subsequently 
emigrated  to  America  and  settled  in  Wis- 
consin. The  other  children  were  as  fol- 
lows: Christopher,  who  remained  a  farmer 
in  Germany;  Joseph  J.,  who  died  in  Ger- 
many; Fred,  who  remained  a  laborer  in 
Germany;  Christian,  the  father  of  Chris- 
tian and  William  Hintz,  subjects  of  this 
sketch;  William,  who  worked  in  a  distill- 
ery in  Germany,  and  died  in  that  country; 
and  Mary,  who  died  young. 

Christian,  the  only  son  except  John 
who  emigrated  to  America,  was  born  in 
Mecklenburg  in  1812.  He  was  educated 
in  the  parochial  schools  of  the  Lutheran 
Church,  and  confirmed  in  the  Church. 
Thus  started  aright,  he  had  to  look  out 
for  himself.  He  herded  cattle  and  worked 
on  a  farm  for  about  $20  a  year  until  his 
twenty-sixth  year,  when  he  married.  He 
afterward  entered  the  royal  service  as  a 
sawyer,  having  charge  of  an  upright  saw, 
and  followed  that  vocation  until  1848, 
when  he  went  to  the  ' '  free  cities  "  and 
became  a  laborer  on  the  public  works  at 
better  wages.  Four  years  later,  at  the 
age  of  forty  years,  he  determined  to  emi- 
grate to  America.  He  had  been  twice 
married  in  Germany.  By  his  first  wife 
he  had  one  child,  Dora.  His  second 
wife  was  Dora  Harbra,  by  whom  he  had 
four  children  living  when  he  came  to 
America — Christian,  William,  John  and 
Sophia.  Leaving  his  native  land  March 
31,  1852,  he  crossed  the  ocean  with  his 
family  in  a  little  two-masted  sailing  ves- 
sel, landing  at  Sandusky  City  May  10. 
Locating  here,  he  first  worked  in  a  brick- 
yard, and  soon  after  went  on  the  railroad 

15 


I 


then  under  construction  between  Sandus- 
ky and  Cleveland,  and  was  so  engaged 
when  he  fell  a  victim  to  cholera,  tfien 
raging.  He  died  at  Sandusky  City  Au- 
gust 7,  1852,  before  he  had  been  there 
three  months.  Two  of  his  children,  John 
and  Sophia,  were  carried  away  by  the 
same  plague.  William  was  seized  with 
the  same  dread  disease,  but  withstood  the 
attack.  The  father  had  owed  for  a  por- 
tion of  the  passage  money,  and  the  pay- 
ment of  that  debt  had  consumed  all  his 
earnings  when  he  died.  The  mother  and 
her  two  children.  Christian  and  William, 
and  her  step-daughter,  Dora,  were  left 
utterly  destitute.  The  two  boys,  aged 
twelve  and  ten  years,  were  put  out  among 
strangers  to  work  for  their  board  and 
clothes.  Christian,  ten  months  later,  be- 
gan to  earn  $3  per  month  for  a  year,  then 
$4  per  month.  William  worked  two 
years  for  only  his  board  and  clothes,  but 
in  several  years  the  scant  earnings  of  the 
boys,  together  with  the  savings  of  the 
mother,  enabled  her  to  buy  a  horse.  She 
rented  a  few  acres  of  land,  and  began  the 
struggle  of  life  at  gardening  near  Sandus- 
ky City.  Soon  by  magical  thrift  she  was 
able  to  buy  another  horse  and  rent  a  few 
more  acres.  Then  the  home-wrecked 
family  was  reunited,  and  the  mother  had 
her  sons  once  more  under  the  same  roof 
with  herself.  Among  the  enlarging  circle 
of  their  acquaintances  the  Hintzes  were 
noted  for  their  industr}',  honest}-  and  in- 
telligence, though  the  two  young  repre- 
sentatives of  the  family  were  yet  in  their 
' '  teens, "  wifli  characters  that  should  have 
been  considered  unformed.  Gradually 
renting  more  of  the  rich  land  around  San- 
dusky City  they  began  to  accumulate 
money  and  to  think  of  owning  a  home  of 
their  own.  Dora,  the  step-daughter,  had 
married  Godfrey  Gockstetter,  and  now 
lives  near  Huron,  Erie  county;  her  hus- 
band died  December  25,  1894,  leaving 
a  large  family,  consisting  of  Simeon, 
George,  Henry,  William,  John,  Freder- 
ick, Louie,  Adam,   Mary,    Anna,  Louisa, 


232 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


Emma  and  Lena;  one  child  died  young. 
The  family  is  one  of  remarkably  robust 
strength,  the  members  averaging  about 
200  pounds. 

In  1864  Mrs.  Hintz  and  her  two  sons, 
Christian  and  William,  came  to  Sandusky 
county  and  purchased  i  14  acres  of  land 
for  $4,500.  They  had  saved  $1,500, 
which  was  their  cash  payment,  and  went 
into  debt  for  the  remaining  $3,000.  Only 
fourteen  acres  of  the  land  were  broken, 
and  wiseacres  said  they  could  never  pay 
for  it;  but  they  reckoned  without  their 
host.  They  knew  not  the  stern  stuff,  the 
unflagging  zeal,  the  intelligence,  and  the 
thrift  which  entered  into  the  composition 
of  this  rising  family.  The  boys  had  a 
good  team,  a  couple  of  colts  and  a  few 
hogs,  and  manfully  they  faced  the  problem 
before  them.  Their  opportunities  were 
now  broader,  their  actions  freer,  and  they 
never  doubted  or  questioned  their  ability 
to  win.  There  was  but  one  thing  to  do — 
clear  off  the  indebtedness,  and  clear  it 
they  did,  despite  the  nods  and  winks  of 
the  wiseacres.  In  a  few  years  prosperity 
was  assured,  and  the  mother  and  her  sons, 
to  the  astonishment  of  their  neighbors, 
were  alread}-  buying  more  land.  The 
$3,000  indebtedness  on  the  old  farm  was 
completely  lifted  in  two  years,  and  it  was 
not  long  before  the  brothers  ranked  in 
wealth  and  position  among  the  foremost 
men  of  Green  Creek  township. 

Christian  Hintz  is  now  one  of  the 
leading  breeders  of  Short-horn  cattle  and 
Chester-white  swine  in  Sandusky  countj'. 
He  was  born  November  23,  1839.  His  mar- 
riage to  Anna  Powells,  a  native  of  Meck- 
lenburg, Germany,  born  April  19,  1844, 
was  the  signal  for  a  division  of  the  prop- 
erty. The  brothers  were  attached  to  each 
other,  and  the  partition  was  made  in  peace 
and  brotherly  love.  The  mother  was 
generously  provided  for,  and  each  brother 
began  farming  for  himself.  Christian  for 
a  time  engaged  in  mi.xed  or  general  farm- 
ing, but  for  fifteen  years  he  has  been  rais- 
ing thoroughbred  stock — cattle,  hogs  and 


sheep — selling  chiefly  for  breeding  pur- 
poses. He  has  exhibited  at  the  fairs  at 
Fremont,  Sandusky,  Bellevue,  Norwalk, 
Clyde,  Fostoria,  Toledo,  Attica  and 
Findlay,  besides  many  other  localities  too 
numerous  to  mention,  and  in  1895  he  had 
a  large  show.  Each  year  he  has  taken 
many  premiums,  and  at  Fremont  he  has 
taken  more  than  any  other  man  in  the 
county;  one  season  his  premiums  aggre- 
gated about  $600.  He  sells  blooded  stock 
all  over  the  United  States.  He  had  one 
cow  in  the  dairy  department  of  the 
World's  Columbian  Exposition  at  Chi- 
cago, in  1893,  which  made  135  pounds 
and  some  ounces  of  butter  in  ninety  days. 
Both  he  and  his  brother  paid  two  long 
visits  to  the  World's  Fair.  Mr.  Hintz 
now  owns  246  acres  of  land.  To  Chris- 
tian and  Anna  Hintz  have  been  born  eight 
children,  as  follows:  Christian,  Jr.,  Will- 
iam, Anna,  Dora,  Henry,  August,  Jacob 
and  Martin.  In  politics  he  is  somewhat 
independent,  but  usually  votes  the  Dem- 
ocratic ticket.  He  has  been  for  many 
years  a  prominent  member  of  the  Lu- 
theran Church,  and  for  fourteen  years  he 
was  elder  of  the  old  St.  John's  Church,  at 
Fremont.  In  no  sense  is  he  an  ofhce- 
seeker,  but  in  the  interest  of  education  he 
has  served  as  a  school  director  of  his  dis- 
trict. 

W'lLLiAM  Hintz  was  born  September 
18,  1S41.  He  was  married  in  1871,  to 
Miss  Anna  K.  Bauer,  who  was  born  in 
Green  Creek  township,  September  27, 
1854.  Prior  to  his  marriage  his  mother 
kept  house  for  him,  and  through  the  pro- 
vision made  for  her  by  the  two  grateful 
sons  the  noble  mother  enjoyed  a  compe- 
tence, and  lived  in  an  establishment  of 
her  own  in  the  parlor  of  William's  home, 
remaining  there  as  long  as  she  lived;  she 
passed  away  in  January,  1876.  The  chil- 
dren of  William  and  Anna  Hintz  were  as 
follows:  John  (who  was  accidentally 
drowned  in  a  well  at  the  age  of  three  and 
a  half  years),  Joseph  W.,  Sophia  L., 
Louisa  D.,  Peter  W.,  Esther  A.,  Hannah 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


233 


H.,  Sarah  R.  (who  died  at  the  age  of  one 
year,  eleven  months  and  twenty-eight 
days),  and  Mary  M.  In  the  division  of 
the  property  Wilham  surrendered  all  the 
thorough-bred  stock  to  Christian,  but  he 
raises  and  ships  cattle,  hogs  and  sheep 
for  meat.  William  Hintz  believes  that 
money  is  more  easily  handled  than  land. 
Much  of  his  property  now  consists  of  in- 
vestments, and  he  is  placing  all  his  spare 
means  on  interest.  He  still  owns  155 
acres  of  land.  He  is  a  leading  member 
of  the  Lutheran  Church,  was  for  ten 
years  deacon  of  St.  John's  Church  at 
Fremont,  and  is  an  elder  in  Grace 
Lutheran  Church  at  Fremont;  he  has  also 
acted  as  a  delegate  to  the  Lutheran 
Church  Synod.  For  four  3'ears  he  has 
served  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  direct- 
ors of  the  Sandusky  County  Agricultural 
Society.  —  "Thanks  be  to  God  for  His 
merciful  blessings." 


JOSEPH  NOGGLE,  one  of  the  most 
reliable  and  industrious  farmers  of 
Green  Creek  township,  Sandusky 
county,  is  a  man  of  unassuming  man- 
ners, without  ostentation,  or  craving  for 
place  and  preferment.  He  is  content  to 
fill  his  mission  in  life  as  a  worthy  repre- 
sentative of  the  first  and  most  important 
vocation — that  of  farming — leaving  to 
others  the  strife  and  turmoil  and  the  un- 
certainities  of  a  more  problematic  career. 
It  is  to  such  types  as  he,  hard-working  and 
thrifty,  yet  restful  and  contented,  that  the 
nation  must  look  for  its  great  reserve  force 
to  act  as  a  balance-wheel  against  the  en- 
croachments and  vagaries  of  the  flightier 
element  in  society. 

Mr.  Noggle  was  born  in  Franklin 
county,  Penn.,  June  4,  18  1 1,  son  of  Will- 
iam and  I"vatie  (Hurtinan)  Noggle,  both 
natives  of  Pennsylvania,  who  reared  a 
large  family  of  children,  and  passed  peace- 
fully away  on  the  home  farm  at  a  good 
old  age.  Only  two  of  the  children — 
Jacob  and  Joseph — now  survive.     Jacob 


lives  on  a  farm  in  Fulton  county,  Penn., 
at  the  age  of  eighty-one  years.  Joseph 
was  reared  in  the  Keystone  State,  and 
there  married  Elizabeth  Marshall,  who 
was  born  in  Huntingdon  county,  Penn., 
February  11,  181 1,  daughter  of  Robert 
and  Elizabeth  (Simmons)  Marshall;  they 
were  the  parents  of  seven  children,  named 
as  follows:  James,  Nancy,  Lydia,  Jane, 
Sarah,  Rachel  and  Elizabeth.  The  father 
died  on  his  farm  in  Pennsylvania  when 
Elizabeth  was  a  child;  the  mother  sur- 
vived until  1855.  Soon  after  his  mar- 
riage Mr.  Noggle  migrated  to  Sandusky 
county,  locating  in  Jackson  township,  and 
there  engaged  in  pioneer  farming.  Twen- 
ty-two years  later  he  moved  to  Green 
Creek  township,  and  has  lived  here  some 
thirty-seven  years.  He  now  owns  a  well- 
cultivated  farm  of  eighty-four  acres.  Mr. 
Noggle  cast  his  first  vote  for  Andrew 
Jackson  in  1832;  in  religious  faith  he  is  a 
member  of  the  Universalist  Church.  The 
children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Noggle  are  as 
follows:  Sarah,  born  November  4,  1841, 
married  December  10,  1875,  to  Charles 
Clapp,  and  is  the  mother  of  two  children 
— Jessie  (deceased)  and  Delia;  William, 
born  October  19,  1843,  died  November 
24,  1874;  Madison,  born  August  5,  1846, 
died  September  6,  1872;  Joseph,  born 
November  10,  1857,  died  June  28,  1858. 
William  H.  Noggle,  a  nephew  of  Joseph 
Noggle,  now  lives  with  him.  He  was 
born  in  Pennsylvania  March  21,  1850, 
and  is  the  son  of  Jacob  Noggle;  he  was 
married  in  November,  1893,  to  Hattie  E. 
Mummert,  who  was  born  in  Franklin 
county,  Penn.,  January  26,  i860. 


WILLIAM  A.  MUGG,  the  leading 
landowner  and  farmer  of  York 
township,  Sandusky  county,  and 
vice-president  of  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Clyde,  is  of  the  third  gen- 
eration from  the  earliest  settlement  and 
development  of  northwestern  Ohio.  And 
as  he  stands  to-day,  a  leader  of  the  men 


2S4 


COMMEMORATIVE    BIOORAPHICAL   RECORD. 


about  him,so,too,  in  the  two  preceding  gen- 
erations, were  his  father  and  grandfather 
men  of  renown  and  note  in  their  respective 
spheres,  though  perhaps  in  a  somewhat 
different  way.  William  A.  Mugg  has  in- 
herited the  pioneer  strength  of  character. 
His  mind  is  keen  and  he  appreciates  a 
witticism.  His  good-natured  retort  is 
sharp,  and  stranger  or  friend  is  welcomed 
at  his  home  and  treated  with  that  old- 
time  jovial  hospitality  that  is  becoming 
rare  in  these  so-called  degenerate  days. 

Mr.  Mugg  was  born  in  Milo,  Yates  Co., 
N.  Y. ,  December  13,  1827,  son  of  John 
B.  and  Susan  (Wheeler)  Mugg,  and  grand- 
son of  Elder  John  Mugg.  But  years  be- 
fore his  birth  his  father  and  his  grand- 
father had  already  become  identified  with 
the  interests  of  York  township,  Sandusky 
Co.,  Ohio.  It  was  in  1822  that  Elder 
John  Mugg,  a  native  of  Maryland,  came 
with  his  family  from  New  York  State  to 
the  vast  solitudes  of  northwestern  Ohio. 
His  parents  had  died  when  he  was  a  child, 
and  he  was  bound  out  and  reared  among 
strangers.  However,  he  obtained  the 
rudiments  of  an  education,  and  became  a 
preacher  of  the  Baptist  Church.  When 
he  came  to  Ohio  he  purchased  400  acres 
of  government  land;  but  as  soon  as  the 
cabins  for  himself  and  family  were  built, 
and  the  rude  houses  made  comfortable, 
he  began  his  labors  as  a  pioneer  preacher, 
a  task  then  quite  different  from  the  minis- 
terial duties  of  to-day.  Elder  Mugg  was 
a  man  of  small  stature,  and  his  weight 
was  less  than  one  hundred  pounds,  but  he 
was  filled  with  nervous  force,  and  with  a 
love  for  his  fellow  men.  He  was  an  en- 
thusiastic churchman.  On  horseback, 
with  saddlebags  supplied  with  medicines, 
he  wended  his  way  along  Indian  trails 
through  the  forested  swamps  from  settle- 
ment to  settlement,  bringing  to  the  lonely 
pioneer  the  refreshing  and  cheering  words 
of  the  Gospel.  His  value  to  the  mental, 
moral  and  physical  welfare  of  the  early 
settler,  immersed  in  solitude,  can  scarcely 
be   appreciated  at  the  present  day.      He 


brought  words  of  cheer  and  comfort  wher- 
ever he  went,  and  the  pleasant  memories 
of  his  visits  lingered  long  after  he  had  de- 
parted. He  carried  the  current  news  of 
the  day  from  cabin  to  cabin,  and  to  the 
sufferers  from  the  malignant  fevers  that 
were  then  so  common  he  brought  both 
medicinal  and  spiritual  good.  Once  to  a 
neighbor  who  had  stolen  corn  from  him 
he  remarked:  "  I  feel  sorry  for  you,  neigh- 
bor. I  don't  care  for  the  corn.  If  you 
had  asked  me  for  it,  the  corn  would  have 
been  yours."  His  gentle,  forgi\ing, 
Christian  spirit  made  Elder  Mugg  a  man 
who  was  widely  beloved.  He  organized 
the  Freewill  Baptist  Church,  the  pioneer 
religious  organization  of  York  township, 
and  lived  to  the  good  old  age  of  ninety- 
six  years,  amidst  the  people  to  whom  he 
had  ministered  for  many  years.  His  re- 
mains were  interred  in  Wales  Corners 
Cemetery,  in  York  township,  where  many 
of  his  fellow  pioneers  also  rest.  He  was 
the  father  of  seven  children,  as  follows: 
Thomas,  who  moved  to  Indiana;  JohnB., 
father  of  William  A. ;  Marcus,  who  became 
a  minister  and  moved  to  Michigan,  where 
he  died;  Jesse,  who  died  in  Indiana; 
William,  who  died  in  early  manhood; 
Mary  (afterward  Mrs.  Bennett),  of  Indi- 
ana; and  Harriet  (Mrs.  Colvin),  who  died 
in  York  township. 

John  B.  Mugg  was  born  in  1801.  He 
came  with  his  father  to  York  township  in 
1822,  and  here,  in  1823,  he  married  for  his 
second  wife,  Susan  Wheeler,  having  been 
previously  married  to  Susan  Wheeler,  of 
Penn  Yan,  Yates  Co.,  N.  Y.  A  year 
later,  after  the  birth  of  his  eldest  child, 
Charles,  he  returned  with  his  family  to 
Yates  county,  N.  Y. ,  and  remained  there 
twelve  years.  In  1836  he  again  came 
west,  and  lived  in  York  township  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  December  31,1 880, 
when  he  was  aged  seventy-nine  years, 
four  months  and  twenty-seven  days.  His 
wife,  who  was  born  in  1807,  died  March 
3,  1880.  Nine  children  were  born  to  John 
B.  and  Susan  Mugg:     Charles,  who  died 


COMMEMORATIVE    BIOORAPHICAL   RECORD. 


235 


in  Missouri;  Wheeler,  who  died  in  York 
township;  W'iiliam  A.,  subject  of  this 
sketch;  John,  who  died  in  New  York;  a 
child  who  died  in  infancy;  Elizabeth,  who 
died  in  \-oung  womanhood;  Marietta,  who 
died  in  girlhood;  George,  a  resident  of 
Dundee,  Mich. ;  Alice,  who  died  in  child- 
hood. 

\\'illiam  A.  Mugg  was  a  child  when 
his  father  returned  from  New  York  to  the 
pioneer  Ohio  home.  He  remembers  well 
the  trip  on  the  lakes,  and  the  journey  over- 
land to  the  old  farmstead  near  Wales 
Corners,  which  still  forms  a  part  of  the 
extensive  estate  of  Mr.  Mugg.  In  those 
daj's  the  driftwood  had  not  yet  been 
cleared  from  the  swamps.  The  pools 
were  full  of  water  and  fish  were  abundant 
on  every  hand.  Mr.  Mugg  remembers 
that  many  times  in  his  boyhood  he  has 
skated  in  winter  all  the  way  from  the  old 
homestead  to  Sandusky  Bay.  The  young 
men  of  fifty  years  ago  propelled  skiffs 
over  lands  that  are  now  some  of  the  most 
fertile  fields  in  Ohio.  Indians  were  nu- 
merous in  those  days,  and  game  abounded. 
But  educational  facilities  were  few.  While 
Mr.  Mugg  did  not  receive  a  finished  liter- 
ary education,  he  learned  what  was  better 
still — the  value  of  thrift  and  economy. 
After  he  was  of  age  he  worked  five  years 
for  his  father,  at  $200  per  3'ear.  Then 
in  1854  he  married  Miss  Phebe  S.  Russell, 
who  was  born  April  2,  1833.  Her  father, 
Norton  Russell,  was  born  in  Hopewell, 
Ontario  Co. ,  N.  Y.,  June  15,  1801,  of 
parents  who  had  shortly  before  moved  to 
the  New  York  wilderness  from  Massachu- 
setts. Young  Russell  was  bound  out,  and 
was  diligently  engaged  during  his  youth 
in  clearing  the  pioneer  land  of  western 
New  York.  In  October,  1821,  he  came 
to  Ohio  with  three  other  young  men, 
William  McPherson,  James  Birdseye  and 
Lyman  Habcock,  all  of  whom  became 
prominent  pioneers  of  Sandusky  county. 
They  walked  almost  the  entire  distance 
from  New  York — 400  miles.  Mr.  Russell 
was  the  eldest    of    five    children,  and  his 


sisters  and  brother  were  as  follows: 
Rowena,  who  married  George  Swarthout, 
and  settled  near  Penn  Yan,  N.  Y. ;  Cyn- 
thia, who  married  William  McPherson, 
and  became  the  mother  of  the  martyred 
Gen.  James  B.  McPherson;  William,  who 
married  Elizabeth  Beach;  and  Lydia,  wife 
of  Lester  Beach.  Norton  Russell  entered 
the  S.  E.  Quarter  of  Section  7,  York 
township,  and  was  married  April  13,  1825, 
to  Sibyl  S.  McMillen,  daughter  of  Samuel 
and  Polly  McMillen,  who  migrated  from 
their  old  home  near  the  White  Mountains, 
N.  H.,  to  Ohio,  and  became  early  pio- 
neers of  Green  Creek  township,  Sandusky 
county.  Samuel  and  Polly  McMillen  had 
the  following  seven  children:  Sibyl  (Mrs. 
Russell);  Samuel;  Henry;  Rachel,  who 
married  Isaac  May;  Sally,  who  married 
Joseph  George;  Nancy,  who  married  Isaac 
May,  and  Luther.  Norton  and  Sibyl 
Russell  were  the  parents  of  seven  chil- 
dren, as  follows:  John  N.  and  William 
M.,  of  Clyde;  Charles  P.,  of  York;  Phebe 
S. ;  Sarah  R.  (Mrs.  Bell),  of  Clyde;  Mary 
M.  (Mrs.  J.  W.  Taylor),  of  Sabine  Parish, 
La.,  and  Belle  R.  (Mrs.  Collver),  of  Cleve- 
land. Norton  Russell  is  still,  at  this 
writing,  living  with  his  daughter,  Mrs. 
Mugg,  the  oldest  living  pioneer  of  this 
section.  His  wife,  who  shared  with  him 
the  toil  and  privation  of  a  long  and  event- 
ful life,  died  December  18,  1887,  aged 
eighty  years. 

Nine  children  have  blessed  the  mar- 
riage of  William  A.  and  Phebe  S.  Mugg. 
a  brief  record  of  whom  is  as  follows: 
Nina,  born  December  31,  1857,  is  the 
wife  of  James  Ungerman;  they  reside  in 
New  Richland,  Minn.,  and  have  four 
children — Carl,  Nellie  H.,  Hazel  and 
Vera.  Clarence  M.,  born  January  14, 
1859,  married  Laura  Carr,  and  is  the 
father  of  two  children — Ethel  and  Wayne. 
N.  Russell,  born  March  31,  1861,  mar- 
ried Maggie  Matthews,  and  they  have  two 
children — Madeline  and  Maurice.  Mabel, 
born  April  26,  1863,  died  in  1883.  Alice, 
born  September  10,   1865,  is  the  wife  of 


236 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOORAPHICAL   RECORD. 


A.  R.  Pickett,  of  Clyde,  and  has  two 
children — Harold  and  Gladden.  Moina, 
born  March  12,  1868,  is  the  wife  of  N. 
Greenslade,  of  Bellevue,  and  they  ha\-e 
one  child — Russell  M.  Amy  B. ,  born 
February  19,  1870,  is  one  of  the  popular 
young  ladies  of  this  section,  devoted  to 
her  parents  and  the  home.  James  G., 
born  October  14,  1872,  was  married  Jan- 
uary I,  1895,  to  Anna  Needham,  of  York 
township.  Florence,  born  May  25,  1877, 
is  attending  school. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mugg  started  in  life 
with  only  about  such  means  as  the  aver- 
age young  couple  of  that  day  possessed, 
but  their  success  has  been  marked.  If 
the  accumulation  of  a  large  estate  and 
the  rearing  of  a  numerous  and  honorable 
family  is  aught  of  satisfaction,  while  still 
in  the  meridian  of  life,  then  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Mugg  should  be  among  the  happiest  of 
mortals.  The  landed  property  of  William 
A.  Mugg  exceeds  in  quantity  that  of  any 
other  individual  in  Sandusky  county.  The 
finger  of  Time  has  touched  them  lightly. 
If  Mrs.  Mugg  is  as  young  as  she  looks  she 
is  yet  in  the  high  noonday  of  life.  She  is 
an  active  member  of  the  Grange,  and  de- 
servedly prominent  in  the  social  affairs  of 
the  township.  Mr.  Mugg  possesses  a 
hardy  constitution,  which  he  has  never 
abused,  but  which,  through  proper  physi- 
cal exercise,  he  has  maintained  in  its 
maximum  degree  of  health.  In  politics 
he  is  a  pronounced  and  uncompromising 
Republican.  In  the  commercial  and 
financial  spheres  he  takes  high  rank.  He 
is  a  master  of  the  science  of  finance,  and 
was  one  of  the  organizers  and  is  now  vice- 
president  of  the  First  National  Bank  of 
Clvde. 


JOH-X    VICKERY.       From    absolute 
poverty  the    subject   of    this   sketch 
has  risen   to  a  position   of  affluence 
and  honor.    The  condition  of  a  pen- 
niless English    farm    laborer    he    has  ex- 
changed  for  the   proprietorship  of  large 


landed  interests  in  York  township,  San- 
dusky county.  And  in  this  happy  trans- 
formation of  his  material  situation  he 
gives  due  credit  to  the  opportunities  of 
the  American  citizen.  Mr.  N'ickery  often 
goes  over  the  past  in  retrospect,  and  com- 
pares the  possibilities  of  the  poor  man  in 
England  with  his  opportunities  in  Amer- 
ica. From  his  own  experiences  and  ob- 
servation he  concludes  that  American 
citizenship  is  a  priceless  boon. 

Mr.  Vickery  was  born  in  Devonshire, 
England,  in  May,  1829,  son  of  Robert 
and  Rachel  (Randall)  \'ickery.  His 
father,  who  was  a  laborer,  died  before  his 
recollection,  leaving  six  children:  Eliza- 
beth, whose  husband,  Mr.  Lowrey,  was 
killed  by  a  railroad  accident  at  Clyde; 
William,  who  died  in  York  township; 
Robert,  of  Fremont;  John,  subject  of  this 
sketch;  Richard,  of  York  township;  and 
Ann,  who  died  in  England.  At  an  early 
age  John  was  bound  out,  receiving,  until 
he  attained  his  majority,  onlj'  his  board 
and  clothes  for  his  services,  and,  Mr. 
\'ickery  says,  they  were  poor  clothes 
at  that.  After  he  became  of  age  he 
worked  for  a  farmer  for  four  years  at 
wages  amounting  to  only  1 1  cents  a  day 
and  his  board;  and  this,  too,  was  the 
highest  wages  paid  for  that  class  of  labor 
in  the  locality  where  he  lived.  At  the  age 
of  twenty-five  years  he  resolved  to  seek 
his  fortunes  in  the  New  World;  so  in 
1854  he  bade  good-bye  to  his  friends  and 
to  his  sweetheart  and  crossed  the  ocean. 
He  came  via  Quebec,  and  was  $17  in 
debt  for  his  passage  when  he  reached 
Sandusky  City.  He  began  work  for  a 
farmer  near  Bellevue,  and  remained  in 
his  employment  fifteen  months.  But  his 
purpose  now  was  to  get  himself  estab- 
lished in  life.  Renting  a  place,  he  began 
farming  on  his  own  account,  and  at  Belle- 
vue he  soon  after  married  Miss  Jane 
Parker,  whom  he  had  wooed  and  won  in 
England.  The  household  prospered,  but 
the  mother  was  called  away  after  she  had 
given  him  three    sons:     Thomas,    now  a 


COMMEMORATIVE    BIOORAPBICAL   RECORD. 


237 


prosperous  farmer  of  York  township, 
married;  John,  who  assists  him  on  the 
farm,  and  James  P.,  a  schoolteacher  and 
farmer  of  York  township.  In  1866  Mr. 
Vickery  purchased  the  farm  of  120  acres 
which  he  now  owns,  and  continued  to 
farm  it  until  in  1889,  when  he  bought 
twenty  acres  near  Colby,  and  retired  on 
ample  means.  In  1881  he  had  purchased 
another  tract  of  120  acres  in  York  town- 
ship, and  gave  it  to  his  sons  in  1887,  after 
having  paid  $8,000  on  the  same.  The 
twenty-acre  tract  at  Colby  he  has  given 
to  his  second  and  present  wife,  who  was 
Miss  Mary  Bichler.  Mr.  Vickery  has 
served  his  township  three  years  as  trus- 
tee, and  is  now  road  sufiervisor  of  his  dis- 
trict. In  politics  he  is  a  stanch  Republi- 
can, and  in  religious  faith  a  member  of 
the  United  Brethren  Church.  He  is  a 
man  of  sterling  integrity  and  principles, 
and  one  of  the  most  highly  respected  cit- 
izens of  the  community  in  which  he  lives. 


M 


R.  STIEFF.  In  three  distinct 
fields  of  industry  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  takes  high  rank. 
He  is  a  farmer  of  acknowledged 
ability;  he  is  a  mechanic  whose  superior 
it  would  be  difficult  to  find  anywhere;  he 
is  a  salesman  whose  value  has  been  ap- 
preciated by  more  than  one  large  manu- 
facturer. Mr.  Stieff  has  with  rare  felicity 
bunched  all  these  available  attributes  into 
one  occupation,  that  of  a  salesman  for 
agricultural  machines.  He  is  at  home 
among  the  farmers,  and  thoroughly  un- 
derstands their  needs.  His  mechanical 
skill  has  enabled  him  to  meet  any  diffi- 
culties in  setting  up  the  complicated  farm 
machines  of  to-day.  His  persuasive  ar- 
guments cap  the  climax  of  the  two,  and 
enable  him  to  make  satisfactory  sales. 
By  trade  Mr.  Stieff  is  a  blacksmith. 

He  was  born  in  Lancaster  county, 
Penn.,  May  19,  1855,  son  of  Michael  and 
Sarah  (Rinchold)  Stieff.  Michael  Stieff 
was  also  a  blacksmith.      He  was  a  native 


of  Berks  county,  his  wife  of  Lancaster 
county.  Both  died  at  their  home  in  the 
latter  county  within  a  )-ear,  at  the  ages 
of  fifty-six  and  fifty-two  years  respectively. 
Their  children  were  as  follows:  Eli,  of 
Lancaster  county;  Sarah,  wife  of  Moses 
Goshert,  also  of  Lancaster  county;  Annie, 
wife  of  Abraham  Krall,  of  Lebanon  coun- 
ty, Penn. ;  George,  who  died  at  the  age 
of  twenty-two  years  in  Lancaster  county; 
M.  R. ,  subject  of  this  sketch;  and  Martha 
and  Lizzy,  who  both  died  in  Lancaster 
county,  in  infancy. 

Our  subject  was  early  in  life  thrown 
upon  his  own  resources.  He  entered  the 
car  shops  in  Reading,  Penn.,  but  labor 
troubles  soon  after  disorganized  the  force, 
and  he  was  obliged  to  seek  employment 
elsewhere.  With  200  others  he  was  dis- 
charged in  1873  at  the  time  of  the  great 
failure  of  Jay  Cooke  &  Co.  He  came  to 
Ohio,  and  found  work  on  a  farm  in  Seneca 
county.  Subsequently  he  secured  em- 
ployment in  a  carriage  shop  at  West  Lodi, 
then  at  Fireside,  and  later  still  at  Belle- 
vue.  While  at  Fireside,  he  began  sell- 
ing reapers,  mowers,  etc.,  for  the  Excel- 
sior Co.,  and  he  was  with  that  company 
four  years.  Then,  in  1889,  he  accepted 
a  position  with  the  Champion  people  to 
travel  for  them.  His  territory  embraced 
Ohio,  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  Michigan,  Min- 
nesota, and  South  Dakota.  From  March 
to  September  he  was  on  the  road;  then 
during  the  winter  months  each  year  he 
worked  in  the  shops,  in  all  capacities 
proving  a  most  valuable  employe.  His 
skill  in  setting  up  machines  was  unsur- 
passed, and  as  a  salesman  he  was  highly 
gifted.  In  1894  he  voluntarily  quit  their 
employ  on  account  of  a  slight  deafness, 
though  solicited  to  remain,  preferring  to 
return  to  his  farm  and  family,  and  handle 
machinery  in  a  local  way. 

Mr.  Stieff  married  Miss  Kate  Miller,  and 
to  them  seven  children  have  been  born: 
Cloyd,  George,  Edna,  Elva  (deceased), 
Delrie  (deceased),  Orlin  (deceased),  and 
Ray.      Mr.  Stieff  is  distmctively  the  archi- 


288 


COMMEMORATIVE    BIOORAPSICAL    RECORD. 


tect  of  his  own  fortune.  He  owns  a  pjood 
farm  property,  and  is  one  of  tlie  most 
skillful  mechanics  in  the  State. 


JACOB    BOWE   is   one    of  the    five 
Bowe  brothers  now  living  in   Scott 
township,    Sandusky  county,   where 
he  was  born  June  6,  1837,  and  where 
he  has  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-four  years,  our 
subject  commenced  life  for  himself,  his 
father  giving  him  as  a  start,  ninety-two 
and  one-half  acres  of  land  situated  in 
Section  7.  Mr.  Bowe  is  by  trade  a  black- 
smith, and  for  fifteen  years  of  his  earlj' 
life  he  spent  much  of  his  time  in  his  shop; 
but  he  finally  sold  and  purchased  eighty 
acres  of  land  in  Section  16,  which,  with 
160  acres  previoush'  bought,  made  an 
excellent  farm  of  240  acres.  Later  he 
sold  eighty  acres,  the  remainder  being 
the  160  acres  where  he  now  lives.  He 
then  purchased  160  acres  in  Section  17, 
one-half  of  which  he  sold  to  J.  C.  Fisher, 
the  other  half  to  J.  C.  Foriter.  In  1890 
Mr.  Bowe  purchased  lots  in  Gibsonburg, 
on  which  he  built  a  pleasant  home,  living 
there  for  three  years  and  then  returning 
to  his  farm. 

On  December  23,  1861,  Mr.  Bowe 
was  married  to  Miss  Mary  A.  Bowers, 
who  was  born  September  8,  1S36,  in 
Scott  township,  daughter  of  Hartman  and 
Annie  Bowers;  she  obtained  her  educa- 
tion in  her  native  township,  where  she 
lived  most  of  the  time  until  her  marriage. 
To  this  union  have  been  born  seven  chil- 
dren, as  follows:  Emma  C,  September 
23,  1862;  Mary  C,  January  4,  1864; 
Anna  C,  April  23,  1865;  Henry  H.,  Jan- 
uaryi5,  1867;  Amelia  E.,  April  25, 1869, 
Wallace  \V.,  June  7,  1872;  and  Jacob  F., 
December  7,  1873;  of  whom,  Emma  died 
June  6,  1878;  Henry  H.  died  January  12, 
1870,  and  Anna  died  March  8,  1891. 
Mary  is  now  Mrs.  George  Richard,  of 
Madison  township;  Wallace  and  Jacob 
are  working  the    home    farm,  though   at 


present  (fall  of  1895)  Wallace  is  suffering 
from  the  effects  of  a  bicycle  accident, 
having  broken  his  collar-bone  in  two 
places;  strange  to  say  he  rode  his  wheel 
over  two  miles  after  receiving  the  injury. 
Wallace  and  Jacob  attended  the  Gibson- 
burg High  School  for  a  time,  after  which 
Wallace  was  a  student  at  the  Normal  at 
Ada.  While  at  Gibsonburg  Jacob  made 
a  thorough  study  of  telegraph)-.  Polit- 
ically Mr.  Bowe  and  his  sons  are  Demo- 
crats; they  are  also  members  of  the 
Lutheran  Church. 

In  February,  1890,  Mr.  Bowe  made  a 
new  departure  in  his  business  by  leasing 
several  acres  of  land  to  the  Sun  Oil  Com- 
pany of  Pittsburg,  the  lease  providing 
that  at  the  end  of  the  year  the  company 
was  to  have  four  wells  down,  which  was 
practically  accomplished.  On  March  20, 
1 890,  he  also  leased  the  other  eighty  acres, 
and  he  now  has  on  the  160  acres  of  land 
thirteen  wells.  He  received  $3,000  bonus 
when  the  ground  was  leased,  and  now  has 
one-eighth  of  all  oil  produced,  his  share 
of  the  oil  netting  him  $10  der  day,  with- 
out one  cent  of  expense.  The  oil  pro- 
duced on  this  farm  is  pumped  through 
pipes  to  the  city  of  Toledo,  some  thirty 
miles  awaj-. 

George  Bowe,  Sr. ,  the  father  of  our 
subject,  was  born  in  1802  in  Alsace, 
France,  and  came  to  America  in  1832, 
settling  in  New  York  State,  near  Buffalo, 
where  he  remained  three  years.  Thence 
he  came  to  Ohio,  where,  in  Scott  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  he  entered  210 
acres  of  land,  one-half  for  his  sister  and 
the  balance  for  himself.  In  the  winter  of 
1834-35  he  married  Catherine  Wegstein, 
who  was  born  in  Baden,  Germany,  in 
1813,  daughter  of  Michael  Wegstein,  and 
to  them  were  born  ten  children,  three  of 
whom  died  in  infancy.  The  others  are: 
George,  Jacob  (our  subject),  Frederick, 
Henry,  Michael  J.,  David  and  Mary  C. , 
of  whom  Frederick  and  Mary  C.  have 
been  dead  some  years;  the  others  are  still 
living.      Mr.  Bowe  was  an  old  pioneer  of 


ac^{^ 


c^-U^l^ 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


239 


Scott  township.  He  owned  at  one  time 
600  acres  of  land,  which  he  divided  among 
his  children,  thus  giving  each  a  start  in 
life  which  the}'  have  appreciated  and  made 
the  most  of,  becoming  well-to-do  men, 
highly  esteemed  by  all  who  know  them. 
His  wife  died  July  9,  1891,  and  was  buried 
in  the  Bradner  cemetery.  Her  father, 
Michael  \^'egstein,  was  born  about  1779 
in  Baden,  Germany,  where  he  was  mar- 
ried. In  1832  he  started  with  his  family 
for  America,  but  while  on  the  sea  his  wife 
took  sick  and  died,  and  was  buried  in 
mid-ocean.  In  his  family  were  si.\  chil- 
dren, only  two  of  whom  are  living.  One 
son,  Michael,  was  killed  at  the  battle  of 
Shiloh;  he  was  captain  of  Company  H, 
Seventy-second  O.  V.  I. 

Mr.  Bowe's  paternal  grandparents, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  Bowe,  set  out  for 
America  at  the  same  time  as  his  parents; 
the  grandmother,  like  the  maternal  grand- 
mother, died  on  the  sea  and  was  buried  in 
mid-ocean.  The  grandfather  settled  near 
Buffalo,  where  he  died.  In  their  family 
were  four  children — Margaret,  George 
(father  of  our  subject).  Magdalena  and 
Jacob,  all  now  deceased.  Margaret  and 
Jacob  remained  near  Buffalo,  the  others 
coming  to  Ohio.  Magdalena  was  married 
near  Buffalo  to  Jacob  Zimmerman,  who 
died  in  Scott  township  about  1885. 


JOHN  HENRY  KUHLMAN,  one  of 
the  pioneer  and  prosperous  farmers 
of  \\'oodville  township,  Sandusky 
county,  was  born  OctolDcr  27,  1S38, 
in  Hanover,  Germany.  His  parents,  Har- 
mon and  Clara  (Foughthouse)  Kuhlman, 
followed  the  vocation  of  milling  in  their 
native  land,  and  in  1842,  when  John 
Henry  was  but  four  years  old,  sold  their 
business  and  came  to  America.  Remain- 
ing a  single  day  in  New  York,  they  set 
out  for  Woodville  township,  Sandusky 
county,  Ohio,  and  bought  and  settled 
upon  a  forty-acre  tract  of  wild  land. 

The  father,  Harmon  Kuhlman,  was  a 


man  of  rugged  frame,  well  fitted  by  na- 
ture to  bear  the  hardships  and  privations 
of  pioneer  life,  and  never  until  shortly  be- 
fore his  death  did  he  experience  any  ill- 
ness. Partially  losing  his  eyesight,  he 
went  to  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.,  for  treatment, 
and  died  while  there.  His  widow  still 
lives  in  Woodville  township,  at  a  ripe  old 
age.  Five  children  were  born  to  Harmon 
and  Clara  Kuhlman:  John  Henry;  Car- 
rie, wife  of  Fred  Taulker,  a  farmer  in 
Madison  township;  Amelia,  wife  of  Charles 
Burman,  a  retired  farmer  of  Woodville; 
Annie,  who  died  young,  and  William,  who 
lives  on  the  old  homestead.  Our  subject 
owns  236  acres  of  land,  situated  in  the 
oil  belt,  and  leased  for  drilling  purposes. 
Until  in  quite  recent  years  John  Henry 
Kuhlman,  subject  of  this  sketch,  remained 
at  the  home  of  his  parents.  He  was  edu- 
cuted  in  the  public  school  at  Woodville; 
but  in  the  days  of  his  youth  the  town 
school  was  inferior  to  the  district  school 
of  to-day.  He  was  married  February  22, 
1862,  to  Mary  Klein,  daughter  of  John  J. 
Klein,  a  farmer  of  Woodville  township. 
Nine  children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Kuhlman,  as  follows:  Carrie,  born 
March  23,  1864;  John,  a  minister;  Henry, 
deceased;  George,  Minnie,  Charles,  Will- 
iam, Eliza  and  Edward.  In  1893  Mr. 
Kuhlman  moved  to  Woodville  village, 
and  there  erected  a  magnificent  home, 
sparing  neither  cost  nor  pains  in  its  con- 
struction. In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat, 
and  has  been  honored  by  election  to  vari- 
ous township  offices.  He  is  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  German  Lutheran  Church. 


FRANK  WELKER,  the  genial  and 
popular  proprietor  of  the  ' '  Empire 
House,"  Clyde,  Sandusky  county, 
one  of  the  most  excellent  country 
hotels  in  the  State,  was  born  in  Hancock 
count}',  Ohio,  July  20,  1849,  and  is  a  son 
of  George  \V.  and  Rebecca  (Burger) 
Welker. 

The  father  of  our  subject  was  a   na- 


240 


COMMEMORATIVE    BIOORAPBICAL   RECORD. 


tive  of  Pennsylvania,  born  in  1808,  and 
in  his  earlier  years  he  learned  the  stone- 
mason's trade.  On  coming  to  Ohio  he 
settled  in  Stark  county,  and  after  his  mar- 
riage took  up  his  residence  in  Hancock 
county.  In  1864  he  moved  to  Clyde, 
where  his  death  occurred  the  following 
3'ear.  His  wife,  who  was  born  in  1812, 
still  survives  him,  and  is  now  living  with 
her  son  Frank.  In  the  famil}-  of  this 
worth}'  couple  were  seven  children  who 
grew  to  mature  years,  to  wit:  (i)  N.  B., 
who  joined  the  army  soon  after  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  Civil  war,  becoming  a  mem- 
ber of  Company  A,  Twenty-first  O.  V. 
I.,  in  which  he  did  service  under  Gen. 
Sherman;  at  the  battle  of  Atlanta,  in 
1864,  he  was  wounded,  and  died  a  few 
days  later,  his  remains  being  interred  in 
the  National  Cemetery  at  Chattanooga, 
Tenn.  (2)  G.  W. ,  a  plasterer  by  trade, 
resides  in  Findlay,  Ohio.  (3)  W.  W. 
died  at  Mount  Clemens,  Mich.,  and  his 
remains  were  brought  back  to  Clyde  for 
interment.  (4)  E.  E.  is  engaged  in  ci- 
gar-making in  San  Diego,  Cal.  (5)  Maria 
j.  is  the  wife  of  John  Mungen,  a  resident 
of  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.  (6)  Frank,  our 
subject,  conies  next  in  order  of  birth. 
(7)  R.  R.  makes  his  home  in  Columbia 
county,  Ind.,  where  he  is  engaged  in  the 
restaurant  business. 

Frank  Welker  has  spent  his  entire 
life  in  the  State  of  his  nativity,  and  since 
the  age  of  fifteen  has  made  his  home  in 
Clyde.  After  pursuing  his  studies  in  the 
public  schools  of  this  place  for  two  years, 
he  became  connected  with  railroading. 
He  first  went  upon  the  road  as  a  news 
agent,  and  then  became  a  brakeman  on 
the  Lake  Shore  &  Michigan  Southern 
railroad.  His  next  undertaking  was  as 
proprietor  of  the  "Empire  House,"  at 
Clyde.  In  1886  he  purchased  the  hotel, 
which  for  ten  years  previous  had  been 
vacant,  entirelj-  remodeled  it  and  built  a 
new  addition.  Soon  it  was  ready  for  oc- 
cupancy, and  to-day  it  is  one  of  the  most 
popular    hotels    in    the    smaller  cities  of 


Ohio.  In  his  work  here  Mr.  Welker  is 
ably  assisted  bj'  his  wife,  who  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  Julia  Gosslin.  The  hotel 
is  neat  and  well  kept,  has  the  reputation 
for  setting  the  best  table  of  any  country 
hotel  in  the  State,  and  the  earnest  efforts 
of  the  proprietor  and  his  wife  to  please 
their  patrons  has  made  it  very  popular 
with  the  public. 

Mr.  Welker  is  one  of  the  ten  stock- 
holders who  own  the  Clyde  Driving  Park, 
and  has  two  fine  trotting  horses,  "  Katie 
C."  and  "  Silver  Leaf, "  superb  specimens 
of  the  noble  steed.  In  his  political  views 
he  is  a  stalwart  Republican,  and  he  is  a 
popular,  genial  gentleman,  one  who  wins 
friends  wherever  he  goes,  and  well  merits 
the  high  regard  in  which  he  is  held. 


NORMAN  E.  ELLSWORTH,  com- 
monly known  as  "Col."  Ells- 
worth, one  of  the  most  popular 
citizens  of  Sandusky  county,  now 
makes  his  home  in  Clyde.  He  was  born 
in  Mishawaka,  St.  Joseph  Co.,  Ind.,  on 
March  20,  1845,  and  is  a  son  of  James 
and  Jemima  (Wortley)  Ellsworth. 

In  l82t  James  Ellsworth,  father  of 
our  subject,  was  born  in  Penn  Yan,  N. 
Y.,  one  of  a  family  of  three  children,  the 
others  being  Aaron  and  Phoebe,  both  of 
whom  are  now  deceased.  The  former  on 
coming  west  located  at  Castalia,  Ohio, 
but  his  death  occurred  at  South  Bend, 
Ind.,  where  he  was  serving  as  county 
auditor  of  St.  Joseph  county;  he  was 
one  of  the  prominent  Republicans  of  that 
community.  From  New  York  the  father 
of  our  subject  first  emigrated  to  Ohio, 
but  later  became  a  resident  of  Mishawaka, 
St.  Joseph  Co.,  Ind.,  and  at  the  time  of 
his  death,  in  1853,  was  serving  as  swamp 
land  commissioner  for  that  State.  He 
was  a  stalwart  Democrat.  His  wife,  who 
was  born  near  Bellevue,  Ohio,  in  1819, 
died  in  i860.  They  were  the  parents  of 
five  children,  namely:  George,  deceased 
in  infancj';   Florence,  who  died  in  child- 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOORAPUICAL   RECORD. 


241 


hood;  Norman  E.,  oursubject;  Fred  D., 
a  merchant  of  South  Bend,  Ind. ;  and 
James,  who  died  in  boNhood  in  Mish- 
awaka,   Indiana. 

Until  reaching  the  age  of  sixteen, 
Norman  E.  Ellsworth  remained  in  In- 
diana, a  part  of  his  time  being  passed  at 
Mishawaka,  the  remainder  at  South 
Bend,  at  which  time  he  entered  the 
Union  army.  On  August  17,  1861,  he 
became  a  member  of  Company  I,  Ninth 
Ind.  \.  I.,  and  was  assigned  to  a  division 
in  \\'est  Virginia  under  Gen.  Rosecrans, 
but  later  was  sent  to  Nashville,  Tenn., 
where  he  became  a  member  of  the  arm}' 
of  the  Cumberland  under  Buell.  He 
participated  in  the  battles  of  Greenbrier, 
Buffalo  Mountain  and  Pittsburg  Landing, 
where  he  was  taken  ill  and  sent  to  St. 
Louis,  Mo.  At  that  place  he  was  dis- 
charged on  account  of  disability,  after 
which  he  came  to  Clyde,  where  for  ten 
months  he  lived  with  his  maternal  grand- 
mother, Abigail  Stone.  Mr.  Ellsworth 
then  enlisted  in  Companj'  F,  Tenth  Ohio 
Cavalry,  and  was  detailed  as  hospital 
steward  of  Kilpatrick's  division  of  cavalry, 
which  was  a  part  of  Sherman's  arm}'. 
He  went  with  the  command  on  the  march 
to  the  sea,  and  was  all  through  the  Car- 
olina campaigns.  With  the  cavalry  he 
remained  until  he  was  mustered  out  in 
August,  1865. 

Mr.  Ellsworth  was  married  in  Jan- 
uary, 1866,  to  Miss  Jemima  Baker,  who 
was  born  in  Sandusky  county,  in  1844, 
and  by  her  marriage  has  become  the 
mother  of  eight  children:  Elizabeth, 
Florence,  Nellie  M.,  Fred,  Norman,  Jr., 
George  M.,Seth  P.  and  James  B.,  all  but 
one  of  whom  are  still  at  home.  Since 
the  close  of  the  war  Mr.  Ellsworth  has 
been  engaged  in  farming  and  fruit  grow- 
ing, and  for  four  years  was  connected 
with  the  lumber  business.  His  farm  is 
located  on  one  of  the  rich  sand  ridges 
near  Clyde,  where  it  may  be  truthfully 
said  there  can  be  more  vegetation  grown 
to  the    acre,    and    at    the    same  time    a 


greater  variety  of  cereals  and  fruits,  than 
in  any  other  part  of  the  United  States. 
Mr.  Ellsworth  is  a  man  of  good  business 
ability,  intelligent  and  enterprising,  and 
is  widely  known  for  his  genial  disposition 
and  greatness  of  heart.  As  before  men- 
tioned, he  usually  goes  by  the  name  of 
"  Colonel,"  and  is  popular  with  all  classes 
of  people.  He  has  ever  been  actively 
interested  in  the  growth  and  prosperity 
of  the  community  in  which  he  resides, 
and  does  all  in  his  power  for  its  advance- 
ment. Politically,  he  gives  his  support 
to  the  Republican  party,  while,  socially, 
he  holds  membership  with  Eaton  Post 
No.  55,  G.  A.  R. ,  and  Harnden  Com- 
mand No.  37,  U.  V.  U. 


PHILIP  DORR  was  born  March  17, 
I  8  1 1 ,  in  Leinsweiler,  in  that  part 
of  Bavaria,    Germany,    known    as 
the    Rhine    Palatinate,    and    died 
June    18,    1886,    at    Fremont,    Sandusky 
Co.,  Ohio. 

He  received  a  good  education  in  the 
schools  of  his  native  place,  and  learned 
the  trade  of  shoemaker.  In  1837  he  took 
passage  for  America  on  a  sailing  vessel  at 
Havre  de  Grace.  The  voyage  was  a  long 
and  most  perilous  one;  fierce  storms  drove 
the  vessel  from  its  course;  some  of  the 
passengers  and  crew  were  washed  over- 
board, the  salt  water  ruined  most  of  the 
ship's  provisions,  and  it  was  eighty  days 
after  starting  that  the  nearly  famished 
crew  and  passengers  landed  in  New  York. 
From  that  city  Mr.  Dorr  proceeded  at 
once  to  Erie,  Penn.,  and  after  a  short 
sojourn  there  moved  to  Sandusky  City, 
Ohio,  where  he  lived  two  or  three  years. 
In  August,  1 841,  he  came  to  Lower  San- 
dusky (now  Fremont),  opening  a  shoe- 
shop  on  State  street,  east  of  the  river, 
afterward  removing  to  the  Deal  corner, 
northeast  corner  of  Front  and  Garrison 
streets,  where  his  property  was  destroyed 
by  fire.  He  next  removed  to  a  room 
nearly  opposite,  on  Front  street,  and,  later 


242 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


increasing  his  business,  he  and  Edward 
Leppelman  purchased  land  adjoining  the 
present  building  of  the  First  National 
Bank,  and  built  frame  stores.  These  were 
burned  down,  and  in  1856  the}'  erected 
the  brick  block  which  now  occupies  the 
ground.  Here  Philip  Dorr  carried  on  a 
successful  trade  in  boots  and  shoes  for 
man}'  years,  and  after  his  death  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  sons  under  the  firm  name 
of  Dorr  Bros.,  they  still  continuing  the 
business. 

In  June.  1843,  Philip  Dorr  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Anna  Meyer,  who  was  born 
in  Unter  Endingen,  Canton  Argau,  Switz- 
erland, March  18,  181 5,  the  youngest 
daughter  of  Jacob  and  Fanny  Meyer. 
She  came  with  her  parents  and  family  to 
America  in  1829,  stopping  a  short  time 
at  Philadelphia,  and  thence  removing 
to  Franklin.  Penn.,  where  the  parents 
died.  She  afterward  came  to  Sandusky 
City,  Ohio,  living  there  until  her  mar- 
riage, when  she  removed  to  Lower  Sun- 
dusky  (now  Fremont).  Mr.  Dorr  died  May 
28,  1873.  Three  sons  survive  their  par- 
ents:   Fred  H.,  J.  Louis  and  Henry  S. 


D 


R.  D.  P.  CAMPBELL.  Green 
Spring  is  the  most  celebrated 
place  in  Sandusky  county.  Here 
a  great  volume  of  green-hued  wa- 
ter strongly  saturated  with  valuable  medi- 
cinal qualities  gushes  forth  from  the  rock- 
bed  below  the  surface.  From  prehistoric 
times  the  spot  has  been  noted  for  its  heal- 
ing virtues,  and  here  was  the  favorite 
haunt  of  the  Seneca  tribes;  here  its  chiefs 
met  in  councils  of  war  or  peace,  and  here 
the  sportive  Red  men  gamboled  amidst 
the  gorgeous  coloring  of  the  lavish  and 
unceasing  waters.  The  springs  have  bene- 
fited many  thousands  of  invalids,  and  to 
no  one  man  perhaps  is  the  public  more 
deeply  indebted  for  the  privilege  of  en- 
joying this  medicinal  boon  than  to  Dr.  D. 
P.    Campbell,    a    leading    physician    and 


surgeon  at  Green  Spring,  and  one  of  the 
proprietors  of  Oak  Ridge  Sanitarium. 

Dr.  Campbell  is  a  native  of  New 
Hampshire.  His  early  literary  education 
was  obtained  at  Pittsfield  Academy,  near 
his  native  home.  At  its  completion  he 
received  special  instruction  in  the  classics 
and  in  mathematics,  under  Profs.  F'oster 
and  Goss,  the  latter  being  his  cousin,  who 
were  among  the  ablest  instructors  in  the 
New  England  States.  Dr.  Campbell  be- 
came a  teacher,  and  for  three  years  was 
superintendent  of  the  public  schools  in 
Bedford,  N.  H.  He  then  became  inter- 
ested in  the  sanitarium  work,  and  was 
successively  associated  with  sanitariums 
at  Dansville,  Livingston  Co.,  N.  Y. ;  then 
with  Dr.  Dio  Lewis  in  his  select  school  at 
East  Lexington,  Mass. ;  with  Dr.  Hero, 
at  Westboro,  Mass. ;  with  Dr.  W.  T. 
Vail,  at  Hill,  N.  H. ;  with  Dr.  Martin,  at 
Waverly  Place,  N.  Y.,  with  Dr.  R.  T. 
Trail,  of  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania. 

Dr.  Campbell  then  went  west,  and 
with  a  partner  opened  a  sanitarium  at 
Dubuque,  Iowa.  Later  he  sold  out.  and, 
returning  to  New  York  City  for  a  year  at- 
tended lectures  at  the  Medical  Depart- 
ment of  the  University  of  New  York, 
then  went  to  Cincinnati  and  graduated  in 
medicine  with  the  class  of  1S77.  He 
practiced  medicine  at  Bedford,  N.  H., 
where  he  soon  gained  a  large  and  lucra- 
tive practice.  Dr.  Campbell  then  came 
to  Green  Spring,  where  he  located  per- 
manently, and  soon  commanded  a  larger 
practice  than  any  physician  in  this  part  of 
the  State.  His  phenomenal  success  in- 
duced the  proprietors  of  the  Oak  Ridge 
Sanitarium  at  Green  Spring  to  solicit  his 
professional  services  in  that  institution. 
In  a  few  months  he  increased  the  attend- 
ance from  two  to  137,  and  when  he  sev- 
ered his  connection  the  attendance  fell 
off  in  a  short  time  to  one.  The  Doctor 
has  again  become  interested  in  the  sani- 
tarium, as  a  proprietor,  and  by  his  skill 
and  indefatigable  labors  is  again  building 
up  the  institution  to  its  former  glory.    The 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


243 


hotel  building  is  an  imposing  four-story 
structure,  elegantly  furnished  and  finished 
througliout.  It  contains  sevent)-  large 
airy  sleeping  rooms,  admirably  ventilated, 
lighted  by  electricity  and  heated  by  steam. 
It  has  recently  been  completely  renovated 
and  refitted.  For  beauty  and  diversity 
of  scenery  the  place  is  unexcelled.  The 
"medicine  water"  for  curative  proper- 
ties is  one  of  the  most  noted  and  valuable 
in  the  United  States.  Dr.  David  C.  Bryan, 
of  New  York,  in  writing  a  work  on  ' '  What 
Shall  We  Drink,  or  the  Mineral  Waters 
of  America,"  requested  a  specimen  of  the 
water,  and  in  a  subsequent  letter  thus  ex- 
pressed the  result  of  a  most  careful  analy- 
sis: "  It  is  one  of  the  richest  waters  (medi- 
cinally) that  I  have  ever  examined.  It  is 
exceptionally  bright  and  clear,  and  there 
are  no  foul  smells  or  gases  held  in  solution. 
It  is  remarkable  in  being  at  once  a  sul- 
phur, salt,  carbonate,  alkaline  and  slightly 
ferruginous  water.  The  digestive  and 
urinary  organs  are  benefited  by  alkaline 
water,  the  liver  and  alimentary  canal  by 
saline  waters,  the  mucous,  respiratory 
membranes  and  skin  by  sulphur  waters, 
and  iron  waters  have  a  special  action  on 
the  blood. "  The  color  of  the  water  is  a 
beautiful  emerald,  and  it  is  almost  as 
transparent  as  air.  Elegant  bath  rooms 
are  provided,  and  hosts  of  visitors  testify 
to  permanent  benefits  received. 

On  June  22,  1878,  Dr.  Campbell  mar- 
ried Miss  Alice  E.  Waterous,  and  has  one 
daughter — Grace  T. 


BENEDICT  EMCH,  now  retired, 
Woodville,  Sandusky  county,  was 
born  in  the  canton  of  Solothurn, 
Switzerland,  June  8,  1829.  It  is 
probable  that  the  Emch  family  had  lived 
there  for  ages — this  much,  at  least,  is 
known,  that  his  grandfather  lived  and  died 
in  the  house  in  which  Mr.  Benedict  Emch 
was  born. 

Our  subject  is  the  son  of  Jacob  and 
Elizabeth  (Kuntz)   Emch,   the  former  of 


whom  was  also  born  in  Switzerland,  came 
to  America  in  1834,  and  settled  in  Wood 
county,  Ohio,  when  that  region  was  a 
pioneer  wilderness.  He  died  on  June  i, 
1859;  Elizabeth  Kuntz,  his  wife,  was  born 
in  1797,  and  died  in  1862,  both  being 
faithful  members  of  the  German  Reformed 
Church.  They  were  the  parents  of  four 
children:  Jacob,  who  died  in  Berne, 
Switzerland,  at  the  age  of  sixty-seven 
years;  Benedict,  subject  proper  of  this 
sketch;  John,  who  joined  the  Union  army 
in  W'ood  county,  Ohio,  and  died  in  a  hos- 
pital during  the  Civil  war;  Mary,  who  came 
to  America  and  lived  here  about  nine 
years,  married  one  Benedict  Emch,  who 
by  the  way  was  not  related  to  her  family; 
he  died,  and  she  returned  to  Switzerland, 
where  she  now  resides.  By  his  second 
marriage,  Jacob  Emch  had  the  following 
children:  Stephen,  Sanmel,  Elizabeth, 
Ann,  Margaret,  Rosa,  Susan,  Sophia,  be- 
sides two  that  died  in  infancy. 

Benedict  Emch  came  to  America  in 
1845.  He  remained  in  Wood  county  a 
year  with  his  father,  and  then  went  to 
Perrysburg,  Ohio,  to  learn  the  trade  of 
harness-maker.  This  completed,  he  was 
prepared  to  face  the  world  and  battle  for 
himself.  He  worked  at  his  trade  until 
1852,  when  the  great  excitement  in  Cali- 
fornia attracted  his  attention,  and  he  de- 
termined to  cast  his  fate  among  those 
hardy  adventurers  who  pushed  their  way 
across  the  great  American  desert,  in  cara- 
vans, in  search  of  the  }'ellow  metal  of  the 
Pacific  Slope.  It  took  him  and  his  party 
six  months,  lacking  five  days,  to  make 
their  overland  trip  from  Maumee  City, 
Ohio,  to  Hankstown  fnow  Placerville), 
the  county  seat  of  El  Dorado  county,  Cal. 
Mr.  Emch  proceeded  at  once  to  prospect- 
ing, and  a  short  time  after  his  arrival 
found  him  located  on  a  claim,  and  dig- 
ging for  gold  in  El  Dorado  county.  For 
the  first  year  or  so  he  made  something 
over  a  living,  but  made  quite  a  success  of 
gold  digging  afterward.  He  remained  in 
the  gold   fields  until    1856,   when  he   re- 


244 


COMMEMORATIVE   BlOGRAPlilUAL   RECORD. 


turned  home  by  the  Nicaragua  route.  In 
Ohio  he  remained  for  a  few  months  to 
visit,  and,  in  July  of  1856,  returned  to  his 
native  Switzerland.  He  made  the  voyage 
on  a  sailing  vessel,  and  after  landing, 
traveled  through  England,  studying  its 
interesting  features,  the  great  cities  of 
Liverpool  and  London,  thence  by  way  of 
Rotterdam.  Holland,  up  the  River  Ivhine 
to  Maiiheim,  and  to  his  home  in  Switzer- 
land. In  May,  1857,  he  returned  to 
America,  bringing  with  him  his  mother 
and  about  twenty  other  friends.  On  his 
return  to  Woodville  he  engaged  in  busi- 
ness, keeping  a  grocery  store  until  the 
spring  of  1859,  and  then,  during  the  Pike's 
Peak  gold  excitement,  started  for  that 
land  of  promise  across  the  Plains  again, 
and  remained  there  during  the  summer, 
digging  for  gold  with  good  success.  Hav- 
ing considerable  gold  on  hand  in  the  fall, 
he  purchased  a  team  and  accoutrements, 
and  started  back  for  the  States.  When 
he  reached  the  vicinity  of  St.  Joseph  City, 
Mo.,  he  left  his  team  for  keeping,  with  a 
farmer,  and  found  more  convenient  trans- 
portation to  Ohid.  He  soon  afterward 
proceeded  on  his  way  to  New  Orleans, 
that  city  having  the  most  convenient 
United  States  mint,  and  there  he  had  the 
gold  dust  coined.  Returning  from  New 
Orleans  about  the  commencement  of  the 
year,  he  remained  in  Ohio,  with  his 
mother,  until  spring.  In  the  spring  of 
1S60  he  induced  some  friends  to  join  him, 
and  they  went  to  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  and 
rigged  out  his  team,  left  there  the  fall  be- 
fore, and  again  put  forth  across  the  west- 
ern sands  to  rob  the  rocks  of  the  valuables 
hidden  in  their  dusky  caverns.  They  pros- 
pected in  mining  that  summer  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  Denver  City.  The  following  fall 
Mr.  Emch  again  returned  to  St.  Joseph, 
Mo.,  and  on  his  trip  across  the  Plains  he 
met  the  famous  "Pony  Express,"  that 
made  the  fastest  time  ever  made  over 
the  Plains  by  a  team.  Thej^  were  carry- 
ing to  the  Territories  the  news  of  Presi- 
dent Lincoln's  election.      Mr.  Emch  pro- 


ceeded from  St.  Joseph,  Mo. ,  to  New 
Orleans  again,  to  get  more  gold  coined. 
The  impending  war  was  at  this  time  grow- 
ing to  a  fever  heat.  He  had  difficulty  in 
getting  a  place  to  deposit  his  gold  in  New 
Orleans,  but  finally  succeeded.  From 
there  he  went  to  Galveston,  Texas,  with 
the  intention  of  spending  the  winter,  but 
the  Civil  war  was  about  to  break  forth, 
and  the  excitement  was  too  intense  to  be 
pleasant.  He  immediately  took  his  de- 
parture for  New  Orleans,  drew  his  coined 
gold  from  the  place  of  deposit,  and  started 
for  Ohio.  Remaining  there  until  spring, 
and  the  war  having  broken  out,  he  went 
to  Pennsylvania  to  inspect  the  oil  fields, 
soon  returning  to  Ohio,  however,  and  im- 
mediately left  for  the  West,  locating  in 
the  mountains  around  Denver  City.  The 
following  spring  he  sold  his  claim  there, 
and  started  for  Oregon,  locating  on  Pow- 
der river,  where  he  built  a  cabin  and 
stayed  until  December.  It  was  at  this 
period  that  gold  was  discovered  in  Idaho, 
and  he  and  his  companions  started  for 
Idaho  City  with  a  team  of  oxen.  There 
was  from  three  to  four  feet  of  snow  on 
the  ground  when  they  reached  that  place. 
The  first  thing  they  did  was  to  butcher 
the  ox-team  in  order  to  secure  meat 
enough  to  live  on  during  the  winter.  Mr. 
Emch  states  that  the  oxen  were  not  over 
fat,  but  that  their  team,  being  old,  was 
not  the  worst  beef  people  had  to  eat 
there.  A  crowd  of  their  companions 
butchered  their  ox-team  and  borrowed 
Mr.  Emch's  frying  kettle  to  render  the 
tallow.  They  placed  the  ingredients  in 
the  kettle,  mixed  with  water,  and,  after 
having  fried  and  cooked  it  and  permitted 
it  to  cool,  there  was  not  a  sign  of  tallow 
on  the  surface  of  the  water.  Mr.  Emch 
says  there  was  just  enough  on  his  own  to 
grease  one  pair  of  boots.  Besides  the 
beef,  Mr.  Emch  and  his  companions  had 
with  them  a  keg  of  molasses  and  a  small 
amount  of  flour.  They  remained  in  camp 
during  winter,  doing  but  little  prospect- 
ing, and  when  the   pack  trains  came  in 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


245 


the  spring,  Mr.  Emch  paid  $80  for  lOO 
pounds  of  flour.  During  the  following 
summer  they  all  made  some  money,  and 
remained  until  the  fall  of  1868.  Mr. 
Emch  paid  $100  in  gold  for  a  stage  ticket 
to  Sacramento  City,  going  thence  to  San 
Francisco,  where  he  took  a  series  of  baths 
for  rheumatism,  which  he  had  contracted 
in  the  mines.  He  remained  about  four 
weeks  in  the  city  of  the  Golden  Gate, 
when  he  bid  a  final  adieu  to  the  West, 
and  returned  to  Ohio  by  the  Panama 
route.  He  had  been  here,  however,  only 
about  two  months,  when  his  roving  spirit 
again  got  the  better  of  him,  and  he  de- 
termined to  see  more  of  his  Fatherland 
than  he  had  ever  seen  before.  He  started 
for  Europe,  going  from  New  York  City  to 
Hamburg,  and  traveled  all  through  north- 
ern Germany,  studying  its  features  and 
the  habits  of  the  people.  On  the  trip  he 
visited  relatives  of  many  of  his  old  friends 
at  Woodville,  and  was  thoroughly  grati- 
fied with  the  general  information  that  he 
thus  acquired.  It  was  a  pleasant  recom- 
pense for  the  dreadful  sea  voyage,  during 
which  they  had  been  almost  wrecked,  and 
which  consumed  twentj-eight  days.  On 
his  return  trip  he  remained  in  Switzerland 
from  July  until  the  following  December, 
and  then  came  back  to  his  home  in  Amer- 
ica. Before  going  to  Europe  he  had  pur- 
chased the  farm  he  now  lives  on  in  Wood- 
ville township;  but  farming  was  not  to  his 
taste,  so  on  his  return  he  located  in  Wood- 
ville, buying  out  Charles  Powers'  general 
store,  which  he  conducted  until  1874,  and 
then  sold  out.  He  had  also  carried  on  an 
ashery  for  some  time;  but  having  accumu- 
lated wealth  he  did  not  enter  heavily  into 
business;  he  attributes  his  success  in  life 
greatly  to  the  promptness  with  which  he 
has  always  met  his  obligations.  With  the 
aid  of  his  industrious  wife  he  has  cleared 
up  the  land  that  he  purchased,  and  their 
excellent  brick  mansion,  erected  a  few 
years  since,  is  one  of  the  finest  in  San- 
dusky county.  At  the  present  time,  Mr. 
Emch  is  living  retired,  surrounded  by  an 


intelligent  family,  with  all  the  conven- 
iences of  life  at  hand,  and  ample  means 
to  sustain  him.  After  the  varied  career 
of  his  early  days,  he  is  a  well  contented 
man. 

In  1870  Mr.  Emch  married  Miss 
Louisa  Sandwisch,  who  was  born  in 
Woodville  township,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio, 
March  17,  1844,  and  five  children  have 
blessed  their  union:  Edward,  born  De- 
cember 1 1,  1873,  who  is  now  working  on 
his  father's  farm;  Williarn,  born  May  29, 
1875,  now  a  student  at  Capitol  University, 
Columbus,  Ohio,  studying  for  the  min- 
istry of  the  Lutheran  Church;  Carrie,  born 
December  2,  1876,  at  home  with  her  par- 
ents, and  George  and  Gusta  (twins),  born 
December  25,  1879,  now  attending  school 
at  Woodville.  Mrs.  Emch  is  the  daugh- 
ter of  Harmon  and  Catherine  (Mergal) 
Sandwisch,  both  of  whom  were  born  in 
Hanover,  Germany,  the  father  in  tSii, 
the  mother  in  1809.  Harmon  Sandwisch 
died  in  Woodville  township  August  6, 
1854,  of  cholera;  he  was  a  blacksmith  by 
trade.  Mrs.  Sandwisch  is  still  living,  in 
Toledo.  Their  family  consists  of  five 
children:  Mary,  widow  of  Jacob  Bischoff, 
of  Toledo,  who  has  five  children;  Louisa, 
Mrs.  Emch;  W^illiam  R.,  living  in  Fre- 
mont, who  married  Clorinda  Swartzman, 
and  has  three  children;  John,  of  Wood 
county,  Ohio,  who  married  Almira  Gal- 
lop, and  has  four  children  living,  and 
Emma,  Mrs.  Charles  Bradt,  of  Atlanta, 
Ga. ,  who  has  one  child. 


WILLIAM  PRIOR,  a  prominent 
agriculturist  of  Rice  township, 
Sandusky  county,  and  superin- 
tendent of  the  De  Mars  Club 
House,  on  Mud  creek,  was  born  in  Ball- 
ville  township,  Sandusky  county,  July  17, 
1834,  and  is  a  son  of  John  and  Mary 
(Arh)  Prior.  The  father  was  a  native  of 
Kentucky,  and  in  his  early  life  fought  in 
the  battle  of  Fremont  under  Col.  Crogan; 
the  mother  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania. 


246 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


In  1 8 1 3,  the  parents  of  our  subject  came  to 
Ohio,  taking  up  their  residence  in  San- 
dusky county,  where  they  spent  their  re- 
maining days,  the  father  dying  in  1856, 
at  the  age  of  seventy-six  years,  the  mother 
departing  this  life  in  1881,  when  seventy 
years  of  age. 

In  the  usual  manner  of  farm  lads  of 
the  locality,  William  Prior  spent  the  days 
of  his  boyhood  and  \'outh,  obtaining  his 
education  in  the  district  schools  of  his 
native  town,  and  assisting  in  the  labors 
of  the  home  farm.  He  has  carried  on 
agricultural  pursuits  since  attaining  his 
majority,  and  to-day  is  recognized  as  one 
of  the  practical  and  progressive  farmers 
of  Sandusky  county.  He  manages  his 
business  affairs  with  care,  and  is  straight- 
forward and  honorable  in  all  his  dealings, 
so  that  he  has  won  the  confidence  and 
good  will  of  everyone  with  whom  he  has 
been  brought  in  contact.  On  June  19, 
1859,  in  the  county  of  his  birth,  he  was 
married  to  Miss  Ellen  Tegar,  a  native  of 
Pickaway  county,  Ohio,  and  three  chil- 
dren came  to  bless  their  union,  namely: 
Hattie,  born  June  13,  i860,  died  in  1865; 
Lottie,  born  January  13,  1862,  died  De- 
cember 16,  1879;  and  Elisha  A.,  born 
May  16,  1S64.  Of  these,  Lottie  was 
married  February  26,  1879,  to  Oscar  Pat- 
terson, and  one  child,  Charlotte,  was  born 
to  them  December  14,  1879,  who  is  now 
living  with  her  grandparents,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  William  Prior  at  De  Mars  Club 
House;  she  attends  the  P'remont  public 
school,  and  is  a  very  bright  scholar.  E. 
A.  Prior  is  one  of  Fremont's  bright,  up- 
right young  men;  for  the  past  seven  years 
he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Fremont 
Fire  Department,  and  he  holds  a  position 
in  the  Christain  Knife  Works. 

In  his  political  views,  Mr.  Prior  is  a 
Democrat,  aYid  has  cast  his  vote  in  sup- 
port of  the  men  and  measures  of  the 
Democracy  since  attaining  his  majority, 
but  has  never  sought  or  desired  office. 
His  entire  life  has  been  passed  in  this 
county,   and  the  fact  that  those  who  have 


know  him  from  boyhood  are  numbered 
among  his  stanchest  friends  indicates  an 
honorable  and  upright  career,  worthy 
the  esteem  in  which  he  is  held. 


HENRY  JERVIS  POTTER  (de- 
ceased), who  nobly  gave  his  life 
for  his  country's  cause  in  the  war 
of  the  Rebellion,  was  born  near 
the  city  of  Oswego,  Oswego  Co.,  N.  Y. , 
October  27,  1836.  His  parents,  Merritt 
D.  and  Maria  Potter,  lived  on  a  farm  near 
Oswego  until  Henry  was  about  eighteen 
3'ears  of  age  and  had  received  a  common- 
school  education. 

In  the  spring  of  18  54  the  whole  family 
started  in  large  moving  wagons  for  Steu- 
ben county,  Ind.,  and  got  as  far  as  the 
house  of  Mr.  Daniel  Dawley,  in  Green 
Creek  township,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio, 
when  Mrs.  Potter  was  taken  sick.  Mr. 
Dawley  offered  them  the  use  of  an  unoc- 
cupied house,  into  which  they  moved,  and 
they  raised  such  summer  crops  as  the)' 
could  until  fall  when  they  completed  their 
journey.  Mr.  Potter  bought  a  farm  in  Steu- 
ben county,  Ind., and  for  several  j'ears  his 
son  Henry  assisted  him  in  farm  work  dur- 
ing the  summer  months,  and  taught  coun- 
try schools  in  the  winter  time.  In  1857 
Mrs.  Potter  died,  and  our  subject  soon 
after  returned  to  Ohio  to  work  as  a  farm 
hand  for  Daniel  Dawley,  whose  daughter, 
Zeruiah  Ann,  he  married  September  15, 
1857.  Not  long  after  his  marriage  Mr. 
Potter  bought  a  farm  of  eight  acres  of 
heavily-timbered  land  adjoining  that  of 
Mr.  Dawley  on  the  west,  and  began  mak- 
ing improvements  on  it.  During  the 
winter  seasons  he  taught  school  at  the 
Powers  schoolhouse,  about  two  miles 
west.  Wishing  to  secure  the  ready  serv- 
ices of  a  farm  hand,  he  gave  permission 
to  Daniel  McNutt  to  build  a  log  cabin  at 
the  rear  end  of  his  farm.  This  cabin  was 
destroyed  bj'  fire  in  the  absence  of  the 
family;  but  out  of  its  ashes  Mr.  Potter 
picked  up  some  lumps  of   clay  which  had 


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COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


247 


been  burned  to  a  bright  red  color,  and 
gave  him  the  first  hint  that  the  subsoil 
was  excellent  material  for  the  brick  and 
tile  making. 

In  the  summer  of  1863  a  volunteer 
company  of  Home  Guards  for  the  mili- 
tary defence  of  the  State  of  Ohio  during 
the  Civil  war  was  organized  in  Baltville 
township,  in  which  Mr.  Potter  took  an 
active  part.  This  organization  was  known 
as  Company  K,  under  command  of  Capt. 
Jeremiah  C.  Mudge,  later  becoming  a  part 
of  the  Fiftieth  Regiment  O.  V.  I.,  which 
was  organized  at  Fremont,  Ohio,  under 
Col.  Nathaniel  E.  Haynes,  and  in  Sep- 
tember of  that  year  attended  a  grand  mili- 
tary review  at  Toledo,  Ohio,  in  presence 
of  Gov.  Brough  and  some  military  officers 
who  feared  an  invasion  of  Ohio  from 
Canada.  A  few  weeks  later  Mr.  Potter 
went  with  his  company  to  aid  in  guarding 
Johnson's  Island,  in  Sandusky  Bay,  where 
some  Rebel  officers  were  confined  as  pris- 
oners of  war. 

The  ''scare"  was  soon  over  and  the 
company  was  recalled,  but  Mr.  Potter 
had  become  so  aroused  in  regard  to  his 
duty  to  his  country  in  its  hour  of  peril 
that  he  decided  to  enlist  in  the  Seventy- 
second  Regiment,  O.  \'.  I.,  for  three 
years  or  during  the  war.  All  the  men  of 
that  regiment  who  had  agreed  to  re-en- 
list for  three  years  were  granted  a  vet- 
eran furlough,  and  were  then  on  their 
way  home  from  Memphis,  Tenn.  Mr. 
Potter  and  his  friend,  Henry  Innis,  were 
assured  that  if  they  enlisted  they  would 
get  the  benefits  of  this  furlough,  and 
thus  have  plenty  of  time  to  settle  their 
home  matters  before  going  to  the  front. 
They  enlisted  at  Fremont,  Ohio,  Febru- 
ary 27,  1864,  in  Company  F,  Capt. 
Le  Roy  Moore,  Seventy-second  Regi- 
ment, under  Col.  R.  P.  Buckland,  whose 
headquarters  were  at  Memphis,  Tenn., 
and  on  March  i  following  went  to  San- 
drsky  City,  there  to  be  mustered  in  and 
receive  their  township  bounty  money. 
They  next  proceeded  to  Columbus,  Ohio, 

16 


to  get  their  State  bounty,  supposing  they 
could  return  to  go  with  the  veterans.  In 
this  they  were  disappointed.  They  were 
sent  to  Tod  Barracks,  refused  leave  of 
absence  to  visit  their  friends,  and  were 
hurried  on  to  the  front  in  company  with 
thirteen  other  raw  recruits.  Their  squad 
proceeded  down  through  Cincinnati, 
Louisville,  Nashville,  and  Chattanooga  to 
Stevenson,  Ala.,  then  back  to  Cairo,  111., 
and  thence  down  the  Mississippi,  to  Mem- 
phis, Tenn.  Mr.  Potter  wrote  many 
letters  to  his  wife  descriptive  of  the  scenes 
he  passed  through.  At  Memphis  he  did 
guard  duty  at  the  Navy  Yard;  saw 
.wounded  men  from  Fort  Pillow;  refused 
a  roll  of  greenbacks  as  a  bribe  from  a 
Rebel  spy,  and  kept  a  full  diary  of  every 
day's  happenings.  He  went  out  on  sev- 
eral raids  into  the  enemy's  country,  tak- 
ing part  in  the  Sturgis  raid,  but  did  not 
like  the  business.  The  last  letter  his 
wife  ever  received  trom  him,  he  wrote 
when  he  was  near  Ripley,  Miss.,  in  which 
he  told  her  not  to  be  uneasy  about  him. 
In  the  unfortunate  battle  at  Guntown, 
Mr.  Potter  and  Mr.  Innis  were  captured 
by  Rebel  cavalry  in  a  thicket  of  scrub 
oaks  while  trying  to  make  their  escape. 
Mr.  Innis  advised  Mr.  Potter,  who  was 
fleet  of  foot,  to  make  his  escape,  and  he 
tried  to  do  so,  but  soon  returned  saying: 
"Hank,  I  hate  to  leave  you  in  this  way!" 
They  were  taken  to  Andersonville  prison, 
which  they  entered  June  17,  1864,  and 
were  there  stripped  of  all  their  valuables 
as  well  as  some  of  their  clothing.  It 
rained,  almost  constantly  during  the  first 
two  weeks,  and  they  had  neither  shelter 
from  the  alternate  drenching  down-pour 
and  hot  sun,  nor  comfortable  covering 
during  the  chilly  nights,  and  Mr.  Potter 
had  only  pants,  blouse  and  cap  to  wear. 
There  were  then  38,000  men  in  the  en- 
closure, which  had  recently  been  enlarged. 
Rations  of  food  were  very  scant,  and 
most  of  what  there  was  had  to  be  eaten 
raw.  After  a  month's  confinement  Mr. 
Potter  was    taken   sick   with   scurvy   and 


248 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


diarrhoea,  and  had  no  medical  treatment 
except  what  his  comrades  could  give  him. 
On  the  2 1  St  of  August  gangrene  set  in, 
and,  at  his  request,  his  faithful  comrades, 
J.  P.  Elderkin  and  Henry  Innis,  carried 
him  outside  the  stockade  where  he  hoped 
for  better  air  and  treatment;  but  he  died 
two  days  later,  in  charge, of  an  Illinois 
comrade,  to  whom  he  entrusted  the  pic- 
tures of  his  wife  and  children,  with  a  re- 
quest that  they  be  forwarded  to  the  dear 
ones  at  home,  with  his  own  hand  direct- 
ing the  package.  On  the  day  of  his  death 
1 08  Union  soldiers  were  carried  out  and 
buried  in  one  long  trench,  he  among  the 
rest.  Their  graves  were  marked  with 
slabs  giving  their  name,  company  and 
regiment.  When  the  news  of  Mr.  Pot- 
ter's death  reached  his  home,  a  funeral 
service  was  held  in  his  memory  at  the 
Dawley  schoolhouse,  November  1st,  by 
Kev.  James  Long,  who  seven  }cars  pre- 
vious had  solemnized  the  deceased's  mar- 
riage. 

Mr.  Potter's  high  sense  of  honor,  his 
pure,  home  life,  his  attachment  to  his 
famil}',  his  true  friendship  in  time  of  trial, 
and  his  unflinching  patriotism,  led  his 
former  comrades,  in  forming  a  Grand 
Army  Post  at  Green  Spring,  Ohio,  July 
9,  1 88 1,  to  name  their  Post  after  him. 
He  was  a  man  of  good  natural  and  ac- 
quired abilities,  and  had  a  mind  well 
stored  with  general  information  on  many 
practical  subjects.  He  had  been  a  care- 
ful reader  of  the  New  York  Tribune,  the 
Fremont  founial  and  the  Religious  Tel- 
escope. He  had  been  a  close  observer  of 
the  events  and  causes  which  led  to  the 
Rebellion,  as  viewed  from  a  Northern 
standpoint,  and  was  intensely  loyal  to  the 
flag  of  his  country,  and  opposed  to  se- 
cession. In  religious  matters  he  was 
conscientious,  but  quiet  and  unassuming. 
He  was  an  acti\e  member  of  the  United 
Brethren  Church,  and  one  of  the  trustees 
of  Mt.  Lebanon  Chapel.  Reared  a  strict 
Methodist,  he  adhered  to  that  denomina- 
tion until  coming  into  the  Dawley  neigh- 


borhood. To  the  last  he  maintained  his 
Christian  character,  and  conscientiously 
sacrificed  home  comforts,  and  even  life,  on 
the  altar  of  his  country. 


DANIEL  M.  POTTER,  brick  and 
tile  manufacturer,  located  in  Ball- 
ville  township,  Sandusky  county, 
was  born  near  his  present  resi- 
dence, April  19,  i860.  His  parents  were 
Henry  Jervis  and  Zeruiah  Ann  (Dawley) 
Potter,  who  formerly  owned  and  resided 
on  a  farm  adjoining  the  one  he  now  occu- 
pies and  forming  a  part  of  it.  Here  Dan- 
iel spent  his  childhood  and  youth,  and  at- 
tended a  common  school  on  the  southeast 
corner  of  their  farm,  and  also  at  Green 
Spring,  Fremont  and  Clyde.  His  father 
having  perished  at  Andersonville  prison  in 
1864,  Daniel  earl}'  learned  those  lessons 
of  industry,  economy  and  thrift  from  his 
widowed  mother,  in  the  management  and 
care  of  the  farm,  and  in  the  raising  of 
live  stock,  which  were  of  great  service  to 
him  in  after  life. 

On  December  25,  1881,  he  married 
Miss  Ettie  O.,  daughter  of  Chaplain  R. 
and  Ellen  (Morrison)  Huss,  of  Green 
Creek  township,  and  entered  upon  life  for 
himself  on  the  farm  he  now  occupies. 
After  farming  two  years  he  decided  to 
embark  in  the  brick  and  tile  business. 
He  began  in  a  small  way,  and,  as  the  de- 
mands for  his  tile  increased,  enlarged  his 
facilities  from  year  to  3ear,  until  in  1S93 
he  gave  constant  employment  to  nineteen 
hands,  several  teams,  and  turned  off 
about  five  hundred  thousand  tile,  of  all 
sorts  and  sizes,  adapted  to  the  needs  of 
the  farmers  in  his  vicinity.  He  also  did 
some  shipping  of  tile  abroad.  He  was 
led  to  engage  in  the  brick  and  tile  busi- 
ness from  having  heard  in  his  childhood  a 
remark  made  by  his  father  to  the  effect 
that  if  he  ever  built  a  new  house  on  that 
farm  it  should  be  of  brick  burned  by  him- 
self, as  he  had  noticed  that  the  clay  mor- 
tar used  in  the  construction  of  a  log  cabin 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


249 


on  a  corner  of  his  farm  by  a  renter  had 
turned  to  a  bright  red  color  when  the 
cabin  was  burned  to  the  ground  by  acci- 
dent. Mr.  Potter  is  a  member  of  Green 
Spring  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  at  Green 
Spring,  Ohio,  and  in  poHtics  is  a  Repub- 
lican. The  children  of  Daniel  and  Ettie 
Potter  are:  Mabel  Ellen,  born  August  30, 
1884;  Henry  J.,  born  May  30,  i886;  and 
James  C.,  born  August  31,   1891. 

Mrs.  Potter,  the  mother  of  our  sub- 
ject, was  born  September  8,  1838,  in 
Sandusky  county,  in  which  county  she 
was  for  some  time  a  teacher  in  the  public 
schools.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Henry  Potter 
were  born  three  children:  Jervis,  born  in 
1858,  and  died  in  infancy;  Daniel,  our 
subject,  and  Clara  M.  (Mrs.  C.  M.  Wolf), 
born  August  2,  1861. 

Mrs.  Daniel  Potter,  the  wife  of  our 
subject,  was  born  July  24,  i860,  in  Green 
Creek  township.  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio. 
She  was  educated  in  high  school  at  Green 
Spring,  and  was  a  teacher  in  Sandusky 
county  for  nine  terms.  Her  father  was  born 
February  11,  1838,  in  Sandusky  county; 
his  wife  was  born  March  18,  1838,  in 
Sandusky  county;  they  were  of  Scotch 
and  Irish  descent.  To  them  were  born 
three  children,  as  follows:  Mrs.  Potter; 
Eva  Huss  (Mrs.  Chas.  Ruth),  born  April 
21,  1863;  and  Burton  W.  Huss,  born 
April  23,  1869.  The  mother  died  Sep- 
tember 19,  1894.  Mrs.  Potter's  paternal 
grandparents,  Christian  and  Catharine 
(Rathburn)  Huss,  were  born  February  21, 
181 5,  and  March  3,  1818,  respectively; 
he  died  August  3,  1864;  she  died  August 
20,  1893.  Her  maternal  grandparents 
were  born  in  Ireland,  and  came  to  Amer- 
ica in  1830. 


GEORGE    HIETT,    a     well-to-do 
farmer  and  manufacturer  of  Jack- 
son  township,   Sandusky  county, 
was  born  March  7,  1 834,  in  Seneca 
county,  Ohio,  and  has  resided  in  Sandusky 
county  from  the  age  of  ten  years. 


Our  subject  is  a  son  of  George  Hiett, 
Sr. ,  who  was  born  October  12,  1792,  in 
Jefferson  county,  Va. ,  and  moving  thence 
to  Seneca  county,  Ohio,  lived  there  twen- 
ty years.  Pleasant  township,  Seneca 
county,  was  named  by  him.  Returning 
to  Virginia,  he  remained  three  years,  and 
then  came  to  Ballville  township,  San- 
dusky county,  where  he  bought  300  acres 
of  land  on  the  west  bend  of  the  Sandusky 
river,  at  $25  per  acre.  George  Hiett, 
Sr. ,  was  in  religious  connection  a  mem- 
ber of  the  M.  E.  Church,  in  politics  a 
Republican,  and  held  the  office  of  justice 
of  the  peace  one  term  in  Seneca  county. 
He  died  March  i,  1875,  in  his  eighty- 
third  year.  He  wedded  Miss  Lydia  Mul- 
nix,  who  was  born  October  19,  1798,  and 
died  in  February,  1891,  and  their  chil- 
dren were  Mary,  born  April  3,  18 19,  who 
was  married  to  Thomas  Johnson  in  San- 
dusky county,  where  they  resided  some 
time,  moving  thence  to  Kansas,  where  he 
died  in  1884,  leaving  two  children — 
George  and  Lydia  J. ;  William,  born 
December  28,  1820,  who  married  Celia 
Chineoweth,  by  whom  he  had  ten  chil- 
dren; Elizabeth,  born  December  22, 
1822,  who  married  Martin  Edwards,  a 
farmer,  and  had  three  children — William, 
John  and  Mary;  John  W.,  born  Novem- 
ber I  I,  1824,  who  married  MaryBeecham, 
by  whom  he  had  four  children — Irving, 
Ella,  Oliver  and  Russell  (John  W^  Hiett 
was  a  graduate  of  Oberlin  College,  and 
was  a  teacher  and  superintendent  in  the 
Fremont  schools  in  1853-54-55,  and  in 
the  Maumee  schools  in  1859-60-61-62; 
during  recent  years  he  lived  in  Toledo, 
Ohio,  where  he  dealt  in  real  estate.  He 
was  among  the  organizers  of  the  Anti- 
slavery  Society  in  Virginia.  He  was  a 
zealous  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church. 
He  died  August  16,  1894);  Catharine, 
born  March  4,  1827,  married  to  Henry 
Kenyon,  and  had  four  children — Edward, 
Lillie,  Emma  and  John;  Henry,  born 
August  13,  1829,  married  Jane  Hall,  and 
moved  to  Riverside,  Cal.,  where  they  have 


250 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


a  large  fruit  farm  (their  children  are — 
Robert,  Phcebe  and  Mary);  Rebecca,  born 
October  24,  1831;  James,  born  March  7, 
1834,  a  farmer,  who  married  Martha 
Louisa  Bowlus,  and  has  three  children — 
Edward,  Effie  and  Martha;  George,  twin 
brother  of  James;  Jacob,  born  in  1836; 
and  Asa  S.,  born  in  1839. 

At  the  age  of  ten  years  our  subject, 
George  Hiett,  came  with  his  father  to 
Ballville  township,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio, 
and  assisted  in  farming  on  the  banks  of 
Sandusky  river.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  he  left  his  father's  home,  and  com- 
mencing life  for  himself  followed  farming 
for  some  time.  Being  a  natural  me- 
chanic he  erected  a  sawmill  on  the  farm 
where  he  now  lives,  at  Bruner  Station, 
five  miles  southwest  of  Fremont,  on  the 
line  of  the  L.  E.  &  W.  railroad,  where  he 
and  his  sons,  under  the  firm  name  of 
George  Hiett  &  Sons,  manufacture  lumber, 
sorghum,  ground  feed,  and  a  combination 
fence.  The  mill  is  valued  at  $3,000.  Mr. 
Hiett  is  also  a  patentee  of  a  cane  stripper 
and  binder,  which  is  a  great  labor-saver, 
and  has  a  capacity  of  sixty  bundles  per 
hour;  the  patent  is  estimated  to  be  worth 
$70,000.  Mr.  Hiett's  farm  is  in  the  oil 
district,  and  is  very  valuable  property. 

On  December  21,  1856,  George 
Hiett  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Mosier, 
who  was  born  March  6,  1834,  daughter 
of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  Mosier,  na- 
tives of  Pennsylvania,  who  had  a  family 
of  ten  children.  To  this  union  were  born 
children  as  follows:  Emma  Alice,  born 
September  27,  1857,  married  December 
25,  1888,  to  Lewis  C.  Smith,  a  farmer, 
and  has  one  child — Ralph,  born  Septem- 
ber 4,  1 891;  Lydia  Jeannette,  born  March 
15,  1859,  married  October  19,  1892,  to 
George  Barnt,  a  farmer  and  carpenter; 
Charles  Elliott,  born  March  22,  1861, 
who,  in  May,  1888,  married  Hattie  Bink- 
ley,  and  has  four  children — Hazel  (born 
February  17,  1889),  Howard  (who  died 
in  childhood),  Eva  E.  (born  June  17, 
1890,    died   June   20,    1890),    and    Paul 


C.  (born  July  31,  1893);  George  A.,  born 
July  24,  IS63,  who  married  Nettie  Beck, 
October  25,  1893;  Orven  L. ,  born  De- 
cember 19,  1865,  a  farmer;  King  Henry, 
born  Januar}'  15,  1867,  a  farmer,  who 
was  married  March  14,  1894,  to  Minnie 
Baumgardner,  of  Ballville  township;  Lil- 
lie  Vilota,  born  May  6,  1870,  married 
February  20,  1894,  to  Albert  C.  Ward,  a 
prosperous  business  man  of  Toledo,  Ohio; 
Dora  Elizabeth,  was  born  February  3, 
1873,  married  December  25,  1894,  to 
Charles  L.  Flora,  a  natural  mechanic  and 
the  patentee  of  several  new  and  useful 
inventions. 


HENRY  BRINKMAN.  Among  the 
worthy  citizens  of  German  birth 
who  have  found  homes  in  San- 
dusky county,  and  rank  among 
her  leading  agriculturists,  is  the  gentle- 
man whose  name  opens  this  sketch.  He 
was  born  in  Germany  October  6,  1820, 
and  is  the  eldest  son  of  John  Henry  and 
Mary  (Ornick)  Brinkman,  both  of  whom 
were  also  natives  of  Germany.  They 
were  farming  people,  and  resided  in  that 
country  throughout  their  lives. 

Our  subject  was  reared  and  educated 
in  the  land  of  his  birth,  and  in  1858 
sailed  for  America,  for  he  hoped  to  better 
his  financial  condition  in  this  country,  of 
whose  privileges  and  advantages  he  had 
heard  much.  He  landed  at  Castle  Gar- 
den, New  York,  without  money,  but  with 
a  plentiful  supply  of  energy  and  resolu- 
tion. He  came  at  once  to  Sandusky 
county,  Ohio,  and,  in  order  to  earn  a  liv- 
ing, began  work  as  a  day  laborer,  being 
thus  employed  for  three  years.  He 
worked  early  and  late,  and  lived  frugally, 
and  at  the  e.xpiration  of  that  period  had 
saved  enough  money  with  which  to  pur- 
chase forty  acres  of  timber  land.  With 
characteristic  energy  he  began  to  improve 
it,  and  acre  by  acre  was  cleared  and 
placed  under  the   plow,    until   to-day  he 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


251 


has  a  well-developed  tract  and  a  pleasant 
home,  all  the  result  of  his  own  labor. 

Mr.  Brinkman  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Mary  E.  Alt,  a  daughter  of  John 
Alt,  of  Germany,  where  their  wedding 
was  celebrated  in  1845.  They  became 
the  parents  of  three  children,  all  sons,  to 
wit:  Henry,  now  deceased;  Frank,  a  far- 
mer residing  in  Washington  township, 
who  married  Allie  Lenz,  and  has  one 
child;  and  John,  who  was  born  November 
14,  1866,  in  Sandusky  county.  His  edu- 
cational privileges  were  very  meager,  but 
he  has  made  the  most  of  his  opportuni- 
ties, and  in  the  school  of  experience  has 
gained  a  good,  practical  business  knowl- 
edge. He  is  now  at  home  with  his  father, 
and  carries  on  the  farm.  He  is  a  pro- 
gressive, enterprising  young  agriculturist, 
and  in  the  management  of  the  home  place 
displays  good  business  ability.  The  father 
and  son  are  both  supporters  of  the  De- 
mocracy, and  members  of  the  Lutheran 
Church,  and  in  the  community  where 
they  reside  are  highly  respected  people. 


J 


OHN  FANGBONER,  auditor  of  San- 
dusky   county,    Ohio,    was   born   in 
Union  county,  Penn.,  June  3,   1845, 
son  of  James  and    Catharine   (Hick) 
Fangboner. 

James  Fangboner  was  born  in  1812 
in  New  Jersey,  from  which  State  he  re- 
moved, when  a  young  man,  to  Union 
county,  Penn.,  where  he  married,  and 
followed  the  trade  of  \\'agon-maker,  in 
connection  with  farming.  His  death  oc- 
curred in  1892.  Mrs.  Fangboner  was 
born  in  Easton,  Penn.,  in  181 1,  and  is 
now  residing  at  Lewisburg,  that  State. 
They  were  the  parents  of  si.\  children, 
who  became  heads  of  families.  John 
Fangboner  was  reared  in  Union  county, 
Penn.,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  enlisted 
in  the  Union  army,  but  was  rejected  on 
account  of  his  youth.  He  afterward  en- 
listed,   February   24,    1864,  in   Company 


K,  Fifty-first  P.  V.  I.,  was  assigned  to 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  saw  active 
service,  participating  in  several  important 
battles,  and  being  wounded  in  the  second 
battle  of  the  Wilderness.  He  was  honor- 
ably discharged  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  July 
25,  1865.  After  the  war  he  located  at 
Lewisburg,  Penn.,  and  within  a  short 
time  came  to  Lindsey,  Sandusky  Co., 
Ohio,  where  he  engaged  in  the  business 
of  buying,  preparing  for  market,  and 
shipping  live-stock.  in  1887  he  removed 
to  Fremont  in  order  to  prosecute  his  busi- 
ness on  a  larger  scale,  and  recently  he  has 
devoted  most  of  his  time  to  the  buying, 
feeding  and  shipping  of  sheep,  in  which 
he  excels,  both  in  the  magnitude  and 
management  of  his  undertakings.  His 
sheep  barns  are  models  of  convenience 
and  comfort  for  the  handling  of  sheep. 
One  of  them  is  120x68  in  dimensions, 
two  are  20x100  feet;  there  is  another 
100x28  feet,  and  one  shed  100x36  feet. 
He  has  granaries  and  sheds  in  close  prox- 
imity to  each  other,  and  he  fed  more  than 
6,000  sheep  within  the  year  1894.  He 
makes  his  purchases  in  Chicago  and  else- 
where. Mr.  Fangboner  also  does  an  ex- 
tensive business  in  the  buying,  packing  and 
shipping  of  hay  and  straw,  having  a  num- 
ber of  presses  of  his  own  in  almost  con- 
stant operation.  He  ships  annually  not 
less  than  800  car-loads  of  farm  products, 
for  which  he  pays  the  farmers  many  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  dollars.  Mr.  Fang- 
boner is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and 
takes  a  laudable  interest  in  public  affairs. 
He  has  held  many  offices  of  honor  and 
trust,  having  served  on  the  school  board 
at  Lindsey  for  six  years,  and  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  village  council  two  years.  On 
his  removal  to  Fremont  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  city  council.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1893,  he  was  elected  auditor  of  San- 
dusky county,  on  the  Republican  ticket, 
and  is  the  present  incumbent,  assisted  by 
his  son,  Irvin  T. ,  as  deputy.  He  is  well 
and  favorably  known  in  society  circles. 
Socially,  he  is  a  member  of  the  K.  of  H., 


252 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


the    Royal     Arcanum    and    the  National 
Union. 

In  1 87 1  Jolin  Fangboner  married  Miss 
Hensel,  daughter  of  Adam  and  Mary 
(Banner)  Hensel.  She  died  at  Lindsey, 
Ohio,  in  1874,  the  mother  of  two  chil- 
dren, Irvin  T.  and  Myrtella.  Mr.  Fang- 
boner married,  for  his  second  wile.  Miss 
Emma,  daughter  of  Jacob  Faller,  of 
Fremont,  Ohio,  and  they  have  one  child, 
Raymond.  Irvin  T.  Fangboner,  the 
well-known,  competent,  and  highly  es- 
teemed deputy  auditor  of  Sandusky 
county,  was  for  five  years  assistant  teller 
in  the  First  National  Bank  of  Fremont, 
Ohio.  He  is  a  member  of  several  social 
clubs  and  societies  in  the  city,  belongs  to 
the  B.  P.  O.  Elks,  the  Masonic  Frater- 
nity, the  National  Union  and  the  Sons  of 
Veterans.  In  religious  connection  he  is  a 
member  of  the  Reformed  Church  of  Fre- 
mont, in  which  he  has  served  in  various 
official  positions. 


GEORGE  RICHARDS.    This  well- 
known    citizens    of    Gibsonburg, 
Sandusky  county,  is  a  veterinary 
surgeon,  and  has  been  practicing 
his  profession  since  early  in  life.     He  was 
born    in    the  County    of    Kent,  England, 
February  15,  18 19. 

The  parents  of  our  subject  were 
Thomas  and  Mary  (Court)  Richards,  the 
former  of  whom  died  in  the  county  of 
Kent,  England,  when  seventy-eight  years 
old.  He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation, 
and  was  a  strong,  rugged  man.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  The  mother  was  also  born  in 
the  County  of  Kent,  England,  and  lived 
to  be  one  hundred  and  one  years  old. 
She  was  never  sick  until  the  time  of  her 
death.  Her  father  was  Clement  Court, 
a  farmer  by  occupation,  and  her  mother, 
who  was  born  in  Worcester,  England,  was 
the  daughter  of  a  veterinary  surgeon. 

George  Richards  gained  a  fair  educa- 
tion   in    the   schools  of    East    Kent,  and 


assisted  his  father  upon  the  farm  until 
fourteen  years  of  age,  when  he  was  ap- 
prenticed to  his  uncle  until  he  was  twenty- 
one,  learning  the  profession  of  a  veterin- 
ary surgeon.  He  then  went  to  London 
and  studied  at  Greenwich  Hospital  for  a 
year,  when  he  took  his  diploma  and  began 
practice  with  his  uncle  in  Kent.  There 
he  remained  two  years,  and  was  then  ap- 
pointed as  veterinary  and  bailiff  under 
Lord  Sands.  This  position  he  filled  for 
over  five  years,  and  then  took  the  man- 
agement of  a  tavern  in  West  Kent  called 
the  "Bull  Inn,"  which  he  conducted  for 
two  and  a  half  years,  when  he  sold  out 
and  became  the  proprietor  of  the  "  Drum 
Inn,"  East  Kent,  remaining  there  some 
three  years.  This  property  he  disposed 
of  in  1859,  and  then  emigrated  to  America. 
Mr.  Richards  at  first  located  in  Rich- 
field, Ohio,  and  engaged  in  the  butcher- 
ing business  until  1861,  when,  the  Civil 
war  breaking  out,  he  enlisted  in  the 
Second  Battalion,  Ohio  Cavalry,  serving 
two  and  a  half  years.  He  was  sent  from 
Camp  Dennison  to  St.  Louis  and  Kansas 
City,  Mo.,  and  was  in  the  expedition  in 
search  of  Ouantrell's  band  of  bush- 
whackers. They  had  an  exciting  chase, 
in  which  they  captured  si.x  of  Ouantrell's 
men.  About  this  time  Mr.  Richards'  wife 
was  taken  sick,  and  died,  so  he  returned 
home.  He  then  located  in  Lorain  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  on  Butternut  Ridge,  where  he 
lived  until  1864,  in  which  year  he  went 
to  Wood  county  and  bought  land.  This 
he  traded  for  land  beyond  Summit.  He 
made  a  business  of  buying  and  selling 
land,  in  the  meantime  practicing  his  pro- 
fession as  a  veterinary  surgeon,  having  as 
much  as  he  could  do  in  that  line.  He  is 
now  the  owner  of  a  good  property,  and 
although  he  has  practically  retired  from 
business,  he  still  does  some  work  in  his 
profession.  Mr.  Richards  was  married  in 
1850,  in  England,  to  Mary  Bramble,  who 
died  during  the  Civil  war,  in  1863,  in  Lake 
township,  Wood  Co.,  Ohio.  Of  this 
union  there  were  born  the  following  chil- 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOORAPHICAL   RECORD. 


253 


dren:  Margery:  George,  who  married 
Clara  Hedricks,  and  has  three  children — 
Esther,  Harry  and  Daisy;  Mary,  the  wife 
of  David  Ively,  has  four  children — Harry, 
Charley,  George  and  Fred;  Margaret  died 
when  twenty-three  years  old;  Sarah  mar- 
ried W.  Fought,  and  has  one  child — 
Arthur;  Margaret  died  when  one  year  old. 
For  his  second  wife  Mr.  Richards  mar- 
ried Miss  Sarah  Weaver,  who  was  born 
in  Franklin,  Penn.,  in  1849.  The  chil- 
dren of  this  marriage  are:  Lottie,  the  wife 
of  John  Mull  (they  have  three  children — 
Melvin,  Ira  and  Ethel);  Fred,  married  to 
Miss  Mame  Foster;  Clara,  deceased; 
\\'illiam,  Effie,  Emma,  Henry,  Jemima, 
Eddie  and  Bessie. 

Mr.  Richards  is  a  Republican  in  poli- 
tics. In  religion  he  is  a  member  of  the 
United  Brethren  Church,  and  has  been 
very  active  in  all  good  works,  helping  to 
build  three  or  four  churches.  He  is  a 
man  of  intelligence  and  a  good  conversa- 
tionalist. 


HFA'RY  A.  WINTER.  This  gen- 
tleman, who  is  one  of  the  most 
jirominent  farmers  and  stock  rais- 
ers of  Townsend  township,  San- 
dusky county,  has,  by  his  sterling  integ- 
rity, honest  and  straightforward  dealing, 
earned  for  himself  an  enviable  reputation 
and  a  good  name.  He  is  a  son  of  Daniel 
and  Mar}-  (Dale)  Winter,  and  was  born 
January  8,  1838,  upon  the  homestead 
farm,   on  which  he  still  resides. 

Daniel  Winter,  who  was  of  German 
ancestry,  was  born  in  Hagerstown,  Md., 
March  30,  1797,  and  was  a  son  of  Chris- 
tian and  Palmer  Winter,  who  removed  to 
Canada  about  1800,  locating  near  Fort 
Erie,  where  they  resided  until  181  2.  On 
the  breaking  out  of  the  war  of  181 2 
Christian  Winter  entered  the  ranks  of  the 
American  army;  but,  as  he  had  pre- 
viously taken  the  oath  of  allegiance  to 
the  British  Crown,  the  Canadian  author- 
ities endeavored  to  enroll  him  into  their 


army,  and  during  the  war  he  had  many 
narrow  escapes  from  capture  by  the  Brit- 
ish. After  the  close  of  the  struggle  he 
settled  in  Erie  county,  Ohio,  where  he 
resided  until  his  death.  He  was  an  up- 
right, honored  citizen,  and  his  memory  will 
long  be  cherished.  Daniel  Winter  was 
three  years  old  when  he  was  taken  by  his 
parents  to  Canada,  and  he  was  there 
reared  to  manhood.  He  also  was  drafted 
into  the  British  army,  but  escaped  and 
settled  in  Erie  county,  Ohio,  where  he 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  until  182 1, 
when  he  removed  to  what  was  then  called 
the  Prairies  (now  Townsend  township), 
where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days. 
In  Erie  county,  Ohio,  April  6,  1831,  he 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Mary  Dale,  a 
lady  of  German  ancestry,  born  in  Dan- 
ville, Penn.,  February  i  i,  1800,  and  they 
had  four  children,  as  follows:  J.  Nelson, 
born  April  26,  1834,  and  residing  in  Clyde, 
Sandusky  county;  Henry  A.,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch;  Ralph  J.,  born  November 
20,  1842,  died  April  18,  1885;  and  Mary 
E. ,  born  September  11,  i  S45,  died  at  Madi- 
son, Ga.,  March  27,  1889.  On  June  24, 
1869.  Daniel  Winter  was  called  from 
earth,  beloved  of  all  who  knew  him. 

Henry  A.  Winter  has  passed  his  whole 
life  in  Townsend  township,  was  educated 
in  the  district  school,  and  since  early 
youth  has  been  engaged  in  farming  and 
stock  raising.  In  Erie  county,  Ohio,  May 
28,  1874,  Mr.  Winter  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Bella  Neill,  who  was  born  in 
Delaware,  Delaware  Co.,  Ohio,  April  17, 
1857,  and  they  have  hao  children,  their 
names  and  dates  of  birth  being  as  follows: 
Ralph,  February  27,  1875;  Allan,  July  4, 
1876;  Louis,  February  18,  1878;  Daniel, 
July  7,  1879;  Charles,  June  21,  1880; 
Edith,  August  4,  1882;  and  Neil,  Feb- 
ruary 27,  1884.  The  parents  of  Mrs. 
Winter,  Louis  and  Jeannette  S.  (Gaw) 
Neill,  were  both  born  in  Sandusky  City, 
Erie  county,  and  both  are  still  living. 
Mr.  Winter  is  a  Republican  in  politics, 
and  the  family  attend  the  United  Brethren 


2&4 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


Church.  Mrs.  Winter  is  a  school  director 
for  Sandusky  county,  being  the  first  lady 
director  ever  elected  in  the  countv. 


NB.  ERVIN,  M.  D.,  one  of  the 
most  successful  medical  practi- 
tioners of  Sandusky  county,  as 
well  as  one  of  the  most  enterpris- 
ing and  deserving  business  men,  is  a  resi- 
dent of  Gibsonburg.  He  was  born  near 
Mansfield,  Ohio,  January  15,  1853,  son  of 
Ezekiel  and  Sarah  (Kerr)  Ervin. 

Ezekial  Ervin  was  born  in  October, 
1799,  in  Westmoreland  county,  Penn., 
and  about  1830  migrated  to  Richland 
county,  Ohio,  where,  with  his  brother-in- 
law,  Jesse  Swann,  he  opened  up  a  wilder- 
ness farm.  The  rails  of  this  pioneer  farm 
were  made  from  walnut  lumber,  which  in 
after  years  became  almost  priceless  in 
value.  Sarah  (Kerr),  the  mother  of  our 
subject,  was  also  a  native  of  Westmore- 
land county.  They  remained  lifelong 
citizens  of  Richland  county,  the  mother 
dying  in  1865,  the  father  surviving  till 
1880.  He  had  only  one  brother — who 
remained  in  Pennsylvania  and  left  two 
sons — but  several  sisters,  one  of  whom 
had  married  Jesse  Swann.  The  children 
of  Ezekiel  and  Sarah  Ervin,  were  as  fol- 
lows: James,  a  soldier  of  the  Civil  svar, 
who,  in  the  spring  of  1865,  when  on  his 
way  home  on  parole  from  a  Rebel  prison, 
was  killed  in  the  steamer  "Sultana" 
horror  near  Vicksburg;  William,  who  died 
in  childhood;  John  M.,  a  harness-maker 
of  Mansfield;  Mary,  who  died  in  child- 
hood; Dr.  N.  B.,  subject  of  this  sketch; 
Ruth,  wife  of  James  McCulley.  of  Toledo; 
Ira,  who  died  at  Clyde,  aged  twenty-six 
years;  and  Sadie,  deceased  wife  of  Howard 
Rummel. 

Our  subject  grew  up  on  his  father's 
farm,  and  in  addition  to  his  common- 
school  education,  took  an  academic  course 
at  Perrysville,  Ohio.  He  then  attended 
medical  lectures  at  the  Cleveland  Medical 
School,     the      Medical     Department     of 


Wooster  Universit\-,  graduating  with  the 
class  of  1881.  The  young  physician  at 
once  opened  an  office  at  Gibsonburg,  and 
he  has  remained  here  ever  since.  He 
quickly  won  the  confidence  of  the  com- 
munity by  his  professional  skill,  and  has 
from  the  first  enjoyed  a  large  practice. 
In  1893  Dr.  Ervin  opened  a  drug  store, 
which  he  still  owns;  but  he  devotes  his 
time  chiefly  to  his  practice.  He  is  also 
interested  in  various  enterprises  which 
are  materially  helping  the  village  and 
county:  He  is  a  charter  member,  a  stock- 
holder and  a  director  of  the  Gibsonburg 
Banking  Compan}-;  he  was  president  of 
the  first  gas  company  ever  organized  at 
Gibsonburg,  the  Gibsonburg  National  Gas 
and  Oil  Company,  and  now  has  interests 
in  that  and  in  the  Ervin  Oil  Company, 
who  control  considerable  land  and  own 
about  thirty  wells,  being  largely  engaged 
in  the  oil  industry.  He  is  also  financially 
interested  with  Williams  Bros,  in  the  oil 
fields,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Buckeye 
Torpedo  Co.,  who  are  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  nitro-glycerine  for  shoot- 
ing oil  wells.  In  politics  the  Doctor  is  a 
Republican.  Socially,  he  is  a  prominent 
member  of  the  I.O.O.  F.,  the  K.  of  P., 
the  Knights  of  the  Maccabees,  and  the 
Masonic  F"raternity.  Professionally  he  is 
a  member  of  the  State  Medical  Society, 
and  also  of  the  Sandusky  County  Medical 
Society.  The  town  of  Gibsonburg  is  in- 
debted for  its  prosperity  to  men  of  the 
courage  and  conviction  of  Dr.  Ervin. 
He  is  a  leader  in  financial  operations,  and 
has  displayed  a  rare  good  judgment  in  the 
undertakings  with  which  he  has  been  as- 
sociated. 

On  September  9,  1880,  Dr.  Ervin 
was  married,  near  Mansfield,  to  Miss 
Josephine  Smith,  a  native  of  Wayne 
county,  and  they  have  a  family  of  four 
children:  Mabel,  born  January  2,  1882; 
James  Sidney,  born  January  20,  1886; 
Norman,  born  September  9,  1889;  and 
Dale,  born  November  12,  1893.  Mrs. 
Ervin   was  born   July  23,  1859,  daughter 


'r" 


%, 


■k  y^> 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


255 


of  John  and  Rebecca  (Gillani)  Smith,  and 
received  her  education  in  Richland  and 
Wayne  counties,  Ohio.  Her  father  was 
born  July  24,  1820,  her  mother  June  3, 
1 82 1,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  seven 
children,  of  whom  four  are  now  living, 
as  follows:  Josephine  (Mrs.  Ervin);  Mrs. 
^fary  Robinson,  of  Lucas,  Ohio;  Mrs. 
Ellen  Irvin,  of  Mansfield,  Ohio;  and  Mrs. 
Lizzie  Wallace,  of  Lucas,  Ohio.  Mr. 
Smith  came  to  his  death.  May  25,  i8go, 
by  the  explosion  of  a  quantity  of  dyna- 
mite; his  wife  survived  him  until  1893. 
Mrs.  Ervin's  paternal  grandfather,  Daniel 
Smith,  was  born  about  1798,  and  mar- 
ried Anna  Hartford,  who  died  at  an  early 
age,  leaving  a  family  of  five  children. 
Her  maternal  grandfather,  William  Gil- 
lam,  wedded  Mary  I^ennedy,  who  was 
born  about  1800,  and  died  in  1874;  to 
this  union  were  born  seven  children,  of 
whom  one  is  living. 


LOUIS  LINKE,  one  of  the  substan- 
tial farmers  of  northern  Ohio,  was 
born  May  12,  1837,  in  Hanover, 
Germany,  and  is  a  son  of  Herman 
H.  and  Anna  (Thorman)  Linke,  who  were 
born  in  Hanover,  Germany,  in  Novem- 
ber, 1795,  and  in  September,  1798,  re- 
spectively. 

Herman  H.  Linke  and  his  wife  Anna 
were  the  parents  of  four  children,  name- 
ly: Anna  M.,  born  in  1820,  who  married 
Clarence  Ulgerslinger,  a  tailor,  and  they 
live  in  Germany;  Annie  Mary,  born  in 
1825,  married  Christopher  Rolf  us,  a 
maker  of  wooden  shoes,  and  they  live  in 
Germany;  Aberhart,  born  in  1825,  now  a 
farmer  in  Woodville  township,  Sandusky 
county,  married  to  Sophia  Hilker,  and 
they  have  six  children — Annie,  Sophia, 
Herman,  and  three  who  died  young;  and 
Ludwig  Henry,  or  Louis,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch. 

Louis  Linke  came  to  America  with  his 
parents  in  the  fall  of  1852.  In  eighteen 
weeks  from  the  time  they  left  the  Father- 


land they  located  in  Ohio,  visiting  first  at 
his  uncle's,  in  Troy  township,  Wood  coun- 
ty. He  then  went  to  his  brother,  who 
owned  a  farm,  and  stayed  there  for  a 
time,  working  out  at  different  places  un- 
til his  marriage.  On  March  7,  i860, 
Louis  Linke  married  Maria  Hurdelbrink, 
who  was  born  October  8,  1839,  in  Han- 
over, Germany,  and  nine  children  have 
been  born  to  them,  as  follows:  Herman 
Henry,  March  18,  1861,  now  a  farmer  in 
Woodville  township,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio, 
married  to  Ganna  Sandwisch,  and  has  two 
children — Ida  and  Lizzie;  Elizabeth,  born 
April  6,  1862,  died  young;  Eberhart 
Henry,  born  August  28,  1863,  now  a 
farmer  in  Clay  township,  Ottawa  county, 
who  married  Louisa  Obermeyer,  and  they 
have  had  two  children,  Minnie  and  Ed; 
Annie  Louisa,  born  August  11,  1866,  mar- 
ried to  Herman  Sander,  a  farmer  of  Ot- 
tawa county,  and  they  have  three  chil- 
dren— Louis,  Carrie  and  Dora;  Eberhard 
Henry,  born  June  24,  1868,  died  August 
22,  1869,  aged  one  year  and  twenty-eight 
days,  and  was  buried  at  Woodville;  Sophia 
Eliza,  born  May  11,  1871,  married  Fred 
Shulte,  a  farmer  of  Sandusky  county,  and 
has  one  child — Louis;  Anna  Maria  Car- 
rie, born  August  26,  1874,  unmarried  and 
living  at  home;  John  Ludwig,  born  March 
30,  1879,  living  at  home;  and  Maria  Eliza, 
born  December  18,  1883,  deceased  when 
young. 

Mrs.  Louis  Linke's  parents  came  to 
America  in  1837,  and  only  remained  in 
the  East  a  short  time.  They  were  very 
poor,  and  her  father  worked  by  the  day 
among  the  farmers.  Coming  to  Ohio, 
they  lived  for  a  short  time  with  a  friend 
named  Hartman.  Her  father  worked  out, 
and  saved  his  money,  bought  forty  acres 
of  land,  put  up  a  log  cabin,  and  began 
clearing.  This  land  he  kept  for  several 
years,  and  then  sold  it.  Later  he  bought 
eighty  acres,  all  but  two  of  which  were  in 
timber,  and  cleared  about  half  of  this. 
Before  he  died  this  farm  was  divided 
among  the    children.      He    was    born  in 


256 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


1803,  and  died  in  1877;  his  wife  was  born 
in  1800,  and  died  in  1867.  Mrs.  Linke's 
brothers  and  sisters  were  as  follows: 
Henry,  born  in  1834,  married  Angeline 
Starke,  by  whom  he  has  had  eight  chil- 
dren (he  has  a  farm  of  eighty  acres  in 
Woodville  township  which  he  rents,  and 
lives  retired  with  his  children  in  Toledo, 
Ohio);  William,  a  farmer  of  Woodville 
township,  married  Louisa  Coleman,  and 
they  have  seven  children;  and  Eliza  and 
Angeline,  who  died  young. 

In  1 86 1  Mr.  Linke  bought  126  acres 
of  timberland,  all  in  the  woods,  put  up  a 
log  cabin,  and  began  clearing.  In  1864 
he  sold  twenty-five  acres  to  his  brother, 
since  when  he  has  owned,  in  all,  238 
acres.  He  now  has  149  acres,  and  car- 
ries on  general  farming.  He  is  one  of 
the  oldest  members  of  the  Lutheran 
Church  in  Troy  township.  Wood  Co., 
Ohio.  In  politics  a  Democrat,  he  was 
trustee  for  eleven  jears,  and  supervisor 
several  years.  He  is  an  upright,  honest 
man,  does  not  show  the  marks  of  his 
years  of  hard  work,  and  has  not  yet  a 
gray  hair  in  his  head. 


REV.  NOAH  HENRICKS,  a  retired 
farmer  and  minister,  now  residing 
in  the  village  of  Lindsey,  San- 
dusky county,  has  witnessed,  as 
few  others  have,  the  marvelous  transfor- 
mation of  a  tangled  and  almost  impass- 
able jungle  into  a  pastoral  region  of  sur- 
passing fertility  and  beauty. 

He  was  a  lad  of  tender  years,  with 
mind  keenly  susceptible  to  impressions, 
when  his  father,  a  prominent  pioneer  and 
farmer,  moved  from  the  rugged  hills  and 
valleys  of  Perry  county  to  the  noted 
"Black  Swamp"  of  northwestern  Ohio. 
Gifted  with  a  prescience  of  their  future 
value,  he  bought  extensively  from  the 
government  the  rich  swamp-covered  lands 
of  Washington  township,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, trusting  to  the  coming  years  to  vindi- 
cate  the   soundness   of    his    judgment  in 


thus  investing  in  lands  which  most  pio- 
neers avoided.  The  scene  was  truly  un- 
inviting. Log-choked  streams  lazilj' 
flooded  the  entire  region,  and  rank  veget- 
able growth  contended  with  the  slimy 
waters  for  supremacy  over  the  soil.  Vine- 
clad  monarchs  of  the  forest  with  tops  in- 
terlaced, and  with  trunks  inclined  at  every 
conceivable  angle,  conspired  to  keep  the 
rays  of  the  sun  from  the  oozy  surface. 

Hither  in  1830  came  Jacob  and  Eliza- 
beth (Hufford)  Henricks  and  their  eight 
children,  the  ninth  and  youngest  being  a 
native  of  the  new  home.  Jacob  Hen- 
ricks, who  was  born  in  Pennsylvania, 
moved  with  his  parents,  in  1807,  to  Perry 
county,  Ohio,  was  there  married  to  Eliza- 
beth Hufford  January  15,  181 1,  and  there 
remained  until  his  migration  to  Sandusky 
county  in  1830.  His  children  were  as 
follows:  Katie,  born  December  8,  181 1, 
married  George  Hetrick,  and  died  in 
1894,  leaving  ten  children;  Sarah,  born 
July  29,  1814,  married  John  Overmyer, 
and  is  now  deceased;  John,  born  Novem- 
ber 8,  1 8 16;  Noah,  subject  of  this  sketch, 
born  Nouember  13,  1818;  Susan,  born 
January  14,  1821,  now  living  in  Indiana, 
widow  of  Samuel  Rerrick;  Rebecca,  born 
December  6,  1822,  wife  of  Jacob  Wagg- 
ner,  of  Indiana;  Jonah,  born  December 
9,  1824;  Elizabeth,  born  May  20,  1827, 
now  the  wife  of  Jonas  Engler,  and  resid- 
ing near  Flat  Rock;  Jacob,  born  August 
16,  1 83 1,  a  farmer  of  Wood  count v, 
Ohio. 

After  his  removal  to  Sandusky  count)' 
Noah  Henricks,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
attended  the  district  schools  until  his 
seventeenth  jear,  when  he  began  a  course 
of  study,  preparatory  to  entering  the 
ministry  in  the  German  Baptist  Church. 
When  thus  equipped,  Rev.  Henricks 
filled  the  pulpit  for  four  years,  preaching 
in  Ohio  and  throughout  Illinois.  He 
tilled  the  station  of  a  bishop,  which  per- 
mitted him  to  preach  without  restriction, 
and  not  requiring  him  to  follow  the  cir- 
cuit and  stay  but  one  year  in  each  place. 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


iOi 


III  January.  1831,  his  father  purchased 
160  acres  of  land  in  Washington  town- 
ship, and  this,  from  185010  1890,  was  the 
home  of  our  subject.  He  married  Miss 
Katie  Reed,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Sarah 
(Swinehart)  Reed,  who  in  an  early  day 
migrated  from  Pennsylvania,  their  native 
State,  to  Perry  county,  Ohio,  and  in 
1833  came  to  Washington  township,  San- 
dusky county,  where  they  died.  In  relig- 
ious belief  they  were  Lutherans.  They 
had  a  famil}'  of  eleven  children,  as  fol- 
lows: Elizabeth,  Samuel,  Katie,  Polly, 
Peter,  John,  Jonathan,  Rebecca,  Eliza, 
Caroline,  and  an  infant  unnamed.  To 
Rev.  Noah  and  Katie  Henricks  have  been 
born  four  children:  John,  who  married 
Catharine  Yagle,  and  had  four  children — 
Alice  (married  to  William  Engler),  and 
Arda,  Clara  and  Esta  (all  three  single); 
Sarah,  widow  of  Jess  Hetrick;  Elizabeth, 
wife  of  Charles  Buck,  a  farmer  in  San- 
dusky county,  who  has  three  children — 
Ida,  Noah  and  Jennie;  and  Emily,  who 
married  John  Ansbach,  a  lumberman  of 
Oak  Harbor,  and  has  two  children — 
Willie  and  Roily.  In  1890  Rev.  Mr.  Hen- 
ricks moved  to  the  village  of  Lindsey, 
where  he  expects  to  pass  his  remaining 
days  in  comfort,  and  amidst  the  scenes 
which  bring  back  many  pleasant  memories 
of  the  long  ago. 


JBAUMANN  &  SON.  Among  the 
enterprising  business  men  of  Fre- 
mont, perhaps  no  firm  is  more  widely 
and  favorably  known  throughout 
Sandusky  county  than  the  firmof  J.  Bau- 
mann  &  Son,  proprietors  of  the  "  Central 
Meat  Market,"  corner  of  Croghan  and 
Arch  streets,  opposite  the  City  Hall. 

jAcoii  Baum.wn,  Sk.,  the  senior  pro- 
prietor, was  born  in  Villigen,  Switzerland, 
December  6,  1827,  a  son  of  Henry  and 
Verena  (Hartman)  Baumann,  who  lived 
on  a  farm  near  the  borders  of  Baden. 
He  attended  school  in  his  native  place 
until  fifteen  years  of  age,  when  he  learned 


the  trade  of  butcher.  On  May  10,  1850, 
he  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Vogt,  daughter 
of  John  Vogt,  a  farmer,  who  afterward 
emigrated  to  America  and  settled  in  San- 
dusky county,  Ohio.  In  the  fall  of  the 
year  1854  Mr.  Baumann  came  to  America 
with  his  family,  crossing  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  in  the  sailing  vessel  "Canvas 
Back"  from  Havre  to  New  York  City  in 
forty-three  days.  Coming  thence  to  Fre- 
mont, Ohio,  he  located  on  the  east  side 
of  the  Sandusky  river,  and  worked  at  his 
trade  as  a  butcher.  The  following  year 
he  kept  a  meat  market  at  Clyde,  Ohio. 
Returning  to  Fremont  in  1856,  heopened 
a  grocery  store  and  meat  market  on  State 
street,  in  the  Third  ward,  on  the  corner 
now  occupied  by  Kline's  block.  In  1857 
he  sold  out  this  business  and  removed  to 
the  West  side,  where  he  established  an 
exclusively  meat  market.  His  "Central 
Market"  was  established  by  him  in  1875. 
In  the  year  1877  his  son,  Jacob  Baumann, 
Jr.,  became  an  equal  partner  with  him, 
and  they  have  continued  together  until  the 
present  time.  Their  patronage  is  such 
that  for  a  number  of  years  it  has  required 
the  annual  purchase  of  more  than  ten 
thousand  dollars'  worth  of  live  stock, 
chiefly  from  the  farmers  of  the  surround- 
ing countrj'.  They  are  quiet  and  unas- 
suming in  their  manners,  but  possessed  of 
a  genial,  friendly  nature,  and  an  obliging 
disposition.  They  are  masters  of  their 
business,  and  their  reputation  for  sound 
judgment  and  strict  integrity  is  such  that 
among  farmers  and  city  patrons  their 
word  is  as  good  as  their  bond.  In  the 
year  1882  J.  Baumann,  Sr.,  built  a  fine 
brick  mansion  on  Croghan  street,  oppo- 
site the  Court  House  yard,  which  has 
since  that  time  been  occupied  as  a  family 
residence,  and  is  an  ornament  to  the  city. 
The  children  of  Jacob  Baumann,  Sr. ,  and 
his  wife  Elizabeth,  nee  Vogt,  were:  Jacob 
Baumann,  Jr. ;  Anna  Baumann,  who  died 
at  the  age  of  forty-two  years;  Eliza  Bau- 
mann, at  home;  Albert  V.,  whose  sketch 
appears  elsewhere;   and  Hattie,  at  home. 


258 


COMMEMORATIVE    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


Jacob  Baumann,  Jr.,  junior  member 
of  the  firm  of  J.  Baumann  &  Son,  was 
born  in  Switzerland  July  23,  1850,  and 
came  with  his  parents  to  Fremont,  where 
he  received  alimited  school  education,  and 
learned  to  follow  the  occupation  of  his  fa- 
ther. He  married  November  i,  1877, 
Miss  Minna  Richards,  daughter  of  Prof. 
Frederick  Richards.  She  died  July  15, 
1892,  the  mother  of  children  as  follows: 
Gertrude  Leone,  born  August  9,  1879; 
Albert  Otto,  born  October  24,  1880; 
Frederick  Jacob,  who  died  in  infancy; 
and  Frieda,  born  July  30,  1886.  On  Oc- 
tober 30,  1894,  Mr.  Baumann  married 
Miss  Ida  Stapf,  who  was  born  March  30, 
1861,  daughter  of  William  Stapf.  of  New- 
port, Ky.  Their  residence  is  on  Garrison 
street,  Fremont,  Ohio. 


GEORGE  RIMMELSPACHER,  a 
retired  farmer,  Fremont,  San- 
dusky county,  is  a  native  of 
Baden,  Germany,  born  March 
28,  18  12.  His  parents  were  Joseph  and 
Christena  (  Mowery )  Rimmelspacher, 
farmers  and  natives  of  Baden,  the  former 
of  whom  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven, 
and  the  latter  at  the  age  of  seventy-four 
years.  They  had  eight  children,  f^ve  of 
whom  came  to  America:  Chrisence, 
Mary,  Elizabeth,  Sebastian,  and  George 
(our  subject).  Of  those  who  remained  in 
the  Fatherland,  Bernhardt  only  is  still 
living. 

Our  subject  grew  to  manhood  in  Baden, 
where  he  received  a  limited  education  in 
German,  and  learned  the  trade  of  black- 
smith. Hoping  to  better  his  condition, 
he  emigrated  to  America,  landing  at  New 
York  City,  May  27,  1836,  and  here  worked 
at  his  trade  one  and  a  half  years.  He 
then  went  to  St.  Augustine,  Florida,  and 
drove  stage  coach  two  years,  subsequently 
doing  some  blacksmithing  for  the  United 
States  Government,  under  direction  of 
Gen.  Zachary  Taylor,  who  was  in  charge 
of  soldiers  there.      He  returned  thence  to 


New  York  City,  and  in  1 840  came  to  Ohio, 
locating  on  the  Sandusky  river,  in  Ball- 
ville  township,  Sandusky  county,  upon  a 
farm  of  forty  acres,  to  which  more  were 
added  later,  and  where  he  lived  about 
forty  years.  Here,  by  hard  work  and  good 
management,  for  which  Germans  are  noted, 
he  accumulated  a  fortune  which  enabled 
him  in  his  old  age  to  retire  from  business. 
He  has  erected  a  fine  brick  residence  on 
Garrison  street,  Fremont,  which  he  makes 
his  family  home.  He  at  one  time  owned 
Goo  acres  of  valuable  land  in  Sandusky 
county,  which  he  disposed  of  by  giving  to 
each  of  his  children  a  farm. 

On  September  14,  1840,  George  Rim- 
melspacher married  Miss  Elizabeth  Gable, 
who  was  born  April  4,  181 8,  in  Alsace, 
Germany,  and  came  to  America  in  1831. 
They  had  thirteen  children,  nine  of  whom 
are  living:  (i)  Joseph  A.,  who  died  at 
twelve  years  of  age;  (2)  Jacob,  a  soldier 
of  the  Civil  war,  who  married  Anna  Gar- 
ber,  and  whose  children  are — Florence, 
Henry,  Ida,  Ferris  and  Pearl.  (3)  Mag- 
dalena,  wife  of  Henry  Ochs,  of  Buffalo, 
N.  Y. ,  who  has  si.x  children — Albert  (who 
married  Miss  Bertha  Shoedler,  and  has 
one  child,  Harold);  Rosa  (who  married 
Casper  Hodes,  and  has  three  children — 
Rosa,  Carl  and  Henry),  Edward,  Harry, 
Stany  and  Ralph.  (4)  Andrew,  farmer, 
living  in  Ballville  township,  who  married 
Miss  Louisa  Myers,  and  whose  children 
are — Harry.  Estella,  Philber,  Edward, 
Sylvester,  Hedwig,  Lovina,  Sevilla,  Law- 
rence, Marie,  Clements  and  Rcgine.  (5) 
Catharine,  wife  of  Anthony  Swint,  whose 
children  are — George,  Frank,  Lena,  Liz- 
zie, Seraphine.  Robert.  Charles,  Laura, 
Peter,  Jacob,  and  Gertrude.  (6)  Rosa, 
wife  of  L.  Engleman;  she  died  August  i, 
1893,  aged  thirty-four,  leaving  two  chil- 
dren— Amedius  and  Estella.  (7)  Mary, 
wife  of  Andrew  Ochs,  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y. ; 
they  have  one  child — -Frank.  (8)  George, 
a  farmer  of  Sandusky  county,  who  mar- 
ried Helen  Kofifler,  and  whose  children 
are — Isabella,    Eleanora   and    Henrietta. 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


259 


(9)  John,  who  rrarried  Theresa  Kochman, 
and  whose  children  are — Seraphine,  Jose- 
phine, Carl  and  Wilbur.  (10)  William, 
who  married  Christena  Engler,  and  whose 
children  are — Isadore  and  Wilbur.  (11) 
Amelia,  living  at  home.  Two  children — 
Peter  and  Frank — died  in  childhood. 
Mrs.  Rimmelspacher  died  June  7,  1892, 
at  the  age  of  seventy-four  years.  The 
Rimmelspacher  family  are  all  members  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 


JC.  SMITH.  This  gentleman,  one 
of  the  most  prominent  and  influen- 
tial citizens  of  Gibsonburg,  Sandusky 
county,  is  the  surviving  member  of 
the  firm  of  Smith  &  Dohn,  who  for  some 
years  have  e.xtensively  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  lime.  Mr.  F.  W.  Dohn 
died  about  three  years  ago,  and  since  that 
time  Mr.  Smith  has  had  entire  charge  of 
the  large  interests  of  the  business,  and 
has  conducted  it  very  successfully,  being 
assisted  by  Mr.  Dohn's  son.  He  is  a  man 
of  strict  integrity,  and  carries  the  princi- 
ples of  religion  into  his  business  relations, 
gaining  thereby  the  confidence  and  es- 
teem of  all  with  whom  he  comes  in  con- 
tact. He  is  also  enterprising  and  pro- 
gressive, and  always  busy  in  promoting 
the  welfare  of  others  as  well  as  his  own. 
Mr.  Smith  was  born  in  Sandusky 
county,  west  of  Fremont,  August  15, 
1854,  son  of  Nelson  and  Mary  (Cookson) 
Smith,  both  of  whom  are  still  living.  The 
father  was  born  in  1824  in  Franklin  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  near  Columbus,  and  now  resides 
in  Washington  township,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, where  he  carries  on  farming,  and  where 
he  has  lived  ever  since  his  marriage.  By 
trade  he  was  a  carpenter,  and  followed 
that  occupation  for  some  years.  In  poli- 
tics he  is  a  Republican,  and  in  religion  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  His  ancestors  were  prominent 
people  in  New  England,  and  Israel  Smith, 
of  Fremont,  this  State,  was  his  uncle. 
The  mother  of  our  subject   was  born  in 


Perry  county,  Ohio,  in  1823,  her  family 
coming  there  from  Pennsylvania.  Our 
subject  is  one  of  a  family  of  five  children, 
of  whom  the  following  record  is  given: 
Josiah  lives  in  Ballville  township;  Isabel 
died  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years;  F.  E. 
lives  in  Washington  township;  J.  C.  re- 
sides at  Gibsonburg;  and  John  lives  on 
the  old  homestead  in  Washington  town- 
ship. 

J.  C.  Smith  grew  to  manhood  in 
Washington  township,  and  acquired  an 
e.\cellent  education  in  Delaware  and  Ober- 
lin  Colleges,  in  the  meantime  interspers- 
ing his  studies  with  teaching,  thus  putting 
to  practical  use  the  knowledge  he  ob- 
tained. He  taught  two  terms  at  Ballville 
after  leaving  Delaware  College,  and  be- 
fore entering  Obertin,  and  after  attending 
the  spring  and  fall  terms  at  the  latter, 
again  engaged  in  teaching  for  four  terms 
at  Bettsville,  in  Seneca  county.  He  also 
taught  three  terms  near  his  home  in  San- 
dusky county.  In  1880  he  was  married 
to  Miss  Annie  C.  Bowlus,  who  was  born 
in  Sandusky  township,  Sandusky  county, 
August  22,  1852,  and  to  them  have  been 
born  si.x  children:  Eula,  May,  Webb, 
Carl,  Florence  and  Ina. 

l\Irs.  Smith  is  the  only  daughter  of 
Henry  and  Rebecca  Williamson  Bowlus. 
She  was  educated  in  Adrian  (Mich.)  Col- 
lege, where,  in  addition  to  her  literary 
pursuits,  she  also  made  a  study  of  music, 
which,  for  a  time,  she  afterward  taught. 
Mrs.  Smith's  father  was  born  September 
27,  1 8 10,  near  Middletown,  Md.,  and 
when  fourteen  years  of  age  came  with  his 
parents  to  Sandusky  county,  Ohio,  where 
he  still  lives.  His  vvife  was  born  in  Mid- 
dletown, Md.,  July  4,  1824,  and  died 
January  28,  1891,  aged  sixty-six  years, 
six  months  and  twenty-four  days.  She 
was  married  to  Lewis  L.  Bowlus  in  her 
native  town  at  the  tender  age  of  seven- 
teen years  and  six  months,  and  immedi- 
ately afterward  migrated  with  her  hus- 
band to  the  West,  settling  in  Sandusky 
county,  Ohio,  three  miles  west  of  where  the 


260 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


city  of  Fremont  now  stands.  The  county 
was  new,  and  largely  covered  with  dense 
forests  and  impenetrable  swamps;  but  here 
the  young  couple  settled  on  a  tract  of 
land  in  the  woods,  built  a  small  cabin  and 
commenced  clearing  away  the  forest  tim- 
ber. In  the  summer  of  1848,  however, 
the  husband  was  smitten  down  with  fever, 
and  at  the  age  of  twent\--four  she  was  left 
a  widow  with  two  children — Silas  and 
Amos.  Silas,  the  elder,  died  while  in  the 
army  in  1864,  and  Amos  three  years  later, 
while  a  student  at  Oberlin  College.  In 
September,  1849,  she  was  married,  to 
Henry  Bowlus,  who  survives  her,  and 
they  lived  happily  together  for  over  forty- 
one  years.  She  was  an  active  member 
of  the  Muskalonge  Methodist  Protestant 
Church  some  forty-seven  3'ears;  she  was 
in  attendance  at  one  of  the  meetings 
there,  in  which  she  had  expressed  her 
thankfulness  to  God,  her  Saviour,  for  the 
revival  influence  that  was  being  enjoyed 
in  the  Church,  when  she  was  taken  ill  and 
at  six  o'clock  in  the  evening  death  finish- 
ed its  work,  and  that  faithful  Christian, 
that  pure  and  loving. wife  and  mother,  in 
every  respect  worthj-  of  imitation,  and  her 
name  that  will  ever  be  held  in  loving  re- 
membrance by  all  who  knew  her.  She 
was  buried  in  the  little  cemetery,  just 
north  of  the  church,  together  with  kin- 
dred clay.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bowlus  were 
born  four  children,  all  of  whom  are  living: 
Warren,  Henry,  Robert  and  Annie  (Mrs. 
Smith).  Mrs.  Smith's  paternal  grand- 
parents were  from  Germany,  and  her  ma- 
ternal grandmother  from  Scotland. 

At  the  time  of  his  marriage  Mr.  Smith 
engaged  in  the  hardware  business  in  Gib- 
sonburg,  with  M.  W.  Hobart,  whose  in- 
terest he  purchased  two  years  later, 
carrying  on  the  business  alone  until  in 
November,  1 890,  when  he  sold  out  to  the 
Buckeye  Oil  Well  and  Supply  Company. 
During  this  time  (in  1883)  he  formed  a 
partnership  with  Sanders,  Dohn  &  Co., 
for  the  manufacture  of  lime,  and  they 
built  one  lime  kiln,  and  opened  a   quarry 


at  Gibsonburg,  Ohio.  This  partnership 
continued  until  1888,  when  Mr.  Sanders 
sold  his  interest  to  the  two  men,  who 
then  established  themselves  under  the 
firm  name  of  Smith  &  Dohn.  They  pur- 
chased ten  acres  of  quarry  land  near 
a  railroad,  and  during  the  fall  of  that 
year  built  an  additional  kiln.  In  the  fol- 
lowing summer  they  added  two  more 
kilns,  with  an  entire  capacity  of  450  bar- 
rels daily.  The  first  year  they  shipped 
80,000  barrels  of  lime;  in  1890  and  1891 
their  output  was  70,000  barrels;  in  1892, 
60,000  barrels,  and  in  1893,  54,000  bar- 
rels, the  production  for  i  894  being  about 
the  same  as  in  1893.  In  1892  they  pur- 
chased a  tract  of  land  south  of  Gibson- 
burg, which  furnished  them  part  of  their 
supply  of  gas  for  their  business.  They 
have  one  oil  well  and  five  gas  wells, 
which  supply  them  with  fuel.  The  firm 
employ  from  twenty  to  thirty  men 
throughout  the  year,  and  make  all  their 
own  barrels. 

Judging  by  the  manner  in  which  Mr. 
Smith  has  managed  his  own  business,  it 
is  conclusive  that  he  is  a  supremely  active 
man,  and  one  who  looks  ahead  and  an- 
ticipates. On  account  of  the  low  prices 
of  lime — the  result  of  overproduction  and 
close  competition — Mr.  Smith  took  action 
in  the  matter  and  was  among  the  first  to 
organize  a  compan}'.  In  1892  a  consol- 
idation of  nearly  all  the  white  lime  inter- 
ests was  effected,  and  the  company  was 
called  "The  Northwestern  Ohio  Lime 
Co.,  "  our  subject  being  one  of  the  di- 
rectors of  same.  It  continued  in  existence 
but  one  year;  but  even  that  comparatively 
brief  existence  settled  the  point  that  where 
so  much  lime  could  be  manufactured, 
some  control  must  be  had.  In  the  early 
part  of  the  year  1895,  Mr.  Smith  and 
Mr.  Sutliff  undertook  to  organize  a  new 
company,  with  the  assistance  of  a  few 
other  lime  manufacturers;  and  after  a 
couple  of  months  or  more  hard  labor  they 
succeeded  in  organizing  "The  Ohio  Lime 
Co.,"  upon  such  a  basis,  too,  as  to  make 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


261 


of  it  a  comparatively  permanent  organi- 
zation (for  five  years),  taking  in  all  the 
white-lime  interests  in  the  State  of  Ohio. 
Mr.  Smith  is  a  director  of  this  company, 
and  its  organization  is  so  perfect,  and  it 
is  working  with  such  unqualified  success 
that  he  justly  feels  proud  of  his  energies 
so  well  directed.  Good  planning,  judi- 
cious economy,  and  well-timed  energy, 
properly  applied,  he  claims,  must  lead  to 
the  success  of  any  business. 

Mr.  Smith  owns  i6o  acres,  three  and 
a  half  miles  from  Fremont,  in  Washington 
township,  105  acres  of  which  is  the  estate 
of  Rebecca  C.  Bowlus,  and  in  addition 
to  his  other  business,  he  is  engaged  in 
farming.  In  the  fall  of  1894,  in  connec- 
tion with  Peter  A.  Rust,  he  purchased 
fifteen  acres  from  Fred  Yeasting,  and  they 
were  the  means  of  having  the  school- 
house  built  on  the  west  side  of  the  railroad, 
having  laid  out  the  tract  as  an  addition  of 
the  town.  In  1883  Mr.  Smith  built  the 
commodious  home  in  which  he  lives,  and 
here  he  enjoys  life  in  the  consciousness  of 
duty  well  done,  and  energies  well  direc- 
ted. In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  but 
votes  the  Prohibition  ticket,  as  he  is  fully 
convinced  that  that  policy  is  for  the  best 
interests  of  the  county.  He  is  a  devout 
metjiber  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  and  has  always  been  an  earnest 
and  active  worker,  being  chorister  and 
teacher  in  the  Sabbath-school  almost  con- 
tinuously. He  is  foremost  in  every  work 
in  Church  and  community,  and  is  highly 
esteemed  and  respected. 


CHRISTIAN   RISER,  a  well-to-do 
farmer   and    land-owner   of    San- 
dusky township,  Sandusky  county, 
was  born   in  Alsace,  France  (now 
Germany),  March  i,  1842,  a  son  of  Chris- 
tian and  Salome  (Young)  Riser. 

The  father  of  our  subject  was  born  in 
the  same  place  in  the  year  1800,  and  was 
a  carpenter  and  farmer  in  Alsace.  He 
came  to  America   in  about  185 1,  and  lo- 


cated on  a  farm  in  Sandusky  township, 
Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  where  he  died  in 
1863.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Lu- 
theran Church.  The  mother  was  born  in 
Alsace,  and  came  to  America,  where  she 
died  at  the  age  of  eighty-three  years. 
They  had  three  children:  William,  Chris- 
tian and  Caroline,  all  of  whom  live  in 
Sandusky  township.  Of  these  Caroline 
married  John  Bender.  Christian  Riser, 
Sr. ,  had  three  children  by  a  former  mar- 
riage, of  whom  are  named  Fred,  who  died 
in  Fremont,  Ohio;  Charles;  and  Eliza-, 
beth,  wife  of  Frederick  Smith.  The 
grandfather  was  about  ten  years  old  when 
he  came  to  this  country,  and  he  attended 
school  but  a  short  time,  as  he  was  needed 
to  help  clear  up  the  farm. 

He  worked  at  wood  chopping  and 
farming  till  he  enlisted,  October  17,  1861, 
in  Company  C,  Seventy- second  Regiment 
O.  V.  I.,  under  Capt.  Samuel  J.  Snyder. 
He  served  in  the  army  of  the  Tennessee, 
and  participated  in  the  following  battles, 
sieges,  &c. :  Crump's  Landing,  Tenn., 
April  4,  1S62;  Shiloh,  Tenn.,  April  6-7, 
1862;  Corinth,  Miss.,  siege  of,  April  30  to 
May  31,  1862;  Russell  House,  Miss.,  May 
17,  1862;  Jackson,  Miss.,  May  14,  1863; 
Vicksburg,  Miss.,  siege  of.  May  18  to  July 
4,  1863;  Vicksburg,  Miss.,  assault  of.  May 
19-20,  1863;  Big  Black  River,  Miss., 
July  6,  1863;  Jackson,  Miss.,  July  9-16, 
1863;  Branton,  Miss.,  July  19,  1863; 
Hickahala  Creek,  Miss.,  February  10, 
1864;  Brice's  Cross  Roads  (also  known  as 
Guntown),  Miss.,  June  10,  1864;  Harris- 
burg,  Miss.,  July  13,  1864;  Tupelo,  Miss., 
July  14,  T864;  Old  Town  Creek,  Miss., 
July  15,  1864;  Little  Harpcth,  Tenn., 
December  6,  1864.  This  ends  Mr.  Riser's 
army  service,  and  he  was  mustered  out 
after  the  battle  of  Nashville,  Tenn.  (De- 
cember 15-16,  1864),  and  arrived  home 
on  New  Year's  Day,  1865.  He  had  been 
promoted  to  corporal.  He  was  never 
seriously  wounded,  and  at  Guntown,  or 
Brice's  Cross  Roads,  he  made  good  his 
escape  when  about  half   of    his  comrades 


202 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOQBAPHICAL   RECORD. 


were  taken  prisoners,  and  was  obliged  to 
travel  two  nights  and  a  day  and  a  half 
without  food  or  ammunition,  and  yet  he 
says  he  was  not  at  all  sick  of  army  life. 
After  his  return  from  the  army  he  located 
in  Washington  township,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  farming  about  four  years,  after- 
ward locating  in  Elkhart  county,  Ind.  In 
1872  he  returned  to  Sandusky  township, 
where  he  bought  the  eighty  acres  he  now 
lives  on,  and  later  eighty  acres  more.  He 
also  purchased  123  acres  in  Jackson  town- 
ship. In  1884  he  built  his  present  brick 
residence. 

On  January  14,  1862,  Mr.  Riser  mar- 
ried Miss  Rachel  Rule,  who  was  born  Oc- 
tober 4,  1842,  in  Washington  township, 
Sandusky  county,  where  she  lived  until 
her  marriage.  Her  parents,  George  and 
Sarah  (Fessler)  Rule,  were  natives  of 
Cumberland  county,  Penn.,  the  father 
born  in  1788,  the  mother  in  1798.  They 
both  died  in  1865,  Mrs.  Rule's  death  oc- 
curring just  three  days  after  that  of  her 
husband,  and  they  were  buried  side  by 
side  in  Elkhart  county,  Ind.  Their  fam- 
ily consisted  ■of  fourteen  children,  thirteen 
of  whom  married  and  reared  families. 
The  children  of  Christian  and  Rachel 
Riser,  born  in  Sandusky  county,  are: 
Charles  W.,  born  September  8,  1863,  liv- 
ing in  Jackson  township,  married  to  Miss 
EHza  Auxter,  a  native  of  Rice  township, 
by  whom  he  had  one  child — Floyd;  Will- 
iam, born  February  18,  1S66,  died  Oc- 
tober II,  1868;  Noah  F.,  born  July  28, 
1869,  living  at  home,  married  to  Miss 
Clara  Hetrick  March  26,  1S95;  Salome, 
born  February  8,  1871,  widow  of  William 
Wagner,  by  whom  she  had  two  children — 
Grace  and  Martha;  Joshua,  born  Novem- 
ber 4,  1872,  married  to  Miss  Martha  Hed- 
rick,  of  Ballville  township,  and  they  have 
a  daughter — Edna;  Martha,  born  August 
24,  1874,  died  December  10,  1880; 
Henry,  born  December  24,  1876,  living 
at  home;  Christian,  born  January  12, 
1879;  John,  born  August  12,  1880;  and 
George,  born  April  21,  1883. 


Mr.  Riser  is  a  Republican  in  politics, 
and  a  member  of  Eugene  Rawson  Post, 
G.  A.  R.,  and  of  the  U.  V.  U.  He  was 
elected  township  trustee  in  the  spring  of 
1893,  and  in  the  fall  of  1894  was  elected 
county  commissioner  of  Sandusky  county. 
He  is  one  of  the  successful  men  of  San- 
dusky township. 


FREDERICR  W.  DOHN.  The 
story  oi  a  good  man's  life  can  not 
be  told  too  often.  In  this  bus- 
tling age,  when  principle  too  often 
gives  place  to  policy,  and  the  greed  of 
money-getting  so  easily  obscures  the  sharp 
line  which  should  be  drawn  between  right 
and  wrong,  the  example  of  a  man,  who, 
during  his  life,  carried  out  the  teachings 
of  the  religion  in  which  he  believed,  is 
one  worthy  of  preservation  as  an  encour- 
agement to  both  old  and  young. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  a  na- 
tive of  Bavaria;  his  birth  taking  place 
August  31,  1839,  and  his  death  occurring 
at  his  home  in  Gibsonburg,  Sandusky 
Co.,  Ohio,  October  7,  1893.  When  a 
boy  of  fourteen  he  left  his  native  country, 
in  1853,  for  the  United  States,  having 
heard  of  this  great  Republic  as  the  Eldo- 
rado in  which  wonderful  fortunes  were  to 
be  made  almost  for  the  asking.  He  was 
accompanied  by  his  mother,  brother  and 
sister,  the  father  having  died  about  a  year 
previous.  They  were  very  poor,  having 
to  borrow  money  for  their  trip  across  the 
ocean,  and  when  they  reached  New  York 
were  without  a  dollar.  Their  first  per- 
manent location  was  at  Waukesha,  Wis., 
and  here  Mr.  Dohn  secured  a  clerkship, 
and  undertook  the  support  of  the  little 
family.  It  was  a  heavy  responsibility  for 
a  youth;  but  he  was  stout  of  heart  and 
firm  of  purpose.  For  eight  years  he  held 
this  position,  and  became  invaluable  to 
his  employer,  with  whom  he  remained 
until  the  failure  of  the  latter  in  business. 
An  incident  is  related  of  this  period  of 
his  life  which  reveals  the  character  of  the 


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COMMEMORATIVE    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


263 


boy,  and  was  an  index  to  his  future  suc- 
cess. He  was  called  into  the  office  of  his 
employer  one  day  and  informed  that,  if  he 
did  not  quit  attending  a  revival  meeting 
which  was  then  in  progress,  he  would  be 
discharged.  He  debated  the  matter  with 
his  conscience,  and  decided  that  if  he  at- 
tended the  meetings  only  after  his  duties 
at  the  store  were  finished,  he  would  be 
doing  nothing  wrong.  He*  was,  however, 
reported  by  a  fellow  clerk,  who,  perhaps, 
thought  in  this  way  to  curry  favor  with 
his  employer,  and  was  summarily  dis- 
charged. It  was  not  long,  however,  be- 
fore his  employer  discovered  that  he  had 
made  a  serious  mistake  in  discharging  an 
employe  who  would  sacrifice  his  position 
to  his  sense  of  duty,  and  he  accordingly 
sent  for  him,  acknowledged  his  error,  and 
asked  Mr.  Dohn  to  resume  his  former  re- 
lations. This  he  did.  and  remained,  as 
has  been  stated,  until  the  failure  of  the 
business.  At  that  time  his  employer  said 
to  him :  "  You  have  been  a  faithful  clerk, 
and  m}'  mistake  was  in  not  taking  you  in 
as  a  partner,  and  discharging  the  man 
who  reported  you,  and  who  has  been  in- 
strumental in  bringing  about  my  mis- 
fortunes." 

Mr.  Dohn  soon  afterward  went  into 
business  for  himself,  and  remained  in 
Waukesha  two  years  longer,  when  he  re- 
moved to  Depere,  in  the  same  State,  and 
there  carried  on  a  successful  business  some 
eight  years.  In  1873  he  sold  out  his  es- 
tablishment in  Depere,  and  removed  to 
Gibsonburg,  forming  a  partnership  with 
Mr.  Farmer,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Farmer  &  Dohn.  This  parttiership  con- 
tinued five  years,  when  a  third  partner 
was  admitted  to  the  firm.  This  change 
proved  disastrous  to  the  business,  and  re- 
sulted in  the  withdrawal  of  Mr.  Dohn,  he 
then  devoting  his  time  to  the  duties  of 
postmaster,  which  office  he  was  holding 
at  the  time.  In  1883  the  firm  of  Sanders, 
Dohn  &  Co.  was  formed,  for  the  purpose 
of  manufacturing  lime.  This  partnership 
continued  until  August  7,  1888,  when  Mr. 

17 


Sanders  sold  out  to  J.  C.  Smith,  who  was 
the  company  part  of  the  concern.  The  firm 
now  became  known  as  Smith  &  Dohn. 
They  carried  on  the  manufacture  of  lime 
with  great  success  for  over  five  years,  mean- 
while engaging  in  various  projects  for  the 
development  of  the  city,  and  the  good  of 
the  community,  such  as  laying  out  ad- 
ditions to  the  city,  and  sinking  gas  and  oil 
wells.  They  always  employed  a  large 
number  of  men,  who  were  promptly  paid, 
and  in  this  way  encouraged  industrj-  and 
thrift. 

Mr.  Dohn  was  married,  in  1875,  to 
Mary  E.  Crouse,  who  was  a  native  of 
Seneca  county,  Ohio,  born  August  14, 
1845.  Her  parents  were  Jacob  and  Eliza 
(Eaton)  Crouse,  the  former  of  whom  was 
born  in  Lancaster,  Penn.,  in  1821,  and 
came  west  when  a  young  man,  locating 
first  in  Seneca  county,  and  afterward  liv- 
ing for  a  time  at  New  Haven,  Huron 
county.  He  finally  returned  to  Seneca 
county,  where  he  now  resides  with  one  of 
his  sons.  Mrs.  Dohn's  mother  was  born 
in  Pennsylvania,  in  1822,  and  died  in 
Melmore,  Seneca  county,  in  1893;  she 
was  a  Presbyterian,  as  was  also  her  hus- 
band. This  worth}'  couple  were  the  par- 
ents of  five  children:  Carrie,  who  married 
Charles  Benham,  and  now  resides  in  Fort 
Scott,  Kans. ;  Ella,  who  married  Jacob 
Gannon,  and  lives  at  Tiffin,  Ohio; 
Frances,  wife  of  E.  Z.  Bartlett,  residing 
at  Toledo,  Ohio;  Clan,  who  lives  in  Mel- 
more, Seneca  county,  and  Mary  E.  (Mrs. 
Dohn). 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dohn  were  born 
four  children:  Frederick,  who  is  men- 
tioned farther  on;  Carrie,  Eva,  and 
Blaine  who  died  when  four  years  old. 
Mrs.  Dohn  still  retains  her  interest  in  the 
firm  of  Smith  &  Dohn,  and  is  a  woman 
of  great  intelligence  and  excellent  busi- 
ness capacity.  She  is  highly  respected 
in  the  community. 

In  closing  this  sketch  of  the  career  of 
one  of  Gibsonburg's  most  esteemed  citi- 
zens, reference  must  be  again  made  to  his 


264 


COMMEMORATIVE    BIOGIiAPJIICAL   RECORD. 


devotion  to  the  religious  faith  which  he 
first  professed  in  1857.  From  that  time 
until  his  death  he  was  one  of  the  oldest 
and  most  faithful  members  of  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church,  and  the  firm  ad- 
herence to  what  he  believed  to  be  right, 
and  which  was  so  strongly  manifested  in 
his  early  days,  was  carried  out  in  his  life, 
both  in  business  and  every-day  affairs,  so 
that  he  commanded  the  respect  and  es- 
teem of  the  entire  community.  His 
funeral  was  one  of  the  largest  ever  seen 
in  Gibsonburg,  all  the  business  houses 
being  closed  and  draped  in  mourning  as  a 
token  of  sorrow  at  his  decease. 

To  the  foregoing  memoir  of  this  exem- 
plary man  should  be  added  a  few  words 
regarding  his  son,  Frederick  Dohn.  He 
graduated  with  honors  from  the  high 
school  at  Gibsonburg,  in  1892,  and  in  the 
autumn  of  that  year  he  entered  the  North- 
western College,  at  Naperville,  111.,  with 
the  intention  of  completing  a  college 
course.  In  this  ambition  of  his  young 
life,  however,  he  was  disappointed;  his 
father's  illness  called  him  home,  and  be- 
fore reaching  the  age  of  seventeen  he  was 
in  full  management  of  his  father's  exten- 
sive business,  in  which  capacity  he  still 
continues.  In  business  ability  and  in 
integrity'  of  character  he  is  following  in 
the  footsteps  of  his  father,  and  he  is  an 
active  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  and 
an  earnest  worker  in  the  Sunday-school. 
His  friends  speak  of  him  as  a  young  man 
of  thorough  reliability,  and  marked  busi- 
ness qualifications. 


CHARLES  F.  JOSEPH,  one  of  the 
successful  and  substantial  farmers 
of  Kingsway,  Rice  township,  San- 
dusky county,  was  born  in  Ger- 
many, September  4,  185 1,  and  is  a  son 
of  George  and  Catherine  (Brisoscher) 
Joseph,  who  were  born  February  9,  18 12, 
and  August  11,  181  5,  respectively. 

George  Joseph  was  born  in  Germany, 


married  Catherine  Brisoscher,  in  the 
Fatherland,  and  came  to  this  country  in 
1855   with  his    wife  and  three   children. 

\  They  settled  in  Sandusky  township,  San- 
dusky county,  where  he  was  for  ten  years 
engaged  in  farming;  they  then  moved  to 
Rice  township,  in  the  same  county.   They 

I  were  the  parents  of  seven  children,  three 
of  whom  are  as  follows:  Catherine  mar- 
ried Jacob  Zorn,  by  whom  she  had  five 
children,  and,  after  his  death,  wedded 
Martin  Hoffnian,  a  butcher  by  trade,  by 
whom  she  has  had  four  children,  and  they 
live  in  Baltimore;  Mary  is  the  wife  of 
David  Lehrman,  a  farmer  in  Kansas, 
Seneca  Co.,  Ohio,  and  they  have  seven 
children;  Charles  F.  is  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  Mr.  Joseph  died  in  1872,  and 
was  buried  in  Sandusky  county.  His 
widow  still  survives,  and  is  living  with  her 
son  Charles;  she  was  born  August  11, 
1815. 

On  November  4,  1872,  Charles  F. 
Joseph  was  united  in  marriage  with  Caro- 
lina Engler,  who  was  born  in  Rice  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  August  22,  1857. 
They  settled  where  they  now  live,  and 
have  had  nine  children,  their  names  and 
dates  of  birth  being  as  follows:  Minnie 
C. ,  August  I,  1873,  lives  at  home;  George 
H.,  April  21,  1875,  is  a  farmer;  LoraA., 
October  6,  1879;  John  F. ,  March  3, 
1 881;  Frank  T.,  August  15,  1882;  Carl 
W.,  February  10,  1884;  Moses  R. ,  Sep- 
tember 8,  1885;  Edwin  C,  November 
23,  1887;  and  Gertie  C,  January  8, 
1889.  Mr.  Joseph  was  supervisor  for 
two  terms  and  trustee  for  two  terms,  both 
of  which  offices  he  now  holds.  He  has 
been  successful,  worked  hard  for  his 
money,  saved  it,  and  bought  sixty  acres 
of  land,  which  is  now  worth  one  hundred 
dollars  an  acre.  He  raises  more  wheat 
than  any  other  kind  of  grain,  and  also 
raises  hogs,  horses  and  Jersey  cows.  In 
early  times  the  Indians  camped  on  the 
land  which  is  now  his  farm,  and  he  has- 
a  large  collection  of  Indian  relics  which 
he  prizes  highly.    In  politics  he  is  a  Demo- 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOORAPBICAL   RECORD. 


265 


crat,  and  attends  the  Evangelical  Lu- 
theran Church,  of  which  he  is  a  deacon, 
and  has  been  for  the  past  eight  years. 


HERMAN  H.  GERWIN,  one  of  the 
oldest  pioneers,  and  a  prominent 
agriculturist  of  Madison  township, 
Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  was  born  in 
the  town  of  Bohmte,  Hanover,  Germany, 
July  23,  1844,  and  is  a  son  of  Ludwig 
and  Sophia  fHunte)  Gerwin,  whose  fam- 
ily numbered  seven  children,  of  whom 
four  are  yet  living. 

The  father  was  born  in  Hanover,  Ger- 
many, in  1799,  and  was  a  contractor  and 
builder  by  occupation,  also,  engaged  in 
the  manufacture  of  carriages,  and  in  the 
undertaking  business.  He  followed  these 
pursuits  in  his  native  town,  and  at  the 
same  time  owned  and  superintended  a 
farm.  In  1826  he  was  married,  the  lady 
of  his  choice  being  also  a  native  of  Han- 
over. A  brief  record  of  their  seven  chil- 
dren is  as  follows:  Dora,  born  in  Han- 
over, is  the  widow  of  Casper  Ernsthau- 
sen.  John  Henry,  a  carpenter  and  joiner, 
of  Toledo,  Ohio,  died  June  8,  1892;  his 
wife  died  June  8,  1895,  leaving  a  family 
of  three  children.  Sophia,  wife  of  Henry 
Schoniburg,  died  in  Toledo  leaving  one 
son,  Lewis,  who  is  treasurer  of  the  Mer- 
chants Savings  Bank  of  Toledo.  Fred- 
erick is  engaged  in  repairing  cars  in  the 
employ  of  the  Ann  Arbor  Railroad  Com- 
pany at  Toledo.  William,  who  died  Oc- 
tober 9,  1895,  was  a  farmer  of  Woodville 
township,  Sandusky  county.  Christopher 
died  in  Germany.  The  father  of  this  fam- 
ily emigrated  to  America  in  1853,  and  lo- 
cated in  Woodville  township,  Sandusky 
county,  where  he  engaged  in  farming  for 
seven  years.  His  death  occurred  in  1 86 1 . 
at  the  age  of  si.\ty-one.  His  wife  survived 
him  some  sixteen  years,  and  departed  this 
life  in  1877.  They  were  worthy  people, 
highly  esteemed  by  all  who  knew  them. 

Mr.  Gerwin,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
attended  school  in  his  native  county  for  a 


year  and  a  half,  and  then  removed  with 
his  parents,  in  1853,  from  his  old  home 
to  the  New  World.  They  came  direct  to 
Ohio,  and  located  on  a  farm  in  W^ood- 
ville  township,  Sandusky  county.  Our 
subject  pursued  his  studies  in  the  schools 
of  Toledo  for  a  period  of  eighteen  months, 
after  which  he  returned  to  his  father's 
home,  and  assisted  in  the  labors  of  the 
farm;  also  attended  school  in  the  neigh- 
borhood for  two  winters.  He  continued 
to  aid  in  the  cultivation  of  the  fields  on 
the  old  homestead  until  1863,  when  he 
went  to  Toledo,  and  served  an  appren- 
ticeship to  the  trade  of  carpenter  and 
joiner,  which  he  followed  until  1872,  re- 
moving then  to  Gibsonburg,  where  he  em- 
barked in  contracting  and  building.  He 
did  a  successful  business  there,  employ- 
ing a  number  of  men,  erecting  many  fine 
structures  both  in  that  place  and  in  Mad- 
ison township,  Sandusky  county.  While 
thus  engaged,  through  economy  and  thrift, 
he  managed  to  save  enough  to  purchase 
some  real  estate  in  the  city  of  Toledo, 
which  he  afterward  sold,  and  bought  prop- 
erty in  the  town  of  Gibsonburg.  In  1877 
he  abandoned  his  trade,  and  returned  to 
agricultural  pursuits,  trading  his  real  es- 
tate in  Gibsonburg  for  a  farm  of  forty 
acres  in  Madison  township,  a  small  por- 
tion of  which  was  under  cultivation.  He 
soon  cleared  the  remainder,  erected  there- 
on a  substantial  dwelling,  good  barns  and 
other  necessary  outbuildings,  set  out  a  fine 
orchard,  and  made  other  general  improve- 
ments, all  within  the  short  space  of  six 
years.  He  then  sold  and  purchased  si.xty 
acres  of  land,  forty  of  which  was  im- 
proved. It  was  not  long  until  the  re- 
mainder was  under  cultivation,  and  en- 
closed with  fences.  Three  years  later  he 
again  sold,  and  removed  to  Washington 
township,  where  he  purchased  fift)'-si.x 
acres  of  improved  land.  He  spent  three 
years  on  that  farm,  remodeling  the  dwell- 
ing and  barn,  digging  ditches,  laying  tiles, 
and  continuing  the  work  of  improvement 
until  he  sold  in  1889.      In  that  year  he  be- 


266 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPniCAL   RECORD. 


came  owner  of  seventy-five  acres  of  im- 
proved land,  and  on  selling  half  of  this 
bought  seventy-two  acres  of  an  adjoining 
farm,  making  a  total  of  loi  acres,  which 
he  is  to-day  cultivating.  He  is  progres- 
sive in  a  high  degree,  and  has  carried  for- 
ward the  work  of  improvement  along  vari- 
ous lines  until  he  is  now  the  owner  of  one 
of  the  finest  farms  in  Madison  township. 
He  also  carries  on  stock  raising. 

On  November  4,  1869,  Mr.  Gerwin 
was  married  in  Pemberville,  Wood  Co., 
Ohio,  to  Miss  Christina  Berlekamp,  and 
this  happy  union  has  been  blessed  with 
six  children:  John,  was  born  February 
16,  1871,  and  died  December  25,  1872; 
Cora  S.,  born  June  29,  1874;  Mary  K. , 
February  3,  1878;  Carl  W. ,  February  12, 
1 881;  Herman  H.,  January  22,  1887; 
and  Lewis  William,  August  13,   1889. 

John  Berlekamp,  father  of  Mrs.  Ger- 
win, was  born  in  Germany,  and  in  1851 
crossed  the  Atlantic,  locating  in  Seneca 
county,  Ohio,  where  he  farmed  for  two 
years.  He  afterward  removed  to  Wood 
county,  and  purchased  120  acres  of  land, 
continuing  its  cultivation  up  to  the  time 
of  his  death.  He  was  married  in  Ger- 
many to'  Mary  Beimdick,  and  their  chil- 
dren were:  Katarina,  wife  of  Henry  Koh- 
rig,  a  farmer  of  Wood  county,  Ohio; 
Mary,  wife  of  David  Hummell,  also  a 
farmer,  living  on  the  old  homstead  in 
Wood  county;  Christina,  who  was  born 
in  Germany,  December  18,  1847,  and  is 
the  wife  of  our  subject;  Henry,  who  died 
in  Germany;  Louisa,  wife  of  William 
Hagemizer,  a  farmer  of  Wood  county, 
Ohio;  Emma,  who  married  Henry  Bude- 
myre,  of  Wood  county,  and  is  deceased; 
and  Frank,  who  died  in  that  county  in 
October,  1878.  John  Berlekamp  passed 
awaj'  February  6,  1893;  his  wife  died 
eighteen  years  previous,  in  1875. 

Mr.  Gerwin  is  a  self-made  man. 
Through  industry  and  strict  attention  to 
business  he  managed  to  acquire  a  start  in 
life,  and  through  his  perseverance  and  en- 
egrj"  he  has  won  success,  assisted  by  his 


wife,  who  has  indeed  been  to  him  a  faith- 
ful companion  and  helpmeet,  sharing  with 
him  in  the  joys  and  sorrows,  the  adversity 
and  prosperity,  which  have  checkered  his 
pathway.  He  is  a  member  of  Gibson- 
burg  Lodge,  No.  687,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and 
in  religious  belief  is  a  Lutheran.  On 
questions  of  national  importance  he  votes 
with  the  Republican  party;  but  at  local 
elections  supports  the  man  whom  he 
thinks  best  qualified  for  office,  regardless 
of  party  affiliations. 


WILLIAM  H.  HINELINE  was 
born  October  3,  1835,  '"  east- 
ern Pennsylvania,  and  is  a  son 
of  Hugh  and  Rebecca  (Latick) 
Hineline,  who  were  born  respectively, 
February  11,  1802,  in  Pennsylvania,  and 
July  13,  1808,  and  were  married  in  the 
Keystone  State,  October  22,  1825. 

Hugh  Hineline  was  a  merchant,  but 
sold  out  in  1855,  came  to  the  State  of 
Ohio,  and  bought  160  acres  of  land.  He 
was  justice  of  the  peace  for  seventeen 
years,  and  also  trustee.  He  died  March 
3,  18 — ,  and  left  fourteen  children  to  the 
care  of  their  mother,  who  passed  from 
earth  August  18,  1891.  The  names  and 
dates  of  birth  of  their  children  are  as  fol- 
lows: Anna  M.,  July  24,  1827;  Sycus, 
October  31.  1829;  Jacob,  March  11,  1831 ; 
Elizabeth  M.,  November  19,  1832;  Sarah 
A.,  March  23,  1834;  William  H.,  October 
3,  1835;  Alida,  July  i,  1857;  AbelT, 
September  16,  1839;  Hugh  E.,  October 
15,  1841,  died  July  21,  1894;  Simon  P., 
November  2,  1843;  Francis,  October  22, 
1 845 ;  Kahudeis,  August  7,  1 847 ;  Rebecca, 
April  19,  1850,  and  John,  April  7,  1855. 
William  H.  Hineline  conducted  a  hotel 
in  Wood  county  from  i860  until  1862, 
when  he  enlisted  as  a  soldier.  He  con- 
tinued in  the  service  three  years,  being  in 
the  South  the  greater  part  of  the  time, 
went  with  Sherman  to  Atlanta,  Ga. ,  and 
from  there  marched  to  Tennessee,  where 
he  took  an  active  part  in  several  battles. 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


267 


He  was  taken  prisoner  in  eastern  Tennes- 
see, spent  two  weeks  in  Libby  Prison, 
and  was  then  transferred  to  Belle  Isle, 
and  kept  there  seven  months.  He  was 
released  on  May  17,  1864,  came  home  on 
a  furlough,  and  remained  three  months. 
Joining  the  One  Hundredth  Regiment,  O. 
V.  I.,  he  again  engaged  in  the  service,  was 
with  Sherman  at  Atlanta,  and  took  an 
active  part  in  a  great  battle  at  Franklin. 
Afterward  he  returned  to  Sandusky  county, 
Ohio.  In  February,  188S,  our  subject 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Rosa  C. 
Meoder,  who  was  born  January  i,  1867, 
and  they  have  four  children,  namely: 
Cleta  V. ,  Leona  A.,  Sarah  A.  and  Bertha 
E.  Mr.  Hineline  deals  in  cattle  and 
horses,  and  is  prosperous  and  well-to-do. 
He  votes  the  Democratic  ticket,  has  held 
several  minor  offices,  and  been  trustee  and 
school  director.  His  parents  lived  with 
him  until  their  death,  and  the  old  home- 
stead of  160  acres  was  left  to  him. 


JACOB  REEF,  a  progressive  business 
man  of  Sandusky  county,  is  engaged 
in  agricultural  pursuits  in  Woodville 
township,  and  in  the  manufacture  of 
lath  and  paling. 

He  was  born  in  Bowville,  Switzerland, 
Februar\'  28,  1854,  and  is  a  son  of  John 
Reef,  who  is  also  a  native  of  that  country, 
where  he  was  employed  as  a  day  laborer. 
He  wedded  Mary  Soldt,  who  was  born  in 
the  same  country  and  they  became  the 
parents  of  six  children:  John,  who  makes 
his  home  with  our  subject;  Mary,  wife  of 
Andrew  Widmer;  Elizabeth,  who  died  in 
childhood;  Lucy  who  lives  with  her  broth- 
er Jacob;  Frederick,  engaged  in  milling, 
and  the  subject  of  this  review.  In  1863 
the  father  brought  his  family  to  America, 
taking  up  his  residence  near  Fremont, 
Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  where  he  purchased 
twenty  acres  of  land  on  which  he  con- 
structed a  log  cabin.  While  cutting  down 
a  tree  near  his  house  he  met  with  a  very 
severe  as  well  as  painful  accident,  which 


resulted  in  the  loss  of  his  life  after  only 
one  year's  residence  in  the  New  World. 
His  widow  afterward  married  again,  her 
second  union  being  with  Conrad  Myers,  a 
farmer  of  Woodville  township,  Sandusky 
county,  who  died  in  1879.  Mrs.  Myers 
is  now  living  with  her  son  Jacob,  who  like 
a  dutiful  son  tenderly  cares  for  her  in  her 
declining  years.  The  children  at  the 
father's  death  were  left  to  provide  for 
their  own  support,  for  no  inheritance  came 
to  them. 

Our  subject  was  only  nine  years  of 
age  at  that  time,  and  being  forced  to  earn 
his  livelihood  he  had  little  opportunity  to 
pursue  an  education.  For  several  years 
he  worked  only  for  his  board  and  clothes. 
He  then  spent  two  years  on  the  farm  of 
his  step-father  and  at  the  age  of  seven- 
teen began  learning  the  carpenter's  and 
joiner's  trade,  working  the  first  seven 
months  for  the  small  sum  of  $7  and  his 
board.  He  thought  this  rather  unprofi- 
table, so  started  out  to  secure  day's  labor 
at  his  trade,  and  soon  found  einplo\'ment. 
When  he  could  not  follow  carpentering 
he  took  up  any  pursuit  that  would  yield 
him  an  honest  living,  and  thus  worked 
for  ten  years,  and  then  operated  his  moth- 
er's farm  for  a  year.  He  ne.xt  removed 
to  Wood  county,  Ohio,  where  he  culti- 
vated a  rented  farm  of  forty  acres  for 
three  years,  when,  through  industry  and 
economy,  he  was  enabled,  in  connection 
with  his  brother-in-law,  to  purchase  one 
hundred  acres  of  land.  The  tract  is  lo- 
cated in  \\'oodville  township,  Sandusky 
county,  the  purchase  price  being  $5,500, 
and  each  brother  paid  $r,ooo,  going  in 
debt  for  the  remainder.  After  a  year 
Jacob  Reef  bought  out  his  brother-in-law, 
and  continued  the  work  of  improving  the 
land,  erecting  barns  and  other  necessary 
outbuildings,  planting  orchards,  and  ad- 
ding all  the  accessories  and  conveniences 
of  a  model  farm.  He  placed  fifty  acres 
under  cultivation,  and  then,  having  more 
than  he  could  conveniently  manage,  he  sold 
twenty  acres,    and  to-day  has  one  of  the 


268 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


most  hip;hly  cultivated  farms  in  Wood- 
ville  township.  In  1895  his  barn  and 
stable  were  destroyed  by  fire,  causing  a 
loss  of  $1,500;  but  with  characteristic  en- 
ergy he  rebuilt,  and  now  has  one  of  the 
finest  barns  in  the  township.  There  are 
also  upon  his  place  two  good  oil  wells 
which  have  yielded  to  him  a  handsome 
profit,  and  which  are  now  owned  and 
operated  by  the  Ohio  Oil  Company. 
There  are  also  indications  of  oil  on  other 
parts  of  the  farm.  During  the  pa.st  year, 
Mr.  Reef  has  engaged  in  the  manufactur- 
ing business.  He  built  a  sawmill,  and  is 
now  making  laths  and  fencing,  the  new 
enterprise  proving  a  profitable  one.  In 
this  he  is  associated  with  his  brother.  He 
is  a  man  of  excellent  business  ability, 
whose  foresight  and  keen  discrimination 
have  proved  important  factors  in  his 
prosperity. 

On  February  15,  1885,  Mr.  Reef  was 
married  in  Sandusky  county  to  Miss  An- 
nie Widmer,  daughter  of  John  Widmer, 
a  farmer  of  Bradner,  Wood  Co.,  Ohio, 
and  they  have  three  children:  Rosie 
L.  M.,  born  January  4,  1886;  George 
W.,  born  December  20.  1889;  and  Emma 
P.,  born  January  13,  1894.  Mr.  Reef 
has  held  the  office  of  supervisor  for  two 
terms,  and  has  discharged  the  duties  of 
the  position  in  a  most  creditable  and  ac- 
ceptable manner.  In  politics  he  is  a 
stalwart  Republican.  His  success  is  not 
the  result  of  propitious  circumstances,  but 
has  come  to  him  through  industry,  energy 
and  honorable  dealing.  He  has  not  only 
paid  off  all  his  indebtedness,  but  now  has 
a  highly  cultivated  farm  with  improved 
stock  and  other  valuable  property.  His 
life  has  indeed  been  a  busy  and  useful 
one,  and  his  career  is  above  reproach. 


JOSEPH   HOOVER.      Of  the   many 
genial,  whole-souled  men   of  Green 
Creek  township,   Sandusky  county, 
perhaps   no  one  is  better  or  more 
favorably  known   than    Mr.   Hoover.      A 


Union  soldier  in  the  war  of  the  Rebellion, 
and  a  man  whose  high  personal  qualities 
make  lighter  the  burdens  of  life  for 
others,  he  is  deservedly  given  a  place  in 
this  volume.  He  is  a  son  of  George  and 
Marguerite  Hoover,  and  was  born  August 
14,  1840,  in  Fayette  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

Samuel  Hoover,  the  paternal  grand- 
father of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was 
born  in  Pennsylvania,  and  died  there; 
his  father  came  to  America  while  a  boy. 
By  occupation  Samuel  Hoover  was  a  car- 
penter. His  son  George  was  born  in 
Fayette  county,  Penn.,  and  grew  up  a 
farmer.  In  1839  he  married  Marguerite 
Hilliard,  and  they  had  three  children, 
namely:  Joseph,  whose  name  introduces 
this  sketch;  Eli,  who  died  in  Illinois,  and 
Harvey,  who  was  a  member  of  the  Sec- 
ond Virginia  \'.  I.,  and  was  killed  in  the 
engagement  at  Cedar  Mountain.  George 
Hoover  died  in  Pennsylvania  in  1846; 
his  widow  is  still  making  her  home  in 
Pennsylvania,  and  some  of  her  relatives 
are  living  in  Fayette  county,  Ohio. 

Joseph  Hoover  was  reared  in  Penn- 
sylvania. He  enlisted  in  Compan\'  A, 
Sixty-second  Pennsylvania  V.  I.,  in  1863, 
according  to  the  records;  but  the  date 
given  is  erroneous.  The  true  records 
were  destroyed  by  fire,  and  those  com- 
piled to  take  their  places  were  not  made 
perfectly  accurate.  His  company  first 
went  to  Washington,  and  from  there  to 
the  front,  and  were  in  Meade's  army  be- 
fore Richmond  for  some  time.  He  was 
in  some  of  the  most  famous  battles  of  the 
war,  among  them  those  of  Gettysburg, 
Cedar  Mountain,  Wilderness,  Spottsyl- 
vania  Court  House,  May  12,  1864,  where 
a  minie  ball  completely  shattered  his 
right  forearm,  and  made  a  gunshot  wound 
through  the  wrist  of  his  left  arm.  Ampu- 
tation of  the  right  arm  was  made  neces- 
sary, while  the  left  hand  is  almost  use- 
less. He  was  mustered  out  May  18,  1865. 
It  is  a  remarkable  sight  to  see  Mr.  Hoover 
write  with  two  pencils  at   the  same  time; 


COMiIEMORATI\'B   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


269 


he  fastens  one  to  his  right  arm  by  means 
of  a  rubber  band,  takes  another  in  his  left 
hand,  and  then  writes  very  legibly  with 
both.  Mr.  Hoover  resided  in  Pennsyl- 
vania in  1867,  and  on  March  16,  of  that 
year,  he  came  to  the  Buckeye  State,  lo- 
cating in  Erie  county.  In  the  following 
year  he  went  to  Groton  Center,  in  the 
same  county,  and  remained  for  several 
\'ears.  On  September  22,  1874,  he  was 
there  united  in  marriage  with  Mrs. 
Rosanna  Fleming,  who  was  born  March 
22,  1842.  and  they  have  had  one  child — 
Eunice  A.,  born  July  21,  1876.  She  is  an 
accomplished  and  brilliant  performer  on 
the  piano,  and  renders  selections  on  the 
violin  and  organ  with  intuitive  skill.  A 
gifted  young  lady,  she  adorns  the  home 
as  only  a  beloved  daughter  can. 

Mrs.  Hoover's  parents  were  Robert 
and  Sarah  (Price)  Howey,  and  her  maiden 
name  was  Rosanna  Howey.  Mr.  Howey 
died  on  April  4,  1850,  in  Penns\lvania, 
his  native  State,  and  his  widow  makes  her 
home  with  her  daughter  and  son-in-law, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hoover.  On  November  i  3, 
1859,  Miss  Rosanna  Howe\'  was  united 
in  marriage  with  James  H.  Fleming. 
Three  of  their  children — Marion,  Frank 
and  John — live  in  Groton  township,  Erie 
county;  and  Grant,  the  youngest  son, 
was  killed  January  13,  1891,  at  Dana's 
crossing,  while  three  companions  were 
killed  by  a  Lake  Shore  train.  Mr.  Flem- 
ing died  in  Groton  township,  March  17, 
1872.  Mrs.  Hoover's  brother,  John 
Howey,  was  a  private  in  Company  G, 
One  Hundred  and  First  O.  V.  I.,  in  the 
war  of  the  Rebellion,  and  her  brother-in- 
law,  John  Fleming,  was  captain  of  Com- 
pany G,  same  regiment.  They  were  both 
wounded  in  the  engagement  at  Stony 
River,  Tenn.,  December  13,  1862.  A  ball 
passed  through  private  Howey's  right 
arm,  shattering  four  inches  of  the  humerus, 
and  then,  striking  the  left  arm  of  Capt. 
Fleming,  passed  through  and  found  lodg- 
ment in  the  lining  of  his  coat.  Capt. 
Fleming  was  taken  prisoner,  and  for  three 


months  lay  in  Andersonville,  at  the  end 
of  which  time  he  was  e.xchanged  and  re- 
turned home.  While  his  coat  was  being 
taken  off  the  ball  dropped  from  the 
sleeve,  evidence  that  the  coat  had  not 
been  removed  from  the  arm  for  a  period 
of  almost  four  months — a  noteworthy 
fact.  The  wound  had  not  been  cared  for 
from  the  time  it  was  received  until  Capt. 
Fleming  returned  home.  As  before  stated, 
Mr.  Hoover's  brother  Harvey  was  killed 
at  Cedar  Mountain.  So,  all  told,  the 
number  of  casualties  in  this  family  has 
been  considerable.  A.  B.  Howey,  a 
brother  of  John  Howey,  was  a  private  in 
Company  G,  One  Hundred  and  First  O. 
V.  I.,  having  enlisted  in  August,  1862, 
and  was  discharged  with  the  rest  of  the 
regiment  at  the  close  of  the  war. 

Mr.  Hoover  has  a  small  fruit  and  gar- 
den truck  farm  of  thirteen  and  one-third 
acres;  but  a  man's  income  is  not  always 
to  be  estimated  by  the  number  of  acres 
he  possesses.  In  casting  his  ballot  he 
usually  fa\'ors  the  candidates  of  the  party 
that  was  instrumental  in  preserving  the 
Union. 


JOSEPH  WHITEHEAD,  a  substan- 
tial farmer  of  Townsend    township, 
Sandusky  county,  is  a  son  of  Joseph 
and  Matilda  (Albon)  Whitehead,  and 
was  born    in    Huntingdonshire,  England, 
January  24,  i  836. 

Joseph  Whitehead.  Sr. ,  was  born 
in  1 8 10,  at  Great  Gransden,  Huntingdon- 
shire, England.  In  1833  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Matilda  Albon,  who 
was  born  in  18 14,  a  daughter  of  John 
Albon,  who  came  to  the  United  States 
in  1833,  the  year  of  his  daughter's 
marriage,  and  located  in  Erie  county, 
Ohio.  Mr.  Whitehead,  his  son-in-law, 
received  such  glowing  accounts  of  the 
natural  wealth  and  resources  of  this 
great  land,  that  he  decided  to  leave 
his  bake-shop  and  Britannia's  shores,  and 
make    a    home   on    this    side   of  the  bil- 


270 


COMMEMORATIVE    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


lowy  Atlantic.  So  he  set  out  with  his 
family  in  1851,  landed  at  Quebec,  and 
came  on  from  there  to  Sandusky  City, 
Erie  Co. ,  Ohio,  part  of  the  way  by  boat, 
from  Niagara  to  Chippewa  on  horse-cars, 
reaching  Sandusky  City  June  15,  1851. 
The  same  year  Mr.  Whitehead  bought  120 
acres  of  land  in  Sandusky  county,  on 
which  his  son  Thomas  C.  now  resides. 
Mrs.  Whitehead  departed  this  life  in  the 
fall  of  1864,  and  Mr.  Whitehead  on  Feb- 
ruary 10,   1 89 1. 

Joseph  Whitehead  (Jr.),  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  received  only  a  limited  ed- 
ucation in  his  native  land,  and  it  was  not 
augmented  by  schooling  after  reaching 
the  United  States.  At  the  age  of  fifteen 
he  accompanied  his  parents  to  America. 
He  served  as  a  "hundred-day-man"  in 
the  war  from  May  2,  1864,  until  Septem- 
ber 5,  when  he  was  discharged.  On  June 
12,  1865,  Mr.  Whitehead  married  Laura 
A.  George,  who  was  born  August  5,  1843, 
and  they  have  had  four  children,  as  fol- 
lows: William  H.,  born  August  29,  1S68, 
married  Mary  Howe,  of  Riley  township, 
Sandusky  eounty,  November  26,  1891 
(they  had  a  daughter,  Estella  May,  born 
December  27,  1894);  John  T. ,  born  Jan- 
uary II,  1 871;  Bessie  R.,  born  in  1875, 
married  Oscar  Longanbach  on  Februar}' 
22,  1894  (they  had  a  daughter,  Cora  Ella, 
born  July  28,  1895);  and  Ross  D..  born 
September  28,  1878.  The  father  of  Mrs. 
Whitehead,  Joseph  George,  formerly  re- 
sided in  Townsend  township,  but  removed 
to  Ch'de,  Green  Creek  township,  San- 
dusky county,  where  both  he  and  his  wife 
were  laid  to  rest.  They  had  a  family  of 
fourteen  children,  and  Mr.  George  en- 
dured a  great  number  of  hardships  through 
life.  Pfe  was  an  old  pioneer,  and  served 
in  the  war  181 2,  receiving  a  discharge. 

After  his  marriage  our  subject,  Joseph 
Whitehead,  resided  in  I^iley  township, 
Sandusky  county,  about  twenty  years, 
since  when  he  has  lived  in  Townsend 
township.  He  has  a  farm  of  three  hun- 
dren  and  si.xty  acres,  all  undercultivation, 


and  makes  a  specialty  of  grain  and  stock. 
In  the  spring  of  1 893  he  was  thrown  from 
a  horse,  and  sustained  injuries  internall}', 
which  he  is  likely  to  feel  the  rest  of  his 
life.  Politically,  Mr.  Whitehead's  sympa- 
thies are  with  the   Republican  party. 


ZACHARIAS  HOUTZ.     Among  the 
enterprising  agriculturists  of  San- 
dusky county  who  are  rapidly  push- 
ing their  way   to  the  front,    to  a 
place  among  the  substantial  and  leading 
citizens,  is  this  gentleman. 

He  was  born  March  14,  1850,  in  Ma- 
honing county,  Ohio,  where  his  father 
was  a  pioneer,  and  when  a  mere  lad  came 
with  his  parents  to  Scott  township.  San- 
dusky county.  His  father,  John  Hout2, 
who  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  September 
13,  1 80 1,  and  located  in  this  locality  when 
it  was  an  unbroken  wilderness.  He  pur- 
chased the  east  half  of  Section  4,  Scott 
township,  a  Mr.  Roller  purchasing  the 
west  half  about  the  same  time.  He  also 
bought  one  hundred  acres  on  the  Greens- 
burg  pike,  which  he  afterward  sold,  be- 
coming the  owner  of  a  like  amount  near 
Helena,  a  portion  of  which  has  been  di- 
vided into  village  lots  and  sold.  He  con- 
tinued to  conduct  his  business  affairs  with 
marked  ability,  and  at  his  death  was  in  very 
comfortable  circumstances,  owning  much 
valuable  real  estate,  and  a  large  amount 
of  money  in  notes.  Before  his  demise 
he  divided  the  property  among  his  heirs. 
He  passed  away  January  20,  1881,  and 
the  community  mourned  the  death  of  one 
of  its  respected  and  valued  citizens.  His 
wife,  who  in  her  maidenhood  was  Eliza- 
beth Boyer,  was  born  May  9,  1819,  and 
died  July  27,  1871.  They  were  the  par- 
ents of  six  children — Mary,  Cornelius, 
Zacharias,  Elizabeth,  John  and  Sarah. 

Aiding  in  the  work  of  the  farm,  Zach- 
arias Houtz  developed  a  strong  and  vig- 
orous constitution.  His  mental  training 
was  meager,  as  the  schools  of  the  neigh- 
borhood were  poor;  but  through  business 


./? 


'^//^^'M-'W^^' 


•C2y%^d^ 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


271 


experience  and  observation  he  has  be- 
come a  well-informed  man,  and  has  pro- 
vided his  children  with  good  educational 
advantages.  With  his  axe  upon  his 
shoulder  he  would  start  out  early  in  the 
morning  with  his  father  to  assist  in  the 
work  of  clearing  the  farm,  seventy-three 
acres  of  which  he  received  of  the  home- 
stead, which  was  almost  unbroken  for- 
est. As  the  years  passed,  the  forest  was 
replaced  by  waving  fields  of  grain  and 
grassy  meadows,  and  in  1874  Mr.  Houtz 
erected  his  first  frame  house  of  the  family, 
and  in  1S92  he  built  a  substantial  frame 
residence,  which  stands  as  a  monument 
to  his  thrift  and  enterprise.  He  now 
gives  his  entire  attention  to  farming,  and 
to  the  oil  business,  in  which  he  is  exten- 
sively engaged.  On  September  i,  1882, 
Mr.  Houtz  purchased  thirty  acres.  In 
1889  he  leased  the  1 03-acre  farm  on  which 
he  resides  for  a  consideration  of  one  dol- 
lar per  acre  and  one-eighth  of  the  oil  pro- 
duced. He  has  since  purchased  eighty 
acres,  which  he  has  leased  for  one-sixth 
of  the  oil.  The  royalty  from  his  wells  con- 
stitutes a  handsome  income,  and  would 
enable  him  to  retire  at  once  from  business 
were  he  so  disposed;  but  indolence  and 
idleness  are  utterly  foreign  to  his  nature, 
and  he  continues  his  work,  increasing  the 
value  of  his  property  by  keeping  his  farm 
in  good  condition. 

On  October  22,  1874,  Mr.  Houtz  wed- 
ded Mary  Jane  Plantz,  who  was  born  Oc- 
tober 26,  1858,  and  is  a  daughter  of  an 
honored  pioneer  of  Scott  township,  San- 
dusky county,  Benjamin  Plantz,  who  was 
born  in  Lancaster  county,  Penn.,  March 
18,  18 10.  His  wife,  Amelia  (Romler), 
was  born  February  6,  181 8,  in  Colum- 
biana county,  Ohio,  and  died  June  16, 
1892.  His  death  occurred  in  January, 
1895,  and  of  their  thirteen  children  seven 
are  now  living.  Grandfather  Jacob  Plantz 
was  born  in  1790,  his  wife  in  1792,  and 
they  passed  away  in  1876  and  1880  re- 
spectively. They  had  eight  children,  six 
of  whom  are  living.     The  maternal  grand- 


father, Mr.  Romler,  died  about  1863. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Houtz  are  the  parents  of 
seven  children:  Mary  Lodema,  born  June 
7,  1875,  was  married  March  3,  1895,  to 
Burt  Whiteman,  who  is  engaged  with  the 
Manhattan  Oil  Company,  in  Scott  town- 
ship, Sandusk}-  county;  Verna  Ellen, 
born  September  16,  1S77;  John  William, 
born  October  16,  1879;  Belvin  C,  born 
September  4,  1882;  Edward  Floyd,  born 
June  3,  1885;  Charles  E.,  born  May  18, 
1887;  and  Minnie  May,  born  May  i, 
1892.  The  family  circle  yet  remains  un- 
broken, and  the  friends  of  parents  and 
children  are  many. 

Mr.  Houtz  is  a  supporter  of  the  Peo- 
ples party,  but  has  never  sought  or  de- 
sired political  preferment,  gi\'ing  his  time 
and  energies  to  his  business  interests,  in 
which  he  has  met  with  a  high  degree  of 
prosperity,  thanks  to  his  capable  manage- 
ment, his  enterprise  and  honorable  dealing. 


DAMD  B.    JONES.      Among  those 
who   successfully    follow    agricul- 
tural   pursuits  in   Madison   town- 
ship,   Sandusky  county,  is    num- 
bered this  gentleman — one  of  the  worthy 
citizens  that   the  land  of  the   Cymri    has 
furnished  to  this  locality. 

He  was  born  in  Montgomeryshire, 
Wales,  July  25,  1 841,  and  is  a  son  of  John 
and  Mary  (Jones)  Jones,  who  were  also 
natives  of  the  same  county.  The  father 
was  a  farm  laborer,  and  worked  at  any  oc- 
cupation that  would  yield  him  an  honest 
living.  In  the  family  were  eight  children, 
six  of  whom  are  living  and  are  married, 
namely:  Sinah,  widow  of  Thomas  Jones, 
a  farmer  of  Wales;  John,  a  farmer  of 
Madison  township,  Sandusky  county; 
Thomas,  an  agriculturist  of  Iowa;  David 
B.,  subject  of  this  sketch;  Mary,  wife  of 
Edward  Griffis,  who  follows  agricultural 
pursuits  in  Wales;  and  Humphrey, a  farmer 
of  Iowa;  Ellis  is  deceased,  and  one  other 
died  in  infancy.  The  parents  spent  their 
entire  lives  in  their  native  land,  where  the 


272 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


father  died  in    1858,  while  the    mother's 
death  occurred  in  1885. 

Our  subject  spent  the  first  twenty- 
three  years  of  his  hfe  in  his  native  land, 
during  which  time  he  received  no  educa- 
tional privileges,  for  the  schools  were  not 
free  institutions,  and  the  parents  were  too 
poor  to  afford  to  pay  for  what  they  con- 
sidered was  not  within  their  means,  for 
education  in  those  days  was  not  looked 
upon  as  an  absolute  necessity.  He  learned 
to  read  in  the  Welsh  language  while  at- 
tending Sunday-school.  At  the  tender 
age  of  eleven  years  he  began  to  work  as  a 
farm  laborer,  receiving  the  meagre  com- 
pensation of  two  pounds  per  year  and  his 
board,  his  mother  having  to  do  his  wash- 
ing for  him.  He  worked  in  this  way  for 
a  period  of  twelve  years,  his  wages  in- 
creasing as  the  years  passed  by,  and  he 
was  able  to  do  more  work.  In  this  way 
he  managed  to  contribute  to  the  support  of 
his  widowed  mother,  who  was  left  in  very 
limited  circumstances.  In  1865,  having 
determined  to  try  his  fortune  in  the  New 
.  World,  he  sailed  from  the  shore  of  his 
native  land  to  seek  broader  fields  and  bet- 
ter opportunities  in  America.  On  landing 
here  he  came  direct  to  Ohio,  and  found 
employment  as  a  farm  hand  in  Morrow 
county,  where  he  was  given  $  1 4  per  month 
and  his  board.  This  seemed  good  wages 
to  one  who  was  accustomed  to  the  meagre 
equivalents  sometimes  paid  in  Europe. 
He  continued  in  the  employ  of  one  man 
for  six  3'ears,  and  during  the  last  year  re- 
ceived $20  per  month.  While  working  in 
this  wa\'  he  spent  two  months  of  three 
winter  seasons  in  school,  and  thereby 
gained  enough  knowledge  to  continue  his 
education  alone,  which  he  has  done,  be- 
coming a  well-informed  man  through  read- 
ing, study,  experience  and  observation. 
Habits  of  industry,  sobriety  and  economy 
enabled  him  to  accumulate  some  money, 
and  he  then  left  Ohio  for  the  territory 
bej'ond  the  Mississippi,  purchasing  eighty 
acres  of  land  in  Iowa.  A  year  later  he 
returned  to  the  Buckeye  State,  and  again 


worked  in  Morrow  county  as  a  farm 
laborer,  and  was  emplo3'ed  at  the  poor- 
house  of  the  State  for  a  )'ear. 

Mr.  Jones  then  returned  to  Wales  to 
visit  his  mother,  and  for  twelve  months 
remained  in  the  land  of  his  birth,  when 
he  again  came  to  the  United  States. 
Taking  up  his  residence  in  Madison  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  he  purchased  an 
interest  in  a  shingle-mill,  which  he  con- 
ducted in  connection  with  a  partner  for 
nine  months,  when  he  sold  and  purchased 
eighty  acres  of  land  in  the  same  township. 
He  then  returned  to  Morrow  county, 
where  he  operated  a  farm,  on  shares, 
for  Mrs.  Jones,  a  widow  lady,  continuing 
that  employment  some  four  years,  when 
he  resumed  work  as  a  farm  hand.  In 
1880  he  made  his  second  trip  across  the 
Atlantic,  this  time  in  quest  of  a  wife,  and 
again  spent  a  year  in  the  midst  of  the 
scenes  of  his  childhood.  In  18S1  he 
sailed  with  his  bride  for  America,  landing 
at  Boston  on  the  6th  of  October,  whence 
he  came  direct  to  his  farm  in  Sandusky 
county.  In  six  weeks  he  had  erected  a 
frame  dwelling,  in  which  he  and  his  wife 
were  soon  established,  beginning  life  in 
earnest  in  their  new  home.  He  had  pre- 
viously purchased  an  additional  ten  acres, 
and  now  had  ninety  acres  of  wooded  land 
to  clear  and  make  productive;  but  indus- 
try is  one  of  his  chief  characteristics,  and 
in  course  of  time  the  forest  was  replaced 
by  rich  and  fertile  fields,  where  wheat  and 
corn  and  other  grains  gave  evidence  of 
good    harvests,    while    well-kept    fences, 


good  barns 


and   other   outbuildings  indi- 


cated his  enterprise  and  told  of  a  bus\' 
life.  He  also  added  to  and  improved  his 
dwelling,  and  his  home  and  its  surround- 
ings bespeak  the  industry  and  enterpris- 
ing spirit  of  the  owner.  He  has  availed 
himself  of  every  opportunity  offered  in  or- 
der to  achieve  success,  and  there  has  been 
little  leisure  in  his  life,  for  he  is  always  at 
work  improving  his  place  in  one  waj'  or 
another.  Through  thrift  and  economy  he 
managed  to  save  enough  to  purchase  the 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


273 


(arm  on  which  he  worked  during  the  first 
six  years  of  his  residence  in  this  country — 
a  tract  of  200  acres,  costinjj  $7,400.  It 
is  situated  in  Morrow  county,  and,  being 
rented,  yields  to  him  a  good  income. 

The  wife  of  our  subject,  who  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  Ellen  Jones,  was  born  in 
Montgomeryshire,  Wales,  February  13, 
1848,  one  of  the  eight  children  of  Ellis 
Jones,  a  farmer  of  Wales,  who  died  Oc- 
tober 7,  1894,  at  the  age  of  eighty-one 
years;  his  wife  passed  away  in  1890. 
David  Jones  and  his  wife  have  two  chil- 
dren— Mary  E.,  born  July  26,  1882;  and 
Ellis,  born  January  31,  1888.  Mr.  Jones 
has  been  school  director  for  one  term, 
also  clerk  of  the  board,  and  was  elected 
supervisor  for  one  year.  He  votes  with 
the  Republican  party,  but  prefers  business 
to  politics.  His  success  he  owes  to  no 
man,  earnest  and  honest  toil  bringing  him 
what  he  possesses  to-daj^  Industry  and 
close  application  to  business  have  been 
the  rounds  of  the  ladder  on  which  he  has 
mounted  to  prosperity,  and  are  traits  of 
character  worthy  of  emulation. 


E  ROY  NICHOLS  BROWN,  one 


of  the  intelligent  and    progressive 


1^^  citizens  of  Clyde,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, was  born  in  Huron  county, 
Ohio,  November  22,  1850,  and  is  a  son  of 
Franklin  and  Rispah  A.  (Nichols)  Brown. 
The  father  was  born  near  Plymouth, 
Richland  Co.,  Ohio,  in  1825,  and  was  a 
son  of  Peter  Brown,  who  engaged  in  ho- 
tel-keeping in  that  locality'  until  his  son 
was  about  six  years  of  age,  when  he  re- 
moved to  a  tract  of  timber  land  in  the 
western  part  of  Norwich  township,  Huron 
county,  where  he  built  a  gristmill,  which 
was  operated  by  horse  power.  This  was 
the  only  mill  in  the  locality,  and  people 
came  for  fifty  miles  around  to  get  their 
grists.  The  father  of  our  subject,  during 
his  boyhood,  used  to  turn  the  bolt  by 
hand,  until  the  grandfather  constructed  a 
machine  to  do   the   work.      For  twentv- 


five  years  the  latter  carried  on  the  mill- 
ing business,  and  then  retired  into  private 
life,  making  his  home  with  his  son  in  Peru 
township,  Huron  county,  where  he  died  at 
the  advanced  age  of  eighty- one  years.  In 
his  political  views  he  was  a  Whig.  His  wife 
afterward  removed  to  Clyde,  where  her 
death  occurred  when  she  had  attained  the 
ripe  old  age  of  ninety-three.  The  mar- 
riage of  this  worthy  couple  was  celebrated 
in  Norwich,  Ohio;  the  husband  was  born 
in  Norwich,  Vt.,  the  wife  in  Norwich, 
Connecticut. 

Dr.  Franklin  Brown  was  one  of  a  fam- 
ily of  eleven  children.  During  his  youth 
he  learned  the  blacksmith's  trade,  and  fol- 
lowed that  business  in  connection  with 
farm  work  for  some  time.  After  his  mar- 
riage, in  1847,  he  carried  on  blacksmith- 
ing  exclusively  for  fifteen  years,  doing  a 
good  business.  When  he  sold  out  he  re- 
moved to  Peru  township,  in  i860,  and  en- 
gaged in  farming,  keeping  a  smithy  only 
for  the  purpose  of  doing  his  own  work. 
In  1869  he  disposed  of  his  property  in 
that  place,  and  taking  up  his  residence  in 
Clyde  established  a  meat  market.  Not 
long  after  his  arrival  he  was  elected  mar- 
shal of  Clyde;  and  it  was  then  that 
"  Brown's  Hotel  "  became  known.  In  his 
composition  was  a  vein  of  humor  which 
made  itself  manifest  in  having  a  sign 
painted  "Brown's  Hotel,"  and  nailed  up 
over  the  door  of  the  jail.  The  name  was 
at  once  adopted,  and  the  old  sign  hung  in 
its  place  until  very  recently  when  the  city 
replaced  it  by  a  new  one,  and  this  house 
of  correction  still  goes  by  the  name  of 
"Brown's  Hotel."  F"or  about  six  years 
he  acceptably  filled  the  office  of  marshal, 
and  was  always  recognized  as  a  leading 
and  influential  citizen.  He  held  mem- 
bership with  the  Universalist  Church. 
His  death  occurred  May  27,  1886,  and  he 
was  buried  on  Decoration  day.  His  wife, 
who  was  born  in  Weathersfield,  Vt., 
April  3,  1827,  is  still  living.  In  the  fam- 
ily there  were  two  children.  Valeda,  the 
eldest,  born  March  10,  1849,  was  on  No- 


274 


COMMEMORATIVE    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


vember  12,  1873,  married  to  H.  B.  Whit- 
aker.  They  had  three  children — Leona 
N.,  Yule  C.  and  Frank  E. — and  resided 
in  Crawford  county,  Kans. ;  Mrs.  Whitaker 
died  November  1 1,  1893,  and  ^"^s  buried 
at  Girard,  Kansas. 

Mr.  Brown,  whose  name  introduces 
this  sketch,  has  lived  in  Clyde  since  his 
early  boyhood,  and  was  educated  in  its 
public  schools.  In  1869  he  became  in- 
terested in  the  dr\'-goods  business  here, 
and  for  thirteen  years  was  associated  with 
that  line  of  trade,  when  he  embarked  in 
gardening  and  fruit  growing,  raising 
peaches,  pears,  celery,  tomatoes  and  cab- 
bage. On  December  7,  1872,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Clara  M. 
Letson,  daughter  of  Abram  and  Analiza 
Letson,  natives,  the  father  of  New 
Jersey,  the  mother  of  Jefferson  county, 
Ohio.  Migrating  westward,  Abram  Let- 
son  located  on  a  farm  in  Hardin  county, 
Ohio,  and  was  married  December  11, 
1 85 1.  In  Hardin  county  Mr.  Letson  re- 
mained until  the  spring  of  1866,  when  he 
removed  to  Clyde  with  his  family,  where 
he  still  resides.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  L.  N. 
Brown  have  been  born  five  children: 
Carroll  C,  Eugene  E.,  Laverne  L. ,  Mil- 
dred M.  and  I  ma  I. 

Mr.  Brown  is  a  member  of  the  Order 
of  United  American  Mechanics.  He  is 
now  serving  his  third  term  of  three  years 
each  as  a  member  of  the  school  board  of 
Clyde;  has  for  seven  years  been  clerk  of 
the  board,  and  has  taken  an  active  part 
in  educational  matters,  doing  all  in  his 
power  to  secure  good  schools,  and  to  raise 
their  standard  of  e.xcellence,  for  he  be- 
lieves that  education  is  one  of  the  im- 
portant factors  in  producing  good  citi- 
zens. 


JOSIAH  ZIMMERMAN  was   born  in 
Knox  county,  Ohio,  Octobers,  '842, 
and  is   a  son  of   Adam    and    Maria 
(Mathias)  Zimmerman.      The  family 
is  of  German  origin.      The  grandparents, 


David  and  Catharine  (Shultz)  Zimmer- 
man, were  natives  of  the  Fatherland,  the 
former  born  in  1776,  the  latter  in  1778. 
His  death  occurred  in  1S62,  and  his  wife 
passed  away  in  1S64.  This  worthy  couple 
were  the  parents  of  twelve  children — John, 
Rosa,  Jacob,  George,  Peter,  Adam,  Cath- 
erine, Susan,  Margaret,  Mary,  and  two 
daughters  who  died  in  infanc}-.  The  ma- 
ternal grandparents  of  our  subject  were 
Abram  and  Mary  (Shafer)  Mathias,  the 
former  of  whom  was  born  near  Pittsburg, 
Penn. ,  in  1 787,  made  farming  his  life  work, 
and  passed  away  in  1 863 ;  his  wife,  who  was 
born  in  1790,  survived  until  1874.  Their 
eight  children  were:  Elizabeth,  Susan, 
Lydia,  Nancy,  Catherine,  Maria,  Philip 
and  Daniel. 

When  our  subject  was  a  child  of  six 
years  his  parents  came  to  Ohio,  locating 
in  Jackson  township,  Seneca  county.  His 
father  was  a  farmer  by  occupation  and 
was  born  in  Stark  county,  this  State,  May 
19,  1 8 19.  In  1 84 1  he  wedded  Maria 
Mathias,  and  they  became  the  parents  of 
eleven  children,  of  whom  our  subject  is 
the  eldest.  The  others  are:  Philip,  who 
was  in  the  one-hundred-day  service  during 
the  Civil  war;  Lydia  A. ;  Nancy  Jane; 
Sarah;  Eli  A.;  John  Wesley;  Abram  A.; 
Simon  A. ;  Nathaniel,  and  Mary.  The 
father  carried  on  agricultural  pursuits 
throughout  the  greater  part  of  his  life, 
and  died  August  18,   1885. 

Josiah  Zimmerman  was  reared  in 
Seneca  county,  acquired  his  education  in 
its  public  schools,  and  there  made  his 
home  until  after  the  South  had  taken  up 
arms  against  the  Union,  when,  in  August, 
1 86 1,  he  enlisted  in  Company  E,  Forty- 
ninth  O.  V.  I.,  serving  for  four  and  a 
half  years.  At  the  battle  of  Shiloh  he 
received  a  scalp  wound,  and  at  the  battle 
of  Chickamauga  was  wounded  in  the  left 
hip,  and  had  a  ring  shot  from  the  little 
finger  of  his  left  hand.  At  the  battle  of 
Dallas,  Ga.,  May  22,  1864,  he  received  a 
wound  which  nearlj'  caused  his  death, 
and  forced  him  to  remain  in  the  hospital 


COMMEMORATIVE   BWGRAPEICAL   RECORD. 


275 


for  six  months.  An  ounce  ball  struck  him 
just  in  front  of  the  left  ear,  passing  di- 
rectly through  the  head  and  coming  out 
about  an  inch  below  the  right  ear.  This 
was  his  last  battle,  for  when  he  had  re- 
covered the  war  was  over,  and,  receiving 
an  honorable  discharge,  he  returned  to 
his  home. 

Mr.  Zimmerman  then  removed  to  Scott 
township,  Sandusky  county,  and  on 
March  6,  iS66,  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Elsie  A.  Brion,  who  was  born 
May  26,  1850,  in  Scott  township,  where 
her  father  was  a  farmer.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  John  and  Lucinda  (Ceroid) 
Brion,  the  former  of  whom,  born  October 
8,  1813,  died  July  2,  1895,  the  latter 
passing  away  May  16,  1887.  Of  their 
six  children  all  are  yet  living,  namely: 
Norman,  who  served  for  three  years  in 
the  Seventy-second  O.  V.  I.  during  the 
Civil  war;  Mary  Jane,  wife  of  Samuel 
Martin,  of  Michigan;  Ann,  wife  of  Charles 
Woodruff;  Elsie  A.,  wife  of  our  subject; 
Charles,  and  Theodore.  The  paternal 
grandfather  of  Mrs.  Zimmerman,  Thomas 
Brion,  also  made  farming  his  life  occupa- 
tion. He  was  born  in  Ohio  in  1789,  and 
married  Betsy  Walkup,  who  was  a  few 
years  his  junior,  and  who  passed  from 
earth  a  few  years  before  him.  Their 
four  children  were  Betsy,  John,  Joseph, 
and  one  who  died  in  infancy.  The  ma- 
ternal grandparents  of  Mrs.  Zimmerman, 
Theodore  and  Elsie  (Decker)  Ceroid, 
were  natives  of  New  York,  born  in  1770 
and  1774  respectively.  Their  seven  chil- 
dren— James,  Lucinda,  John,  Thomas, 
George,  Jackson,  and  Isaac — are  all  de- 
ceased. The  first  named  served  in  the 
Me.xican  war,  and  John,  Thomas  and 
Jackson  were  soldiers  of  the  Civil  war. 

For  two  jears  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Zimmer- 
man resided  in  Scott  township,  Sandusky 
county;  but  on  account  of  his  health  Mr. 
Zimmerman  was  obliged  to  abandon  farm- 
ing, and  for  two  years  carried  •  on  a 
grocery.  The  succeeding  three  years  he 
spent  in  a  sawmill  as  head  sawyer,  after 


which  he  purchased  the  mill  and  has  since 
continued  its  operation.  In  addition  to 
his  null  property  he  also  owns  eighty 
acres  of  land,  well-fenced,  and  under  a 
high  state  of  cultivation,  and  he  is  now 
doing  a  successful  business.  He  has  ac- 
cumulated his  property  entirely  through 
his  own  efforts.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Zim- 
merman have  come  four  children — Charles 
F. ,  born  February  11,  1 869,  who  was 
married  December  3,  1891,  to  Rachel 
Shupe,  and  their  children  are  Melvin  and 
Cloal  (he  is  connected  with  his  father  in 
the  mill);  Hattie  M.,  born  June  18,  1871, 
and  Ervin  A.,  born  March  12,  1878,  are 
still  with  their  parents;  and  Flavilia,  born 
August  28,  1887,  died  September  27,  of 
the  same  year. 


HENRY  DORR,  a  prosperous  farm- 
er   and   honored  citizen  of  Riley 
township,  Sandusky    county,  was 
born  October  1 1,  1850.      His  par- 
ents, John   and   Catherine   (Yager)   Dorr, 
were  born  in  Germany,  in  18 16  and  1831, 
respectively. 

After  coming  to  the  United  States 
John  Dorr  settled  in  New  York  State, 
and  there  conducted  a  milk  depot  for 
several  years.  He  then  came  to  Ohio, 
settling  in  Riley  township,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, where  he  engaged  in  work  by  the  day, 
saved  his  money,  and  bought  forty  acres 
of  valuable  land,  which  cost  him  $3,200. 
Three  children  came  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
John  Dorr,  as  follows:  Mary,  born  in 
1844,  who  married  Jacob  Hilt,  and  they 
have  had  two  children — Edward  and 
Laura;  they  live  in  Fremont,  Sandusky 
county;  Mr.  Hilt  is  a  Democrat  in  pol- 
itics, and  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
Church.  Henry  is  the  subject  of  these 
lines.  John  died  young.  Mr.  Dorr  is  a 
Democrat  in  politics,  and  a  member  of 
the  Lutheran  Church.  His  wife  died 
June  13,   1892. 

Henry  Dorr  was  reared  at  home,  was 
early  taught  valuable  lessons  of  upright- 


276 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOQRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


ness,  persevering  industry  and  economy, 
and  worked  for  his  father  until  his  twen- 
ty-fifth year.  Then,  on  December  5, 
1876,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Catherine  Martin,  and  their  union  has 
been  blessed  with  six  children,  as  follows: 
Ella  B.,  born  April  15,  1881;  William  E., 
born  July  4,  1882;  Albert  L. ,  born  Au- 
gust 19,  1883;  Hattie  M.,  born  Septem- 
ber 21,  1884;  Anna  C,  born  May  28, 
1887;  and  Chester  F. ,  born  May  26,  1 890. 
Mr.  Dorr  bought  land  from  his  father, 
and  now  carries  on  general  farming.  He 
is  a  Democrat  in  political  affiliation,  and 
he  attends   the  Grace   Lutheran  Church. 


JONATHAN  SPOHN  is  a  well-known 
farmer  of  Green  Creek  township, 
Sandusky  county,  where  no  citizen 
enjoys  greater  esteem  among  his 
fellow  citizens.  He  is  a  native  of  Perry 
county,  Ohio,  born  January  10,  1822,  son 
of  Jacob  and  Barbara  (Anspach)  Spohn. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jacob  Spohn  were  born 
in  Hagerstown,  Md.,  and  Lancaster 
county,  Penn.,  respectively,  and  they 
were  married  in  Reading  township.  Perry 
Co.,  Ohio,  where  their  parents  had  lo- 
cated. There  was  a  settlement  of  pioneer 
families  from  Pennsylvania  at  that  place 
when  Mrs.  Spohn  was  about  thirteen 
years  old,  and  Jacob  Spohn's  people  also 
settled  there  about  that  time,  in  the  wil- 
derness among  the  Indians.  The  pater- 
nal grandfather,  Philip  Spohn,  was  an 
American  soldier  all  through  the  Revolu- 
tionar}'  war,  and  was  pensioned  by  the 
U.  S.  Government;  he  served  as  one  o£ 
Gen.  Washington's  bodyguard  during  the 
war.  In  after  years  he  often  related  how 
the  English  general.  Lord  Howe,  had 
Washington's  army  surrounded  in  the 
bend  of  a  river  when  night  came  on,  and 
seemed  sure  of  his  capture  the  following 
morning,  but  that  during  the  night  Wash- 
ington marshaled  his  little  arm\'  out  from 
under  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  before 


the  next  morning,  while  Lord  Howe  was 
preparing  for  his  capture,  he  had  made 
his  escape,  and  was  miles  away  surprising 
and  defeating  another  body  of  English 
forces.  Philip  Spohn  lived  to  be  ninety- 
four  years  old,  and  his  wife  also  lived  to 
an  advanced  age.  They  were  both  of 
Holland-Dutch  descent.  The  maternal 
grandfather  of  our  subject  was  Adam 
Anspach,  who  died  when  Jonathan  was 
eight  years  old.  He  was  the  father  of 
eleven  children,  of  whom  we  have  men- 
tion of  Benjamin,  Adam,  David,  John, 
Mrs.  Adam  Binkley,  Mrs.  Philip  Dupler, 
Mrs.  Emanuel  Binkley,  Mrs.  Ludwig 
Ridenaur,  and  Barbara  (the  mother  of  our 
subject).  Barbara  Anspach  first  married 
Jonathan  Zartman,  by  whom  she  had 
four  children,  all  now  deceased,  viz.: 
Kate,  who  married  D.  Binkley;  Mollie, 
who  married  Benjamin  Humberger,  and 
lived  in  Perry  county,  Ohio;  Barbara, 
who  was  married  in  Sandusky  county  to 
Christopher  Spohn,  who  now  lives  in 
Perry  county;  and  Elizabeth,  who  married 
John  King,  and  lived  in  Fairfield  county, 
Ohio.  Jacob  Spohn  was  one  of  eleven 
children:  Henry,  Daniel,  John,  Adam, 
Samuel,  Jacob,  Mrs.  Jacob  Anspach, 
Polly  Stomp,  Mrs.  Lawrence,  Christena 
(who  married  John  Horner)  and  Mrs. 
Henry  Ridenaur.  Jacob  and  Barbara 
Spohn  had  seven  children,  of  whom 
Margaret  died  when  seventeen  years  old; 
Solomon  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-nine 
years;  Jonathan  is  our  subject;  Anthony 
died  at  the  age  of  twenty-one;  Joel  now 
resides  on  the  old  homestead;  Leo  is  de- 
ceased; Isabella  married  George  Swine- 
hart. 

Jonathan  Spohn  grew  to  manhood  in 
Perry  county,  and  when  twenty-one  years 
old  came  to  Sandusky  county,  Ohio, 
where  he  ranks  among  the  old  pioneers. 
He  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade,  and  worked 
first  in  Ballville  township  two  years,  after 
which  he  put  up  a  shop  for  himself  on  the 
line  of  the  Western  Reserve  and  Maumee 
Pike,  east  of  Lower  Sandusky,  across  the 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGIiAPUICAL    RECORD. 


277 


road  from  his  present  residence,  and  in 
this  he  worked  for  farmers  and  teamsters 
about  twenty-two  years.  This  was  before 
the  days  of  railroads,  when  the  pii<e  was 
the  great  highway  of  commerce  in  that 
section,  and  when  the  constant  stream  of 
settlers  was  moving  westward.  So  im- 
passable were  the  roads  that  he  often  saw 
people  stop  two  and  three  days  at  one 
hotel,  the  trip  being  so  slow  on  account  of 
the  mud  that  they  would  walk  from  their 
teams  to  the  hotel.  There  was  then  an 
average  of  one  hotel  to  each  mile  of  the 
pike. 

In  1 844  Jonathan  Spohn  married  Miss 
Elizabeth  Brunthaver,  who  was  born  in 
1825  in  Fairfield  county,  Ohio,  and  they 
had  four  children:  Francis,  who  died  in 
the  army,  at  Jefferson  Barracks,  St.  Louis, 
Mo.,  while  serving  as  a  member  of  the 
Seventy-second  Regiment,  O.  V.  I.,  and 
whose  remains  were  brought  home  by  our 
subject  for  burial;  Adam  F.,  who  married 
Samantha  Strohl,  and  has  ten  children — 
Lottie,  Hadie,  Franklin,  Alvin,  Mabel, 
Thurnian,  Waneta,  Lizzie,  Willis,  and 
one  who  died  in  infancy;  Allen,  living  at 
home,  who  married  Miss  Annie  Riden- 
hour  and  has  three  children — Walter, 
Harry  and  Enid;  and  Mary,  wife  of  O. 
Grover,  of  Wood  county,  Ohio,  whose 
children  are  Howard,  Ethel  C,  Nelson 
and  George.  Our  subject  is  a  Democrat 
in  politics,  and  cast  his  first  vote  for  Mar- 
tin Van  Buren.  In  religious  connection 
he  is  a  member  of  the  Reformed  Church 
at  Fremont,  as  is  also  Mrs.  Spohn.  Dur- 
ing the  Mexican  war  he  served  as  a  sol- 
dier under  Gen.  Scott,  and  was  also  a  sol- 
dier in  the  Union  army  during  the  Civil 
war.  Socially  he  is  a  member  of  Croghan 
Lodge  No.  77 ,  F.  &  A.  M.,  Fremont. 
Mr.  Spohn  has  held  various  civic  offices 
in  Green  Creek  township;  in  the  fall  of 
1879  he  was  elected  to  the  office  of  in- 
firmary director,  serving  two  terms,  si.\ 
years  in  all,  with  credit  to  himself  and  sat- 
isfaction to  all  concerned.  Our  subject 
owns  seventy-six  acres  of   valuable  land, 


and  the  prosperity  he  now  enjoys  is  due 
entirely  to  his  own  good  management, 
thrift  and  economy. 


WILBERT  PHILLIPS,  son  of 
John  and  Mariam  (Baker)  Phil- 
lips, was  born  in  Montgomery 
township.  Wood  Co. ,  Ohio, 
June  14,  1 86 1.  He  lived  at  home  until 
his  marriage,  October  23,  1884,  to  Ellen 
Bowe,  daughter  of  George  and  Mary 
(Bordner)  Bowe.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Phil- 
lips have  come  two  children — Durbin, 
born  April  25,  1886,  and  Floyd,  born 
October  27,  1887.  After  the  marriage 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Phillips,  they  settled  in 
Wood  county,  on  a  farm,  where  they 
lived  two  years.  They  moved  to  the 
David  Phillips'  farm,  in  Scott  township, 
where  they  have  lived  for  the  past  nine 
years,  during  which  time  Mr.  Phillips  has 
worked  his  grandfather's  farm  of  160 
acres,  and  done  teaming  for  the  oil  com- 
panies. On  October  13,  1894,  he  pur- 
chased eighty  acres  of  wild  land  in  Scott 
township.  This  land  is  within  the  oil 
belt,  and  he  expects  to  lease  it  to  the  oil 
company. 

The  father  of  our  subject  was  born  in 
Trumbull  county,  Ohio,  March  18,  1834. 
When  he  was  six  years  old  his  parents 
came  to  Scott  township,  and  purchased 
eighty  acres  of  land  in  Section  31,  for 
which  they  gave  a  horse,  and  $250  in 
money;  later  they  purchased  another 
eighty  acres.  On  this  farm  the  father  of 
our  subject  grew  to  manhood.  Wilbert 
Phillips,  our  subject,  is  the  eldest  of  a 
family  of  eleven  children,  the  others 
being:  Wilby,  Zerusha,  Ettie,  Delbert, 
John,  Rettajane,  David,  George,  Charles, 
and  Daisy.  Mr.  Phillips'  mother  was 
born  in  1840,  near  Findlay,  Ohio,  died  in 
1 878,  and  was  buried  in  Trinity  Cemetery,. 
Scott  township,  Ohio. 

Our    subject's    paternal   grandfather, 
David    Phillips,  was   born    September   6, 
,   1804,    in   the    State    of  New    York;    his- 


278 


COMMEMORATIVE    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


wife,  Mary  Ann  (Bates),  was  born  April 
15,  181 1,  in  Pennsylvania.  They  were 
married  December  27,  1827.  in  Stark 
county,  Ohio,  and  reared  a  family  of  chil- 
dren, their  names  and  dates  of  birth  being 
as  follows:  Mary  Ann,  October  26,  1828; 
Lucinda,  April  22,  1830;  Henry,  Decem- 
ber 23,  1831;  David,  Decembers,  1833; 
Sylvester,  May  17,  1836;  John,  March 
18,  1838;  Hiram,  January  15,  1841; 
Eliza  Jane,  February  7,  1843;  Mariar, 
November  19,  1844;  and  George,  Feb- 
ruary 26,  1847.  Grandfather  and  Grand- 
mother Phillips  are  now  living  on  the 
farm  which  is  being  worked  by  our  subject. 
The  paternal  great-grandfather  of  our 
subject,  Vespasian  Phillips,  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania  about  1756.  When  about 
seventy-five  years  of  age  he  left  home, 
and  was  never  heard  of  afterward.  The 
date  of  his  wife's  birth  is  not  known; 
she  died  in  181 3  the  mother  of  ten  chil- 
dren. Our  subject's  maternal  great- 
grandfather, Andrew  Bates,  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania,  in  1765;  he  was  a  cooper 
and  farmer.  His  wife,  Ann  (Homan), 
was  born  about  1772.  They  had  a  family 
of  ten  children,  si,\  of  whom   are  living. 


JOHN  L.  DONNELS,  a  leading,  pro- 
gressive and  influential   citizen   and 
present   mayor  of  Gibsonburg,  San- 
dusky county,  is  a  native  of   Ohio, 
born  in  Scott  township,  Sandusky  county, 
March  30  1852. 

James  Donnels,  his  grandfather,  a  na- 
tive of  Ireland,  emigrated  in  an  earlj'  day. 
For  a  time  he  lived  in  what  is  now  West 
Virginia,  later  moving  to  Ohio  and  settling 
in  Scott  township,  Sandusky  county,  as 
one  of  the  pioneers,  where  he  was  engaged 
in  farming  up  to  the  time  of  his  death. 
He  was  married  in  Scotland,  and  his  chil- 
dren were:  John,  who  died  in  Scott 
township,  Sandusky  county;  Gilbreth  S., 
father  of  our  subject;  Margaret,  wife  of 
Nicholas  Bowlus,  of  Madison  township, 
Sandusky    county;  Becky    Ann,    wife    of 


Henry  Fausey,  also  of  Madison  township; 
James,  a  resident  of  Helena,  Sandusky 
county;  Ellen  (Mrs.  Hess),  who  died  in 
Virginia;  and  Amos,  living  in  Scott  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county. 

Gilbreth  S.  Donnels,  father  of  John 
L. ,  was  born  in  1820,  in  what  is  now 
West  Virginia,  and  was  a  boy  when  his 
parents  removed  to  Scott  township,  San- 
dusky Co.,  Ohio.  There  he  was  reared 
to  agricultural  pursuits,  which  he  followed 
in  both  Scott  and  Madison  townships  all 
his  life,  owning  over  137  acres  of  land  at 
the  time  of  his  death.  In  Madison  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  he  married  Nancy 
Wolcott,  who  was  born  in  18 17,  in  Chau- 
tauqua county,  N.  Y.,  whence  when  a 
young  woman  she  accompanied  her  par- 
ents to  Ohio.  To  this  union  children  as 
follows  were  born:  The  eldest  died  in  in- 
fancy unnamed;  Louisa  died  at  the  age  of 
seven  years;  John  L.  is  the  subject  of  this 
sketch;  William  is  a  farmer  of  Madison 
township,  Sandusky  county;  one  died  two 
weeks  old,  unnamed;  Lindon  is  a  merchant 
and  farmer  of  Helena,  Ohio;  Franklin  lives 
in  Woodville  township,  Sandusky  county; 
Stanley  and  James  A.  are  both  in  Madi- 
son   township,    Sandusky    county;   Jessie 


died  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years. 


The 


father  of  these  was  called  from  earth  in 
1855.  In  politics  he  was  originally  a 
\\^hig,  later  a  stanch  Republican. 

John  L.  Donnels,  the  subject  proper 
of  these  lines,  received  a  liberal  education 
at  the  common  schools  of  Madison  town- 
ship, and  ever  since  the  age  of  thirteen 
years  has  been  engaged  more  or  less  in 
the  sawmilling  business  in  Sandusky  coun- 
ty. In  1864  he  enlisted  in  Corhpany  H, 
One  Hundred  and  Si.xty-ninth  Regiment, 
O.  N.  G.,  and  served  one  hundred  days 
at  Fort  Ethan  Allen,  after  which  he  re- 
turned home  and  established  a  sawmill  in 
Madison  township,  buying  land  in  the 
county,  the  timber  on  which  he  lumbered 
himself.  He  thus  continued  till  1872, 
when  he  entered  the  employ,  in  a  similar 
line,  of   Daniel   Smith,  for  several  years 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


279 


working  for  him  and  other  parties.  While 
in  the  employ  of  G.  F.  Aldridge,  of  Scott 
township,  he  had  two  of  his  fingers  acci- 
dentally cut  off  by  the  saw,  but  neverthe- 
less lost  only  five  days'  work,  immedi- 
ately recommencing  with  another  em- 
ployer, with  whom  he  remained  until,  in 
1885,  he  was  elected  on  the  Democratic 
ticket  to  the  position  of  Justice  of  the 
Peace  of  Madison  township.  This  office 
he  tilled  with  characteristic  ability  and  fi- 
delity nine  years,  or  until  his  election  to 
the  mayoralty  of  Gibsonburg,  in  the  spring 
of  1894.  He  is  the  owner  of  120  acres 
of  land  in  Madison  township,  on  which 
there  is  a  good  oil  field. 

In  1871  John  L.  Donnels  was  married 
to  Miss  Catherine  Bowser,  who  was  born 
in  Bedford  county,  Penn.,  July  8,  1858, 
and  died  September  30,  1884,  the  mother 
of  five  children,  of  whom  the  following  is 
a  brief  record:  Emma  is  the  wife  of  John 
Vantine,  of  Gibsonburg,  and  has  one 
child,  Winnie;  Minnie  is  the  wife  of  David 
Blausey,  also  of  Gibsonburg,  and  has  one 
child,  Willie;  Louis,  on  his  father's  farm 
in  Madison  township,  is  married  to  Susie 
Lattimore,  and  has  two  children — Clar- 
ence and  Alta;  Alma  is  the  wife  of  David 
Biddle;  Mattie  is  married  to  Henry  Blau- 
sey, and  has  two  children.  For  his  sec- 
ond wife  Mr.  Donnels  wedded  Mrs.  Jen- 
nie (Henry)  Ridley,  who  was  born  in  Jack- 
son township,  Sandusky  county,  in  1848, 
and  by  her  first  husband  had  two  children 
— Arthur  and  Carrie.  Mr.  Donnels  is 
the  only  Democrat  in  the  family;  in  fra- 
ternal membership  he  is  an  Odd  Fellow, 
and  in  religious  faith  he  is  identified  with 
the  Disciples  of  Christ. 


JACOB    KLINK,    a   well-known   and 
popular  citizen  of  Woodville  town- 
ship,   Sandusky    county,    was   born 
December  9,   1839,  and  is   a   son   of 
Caleb  and  Mary  (Brunthaver)  Klink,  who 
were  born,  respectively,  May  7,  181 1,  in 

18 


Wittenberg,  Germany,  and  January  12, 
181  3,  in  Columbus,  Ohio. 

Caleb  Klink  came  to  America  at  the 
tender  age  of  six  years.  His  parents  were 
very  poor,  and  he  was  bound  out  until  his 
eighteenth  year  to  pay  for  their  passage 
across  the  ocean.  After  this  he  went  to  his 
parents,  at  that  time  living  at  Mansfield, 
Ohio,  remained  there  but  a  short  time, 
then  walked  to  New  Orleans,  and  worked 
on  a  boat  one  season.  He  was  there 
during  the  yellow  fever  epidemic  in  1832 
(when  six  thousand  died  in  seventeen 
days),  contracted  the  fever,  and  was  sick 
for  two  months.  After  his  recovery  he 
went  to  Philadelphia,  and  attended  a 
Centennial  celebration  in  that  city,  and 
later  worked  on  the  Erie  canal  and  helped 
to  build  the  first  railroad  in  the  United 
States.  The  year  of  that  Centennial  he 
walked  3,300  miles,  and  was  in  every 
State  in  the  Union.  Mr.  Klink  cut  the 
lumber  to  build  a  flouring-mill  at  Green 
Spring,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  which  they 
were  six  weeks  in  raising.  Afterward  he 
worked  in  a  sawmill  for  seven  years,  and 
lost  only  two  days  during  that  time. 

On  September  27,  1836,  Caleb  Clink 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Mary  Brunt- 
haver,  and  four  sons  and  four  daughters 
were  born  to  them,  as  follows  :  Louisa, 
born  August  11,  1837,  at  Green  Spring, 
Sandusky  count}',  now  deceased,  married 
Henry  Peters,  a  farmer,  by  whom  she  had 
six  children,  and  he  resides  in  Woodville 
township,  Sandusky  county  ;  Jacob  is  the 
subject  of  this  sketch;  Charles,  born  De- 
cember 23,  1 841,  married  Caroline  Pem- 
ber,  by  whom  he  has  had  three  children, 
and  they  live  in  Woodville  township; 
Leah,  born  March  i,  1844,  married 
Elexix  Nolan,  by  whom  she  had  four 
children,  and  both  she  and  her  husband 
are  now  deceased;  Ellen,  born  June  15, 
1846,  and  died  at  the  age  of  eighteen; 
Adam,  born  September  15,  1848,  was 
united  in  marriage  on  May  28,  1878,  with 
Sarah  Caris,  daughter  of  Adam  and  Julia 
Caris,of  Wood  county,  Ohio,  born  January 


280 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


3,  i860,  and  by  her  has  one  child — Lester, 
born  December  13,  1880  fhe  lived  at 
home  the  greater  part  of  his  life,  and  has 
worked  for  the  pipe  line  companj-,  there 
being  fourteen  oil  wells  on  the  Klink 
estate,  all  in  good  flow);  Catherine,  born 
February  12,  1853,  married  John  Foster, 
by  whom  she  had  two  children,  and  they 
live  in  Elmore,  Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio;  and 
Reuben,  born  January  11,  1853,  now  a 
farmer  in  Woodville  township,  married 
Addie  Tucker,  by  whom  he  has  had  four 
children. 

Two  years  after  his  marriage  Caleb 
Clink  moved  to  Woodville  township,  San- 
dusky county,  where  at  that  time  he  had 
eighty  acres,  on  which  there  was  no  clear- 
ing. He  put  up  a  house,  moved  in  and 
began  clearing  the  land.  There  was  a 
great  deal  of  fever  and  ague  in  those  days, 
and  all  of  his  family  were  sick  with  it. 
Mr.  Clink  at  one  time  owned  over  twelve 
hundred  acres  of  valuable  land,  and 
when  he  died  left  six  hundred  acres 
in  Woodville  township,  and  fort)' 
acres  in  Michigan.  He  raised  many 
valuable  horses  and  cattle,  giving 
considerable  attention  to  stock-raising. 
Mr.  Clink  was  a  Democrat  in  politics. 
After  a  long  busy  and  useful  life,  beloved 
by  a  large  circle  of  friends  and  neighbors, 
he  passed  away  at  the  old  homestead  No- 
vember 26,  1894,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
three  years,  six  months  and  nineteen  days, 
and  was  buried  in  Woodville  township, 
Sandusky  county,  November  28,  1894. 

On  October  12,  1866,  Jacob  Klink 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  M.  J.  ^fc- 
Crary,  who  was  born  December  12,  1846, 
and  three  children  have  been  born  to 
them,  as  follows:  Rosa,  Frank  and 
Henry.  At  the  age  of  twenty-six  Mr. 
Klink  went  to  Woodville  township,  San- 
dusky Co.,  Ohio,  entered  into  partnership 
with  Henry  Rancamp,  and  they  con- 
ducted a  general  store  there  for  six 
months,  then  removed  to  Pemberville, 
Wood  Co. ,  Ohio,  where  they  conducted 
a  store  for    two  years.       In     1865    and 


1866  Mr.  Klink  was  the  postmaster  there. 
He  bought  out  his  partner  and  carried  on 
the  store  alone  for  a  short  time;  then  sold 
it  and  moved  back  to  Woodville  town- 
ship, Sandusk)'  countj',  on  the  farm 
where  he  now  lives.  He  has  alwaj's 
bought  and  sold  cattle  and  horses,  and  at 
times  has  very  large  herds. 

Socially,  Mr.  Klink  is  a  Free  Mason, 
in  politics  a  Democrat,  was  supervisor 
and  school  director  for  several  years,  and 
is  highly  spoken  of.  Mrs.  Klink  was  one 
of  eight  children.  Her  father  was  born 
July  4,  1812,  and  now  lives  in  Toledo, 
Ohio,  with  a  daughter.  Her  mother  died 
in  1850. 


HENRY  KLINE,  one  of  the  promi- 
nent representative  citizens  of 
Fremont,  Sandusky  county,  was 
born  in  Union  county,  Penn., 
February  20,  1849,  a  son  of  Jacob  and 
Catherine  (Swartz)  Kline,  who  were  also 
natives  of  the  Keystone  State,  of  Ger- 
man descent.  They  were  farming  peo- 
ple. The  Kline  family  migrated  to  Ohio, 
and  finally  settled  in  St.  Joseph  county, 
Mich.,  where  Mr.  Kline  still  lives  at  the 
age  of  eighty  years,  and  where  Mrs. 
Kline  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-six.  They 
had  fourteen  children,  all  of  whom  be- 
came heads  of  families,  namely:  Barbara 
M.,  Jesse,  Susan,  Catharine,  Leo,  Lydia 
Ann,  Jacob,  Joseph,  Henry  and  John 
(twins),  Mary  Ann,  Libbie,  George,  and 
Frank  E.  (who  died  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
eight). 

Henry  Kline  was  reared  on  a  farm 
about  six  miles  north  of  Bellevue,  San- 
dusky Co.,  Ohio,  where  his  educational 
advantages  were  very  limited.  At  the 
age  of  seventeen  he  went  to  Michigan  and 
remained  there  with  his  parents  about 
four  years,  engaged  in  farm  work,  return- 
ing to  Bellevue,  Ohio.  Here,  after 
working  on  a  farm  one  year,  and  clerking 
in  a  store  two  and  a  half  years,  he  mar- 
ried Miss   Kate  Gearhart,  and  moved  oa 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


281 


the  N.  P.  Birdseye  farm,  living  there  for 
one  summer.  He  next  moved  to  Fre- 
mont, and  located  in  the  Baumann  Block, 
on  Croghan  street,  where  he  remained 
five  years,  keeping  a  saloon  and  restaur- 
ant. In  1880  he  removed  to  East  Fre- 
mont, where  he  bought  property,  and  for 
twelve  years  carried  on  a  thriving  grocery 
business  in  a  wooden  building  opposite 
the  Clauss  Shear  Works.  He  then  re- 
built his  brick  residence,  removed  his 
wooden  building,  and  erected  in  its  place 
a  fine,  three-story  brick  block,  consisting 
of  four  flats,  one  large  hall  and  three 
business  rooms,  with  a  cellar  for  each  de- 
partment. Mr.  Kline  has  made  all  his 
money  by  his  own  efforts,  being  a  wide- 
awake, energetic  hustler.  He  formerly 
kept  a  grocery  and  feed  store,  was  a  con- 
tractor, a  pork  packer,  dealt  in  real  es- 
tate, and  sold  river  sand.  He  now  keeps 
a  saloon  and  restaurant  in  his  back  room. 
To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kline  were  born  two 
children:  Hattie  E.  and  Jesse   Hermon. 


M 


RS.  JOSEPH  CLEMONS,  whose 
maiden  name  was  Caroline 
Lewis,  is  a  wide-awake  and  pro- 
gressive resident  of  Townsend 
township,  Sandusky  county,  having  charge 
not  only  of  a  well-ordered  household,  but 
of  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  forty-five 
acres  as  well. 

Joseph  demons  (deceased)  was  born 
in  Pennsylvania,  February  23,  1832.  His 
father  had  served  in  the  war  of  1812,  and 
Mr.  demons  would  have  enlisted  in  de- 
fense of  the  Union  in  the  war  of  the  Re- 
bellion had  he  not  been  incapacitated  by 
an  accident  which  befell  him  in  1857. 
That  year  he  severely  cut  his  left  leg, 
which  caused  a  stiffness  sufficient  to  e.\- 
clude  him  from  the  list  of  able-bodied 
men.  On  April  i,  1855,  Mr.  demons 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Caroline 
Lewis,  who  was  born  March  24,  1837,  in 
Seneca  county,  Ohio,  and   they  lived  in 


Adams  township,  Seneca  county,  for 
seven  years.  They  had  eleven  children, 
as  follows:  Levi  H.,  born  February  16, 
1856,  a  resident  of  Pullman,  111.;  Mary 
Jane,  born  November  19,  1857,  and  died 
in  December,  1858;  Harriet  F. ,  born 
February  16,  1859,  now  Mrs.  Ira  Met- 
calf,  of  Mansfield,  Richland  county,  Ohio; 
Albert  M.,  born  May  iS,  i860,  and  died 
in  November,  1862;  Mahala  I.,  born  Au- 
gust 3,  1 86 1,  now  Mrs.  Charles  Combs, 
of  Bloomingville,  Erie  Co.,  Ohio;  Aldora 
M.,  born  September  23,  1863,  and  mar- 
ried to  A.  J.  Beaghler,  of  Townsend 
township,  November  24,  1 881;  Henry  E., 
born  June  28,  1865,  now  at  home;  An- 
drew S.,  born  December  17,  1866,  now 
of  Erie  county;  infants  who  were  born 
July  12,  1868,  and  March  i,  1872,  and 
died  on  September  10,  1868,  and  March 
14,  1872,  respectively;  and  Ami  J.,  born 
August  17,  1873,  living  at  home. 

In  1862  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Joseph  demons 
moved  to  Thompson  township,  Seneca 
county,  whence,  in  1871,  they  came  to 
their  present  home,  which  Mr.  demons 
purchased  that  year.  In  1875  he  bought 
one  hundred  acres  of  prairie  land  in  Erie 
county,  on  which  property  his  son  Andrew 
now  lives.  Mr.  demons  was  an  infant 
of  but  four  weeks  old  when  his  parents 
moved  to  Ohio,  and  he  lived  here  the 
remainder  of  his  life.  He  died  May  i, 
1889.  He  was  a  Republican  in  politics, 
and  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 
His  widow  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church. 

Mrs.  demons  in  her  girlhood  received 
a  common-school  education.  Her  par- 
ents, Isaac  and  Susanna  Lewis,  were  both 
born  in  Lancaster  county,  Penn.  Mr. 
Lewis  taught  school  in  Pennsylvania  be- 
fore his  marriage,  and,  being  a  scholar, 
accumulated  quite  a  library.  Among  his 
books  was  a  Bible,  now  highly  prized  by 
Mrs.  demons;  it  is  in  German  type,  and 
the  date  of  its  publication  is  1771.  Mr. 
Lewis  came  with  his  family  to  Seneca 
county,     Ohio,     in     1832.       They    lived 


282 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOOBAPHICAL  RECORD. 


there  for  many  years.  Then,  retiring 
from  active  work,  Mr.  Lewis  and  his 
wife  moved  to  Bellevue,  Huron  Co.,  Ohio, 
where  both  passed  away. 


A  P.  JOHNSON,  one  of  the  rehable, 
solid  citizens  of  Madison  town- 
ship, Sandusk}'  count}',  is  a  native 
of  Ohio,  born  December  1 1 , 1 848, 
in  Holmes  county,  son  of  Prelate  and 
Phoebe  (Cutler)  Johnson. 

Prelate  Johnson  was  born  in  1808  in 
Connecticut,  where  he  was  married,  and 
whence  in  an  early  day  he  came  to  Ohio, 
settling  in  Holmes  county,  where  he  fol- 
lowed his  trade,  that  of  carpenter  and 
joiner.  He  died  in  that  count}-  at  the  age 
of  fifty-five  years.  Afterward  his  widow 
returned  east  with  her  children  to  live 
with  her  father,  Jonathan  Cutler,  in  Mas- 
sachusetts, and  there  died  at  the  age  of 
fifty-four  years.  The  father  of  our  sub- 
ject was  a  Baptist  in  religious  faith,  an 
old  Henry  Clay  Whig  in  his  political 
leanings,  and  in  later  life  a  strong  sup- 
porter of  Lincoln.  The  maternal  grand- 
father Cutler,  who  was  born  in  1786,  was 
a  silversmith,  following  his  trade  up  to 
his  death,  which  occurred  at  Brimfield, 
Mass.,  when  he  was  eighty-five  years  old. 
A.  P.  Johnson,  the  subject  proper  of 
these  lines,  is  one  of  a  family  of  eight 
children — three  sons  and  five  daughters — 
as  follows:  Alonzo,  who  died  in  hospital 
at  Gettysburg,  Penn. ,  at  the  age  of  twen- 
ty-four years;  Charlotte,  wife  of  John 
Wilson,  of  Holmes  county,  Ohio,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  twenty-nine  years; 
Horatio,  who  died  when  twenty-two 
years  old;  Helen,  when  fifteen  years  old; 
A.  P.,  our  subject;  Phoebe,  deceased  at 
the  age  of  twelve  years;  Fidelia,  who  died 
when  si.xteen  years  old;  and  Martha  J., 
the  wife  of  J.  B.  Tice,  residing  in  Eaton 
county,  Michigan.  Our  subject  was  fif- 
teen years  old  when  he  went  to  Massa- 
chusetts to  live  with  his  widowed  mother, 
but   after  a   residence  there  of   eighteen 


months  he  returned  to  Ohio,  and  for 
three  months  worked  on  a  farm  in  Madi- 
son township,  later  taking  up  the  saw- 
milling  business,  which  he  has  since  suc- 
cessfully followed;  he  is  also  superintend- 
ent of  Zorn,  Hornung  &  Co.'s  stave  and 
heading  factory  at  Gibsonburg.  He  now 
owns  twenty  acres  of  arable  land  within 
the  corporation  limits  of  that  village,  and  is 
well  known  and  highly  respected  through- 
out the  county  for  his  sterling  qualities  as 
a  citizen. 

On  April  17,  1870,  Mr.  Johnson  was 
married  in  Madison  township  to  Miss 
Elizabeth  Tice,  who  was  born  in  Penn- 
sylvania April  24,  1853,  and  children  as 
follows  have  blessed  their  union:  Effie, 
born  April  15,  1871,  wife  of  James  Will- 
iams, of  Rising  Sun,  Wood  Co.,  Ohio 
(they  have  one  child,  Lester);  Horatio, 
born  June  21,  1873,  who  is  employed  in 
the  oil  fields;  Delbert,  born  October  21, 
1876,  who  works  in  the  stave  factory  of 
Zorn,  Hornung  &  Co. ;  and  Verna,  born 
June  12,  1888.  In  his  political  prefer- 
ments Mr.  Johnson  has  always  been  a 
stanch  Democrat,  and  in  1893  he  was  the 
regular  nominee  on  the  Democratic  ticket 
for  county  commissioner,  but  was  de- 
feated with  the  rest  of  the  party  in  the 
fall  of  that  year.  In  1887  he  was  elected 
a  justice  of  the  peace,  which  incumbency 
he  held  six  consecutive  years.  Socially 
he  is  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  and 
K.  of  P. 

Mrs.  Johnson's  father,  A.  H.  Tice,  was 
born  in  1821  in  Pennsylvania.  In  1844 
he  was  married  to  Catherine  Noggle,  who 
was  born  in  1822.  They  came  to  Ohio 
in  1853,  settling  in  Sandusky  county. 
Here  he  lived  until  1884,  when  he  re- 
moved to  Michigan,  and,  his  wife  dying 
there  in  1888,  he  returned  to  Gibson- 
burg, where  he  died  in  1890,  leaving 
nine  children,  twenty-three  grandchildren 
and  one  great-grandchild.  He  served 
eighteen  years  as  a  justice  of  the  peace. 
Socially,  he  was  a  member  of  the  I. 
O.  O.  F.  fraternity. 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


283 


CHARLES  LIVINGSTINE,  a  suc- 
cessful farmer  and  prominent  and 
public-spirited  citizen  of  Riley 
township,  Sandusky  county,  was 
born  September  I2,  1828,  in  Stark  county, 
Ohio.  He  is  a  son  of  Jacob  and  Eliza- 
beth (Weimer)  Livingstine,  who  were  born 
respectively  in  June,  1794,  and  on  Febru- 
ary 8,   1792,  in  Germany. 

Jacob  Livingstine  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Elizabeth  Weimer,  in  181 5; 
they  then  came  to  America,  settling  in 
Stark  county,  Ohio,  where  he  entered  160 
acres  of  land.  He  sold  out  in  1833,  set- 
tled in  Sandusky  township,  Sandusky 
county,  and  bought  120  acres,  and,  later, 
105  in  Riley  township.  He  lived  in  San- 
dusky township  until  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred October  9,  1866;  his  wife  died 
January  7,  1856.  They  had  seven  chil- 
dren, as  follows:  Saloma,  born  in  1816, 
married  George  Hilt,  by  whom  she  had 
ten  children,  and  they  lived  in  Ballville 
township,  Sandusky  county,  Mrs.  Holt 
dying  there  in  18S4,  Mr.  Holt  in  1887; 
Barbara,  born  18 19,  was  married  in  1840 
to  Henry  Hoffman,  who  lives  in  Jackson 
township,  Sandusky  count^^  and  died 
March  7,  1890,  the  mother  of  nine  chil- 
dren: .Maggie,  born  in  August,  1S22, 
married  John  Newman,  in  1841,  in  San- 
dusky township,  and  they  live  in  Fre- 
mont, Sandusky  county,  with  their  family 
of  five  children;  Elizabeth,  born  in  Febru- 
ary, 1825,  married  George  Hendricks  in 
1847,  and  they  had  two  children  (she 
died  in  1874,  Mr.  Hendricks  in  1878,  and 
both  were  buried  in  Green  Creek  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county);  Charles  is  the 
subject  proper  of  this  sketch;  Annie  died 
young,  and  one  child  died  in  infancy. 

Charles  Livingstine  worked  for  his 
father  until  his  twenty-fourth  year,  and 
then,  on  April  i,  1852,  married  Mary 
Shoch,  settling  in  Riley  township,  where 
he  bought  280  acres  of  land,  which  cost 
him  $10,600.  They  have  had  twelve 
children,  viz.:  Alvina,  born  in  1853,  and 
Jacob,  born  in  1855,  deceased  when  young; 


Charles  H.,  born  November  9,  1857,  who 
in  187S  married  Miss  Jennettie  Halbeisen, 
and  they  had  one  child,  the  mother  dying 
in  1887,  after  which,  in  1891,  he  married 
Mary  Ulch,  and  they  live  in  Sandusky 
township;  Edward,  born  in  1858,  de- 
ceased in  1866;  Mary  C. ,  born  in  i860, 
who  married  William  Vogt,  and  lives  in 
Riley  township;  Lydia,  born  in  1862,  de- 
ceased when  young;  Harriet,  born  in 
1864,  married  to  David  Russell,  and  they 
have  had  five  children;  William  L. ,  born 
in  1 866, deceased  when  young;  John,  born 
in  1870,  and  now  a  farmer  in  Sandusky 
township,  married  Carrie  Johnson  in  1892, 
and  they  have  one  child;  Frank,  born  in 
April,  1866,  and  Levi,  born  in  iS72,both 
deceased  when  young,  and  Robert,  born 
in  1873. 

Mr.  Livingstine  cleared  the  greater 
part  of  the  farm  on  which  he  lives,  and 
carries  on  general  farming.  He  is  much 
esteemed  in  the  community,  and  has  been 
repeatedly  honored  with  election  to  public 
office,  having  been  justice  of  the  peace 
thirteen  years,  trustee  nineteen  years, 
school  director  six  years,  township  treas- 
urer nineteen  years  and  infirmary  director 
seven  years,  of  the  county.  He  votes 
the  Democratic  ticket,  and  attends  the 
Lutheran  Church,  of  which  he  has  been 
an  elder  for  ten  years,  and  is  trustee  at 
the  present  time. 


JOHN  BARTSON,  farmer,  Ballville 
township,  Sandusky  county,  a  na- 
tive of  Luxemburg,  Germany,  was 
born  January  i,  1834,  a  son  of  John 
Bartson,  Sr. ,  who  was  born  in  1779  at 
Frankfort-on-the-Maine,  served  as  a  sol- 
dier under  the  First  Napoleon  in  the 
twenty-five-years'  war,  and  came  to 
America  in  1842.  After  landing  in  New 
York  he  proceeded  to  Stark  county,  Ohio, 
where  he  remained  a  year;  then,  with  a 
yoke  of  cattle,  a  horse  and  a  cow,  and  a 
large  covered  wagon,  he  moved  through 
the  forests  to  Ballville  township,  Sandusky 


284 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


county,  where  he  settled  upon  forty  acres 
of  partly-improved  land,  for  which  he  paid 
$i8o.  He  built  a  log  cabin,  and  cleared 
up  land  for  farming  purposes;  but  after 
four  years  of  hard  work  he  succumbed  to 
a  severe  attack  of  bilious  fever,  the  early 
scourge  of  the  Black  Swamp,  died  in  1847 
at  the  age  of  sixty-eight,  and  was  buried 
at  Tiffin,  Ohio.  The  children  of  John 
Bartson,  Sr. ,  were:  John,  Jr. ;  Catharine, 
born  March  4,  1836,  married  to  Anthony 
Fullmer,  their  children  being:  John,  Cath- 
arine, George,  Mary,  and  four  that  died 
in  childhood.  After  the  death  of  John 
Bartson,  Sr. ,  his  widow  married  John 
May,  a  farmer  of  Ballville  township. 

Our  subject,  John  Bartson,  remained 
at  home  two  years  with  his  widowed 
mother,  and  after  her  marriage  to  Mr. 
May  he  lived  with  them  three  years,  and 
then  went  to  work  on  the  U.  S.  mail 
steamer  "Lady  Pike,"  plying  between 
Louisville  and  Cincinnati;  he  sta3'ed  there 
one  season,  came  home,  and  the  follow- 
ing season  worked  on  the  "War  Eagle" 
up  and  down  the  Mississippi.  Returning, 
he  chopped  in  the  woods  during  the  win- 
ter, the  next  summer  was  on  a  farm  in  Il- 
linois, and  the  following  winter  assisted  in 
chopping  and  logging  at  Chippewa  Falls, 
Wis.  He  made  several  trips  on  rafts 
down  the  Mississippi  to  New  Orleans,  and 
was  on  the  steamer  "City  Belle"  one 
season;  later,  he  returned  to  Wisconsin, 
where,  at  Chippewa  Falls,  he  was  sick 
with  bilious  fever  six  months.  After  his 
recovery  he  returned  to  Ohio,  married, 
rented  eighty  acres  of  land  of  Thomas 
Easterwood  for  two  years,  then  bought 
eighty  acres  of  timber  land  in  Ballville 
township  for  $800,  gave  forty  acres  of  it 
to  his  father-in-law,  built  a  cabin,  and 
sold  the  balance  at  an  advance.  He  then 
bought  forty  acres  in  Sandusky  township 
for  $1,400,  and  lived  there  until  1864, 
when  he  was  drafted  into  the  army.  He 
served  in  Company  A,  Sixty-fourth  Regi- 
ment, O.  V.  I.,  Third  Brigade,  Second 
Division,    Fourth   Army   Corps,    and  en- 


dured all  the  trials  and  privations  incident 
to  his  regiment  in  active  service.  He 
started  at  Johnson's  Island,  Ohio,  was  re- 
examined at  Columbus,  and  mustered  in 
with  about  4,000  others,  taken  success- 
ively to  Indianapolis,  Louisville,  Nash- 
ville, Chattanooga,  Atlanta,  Alpine,  Pu- 
laski, Columbus  and  Spring  Hill.  At  the 
last  place  he  stood  on  picket  all  night 
during  a  battle,  being  in  the  rear  guard 
while  forces  went  to  Franklin.  When 
they  marched  in  front  of  Franklin  he  was 
in  the  skirmish  line  in  front  of  Hood's 
army,  where,  after  holding  the  Rebels  at 
bay  for  a  time,  he  retreated  behind  the 
second  line  of  works;  held  that  place  till 
12  o'clock  at  night,  and  then  went  along 
to  Nashville  and  helped  fortify  the  town. 
Many  other  instances  of  doing  duty  in 
times  of  danger  might  be  mentioned.  Our 
subject  fought  under  Gen.  Thomas,  at 
Nashville,  for  forty-eight  hours,  when  the 
regiment  had  about  400  men,  and  Com- 
pany A  only  25  men  left  out  of  100  which 
were  fit  for  duty.  They  marched  back  to 
Franklin,  Spring  Hill,  Cumberland,  Pu- 
laski, Huntsville,  Decatur,  Athens,  Silver 
Creek,  fixed  up  a  block-house,  and  fought 
Forrest's  and  Rowdey's  cavalry  for  three 
weeks,  until  they  were  relieved  by  a  Wis- 
consin regiment.  They  returned  to  Hunts- 
ville, and  by  train  to  Chattanooga,  Selma, 
Knoxville,  Strawberry  Plains,  Blue  Spring, 
and  Bull's  Gap,  when  they  heard  that  Gen. 
Robert  E.  Lee  had  surrendered.  Then 
marched  back  to  Knoxville,  thence  to 
Nashville,  where,  in  Camp  Harker,  they 
were  mustered  out.  Mr.  Bartson  was 
wounded  at  Nashville,  and  otherwise  dis- 
abled. He  returned  to  Fremont,  Ohio, 
and  resumed  farming. 

On  April  13,  1857,  John  Bartson  was 
married  to  Miss  Mary  Romer,  born  April 
12,  1839,  a  daughter  of  Ignatius  and 
Eleanora  (Kries)  Romer,  natives  of  Baden, 
Germany,  who  came  to  America  in  1854, 
and  settled  in  Ballville  township,  San- 
dusky Co. ,  Ohio.  The  mother  died  in  1 870, 
the  father  in  1877,  both  at   an  advanced 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


285 


age.  Their  children  were:  Mary,  wife 
of  oursubject;  OHve,  wife  of  John  Ginder; 
Agnes,  deceased  in  childhood;  Johanna, 
wife  of  Mr.  Baumgardner,  proprietor  of  a 
hotel  in  Fulton  county,  a  Democrat, 
whose  children  are,  Eddie  and  Nora; 
Paul,  who  died  in  childhood;  Agnes,  wife 
of  James  Hoyes,  of  Seneca  county,  Ohio, 
whose  children  are,  Nora,  Matthew,  Kate, 
Maggie,  Emma,  Agnes,  Anna,  Irving, 
Joseph,  Nellie  and  Bernard;  Anna,  wife  of 
Fred  Steiber,  a  moulder  by  trade,  whose 
first  child  was  George.  The  children  of 
John  and  Mary  Bartsonare:  (i)  Ignatius, 
born  March  lo,  1858,  who  married  Cath- 
arine Hughes,  whose  children  are,  Mary 
and  Johanna;  (2)  Mary  O.,  born  Decem- 
ber 8,  i860,  wife  of  Charles  Fish,  of  Chi- 
cago, 111.  (she  died  in  Michigan);  (3) 
Bernard,  a  farmer  and  contractor,  born 
February  19,  1862,  and  now  lives  in  Ball- 
ville  township;  (4)  Julia  M.,  born  January 
31,  1864,  wife  of  Sidney  Champion,  a 
painter,  of  Toledo,  whose  children  are, 
Estelle,  George,  Harmon  and  Mary;  (5) 
Elizabeth,  born  June  9,  1866,  wife  of  Her- 
mon  Hesshel,  whose  child,  Lizzie, died  Sep- 
tember 19,  1888;  (6)  Johanna,  born  Sep- 
tember I,  1868,  wife  of  George  Heffner, 
street-car  conductor,  Chicago,  111.,  whose 
children  are,  Thomas,  Alonzo  and  Louis; 
(7)  Nora,  born  May  5,  1870,  wife  of  James 
Castello,  a  merchant  of  Chicago;  (8)  John 
C. ,  born  March  17,  1872,  contractor, 
Ballville  township,  who  married  M.  House; 
(9)  Ida,  born  April  8,  1S74,  wife  of  Louis 
Mierkie,  a  barber,  of  Fremont,  Ohio;  (10) 
Clara  H.,  born  March  18,  1876,  unmar- 
ried ;  { 1 1 )  Rosa,  born  September  10,  1878; 

(12)  Mary  F.,  born  March  10,  1880;  and 

(13)  Joseph,  born  May  ii,  1882. 


HENRY    KILGUS    is    one    of    the 
most  prominent  and  progressive 
farmers  of  Washington  township, 
Sandusky  county,  a  true  W'estern 
man,  possessed  of   the  enterprising  spirit 
which  has  resulted  in  placing  this  West- 


ern region  on  a  par  with  the  older  States 
of  the  East. 

Mr.  Kilgus  was  born  in  the  Empire 
State,  July  16,  1854,  and  is  a  son  of  Fred 
and  Magdalena  (Kesler)  Kilgus.  The 
father  was  born  in  Wittenberg,  Ger- 
many, and  emigrated  to  the  United  States 
in  1843,  taking  up  his  residence  in  Seneca 
county,  Ohio.  He  worked  as  a  farm 
hand,  until  by  industry  and  frugality  he 
had  saved  a  sum  sufficient  to  purchase  a 
farm.  He  then  became  owner  of  forty 
acres  of  choice  land  near  Hessville,  in 
Washington  township,  Sandusky  county, 
and  subsequently  he  purchased  fifty  acres, 
paying  $50  per  acre  for  same.  That  farm 
was  subsequently  sold,  and  purchase  made 
of  another  tract  of  120  acres  in  Washing- 
ton township,  on  which  he  resided  until  his 
death.  He  passed  away  on  October  22, 
1890,  leaving  a  family  of  ten  children, 
namely:  Lewis,  Albert,  Frank,  Charles, 
Noah,  Mary,  Minnie,  Henry  and  two 
whose  names  are  not  given. 

Our  subject  lived  at  home  until  he 
was  twenty-seven  years  of  age,  and  then 
began  to  earn  his  livelihood  by  working 
out  by  the  day,  in  which  way  he  got  a 
start.  He  was  industrious  and  energetic, 
desirous  of  pleasing  his  employers,  and  as 
a  consequence  it  was  not  difficult  for  him 
to  secure  a  situation.  He  continued  his 
service  as  a  farm  hand  until  he  had  man- 
aged to  save  from  his  earnings  enough  to 
purchase  a  farm  of  si.xty  acres.  This  he 
still  owns,  but  his  lands  have  been  doubled 
in  e.xtent,  and  to-day  within  the  bounda- 
ries of  his  farm  are  comprised  120  acres 
of  valuable  land  which  jield  to  the  owner 
a  golden  tribute.  Upon  the  place  he  has 
several  fine  oil  wells,  and  derives  from 
that  source  a  good  income.  His  land  is 
now  valued  at  $100  per  acre,  and  it  is  one 
of  the  best  improved  places  in  the  county. 
His  residence  and  barns  are  the  finest  in 
this  section  of  Washington  township,  and 
every  corner  of  the  place  is  neat  and 
thrift}'  in  appearance,  indicating  the  care- 
ful supervision  of  a  painstaking  owner. 


286 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIO  GRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


On  September  22,  1882,  Mr.  Kilgus 
married  Miss  Sophia  Driftmeyer,  who  was 
born  December  30,  1857.  In  poHtics  he 
is  a  Democrat,  and  has  been  honored  with 
several  local  offices,  the  duties  of  which 
he  has  ever  discharged  with  promptness 
and  fidelity.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Lutheran  Church.  A  self-made  man  in 
the  truest  sense  of  that  term,  he  has 
worked  his  way  upward  from  a  humble 
position  to  one  of  affluence,  achieving 
prosperity  through  perseverance,  indus- 
try, good  management  and  well-directed 
efforts.  His  e.xample  is  one  well-worthy 
of  emulation,  and  he  is  deserving  of  hon- 
ored mention  in  the  history  of  his  adopted 
country. 


JOHN  C.  FISHER,  son  of  George 
W.  and  Clarissa  (Black)  Fisher,  was 
born  May  i,  1848,  in  Scott  town- 
ship, Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  of  which 
locality  he  is  now  a  prominent  resident. 
When  he  was  a  mere  child  his  parents 
moved  to  Washington  township,  in  the 
same  county,  whence  after  a  residence  of 
two  years  they  went  to  South  Bend,  Ind., 
living  there  one  year.  On  their  return  to 
Ohio  they  lived  in  Washington  township 
eight  months,  then  came  again  to  Scott 
township,  residing  there  two  years,  and 
subsequently  went  to  Jackson  township, 
where  they  lived  about  eight  years. 

During  this  time  our  subject  was  at- 
tending school  in  different  townships,  and 
while  the  family  were  in  Jackson  town- 
ship he  went  to  college  at  Oberlin,  Ohio, 
for  one  term.  In  1869  Mr.  Fisher  went 
to  Ballville  and  commenced  business  for 
himself,  being  engaged  in  teaming  and 
farming.  He  continued  in  this  work  about 
four  years,  and  then  went  to  Newaygo 
county,  Mich.,  there  working  in  a  feed 
store,  where  he  remained  until  the  latter 
part  of  June,  1873,  at  which  time  he  went 
to  Ft.  Scott,  Kans.  Here,  July  3,  1873. 
he  was  married  to  Miss  Celia  Moore,  and 
they  returned  east,  coming    to    Ballville. 


For  six  months  Mr.  Fisher  was  engaged 
in  a  gristmill,  after  which  he  resumed  his 
old  occupation  of  teaming  and  farming, 
working  his  father-in-law's  place  near 
Ballville. 

In  1877  Mr.  Fisher  purchased  a  farm 
of  130  acres  of  land  in  Ballville  township; 
but  as  there  were  no  buildings  on  this 
tract,  he  sold  thirty  acres,  and  purchased 
forty  acres  containing  buildings.  Here  he 
lived  one  year,  when  he  sold  out  and  came 
to  Scott  township.  In  1881  he  purchased 
160  acres  in  Section  8,  and  in  1890  eighty 
acres  in  Section  17,  making  in  all  a  farm 
of  240  acres,  nearly  all  of  which  is  under 
cultivation.  Since  1890  Mr.  Fisher  has 
been  engaged  in  raising  stock,  including 
horses,  cattle,  sheep  and  hogs,  and  he  has 
ready  for  market  yearly  about  five  horses, 
eighty  hogs  and  from  300  to  500  sheep, 
which  he  ships  directly  to  Buffalo  and 
New  York.  In  1880  Mr.  Fisher  leased 
160  acres  to  the  Sun  Oil  Company,  re- 
ceiving $1, 12  i  bonus,  and  one-seventh  of 
the  production  of  oil  from  the  wells;  he 
also  leased  eighty  acres  to  the  Ohio  Oil 
Co.,  receiving  from  them  $1,600  bonus, 
and  one-eighth  of  the  oil.  This  lease  was 
cancelled,  but  he  held  the  bonus,  and  in 
1895  the  whole  farm  was  re-leased,  Mr. 
Fisher  receiving  one-si.\th  of  the  oil. 
There  are  eight  wells  on  the  farm,  each 
averaging  eight  barrels  per  day,  which 
gives  him  an  income  of  about  $6.00  per 
day. 

Mrs.  Celia  (Moore)  Fisher  was  born 
November  7,  1848,  near  Ballville,  San- 
dusky Co.,  Ohio,  and  here  received  her 
early  education,  later  in  life  attending  the 
high  school  at  Fremont,  Ohio,  and  com- 
pleting her  literary  education  at  Delaware, 
Ohio.  She  remained  at  home  with  her 
parents  until  her  marriage  to  Mr.  Fisher, 
July  3,  1873.  They  settled  near  Ballville, 
remaining  in  the  township  until  1880,  in 
which  year  they  sold  out  and  came  to 
Scott  township,  where  they  now  have  one 
of  the  most  delightful  homes  in  Sandusky 
county.     To  their  union    have  come  chil- 


^'  .4'  ^l^ 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPIIWAL  RECORD. 


287 


dren,  whose  names  and  dates  of  birth  are 
as  follows:  Claud,  April  ii,  1874;  Guy, 
October  12,  1875;  Webb,  July  27,1877; 
Jim,  February  i,  1879;  Maud,  December 
23,  1 881;  Blanch,  December  3,  1883; 
Clara,  August  20,  1884;  Bruce  and  Brice, 
November  22,  1886;  Lester,  February  5, 
1888;  and  George,  February  9,  1890,  who 
died  March  10,  1890.  The  rest  of  the 
children  are  at  home  with  their  parents, 
and  have  attended  the  home  school. 

Mrs.  Fisher's  father,  James  Moore, 
was  born  about  1805,  and  died  December 
5,  1873,  being  buried  in  Oakwood  Ceme- 
tery, Sandusky  county;  his  occupation 
was  milling  and  farming.  Her  mother, 
Harriet  (Patterson)  was  born  May  17, 
1810.  This  worthy  couple  reared  a  fam- 
ilj-  of  children,  as  follows:  Orven,  Juli- 
ette, Celliette,  LeRoy,  Manville,  Charles, 
Celia  and  Oriette.  Of  these  four  are  liv- 
ing: Juliette,  now  Mrs.  William  Rice,  of 
Sandusky  county;  Charles,  living  in  San- 
dusky county;  Celia,  now  Mrs.  Fisher; 
and  Oriette,  Mrs.  John  Speller,  of  San- 
dusky county.  Mr.  Fisher  was  a  cousin 
of  the  wife  of  Wid  Inman,  son  of  James 
Innian.  He  was  an  adherent  of  the  Re- 
publican party,  and  served  as  treasurer  of 
Scott  township. 


FREDERICK  G.  BASKEY,  a  pros- 
perous farmer  of  Green  Creek 
township,  Sandusky  county,  was 
born  in  Prussia,  Germany,  May 
30,  1833,  a  son  of  Charles  Baskey,  by  his 
first  wife,  whose  children  were:  John, 
Charles,  Jr.,  and  August,  all  three  dying 
in  Germany;  Frederick  G.,  our  subject; 
Augustina;  and  Minnie.  F"or  his  second 
wife  Charles  Baske\-  married  Miss  Louisa 
Linstead,  and  their  children  were:  Amelia, 
Caroline,  Emma,  and  Robert.  The  pa- 
ternal grandfather  of  our  subject  was  a 
blacksmith  by  trade. 

Our  subject  worked  at  blacksmithing 
in  Germany  nine  years,  and  at  the  age  of 
twenty-four  came  to  America,  landing  at 


New  York  City,  whence  he  came  to  San- 
dusky City,  Ohio,  near  which  place  he 
found  work  on  a  farm,  and  there  remained 
three  years.  He  married  Miss  Henrietta 
Marzke,  who  was  born  March  17,  1836, 
daughter  of  Charles  and  Christena 
(Mugahn)  Marzke,  farmers,  the  former  of 
whom  died  in  Germany  at  the  age  of  six- 
ty-four, the  latter  passing  away  in  San- 
dusky, Ohio,  at  the  same  age.  They  had  six 
children:  Charles;  Henry,  who  died; 
Hannah;  Henrietta,  Mrs.  Baskey;  Chris- 
tena, who  lives  in  Sandusky  township; 
and  Theodore,  in  Rilej'  township.  Our 
subject's  wife  was  nineteen  years  of  age 
when  she  came  to  America.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  F.  G.  Baskey  have  had  children,  as 
follows:  William  H.,  born  February  14, 
1863,  married  to  Emma  Loaesa  Zeigler, 
and  is  a  farmer  in  Green  Creek  township; 
Albert  F. ,  born  April  17,  1865,  now  at 
home,  operating  a  threshing  machine; 
Rosa,  born  September  30,  1868,  died 
April  8,  1878;  Bertha  E.,  born  Septem- 
ber 15,  1870,  died  August  25,  1887; 
Charles  F.,  born  January  7,  1873,  now  at 
home,  working  on  the  farm;  and  Theresa 
M.,  born  October  i,  1875,  living  at 
home. 

Our  subject  and  his  wife  first  settled 
in  Erie  county,  near  Castalia,  where  they 
farmed  one  year,  then  came  to  Sandusky 
count}',  and  here  rented  a  farm  four  years. 
They  then  bought  twenty  acres  of  land, 
and  lived  on  the  same  three  years,  when 
they  sold  it,  and  bought  forty  acres  where 
they  now  reside,  to  which  more  was  add- 
ed, making  130  acres.  They  carry  on 
mixed  farming,  and  they  have  made  val- 
uable improvements  on  their  property, 
having  built  a  substantial  brick  house  and 
a  good-sized  barn.  They  have  given  land 
to  their  sons.  Mr.  Baskey  is  a  Democrat 
in  politics,  and  in  religious  connection  he 
attends  the  Lutheran  Church  at  Fremont. 
He  came  to  this  country  with  nothing  in 
the  way  of  earthly  possessions,  but  has 
secured  a  fair  competence,  by  hard  work 
and  close  economy.      His   wife    formerly 


288 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


worked  in  families,  doing  housework,  at 
$1  per  week,  in  Sandusky  City,  and  he 
worked  on  farms  at  the  rate  of  $io  per 
month. 


WILLIAM  BUMGARDXER,  a 
prosperous  agriculturist  of  Ball- 
ville  township,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, a  native  of  Baden,  Ger- 
many, was  born  August  5,  1845,  a  son  of 
John  and  Rosa  (Harter)  Bumgardner, 
both  of  whom  died  in  the  Fatherland. 
Their  children  were  as  follows:  (i) 
Mary,  wife  of  Jacob  Naus,  a  farmer  of 
Sandusky  county,  whose  children  are 
William,  who  married  a  Miss  Bowlus,  and 
lives  in  Edwards  count}',  Kans.,  and 
George,  who  married  Miss  Sarah  lams, 
and  lives  in  Washington  township,  San- 
dusky Co.,  Ohio.  (2)  Louisa,  wife  of 
Jacob  Frentzel,  whose  children  are  Will- 
iam, Fred,  Louisa,  Minnie,  Hattie;  Mr. 
Frentzel  died  in  1892,  and  is  buried  in 
Oakwood  Cemetery;  and  (3)  William, 
our  subject.  John  Bumgardner  set  out 
for  America  with  his  family  in  1847,  and 
after  a  voyage  of  forty  days  landed  in 
New  York,  whence,  after  a  brief  sojourn, 
he  came  to  Sandusky  City,  Ohio,  where 
he  visited  friends.  He  then  located  at 
Fremont,  where  he  worked  at  his  trade 
of  shoemaking  about  two  years,  and  then 
moved  to  Washington  township,  where 
he  bought  a  piece  of  land  on  which  he  re- 
mained a  year,  after  which  he  went 
farther  west. 

Our  subject,  William  Bumgardner,  at 
the  age  of  thirteen  went  out  to  work 
among  farmers,  and  after  working  thirteen 
years  he  married,  September  22,  1882, 
Miss  Anna  Ott,  who  was  born  September 
29,  1850.  He  then  rented  a  piece  of 
ground  from  Emanuel  Wingert,  which 
he  worked  on  shares  some  fifteen  years. 
He  next  bought  eighty  acres  of  land  from 
Hiram  Pool,  for  $6,000,  where  he  has 
since  resided.  His  mother  lived  with  his 
family  some  years  pre^■ious  to  her  death. 


which  occurred  February  3,  1883,  when 
she  was  aged  eighty  years.  Mr.  Bum- 
gardner's  wife's  brothers  and  sisters  were: 
(i)  William  Ott,  who  was  a  soldier  and 
was  killed  in  the  civil  war;  (2)  Sarah,  born 
August  22,  1844,  wife  of  Elias  Babione, 
a  farmer;  Charles  Ott,  born  April  26, 
1847,  married  to  Sarah  Jackman,  and 
their  children  are — Clara,  Frank,  Eva 
and  Virgie.  The  children  of  William 
and  Ann  Bumgardner  are:  Minnie,  born 
September  12,  1S72,  married  March  14, 
1894,  to  King  Hiett;  Rosa,  born  April 
26,  1874;  William,  born  December  18, 
1878;  Wesley,  born  August  8,  1883,  and 
Mabel,  born  November  16,  1888. 


JOHN   W.   MELLISH,  a  well-known 
resident  of  Fremont,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, was  born  in  Port   Clinton,  Otta- 
wa Co. ,  Ohio,  October  8,  1 86 1 ,  a  son 
of  John  and  Martha  (Granger)  Mellish. 

Our  subject's  father  was  born  in  To- 
ronto, Canada,  January  7,  1825,  and  came 
with  his  parents,  in  183  3,  to  Ottawa  county, 
where  they  located  on  a  farm  in  Bay  town- 
ship on  which  he  spent  the  rest  of  his  life. 
He  was  for  many  years  a  Republican,  and 
a  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church.  Our 
subject's  paternal  grandfather,  a  native  of 
Lancashire,  England,  emigrated  to  Cana- 
da, and  thence  moved  to  Ohio.  Our  sub- 
ject's mother  was  born  in  Columbiana 
county,  Penn.,  September  I,  1833.  After 
the  death  of  her  parents  she  came  with 
friends  to  Ottawa  county,  where  she  was 
married  February  10,  1853;  her  death  oc- 
curred April  22,  1881 ;  she  was  a  member 
of  the  M.  E.  Church.  The  children  of 
John  and  Martha  Mellish  were:  James, 
born  September  5,  1854,  died  December 
3,  1857;  Harriet,  born  September  22, 
1857,  died  March  12,  1859;  William  A., 
born  June  i,  1859,  now  a  grocer  at  Port 
Clinton,  Ohio;  John  W.,  our  subject; 
Clare  J.,  born  January  26,  1864,  wife  of 
Peter  Bradshaw.  of  Chicago,  III. ;  Martha 
E. ,    born  August  11,   1871,  died   May  6, 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


289 


1872;  and  Newton  A.,  born  February  4, 
1874,  now  clerk  in  a  store  at  Fremont, 
Ohio. 

J.  W.  Mellish  grew  up  in  Port  Clin- 
ton, Ohio,  where  he  graduated  from  the 
high  school.  He  then  left  home  to  be- 
come a  sailor  before  the  mast  for  about 
two  years  on  the  lakes,  after  which  he 
went  to  railroading  as  brakeman  on  the 
L.  S.  &  M.  S.  railroad  for  one  year.  He 
next  worked  as  butcher  at  Port  Clinton 
for  some  time,  and  then  kept  a  restau- 
rant. Having  sold  out  his  stand,  he  went 
to  learn  the  molder's  trade,  and  worked 
in  the  Wm.  M.  Whitley  shops,  Spring- 
field, Ohio,  one  year.  In  1889  he  came 
to  Fremont,  and  opened  up  a  saloon  and 
restaurant  on  Front  street,  which  he  still 
keeps,  with  a  liberal  patronage.  He  is 
an  excellent  specimen  of  physical  man- 
hood, being  over  six  feet  tall,  and  weigh- 
ing 225  pounds.  He  inherits  the  true 
doggedness  of  character  and  stubborn 
persistence  of  the  old  Anglo-Saxon  people. 

In  1885,  Mr.  Mellish  married  Miss 
Lydia  .Hodge,  who  was  born  in  Kenton, 
Hardin  Co.,  Ohio,  in  1865,  a  daughter  of 
George  and  Rachel  (Skelenger)  Hodge. 
She  died  April  12,  1894,  at  Fremont, 
Ohio.  Her  father,  who  was  a  farmer, 
was  born  in  Columbiana  county,  and  her 
mother  in  Hardin  county,  Ohio,  where 
she  died  at  the  age  of  forty-one  years. 
They  had  a  family  of  nine  children,  five 
of  whom  are  now  living. 


GEORGE  O.  HARLAN,  veterin- 
ary surgeon,  Fremont,  Sandusky 
county,  is  a  native  of  Cumber- 
land county,  Penn.,  born  Novem- 
ber II,  1836.  His  paternal  ancestors 
came  from  England  to  North  America  in 
Colonial  days.  In  1687  two  brothers, 
George  and  Michael  Harlan,  located  in 
what  is  now  Chester  county,  Penn.  In 
later  years  that  branch  of  the  family 
to  which  our  subject  belongs  removed 
to  Baltimore,  Md.,  where  his  grandfather, 


Samuel  Harlan,  was  born,  and  whose 
children  were:  Hannah,  born  February 
27,  1794;  Samuel,  born  December  7, 1795; 
Sallie,  born  October  3,  1797;  Elizabeth, 
born  August  i,  1800;  George,  born  Decem- 
ber 8,  1802;  Mary,  born  December  22, 
1804;  and  John,  (subject's  father),  born 
July  14,  1808 — all  born  in  Baltimore, 
Maryland. 

John  Harlan  early  earned  the  trade  of 
hatter,  and  going  to  Adams  county,  Penn., 
engaged  in  business  as  a  commission  mer- 
chant. He  subsequently  located  in  Cum- 
berland county,  Penn. ,  and  followed  the 
commission  business  there  for  many  years. 
This  was  in  the  early  days  when  large 
merchants  owned  their  own  cars,  and 
the  railroad  companies  furnished  engines 
to  haul  the  cars.  In  later  years  he  was 
not  fortunate  in  business,  and  finally  re- 
tired from  it  altogether.  During  the  past 
nine  years  he  has  had  his  home  with  his 
son,  George  O.,  at  Fremont,  Ohio.  Our 
subject's  mother  was  a  Miss  Jane  McEl- 
wee,  born  in  Cumberland  county,  Penn., 
June  16,  1847,  and  died  in  1876.  Before 
her  marriage  to  John  Harlan  she  had 
been  married  to  a  Mr.  Marshall,  by  whom 
she  had  two  children:  Francis,  who  lives 
in  Chambersburg,  Penn.;  and  James  A., 
of  Philadelphia.  By  her  marriage  to 
John  Harlan,  subject's  father,  there  were 
three  children:  George  O. ;  Henry  Addi- 
son, born  January  10,  1841,  a  soldier  in 
the  Union  army  during  the  Civil  war;  and 
Emma,  born  June  10,  1845,  ^lied  June 
23,  1884. 

Dr.  George  O,  Harlan  grew  to  man- 
hood in  Cumberland  county,  Penn., 
where  he  learned  the  trade  of  copper- 
smith. Later  on  he  took  up  the  study  of 
veterinary  surgery,  under  a  preceptor,  at- 
tended a  veterinary  college  at  Philadel- 
phia, Penn.,  graduating  from  same  in 
i860.  He  soon  after  took  a  trip  west- 
ward and  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil 
war  found  him  at  Rochester,  Ind.  In 
1862  he  joined  the  Fourth  Cavalrj\  Sev- 
enty-seventh Regiment  of  Indiana  Volun- 


290 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


teers,  and  at  Perryville,  Ky.,  he  was  in- 
jured by  the  falling  of  his  horse.  As  soon 
as  he  was  again  fit  for  service  he  was  ap- 
pointed veterinary  surgeon  by  the  United 
States  Government,  and  served  in  the 
horse  hospitals  in  Pennsylvania.  At  the 
close  of  the  war  he  was  appointed  to  as- 
sist in  selling  the  useless  supplies  which 
the  government  had  accumulated,  con- 
sisting of  horses,  saddles,  blankets,  etc. 
One  of  his  shipments  brought  him  to  Ohio. 
He  remained  in  Toledo  a  short  period, 
then  came  to  Fremont,  where  he  opened 
work  in  his  profession,  and  decided  to 
make  his  home.  After  locating  at  Fre- 
mont, Dr.  Harlan  traveled  during  the 
most  part  of  the  succeeding  ten  years  and 
delivered  lectures  on  the  Comparative 
Anatomy  of  the  Horse.  He  doubled  In- 
diana and  Michigan  a  couple  of  times, 
making  nearly  everj'  town  in  each  State, 
and  also  nearly  all  the  towns  and  cities 
in  Ohio,  Illinois,  Iowa,  Kentucky  and  the 
State  of  New  York.  Early  in  his  work 
he  wrote  and  published  a  book,  entitled 
"  Harlan's  Illustrated  Horseman's  Guide." 
which  was  afterward  re-written,  and  en- 
larged to  a  book  of  more  than  200  pages. 
More  than  50,000  of  these  books  have 
been  sold,  and  they  are  still  in  great  de- 
mand, being  considered  among  the  best 
works  on  the  horse  ever  published.  Many 
years  ago  he  opened  a  horse  hospital  in 
Fremont,  and  his  efforts  to  build  up  an 
interest  in  horses  have  been  quite  success- 
ful: He  has  of  late  years  been  called  re- 
peatedly to  nearly  every  great  horse  cen- 
ter in  the  country,  on  special  missions, 
being  a  specialist  in  horse  surgery. 

On  March  6,  1856,  Dr.  George  O.  Har- 
lan was  married  to  Miss  Adline  McGuire,of 
Cumberland  county,  Penn.,  who  died 
January  7,  1865,  leaving  two  children — 
Alice  (now  Mrs.  O.  E.  Jones),  and  Serelda 
(now  Mrs.  H.  Hale).  On  May  4,  1866, 
Dr.  Harlan  married  Miss  Harriet  Hollis, 
of  Monroeville,  Ohio,  and  three  children 
have  been  born  to  them,  viz. :  Hulda 
(now  Mrs.  J.  H.  Comstock,  of  New  York 


City),  Nora  (now  Mrs.  A.  S.  Close,  of 
Toledo),  and  John  M.  (at  home  with  his 
parents).  Dr.  Harlan  is  a  member  of 
the  G.  A.  R.,  F.  &  A.  M.  and  I.  O.  O.  F. 


JOHN      WENDLER.      Among     the 
prominent  and  substantial  citizens  of 
Madison  township,  Sandusky  county, 
is  found  the  gentleman  whose  name 
he're  appears,  and  who  was  born  in  Wurt- 
emberg,  Germany,  July   13,  1827. 

His  parents,  John  and  Catherine  (Sny- 
der) Wendler,  had  two  children — Barbara 
and  John.  John  \\'endler,  Sr. ,  who  was 
a  blacksmith  by  trade,  died  when  his  son 
was  a  boy,  after  which  his  widow  married 
Casper  Freman,  in  Switzerland,  and  they 
had  two  daughters.  John  ^^'e^dler,  Jr., 
was  two  years  of  age  when  his  mother 
married  Mr.  Freman.  He  then  went  to 
Switzerland  to  live,  remaining  there  until 
1854.  when,  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven, 
he  set  out  for  the  United  States.  Coming 
to  Ohio,  he  located  in  Ballville  township, 
Sandusky  county,  and  was  employed  in  a 
woolen-factory  from  1854  till  1857,  after 
which  he  worked  on  a  farm  by  the  month 
for  four  years.  In  1861  he  bought  forty 
acres  in  Woodville  township,  Sandusky 
county,  and  commenced  clearing.  In 
1872  he  traded  this  forty-acre  tract  for 
eighty  acres  in  Madison  township,  and  in 
the  same  year  bought  eighty  acres  more, 
northwest  of  Gibsonburg,  on  which  he 
lived  until  1890,  when  he  purchased  the 
twenty-five  acres  whereon  he  now  lives. 

On  November  27,  1854,  John  Wendler 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Marj"  Brooker, 
who  was  born  March  26,  1832,  in  Switzer- 
land, and  they  had  six  children,  of  whom 
Albert,  born  April  8,  1856,  married  Mary 
Walter,  and  has  had  five  children;  Mary, 
born  July  29, 1858, married  Fred  Driftmey- 
er,  and  has  had  two  children  (they  live  in 
Washington  township,  Sandusky  county); 
Amelia,  born  October  11,  1864,  married 
John  Callahan,  and  died  July  18,  1890, 
at  the  age  of  twenty-five  years;  John  W., 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


291 


born  November  28,  1866,  lives  at  home; 
tmma  L. ,  born  October  8,  1869,  died 
September  15,  1891;  Caroline  Sophia, 
born  July  10,  1875,  died  November  25, 
1878.  Mrs.  Wendler's  parents,  Henry 
and  Susan  (Meddler)  Brooker,  were  born 
in  Switzerland.  Mr.  Wendler  is  a  Re- 
publican in  politics,  has  several  times 
been  honored  with  public  office,  and  at 
present  is  serving  his  second  term  as 
township  trustee.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
German  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
and  is  much  respected. 


PETER     KENAN,    a    well-known 
farmer  of  Jackson  township,  San- 
dusky county,  "was  born  November 
2,   1829,  in  Perry  county,  Ohio,  a 
son    of    Silas    and    Barbara    (Overmyer) 
Kenan. 

Silas  Kenan  was  born  February  3, 
1 80 1,  near  Wheeling,  W.  Va.  His  father 
was  a  native  of  County  Derry,  Ireland, 
and  came  to  America  when  a  small  boy, 
settling  in  Virginia.  James  married 
Catherine  Yost,  by  whom  he  had  children 
— si.xteen  in  number — as  follows:  Silas, 
Margaret,  Phiebe,  Samuel,  John,  Peter, 
Robert,  Nancy,  Emeline,  James,  Rebecca, 
Juliann,  Sarah  Ann,  Melissa,  Henry  and 
Catherine.  After  marriage  James  Kenan 
moved  to  Perry  county,  Ohio,  and  thence 
to  Tymochtee  township,  Wyandot  county, 
later  removing  to  Illinois,  finally,  how- 
ever, settling  in  Bettsville,  Ohio,  where 
he  died  in  1856.  His  wife  died  a  year 
later  at  the  home  of  a  daughter  in  Mis- 
souri. The  parents  of  Mrs.  Silas  Kenan 
were  natives  of  Harrisburg,  Penn.,  and 
their  children  were:  Hugh,  Margaret, 
Barbara,  Polly,  Eva,  Lewis,  Catherine, 
Elizabeth  and  Peter. 

Peter  Kenan  in  his  youth  came  from 
Perry  county  to  Sandusky  county,  Ohio, 
where  he  engaged  in  the  arduous  labors 
of  pioneer  farming,  and  where,  in  Jack- 
son township,  he  owns  1 20  acres  of  land 
in  a  good   state  of  cultivation.      He  is  a 


Republican  in  politics,  and  has  held  various 
civic  offices.  In  the  Civil  war  he  was  a 
volunteer  in  Company  H,  One  Hundred 
and  Si.xty-ninth  Regiment  O.  V.  I.,  and 
was  stationed  at  Fort  Ethan  Allen,  Vir- 
ginia, in  the  summer  of  1864.  On  May 
4,  1856,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Sarah 
Ann  Hodgson,  born  in  Herkimer  county, 
N.  Y.,  November  19,  1835,  daughter  of 
Rev.  W^illiam  Hodgson,  who  was  a  sol- 
dier in  the  war  of  1812.  To  this  union 
was  born,  March  11,  1857,  one  son — 
William  Manville — who  on  October  i, 
1 878,  married  Miss  Sylvia  Ann,  a  daughter 
of  Rev.  John  W.  Powell,  of  Fostoria, 
Ohio,  and  they  have  a  son,  John  Peter 
Kenan,  born  February  24,   1887. 


CHARLES  DELBERT  KENAN, 
a  son  of  George  W^  and  Eliza- 
beth (Posey)  Kenan,  was  born  in 
Jackson  township,  Sandusky  Co., 
Ohio,  January  15,  1858,  and  is  of  Ger- 
man and  Irish  lineage,  his  great-grand- 
father being  a  native  of  the  Emerald  Isle. 
His  father  was  born  July  31,  1824,  in 
Perry  county,  Ohio.  His  mother  was 
born  August  20,  1832,  in  Hartley  town- 
ship, Wayne  Co.,  Penn.,  and  came  with 
her  parents  to  Ohio  during  her  early  girl- 
hood. His  father  and  mother  are  now 
living  a  retired  life.  They  became  the 
parents  of  seven  children,  as  follows: 
Barbara,  who  was  born  December  10, 
1852,  and  died  in  infancy;  Oran,  who  was 
born  December  7,  1853,  and  lives  in  the 
city  of  Fremont,  Ohio;  Lodema,  who  was 
born  November  i,  1856,  and  is  the  wife 
of  Michael  Maurer,  a  resident  farmer  of 
Jackson  township,  Sandusky  county,  by 
whom  she  has  three  children — Charles, 
Louis  and  Webb;  Charles  Delbert,  sub- 
ject of  sketch;  Marshall  A.,  a  farmer  of 
Jackson  township,  born  Maj'  17,  i860; 
Lorina,  born  October  27,  1862,  now  the 
wife  of  Elijah  Voorhees;  George,  born  on 
the  old  homestead,  July  10,  1864,  and  yet 
living  there. 


292 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Charles  Delbert  Kenan  was  reared  to 
manhood  under  the  parental  roof,  spend- 
ing the  days  of  his  boyhood  in  a  manner 
not  unlike  that  of  other  farmer  lads  of 
that  locality.  After  arriving  at  years  of 
maturity,  he  was  married,  in  1880,  to  Miss 
Mar}'  M.  Cookson,  a  teacher  in  the  com- 
mon schools,  having  taught  seven  terms, 
daughter  of  William  and  Rose  (Metzger) 
Cookson,  who  were  natives  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  came  to  Ohio  in  its  pioneer 
days.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kenan  have  no  chil- 
dren of  their  own,  but  have  an  adopted 
daughter — Frances  Fleeta  Kenan — whom 
thej'  are  tenderly  rearing. 

Upon  his  marriage  our  subject  re- 
moved with  his  bride  to  Scott  township, 
Sandusk}'  county,  where  he  rented  his 
father's  farm,  and  remained  for  about  two 
months.  He  then  came  to  Washington 
township,  and  purchased  sixtj'  acres, 
carrying  on  agricultural  pursuits  there  for 
nine  years,  when  he  sold  his  property, 
and  purchased  seventy-four  acres  of  land, 
constftuting  his  present  farm.  Upon  this 
place  are  four  good  oil  wells,  with  a  fair 
flow,  and  these  net  him  considerable 
profit,  adding  not  a  little  to  his  income. 
His  carefully  managed  business  interests 
have  brought  him  success,  and  his  fair 
and  honorable  dealing  have  gained  for 
him  the  confidence  and  good  will  of  all 
with  whom  he  has  come  in  contact.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  discharging  all 
his  duties  of  citizenship  with  promptness 
and  fidelity. 


EXOS  J.  GROVER,  a  well-known 
farmer  of  Sandusky  county,  was 
born    in  Green   Creek  township, 
that  county,  October   23,  1841,  a 
son    of    Truman     and     Caroline  (Swart) 
Grover. 

Truman  Grover  was  born  in  Genesee 
county,  N.  V.,  March  13,  1810,  a  son  of 
Silas  and  Sallie  (Williams)  Grover,  the 
former  of  whom  was  born  in  17S2,  in 
Cayuga  county,  N.  Y. ,  where  he  grew  to 


manhood.  His  father  died  in  1843,  and 
his  mother — who  was  of  \\'elch  descent, 
and  who  in  her  younger  days  lived  on  the 
banks  of  the  Susquehanna  river,  in  New 
York  State — lived  to  be  eighty-one  years 
old.  Silas  Grover  married  at  the  age  of 
twenty-five,  built  a  log  house,  cleared  up 
a  farm,  and  reared  a  family  of  children. 
In  1 826  he  came  by  steamer  with  his  fam- 
ily from  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  to  Sandusky 
City,  and  thence  overland  through  the 
woods  to  Sandusky  county,  where  he  set- 
tled on  a  farm  of  eighty  acres,  for  which  he 
had  traded  sixty  acres  in  York  State,  and 
received  $100  to  boot,  which  paid  his 
moving  expenses.  Here  he  followed  farm- 
ing twelve  years,  and  then  moved  to 
another  farm  farther  from  Hamer's  Cor- 
ners (now  Clyde).  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Universalist  Church,  and  in  politics  a 
Democrat.  The  children  of  Silas  and 
Sallie  Grover  were  as  follows:  Messa, 
who  died  at  Fremont  February  28,  1894, 
at  the  age  of  ninety-four;  Truman,  father 
of  our  subject;  John,  who  lives  in  Branch 
county,  Mich.,  aged  eighty-two;  Orson, 
living  at  Hillsdale,  Mich.,  aged  seventy- 
seven;  Samuel,  living  at  the  same  place, 
aged  seventy-three;  Harriet,  who  died 
leaving  several  children;  and  Lydia, -wife 
of  Clark  Cleveland. 

Truman  Grover  came  to  Sandusky 
county  at  the  age  of  sixteen.  His  oppor- 
tunities for  getting  even  a  common-school 
education  were  very  meager.  On  March 
12,  1835,  he  married  Miss  Caroline 
Swart,  who  was  born  in  Herkimer  coun- 
ty, N.  Y.,  October  3,  1818,  and  to  their 
union  came  eight  children:  Eunice,  born 
December  10,  1835,  who  became  the  wife 
of  W.  T.  Perrin,  and  their  children  are 
Perry,  William,  Frank,  Fannie  and  Burt; 
of  these.  Perry  married  Minerva  Youngs, 
and  has  four  children — Leo,  Lestia,  Le- 
Roy  and  another;  William  married,  and 
has  four  children;  Frank  married,  and  has 
two  children.  Milo  married  Lucy  Perrin, 
and  has  seven  children — Addie,  Ralph, 
Pearl  (who  is  married  and  has  two  chil- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


293; 


dren),  Grace,  Chrisence,  Myrtle  and  an- 
other; Frank  married  Jane  Diiesler,  and 
has  two  children,  Minnie  and  Charlie;  he 
lives  in  Chicago,  111.  Enos  J.  is  the  sub- 
ject proper  of  these  lines.  Margaret  is 
the  wife  of  D.  Clapp,  of  Fremont,-  Ohio, 
and  has  three  children — Emmitt,  Gertrude 
and  Horace.  Melvina  is  the  wife  of  M. 
Hart,  of  Green  Spring,  Ohio,  and  has 
three  children — Victory,  Milo  and  another; 
Ella  is  the  wife  of  James  Raymond,  and 
their  children  are  Winfred  and  Jay.  Ran- 
som died  when  twent}'  years  of  age. 

Enos  J.  Grover  was  reared  on  a  farm, 
and  during  his  youth  attended  the  coun- 
try and  village  schools.  He  lives  in  one 
of  the  garden  spots  of  northern  Ohio.  He 
is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  socially  is 
a  member  of  the  Royal  Arcanum,  at  Clyde, 
Ohio.  In  i860  he  married  Miss  Angeline 
Adams,  and  five  children  have  been  born 
to  them:  Nora  (wife  of  LeRoy  Lee,  whose 
children  are  Margaret  and  Davis),  Ran- 
som, Claude,  Byron  and  Truman. 

Truman  Grover,  father  of  our  subject, 
was  an  enthusiastic  member  of  the  San- 
dusky County  Pioneer  and  Historical  So- 
ciety, and  on  October  11,  1890,  at  its  an- 
nual meeting,  held  in  Fremont,  gave  an 
interesting  account  of  his  pioneer  e.xperi- 
ences.  a  report  of  which  was  published  in 
the  Fremont  /oitrna/,  from  which  we 
here  give  a  few  items.  Mr.  Grover,  among 
other  things,  said: 

I  moved  from  the  State  of  New  York  with 
ray  father,  in  1826,  at  the  ag-e  of  si.xteen.  Our 
farming  at  first  went  verj'  slow.  We  cut  most 
of  our  j,'rain  with  sickles,  as  we  thought 
the  cradles  wasted  too  much.  We  preferred 
to  cut  and  lay  it  down  by  handfuls.  The  sec- 
ond year  my  father  fi.xed  a  cradle  to  a  grass 
scythe  that  worked  pretty  well.  We  threshed 
our  grain  by  tramping  it  out  with  o.xen,  or 
beating  it  out  with  flails  or  cudgels:  we  kept  at 
it  all  winter  and  fed  the  straw  to  our  live  stock. 
We  hauled  the  grain  to  town  and  exchanged  it 
for  goods,  and  the  merchants  sent  the  grain 
east  by  boat  in  exchange  for  goods.  One 
of  our  first  merchants  was  Mr.  Olmstead,  who 
carried  on  a  large  business  with  very  little 
money,  by  his  system  of  exchange.  We  could 
not  get  any  money  at  that  time.  After  a  while 
things  changed,  and  we  got  money,  and 
threshing  machines  and  railroads,  so  that  we 


did  not  need  to  wait  for  the  lake  to  open  up  in 
the  spring  to  market  our  grain.  I  feel  pretty 
well  to-day,  for  a  man  who  is  eighty  years  old, 
and  has  done  an  awful  sight  of  hard  work.  We 
seemed  to  have  more  leisure  time  for  hunting- 
and  fishing  and  sporting  in  the  early  days  than 
we  have  now.  We  could  shoot  wild  ducks, 
geese  and  turkeys,  and  wild  hogs  in  abundance. 
We  got  S3  per  hundred  for  wild  pork  in  Lower 
Sandu.sky.  I  was  not  much  of  a  deer  hunter. 
The  deer  had  such  sharp  eyes  that  I  could  not 
see  them  before  they  saw  me.  When  the 
Twelve-mile  Reservation  was  sold  by  the  Indi- 
ans and  they  moved  away,  the  white  people 
came  in  and  bought  homes,  and  then  we  got 
money  and  all  business  brightened  up.  Those 
Indians  are  now  in  the  Indian  Territory  on  No 
Man's  Land.  Our  people  here  are  now  away 
ahead  of  the  early  times.  I  don't  suppose  that 
there  is  a  depot  between  Cleveland  and  Toledo 
that  ships  as  much  of  different  kinds  of  fruit  as 
Clyde.  The  pioneer  price  of  corn  used  to  be  18 
cents,  r.ve  20  cents,  wheat  50  cents.  In  1833-34 
we  got  $2.10  for  wheat. 


ORION  VAN  DOREN,  a  progressive 
young  farmer  of  York  township, 
Sandusky  county,  is  a  son  of  Ed- 
win and  Zeruiah  Van  Doren,  and 
was  born  in  Green  Creek  township,  San- 
dusky county,  September  3,  1858.  He 
is  of  Dutch  extraction  on  his  father's 
side,  his  ancestors  having  come  from 
Holland  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty 
years  ago.  His  mother  is  of  Scotch  de- 
scent. 

Abraham  Van  Doren,  grandfather  of 
the  subject  of  these  lines,  was  born  about 
1805,  in  a  town  in  New  Jersey,  which 
then  contained  but  few  houses.  Coming 
to  Lower  Sandusky  (now  Fremont),  San- 
dusky Co.,  Ohio,  he  followed  his  vocation 
of  shoemaker  for  many  years,  and  then  re- 
moved to  a  farm  in  Green  Creek  town- 
ship, where  he  passed  the  remainder  of 
his  life.  Edwin  Van  Doren,  who  was  a 
son  of  Abraham  Van  Doren,  was  born  in 
Fremont,  August  14,  1829,  and  in  1854 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Zeruiah 
Gray,  who  was  born  in  Oswego,  N.  Y. , 
August  13,  1832.  They  have  had  seven 
children,  as  follows:  Allen,  who  is  on  a 
farm  in  Green  Creek  township;  Orion, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Ida,  now  Mrs.. 


294 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


John  Hyatt,  living  west  of  Fremont;  Sid- 
ney, in  Green  Creek  township;  Jennie, 
now  Mrs.  John  Langton;  Clara,  now 
Mrs.  William  Pack,  living  at  Centreville, 
Mich. ;  and  Lucy,  now  Mrs.  H.  G.  Huff- 
man, living  at  Clyde,  Green  Creek  town- 
ship, Sandusky,  Co. ,  Ohio.  Mr.  Van  Doren 
has  always  been  an  active  Republican 
since  the  founding  of  the  party.  He  was 
in  the  hundred-day  service  in  the  war  of 
the  Rebellion,  upon  his  discharge  re-en- 
listing in  the  Fifty-fifth  O.  V.  I.,  and  was 
with  Sherman  on  his  famous  march  to 
the  sea.  He  was  mustered  out  at  Camp 
Dennison,  near  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Van  Doren  are  now  living  at 
Clyde,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio. 

Orion  Van  Doren  attended  the  Fre- 
mont school  one  term  after  leaving  the 
district  school,  then  went  to  the  high 
school  at  Ch'de  one  year,  and  the  follow- 
ing year  took  a  short  course  at  Ada;  but 
his  father  had  need  of  his  services,  so  he 
left  school  and  remained  at  home  until 
his  marriage.  On  April  14,  1884,  he 
wedded  Miss  Emma  White,  who  was 
born  March  8, 1868,  and  they  have  had  two 
children,  namely:  Zeruiah,  who  was  born 
March  25,  1886,  and  is  at  present  at- 
tending the  Clyde  schools,  and  Marj' 
Ruth,  born  December  16,  1893.  Mrs. 
Van  Doren's  father,  William  White,  a 
son  of  Lyton  White,  was  born  in  New 
York  State  in  1827,  and  in  1S55  married 
Mary  Kettle,  who  was  born  in  Townsend 
township  in  1832.  They  had  the  follow- 
ing named  children:  Samuel;  George, 
now  deceased;  Sarah,  wife  of  Morris 
McGraw,  of  Albany,  N.  Y. ;  Lillian,  wife 
of  A.  J.  Smith,  of  Clyde;  Marguerite, 
deceased;  Mary,  wife  of  Sidney  Van- 
Doren;  Emma,  now  Mrs.  Orion  Van- 
Doren;  Lucinda,  deceased;  and  Anna, 
wife  of  George  Mason.  In  1862  the 
family  moved  from  Erie  county,  Ohio, 
where  they  had  made  their  home  for 
many  years,  to  Townsend  township,  and 
from  there  to  York  township,  where  Mrs. 
White    died     August    26,     1872.        Mr. 


White  continued  to  manage  his  farm  of 
600  acres  until  March  26,  1887,  when  he, 
too,  passed  away.  Mr.  Van  Doren  votes 
the  Republican  ticket.  For  the  past  five 
years  he  has  made  an  annual  hunting 
excursion  to  northern  Michigan,  and  his 
home  is  nicely  decorated  with  antlers  and 
other  trophies  that  attest  to  his  skill  as  a 
marksman. 


H 


ON.  GEORGE  F.  ALDRICH. 
Foremost  among  Sandusky  coun- 
ty's representative  men  of  to-day 
stands  Hon.  George  F.  Aldrich, 
a  truly  self-made  man.  He  is  the  son  of 
Hiram  H.  and  Ellen  (Donnell)  Aldrich, 
and  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Scott  township, 
Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  February  26,  1857. 
Like  many  a  farmer's  boy  he  was  obliged 
to  work  in  the  summer  time,  while  during 
the  winter  seasons  he  was  permitted  to  at- 
tend the  district  school.  Determined  to 
obtain  an  education,  he  diligently  perse- 
vered, and  finally  attended  for  some  time 
the  Normal  School  at  Fostoria,  Ohio, 
afterward  attending  a  Normal  in  Mans- 
field, Ohio. 

At  an  early  age  he  was  among  the 
most  successful  teachers  in  Sandusky 
county,  and  has  followed  that  profession 
for  twenty  years.  The  township  of  Scott, 
recognizing  his  ability,  elected  him  jus- 
tice of  the  peace,  which  position  he  held 
for  nine  years;  he  was  also  census  enumer- 
ator of  the  township  in  1880,  and  served 
on  the  board  of  county  e.xaminers"  for 
four  years.  Having  successfully  filled 
every  position  to  which  he  had  been 
called,  his  fellow-citizens,  being  desirous 
of  conferring  still  further  honors  upon 
him,  in  1891  sent  him  as  a  representative 
of  Sandusky  county  at  the  State  Legisla-  ■ 
ture  on  the  Democratic  ticket,  his  oppo- 
nent being  Mr.  J.  L.  Hart.  This  in- 
cumbency he  also  filled  with  his  well- 
known  abilit\'  and  customary  success.  On 
his  return  from  the  legislature  he  devoted 


J^- 


^^^^^<^^ 


/ 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOOBAPHWAL  RECORD. 


295 


the  greater  part  of  his  time  to  teaching. 
During  the  summer  months  he  conducted 
a  normal  school  at  Tinney,  having  some 
forty  pupils,  many  of  whom  are  teachers. 
In  addition  to  his  profession  he  also  di- 
rected the  work  on  the  farm  at  Tinney. 
In  the  fall  of  1893  Mr.  Aldrich  was  again 
nominated  for  the  Legislature  on  the 
Democratic  ticket,  his  opponent  being 
George  F.  Keefer,  and  by  whom  he  was 
defeated  in  1893.  In  the  1895  campaign 
Mr.  Aldrich  carried  the  county,  defeating 
Mr.  Iveefer,  his  opponent  of  1893,  not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  the  political 
aspect  of  the  county  has  materially 
changed  since  the  1891  election. 

On  March  7,  1878,  Mr.  Aldrich  was 
married  to  Miss  Eulalie  Adelaide  Tinnej', 
of  Tinnej',  Ohio,  and  to  them  have  come 
three  children:  May  Bordelle  and  Mabel, 
born  December  10,  1878  (Mabel  died  in 
infancy);  and  Rufus  Haven  Scott,  born 
December  22,  1886.  Of  these  May  re- 
ceived a  teacher's  certificate  in  Sandusky 
county  when  only  fourteen  years  old, 
but  poor  health  has  prevented  her  from 
teaching;  she  has  given  the  study  of  music 
considerable  attention.  Mrs.  Aldrich,  the 
estimable  wife  of  our  subject,  was  born  at 
Tinney,  Ohio,  November  21,  1857,  and 
received  her  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  that  place.  Her  mother  died 
when  she  was  young,  which  deprived  her 
of  the  advantages  that  she  otherwise 
might  have  obtained. 

The  father  of  our  subject  was  born  in 
Rhode  Island,  in  1836,  and  when  he  was 
six  years  old  his  parents  came  to  Ohio, 
where,  with  the  exception  of  six  years 
spent  in  Kansas,  he  has  since  resided.  On 
February  29,  1864,  he  enlisted  in  Com- 
pany D,  Third  O.  V.  C. ,  and  was  mus- 
tered out  of  the  service  at  the  close  of  the 
war.  In  his  family  were  five  children: 
John,  Mary  (now  Mrs.  J.  W.  Hudson,  of 
Tinney),  George  F.  (our  subject),  Charles 
A.,  and  Jackson.  Our  subject's  mother 
was  a  native  of  Scott  township,  Sandusky 

countv.  where  she  spent  her  entire  life  ex- 
i9 


cept  a  few  years  in  Kansas,  in  which  State 
she  died,  October  9,  1887,  at  the  age  of 
fifty-seven.  Mr.  Aldrich's  paternal  grand- 
father, Nero  Aldrich,  was  born  in  Rhode 
Island,  and  spent  the  greater  part  of  his 
life  in  Scott  township,  where  he  died.  He 
was  twice  married,  the  grandmother  of 
our  subject  being  his  second  wife.  The 
maternal  grandmother  was  born  in  Noble 
county,  Ohio,  and  died  in  Kansas  in  1895. 
She  was  three  times  married,  her  last  hus- 
band being  Nero  Aldrich. 

Among  the  pioneers  of  Scott  town- 
ship is  the  father  of  Mrs.  Aldrich,  Darwin 
Scott  Tinney.  He  was  born  September 
18,  1826,  in  New  York  State,  where  he 
lived  until  eight  years  of  age,  and  then 
with  his  parents  came  to  Lenawee  county, 
Mich.,  thence  to  Ohio,  where  he  after- 
ward lived.  He  died  at  Tinney,  Ohio, 
November  16,  1893.  He  was  one  of 
Sandusky  county's  most  prosperous  farm- 
ers, a  vocation  he  gave  his  entire  attention 
to  during  a  greater  part  of  his  life.  For 
three  years  he  was  county  coinmisioner  of 
Sandusky  county.  About  1850  he  was 
married  to  Sarah  Wiggins,  of  Scott  town- 
ship, who  was  born  in  Massachusetts  in 
1829,  and  to  them  were  born  three  chil- 
dren: Almeda  Ann;  Frank  J.  Tinne}',  of 
Fostoria,  principal  of  the  public  schools; 
and  Eulalie  Adelaide  (now  Mrs.  Aldrich). 
He  was  the  son  of  Stephen  Tinney,  who 
was  born  in  December,  1799,  in  Massa- 
chusetts, and  died  February  10,  1848. 
When  about  sixteen  j-ears  old  he  went  to 
New  York  and  there  lived  some  fourteen 
years;  thence  moved  to  Michigan  where 
he  lived  six  years,  and  from  there  to 
Scott  township,  where  he  passed  the 
rest  of  his  days,  dj'ing  on  January  9, 
1836.  He  was  married  to  Julia  Scott,  of 
Niagara  county,  N.  Y. ,  born  July  24, 
1797,  and  died  February  7,  1869.  To 
them  were  born  four  children:  Darwirt 
S.,  Edwin  C,  Jackson  and  Julia  Ann, 
Edwin  C.  being  the  only  one  now  living. 
Stephen  Tinney's  mother,  Sally  Jonier, 
was   born    in    Massachusetts,    about    the 


296 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


year  1770,  and  her  husband,  Stephen 
Tinney,  Sr. ,  was  born  about  the  same 
time.    To  them  were  born  three  children. 


DAVID  SMITH  is  a  substantial 
farmer  of  York  township,  San- 
dusky county.  In  his  early  years 
he  lived  the  life  of  a  stalwart 
pioneer,  and  he  has  succeeded  in  gaining 
a  competency  which  will  suffice  him  for 
the  remainder  of  his  days.  He  is  a  son 
of  Fred  and  Dorothea  Smith,  and  was 
born  in  Lehigh  county,  Penn.,  August  7, 
1820. 

Fred  and  Dorothea  Smith  were  united 
in  marriage  in  Germany  in  181  3,  and  in 
18 18  came  to  the  United  States,  locating 
in  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Smith  worked  at 
the  forge  in  that  State,  and  also  after 
coming  to  Ohio,  whither  he  removed  in 
1837,  settling  first  in  Bellevue,  Huron 
county,  or  rather  Amsden's  Corners,  and 
the  following  year  coming  to  York  town- 
ship, where  he  resided  the  remainder  of 
his  life.  He  bought  a  farm,  which  he 
managed  in  connection  with  his  black- 
smith shop.  Of  their  children  Marie  (the 
eldest,  who  lived  in  Bellevue),  Anna  (of 
York  township),  and  Fred  (a  farmer  of 
York  township,  who  was  the  oldest  son), 
died  in  1889,  within  six  months  of  each 
other;  David  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch; 
Catherine  islivingin  Tennessee;  Sallie  died 
in  California;  John  F.  is  a  large  land- 
owner of  York  township. 

David  Smith  was  the  first  of  his 
parents'  children  born  in  America,  his 
older  brother  and  sister  having  been  born 
before  the  family  left  Germany.  Oppor- 
tunities for  obtaining  a  good  education, 
which  are  now  so  numerous  and  easy  of 
access,  were  open  to  but  few  during  his 
childhood,  and  his  father's  children  were 
not  numbered  with  the  few.  He  came 
with  his  parents  to  York  township  at  the 
age  of  ten,  and  later  he  learned  the  trade 
of  carpenter  and  millwright,  working  in 
Bellevue  and  Toledo  before  marriage,  and 


a  short  time  after.  On  October  22,  1846, 
David  Smith  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Julia  Ann  Knauss,  who  was  born  in  Union 
county,  Penn.,  April  3,  1825,  and  they 
have  had  six  children,  a  brief  record  of 
whom  is  as  follows:  George,  born  March 
9,  1848,  is  now  a  carpenter,  residing  in 
Bellevue;  he  married  Anna  Derr,  and  has 
two  children — Julia  Maude  and  Frank 
Elliston.  Charles,  born  August  i,  1S54, 
is  a  carpenter  and  lives  in  Michigan;  he 
married  Hattie  Ent,  and  they  have  one 
child — Earl.  Samuel,  born  Xo\ember24, 
1859,  is  at  home.  Sarah  Maria,  born 
July  16,  1864,  married  David  Barnard, 
of  Groton  township,  Erie  county,  and  they 
have  three  children — George.  Ralph,  and 
Charles.  Mary  Elizabeth,  the  joungest, 
born  November  15,  1866,  is  at  home. 
Mrs.  Smith  is  the  daughter  of  Solomon 
and  Sarah  Knauss. 

Although  suffering  from  a  stroke  of 
paralysis,  Mr.  Smith  still  superintends  the 
farm,  and  tribute  may  well  be  offered  to 
his  perseverance  and  courage.  He  is 
prudent  in  his  undertakings  and  never  at- 
tempts to  make  large  gains  by  corres- 
pondingly large  risks.  When  he  engages 
in  an  enterprise  little  doubt  as  to  its  sta- 
bilit}'  and  character  need  be  felt.  Mr. 
Smith  believes  in  the  doctrines  of  protec- 
tion and  sound  money. 


GEORGE  MARTIN,  a  farmer  of 
Ballville  township,  Safldusky 
county,  was  born  near  Buffalo, 
N.  Y. ,  March  21,  1832,  a  son  of 
Michael  and  Catherine  (Flory)  Martin. 
Michael  Martin  was  born  in  Baden,  Ger- 
many, and  married  there.  On  immigra- 
ting to  America  he  settled  seven  miles 
from  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  where  he  died  at  the 
age  of  thirty  years,  leaving  a  son  Michael, 
Jr.,  by  his  first  wife,  and  the  following 
children  by  his  second  wife,  a  Miss 
Stuller:  Joseph,  Jacob,  Abraham,  Mary, 
Kate,    and   George,   the    subject    of   this- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPmCAL  RECORD. 


297 


sketch.      The  mother  of    George  Martin 
was  born  in  Alsace,  Germany. 

George  Martin  grew  to  manhood  in 
this  country,  but  his  education  was  entire- 
ly neglected,  as  he  never  learned  to  read 
or  write.  He  worked  on  his  father's  farm 
in  Sandusky  county,  Ohio,  until  Decem- 
ber, 1858,  when  he  married  Miss  Mary 
M.  Slaughter,  who  was  born  April  8, 
183",  and  settled  on  his  present  farm.  A 
brief  record  of  their  children  is  as  follows: 
Charles  L. ,  born  October  18,  1859,  is  a 
farmer,  living  on  an  adjoining  farm;  he 
married  Miss  Caroline  Bloom,  and  their 
children  are  Blanche,  \'innie,  Ralph, 
Mabel  and  Iva.  Frank  S. ,  born  Septem- 
ber 16,  1 86 1,  is  living  with  his  parents; 
Albert,  born  September  29,  1863,  is  liv- 
ing with  his  parents;  Clara  C,  born  Sep- 
tember 27,  1865,  married  William  Sachs, 
and  their  children  are  Fern,  Carl  and 
Lulu;  Edwin,  born  July  5,  1868,  is  living 
with  his  parents;  George  T.,  born  May 
28,  1874,  is  li\ing  at  home;  Estella  ^f. 
was  born  February  18,  1877.  Mr.  Mar- 
tin is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  in  relig- 
ious connection  is  a  member  of  the  Lu- 
theran Church.  He  is  an  enterprising  and 
well-to-do  farmer,  and  an  obliging  neigh- 
bor. His  half-brother  Michael  finds  a 
comfortable  home  with  him.  His  wife 
Mary  was  born  April  8,   1837. 


GEORGE    W.   IvIXG,    farmer  and 
merchant  of  Rice  township,  San- 
duskj'  countv,  and  postmaster  at 
Kingsway,   Ohio,  was  born  Sep- 
tember   25,     1840,    in    Fairfield    county, 
Ohio,  son  of  Peter  and  Mary  (Shoemaker) 
King. 

Peter  King  and  his  father,  George 
King,  were  both  born  in  Perry  county, 
Ohio,  where  the  great-grandfather,  John 
King,  who  was  a  native  of  Virginia,  had 
located  shortly  after  marriage,  passing  the 
remainder  of  his  days  there.  George 
King  moved  to  Pickaway  county,  Ohio, 
where  he   died.      Peter  King  was   reared 


on  a  farm  up  to  the  age  of  nineteen,  and 
also  learned  the  carpenter's  trade,  which 
he  followed  about  twenty  years  in  Fair- 
field county.  He  was  married  in  Pick- 
away county,  removed  thence  to  Fairfield 
county,  and  thence,  in  1852,  to  Washing- 
ton township,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  where 
he  bought  240  acres  of  land.  Here  he 
accumulated  wealth,  and  he  built  a  hand- 
some house  and  barn,  the  house  having 
the  finest  staircase  in  the  county.  He 
was  a  Democrat,  and  a  member  of  the 
German  Reformed  Church.  He  died  Au- 
gust 2,  1880,  and  his  widow,  who  was 
born  in  Pickaway  county,  Ohio,  in  18 19, 
is  still  living  on  the  old  homestead.  They 
had  nine  children:  Samuel,  a  farmer, 
George  W. ;  Levi,  a  farmer,  who  is  coun- 
ty commissioner  of  Henry  county,  Ohio; 
Henry,  a  farmer  in  Henry  county;  Peter, 
also  a  farmer  in  Henry  county;  J.  M., 
living  on  the  old  homestead;  Rebecca, 
born  in  1S43,  who  died  in  1894,  wife  of 
L  J.  Shoemaker,  of  Henry  county;  Me- 
linda,  who  first  married  J.  D.  Overmyer, 
and  after  his  death  wedded  Solomon 
Shoemaker  (she  is  now  living  near  Muncie, 
Ind.);  and  Mary  Ann,  wife  of  Noah  Gar- 
rett, of  Sandusk}'  township. 

George  W.  King  came  with  his  father's 
family  to  Washington  township,  Sandusky 
county,  attended  the  common  schools, 
and  learned  the  carpenter's  trade,  which 
he  followed  in  Fremont.  In  1862  he 
married  Miss  Elizabeth  L.  W^agner,  who 
was  born  in  Sandusky  county,  October  6, 
1842,  and  eleven  children  have  blessed 
their  union,  viz. :  MaryoMarthella,  wife 
of  M.  E.  Boggs,  of  Elmore,  Ohio,  who 
has  one  child,  George  Nolan;  Clara  Ellen, 
widow  of  Daniel  Packett  (she  has  one 
child);  Louisa  Emily,  wife  of  Fred  Cap- 
pus,  of  Hessville,  Sandusky  county  (they 
have  one  child,  Carl);  Samuel,  living  at 
Mt.  \'ernon,  Ind.,  who  is  married  and  has 
three  children — George,  Henry  and  John; 
Selesta  Alrneda,  wife  of  Irvin  F"etterman, 
of  Rice  township;  Catherine  Minerva, 
wife  of   H.    F.    Hetrick,    of    Washington 


298 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


township  (they  have  one  child,  Lester 
Wilhs),  and  John  Jacob,  Ida  Isabelle, 
Pear!  Annetta,  Cara  Stella,  and  Daisy 
Modelia,  the  last  five  living  at  home. 

Mr.  King  purchased  his  present  farm 
in  1864,  following  his  trade  until  1867, 
since  when  he  has  devoted  himself  to 
agricultural  pursuits,  now  owning  155 
acres  in  Rice  township  and  twenty-seven 
in  Washington  township.  The  Wheel- 
ing &  Lake  Erie  railroad  runs  through 
his  farm,  on  which  has  been  erected  a 
depot  and  post  office,  named,  after  him, 
Kingsway.  He  is  the  second  postmaster 
of  the  place,  having  received  his  commis- 
sion from  President  Arthur,  and  has  held 
the  office  twelve  years.  He  is  a  Demo- 
crat in  politics,  and  in  religious  affiliations 
a  member  of  the  German  Reformed 
Church.  The  first  office  Mr.  King  held 
in  the  township  was  that  of  constable,  in 
which  he  continued  for  two  years,  after 
which  he  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace 
for  three  consecutive  terms.  Mr.  King's 
residence  and  home  are  among  the  finest 
farm  improvements  in  the  county.  He 
is  a  recognised  business  and  social  leader 
in  his  community,  of  gentlemanly  dispo- 
sition, and  is  essentially  a  self-made  man. 


JAMES    D.    HENSEL,    an   energetic 
agriculturist  of  Sandusky  township, 
Sandusky    county,    was   born    Feb- 
ruary   19,    1849,   on    the  farm  now 
owned  by  his  uncle,  Daniel   Hensel,  and 
is  the  eldest  son  of  Adam  and   Mary  J. 
Hensel. 

The  maternal  grandparents  of  Mr. 
Hensel  were  natives  of  Northumberland 
county,  Penn. ,  and  of  German  descent. 
They  moved  to  Perry  county,  Ohio,  in 
1 819,  where  their  eldest  son,  Adam,  was 
born  in  1825.  Their  attention  was  then 
attracted  by  the  fertility  of  the  Black 
Swamp,  and  in  1827  they  located  on  the 
banks  of  Little  Mud  creek,  four  miles 
west  of  Fremont.  At  that  time  there 
were  but   three  families    living  between 


Muscalonge  and  Perrysburg,  north  of  the 
Perrysburg  road. 

Adam  Hensel  was  married  to  Marj'  J. 
Benner  in  1847;  to  them  were  born  six 
children :  James  D.  Ellen  M. ,  wife  of  John 
Fangboner;  she  died  at  the  age  of  twent}'- 
four  years,  leaving  two  children — Irvin 
and  ^Iertella,  who  live  with  their  father 
in  Fremont.  Sarah  E.  and  Harriet  S. 
both  reside  in  Chicago,  111. ;  Harriet  is 
married  and  has  two  children,  Mary  and 
Allen.  Alice  C.  and  husband,  A.  J.  Wal- 
ters, with  their  daughters,  Jessie  and 
Madge  A.,  live  in  Montpelier,  Ohio;  and 
Emma  C.  married  W.  S.  Diggs,  and  they 
with  their  two  children,  Ethel  E.  and 
lone,  reside  in  Winchester,  Indiana. 

Mr.  Hensel  grew  to  manhood  on  a 
farm,  receiving  his  education  in  the  com- 
mon schools,  and  remained  at  home  until 
his  marriage  to  Miss  Savilla  Wolfe,  Feb- 
ruary 6,  1873.  She  was  born  January 
25,  1850,  in  Sandusky  county.  They 
have  two  daughters:  Nora  O.,  born  De- 
cember 4,  1873,  was  educated  in  Fre- 
mont school  and  Ohio  Normal  University, 
and  is  now  a  teacher  in  the  schools  of 
Sandusky  county,  and  Mabel  M.,  born 
December  9,  1877.  Mr.  Hensel  settled 
on  the  old  homestead,  which  he  pur- 
chased after  the  death  of  his  father  in 
1887.  He  belongs  to  the  younger  ele- 
ment of  progressive  farmers  in  Sandusky 
township,  and  owns  seventy-seven  acres 
of  good  land.  In  politics  he  is  a  Demo- 
crat, and  in  religious  connection  he  is  a 
member  of  the  Reformed  Church.  Fra- 
ternally, he  affiliates  with  the  Independ- 
ent Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 


PHILIPP    MIARER,   a    well-t<5-do 
farmer    of     Sandusky    township, 
Sandusky  county,  was  born  in  the 
southern    part   of   Russia,  August 
15,    1828,   a  son    of   John   and    Barbara 
(Krather)  Miarer. 

John  Miarer,  a  farmer  by  occupation, 
was  also  born  in  South  Russia,  and  died 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


299 


there  at  the  age  of  forty-six  years.  Bar- 
bara Miarer,  his  widow,  came  to  America 
with  her  family  and  settled  in  Sandusky, 
Ohio,  where  she  died  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
seven.  Four  children  were  born  to  them: 
John  Miarer,  a  retired  farmer,  now  living 
in  Seneca  county,  Ohio,  who  was  a  soldier 
in  the  Civil  war;  Magdalena,  who  married 
Henry  Henning,  in  Germany,  where  she 
still  resides;  Susan,  who  was  married  in 
German}-  to  Louis  Bowers;  and  Philipp, 
subject  of  this  sketch.  Philipp  attended 
school  in  Germany  up  to  his  thirteenth 
year,  and  then  came  to  .\merica  in  1850, 
landing  in  New  York  City.  Coming  to 
Cleveland.  Ohio,  he  remained  there  one 
year,  after  which  he  removed  to  Jackson 
township,  Sandusk}'  count}',  where  he 
sought  and  found  such  employment  as  the 
times  afforded.  He  was  married,  in  i860, 
to  Miss  Catharine  Mahr,  who  was  born  in 
Jackson  township  August  29,  1839,  and 
nine  children  were  born  to  this  union, 
six  of  whom  are  living:  David,  born  Sep- 
tember 5,  1 86 1,  who  married  Miss  Lavina 
Lang;  Sarah,  born  September  15,  1862, 
married  to  Augustus  Buehler;  John,  born 
in  1868,  who  married  Ellen  Bender  (he  at- 
tended the  common  schools,  and  has 
taught  five  terms  in  Sandusky  county); 
Mary,  born  March  28,  1870,  living  in 
Fremont;  Henry,  born  March  28,  1874; 
and  Amelia,  born  September  24,  1877. 
After  his  marriage  Mr.  Miarer  bought 
forty  acres  of  land  in  Jackson  township, 
and  lived  there  fourteen  years,  removing 
thence  to  Riley  township,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1 876  settling  at  his  present  home. 
Here  he  owns  157  acres  of  land,  eighty 
acres  in  Seneca  county.  His  brick  resi- 
dence, erected  a  few  years  ago,  has  few 
equals  in  his  vicinity.  During  his  early 
days  he  did  much  hard  pioneer  work;  he 
cleared  sixty  acres  of  heavily-timbered 
land  with  his  own  hands,  using  oxen  to 
do  the  logging;  and  it  will  readily  be  seen 
that  there  is  a  great  contrast  between  his 
early  surroundings  in  the  county  and  that 
which  he  enjoys  now.      He  is  recognized 


as  one  of  the  most  substantial  men  in  his 
township,  of  which  he  has  served  as  trus- 
tee four  years,  and  supervisor  two  years. 
Mr.  Miarer  and  his  wife  are  members  of 
the  Reformed  Church.  Politically  he  is 
a  Democrat.  The  paternal  grandfather 
of  our  subject  was  a  farmer,  and  his  ma- 
ternal grandfather  was  a  man  of  more 
than  ordinary  wealth. 


WILLIAM  L.  RICHARDS,  who 
for  many  years  has  ranked  as 
one  of  the  most  energetic  and 
respected  citizens  of  York  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  was  born  August 
17,  1828,  on  the  farm  he  now  occupies. 
He  is  the  son  of  Lester  and  Mary  (Baker) 
Richards,  both  natives  of  Connecticut, 
who  in  the  fall  of  1826  migrated  from 
that  State,  and  in  York  township  pur- 
chased land,  which  had  been  entered  in 
1822  by  Edmund  Fuller,  the  original 
patent  for  the  land  being  signed  by  Pres. 
James  Monroe.  The  parents  remained 
on  the  farm  through  life.  Lester  Rich- 
ards died  in  1845,  aged  forty-five  years. 
His  wife  survived  until  1872,  when  she 
passed  away  at  the  age  of  seventy-two 
years.  In  politics  Lester  Richards  was  a 
Whig.  His  grandfather  was  an  emigrant 
from  England. 

William  L.  Richards  is  one  of  eight 
children,  six  of  whom  grew  to  maturity, 
as  follows:  William  L. ;  Elizabeth,  who 
died  unmarried  at  the  age  of  seventeen 
years;  Celinda,  who  was  born  in  1832, 
married  John  B.  Colvin,  and  died  in  1894; 
Edward,  born  in  1835,  "ow  a  resident  of 
Ottawa  county;  Melissa,  who  died  when 
a  young  woman;  and  Almarema,  after- 
ward Mrs.  McClanahan,  who  died  in 
Ohio.  William  L. ,  the  eldest  child, 
grew  to  manhood  on  his  father's  farm 
and  attended  the  neighboring  schools. 
He  was  married  Januar}-  i,  1861,  to  Miss 
Sarah  Rife.  She  was  born  on  an  adjoin- 
ing farm  September  7,  1843.  daughter  of 
Michael  and    Mary   (Longwell)    Rife,  the 


300 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


former  of  whom  was  born  in  Frederick 
county,  Md.,  February  14,  1S14,  and  in 
1832  migrated  to  York  township  with  his 
parents,  Daniel  and  Elizabeth  (Zumbrin) 
Rife.  Here,  January  i,  1839,  he  married 
Mary  Longwell,  only  daughter  of  Robert 
and  Lucinda  (Butler)  Longwell,  who  were 
among  the  earliest  settlers  of  the  town- 
ship, and  who  died  here  soon  after.  Mrs. 
Rife   is  still  living  at  the  old  homestead. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Richards  have  been 
born  six  children,  as  follows:  Emily,  born 
October  30,  1862,  married  April  7,  i856. 
to  George  Bemis,  and  is  the  mother  of 
one  child — Edna;  Carrie,  born  October 
25,  1865,  died  October  10,  1891;  Bertha, 
born  January  30,  1867,  married  Septem- 
ber 19,  1894,  to  James  A.  Lewis;  Charles 
R. ,  born  December  13,  1868,  married 
Helen  Gile,  and  has  one  child — Karl; 
Mary  L. ,  born  December  14,  1870,  is 
at  home;  William  H.,  born  September  18, 
1872,  was  married  September  24,  1895, 
to  Miss  Dora  Guinall.  Emily  and  Mary 
are  graduates  of  the  Clyde  High  School, 
and  Bertha  attended  school  at  Cljde  and 
Green  Spring;  Carrie  attended  school  at 
Clyde  and  Green  Spring,  and  also  at  Ada 
Normal  School;  Charles  and  William  were 
students  at  Ada  Normal  School.  There 
are  few  families  in  Sandusky  county  so 
thoroughly  educated  as  that  of  Mr.  Rich- 
ards. 

After  his  marriage  our  subject  settled 
on  the  farm,  and  in  addition  to  the  farm- 
ing operations  he  did  business  at  Clyde  as 
partner  in  a  grocery  store.  He  was  a 
member  of  Company  B,  One  Hundred 
and  Si.xty-ninth  0.\'.  L,  which  was  called 
out  during  the  summer  of  1864  to  do  mil- 
itary duty  at  Washington  and  Fort  Ethan 
Allen.  In  1865  Mr.  Richards  began  the 
manufacture  of  brick  and  tile,  and  he  has 
ever  since  been  extensively  engaged  in 
that  important  industry.  Last  year  he 
burned  about  8,000  tile;  but  in  former 
years  it  was  not  unusual  for  him  to  turn 
out  from  60,000  to  75,000  tile,  besides 
large  quantities  of  brick.     There  was  an 


active  market  for  all  he  could  make. 
During  this  time  he  has  also  tilled  his 
excellent  farm  of  iio  acres.  In  politics 
Mr.  Richards  usually  votes  the  Republican 
ticket,  but  he  is  non-partisan,  especially 
in  local  matters.  Socially  he  is  a  Mason, 
and  also  a  member  of  the  Grange.  His 
son,  William  H.,  is  a  member  of  the  Sons 
of  \'eterans.  Mr.  Richards  is  one  of  the 
peace-loving,  industrious  and  capable 
farmers  of  York  township,  and  his  friends 
are  as  numerous  as  his  acquaintances. 


CHARLES  H.  WELCH,  a  pains- 
taking and  eminently  successful 
agriculturist  and  fruit  grower  of 
York  township,  Sandusky  county, 
is  a  son  of  Ebenezer  and  Mary  Lovina 
(Hubbell)  Welch,  and  was  born  in  Lyme 
township,  Huron  Co.,  Ohio,  November 
16,   1839. 

Ebenezer  Welch,  who  was  a  black- 
smith by  trade,  came  to  Ohio  from  New 
York  State  about  1830.  In  Januarj', 
1837,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Mary  Lovina  Hubbell,  who  was  born 
near  Monroeville,  Huron  county,  and 
they  had  four  children,  as  follows:  Edgar 
A.,  the  eldest,  served  in  the  Twenty- 
fourth  O.  V.  I.,  in  the  war  of  the  Rebel- 
lion, was  honorably  discharged,  and  died, 
in  I  89 1,  at  Fawn  River,  Mich.,  leaving  a 
widow,  but  no  children;  Charles  H.  is  the 
subject  of  this  sketch;  Alice  R.  is  the  wife 
of  E.  J.  Squire,  a  dry-goods  merchant  of 
Monroeville,  and  they  have  had  four  chil- 
dren— Elbert  W.,  John  Clary,  Roy  and 
William;  Mary  C,  the  youngest,  is  mar- 
ried to  Charles  B.  Scoville,  a  boot  and 
shoe  dealer  of  Middletown,  Butler  Co., 
Ohio.  Mr.  Welch  died  in  Lyme  town- 
ship, and  his  widow  moved  to  Monroe- 
ville, where  she  died  a  few  jears  after- 
ward. 

Charles  H.  Welch  received  only  a 
common-school  education  and  remained 
at  home  until  the  outbreak  of  the  war. 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


301 


On  September  i8,  1861,  he  enlisted  in 
Company  A,  Fift\-fifth  O.  V.  I.,  at  Camp 
McClellan,  Norwalk,  Huron  Co.,  Ohio. 
Camp  was  broken  on  January  2,  1862, 
and  the  Fifty-fifth  set  out  for  the  front 
via  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad.  They 
first  halted  at  New  Creek,  \'a.  Mr. 
Welch  was  with  the  Fifty-fifth  Regiment 
through  all  their  hardships,  and  was  dis- 
charged with  his  company  July  20,  1865, 
at  Cleveland. 

On  October  23,  1867,  Charles  H. 
Welch  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Lovina  Hitt,  who  was  born  January  17, 
1845,  and  they  had  four  children,  namely: 
Alice  R. ,  born  August  26,  186S,  is  at 
home;  Mary  Mahala,  born  October  8, 
1870,  was  married  on  January  iS,  1891, 
to  Joseph  L.  Royer,  of  Flat  Rock,  Seneca 
■Co.,  Ohio,  and  they  ha\e  had  one  child, 
Charles  Lewis;  Adelia  was  born  Novem- 
ber 21,  1S72;  and  Charles  Hubbell,  Jr. , 
born  June  2,  1878,  is  in  the  third  year 
class  of  the  high  school  at  Bellevue.  Mrs. 
Welch  is  a  daughter  of  Seneca  and 
Mahala  (Staffordj  Hitt,  the  former  of 
whom  came  to  Ohio  from  Rutland  county, 
Vt.,  in  1836,  and  his  wife  came  from  the 
same  State  a  \ear  later.  In  January  Mr. 
Hitt  built  the  house  ip  which  Mr.  \\'elch 
at  present  lives,  and  Mrs.  Hitt  en- 
tered it  a  bride.  Here  for  forty-seven 
years  she  conscientiously  attended  to  her 
duties  as  wife  and  mother,  making  her 
home  so  attractive  that  no  allurements 
won  away  her  loved  ones.  In  this  house 
Mrs.  Welch  was  born,  as  were  also  her 
brothers  and  sisters,  who  are  as  follows: 
Mary  Elizabeth,  wife  of  L.  G.  Ely,  of 
Fulton  county,  Ohio,  who  has  been  rep- 
resenting his  county  in  the  Ohio  Legisla- 
ture for  the  past  two  years;  Marion  Ade- 
lia, who  died  in  January,  1882,  wife  of 
George  H.  Mugg,  of  Dundee,  Mich, 
(they  had  three  children,  Elmer  E., 
Luella  E.  and  Susan  M.,  who  are  unmar- 
ried, and  own  a  farm  adjoining  their  fath- 
■er's),  and  a  son,  Seneca,  Jr.,  who  died  in 
infancy.    Mr.  Hitt  died  in  January,   1872. 


His  wife  survived  him  twelve  years,  dying 
in  June,  1884. 

Mr.  Welch  has  retired  from  farming,  but 
still  grows  much  fruit,  which  he  personally 
superintends.  In  the  spring  of  1894  he 
set  out  over  twenty  acres  of  peach  trees. 
He  is  prominent  in  G.  A.  R.  circles,  be- 
ing a  charter  member  of  C.  B.  Gambee 
Post  No.  33.  In  adhering  to  the  Repub- 
lican party,  he  believes  he  is  furthering 
the  interests  of  the  country.  For  more 
than  fifteen  years  he  has  held  the  office  of 
township  clerk.  Mrs.  Welch  is  a  member 
of  the  Congregational  Church  at  Bellevue. 


CHRISTIAN  SCHWARZ,  a  pros- 
perous farmer  of  Washington 
township,  Sandusky  county,  is  the 
owner  of  a  valuable  tract  of  land, 
which  is  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation, 
and  improved  with  good  buildings,  well- 
kept  fences  and  all  the  accessories  of  a 
model  farm.  He  is  engaged  in  raising 
those  grains  best  adapted  to  this  climate, 
and  keeps  on  hand  enough  stock  for  his 
own  use.  Possessing  good  business  ability, 
his  able  management  has  brought  to  him 
a  comfortable  competence,  and  to-day  he 
is  numbered  among  the  substantial  farm- 
ers of  Washington  township. 

Mr.  Schwarz  was  born  in  Wurtem- 
burg,  Germany,  December  2,  1842,  and 
is  a  son  of  Christian  and  Margaret  (Voelm) 
Schwarz,  farming  people,  who,  in  185 1, 
emigrated  to  America.  On  reaching  the 
shores  of  the  New  World  they  came  di- 
rect to  Sandusky,  Ohio,  but  soon  re- 
moved to  Washington  township,  Sandusky 
county.  In  1853  the  father  purchased 
134  acres  of  land,  and  later  added  other 
tracts  to  it,  at  one  time  forty  acres,  at 
another  one  hundred  acres,  and  subse- 
quentlj'  seventy-six  acres.  He  prospered 
in  his  undertakings,  and  his  success  was 
the  just  reward  of  his  own  labors.  His 
death  occurred  June  18,  1892,  when  he 
had  attained  the  age  of  seventy-five  years; 
his  wife  still  survives  him,  and  is  now  liv- 


302 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


ing  in  Hessville,  Ohio.  The  family  of 
this  worthy  couple  were  as  follows: 
Catherina,  now  the  wife  of  John  Balseiser 
(a  farmer  of  Washington  township),  and 
the  mother  of  twelve  children;  Carolina, 
who  died  in  Germany;  Leonard,  a  resi- 
dent farmer  of  Sandusky  county,  and  who 
has  seven  children;  August,  who  died  in 
infancy;  Laura,  wife  of  Daniel  Auxter,  a 
farmer  of  Washington  township,  Sandusky 
county,  by  whom  she  has  twelve  children; 
Reekie,  wife  of  Charles  Thajer  (proprie- 
tor of  a  hotel  in  Hessville),  by  whom  she 
has  nine  children;  Henry,  also  an  agricul- 
turist of  Washington  township;  Louisa, 
wife  of  Jacob  Ansted,  a  farmer  of  Ottawa 
county  (they  had  eight  children,  but  one 
is  now  deceased). 

Our  subject  spent  the  first  nine  years  of 
his  life  in  the  Fatherland,  and  then  came 
with  his  parents  on  their  emigration  to 
America.  He  completed  his  studies  in 
German  after  his  arrival  in  this  country, 
but  speaks  English  very  fluently.  He 
never  left  his  parents,  always  giving  his 
father  the  beneht  of  his  services,  and  to- 
day he  is  the  owner  of  the  farm  upon 
which  they  located  forty-two  years  ago. 
On  December  ii,  1872,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Miss  Catherina  P.  Myers, 
daughter  of  John  P.  and  Catherina  M. 
(Deal)  Myers,  whose  family  numbered 
five  children,  namely:  Philip,  deceased; 
Mrs.  Schwarz;  Mena,  Louisa  and  Mary. 
Eleven  children  have  been  born  to  our 
subject  and  his  wife,  their  names  and 
dates  of  birth  being  as  follows:  John  H., 
December  2,  1873,  died  June  22,  1875; 
Louisa,  July  17,  1875,  now  the  wife  of 
\\'illiam  \\'ing.  a  farmer  of  Washington 
township,  Sandusky  county;  Henry,  June 
13,  1877,  died  May  12,  1882;  Laura  C, 
June  25.  1879;  Harmon,  March  28.  1882; 
Louis  A.,  February  4,  1884;  Emma  M., 
May  29,  1886;  Bertha  R.,  July  10,  1888; 
Clarence  C,  January  14,  1890;  Alice  C. 
March  28,  1892;  and  Daniel  I.,  February 
1 1,  1894. 

Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schwarz  are  mem- 


bers of  the  Lutheran  Church,  and  are 
highly  respected  people  who  hold  an  envi- 
able position  in  social  circles  in  this  local- 
ity. In  his  political  views  he  is  a  stalwart 
Democrat,  warmly  advocating  the  princi- 
ples of  his  party,  and  several  times  has  he 
been  honored  with  public  office,  having 
served  as  school  director  and  road  super- 
visor, while  for  three  years  he  was  trustee. 


OLIVER  M.  MALLERNEE,  an 
active  and  highl3-respected  farmer 
and  business  man  of  Clyde,  was 

[  born    in    Harrison    county,   Ohio 

i  March  14,  1836,  son  of  William  and 
Lydia  (Burtoni  Mallernee. 

W' illiam  Mallernee  was  born  in  Mary- 

i  land  in  1807.      His  father,  Emanuel,  was 

!  a  native  of  France,  who.  when  he  emigra- 
ted to  America,  first  settled  in  Maryland, 
and  afterward  came  to  Harrison  county, 
Ohio,  where  he  died  leaving  eight  chil- 

i  dren.  as  follows:  William,  father  of  Oli- 
ver M. ;  Levi,  who  died  in  Harrison  coun- 
ty; Mathias,  a  stockdealer  and  farmer  of 

i  Harrison,  and  once  a  hotel-keeper  at 
Cadiz;    Quillow,   a    "forty"    miner,  who 

I  died  in  Harrison  county;  Lewis,  now  of 
Harrison  county;  Ernanuel,  who  left  home 
young  and    has   never   been    heard    from 

I  since;  Mary  Ann,  widow  of  William  Rich- 
ardson, of  Harrison  county;  and  Eliza- 
beth. William  Mallernee  was  a  boy  when 
his  parents  migrated  from  Maryland  to 
Harrison  county.  Ohio.  He  there  learned 
the  cooper's  trade,  and  married  Lydia 
Burton,  who  was  born  in  Nottingham 
township,  Harrison  county,  daughter  of 
Thomas  Burton,  a  native  of  Scotland, 
and  a  man  of  unusual  physical  strength. 
He  made  his  home  in  Harrison  county. 
In  his  earlier  life  William  Mallernee  was 
a  successful  cooper,  and  did  some  trading 
as  far  south  as  New  Orleans,  La.  In 
later  life,  or  after  1840,  he  was  a  farmer. 
In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat,  and  in  re- 
ligious faith  a  Baptist.  He  died  Decem- 
ber 21,  1887;  his  wife  in  I S45.      They  had 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


303 


eifjht  children,  as  follows:  Ezra,  of  New 
Philadelphia;  Hannah,  married  and  liv- 
ing in  Harrison  county;  Thomas,  of  Ok- 
lahoma; Henry,  of  Harrison  county;  Will- 
iam, of  Indian  Territory;  Kachel  Ann, 
who  died  young;  Lydia,  who  is  married 
and  lives  in  Nebraska;  and  Oliver  M. 

O.  M.  Mallernee,  the  subject  firoper 
of  this  sketch,  worked  on  a  farm  in  Har- 
rison county,  and  attended  the  common 
schools  until  he  was  eighteen.  He  then 
learned  the  blacksmith  trade  with  John 
Croskey,  of  Hopedale,  Harrison  Co., Ohio. 
Working  at  his  trade  for  a  time  in  Bel- 
mont county,  he  went  to  Mt.  Pleasant, 
and  to  Burlington,  Iowa;  but  finding  no 
work  at  his  trade  on  account  of  the  hard 
times  then  prevailing,  he  sold  a  horse  far- 
rier's book  for  a  time,  then  started  home- 
ward. At  Oquawka,  111.,  he  found  work 
during  the  summer.  Visiting  Rock  Island 
and  Chicago  in  vain,  he  reached  Clyde  in 
October,  1857,  via  Logansport,  Ind.  He 
expected  to  remain  at  Clyde  only  over 
night;  but  learning  of  its  rich  agricultural 
environment  he  sagaciously  determined 
to  locate  here  permanently.  Not  finding 
work  at  his  trade  he  was  variously  en- 
gaged, and  finally  secured  a  place  at  Fre- 
mont, where  he  lived  for  a  }'ear  and  a  half. 
He  went  to  Fostoria  and  was  working 
there  at  his  trade  when  the  Rebels  tired 
upon  Fort  Sumter. 

Returning  to  Fremont  he  enlisted  in 
the  Third  O.  V.  C.  August  10,  1861,  and 
was  mustered  in  the  U.  S.  service  Sep- 
tember 10,  same  year,  at  Monroeville, 
Ohio.  He  was  placed  in  charge  of  the 
blacksmith  department  of  the  regiment, 
and  while  in  Monroeville  was  in  charge  of 
the  horse  hospital.  Col.  Lewis  Zahni 
commanding.  Our  subject  marched  with 
his  regiment  to  Camp  Dennison,  Ohio, 
and  from  there  they  marched  to  Cin- 
cinnati, where  they  took  a  boat  for  Jeffer- 
sonville,  Ind.  From  there  they  marched 
to  Nashville,  Tenn.,  via  Mammoth  Cave 
and  Bowling  Green,  Ky.,  and  from  Nash- 
ville they  proceeded  to  Shiloh.      Mr,  Mal- 


lernee was  taken  down  with  the  measles 
the  first  day  out  of  Nashville  camp,  and 
was  left  in  the  hospital  at  Savannah, 
Tenn.,  on  the  river,  below  Shiloh.  In 
the  following  May  he  joined  his  regiment 
at  Corinth,  Miss.,  whence  they  marched 
to  Tuscumbia,  Ala. ,  from  there  to  Wood- 
ville,  Ala.,  thence  to  Perryville,  Ky. ,  and 
were  with  Gen.  Buell  on  his  famous  cam- 
paign with  Gen.  Bragg.  From  there  they 
returned  to  Nashville  and  participated  in 
the  battle  of  Stone  River.  At  Murfrees- 
boro  they  remained  until  the  following 
June,  when  the\'  moved  out  on  the  Chicka- 
maugua  campaign  with  Gen.  Rosecrans. 
Mr.  Mallernee  was  in  the  siege  of  Chatta- 
nooga, then  went  to  Woodville,  Ala., 
and  returned  to  Chattanooga  in  time  to 
witness  the  battle  of  Lookout  Mountain 
and  Mission  Ridge.  From  there  he  went 
on  the  Atlanta  campaign  with  Gen.  Sher- 
man as  far  as  Jonesboro,  Ga.  His  time 
of  enlistment  expiring,  he  returned  to 
Columbia,  Tenn.,  was  discharged,  and 
then  came  home  for  a  short  time.  Re- 
turning to  Nashville,  he  was  in  the  Gov- 
ernment employ  at  the  time  of  the  battle 
of  Nashville,  and  was  appointed  first 
lieutenant  in  the  First  regiment  O.  M. 
forces,  and  was  assigned  to  Company  F, 
by  command  of  Col.  C.  H.  Irvin.  Lieut. 
Mallernee  was  in  command  of  Company 
F,  at  the  battle  of  Nashville,  Tenn.,  and 
remained  in  Nashville  until  June,  1865. 
He  was  with  his  regiment  in  the  field 
continuously  for  three  years,  except  about 
six  weeks  he  was  sick  in  the  hospital,  and 
he  did  not  sleep  in  a  bed  only  once  in 
three  years. 

Returning  to  Ohio,  Mr.  Mallernee 
began  blacksmithing  for  himself  in  Clyde, 
and  later  opened  a  shop  at  Milan,  Erie 
county.  Returning  to  Clyde,  he  pur- 
chased a  farm  in  York  township,  which  he 
still  owns.  From  1870  to  1882  he  was 
engaged  in  the  marble  business  at  Clyde; 
then  became  interested  in  the  coal  in- 
dustry, and  bought  coal  lands  in  Ohio, 
which   he  subsequently  sold  at  a   profit. 


:304 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


He  has  since  continued  to  reside  at  Clyde 
and  operate  his  farm.  At  the  present 
time  (1895)  he  is  proprietor  of  the  Clj^de 
Produce  and  Fruit  Co.,  at  Clyde. 

On  November  i,  1865,  Mr.  Mallernee 
was  married  to  Mrs.  Mary  (West)  Blake, 
who  was  born  in  1834,  and  they  have  one 
son,  William  S.,  born  February  4,  1868; 
he  attended  the  Clyde  school,  and  was  in 
the  office  with  his  father  until  he  was 
about  eighteen  years  old,  when  he  went 
to  Cleveland,  and  was  irt  the  employ  of 
the  Street  Railway  Co.  about  two  years. 
He  then  again  turned  his  attention  to 
school,  and  attended  the  school  at  Val- 
paraiso, Ind.,  where  he  graduated  with 
high  honors  in  the  commercial  course. 
He  then  went  to  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.,  to 
complete  his  law  studies,  but  his  health 
failing  him,  he  returned  home.  On  Oc- 
tober 6,  1894,  he  married  Jessie  Babcock, 
and  he  is  now  living  at  the  old  homestead 
in  Clyde,  Ohio.  By  her  first  marriage 
Mrs.  Mallernee  had  two  children — Frank 
and  Emma.  In  politics  Mr.  Mallernee  is 
a  Republican.  He  is  a  prominent  mem- 
ber of  Eaton  Post  No.  55,  G.  A.  R.,  and 
of  the  U.  V.  U.,  of  which  he  is  now  quar- 
termaster and  has  been  commander. 


WARREN  J.  BRADFORD,  a  wide- 
awake business  man  of  Clyde, 
Sandusky  count}-,  is  of  the  ninth 
generation  in  descent  from  Gov- 
ernor William  Bradford,  who  came  over 
in  the  "Mayflower"  in  1620,  and  was  the 
first  governor  of  the  Plymouth  Colony. 
The  line  of  descent  from  Governor  Brad- 
ford is  as  follows:  Major  William  Brad- 
ford, Thomas  Bradford  (of  Norwich, 
Conn.),  Lieutenant  James  Bradford  (of 
Canterbur\-,  Conn.;,  William  Bradford 
{of  Canterbury,  Conn.),  Josiah  Bradford 
{of  Connecticut),  Joshua  Bradford,  Jr.  (of 
Connecticut),  Moses  D.  Bradford  and 
Warren  J.  Bradford. 

Joshua   Bradford,    Jr.,    became  one  of 
the  earliest  pioneers  of  Trumbull  county. 


Ohio,  and  there  his  son,  Moses  D.,  was 
born,  April  3,  18  10.  Moses  D.  grew  up 
in  that  county,  and  married  Aurel  Ovitt, 
who  was  born  in  181 2,  of  an  old  New 
England  family.  He  operated  a  wagon 
manufactory  and  turning  works  at  Brace- 
ville,  Trumbull  county,  and  in  1861  moved 
to  Hancock  count}'.  Three  years  later 
he  removed  to  Republic,  Seneca  county, 
and  about  1869  he  came  to  York  town- 
ship, Sandusk}'  county,  whence  a  few 
years  later  he  removed  to  Clj'de;  he  died 
there  February  i,  1S94;  his  wife  passed 
away  in  1871.  Moses  D.  Bradford  and 
wife  were  members  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  and  in  politics  he  was  an 
ardent  Whig  and  Republican.  Moses  D. 
and  Aurel  Bradford  had  five  sons,  a  brief 
record  of  whom  is  as  follows:  (i)  Ovitt 
enlisted  in  1861,  in  Company  A,  Twenty- 
first  O.  X.  I.,  in  Hancock  county,  for 
three  years,  and  died  in  Tennessee  in  De- 
cember, 1862.  (2)  William  H.  enlisted 
in  the  same  company  and  regiment,  and 
was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Stone  River. 
(3)  R.  S.  lives  near  Green  Spring.  (4) 
Warren  J.  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
(5)  Arthur  M.  is  a  resident  of  Paulding 
county,  Ohio. 

Warren  J.  Bradford  was  born  July  7, 
1847,  ^"d  was  fourteen  years  old  when  he 
left  Trumbull  county  with  his  father's 
family.  He  attended  Normal  School  at 
Republic,  and  in  Lorain  county  learned 
the  cheesemaker's  trade.  For  some  years 
he  operated  a  cheese  factory  in  that  county, 
and  when,  in  1869,  he  came  to  Sandusky 
count}',  he  became  a  gardener  and  raiser 
of  small  fruits  on  a  twenty-acre  tract. 
Since  1881  he  has  been  in  the  seed  and 
sweet-corn  business.  He  began  with  one 
acre,  and  has  since  had  as  high  as  300 
acres  on  contract.  He  owns  twenty  acres 
of  his  own,  and  has  been  doing  a  profita- 
ble and  satisfactory  business  from  the 
start.  He  was  first  married  in  1869  to 
Miss  Sarah  Pettys,  who  was  born  April  3, 
1850,  and  died  January  21,  1889;  they 
had  one  child,  Maud,  born  July  9,  1872, 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPEICAL  RECORD. 


805 


and  died  September  12,  1874.  The  sec- 
ond and  present  wife  of  Mr.  Bradford  is 
Clara  L.  Pettys,  a  cousin  of  his  first  wife. 
They  were  wedded  in  December,  1889, 
and  b}'  that  marriage  there  have  been 
three  children:  Arthur,  born  December 
27,  1 891;  Burt,  born  in  June,  1893,  de- 
ceased June  6,  1894,  and  George,  born 
July  4,  1895.  In  politics  Mr.  Bradford 
is  a  Republican.  He  is  a  prominent  mem- 
ber of  and  at  present  regent  of  Clyde 
Council  No.  1503,  Royal  Arcanum.  He 
is  one  of  the  most  energetic,  enterprising 
and  successful  men  of  Green  Creek  town- 
ship. 


JAMES  INMAN  was  born  August  11, 
1839,  in  Fremont,  Ohio,  son  of  Will- 
iam and  Calista  (Barringer)  Inman, 
who  when  he  was  five  years  old 
moved  to  Scott  township,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, settling  in  Section  27,  where  they  re- 
mained one  year.  They  then  removed  to 
Section  26,  there  purchasing  200  acres  of 
wild  land,  where  they  lived  for  seven 
years,  at  the  end  of  that  time  removing 
to  Section  24,  where  they  purchased  100 
acres;  this  they  soon  sold,  however,  and 
returned  to  Section  26. 

\Mien  twenty-one  years  of  age  James 
Inman  began  life  for  himself,  farming,  for 
a  time  working  rented  land  in  Scott 
township.  On  July  4,  1861,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Drusilla 
Gossard,  of  Scott  township,  and  for  the 
following  three  years  the  young  couple 
lived  at  Mr.  Gossard's,  Mr.  Inman  work- 
ing a  year  in  all  on  his  father-in-law's 
farm.  Mr.  Inman  then  purchased 
thirty  acres  near  Mr.  Gossard's  farm,  the 
latter  adding  forty  acres  adjoining,  on 
which  he  erected  buildings  and  settled  in 
1867.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Inman  have  added 
to  the  small  farm  which  they  at  first 
owned,  and  now  have  236  acres,  for  the 
most  part  under  cultivation.  In  1875 
Mr.  Inman  went  to  California,  but  did 
not  engage  in  any  business  there  and  soon 


returned  to  Ohio.  In  1887  he,  in  com- 
pany with  others,  put  down  the  first  gas 
well  on  Mr.  H.  Lendig's  farm,  and  one 
year  later,  in  company  with  others,  he 
put  down  another.  Since  then  he  has 
sunk  twenty-four  oil  wells,  si.xteen  of 
which  are  in  successful  operation.  These 
wells  yielded  at  first  from  ten  to  seventy- 
five  barrels  each  per  day.  It  should  be 
mentioned  that  nnly  six  of  the  above- 
mentioned  wells  are  on  Mr.  Inman's  farm; 
the  rest  were  put  down  for  others  on  land 
that  the  company  leased.  In  addition  to 
these  six  he  has  an  interest  in  nine  oth- 
ers, making  fifteen  wells  in  all  in  which 
he  is  directly  interested. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Inman  were  born 
three  children:  (i)  William  W.,  born 
March  i,  1863,  was  educated  in  Scott 
township,  and  was  for  a  time  a  successful 
teacher  in  Sandusky  county;  in  1886  he 
was  married  to  Olive  M.  Fisher,  of  Scott 
township,  and  to  their  union  have  been 
born  two  children — Florence,  in  1887, 
and  Clay,  in  1890.  (2)  Zelora  C. ,  born 
November  23,  1865,  was  married  Novem- 
ber 30,  1882,  to  D.  F.  Long,  of  Seneca 
county,  and  they  have  three  children — • 
Almon  W.,  Milan  L.  and  Orlo  W'ayne. 
(3)  Alvin  G.  was  born  June  2,  1869,  and 
was  married  August  2,  1889,  to  Ardilla 
Miller,  and  February  14,  1S91,  there  was 
born  to  them  a  daughter — Goldie  Theo- 
dorie. 

Mrs.  Drusilla  (Gossard)  Inman,  the  es- 
timable wife  of  our  subject,  was  born  No- 
vember 5, 1  S3 7,  in  Scott  township,  daughter 
of  A.  P.  and  Mary  (Cooley)  Gossard.  She 
received  her  education  in  her  native  town- 
ship, and  was  at  home  the  greater  part  of 
the  time  until  her  marriage,  keeping  house 
for  her  father  for  five  years  after  her  mo- 
ther's death;  also  teaching  school  part  of 
the  time.  A.  P.  Gossard  was  born  June 
6,  1808,  in  Ross  county,  Ohio.  When 
a  young  man  he  came  to  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, purchasing  a  farm  in  Scott  township, 
adding  thereto  until  190  acres  were  se- 
cured; he  was  a  great   stock-grower  and 


306 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


dealt  largely  in  cattle;  in  which  line  he  was 
very  successful.  Peleg  Cooley,  father  of 
Mary  (Cooley)  Gossard,  was  born  in  New 
York  about  1765.  Martha  (Basset) 
Cooley,  wife  of  Peleg  Cooley,  was  born 
about  1770.  They  were  married  when 
quite  young,  and  located  in  Canada,  where 
they  were  residing  during  the  war  of  1812. 
At  the  close  of  that  struggle  they  came  to 
Sandusky  county,  and  Mr.  Cooley,  who 
was  a  carpenter  by  trade,  built  the  first 
frame  house  in  Lower  Sandusky  (now 
Fremont).  He  split  the  siding  with  a 
froe,  dressing  it  with  a  drawer  knife,  and 
this  was  undoubtedly  the  first  frame  house 
in  the  county.  Philip  Gossard,  father  of 
A.  P.  Gossard,  was  born  about  the  year 
1785,  and  Drusilla  (Plummer),  his  wife, 
was  born  in  Kentucky  about  1788. 

William  Inman,  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, was  born  February  14,  18 16,  in  New 
Jersey,  removing  with  his  parents  in  boy- 
hood to  Sandusky  county,  Ohio,  where 
they  settled  on  a  large  farm  of  400  acres, 
near  Fremont.  Here  he  went  to  school, 
receiving  a  fair  education  at  the  public 
schools  of  Fremont.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
two  years  he  was  married  to  Miss  Calista 
Barringer,  of  Fremont,  and  shortly  after- 
ward, in  1844,  they  purchased  a  farm  of 
forty  acres  in  Scott  township,  which  was 
added  to  until  at  one  time  they  had  a 
tract  of  200  acres.  Mr.  Inman  made  two 
trips  to  California  in  the  interest  of  gold 
mining,  in  which  he  was  quite  successful, 
realizing  a  snug  sum  from  this  source. 
He  died  in  1892,  and  was  buried  in  the 
Metzger  Cemetery. 

Mr.  Inman's  grandfather,  Brazil  In- 
man, was  born  about  1785.  The  mother 
of  our  subject,  whose  maiden  name  was 
Calista  Barringer,  was  born  October  15, 
1 8 16,  nine  miles  from  Columbus,  Ohio, 
where  she  lived  until  fifteen  years  of  age, 
there  receiving  her  education.  She  then 
came  to  Sandusky  county,  where  she  has 
spent  the  greater  part  of  her  life.  Her 
father  William  Barringer,  was  born  about 
1791,  was  a   farmer   by  occupation,  and 


was  killed  by  the  fall  of  a  tree  when 
Calista  was  a  child.  His  wife,  Sarah 
(Campbell),  was  born  about  1793.  To 
them  were  born  four  children — -two  sons 
and  two  daughters.  Andrew  Barringer, 
father  of  William  Barringer,  was  born 
about  1759.  Jane  Campbell,  mother  of 
Mrs.  Sarah  (Campbell)  Barringer,  was 
born  about  1760. 


JOHN  KOPP,  a  prosperous  farmer  and 
well    known    citizen    of    Woodville 
township,  Sanduskycounty,  he  was 
born  in  Switzerland,  December  16, 
1824,  and  is  a  son  of  Andrew   and  Mary 
(Stoner)  Kopp. 

Andrew  Kopp  was  born  in  Switzer- 
land in  1792,  and  died  in  1844.  His  wife, 
whose  maiden  name  was  Mary  Stoner, 
was  born  in  1 790.  They  were  the  par- 
ents of  six  children,  as  follows:  Jacob, 
married  Elizabeth  Omsler,  and  they  have 
four  children;  they  live  in  Woodville  town- 
ship, Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio.  Ullrich,  a 
farmer,  married  Rosie  Stahlter,  and  they 
lived  at  Lindsey,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio;  he 
died  in  September,  1886.  John  is  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch.  Andrew  (Jr.),  a 
farmer  of  Woodville  township,  married 
Elizabeth  Andrews,  and  they  have  one 
child.  Frank  is  single  and  lives  in  Put- 
in Bay.  Mary  married  Jacob  Grutter; 
they  have  seven  children,  and  live  in 
Switzerland.  In  1854,  several  years  after 
her  husband's  death,  Mrs.  Andrew  Kopp 
(Sr.)  came  to  America  with  some  of  her 
children. 

In  1 85 1  John  Kopp  came  to  America 
with  his  brother,  landing,  after  a  voyage 
of  twenty  days,  in  New  York,  where  they 
remained  two  days,  and  then  went  to  Buf- 
falo. They  were  out  of  money,  and 
worked  by  the  day  about  one  year,  after 
which,  journeying  west  to  Ohio,  they  lo- 
cated in  Bellevue.  Huron  county,  where 
where  they  remained  about  eight  years, 
working  by  the  day  and  month.  They 
settled  in  the  ' '  Black  Swamp. "     On  April 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


307 


27,  1857,  John  Kopp  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Anna  M.  Riser,  who  was  born 
in  Switzerland  October  24,  1837,  and 
they  have  become  the  parents  of  eight 
children,  as  follows:  John,  born  Decem- 
ber 18,  1858,  who  is  unmarried;  Mar}' A., 
born  March  15,  1861,  who  married  Jacob 
Younker,  a  farmer  of  Woodville  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  by  whom  she  has 
had  two  children — Albert,  born  Novem- 
ber 10,  1884,  and  Lena,  born  November 
17,  1886;  Jacob  J.,  born  July  16,  1863, 
who  married  Lizzie  Young,  and  they  live 
in  Paulding  county,  Ohio,  and  have  one 
child — May,  born  in  1894;  Albert  F. ,  born 
April  24,  1867,  living  at  home;  Frank, 
born  August  26,  1869,  died  June  9,  1885; 
Adam  H.,  born  December  24,  1871,  liv- 
ing at  home;  Linda  L. ,  born  July  22, 
1874,  living  at  home,  and  Anna  S.,  born 
September  14,  1879.  The  father  of  Mrs. 
John  Kopp  died  in  1849,  her  mother  in 
1883,  and  they  are  buried  at  Bellevue, 
Huron  Co.,  Ohio.  A  brief  record  of  her 
brothers  and  sisters  is  as  follows:  Jacob 
Riser,  a  farmer,  married  Ellen  Fane- 
maker,  and  they  have  four  children;  live 
in  Bellevue,  Ohio.  Elizabeth  married 
George  Schuster,  a  harness-maker  of 
Bellevue,  and  they  have  two  children. 
Anna  is  single,  and  lives  in  Toledo. 
Frances  Riser  married  Frank  Hunsinger, 
a  railroad  man;  they  live  in  Bellevue,  and 
have  two  children. 

Mr.  Ropp  at  first  bought  forty  acres, 
all  timber,  put  up  a  log  cabin,  and  began 
to  clear  the  land.  Later  he  bought  forty 
acres,  which  cost  him  $2,800.  In  1894 
he  bought  forty  acres  in  Wood  county, 
Ohio,  for  $2,600,  and  now  has  a  total  of 
120  acres  of  valuable  land.  In  1891  he 
leased  his  land  to  the  Standard  Oil  Com- 
panj-,  and  they  have  since  put  down  four 
wells,  as  good  as  any  in  the  vicinity. 
When  he  settled  in  the  "Black  Swamp" 
there  were  no  roads,  and  he  helped  to  lay 
out  and  build  several  of  them,  besides 
which  he  has  cleared  over  thirty  acres  of 
timber  himself.      He  has  always  had  the 


best  of  health,  and  is  very  active  for  a 
man  of  his  years.  Mr.  Ropp  is  engaged 
in  general  farming,  and  still  does  some 
work  himself.  He  has  always  voted  the 
Democratic  ticket,  and  is  a  charter  mem- 
ber of  the  Reformed  Church  at  Elmore, 
Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio. 


THOMAS  THRAVES.  The  breadth 
of  thought  and  enlarged  views  of 
life  obtained  by  several  ocean  voy- 
ages, and  a  residence  for  several 
j'ears  amid  the  stirring  scenes  of  mining 
camps,  lumber  mills  and  fruit  gardens  in 
the  Golden  State,  must  be  an  excellent 
preparative.  To  a  young  man  previous 
to  his  settling  down  to  the  usually  dull 
routine  of  life  on  a  farm,  the  recollection 
of  these  events  and  scenes  will  often  be- 
guile a  weary  hour,  and  their"  narration  to 
others  less  favored  will  be  a  source  of 
mutual  pleasure  and  satisfaction.  As  a 
noteworthy  e.xample  of  one  whose  youth 
was  spent  in  adventure,  but  who  is  now 
content  to  remain  within  the  limits  of  his 
farm  home,  we  present  the  subject  of  this 
sketch. 

Thomas  Thraves,  a  farmer  of  Ballville 
township,  Sandusky  county,  was  born  in 
Nottinghamshire,  England,  September  6, 
1839,  a  son  of  William  and  Marilla 
(Graves)  Thraves.  He  came  with  his 
father's  family  to  America  in  the  summer 
of  1844,  and  was  just  five  years  old  the 
day  he  landed  in  Sandusky  county.  He 
was  reared  with  his  parents,  on  a  farm  in 
Washington  township,  Sandusky  count}', 
and  grew  up  to  the  usual  pursuits  and 
hardships  of  farm  life  in  a  new  country. 
At  the  age  of  nineteen  our  subject  left 
school  and  the  endearments  of  home,  and 
started  for  the  gold  regions  of  California 
to  seek  his  fortune  in  the  then  adventur- 
ous West.  He  went  by  the  Panama  route 
from  New  York  City,  reached  San  Fran- 
cisco in  safety,  and  the  following  day 
started  for  Sacramento  City  on  his  way  to 


I 


308 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


join  his  brother  Mark.  On  meeting  him 
the}'  located  claims  in  Yuba  county,  re- 
maining there  one  season,  from  June  until 
October,  1 860,  when  his  brother  Mark  re- 
turned to  Ohio.  Our  subject  was  not  yet 
satisfied  with  his  success  in  mining,  and. 
proceeded  on  to  Virginia  City,  Nevada,  to 
buy  stock  in  the  famous  Comstock  mine; 
but  they  had  gone  up  to  a  speculative 
point  of  from  $1,000  to  $1,  500  per  foot, 
and  he  concluded  not  to  make  any  pur- 
chases, but  went  to  work  for  others  in  the 
mines  and  continued  about  twenty-two 
months.  He  then  returned  to  California, 
and  worked  in  a  mine  at  Downville,  Dur- 
gan  Flat,  in  Sierra  county,  three  months. 
Leaving  the  Flat  he  went  to  Oregon  Hill, 
Yuba  county,  where  he  bought  a  one- 
fourth  interest  in  a  surface  mine,  which  he 
worked  for  three  years  with  good  success, 
making  and  saving  a  goodly  sum  of  money. 
He  then  went  to  w.ork  in  a  fruit  orchard 
two  seasons,  raising  apples,  peaches, 
pears,  etc.,  and  becoming  familiar  with 
the  methods  of  fruit  raising  in  that  rich 
garden  spot  of  the  world.  He  ne.xt  worked 
one  year  for  a  lumber  company  in  Yuba 
and  Plumas  counties.  In  1867  he  re- 
turned to  Ohio,  and  lived  with  his  parents 
in  Ballville  township,  Sandusky  county, 
where  he  assisted  in  farming  and  dealing 
in  live  stock. 

On  October  17,  1871,  Thomas Thraves 
married  Miss  Armida  Annette  Dawley, 
who  was  born  September  17,  1847, 
daughter  of  Elisha  and  Sarah  (Brush) 
Dawley,  of  Green  Creek  township.  Two 
children  were  the  fruits  of  this  marriage: 
Larkin  Alonzo,  born  December  28,  1872, 
living  with  his  parents,  and  a  son,  born 
September  16,  1874,  who  died  in  infancy. 
Mr.  Thraves  is  a  Democrat,  and  one  of 
the  leading  men  of  enterprise  in  his  town- 
ship, where  he  does  a  general  farming 
business.  His  land  has  been  finely  im- 
proved, and  in  1880  he  put  up  a  substan- 
tial frame  residence.  It  is  a  compliment 
to  his  chivalry  and  to  the  excellent  house- 
keeping of  his  estimable  wife  that  he  did 


not  sleep  outside  of  his  own  house  a  single 
night  for  the  first  fifteen  years  of  his  mar- 
ried life. 


CLARK       RATHBUN      CLEVE- 
LAND, a  prosperous  and  popular 
farmer  of  Green   Creek  township, 
Sandusky  county,  and  member  of 
one  of  the  earliest  pioneer  families  of  that 
county,  was  born  in   that  township,  April 
I,  1836. 

Clark  Cleveland,  Sr. ,  his  grandfather, 
migrated  with  his  wife,  Jemima  (Butler), 
and  family  early  in  the  century  from 
Mount  Morris,  Livingston  Co.,  N.  Y. ,  to 
northern  Ohio.  He  first  settled  in  the 
forests  of  Huron  county,  and  had  made 
improvements  when  he  learned  that  his 
title  to  the  land  was  not  good.  He  then 
packed  up  his  few  household  effects  and 
penetrated  deeper  into  the  western  wil- 
derness, entering  eighty  acres  of  govern- 
ment land  in  Green  Creek  township,  and 
there  building  his  second  pioneer  cabin 
some  time  prior  to  1822.  Here  he  re- 
mained until  his  death,  which  occurred  in- 
1831,  in  his  seventy-first  3'ear.  The  chil- 
dren of  Clark  and  Jemima  Cleveland  were 
as  follows:  Abigail,  who  married  Oliver 
Hayden;  Cozia,  who  married  William 
Hamer;  Moses;  Sally,  whose  first  hus- 
band was  Benjamin  Curtis,  her  second 
husband  being  Alphcus  Mclntyre;  Clark, 
Jr.,  who  married  Eliza  Grover,  and  left 
six  children;  Polly,  who  married  Timothy 
Babcock;  Betsy,  who  married  Samuel 
Baker;  and  James. 

James  Cleveland  was  born  at  Mount 
Morris,  N.  Y.,  March  14,  1806,  and  mi- 
grated with  his  father  to  the  pioneer  home 
in  northern  Ohio.  He  remained  with 
his  father  until  his  marriage,  March  3, 
1 83 1,  to  Jeannette  Rathbun,  who  was 
born  in  Genesee  county,  N.  Y.,  May  9, 
1815.  daughter  of  Chaplin  and  Lucinda 
(Sutliff)  Rathbun,  pioneers  of  Green 
Creek  township.  At  the  time  of  his  mar- 
riage James   Cleveland  had  saved  enough- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


309' 


money  to  buy  forty  acres  of  land  in  Green 
Creek  township,  a  part  of  the  old  Sawyer 
farm.  For  five  years  he  was  engaged  in 
clearing  and  cultivating  the  land.  Then 
during  one  winter  with  his  father-in-law 
he  rented  a  saw  and  grist  mill  on  Green 
creek  several  miles  from  the  farm.  He 
supported  the  family,  and  accumulated 
enough  lumber  to  build  a  barn  on  his 
farm,  and  in  the  spring  he  returned  to  his 
farming  operations  and  purchased  some 
additional  land.  In  1841  he  took  a  con- 
tract to  grade  a  half  mile  of  the  Maumee 
and  Western  Reserve  turnpike.  He 
moved  his  family  near  the  scene  of  the 
operations,  and  upon  its  completion,  five 
months  later,  returned  to  the  farm, richer 
by  $600,  paid  in  "State  scrip."  A  part  of 
this  he  traded  for  building  hardware,  and 
then  erected  a  large  frame  dwelling  in 
1845.  Meanwhile  he  kept  adding  more 
acres  to  his  now  quite  extensive  farm. 
He  was  a  sagacious,  tireless,  thrifty  pio- 
neer, and  at  the  time  of  his  death,  which 
occurred  September  i,  1878,  he  owned 
nearh'  400  acres  of  land,  containing  some 
of  the  best  and  most  extensive  improve- 
ments in  the  county.  His  wife,  who  sur- 
vived until  August  8,  1891,  was  a  woman 
of  unusual  energy,  and  was  in  every  sense 
worthy  of  his  ambitions  and  plans  for  ad- 
vancement. She  ably  seconded  his  ef- 
forts to  secure  a  competence  that  might 
support  them  in  their  declining  years.  In 
physique  somewhat  below  the  medium 
size,  scarceh'  weighing  i  20  pounds  in  her 
best  days,  she  left  nothing  undone  to  ad- 
vance the  interests  of  her  family.  When 
her  husband  was  clearing  up  the  farm,  she 
hauled  the  rails  which  he  split  and  made 
the  fences.  Once  when  help  was  scarce 
she  fastened  her  child  to  her  back  by  a 
shawl,  and  thus  burdened,  she  planted 
and  hoed  corn  in  the  field.  Her  first  cal- 
ico dress  she  earned  by  picking  ten  quarts 
of  wild  strawberries  and  walking  to  Lower 
Sandusky,  where  she  traded  them,  at  a 
shilling  a  quart,  for  five  yards  of  calico, 
worth  two  shillings  a  j-ard.      Few  pioneer 


families  in  Sandusky  county  have  left  a 
worthier  record  than  that  of  the  Cleve- 
lands. 

Ten  children  were  born  to  James  and 
Jeannette  Cleveland,  as  follows:  James, 
born  December  3,  1831,  who  reared  a 
family,  and  died  in  1890,  a  farmer  of 
Green  Creek  .township;  Eliza,  born  No- 
vember 29,  1833,  married  A.  J.  Harris, 
of  Clyde,  and  died  in  1861,  leaving  two' 
children;  Clark  R.,  of  Green  Creek  town- 
ship, born  April  i,  1836;  George  Down- 
ing, of  Green  Creek  township,  born  Sep- 
tember 9,  1838;  Lucinda,  born  May  29, 
1 841,  married  Horace  Taylor;  Chaplin^ 
S. ,  born  July  28,  1844,  is  a  resident  of 
Green  Creek  township;  John  H.,  born- 
November  21,  1847,  died  October  28, 
1879,  leaving  one  daughter;  Sarah,  born 
September  22,  1851,  married  Charles- 
Sackrider,  and  now  living  on  the  old 
homestead;  Mary,  born  February  25, 
1854,  married  George  Crosby,  of  Clyde; 
and  Charles,  born  December  30,  1857,. 
died   December  14,  1879. 

Clark  R.  Cleveland  grew  up  on  his 
father's  farm,  attending  the  schools  of  the 
Baker  district,  and  in  his  3outh  worked 
on  the  farm.  Gifted  with  musical  talent 
of  a  high  order,  he  became  a  violinist  of 
great  repute  in  his  neighborhood,  and  no 
musical  programme,  no  local  dance,  was 
complete  without  the  presence  of  Mr. 
Cleveland  and  his  violin.  In  i860  he 
was  married  to  Sarah  Herold,  who  was- 
born  in  Green  Creek  township  October 
10,  1842,  and  died  April  18,  1890.  The 
eight  children  born  to  Clark  R.  and' 
Sarah  Cleveland  are  as  follows:  Clara 
J.,  born  March  11,  1861,  married  Oliver 
E.  Hawk,  and  lives  in  Green  Creek  town- 
ship; Mary  E.,  born  September  28,  1862, 
is  the  wife  of  John  Shipman,  and  mother 
of  two  children — Dawn  and  Carl;  James 
R. ,  born  September  8,  1864,  married, 
and  has  two  children — Lee  and  Sidney; 
Willie,  born  December  25,  1866,  died 
aged  five  days;  Addie  A.,  born  August 
10,   1 868,  is  the  wife  of  George  Neikirk, 


310 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


and  has  four  children — Edna,  Floyd,  Irene 
and  Ferol,  the  last  named  born  September 
1 6,  1895;  Clarence  L. ,  born  January  11, 
1 87 1,  married  Ernestine  Huss;  Irvin  L., 
born  March  2,  1874,  married  Merna  Liv- 
engood,  and  has  one  child — Vera  Mae;  and 
Herbert  R. ,  born  Julv  3,  1876.  The 
second  and  present  wife  of  Clark  R. 
Cleveland  is  Alma  Andrews,  born  in  San- 
dusky county,  December  27,  185S,  widow 
of  H.  P.  Livengood,  and  daughter  of  Jer- 
emiah and  Mary  J.  (Craig)  Andrews. 
Jeremiah  Andrews  was  born  at  Akron, 
Ohio,  November  23,  1834,  and  died 
March  2,  1892;  his  wife  was  born  April 
6,  1839,  and  is  still  living.  The  four 
children  of  Jeremiah  and  Mary  J.  An- 
drews were  as  follows:  Alma;  Elva, 
wife  of  J.  E.  Rathbun;  Ulysses  C,  of 
Millersville;  and  Myrtie  M.,  wife  of  John 
\\'eaver,  of  Fremont.  By  her  marriage 
to  Mr.  Livengood  (who  was  born  in  Erie 
county,  Ohio,  February  25,  1854,  and 
died  January  8,  1885)  Mrs.  Cleveland  had 
two  children — Merna  E. ,  born  March  25, 
187S,  and  Ata  H.,  born  September  3, 
1884. 

Mr.  Cleveland  has  been  a  practical 
and  successful  farmer  through  life;  for 
thirty-five  years  he  was  also  a  professional 
musician,  and  for  four  years  he  was  pro- 
prietor of  a  hall  where  the  Terpsichorean 
art  was  frequentlj'  practiced  to  the  notes 
of  his  soul-stirring  violin.  He  owns  a 
fine  farm  of  115  acres  of  land,  and  de- 
votes his  attention  chieliy  to  fruit  grow- 
ing, especially  blackberries,  raspberries 
and  strawberries;  but  he  also  raises  grain 
and  hogs.  In  politics  he  is  a  lifelong 
Democrat.  Mrs.  Cleveland  is  a  member 
of  the  M.  E.  Church. 


HON.   ALMON  DUNHAM,   of 
Woodville,  Sandusky  county,  was 
born   May  6,  1824,  in  Erie  (then 
Huron)     county,    Ohio,     son    of 
Davis  and  Anna  (^^'eidner)  Dunham. 
Davis  Dunham  was  born  in  Erie  coun- 


ty, Penn.,  January  11,  1798,  and  in  181 1 
came  to  Ohio  with  his  parents,  Phineas 
and  Sarah  Dunham,  both  of  whom  were 
born  in  Pennsylvania.  Our  subject's 
great-grandfather,  who  was  of  English- 
Irish  stock,  removed  to  Pennsylvania  from 
Virginia.  The  paternal  grandparents 
located  in  181 1  in  Erie  (then  Huron) 
county,  Ohio,  where  they  died.  Their 
children  were:  John,  Eli,  and  Davis,  all 
of  whom  died  in  Sandusky  county;  Levi, 
who  went  west;  Nathan,  who  went  to 
California;  Jonathan,  who  went  to  the 
"Far  West;"  Nathaniel,  who  died  in 
Sandusky  county;  Mary  (or  Polly),  who 
married  John  Cowel,  and  lived  on  San- 
dusky Bay,  in  Erie  county;  Sarah,  who 
married  B.  V.  Havens,  and  lived  near  El- 
more, Ottawa  county;  and  Lucy,  who 
moved  to  the  South. 

Davis  Dunham,  father  of  our  subject, 
died  in  1883,  and  his  wife,  who  was  born 
in  Pennsylvania,  died  here  at  the  age  of 
seventy  years.  All  their  children  but?  one 
were  born  in  Erie  county,  whence  in  1834 
they  removed  to  what  is  now  Woodville 
township,  Sandusky  county,  and  here 
their  last  child  was  born.  They  lived  in 
Woodville  township  during  the  latter  part 
of  their  busy,  useful  and  successful  lives. 
They  were  members  of  the  M.  E.  Church. 
Their  children  were:  Anna,  who  died 
young;  Rebecca,  who  married  A.  C. 
Ames,  and  now  resides  in  Marshall  coun- 
ty, Ind. ;  Sarah,  who  married  Martin  Mc- 
Gowan,  and  died  in  Ottawa  countj-,  Ohio; 
Almon,  our  subject;  Margaret,  who  mar- 
ried William  McGowan,  now  living  in 
Indiana;  Lucy,  also  in  Indiana;  Phineas, 
who  died  in  childhood;  and  Samantha, 
who  died  in  Michigan. 

Almon  Dunham  came  to  Sandusky 
county  when  a  boy,  attended  the  subscrip- 
tion schools,  and  was  reared  on  a  farm. 
He  remained  here  until  his  marriage,  in 
1849,  to  Mrs.  Mary  Allen,  who  was  born 
in  the  State  of  New  York,  in  181 8,  and 
died  in  1 880.  She  was  a  noble  woman, 
and    highly    respected.      They    had  four 


v.x^'i^i^^'z.,^?^^*/      'r^-et^^,y/LAyiy*'*^^ 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


311 


children:  (i)  Orren  and  (2)  Orsen  (twins), 
born  August  13,  1850,  of  whom  Orsen 
died  when  one  year  and  nine  months  old, 
and  Orren  is  now  a  business  men  in 
Toledo,  Ohio;  he  married  Susan  Alex- 
ander, and  they  have  one  child — Robert 
Alexander.  (3)  Mary  E.  and  (4)  Frank- 
lin P.  (twins),  born  October  2,  1852,  the 
former  of  whom  is  now  the  widow  of 
William  Yohn;  Franklin  P.  died  in  child- 
hood. 

Almon  Dunham  grew  to  manhood 
under  the  pioneer  influences  of  the  sur- 
rounding country.  He  distinctly  recalls 
many  incidents  of  the  early  days  that  are 
now  gone  for  ever,  but  he  does  not  regret 
the  changes  that  have  been  wrought.  He 
has  kept  up  with  the  progress  of  the  times, 
and  has  contributed  in  no  small  degree 
thereto  in  his  vicinity.  He  settled  on  his 
present  farm  after  marriage,  and  has  since 
continued  to  live  there,  carrying  on  gen- 
eral farming.  He  has  been  an  active, 
public-spirited  citizen,  and  served  his 
township  twenty-one  consecutive  years  as 
justice  of  the  peace  and  about  fourteen 
years  as  township  clerk.  In  1877  he  was 
made  the  regular  nominee  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  for  the  State  Legislature,  and 
was  elected,  taking  his  seat  in  January, 
1878.  He  was  re-elected  in  1879,  and 
served  two  more  terms.  The  Democrats 
were  in  power  during  the  first  term,  the 
Republicans  during  the  second,  and  he 
served  on  the  Committee  on  Claims  both 
terms,  also  introducing  several  local  bills, 
all  of  which  became  laws. 

In  personal  appearance  Mr.  Dunham 
is  a  thin,  spare  man,  six  feet  and  one  inch 
in  height,  and,  although  sevent}'  years 
old,  stands  straight  as  an  arrow,  and 
walks  lighter  on  his  feet  than  most  men 
of  forty-five.  His  father  was  six  feet  three 
inches  in  height,  and  a  giant  in  frame  and 
strength.  He  was  noted  for  these  quali- 
ties all  over  the  neighborhood,  and  in  the 
early  da3s,  when  men  were  scarce,  he 
would  often  be  called  upon  to  go  from  one 

end  of  a  log  to  the  other,  in  putting  up 
20 


log  houses.  Our  subject  is  a  member  of 
the  M.  E.  Church,  and  in  political  affilia- 
tion he  has  been  a  life-long  Democrat. 
After  the  death  of  his  first  wife,  Mr. 
Dunham  wedded  Miss  Mary  E.  Miller,  a 
native  of  Sandusky  county,  who  still  sur- 
vives. 


JOHN  F.  HILLE,  of  Woodville  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  was  born  in 
that  township  December  17,  1856, 
and  is  a  son  of  H.  H.  and  Catherine 
(Wickham)  Hille.  The  grandparents  of 
John  F.  Hille  came  to  America  when  he 
was  a  boy,  and  bought  land  in  Woodville 
township,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  where 
the)'  made  their  home. 

H.  H.  Hille,  who  was  one  of  four 
children,  was  born  near  Hanover,  Ger- 
many, in  1821.  In  1855,  in  Woodville 
township,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Catharine  Wickham,  who  was  born  in 
Germany,  in  1832,  and  came  to  America 
in  1850.  To  them  were  born  seven  chil- 
dren, as  follows:  John  F.,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch;  Eliza,  who  married  Fred 
Hudlebrink,  a  farmer  of  Wood  county, 
and  has  had  one  child;  Julia,  deceased  at 
the  age  of  twenty-one  years;  William,  a 
farmer  of  Wood  county,  married  Anna 
Ofterstrauss;  John,  deceased  when  young; 
Henry,  a  farmer  in  Wood  county,  married 
Carrie  Swan,  and  they  have  one  child; 
and  Frank,  married  to  Clara  Nickels,  to 
which  union  one  child  has  been  born. 
The  father  always  worked  hard,  and  at 
his  death,  which  occurred  in  1873,  he  left 
169  acres  of  valuable  land  in  Sandusky 
and  Wood  counties.  His  widow  died  in 
1882. 

John  F.  Hille  received  a  common- 
school  education,  and  always  lived  at 
home.  On  November  9,  1882,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Mathilda  Leisher, 
who  was  born  in  Germany  January  i, 
1858,  and  they  have  had  four  children, 
namely:  Wilhelmina  Elise,  born  August 
14,  1883;    Johann   Fred,    born    July  27, 


312 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


1 887 ;  Eddie,  who  died  in  1 892 ;  and  Frank 
H.,  born  October  26,  1893.  In  1892 
Mr.  Hille's  land  was  leased  to  an  oil  firm, 
and  nine  wells  have  been  put  down,  seven 
of  which  are  still  in  good  flow.  Mr. 
Hille  is  a  strong  Republican,  and  has 
held  several  township  offices.  He  attends 
the  German  Lutheran  Church. 


AE.  METZGER,  M.  D.  C.,  of 
Clyde,  Sandusky  county,  is  a  na- 
tive of  that  county,  born  Sep- 
tember 7,  1867.  He  is  a  son  of 
Jacob  and  Sarah  J.  (Shellhammer)  Metz- 
ger,  both  of  whom  were  born  in  Seneca 
county,  Ohio,  the  former  in  1842,  and 
the  latter  in  1845.  They  now  reside  in 
Sandusky  county,  only  one  and  a  half 
miles  south  of  Clyde. 

In  the  common  schools  A.  E.  Metz- 
ger  received  his  primary  education,  and 
subsequently  spent  one  term  in  the  high 
schools  of  Clyde.  He  began  the  study  of 
veterinary  medicine  about  1890,  and  the 
following  year  entered  the  Chicago  Veteri- 
nary College,  being  a  diligent  student;  he 
graduated  among  the  first  of  the  honor 
class  of  1893.  He  then  located  in  Clyde, 
where  he  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his 
profession,  and  has  since  had  a  lucrative 
practice.  He  treats  general  diseases  com- 
mon to  domestic  animals,  and  has  re- 
ceived the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Compara- 
tive Medicine.  All  his  life  he  has  been 
familiar  with  horses,  and  as  he  has  given 
his  profession  thorough  study,  he  is  hav- 
ing excellent  success  in  its  practice.  That 
he  is  skillful  is  demonstrated  in  the  va- 
rious operations  he  has  performed,  and 
he  thoroughly  understands  all  that  is  to 
be  known  in  the  veterinary  line,  standing 
high  in  his  profession,  and  receiving  the 
patronage  of  the  leading  farmers  and  stock 
owners  in  his  vicinity. 

On  March  2,  1890,  Mr.  Metzger  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Anna  L. 
\\'elch,  who  was  born  in  Sandusky  coun- 


ty, March  2,  1867.  They  are  highly  re- 
spected people  of  the  communit}',  where 
the}'  have  many  warm  friends. 


THEOPHILUS  FITTERER,  of 
York  township,  Sandusky  county, 
was  born  in  Palmyra.  Lebanon 
Co.,  Penn.,  December  9,  1852, 
the  third  of  the  four  sons  of  Simon  and 
Mary  (Swanger)  Fitterer,  who  are  at 
present  living  in  Palmyra,  Pennsylvania. 
Simon  Fitterer,  who  is  a  shoemaker 
by  trade,  was  born  in  1S16.  His  father 
served  in  the  war  of  181 2.  Simon  F"it- 
terer  was  united  in  marriage  with  Mary 
Swanger,  and  they  have  had  four  chil- 
dren, all  sons,  namely:  Josiah,  a  tinsmith 
of  Palmyra,  Lebanon  Co.,  Penn.;  Rev. 
J.  S.,  of  Bucyrus,  Crawford  Co.,  Ohio,  a 
son  of  whom  is  attending  Heidelberg  Uni- 
versity, at  Tiffin,  Ohio;  Theophilus,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch;  and  Amos,  who 
died  in  Palmyra,  Penn.,  in  the  spring  of 
1 894.  The  eleven-year-old  son  of  Amos, 
William  Simon,  was  taken  to  be  raised 
by  his  uncle  Theophilus,  and  is  attending 
school. 

Our  subject  learned  the  trade  of  cabi- 
net-maker in  Pennsylvania,  but,  coming 
to  York  township,  Sandusky  county, 
Ohio,  in  March,  1873,  he  began  farming, 
and  has  since  followed  that  vocation.  On 
October  18,  1874,  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Sarah  M.  Mook,  daughter  of  the 
Rev.  Conrad  and  Anna  M.  (Vogt)  Mook. 
Mr.  Mook  was  born  in  Union  county, 
Pennsylvania,  in  1807.  He  studied  med- 
icine somewhat,  but  never  "hung  out  a 
sign."  He  came  to  Ohio  in  1836,  and  on 
March  27,  following  year,  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Miss  \'ogt,  who  was  born 
in  Philadelphia  July  15,  1816,  and  a  few 
3ears  later  migrated  with  her  parents  to 
Wj-andot  (then  Crawford)  county,  Ohio. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Vogt  came  to  York  town- 
ship in  1836,  the  same  year  in  which 
Rev.  Mr.  Mook  came  to  the  State.  Of 
their  eight  children  six  grew  to  maturity. 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


313 


namelj':  John  H.,  now  living  at  Mt.  Car- 
mel,  York  township;  Rosina  E. ,  wife  of 
the  Rev.  J.  S.  Fitterer,  of  Bucyrus;  Mary 
L. ,  widow  of  the  late  J.  K.  Landis,  of 
York  township;  Anna  M.,  wife  of  Samuel 
Royer,  of  York  township;  Sarah  M.,  wife 
of  Theophilus  Fitterer,  of  York  township; 
and  Katie  S.,  wife  of  William  Jones,  of 
York  township. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Mook  died  September 
10,  1883,  and  his  widow  is  living  with  her 
daughter  and  son-in-law  upon  the  same 
farm  on  which  she  has  lived  for  fifty-seven 
years.  Mr.  Mook  was  a  well-educated 
man,  and  had  a  library  of  over  seven  hun- 
dred books,  among  them  a  Bible  printed 
in  Germany  in  1768,  of  large  proportions 
and  weighing  over  twenty-five  pounds; 
also  a  copy  of  the  Koran,  which  is  of  great 
value,  as  it  is  one  of  a  very  rare  edition. 
This  library  was  given  to  the  children, 
and  it  was  expressly  stated  in  the  will 
that  no  books  were  to  be  sold.  In  polit- 
ical preferences  Mr.  Fitterer  is  a  Repub- 
lican. The  family  are  members  of  the 
Evangelical  Church. 


HENRY  F.  NAYLOR,  a  prominent 
and  enterprising    agriculturist    of 
Madison      township,       Sandusky 
county,     was    born     in    Medina 
county,  Ohio,  July  9,  1842,  a  son  of  Sam- 
uel and  Elizabeth  (Uhler)  Naylor. 

Our  subject  attended  the  schools  of 
the  district  where  he  was  born,  his  edu- 
cation being  necessarily  limited,  as  he  had 
to  commence  work  early  in  life.  Up  to 
his  twenty-second  year  he  was  employed 
as  a  farm  laborer,  with  the  exception  of 
some  twelve  months  he  was  engaged  on  a 
railroad,  and  he  then,  in  May,  1864,  en- 
listed in  Company  F,  One  Hundred  and 
Sixty-sixth  O.  V.  I.,  Col.  James  G.  Blake, 
of  Medina  county,  commanding.  His 
company  was  stationed  at  Fort  Richard- 
son, and  was  engaged  in  the  construction 
of  several  forts,  including  Fort  Allen,  but 
was  never  called  into  active  service,  and 


September  15,  1864,  it  returned  to  Cleve- 
land, where  Mr.  Naylor  received  his  dis- 
charge. Returning  to  Medina  county,  he 
remained  there  but  a  short  time,  and  then 
came  to  Madison  township,  Sandusky 
county,  settling  on  forty  acres  of  wild, 
timber-covered  land.  Here  he  at  once 
built  himself  a  log  cabin,  in  which  his 
faithful,  self-sacrificing  wife  was  content 
to  share  with  him  all  the  cares  and  vicis- 
situdes incident  to  a  wild  pioneer  life,  far 
away  from  friends  and  family.  Mr.  Na}'- 
lor,  with  an  earnest  desire  to  accomplish 
the  task  which  he  had  before  him,  set  to 
work  with  a  will  to  clear  the  forest,  and 
hew  out  a  space  for  cultivation,  so  that 
ere  long  he  succeeded  in  transforming  the 
wilderness  into  waving  fields  of  grain  and 
billowy  clover  meadows.  By  and  bj'  he 
added  to  this  purchase  another  forty  acres 
of  timber  land,  which  he  also  cleared,  the 
old  log  cabin  gave  place  to  a  substantial 
and  ornamental  dwelling,  surrounded  with 
barns,  outhouses,  orchard,  etc.,  every- 
thing bearing  the  evidence  of  thrift  and 
prosperity,  neatness  and  good  taste. 

On  March  24,  1867,  in  Scott  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  Henry  F.  Naylor 
and  Miss  Hattie  Miller  were  united  in 
marriage.  She  was  born  in  Scott  town- 
ship April  30,  1846,  daughter  of  Simon 
Miller,  a  shoemaker  by  trade,  who  came 
from  the  East  to  that  township,  where  he 
worked  at  his  trade  in  connection  with 
farming.  He  married  Miss  Elizabeth 
Hutchinson,  by  whom  he  had  eight  chil- 
dren, as  follows:  William,  a  shoemaker, 
who  died  in  Kansas;  George,  a  farmer, 
who  is  married  and  resides  in  Michigan; 
Mary,  wife  of  Henry  Van  Horn;  Jacob 
F. ,  who  died  in  Wood  county;  John,  a 
farmer  of  Sandusky  county;  Louisa, 
widow  of  John  Barr;  Hattie,  wife  of  Mr. 
Naylor;  and  Sarah,  wife  of  John  Teeters, 
of  Nebraska.  The  father  of  these  died 
October  22,  1854,  the  mother  on  April  6, 
1 861.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Naylor  were  born 
eleven  children,  their  names  and  dates  of 
birth  being    as   follows:     Clara,  January 


314 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


19,  1868  (deceased  September  23,  1875); 
Flora  M.,  November  22,  1870;  Frank  N., 
August  19,  1872  (deceased  September  3, 
1876,  of  diphtheria);  Fleetie  E..  July  28, 
1875;  Ernest  L.,  June  29,  1877;  Reason 
E.,  January  11,  1879;  Maj'  L. ,  January 
27,  1882;  Ludie  M.,  November  21,  1880; 
Irvin  D.,  March  14,  1885;  Jay  F.,  No- 
vember 27,  1886;  and  Koudie  E.,  May 
29,  1889. 

Mrs.  Naylor  is  a  member  of  the 
Daughters  of  Rebekah,  Lodge  No.  295, 
Gibsonburg,  president  of  the  Aid  Society 
of  the  Disciple  Church,  which,  under  her 
guidance  became  a  pronounced  success, 
within  a  short  period  of  time  accumulat- 
ing the  sum  of  $336  in  collections  and 
sales  of  fancy  work  made  by  her  and  other 
members  of  the  society.  In  his  political 
views  Mr.  Naylor  is  a  stanch  Republican, 
but  has  never  been  an  ofSce  seeker,  his 
business  demanding  and  receiving  all  his 
time  and  attention.  He  has  served  as 
school  director,  always  entertaining  a  deep 
interest  for  educational  affairs,  as  well  as 
for  whatever  else  tends  to  the  benefit  of 
his  fellow  men.  Socially,  he  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  Lodge,  No.  687, 
and  of  the  K.  of  P.  Lodge,  No.  435.  both 
or  Gibsonburg.  He  and  his  wife  are 
highly  respected  throughout  their  part  of 
the  county  as  honorable,  loyal  and  God- 
fearing people,  whose  success  in  life  has 
been  attained  by  industry,  assiduous  toil 
and  judicious  economy. 


WARREN  A.    BOWLUS,  a  lead- 
ing  agriculturist,    was  born  on 
his    present    farm    in    Sandusky 
township,      Sandusk}'      county, 
August  25,  1850,  a  son  of  Henr}'  and  Re- 
becca (Williamson)  Bowlus. 

Henry  Bowlus,  father  of  Warren  A., 
was  a  native  of  Maryland,  born  in  18 10, 
in  Frederick  county,  of  Pennsylvania 
Dutch  stock.  When  a  boy  he  came  to 
Ohio  with  his  father,  Henry  Bowlus,  who 
took  up  land    from    the    general  govern- 


ment. When  advanced  in  life  he  was 
killed  by  a  horse.  Our  subject's  father 
was  twice  married,  first  time  to  Miss 
Catharine  Keller,  by  whom  he  had  six 
children,  as  follows:  (i)  Hanson  lives  in 
Fremont,  Ohio;  (2)  Mahala  married  Sol- 
oman  W^olf,  and'lives  at  Tiffin,  Ohio;  (3) 
Martha,  wife  of  Edward  Deemer,  resides 
in  Sandusky  township;  (4)  Orie  died 
young;  (5)  Caroline  died  when  three 
years  old;  (6)  Catharine  married  Mat. 
Hobert,  and  lives  in  Pemberville,  Wood 
Co.,  Ohio.  For  his  second  wife  Mr. 
Bowlus  married  Rebecca  Catharine  Will- 
iamson, and  children  as  follows  were  born 
to  them:  (i)  Warren  A.,  subject  of  sketch; 
(2)  Anna,  who  married  Cyrus  Smith,  and 
is  now  living  at  Gibsonburg,  Ohio;  (3)' 
Henry,  in  Pemberville;  and  (4)  Robert,  a 
farmer,  at  Helena,  Ohio.  The  mother, 
of  these,  who  was  born  in  Frederick 
county,  Md.,  died  at  the  age  of  si.\ty-six. 
Warren  A.  Bolus  attended  the  district 
schools,  and  was  reared  to  agricultural 
pursuits.  At  the  age  of  twenty-four,  in 
1874,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Carrie  En- 
gelman,  daughter  of  Samuel  Engelman, 
and  they  have  seven  children,  named  re- 
spectively: Clarence  L. ,  Richard,  Lloyd, 
Earl,  Ross,  Edna  and  Rebecca.  After 
marriage  our  subject  settled  on  the  old 
homestead,  and  is  now  the  owner  of  160 
acres  of  land.  His  occupation  is  that  of 
general  farming  and  stock  raising,  in  which 
he  has  been  successful.  In  politics  he  is 
a  Republican,  and  in  religious  faith  a 
member  of  the  M.  P.  Church. 


GEORGE  JACKSON,  a  successful 
farmer  of  York    township,    San- 
dusky county,  was  born  in  Lin- 
colnshire, England,  November  i, 
1 848,  and  is  a  son  of  Robert  E.  and  Mary 
(Cragg) Jackson. 

Robert  E.  Jackson  was  born  Septem- 
ber 9,  1 81 2,  and  is  a  son  of  Robert  and 
Elizabeth  (Elmer)  Jackson.  In  Lincoln- 
shire, on  August  27,  1839,  he  was  united 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


315 


in  marriage  with  Mary  Cragg,  who  was 
born  June  3,  181  5,  daughter  of  John  and 
Mar}'  Cragg,  and  they  became  the  parents 
of  six  children,  namely:  ^^'illiam,  Frances 
Ann  (Mrs.  John  Rife),  George  (the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch),  Rhoda  (Mrs.  William 
Johnson),  Clarisee  (deceased),  and  Her- 
mon.  Robert  E.  came  to  this  country  in 
1 85 1,  landing  at  Portland.  Maine,  whence 
he  proceeded  to  Orleans  county,  N.  Y. 
After  sojourning  there  one  year,  he  con- 
tinued westward  to  Ohio,  arriving  in  York 
township,  Sandusky  county,  in  1852. 
Here  he  bought  a  farm  of  ninety-eight 
acres,  on  which  he  still  resides.  In  poli- 
tics he  was  formerly  a  Democrat,  but 
now  votes  with  the  Populists. 

George  Jackson  was  brought  to  America 
at  the  age  of  three  years,  and  received  a 
common-school  education  in  Townsend 
and  York  townships,  Sandusky  Co. , Ohio. 
On  March  18,  1874,  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Miss  Catherine  Gust,  of  York 
township,  Sandusky  county,  who  was 
born  in  Erie  county,  Ohio,  September  27, 
1854.  They  have  had  one  child,  Frank, 
born  December  i,  1874.  Peter  and 
Elizabeth  (Hoffman)  Gust,  the  parents  of 
Mrs.  George  Jackson,  were  born  in  Mark- 
able,  German}',  near  the  river  Rhine. 
They  were  married  in  1848,  and  came  to 
this  country  in  1852,  landing  in  New 
York,  whence  they  journeyed  to  Ohio,  set- 
tling in  Sandusky  county,  where  they  re- 
sided till  1874.  They  then  purchased  a 
farm  in  Michigan,  and  moved  there,  which 
is  now  their  home.  In  November,  1 861, 
Mr.  Gust  enlisted  in  the  Seventy-second 
O.  V.  I.,  in  which  he  served  till  June, 
1864,  when  he  was  taken  prisoner,  and 
held  eleven  months,  till  the  close  of  the 
war.  He  and  his  wife  had  four  children, 
namely:  Catherine,  Mrs.  Jackson;  Mag- 
gie, wife  of  Jerome  Hall,  of  Erie  county; 
Will  and  Henry.  Mr.  Jackson  has  been 
interested  in  agricultural  pursuits  from  his 
youth,  and  now  has  a  productive  farm 
of  eighty  acres,  which  he  conducts  with 
the  assistance  of  his   son    Frank.      They 


do  general  farming.  Until  within  a  few 
years  Mr.  Jackson  affiliated  with  the 
Democratic  party,  but  he  now  casts  his 
vote  for  the  most  worthy  candidate,  irre- 
spective of  party. 


JOHN  G.  BRUGGER,  a  successful 
farmer  of  York  township,  Sandusky 
county,  is  descended  from  the  sturdy 
stock  of  the  Teutonic  race,  and  ex- 
emplifies their  characteristic  traits.  He 
was  born  in  Northumberland  county, 
Penn.,  October  30,  1831,  a  son  of  John 
G.  Brugger,  Sr. ,  who  was  born  in  1804. 
Rudolph  and  Catherine  Brugger,  pa- 
ternal grandparents  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  owned  a  small  farm  in  Germany, 
where  their  son,  John  G.  Brugger,  Sr. , 
was  born.  In  18 16  the  farm  was  sold, 
the  family  came  to  America  settling  in 
Pennsylvania,  and  Mr.  Brugger  once  more 
turned  his  attention  to  tilling  the  soil. 
John  G.  Brugger  remained  at  home  help- 
ing his  father  until  1827.  In  that  year 
he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Cath- 
erine Arnold,  who  was  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  they  had  twelve  children.  Of 
these  (i)  Sallie,  is  at  present  living  with 
her  brother,  John  G.  Brugger;  she  was 
married  in  1847  to  Nathan  Forrey,  a  farm- 
er of  Snyder  county,  Penn. ,  and  they 
had  four  children — Caroline,  Thomas  Jef- 
ferson, George  Washington  and  Benja- 
min Franklin;  the  father  of  these  died  in 
i860,  and  in  1874  Mrs.  Forrey  was  mar- 
ried to  David  Goy,  also  a  farmer  of  Sny- 
der county,  Penn.;  he  died  in  1878,  after 
which  Mrs.  Goy  came  to  Ohio,  where  she 
now  lives.  (2)  Rudolph,  who  resides  in 
Riley  township,  Sandusky  county,  where 
he  has  a  large  farm,  married  Sophia  Moy- 
er,  and  their  children  are:  William,  an 
insurance  agent  at  Clyde,  Green  Creek 
township,  Sandusky  county;  John  and 
Robert,  farmers  of  Riley  township,  in  the 
same  county;  George,  of  Clyde;  and  Har- 
dy, who  teaches  school.  (3)  Samuel, 
the  third  child,  is  a  civil  engineer  in  Penn- 


31G 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


sylvania.  (4)  John  G.  is  the  subject  of 
this  sketch.  (5)  Benjamin  is  a  fanner  in 
Tennessee.  (6)  Mary  was  the  wife  of  Mr. 
Vogt,  the  blacksmith  at  Wales  Corners. 
(7)  George  died  several  years  ago  in  Penn- 
sylvania. (8)  Jonathan  is  a  carpenter  in 
that  State.  (9)  William  died  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. (10)  Lizzie  is  the  wife  of  Silas 
Melick,  a  Nebraska  farmer.  John  G. 
Brugger,  Sr. ,  died  in  1856,  and  his  widow 
in  1870. 

John  G.  Brugger,  whose  name  intro- 
duces this  sketch,  has  but  little  "book 
learning,"  as  his  early  years  were  spent 
in  overcoming  the  obstacles  which  so 
thickly  beset  the  path  of  the  earh'  settler 
in  his  struggle  for  daily  bread.  His  fa- 
ther permitted  him  to  leave  the  farm,  and 
learn  the  trade  of  blacksmith  when  he 
was  twenty  years  old.  For  a  few  years 
he  followed  the  trade  in  Pennsylvania, 
and  then,  in  1854,  came  to  Ohio,  first 
locating  at  Flat  Rock,  Seneca  county, 
where  he  remained  one  year,  then  coming 
to  York  township,  Sandusky  county, 
where  he  started  a  shop  and  worked  at 
his  trade  until  1S72,  when  he  bought  160 
acres  of  land,  constituting  the  farm  which 
he  now  owns  and  tills.  In  February, 
1864,  Mr.  Brugger  enlisted  in  the  Signal 
Corps,  U.  S.  A.,  and  served  under  Sher- 
man and  McPherson.  In  the  Atlanta 
campaign,  and  on  the  "march  to  the 
sea"  the  Signal  Corps  did  good  and  vali- 
ant service ;  Mr.  Brugger  was  with  Sherman 
as  he  came  up  through  South  and  North 
Carolina,  and  was  discharged  at  Louis- 
ville, Ky. ,  in  August,  1865.  He  is  soci- 
able and  public-spirited,  and  his  life  af- 
fords an  excellent  example  to  the  younger 
generation.  In  politics  he  is  an  active 
Republican. 


CARL    WEICKERT,    a    successful 
farmer  and  stock-raiser  of  Kings- 
way,     Rice    township,    Sandusky 
county,    was    born    in    Germany, 
May  4,   1859,  and  is  a    son  of  Philip  and 


Catherine  (Biebesheimer)  Weickert,  who 
were  born  in  Hessen,  Germany,  on  De- 
cember 25,  1 82 1,  and  May  9,  1829,  re- 
spectively. 

Philip  Weickert  came  to  this  country 
with  his  wife  and  six  children  in  1862, 
and  settled  in  Rice  township,  Sandusky 
county,  Ohio,  where  he  bought  thirty- 
eight  acres  of  land,  paying  fourteen  hun- 
dred dollars  for  same.  They  have  had 
eight  children,  as  follows:  (i)  Maggie, 
who  was  born  in  Hessen,  Germany,  May 
24,  1848,  and  married  John  Loesch;  they 
live  in  Wood  county,  Ohio,  and  are  the 
parents  of  two  bright  children — Frank 
and  Lewis.  (2)  John,  born  in  Hessen, 
Germany,  February  10,  1850,  married 
Bertha  Kyle;  they  live  in  Kansas,  and 
have  three  children — Louise,  George  and 
Laura,  all  now  living  at  home.  (3) 
Philip,  born  in  Hessen,  Germanj',  No- 
vember 19,  1853,  died  and  was  buried  in 
Rice  township,  Sandusky  county,  Ohio,  in 
1872.  (4)  Catherine,  born  in  Hessen, 
Germany,  October  i,  1856,  married 
Charles  Gray,  by  whom  she  had  two 
children — Willie  and  Katie;  she  died  in 
Rice  township,  December  16,  1885,  and 
was  buried  there.  (5)  Carl  is  the  subject 
of  this  sketch.  (6)  Willie  was  born  in 
Hessen,  Germany,  September  7,  1 861,  is 
single,  and  lives  in  Kansas.  (7)  Lewis,  also 
single,  was  born  in  Rice  township,  San- 
dusky county,  August  23,  1863,  and  still 
lives  in  his  native  township.  (8)  Minnie, 
born  in  Rice  township,  Sandusky  county, 
September  12,  1868,  married  Charles 
Berner,  and  they  have  had  one  child, 
Frank,  born  in  Reno  county,  Kans.,  Oc- 
tober 25,  1888.  The  grandparents  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  were  Philip 
and  Mary  (Helm)  Weickert;  they  were 
born  in  Hessen,  Germany,  where  they 
both  also  died. 

Carl  Weickert  worked  for  his  father 
until  he  was  of  age,  then  went  to  Kansas, 
worked  on  a  farm  for  about  a  year, 
saved  his  money,  and  came  back  to  Rice 
township,  Sandusky   county,  and  bought 


COMMEMORATIVE  BWORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


817 


thirtj'-four  acres  of  land  adjoining  his 
father's  property.  He  is  not  married,  so 
lives  at  his  father's  home.  He  raises  fine 
horses,  and  also  a  mi.xed  stock.  In  pol- 
itics he  is  a  good  Democrat,  and  in 
religious  affiliation  belongs  to  the  Evan- 
gelishe  Lutheran  Church. 


GF.  BUCHMAN.  Success  in  any 
occupation  in  life  requires  a 
genius  adapted  to  a  special  voca- 
tion. This  is  true,  in  a  marked 
degree,  of  mercantile  business,  as  there  is 
a  greater  per  cent  of  failures  in  this  than 
in  any  other  pursuit,  a  vast  majority  of 
those  engaged  therein  not  being  pos- 
sessed of  either  the  qualities  or  qualifica- 
tions essential  to  success.  A  merchant 
must  understand  not  only  the  technical 
details  of  his  business — what  to  purchase 
and  what  not  to  purchase,  and  the  amount 
required  at  various  seasons  of  the  year — 
but  must  have  a  broad  and  liberal  knowl- 
edge of  the  financial  standing  and  the  in- 
tegrity of  the  people  in  his  community  as 
well;  and,  above  all,  his  own  honesty  of 
purpose,  integrity  and  honor  must  ever 
be  above  question. 

As  a  gentleman  whose  characteristics 
harmonize  with  what  is  suggested  above, 
we  introduce  a  brief  biographical  sketch 
of  Godfrey  F.  Buchman,  grocer  and  pro- 
vision mercl]ant,  Fremont,  Sandusky 
county,  who  was  born  in  Seneca  county, 
Ohio,  October  20,  1837,  and  has  been 
established  in  Fremont  since  1867.  His 
ancestry  hail  from  the  gallant  republic  of 
Switzerland.  His  paternal  grandfather 
was  a  weaver  by  trade,  and  worked  at 
that  business  in  winter,  living  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Dettingen,  and  also  operated  a 
small  farm.  The  parents  of  Godfrey  F. 
Buchman  were  John  and  Mary  Magdalen 
(Kissenberger)  Buchman.  John  Buchman 
was  born  in  the  Canton  of  Argau,  Swit- 
zerland, January  24,  1800;  Magdalen 
(Kissenberger),  his  wife,  was  born  in  the 
village  of    Dettingen,   Switzerland,    July 


22,  1 80 1.  They  were  married  in  Swit- 
zerland in  1S26,  and  three  of  their  chil- 
dren were  born  there.  John  Buchman 
emigrated  with  his  family  to  America  in 
1837,  and  located  on  a  small  farm  near 
Republic,  Seneca  Co.,  Ohio,  where  he 
remained  until  1852,  in  which  year  he  re- 
moved to  another  farm  in  the  same 
county,  close  to  Tiffin.  He  and  his  wife 
lived  on  this  farm  the  rest  of  their  lives, 
and  reared  their  children  to  economy  and 
industry.  They  were  devout  members  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  In  his  po- 
litical affiliations  John  Buchman  was  a 
Jacksonian  Democrat.  The}'  were  pros- 
perous and  successful  in  business,  and  in 
due  course  of  time  gave  a  small  farm  to 
each  of  their  children.  John  Buchman 
died  November  9,  1885;  Magdalen  Buch- 
man died  October  4,  1868.  Their  chil- 
dren were:  (i)  John,  born  in  Switzerland 
April  10,  1827;  he  came  to  America  with 
his  parents,  grew  to  manhood  in  Seneca 
county,  where,  April  10,  1858,  he  married 
Miss  Elizabeth  Steigmeyer;  he  is  now  a 
farmer  in  Seneca  county.  (2)  Joseph, 
born  in  Switzerland  November  25,  1831; 
he  also  came  with  his  parents  to  America; 
he  is  now  a  member  of  the  Oblate  Fa- 
thers, an  order  of  the  Christian  Brothers, 
and  has  been  in  British  America  since 
1859,  where  a  branch  of  the  order  is  lo- 
cated, engaged  in  educating  and  caring 
for  Indian  children.  (3)  Benedict,  born 
in  Switzerland  March  7,  1835;  he  was 
married,  in  1868,  to  Miss  Catharine  Ober- 
houser,  and  is  a  farmer  in  Seneca  county. 
(4)  Godfrey  F.  is  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  (5)  Peter,  born  in  Seneca  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  June,  1841;  in  1869  he  married 
Miss  Catharine  Senn,  and  is  now  a  farmer 
in  Seneca  county.  Besides  these  five 
children  who  grew  up,  two  of  the  family 
died  in  infancy 

Godfrey  F.  Buchman,  the  subject 
proper  of  this  memoir,  grew  up  in  Seneca 
count)',  where  he  received  a  good  ele- 
mentary education  in  the  public  schools, 
after  which  he  engaged  in  teaching  for  a 


318 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


few  terms.  His  next  employment  was 
that  of  clerk  in  a  store  at  Tiffin,  where 
he  remained  about  three  years,  and  by 
strict  attention  and  constant  application 
gained  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  busi- 
ness. At  the  close  of  his  services  as  a 
clerk  he,  on  August  20,  1867,  married 
Miss  Magdalena  Bork,  who  was  born  in 
Seneca  county,  Ohio,  September  14, 
1845.  This  union  has  been  blessed  with 
seven  children:  (i)  Theresa  M.,  born 
October  17,  1869,  now  the  wife  of  Charles 
Babione,  Fremont,  Ohio.  (2)  Marguerite 
M.,  born  July  11,  1868,  died  September 
22,  1868.  (3)  John  M.,  born  July  6, 
1871,  diedAugust  23, 1872.  (4)  Joseph  M., 
born  October  3,  1873,  at  Fremont,  Ohio, 
where  he  spent  his  childhood  and  youth, 
attended  the  schools  of  the  St.  Joseph 
Catholic  Church,  under  the  supervision  of 
Dr.  S.  Bauer;  assisted  his  father  in  a 
store,  took  a  course  of  study  in  a  business 
college,  and  later  served  an  apprentice- 
ship at  the  carpenter's  trade  with  Chris- 
tian A'ollmer,  with  whom  he  worked  until 
March,  1892;  since  that  time  he  has 
worked  for  other  parties;  he  assisted  in 
the  building  of  the  Hochenedel  Block,  on 
Croghan  street,  Fremont;  the  Lutheran 
Church  at  Gibsonburg,  and  other  fine 
structures;  he  is  a  member  of  St.  Joseph's 
Catholic  Church,  and  of  several  of  its  so- 
cieties— the  Young  Men's  Society  of  the 
B.  V.  M.,  the  Catholic  Knights  of  Ohio, 
Branch  No.  8,  and  Uniformed  Command- 
ery  No.  2,  C.  K.  O.  (5)  Mary  E.,  born 
October  13,  1875,  now  attending  Con- 
vent school  at  Chicago,  111.  (6)  Stanis- 
laus F.,  born  April  23,  1878;  now  at 
home.  (7)  Aloysius  S.,  born  April  4, 
1883. 

Immediately  after  marriage,  Mr.  Buch- 
man  settled  in  Fremont,  and  opened  his 
present  mercantile  business.  As  a  grocer 
merchant  he  is  now  perhaps  the  oldest 
established  of  any  in  Fremont.  After 
twenty-seven  years  of  a  business  career, 
his  hold  upon  the  community  is  unrelaxed, 
and  he  is  recognized  with  no  small  degree 


of  honor  as  a  leading  and  successful  mer- 
chant, and  a  respected  citizen.  After  his 
long  and  active  business  career  he  still  at- 
tends to  business  with  the  precision  and 
V  gor  of  his  younger  days.  He  has 
an  as3ed  a  competency  in  his  chosen  pur- 
suit, and  besides  attending  to  his  usual 
business  he  is  president  of  the  Lehr  Agri- 
cultural Company,  a  leading  manufactur- 
ing concern  in  Fremont.  Mr.  Buchman 
and  his  wife  are  practical  Roman  Catho- 
lics, and  have  reared  and  educated  their 
children  in  that  faith. 

Mrs.  Buchman  is  a  daughter  of  Fred- 
erick and  Margaret  (Yung)  Bork,  natives 
of  Alsace,  Germany,  who  emigrated  to 
America,  and  settled  in  Seneca  county, 
Ohio.  Frederick  Bork  was  born  June  14, 
1808,  near  the  city  of  Worms,  and  came 
to  America  when  a  young  man.  On  Au- 
gust 27,  1838,  he  married  Margaret  Yung, 
in  Seneca  county,  where  he  settled.  She 
was  born  in  France,  of  German  parents, 
August  7,  1822,  and  after  coming  to 
America  in  childhood  grew  to  maturity  at 
Tiffin,  Ohio.  She  died  June  13,  1891; 
Frederick  Bork, now  aretired  farmer, is  liv- 
ing at  Titfin,  Ohio.  Their  children  were  as 
follows:  (i)  Mary  A.,  born  October  17, 
1839,  died  November  21,  1839.  (2) 
Philip  Henry,  born  January  18,  1841, 
married  Miss  Mary  Fisher;  they  are 
farmers  in  Seneca  count}',  Ohio.  (3)  Eve 
Catharine,  born  May  8,  .1842;  she  is 
Mother  Superior  at  Tiffin,  Ohio,  in  a  con- 
vent, under  the  title  of  "Sister  Clara." 
(4)  Frank  Joseph,  born  December  2,5, 
1843,  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Smith,  of 
Seneca  county.  (5)  Mary  Magdalene, 
born  September  14,  1845.  (6)  Mary  Ann, 
born  April  21,  1847,  died  August  29, 18S4; 
she  was  a  sister  in  a  nunnery  at  Tiffin, 
Ohio,  known  as  "  Innocencia. "  (7)  Louis 
Philip,  born  January  24,  1849;  married 
Miss  Margaret  Kunce,  and  lives  in  Indi- 
ana. (8)  John  Peter,  born  October  14, 
1850,  is  a  farmer  in  Seneca  county;  he 
married  Miss  Emma  Gas.  (9)  Louisa, 
born  October   11,  1853,  died  January  7, 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


319 


1856.  (10)  M.  J.,  born  October  3,  1S55, 
is  a  farmer  of  Seneca  county;  he  married 
Miss  Anna  Reinhardt.  (11)  Philomena, 
born  November  13,  1859,  now  keeping 
house  for  her  father  in  Tiffin.  (12)  Eliza- 
beth, born  October  i,  1861,  living  at 
home. 


NICHOLAS  EMCH  was  born  in 
Switzerland  December  27,  1823, 
and  is  a  son  of  Urs  and  Isabel 
(Baumgartner)  Emch,  whose 
children  were  as  follows:  Benjamin, 
Jacob,  John,  Nicholas,  Samuel,  Urs, 
Frederick  and  Annie.  Urs  Emch  was  a 
native  of  Switzerland,  never  came  to 
America,  and  died  at  the  age  of  forty-five, 
of  colic. 

At  the  early  age  of  thirteen  Nicholas 
Emch  left  home,  and  had  to  work  out  for 
several  years.  He  learned  the  shoe- 
maker's trade,  which  he  followed  for  a 
number  of  years.  In  1845  h^  came  with 
his  mother  and  brothers  to  America,  and 
they  first  went  to  his  brother  at  Perrys- 
burg.  Wood  Co.,  Ohio,  who  had  been 
settled  there  about  four  years,  but  did  not 
remain  long.  He  and  his  brothers  bought 
128  acres,  all  timber  land,  cleared  a  por- 
tion and  put  up  a  log  cabin.  Mr.  Emch 
worked  at  his  trade,  when  he  could  get 
anything  in  that  line  to  do;  also  helped 
on  the  farm,  and  followed  agricultural 
pursuits,  until  1891. 

In  1849  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Barbara  Flickinger,  who  was  born 
in  Switzerland  January  5,  1823,  and  they 
were  the  parents  of  children  as  follows: 
(i)  Mary,  born  November  24,  1850,  mar- 
ried Nelson  Klink  September  15,  1872, 
by  whom  she  had  three  children — Bruce, 
Roy  and  Loyd,  the  last  named  dying  in 
September,  1893,  aged  twelve  years. 
(2)  Gottfried,  born  December  10,  185 1, 
is  still  single.  (3)  Solomon,  born  Jan- 
uary 19,  1854,  married  Caroline  Shriner 
March  18,  1880,  and  they  have  three 
children — Bertha,  Edward  and   Charley. 


(4)  Caroline,  born  May  10,  1S55,  married 
John  Klink  June  28,  1S74,  and  they  have 
four  children — Orma,  Lilly,  Julia  and 
Bessie.  The  mother  of  this  family,  Bar- 
bara (Flickinger)  Emch,  died  June  18, 
1856,  aged  thirty-three  years,  si.x  months, 
On  November  i,  1858,  Nicholas  Emch 
was  married  to  Rosanna  Flickinger,  who 
was  born  in  Switzerland  June  18,  1836, 
and  children  as  follows  were  the  result  of 
their  union:  William,  now  a  farmer  of 
Woodville  township,  Sandusky  county, 
born  December  13,  1859,  and  married 
Josephine  Snyder  on  November  27,  1881, 
by  whom  he  had  two  children — August 
and  Carrie;  Sophia,  born  September  7, 
1 86 1,  married  Frank  Miller,  and  they 
have  four  children — Bertha,  Elmer,  Clar- 
ence and  Grace  (they  reside  in  Wood- 
ville, Sandusky  county);  Nicholas,  Jr., 
born  November  26,  1865,  is  single  and 
lives  at  home;  Joseph,  born  March  16, 
1868;  Ettie,  born  May  16,  1870,  married 
John  Kopp  on  May  3,  1894,  and  they  live 
in  Woodville,  Sandusky  county;  Louisa, 
born  May  17,  1876,  and  George,  born 
December  4,  1877.  Rosanna  Flickinger, 
now  Mrs.  Nicholas  Emch,  came  to 
America  with  her  parents  in  1847.  They 
located  in  Ohio,  rented  land  for  several 
years,  then  bought  forty  acres  and  built 
themselves  a  home,  where  they  passed 
their  remaining  days.  Mr.  Flickinger 
died  October  17,  1854,  at  the  age  of  si.\ty- 
five;  and  his  wife  April  16,  1863,  at  tlie 
age  of  seventy-one.  In  1890,  Mr.  Emch 
leased  his  land  to  the  Standard  Oil  Com- 
pany, and  they  have  since  put  down  wells, 
He  retired  from  farming  in  1891,  and  his 
sons  now  operate  the  place. 


COLONEL  WILLIAM  C.   LeFE- 
VER  is  justly  regarded  as  one  of 
the  leading  citizens  of  Sandusky 
county,    and     in   the   vicinity    of 
Clyde,  where  he  owns  one  of  the  finest 
country  residences  in  northwestern  Ohio, 
a  model  of  every  comfort  and  lavish  ele- 


320 


COMMEMOBATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


gance,  he  socially  and  politically  ranks 
pre-eminent. 

He  was  born  in  Sandusky  county  May 
14,  1836.  son  of  John  and  Rachel 
(Swope)  LeFever,  the  former  of  whom 
was  born  in  Lancaster,  Penn.,  December 
4,  18 1 3,  son  of  John  LeFever,  Sr. ,  who 
was  of  French  extraction,  migrating  with 
his  family  to  Fayette  county,  Ohio,  early 
in  the  century.  In  1832  John  LeFever, 
Jr.,  moved  to  Fremont,  Sandusky  county, 
and  two  years  later  he  entered  govern- 
ment land  in  Green  Creek  township, 
cleared  it  and  followed  farming  until 
1865,  when  he  moved  to  Clyde,  and  died 
there  December  27,  1890.  He  was  in 
politics  a  Republican,  and  in  religious  be- 
lief a  Methodist.  His  wife  died  in  the 
prime  of  life.  She  was  of  Pennsylvania 
birth  and  family.  The  children  of  John 
and  Rachel  LeFever  were  as  follows: 
Louisa,  who  married  J.  S.  Lee,  of  Chick- 
asaw county,  Iowa;  Rebecca,  who  mar- 
ried Henry  Perin,  and  now  lives,  a  wid- 
ow, at  Kalamazoo,  Mich.;  John  S.,  of 
Green  Spring;  William  C,  subject  of  this 
sketch;  J.  D.,  a  resident  of  Sandusky 
county;  Oscar  T. ,  of  Marshall  county, 
Iowa;  Jane,  wife  of  Monroe  Lee,  of 
Seneca  county;  May,  who  died  in  in- 
fancy; and  Mary  M.,  who  died  young. 

The  boyhood  of  William  C.  LeFever 
was  spent  in  Green  Creek  township.  He 
attended  the  common  schools,  and  com- 
pleted his  education  at  Republic,  and  by  a 
two-years'  course  at  Oberlin  College.  In 
1857  he  went  to  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  where 
he  taught  school  until  the  Civil  war  broke 
out.  He  was  among  the  first  in  that  dis- 
tracted country  to  espouse  the  Union 
cause,  enlisting  as  a  private  in  Company 
A,  Fourth  Missouri  Cavalry,  and  doing 
valiant  service  throughout  the  war.  In 
the  earlier  years  he  was  fighting  Gen. 
Price's  forces.  He  was  engaged  at  Wil- 
son's Creek,  Mo.,  August  10,  1861,  the 
second  skirmish  at  Pea  Ridge,  Ark.,  in 
March,  1862,  and  Independence,  Mo., 
later  in  that    month.      When    Price  was 


driven  from  the  country  the  Missouri 
Cavalry  troops  were  chiefly  engaged  in 
frontier  guard  duties.  Promotion  came 
rapidly,  and  the  impetuous  joung  Ohioan 
was  first  sergeant,  first  lieutenant,  cap- 
tain, major,  and  lieutenant-colonel,  suc- 
cessively. After  serving  a  year  on  the 
plains,  watching  Indians,  he  was  mustered 
out  at  Ft.  Leavenworth,  Kansas,  in  1866, 
after  service  in  the  Fourth,  Sixth  and 
Thirteenth  Missouri  Cavalry,  successively. 
He  once  held  two  commissions  at  one 
time,  first  lieutenant  and  adjutant. 

After  the  war  Col.  LeFever  returned 
home  and  has  since  resided  in  Green 
Creek  township.  In  1866  he  was  married 
to  Miss  Elizabeth  Mackey,  a  native  of 
Chillicothe,  Ross  county,  and  has  two 
adopted  children,  Mabel  and  Arthur. 
The  present  handsome  brick  residence  of 
Col.  LeFever,  located  two  and  a  half 
miles  south  of  Clyde,  was  built  in  1880. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Republican.  He  is  a 
member  of  Eaton  Post  No.  55,  G.  A.  R., 
and  in  religious  faith  is  a  Methodist.  Col. 
LeFever  is  a  man  of  high  intellectual  at- 
tainments, and  possesses  unusually  fine 
business  and  executive  abilities.  He 
commands  the  esteem  and  confidence  of 
a  wide  acquaintanceship. 


HENRY  W.  MILLER,  now  an 
honored  citizen  of  Clyde,  is  a 
descendant  of  perhaps  the  first 
family  that  settled  permanently  in 
Green  Creek  township,  Sandusky  county. 
Lyman  F.  Miller,  his  father,  was  born 
in  Geneva,  N.  Y.,  November  22,  1813. 
When  an  infant  his  widowed  mother 
migrated  with  her  brother,  William  Smith, 
to  Huron,  Ohio,  and  here  she  remained 
several  j^ears,  and  married  her  second 
husband,  Samuel  Pogue.  She  had  occu- 
pied a  log  cabin  with  her  husband,  distant 
about  six  miles  from  Huron.  While  here 
alone,  hostilities  still  existing,  Indians 
approached  the  cabin,  so,  hastily  fastening 
the  cabin  door  with  a  big  wooden  bar,  she 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


321 


crept  out  the  back  window  and  fled  to  the 
blockhouse  at  Huron,  six  miles  away.  In 
i8i6,  after  her  second  marriage,  she  came 
with  her  child  and  husband  to  the  site  of 
Clyde.  Mr.  Pogue  had  been  quarter- 
master in  Gen.  Harrison's  army,  and 
while  making  a  trip  from  Huron  to  Fort 
Seneca  he  had  noticed  the  hard  maple 
timber  where  Indians  had  made  sugar, 
and  also  the  fine  springs,  and  resolved  to 
settle  there.  He  entered  the  land,  and 
died  there  August  26,  1S27.  By  her 
second  marriage  there  was  one  child, 
Jane,  who  afterward  married  G.  R. 
Brown,  a  Universalist  minister,  and  the 
farm  entered  by  Mr.  Pogue  descended  to 
her  and  to  Lyman  F.  Miller,  the  child  by 
Mrs.  Pogue's  first  marriage.  Amos  Fenn 
and  Silas  Dewey  had  each  married  a  sis- 
ter of  Mrs.  Pogue,  and  .came  with  her 
husband  and  settled  in  the  vicinity  of 
Clyde. 

Lyman  F.  Miller  grew  to  manhood  on 
the  site  of  Clyde,  and  had  few  educational 
advantages.  In  1836  he  married  Melissa 
E.  Harkness  in  a  double  log  cabin  which 
stood  on  the  present  cemetery  grounds. 
She  was  born  in  1 8 19,  of  Scotch-Irish  ex- 
traction, and  had  come  with  her  parents 
to  Clyde  in  1834.  After  his  marriage  he 
began  housekeeping  on  the  old  home- 
stead. He  laid  out  that  part  of  the  town 
lying  between  Main  street  and  George 
street,  commencing  at  Maple  and  running 
south  to  Cherry  street.  Mr.  Miller  en- 
gaged in  general  farming,  and  was  also  a 
noted  horticulturist  and  breeder  of  fine 
stock.  He  lived  in  what  is  now  the  Col. 
Rhodes  residence  until  1859,  when  he 
built  on  the  pike  where  his  widow  now 
lives.  He  was  a  Whig,  a  Know-Nothing 
and  a  Republican  in  politics,  a  Mason 
socially,  and  a  member  of  the  Universalist 
Church.  He  died  in  February,  1878. 
To  Lyman  F.  and  Melissa  Miller  nine 
children  were  born,  as  follows:  William 
G.,  born  March  i,  1837,  just  commenc- 
ing a  law  practice  in  1 861,  when  he  en- 
listed in  Company  A,  Seventy-second  O. 


V.  V.  I.,  was  a  corporal,  and  was  killed  at 
Ripley,  Miss.,  June  11,  1864,  on  the  dis- 
astrous Guntown  expedition  retreat; 
Henry  W. ,  subject  of  this  sketch,  born 
June  2,  1838;  Mary  E.,  born  April  i, 
1840,  wife  of  Chester  Persing,  of  Clyde; 
George  N.,  born  December  2,  1843, 
killed  at  the  age  of  four  by  falling  acci- 
dentally into  a  kettle  of  hot  water;  Oscar 
J.,  born  June  15,  1845,  ^  resident  of 
Clyde;  Isabel  E.,  born  May  22,  1848, 
wife  of  W.  Bell,  of  Copley,  Ohio;  Fannie 
O.,  born  July  15,  1853,  a  school-teacher 
for  fifteen  years,  and  now  living  with  her 
mother;  Emma  J.,  born  July  26,  1855, 
wife  of  F.  J.  Metcalf,  of  Clyde;  Louisa 
J.,  born  May  21,  1862,  wife  of  Fremont 
Mears,  of  Clyde. 

Henry  W.  Miller  attended  district 
school  and  helped  to  clear  the  farm.  On 
Christmas  Eve,  i860,  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Louisa  Metcalf,  who  died  childless, 
April  2,  1862,  aged  twenty-one  years  and 
five  days.  Mr.  Miller  was  for  two  years 
captain  of  a  company  of  State  militia, 
having  in  his  command  130  men,  most  of 
whom  subsequently  enlisted  in  the  army. 
The  Captain  enlisted  in  Company  A, 
Seventy-second  O.  V.  V.  I.,  as  a  recruit, 
joining  the  regiment  at  Germantown, 
Tenn.,  January  5,  1864.  He  was  with 
his  ill-fated  brother,  William  G.,  at  Rip- 
ley, Miss.,  on  June  11,  until,  while  firing 
at  the  advancing  Rebels,  he  was  run  over 
and  stunned  by  a  Union  cavalryman  on 
the  retreat,  soon  after  leaving  Ripley. 
After  being  disabled  thus,  he  fell  in  with 
five  other  Union  soldiers  and  continued 
in  the  road  until  4  P.  M.,  having  had 
several  skirmishes  with  the  enemy's  ad- 
vance during  the  day.  His  amunition 
being  exhausted  he  left  the  road,  trying 
to  escape  through  the  woods,  but  was 
captured  the  next  day  at  6  p.  M.,  stripped 
of  everything  but  pants  and  shirt,  and 
taken  to  Andersonville  prison.  When  he 
arrived  at  the  prison,  in  an  address  Capt. 
Wirz  said:  "Go  in  there,  you  Yankee 
s —  b — 's,  and    I    will  prove  we    can    kill 


:S22 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


more  men  in  prison  than  at  the  front." 
This  was  verified  by  the  death  of  13,082 
prisoners  while  Mr.  Miller  was  confined 
at  Andersonville.  Of  the  mess  of  five  to 
which  Mr.  Miller  belonged  he  was  one  of 
two  who  went  out  alive.  He  had  not  a 
cup,  nor  even  a  cloth  to  bathe  the  fevered 
brow  of  a  sick  comrade.  In  December 
he  was  paroled  at  Savannah,  and  reached 
home  just  before  Christmas,   1864. 

After  the  war  Mr.  Miller  taught  music 
for  several  3'ears,  then  settled  on  the  farm, 
and  engaged  in  farming  and  fruit-growing, 
his  fruit  having  taken  nearly  a  thousand 
premiums  at  the  Sandusky,  Erie  and 
Huron  county  fairs.  He  has  traveled 
somewhat  as  a  vocal  musician,  and  has 
sung  in  the  various  churches  of  Clyde  for 
thirty-five  years.  Of  his  property  seven 
acres  are  within  the  corporation  of  Clyde, 
and  ninety-seven  are  situated  north  of  the 
corporation. 

Mr.  Miller's  second  wife  was  Maria  L. 
De  Yo,  to  whom  he  was  married  Septem- 
ber 22,  1868.  By  this  marriage  he  has 
three  children:  Jessie  L. ,  a  graduate  of 
the  Clyde  High  School,  and  now  one  of 
its  teachers;  Esma  M.,  also  a  graduate  of 
the  Clyde  school;  and  Harkness  J.,  at 
present  a  student.  Mr.  Miller  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  G.  A.  R.  Post  at  Clyde,  was 
its  commander  last  year,  and  is  now 
quartermaster.  He  has  been  a  Mason 
since  1865,  and  in  politics  he  is  a  Re- 
publican. 


CONRAD  WOLFE,  the  ancestor 
from  whom  are  descended  the 
Wolfe  families  now  (1894)  resid- 
ing in  Sandusky  county,  Ohio, 
and  their  descendants  elsewhere  emigrated 
to  this  country  from  Switzerland,  and  in 
the  spring  of  1804  came  to  Lancaster 
county,  Penn.  His  children  were:  Peter, 
Jacob,  George,  Henry,  Andrew  and  Mary; 
Peter  being  a  child  by  a  former  marriage. 
Conrad  Wolfe  died  shortly  after  his 
arrival  in  America. 


Andrew  Wolfe,  son  of  Conrad  Wolfe, 
was  born  January  9,  1796,  in  York  county, 
Penn.  At  an  early  age  he  was  bound  out 
to  work,  by  his  widowed  mother,  to  a 
farmer,  and  he  served  a  part  of  the  time 
with  his  guardian,  Mr.  Krouster,  his  un- 
expired time  being  bought  by  a  Mr. 
Weaver,  with  whom  he  worked  three 
years.  His  work  was  hard,  but  he  was 
kindly  treated,  and  he  remained  with  Mr. 
Weaver  until  he  was  twenty-one  years  of 
age.  He  then  went  to  learn  the  trade  of 
a  carpenter  with  the  Gerber  Brothers, 
who  built  houses  and  bank  barns  in  Lan- 
caster and  adjoining  counties,  and  he 
usually  made  his  home  with  them  during 
the  winter  seasons  when  work  was  dull. 
Here  he  became  acquainted  with  Miss 
Salome  Gerber,  to  whom  he  was  married 
in  1 8 19.  She  was  born  in  Switzerland, 
March  12,  1797,  and  became  a  member 
of  the  Lutheran  Church.  Her  parents 
were  Christian  Gerber,  of  Saxon  descent, 
born  in  1750,  and  Elizabeth  (Medary) 
Gerber,  born  in  1753.  Her  mother's 
maiden  name  was  Biddle.  Their  chil- 
dren were:  Anna,  John,  Christian,  Jacob, 
Matthew,  Mar)', Elizabeth,  Salome.  When 
Salome  was  but  a  child  her  father  moved 
with  his  family  from  his  farm  into  a  large 
stone  house  in  the  village  of  Basle,  where 
in  the  basement  he  carried  on  cabinet- 
making.  After  he  had  learned  the  trade 
of  a  carpenter  he  traveled  and  worked 
at  his  trade  away  from  home,  as  was 
the  custom,  before  he  was  allowed  to  set 
up  in  business  for  himself.  His  wife, 
I£lizabeth,  was  a  seamstress,  at  which  oc- 
cupation she  wrought  constantly  as  soon 
as  her  daughter  Anna  had  learned  to  man- 
age the  housework.  Salome  attended 
school  in  the  village  of  Basle,  regularly, 
and  learned  to  read  and  write,  sew  and 
knit.  She  also  learned  to  sing,  which 
was  a  source  of  great  pleasure  to  herself 
and  friends  in  later  life.  She  never  studied 
arithmetic,  as  it  was  deemed  unnecessary 
for  girls.  Her  brothers  attended  school  ir- 
regularly, and  in  addition  to  school  studies 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOOBAPHICAL  HECOBD. 


32&. 


were  set  to  learn  various  handicrafts, 
chiefly  weaving,  in  a  large  manufacturing 
establishment.  Her  brother  John  lived 
with  his  uncle  until  he  arrived  at  man- 
hood. The  children  were  all  brought  up 
to  habits  of  industry  and  thrift.  During 
their  residence  in  Basle,  Napoleon  Bona- 
parte's troops  passed  through  their  vil- 
lage to  secure  conscripts,  and  the  male 
citizens  secreted  themselves  to  avoid  being 
pressed  into  the  army.  Mrs.  Gerber  en- 
tertained some  of  the  soldiers  in  her  house, 
and  was  kindly  treated  by  them.  They 
stacked  their  arms  behind  her  door,  ate 
the  meals  prepared  by  her  and  departed 
in  peace.  Some  men  who  had  hid  them- 
selves under  piles  of  hay  were  thrust 
through  with  bayonets.  Salome's  broth- 
ers, in  order  to  avoid  further  danger  of  be- 
ing forced  into  the  military  service,  pre- 
vailed upon  their  parents  to  emigrate  to 
America.  Some  Swiss  emigration  agents, 
who  had  just  returned  from  America  and 
given  them  a  glowing  account  of  the  fine 
climate,  fertile  soil  and  cheap  land,  to  be 
found  here,  easily  induced  them  to  sell 
their  possessions  in  Basle  and  engage  a 
passage  to  America.  Accordingly,  in  the 
month  of  May,  1804,  the  Gerber  family 
took  passage  in  a  boat,  and  sailed  down 
the  Rhine  river  toward  Amsterdam.  Sa- 
lome had  just  passed  her  seventh  birth- 
day, and  was  delighted  to  view  the  grand 
scenery  and  the  ruins  of  old  castles  and 
fortresses  along  those  classic  banks.  She 
often  spoke  in  later  years  of  the  famous 
"Mouse  Tower,"  of  Bishop  Hatto,  where 
an  avaricious  man  was  said  to  have  been 
devoured  by  an  army  of  rats  in  retribu- 
tion for  his  having  caused  the  destruction 
of  a  multitude  of  hungry  people  who  at 
his  apparently  kind  invitation  had  crowded 
into  his  well-filled  grain  store-house  On 
reaching  Amsterdam  the  Gerber  family 
and  others  who  accompanied  them  learned 
to  their  sorrow  that  there  wa$  no  ship  in 
readiness  to  take  them,  and  that  they 
were  at  the  mercy  of  unscrupulous  agents 
who  charged  them  exhorbitant  prices  for 


extra  services.  While  waiting  many  days 
at  the  dock,  weary  of  the  long  delay,  the 
emigrants  composed  and  sang  in  derision 
a  sarcastic  song,  in  German,  about  the 
kindness  of  the  agents  and  the  "glorious 
land  of  liberty  in  North  America."  This 
was  sung  so  often  on  their  six-weeks' 
passage  on  the  Atlantic  ocean  that  it  be- 
came indelibly  impressed  on  Salome's 
memory,  and  she  often  sung  it  in  later 
years  to  her  grandchildren.  Owing  to  the 
long  voyage,  and  the  resulting  extra 
charges  of  the  agents,  many  emigrants 
were  unable  to  pay  their  passage  money 
in  full,  and  were  obliged  to  bind  them- 
selves to  a  term  of  service,  to  someone- 
who  could  furnish  money,  or  be  cast  into 
prison.  After  the  Gerber  family  had 
landed  in  Philadelphia  they  lived  for  a 
time  in  the  suburbs  of  that  city,  and  then 
settled  in  Lancaster  county,  Penn.,  where 
the  father  and  three  sons  found  work  as 
carpenters.  They  were  known  as  "Zim- 
merman," the  German  name  for  carpen- 
ter. Here  Anna  Gerber  married  Jacob 
Mandewiler,  and  then  moved  to  Knox 
county,  Ohio;  John  Gerber  came  to 
America  in  1806,  and  settled  in  York 
county,  Penn. ;  Christian  Gerber,  Jr.,  and 
Jacob  Gerber  also  settled  in  that  locality; 
Mary,  the  second  daughter  of  Jacob  Ger- 
ber, married  Daniel  March,  after  whom 
the  second  son  of  Salome  was  afterward 
named;  Elizabeth  Gerber  died  in  Switzer- 
land. Christian  Gerber,  Sr. ,  died  irr 
181 5.  His  elder  children  having  gone 
from  home,  Salome  stayed  with  her 
widowed  mother  three  years,  until  her 
death  in  18 18,  after  which  she  lived  with 
a  brother  about  two  years.  She  was  mar- 
ried October  18,  1819,  to  Andrew  S.  P. 
Wolfe,  in  York  county,  Penn.,  and  they 
soon  after  located  in  Adams  county, 
Penn. ,  where  he  worked  as  a  carpenter 
and  later  as  a  farmer.  In  1831,  they 
took  up  their  abode  in  Knox  county,  Ohio, 
where  he  followed  farming.  In  1844  they 
moved  to  Richland  county,  Ohio,  where 
they  farmed  about  nine  years,  after  whichi 


324 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


they  moved  to  Sandusky  county,  Ohio. 
They  were  members  of  the  Methodist 
Protestant  Church  in  Knox  county,  but 
on  coming  into  Richland  they  united  with 
the  Church  of  the  United  Brethren  in 
Christ,  of  which  they  remained  faithful 
members  during  life.  In  politics  Mr. 
Wolfe  was  first  an  Old-line  Whig,  then  a 
Republican;  all  his  sons  are  Republicans. 
The  children  of  Andrew  and  Salome  Wolfe 
were:  Mar\',  who  married  John  Jones, 
and  died  March  26,  i860;  Jacob,  a  car- 
penter, who  married  in  Richland  county, 
Ohio,  and  then  located  in  Bear  county, 
Mich. ;  Elizabeth,  who  married  Judge 
Barnett,  and  lives  in  Iowa;  Caroline,  who 
married  William  Galbraith,  and  lives  in 
Seneca  county,  Ohio;  Daniel  M.,  sketch 
of  whom  follows;  Sarah,  who  married 
Laird  Ritchie,  and  lives  in  Iowa;  Rosa 
A.,  who  married  Fred  Gibson,  lived  in 
Adams  county,  Iowa,  and  died  there  Oc- 
tober 24,  1882;  Jeremiah,  who  lives  with 
his  family  in  San  Jose,  Cal.  Andrew 
Wolfe  died  at  the  home  of  his  son, 
Daniel,  in  Ballville  township,  Sandusky 
Co.,  Ohio,  April  21,  1873,  aged  seventy- 
seven.  Mrs.  Salome  Wolfe  died  at  the 
same  place,  November  3,  1884,  aged 
eighty-seven  years,  and  both  were  buried 
in  Mt.  Lebanon  U.  B.  Cemetery. 

Daniel  M.  Wolfe,  son  of  Andrew 
Wolfe,  was  born  January  22,  1831,  in 
Knox  county,  Ohio.  His  childhood  and 
youth  were  spent  on  a  farm,  and  in  attend- 
ing district  school,  and  at  the  age  of  thir- 
teen he  moved  with  his  father's  family  to 
Richland  county,  where  he  attended  town 
and  country  schools,  studying  English 
grammar,  algebra,  natural  philosophy  and 
chemistry,  in  addition  to  common-school 
studies,  and  during  summer  months  learn- 
ing the  trade  of  a  carpenter  with  his 
brother  Jacob.  About  the  year  1853  he 
came  to  Ballville  township,  Sandusky 
Co.,  Ohio,  where  he  and  his  father  bought 
a  farm  on  the  line  of  the  old  plank  road 
leading  from  Tiffin  to  Sandusky  City. 
Here  he  farmed,  and  also  worked  at  his 


trade  in  company  with  his  brother  Jere- 
miah in  Green  Spring  and  vicinity,  build- 
ing the  celebrated  Water  Cure  establish- 
ment at  that  place.  In  1879  he  aban- 
doned carpentry  and  devoted  himself  ex- 
clusively to  his  farm  of  123  acres,  which 
he  underdrained  and  otherwise  improved, 
and  on  which  he  erected  a  large  family 
mansion  in  1878. 

On  December  24,  1855,  Daniel  M. 
Wolfe  was  married  at  Mansfield,  Ohio,  to 
Miss  Eunice  Jane  Black,  daughter  of 
William  and  Hannah  (Cook)  Black. 
William  Black  was  born  May  10,  18 10, 
son  of  James,  and  Mrs.  Hannah  Black 
was  born  September  23,  1S14,  both  in 
Washington  county,  Penn.  They  both 
came  when  young  to  Richland  county, 
Ohio,  where,  on  April  5,  1832,  they  were 
married,  and  several  years  afterward 
moved  to  Jefferson  county,  Iowa,  where 
Mr.  Black  died  in  April,  1882.  Mrs. 
Black  died  March  i,  1879.  Their  chil- 
dren were:  Eunice  Jane,  who  married  D. 
M.  Wolfe;  Martha,  who  married  a  Mr. 
Ramsey,  of  Iowa;  Orlando,  who  lives  in 
Kansas;  Elbridge  Gerry,  who  served  as  a 
soldier  in  the  Civil  war,  being  color  bearer 
of  Company  I,  Fiftieth  Regiment,  O.  V.  I., 
and  Francis  Julius  Le  Moyne,  named 
after  his  uncle,  the  noted  cremationist.  of 
Washington  county,  Penn.  The  ma- 
ternal grandmother  of  this  family,  Eunice 
(Corwin),  was  born  in  the  year  1796,  and 
married  William  Cook,  who  was  a  soldier 
of  the  war  of  1812.  She  afterward  made 
a  trip  to  Pennsylvania — two  hundred 
miles — on  horseback  to  visit  her  friends. 
She  died  in  1870,  three  years  after  her 
husband,  who  passed  away  in  1867.  The 
paternal  grandmother,  Margaret  (Fitz- 
williams),  was  born  in  1789  in  Ireland, 
and  in  1807  married  James  Black,  who 
was  born  about  1784. 

In  the  spring  of  1863  D.  M.  Wolfe  en- 
listed in  Company  K,  Fiftieth  Regiment, 
O.  V.  I.,  in  which  he  served  as  second 
lieutenant,  doing  guard  duty  at  Johnson's 
Island,  where   Confederate   officers  were 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQRAPniCAL  RECORD. 


325 


confined,  in  the  fall  of  that  year.  In  poli- 
tics he  has  always  been  a  Republican. 
He  and  his  wife  were  for  a  number  of 
years  members  of  the  United  Brethren 
Church,  but  now  attend  the  Presbyterian 
Church. 

Mrs.  Eunice].  (Black)  Wolfe  was  born 
January  6,  1833,  in  Richland  county, 
Ohio,  and  was  educated  at  Lexington  and 
Westerville,  Ohio,  afterward  teaching  for 
a  number  of  years,  part  of  the  time  in  the 
high  school  at  Lexington.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Wolfe  have  come  five  children,  as 
follows:  (i)  Charles  M.,  born  November 
I,  1857,  is  a  carpenter  and  contractor  of 
Fremont;  he  was  married  May  23,  1883, 
to  Miss  Clara  Potter,  daughter  of  Henry  J. 
and  Zeruiah  A.  (Dawley)  Potter,  and  the 
names  and  dates  of  birth  of  their  children 
are:  Irene,  September  5,  1884;  Libbie, 
December  7,  1885;  Ella,  July  14,  1888; 
Blanche,  April  18,  1891;  and  Stanley, 
born  August  22,  1893.  (2)  Sally  Irene, 
born  December  21,  1862,  lives  with  her 
parents.  (3)  Elbridge  B.,  born  August 
30,  1866,  is  a  farmer;  on  November  23, 
1889,  he  married  Miss  Ida  Mclntyre,  and 
their  children  are  Lucile,  born  October 
13,  1890,  and  Gladys,  born  February  19, 
1 89 1.  (4)  Mary  Inez,  born  July  28, 
1869,  lives  with  her  parents.  (5)  Daniel 
M.,  Jr.,  a  carpenter,  lives  with  his  par- 
ents, and  works  at  his  trade  with  his 
brothers. 


HON.  HOMER  EVERETT.  Per- 
haps no  one  of  the  early  pioneers 
of  Sandusky  county  contributed 
more  to  make  its  local  history, 
and  took  more  pains  to  put  on  record  the 
stirring  events  which  occurred  when  the 
wilderness  of  the  Black  Swamp  began  to 
be  cleared  up,  and  the  little  Indian  trad- 
ing-post called  Lower  Sandusky  (now 
Fremont)  first  sprang  into  prominence  as 
a  thriving  village  of  enterprising  white 
people,  than  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
His  literary  tastes,    his  official  positions, 


his  wide  acquaintance,  his  social  nature, 
his  habit  of  writing  down  the  incidents 
and  events  which  he  gathered  from  fre- 
quent visits  and  conversations  with  the 
early  settlers,  and  his  powers  of  oratory, 
by  which  he  presented,  in  the  form  of  his- 
torical lectures,  the  well-digested  results 
of  his  investigations,  all  rendered  him 
very  useful  to  the  community,  and  en- 
titled him  to  the  lasting  gratitude  of  his 
fellow  citizens,  and  the  honor  of  being 
the  first  pioneer  historian  of  Sandusky 
county. 

Hon.  Homer  Everett,  son  of  Jere- 
miah and  Elizabeth  (Emery)  Everett,  was 
born  in  Huron  county,  Ohio,  January  30, 
1 8 1 3.  W^hen  two  years  old  he  came  with 
his  parents  to  Lower  Sandusky.  His 
school  education  was  such  as  could  be 
picked  up  in  the  wilderness  at  that  early 
day,  his  teachers  being  Justus  and  Ezra 
Williams,  Edson  Goit  and  Samuel  Crow- 
ell.  He  grew  up  amid  the  toils,  cares 
and  privations  of  the  early  settlers,  shar- 
ing the  hardships  of  the  common  people; 
but  he  was  alwaj^s  cheerful  and  hopeful. 
At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  left  the  farm 
upon  which  he  had  spent  his  early  boy- 
hood, and  entered  the  store  of  Jesse  S. 
Olmsted,  in  which  he  rendered  faithful 
service  about  six  years.  In  1837  he  was 
appointed  postmaster  at  Lower  Sandus- 
ky, by  Martin  Van  Buren,  and  while  serv- 
ing in  this  office  he  was  also  deputy  clerk 
of  courts,  under  James  A.  Scranton.  In 
1839  he  was  elected  sheriff  of  the  county, 
resigning  the  office  of  postmaster,  and  was 
re-elected  sheriff.  He  commenced  read- 
ing law  in  1834,  improving  his  leisure 
time  in  so  doing  until  1841,  when  he  was 
admitted  to  the  bar.  He  now  resigned 
his  office  as  sheriff,  and  began  the  practice 
of  law  with  Nathaniel  B.  Eddy,  of  Lower 
Sandusky;  was  subsequently  a  partner  of 
L.  B.  Otis,  who  afterward  removed  to 
Chicago.  On  various  occasions  he  was 
member  of  the  city  council,  for  several 
years  township  clerk,  one  of  the  first 
members  of  the  City  Board  of  Education, 


326 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


in  which  body  he  served  fifteen  years, 
and  was  mayor  of  Fremont  two  terms. 

In  1847  he  retired  from  the  practice 
of  law  for  the  purpose  of  leading  a  more 
quiet  Hfe  on  a  farm,  but  was  soon  re- 
called by  the  votes  of  the  people.  In 
1848  he  found  himself  in  the  chair  of  the 
county  auditor,  which  office  he  held  two 
terms.  At  the  close  of  his  second  term 
he  resumed  the  practice  of  law,  entering 
into  partnership  with  Gen.  R.  P.  Buck- 
land.  In  1S62,  Mr.  Buckland  retired 
from  the  practice  to  enter  the  arm}'. 
During  the  Civil  war  Mr.  Everett  made 
many  eloquent  speeches  in  favor  of  the 
enlistment  of  Union  soldiers.  In  1866  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  James  H. 
Fowler,  an  e.\-soldier,  who  had  been  his 
law  student.  In  1867  Mr.  Everett  was 
elected  to  the  Ohio  Senate,  and  in  1869 
was  re-elected  to  the  same  position.  He 
fostered  the  Akron  school  law,  and  was 
on  the  select  committee  which  construct- 
ed the  first  municipal  code  for  the  State 
of  Ohio.  On  his  return  home  he  again 
resumed  the  practice  of  law.  In  1881-82 
he  furnished  valuable  records  for  the  His- 
tory of  Sandusky  county,  to  H.  Z.  Will- 
iams &  Bro.,  publishers,  Cleveland, 
Ohio. 

Mr.  Everett  was  married,  in  1837,  to 
Miss  Hannah  Bates,  of  Sandusky  county. 
She  died  in  1840,  leaving  an  infant 
daughter,  Hannah  Bates  Everett,  who,  in 
1856,  became  the  wife  of  Henry  Hatfield, 
and  had  two  sons — one  living  in  Kansas 
and  one  in  Colorado.  Mr.  Everett,  for 
his  second  wife,  married  in  December, 
1842,  Mrs.  Albina  Brush,  widow  of  John 
T.  Brush,  and  by  her  had  two  sons  and 
two  daughters:  (i)  George,  who  was 
telegraph  operator  for  Gen.  Thomas  at 
Nashville,  Tenn.,  during  the  Civil  war, 
and  died  at  home  in  1874.  (2)  Charles 
Egbert,  who  was  a  soldier  in  the  naval 
service  during  the  Civil  war  (he  married 
Miss  Hattie  Tindall,  of  Ballville  town- 
ship, and  their  children  are — Eddie  and 
Nellie,  living    at    the   old    homestead;  he 


learned  and  follows  the  trade  of  cabinet 
making).  (3)  Albina  Elizabeth,  a  teach- 
er, who  was  married  at  Osborne  City, 
Kans. ,  to  Frederick  Yoxall,  a  native  of 
England,  and  they  have  two  daughters. 
(4)  Lillie,  a  very  fine  musician,  who  mar- 
ried James  A.  Wilson,  a  hardware  mer- 
chant, of  Osborne,  Kans. ;  they  have  one 
daughter.  The  second  wife  of  Homer 
Everett  died  in  1855,  ^"d  in  1873  he 
married  Miss  Minerva  E.  Justice,  daugh- 
ter of  James  Justice.  The  death  of  Homer 
Everett  occurred  on  June  22,  18S7,  at 
the  home  of  his  daughter,  in  Kansas,  and 
his  remains  were  brought  to  Fremont, 
Ohio,  for  interment  in  Oakwood  Ceme- 
tery. The  Fremont  Bar  Association  and 
Brainard  Lodge,  F.  &.  A.  M.,  of  which 
he  was  a  member,  each  passed  fitting 
resolutions  of  respect  to  his  honored 
memory. 


AHORNUNG.  A  striking  illustra- 
tion of  that  time-worn  proverb  fa- 
miliar to  every  school  boy,  "tall 
oaks  from  little  acorns  grow,  "  is 
seen  in  the  business  career  of  the  geptleman 
whose  name  opens  this  sketch,  and  who 
is  a  member  of  the  well-known  firm  of 
Zorn,  Hornung  &  Co.,  leading  citizens 
and  pioneer  merchants  of  the  town  of 
Gibsonburg,  Sandusky  county.  The  sim- 
ple story  of  his  life  shows  that  there  is 
always  a  chance  for  the  boy  or  man  who 
takes  hold  of  fortune  with  strong  hands 
and  steady  will,  and  compels  her  to  be- 
stow those  gifts  which  the  timid  suppli- 
cant can  never  win. 

Mr.  Hofnung  was  born  March  7, 
1842,  in  Washington  township,  Sandusky 
county,  son  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  (Sick- 
endahler)  Hornung.  This  worthy  couple 
were  natives  of  Germany,  where  they 
were  married,  and  whence,  in  1833,  they 
emigrated  to  America,  settling  in  Penn- 
sylvania near  Allentown,  where  they  lived 
for  about  six  years.  They  then  came  to 
Ohio,  settling   in  Washiogton   township^ 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQRAPUWAL  RECORD. 


327 


Sandusky  county,  on  a  farm,  where  they 
remained  during  the  rest  of  tfieir  hves. 
The  father,  whose  birth  took  place  in 
1796,  died  in  1871,  the  mother,  who  was 
born  in  1807,  surviving  him  until  1892. 
Mr.  Hornung  was  a  Democrat,  and  both 
he  and  his  wife  were  consistent  members 
of  the  Lutheran  Church.  Their  family 
consisted  of  si.x  children:  Charlotte,  who 
married  Aaron  Krotzer,  of  Gibsonburg; 
Caroline,  who  married  Adam  Ansted,  and 
lives  in  Washington  township;  Mary; 
Tilman,  residingin  Washington  township; 
our  subject  comes  next;  and  Jacob,  who 
lives  in  Gibsonburg;  two  children  died 
when  infants. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  spent  his 
early  days  upon  his  father's  farm,  per- 
forming the  many  tasks  which  fall  to  the 
lot  of  a  farmer's  bo}',  with  scanty  sources 
of  amusement  or  pleasure,  and  but 
small  opportunity  to  acquire  an  educa- 
tion. At  the  age  of  fifteen,  tiring  of 
the  monotonous  life  in  the  country, 
determined  to  strike  out  for  himself, 
he  commenced  and  served  an  apprentice- 
ship in  the  shoemaking  trade  under  Mr. 
Zoxn,  his  present  partner,  who  was  then 
located  at  Hessville,  Sandusky  county. 
Here  he  remained  some  six  years,  making 
his  home  with  Mr.  Zorn,  with  whom  he 
boarded  nine  years.  At  the  end  of  six 
years  he  bought  the  shoe  business  from 
Mr.  Zorn,  carried  it  on  for  three  years, 
and  then  formed  a  partnership  with  his 
old  employer. 

The  new  firm  continued  in  business  at 
Hessville  until  1S71,  when,  seeing  that 
the  present  location  of  Gibsonburg  bade 
fair  to  become  a  leading  point  in  the 
county,  they  decided  to  open  a  branch  of 
their  business  there,  Mr.  Hornung  taking 
charge  of  the  same.  The  first  building 
put  up  in  the  present  town  was  his  store. 
It  was  erected  on  the  corner  now  occu- 
pied by  the  large  and  commodious  struc- 
ture in  which  their  present  extensive  mer- 
cantile business  is  now  carried  on,  and  it 
is  around  this  pioneer  establishment  that 

21 


the  present  flourishing  village  of  Gib- 
sonburg has  crystallized.  The  entire  busi- 
ness of  the  firm  was  soon  centered  at  this 
point,  and  it  has  been  steadily  growing  in 
size  and  importance.  Not  content  with 
this,  these  energetic  men  have  constantly 
had  in  view  the  progress  and  enlargement 
of  their  chosen  community,  and  have 
been  prominent  factors  in  its  growth  and 
prosperity.  At  the  present  time  they  are 
carrying  on,  in  addition  to  their  flourish- 
ing mercantile  business,  the  manufacture 
of  lime;  have  erected  an  elevator,  and 
stave  heading  factory;  established  a 
creamery,  and,  besides,  are  pioneers  in 
the  gas  and  oil  producing  business,  now 
owning  and  operating  a  gas  plant  and  ex- 
tensive oil  fields  with  many  oil  wells.  It 
is  generally  an  unwise  thing  to  have  so 
many  "irons  in  the  fire,"  but  the  un- 
doubted ability  and  well-known  energy, 
perseverance  and  excellent  judgment  al- 
ways evinced  by  Mr.  Hornung  and  his 
partner  in  the  management  of  their  large 
ventures,  are  a  guarantee  of  their  success 
in  whatever  direction  they  turn  their  at- 
tention. They  are  valuable  citizens  of 
Gibsonburg,  and  as  such  command  the 
respect  and  esteem  of  all  who  know  them. 
On  April  8,  1867,  Mr.  Hornung  was 
married  in  Washington  township,  to  Miss 
Catherine  Stotz,  who  was  born  in  Ger- 
many May  28,  1842.  Four  children  have 
been  born  to  them:  Elizabeth,  George, 
Charles  and  Julia;  of  these,  George  is  a 
member  of  the  firm,  Charles  being  in  its 
employ  as  bookkeeper;  the  daughters  are 
at  home.  In  politics  Mr.  Hornung  is  a 
Democrat,  and  he  and  his  wife  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Lutheran  Church. 


M 


ICHAEL  OBERST.  Jr.,  a 
farmer  of  Sanduskj'  township, 
Sandusky  county,  was  born  in 
that  township  December  8, 
1848,  a  son  of  Michael,  Sr. ,  and  Anna 
(Mohler)  Oberst. 

The  father  of  our  subject  was  born  in 


828 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPniCAL  RECORD. 


October,  1811,  in  Prussia,  German}', 
grew  up  there,  and  came  to  America 
about  the  year  1844.  He  settled  in  San- 
dusky township,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio, 
and  worked  as  a  farmer  in  Sandusky 
and  Ottawa  counties.  At  the  outbreak 
of  the  Mexican  war  he  volunteered  in  the 
U.  S.  military  service,  and  served  under 
Gen.  Scott,  afterward  returning  to  San- 
dusky county.  After  his  marriage  he 
settled  where  he  now  resides.  In  the 
war  of  the  Rebellion  he  joined  the  Union 
army,  serving  during  the  last  year.  He 
is  one  of  the  few  Mexican  war  pensioners 
living  in  Sandusk}'  count3^  In  politics  he 
is  a  Democrat,  and  in  religious  faith  he 
is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 
Mrs.  Oberst  was  born  in  Switzerland 
October  27,  1829,  and  is  still  living. 
Their  children  were:  Michael,  our  sub- 
ject; John,  who  died  when  six  years  old; 
Daniel,  living  in  Millersville,  Sandusky 
county,  who  married  Miss  Burgoon,  by 
whom  he  has  two  children — Ralph  and 
Merven;  Mary  Ann,  unmarried,  who  is 
living  at  home  with  her  parents;  and 
George,  who  died  when  ten  years  of  age. 
Our  subject  was  reared  in  Sandusky 
county,  and  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools.  In  1873  he  married  Miss  Sarah 
Lobdill,  who  was  born  in  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, July  18,  1854,  and  their  children 
are:  Olive,  Charles,  Lucy,  Frank,  Anna, 
Earl  and  Clair.  Mr.  Oberst  now  owns  a 
portion  of  the  old  homestead  on  which  he 
was  reared.  He  is  recognized  as  one  of 
the  leading,  progressive  men  among  the 
3'ounger  agriculturists  in  the  township,  is 
a  competent  business  man,  and  adopts  the 
most  advanced  ideas  and  business  meth- 
ods. He  was  formerly  a  Republican;  but 
awakening  to  a  strong  realization  of  the 
many  evils  consequent  to  the  liquor  traffic 
he  identified  himself  some  years  ago  with 
the  Prohibition  party.  He  is  one  of  the 
leaders  in  the  temperance  cause  in  his 
community,  has  served  as  State  delegate 
to  Prohibition  conventions,  and  is  work- 
ing for  the  interest  of  the  party. 


GEORGE  H.  WAGGONER,  owner 
of  a  valuable  farm  in  Sandusky 
township,  Sandusky  count}',  is  a 
native  of  the  county,  born  No- 
vember 10,  1851,  in  Washington  town- 
ship, where  he  spent  his  boyhood  days, 
and  received  his  early  education,  later 
attending  one  term  at  Oberlin  College. 

Mr.  Waggoner  remained  on  the  home 
farm  until  twenty-three  years  of  age.  On 
December  10,  1874,  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Mary  E.  Engler,  of  Sandusky  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  in  the  same  house 
in  which  they  have  since  lived.  Shortly 
after  their  marriage  his  father  purchased 
the  farm — 142  acres — for  which  he  paid 
$1  5,000,  and  later  deeded  the  entire  tract 
to  his  son  George  in  consideration  of 
$3,000.  Here  the  latter  has  resided  since 
his  marriage,  during  which  time  he  has 
much  improved  the  place,  in  the  way  of 
under-drainings,  erecting  new  buildings, 
etc.,  in  general  making  it  one  of  the  best 
farms  in  Sandusky  county.  While  Mr. 
Waggoner  has  been  engaged  in  general 
farming,  he  has  also  paid  much  attention 
to  the  raising  of  good  stock,  including 
horses,  cattle  and  sheep,  and  he  is  a  pros- 
perous, thorough-going  agriculturist.  To 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Waggoner  have  come  four 
children:  Orie  Odell,  born  September  2, 
1878,  has  attended  the  district  school  and 
paid  special  attention  to  music,  having 
been  organist  for  the  past  three  years  at 
Mount  Calvary  U.  B.  Church;  Chester 
C,  born  July  20,  1881,  has  attended  the 
home  school  (he  is  interested  in  the  Sun- 
day-school); Vernie  May  was  born  October 
II,  1886  (she  is  taking  music  lessons); 
and  Elmer  E. ,  born  November  30,  1889. 
Samuel  Waggoner,  father  of  George 
H.  Waggoner,  was  born  December  12, 
1827,  in  Perry  county,  Ohio.  About 
1830  he  came  with  his  parents  to  Wash- 
ington township,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio, 
where  he  made  his  home  until  within  the 
past  three  years,  since  when  he  has  lived 
in  Fremont.  His  wife,  Sarah  fMiller), 
was  born  August  28,  1831,  in  Ohio,  and 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOOBAPHICAL  RECORD. 


329 


they  were  married  in  February,  1851. 
To  their  union  were  born  nine  children,  of 
whom  George  H.  is  the  oldest;  Caroline 
died  in  infancy;  Clara  is  the  wife  of  H. 
A.  Bolan,  and  has  one  child;  Eugene 
married  Hattie  Bo3er,  and  died  in  1892; 
Henry  married  Emma  Carr,  and  has  two 
children;  Malvina,  Mrs.  Charles  Keefer, 
of  Sandusky  township,  has  four  children; 
Charles  E.  married  Ellen  King;  Hattie  is 
Mrs.  Chester  Wolf;  Miland  D.  died  at  the 
age  of  fifteen.  Mr.  Waggoner's  paternal 
grandfather,  George  Waggoner,  was  born 
November  10,  179S.  and  died  at  the  age 
of  ninety-six  years;  the  grandmother, 
Margaret  (Klinglerj,  was  born  May  10, 
1802,  and  had  nine  children,  three  of 
whom  are  living.  At  the  time  of  his 
death  the  great-grandfather  owned  and 
lived  on  the  farm  our  subject  now  owns. 
Great-grandfather  John  Waggoner  was  a 
member  of  George  Washington's  body- 
guard during  the  Revolution.  Mr.  Wag- 
goner's maternal  grandfather,  Isaac  Miller, 
was  born  July  19,  1805,  and  was  killed 
during  the  construction  of  the  Lake  Shore 
&  Michigan  Southern  railroad,  in  1847; 
his  wife,  Elizabeth  (Stierwalt),  was  born 
July  5,  1800,  and  they  had  three  chil- 
dren, all  of  whom  are  living.  They  were 
all  early  pioneers  of  Sandusky  county. 

Mrs.  Marj'  E.  Waggoner  was  born 
December  4,  1854,  in  W^ashington  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  and  when  a  child 
moved  with  her  parents  to  Sandusky 
township,  where  she  has  since  lived.  She 
was  educated  in  the  district  schools  of 
Sandusky  township,  and  for  five  terms 
was  one  of  the  leading  teachers  of  the 
county.  Her  father,  Nehemiah  Engler, 
was  born  February  17,  1832,  in  Ohio, 
where  he  is  still  living.  He  was  one  of 
the  leaders  of  the  Democratic  party  in 
Sandusky  county,  served  as  county  in- 
firmary director  six  years,  and  is  now  on 
his  farm  in  Washington  township.  His 
wife,  Sarah  A.  fShively),  was  born  July 
10,  1835,  in  Ohio.  They  were  married 
June  4,  1854,  and  their  union  was  blessed 


with  six  children:  Mary  (Mrs.  Wag- 
goner), William  W.  (married  Alice  Hen- 
ricks,  and  they  have  one  child),  Minerva 
Jane  (Mrs.  N.  Hetrick,  who  has  three 
children  and  lives  in  Kansas),  Hattie 
Odell  (Mrs.  F.  Karbler,  of  Fremont,  who 
has  one  child),  Perry  Sherman  (of  Find- 
lay,  who  married  Sophia  Elky,  and  they 
have  one  child),  and  Joseph  Rollin  (who 
died  at  the  age  of  twenty-two).  Mrs. 
W'aggoner's  paternal  grandfather,  David 
Engler,  was  born  March  27,  1797,  and 
his  wife,  Edith  (Burgoon),  was  born  June 
8,  1803.  He  died  about  1856,  but  she 
survived  to  the  advanced  age  of  nearly 
eighty-eight  years.  To  them  were  born 
nine  children,  of  whom  seven  are  now  liv- 
ing. The  maternal  grandfather,  Joseph 
Shively,  was  born  March  30,  18 12,  and  his 
wife,  Susan  (Overmyer),  was  born  April  16, 
1 809.  To  them  came  nine  children,  all  yet 
living.  The  grandparents  on  both  sides 
were  early  pioneers  of  Sandusky  county. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Waggoner  have  been 
prominent  members  of  the  United  Breth- 
ren Church  since  1874,  and  have  been  act- 
ive in  all  lines  of  Church  and  Sunday- 
school  work  since  their  marriage.  For 
twenty  years  Mr.  W' aggoner  has  been  su- 
perintendent of  the  Sunday-school  of  Mt. 
Calvary  U.  B.  Church,  of  which  his  estim- 
able wife  has  been  Church  chorister  for 
nearly  a  score  of  years.  He  has  been  a 
trustee  of  the  Church  and  parsonage  for 
fifteen  years,  and  the  life  of  the  Church 
and  Sunday-school  isduein  alarge  measure 
to  the  untiring  efforts  of  himself  and  wife. 
Mr.  Waggoner  is  also  deeply  interested  in 
educational  matters,  and  has  been  school 
director  for  six  years.  His  visit  to  the 
World's  Fair  was  as  much  a  matter  of  in- 
tellectual   development  as  of    recreation. 


FW.  SANDWISCH,  a  retired 
farmer  of  Woodville  township, 
Sandusky  county,  and  an  ex-coun- 
ty official,  who  in  past  years  has 
been  among  the  most  prominent  and  pro- 


330 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


gressive  public  characters  of  the  county, 
is  a  native  of  Germany. 

He  was  born  in  Hanover  May  7,  1819, 
the  youngest  son  of  Rudolph  and  Jane 
(Daterman)  Sandwisch.  The  mother 
died  at  the  age  of  fifty-eight  years,  and 
the  father  attained  the  age  of  eighty-two 
years.  They  had  five  children,  as  fol- 
lows: (l)  Rudolph,  who  was  born  in 
February,  1805,  and  married  Catherine 
Sandwisch;  he  had  two  children — Henry 
and  Maggie — both  married,  the  former  to 
Christina  Meyers,  the  latter  to  Fred  Puck. 

(2)  Herman,  who  married  Catherine 
Margee;  their  five  children  are  William, 
who  married  Clarinda  Swartzman,  and  has 
three  children  (she  lives  at  Fremont]; 
Mary,  widow  of  Jacob  Bishop  and  mother 
of  five  children,  living  at  Toledo;  Louisa 
who  married  Benedict  Emch  and  has  five 
children,  a  resident  of  Woodville;  John, 
a  wagon-maker  at  Bowling  Green,  mar- 
ried to  Almira  Gallup,  and  has  four  chil- 
dren; Emma,  wife  of  Charles  Brett,  and 
mother  of  one  son,  lives  at  Atlanta,  Ga. 

(3)  Jane,  who  married  Herman  Gismort, 
and  died  in  Germany  in  1879,  aged  sev- 
enty years,  leaving  one  child.  (4)  Chris- 
tian, born  in  18 17,  married  to  a  Miss 
Reader,  by  whom  he  had  five  children. 
(5)  F.  W. ,  subject  of  this  sketch. 

In  1836  F.  W.  Sandwisch,  then  sev- 
enteen years  of  age,  ventured  alone  into 
a  strange  and  distant  land  to  seek  his  for- 
tune. Taking  passage  in  a  sailing  ves- 
sel, he  seven  weeks  later  landed  at  New 
York.  His  supply  of  money  quickly  be- 
came exhausted,  and  he  secured  a  posi- 
tion on  a  steamboat,  plj'ing  on  Lake  Erie 
between  Buffalo  and  Detroit.  He  re- 
mained on  the  boat  all  of  one  season.  In 
1839  he  married  Louisa  Clousing,  who 
was  born  in  181  5.  Three  children  blessed 
this  union,  as  follows:  (l)  John,  a  farm- 
er of  Woodville  township,  born  Novem- 
ber 5,  1 84 1,  and  married  to  Eliza  Me3'er; 
they  have  eight  children — Dora,  George, 
Gust,  Maggie,  Martha.  Martin,  Carrie  and 
William.      (2)  Herman,  retired  farmer  of 


Woodville  township,  born  April  28,  1844, 
married  Amelia  Winegart;  they  are  the 
parents  of  five  children — Ella,  ^^^illiam, 
Aaron,  Nora  and  Paul.  (3)  Frederick, 
born  July  17,  1850;  he  married  Lucy 
Schroeder,  and  has  si.\  children — Carl, 
Sophia,  Frederick.  Joseph.  Fred  and  Eu- 
gene; he  is  a  carpenter,  and  erected  the 
first  building  at  Woodville,  where  he  now 
lives. 

After  his  marriage  our  subject  worked 
for  a  time  at  the  carpenter's  trade.  Liv- 
ing for  a  3'ear  in  Perrysburg,  he  then  came 
to  the  "Black  Swamp."  He  worked  for 
a  year  on  the  pike  road  in  Troy  township, 
Wood  county,  then  purchased  forty  acres 
of  wild  land  for  $200.  He  built  a  log 
cabin  and  made  other  improvements,  then 
sold  the  property  and  bought  seventy 
acres.  This,  too,  he  disposed  of  advan- 
tageously soon  after,  and  bought  the  160 
acres  where  he  now  lives.  The  ravages 
of  the  cholera  were  severe  when  he  first 
settled  in  the  swamp,  and  his  brothers 
perished  from  the  epidemic  while  he  was 
on  his  way  for  a  doctor.  Mr.  Sandwisch 
owned  the  first  ox-team  in  Woodville 
township.  He  had  to  go  eighteen  miles 
to  mill,  and  the  trip  consumed  several 
days.  He  was  an  extensive  dealer  in 
horses  and  cattle,  and  in  i860  lost  twenty- 
four  head  of  fine  cattle. 

Mrs.  Louisa  Sandwisch  died  October 
24,  1855,  of  consumption,  and  for  his 
second  wife  our  subject  was  married  to 
Angeline  Bossan,  who  was  born  in  Ger- 
many November  8,  1833,  daughter  of 
Henry  and  Gertie  Bossan.  Her  father 
died  in  Germany  in  1871,  aged  sixty-nine 
years,  her  mother  in  1875,  aged  seventy- 
four  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bossan  were 
the  parents  of  five  children:  Clement, 
Henrietta,  Henry,  Frederick  and  Ange- 
line. The  second  marriage  of  Mr.  Sand- 
wisch was  blessed  with  ten  children,  as 
follows:  (i)  Edward,  a  farmer  of  Wood- 
ville township,  born  December  26,  1856; 
he  was  married  in  April,  1880.  to  Annie 
Stein,    by  whom  he    has  five    children — 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPEWAL  RECORD. 


331 


Edith,  Edward,  Dora,  Mary  and  Lizzie. 
(2)  Henry,  born  July  i8,  1858,  lives,  un- 
married, in  Woodville.  (3)  Carrie,  born 
March  9,  i860,  married  John  Hurrel- 
brink,  and  is  the  mother  of  three  children 
— Augusta,  William  and  Edward.  (4) 
Jennie,  born  August  9,  1862,  married 
Herman  Linke,  a  farmer  of  Woodville 
township;  they  have  two  children,  Edith 
and  Lizzie.  (5)  William,  born  April  18, 
1865,  is  at  home.  (6)  Charles,  born 
January  26,  1868,  is  at  home.  (7)  Man- 
uel, born  December  29,  i86g,  is  also  at 
home.  (8)  Louisa,  born  December  i, 
1 87 1.  (9)  Frank,  born  March  22,  1874. 
(10)  Sophia,  born  June  8,  1876.  In  1884 
Mr.  Sandwisch  retired  from  active  farm- 
ing, and  his  sons  now  operate  the  farm. 
In  1873  he  was  elected  county  commis- 
sioner, and  re-elected  for  a  second  term, 
but  on  account  of  ill  health  he  declined 
the  honor.  Mr.  Sandwisch  has  also  held 
various  other  local  offices.  The  family 
attend  the  Lutheran  Church,  and  is 
among  the  most  popular  and  enterprising 
of  the  count)'. — [Since  the  above  was 
written  we  have  been  notified  of  the  death 
of  Mr.  F.  W.  Sandwisch,  which  occurred 
October  24,  1895.  He  died  of  old  age, 
at  the  age  of  seventy-six  years,  had  been 
aihng  ever  since  January,  1895,  and  was 
confined  to  his  bed  for  three  months  prior 
to  his  decease. — Editor. 


RICHARD  WILLEY.  a  retired  farm- 
er of  Rice  township,  Sandusky 
county,  deserves  honorable  men- 
tion as  one  of  the  early  pioneers 
of  the  county.  He  was  born  in  Tomp- 
kins county,  N.  Y.,  February  15,  1817,  a 
son  of  Eleazar  and  Mary  (Lane)  Willey. 
Eleazar  Willey  was  a  well-to-do  far- 
mer in  the  Empire  State,  who  came  with 
his  family  to  Huron  county,  Ohio,  in  1829, 
where  he  bought  a  large  farm,  and  re- 
mained on  it  about  six  years.  Ha\ing  in 
the  meantime  lost  nearly  all  his  property 
by  going  surety  for  a  neighbor,   he  sold 


out,  removed  to  the  Black  Swamp,  west 
of  Lower  Sandusky,  and  bought  400 
acres  of  partly-improved  land.  The  title 
to  this  land  not  being  satisfactorj',  he 
abandoned  it,  and  bought  300  acres  in  the 
south  part  of  Rice  township,  on  the  west 
bank  of  the  Sandusky  river.  Here  he 
cleared  up  a  home,  and  followed  farming 
after  the  custom  of  the  early  pioneers. 
The  children  of  Eleazar  and  Mary  Willey 
were:  Abraham,  Isaac,  Rhoda,  Eleazar, 
Richard  (our  subject),  Sarah  Ann,  Jane, 
and  Naomi,  all  of  whom  are  dead  except 
Richard  and  Jane.  The  father  died  Au- 
gust 17,  1852,  aged  seventy  years,  and 
the  mother  on  January  i,  1866,  aged 
eighty-two.  All  of  those  who  died,  ex- 
cept Sarah,  are  buried  in  Brier  Hill  Ceme- 
tery, located  on  the  Willey  farm;  Sarah 
died  in  Kansas. 

Richard  Willey  spent  his  childhood  in 
New  York  State,  his  youth  in  the  Fire 
Lands  of  Huron  county,  and  grew  to 
manhood  on  his  father's  farm  in  Rice 
township,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio.  He  en- 
tered with  a  zest  into  both  the  toils  and 
the  pastimes  of  pioneer  life,  was  an  ex- 
pert marksman,  and  kept  the  family  well 
supplied  with  wild  game.  He  delighted 
to  hunt  deer  and  wild  turkeys  in  the  deep 
woods,  and  to  shoot  wild  geese  and  ducks 
on  the  river  and  in  the  marshes.  He 
often  went  to  mill  for  his  neighbors  who 
had  no  teams,  wending  his  way  through 
the  woods  and  across  streams  of  water,  to 
Cold  Creek  (now  Castalia),  in  Erie  county. 
His  book  learning  was  limited  to  only  a 
few  weeks  of  irregular  attendance  at  a 
country  school.  On  March  4,  1847,  he 
married  Miss  Harriet  Walker,  who  was 
born  July  I,  1825.  a  daughter  of  David 
and  Elizabeth  \\'alker,  at  that  time  neigh- 
bors of  the  Willeys.  About  the  year 
1850  Mr.  Willey  removed  to  Rollersville, 
Ohio,  and  there  burned  lime  one  year; 
then  returned  to  the  Willey  farm,  which 
has  been  his  home  ever  since. 

The  children  of  Richard  and  Harriet 
Willey   were:     (i)   Eliza,  who  April  26, 


332 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPmCAL  RECORD. 


1893,  married  Alfred  Berlincourt,  who 
was  a  minister  of  the  Christian  Church 
about  ten  3'ears  in  Paulding  county,  Ohio, 
then  joined  the  M.  E.  Church,  at  Find- 
lay,  Ohio,  and  the  Central  Ohio  Confer- 
ence at  Fremont,  June  13,  1894;  his 
death  occurred  near  Findlay,  September 
9,  1894.  (2)  George  W. ,  who  married 
Lydia  Wiliey,  and  lives  at  Bronson  Sta- 
tion, Branch  Co.,  Mich.  (3)  Mary  E., 
born  September  16,  1853,  who  March  27, 
1879,  married  Wallace,  son  of  James  and 
Mary  (Fry)  Scrimger,  formerly  of  Allegan 
county,  Mich.  Richard  Wiliey  and  his 
wife  have  lived  to  a  venerable  old  age. 
Their  land  is  now  farmed  by  their  son-in- 
law,  Wallace  Scrimger.  They  are  mem- 
bers of  the  M.  E.  Church. 

The  following  is  a  brief  account  of 
Mrs.  Willey's  parents'  family.  The  chil- 
dren of  David  and  Elizabeth  Walker 
were:  (i)  Mary  Ann,  wife  of  Richard 
Parham,  of  Burr  Oak,  Mich. ;  she  died 
leaving  three  sons — Aaron,  Ann  and  Lo- 
rin,  all  of  whom  are  now  heads  of  fam- 
ilies. (2)  William,  who  married  Hattie 
Gifford;  both  have  died,  leaving  several 
children  in  Michigan  and  California.  (3) 
Fannie,  wife  of  Abraham  Wiliey,  brother 
of  Richard;  they  had  four  children,  two 
of  whom,  Alfred  and  Lydia,  are  heads  of 
families.  (4)  Welcome,  who  married 
Abigail  Mitchell,  of  Iowa;  they  have  three 
children — Everett,  Ira  and  Ella,  all  mar- 
ried and  heads  of  families.  (Mi.ss  Nellie 
Walker,  daughter  of  Everett,  at  the  age 
of  seventeen  manifested  remarkable  apt- 
ness and  genius  in  the  line  of  sculpture, 
having  executed  a  marble  bust  of  Abra- 
ham Lincoln,  with  rude  tools  picked  up 
in  her  father's  marble  shop,  without  any 
previous  instruction  in  the  art  of  sculp- 
ture, and  guided  in  her  design  with  noth- 
ing but  a  picture  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  which 
she  had  torn  out  of  a  book  and  tacked  on 
aboard.  She  finished  the  .task  in  less 
than  a  month,  besides  helping  her  mother 
meanwhile  in  domestic  work.  The  bust 
in  question  was  exhibited  at  the  Colum- 


bian Fair  in  Chicago,  and  was  pronounced 
by  an  old  neighbor  of  Mr.  Lincoln  as  the 
most  natural  he  had  ever  seen.  Miss 
Walker  has  since  that  time  executed  very 
satisfactory  busts  for  other  parties.  She 
resides  at  Moulton,  Iowa).  (5)  Eunice, 
wife  of  John  Myers,  a  farmer,  living  in 
Seneca  county,  Ohio,  who  has  six  chil- 
dren, married.  (6)  Eliza,  wife  of  Wash- 
ington Alexander,  now  living  in  Michigan. 
(7)  Harriet,  wife  of  our  subject.  (8)  W. 
G.  Walker,  an  artist,  residing  at  Ottumwa, 
Iowa.  (9)  Mrs.  Maria  Fowler,  of  Fre- 
mont, Ohio. 


HG.  HOUSE,  farmer,  Green  Creek 
township,  Sandusky  county,  was 
born  in  Switzerland,  March  16, 
1833,  a  son  of  Jacob  and  Mary 
(Hooser)  House,  also  natives  of  Switzer- 
land, who  emigrated  to  America  in  1847, 
landing  at  New  York  Cit}'.  From  there 
they  at  once  proceeded  to  Lower  San- 
dusky (now  Fremont),  Ohio,  where  the 
father  worked  at  his  trade  as  a  stone 
mason,  and  soon  after  bought  a  farm  of 
fort}'  acres  in  Rile)'  township,  which  they 
made  their  home. 

Jacob  House  was  born  June  3,  1800, 
and  died  in  September,  1874.  He  was  a 
Democrat  in  politics,  and  a  member  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  Mary 
Hooser,  mother  of  our  subject,  was  born 
in  1798,  and  died  in  April,  1874.  Five 
of  their  children  grew  to  maturity,  of 
whom  H.  G.  House  is  the  oldest;  John  is 
a  marble  cutter  in  California;  Casper  died 
at  the  age  of  forty-nine  years;  Matthew  is 
a  stone  mason  in  Fremont,  Ohio;  Mary 
married  Joseph  Huttinger,  and  is  living 
east  of  Fremont.  After  coming  to 
America  H.  G.  House  learned  the  trade 
of  a  stonemason,  at  which  he  worked  at 
intervals  for  about  twenty  years,  at  the 
same  time  operating  his  farm  in  Riley 
township,  Sandusky  county.  In  1857  he 
took  a  trip  to  California,  b\'  the  Panama 
route,  and  spent  several  years  on  the  Pa- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


833 


cific  coast.  He  worked  on  a  farm  and  in 
the  mines;  spent  six  months  in  British 
Columbia,  assisted  in  building  a  pack- 
horse  road  for  the  Hudson  Bay  Company, 
and  in  1861  he  returned  to  Fremont, 
Ohio. 

On  November  5,  1861,  our  subject 
married  Miss  Catharine  Bisang,  born  at 
Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  in  March,  1S41,  and  they 
have  thirteen  children,  all  of  whom  are  liv- 
ing: Mary  M., born  May  2  I,  1863,  married 
Philip  \\'amus,  who  lives  in  Sandusky 
county  (they  have  three  children — Rosa, 
Clarence,  \\'illiam);  Amelia,  married  to 
Barney  Halbeiscn,  a  farmer  of  Ballville 
township  (they  have  six  children — Laura, 
Louisa,  Louis,  Clarence,  Leona,  Urban), 
Charles  married  Katie  Young,  and  they 
have  two  children — Louisa,  Carl;  Joseph 
is  a  carpenter  of  Portland,  Ore. ;  Laura 
married  John  Weiss,  an  employe  at  the 
Carbon  Works,  Fremont,  Ohio  (they  have 
one  child — Leona);  and  William  H., 
Catharine,  Rosa  M.,  Martha  L.,  Aloisius 
H.,  Francis,  Helen,  and  Antonio.  Mrs. 
House  is  a  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Mar- 
aret  (Geiger)  Bisang.  Her  father  was 
born  in  Alsace,  France,  married  there  to 
his  first  wife,  and  came  with  her  to 
America;  she  died  in  Buffalo,  N.  Y.  They 
had  children  as  follows:  Theresa,  Mary, 
Joseph,  and  Peter.  For  his  second  wife 
Mr.  Bisang  married  Margaret  Geiger, 
and  by  her  had  six  children:  (i)  Mar- 
garet, who  married  Samuel  Babione,  and 
died  in  Ballville  township,  Sandusky 
county;  (2j  Elizabeth,  born  October  14, 
1844,  who  married  John  P.  Baker,  a 
merchant  tailor,  of  French  descent,  who 
worked  at  his  trade  in  Fremont,  and  died 
in  1877;  (3)  Magdalena,  who  married 
George  Fend,  and  is  now  living  at  Port 
Angeles,  Wash. ;  (4)  Mary,  who  married 
John  Schaff,  now  of  Helena,  Mont.,  and 
(5)  Caroline,  who  married  George  Dun- 
ning, an  undertaker  at  Portland,  Ore. 
Mrs.  House  lived  in  Buffalo,  X.  Y.,  until 
twelve  years  of  age,  and  then  came  to 
Sandusky  county.      Her  father  was  born 


in  1793,  and  died  in  Fremont,  Ohio,  in 
1874;  her  mother  was  born  in  Baden, 
Germany,  November  24,  1804,  and  died 
March  14,  1894,  at  the  home  of  her 
daughter,  near  Fremont. 


WILLIAM  HUMMEL,  a  well- 
known  resident  of  York  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  is  the 
eldest  son  of  William  and  Clara 
(Walter)  Hummel,  and  was  born  in  Sny- 
der county,  Penn.,  April  24,  1843.  He 
grew  up  to  habits  of  thrift,  frugality,  and 
strict  moralit}',  which  he  at  present  pos- 
sesses to  a  marked  degree. 

For  more  than  i  50  years  the  Hummel 
family  have  resided  in  Pennsylvania. 
They  are  noted  for  physical  stamen  and 
indefatigable  industry.  William  Hummel, 
Sr. ,  inherited  these  qualities,  and  during 
his  life  was  rarely,  if  ever,  deterred  from 
important  undertakings  by  difficulties,  and 
was  noted  for  his  hardiness  and  firmness 
of  character.  He  was  born  in  181 3  in 
Union  county,  and  in  1842  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Clara  Walter,  born  in  1818, 
daughter  of  Conrad  Walter,  a  Lutheran 
preacher.  Mr.  Hummel  died  in  1861; 
his  wife  passed  away  in  the  spring  of  1S94. 
William,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was 
the  eldest  in  the  family  of  William  Hum- 
mel, Sr. ,  and  Clara,  his  wife.  Moses, 
the  second  son,  died  in  1872,  leaving  a 
widow  and  two  children;  his  widow  has 
married  John  Boyer,  of  Seneca  county, 
and  Emma  Jane,  his  daughter,  married 
Mr.  Acker,  also  of  Huron  county.  Aaron, 
the  third  child,  married  Amanda  Stin- 
inger,  and  lives  on  the  old  homestead  in 
Pennsylvania.  Benjamin  also  lives  in 
Snyder  county.  Catherine,  the  only 
daughter,  died  in  1880.  John,  the  young- 
est of  the  family,  is  a  farmer  of  Union 
county;  he  married  a  Miss  Weaver. 

On  Christmas  Day,  1862,  William 
Hummel  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Elizabeth  Aigler,  daughter  of  Amos  and 
Armina  (Bobb)  Aigler.      She  was  born  in 


334 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Juniata  county,  Penn.,  November  9,  1842, 
and  was  raised  in  Snyder  county.  Irvine 
W. ,  who  lives  at  Mt.  Pleasant,  York 
township,  is  the  eldest  child  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Hummel,  and  was  born  February  3, 
1864.  In  1885  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Anna  Gemberling,  of  Snyder  coun- 
ty, Penn.,  and  they  have  two  children 
— William  Aigler  and  Sophara  Pickert. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  Hummel's  other 
child,  still  living,  Lillie  Marguerite,  born 
April  23,  1876,  is  the  wife  of  John  Kern, 
a  farmer  of  York  township,  and  they  have 
one  child — Laurel  Celestine.  Four  chil- 
dren of  our  subject  and  wife  have  died, 
as  follows:  Charles  P.,  born  February 
4,  1867,  died  April  6,  1867;  Calvin  E., 
born  May  15,  1870,  died  August  31,  1870; 
Carrie  E.,  born  November  5,  1871,  died 
August  31.  1872;  and  Mabel  S.,  born 
May  7,  1882,  died  June  11,  1882.  Mr. 
Hummel  has  ever  been  an  ardent  cham- 
pion of  the  principles  of  Republicanism, 
and  he  puts  his  preaching  to  practical  use 
by  voting  for  the  candidates  of  that  party. 
Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hummel  are  members 
of  the  Evangelical  Church. 


JF.  GERWIN,  a  substantial    farmer 
of    Woodville    township,    Sandusky 
county,  was  born  in  Hanover,  Ger- 
many, May  I,  1842,  son  of  Christian 
and  Julia  (Linnerbrink)  Gerwin,  who  were 
born  August  14,  181  i,  and  September  17, 
1816,  respectively. 

Christian  Gerwin  came  to  America 
in  1835,  and  after  a  short  sojourn  returned 
to  Germany.  In  1842  he  again  came  to 
this  country,  and  same  year  located  in 
Ohio.  He  married  Julia  Linnerbrink,  and 
they  had  seven  children,  as  follows:  J.  F. 
is  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  William  mar- 
ried Mary  Kleily,  and  they  have  had  two 
children;  they  live  in  Woodville  township. 
Angeline  married  Frank  Hursall,  a  tJilor 
by  trade;  she  died  in  1881,  the  mother  of 
si.x  children.  Caroline  married  Peter 
Knaup,  a  farmer   in  Michigan,    and   they 


have  had  three  children.  Louis  married 
Carrie  Bronckseker.  Eliza  died  young. 
Mary  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years. 
The  father,  Christian  Gerwin,  has  traveled 
a  great  deal,  and  is  known  far  and  near; 
the  mother  died  June  16,  1892,  at  the  age 
of  seventy-si.x  )-ears  and  two  months. 

J.  F.  Gerwin  was  united  in  marriage 
March  28,  1878,  with  Eliza  Blausey,  who 
was  born  in  Woodville  township,  Sandusky 
county,  March  31,  1857,  and  they  have 
had  four  children,  namely:  Ella,  born 
March  9,  1881;  Lillie  and  Millie  ftwins), 
born  November  7,  18S5;  and  Julia,  born 
November  7,  1889.  Mrs.  Gersvin  is  one 
of  the  si.x  children  of  Henr}'  and  Mary 
(Yeastings)  Blausey.  Mr.  Gerwin  leased 
his  land  to  the  Standard  Oil  Company  in 
1 89 1,  and  has  seven  oil  wells  on  his  farm. 
He  has  held  several  township  offices,  is  a 
member  of  the  German  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  in  Woodville  township,  and 
is  well  and  favorabl)-  known. 


HENRY  L.  WOTT.  Among  the 
successful  farmers  of  Sandusky 
county  none  sustains  a  better  rep- 
utation for  carefully  attending  to 
his  own  affairs,  for  industr\'  and  thrift, 
than  does  Henr\-  L.  Wott,  whose  traits, 
thus  outlined,  are  distinctively  those  of 
his  nationality,  for  Mr.  Wott  is  of  Ger- 
man birth.  He  was  born  in  the  Kingdom 
of  Prussia  May  25,  1839,  son  of  Charles 
and  Charlotte  (Wottj  Wott. 

Charles  Wott  was  a  farmer  of  some 
note,  and  a  squire  or  magistrate,  an 
office  corresponding  to  our  justice  of  the 
peace.  His  wife's  father,  also  a  magis- 
trate, was  superintendent  of  a  large  es- 
tate. In  1866  Charles  Wott  emigrated 
with  his  famil}'  to  America.  He  lived 
for  a  year  in  Venice,  Erie  Co.,  Ohio, 
then  came  to  Green  Creek  township, 
Sandusky  county,  and  purchased  eighty 
acres  of  land,  where  he  lived  and  fol- 
lowed agricultural  pursuits  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  the  fall  of  1868,  when 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


335 


he  was  aged  sixtN-three  years.  In  re- 
ligious faith  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Lutheran  Church.  His  wife  survived  un- 
til April  5,  1894,  when  she  passed  away 
at  the  age  of  eighty  years.  They  had  a  fam- 
ily of  twelve  children,  as  follows:  Car- 
olina, Albertiiia,  Henry  L. ,  Charles  A., 
William  (of  Oak  Harbor),  Wilhelmina, 
Kate,  August,  John,  and  three  who  died 
in  Germany. 

Henry  L.  Wott  was  twenty-seven 
years  of  age  when  he  came  with  his 
parents  to  America.  He  remained  with 
his  father  in  Venice,  Erie  county,  and 
came  with  him  to  Green  Creek  township. 
Upon  his  father's  death,  which  occurred 
about  si.\  months  after  he  had  bought 
his  farm  in  Green  Creek  township, 
Henry  L.  and  his  brother  Charles  pur- 
chased the  interest  of  the  other  heirs, 
and  began  to  farm  the  newly-acquired 
home  place.  The}'  also  purchased  eighty 
acres  additional,  and  later  divided  the 
property  between  them,  Henry  L.  re- 
taining the  home  farm,  and  now  owning 
ninety  acres  of  excellent  land,  eighty  of 
which  are  under  a  high  state  of  cultiva- 
tion. In  18S3  he  erected,  at  a  cost  of 
$3,000,  a  fine  brick  residence,  carefully 
designed  and  constructed. 

Mr.  Wott  was  married  April  20, 
1869,  to  Mary  Schiska,  and  to  them  five 
children  ha\e  been  born:  William, 
Charles,  John  (deceased),  Minnie  and 
Henry.  In  politics  our  subject  is  a  Dem- 
ocrat, and  in  religious  faith  he  is  an  act- 
ive member  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 


A 


DOLPH  PETERS  is  an  intelli- 
gent and  highly-respected  citi;ren, 
now  numbered  among  the  leading 
farmers  and  stock  raisers  of  Wood- 
ville  township,  Sandusky  county.  He 
wasborn  in  Wadenschwyl,  Canton  Zurich, 
Switzerland,  December  24,  1849,  ^^id  is 
a  son  of  Rudolph  Peters,  who  was  a  na- 
tive of  the  same  locality. 

The  father  was  there   employed  as  a 


dyer  in  a  cotton  factory  until  the  spring 
of  1854,  when  he  crossed  the  Atlantic  to 
America,  locating  in  Ballville,  Ohio.  He 
left  his  family  in  the  land  of  his  nativity 
until  he  shoidd  succeed  in  obtaining  em- 
ployment here,  when  he  wrote  for  them 
to  join  him  in  his  new  home.  W^estern 
life  attracting  him,  he  left  Ballville  for 
Michigan,  securing  employment  on  the 
railroad.  As  he  had  not  then  secured  a 
definite  location  in  Michigan,  he  wrote  to 
his  family  to  postpone  their  coming  for  a 
short  time,  but  before  the  arrival  of  the 
second  letter  they  had  boarded  a  sailing 
vessel,  on  which  were  two  hundred  other 
passengers.  After  they  had  been  some 
days  on  the  ocean  cholera  bro.ke  out  on 
board,  causing  the  death  of  forty  passen- 
gers. Mrs  Peters  was  stricken  with  the 
disease,  but  finally  recovered.  They 
landed  at  Belgium,  but  after  a  short  rest 
again  started  for  America,  and  after  a 
long  and  tedious  voyage  reached  the 
shores  of  the  New  World.  They  soon 
arrived  at  Ballville,  Ohio,  but  finding  the 
husband  and  father  had  left  that  place, 
Mrs.  Peters  and  her  son  secured  employ- 
ment as  weavers  in  a  factory,  she  having 
learned  the  weaving  business  in  her  na- 
tive land.  As  soon  as  the  father  learned 
of  the  arrival  of  his  family  in  this  country 
he  joined  them  and  found  employment  in 
Ballville  among  the  farming  population, 
while  the  other  members  of  the  family 
secured  work  as  they  could,  all  helping  to 
earn  a  living.  After  a  three-years'  resi- 
dence at  that  place  they  removed  to  Mad- 
ison township,  Sandusky  count}',  renting 
a  farm  which  they  operated  for  three 
years.  Purchasing  a  tract  of  eighty  acres 
in  Woodville  township,  they  next  removed 
to  their  new  home,  and  began  clearing 
away  the  timber,  a  dense  growth  of  which 
covered  the  land.  Father  and  sons  soon 
made  this  a  tract  of  rich  fertility,  and  the 
farm  became  one  of  the  most  highly  cul- 
tivated in  the  neighborhood. 

To   Mr.   and    Mrs.    Peters   were  born 
the   following  children:     (i)  Henry,  who 


MG 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


was  born  in  Switzerland  January  20,  1841, 
and  tliere  acquired  his  education;  was 
employed  in  a  factory  in  Ballville,  Ohio, 
on  first  coming  to  America;  he  now  fol- 
lows the  occupation  of  farming  in  Wood- 
ville  township;  he  was  married  December 
12,  1863,  to  Louisa  Clink,  a  daughter  of 
Caleb  Clink,  and  a  sister  of  Jacob,  Reu- 
ben and  A.  J.  Clink,  all  well-known  resi- 
dents of  Sandusky  county;  she  was  born 
August  II,  1837,  and  now  has  six  chil- 
dren— Mary,  born  September  30,  1864, 
and  is  the  wife  of  Henry  Hurleman,  a 
farmer  of  Wood  county,  Ohio;  William 
H.,  born  January  26,  1866,  follows  farm- 
ing and  operates  oil  fields  (he  married 
Tilley,  daughter  of  Conrad  Oberst);  the 
other  children  of  Henry  Peters  are  George 
A.,  born  May  4,  1869.  died  October  7, 
1870;  Charles  W.,  January  i,  1871,  work- 
ing in  the  oil  fields;  Frank  C,  born  May 
12,  1874,  died  April  24,  1875;  and  Lillie 
D.,  born  March  3,  1879;  the  mother  of 
this  family  died  July  28,  1883,  after  which 
Henry  Peters  married  Annie  Blausey,  a 
daughter  of  Henry  Blausey,  a  farmer  of 
Madison  township,  Sandusky  county;  they 
have  four  children — Raymond,  born  Jan- 
uary 22,  1887;  Grace  M.  and  Mabel  M., 
born  August  6,  1890;  and  Annette,  born 
February  14,  1895.  {-)  John  Peters,  the 
second  of  the  family,  was  born  in  Swit- 
zerland May  24,  1 844,  and  was  a  farmer 
and  lumber  manufacturer;  he  died  April 
I,  1883.  (3)  Adolph,  subject  of  this 
sketch,  is  the  next  younger.  Two  other 
children  died  in  infancy.  The  father  of 
this  family  is  still  living  at  the  ripe  old 
age  of  eighty-six  years,  and  makes  his 
home  with  his  son  Adolph,  who  tenderly 
cares  for  him  in  his  declining  years.  He 
is  well  known  throughout  the  communit}', 
and  is  highly  respected. 

The  gentleman  whose  name  opens  this 
record  was  educated  in  the  schools  of 
Ballville,  and  after  school  hours  worked 
in  the  mills.  When  his  parents  removed 
to  Madison  township,  Sandusky  county, 
he    labored    upon    the    farm,    giving   his 


father  the  benefit  of  his  services,  and  took 
an  important  part  in  clearing  the  old 
homestead  and  placing  it  under  a  high 
state  of  cultivation.  He  resided  thereon 
until  1876,  when  in  partnership  with  his 
brother  John  he  engaged  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  lumber,  devoting  his  time  and  en- 
ergies to  that  business  some  eight  years, 
during  which  time  he  furnished  employ- 
ment to  a  number  of  men  in  cutting  tim- 
ber, logs,  etc.  On  the  expiration  of  that 
period  he  sold  his  interest  in  the  lumber 
business,  together  with  one  hundred  acres 
of  land,  and  in  1884  returned  to  the  old 
home  place.  He  then  purchased  sixty- 
two  acres  of  land,  which  he  succeeded  in 
clearing,  fencing  and  tilling,  making  it  a 
tract  of  rich  fertility.  He  now  cultivates 
more  than  140  acres  of  improved  land, 
and  to-day  has  one  of  the  finest  farms  in 
Sandusky  county,  complete  in  all  its  ap- 
pointments from  the  substantial  dwelling 
to  the  outbuildings  for  the  stock.  An  air 
of  neatness  and  thrift  pervades  the  place, 
and  waving  fields  of  grain  indicate  good 
harvests. 

Mr.  Peters  was  married  July  27,  1874, 
in  Seneca  county,  Ohio,  to  Lucy  Parker, 
who  was  born  February  14,  1855.  They 
are  the  parents  of  six  children:  Edward 
A.,  born  June  25,  1S75,  now  working  in 
the  oil  fields;  Ephraim  R. ,  born  January 
29,  1878;  John  R.,  born  November  6, 
1880;  Sarah  E.,  born  December  20,  1S76; 
Jessie,  born  October  21,  1882;  and  Elmer 
E.,  born  September  27,  1888.  Mr. 
Peters  is  a  member  of  Freedman  Lodge, 
No.  723,  I.  O.  O.  F. ,  of  Wood  county, 
and  in  politics  is  independent,  supporting 
the  man  and  not  the  party.  He  has  al- 
ways taken  a  deep  interest  in  educational 
matters,  has  held  the  office  of  school  di- 
rector for  more  than  fifteen  years,  has 
been  clerk  of  the  school  board,  and  is 
now  its  president.  In  all  possible  ways  he 
aids  in  the  advancement  of  interests  cal- 
culated to  prove  of  public  benefit,  and  is 
well-known  and  highly  respected  through- 
out the  county  as  a  man  of  industry,  in- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


337 


tegrity  and  enterprising  and  progressive 
ideas.  His  genial  and  kindly  disposition 
has  won  for  him  the  good  will  of  all  with 
whom  he  has  been  brought  in  contact, 
either  in  business  or  social  life,  and  he  is 
indeed  a  highly  esteemed  citizen. 


GEORGE  J.  LEHRMAN,  who  for 
many  years  has  been  identified 
with  the  agricultural  interests  of 
Sandusky  county,  is  a  Western 
man  by  birth  and  training,  and  possessed 
•of  a  true  Western  spirit  of  enterprise  and 
progress.  He  was  born  September  20, 
1849,  and  is  a  son  of  Mathias  and  Mary 
(Bowers)  Lehrman,  both  of  whom  were 
natives  of  Hanover,  Germany.  In  1834 
they  bade  adieu  to  that  country,  and 
crossed  the  Atlantic  to  the  New  World, 
taking  up  their  residence  in  Canton,  Ohio; 
but  after  a  short  time  they  removed  to 
Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  where  for  twenty 
years  they  made  their  home.  On  the  ex- 
piration of  that  period,  they  came  to 
Washington  township,  Sandusky  count}', 
and  purchased  ninety-six  acres  of  good 
farm  land.  The  father  carried  on  agri- 
cultural pursuits  throughout  his  life,  and 
both  he  and  his  wife  spent  their  remain- 
ing days  on  their  home  in  Sandusky 
county. 

This  worthy  couple  were  the  parents 
of  a  family  of  ten  children,  namely: 
David,  who  is  now  engaged  in  farming 
in  Scott  township,  Sandusky  county; 
Josephine,  who  died  in  infancy;  John, who 
was  killed  while  aiding  his  country  in  the 
Civil  war;  Caroline,  wife  of  Philip 
Kirsch,  a  farmer  residing  in  Coldwater, 
Ohio;  Ellen,  wife  of  Joseph  Maers,  an 
agriculturist,  living  in  Scott  township, 
Sandusky  county;  Lizzie,  who  became 
the  wife  of  Fred  I^evie,  and  died  in  1893; 
George  J.,  subject  of  this  sketch;  Mary, 
wife  of  Joseph  Weaver,  a  farmer,  residing 
in  Madison  township,  Sandusky  county; 
Sarah,  wife  of  Joseph  Ottney,  who  also 
•carries  on  agricultural    pursuits  in   Madi- 


son township;  and  Audulph,  who  died  in 
infancy.  Mr.  Lehrman,  of  whom  we 
write,  spent  the  days  of  his  boyhood  and 
youth  in  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  and  came 
with  the  family  to  Sandusky  county, 
Ohio.  To  his  father  he  gave  the  benefit 
of  his  services  throughout  his  minority, 
and  even  after  his  marriage  he  remained 
at  home  with  his  parents,  carrying  on  the 
work  of  the  farm.  Upon  his  mother's 
death  he  purchased  the  old  homestead, 
and  since  coming  to  the  county  has  al- 
ways lived  upon  this  place,  which  is  a  val- 
uable tract  of  land,  under  a  high  state  of 
cultivation,  and  well  improved  with  the 
accessories  of  a  model  farm. 

In  1873  Mr.  Lehrman  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Catherina  Noss,  and  they 
began  their  domestic  life  upon  the  old 
homestead.  Their  union  has  been  blessed 
with  a  family  of  five  children  (three  of 
whom  are  living),  namely:  George,  born 
March  23,  1874;  Ellen,  born  in  1877, 
who  died  when  three  years  old;  Lena, 
born  October  15,  1879;  Sylvester,  born 
September  11,  1893;  and  John,  born 
•July  II,  1875,  died  in  infancy.  Mr. 
Lehrman  is  a  supporter  of  the  Dem- 
ocracy, and  for  two  years  served  as  school 
director,  but  has  never  sought  or  de- 
sired political  preferment,  for  his  time 
and  attention  have  been  wholly  taken  up 
with  his  business  interests.  He  and  his 
wife  are  members  of  the  Catholic  Church. 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON 
ICKES,  a  prosperous  farmer  of 
Madison  township,  Sandusky 
count}",  was  born  in  Bedford 
county,  Penn.,  August  27,  1840.  His 
parents,  Charles  and  Elizabeth  (Burket) 
Ickes,  were  natives  of  the  same  county, 
and  his  mother's  ancestors  were  also  born 
in  Pennsylvania.  Charles  Ickes  was  born 
September  14,  181 7,  and  was  married  in 
Bedford  county,  Penn.,  in  1839.  He  car- 
ried on  farming,  and  is  still  living  in  that 
State.      In  his  early  days  he  was  a  Whig, 


338 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


but  on  the  formation  of  the  Republican 
party  he  joined  its  ranks.  His  wife  died 
February  9,  18S5,  whenalittle  over  sixtj-- 
seven  years  old. 

Our  subject  is  the  eldest  of  seven  chil- 
dren, the  others  being:  Jacob,  Julia  A., 
Thomas,  Simon,  Mary  and  John,  all  of 
whom  live  in  Bedford  county,  Penn. 
William  H.  H.  Ickes  spent  his  youth  upon 
the  home  farm,  alternating  his  tasks  in 
ploughing,  sowing  and  caring  for  stock 
with  attendance  at  the  district  school,  and 
acquiring  such  an  education  as  can  be  ob- 
tained under  these  circumstances.  When 
twenty-one  years  of  age  he  worked  out 
one  summer  on  a  farm,  and  the  following 
year,  1862,  he  left  home  and  came  to 
Ohio,  locating  first  in  Fremont,  where  he 
remained,  however,  only  one  month. 
Thence  he  went  to  Helena,  this  State, 
where  he  was  employed  some  four  years 
on  the  farm  of  Joseph  Garns.  Returning 
to  Fremont,  he  was  married  October  7, 
1866,  to  Sarah  Kemmerling,  daughter  of 
Peter  Kemmerling,  a  farmer  in  Sandusky 
county,  but  their  married  life  was  brief, 
the  young  wife  dying  two  years  thereafter, 
on  January  3,  1S69;  their  only  child  died 
in  infancy. 

After  his  wife's  death  Mr.  Ickes  re- 
mained with  his  father-in-law  for  nine 
months.  He  was  married,  the  second 
time,  on  February  10,  1870,  his  bride 
being  Miss  Sophia  Sampsel,  whose  family 
histor}'  is  given  in  the  sketch  of  Joshua 
Sampsel.  Shortly  after  he  removed  to 
the  town  of  Gibsonburg,  where  he  worked 
by  the  day  for  two  years,  and  then  in- 
vested in  forty  acres  of  land  in  Madison 
township,  to  which  he  has  since  added 
thirty  acres.  At  the  time  of  purchase  this 
land  was  covered  with  a  dense  growth  of 
timber,  of  which  Mr.  Ickes  cleared  forty- 
five  acres,  and  put  under  cultivation. 
When  the  discovery  of  oil  was  made  in 
the  township  this  land  became  very  valu- 
able; eleven  oil  wells  were  sunk,  and  he 
leased  fifty  acres  to  the  Hazelwood  Oil 
Company,  the  remaining  twenty  to  Lieber 


&  Youth,  of  Pennsylvania.  From  these 
he  derives  an  income  of  $100  a  month. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ickes  have  had  two  chil- 
dren, one  of  whom,  Franklin  Harrison, 
born  February  10,  1871,  died  July  21, 
1 87 1.  Erma  May  was  born  June  27, 
1882.  Mr.  Ickes  is  a  Republican,  and  is 
always  ready  to  work  for  the  good  of  his 
part}-,  and  for  the  welfare  of  the  commu- 
nity in  which  he  lives.  He  holds  the  of- 
fice of  road  supervisor,  and  is  faithful  in 
the  discharge  of  his  duties.  Both  himself 
and  wife  are  members  of  the  Evangelical 
Church,  and  are  highly  esteemed  by  all 
who  know  them. 


JOHN  HENRY  NIESET  is  the  own- 
er of  an  eighty-acre  farm,  pleasantly 
located  but  a  short  distance  from  the 
town  of  Gibsonburg,  Sandusky  coun- 
tv-  This  he  purchased  from  his  father 
about  four  years  ago,  and  much  of  it  he 
has  placed  under  cultivation.  In  this  por- 
tion of  Washington  township  the  land  is 
seemingly  unfit  for  farming  purposes,  be- 
ing largely  covered  with  rocks;  but  Mr. 
Nieset  has  cleared  fifty  acres  of  his  place 
which  he  has  transformed  into  rich  and 
fertile  fields  that  now  yield  to  the  owner 
a  golden  tribute  in  return  for  the  care  and 
cultivation  which  he  bestows  upon  them. 
The  patience  and  labor,  required  to  clear 
the  place,  indicate  two  of  his  strongest 
characteristics — perseverance  and  energy. 
Mr.  Nieset  is  a  native  of  Washington 
township,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  born  June 
22,  1863,  and  is  of  German  lineage.  His 
father,  Andrew  Nieset,  was  a  native  of 
Prussia,  Germany,  and  on  crossing  the 
Atlantic  made  his  way  to  Ohio,  locating 
in  Sandusky  county.  He  married  Bridget 
Kayler,  who  was  born  in  Ohio.  Our  sub- 
ject remained  with  them  upon  the  home 
farm  until  his  marriage,  and  during  his 
boyhood  and  youth  aided  in  the  labors  of 
the  fields  and  in  the  other  work  of  the 
farm  through  the  summer,  while  in  the 
1  winter  season    he    attended    the    district 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


389 


schools,  there  acquiring  a  fair  English  edu- 
cation, which  has  been  supplemented  by 
business  experience  and  contact  with  the 
world,  making  him  a  well-informed  man. 
In  the  count}-  of  his  nativity,  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Minnie  A.  Kilgus,  whose  peo- 
ple are  well  known  in  the  locality.  She 
was  born  January  30,  1867,  and  is  one  of 
a  family  of  ten  children,  four  of  whom  are 
yet  living  in  Washington  township,  San- 
dusky county.  Five  children  grace  the 
union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nieset — two  sons 
and  three  daughters — as  follows:  Louis, 
born  February  22,  1886;  Clara,  March  7, 
1888;  Mary  J.,  March  10,  1890;  Emma 
M.,  August  24,  1891;  and  John  Andrew, 
September  8,    1893. 

In  his  political  connections,  Mr.  Nie- 
set is  a  Democrat,  having  supported  the 
men  and  measures  of  that  party  since  at- 
taining his  majority.  In  religious  faith  he 
is  a  Catholic,  and  he  is  one  of  the  enter- 
prising young  farmers  of  the  community, 
to  whom  success  will  come  as  the  reward 
of  earnest  and  diligent  effort.  Idleness 
is  utterly  foreign  to  his  nature,  and  he 
manages  his  business  affairs  with  ability 
which  has  already  made  him  one  of  the 
substantial  citizens  of  the  community. 


VALENTINE  SHALE,  a  well-to-do 
farmer  of  Jackson  township,  San- 
dusky county,  is  a  native  of  that 
section,  born  January  8,  1839,  a 
short  distance  east  of  his  present  residence. 
John  Shale,  the  father  of  our  subject, 
was  born  February  3,  1S08,  in  Baltimore, 
Md.,  where  he  spent  his  childhood.  In 
early  manhood  he  went  to  York,  Penn., 
where  he  learned  the  carpenter's  trade, 
working  for  a  Mr.  Disler.  He  ne.xt  went, 
in  1826,  to  Wayne  county,  Ohio,  where 
he  took  jobs  and  worked  at  his  trade  on 
his  own  account,  finally,  in  1836,  coming 
to  Jackson  township,  Sandusky  county. 
Here  he  bought  eighty-acres  of  improved 
land  for  $1,000,  then  eighty  more  for 
$400,   and    other   tracts,   later,    until    he  i 


owned  400  acres.  In  1838  he  married 
Miss  Catharine  Crites,  a  native  of  Stark 
count}-,  Ohio,  and  ten  children  were  born 
to  them:  Valentine,  the  subject  proper 
of  this  sketch;  Abraham,  deceased;  Isaac, 
who  married  Barbara  Myers,  by  whom  he 
had  three  children,  one  of  whom  is  now 
deceased,  and  after  her  death  wedded  Lo- 
vina  Clapper,  by  whom  he  also  had  three 
children:  Jacob,  who  married  Jane  Eisen- 
hood,  by  whom  he  had  four  children,  two 
of  whom  are  deceased;  Elizabeth,  unmar- 
ried; Mary  C. ,  who  died  in  childhood;  Ly- 
dia,  who  married  David  Daub,  and  had  six 
children;  Mary,  who  married  Levi  Stahl, 
a  farmer  of  Jackson  township;  William, 
who  married  Clarissa  Leffler,  and  has  two 
children — Amanda  and  Samuel;  and  John, 
who  married  Mary  Gametsfelder,  and  has 
five  children. 

Valentine  Shale  lived  with  his  parents 
on  their  farm  until  his  twenty-sixth  year, 
working  by  turns  at  the  carpenter's  trade, 
at  farming  during  the  summer  seasons,  and 
at  shoemaking  or  cobbling  during  the  in- 
clement weather.  In  this  wa}'  he  ac- 
cumulated property,  and  by'  successive 
purchases  he  has  become  the  owner  of  a 
farm  of  197  acres  of  choice  land,  on  which 
he  has  erected  substantial  buildings.  He 
was  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  war,  and  in  the 
summer  of  1864  served  as  second  ser- 
geant of  Company  H,  One  Hundred  and 
Sixty-ninth  Regiment,  O.  V.  I.,  four 
months  at  Fort  Ethan  Allen,  Virginia. 

On  January  14,  1864,  Mr.  Shale  mar- 
ried Miss  Rebecca  Mowry,  who  was  born 
September  18,  1836,  and  five  children 
came  came  to  their  union:  Alice,  born 
January  14,  1866,  who  married  George  E. 
Wise,  a  farmer,  and  has  one  child,  Stan- 
ley; Clara  E.,  born  May  14,  1868,  who 
became  the  wife  of  W.  A.  Gossard,  a 
school-teacher  in  Jackson  township,  and 
has  one  child,  Mildred  R. ;  Emma  R.,  born 
April  19,  1870,  who  became  the  wife  of 
E.  S.  Flora,  a  farmer  of  Jackson  town- 
ship, and  died  September  24,  1894;  Will- 
iam I.,  born  April  29,  1873,  who  attends 


340 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


select  school  at  Burgoon,  Ohio;  and  Edith 
L. ,  born  September  19,  1879,  at  school. 
Mr.  Shale  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and 
he  has  held  several  offices  in  his  township, 
where  he  is  highly  respected.  In  religious 
connection  he  is  a  member  of  the  Evangel- 
ical Association. 


H.J^RMON  HENRY TAULKER, one 
of  the  oldest  and  most  esteemed 
citizens     of     Madison     township, 
Sandusky    county,    was    born   in 
Hanover,  Germany,  November  26,  1838, 
and    is  a    son   of  Harmon  and  Angeline 
(Niemanj  Taulker. 

Harmon  Taulker  was  a  tailor  in  the 
old  country,  and  in  the  year  1S41  sailed 
with  his  family  for  America.  They  came 
direct  to  Sandusky,  Ohio,  Mr.  Taulker 
buying  thirty  acres  of  timberland,  in 
Woodville  township,  Sandusky  county, 
where  his  death  afterward  occurred.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Taulker  had  four  children, 
namely:  Eliza,  who  married  Henry 
Borcherding,  a  farmer,  of  Woodville 
township;  Frederick,  a  farmer  in  Madison 
township;  Harmon  Henry,  subject  of  this 
sketch ;  and  Louisa,  who  came  to  America, 
but  the  family  have  not  heard  from  her 
since  her  arrival,  and  it  is  not  known  by 
them  what  became  of  her.  Mr.  Taulker's 
widow  married  Frederick  Cook,  and  they 
have  had  three  children,  all  living,  as  fol- 
lows: Angeline,  married  to  Fred  Brock- 
sieker,  and  they  live  in  Toledo,  Ohio; 
Caroline,  widow  of  John  Bruggmeyer, 
lives  in  Toledo,  Ohio,  and  John  is  a 
farmer  in  Woodville  township. 

When  his  parents  arrived  in  this  coun- 
try Harmon  H.  Taulker  was  but  an  in- 
fant. When  old  enough  to  attend  school 
he  received  such  educational  advantages 
as  the  country  schools  near  his  home  af- 
forded. After  his  father's  death  he  went 
to  the  home  of  John  Cline,  a  farmer  in 
the  same  township,  and  worked  for  him 
by  the  day  until  he  was  fourteen  years  of 
be,  when  he  went  to  live  again  with   his 


mother  (who  had  in  the  meantime  remar- 
ried), remaining  there  until  he  became  of 
age.  On  March  27,  1862,  Harmon  H. 
Taulker  was  united  in  marriage  with  Louisa 
Kuhlman,  and  they  have  had  three  chil- 
dren, namely:  Sophia,  born  October  30, 
1863,  wife  of  John  Mauntler,  a  farmer  of 
Woodville  township;  Henry,  born  Jan- 
uary 12,  1873,  lives  at  home,  attending 
school  at  Gibsonburg;  and  August,  born 
January  30,  1875,  also  lives  at  home.  Mrs. 
Taulker's  parents,  William  and  Margaret 
(Turenhagen)  Kuhlman,  lived  and  died  in 
Hanover,  Germany. 

Mr.  Taulker  owns  160  acres  of  choice 
land,  on  which  are  seven  oil  wells.  From 
these  he  derives  an  income  of  fifty  dollars 
a  month,  getting  every  eighth  barrel.  His 
home  is  in  the  heart  of  the  oil  district, 
and  but  one  mile  from  the  center  of  Gib- 
sonburg, and  he  has  a  fine  residence,  with 
commodious  and  well-built  barns  and 
outbuildings.  Mr.  Taulker  is  a  Democrat 
in  politics,  has  held  the  office  of  trustee 
for  six  years,  was  township  assessor  for  two 
years,  and  was  also  school  director  and 
road  supervisor.  He  and  his  family  are 
members  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 


GEORGE  L.  REARICK,  a  farmer 
of  Sandusky  township,  Sandusky 
county,     was    born      in     Union 
county,  Penn.,  November  2, 1834, 
a  son  of  William  and  Mary  (Hassenplug) 
Rearick. 

The  father  of  our  subject  was  born  in 
the  State  of  New  Jersey,  from  which  he 
removed  to  Pennsylvania,  Tater,  in  1835, 
to  Ohio,  where  he  settled  on  a  farm  of 
fifty-nine  acres  in  Sandusky  township,  on 
the  line  of  the  Western  Reserve  and  Mau- 
mee  turnpike.  Here  he  worked  at  his  trade 
as  a  chair-maker,  cleared  up  his  land,  and 
for  a  time  boarded  the  hands  engaged  in 
the  construction  of  the  pike.  He  died  at 
i  his  home  at  the  age  of  seventy  years. 
Our  subject's  mother  was  born  in  Union 
.  county,  Penn.,    and   became   one  of  the 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


341 


honored  pioneers  of  Sandusky  county, 
Ohio,  where,  after  a  life  devoted  to  her 
family,  she  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-four 
years.  Children:  (i)  Henry,  a  black- 
smith, who  died  at  Woodville,  Ohio.  (2) 
Susannah,  who  married  Peter  Reed,  had 
two  children,  and  died  in  this  county. 
(3)  Mary  Ellen,  who  married  Aaron  Fos- 
ter, and  had  one  child,  Tena;  this  hus- 
band died,  and  she  afterward  married 
David  Younkman;  now  living  at  Toledo, 
Ohio.  (4)  George  L.,  our  subject.  (5) 
Julia  Ann,  who  died  in  childhood.  (6) 
Joseph  W.  and  William  Franklin,  twins; 
Joseph  W.  married  Martha  Eversole, 
Sandusky  township;  William  Franklin, 
unmarried,  was  a  Union  soldier  in  the 
Third  O.  V.  C  during  the  Civil  war;  he 
was  taken  prisoner,  and,  after  suffering 
confinement  in  three  Rebel  prisons,  was 
sent  to  Richmond,  Va.,  to  be  paroled  or 
exchanged,  after  which  all  trace  of  him 
was  lost. 

George  L.  Rearick,  our  subject,  grew 
to  manhood  in  Sandusky  county,  and  at 
the  age  of  eighteen  began  to  learn  the 
blacksmith  trade  with  his  brother  Henry, 
for  whom  he  worked  two  years,  and  then 
became  his  partner  in  a  shop  at  the  Four- 
Mile  House,  west  of  Fremont.  In  1877 
he  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  Samuel 
and  Elizabeth  fGeeseman)  Skinner,  who 
were  pioneers  of  Sandusky  county.  After 
marriage,  Mr.  Rearick  and  his  wife  set- 
tled in  Henry  county,  Ohio,  and  remained 
there  about  two  years.  They  then  re- 
turned to  Sandusky  count}',  which  has 
been  their  permanent  residence  since  that 
time.  Mr.  Rearick  joined  the  One  Hun- 
dred days'  men  during  the  Civil  war,  and 
served  in  Compan\'  K,  One  Hundred  and 
Sixty-ninth  Regiment,  O.  V.  I.,  at  Fort 
Ethan  .•\lien,  \'a. ;  he  receives  a  pension 
for  disability.  In  politics  he  is  a  Repub- 
lican, and  in  religious  faith  he  and  his 
wife  are  members  of  the  Reformed  Church. 
Their  children  are:  (i)  Cynthia  E.,  born 
August  28,  1858,  who,  after  teaching 
school  in    Ohio    and    Michigan,    married 


Augustus  Ritzman,  March  6,  1879;  they 
have  children — Clarence,  Claude,  Sadie, 
Lester,  Willie,  Burton,  Anna  and  Lilly. 
(2)  Theresa  Ellen,  born  January  8,  1862, 
married  to  Charles  Engler,  December  6, 
18S9;  they  had  four  children — Grace, 
Vergie,  George  and  Clifton.  (3)  Alberta 
A.,  born  September  23,  1863,  married  to 
Charles  Gillier,  December  17,  1882;  they 
had  two  children,  one  of  v^-hom  died  in 
childhood,  the  name  of  the  living  one  be- 
ing May.  (4)  Ida  M.,  born  September 
19,  1868,  married  to  Lucas  Overmyer; 
they  have  one  child,  Ada  Alberta;  the 
mother  died  in  1891;  (5)  Wilham  S., 
born  October  2,  1870,  who,  after  attend- 
ing the  Ada  Normal,  and  the  Toledo  and 
Sandusky  City  Business  Colleges,  is  en- 
gaged in  teaching  in  the  public  schools. 
(6)  Delbert  Hayes,  born  November  30, 
1880,  is  living  at  home. 


LEWIS  DEGROFT  is  a  worthy 
representative  of  the  agricultural 
interests  of  Madison  township, 
Sandusky  county,  and  also  of  an 
honored  pioneer  family.  He  was  born 
July  23,  1858,  to  the  union  of  Joseph 
and  Mary  (Chambers)  Degroft,  prominent 
people  in  their  locality. 

The  district  schools  of  the  neighbor- 
hood afforded  our  subject  his  educational 
privileges,  and  from  early  youth  he 
worked  on  his  father's  farm,  aiding  his 
brother  in  clearing  the  land  and  placing 
it  under  cultivation.  Wishing,  however, 
to  follow  some  other  pursuit  than  that  to 
which  he  was  reared,  he  at  the  age  of 
eighteen  began  learning  the  carpenter's 
and  joiner's  trade,  which  he  followed  for 
some  time.  He  then  returned  to  the  old 
homestead,  to  look  after  the  interests  of 
the  farm,  which  he  operated  for  his  father 
until  the  latter's  death.  He  still  contin- 
ues its  cultivation,  and  gives  to  his 
mother  one-third  of  the  products  for  her 
support.  He  is  a  successful  agriculturist, 
and  the   neat  and  thrift)'  appearance  of 


L 


342 


COMMEMOBATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


the  place  indicates  his  careful  super- 
vision. In  connection  with  farming  he 
also  operates  in  the  oil  fields,  connecting 
pipes,  etc.,  and  doing  carpenter  work  for 
the  company.  Industrious  and  energetic, 
we  predict  that  his  future  career  will  be 
one  of  success. 

On  November  2  1,  1880,  at  Bradner, 
Ohio,  Mr.  Degroft  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Jennie  Morgan,  a  daughter  of 
Thomas  Morgan,  a  farmer  of  Wood  coun- 
ty, Ohio.  He  was  born  in  Wales,  Eng- 
land, April  27,  1832,  and  there  followed 
the  occupation  of  coal  mining.  In  1868 
he  crossed  the  water  to  the  New  World, 
and  embarked  in  farming  in  Ohio.  He 
was  married  in  his  native  land  to  Miss 
Mary  Davis,  and  they  became  parents  of 
eight  children,  seven  of  whom  are  now 
living:  Mrs.  Jennie  Degroft,  Cassie,  An- 
nie, Emma  (wife  of  Henrj-  Jones,  a 
farmer),  Rosa,  Lizzie  and  Alta.  The 
parents  still  live  in  Wood  county,  where 
Mr.  Morgan  is  successfully  engaged  in 
agricultural  pursuits.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  De- 
groft have  an  interesting  family  of  seven 
children,  their  names  and  dates  of  birth 
being  as  follows:  Myrtle,  February  10, 
1882;  Jessie  L. ,  July  10,  1883;  Clayton 
L. ,  December  17,  1887;  Glenn  M.,  May 
7,  1890;  Rachel  J.,  June  i,  1891;  Clar- 
ence J.,  November  4,  1893;  and  Stella 
B.,  March  24,  1895.  I"  his  political 
views,  Mr.  Degroft  is  a  Democrat,  but 
has  never  sought  or  desired  official 
honors,  preferring  to  devote  his  energies 
to  his  business  interests.  The  family  at- 
tend the  Baptist  Church,  and  are  well- 
known  and  highly-esteemed  people,  hold- 
ing an  enviable  position  in  social  circles. 


PHILIP  H.  ZORN,  member  of  the 
widely-known  firm  of  Zorn,  Hor- 
nung  &  Company,  of  Gibsonburg, 
Sandusky   county,  is  prominently 
identified  with  the  growth  and  prosperity 
of  that    city,  and,  with  his  partner,  has 
done  more,   perhaps,    to  encourage    and 


foster  home  industries  than  any  other  man 
in  this  section  of  the  country.  He  is 
another  example  of  that  German  thrift 
and  industry  which  is  bound  to  succeed 
in  whatever  direction  it  trends. 

Mr.  Zorn  was  born  in  Nassau,  Ger- 
many, August  21,  1 83 1,  son  of  John 
Philip  and  Margaret  (Berbricker)  Zorn. 
The  parents  came  with  their  children  to 
America,  locating  in  Sandusky  count}-, 
Ohio,  and  they  both  died  in  Erie  count}', 
at  the  age  of  seventy-si.x  years.  Their 
family  consisted  of  eight  children,  of 
whom  the  following  record  is  given:  John 
P.  died  when  about  twenty-six  years  old; 
Philip  H.  is  our  subject;  Charles,  who 
was  a  merchant  in  Iowa,  died  when  about 
twenty-eight  years  of  age;  Louis  is  a 
farmer,  and  lives  in  Monroe,  Mich. ;  Fred- 
erick is  a  farmer  in  Montezuma,  Iowa; 
William  is  a  farmer  in  Erie  county,  this 
State;  Henry,  who  was  a  carpenter,  died 
in  Sandusky  count}';  Jacob,  also  a  car- 
penter, lived  in  Fremont,  where  he  died. 

Philip  H.  Zorn  came  to  America  when 
a  lad  of  eighteen,  finding  his  way  from 
New  York  to  Fremont,  this  State,  which 
was  then  known  as  Lower  Sandusky. 
Here  he  found  employment  at  his  trade 
of  shoemaker,  and  remained  some  five 
years.  In  1856  he  married  Miss  Julia 
Margaret  Stotz,  who,  like  her  husband, 
was  a  native  of  Nassau,  Germany,  the  date 
of  her  birth  being  June  2,  1834.  To  this 
union  nine  children  were  born,  of  whom 
the  following  named  survive:  (i)  Philip 
H.,  Jr.,  born  November  25,  1856,  received 
a  good  common-school  education  and  ob- 
tained a  thorough  practical  knowledge  of 
his  father's  business;  he  is  now  manager  of 
the  large  mercantile  firm  of  Zorn,  Hornung 
&  Co.,  of  which  he  is  a  member,  and  was 
one  of  the  organizers  and  president  of 
the  Gibsonburg  Banking  Co. ;  he  married 
Miss  Christina  Richter,  of  Fremont,  and 
they  have  a  family  of  seven  children — 
Harold,  Julia,  Zella,  Carl,  Corine,  Edna 
and  Florence-  (2)  Catherine  was  born 
February  25,  i860,  and  resides  with  her 


^^  ^>^    r     ri^^--^^^U 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPIIWAL  RECORD. 


343 


parents.  (3)  F.  W.,  born  March  15, 
1868,  is  bookkeeper  in  his  father's  com- 
pany, and  a  member  of  the  firm;  he  was 
married,  May  15,  1890,  to  Miss  Nora 
Ferrenburg,  who  was  born  in  Pennsylva- 
nia, January  5,  1868,  and  they  have  two 
children — Freda  and  Ray.  (4)  F.  A., 
born  August  25,  1874,  is  now  employed 
with  the  firm.  The  mother  of  this  family 
passed  from  earth   April  22,    1881. 

In  the  spring  of  1856  Mr.  Zorn  lo- 
cated at  Three  Rivers,  Mich.,,  where  he 
worked  at  his  trade  for  a  few  months, 
and  then  went  into  business  for  himself. 
After  one  year  he  sold  out  his  interest 
there  and  removed  to  Hessville,  Sandusky 
Co.,  Ohio,  carrying  on  the  shoe  business 
until  1863,  when  he  sold  out  to  A.  Hor- 
nung,  and  established  a  general  store  at 
Hessville.  This  business  he  conducted 
alone  up  to  1866,  when  he  took  Mr.  Hor- 
nung  into  partnership,  the  firm  st\le  being 
Zorn  &  Hornang,  and  they  continued  the 
business  at  Hessville  until  1S74,  when 
they  sold  out,  in  the  meantime,  in  1872, 
opening  a  branch  store  at  Gibsonburg. 
The  branch  store  opened  at  Gibsonburg 
in  1 872  was  the  nucleus  around  which  their 
present  extensive  business  has  material- 
ized, and  this  has  since  been  the  center 
of  their  operations.  In  1877  Henry  Zorn 
was  atimitted  to  partnership,  and  the 
business  has  since  been  carried  on  under 
the  title  of  Zorn,  Hornung  &  Co.,  of 
which  firm  F.  W.  Zorn  and  G.  W.  Hor- 
nung have  been  members  since  1887. 
Succeeding  in  their  first  enterprise,  the 
company  have  enlarged  and  added  to 
their  general  merchandise  business  un- 
til now  they  stand  at  the  head  of  a 
series  of  industries  which  have  proved 
of  immense  value  to  the  commu- 
nity, and  of  profit  to  themselves.  Be- 
sides owning  one  of  the  largest  general 
stores  in  northern  Ohio,  they  built  the 
first  creamery  in  Sandusky  county,  and 
are  owners  of  a  stave  factory,  a  grain 
elevator,   and  five    lime  kilns.       Besides 

all  this  Mr.  Zorn  was  instrumental  in  the 
22 


drilling  of  the  first  successful  oil  well  in 
the  vicinity  of  Gibsonburg,  and  the  firm 
are,  perhaps,  the  largest  oil  producers  in 
this  part  of  Ohio,  having  an  interest  in 
5,000  to  6,000  acres  of  oil  and  gas  leases 
and  1 50  drilled  wells.  In  operating  these 
various  industries  they  have  constantly 
employed  a  large  number  of  men  at 
good  wages,  and  in  this  way  have  con- 
tributed in  no  small  degree  to  the  pros- 
perity of  the  city.  Mr.  Zorn  is  a  Dem- 
ocrat, and  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
Church,  and  he  is  always  ready  to  help 
in  an}'  cause  which  has  for  its  object  the 
welfare   of  his  fellowmen. 


REUBEN  .CLINK  is  a  prominent 
agriculturist  and  stock  raiser  of 
Woodville  township,  Sandusky 
county,  where  he  was  born  Jan- 
uary II,  1852.  He  is  a  son  of  Caleb 
Clink,  an  honored  pioneer,  and  well- 
krK)wn  farmer  of  Woodville  township,  who 
passed  away  in  November,  1894.  He 
also  has  three  brothers  living  in  San- 
dusk}'  county,  well-known  and  influential 
citizens. 

In  the  district  schools  near  his  home 
Reuben  Clink. acquired  his  primary  educa- 
tion, and  in  early  boyhood  began  to  work 
upon  his  father's  farm.  He  was  early  in- 
ured to  the  labors  of  farm  life,  and  to  his 
father  continued  to  give  the  benefit  of  his 
services  until  he  had  arrived  at  man's  es- 
tate. He  was  then  married,  and  operated 
his  father-in-law's  farm  five  years.  When 
that  period  had  passed  he  removed  to  the 
place  which  is  still  his  home,  comprising 
138  acres  of  rich  land,  eighty  acres  of 
which  are  under  cultivation.  The  im- 
provements upon  the  place  have  all  been 
secured  through  his  efforts,  the  work  of 
clearing  has  nearly  all  been  done  by  him, 
and  to-day  he  is  in  possession  of  one  of 
the  finest  and  best  equipped  farms  of  the 
neighborhood.  Well-kept  fences  divide 
it  into  fields  of  convenient  size,  and  a  fine 
orchard  and    vineyard  add    materially  to 


844 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


his  income  by  their  heavy  yields,  for  of 
late  years  he  has  engaged  quite  exten- 
sively in  fruit  growing.  In  1886  he  put 
up  a  large  and  substantial  barn  as  well  as 
other  outbuildings,  and  recently  he  has 
erected  a  substantial  and  tasteful  dwell- 
ing, one  of  the  finest  in  the  township, 
supplied  with  all  modern  improvements. 
The  building  alone  cost  $2,000,  and  is  one 
of  the  beautiful  country  homes  of  San- 
dusky county,  the  grounds  and  fences 
being  kept  in  first-class  condition,  while 
the  lawn  is  ornamented  with  beautiful 
shrubs  and  trees  which  add  to  the  attract- 
ive appearance  of  the  place. 

On  November  21,  1875,  Reuben 
Clink  was  united  in  marriage  with  Adie 
Tucker,  daughter  of  Thomas  Tucker, 
who  was  born  in  New  York,  where  he 
followed  the  occupation  of  a  lumber  man- 
ufacturer. He  was  there  married,  and  of 
the  union  were  born  eight  children — Mar- 
vin D.,  Matthew  E. ,  Charles  W.,  Fran- 
cis, Elvina,  Jane,  Emma  and  Laura. 
The  mother  of  this  family  died  in  New 
York,  after  which  he  removed  to  Ohio, 
locating  in  Rollersville,  Sandusky  county, 
where  he  married  Ester  Mohler,  and  by 
her  he  had  four  children — Adie,  born  Oc- 
tober 8,  1858;  Nelson,  born  August  18, 
1857,  a  farmer  residing  in  Woodville 
township,  Sandusky  county;  and  one  who 
died  in  childhood.  Mr.  Tucker  died  in 
Rollersville,  and  Mrs.  Tucker  remained  a 
widow  four  years,  when  she  married  John 
Frobish,  who  died  January  28,  1892, 
since  when  she  has  lived  on  her  farm  m 
Woodville  township.  Four  children  grace 
the  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clink:  Tillie, 
born  September  22,  1878;  Gertrude,  born 
September  17,  1881;  Bertie,  born  July  7, 
1885;   and  Oran  W..  born  June  17,  1889. 

Mr.  Clink  has  held  the  office  of  school 
director  in  Woodville  township,  has  been 
clerk  of  the  school  board,  and  takes  a 
deep  and  abiding  interest  in  the  cause  of 
education,  and  other  matters  that  tend  to 
advance  the  general  welfare  of  the  town- 
ship.     In  his  political   views  he  is  inde- 


pendent, supporting  the  man  whom  he 
considers  best  qualified  for  office  regard- 
less of  part}'  affiliations.  He  and  his 
family  are  connected  with  the  United 
Brethren  Church,  and  are  highly  es- 
teemed people  of  the  community,  hold- 
ing an  enviable  position  in    social  circles. 


JOHN  B.  MOHN,  one  of  the  public- 
spirited     and    successful    farmers  of 
York  township,  Sandusky  county,  is 
a  native  of  Berks  county,  Penn.,  as 
were  also  his  parents,  who  came  of  Ger- 
man ancestry. 

He  is  the  son  of  Joseph  and  Cather- 
ine (Burgert)  Mohn,  and  was  born  July 
20,  1839.  His  father,  born  in  18 12,  was 
a  mason  by  trade,  and  he  started  from 
Berks  count}',  Penn.,  for  a  home  in  Ohio 
in  the  fall  of  1852,  on  the  day  when 
Franklin  Pierce  was  elected  President  of 
the  United  States.  He  made  the  long 
journey  in  a  wagon,  and  located  first  in 
Ashland  county,  where,  however,  he  re- 
mained only  a  year.  In  the  fall  of  1853 
he  continued  westward  to  Flat  Rock, 
Seneca  county,  where  he  purchased  a 
home  and  remained  during  the  rest  of  his 
life.  He  worked  at  his  trade,  and  lived 
to  the  age  of  eighty  years.  Joseph  Mohn 
was  a  member  of  the  Evangelical  Church; 
in  politics  he  was  a  Whig,  and  afterward 
a  Republican.  It  is  indeed  notable  that 
all  the  blood  relations  of  Mr.  Mohn  have 
also  been  Republicans.  The  widow  of 
Mr.  Mohn,  who  was  born  in  18 14,  still 
lives  at  Flat  Rock.  The  ten  children  of 
Joseph  and  Catherine  Mohn  were  as  fol- 
lows: Levina,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
sixteen  years;  Eliza,  who  died  young;  an 
infant,  deceased,  unnamed;  Harrison,  now 
a  carpenter,  in  California;  John  B.,  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch;  Sarah,  who  married 
John  Terwilliger,  and  lives  at  Flat  Rock; 
Sebastian,  a  farmer  and  carpenter,  of 
Clyde;  Fannie,  wife  of  John  McLaughlin; 
Martin,  a  minister  of  the  M.  E.  Churchy 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


345 


now  stationed  in  Coshocton  county;  Tillie, 
wife  of  Jacob  Trot,  of  Seneca  county. 

John  B.  Mohn  was  a  boy  of  fourteen 
when  he  came  with  his  parents  to  Flat 
Rock.  He  worked  on  the  farm,  and  at- 
tended the  district  schools.  For  a  year 
he  worked  at  masonry,  his  father's  trade, 
but  did  not  like  it,  and  returned  to  farm- 
in^  at  monthly  wages  until  his  marriage, 
in  the  fall  of  1861,  to  ^^iss  Sarah  Hassen- 
ger,  who  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in 
1843.  He  rented  a  farm  and  began 
housekeeping  in  York  township.  )tfr.  and 
Mrs.  Mohn  have  two  children.  Flora  and 
Minnie,  the  former  married  to  W.  A. 
Roach,  and  has  one  child,  Chester  Leroy. 
In  1864  Mr.  Mohn  enlisted  in  Company 
A,  Fifty-fifth  O.  \' .  I. ,  and  served  in  the 
army  of  the  West.  He  was  with  Sher- 
man in  the  Atlanta  campaign,  also  in  the 
memorable  march  to  the  sea,  and  he  par- 
ticipated in  the  grand  review  at  Washing- 
ton. Returning  to  his  home  he  resumed 
farming.  Mr.  Mohn  purchased  his  pres- 
ent excellent  farm  of  104  acres  in  the 
spring  of  1881,  and  is  engaged  in  grain 
and  stock  raising.  In  politics  he  is  a  pro- 
nounced Republican,  and  he  takes  an  act- 
ive interest  in  county  political  affairs. 
He  has  served  as  trustee  of  York  township 
four  years.  Socially  he  is  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  Lodge  and  Chapter,  and  he  is 
also  prominent  in  G.  A.  R.  and  U.  V.  U. 
circles.  Mr.  Mohn  is  a  stanch  believer  in 
American  institutions  and  American  lib- 
erty, and  opposed  to  the  introduction  of 
monarchical  or  hierarchical  methods  in 
state  affairs. 


DANIEL  HOCK,  the  leading  baker 
and  grocer  of  Fremont,  Sandusky 
county,  is  a  native  of  Webenheim 
Rhein  Phalz,  Bavaria,  Germany, 
born  April  10,  1832,  and  is  a  son  of  Chris- 
tian and  Caroline  (Schunck)  Hock. 

Christian  Hock  was  a  hotel-keeper 
and  farmer  by  occupation.  When  fifty 
years  of   age  he  started   for  America  to 


meet  one  of  his  sons  at  Yonkers,  N.  Y. , 
but  was  never  heard  from  after  he  got  on 
shipboard,  and  it  is  supposed  he  died  on 
on  the  way  across  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and 
was  buried  at  sea.  The  paternal  grand- 
father of  our  subject,  Nicholas  Hock,  was 
a  native  of  Switzerland,  and  a  large  farm- 
er. He  had  two  brothers  who  came  to 
America  in  1793,  and  landed  at  Phila- 
delphia, Penn.,  and  from  them  many  of 
the  Hock  families  of  America  have  de- 
scended. The  mother  of  our  subject  was 
born  in  Germany  in  1799,  and  died  in 
1843.  The  children  of  Christian  and 
Caroline  Hock,  in  the  order  of  their  ages, 
were:  Carrie,  John,  Christian,  Frederick, 
Mary,  Jacob,  Daniel,  Catharine,  Louis, 
Otto.  Of  these,  John,  Fred  and  Mary 
died  in  Germany,  Jacob  and  Otto  in  Clyde, 
Ohio,  and  Christian  at  Fremont,  Ohio. 
Carrie  was  married  in  Germany,  came  to 
America  in  1836,  and  she  and  her  husband 
died  at  Albany,  N.  Y. ;  Louis  is  a  dealer 
in  boots  and  shoes,  at  Clyde,  Ohio;  Cath- 
arine is  the  wife  of  Andrew  Markstahler, 
of  Tiffin,  Ohio.  Otto  Hock  was  a  sol- 
dier in  the  Civil  war,  having  served  as  a 
member  of  Company  F.  One  Hundred 
and  Sixty-ninth  Regiment  O.  V.  I. 

Daniel  Hock  learned  the  baker's  trade 
in  Germany,  and  followed  it  there  for 
eight  years.  He  then  emigrated  to  Amer- 
ica, at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  to  avoid 
being  drafted  into  the  German  army,  land- 
ing at  New  Orleans,  La.,  where  he  found 
work  at  his  trade.  The  yellow  fever  was 
epidemic  there,  and  his  employer  fell  a  vic- 
tim to  it;  so  on  learning  the  facts  in  regard 
to  that  terrible  plague,  Mr.  Hock  con- 
cluded to  go  farther  north,  and  promptly 
took  a  steamer  for  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 
From  there  he  went  to  Sandusky  City, 
Ohio,  where,  on  the  shore  of  Sandusky 
Bay,  his  brother  Christian  was  foreman 
in  a  large  stone  quarry,  called  "Plaster 
Bed. "  Here  he  found  ready  employment, 
and  remained  two  years.  In  the  spring 
of  1856  he  first  came  to  Fremont,  but 
did  not  stay  long.      He  went  on  down  to 


346 


COMMEMORATrVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Cincinnati,  where  he  worked  at  his  trade, 
in  185S  returning  to  Fremont  and  estab- 
lishing his  own  grocer)-  and  bakery,  at  the 
corner  of  State  and  Main  streets,  where 
he  is  still  located  and  doing  a  prosperous 
business. 

Daniel  Hock  was  married,  in  1S59,  to 
Miss  Elizabeth  Fuchs,  a  native  of  Hom- 
burg,  Bavaria,  who  was  born  in  1836  and 
died  in  1881.  Their  children  were:  Will- 
iam, who  died  when  ten  years  of  age; 
Carrie,  who  is  living  at  home  and  assist- 
ing her  father  in  business;  Daniel  and 
Elizabeth,  who  died  in  infancy;  Clara, 
Edward,  Libbie  and  Haidee,  all  four  at 
home. 


AARON  MYERS  was  born  April  5, 
1847,  in  Madison  township,  San- 
dusky county,  where  he  still 
makes  his  home,  and  is  a  son  of 
Samuel  Myers,  a  native  of  West  Virginia. 

The  father  was  a  son  of  Jacob  Myers, 
a  farmer  of  West  Virginia,  who  removed 
to  Perry  county,  Ohio,  where  he  carried 
on  agricultural  pursuits  up  to  the  time  of 
his  death.  His  son  Samuel  received  but 
limited  educational  privileges,  for  there 
were  no  free  schools  in  those  days.  His 
first  employment  was  in  a  distillery,  and 
he  also  worked  upon  his  father's  farm 
until  his  marriage,  at  the  age  of  twentj- 
four  years.  In  1835  he  came  to  Madison 
township,  Sandusky  county,  where  he  pur- 
chased 160  acres  of  timber  land,  receiving 
the  deed  for  the  same  from  Gen.  Jackson, 
who  was  then  serving  as  President,  and 
for  whom  Samuel  Mj'ers  cast  his  first  vote. 
He  erected  a  log  cabin  with  his  own  hands, 
cutting  away  the  trees  in  order  to  make 
room  for  the  dwelling,  and  then  returned 
to  Perry  county  for  his  girl  wife,  whom  he 
brought  to  his  cabin  home.  She  rode  on 
horseback,  while  Mr.  Myers  drove  a  team, 
hauling  the  household  effects. 

The  young  couple  lived  in  a  rude  house 
without  windows  or  doors — -quilts  serving 
as  a  substitute — and  were  forced  to  keep 


fires  burning  all  night  outside  of  their 
cabin  to  ward  off  the  howling  wolves  and 
other  wild  animals  which  then  infested 
that  part  of  the  country.  There  Mr. 
Myers  lived  alone  with  his  wife  and  little 
family,  far  away  from  neighbors,  and  with 
no  roads  or  even  a  pathway.  He  fre- 
quently had  to  go  to  Fremont  on  horse- 
back with  a  bushel  or  two  of  wheat,  which 
he  took  to  the  mill  and  had  ground  in  or- 
der to  make  bread  for  the  family.  The 
road  was  at  times  impassable,  and  it  was 
necessary  to  follow  the  Indian  trails,  the 
journey  thus  consuming  two  days.  He 
was  aided  and  encouraged  by  his  young 
wife,  and  thus  sustained  began  clearing 
away  the  dense  growth  of  timber,  which 
soon  fell  before  the  axe  of  the  young  pio- 
neer, and  was  replaced  by  the  green  corn 
and  golden-headed  wheat.  In  time  he 
became  the  owner  of  a  well-cultivated  and 
valuable  farm,  and,  though  many  were 
the  trials  and  hardships  in  early  da3'S,  he 
continued  his  labors  until  thej-  were 
crowned  with  success,  an  e.xample  well 
worthy  to  be  followed.  He  succeeded  in 
fencing  the  land,  and  the  rude  cabin  home 
gave  way  to  a  more  commodious  and  or- 
namental structure,  the  log  barn  being 
replaced  by  good  frame  outbuildings,  and 
instead  of  the  wolves  and  deer  which  were 
seen  in  the  neighborhood  there  were  fine 
grades  of  cattle  and  horses.  He  also 
planted  a  fine  orchard,  and  the  place  is 
now  one  of  the  model  farms  of  the  nine- 
teenth centur}' — a  monument  to  the  hon- 
est toil,  laudable  ambition  and  enterpris- 
ing spirit  of  the  owner.  He  also  aided  in 
laying  out  the  roads  through  the  town- 
ship, gave  one  and  a  half  acres  of  land  on 
which  to  erect  a  school  house,  and  has 
done  all  in  his  power  for  the  promotion  of 
education,  of  which  he  is  a  stanch  friend. 
In  1835  Samuel  Myers  was  married, 
in  Perry  county,  Ohio,  to  Susanna  Win- 
ters, who  shared  his  pioneer  life  in  the 
woods,  and  was  indeed  a  faithful  compan- 
ion and  helpmeet  to  him.  Their  family 
numbered  eleven  children.      Those  living 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOOBAPHICAL  RECORD. 


347 


are:  Isaac,  born  in  1838,  a  farmer,  oper- 
ating his  brother's  land;  Mary  J.,  born  in 
1844,  the  wife  of  Herman  Seen,  a  farmer 
of  Petersburg,  Mich. ;  Aaron  Myers  is  the 
sixth  child;  Henry,  born  in  1851,  farms 
in  Madison  township,  Sandusky  county; 
Frank,  born  in  1856,  is  also  an  agricul- 
turist; those  deceased  are:  John;  Sarah, 
wife  of  Christopher  Foster;  Elias;  Phoebe, 
wife  of  Elia  Rife;  Levina  and  George. 
The  mother  died  in  1880,  mourned  by  a 
loving  husband  and  father,  to  whom  she 
devoted  her  life  with  an  unselfishness  sel- 
dom equaled.  Mr.  Myers  was  elected 
trustee  of  the  township  for  many  years, 
and  discharged  the  duties  of  the  office  with 
credit  to  himself  and  satisfaction  to  all 
concerned.  He  took  a  deep  interest  in 
the  cause  of  education,  and  was  a  leading 
member  of  the  school  board  for  more  than 
a  quarter  of  a  century.  He  quietly  passed 
away  April  20,  1895,  respected  and  be- 
loved by  all  who  knew  him,  for  his  life 
was  above  reproach.  Although  eighty- 
four  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
he  was  still  quite  active.  Eight  years  be- 
fore his  decease  he  had  prepared  for  him- 
self a  coffin,  placed  therein  $50  for  funeral 
expenses,  made  all  arrangements  for  the 
funeral,  chose  those  whom  he  wished  to 
act  as  pall  bearers,  and  selected  a  tomb 
stone.  His  wishes  were  carried  out  by 
those  who  were  left  behind  to  mourn  the 
loss  of  one  whose  life  was  ever  a  source  of 
inspiration  and  encouragement.  Thus  one 
of  Sandusky  county's  most  honored  pio- 
neers passed  away,  but  his  memory  re- 
mains green  in  the  hearts  of  all  who  knew 
him. 

Aaron  Mj-ers  acquired  a  limited  edu- 
cation in  the  district  schools  of  his  native 
township,  pursuing  his  studies  through  the 
winter  season,  while  during  the  summer 
months,  in  connection  with  his  brothers, 
he  aided  in  the  labors  of  the  farm.  At 
the  age  of  twenty-one  he  removed  to 
Woodville  township,  Sandusky  county, 
where  he  rented  land,  continuing  its  culti- 
vation for  three  years,  when  he  returned 


to  Madison  township,  and  purchased  fifty 
acres  of  land  from  his  brother  Elias. 
This  he  operated  for  some  years,  and 
then  disposed  of  it  to  his  brother,  while 
he  owns  and  operates  the  old  homestead, 
comprising  140  acres  of  well-cultivated 
land. 

Mr.  Myers  was  married  at  Woodville, 
Ohio,  March  24,  1870,  to  Betsy  Truman, 
who  was  born  January  i,  1848,  in  Wood- 
ville township.  Three  children  constitute 
the  family:  (i)  Ora  C,  born  October 
12,  1870,  in  Woodville  township;  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Madison 
township,  and  now  follows  farming;  on 
May  5,  1892,  he  wedded  Miss  Mellacena 
Riser,  daughter  of  Daniel  Kiser,  a  farmer 
of  Madison  township,  and  they  have  one 
child — Orvil,  born  January  16,  1894. 
(2)  Orrison  Ray,  born  in  Woodville  town- 
ship, Junes,  1875;  was  educated  in  Madi- 
son township,  and  is  at  home  with  his 
parents.  (3)  Ralph  B.,  born  September 
24,  1883,  is  attending  school.  Mrs.  Myers 
is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church,  and 
of  the  Ladies'  Aid  Society  of  Madison 
township.  Our  subject  is  a  stanch  Demo- 
crat, but  has  never  sought  or  desired  of- 
ficial preferment.  He  is  an  honest,  in- 
dustrious man,  enterprising  and  progres- 
sive, and  acted  the  part  of  a  dutiful  son 
toward  his  father,  who  found  with  him 
and  Mrs.  Myers  a  pleasant  home  after  the 
death  of  the  mother.  They  cared  for  him 
with  loving  consideration,  and  such  acts 
of  kindness  are  characteristic  of  the 
worthy  couple  who  are  well  deserving  of 
mention  among  the  best  citizens  of  the 
communitv. 


A  EVA  J.  HAWIv,  farmer,  Ball- 
ville  township,  Sandusky  county, 
was  born  in  Green  Creek  town- 
ship, same  county,  November  17, 
1 85 1,  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Martha  (Har- 
ris) Hawk.  Joseph  Hawk  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania,  came  to  Ohio  early  in  life, 
and  settled    in   Green   Creek    township, 


348 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


where  he  followed  farming.  He  was  fond 
of  hunting,  and  kept  a  deer  park  near  his 
house.  His  first  wife  was  a  Miss  Riden- 
our,  by  whom  he  had  four  children: 
William,  a  farmer,  who  died  in  Michigan, 
1893;  Marie,  wife  of  Joseph  King,  died 
1879;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Henry  Baker,  a 
farmer  of  Green  Creek  township;  and 
Marian,  farmer  and  e.\-soldier.  The  sec- 
ond wife  of  Joseph  Hawk  was  Martha 
(Harris),  born  in  Schuylkill  county,  Penn.. 
who  came  to  Ohio  at  the  age  of  fourteen. 
She  is  still  living,  at  Cleveland,  Ohio, 
aged  sixty-six.  Their  children  were: 
Sarah,  wife  of  Henry  G.  Gibbons,  a  real- 
estate  agent  at  Clyde,  Ohio;  Alva  J.,  our 
subject;  Mary,  wife  of  Albert  Snyder,  of 
Wood  county,  Ohio;  Charles,  living  in 
Baker  City,  Oreg. ;  Byron  M.,  a  farmer, 
of  near  Clyde,  Ohio;  Ida,  wife  of  William 
Sherwood,  of  Fremont;  Anna,  wife  of  Dr. 
Harnden,  of  Clyde,  Ohio;  and  Etta,  wife 
of  Mr.  Kessler.  The  parents  of  our  sub- 
ject were  both  of  Pennsylvania-Dutch  de- 
scent. Joseph  Hawk  died  in  1889,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-five  years. 

A.  J.  Hawk  grew  to  manhood  on  his 
father's  farm,  and  attended  the  common 
schools.  In  1 88 1  he  married  Miss  Amanda 
Wise,  who  was  born  October  19,  1857, 
in  Pennsylvania,  and  settled  in  Clyde, 
Ohio,  where  he  worked  at  the  painting 
trade  several  years.  He  then  moved  upon 
a  farm  in  Green  Creek  township,  and 
later,  in  1891,  bought  his  present  farm  in 
the  northeastern  part  of  Ballville  town- 
ship, where  he  has  made  marked  im- 
provements, and  where,  in  addition  to 
general  farming,  he  gives  attention  to 
poultry  raising  and  small-fruit  culture. 
Their  children  are:  Laurel,  \'ernon, 
Rollen,  Romie,  Cleveland,  and  Ethel  May. 


Patrick  McGrady  was  born  in  the  same 
locality.  He  came  to  America  in  1861, 
his  family  following  him  two  years  after- 
ward. They  located  on  a  farm  near  Cas- 
talia,  Ohio,  on  which  they  remained  two 
years,  and  then  removed  to  Townsend 
township.  In  1893  they  came  to  San- 
dusky township,  near  Fremont,  to  live 
with  the  family  of  our  subject.  Here 
Patrick  McGrady  died  January  24,  1894; 
his  wife,  who  was  born  in  181 3,  is  still 
living.  They  had  nine  children,  si.\  of 
whom  died  young.  The  living  are:  Eliza- 
beth, wife  of  Michael  Gallagher;  Mary, 
wife  of  Benjamin  Robinson;  and  D. 
H.,  our  subject. 

D.  H.  McGrady  grew  up  in  Townsend 
township,  and  received  a  common-school 
education.  He  was  married  in  1 878  to 
Elizabeth  Lietzke,  who  was  born  in  Ger- 
many, September  12,  1838,  and  they  have 
seven  children;  John,  Charles  P.,  Mary 
A.,  Luella  C,  Joseph  H.,  Francis  E., 
and  Otto  T.  Mr.  McGrady  purchased 
his  present  excellent  farm  in  1893,  located 
in  close  proximitj'  to  Fremont,  and  by 
economy,  thrift  and  industry  has  accu- 
mulated means,  and  is  looked  upon  as 
one  of  the  most  enterprising  of  the 
younger  element  of  men  in  the  vicinity. 
He  is  the  "bred-in-the-bone "  of  his 
Gallic  ancestry.  He  is  an  ardent  Roman 
Catholic,  and  a  patriotic  American  citi- 
zen. His  paternal  grandfather,  George 
McGrady,  died  in  Ireland. 


DH.  McGRADY,  farmer,  Sandusky 
township,  Sandusky  county,  was 
born  in  Count)-  Down,  Ireland, 
October  22,  1852,  a  son  of  Pat- 
rick and  Mary  (Aguess)  McGrady. 


FRANK    R.  HAVENS,   farmer  and 
dealer  in  live  stock,  Jackson  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  was  born 
near  his  present  place  of  residence 
January    11,   i860,  a  son   of   William  J. 
Havens. 

Our  subject  was  reared  on  his  father's 
farm,  where  he  received  valuable  lessons 
in  the  most  approved  modern  methods  of 
farming  in  vogue  in  the  Black  Swamp,  a  re- 
gion formerly  noted  for  its  deep  mud,  and 
fever  and  ague,  but  which  has  had  its  soil 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


849 


fertilized  and  its  air  purified  by  scientific 
ditching  and  subsoil  drainage,  making  it 
the  garden  spot  of  northern  Ohio.  He 
obtained  his  education  in  the  common 
schools,  and  at  the  home  fireside.  He 
remained  with  his  parents  until  his  eight- 
eenth year  when  he  married,  and  then  en- 
tered upon  farming  on  his  own  account. 
He  first  rented  one  hundred  acres  of  land 
of  J.  B.  Winters,  for  one  year;  then 
moved  upon  eighty  acres  of  his  father's 
land  which  he  farmed  on  shares.  He 
ne.xt  bought  eighty  acres  of  his  father, 
and,  three  years  later,  seventy-six  acres 
of  the  Thomas  Brown  estate;  then  three 
years  still  later  eighty  acres  of  his  father, 
then  forty  acres  of  William  Lease,  and 
twenty  acres  of  Solomon  King,  and  153 
acres  of  the  old  Otho  Lease  farm,  making 
a  total  of  449  acres.  He  carries  on  gen- 
eral farming,  and  makes  a  specialty  of 
raising,  buying  and  shipping  fat  hogs  to 
East  Buffalo,  once  or  twice  a  year.  In 
politics  he  is  a  stanch  Republican,  and 
has  held  various  local  offices;  in  religious 
connection  he  is  a  member  of  the  U.  B. 
Church.  He  has  been  very  successful  in 
his  business  ventures,  and  is  highly  es- 
teemed for  his  upright  character. 

On  January  23,  1879,  F.  R.  Havens 
was  married  to  Miss  Avilda  J.  Winter, 
and  the  names  and  dates  of  birth  of  their 
children  are  as  follows:  Flavel  S.,  .\ugust 
23,  1882;  Robert  G.,  August  17,  1884; 
Essie  G.,  February  2,  1890;  Ross  Ray, 
January  28,  1892;  and  Willis  B.,  Decem- 
ber 11,1 894. 


DAVID  J.    WINCHELL,    a    pros- 
perous farmer  of  Scott  township, 
Sandusky    county,    was    born    in 
Whcaton,  Du  Page  Co  ,  111.,  Sep- 
tember 3,  1845,  ^nd  's  one  of  the  eleven 
children    of  Luther  and   Phctbe   (Water- 
man) Winchell. 

The  father  of  our  subject  was  born  in 
Connecticut,  in  1800,  and  when  a  lad  of 
but  twelve  years  entered  the  war  of  1812, 


as  a  substitute  for  his  uncle  who  had 
been  drafted,  and  with  whom  he  was  liv- 
ing at  the  time.  He  engaged  in  .sev- 
eral battles,  including  that  of  Sackett's 
Harbor,  which  was  fought  in  181 3,  and 
resulted  in  an  .American  victory.  The 
gun  which  he  carried  is  now  in  possession 
of  our  subject,  who  values  it  most  highly. 
After  the  war,  Luther  Winchell  learned 
blacksmithing,  and  followed  the  trade  for 
a  few  years  in  his  native  city;  but  having 
a  desire  to  see  the  West,  he  emigrated  to 
Ohio,  and  purchased  land  in  Ohio  and 
Illinois,  at  one  time  owning  altogether 
700  acres,  160  of  which  were  on  the  site 
of  the  present  city  of  Chicago.  By  the 
time  of  his  death  he  had  become  quite 
wealthy,  and  left  a  large  property  to 
his  family.  His  wife,  a  native  of  Massa- 
chusetts, was  born  in  1805,  and  died 
July  19,  1895.  Their  children  were 
Stephen  R.,  Luther,  David  J.,  Sabra  A. 
(who  has  e.xtensive  real-estate  interests 
in  Chicago),  Harriet  M.,  Phoebe  R., 
Lucy,  Cynthia,  and  three  who  died  in 
childhood. 

David  Winchell  coming  to  Ohio  at  an 
early  day  has  witnessed  its  development 
from  an. almost  unbroken  wilderness  into 
fine  homes  and  farms.  When  only  six 
years  of  age  he  accompanied  his  par- 
ents to  Lake  county,  where  he  grew 
to  manhood,  acquiring  his  education  in 
the  public  schools  and  in  the  Madison 
Normal.  Subsequently  he  came  to  Scott 
township,  Sandusky  county,  and  rented 
his  father's  farm  of  340  acres  for  twenty 
years.  During  this  time  he  purchased 
portions  of  it  at  intervals  until  he  now 
owns  104  acres,  which  are  located  in  the 
oil  regions.  A  gas  well  has  also  been 
sunk  upon  the  place,  which  supplies  the 
home  with  gas,  both  for  lighting  and  fuel. 
In  addition  to  farming,  Mr.  Winchell  has 
been  engaged  in  general  stock  raising, 
buying  and  shipping  stock  direct  to  Buf- 
falo and  New  York.  In  this  branch  of 
his  business  he  has  been  very  successful. 
When  he  purchased  his  land  it  was  partly 


350 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


covered  with  a  dense  grove  of  native 
forest  trees;  but  by  earnest  and  persistent 
toil  he  has  transformed  the  place  into 
highly-cultivated  fields,  and  it  is'  now 
a  well-tilled,  well-fenced  property,  im- 
proved with  good  buildings  and  all  the 
accessories  of  a  model  farm. 

Mr.  Winchell  has  found  in  his  wife  a 
faithful  companion  and  helpmeet.  He 
was  married  September  i8,  1869,  to 
Harriet  Rineholt,  who  was  born  in  Jack- 
son township,  Sandusky  county,  Septem- 
ber 16,  1852,  a  daughter  of  Solomon  and 
Elizabeth  (Selsor)  Rineholt,  who  were 
pioneers  of  Jackson  township,  where 
they  still  reside.  Mrs.  Winchell  attended 
the  public  schools  in  the  locality,  and  re- 
mained with  her  parents  until  her  mar- 
riage, when  she  went  to  the  farm  which 
has  since  been  her  home.  The  only 
child  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Winchell — Myra — 
was  born  October  26,  1870,  and  was 
married  November  13,  1890,  to  J.  F. 
Wagner,  who  carries  on  general  farming 
in  Scott  township.  He  was  educated  at 
Findlay,  Ohio,  and  in  Delaware  College, 
from  which  he  was  graduated,  while  his 
wife  has  been  a  special  student  of  vocal 
and  instrumental  music.  Two  bright 
children — Estella  Ivonia  and  Hazel  Ger- 
trude— grace  the  home  of  their  parents, 
bringing  much  life  and  enjoyment  thereto. 


PETER  NICKLES  is  one  of  the  old 
and  honored  residents  of  Sandusky 
count}',  where  he  has  lived  for 
more  than  half  a  century,  en- 
gaged in  farming.  He  is  a  native  of 
France,  born  February  26,  1815.  His 
father,  Henry  Nickles,  was  a  farmer  of 
that  country,  and  Peter  spent  the  days  of 
his  boyhood  and  youth  upon  the  old  home 
place,  where,  aiding  in  the  labors  of  the 
field,  he  became  familiar  with  all  the  du- 
ties of  agricultural  life. 

In  1836,  having  attained  years  of  ma- 
turity, Mr.  Nickles  determined  to  try  his 
fortune    in    America,    believing    that    he 


might  better  his  financial  condition  there- 
by, and  accordingly  crossed  the  Atlantic 
to  New  York  City.  He  did  not  remain 
long  in  the  Eastern  metropolis,  however, 
but  came  direct  to  Sandusky  county,  Ohio, 
and  after  living  at  various  places  for  a  few 
years,  located  upon  a  seventy-seven-acre 
tract  of  timber  land  in  Jackson  township, 
the  nucleus  of  his  present  landed  posses- 
sions. This  he  at  once  began  to  clear 
and  improve,  and  there  made  his  home 
for  thirteen  years,  when  he  came  to  Wash- 
ington township.  His  entire  life  has  been 
devoted  to  agricultural  pursuits,  and  has 
therefore  been  a  quiet  one;  but  he  has 
faithfully  performed  every  duty  that  has 
come  to  him,  and  has  won  the  respect  of 
all  with  whom  he  has  been  brought  in 
contact. 

On  May  8,  1845,  Mr.  Nickles  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Sarah  Jo- 
seph, who  was  born  October  22,  1825, 
and  was  one  of  a  large  family;  her  father 
was  a  German  farmer,  living  in  Sandusky 
county.  Eleven  children  were  born  of 
this  union,  as  follows:  Sophia,  in  1846; 
Mary  Ann,  in  1848;  Christina,  November 
5,  1S49;  Margaret,  October  13,  185 1, 
died  October  i,  1874;  Sarah,  October  28, 
1853;  John  G.,  October  13,  1855;  Anna, 
August  10,  1 8 58;  Catharine  Jane,  March 
9,  i86i;^Lydia,  August  30,  1863;  George 
H.,  March  28,  1866,  and  Minnie,  April  9, 
1 87 1.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nickles  are  still  liv- 
ing on  the  old  home  farm  that  has  been 
their  place  of  residence  for  so  many  years. 
The  father  was  industrious  and  enterpris- 
ing, and  as  his  financial  resources  in- 
creased he  bought  other  property,  and 
now  owns  ninety  acres  on  which  his  son 
George  lives,  and  ninety  acres  which  is 
the  home  of  his  son  John  G.  In  politics 
he  is  a  Republican,  and  formerly  took 
quite  an  active  interest  in  political  affairs, 
but  he  has  now  largely  withdrawn  from 
public  life.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are 
members  of  the  Evangelical  Church,  and 
are  worthy  people,  well  meriting  the  es- 
teem of  their  manj-  friends. 


4 


<^^^-s^?^     ^"^^^^^.^X^ 


atvb 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQRAPUICAL  RECORD. 


851 


John  G.  Nickles,  the  six  child  in  the 
above  mentioned  family,  has  spent  his 
entire  life  in  Sandusk}'  county.  He  was 
born  on  the  old  home  farm  in  Washing- 
ton township  October  13,  1855,  and 
passed  the  days  of  his  boyhood  and  youth 
in  the  usual  manner  of  farmer  lads,  re- 
maining with  his  parents  until  his  marriage. 
On  March  20,  1881,  he  wedded  Miss 
Emily  L.  Culbert,  daughter  of  a  farmer 
of  Sandusky  county,  and  the  young  couple 
began  their  domestic  life  upon  a  ninety- 
acre  tract  of  land  belonging  to  Mr.  Nick- 
les' father,  to  the  cultivation  and  improve- 
ment of  which  he  has  since  devoted  his 
time  and  energies.  The  fields  are  now 
well  tilled,  and  the  neat  and  thrifty  ap- 
pearance of  the  place  indicates  his  careful 
supervision. 

The  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  G. 
Nickles  has  been  blessed  with  a  family  of 
six  children,  their  names  and  dates  of 
birth  being  as  follows:  Lottie  Maud, 
November  24,  1882;  Lucy,  October  26, 
1884:  Helen,  October  30,  1886;  Addie, 
March  25,  1888;  Walter,  December  i. 
1889;  and  Ruth,  who  died  in  early  child- 
hood. John  G.  Nickles  exercises  his  right 
of  franchise  in  support  of  the  Republican 
party,  and  has  been  called  upon  to  fill  the 
offices  of  road  supervisor  and  school 
director,  discharging  the  duties  of  both  in 
a  prompt  and  able  manner.  He  is  a  worthy 
representative  of  one  of  the  pioneer  fam- 
ilies of  the  county,  and  as  aciti/en  is  pub- 
lic-spirited and  progressive,  interested  in 
whatever  tends  to  promote  the  general 
welfare. 


LKOLB  was  born  in  Schwetzin- 
gen,  Baden,  Germany,  July  2, 
1826,  and  is  a  son  of  Michael  and 
Magdalena  (Weir)  Kolb.  His  fa- 
ther was  a  weaver  in  the  old  country,  and 
followed  that  trade  up  to  the  time  of  his 
death.  Both  he  and  his  wife  spent  their 
entire  lives  in  their  native  land,  the  father 
passing  away  at  the  ripe  old  age  of  sev- 


enty-six years,  while  the  mother  died  at 
the  age  of  fifty-one.  They  left  a  family 
of  six  children,  all  of  whom  remained  in 
Germany  with  the  exception  of  our  sub- 
ject, to  wit:  Elizabeth  (who  became  the 
wife  of  Frederick  Boop,  but  both  are  now 
deceased),  subject,  Adam,  Margaret  (wife 
of  George  Kolpe),  Elizabeth  and  Philip. 
As  soon  as  he  was  old  enough  our  sub- 
ject began  working  with  his  father,  and 
to  the  weaver's  trade  devoted  his  time 
and  energies  until  1853,  when  he  left 
home  for  the  New  World,  hoping  to  ben- 
efit his  financial  condition  by  a  residence 
in  America.  Before  leaving  the  Father- 
land, however,  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Susanna  Kulpe,  daughter  of 
Louis  and  Barbara  Kulpe,  farming  people 
who  spent  their  entire  lives  in  Germany. 
The  daughter  was  the  second  in  order  of 
birth  in  a  family  of  seven  children,  the 
others  being  Jacob,  Effie,  Abraham,  Ma- 
ria, Michael  and  Catherina.  Mr.  Kolb 
had  no  capital  with  which  to  begin  life  in 
the  New  World,  but  being  a  man  of  reso- 
lute spirit,  and  not  afraid  of  work,  he 
soon  secured  a  start.  His  first  position 
was  as  a  section  hand  on  the  railroad, 
and  he  worked  in  that  capacity  some  ten 
years,  five  of  which  were  spent  in  Port 
Clinton,  Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio.  After  that 
he  went  to  Norvvalk,  Ohio,  where  he  was 
employed  by  the  day  as  a  farm  hand  for 
a  period  of  five  years.  In  the  meantime 
he  saved  his  earnings,  and  with  the  capi- 
tal acquired  removed  to  Washington  town- 
ship, Sandusk}'  county,  where  he  invested 
his  earnings  in  eighty  acres  of  farm  land. 
This  was  in  1855,  and  for  thirty-five  years 
he  lived  upon  that  place,  continuing  its 
cultivation,  until  the  once  wild  prairie  was 
transformed  into  rich  and  fertile  fields 
that  yielded  to  the  owner  a  golden  tribute 
in  return  for  his  care  and  labor.  In  1889 
he  purchased  his  present  farm,  to  which 
he  later  removed,  and  here  he  is  practi- 
cally living  retired,  his  son-in-law  opera- 
ting the  farm,  while  he  is  resting  in  the 
enjoyment  of  the  fruits  of  his  former  toil. 


352 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kolb  were  born  three 
children — one  son  and  two  daughters — 
the  eldest  of  whom.  Philip,  born  August 
15,  1 85 1,  is  now  deceased;  Lena,  born 
November  4,  1853,  is  the  wife  of  George 
Stotz,  who  is  a  farmer  of  Washington 
township  (they  have  six  children);  Bar- 
bara, born  June  26,  1869,  is  the  wife  of 
Jacob  Beeker,  who  operates  the  old  Kolb 
homestead  (to  their  union  has  been  born 
one  child). 

Mr.  Kolb  is  a  supporter  of  the  Democ- 
racy, and  is  a  member  of  the  German 
Lutheran  Church.  He  came  to  this  coun- 
tryempty-handed,  but  has  steadily  worked 
his  way  upward,  and  the  success  he  has 
achieved  is  the  just  reward  of  his  own 
labors,  and  shows  what  can  be  accom- 
plished b}'  perseverance  and  energy  in  a 
country  where  merit  is  unhampered  by 
the  closely  drawn  lines  of  caste  or  class. 


JACOB  MONROE  KING  is  the  own- 
er of  one  of  the  fine  farms  of  San- 
dusky county,  and  a  progressive  and 
enterprising  man  whom  the  commu- 
nity ma\'  well  number  among  its  valued 
citizens.  He  was  born  on  the  farm 
which  is  still  his  home,  and  is  a  represent- 
ative of  one  of  the  honored  early  fam- 
ilies of  the  county.  The  date  of  his  birth 
is  December  21,  1 860,  and  he  is  a  son  of 
Peter  and  Mary  (Shoemaker)  King,  who 
came  from  Pennsylvania  to  Ohio  in  1850, 
locating  on  the  place  where  our  subject 
now  resides.  Here  the  father  carried  on 
farming  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
on  August  2,  1880,  when  he  had  attained 
the  age  of  si.\ty-two  years.  He  left  240 
acres  of  land  to  be  divided  equally  among 
his  nine  children. 

The  record  of  this  family  is  as  follows: 
Samuel,  who  follows  farming  in  Henry 
county;  George  W. ,  an  agriculturist  of 
Rice  township;  Rebecca,  who  became  the 
wife  of  I.  J.  Shoemaker,  and  died  in 
Henrj',  Ohio,  September  25.  1894,  leav- 
ing a  family  of  three    children — George, 


Peter  and  Jacob;  Levi,  county  commis- 
sioner of  Henry  count\-;  Henry,  who  is 
engaged  in  farming  in  that  county; 
Melinda,  now  the  wife  of  S.  Shoemaker, 
of  Indiana,  by  whom  she  had  two  chil- 
dren— Maurievi  (now  deceased)  and 
Jacob;  Marj',  wife  of  Noah  Garrett,  a 
farmer  of  Sandusky  county,  by  whom  she 
has  one  living  child;  Peter,  an  agricul- 
turist of  Henr}'  county;  and  Jacob  Monroe. 

Although  the  youngest  of  the  family, 
Jacob  Monroe  King,  upon  his  father's 
death,  determined  to  purchase  the  home- 
stead that  it  might  not  be  divided,  and  by 
hard  labor,  industry  and  economy  he  suc- 
ceeded in  acquiring  enough  capital  to 
purchase  the  interest  of  one  brother  and 
sister,  and  now  lives  upon  the  place  which 
has  been  his  home  throughout  his  entire 
life.  On  December  22,  1880,  Mr.  King 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Isabel  Mau- 
rer,  the  esteemed  daughter  of  Manuel 
Maurer,  a  well-known  farmer  of  Wash- 
ington township.  With  them  resides  the 
mother  of  Mr.  King,  who  though  now 
well-advanced  in  life  bears  her  seventy- 
eight  years  lightly.  The  household  is 
also  blessed  with  the  presence  of  seven 
children,  constituting  an  interesting  fam- 
ily, in  order  of  birth  their  names  and 
dates  of  birth  being  as  follows:  Clarence, 
October  28,  1881;  Rosanna,  April  13, 
1882;  Alvin,  March  3,  1883;  Levi,  De- 
cember 27,  1885;  Alta,  November  27, 
1887;  George  L.,  October  16,  1890;  and 
John,  June  28,   1893. 

The  home  of  this  family  is  a  fine  frame 
residence  which  sets  somewhat  back  from 
the  road,  and  on  the  lawn  in  front  stand 
many  beautiful  evergreen  trees,  which 
throw  their  grateful  shade  over  the  home 
in  summer,  protecting  it  from  Sol's  hot 
rays.  The  farm  is  highly  improved  and 
cultivated,  and  waving  fields  of  grain  in- 
dicate the  thrift  and  enterprise  of  the 
owner.  In  addition  he  also  has  one  of  the 
finest  apple  orchards  in  this  section  of  the 
county,  comprising  nine  acres  on  which 
are  raised  the  following  well-known  varie- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


353 


ties:  Baldwins,  northern  spies,  rainbows, 
greenings,  spitzenbergers,  seek-no-farth- 
ers,  and  three  different  kinds  of  russets. 
In  connection  with  general  farming  and 
fruit  growing,  Mr.  King  gives  some  atten- 
tion to  the  raising  of  fine-bred  hogs,  and 
takes  a  deep  interest  in  the  breeding  of 
good  horses.  His  energetic  nature  carries 
forward  to  successful  completion  what- 
ever he  undertakes  and  he  is  a  progressive 
business  man,  whose  straightforward  deal- 
ing and  well-spent  life  have  gained  him 
the  high  regard  of  all  with  whom  he  has 
been  brought  in  contact.  In  politics  he 
is  a  Democrat. 


JONATHAN  FALER,  a  contractor  in 
Woodville  township,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  Jan- 
uary lo,  1 82 1,  son  of  George  and 
Eva  (Houtz)  Paler,  who  came  to  Ohio 
from  Pennsylvania  and  located  in  Perry 
county,  where  they  bought  a  small  tract 
of  timber  land.  .  The  mother  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  died  in  Perry  county 
when  he  was  an  infant  only  one  year  old, 
leaving  him  and  six  other  children.  His 
father  married  again,  by  which  union  he 
had  five  children,  sold  the  tract  of  land 
in  Perry  county  in  1833,  rented  a  farm 
where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days, 
and  died  September  24,   1834. 

Jonathan  Paler  lived  at  home  until  his 
father's  death,  then  went  to  Pickaway 
county,  Ohio,  secured  a  position  as  a 
farm  hand,  and  worked  one  year.  He 
then  worked  at  various  occupations  for 
four  years,  and  in  1842  came  with  a 
family  to  Woodville  township,  Sandusky 
county,  where  he  was  engaged  in  making 
potash  for  one  year,  then  worked  at  clear- 
ing land  for  si.x  years.  On  December  24, 
1843,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Catherine  Swartzman,  and  thirteen  chil- 
dren were  born  to  them,  as  follows:  Mary 
A.,  born  October  27,  1844,  married  Eli 
Good,  a  farmer  of  Hancock  county,  Ohio, 
by  whom  she  had  six  children;  Margaret, 


born  Pebruary  8,  1846,  died  \oung; 
Lovica  A.,  born  July  30,  1849,  married 
John  Angus,  a  farmer  of  Scott  township, 
Sandusky  county,  Ohio;  George  A.,  born 
August  7,  1 85 1,  died  May  16,  1872;  John 
H.,  born  November,  1853,  living  in 
Postoria,  Ohio;  Lavina  A.,  born  January 
23,  1856,  married  Jacob  W.  Good,  of 
Postoria,  Ohio;  Isaac,  born  June  15, 
1858;  Charles  W.,  born  May  15,  1861, 
died  May  29,  1865;  Emma  I.,  born  Peb- 
ruary 22, 1864,  married  Charles  G.  Meyers, 
of  Rising  Sun,  Montgomery  township. 
Wood  Co.,  Ohio;  Nelson,  born  December 
13,  1866;  Jonathan  D.,  born  March  13, 
1868;  Delias,  born  October  3,  1S71,  now 
deceased;  and  one  deceased  in  infanc}'. 
The  parents  of  Mrs.  Jonathan  F"aler,  Paul 
and  Mary  (Moore)  Swartzman,  were  farm- 
ers in  Sandusky  county,  where  both  died, 
the  father  at  the  age  of  forty-six,  the  mo- 
ther at  the  age  of  fifty-seven. 

Mr.  Paler  began  working  at  the  car- 
penter's trade  in  1849,  and  followed  it 
until  1864,  when  he  enlisted  in  the  One 
Hundred  and  Seventy-seventh  O.  V.  I., 
under  the  command  of  Col.  Wilcox  and 
Capt.  Thomas.  They  were  mustered  in 
at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  sent  to  Murfrees- 
boro,  Tenn.  Mr.  Paler  took  an  active 
part  in  several  battles.  On  January  24, 
1865,  he  was  honorablj' discharged,  and 
came  home  to  his  wife  and  fainily.  Mr. 
Paler  has  more  work  as  a  contractor  than 
he  can  take  care  of,  and  has  a  paying  oil 
well  on  his  place.  He  is  an  upright  man, 
a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  a  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 


BIRCHARD  HAVENS,   farmer,    of 
Jackson  township,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, was  born  near  the  place  of  his 
present     residence,     August     16, 
1847,  a  son  of  Henry  and  Sarah  (lams) 
Havens. 

Henry  Havens,  the  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, was  one  of  the  early  pioneers  of  the 
Black  Swamp,  born  at  Columbus,  Ohio, 


354 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


and  came  to  Sandusky  county  in  the  year 
1837,  entered  160  acres  of  land  in  Sec- 
tion 10,  Jackson  township,  to  which  more 
was  added  later,  making  400  acres,  about 
half  of  which  he  cleared  himself  of  heavy 
timber,  always  worked  very  hard,  and 
from  exposure  contracted  consumption, 
of  which  he  died.  Birchard  Havens,  our 
subject,  was  the  fourth  in  order  of  birth 
in  the  family  of  eight  children,  was  reared 
upon  his  father's  farm,  and  received  the 
customary  country-school  education.  He 
started  out  in  life  on  his  own  account  at 
the  age  of  eighteen  years,  working  on  a 
farm  for  his  brother  William  one  year, 
and  for  John  King  one  year.  At  the 
age  of  twenty  he  rented  some  land  from 
his  brother  for  one  year,  and  subse- 
quently bought  eighty  acres  from  Joseph 
Hammer  for  $5,000.  After  clearing  off 
ten  acres  of  the  timber  he  sold  it  two 
years  later  to  his  brother,  and  in  1870 
bought  the  152  acres  where  he  now  lives. 
He  has  130  acres  under  good  cultivation, 
of  which  he  cleared  a  large  part  himself. 
He  has  always  worked  diligently,  enjoyed 
good  health,  and  been  a  good  provider  for 
his  family.  He  is  highly  respected  in 
his  community,  and  has  held  various  civil 
offices. 

Birchard  Havens  was  married  January 
17,  1867,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  C.  Overmyer, 
who  was  born  February  19,  1844,  daugh- 
ter of  Lewis  and  Mary  (Stoffer)  Overnner. 
The  father  of  Mrs.  Havens  was  born  De- 
cember 10,  1 8 10,  and  died  October  i, 
1886;  her  mother  was  born  January  20, 
181  I,  and  died  May  31,  1862.  Their 
children  were:  Hugh,  who  married  Dinah 
Kelley,  by  whom  he  had  six  children;  Su- 
san, who  married  John  Kelley,  and  had 
two  children:  Mary  Ellen,  who  married 
Henry  Sheffner,  who  died,  and  for  her  sec- 
ond husband  she  married  John  Reed, 
who  died,  and  she  then  wedded  William 
Brown,  who  lives  in  Fremont,  Ohio:  Ben, 
who  married  Ellen  Burkhart,  and  has  two 
children — Charles  and  Coraetta;  Eliza- 
beth C. ,  wife  of  our  subject. 


The  children  of  Birchard  and  Eliza- 
beth Havens  were  as  follows:  Clara,  born 
May  30,  1868,  married  to  Frank  Kenan, 
and  has  two  children — Armina  Catharine, 
born  March  7,  1890,  and  Edna  Rose,  born 
July  24,  1891 ;  Hattie,  born  November  13, 
1 87 1,  who  has  taught  eight  terms  of 
school  in  Jackson  township,  and  resides 
with  her  parents;  Myrtie,  born  Septem- 
ber 7,  1874,  who  died  in  childhood;  Delia, 
born  May  10,  1876;  and  one  that  died  in 
infancy.  Mr.  Havens  and  his  wife  are 
members  of  the  United  Brethren  Church, 
toward  which  they  are  liberal  contribu- 
tors. 


WILLIAM  \'OGT,  a  prosperous 
farmer  of  Riley  township,  San- 
dusky county,  was  born  October 
29.  1857,  and  is  a  son  of  Henry 
and  Madeline  Vogt,  the  former  of  whom 
was  born  in  Switzerland  January  31,  1 8 1 1 . 
Henry  Vogt  came  to  America  in  1S37, 
and  ran  a  large  truck  line.  On  June  20, 
1848,  in  Philadelphia,  Penn.,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Madeline  Man- 
gold, who  was  born  in  France  June  20, 
1828,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  six 
children,  as  follows:  Henry,  born  Au- 
gust 4,  1850,  married  Mary  Bauman,  and 
lives  in  Fremont,  Sandusky  county;  Al- 
bert, born  January  13,  1853,  married 
Tillie  Hudson,  and  they  have  had  one 
child  (they  live  in  Ballville  township, 
Sandusky  county);  Elizabeth,  born  June 
3,  1855,  married  Frank  Bartis,  and  they 
had  three  children  (she  died  F"ebruary  21, 
1892,  and  was  buried  in  Ballville  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county);  William  is  the 
subject  of  this  sketch;  Frank,  born  De- 
cember I,  i860,  lives  in  Fremont,  and 
George  was  born  February  9,  1 864.  In 
i860,  after  running  the  truck  line  for 
about  .twenty-three  years,  Henry  Vogt 
sold  out,  came  west,  and  settled  in  Ohio. 
He  was  in  business  two  years  in  Fremont, 
and  in  1862  moved  to  Riley  township, 
where  he   bought  a  farm   of  one  hundred 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHIOAL  RECORD. 


855 


acres,  which  cost  him  two  thousand  dol- 
lars. In  1887  he  sold  this  farm,  bought 
a  property'  of  ninety-seven  acres,  and  li\ed 
there  until  his  death,  which  occurred  Jan- 
uary I,  1882.  He  was  school  director 
for  several  years,  was  a  Democrat  in  pol- 
itics, and  a  member  of  the  German  Re- 
formed Church. 

William  V'ogt  was  united  in  marriage 
May  4,  1880,  in  Riley  township,  with 
Mary  Livingston,  who  was  born  June  3, 
1859,  and  the}^  have  had  two  children, 
namely:  William  A.,  born  January  22, 
1 88 1,  and  Charles  M.,  born  July  22,  i888. 
Mr.  Vogt  had  the  benefit  of  a  common- 
school  education.  He  has  fifty-eight  acres 
of  valuable  land  about  two  miles  north- 
east of  Fremont,  and  follows  general 
farming.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics, 
and  attends  St.  John's  Church.  His 
grandfather  Henry,  who  was  born  in 
Switzerland,  married  Barbara  Hirt,  and 
they  had  two  children,  Henry  and  John. 


D.\RLIN  L.  AMES,  one  of  the  native 
sons  of  Sandusky  county,  is  a  tele- 
graph operator  at  Clyde.  His 
birth  occurred  in  that  county,  on 
the  24th  of  June,  1858,  and  from  the 
business  college  of  Clyde  he  was  gradu- 
ated in  the  class  of  1876.  He  was  reared 
to  farming,  but,  not  wishing  to  follow  agri- 
cultural pursuits,  he  began  the  study  of 
telegraphy  in  the  office  of  the  W.  &  L.  E. 
Railway  Company,  in  Clyde,  after  com- 
pleting which  he  became  operator  for  that 
company,  and  also  for  the  Lake  Shore  & 
Michigan  Southern  Railroad  Company. 
He  was  ne.xt  connected  with  the  Chicago, 
Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  railroad,  being 
stationed  at  Monticello,  Iowa,  and  also 
served  as  operator  in  Virginia  for  the  Nor- 
folk &  Western  railroad.  He  now  makes 
his  home  in  Clj-de,  being  again  in  the  em- 
ploy of  the  Lake  Shore  &  ^Iichigan  South- 
ern Railroad  Company,  at  that  place. 

Mr.  Ames  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss    Libbie    Campbell,   and  their  union 


has  been  blessed  with  one  son,  Floyd. 
Our  subject  is  public-spirited  and  progres- 
sive, and  there  are  few  men  more  popu- 
lar among  the  people  of  this  community 
than  he,  who  has  spent  nearly  his  entire 
life  in  their  midst.  He  holds  membership 
with  the  Knights  of  Pythias  Lodge,  No. 
494,  of  Air  Line  Junction,  Lucas  Co., 
Ohio,  and  in  social  circles  both  he  and  his 
wife  hold  an  enviable  position. 

The  father  of  our  subject,  Joel  Loomis 
Ames,  was  born  in  New  London  county, 
Conn.,  July  30,  1822,  and  is  a  son  of 
Martin  and  Eliza  (Loomis)  Ames,  the 
former  also  a  native  of  New  London 
county,  where  he  was  born  January  24, 
1795,  and  the  latter's  birth  occurred  in 
East  Lyme,  Conn.,  May  27,  1802.  The 
boyhood  da\'s  of  the  grandfather  were 
spent  in  his  native  State,  where  he  was 
married,  and  he  became  the  father  of  four 
children  before  coming  west,  in  1827, 
when  he  located  at  Auburn,  Mich.  There 
he  made  his  home  until  1836,  when  he 
came  to  Ohio,  securing  a  farm  in  Section 
6,  York  township,  Sandusky  county,  and 
there  made  his  home  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  February  6,  1856.  His 
wife  survived  him  for  seven  years,  being 
called  to  her  final  rest  October  8,  1863. 
All  his  life  had  been  devoted  to  agricult- 
ural pursuits,  and  with  the  assistance  of 
his  sons,  he  here  cleared  200  acres  of 
good  farming  land.  He  formerly  belonged 
to  the  Baptist  Church,  but  at  the  time  of 
his  death  he  was  a  Swedenborgian.  His 
wife,  after  his  death,  made  her  home  al- 
ternately with  J.  L.  Ames,  and  J.  Ames,  a 
son,  who  resides  in  Wood  count)',  Ohio, 
and  there  she  passed  away.  In  their 
fatnily  were  eight  children,  namely:  E. 
G.,  who  was  born  September  5,  1820, 
was  a  store-keeper  of  Clyde,  where  he 
died  July  12,  1849;  Joel  L.  is  the  second 
of  the  family;  Daniel,  born  May  30,  1824, 
is  a  resident  of  Bowling  Green,  Wood 
Co.,  Ohio;  Jonathan,  born  March  20, 
1826,  lives  in  Carthage,  Jasper  Co.,  Mo.; 
George,  born  October  14,  1830,  died  July 


356 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPEICAL  RECORD. 


3,  1849;  John,  born  July  16,  1836,  died 
October  2,  1874;  Eliza  Ann,  wife  of  Will- 
iam Russell,  born  February  28,  1840,  died 
September  13,  1858;  James,  born  Sep- 
tember 10,   1843,  died  June  6,   1844. 

The  paternal  grandfather,  Elder  Jona- 
than Ames,  was  of  English  ancestry,  and 
spent  his  entire  life  in  New  London  coun- 
ty, Conn.,  where  he  was  a  devoted  mem- 
ber of  the  Baptist  Church.  His  death 
occurred  May  22,  1830,  when  he  was 
sixty-two  years  old.  His  father  died  Oc- 
tober 27,  1 8 14,  at  the  age  of  eighty-seven, 
while  his  mother,  who  died  December  17, 
1819,  had  reached  the  extreme  old  age  of 
ninety-eight  years.  The  maternal  great- 
grandfather of  our  subject,  Hon.  Joel 
Loomis,  was  born  May  5,  1773,  and  was 
one  of  the  leading  and  prominent  men  of 
New  London  count)',  Conn.  He  held  a 
nuinber  of  important  offices  within  the 
gift  of  the  people,  including  that  of  jus- 
tice of  the  peace,  and  judge  of  the  county 
court,  and  he  served  as  a  member  of  the 
State  Legislature.  He  was  of  English 
descent.  Though  he  visited  his  grand- 
children in  Sandusky  county,  he  continued 
to  make  his  home  in  New  London  county. 
Conn.,  where  he  died  in  1867.  His 
brother  was  the  father  of  Professor  Loomis 
of  Yale  College,  the  author  of  the  series 
of  Loomis  school  and  text  books. 

We  now  return  to  the  personal  his- 
tory of  Joel  Loomis  Ames,  who  went  to 
Michigan  with  his  parents  in  1827,  and 
lived  there  until  the  spring  of  1836,  when 
the  family  moved  to  Ohio.  Then  he 
went  back  to  Connecticut,  and  lived  with 
an  uncle  until  the  fall  of  1838,  and  at- 
tended school  during  the  winter  months, 
when  he  came  to  Ohio,  and  has  lived  here 
ever  since.  He  has  been  twice  married, 
his  first  union  being  celebrated  August  6, 
1857,  when  Jane  E.  Vincent  became  his 
wife.  To  them  were  born  three  children: 
Darlin  L. ,  whose  name  introduces  this 
sketch;  Jennie,  who  was  born  July  30, 
i860,  and  died  October  23,  1862;  and 
Angie   C. ,    who  was   born  May  23,   1864, 


and  is  the  wife  of  H.  H.  Woodman, 
principal  of  the  telegraph  college,  at  Ober- 
lin,  Ohio.  The  mother  of  this  family 
departed  this  life  June  30,  1877.  On 
August  27,  1879,  Mr.  Ames  was  again 
married,  this  time  to  Miss  May  Bement, 
a  native  of  Michigan,  born  in  Jackson,  in 
April,  1843,  and  by  his  marriage  there  is 
one  daughter — Edith.  The  father  is  one 
of  the  wealthy  and  influential  citizens  of 
the  community,  and  the  familj-  now  make 
their  home  in  their  beautiful  residence  in 
Clyde,  where  they  are  surrounded  by 
many  warm  friends.  Mr.  Ames  takes  an 
active  interest  in  everything  that  will 
benefit  the  community.  His  uprightness, 
integrity,  and  public-spiritedness,  have 
won  him  the  confidence  and  esteem  of 
his  neighbors,  and  he  is  classed  among 
the  respected  representative  citizens  of 
Sandusky  county. 


GEORGE  FREY.     Among  the  sub- 
stantial farmers    of    Riley    town- 
ship,    Sandusky    county,    whose 
energy    and    industry  contribute 
to    the    prosperity    and    growth   of   that 
thriving  community,  is  George  Prey. 

He  was  born  May  12,  1866,  and  is  a 
son  of  George  and  Mary  (Martin)  Frey, 
who  were  born,  respectively,  March  30, 
1821,  and  July  14,  1825,  in  Germany. 
George  Frey,  Sr. ,  who  was  a  jeweler  by 
trade,  sold  out  his  business  in  the  old 
countr}',  and  emigrated  to  America  in 
1853.  Coining  to  Ohio,  he  settled  in 
Riley  township,  and  here  bought  twenty 
acres  of  land.  Selling  this  property  after 
a  short  time,  he  bought  forty  acres  more, 
and  this  has  been  the  homestead.  He 
has  had  a  family  of  eight  children,  namely: 
Sophia,  born  in  1846;  Caroline,  Fred- 
erick, Mary,  Katie,  Christina,  Rosina, 
and  George,  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
Mr.  Frey  is  a  graduate  of  several  colleges 
in  Germany,  and  holds  the  office  of  school 
director.  He  was  drafted  during  the 
Civil  war,  and  served  nine   months,  and 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


35  T 


after  peace  was  declared   returned  to   his 
family  in  Riley  township. 

•George  Frey,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
was  reared  to  habits  of  diligence,  fru- 
gality and  virtue,  and  received  a  common- 
school  education.  He  worked  on  the 
farm  for  his  father  until  his  twenty-first 
year,  and  then  worked  by  the  day.  In 
1893  he  bought  forty  acres  of  land  for 
two  thousand  dollars,  and  carried  on 
general  farming.  Mr.  Frey  is  a  Demo- 
crat in  politics,  and  in  religious  affiliation 
is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  Church.  He 
is  much  respected  in  the  community  and 
has  many  friends. 


CYRUS  HARVEY  McCARTNEY, 
farmer  and  fruit  grower  of  Green 
Creek  township,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, was  born  in  Erie  county,  Ohio, 
June  12,   1835,  of  old  pioneer  stock. 

His  parents  were  William  and  Eliza 
(Cooper)  McCartney,  the  former  of  whom 
was  born  in  Kentucky  in  1789,  when  a 
young  man  coming  to  Sandusky  City, 
Ohio,  some  time  prior  to  the  war  of  1 8 1 2, 
when  there  was  only  one  cabin  on  the  site 
of  that  now  flourishing  city.  He  was  the 
first  settler  of  the  place.  He  removed  to 
Venice,  Erie  county,  and  there  for  six  or 
seven  years  owned  and  operated  the  first 
saw  and  grist  mill  of  the  place.  Selling 
it  to  Mr.  Heywood,  he  bought  a  farm  a 
half  mile  west  of  \'enice,  where  he  died 
in  1877,  aged  eighty-eight  years.  In 
politics  he  was  originally  an  Old-time 
Whig,  afterward  a  Republican.  At  Mt. 
Vernon,  Ohio,  he  had  married  Eliza 
Cooper,  who  was  born  in  Trenton,  N.  J., 
of  old  Highland  stock.  The  six  children 
of  William  and  Eliza  McCartney  were  as 
follows:  Katie,  now  Mrs.  Dwelle,  of 
Fremont;  Charles,  who  died  aged  thirty 
years;  Jessup,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
twenty-five  3'ears;  Gertrude,  wife  of  J.  F. 
Chapman,  of  Erie  county;  Henry,  of  Erie 
county;  and  Cyrus  Harvey. 

The    youngest    child,    Cyrus    Harvey 


McCartney,  grew  up  on  the  farm  and  at- 
tended the  district  schools.  On  Decem- 
ber 25,  1859,  he  was  married,  at  Castalia, 
Erie  county,  to  Miss  Margaret  L.  Criffen, 
who  was  born  December  23,  1836,  in 
Groton  township,  Erie  county,  daughter 
of  Charles  B.  and  Lovina  (Vandercook) 
Criffen.  Charles  Criffen  was  an  extensive 
landowner  near  Bellevue.  His  wife  Lo- 
vina Vandercook  was  born  in  Troy,  N.  Y., 
February  15,  1807,  came  to  Ohio  when 
about  nineteen  years  old,  and  died  in 
Groton  township,  Erie  county,  aged  sixty- 
two  years. 

After  his  marriage  Mr.  McCartney 
settled  on  the  old  McCartney  farm  near 
Venice,  Erie  county.  He  engaged  in  stock- 
raising  and  farming  until  1 877,  when  he  pur- 
chased and  moved  to  a  farm  of  sixty-eight 
and  a  half  acres  in  Green  Creek  township, 
Sandusky  county.  He  has  lived  here  ever 
since,  except  two  years  spent  in  ' '  Egypt, " 
111.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McCartney  have  had' 
seven  children,  as  -follows:  Gertrude 
C,  born  November  8,  i860,  now  the  wife 
of  Thomas  Bubler;  Bell,  born  February 
26,  1862,  married  to  Dr.  L.  U.  Howard; 
George  D.,  born  December  19,  1866; 
Eliza  L. ,  born  February  16,  1873,  died 
February  5,  1874;  Florence  May,  bora 
August  6,  1875;  Maude  C. ,  born  June  12, 
1877;  Harvey  Jessup,  born  August  17, 
1879.  In  politics  Mr.  McCartney  is  a 
pronounced  Republican. 


WILLIAM    H.    WHITEHEAD,   a 
young,  well-educated,  enterpris- 
ing   and    successful    farmer    of 
Riley  township,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, was  born  on  the  29th  day  of   August, 
1868,  and  is  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Laura 
(George)  \\'hitehead. 

Joseph  Whitehead,  Sr. ,  was  born  in 
England  in  181 1.  In  1833  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Matilda  Albon,  who  was 
born  in  18 14,  a  daughter  of  John  Albon, 
who  came  to  the  United  States  in  1833, 
the  year  of   his  daughter's  marriage,  and' 


358 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPUICAL  RECORD. 


located  in  Erie  county,  Ohio.  Mr.  White- 
head, his  son-in-law,  a  baker  by  trade, 
received  such  glowing  accounts  of  the 
natural  wealth  and  resources  of  this  great 
land  that  he  decided  to  leave  Britannia's 
shores  and  make  a  home  on  this  side  of 
the  billowy  Atlantic.  So  he  set  out  with 
his  family  in  1S51,  landed  at  Quebec,  and 
came  on  from  there  to  Sandusky,  San- 
dusky Co. ,  Ohio,  part  of  the  way  by  boat, 
but  from  Niagara  to  Chippewa  on  horse- 
back, reaching  Sandusk}-  June  15,  185 1. 
The  same  year  Mr.  Whitehead  bought  1 20 
acres  of  land,  on  which  his  son,  Thomas 
C. ,  now  resides.  Mrs.  Whitehead  de- 
parted this  life  in  the  fall  of  1864,  and 
Mr.  Whitehead  on  February  10,  1892. 

Joseph  Whitehead,  Jr.,  the  father  of 
our  subject,  received  only  a  limited  edu- 
cation in  his  native  land,  and  it  was  not 
augmented  by  schooling  after  reaching 
the  United  States.  At  the  age  of  fifteen 
he  accompanied  his  parents  to  America, 
and  he  has  been  a.  resident  of  Townsend 
township  ever  since.  He  served  as  a 
"hundred-day  man"  in  the  Civil  war 
from  May  2,  1864,  until  September  5, 
when  he  was  discharged.  On  June  12, 
1865,  Mr.  Whitehead  married  Laura 
George,  who  was  born  August  5,  1843, 
and  they  have  had  four  children,  as  fol- 
lows: William  H.,  born  August  29,  1868, 
married  Mary  Howe,  of  Norwalk,  Huron 
county,  November  26,  1891;  John  T. , 
born  January  11,  1871;  Bessie  R.,  born 
in  1875,  married  Oscar  Longanbach,  on 
February  22,  1894;  and  Ross  D. ,  born 
September  28,  1878.  The  father  of  Mrs. 
Whitehead,  Joseph  George,  formerly  re- 
sided in  Townsend  township,  but  removed 
to  Clyde,  Green  Creek  township,  San- 
dusky county,  where  both  he  and  his  wife 
were  laid  to  rest. 

William  H.  Whitehead  was  carefully 
reared  by  his  kind  and  devoted  parents, 
received  fair  advantages  for  an  education, 
which  he  diligently  improved,  worked  on 
his  father's  farm  and  taught  school  during 
the   winter   of    1890,    for  a  term  of  five 


months.  He  then  went  to  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  and  remained  a  year,  employed  as 
a  street-car  conductor,  and  thence  to 
Norwalk,  Huron  county,  Ohio,  where  he 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Mary  Howe, 
on  November  26,  1891.  There  is  one 
child  by  their  marriage,  Estella  May, 
born  December  27,  1894.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Whitehead  are  members  of  the  Methodist 
Church,  and  he  is  a  Republican  in  poli- 
tics. He  is  a  man  of  sterling  qualities,  a 
kind  husband,  a  dutiful  son  devoted  to 
his  aged  parents,  and  well-liked  and 
highly  respected  in  the  community. 


JOSEPH     R.      CLARK     (deceased). 
Among  the    pioneers    of    Sandusky 
county,    who  by  force  of    character 
made  themselves  felt  in  the  commu- 
nity   in  which  they  lived,  was  Joseph  R. 
Clark,  of   Riley  township. 

Mr.  Clark  was  born  in  Fayette  county, 
Penn.,  January  27,  1806.  On  March 
24,  1833,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Emilie 
Welsh,  of  Washington  county,  Penn., 
and  he  and  his  wife  migrated  to  Knox 
county,  Ohio,  in  September,  1836.  In 
1848  they  removed  to  Sandusky  county, 
and  here  remained  until  1863,  when  they 
took  up  their  residence  in  Clay  county, 
111.  After  living  there  three  jears  thej' 
returned  to  Riley  township,  Sandusky 
county,  where  Mr.  Clark  departed  this 
life,  February  6,  1892,  his  wife  preceding 
him  November  26,  1885.  Mr.  Clark  was 
of  Irish  descent,  his  father  having  been 
born  February  14,  1762,  in  the  Emerald 
Isle;  he  died  September  12,  1831.  His 
wife,  Elizabeth  (Ross),  was  born  January 
18,  1769,  and  died  January  6,  1840. 
They  were  the  parents  of  nine  children, 
all  now  deceased. 

Mr.  Clark  was  a  man  of  more  than 
ordinary  ability,  and  he  made  his  influ- 
ence for  good  felt  throughout  the  com- 
munity. He  possessed  a  wonderful  mem- 
ory, great  discretion  and  shrewd  judg- 
ment, and  on  account  of  these  prominent 


o/u^jJl  'jfSic^i'k 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOOUAPniCAL  RECORD. 


359 


traits  of  character  was  very  frequently 
found  on  the  jury  when  important  cases 
were  to  be  tried.  His  clear  mind  and 
impartial  \erdict  were  so  hif,'hly  appreci- 
ated by  all  who  knew  him  that  when  he 
was  chosen  as  a  juror  neither  attorney 
objected  to  his  sitting.  He  was  for 
many  years  justice  of  the  peace  in  Riley 
township.  A  sentence  sometimes  speaks 
volumes.  One  of  Mr.  Clark's  contempor- 
aries says  of  him:  "  You  need  not  fear 
that  you  will  over-estimate  the  man  in 
writing  his  sketch."  To  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Joseph  R.  Clark  came  twelve  children, 
ten  of  whom  are  mentioned  as  follows: 
William  W. ,  Mrs.  Cleaver,  John  and 
Rebecca  (both  deceased  in  infancy), 
Leander,  Joseph  (who  died  at  the  age  of 
nine  years),  Lucretia  (deceased  in  in- 
fancy), Sarah  Ann,  James  and  Clara.  Of 
those  yet  living,  Leander,  who  was  born 
June  5,  1839,  is  unmarried  (he  served 
four  years  during  the  war  of  the  Rebellion 
as  a  member  of  Company  F,  Seventy- 
second  O.  V.  I.);  William  W. ,  born 
March  13,  1834,  married  Sarah  M.  Bell, 
February  22,  1862,  and  to  them  five 
children  were  born,  four  of  whom  are 
now  living — Mrs.  Jesse  Stevens  (of  Fos- 
toria),  Mrs.  Jennie  Hyter  (of  Bradner), 
William  E.  (who  resides  in  Indiana),  and 
May  (who  resides  in  Fostoria).  William 
W.  Clark  is  now  extensively  engaged  in 
the  oil  business;  he  makes  his  home  with 
his  daughter,  Mrs.  Stevens,  of  Fostoria, 
his  wife  having   died  some  years  ago. 

Mrs.  Joseph  R.  Clark  was  the  daughter 
of  William  and  Rebecca  (Budd)  Welsh, 
the  former  of  whom  was  born  about  i  J  J  i 
and  died  in  1S33;  the  latter  was  born 
about  1778.  To  them  were  born  eleven 
children,  three   of  whom  are  now  living. 


WH.  K.  G05SARD,  one  of  San- 
duskj-  county's  representative 
self-made  men,  is  the  son  of 
Alvin  P.  and  Mary  (Cooley) 
Gossard.  and  was  born  September  8,  1839, 

23 


in  Scott  township,  Sandusky  county.  His 
education  was  acquired  at  the  Ohio  Wes- 
leyan  University,  and,  although  the  ordi- 
nary advantages  for  literary  pursuits  at  that 
time  were  meager,  Mr.  Gossard  obtained 
a  liberal  training,  and  for  several  years 
was  one  of  the  foremost  teachers  in  San- 
dusky county. 

On  March  31,  1864,  our  subject  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Lucinda  Hollo- 
peter,  of  Seneca  county,  and  soon  after- 
ward settled  upon  eighty  acres  of  wild 
land  in  Scott  township,  on  which  were  no 
buildings.  Here  began  the  struggle  with 
the  forest  from  which  he  determined  to 
secure  a  home;  success  has  crowned  the 
efforts  of  himself  and  wife,  and  to-day 
Mr.  Gossard  has  the  original  purchase  un- 
der high  cultivation,  with  excellent  build- 
ings and  orchards,  and  to  this  property  he 
has  added  another  farm  the  same  size. 
To  him  and  his  first  wife  were  born  three 
children:  Mary  O.,  born  January  10, 
1865,  who  married  C.  P.  Aubert,  at  that 
time  of  Columbus,  Ohio,  now  of  Wash- 
ington State,  and  she  is  the  mother  of 
three  children — Claudius,  Thalia  and 
Mabel  (Mr.  Aubert  is  superintendent  of 
Port  Townsend  (Wash.)  public  schools; 
for  five  years  prior  to  her  marriage  she 
was  teacher  in  the  public  schools  of  San- 
dusky and  Wood  counties);  W^illiam  Ar- 
thur, born  January  30,  1 866,  who  married 
Miss  Clara  Shale  (he  was  also  a  teacher); 
and  Myrtle  R.,  born  October  29,  1871, 
who  like  her  father,  brother  and  older  sis- 
ter, is  a  teacher,  having  been  engaged  in 
the  profession  for  the  past  six  years.  The 
mother  of  these  children  was  born  August 
23,  1843,  and  was  for  a  number  of  years 
a  teacher;  she  died  June  2,  1873,  and 
was  buried  in  the  Metzger  cemetery,  and 
on  April  23,  1879,  Mr.  Gossard  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Helen  M.  Canfield,  of  Wood 
county,  who  was  born  September  26, 
1850.  She  completed  her  education  in 
Saginaw,  Mich.,  where  she  was  graduated 
in  1 87  I,  and  was  also  a  teacher  for  twelve 
years,  holding  some  very   fine  positions, 


360 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


among  others  teaching  in  the  Woodville, 
Genoa  and  Bowling  Green  high  schools. 
To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gossard  have  been  born 
three  children:  Florence  A.,  December 
14,  1882;  Harry  C..  March  13,  i884;and 
Hellen  Gladys,  October  12,  1890.  Silas 
Sprague  Canfield,  father  of  Mrs.  Gossard, 
was  born  March  13,  1824.  in  Hamburg, 
N.  Y.  The  history  of  the  Canfield  family, 
through  the  researches  of  Prof.  Averill  B. 
Canfield,  has  been  traced  back  to  1350, 
when  James  De  Philo,  a  French  Huguenot 
of  Normand}',  France,  emigrated  to  Eng- 
land and  became  a  loyal  subject  of  the 
Crown.  In  course  of  time  the  name  was 
shortened  and  Anglicized  into  Cam.  Philo, 
then  Camptield,  Camfield,  and  Canfield. 
From  this  line  came  Anion  Canfield,  who 
was  the  great-grandfather  of  S.  S.  Can- 
field.  Silas  S.  Canfield's  mother  was 
Phcebe  Uart.  Mrs.  Gossard's  mother, 
Matilda  Adaline  Wetherell,  was  born  at 
South  Barre,  Orleans  Co.,  N.  Y. .  and 
died  February  10,  1885. 

Mr.  Gossard's  father,  AlvinP.  Gossard, 
was  born  June  6,  1808,  in  Ross  count}-, 
Ohio,  and  when  a  young  man  came  to 
Scott  township,  Sandusky  county,  where 
he  purchased  a  farm.  Philip  Gossard,  his 
father,  was  born  in  America  about  1777, 
of  German  parentage,  and  married  a  Ken- 
tucky lady,  a  Miss  Plummer,  who  was 
born  about  1779.  In  1835  Alvin  P.  Gos- 
sard was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Cooley,  of 
Sandusky  count}',  and  they  settled  on  the 
farm  which  A.  R.  Gossard  has  purchased, 
and  began  a  life  which  was  prosperous  in 
every  way.  Mr.  Gossard  was  a  great 
stockman,  a  shrewd  dealer,  and  in  that 
business  made  a  great  deal  of  money.  For 
a  long  time  he  turned  off  one  hundred 
head  or  more  of  cattle  each  year,  which 
he  had  fattened,  besides  the  large  number 
purchased  and  shipped  directly.  By  care- 
ful attention  to  his  business  he  added  to 
the  small  farm  he  had  originally  purchased 
until  he  at  one  time  owned  800  acres, 
which  he  paid  for  mainly  from  his  stock 
business.      He   was  the    father   of    eight 


children,  si.\  of  whom  are  now  living:  W. 
H.  K. ;  P.  J. ;  A.  R. ;  Mary,  now  Mrs.  Mc- 
Ewen,  of  Wood  county;  Ann,  now  Mrs. 
Sidel,  of  Fulton  county;  and  Mrs.  Inman. 
The  two  deceased  are  Charles  and  Ed- 
mund. Mr.  Gossard  died  May  6,  1887, 
and  was  buried  in  Metzger  cemetery;  his 
wife  was  born  March  i,  18  10,  in  Canada, 
daughter  of  Peleg  Cooley,  who  built  the 
first  frame  house  in  Fremont,  Ohio.  Peleg 
Cooley's  grandmother  was  stolen  from 
Wales  when  a  little  child  and  brought  to 
New  York,  where  she  was  sold  for  enough 
to  pay  her  passage,  $18;  she  was  so  young 
she  did  not  remember  her  father's  last 
name,  but  simply  knew  that  they  called 
him  "John."  When  in  the  hands  of  her 
captors,  on  the  boat,  she  heard  her  father's 
voice  on  board  the  vessel,  but  dared  not 
speak. 


JOSEPH  M.  BUCHMAN,  carpenter, 
of  Fremont,  Sandusk\-  county,  son 
of  Godfrey  F.  and  Magdalena  Buch- 
man,  was  born  at  F"remont,  Ohio, 
October  3,  1873.  He  spent  his  youth  in 
his  native  city,  assisting  his  father  in  a 
store,  and  attending  the  parochial  school 
of  St.  Joseph's  Catholic  Church,  under 
the  precepiorship  of  Rev.  S.  Bauer,  D. 
D. ;  he  graduated  from  St.  Joseph's  High 
School  in  1890,  and  afterward  took  a 
course  in  a  business  college. 

With  a  view  to  preparing  himself  for 
the  occupation  of  contractor  and  builder, 
he  next  served  an  apprenticeship  at  the 
carpenter  trade,  under  the  instruction  of 
Christian  \'ollmer,  until  March,  1894, 
since  which  time  he  has  worked  with 
various  other  parties.  He  assisted  in  the 
\  building  of  the  celebrated  Hochenedel 
'  Block,  on  Croghan  street,  Fremont,  the 
Lutheran  Church  at  Gibsonburg,  and 
other  buildings  of  note  elsewhere.  He  is 
a  member  of  St.  Joseph's  Catholic  Church, 
of  the  Young  Men's  Society  of  the  B.  V. 
M.,  and  of  the  Catholic  Knights  of  Ohio, 
Branch  No.    8,  and  Uniformed  Comman- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPBICAL  RECORD. 


361 


dery  No.  2.  By  his  habits  of  industry 
and  thrift,  strict  attention  to  business,  and 
fair  dealing  with  his  fellow  men,  Mr. 
Buchman  has  laid  the  foundation  of  a 
successful  business  career. 


ANTHONY  C.  NUHFER  was  born 
January  i6,    1835,  and  is  a  son  of 
Nicholas    and   Elizabeth    (Creek) 
Nuhfer,  born,  the   father  on  June 
2,    1814,    in   Baiern,     Germany,    and    the 
mother  on  March  28,  18 10. 

Nicholas  Nuhfer  and  Elizabeth  Creek 
were  united  in  marriage  in  1834,  and  be- 
came the  parents  of  seven  children.  They 
came  to  America  in  the  year  of  their  mar- 
riage, and  located  in  Buffalo,  N.  Y. ,  where 
they  remained  a  short  time.  They  then 
removed  to  Ohio,  where  he  worked  on  the 
Maumee  and  Western  Reserve  pike  for 
two  years;  later  bought  twenty-five  acres 
of  land,  which  he  kept  a  short  time  and 
then  traded  it  for  forty  acres  of  timber 
land,  put  up  a  two-story  house,  and 
cleared  the  larger  part  of  the  land.  In 
1845  Mr.  Nuhfer  commenced  to  preach, 
and  this  work  he  followed  until  his  death; 
he  preached  three  years  in  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  and  three  years  in  Detroit,  Mich., 
and  was  elder  for  eight  years.  He  died 
January  31,  1888,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
four  years  and  some  months,  and  his 
widow  January  18,  1891,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-one  years;  they  were  both  buried 
in  W'oodville  township,  Sandusky  county. 
Anthony  C.  Nuhfer  left  home  at  tfie 
age  of  eleven  years,  went  to  work  for  his 
uncle  a  couple  of  years,  and  then  went  to 
school  one  year.  Afterward  he  learned 
the  shoemaker's  trade,  which  he  followed 
for  twenty  years.  He  worked  at  Dela- 
ware, Ohio,  and  at  Carrington,  Ohio, 
until  his  twenty-third  year,  when,  on  No- 
vember 22,  1858,  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Sophia  Whipking,  who  was 
born  August  28,  1837,  in  Toledo,  Ohio. 
They  have  become  the  parents  of  two 
children,  as  follows:  Helen  E.,  born  May 


3,  1 86 1,  married  George  Walter,  by  whom 
she  had  two  children — Frank  and  Carl, 
and  they  live  in  Woodville  township;  and 
George  A.,  now  a  farmer  in  Woodville 
township,  born  June  29,  1864,  and  united 
in  marriage  May  8,  1891,  in  Fremont, 
Ohio,  with  Emma  Meford,  born  January 
16,  1866,  by  whom  he  has  had  one  child, 
Clarence,  born  February  19,  1892. 

After  his  marriage  Anthony  C.  Nuhfer 
settled  in  Woodville  township,  Sandusky 
county,  lived  there  for  some  time,  then 
traded  his  property  with  his  father  for  the 
farm  upon  which  he  now  lives.  He  leased 
his  farm  to  an  oil  company,  and  they  put 
down  three  wells,  all  of  which  have  a  good 
flow.  He  carries  on  general  farming. 
Mr.  Nuhfer  has  been  a  member  of  the 
German  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
since  1854.  He  has  always  voted  the 
Republican  ticket,  is  widely  and  favorably 
known,  and  is  well  liked  in  the  community. 


JOHN  HOUTZ,  a  prominent  and  well- 
to-do  agriculturist  of  Washington 
township,  Sandusky  count)',  whose 
farm  is  situated  within  one  mile  of 
the  town  of  Helena,  is  a  native  of  the 
county,  born  October  7,  1855,  in  the 
town  of  Rollersville,  third  in  the  order  of 
birth  of  five  children  born  to  John  and 
Elizabeth  (Boyer)  Houtz. 

John  Houtz,  Sr. ,  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, was  one  of  the  oldest  settlers  of  San- 
dusky county;  was  a  Pennsylvanian  by 
birth,  born  in  1801  and  in  1808  moved  to 
Ohio,  settling  in  Sandusky  county,  the 
Indians  at  the  time  being  friendly  neigh- 
bors. He  was  twice  married,  the  first 
time  to  Katharina  Houtz,  who  died  leav- 
ing one  child,  Mar\'  Ellen  Phiester,  at 
present  living  in  Wood  count}".  Ohio. 
His  second  wife,  Elizabeth  (Boyerj,  be- 
came the  mother  of  five  children,  name- 
ly: Cornelius,  a  farmer,  living  near  Rol- 
lersville, Sandusky  Co. ;  Zacharias,  farm- 
er, near  his  brother  Cornelius,  both  own- 
ing a  goodlj'    number   of  acres  of  prime 


362 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPmCAL  RECORD. 


land;  John,  subject  of  sketch;  Elizabeth, 
who  died  in  1893  (she  was  the  wife  of 
Mr.  George  Tyson,  who  is  now  Hving  in 
Wood  county,  Ohio);  and  Sarah,  wife  of 
Levi  Tyson,  a  farmer  near  Koilersville, 
Ohio  (they  have  two  children).  The 
father  of  this  family  died  in  Februarj', 
1880,  at  the  age  of  seventy-nine  years; 
the  mother  passed  away  when  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  was  but  a  young  lad,  and  he 
does  not  remember  much  regarding  her. 

John  Houtx,  of  whom  this  sketch  more 
particularly  relates,  received  a  liberal  edu- 
cation at  the  winter  schools  of  his  native 
place,  from  early  boyhood  assisting  his 
father  on  the  farm,  until  the  time  of  his 
marriage.  In  1880  he  purchased  the 
ninety-two  acres  of  land  whereon  he  now 
lives,  and  has  by  industry,  thrift  and  sound 
judgment  made  a  success,  living  and  toil- 
ing on  with  the  bright  prospect  before  him 
of  adding  to  his  possessions. 

Mr.  Houtz  was  married  February  i  1 , 
1875,  to  Miss  Mary  Anna  Baird,  daughter 
of  John  S.  Baird,  a  farmer  of  Sandusky 
county,  Ohio,  and  five  children  have 
blessed  this  union,  their  names  and  dates 
of  birth  being  as  follows:  Elsie,  March 
27,  1877;  Gary,  July  4,  1882;  Stella,  Sep- 
tember 22,  1884;  Mabel,  August  10,  18S7, 
and  Grace,  July  13,  1889.  In  religious 
faith  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Houtz  are  members  of 
the  United  Brethren  Church.  He  has  on 
his  farm  twelve  good  oil  wells,  and  the 
property  being  one  of  the  best  oil  stands 
in  Sandusky  county,  he  hopes  before  the 
close  of  the  year  to  discover  as  many  more 
wells.  Wide-awake,  progressive  and 
genial,  Mr.  Houtz  has  insured  for  himself 
a  personal  popularity  that  in  itself  is  a 
fair  capital  for  any  man  traveling  the 
earlier  portion  of  life's  highway. 


GEORGE  W.    WIRES,    a   retired 
fruit-grower,    and  the  oldest  liv- 
ing settler  of  North  Bass  Island, 
if    not    of    Ottawa    county,    was 
born  in  Orangeville,  Genesee  Co.,  N.  Y., 


October  5,  1809,  son  of  Solomon  and 
Susanna  (Beals)  Wires,  who  were  both 
born  in  Northampton,  Mass.,  and  were 
of  Welsh  ancestry.  They  came  to  Ohio 
about  1 8 19,  locating  in  Leroy  township, 
which  is  now  in  Lake  county,  and  after  a 
residence  there  of  about  a  year  removed 
to    the  adjoining  township  of  Painesville. 

When  about  ten  years  old  George  W. 
Wires  came  with  his  parents  to  Leroy 
township,  and  afterward  accompanied 
them  to  Painesville,  where  he  received 
such  limited  educational  advantages  as 
were  afforded  the  youth  of  those  days  in 
the  old  primitive  log  schoolhouse.  In 
early  life  he  was  bound  out  to  learn  the 
carpenter's  trade;  but  not  taking  a  fancy 
to  the  man  to  whom  he  was  apprenticed 
he  ran  away,  and  hired  out  as  a  farm 
hand  with  a  man  named  Charles  C. 
Payne,  with  whom  he  remained  eight 
years.  At  the  expiration  of  that  time  he 
followed  a  sea-faring  life  for  about  five 
years,  and  afterward  engaged  in  various 
occupations  until  1838,  when  he  removed 
to  Kelle3''s  Island,  Erie  county,  where  he 
resided  four  j'ears.  He  was  ne.xt  engaged 
in  steamboating.  on  the  Mississippi  river 
for  about  two  years,  after  which  he  re- 
turned to  Kelley's  Island,  and  after  re- 
siding there  about  four  years  lived  one 
winter  on  Point  Pelee  Island,  Canada,  in 
1849  removing  to  North  Bass  Island, 
which  has  been  the  home  of  the  family 
for  forty-five  years. 

On  May  16,  1843,  George  ^^■.  Wires 
was  united  in  marriage,  on  Kelley's 
Island,  with  Susan  Fox,  who  was  born 
in  Essex  county,  Canada,  March  12, 
1820,  and  they  have  had  ten  children,  as 
follows:  Charles  C,  born  June  11,  1845, 
a  farmer  residing  on  Pelee  Island;  Mary 
Jane,  born  October  6,  1846,  died  August 
7,  1863;  Adeline  A.,  born  Septembers, 
1848,  widow  of  James  Cummings,  resid- 
ing on  Pelee  Island;  Lavina  Ellen,  born 
September  30,  1850,  the  wife  of  George 
Hallock,  residing  on  North  Bass  Island; 
William  Tell,   born  November   30,  1852, 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


363 


residing  on  Pelee  Island;  Simon  Peter, 
born  September  12,  1854,  is  superinten- 
dent of  a  fish  hatchery  at  Duluth,  Minn. ; 
George  Washington,  Jr.,  born  December 
9,  1856,  residing  on  North  Bass  Island; 
Olive  Lenora,  born  April  22,  1859;  An- 
drew Jackson,  born  March  16,  1861; 
and  Elsa  Rosella,  born  April  17,  1863. 
The  parents  of  Mrs.  George  W.  Wires 
were  John  and  Rachel  (Stewart)  Fox. 
Mr.  Wires  attained  his  majority  during 
the  first  administration  of  President  Jack- 
son, and  in  his  political  preferences  was 
formerly  a  W^hig,  but  has  been  a  stanch 
Republican  for  many  years. 


CHARLES  E.  BAKER,  M.  D  ,  a 
prominent  and  popular  physician 
of  Genoa,  Ottawa  county,  is 
numbered  among  Ohio's  native 
sons,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  Fair- 
field county  May  27,  1857.  His  parents, 
Richard  H.  and  Lucinda  (Baker)  Baker, 
were  also  natives  of  that  county,  the  for- 
mer born  in  April,  1832,  the  latter  on 
January  2,  1831.  They  still  reside  there, 
honored  and  respected,  the  father  being 
numbered  among  the  esteemed  and  lead- 
ing agriculturists  of  the  community.  For 
many  years  he  has  efficiently  filled  the 
office  of  township  trustee,  and  other  local 
positions  within  the  gift  of  the  people, 
and  in  all  has  discharged  his  duties  with 
a  commendable  promptness  and  fidelity. 
The  family  numbers  but  two  children: 
Charles  E.,  subject  of  this  sketch;  and 
Eva  M.,  widow  of  George  Turner,  of 
Fairfield  county,  Ohio.  The  great-grand- 
father, Peter  Baker,  a  native  of  Mary- 
land, became  one  of  the  honored  pioneers 
of  Fairfield  county,  where  he  located 
about  the  year  1799. 

Dr.  Baker  acquired  his  rudimentary 
education  in  the  district  schools  of  his  na- 
tive township,  and  then  attended  the 
Fairfield  Union  Academy,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  in  June,  1877.  For  about 
three  years  thereafter  he  successfully  en- 


gaged in  teaching  school  in  Fairfield 
county,  after  which  he  took  up  the  study 
I  of  medicine  under  the  preceptorship  of 
Dr.  H.  C.  Baker,  of  New  Salem,  Ohio. 
He  further  fitted  himself  for  his  chosen 
calling  by  prosecuting  his  studies  in  the 
Columbus  Medical  College,  from  which 
he  was  graduated  with  honor  in  March, 
1 88 1.  A  few  months  afterward  he  re- 
moved to  Toledo,  where  he  was  con- 
nected with  the  Hospital  for  the  Insane 
for  a  period  of  two  and  a  half  years. 
This  added  practical  experience  to  his 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  science  of 
medicine,  and  made  him  a  skilled  phy- 
sician. In  1884  he  came  to  Genoa, 
where  for  a  period  of  more  than  eleven 
years  he  has  continuously  practiced,  be- 
ing the  second  oldest  physician  in  the 
place.  By  his  skill  and  ability  he  has 
succeeded  in  building  up  a  large  and  rap- 
idl}'  increasing  business,  to  which  merit 
well  entitles  him. 

The  Doctor  was  married  in  Genoa, 
May  17,  1894,  to  Mary  M.  Humlong, 
and  their  union  has  been  blessed  with  one 
child,  George  Lee,  born  August  17,  1895. 
Mrs.  Baker  was  born  January  9,  1864, 
in  Marshall  county,  Iowa,  received  her 
early  education  in  Genoa,  graduating 
from  the  high  school  in  1880,  and  subse- 
quently attended  Berea  College,  here 
completing  her  literary  training,  after 
which  she  was  for  several  years  a  teacher 
in  the  public  schools  of  Genoa.  Her 
parents,  William  and  Emma  Humlong, 
prominent  citizens  and  early  settlers  of 
Clay  township,  Ottawa  county,  were  na- 
tives, respectively,  of  Kentucky  and  Pre- 
ble county,  Ohio,  both  born  in  1836,  the 
father  on  May  i  5,  the  mother  on  Septem- 
ber 6.  W'illiam  Humlong  took  a  two- 
years'  course  in  Oberlin  College,  and  was 
for  some  years  a  teacher  in  Sandusky 
county.  About  1856  he  wedded  Miss 
Emma  Swann,  and  they  became  the  par- 
ents of  four  children — John,  Ernest, 
Eugene  C.  (deceased)  and  Marj'  M.  (Mrs. 
Baker).      Mr.  and  Mrs.    Humlong  settled 


364 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


in  Genoa.  Ottawa  county,  about  the  3"ear 
1 860.  He  served  three  j'ears  in  the  war 
of  the  Rebelhon,  and  was  first  lieutenant 
of  Company  E,  Twelfth  Regiment,  Ohio 
Volunteer  Cavalry.  John  Humlong 
(grandfather  of  Mrs.  Baker)  was  born  in 
1802  in  Kentucky,  but  was  obliged  to 
leave  his  native  State'  on  account  of  his 
politics,  he  being  an  Abolitionist.  He 
married  Mar\'  A.  Hollis,  who  was  born 
December  21,  181 2,  in  Kentucky,  and 
they  became  the  parents  of  nine  children. 
Robert  and  Margaret  (Crume)  Swann, 
maternal  grandparents  of  Mrs.  Baker, 
were  born  in  1796  and  1800,  respectively, 
and  were  married  in  18 16.  Seven  chil- 
dren were  born  to  them.  After  Mr. 
Swann's  death  Mrs.  Swann  for  her  sec- 
ond husband  married  Judge  Gregg,  of  In- 
diana. 

The  Doctor  and  his  wife  attend  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  occupy  a  prom- 
inent position  in  social  circles.  His  po- 
litical views  are  in  accord  with  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Democratic  party.  He  is 
one  of  the  most  popular  gentlemen  in 
Genoa,  and  his  name  is  a  household  word 
in  the  homes  throughout  his  section  of 
the  county.  His  genial  manner  and 
kindness  have  won  for  him  hosts  of 
friends  among  all  classes  of  people.  He 
is  indefatigable  in  his  attention  to  those 
that  are  placed  under  his  professional 
care,  and  has  won  golden  opinions  from 
friends  and  patrons,  ranking  deservedly 
high  among  his  professional  brethren. 


HUBBARD     M.    CLEMONS    is    a 
representative  of  one  of  the  early 
families   of    Ottawa  county,    and 
was  born  in   Danbury  township, 
March  22,   1848. 

A  pretty  complete  history  of  the 
Clemons  family  was  written  by  Alexander 
demons  (deceased),  of  Marblehead,  Feb- 
ruary, 20,  1874,  and  embodies  the  facts 
which  were  related  to  him  by  his  father. 
"  While  on  their  way  to  school  on  the 


Island  of  Guernsey,  two  little  boys,  Isaac 
and  Jacob  Clemons,  were  stolen  and 
placed  on  board  a  British  man-of-war  and 
brought  to  this  country,  being  landed  at 
Salem,  Mass.,  probably  earl}'  in  the 
eighteenth  century.  Isaac  afterward  lo- 
cated in  the  State  of  Maine,  and  Jacob 
in  Canada.  The  former  had  two  sons, 
Edward  and  John,  and  Edward  became 
the  father  of  four  sons,  who  were  named 
Jock,  Samuel,  Jabez  and  Frank.  These 
four  brothers  removed  to  Madison,  Madi- 
son Co.,  N.  Y. ,  in  1795.  Jock  had  born 
to  him  three  sons  and  three  daughters: 
Samuel,  one  son  and  two  daughters;  Ja- 
bez, two  sons  and  three  daughters;  and 
Frank,  three  daughters.  Samuel  re- 
moved to  Fredonia,  N.  Y.  David,  a  son 
of  Jabez,  is,  I  believe,  the  father  of  Sam- 
uel L.  Clemens,  better  known  b\'  the  iioin 
dc  plume  oi  "Mark  Twain."  John,  the 
brother  of  Edward,  had  born  to  him  three 
sons  and  three  daughters,  named  re- 
spectively, John,  Jonathan,  Eli,  Ruth,  Han- 
nah and  Eunice.  John  married  Mary  Mc- 
Lallan,  of  Gorham,  Maine,  and  there 
were  born  to  this  union  ten  children, 
named:  Carry, Andrew,  Alexander,  John, 
Eunice,  Ai,  Elijah,  Nancy,  Samuel  and 
William.  Ruth,  a  sister  of  John,  married 
Col.  Charles  Wadsworth,  a  son  of  Gen. 
Pcleg  Wadsworth,  of  Revolutionary  war 
fame,  and  uncle  of  Henry  Wadsworth 
Longfellow.  Hannah  married  William 
Cotton.  Of  Eunice  I  remember  nothing. 
Alexander,  son  of  John,  was  mar- 
ried to  Angeline  Hollister,  February  11, 
1824,  and  to  their  union  were  born  four- 
teen children,  as  follows:  Winslow, 
Mile,  William  .Alexander,  Phineas  Harri- 
son, Sarah,  Frances,  Myron  Elijah, 
Albert    Alonzo,    Lucian 


Newton,   Lucia   Louisa, 
mer,  Ai  J.,  and  a  babe 


Monroe,  Lester 
Hubbard  Morti- 
unnamed.      The 


mother  of  John  and  grandmother  of  Alex- 
ander was  Abigail  Wetherbee,  who  lived 
to  be  one  hundred  and  four  years  old,  and 
left  one  hundred  and  sixty-four  descend- 
ants.   The  following  is  the  record  of  births 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


365 


and  deaths  in  Alexander  demons'  family: 
Alexander  demons  was  born  in  Hiram, 
Maine,  February  1 1,  1794,  and  died  March 
12,  1886,  in  Marblehead,  Danbury  town- 
ship, Ottawa  count)'.  He  wedded  Almira 
Angcline  HoUister,  who  was  born  in 
Glastonbury.  Conn.,  April  5,  1806,  and 
died  at  Marblehead,  March  24,  1861. 
Their  marriage  was  celebrated  near  San- 
dusky, Ohio,  February  11,  1824,  and 
they  became  the  parents  of  the  following 
children:  Winslovv,  who  was  born  in 
Sandusky,  December  29,  1824;  Milo,  who 
was  born  April  26,  1827,  and  died  March 
6,  1888;  \\'illiam  Alexander,  born  Decem- 
ber 16,  1829;  Phineas  Harrison,  born 
February  16,  1832;  Sarah,  born  March  4, 
1834;  Frances,  born  April  6,  1836;  Myron 
Elijah,  born  February  25,  1838;  Albert 
Alonzo,  born  April  9,  1840;  Lucian  Mon- 
roe, born  November  28,  1841;  Lester 
Newton,  who  was  born  in  1843,  and  died 
March  5,  1846;  Lucia  Louisa,  who  was 
born  in  December,  1844,  and  died  No- 
vember 20,  1849;  Hubbard  Mortimer, 
born  March  22,  1848;  Ai  J.,  born  June 
17,  1850;  and  there  was  also  one  child 
that  died  in  infancy." 

The  gentleman  whose  name  com- 
mences this  review  was  reared  to  man- 
hood on  the  old  homestead,  and  acquired 
his  education  in  the  district  schools  and 
in  the  high  school  of  Sandusky  City.  He 
afterward  engaged  in  stone  quarrying,  and 
subsequently  became  a  member  of  the 
firm  of  demons  Sons,  operating  a  quarry 
until  1 89 1.  In  January  of  that  year  he 
began  dealing  in  coal,  wood  and  ice  in 
Marblehead,  and  is  now  doing  a  good 
business,  having  a  large  and  constantly 
increasing  trade.  He  has  always  resided 
in  this  locality,  and  is  numbered  among 
the  representative  business  men. 

Mr.  demons  was  married  in  Sandusky 
City,  January  23.  1873,  to  Miss  Almira 
L. ,  who  was  born  near  Troy,  N.  Y.,  Jan- 
uary 9,  1843,  daughter  of  George  J.  and 
Margaret  (Hogal)  Le  Vake,  the  former  a 
native    of    Vermont,   the   latter    of    New 


York.  To  this  union  have  been  born  six 
children:  Flora  B.,  November  15,  1873; 
Lucy  A.,  July  1 1,  1875;  Clara  Pearl,  De- 
cember 22.  1877;  Ralph  M.,  May  17, 
1879;  Eunice  N.,  July  17,  1882,  and 
Jessie  Mabel,  August  10,   1885. 

Mr.  demons  is  a  very  prominent  and 
influential  citizen  of  his  native  county, 
and  is  now  efficiently  serving  as  mayor  of 
Marblehead.  He  has  also  served  as  jus- 
tice of  the  peace,  and  for  seventeen  years 
has  been  a  member  of  the  board  of  edu- 
cation. His  political  support  is  given 
the  Republican  party,  and  socially  he  is 
connected  with  Peninsula  Lodge,  No.  607, 
Iv.  of  P.,  of  Lakeside,  Ohio.  The  family 
attend  the  Methodist  and  Congregational 
Churches,  Mr.  demons  holding  member- 
ship with  the  former.  He  is  one  of  the 
successful  business  men  of  the  county, 
and  the  chief  element  of  his  prosperity 
has  been  close  application  to  business, 
coupled  with  executive  ability  and  fore- 
sight. He  furnishes  a  striking  example 
of  what  may  be  accomplished  b}'  honora- 
ble dealing,  careful  and  wise  management, 
and  by  a  business  policy  that  commands 
the  respect  of  all.  He  has  thus  succeeded 
in  attaining  an  enviable  position  in  the 
regard  of  the  public,  and  his  prominence 
is  well  deserved.  A  pleasant  and  genial 
gentleman,  unassuming  in  manner,  he 
commands  the  highest  esteem  of  all  with 
whom  he  has  been  brought  in  contact. 
He  is  a  close  observer  of  men  and  affairs, 
and  is  well-informed  on  all  public  ques- 
tions. 


HARLEY       HOLLISTEK        EL- 
WELL.      The  subject  of  this  brief 
biographical  sketch  stands  prom- 
inent among  the   most  successful 
and  influential   fruit-growers    of    Ottawa 
count)'. 

He  is  a  native  of  the  Empire  State, 
born  at  Meridian,  Ca_\uga  count)',  Novem- 
ber 14,  1818.  Spending  his  childhood 
among  the  picturesque  hills  and  valleys. 


3C.G 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


lakes  and  streams  of  that  beautiful  coun- 
try, where,  at  that  time,  the  "  Red  Man  " 
was  not  an  infrequent  visitor  at  the  rural 
homes  as  he  wandered  from  his  tribe,  as 
thouf(h  reluctant  to  yield  this  paradise  to 
the  white  usurper.  Mr.  Elwell's  father 
was  a  New  Englander,  born  in  Vermont, 
where  his  early  years  were  passed.  His 
mother,  Mary  (Acker)  Elwell,  was  reared 
in  the  Mohawk  Valley,  as  were  her  par- 
ents, who  were  of  Holland  ancestry.  Mrs. 
Elwell's  rare  gifts  of  character  were  sup- 
plemented by  the  practical  qualifications 
of  that  sturdy  people,  and  admirably 
fitted  her  for  the  trials  and  duties  of  pio- 
neer life.  From  this  excellent  mother, 
whose  early  death  was  an  irreparable  loss 
to  her  family  and  to  society,  Mr.  Elwell 
inherited  much  of  the  integrit}',  firmness 
and  decision,  which  has  characterized  his 
course  through  life. 

In  1835  he  accompanied  his  father  to 
Lapeer,  Mich.,  where  he  remained  un- 
til 1838  when  he  came  to  Ohio,  locating 
at  Plasterbed,  Ottawa  county,  where  he 
was  engaged  for  a  short  time.  He  then 
bought  and  occupied  a  farm  in  Sandusky 
county,  and  at  length  settled  in  Sandusky 
City,  where  he  lived  over  thirtj'  years, 
serving  as  engineer  and  conductor  for  dif- 
ferent railroad  companies.  In  1864  he 
was  injured  in  a  railroad  collision,  and 
unfitted  for  the  business.  In  the  follow- 
ing year  he  located  in  Danbury,  Ottawa 
county,  where  he  now  resides.  In  1840 
Mr.  Elwell  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Alice  Lachlison,  who  was  born  in 
England,  April  30,  1820,  and  died  August 
9,  1 849.  The  surviving  children  of  this 
union  are  Annjemmetta  Louise,  widow  of 
the  late  Fletcher  Hartshorn,  and  Abner 
H.  Elwell.  The  year  1853  was  again 
the  nuptial  year  with  Mr.  Elwell,  when, 
in  the  land  of  his  nativity,  at  the  home 
of  E.  H.  Burnham,  Esq.,  he  was  married 
to  Miss  J.  A.  Burnham.  Of  this  paren- 
tage there  are  two  surviving  children: 
Alice  Jennie,  now  Mrs.  T.  W.  Payne,  and 
Burton  H.  Elwell. 


Politically,  Mr.  Elwell  has  always 
been  a  Republican,  unswerving  m  his  sup- 
port of  the  cause  which  that  party  has 
espoused.  He  is  one  of  those  men  to 
whom  the  term  "selfmade"  is  appro- 
priately applied.  Though  lacking  the  ad- 
vantages of  college  education,  he  has  ob- 
tained much  of  that  most  valuable  infor- 
mation which  comes  from  observation, 
experience,  and  general  reading  of  books 
and  current  events,  and  has  made  for 
himself  a  character  and  reputation  that 
places  him  in  the  highest  regard  of  those 
who  know  him  best.  He  is  a  man  of  in- 
fluence, whose  good  citizenship  has  never 
been  questioned,  and  his  name  deserves 
an  honored  place  in  the  history  of  his 
adopted  countrj'. 

GEORGE  W.  GRANT  is  a  repre- 
sentative agriculturist    of   \\'ash- 
ington  township,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, of  which  he  is  a    native,  his 
birth  having  occured  on  the  old  home  farm 
on  September  2t,   1832. 

David  and  Rebecca  (Rabe)  Grant,  his 
parents,  were  among  the  earliest  settlers 
in  this  section  of  Ohio,  coming  here  when 
much  of  the  land  was  still  in  its  primitive 
condition,  and  when  the  work  of  progress 
and  civilization  seemed  scarcely  begun. 
They  located  upon  a  160-acre  tract  of 
land  just  two  miles  east  of  where  our 
subject  now  resides,  and  the  first  elec- 
tion held  in  Washington  township  was 
held  b}'  David  Grant,  John  Berie  and 
James  Rose,  the}'  being  the  only  voters 
present  in  the  township,  as  the  record, 
which  is  to  be  found  in  the  town  of  Lind- 
sey,  Sandusky  county,  shows.  David 
Grant  gave  the  township  its  name,  calling 
it  after  Washington  county,  Penn.,  his 
old  home.  Mrs.  Grant  died  when  our 
subject  was  quite  young,  David  Grant 
passing  away  not  many  years  afterward, 
and  all  record  of  the  ancestry  of  the 
family  was  lost. 

Our  subject  remained  under   the   pa- 


'f^^^?-^^^^    ^'y^A^i^yr^-i^ 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


367 


rental  roof  until  he  had  attained  his  ma- 
jority, giving  his  father  the  benefit  of  his 
services.  He  then  started  out  in  life  for 
himself,  and  whatever  success  he  has 
achieved  is  due  entirely  to  his  own  efforts. 
He  was  employed  in  the  neighborhood, 
scorning  no  work  that  would  yield  him  an 
honest  dollar,  and  thus  through  industry 
and  prudence  he  accumulated  enough  to 
purchase  a  farm.  He  invested  his  capital 
in  104  acres  of  choice  land,  the  place 
upon  which  he  now  resides,  and  beginning 
its  cultivation  at  once  he  has  to-day  a 
farm  improved  with  all  modern  acces- 
sories and  conveniences,  and  the  richly 
developed  fields  indicate  the  supervision 
of  a  progressive  and  painstaking  owner. 
He  also  owns  property  in  Gibsonburg, 
Sandusky  county.  In  1889  he  leased  his 
farm  to  the  Ohio  Oil  Company,  and  four 
wells  were  put  down,  yielding  about  fifty 
barrels  per  day,  Mr.  Grant  receiving  one- 
eighth  royalty  and  a  bonus  of  one  dollar 
per  acre.  He  has  also  been  quite  exten- 
sively engaged  in  the  stock  business. 

In  i860  Mr.  Grant  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Miss  Mahala  Moses,  who 
was  born  in  1844,  daughter  of  Jacob  and 
Catherine  (Hess)  Moses,  and  to  them 
have  been  born  nine  children,  as  follows; 
(i)  Silvanus  W. ,  who  for  twelve  j'ears 
was  superintendent  of  the  Lindsey  and 
Woodville  public  schools,  and  now  re- 
sides at  Tiffin,  Ohio,  where  he  is  engaged 
in  the  mercantile  business;  he  married 
Dora  Cummings,  by  whom  he  has  one 
child.  (2)  Minnie  Mowry,  who  was  a 
teacher,  is  deceased.  (3)  Frank  follows 
farming  in  the  State  of  Michigan.  (4) 
Jacob  is  employed  by  the  Ohio  Oil  Com- 
pany. (5)  Estella,  who  for  several  years 
was  successfully  engaged  in  teaching,  is 
married  to  Charles  Doty,  a  contractor 
and  driller  of  oil  wells,  of  Oil  City,  Penn. 
(6;  Myrtia  is  an  oil  operator.  (7)  Maud  (a 
teacher;  and  (8)  Elgie  are  still  under  the 
parental  roof.      (9)  Herald  is  deceased. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Grant  hold  membership 
with  the  United  Brethren   Church,   and 


their  honorable,  upright  life  is  well 
worthy  of  emulation.  By  his  ballot  Mr. 
Grant  supports  the  men  and  measures  of 
the  Republican  party,  is  a  stanch  advo- 
cate of  its  principles,  and  on  that  ticket 
he  has  been  elected  to  several  township 
offices,  discharging  his  duties  with  prompt- 
ness and  fidelity.  He  has  always  lived 
in  the  county  of  his  nativity,  and  those 
who  have  known  him  from  boyhood  are 
numbered  among  his  stanchest  friends, 
a  fact  which  indicates  a  well-spent  life. 

JOHN  H.  MILLER  (deceased),  who 
was  recognized  as  one  of  the  repre- 
sentative and  leading  citizens  of  Ot- 
tawa county,  was  the  eldest  son  of 
Claus  and  Catherine  (Buck)  Miller,  and 
was  born  in  New  York  City,  on  the  i  ith 
of  March,    1S51. 

During  his  early  childhood  he  was 
brought  by  his  parents  to  the  West,  the 
family  locating  in  Danbury  township,  Ot- 
tawa county,  where  he  acquired  his  edu- 
cation, his  privileges  being  those  afforded 
by  the  common  schools.  Farm  labor  was 
familiar  to  him  from  his  early  youth.  He 
aided  in  the  cultivation  of  the  home  farm 
during  his  boyhood,  and  when  he  began 
life  for  himself  it  was  as  an  agriculturist. 
Afterward  he  turned  his  attention  to  fruit 
growing  in  connection  with  his  other  work, 
and  became  one  of  the  leading  farmers 
and  horticulturists  of  his  adopted  county. 
He  managed  his  business  affairs  on  sys- 
tematic principles,  and  as  the  result  of  his 
well-directed  efforts  acquired  a  handsome 
competence. 

Mr.  Miller  was  married  on  the  20th  of 
December,  1877,  the  lady  of  his  choice 
being  Miss  Anna  M.  S.  Brauer,  a  daugh- 
ter of  John  H.  and  Louisa  (Lenkring) 
Brauer,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of 
Germany,  and  on  coming  to  America  cast 
their  lot  with  the  early  settlers  of  Dan- 
bury  township,  Ottawa  county.  The 
father  is  still  living  in  that  locality,  but  the 
mother   died  on  the   14th  of  N'ovembe 


368 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


1875.  Mrs.  Miller  was  born  in  Danbury 
township,  October  14,  1854,  and  by  her 
marriage  became  the  mother  of  two  chil- 
dren— Henry  E.,  born  October  25,  1878; 
and  Reuben  B.,  born  June  27,  1887. 

At  the  time  of  his  death.  Mr.  Miller 
was  filling  the  office  of  postmaster  at  Pic- 
colo. He  was  regarded  as  a  public-spirited 
and  progressive  citizen,  and  took  an  active 
interest  in  all  that  pertained  to  the  wel- 
fare of  the  community,  and  its  upbuilding. 
He  passed  away  on  the  20th  of  April, 
1894,  and  his  death  was  mourned  by  a 
large  circle  of  friends  and  acquaintances, 
as  well  as  by  his  immediate  family.  He 
had  ever  lived  so  as  to  merit  the  highest 
respect  and  confidence  of  those  with 
whom  he  came  in  contact,  and  he  left  to 
his  family  the  priceless  heritage  of  a  good 
name. 


CLAUS  BUCK  (deceased)  was  one 
of  the  most  prominent  and  highly- 
respected    residents   of     Danbury 
township,  a  wide-awake,  progres- 
sive  citizen,  taking   an  active  part  in  all 
matters  tending  to   advance  the  interests 
of  the  county  generally. 

He  was  born  in  Basdahl,  Amt  Brem- 
ervorde,  Germany,  April  6,  1809,  and 
was  educated  in  his  native  land.  When 
a  young  man  of  twenty-seven  years  he 
left  his  native  village  for  America,  and, 
after  a  tempestuous  voyage  of  eleven 
weeks,  reached  New  York  City,  January 
I,  1836.  Later  in  the  same  nionth  he 
started  for  Ohio,  traveling  by  stage  and 
on  foot,  and  on  February  19,  1836,  after 
a  tedious  and  tiresome  journey  of  three 
weeks  he  reached  the  southern  shore  of 
the  Peninsula,  being  one  of  the  seven 
original  German  settlers  of  Uanbury  town- 
ship, all  of  whom  preceded  him  to  the 
grave. 

Here  in  the  then  vast  wilderness,  Mr. 
Buck  made  himself  a  home,  engaging  in 
agricultural  pursuits,  and  during  his  fifty- 
eight  years  of  residence  in  Danbury  town- 


ship, Ottawa  county,  he  saw  many 
wonderful  changes  in  his  adopted  country, 
and  in  all  possible  ways  aided  in  the 
development  of  his  resident  community. 
Ohio  was  at  that  time  considered  the 
"  Far  West."  The  Indians  still  roamed 
in  Ottawa  county,  and  this  beautiful 
Peninsula  was  a  forest  awaiting  civiliza- 
tion. The  pioneer's  life  at  the  best  is  one 
of  toil.  None  but  those  who  have  passed 
through  a  like  experience  can  ever  realize 
the  hardships  and  privations  of  such  a 
life,  and  the  present  generation  have  but 
little  idea  of  the  difficulties  and  trials  their 
forefathers,  and  such  men  as  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  were  obliged  to  undergo  in 
those  early  days  in  order  to  bring  this 
country  to  its  present  state  of  prosperity 
and  perfection. 

On  January  5,  1844,  Mr.  Buck  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Rebecca 
Brauer,  who  was  born  in  Fredricksdorf, 
Germany,  September  29,  1821,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Frederick  and  Christina  Brauer. 
In  1842  she  came  to  America  with  her 
father,  her  mother  having  passed  away  in 
the  land  of  her  nativity  two  years  previous. 
For  more  than  fifty  years  she  was  the 
faithful  companion  and  helpmeet  of  Mr. 
Buck,  and  still  survives  him,  now  at  the 
advanced  age  of  seventy-four  years.  Their 
union  was  blessed  with  but  one  child,  a 
daughter — Christiana  M. — who  was  born 
March  27,  1845,  and  who,  on  the  2nd  of 
May,  1866,  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Henry  H.  Lullman.  She  died  January  i, 
1882,  leaving  two  daughters — Regiiia  R. 
and  Rebecca — who  still  reside  with  their 
grandmother,  caring  for  her  during  her 
declining  years. 

Mr.  Buck  was  an  earnest  worker  in 
the  Lutheran  Church,  and  was  a  liberal 
contributor  to  both  the  old  church  and 
the  handsome  and  imposing  edifice  that 
now  adorns  the  township.  He  was  a 
consistent  member  of  the  organization,  as 
are  his  granddaughters  and  widow.  For 
many  years  he  was  a  great  sufferer,  and 
for  two  years  prior  to  his  death  was  un- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPnWAL  RECORD. 


369 


able  to  leave  his  room.  He  passed  peace- 
fully away  at  one  o'clock  on  the  morning 
of  December  20,  1894,  at  the  advanced 
age  of  eighty-five  years,  eight  months  and 
fourteen  days,  sadly  mourned  by  his  rela- 
tives and  a  large  circle  of  friends  and  ac- 
quaintances, who  loved  and  revered  him 
for  his  many  noble  traits  of  character  and 
unswerving  integrity.  He  died  as  he 
lived,  and  his  end  was  like  the  coming  into 
harbor  of  a  stately  ship  after  a  long  and 
successful  voyage.  He  looked  death  in 
the  face  with  that  calmness  and  dignity, 
that  serene  certainty  that  it  was  a  change 
for  the  better  which  Christian  faith,  such 
as  he  possessed,  could  alone  inspire.  He 
has  passed  awaj'  from  among  his  old 
friends  and  companions  in  life,  but  his 
memory  will  long  be  cherished  by  all  who 
knew  him. 


HIZXRY  H.  LULLMAN.  Prom- 
inent among  Danbury  township's 
prosperous  citi;;ens  we  innd  Henry 
H.  Lullman,  who  was  born  April 
8,  1845,  in  New  York  City.  His  parents, 
John  and  Martha  (Ahlers)  Lullman,  came 
to  this  country  about  1840,  from  Bremen, 
Germany,  and  settled  in  New  York  City, 
where  the  father  engaged  in  the  grocerj' 
business.  On  July  28,  1848,  the  mother 
died  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-five,  and 
three  years  later,  July  20,  i  85  i,  the  father 
also  passed  away,  aged  thirtj-si.x  years. 

Thus  early  in  life  the  subject  of  our 
sketch  was  left  an  orphan,  and  when  nine 
years  old  he  came  to  Ohio  to  make  his 
home  with  his  uncle,  Henrj'  Lullman,  who 
was  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Dan- 
bury  township,  Ottawa  county,  having 
located  on  the  Peninsula  in  February, 
1845.  F"or  thirtj'-four  years  he  resided 
continuously  in  the  township,  ending  his 
life's  labors  April  14,  1879.  His  wife, 
Gacia  Lullman,  died  December  18,  1882. 
Henry  H.  Lullman  spent  his  early  boy- 
hood days  upon  his  uncle's  farm,  and  ac- 
quired his  education  in  the  district  schools 


of  the  neighborhood.  The  occupation  to 
which  he  was  reared  has  been  his  life 
work,  and  in  addition  to  agricultural  pur- 
suits he  has  for  the  past  fifteen  years  en- 
gaged extensively  in  fruit  growing. 

Mr.  Lullman  was  married  in  Danbury 
township.  May  2,  1866,  to  ^fiss  Chris- 
tiana M.  Buck,  who  was  born  March  27, 
1845,  and  was  the  only  child  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Claus  Buck,  honored  pioneers  of 
this  locality.  This  union  was  blessed 
with  three  children:  Regina  R. ,  born 
July  31,  1868;  C.  Henry,  born  April  16, 
1 87 1,  who  died  in  infanc)',  and  Rebecca 
C,  born  April  i,  1875.  Mrs.  Lullman 
died  January  i,  1882,  at  Sandusky,  Ohio, 
after  an  illness  of  several  years,  aged 
thirty-six  years,  nine  months  and  four 
da3S.  On  August  28,  1888,  Mr.  Lull- 
man  was  again  married,  this  time  to  Miss 
Emma  Wuhrman,  who  was  born  Sep- 
tember 3,  1857,  daughter  of  Henry  and 
Amelia  Wuhrman,  v.'ho  migrated  to  Ohio 
in  1847.  Mr.  Lullman  has  manifested 
great  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  town- 
ship, alwajs  endeavoring  to  promote  the 
general  welfare  of  the  community.  He 
has  held  various  local  offices  at  different 
times — that  of  treasurer  for  six  years  and 
clerk  for  fifteen  years.  No  higher  testi- 
monial of  his  efficient  services  can  be 
given  than  his  long  continuance  in  office. 
In  religious  belief  Mr.  Lullman  and  all 
the  members  of  his  family  are  Lutherans, 
and  interested  in  everything  pertaining  to 
the  welfare  of  that  Church. 


WILLIAM    H.    ALTHOFF,   pub- 
lisher   and    proprietor    of     T/tc 
Ottawa  County  News  Democrat, 
is  a    native  of  Ohio    born    No- 
vember 2iO,   1 86 1,    in  the  city  of  Dayton, 
only  son  of  F.  M.  and  Jennie  E.    (Clark) 
Althoff. 

He  was  married  at  Plasterbed,  Octo- 
ber 7,  1886,  to  Imogene,  daughter  of  J. 
W.  and  Elizabeth  (Smith)  Lockwood,  and 
four  children  have  been  the  result  of  this 


370 


COmdEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


union,  namelj":  Lina,  born  August  9, 
1887;  William  L. ,  born  February  28, 
1890.  died  June  26,  1890;  Herbert  A., 
born  September  29,  1892;  and  Amos  C, 
born  Januarj-  26,  1895. 

The  old  Port  Clinton  Bulletin,  was 
purchased  by  Mr.  Althoff  in  April,  1892. 
The  Bulletin  was  merged  into  the  Demo- 
crat, which  was  consolidated  with  the 
Xc^L's  in  1895.  The,AVrt'.j  was  established 
in  April,  1865,  by  George  R.  Clark,  an 
uncle  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 


HENRY  J.  MILLER.  This  work 
would  not  be  complete  unless  it 
contained  some  account  of  the 
pioneers  whose  lives  and  labors 
were  given  to  make  possible  the  prosper- 
it}-,  wealth  and  comfort  of  to-day.  In  the 
early  history  of  Ottawa  county  no  man 
took  a  more  prominent  part  or  did  more 
to  mold  and  influence  the  work  of  his 
time  than  did  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
Henry  J.  Miller  was  born  May  18, 
181 2,  in  the  village  of  Putnam  (now 
Zanesville),  Ohio.  His  father,  William 
Miller  (born  1777,  died  at  the  home  of 
his  son  in  1840,  a  member  of  a  family  of 
ten  children),  emigrated  from  Columbia 
county,  N.  Y. ,  to  Ohio  soon  after  the  or- 
ganization of  the  State.  He  raised  and 
commanded  a  company  of  volunteers  in 
the  war  of  1812.  Henry  J.  came  to  Ot- 
tawa county  (then  a  part  of  Huron)  in 
1828,  buying  a  small  farm  of  the  govern- 
ment. Upon  the  organization  of  Ottawa 
county  he  was  appointed  sheriff,  and 
served  until  the  iirst  election.  After  an 
inter\al  of  one  term  he  was  twice  elected, 
and  served  two  terms  in  that  capacity. 
After  the  expiration  of  his  term  as  sheriff 
he  was  three  times  elected,  and  served 
nine  years  as  justice  of  the  peace  of  his 
township.  He  was  one  of  the  first  to 
propose  the  organization  of  the  Ottawa 
County  Agricultural  Society,  and  served 
as  its  first  president,  and  for  several  years 
thereafter.      He  was  prominent  in  every 


enterprise  which  had  for  its  object  the 
improvement  of  his  county,  and  bettering 
the  condition  of  her  citizens. 

Mr.  Miller  was  married  November  25, 
1836,  to  Susan  Wonnell,  who  came  to 
Ottawa  county  with  her  parents  from 
Worcester  county,  Maryland,  in  1828. 
Of  this  union  six  children  were  born  as 
follows:  (i)  Maria  was  bom  January  15, 
1838,  became  the  wife  of  William  Sloan, 
and  is  now  deceased.  (2)  Wilson  S.  was 
born  May  9  1839,  (a  sketch  of  whom  ap- 
pears elsewhere).  (3)  George  W. ,  born 
December  28,  1840,  died  January  23, 
1864,  of  wounds  received  while  defending 
his  country  in  the  Civil  war;  he  was  a 
member  of  the  First  Ohio  Sharpshooters. 
(4)  William,  a  sketch  of  whom  follows 
this,  was  bom  Februan."  4,  1844.  (5) 
James  H.,  born  March  15,  1846.  was  a 
prominent  farmer  of  Portage  township, 
and  died  at  the  age  of  forty-six.  (6)  Per- 
melia  A.,  born  June  10,  1S48,  became  the 
wife  of  Silas  A.  Hardy. 

During  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  Mr. 
Miller  did  valiant  service  in  his  countrj's 
cause.  Three  of  his  sons  served  in  the 
army.  Too  old  to  go  to  the  front  him- 
self, he  was  faithful  in  looking  after  his 
country's  defenders  at  home.  The  noble 
work  of  these  older  men  during  the  war 
has  never  received  the  recognition  its  im- 
portance deserves.  Mr.  Miller  united 
with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and 
helped,  in  1842,  to  organize  the  first  so- 
ciety of  that  denomination  in  the  county. 
He  remained  an  active  member  of  that 
society  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
November  12,  1874. 


WILLIAM  MILLER.  Amongthe 
leading  residents  of  Ottawa 
county  none  are  more  deserving 
of  representation  in  this  vol- 
ume than  the  gentleman  whose  name 
opens  this  review,  and  who  is  numbered 
among  the  valued  citizens  of  this  com- 
munity, as  well  as  among  the  prominent 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQRAPmCAL  RECORD. 


371 


fruit  growers  and  farmers  of  Portage 
township.  He  was  born  in  that  town- 
ship, Februar\'  4,  1844,  and  is  a  son  of 
Henry  J.  and  Susan  (Wonnell'  Miller,  a 
sketch  of  whom  appears  above. 

Mr.  Miller  acquired  his  education  in 
the  district  schools  near  his  home,  and 
subsequently  for  two  years  pursued  his 
studies  in  Baldwin  University,  of  Berea, 
Ohio.  He  then  turned  his  attention  to 
agricultural  pursuits,  which  he  has  since 
continuousl}-  followed.  He  was  the  first 
in  his  township  to  grow  peaches  for  mar- 
ket, planting  his  first  orchard  in  1868, 
and  is  at  present  quite  extensively  en- 
gaged in  that  branch  of  fruit  growing. 
He  thoroughly  understands  his  business, 
and  his  capable  management  and  fair  and 
honorable  dealing  have  brought  to  him  a 
well-deserved  success.  During  the  war 
of  the  Rebellion  he  served  as  a  private  in 
Company  K,  One  Hundred  and  Thirty- 
ninth  regiment,  Ohio  Infantry. 

On  January  12,  1875,  he  was  married 
to  Miss  Eliza  Petitt  Alexander,  of  Marble- 
head,  Ohio,  who  was  born  in  Piqua,  Ohio, 
June  23,  1850,  a  daughter  of  David  Alex- 
ander (a  sketch  of  whom  follows)  and 
Harriet  (Petitt)  Alexander.  Two  children 
grace  this  union:  Henry  A.,  born  March 
7,  1877;  and  Mary  F. ,  born  December 
20,  1879.  The  parents  of  Mrs.  Miller 
were  both  natives  of  Pennsylvania. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  has  filled 
the  office  of  director  of  the  County  Agri- 
cultural Society  for  several  years.  He 
was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Peninsula 
Farmers  and  Fruit  Growers  Club,  which 
existed  for  several  years,  and  also  assisted 
in  organizing  the  first  Farmers  Institute 
in  the  county,  acting  as  its  president  for 
two  years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Ad 
Interim  Committee  of  the  State  Horticul- 
tural Society;  is  the  present  master  of 
the  Grange,  and  does  all  in  his  power  for 
the  advancement  of  the  farming  interestsof 
his  locality.  For  ten  consecutive  years 
he  has  been  a  member  of  the  township 
school  board,  and  the  cause  of  education 


finds  in  him  a  warm  friend.  He  is  an 
ardent  supporter  of  the  Republican  party, 
and  in  1892  was  nominated  by  the  Re- 
publicans of  the  Ninth  Congressional  Dis- 
trict as  candidate  for  Presidential  elector, 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  electoral 
college,  and  cast  his  vote  for  President 
Harrison.  In  his  religious  views  he  is  a 
Methodist.  His  life  has  not  been  one  of 
excitement,  being  quietlj-  passed  in  devo- 
tion to  his  business  enterprises;  yet  it  is 
not  without  its  points  of  interest  as  is  that 
of  every  man  who  faithfully  performs  his 
duty  to  his  country,  his  neighbor  and  him- 
self. 

David  Alexander  (deceased),  father 
of  Mrs.  Eliza  P.  Miller,  was  born  at  New 
London,  Chester  Co.,  Penn..  July  31, 
18 1 2,  and  came  to  Ohio  in  1833,  locating 
first  at  Dayton,  later  at  Piqua.  Here  he 
was  actively  engaged  in  business  for  a 
number  of  years.  In  1843-44  he  repre- 
sented Miami  county  in  the  Ohio  Legisla- 
ture. About  that  time  he  removed  to 
Columbus,  and  for  several  years  was  en- 
gaged in  the  home  office  of  the  Columbus 
Insurance  Co.  In  1854  he  became  general 
agent  for  the  West  of  the  Hartford  Fire 
Insurance  Co. ,  removing  to  Chicago  in 
1 86 1.  In  1863  failing  health  compelled 
him  to  resign  his  position,  and  in  order  to 
obtain  rest  and  recreation  he  came  to  the 
Lake  Erie  islands.  Impressed  with  the 
natural  beauty  and  advantages  of  the  lo- 
cality, he  bought  a  farm  on  the  Peninsula, 
which  for  thirty  years  was  his  home. 
During  the  administration  of  President 
Grant,  Mr.  Alexander  was  appointed 
Exaniiner  of  National  Banks,  and  spent 
four  years  in  government  employ,  his  ter- 
ritor}'  embracing  all  of  New  York  State 
(except  the  city),  Ohio,  Indiana  and  a  part 
of  \'irginia. 

Mr.  Alexander  early  saw  the  superior 
advantages  of  the  Peninsula  for  fruit 
growing,  and  from  the  first  made  that  the 
only  product  of  his  farm.  He  was  the 
first  on  the  Peninsula  to  plant  peaches 
largely   for   market,  and   to  see,   as  pro- 


372 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


phesied  by  him,  that  entire  section  of 
country  covered  with  peach  orchards. 
He  was  called  from  earth  December  23, 
1894.  Though  of  a  retiring  disposition, 
always  seeking  to  avoid  publicity,  he  took 
an  active  interest  in  public  affairs,  and  few 
men  were  better  posted  in  the  doings  of 
the  day.  In  early  life  he  united  with  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  alwa}s  lived  a 
consistent  Christian  life.  He  assisted  in 
organizing  the  Congregational  Church  on 
the  Peninsula,  and  was  always  one  of  its 
faithful  supporters. 

Mr.  Alexander  was  twice  married; 
first  time  to  Martha  A.  Graham,  of  Ches- 
ter county,  Penn.,  but  she  died  in  1844, 
leaving  one  son,  Robert  Graham  Alex- 
ander, who  died  in  Chicago  in  1862,  in 
his  twentj'-second  year.  In  1849,  for  his 
second  wife,  Mr.  Alexander  married  Har- 
riet R.  Petitt,  of  Piqua,  who,  with  three 
daughters  (Mrs.  William  Miller,  of  Gyp- 
sum, Mrs.  S.  R.  Gill,  of  Lakeside,  and 
Mrs.  J.  W.  Benschoter,  of  Bowling 
Greeny  and  one  son  (S.  P.  Alexander), 
survives  him. 


GEORGE  F.  MEYER.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  who  has  been 
for  nearly  twenty-one  years  a 
resident  of  Port  Clinton,  Ottawa 
county,  is  a  prosperous  cigar  manufac- 
turer, in  his  business  combining  the  Ger- 
man thrift  and  industry  with  American 
push  and  enterprise.  He  is  a  native  of 
Hanover,  Germany,  born  September  9, 
1840. 

Mr.  Meyer's  parents  were  both  natives 
of  Germany,  the  father,  H.  Meyer,  born 
in  Lansberger,  Hanover,  in  1805,  and 
the  mother,  Mary  (Walsen)  Meyer,  in 
Bad  Rehburg,  in  1803;  the  former  died 
in  1868,  and  the  latter  in  1874.  The 
father,  who  was  a  man  of  much  intelli- 
gence and  ability,  was  a  surgeon,  and 
practiced  his  profession  from  1825  until 
his  death.  He  served  during  the  Franco- 
Prussian  war.      He  was  a  member  of  the 


Lutheran  Church.  This  worthy  couple 
had  eight  children,  as  follows:  William, 
who  died  after  coming  to  America;  August, 
who  lives  at  Bremen,  German}-,  and  is 
engaged  in  the  cigar  business;  George  F. , 
our  subject;  Charles,  living  in  Zulingen, 
Germany;  Frederick,  who  resides  in 
Bremen,  Germany;  Caroline,  a  widow, 
residing  in  Sandusky;  Dorritt,  deceased; 
and  Augusta,  who  married  a  Mr.  Dink- 
lage.  The  maternal  grandfather  of  our 
subject  was  a  baker  by  trade,  and  also 
held  the  office  of  postmaster  at  Bad  Reh- 
burg, a  position  which  has  been  handed 
down  in  the  family  from  generation  to 
generation  until  the  present  time.  Others 
of  the  connection  are  also  engaged  in  the 
postal  service.  The  paternal  grandfather, 
Henry  Meyer,  was  born  at  Lansberger  on 
the  Weser,  and  was  a  farmer  by  occupa- 
tion. 

Our  subject  attended  school  in  his  na- 
tive country  until  fourteen  years  old,  and 
when  eighteen  years  of  age,  as  is  the  cus- 
tom in  Germany,  he  entered  the  army 
and  served  over  seven  years.  In  all  this 
time  his  regiment  was  not  ordered  to  the 
front,  but  he  saw  enough  of  a  soldier's 
life  to  satisfy  him,  without  remaining 
longer  in  service.  After  leaving  the  army 
he  learned  the  cigar  business,  and  in  1867 
came  to  America,  locating  first  in  the  city 
of  Sanduskj',  Ohio,  and  there  remaining 
until  1874,  when  he  removed  to  Port 
Clinton.  Since  that  time  he  has  carried 
on  business  for  himself.  He  employs 
from  six  to  eight  men  all  the  time,  and 
has  a  large  trade  in  the  surrounding  coun- 
try; he  also  has  a  fruit  farm,  etc.  Mr. 
Meyer  was  first  married  in  Sandusky,  on 
October  10,  1868,  to  Miss  Julia  Luedecke, 
by  whom  he  had  one  child,  Gustave,  who 
is  engaged  in  business  in  Cleveland,  Ohio. 
The  mot*^  died  September  19,  1871,  at 
Sandusk),  hio,  and  on  September  28, 
1872,  Mr.  N  ^yer  was  again  married,  this 
time  to  Miss  ouisa  Bolte,  who  was  born 
in  Hanjver.  They  have  two  children: 
George,  a  clerk  in  the  German-American 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPniCAL  RECORD. 


373 


Bank  of  Port  Clinton,  in  which  his  father 
is  a  stockholder;  and  Lillie.  Mr.  Meyer 
has  a  fine  fruit  farm  at  Graytown,  this 
State,  on  which  he  raises  quinces,  pears 
and  plums;  he  also  owns  property  in  Port 
Clinton.  In  politics,  he  is  a  Democrat, 
and  in  religious  faith  is  a  member  of  the 
Lutheran  Church;  socially,  he  belongs  to 
the  I.  O.  O.  F.  He  is  a  public-spirited 
citizen,  always  ready  to  aid  any  project 
tending  to  the  welfare  of  his  town  and 
county. 


ANTON  YOUNG,  one  of  the  oldest 
pioneers,  and  also  one  of  the 
prominent  agriculturists  of  Allen 
township,  Ottawa  county,  was 
born  in  Germany,  February  2,  1823, 
near  the  banks  of  the  beautiful  river 
Rhine,  his  parents  being  John  and  Kate 
(Diefenthaler)  Young,  also  natives  of 
Germany. 

The  early  years  of  our  subject  were 
spent  in  school  in  his  native  province,  and 
he  assisted  his  father  on  the  farm  until 
he  was  nineteen  years  of  age.  At  that 
time  he  was  drafted  into  the  army,  being 
required  to  learn  the  science  of  warfare, 
having  to  drill  and  perform  all  military 
duties  and  receiving  a  furlough  every  six 
months.  In  1849,  when  the  revolution 
broke  out  in  his  native  land,  he  was  called 
upon  to  take  up  arms  in  defense  of  the 
government,  and  served  until  peace  was 
restored  in  1850,  when  he  received  his 
discharge.  He  then  returned  home  and 
worked  on  his  father's  farm,  and  also  for 
other  parties  until  1852.  In  March  of 
that  year  he  emigrated  to  this  country, 
and  came  to  Ohio,  locating  in  Toledo, 
where  he  was  married  and  remained  for  a 
short  time.  In  1853,  Mr.  V?yng  came 
to  Allen  township,  then  a  pr  .on  of  Clay 
township,  Ottawa  county,  wJt^rehe  bought 
sixty-five  acres  of  land,,i./ost  of  which 
was  covered  with  timber,  and  t^n  which 
he   built   a   log  cabin.      He  immediately 


began  clearing  his  land,  planting,  as  fast 
as  the  trees  were  removed,  small  patches 
of  corn,  potatoes,  etc.,  with  which  to  sup- 
port his  family.  After  several  j'ears  of 
hard  toil  he  succeeded  in  converting  the 
place  into  a  well-cultivated  farm,  and 
erected  a  commodious  dwelling  house 
with  large  barn  and  other  outbuildings, 
the  property  now  being  considered  among 
the  finest  in  Allen  township.  In  1863 
Mr.  Young  was  drafted  into  the  Union 
army,  but  not  feeling  willing  to  leave  his 
wife  and  young  familj',  he  paid  $300  to 
be  exempted.  He  afterward  had  his 
money  returned  to  him,  as  the  draft  was 
not  a  legal  one.  In  1864  he  was  again 
drafted,  but  did  not  have  to  answer  the 
call.  In  1865,  when  the  last  call  for 
volunteers  was  made,  Mr.  Young  enlisted 
in  the  One  Hundred  and  Eighty-ninth 
Ohio  Infantry,  and  was  sent  to  Nashville, 
Tenn.  It  so  happened  that  he  was  not 
in  any  engagement,  and  on  October  9,  of 
the  same  year,  he  received  his  discharge 
and  returned  home.  Since  that  time  he 
has  lived  upon  his  farm,  where  with  his 
good  wife  he  is  passing  the  evening  of  his 
days  in  peace  and  happiness. 

Mr.  Young  was  married,  January  30, 
1853,  at  Toledo,  to  Mary  Kohler,  daugh- 
ter of  Philip  Kohler,  a  farmer,  who  was 
of  German  birth.  To  this  union  nine 
children  were  born,  of  whom  eight  are 
living,  viz.:  John,  born  July  15,  1855, 
is  a  farmer  in  Allen  township;  he  was 
married  in  June,  1887,  to  Mary,  daughter 
of  Hiram  Overbeck,  a  farmer  of  Wood 
county,  and  they  have  two  children,  Her- 
man, born  September  i,  18S8,  and  Eva 
K.,  born  November  i,  1891.  Christina 
Young  was  born  April  29,  1858,  and  is 
living  at  home  with  her  parents.  George 
J.  was  born  November  2,  i860.  Philip, 
]  February  17,  1863.  Andrew,  May  20, 
1865.  Edwin,  July  20,  1867.  Katie, 
July  I,  1870,  and  Henry,  May  10,  1873. 
All  of  these  were  educated  in  the  public 
schools  of  Allen  township,  and  are  at 
home  with  their  parents.    Mary,  who  was 


374 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


born  February  2,  1854,  died  Jul}-  28  of 
the  same  3'ear. 

John  Young,  the  father  of  our  subject, 
was  born  in  Germany,  where  he  was  a 
farmer.  He  was  married  in  18 19  to  Katie 
Diefenthaler,  and  five  children  have  blessed 
their  union,  viz. :  Philip,  George,  Anton, 
Jacob  (who  is  a  farmer  in  Wood  county, 
this  State)  and  Susan  (who  died  in  Ger- 
many when  a  child).  Philip  Kohler, 
father  of  Mrs.  Young,  was  born  in  Ger- 
many, where  he  was  married,  and  he  be- 
came the  father  of  four  children,  viz. : 
John  Philip,  who  died  in  Toledo;  Bar- 
bara, the  wife  of  John  Young,  of  Toledo; 
Kate,  who  died  when  a  child  in  Germany, 
and  Mary,  the  wife  of  our  subject.  The 
father  died  in  Germany,  and  the  widow 
married  Philip  Diefenthaler,  with  whom 
she  came  to  this  country,  locating  in 
Wood  county,  Ohio.  By  this  second  mar- 
riage a  family  of  four  children  was  born: 
Maggie,  who  died  in  Germany;  Christiana 
M.,  wife  of  John  Bush,  a  farmer  in  Wood 
county;  and  Jacob  and  Anthona,  both  of 
whom  are  farmers  in  Wood  county.  The 
mother  died  in  that  county  in  1864. 

Our  subject  held  the  office  of  school 
director  in  Allen  township  for  several 
years.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and 
the  family  are  members  of  the  Evangel- 
ical Church. 


DANIELV.  FLUMERFELT.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  disclaims 
the  possession  of  any  qualities 
that  entitle  him  to  the  mention 
which  his  friends  believe  should  be  made 
of  him;  yet  it  is  in  no  spirit  of  adulation 
when  we  say  that  his  busy  and  active  life 
is  illustrative  of  the  success  that  attends 
honest,  well-directed  endeavor,  industry 
and  adherence  to  duty.  "Uncle  Dan," 
as  he  is  everywhere  known,  is  one  of  those 
men  to  whom  the  trite  term  "self-made" 
is  appropriately  applied.  Though  lacking 
the  advantages  of  a  higher  education  in 
college,  he  has  absorbed  much  from  those 


valuable  instructors — experience  and  ob- 
servation. 

Those  who  know  Mr.  Flumerfelt  well 
and  intimately  need  no  explanation  about 
him.  To  strangers,  however,  it  is  suffi- 
cient to  say  that  he  has  inherited  from  his 
father  a  great  deal  of  his  looks  and  per- 
sonal appearance,  but  more  so  his  tenacit}' 
and  perseverance.  His  sound  judgment 
and  good  business  capacity  were  shown  in 
many  instances  while  living  in  Seneca 
count}-,  especially  in  the  building  of  the 
"Flumerfelt  bridge,"  which  is  a  fair 
monument  of  his  perseverance  and  sa- 
gacity. As  early  as  1836  he  had  assisted, 
as  carpenter,  in  putting  up  the  frame 
work  of  the  Stem's  and  the  Hedge's  mills, 
near  Green  Spring,  Ohio,  which  were  pat- 
ronized by  pioneer  farmers  for  many  miles 
around.  His  native  pluck  was  shown, 
later,  in  litigation  with  a  railroad  com- 
pany, whose  opposition  he  contested  to 
the  supreme  court,  securing  a  verdict  in 
his  favor  in  each  court  in  which  the  case 
was  tried. 

The  father  of  our  subject,  Cornelius 
Flumerfelt,  was  born  in  New  Jersey  July 
10,  1774,  in  Sussex  county,  and  was 
reared  on  a  farm.  In  1804  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Catharine  Christman.  On  the 
second  day  of  May,  1826,  they  started  for 
Ohio.  It  took  them  four  weeks  to  reach 
Seneca  county.  He  bought  the  west  half 
of  the  southwest  quarter  of  Section  16,  in 
Pleasant  township.  Mr.  Daniel  Rice  had 
a  lease  on  land  from  the  commissioners 
of  Sandusky  county,  which  he  also  bought. 
Mr.  Rice  had  built  a  log  cabin,  and  Mr. 
Flumerfelt  moved  into  that.  Mr.  Flumer- 
felt was  twice  married.  There  were  six 
children  of  the  second  marriage, of  whom 
Daniel  V. ,  our  subject,  was  second,  and 
is  the  only  one  of  them  now  living.  Cor- 
nelius Flumerfelt  was  a  fine  specimen  of 
well-developed  physical  manhood.  He 
was  six  feet  tall,  of  fair  complexion,  had 
blue  eyes,  and  was  very  straight  and  well- 
proportioned.  He  was  of  purely  German 
type,  very  firm  in  his  convictions,  slow  of 


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COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


375 


speech  and  fixed  in  his  habits.  He  voted 
for  every  Democratic  candidate  for  Presi- 
dent after  Washington,  and  always  took 
an  active  part  in  poHtics.  He  was  one  of 
the  positive  men  of  the  country.  His 
word  was  his  bond,  and  to  be  rehed  upon. 
He  was  highly  respected  wherever  he  had 
become  known.  He  died  August  28, 
1 87 1,  at  the  age  of  ninety-seven.  His 
second  wife  died  in  1847. 

D.  V.  Flumerfelt,  our  subject,  was 
born  in  Sussex  (now  Warren)  county, 
near  Danville,  N.  J.,  October  13,  1807. 
He  came  to  Seneca  county,  Ohio,  with 
his  father's  family.  He  married  Miss 
Melinda  Littler,  of  Hardin  county,  Va. . 
October  12, 1837.  This  union  was  blessed 
with  live  sons  and  five  daughters,  of  whom 
one  son  and  three  daughters  have  died. 
Those  living  are:  (i)  Mathilda,  who  mar- 
ried Matthew  T.  Lutz,  a  retired  farmer, 
Ballville  township;  (2)  Ann  Maria,  who 
married  Dennis  Deran,  a  farmer  in  Ball- 
ville township;  (3)  George,  who  married 
Ellen  Cheney,  living  in  Ballville  town- 
ship; (4)  Amos,  who  married  Etta  Crowe, 
and  lives  in  the  State  of  Kansas;  (5) 
Charles,  single,  living  at  Old  Fort,  Sen- 
eca Co.,  Ohio,  an  ex-member  of  the 
Ohio  Legislature;  and  (6)  Abraham,  un- 
married, living  with  parents. 

Our  subject  came  to  Ballville  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  in  the  spring  of 
1884,  and  purchased  his  present  beautiful 
home  near  Sandusky  river.  He  is  the 
owner  of  1,200  acres  of  land.  His  first 
vote  was  for  Andrew  Jackson. 


WILLIAM  CLARK.  A  sketch  of 
the  life  of  this  early  settler  of 
Ottawa  county,  who  bore  such 
a  prominent  part  in  the  affairs 
of  his  community,  and  whose  death  was 
deeply  mourned  by  all  to  whom  his  name 
was  familiar,  is  truly  worthy  a  place  in 
this  volume. 

William   Clark  was  born   in    Devon- 
shire,   England,    August    11,    1827,    and 

24 


was  a  son  of  William  and  Ann 
(Clark)  Clark,  also  natives  of  that 
county,  where  the  father  passed  away. 
Here  the  son  was  educated  and  reared  to 
manhood,  spending  his  time  upon  a  farm 
until  1853,  when  he  immigrated  to 
America,  and  coming  to  Ohio  settled 
in  Danbury  township,  near  Port  Clinton, 
where  he  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits 
for  about  eight  years.  In  1862  Mr. 
Clark  removed  to  what  was  then  Clay 
(now  Allen)  township,  and  from  that 
date  until  his  death,  which  occurred  No- 
vember 29,  1894,  he  was  a  continuous 
resident  of  that  township,  and  held  a 
leading  place  among  its  most  enterpris- 
ing and  progressive  citizens,  giving  his 
support  to  all  projects  tending  to  the  ad- 
vancement and  welfare  of  the  town  and 
county.  He  was  largely  engaged  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits,  in  connection  with  mill- 
ing, the  manufacture  of  lime  and  an  ex- 
tensive mercantile  business.  He  was  also 
postmaster  for  twelve  years.  In  all  these 
various  lines  he  was  conspicuous  for  his 
energy,  untiring  industry,  strict  integrity 
and  faithful  performance  of  his  duties, 
and  having  brought  up  his  children  to  the 
same  commendable  habits  they  are  to- 
day able  to  carry  on  his  large  enterprises 
with  credit  to  themselves  and  honor  to 
the  memory  of  their  father.  Mr.  Clark 
was  married,  in  Lincolnshire,  England, 
December  5,  1852,  to  Susan,  daughter 
of  Robert  and  Ann  (Chapman)  Wilkin- 
son, the  former  of  whom  passed  away 
March  20,  1874,  in  Allen  township,  the 
latter  dying  October  5,  1893,  in  her  na- 
tive land. 

To  the  union  of  our  subject  and  his 
wife  nine  children  were  born,  as  follows: 
Sarah  Ann,  September  8,  1854;  William 
W.,  November  8,  1855;  James  A.,  No- 
vember 8,  1857;  George  P.,  November 
26,  1859;  Charles  E.,  April  i,  1861;  Ira 
A.,  March  2,  1863;  Alice  N.,  March  15, 
1865;  Mary  E. ,  January  2,  1868;  Florence 
A.,  March  2,  1870.  Of  this  family  Sarah 
Ann   died  July   24,    1874.     William   W. 


376 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOOBAPEICAL  RECORB. 


Clark  was  educated  in  the  district  schools 
of  his  native  township,  and  since  his 
early  youth  has  been  connected  with 
his  father's  business  enterprises.  He  is 
a  member  of  Clay  Lodge  No.  584,  I. 
O.  O.  F.,  at  Genoa,  and  also  of  the 
Encampment  at  Elmore,  and  of  the 
Daughters  of  Rebekah.  He  is  a  Re- 
publican politically.  James  A.  Clark  was 
married  December  18,  1891,  to  Miss 
Mary  R.  Richards,  and  resides  at  Clay 
Center;  since  arriving  at  the  years  of 
manhood  he  has  always  given  his  atten- 
tion to  the  duties  pertaining  to  the  home- 
stead farm;  like  his  brothers  he  attended 
the  district  school  in  his  bo}  hood.  George 
F.  Clark  was  married  October  19,  1883, 
to  Nellie  J.  Mclntyre,  and  they  have  two 
children,  Alva  B.,  born  February  15, 
1890,  and  Florence  A.,  born  February 
4,  1S92.  He  received  his  education  in 
the  public  schools  of  Clay  township,  and 
has  always  assisted  in  his  father's  busi- 
ness. He  is  a  member  of  Genoa  Tent 
No.  173,  Knights  of  the  Maccabees. 
Charles  E.  Clark  was  married  Decem- 
ber 23,  1889,  to  Miss  Stella  Ross,  of 
Colorado,  and  has  one  child,  Ira  E., 
born  October  29,  1891.  He  also  re- 
ceived his  education  at  the  home  schools, 
and  was  connected  with  his  father's  busi- 
ness up  to  1887,  when  he  went  to  Colo- 
rado, where  he  now  resides,  engaged  in 
farming  in  Montrose  county.  Ira  A. 
Clark  received  his  early  education  in  the 
district  schools  of  Clay  township  and 
also  spent  the  winters  of  1886  and  1887 
in  the  Normal  School  of  Danville,  Ind. 
He  entered  the  Law  Department  of  Ann 
Arbor  (Mich  )  University  in  1892,  and 
graduated  with  honor  with  the  class  of 
June,  1894.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
of  this  State  in  March,  1894,  and  since 
that  time  has  practiced  in  Toledo,  where 
he  is  meeting  with  flattering  success.  He 
is  a  member  of  Claj'  Lodge  No.  584,  I. 
O.  O.  F.,  at  Genoa,  and  also  of  the 
Toledo  Encampment.  In  politics  he  is 
Republican.       Alice    N.    is    the    wife    of 


Ralph  \V.  Hill,  cashier  of  the  Eiyria 
Savings  Bank.  Mary  E.  resides  at  Clay 
Center.  Florence  A.  was  married  June 
21,  1893,  to  Alva  H.  Mclntyre,  and  resi- 
des in  Toledo. 

During  the  life  of  our  subject  his  large 
business  enterprises  were  conducted  un- 
der his  own  name,  but  since  his  death  a 
stock  company  has  been  formed  consist- 
ing of  all  the  members  of  the  family, 
under  the  title  of  The  Clark  Company, 
of  which  George  F.  Clark  is  president 
and  treasurer,  and  William  W.  Clark  is 
vice-president  and  secretary.  Mr.  Clark 
was  for  several  years  trustee  of  Clay 
township.  He  was  a  member  of  Clay 
Lodge  No.  584,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  also  of  the 
Toledo  Encampment  and  Daughters  of 
Rebekah.  His  widow  lives  at  the  old 
homestead  at  Clay  Center,  Allen  town- 
ship. 


EDWARD  GEORGE  MESSER- 
SMITH,  agent  of  the  Wheeling  & 
Erie  Railway  Company  at  Lime- 
stone, Ottawa  county,  and  one  of 
the  busiest  and  most  enterprising  young 
citizens  of  this  community,  is  well-known 
for  his  personal  activity  in  the  affairs  of 
the  county,  and  also  as  a  member  of  one 
of  the  pioneer  families  of  Benton  town- 
ship, of  which  he  is  a  native. 

Our  subject  was  born  April  30,  1868, 
and  spent  his  boyhood  days  on  his  father's 
farm,  attending  the  district  school  and 
acquiring  a  liberal  education.  He  re- 
mained at  home  until  the  age  of  eighteen, 
when  he  took  up  the  study  of  telegraphy 
with  H.  C.  Fedderson,  of  Limestone  Sta- 
tion, on  the  Wheeling  railroad,  and  in 
six  months  he  had  so  thoroughly  mas- 
tered the  business  that  he  went  to  Hart- 
land,  Huron  county,  and  took  the  po- 
sition of  night  operator  for  the  Wheeling 
railroad.  After  eight  months'  service 
there  he  was  promoted  to  a  larger  field, 
and  the  company  gave  him  the  position  of 
night  operator  at  Orrville,  Wayne  county. 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


377 


a  position  he  held  one  year.  He  was 
next  at  Trowbridge  one  year,  and  thence 
was  removed  to  Limestone,  now  having 
entire  charge  of  the  Company's  business 
at  this  point,  the  freight  business  alone 
amounting  to  some  $8,000  per  year.  In 
addition  to  his  railroad  business  Mr. 
Messersmith  is  also  largely  engaged  in 
business  for  himself,  which  industry  is 
now  assuming  large  proportions  and  is 
steadily  on  the  increase.  Besides  at- 
tending to  all  the  above  mentioned  inter- 
ests, he  has  charge  of  the  old  homestead, 
a  farm  of  120  acres,  where  he  now  lives 
with  his  mother  and  one  sister.  The 
property'  is  owned  by  himself  and  brother 
Charles  Albert;  the  farm  is  rented,  but 
Mr.  Messersmith  has  full  charge  and 
oversight  of  the  business.  Politically 
he  is  a  Democrat,  and  is  a  public-spirited 
citizen,  taking  a  loyal  interest  and  pride 
in  the  welfare  of  his  community. 

Henry  Messersmith,  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  Ottawa 
county,  and  especially  well-known  and 
respected  in  Benton  township,  was  a  na- 
tive of  Prussia,  born  in  1823.  His  par- 
ents were  also  natives  of  Prussia,  the 
father  born  in  1785,  the  mother  about 
1775,  and  the\'  died  at  the  ages  of 
seventy-eight  and  eighty-three  years  re- 
spectively. They  had  a  family  of  nine 
children — four  sons  and  five  daughters. 
When  Henry  was  eight  years  of  age  he 
came  with  his  parents  to  this  country, 
the  famih'  settling  in  the  present  city  of 
Cleveland,  then  a  small  town,  and  there, 
in  the  public  schools,  he  received  his  ed- 
ucation. When  eighteen  he  began  life 
for  himself,  learning  the  cooper's  trade, 
at  which  he  worked  until  1865.  He  then 
came  to  Benton  township,  Ottawa  county, 
a  region  which  at  that  time  was  a  com- 
plete forest,  and  settled  on  Section  22, 
where  he  and  his  brothers  Conrad  and 
Jacob  purchased  500  acres  of  wild  land 
completely  covered  with  timber.  There 
was  not  a  laid-out  road  in  the  township,  the 
only  one  being  a  path  along  the  banks  of 


a  small  stream.  They  at  once  erected  a 
stave  and  heading  factory,  and  in  con- 
nection therewith  a  sawmill,  and  com- 
menced the  work  of  clearing  off  the  tim- 
ber and  making  a  comfortable  home. 
Day  after  day  could  be  heard  the  ring  of 
the  axe  felling  the  timber  for  the  great 
mill  to  convert  into  marketable  form;  the 
hum  of  the  machinery  was  heard  early 
an(l  late;  gradually  the  trees  were  re- 
moved, and  in  a  seemingly  short  period 
of  time  the  500-acre  tract  was  cleared  and 
transformed  into  one  of  the  finest  farms 
in  Ohio.  Jacob  sold  out  to  his  brothers 
about  1868,  up  to  which  time  they  had 
all  worked  together.  In  1849,  at  the 
time  of  the  gold  fever,  Henry  Messersmith 
went  to  the  mines  in  California,  where  he 
remained  eighteen  months,  meeting  with 
very  fair  success. 

In  1870  Mr.  Messersmith  died  at  his 
residence  in  Benton  township,  and  he  was 
deeply  mourned  in  the  community,  for  in 
his  death  the  county,  as  well  as  the  town- 
ship, lost  a  thorough  business  man  and  a 
most  esteemed  citizen.  In  1846  he  had 
married  Miss  Margaret  Anna  Sell,  of 
Cleveland,  and  to  them 
children- 
six  of  whom  are  now  living:  Louisa, 
born  in  1850;  Jacob,  born  in  1852;  Mary, 
born  in  1855;  Henry,  born  in  1863;  Ed- 
ward, born  in  1S68,  and  Charles,  born 
in  1870.  The  daughters  are  both  married, 
Mary  living  at  the  old  home,  and  Louisa 
(Mrs.  Dentzer)  in  Cleveland.  Mrs.  Mar- 
garet Anna  Messersmith  was  born  in  Prus- 
sia in  1833,  and  when  four  years  old 
came  to  this  country  with  her  parents, 
who  settled  in  Cleveland.  Her  opportu- 
nities for  acquiring  an  education  were  very 
poor,  but  her  thirst  for  knowledge  great, 
and  she  has  walked  three  miles  many  a  day 
to  school  that  she  might  in  a  measure 
satisfy  her  longing  for  an  education.  She 
lived  in  her  native  city  until  her  marriage, 
and  came  to  Benton  township  with  her 
husband,  where  she  added  her  efforts  to 
his  in  securing  a  home  and  caring  for  the 


were  born  eight 
-five  sons  and  three  daughters — 


378 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPmCAL  RECORD. 


children  born  to  them,  all  of  whom  have 
now  taken  their  place  among  the  upright 
and  progressive  citizens  of  the  township. 
Mrs.  Messersmith's  parents  were  born  in 
Prussia  about  1 799,  and  had  a  family  of 
six  children — two  sons  and  four  daugh- 
ters. Two  years  after  Mr.  Messersmith's 
death  the  property  was  divided  equally 
between  the  widow  and  Conrad  Messer- 
smith,  and  her  eldest  son  took  charge  of 
the  farm  until  1894,  when  he  sold  out  his 
interests  to  his  brothers  Edward  and 
Charles.  The  old  mill  where  Mr.  Mes- 
sersmith  sawed  the  timber  with  which  he 
paid  for  his  handsome  farm  and  home 
was  afterward  burned. 

In  the  gentleman  whose  name  opens 
this  sketch,  Edward  G.  Messersmith,  we 
have  one  of  the  most  enterprising  young 
men  of  the  times;  but  in  his  parents  we 
have  those  who  helped  to  make  Benton 
township  as  beautiful  as  it  now  is;  they 
were  among  the  early  pioneers  of  the 
county,  and  by  their  industry  and  econ- 
omy carved  out  one  of  the  finest  homes  to 
be  seen  in  the  township  of  Benton,  or  even 
in  Ottawa  county.  "Honor  to  whom 
honor  is  due." 


JH.  F.-\US,  the  popular  and  efficient 
city  clerk  of  Port  Clinton,  Ottawa 
rounty,  is  a  native  of  that  city,  born 
February  22,  1862,  and  has  resided 
there  all  his  life. 

He  is  a  son  of  Thomas  and  Artemesia 
Faus,  the  latter  of  whom  is  a  daughter 
of  Garret  Thorne,  in  his  day  one  of  the 
oldest  residents  of  Ottawa  county,  Ohio, 
having  located  in  Port  Clinton  in  1828, 
before  the  county  was  organized,  and 
there  resided  the  long  period  of  sixty-five 
years,  or  up  to  his  death  which  occurred 
March  6,  1890,  when  he  was  aged  eighty- 
seven  years. 

When  fourteen  years  old  our  subject's 
school  days  closed,  and  he  then  entered 
the  office  of  the  Ottawa  County  iCcxi's  (D. 
J.  Stalter  being  then  proprietor)  to  learn 


the  trade  of  printer.  Here  he  remained 
about  a  year,  at  the  end  of  which  time, 
Mr.  Stalter  having  sold  out  to  George  K. 
Clark,  dur  subject  began  work  in  the 
office  of  the  Otta'wa  County  Reporter,  and 
there  continued  some  three  and  one-half 
years;  but  that  journal  changing  hands, 
he  was  offered,  and  accepted,  the  position 
of  foreman  in  the  Neiiis  office,  which  he 
held  for  fourteen  years,  or  until  August, 
1895.  In  September  following  Mr.  Faus 
purchased  of  E.  H.  Bauman  his  half  in- 
terest in  the  Ottazca  County  Republican, 
and  now  in  partnership  with  A.  G.  Win- 
nie conducts  that  paper  with  well-merited 
success. 

Mr.  Faus  has  alwajs  been  a  Repub- 
lican; was  elected  on  that  ticket  clerk  of 
Portage  township  (in  which  Port  Clinton 
is  now  situated)  four  consecutive  times 
(although  the  township  has  a  Democratic 
majority  of  about  seventy-five),  he  on 
most  occasions  being  the  only  Republican 
elected,  and  being  elected  b)'  majorities 
ranging  from  2  (the  first  time  he  ran)  to 
179 — his  total  term  of  service  as  town- 
ship clerk  being  eight  and  one-half  years. 
In  1980  he  was  elected  city  clerk  of  Port 
Clinton  bj'  eighty  majority  and  was  de- 
feated for  re-election  in  1892  by  a  major- 
ity of  three  in  a  total  of  over  500  votes 
(no  Republican  was  elected  in  the  corpo- 
ration that  year).  In  1894  he  was  again 
elected  city  clerk,  defeating  by  seventy- 
nine  votes  the  same  opponent  who  in 
1 892  had  defeated  him  by  three  votes. 

On  June  16,  1886,  Mr.  Faus  was 
married  to  Miss  Nettie  Doyen,  eldest 
daughter  of  Hubert  and  Ellen  Doyen,  of 
Port  Clinton,  and  they  have  one  child,  a 
bright  little  boy,  named  Alvin  G.  Our 
subject  is  a  member  of  the  United  Breth- 
ren Church;  socially,  he  is  affiliated  with 
the  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  is  a  charter 
member  of  Port  Clinton  Lodge  No.  361. 
It  may  be  truly  said  of  Mr.  Faus  that  he 
is  a  representative  self-made  man,  his 
education  having  been  very  limited, 
mostly  secured   during   his  experience  in 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOOBAPHWAL  RECORD. 


379 


printing  offices.  He  is  well-liked,  and 
highly  spoken  of  among  all  classes  of 
people. 


PAUL  de  la  BARRE,  M.  D.    Among 
the    physicians     of    Port    Clinton 
stands  prominent   this  gentleman, 
who   though  j'et   in   the  ranks  of 
the  comparatively   later  members   of  the 
profession    in    the    county,    has    already 
placed  himself  well  in  the  van. 

He  is  a  native  of  Prussia,  born  of 
French  lineage  November  30,  185 1.  at 
Stargard,  Province  of  Pommern,  son  of 
Earnhardt  and  Louisa  (Rabe)  de  la  Barre, 
the  former  of  whom,  a  watch  manufac- 
turer by  vocation,  died  when  about  fortj- 
five  years  old;  the  latter  is  yet  living. 
They  were  the  parents  of  seven  children, 
Paul  being  the  only  one  to  come  to  the 
United  States.  He  attended  school  in 
his  native  town  till  his  fifteenth  year,  and 
then  entered  upon  a  four-years'  appren- 
ticeship at  pharmacy.  After  passing  his 
examination  as  pharmacist  he  took  a  posi- 
tion in  a  drug  store  in  Frankfott-on-the- 
Main,  but  at  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Franco-Prussian  war,  fired  with  the 
spirit  of  patriotism,  he  enlisted  in  the 
German  army,  October  2,  1870,  as  a  vol- 
unteer in  First  Company,  Thirty-fourth 
Regiment,  Second  Army  Corps,  in  which 
he  served  one  year,  doing  military  duty, 
at  Strasburg,  Vesoul  and  other  places, 
after  which  he  was  honorably  discharged 
October  i,  1871.  He  then  returned  to 
his  former  occupation,  serving  as  clerk  in 
a  drug  store  at  Mecklenburg-Schwerin 
some  live  years,  and  at  Schersleben  about 
eight  months,  after  which  he  managed  a 
drug  store  at  Hamburg  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  three  years.  In  1882  he  emi- 
grated to  America,  and  served  in  a  drug 
store  in  New  York  City  about  three  years, 
after  which  he  moved  to  Cleveland,  Ohio, 
where  he  studied  medicine  in  the  Western 
Reserve  University,  from  which  he  grad- 
uated   in   1S87.      He   then  came  to  and 


opened  an  office  for  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine at  Port  Clinton,  Ohio,  in  which  he 
still  continues,  and  where,  on  account  of 
his  rare  experience  as  a  pharmacist,  his 
ability  to  converse  fluently  in  English, 
French  and  German,  his  faithfulness  to 
his  patients  and  his  genial,  kindly  dis- 
position toward  all,  he  has  secured  a  lib- 
eral patronage.  The  Doctor  has  a  con- 
venient office  and  a  fine  residence  adjacent 
to  the  Court  House  Park.  A  year  or  two 
since  he  purchased  an  orange  grove  in 
Florida,  where  he  spends  a  portion  of 
each  year. 

On  May  15,  1876,  at  Mecklenburg- 
Schwerin,  Germany,  Dr.  de  la  Barre 
was  married  to  Helene  Bohndorff,  daugh- 
ter of  an  artist,  and  their  children  are: 
Marguerite,  born  February  26,  1877;  An- 
na, born  June  26,  1878,  and  Elizabeth, 
born  January  2,  1881.  In  his  political 
preferences  the  Doctor  is  a  Democrat, 
and  for  the  past  few  years  he  has  been  a 
member  of  the  board  of  education  of  Port 
Clinton;  socially,  he  is  affiliated  with  the 
I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  F.  &  A.  M.  He  and  his 
estimable  wife  enjoy  the  esteem  and  re- 
gard of  a  wide  circle  of  friends  and  ac- 
quaintances. 


REV.  SAMUEL  T.  LANE,  retired 
minister  of  the  U.  B.  Church, 
and  formerly  a  pioneer  itinerant 
preacher  in  Sandusky  and  Ottawa 
counties,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Candor, 
Tioga  Co.,  N.  Y.,  April  15,  1815,  a  son 
of  James  and  Jane  (Colter)  Lane,  who 
lived  on  a  farm  where  he  for  several  years 
operated  a  sawmill.  Mrs.  Lane  b}'  a 
former  marriage  with  Samuel  Taylor  (de- 
ceased) had  two  children,  one  of  whom 
passed  away  in  childhood,  and  the  other 
grew  to  maturity,  reared  a  family  and 
died  near  the  homestead.  James  Lane 
died  in  Tioga  county,  N.  Y. ,  about  the 
year  1875.  The  children  of  James  and 
Jane  Lane  were:  Samuel  T. ,  Nancy 
Ann,    Eliza,    Rachel.     Charles,    Lindley 


38C 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Aaron,  and  Catharine.  Of  these  Nancy 
Ann  married  John  Vandemark,  lived  in 
Candor,  then  moved  to  Michigan,  near 
Ann  Arbor,  where  she  died  leaving  two 
children;  Eliza  married  Albert  Barton,  of 
Tioga  county,  where  they  still  reside,  and 
have  one  son  living;  Rachel  married  a 
Mr.  Goodrich,  lives  in  Oswego,  N.  Y. , 
and  has  four  children;  Charles  married 
and  had  a  family  near  the  old  homestead; 
Lindley  Aaron  married,  lives  near  the 
same  place,  and  has  two  children;  Cath- 
arine married  a  Mr.  Burton,  and  they 
live  near  Chenang  Point,  New  York. 

The  subject  proper  of  these  lines  was 
raised  to  hard  work  in  a  sawmill  and  on 
a  farm,  and  in  his  boyhood  began  to 
serve  a  three-years'  apprenticeship  to  the 
blacksmith  trade,  then  after  completing 
his  term  worked  about  three  years  longer 
at  the  same  place.  He  received  only 
three  months'  schooling,  with  which  as  a 
starting  point  he  went  on  acquiring 
knowledge  by  himself  in  his  spare  mo- 
ments, often  reading  books  and  papers  by 
the  dim  light  of  a  tallow-dip  candle  or  a 
slut-lamp  hanging  in  the  chimney  corner 
of  a  log  cabin,  or  by  the  flickering  light  of 
a  shell-bark  hickory  torch  in  the  woods, 
until  he  found  himself  capable  to  teach  a 
country  school.  About  this  time  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Julia  McDonald,  by  whom  he 
had  one  child;  but  about  two  years  later 
this  wife  died,  and  a  year  afterward  he 
married  Miss  Lydia  Ann  Schoonover,  of 
Tioga  county,  N.  Y.  He  then  moved  to 
Mexico,  Wyandot  county,  where  he  oper- 
ated a  sawmill  and  remained  until  his 
second  wife  died.  While  living  here  he 
received  exhorting  license  from  the  Nf.  E. 
Church,  and  not  long  afterward  was 
given  a  call  to  supply  preaching  on  a 
large  circuit  which  included  Port  Clinton, 
Danbury,  Lakeside,  and  the  country 
seven  miles  up  the  Portage  river,  embrac- 
ing twenty-two  different  appointments, 
mostly  at  school-houses  or  log  cabin 
dwellings,  and  requiring  one  hundred 
miles   travel   to  make    one   round   every 


three  weeks.  He  attended  the  first 
quarterly  meeting  in  1850  at  Lower 
Sandusky,  where  Kev.  Beatty,  his  col- 
league, was  stationed.  Mr.  Lane  travel- 
ed mostly  on  horseback,  carrying  his 
Bible  and  hymn  books  in  a  leather  saddle- 
bag. In  1 85 1  he  located  at  Lacarne, 
Ottawa  county,  and  at  Port  Clinton  was 
married  to  Miss  Mary  G.  King,  February 
27,  1851.  While  living  here  he  superin- 
tended the  grading  of  the  Northern  Divi- 
sion of  the  L.  S.  &  M.  S.  R.  R. ,  for  three 
miles  west  of  the  Portage  river,  and  a 
year  later  put  in  the  culverts  and  cattle- 
guards  between  Lacarne  and  Oak  Har- 
bor, being  in  the  employ  of  the  railroad 
company  about  two  years.  Four  years 
after  preaching  for  the  M.  E.  Church  he, 
in  1856,  joined  the  U.  B.  Church,  at  Flat 
Rock,  Ohio,  and  served  as  itinerant 
preacher  nearlj' thirty  years,  oruntil  1885, 
when,  at  the  age  of  seventy  he  was  super- 
annuated. His  last  circuit  was  at  Rising- 
sun,  Wood  county,  his  present  home. 

Rev.  S.  T.  Lane's  children  by  his  last 
wife  were:  Sarah,  L}dia  Ann,  Sylvester 
L. ,  Samuel  T. ,  Nancy,  Mary  and  Eva  E. ; 
of  these  Sarah  married  James  Kleinhans, 
lives  at  Waterville,  Lucas  Co.,  Ohio,  and 
has  five  children;  Lydia  Ann  married  John 
Otten,  lives  at  Deerfield,  Mich.,  and  has 
five  children;  S3'lvester  L. ,  unmarried,  is 
a  publisher,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. ;  Samuel 
T.  married  Ada  Nowlan,  is  clerk  at  the 
"  Arlington  House,"  Findlay,Ohio;  Nancy 
married  Charles  K.  Beech,  lives  at  Find- 
lay,  Ohio,  and  has  two  children;  Eva  E., 
married  to  Harry  C.  Hollinshead,  a  sketch 
of  whom  follows: 

Harry  C.  Hollinshead,  of  the  firm 
of  Bense  &  Hollinshead,  wholesale  and 
retail  fish  dealers.  Port  Clinton,  and  one 
of  the  leading  business  men  of  the  city,  is 
a  native  of  same,  born  November/,  1862, 
a  son  of  Robert  M.  and  Lucy  (Dickens) 
Hollinshead. 

The  father  of  Harry  C.  was  born  in  Ot- 
tawa county,  Ohio,  where  he  was  reared, 
educated    and    married.       He    served   as 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGBAPniCAL  RECORD. 


381 


auditor  and  recorder  of  the  county  for 
some  seventeen  years,  at  the  end  of  which 
time  he  embarked  in  the  wholesale  fish 
business  with  R.  Bell  &  Co.,  at  Port 
Clinton.  In  i88S  he  sold  out  his  interest 
in  this  industry,  and  moved  to  Toledo. 
His  wife  died  in  i88i  at  the  ag^e  of  thirty- 
eight  years,  the  mother  of  six  children 
who  grew  to  maturity,  namely:  Cora, 
wife  of  Albert  B.  Orth,  of  Port  Clinton; 
Harry  C,  of  whom  we  write;  Lester, 
assisting  his  brother  in  the  fish  business, 
unmarried;  Clara,  wife  of  John  Rohr- 
bacher,  of  Port  Clinton;  May;  and  Eva, 
married  to  Matthew  Hilsenbeck,  and  living 
in  Toledo,  Ohio. 

Harry  C.  Hollinshead  received  his  lit- 
erary education  at  the  common  schools  of 
Port  Clinton,  after  which  he  attended  the 
Spencerian  Business  College,  Cleveland, 
graduating  from  there  in  1886.  He  then 
accepted  the  position  of  bookkeeper  for 
George  E.  St.  John,  at  Port  Clinton,  sub- 
sequently, in  1 89 1,  becoming  a  member 
of  the  firm  of  Dense,  Hanlon  &  Co.,  fish 
dealers,  the  name  of  the  firm  being 
changed  to  Bense,  Hollinshead  &  Co., 
in  1893. 

On  June  20,  1890,  Mr.  Hollinshead 
was  married  at  Findlay,  Ohio,  to  Miss 
Eva  E.Lane,  and  one  child,  Robert  Lind- 
ley,  was  born  to  them  October  2,  1893. 
In  his  political  preferences  Mr.  Hollins- 
head is  a  Democrat;  socially,  he  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  I.  O.  O.  F. 


HERMAN  H.  MYLANDER,  county 
treasurer  of  Ottawa    county,   by 
virtue    of    his    long   residence   at 
Oak  Harbor,  and  high  position  in 
society,   is  well   worthy    of    a  prominent 
place  in  the  pages  of  this  volume. 

A  Prussian  by  birth,  he  was  born  in 
the  town  of  Menden,  Westphalia,  Novem- 
ber 8,  1839,  a  son  of  Henry  C.  and  Eliza- 
beth (Kelling)  Mylander,  both  also  natives 
of  Prussia.  In  1854  they  emigrated  to 
the  United  States,  with  a  small  party  of 


German  colonists,  locating  in  Ottawa, 
Ohio,  where  the  father  died  in  1880,  the 
mother  in  1883.  They  had  eleven  chil- 
dren, all  born  in  Germany,  four  of  whom 
survive,  viz. :  Frederick,  residing  in  Oak 
Harbor;  Herman  H.,  subject  of  this 
sketch;  John  H.,  residing  in  West  Dover, 
Ohio,  and  William  H.,  of  Oak  Harbor. 

Our  subject,  as  will  be  seen,  was  a 
fourteen-year-old  boy  when  he  came  to 
this  country,  and  as  a  consequence  his 
education  was  for  the  most  part  received 
in  his  native  land.  About  a  couple  of 
years  he  spent  at  Toledo  and  Woodville, 
Ohio,  as  an  apprentice  to  the  mercantile 
business,  at  a  salary  of  four  dollars  per 
month;  but  in  1857  he  returned  to  Oak 
Harbor  and  commenced  business  on  his 
own  account,  since  which  time,  now  a 
period  of  some  forty  years,  he  has  been 
continuously  identified  with  Salem  town- 
ship and  Oak  Harbor,  and  their  de\-elop- 
ment.  In  the  year  last  named  he  estab- 
lished the  first  general  store  in  Oak  Har- 
bor, at  that  time  a  mere  village,  known 
as  "  Hartford,"  and  in  connection  with 
this  business  he  has  also  been  largely  in- 
terested and  extensively  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  staves  and  headings,  hav- 
ing a  factory  at  Oak  Harbor.  During 
these  forty  years  Mr.  Mylander's  line  has 
been  devoted  to  an  industrious  and  ener- 
getic business  career,  and  every  dollar  he 
has  accumulated  has  been  invested  and 
expended  in  the  building  up  and  develop- 
ment of  his  town  and  township.  There 
is  not  a  Church  in  Salem  township  that 
has  not  been  benefited  by  contributions 
from  Mr.  Mylander,  and  to  every  public 
enterprise  of  moment  he  has  always  been 
a  liberal  subscriber. 

On  July  22  1859,  our  subject  was 
married,  at  Oak  Harbor,  to  Miss  Sarah 
Troutman,  daughter  of  John  and  Eliza- 
beth (Heilbach)  Troutman,  and  born  in 
Tuscarora,  Schuykill  Co.,  Penn.,  Decem- 
ber 23,  1 841;  she  came  to  Ottawa  county, 
in  1855,  with  her  parents.  This  union 
has  been  blessed  with  four  sons  and  two 


382 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


daughters,  as  follows:  Henry  C,  born 
May  22,  i860,  a  prominent  hardware 
merchant  of  Oak  Harbor;  William  H., 
born  May  28,  1861,  a  manufacturer  of 
cooperage  stock,  and  having  charge  of  his 
father's  business  in  Sandusky,  Lindsay 
and  North  Creek;  Franklin  E.,  born  May 
19,  1863,  died  June  13,  1864;  Mary  A., 
born  November  21,  1864,  wife  of  W. 
Harmon,  deputy  county  treasurer;  George 
C,  bookkeeper  in  his  father's  store  at  Oak 
Harbor,  born  March  27,  1869,  and  Em- 
ma B.,  born  February  16,  1872,  for  some 
time  a  teacher  in  Ottawa  county. 

A  Republican  in  politics,  Mr.  M^-land- 
er  has  never  been  an  office-seeker;  but  in 
1894,  without  any  solicitation  on  his  part, 
he  was  nominated,  b}'  his  part)',  as  a 
candidate  for  county  treasurer,  and  on 
November  6  of  that  year  was  elected  to 
that  honorable  position,  one  that  he  fills 
with  characteristic  ability  and  fidelity. 
For  twelve  years  he  served  as  councillor 
of  Oak  Harbor,  and  for  eight  years  was 
school  director,  also  filling  the  position 
of  school  treasurer  for  the  same  length  of 
time.  He  is  a  man  of  more  than  ordi- 
nary business  qualifications,  to-day  ranking 
among  the  solid  men  of  Ottawa  county, 
and  enjoying  an  enviable  and  well-mer- 
ited popularit}'.  He  is  also  highly  re- 
spected in  the  community  for  his  moral 
worth,  and  many  unassuming  charitable 
deeds. 


CHARLES  I.  YORK.  This  well- 
known  attorney  at  law,  who  en- 
joys an  honorable  and  lucrative 
practice  in  his  chosen  profession, 
is  holding  an  enviable  place  in  the  front 
rank  of  that  distinguished  array  of  talent 
which  constitutes  the  bar  of  Ottawa 
county. 

He  is  a  native  of  Ohio,  born  in  Green- 
wich township,  Huron  county,  February 
18,  1856.  When  he  was  an  infant  of 
two  months  his  parents,  Stephen  and 
Hannah   York,    moved   to  the    adjoining 


township  of  Ruggles,  in  Ashland  county, 
where  for  some  thirty  years  they  resided, 
at  the  end  of  that  time  returning  to 
Greenwich  township,  and  finall}'  settling 
in  the  village  of  that  name.  Here  the 
father  died  September  3,  1888,  the 
mother  on  Octolaer  7,  1892,  leaving  one 
son  and  four  daughters,  as  follows: 
Charles  I.,  Mrs.  Harriet  Washburn, 
Mrs.  Cornelia  Wright  and  Mrs.  LenaSton- 
er,  of  Greenwich,  Ohio;  and  Mrs.  Avetta 
MaCumber,  of  Lorain,  Ohio.  The  par- 
ents and  all  the  grandparents  were  born 
in  the  State  of  New  York,  while  the  great- 
grandparents  were  of  Irish,  German  and 
French  nativity. 

When  four  years  old  our  subject  com- 
menced attending  district  school  near  his 
Ashland  county  home,  his  first  teacher 
being  Alvin  Griffin,  who  is  now,  and  has 
been  for  the  past  thirty  years  or  so,  a 
practicing  attorney  at  law  at  Norwalk, 
Ohio.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  young 
Charles  entered  a  private  school  in  the 
same  vicinity,  which  he  attended  two 
years,  and  in  November,  1873,  at  the  ear- 
ly age  of  seventeen,  he  commenced  teach- 
ing country  school,  the  first  step  toward 
beginning  life  for  himself.  During  the 
springs  and  summers  of  1874  and  three 
consecutive  years  Mr.  York  was  engaged 
by  the  month  on  a  farm,  shearing  sheep, 
and  in  other  occupations,  at  intervals, 
when  out  of  work,  canvassing  for  the  sale 
of  books,  at  the  same  time  attending  pri- 
vate schools  in  the  fall,  his  winters  being 
occupied  in  teaching.  In  1878  he  taught 
select  schools,  his  chief  duties  being  to 
prepare  the  student  for  the  profession  of 
school  teaching.  In  1879,  1880,  and  up 
to  the  fall  of  1881  he  was  engaged  as 
traveling  salesman  for  a  church,  school 
and  hall  furniture  industry,  teaching 
school  in  the  winter  of  1879-80.  In  the 
fall  of  1881  he  entered  the  Law  Depart- 
ment of  Michigan  University,  Ann  Arbor, 
Mich.,  where,  on  March  28,  1883,  he  re- 
ceived the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws. 
During  vacation  in  his  course,  and  after 


1 

*> 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


383 


graduation,  he  continued,  until  the  fail  of 
1883,  his  former  occupation  of  traveling 
salesman.  On  February  8,  1883,  he  was 
admitted  to  practice  law  in  the  State  of 
Michigan,  and  on  June  5,  1883,  while  at 
Columbus,  Ohio,  on  business  for  the  firm 
he  was  traveling  for  he  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  by  the  supreme  court  of  Ohio, 
and  has  since  been  admitted  to  practice 
in  the  United  States  courts.  In  the  fall 
of  1883  he  entered  the  law  office  of  H.  C. 
Carhart,  at  Gallon,  Ohio,  there  making 
his  debut  into  the  arena  of  law;  but  he 
remained  there  only  two  weeks,  for  dur- 
ing the  afternoon  of  December  2,  he  be- 
gan to  take  into  favorable  consideration 
the  condition  of  affairs  in  Oak  Harbor, 
Ottawa  county,  which  he  had  frequently 
visited  in  his  traveling  days,  and  the  re- 
sult of  his  cogitations  was  that  on  the 
following  da}'  he  found  himself  located  in 
that  thriving  town  and  engaged  in  the 
trial  of  a  case  before  the  mayor  thereof. 
Here  he  remained  in  the  practice  of  his 
chosen  profession  until  July  4,  1892,  at 
whicii  date  he  removed  to  Port  Clinton, 
the  county  seat  of  Ottawa  county,  where 
he  has  continued  to  reside. 

On  October  18,  1S87,  at  his  own 
home  in  Oak  Harbor,  which  had  been 
suitably  prepared  for  a  life  of  domes- 
ticity, Mr.  York  was  married  to  Miss 
Anna  Wilt,  of  that  village,  and  they  par- 
took of  their  marriage  supper  at  their  own 
table.  Socially  our  subject  is  a  member 
in  good  standing  of  the  F.  &  A.  M.,  the 
I.  O.  O.  F.  and  the  K.  of  P.  Lodges.  He 
believes  that  men  become  characterised 
to,  and  a  reflex  of,  the  objects  which 
they  worship,  and  holds  that  man's  su- 
preme duty  is  to  worship  God,  by  reason 
of  his  relation  with  his  Creator,  as  it  be- 
comes revealed  to  him,  through  the  Sacred 
Scriptures,  human  reason  and  natural 
laws,  that  he  might  become  a  susceptible 
character  to  reflect  sunshine  and  happi- 
ness in  his  home,  in  the  fraternities  of 
men  and  the  society  of  the  world,  and  be- 
come so  spiritually  related  to  his  Creator 


as  to  be  enabled  to  await  in  perfect  peace, 
consolation  and  faith  the  eternal  destiny 
of  the  immortal  soul. 

At  the  November  election,  in  1888, 
Mr.  York  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney 
of  Ottawa  county,  on  the  Democratic 
ticket,  and  at  the  November  election  in 
1 89 1  he  was  re-elected  on  the  same 
ticket,  holding  that  office  for  two  terms, 
beginning  on  the  first  Monday  of  January, 
1889,  and  ending  on  the  first  Monday  of 
January,  1895.  He  is  possessed  of  ex- 
cellent judgment,  gifted  with  enviable  skill 
in  handling  a  case,  and  forcible  in  his  ar- 
guments before  a  jury,  while  he  is  re- 
garded as  a  useful  local  counselor  and  of- 
fice lawyer,  critical  and  accurate  in  the 
adjustment  and  preparation  of  cases. 
Genial  and  popular,  no  man  stands  higher 
in  the  estimation  of  the  people  of  the 
county,  and  his  present  leading  position, 
both  as  a  man  and  as  a  lawyer,  is  a  con- 
clusive proof  of  what  pluck,  ambition  and 
honest  endeavor  will  accomplish. 


GEORGE  M.  RUDES,  the  pro- 
prietor of  Maple  Grove  farm. 
Clay  township,  Ottawa  county, 
is  one  of  the  oldest  of  the  pioneers, 
and  a  prominent  agriculturist  and  manu- 
facturer of  that  township.  He  has  watched 
the  progress  of  the  country  from  a  state 
of  nature,  a  wilderness  of  forest  trees  and 
underbrush,  inhabited  by  wild  animals,  to 
its  present  proud  position  in  the  State, 
with  fertile  fields  and  comfortable  homes, 
and  feels  that  to  his  strong  right  arm  is 
due  in  a  measure  the  prosperity  and  beauty 
of  this  favored  section. 

Mr.  Rudes  was  born  in  Genesee  coun- 
ty, N.  Y. ,  February  4,  1827,  a  son  of 
Ephraim  and  Hannah  (Hudson)  Rudes, 
also  natives  of  that  State,  born  of  English 
and  Welsh  descent.  They  removed  to 
Ohio  when  their  son  George  was  but  eight 
years  old,  making  the  long  journey  in  a 
wagon,  drawn  by  horses,  and  located  in 
Medina  county.    Here  our  subject  attend- 


384 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


ed  the  common  and  high  schools,  and  then 
served  an  apprenticeship  at  the  carpenter 
and  joiner's  trade,  at  which  he  worked  for 
several  years.  He  then  went  to  Huron 
county,  going  into  the  hotel  business, 
which  he  carried  on  some  three  years; 
but,  tiring  of  this,  he  purchased  a  farm  in 
that  county,  which  he  worked  for  five 
3'ears.  He  then  sold  out  and  came  to 
Ottawa  county,  settling  in  Clay  township, 
where  he  began  manufacturing  lumber. 
With  keen  foresight  and  good  business 
tact,  he  purchased  eighty  acres  of  timber 
land  and  a  sawmill  and  went  to  work,  cut- 
ting down  the  trees,  often  standing  knee 
deep  in  water.  He  sawed  the  logs,  mak- 
ing them  into  lumber,  for  which  he  found 
a  ready  sale,  and  in  the  course  of  the 
twelve  years  in  which  he  carried  on  oper- 
ations used  all  the  timber  on  his  own  and 
the  neighboring  farms.  A  part  of  this 
timber  covered  what  is  known  as  -'Middle 
Ground,"  in  the  city  of  Toledo.  In  ad- 
dition to  the  manufacture  of  lumber,  Mr. 
Rudes  devoted  every  spare  moment  to  the 
improvement  of  his  farm,  and  succeeded 
in  bringing  it  to  a  high  state  of  cultiva- 
tion. He  sawed  and  dried  the  lumber 
used  in  the  construction  of  his  dwelling 
and  barns,  which  he  built  himself,  in  a 
picturesque  spot,  and  which  for  beauty 
and  design  can  not  be  surpassed  in  Clay 
township.  He  made  many  other  improve- 
ments upon  his  land,  and  has  to-day  a 
valuable  piece  of  property.  In  1866  Mr. 
Rudes  sold  out  his  sawmill,  and  attended 
strictly  to  his  farming  operations.  In  1873 
he  bought  a  sawmill  in  Genoa,  adding 
thereto  a  planing-mill,  and  for  ten  years 
lived  in  Genoa,  buying  also  eighty  acres 
of  timber  land  in  the  vicinity  of  his  farm. 
The  mill  is  still  in  operation,  employing  a 
number  of  men,  and  is  successfully  con- 
ducted by  his  son,  Heselton  F. ,  who  thor- 
oughly understands  the  business. 

Our  subject  was  married  November  9, 
185 1,  to  Miss  Louisa  J.  Ba.xter,  and  to 
them  eight  children  have  been  born  (two 
of  whom  are   deceased),  a  brief  record  of 


them  being  as  follows:  (i)  Heselton  F. , 
born  September  10,  1853,  attended  the 
schools  of  Genoa,  and  was  married  April 
25,  1878,  to  Miss  Fanny  Butheway;  they 
have  had  three  children — Guy,  born  July 
14,  1878,  died  in  1892;  Lester,  born  in 
1887;  and  \'erne,  born  in  September, 
1891 ;  they  reside  in  Genoa,  where  he  has 
charge  of  his  father's  mill.  (2)  Bribner 
H.,  born  September  15,  1854,  in  Huron 
county,  received  his  education  at  Genoa; 
he  is  unmarried,  resides  with  his  parents, 
and  is  interested  in  the  business  of  grain 
threshing  and  well  drilling.  (3)  Carlos 
A.,  born  July  21,  1857,  in  Clay  township, 
attended  the  schools  in  Genoa,  and  was 
married  December  9.  1879,  to  Miss  Lillie 
Hatch,  daughter  of  Charles  Hatch,  of 
Hancock  county;  they  have  had  five  chil- 
dren— Ercell,  Harry,  Earl  (deceased), 
Merrill  and  Gail.  (4)  Amy,  born  De- 
cember 25,  1867,  died  July  27,  1875.  (5) 
George  A.,  born  September  30,  1862,  in 
Cla\-  township,  was  educated  in  Genoa; 
he  carries  on  well  drilling  and  threshing; 
he  was  married  in  Genoa,  December  12, 
1880,  to  Miss  Avis,  daughter  of  Austin 
Tuttle,  and  seven  children  have  been 
born  to  them — Albert  M.,  Alice  L. , 
Florence,  Metta,  Howard,  Emery,  and 
Inez.  (6)  Minnie  M.,  born  September 
I.  1864,  is  single  and  resides  with  her 
parents.  (7)  Roy  C,  born  May  10, 
1874,  is  what  might  be  termed  a  born 
machinist;  he  is  entirely  self-taught, 
but  seems  to  have  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  all  kinds  of  machines;  he  tried  farming 
for  a  while,  but  is  now  agent  for  a  thresh- 
ing-machine manufacturing  company;  he 
is  single  and  lives  with  his  parents.  (8) 
Metta,  born  August  i,  1876,  died  July  24, 

1877- 

Ephraim  Rudes,  the  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, was  born  in  the  State  of  New  York, 
in  1800,  and  followed  the  occupation  of  a 
farmer.  He  was  married  in  1821  to  Miss 
Hannah  Hudson,  who  was  born  in  the 
same  State,  July  16,  1803,  and  their 
family  consisted  of  seven  children  as  fol- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQBAPUICAL  RECORD. 


385 


lows:  Sarah  A.,  Amy  and  Abel  (twins), 
Georpe  M.,  Clarinda,  Allen  H.  and  Luc}-. 
The  father  died  in  1846,  and  the  mother 
in  1890.  The  wife  of  our  subject  was 
born  July  20,  1832,  in  the  State  of  New 
York,  and  was  one  of  thirteen  children 
born  to  her  parents.  She  is  suffering 
from  the  effects  of  a  stroke  of  paralysis, 
which  prevents  her  from  performing 
household  duties,  although  her  mind  is 
clear  and  active,  and  she  converses  with 
ease  and  intelHgence.  She  and  her  hus- 
band, who  is  a  very  quiet  and  unassum- 
ing man,  have  many  interesting  incidents 
to  tell  of  the  early  day  in  the  settlement 
of  this  State,  when  they  were  surrounded 
by  dense  forests,  when  neighbors  were 
few  and  far  between,  and  when  none  of 
the  comforts  and  conveniences  of  civiliza- 
tion were  at  hand.  Now  they  are  enjoy- 
ing the  results  of  their  early  toil  and  hard- 
ships, and  the  evening  of  their  useful  and 
busy  lives  finds  them  contented  and  happy. 
Mr.  Rudes  has  always  deeply  regretted 
his  inability  to  take  part  in  the  war  for 
the  defense  of  the  stars  and  stripes,  in 
1861-65,  owing  to  chronic  rheumatism, 
contracted  when  a  boy  and  added  to 
when  clearing  his  land  and  preparing  his 
lumber  for  his  mill,  the  ground  being  very 
wet  and  marshy.  He  has  been  a  great 
sufferer  from  this  disease,  although  always 
a  busy  man.  Mr.  Rudes  has  held  the 
office  of  supervisor  for  ten  years,  and  has 
been  school  director  for  the  same  length 
of  time.  He  is  a  stanch  Republican,  go- 
ing into  the  ranks  of  that  party  on  its 
formation.  He  believes  in  principles  not 
men,  and  has  never  been  an  office-seeker. 
His  first  Presidential  vote  was  cast  for 
Zachary  Taylor,  who  was  the  Whig 
candidate. 


GEORGE  GOSLINE,    editor    and 
publisher  of  the  bright  and  influ- 
ential   journal    of     Oak    Harbor 
called     T/ic    Press,   was  born    in 
Canton,  Bradford    Co.,    Penn.,  April  22, 


1852,  and  is  a  son  of  William  and  Lo- 
rina  S.  (Fowler)  Gosline.  The  father 
was  born  in  Sussex  Vale,  Kings  Co.,  New 
Brunswick,  Canada,  April  10,  1813,  and 
died  January  8,  1879.  The  mother  was 
born  at  Lubeck,  Me.,  July  6,  1818,  and 
died  at  Canton,  Bradford  Co.,  Penn., 
May  23,  1854.  In  their  family  were 
eight  children,  five  of  whom  survive  at 
the  time  of  this  writing  in  the  summer 
of  1895:  Thomas,  who  is  living  in  Will- 
amsport,  Penn. ;  James,  a  resident  of 
Philadelphia,  Penn. ;  Mary,  wife  of 
George  P.  Russell,  of  Lancaster,  Penn. ; 
Edward,  whose  home  is  in  Carnegie;  and 
George,  the  subject  of  this  review. 

The  last  named  spent  the  days  of  his 
boyhood  in  Williamsport,  Penn.,  and  ac- 
quired his  education  in  the  public  schools 
of  that  city.  On  leaving  the  school 
room  he  began  serving  an  appenticeship 
to  the  pririter's  trade,  and  in  1867  re- 
moved to  Marshall,  Mo.,  whither  his 
parents  had  gone  the  previous  year.  In 
1870,  after  working  in  a  printing  office  in 
Marshall  for  three  years,  he  went  to  Glas- 
gow, Howard  Co.,  Mo.,  where  he  worked 
at  his  trade  for  a  year.  In  1871  he 
moved  to  Topeka,  Kans.,  where  he  also 
spent  a  year,  and  in  1872  became  a  resi- 
dent of  Huntsville,  Randolph  Co.,  Mo., 
but  after  six  months  he  went  to  St.  Louis, 
Mo.  His  residence  there  was  of  only 
three  months  duration,  and  in  January, 
1874,  he  went  to  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  and 
a  month  later  to  Sandusky,  Ohio.  After 
a  brief  sojourn  in  the  last  named  city, 
he  went  to  Port  Clinton,  Ohio,  whence, 
in  1875,  he  came  to  Oak  Harbor,  of 
which  place  he  has  since  been  one  of  the 
honored  and  respected  citizens. 

Immediately  after  his  arrival  here,  Mr. 
Gosline  began  the  publication  of  T/ie 
Press,  to  which  he  has  since  gv 
close  personal  attention.  The  journal 
has  always  been  devoted  to  the  interests 
and  advancement  of  the  welfare  of  Otta- 
wa county  and  vicinity,  without  regard 
to  politics.      It  is  well  edited  and  printed, 


386 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


and  enjoys  a  large  advertising  patronage 
as  well  as  an  extensi%^e  circulation.  The 
office  is  equipped  with  job  and  cylinder 
presses,  steam  power  is  used,  and  alto- 
gether the  paper  reflects  great  credit  on 
its  enterprising  editor  and  publisher.  Mr. 
Gosline  ranks  among  the  leading  men  of 
the  county,  and  in  his  relations  to  the 
people  as  a  newspaper  man  and  citizen  is 
recognized  as  one  who  has  contributed 
largely  to  the  material  and  social  advance- 
ment of  Ottawa  county  and  tributary  dis- 
trict. 

On  July  15,  1876,  at  Toledo,  Ohio, 
was  celebrated  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Gos- 
line and  Miss  Cora  Gates,  who  was  born 
at  Gates  Mills,  Ohio,  October  9,  1857, 
daughter  of  Henry  and  Eunice  (Cornwell) 
Gates.  Their  union  has  been  blessed 
with  three  children,  namely:  Georgia  and 
Robert  (twins),  born  May  9,  1877,  the 
former  of  whom  died  October  5,  1879, 
while  the  latter  was  for  some  time  suc- 
cessfully engaged  in  schoolteaching  in 
Salem  township,  Ottawa  county,  and  is 
now  studying  law  in  the  Ohio  State 
University;  and  Ella  Gertrude,  born  May 
21,  I  890.  The  family  is  widely  and  favor- 
ably known  in  this  localitj',  and  its  mem- 
bers hold  an  enviable  position  in  social 
circles,  while  Mr.  Gosline  is  recognized  as 
one  of  the  most  prominent  and  influential 
citizens  of  the  countv. 


JAMES  H.  KKAEMER,  probate  judge 
of  Ottawa  county,  with  residence  at 
Oak   Harbor,    is    a    native    of    the 
county,  born  near  Oak  Harbor  March 
18,  1845,  a  son  of    Adolphus   and  Eliza 
(Wea\er)  Kraemer. 

The  father  of  our  subject  was  a  native 
of  Hanover,  Germany,  where  he  studied 
medicine  and  civil  engineering,  and  sub- 
sequently practiced  medicine.  About  the 
year  1830  he  came  to  the  United  States, 
making  his  first  American  home  at  Lan- 
caster, Ohio,  there  practicing  medicine, 
and  in  1832  marrying  Miss  Eliza  Weaver. 


pro- 
was 
and 
was 


In  1833  he  removed  to  Sandusk}'  City; 
later  to  Toledo,  Ohio,  engaging  there  in 
mercantile  business,  and  in  1834  he  came 
to  Oak  Harbor,  where  in  1850  he  was 
elected  surveyor  of  Ottawa  county,  which 
office  he  held  six  years.  While  serving  as 
surveyor  he  began  the  study  of  law,  and 
in  1856  was  elected  to  the  office  of 
bate  judge,  which  he  held  six  years; 
next  elected  prosecuting  attorney, 
filled  that  office  also  six  years.  He 
then  elected  a  member  of  the  State  Con- 
stitutional Convention,  on  which  he  served 
until  its  labors  were  completed,  after  which 
he  was  re-elected  prosecuting  attorney, 
which  office  he  was  holding  at  the  time 
of  his  death.  He  died  in  August,  1885, 
at  the  age  of  seventy-five  years.  He  had 
twelve  children,  seven  of  whom  died  in 
childhood,  the  following  becoming  heads 
of  families:  William  L. ,  Gustavus  A., 
James  H.,  Helen  H.,  and  Charles  R.,  of 
whom  William  L.  married  Miss  Mary 
Black,  lived  at  Oak  Harbor,  and  had 
three  children;  Gustavus  A.  married  Lena 
Stanberry,  lived  at  Texarkana,  Ark.,  and 
had  four  children;  Helen  H.  married  Dr. 
J.  A.  McKinnon,  lived  at  Oak  Harbor, 
where  both  died,  leaving  two  children; 
Charles  R.  married  Carrie  Chestnutwood, 
lived  at  Oak  Harbor,  and  had  three  chil- 
dren. 

James  H.  Kraemer,  the  subject  proper 
of  this  sketch,  passed  his  youth  at  Oak 
Harbor  and  vicinity,  attending  school 
there  until  he  was  eighteen  years  old, 
later  taking  a  course  at  the  Bryant,  Lusk 
&  Stratton  Business  College,  Cleveland. 
Afterward  he  worked  on  a  farm  for  sev- 
eral years,  and  from  1S72  to  1875  oper- 
ated a  planing-mill  at  Oak  Harbor. 
About  the  latter  year  he  took  charge  of 
the  Ottawa  Exponent,  as  editor  and  man- 
ager, and  for  the  past  fifteen  years  has 
been  proprietor  of  that  paper.  On  Jan- 
uary I,  1869,  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Lottie  Earl,  daughter  of  Thomas  and 
Mary  (Creiswick)  Earl,  of  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  and  children   as   follows  have  been 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPEICAL  RECORD. 


387 


born  to  thein:  De  \\'ilton  A.,  Thomas 
E.,  Maud  E.,  Lloyd  E.  and  Frank.  Po- 
litically our  subject  is  a  Democrat,  and 
has  served  as  mayor  of  Oak  Harbor  five 
years,  and  also  as  member  and  clerk  of 
the  board  of  education.  In  the  fall  of 
1893  he  was  elected  probate  judge  of  Ot- 
tawa county,  his  present  position.  So- 
cially he  is  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  P., 
and  enjoys  the  well-merited  esteem  and 
regard  of  hosts  of  friends. 

As  an  official  Mr.  Kraemer  has  won 
the  respect  of  all  by  his  diligent  and  effi- 
cient performance  of  the  duties  devolving 
on  him.  His  father  was  the  founder  of  and 
gave  the  land  upon  which  all  the  churches 
and  public  schools  are  located,  as  well  as 
contributing  largely  to  their  erection,  and 
to  every  enterprise  tending  to  the  advance- 
ment of  the  town  or  count\\  His  son, 
James  H.,  has  labored  faithfully  in  the 
same  cause,  in  the  interest  of  public  im- 
provement and  good,  as  evidenced  by 
many  substantial  buildings,  and  as  his  un- 
ceasing labors  show. 


EDWARD  DECKER,  mayor  of  El- 
more, Ottawa  county,  who  by 
trade  is  a  machinist,  was  born  in 
Fremont,  Ohio,  October  25,  1854, 
and  is  a  son  of  Samuel  and  Lydia  (Kist- 
ler)  Decker,  both  of  whom  located  in  San- 
dusky county,  Ohio,  at  a  very  early  da}-. 
For  many  years  the  father  worked  at  the 
cooper's  trade  in  Fremont,  and  in  1859 
he  brought  his  family  to  Elmore,  where 
his  death  occured  in  1880.  His  wife  still 
survives  him,  and  now  at  the  age  of 
seventy  years  makes  her  home  in  Elmore. 
In  their  family  were  six  children,  five  of 
whom  are  yet  living:  William  O.,  of 
Toledo,  Ohio:  Mary  E.,  wife  of  L.  M. 
Ham,  of  New  York;  Edward,  subject  of 
this  sketch;  Elizabeth,  a  resident  of  El- 
more; and  Harriet  W.,  wife  of  W.  L. 
Reeves,  of  Toledo. 

With    his    parents     Edward     Decker 
came  to  Elmore,   where    he    acquired  his 


education  in  the  public  schools,  and  on 
leaving  the  school  room  learned  the  print- 
ing business,  at  which  he  worked  for 
about  si.x  years.  He  then  went  to  Han- 
nibal, Mo. ,  where  he  learned  the  trade  of 
a  machinist,  residing  there  for  three 
years,  on  the  expiration  of  which  time  he 
returned  to  Elmore,  and  since  1882  has 
continuously  resided  here.  On  Decem- 
ber 25,  1 88 1,  he  was  married  at  Elmore 
to  Miss  Mary  Hineline,  daughter  of  John 
B.  and  Rosana  Hineline,  natives  of  Penn- 
sylvania, of  German  ancestry;  they  were 
early  settlers  of  Sandusky  county,  Ohio, 
and  are  now  both  deceased.  To  our  sub- 
ject and  his  wife  have  been  born  four 
children — John  Samuel,  Mary  Emma, 
James  Robert  and  Paul. 

Mr.  Decker  has  ever  been  prominent 
in  public  affairs;  for  three  terms  he  served 
as  a  councilman  of  Elmore;  in  1892  was 
elected  mayor;  and  in  1894  was  re-elected 
for  the  term  he  is  at  present  serving.  He 
is  a  progressive,  public-spirited  citizen, 
and  fills  that  important  position  to  the 
general  satisfaction  of  all  concerned,  the 
manner  in  which  the  various  public  inter- 
ests of  the  city  are  being  managed  and 
adjusted  by  him  giving  ample  evidence  of 
the  efficiency  and  good  judgment  of  its 
present  head.  Politically  he  is  a  stanch 
supporter  of  the  principles  of  the  Repub- 
lican party;  and  socially  he  is  a  member  of 
Elmore  Lodge,  No.  462,  I.  O.  O.  F. . 
and  he  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the 
Christian  Church,  of  Elmore. 


JOHN  GASSER  (deceased),  who  was 
one  of  the  honored   pioneers  of  Ot- 
tawa county,  was  born  in  Berne,  the 
capital    of    Switzerland,    September 
23,     1822,    and   was   a   son   of   John   and 
Anna  Gasser.  the  former  of  whom  was  at 
one  time  the  governor  of  Switzerland. 

Our  subject  lived  in  his  native  land 
until  twelve  years  of  age.  and  then  accom- 
panied his  parents  on  their  emigration  to 
America,    locating    in    Zanesville,    Ohio. 


388 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


The  father  soon  after  went  to  Sandusky 
county,  where  he  purchased  a  large  tract 
of  wild  land,  and  there  engaged  ,in  the 
construction  of  a  mill  race  and  mill,  the 
first  one  in  the  count)';  but  ere  the  work 
was  completed  death  suddenly  ended  his 
labors.  Young  John  was  thus  left  a  mere 
boy  to  fight  life's  battles  alone.  He  was 
bound  out  by  his  guardian  to  Judge  Jus- 
tus, of  Fremont,  Ohio,  to  learn  the  trade 
of  a  tanner  and  currier,  being  thus  em- 
ployed until  twenty-one  years  of  age, 
during  which  time  he  thoroughly  mastered 
the  business,  becoming  an  expert  work- 
man, and  was  thus  employed  until  the 
breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war. 

On  May  2,  1849,  Mr.  Gasser  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Mary  L. 
Sheperd,  of  Gypsum,  Ohio,  and  in  1853 
they  removed  to  Elmore,  where  Mr. 
Gasser  resumed  work  at  his  trade.  Mrs. 
Gasser  was  born  near  Leesville.  Tuscara- 
was Co.,  Ohio,  and  in  1S33,  when  four 
years  of  age,  was  brought  to  Ottawa 
county,  then  an  almost  unbroken  wilder- 
ness; she  has  seen  deer  cross  the  farm  in 
large  numbers,  and  all  kinds  of  wild  game 
abounded.  She  was  a  resident  of  three 
counties  while  living  in  one  house.  She 
acquired  her  education  in  Gypsum  and 
Fremont,  and  in  the  latter  place  met  the 
gentleman  whom  she  married.  Her 
father,  John  Sheperd,  was  born  in  North 
Carolina,  February  13,  1783,  and  died 
December  19,  1S54.  Her  maternal  grand- 
father was  born  in  \'irginia,  about  i"66, 
and  was  a  fuller  by  trade.  He  wedded 
Mary  Long,  a  highly-educated  Quaker 
lady,  who  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine, in  those  early  days,  in  Pennsylvania 
and  Ohio,  and  had  been  known  to  ride 
twentj'  miles  through  the  wilderness  in 
cases  of  consultation;  she  was  very  suc- 
cessful; her  sister  was  a  minister  of  the 
Gospel. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gasser  were  born 
five  children,  three  of  whom  died  in  in- 
fancy. Louis  Edwin,  who  was  born  in 
Woodville,   Ohio,   April    18,    1851,   com- 


pleted a  course  of  study  in  the  Normal 
School  of  Tontogany,  Ohio,  in  1867,  and 
was  then  employed  on  the  Lake  Shore  & 
Michigan  Southern  railroad  until  his  death, 
August  II,  1870.  Eva  Luella,  the  only 
daughter,  was  born  May  16,  1858,  on 
Rice  street  in  Elmore,  and  in  the  same 
house  was  married  February  27,  1879,  to 
Henry  Paffenbach,  of  Elmore,  and  in  the 
same  house  in  which  her  two  children 
were  born;  she  was  educated  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  Elmore,  and  before  reach- 
ing the  age  of  eighteen  began  teaching; 
she  also  made  a  special  study  of  the  piano, 
and  later  taught  music  with  marked  suc- 
cess; she  died  January  26,  1885,  leaving 
two  children — John  Edwin  G.,born  March 
4,  1880;  and  Carl  Henry,  born  March  12, 
1 88 1.  All  who  knew  her  had  for  her 
only  words  of  praise,  and  her  friends  were 
many. 

Mr.  Gasser  carried  on  business  in  El- 
more until  1864,  when,  on  .August  5,  he 
enlisted  in  Company  A,  One  Hundred 
Seventy-seventh  O.  \'.  I.,  under  Capt. 
Turner.  About  October  i  he  left  Cleve- 
land with  his  regiment,  and  on  the  6th 
arrived  at  Tullahoma,  Tenn. ,  where,  for 
six  weeks,  the  troops  guarded  the  Nash- 
ville &  Chattanooga  railroad.  When 
Hood"s  army  threatened  Nashville,  the 
regiment  was  sent  to  Murfreesboro,  and 
were  there  twice  engaged  in  battle  with 
the  Rebel  forces  under  Gen.  Forrest. 
Subsequently  the  regiment  was  ordered  to 
Spring  Hill,  and  assigned  to  the  Twenty- 
third  Army  Corps.  On  the  march  from 
Murfreesboro  to  Spring  Hill  John  Gasser 
was  taken  ill,  but  remained  with  his  com- 
mand which  went  to  Clifton  on  the 
Tennessee  river.  On  January  17,  1865, 
the  regiment  embarked  on  a  steamer  for 
Cincinnati,  and  thence  went  by  rail  to 
Washington,  D.  C,  where  it  arrived  Jan- 
uary 25.  On  February  3,  it  started  for 
Annapolis  by  steamer,  reaching  Port 
Fisher  on  the  9th.  On  the  the  i6th,  Mr. ' 
Gasser  passed  away,  dying  of  typhoid 
pneumonia,   and  was  buried  by  his  com- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


389 


rades — Baldwin,  Carr  and  Coon.  He 
had  patriotically  given  his  life  for  his 
country,  which  required  the  sacrifice  of 
so  many  of  the  brave  sons  of  the  nation. 
He  was  a  very  loyal,  devoted  citizen, 
and  in  his  death  the  community  suffered 
a  severe  loss.  An  earnest,  temperance 
worker,  a  devoted  Christian  man,  he  did 
all  in  his  power  to  uplift  and  benefit 
humanity,  and  had  the  warmest  regard  of 
all  who  knew  him.  His  family  lost  a 
faithful  husband  and  loving  father;  but 
the  memory  of  his  holy  Christian  life  still 
lingers  and  is  still  green  in  the  hearts  of 
many  friends.  His  widow  is  yet  living  in 
Elmore,  an  estimable  lady,  both  widely 
and  favorably  known. 


REV.  NATHANIEL  B.  C.  LOVE, 
D.  D.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
was  born  in  Rushville,  Fairfield 
Co.,  Ohio.  His  father  was  born 
in  Donegal,  Ireland,  of  Scotch-Irish  par- 
ents. In  his  childhood  he  was  brought 
from  Ireland  to  Lancaster,  Penn.,  where 
he  received  a  good  English  education.  He 
became  a  professional  teacher,  and  ex- 
celled in  mathematics,  teaching  in  North- 
umberland county,  Penn.,  Cadiz,  and 
Rushville,  Ohio.  He  was  of  the  nobler 
type  of  Irish  Protestants,  many  of  whom 
have  been  among  the  foremost  in  educa- 
tion in  their  adopted  country.  His  par- 
ents were  first  Episcopalians  and  after- 
ward Methodists.  He  died  in  his  seventy- 
ninth  year,  near  Hardin,  Ohio. 

Dr.  Love  was  converted  in  childhood, 
and  never  forgot  his  espousal  to  God,  and 
hence  never  formed  those  bad  habits 
which  hinder  and  embarrass  so  many  per- 
sons for  long  weary  years.  His  mother 
had  the  forming  of  his  character.  Her 
maiden  name  was  Susannah  Force,  and 
she  came  from  the  Force  family  of  New 
Jersey,  a  family  that  has  made  a  noble 
record  in  Church  and  State.  She  was  in- 
telligent, possessed  great  common  sense. 


and  was  a  devout  Christian.  Up  to  his 
sixteenth  year  Dr.  Love  had  the  advan- 
tages of  good  common  and  select  schools. 
When  about  seventeen  years  he  felt  im- 
pressed to  enter  the  ministry.  He  did  not 
yield  to  this  call  at  once,  feeling,  as  every 
true  minister  always  does,  his  insufficiency 
for  this  lofty  mission;  but  as  he  wrought 
in  the  factory  through  the  day  and  studied 
art  and  history  at  night,  the  call  to  the 
ministry  became  more  and  more  impera- 
tive. About  this  time  he  had  the  advan- 
tages of  the  city  and  select  schools  of 
Sidney,  Ohio,  taught  by  Judge  Wyman, 
James  Linn  and  Miss  Ware.  Many  of  the 
older  pupils  of  those  schools  have  referred 
to  them  as  miniature  colleges. 

When  only  twenty-two  years  old  our 
subject  entered  the  ministry  of  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church,  and  has  been  a 
prominent  member  of  the  Central  Ohio 
Conference,  filling  with  marked  success, 
and  to  the  full  legal  term  of  services, 
many  of  its  leading  stations.  The  cities 
and  larger  towns  of  central  and  north- 
western Ohio  have  been  the  scene  of  his 
labors.  When  he  was  twenty-three  he 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Eliza 
Ginn,  of  Sidney,  Ohio.  Their  oldest 
daughter,  Jennie  Love,  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Mr.  Ed.  Cowdrick,  of  Na- 
poleon, Ohio,  but  died  in  eighteen  months, 
leaving  a  daughter.  The  second  daughter, 
Mrs.  Emma  Eberly,  lives  in  Perrj'sburg, 
Ohio,  a  respected  lady  in  Church  and 
society.  The  eldest  son,  Edwin  Ginn 
Love,  is  in  the  practice  of  law  in  Port 
Clinton,  and  in  his  profession  is  successful 
and  popular,  having  a  large  practice  in 
that  city,  as  well  as  in  the  surrounding 
towns  and  cities.  The  second  son  is  a 
railroad  agent  and  telegrapher,  employed 
on  the  Wheeling  &  Lake  Erie  railroad. 
Lura  May  Love,  the  youngest,  is  the 
teacher  of  French  and  Latin  in  Findlay 
College,  which  is  her  "alma  mater;" 
she  is  also  a  graduate  of  the  Upper 
Sandusky  Graded  School;  she  is  well  and 
favorably  known  as  a  mezzo-soprano  solo- 


390 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAFHICAL  RECORD. 


ist  of  excellence.  The  youngest,  Arthur 
D.  Love,  is  a  boy  at  home  with  his 
parents. 

Dr.  Love  is  well  known  as  a  writer 
for  periodical  literature;  especially  is  his 
name  familiar  to  the  readers  of  the  West- 
ern Chris  tin  II  Advocate,  to  whose  columns 
he  has  contributed  for  manyjears.  Dur- 
ing six  years,  for  several  Sunday-school 
publications,  he  wrote  notes  for  lesson 
help,  and  in  his  way  of  opening  up  and 
illustrating  the  Scripture  he  was  highly 
appreciated.  The  same  talent  which 
qualified  him  for  this  work  has  made 
him  eminently  successful  as  a  teacher  of 
Bible  and  Normal  classes,  and  he  has  been 
engaged  in  that  work  some  sixteen  years 
at  Chautauqua  Assemblies.  He  has  the 
rare  gift  that  few  have,  the  power  to 
draw  and  paint  rapidly  before  an  audi- 
ence. His  "chalk-talks"  before  assem- 
blies are  immensely  popular.  He  has 
published  a  work  on  object-teaching  that 
met  with  a  rapid  sale,  and  has  received 
the  endorsement  of  many  of  the  best 
educators  of  the  country.  A  few  years 
ago,  when  Dr.  Love  was  stationed  at 
Upper  Sandusky,  Ohio,  he  took  a  great 
interest  in  the  Old  Mission  Church  and 
burying  ground.  This  was  the  first  mis- 
sion of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
The  old  stone  church  had  fallen  into 
ruins,  and  the  burying  ground,  where 
many  converted  chiefs  and  missionaries 
were  sleeping  in  hope  of  the  resurrection 
taught  by  the  Gospel,  was  a  deserted 
common. 

Dr.  Love  was  instrumental  in  bring- 
ing the  matter  in  form  before  the  General 
Missionary  Committee  and  General  Con- 
ference, and  the  funds  were  provided  for 
restoring  the  property  and  preserving  it  as 
a  sacred  treasure  to  the  Church,  and 
to-day  it  stands  as  restored  under  his 
wise  management,  and  is  the  Mecca  of 
Methodism  in  her  missionary  efforts. 
While  he  was  pastor  at  Port  Clinton  he 
collected  and  published  a  historical  sketch 
of  all  the  Methodist  Churches  in  Ottawa  I 


count}',  which  is  valuable  as   a  source  of 
data. 

He  is  now  connected  with  the  great 
Chautauqua  movement,  havmg  taught  for 
several  years  at  Lakeside,  and  for  sixteen 
years  connected  with  various  Chautauqua 
Assemblies.  For  eight  years  he  has  been 
superintendent  of  Island  Park  Assembly, 
Rome  City,  Ind.  He  is  a  graduate  in  the 
C.  L.  S.  C.,  course  of  study,  the  C.  N.  C, 
and  the  Ohio  State  Normal,  and  is  the 
friend  and  promoter  of  home  college 
reading  circles.  In  recognition  of  his 
talents  and  scholarship  the  U.  S.  Grant 
Memorial  University,  some  years  ago, 
conferred  its  highest  honorable  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Divinity  upon  him. 


EG.  LOVE,  a  rising  joung  attor- 
ney at  law  of  Port  Clinton,  Ottawa 
county,  is  a  native  of  Ohio,  born 
May  22,  1864,  at  Crestline, Craw- 
ford county,  a  son  of  Rev.  N.  B.  C.  Love, 
D.  D.,  and  Eliza  (Ginn)  Love.  The 
father  was  for  many  years  an  itinerate 
minister  of  the  M.  E.  Central  Ohio  Con- 
ference, also  a  prominent  Sunday-school 
worker,  and  was  for  seven  j-ears  president 
of  the  Island  Park  Assembly,  of  Rome 
City,  Indiana. 

Our  subject  attended  the  public  schools 
of  different  towns  at  which  his  father 
preached  until  he  was  seventeen  years  of 
age,  at  which  time,  he  went  to  Ohio  Wes- 
leyan  University,  at  Delaware,  Ohio, 
where  he  attended  college  two  years,  and 
then,  on  account  of  inability  of  his  father 
to  furnish  funds  to  enable  him  to  complete 
a  college  course,  he  struck  out  for  him- 
self. He  worked  a  couple  of  years  at 
various  occupations,  about  a  year  as  com- 
mon laborer  at  the  Milburn  Wagon  Works, 
Toledo,  Ohio,  and  then  one  year  as  as- 
sistant shipping  clerk.  Returning  home 
at  the  age  of  twenty-one.  he  entered  the 
law  office  of  Judge  Slalcolm  Kelly,  at  Port 
Clinton,  and  began  the  study  of  law,  re- 
maining as  a  student,  in  the  capacity  of 


COMMSMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


391 


the  Judge's  assistant  in  his  office  work, 
for  about  two  years;  then  for  one  j'ear  at- 
tended the  Cincinnati  Law  College,  from 
which  he  graduated  May  23,  1888,  with 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws.  About 
a  month  prior  to  graduation  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  practice  law  in  all  the  courts  of 
Ohio.  On  his  return  from  college  after 
the  completion  of  his  collegiate  course, 
he  located  at  Port  Clinton,  where  he  has 
been  practicing  ever  since.  In  October, 
1892,  he  was  admitted  to  practice  law  in 
the  circuit  and  district  courts  of  the 
United  States,  and  has  a  large  practice 
in  State  and  United  States  courts.  In 
June,  1887,  Mr.  Love  married  Miss  Nettie 
McRitchie,  daughter  of  Judge  D.  R.  Mc- 
Ritchie,  of  Port  Clinton,  Ohio,  and  they 
have  two  daughters:  Helenand  Marguerite. 


JOSEPH  KINGHAM,  M.  D.  A  list 
of  the  well-known  citizens  of  Ottawa 
county  would  be  incomplete  were 
the  name  of  this  gentleman  omitted, 
for  there  are  probably  few  so  widely  and 
favorably  known.  Not  only  has  he  dis- 
tinguished himself  in  his  profession,  but 
also  as  a  leader  in  business  circles,  having 
built  up  large  commercial  interests  here; 
and  it  is  only  justice  to  him  to  state  that 
if  the  town  of  Rocky  Ridge  owes  its  ex- 
istence and  present  prosperity  to  an)'  one 
man,  it  is  to  the  personal  efforts  and  busi- 
ness ability  of  Dr.  Kingham. 

He  is  a  native  of  the  county  in  whose 
welfare  and  advancement  he  has  borne  so 
prominent  a  part,  born  December  5, 
1839,  at  Port  Clinton,  of  English  de- 
scent. His  boyhood  was  spent  in  his  na- 
tive town,  and  there  he  also  received  his 
early  education,  graduating  from  the  pub- 
lic schools  in  1854.  In  1855  he  entered 
the  Ohio  Wesleyan  Universitj',  where 
he  remained  only  one  term  thence 
going  to  the  University  at  Berca, 
Ohio,  where  he  also  studied  one  term. 
He    then    commenced    clerking    for  his 

25 


father,  continuing  thus  until  1S63,  and 
thereafter  for  a  short  time  clerked  for  a 
firm  in  Fremont,  Ohio.  In  the  year 
1863  he  began  the  study  of  medicine  at 
Port  Clinton  under  the  direction  of  Dr. 
Steadman,  after  about  si.\  months  remov- 
ing to  Sandusky,  Ohio,  where  he  studied 
under  Dr.  Agard  until  May,  1864,  when 
he  was  called  with  the  hundred-days'  men 
of  Ohio  to  service  in  the  army  of  the  Po- 
tomac; he  being  a  member  of  that  body 
was  mustered  into  service  in  Company  I, 
One  Hundred  and  Sixty-ninth  O.  N.  G. 
I.,  and  his  company  at  once  went  to 
Fort  Ethan  Allen  to  guard  the  city  of 
Washington.  In  September,  1864,  he 
was  mustered  out  of  service  with  his  regi- 
ment in  Cleveland. 

On  his  return  from  the  army  our  sub- 
ject at  once  entered  the  University  of 
Michigan,  where  he  took  a  thorough 
course  in  medicine,  graduating  from  that 
institution  in  1S66  with  the  degree  of  M. 
D.  During  his  University  course  he  also 
attended  special  medical  lectures  in  the 
summer  vacation  at  Pittsford,  Mass.  Dr. 
Kingham  began  the  practice  of  medicine 
at  Berlin  Heights,  Ohio,  under  adverse 
conditions.  His  long  medical  course  had 
somewhat  impaired  his  health,  so  that 
when  ready  mentally  to  enter  upon  his 
chosen  profession  he  was  nearly  a  physi- 
cal wreck.  By  careful  attention  to  his 
physical  condition,  however,  he  gradually 
became  stronger  and  thus  better  able  to 
attend  to  the  now  constantly  increasing 
calls  made  upon  him.  At  the  end  of 
three  months  the  doctor  moved  to  Flor- 
ence, there  entering  into  partnership  with 
Dr.  Lattin,  with  whom  he  remained  only 
a  short  time  when  he  made  another 
change,  this  time  locating  in  Norwalk, 
Ohio,  where  he  practiced  four  j'ears. 
After  leaving  Norwalk  he  went  to  Bell- 
more,  Ind.,  and  there  remained  until 
May,  1875,  the  date  of  his  removal  to 
Port  Clinton,  where  he  continued  in  his 
professional  duties  until  1886.  At  this 
time  the  Doctor  came  to  Rocky  Ridge,  to 


302 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


give  his  attention  to  his  business  inter- 
ests there,  which  had  been  gradually 
widening  during  the  passing  years,  and 
they  have  continued  to  grow  until,  at  the 
present  time,  he  is  extensively  engaged 
in  numerous  enterprises,  all  of  which, 
under  his  able  management,  have  proved 
profitable  to  him,  and,  by  giving  employ- 
ment to  others,  have  contributed  in  no 
small  degree  to  the  growth  of  the  com- 
munit)-.  He  is  largelj'  interested  in  agri- 
culture, owning  several  farms  in  the 
vicinity  of  Rocky  Ridge.  In  1878  he  en- 
gaged in  the  manufacture  of  lime,  and  in 
1882  erected  a  sawmill  and  invested  ex- 
tensively in  the  lumber  business;  in  1889 
he  erected  a  large  grain  elevator  and 
flouring-mill  in  Rocky  Ridge.  He  is  now 
handling  large  quantities  of  wheat,  oats 
and  corn,  and  the  value  of  this  enterprise 
to  the  local  farming  industry  can  hardly 
be  estimated.  In  1882,  in  addition  to 
his  other  business,  the  Doctor  purchased 
a  drug  store  at  Rocky  Ridge,  which 
gradually  enlarged  until,  in  1891,  it  had 
become  a  general  store.  The  Doctor's 
business  had  now  become  so  large  and 
complicated,  on  account  of  the  great 
variety  of  interests  to  which  he  was  giving 
his  attention,  that  Mrs.  Kingham  came 
to  his  aid,  taking  her  place  in  the  office, 
and  for  the  past  live  years  she  has  added 
her  business  ability  to  that  of  her  husband 
in  pushing  one  of  the  greatest  business 
enterprises  in  Ottawa  count}-.  Mrs.  King- 
ham  attends  to  the  books,  keeping  an 
accurate  account  of  all  receipts  and  ship- 
ments of  grain,  and  in  every  way  render- 
ing the  greatest  assistance  in  conducting 
the  extensive  business.  Nor  have  we 
yet  covered  the  field  of  the  Doctor's 
business  enterprises.  In  addition  to  those 
alread}'  enumerated  he  invested  as  a  stock- 
holder in  Lake  Side,  the  most  elegant 
summer  resort  on  Lake  Erie;  for  many 
years  he  has  been  one  of  the  directors  of 
the  company,  and  at  the  time  of  his  mar- 
riage to  his  presept  wife  was  president  of 
the  Lake  Side  Company. 


In  1868,  Dr.  Kingham  was  married  to 
Miss  Mary  Ann  Partlow,  of  Bellmore. 
Ind.  A  few  years  afterward,  while  at 
Norwalk,  Ohio,  Mrs.  Kingham's  health 
failed,  and  she  gradually  became  weaker, 
passing  away  in  May,  1880,  at  Port  Clin- 
ton. On  August  30,  1882,  the  Doctor 
wedded  his  present  wife.  Miss  Ella  Sim- 
kins,  of  Washington  C.  H.,  Ohio,  the 
marriage  being  solemnized  at  the  Grand 
Pacific  Hotel,  Chicago,  by  the  Rev.  .Ar- 
thur Edwards,  D.  D.  Mrs.  Ella(Simkins) 
Kingham  was  born  at  Washington  C.  H., 
Ohio,  in  1857,  and  spent  her  girlhood 
days  in  her  native  town,  from  the  high 
school  of  which  place  she  graduated  in 
1876.  For  a  time  after  completing  her 
high  school  course  she  attended  Wooster 
University,  and  subsequently,  for  five 
years,  she  was  a  teacher  in  the  high  school 
from  which  she  graduated.  For  one  year 
she  was  principal  of  the  high  school  at 
Muncie,  Ind.,  and  at  the  close  of  her 
work  there  she  was  married  to  Dr.  King- 
ham. Mrs.  Kingham's  father,  Richard 
Simkins,  was  born  in  1831  in  New  Jersey, 
and  her  mother,  Martha  (Kembelj  Sim- 
kins,  was  born  in  Ohio,  in  1S33;  they  are 
still  living  at  Washington  C.  H.  To  them 
were  born  two  children,  Mrs.  Kingham, 
and  Dr.  James  Simkins,  of  Clarksburg, 
Ohio.  Mrs.  Kingham's  maternal  grand- 
father, Nathan  Kembel,  was  born  in  181 1 
in  New  Jersey.  By  his  first  marriage  the 
Doctor  had  five  children,  two  of  whom 
are  now  living:  W'illiam  and  Bernard,  at 
present  with  their  uncle,  Mr.  Jacobs,  in 
California.  By  his  present  wife  he  has 
two  sons,  James  Jay  and  George  Richard, 
both  living  with  tlieir  parents. 

Dr.  Kingham's  parents,  James  and 
Lydia  Ann  (Knight)  Kingham,  were  born, 
the  father  in  England  in  1803,  on  the 
noted  "Farm  Colder,"  in  Oxfordshire, 
the  mother  at  Rising  Sun,  Md.,  in  18 18. 
They  were  married  in  1836.  James  King- 
ham followed  mercantile  pursuits  the 
greater  part  of  his  life;  he  died  in  1875, 
and  the  mother  now  lives  with  her  daugh- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHWAL  RECORD. 


3J)8 


ter,  Mrs.  Jacobs.  There  were  four  chil- 
dren in  the  family,  two  of  whom  are 
now  living,  Dr.  Joseph  Kingham,  and 
Mrs.  Jacobs,  of  California. 


GEORGE  W.  LONG  (deceased), 
who  was  one  of  the  prominent 
and  progressive  farmers  of  Car- 
roll township,  Ottawa  county, 
was  born  in  Hanover,  Germany,  Decem- 
ber 29,  1838,  and  was  a  son  of  Henry 
and  Christina  Long,  natives  of  the  same 
country,  who,  emigrating  to  this  country, 
took  up  their  residence  in  Erie  township, 
Ottawa  county,  in  1843.  The  father  was 
not  long  permitted  to  enjoj'  his  new 
home,  his  death  occurring  the  same  year. 
His  wife  survived  him  about  eight  years. 
Our  subject  remained  under  the 
parental  roof  until  sixteen  years  of  age. 
when  he  bade  adieu  to  his  old  home  and 
removed  to  Bureau  county.  111.,  residing 
there  for  four  years.  He  then  returned 
to  Erie  township,  Ottawa  county,  and  in 
1867  took  up  his  residence  in  Carroll 
township,  where  his  remaining  days  were 
passed.  On  November  17,  1862,  Mr. 
Long  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Mary  Louisa  Meeker,  who  was  born  in 
Erie  township,  Ottawa  county,  March 
15.  1842,  daughter  of  Chalon  and  Mar\' 
(Amnions)  Meeker,  who  were  pioneer  set- 
tlers, and  for  many  years  honored  and  re- 
spected residents  of  Erie  township,  where 
they  made  their  home  until  called  to  their 
final  rest.  The  father  passed  away  very 
suddenly  August  17,  1877;  the  mother 
died  of  diphtheria  February  19,  1869. 
Their  family  numbered  ten  children,  six 
of  whom  are  yet  living,  namely:  Amanda, 
wife  of  Robert  McKay,  a  resident  of 
Tuscola,  III. ;  William,  who  makes  his 
home  in  Henry  county,  Ohio;  Rachel, 
wife  of  Robert  Stevens,  who  is  located  in 
Carroll  township,  Ottawa  county;  Mrs. 
Long;  Teressa,  wife  of  Thomas  Hambly, 
a  resident  of  Rocky  Ridge,  Ottawa  coun- 
ty; and  Thomas,  who  is  living  in  Douglas 


county.  111.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Long  were 
born  three  children,  as  follows:  (i) 
Amanda  Lavina,  born  October  9,  1864, 
who  married  Frank  S.  Foote,  now  a 
teacher  in  Toledo;  she  has  one  child, 
Edgar  p-Qote,  born  October  12,  1890.  (2) 
George  Edward,  born  August  7,  1869, 
living  in  Carroll  township.  (3)  Sylvanus, 
born  April  10,  1881,  is  still  living  with 
the  mother. 

Mr.  Long  was  killed  by  the  kick  of  a 
horse.  May  7,  1890.  He  was  recognized 
as  one  of  the  valued  and  leading  citizens 
of  the  community,  and  took  quite  a 
prominent  part  in  county  affairs.  He 
was  a  Republican,  but  though  giving  a 
loyal  support  to  the  party  he  was  not  a 
politician  in  the  sense  of  office-seeking, 
rather  one  who  favored  safe  principles 
and  good  officials,  and  he  capably  served 
in  many  township  offices,  discharging  his 
duties  with  credit  to  himself  and  satisfac- 
tion to  all  concerned.  He  made  farming 
his  life  work,  and  led  a  busy  and  indus- 
trious life.  Well-known  and  highly-es- 
teemed by  all  who  knew  him,  his  sudden 
death  was  mourned  by  a  large  number  of 
sincere  friends.  His  genuine  worth  and 
true  nobilit}'  gained  him  the  respect  of  all, 
and  no  one  in  Ottawa  countj'  was  more 
favorably  known.  Since  his  death  his 
faithful  and  devoted  wife  has  managed  the 
estate  with  more  than  ordinary  ability, 
and  her  excellent  care  has  made  it  return 
a  good  income.  She  is  a  consistent  mem- 
ber of  the  United  Brethren  Church,  and 
very  popular  in  the  social  circles  of  the 
township,  where  she  has  a  host  of  warm 
friends. 


DANIEL  BROWN  (deceased)  was 
one  of  the  most  progressive  and 
influential  farmers  of  Carrol  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county.  His  birth 
occurred  in  Lancaster,  N.  Y.,  March  23, 
I  Si  5,  and  he  was  a  son  of  Joseph  R.  and 
Ruth  (Smith)  Brown,  who  were  early  set- 
tlers of   Erie  county,    Ohio,    where    they 


394 


COMMEliORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


passed  awa3^  In  their  family  of  nine 
children  only  three  now  survive:  Solo- 
mon, who  is  residing  on  the  old  home- 
stead in  Margaretta  township,  Erie  Co., 
Ohio;  Diadami,  wife  of  Thomas  Persons, 
•of  Sisson,  Siskiyou  Co.,  Cal. ;  and  Mrs. 
Martha  Newman,  a  widow,  of  Barcelona, 
Tulare  county,  California. 

In  February,  1819,  Mr.  Brown,  whose 
name  introduces  this  sketch,  removed 
with  his  parents  to  Erie  count)'.  Ohio, 
where  he  was  reared  to  manhood  and  re- 
ceived his  education.  His  principal  oc- 
cupation through  life  was  farming, 
though  for  eleven  years  he  was  foreman 
of  Mr.  Heywood's  fiouring-mill  and  saw- 
mill at  Venice,  Ohio.  He  located  in 
Carroll  township,  Ottawa  county.  May  4, 
1866,  from  which  date  until  his  death  he 
was  a  constant  resident  of  that  commu- 
nity, where  he  was  widely  and  favorably 
known.  His  death  occurred  at  his  home 
July  19,  1893,  and  he  was  deeply  and 
sincerely  mourned. 

.'\t  Venice,  Erie  Co.,  Ohio,  June  8, 
1845,  was  celebrated  the  marriage  of  Mr. 
Brown  and  Miss  Melissa  I.  James,  who 
was  born  in  that  county,  November  24, 
1830,  a  daughter  of  Henry  and  Phcebe 
(Dunham)  James,  both  natives  of  this 
country,  who  became  early  pioneers  of 
Erie  county;  there  they  resided  until 
death,  both  dying  in  Venice,  the  father 
on  November  29,  1874,  the  mother  on 
October  7,  1881.  To  them  was  born  a 
family  of  si.\  children,  three  of  whom  are 
still  living,  namely:  Melissa  I.,  widow  of 
Daniel  Brown;  Rebecca,  wife  of  Charles 
Hiemlich,  of  Venice,  Ohio;  and  Yeamon, 
residing  near  Genoa,  Ottawa  county. 
Nine  children  came  to  bless  the  union  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brown,  namely:  Phoebe, 
born  July  7,  1846,  died  April  11,  1848; 
Rebecca,  born  April  3,  1848,  now  the 
wife  of  Leman  Thompson,  of  Carroll 
township;  Isabel,  born  November  16, 
1850,  now  the  wife  of  Roscoe  Wise,  of 
Curtis,  Ohio;  Hcnrj',  born  October  11, 
1852,  died  October    12,     1853;     Martha, 


born  March  26,  1854,  now  the  wife  of 
Austip  L.  Carey,  of  Mount  Vernon,  Ohio; 
Frank,  born  August  11,  1856,  a  resident 
of  Carroll  township;  Rachel,  born  Feb- 
ruary 14,  1858,  making  her  home  in 
Mount  \'ernon;  James  K.,  born  June  8, 
1 86 1,  living  in  Lorain  county,  Ohio;  and 
Alvira,  born  March  14,  1866,  married 
James  Clopfenstein,  and  died  February 
22,  1885. 

In  his  political  affiliations  Mr.  Brown 
was  an  ardent  Republican,  but  was  never 
an  aspirant  for  office,  preferring  to  give 
his  time  and  attention  to  his  agricultural 
duties,  and  was  one  of  the  successful  men 
of  his  da}'.  Though  enjoying  in  his 
youth  but  meagre  literar\-  advantages,  he 
acquired  a  practical  education,  and  was  a 
close  observer  of  men  and  events.  He 
took  an  active  part  in  all  matters  relating 
to  the  welfare  of  the  township  and  coun- 
ty, and  was  held  in  the  highest  esteem 
by  his  friends  and  neighbors.  His  faith- 
ful wife,  who  is  a  well-educated  and  in- 
telligent lady,  still  resides  in  Carroll  town- 
ship, where  she  is  surrounded  bj'  hosts  of 
friends. 


GEORGE  H.  RICE,  who  during 
his  lifetime  was  a  prominent  fruit- 
grower and  agriculturist  of  Car- 
roll township,  Ottawa  county, 
was  born  April  26,  1826,  in  Painesville, 
Ohio,  son  of  Isaac  and  Lucy  (Devol) 
Rice,  the  former  a  native  of  Vermont,  the 
latter  of  the  Biicke\-e  State.  She  was 
born  in  Marietta  in  1802,  and  her  father, 
Jonathan  Devol,  was  one  of  the  honored 
pioneers  of  Ohio. 

Isaac  Rice  was  born  in  Brattleboro. 
Vt.,  Maj'  7,  1792,  and  previous  to  1820 
removed  to  the  southern  part  of  Ohio, 
where  he  followed  his  trade  of  wagon- 
making.  He  was  married  in  Marietta  in 
1820,  and  in  1825  removed  with  his  wife 
to  Painesville,  Lake  Co.,  Ohio,  where  he 
followed   the    same    business.      He    built 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOOBAPHWAL  RECORD. 


395 


fifteen  of  the  first  stages  that  ever  ran  be- 
tween Buffalo  and  Cleveland.  In  Feb- 
ruary, 1829,  he  removed  to  Danbury 
township,  then  a  part  of  Huron  county, 
now  a  part  of  Ottawa  county,  where  he 
spent  his  remaining  days,  passing  away 
April  14,  1845.  His  wife  survived  until 
January  17,  1867.  Their  family  num- 
bered seven  children,  but  only  one  is  now 
living — Mary  Ann,  wife  of  D.  W.  Stew- 
art, a  resident  of  Alton,  Illinois. 

George  H.  Rice  acquired  his  educa- 
tion in  the  district  schools  of  Danbury 
township,  and  also  in  Westfield,  Medina 
Co.,  Ohio,  and  when  his  school  life  was 
ended  became  a  sailor  on  the  lakes.  He 
was  serving  as  mate  on  the  steamer 
"Oregon"  at  the  time  it  was  blown  up 
on  the  Detroit  river,  April  14,  1855.  He 
continued  on  the  water  until  1882,  and 
in  connection  carried  on  fruit  farming  and 
ship  and  boat  building,  but  for  the  last 
twelve  years,  owing  to  poor  health,  he 
led  a  practically  retired  life.  His  labors 
were  interrupted  in  1865  by  his  enlist- 
ment, on  February  14,  in  Company  C, 
Second  Ohio  Cavalry;  after  serving  for  a 
few  months  at  St.  Louis  he  became  so  ill 
that  he  was  sent  home  on  furlough,  and 
the  regiment  was  mustered  out  of  the 
service  before  his  leave  of  absence  ex- 
pired. 

Mr.  Rice  was  married  in  Westfield, 
Medina  county,  December  25,  185 1,  to 
Miss  Celestia  P.  St.  John,  who  was  born 
in  Westfield,  January  31,  1831,  daughter 
of  Myron  and  Philc'na  (Allton)  St.  John, 
natives  of  \'ermont,  who  became  early 
settlers  of  Medina  county,  where  they 
spent  their  remaining  days,  the  father 
dying  December  i ,  1 866,  the  mother  on 
June  9,  1886.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rice  are 
the  parents  of  eight  children:  Noah 
Lovell,  who  was  born  October  17,  1853, 
and  is  a  prominent  farmer  of  Carroll 
township,  Ottawa  county;  Philena  L. , 
born  November  4,  1856,  residing  in 
Chicago;  Louisa  C,  born  September  2, 
1858,    now   the   wife  of  C.  C.  Strong,   a 


resident  of  Chicago;  Henry  Lincoln,  born 
July  28,  1 86 1,  died  February  21,  1869; 
Mary  A.,  born  August  28,  1863,  now  the 
wife  of  Aretus  Crane,  of  Chicago ;  Dan  S. , 
born  August  8,  1867;  Julia  M.  W. ,  born 
June  19,  1871;  and  George  Allton,  born 
April  24,  1875;  the  three  youngest  are 
at  home.  The  family  attend  the  Baptist 
Church. 

Mr.  Rice  was  one  of  the  oldest  pioneer 
settlers  of  Ottawa  count}',  and  during  his 
long  residence  here  ever  sustained  a  repu- 
tation for  integrity  and  good  citizenship, 
alike  creditable  to  his  judgment  and  char- 
acter. As  one  of  the  men  who  in  an 
early  day  took  part  in  subduing  the  wil- 
derness, transforming  it  into  fine  farms 
and  beautiful  homes  which  the  present 
generation  enjoy  in  comparative  comfort 
and  ease,  Mr.  Rice  is  well  worthy  of 
being  represented  in  this  volume.  At  the 
time  of  his  decease,  though  he  had  almost 
reached  the  honored  age  of  three  score 
years  and  ten,  he  was  a  well-preserved 
man,  of  commanding  presence,  possessed 
of  a  vigorous  mind,  good  practical  busi- 
ness sagacity,  and  a  reliable  memory,  as 
to  early  events.  Ofttimes  he  reviewed  the 
changes  that  have  taken  place  since  the 
days  of  the  old  open  fireplace,  and  the  log 
schoolhouse  with  its  half-barrel  seats, 
where  he  received  his  rudimentary  educa- 
tion, and  the  twang  of  the  thread  as  the 
good  mother  plied  her  needle  by  the  dim 
light  of  a  tallow  candle.  These  and  many 
more  of  the  circumstances  connected  with 
pioneer  life  frequently  flitted  across  his 
mind,  as  he  took  a  retrospective  glance 
into  the  past,  recalling  the  marvellous 
work  of  the  first  settlers  of  Ottawa  coun- 
ty, a  work  in  which  he  always  bore  his 
part.  But  his  days  of  hardship  and  toil 
were  crowned  by  success,  and  in  his  de- 
clining years  he  enjoyed  a  well-earned 
rest,  and  the  blessings  of  his  home  and 
fireside.  He  was  a  successful  agricul- 
turist, and  his  farm  and  orchard,  with 
their  many  improvements  and  neat  ap- 
pearance, speak  well  in  his  praise. 


396 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


In  politics  Mr.  Rice  was  a  Republican, 
and  he  took  an  active  and  intellif^ent  in- 
terest in  local  and  national  affairs.  He 
was  highly  respected  by  a  wide  circle  of 
friends  and  acquaintances,  and  was  a 
worthy  representative  of  the  pioneers  of 
Ottawa  county.  He  passed  away  at  his 
home  in  Carroll  township,  June  30,  1895, 
and  was  laid  to  rest  at  Oak  Harbor. 


CARL  RUH  (deceased)  was  a  well- 
known  business  man  and  highly- 
respected  citizen  of  Put  in  Bay 
Island,  Ottawa  count}-,  and  in  his 
death  the  community  lost  one  of  its  best 
residents.  He  was  born  in  Baden,  Ger- 
many, December  31,  1834,  and  was  a  son 
of  John  and  Mary  (Ackerley)  Ruh,  who 
were  also  natives  of  the  Fatherland. 
The}'  had  a  family  of  seven  children,  of 
whom  Joseph,  now  a  resident  of  Put  in 
Ba}',  is  the  only  known  survivor. 

The  gentleman  whose  name  introduces 
this  sketch  was  reared  to  manhood  in  the 
land  of  his  birth,  acquired  his  education 
in  its  public  schools  and  learned  the  trade 
of  butcher,  and  tanner  of  hides.  In  1854 
he  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  America,  and 
took  up  his  residence  in  Sandusky  City, 
Ohio,  but  after  a  short  time  removed  to 
Put  in  Bay  Island,  where  he  made  his 
home  for  a  period  of  forty-five  years,  and 
was  one  of  the  most  highly-esteemed  citi- 
zens of  that  community.  During  his 
earlier  residence  here  he  engaged  in  wood 
chopping  and  butchering,  but  in  later 
years  his  entire  time  and  attention  were 
devoted  to  grape  growing,  his  vineyard 
being  one  of  the  finest  on  the  Island.  A 
handsome  and  well-kept  residence  and 
beautiful  grounds,  themselves  the  em- 
bodiment of  neatness,  indicate  the  thrift 
and  enterprise  of  him  who  was  the  owner. 

Mr.  Ruh  was  married  in  Sandusky 
City,  June  1 1,  1857,  to  Christina  Schmidt, 
a  daughter  of  Frederick  and  Mary  (Brandt) 
Schmidt,  the  former  a  native  of  Baden, 
Germany,   born   August   10,     1828.      Mr. 


and  Mrs.  Ruh  became  the  parents  of  two 
children:  Herman,  born  July  18,  1869; 
and  Marie  L. ,  born  February  24,  1S71. 
The  mother  of  this  family  came  with  her 
parents  to  America  in  1854,  and  since 
1855  has  resided  continuously  on  Put  in 
Bay  Island — a  most  estimable  lady,  one 
who  has  many  warm  friends  in  the  com- 
munity. 

Mr.  Ruh  efficiently  filled  the  office  of 
school  director  of  Put  in  Bay  for  twelve 
years,  was  also  township  trustee  for  one 
term,  and  served  in  other  local  offices, 
discharging  his  duties  with  a  promptness 
and  fidelity  that  won  him  high  connnen- 
dation.  He  was  a  man  of  broad  and 
liberal  views,  charitable  to  a  fault,  and 
his  hearty  support  and  co-operation  were 
given  to  all  worthy  enterprises  calculated 
to  benefit  the  community.  His  life's  la- 
bors were  ended  May  11,  1895,  and  in 
his  death  Put  in  Bay  lost  one  of  her  most 
valuable  citizens,  his  wife  a  loving  and  de- 
voted husband,  and  his  children  a  kind 
and  indulgent  father.  His  career  was 
above  reproach,  and  he  left  to  his  family 
not  only  a  good  property  but  the  priceless 
heritage  of  an  untarnished  name. 


JOHN    SIEGRIST    (deceased),    who 
was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  on 
Middle  Bass  Island,  Ottawa  county, 
and  a  prominent  grape  grower,    was 
born  in  Bavaria,  Germany,  May  2,   1825, 
and  v\'as  a  son  of  Leopolt  and  Kate  (Har- 
mond)  Siegrist. 

John  Siegrist  was  educated  in  his  na- 
tive land,  engaged  there  in  fruit  growing, 
and  learned  the  trade  of  stonecutter. 
About  1850  he  left  Germany  for  America, 
and  coming  to  Ohio  located  in  Sandusky, 
Erie  county,  where  he  resided  for  some 
years,  and  worked  at  his  trade  of  stone- 
cutter. Afterward  he  removed  to  Kelley's 
Island,  and  engaged  in  grape  growing,  in 
1866  removing  to  Middle  Bass  Island, 
where  he  continued  in  the  same  occupa- 
tion.     In  Sandusky  on  October  24,  1853, 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


397 


Mr.  Siegrist  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Margaret  Stoess,  and  they  had  nine 
children,  as  follows:-  Mary,  born  July 
24,  1854,  died  March  28,  i860;  Elizabeth, 
born  August  31,  1856,  died  March  14, 
i860;  Magdalena,  born  July  15,  1858, 
died  March  12,  i860;  Conrad,  born 
January  14,  i860,  died  August  12,  1861, 
Margueretta,  born  March  19,  1862,  is  the 
wife  of  Peter  Lonz;  Louisa,  born  July  8, 
1863,  is  the  wife  of  Jacob  Scherer,  resid- 
ing in  Sandusky;  Lizzie,  born  March  18, 
1865,  died  December  7,  1870;  Anna, 
born  August  20,  1867,  died  September  2, 
1868;  and  Emma,  born  October  28,  1869. 
Mrs.  Siegrist's  parents,  Godfrey  and 
Louisa  Stoess,  were  born  in  Germanj-. 

After  removing  to  Middle  Bass  Island, 
in  1866,  Mr.  Siegrist  resided  there  up  to 
the  date  of  his  death,  January  5,  1882. 
His  widow  died  January  30,   1893. 


PETER  F.  LONZ,  a  grape  grow- 
er on  Middle  Bass  Island,  Otta- 
wa count}',  was  born  March  5, 
1857,  in  Sandusky,  Erie  Co., 
Ohio,  son  of  Peter  and  Mary  (Werber) 
Lonz,  who  were  born,  respectively,  in 
Prussia  and  in  Baden,  Germany;  both  are 
still  living,  having  their  home  in  San- 
dusky. 

Peter  F.  Lonz  was  reared  to  man- 
hood and  educated  in  Sandusky,  and  has 
been  engaged  principally  in  agricultural 
pursuits  since  boyhood.  In  1876  he  came 
to  Middle  Bass,  and  has  since  been  a  con- 
tinuous resident  thereof,  engaged  in  grape 
growing  and  wine  making.  On  April  13, 
1882,  Peter  F.  Lonz  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Margueretta  Siegrist,  and  they 
have  had  four  children,  three  of  whom 
are  now  living,  namely;  Cora  Rosa  M., 
born  August  31,  1884;  George  F.  A., 
born  January  12,  1887;  and  Louisa  Anna, 
born  January  15,  1889.  Mrs.  Lonz  is  a 
daughter  of  John  and  Margueretta  Sie- 
grist. 

Mr.  Lonz  has  served  as  a  school  direct- 


or two  terms.  In  his  political  views  he  is  a 
Democrat.  He  is  well-known  in  Put  in- 
Bay  township,  and  throughout  the  county 
generally,  has  held  many  offices  of  trust, 
and  in  all  of  them  has  performed  his  duty 
with  fidelity.  He  is  a  man  of  more  than 
ordinary  ability,  and  has  made  good  use 
of  his  opportunities,  possessing  sterling 
honesty,  which  has  characterized  his  con- 
duct throughout  life,  and  has  won  for  him 
a  high  place  in  the  esteem  and  confidence 
of  his  fellow  men. 


DAVID  JAMESON  (deceased)  was 
for  fifty  years  one  of  the  promi- 
nent and  progressive  residents  of 
Danbury  township,  Ottawa  coun- 
ty. His  birth  occurred  in  New  York  City, 
November  22,  1817,  and  he  was  a  son  of 
Andrew  and  Esther  (Fowler)  Jameson, 
the  former  a  native  of  Scotland,  the  lat- 
ter of  Connecticut.  His  father,  who  was 
a  dry -goods  merchant  of  New  York  City, 
died  there  when  our  subject  was  quite 
young. 

In  1822  tbe  mother  with  her  family 
removed  to  Bloomingville,  Ohio,  where 
they  resided  until  1834,  when  they 
located  on  Johnson's  Island.  At  the  end 
of  ten  years  they  came  to  Danbury  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county,  making  a  location 
at  Bay  Shore,  where  they  resided  for 
about  six  years,  and  where  the  mother 
passed  from  this  earth  in  1850.  Our 
subject  then  removed  to  the  present 
homestead  farm  now  occupied  by  his 
wife  and  family,  and  from  that  time  up 
to  his  death,  which  took  place  January  3 1 , 
1 894,  he  was  a  continuous  resident  of 
that  section  of  the  township.  Most  of 
his  time  was  passed  in  fishing,  his  farm  be- 
ing attended  to  by  hired  help.  He  also 
commanded  a  freight  steamer  on  Lake 
Erie,  and  owned  several  sailboats  which 
he  used  in  the  pursuit  of  his  business. 

Mr.  Jameson  was  twice  married,  his 
first  union  being  with  Miss  Almira  Mea- 
cham,  and  to  them  were  born  four  chil- 


308 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


dren,  three  of  whom  are  still  living — 
Lorena,  wife  of  Frederick  Johnson,  of 
Danbury  township;  John  B.,  a  resident 
of  Lakeside,  Ottawa  county;  and  Will- 
iam, a  resident  of  Danbury  township. 
On  December  12,1855,  Mr.  Jameson  mar- 
ried Miss  Eli/iabeth  Tynan,  who  was  born 
in  Danbury  township,  March  2,  1839, 
and  is  a  daughtor  of  ^^'illiam  and  Marjja- 
ret  (Johnson)  T}nan,  the  former  a  native 
of  Ireland,  the  latter  of  Ohio.  Her  father 
was  among  the  early  settlers  of  Danbury 
township,  and  for  many  years  was  fore- 
man of  a  stone  quarry  at  Marble  Head. 
He  also  engaged  in  the  quarry  business 
in  his  own  interest  for  several  years,  be- 
sides being  one  of  the  leading  agricultur- 
ists of  the  county.  The  mother  of  Mrs. 
Jameson  is  now  the  widow  of  Gavin 
Watson. 

Ten  children  were  born  to  the  union 
of  Mr.  Jameson  and  his  second  wife, 
namely:  (i)  Howard  E.,  born  October 
26,  1857,  is  a  resident  of  Lakeside,  Ot- 
tawa county,  and  by  his  marriage  with 
Miss  Dora  Newton  has  two  children  — 
Hazel  May  and  Russell  H.  (2)  Delia  M., 
born  May  2,  1859,  became  the  wife  of 
Durell  Battle,  and  died  February  17, 1884, 
leaving  a  daughter — Delia  Elizabeth,  who 
was  born  on  the  14th  of  that  month,  and 
now  makes  her  home  with  her  grand- 
mother, Mrs.  Jameson.  (3)  Luella  T., 
born  January  17,  i860,  is  the  wife  of  M. 
W.  Pettibone,  of  Lakeside,  Danbury 
township.  (4)  Lucy  A.,  born  November 
15,  1 86 1,  is  the  wife  of  M.  H.  Beebe,  of 
Cleveland,  Ohio.  (5)  Minnie  A.,  born 
February  10.  1863,  is  at  home.  (6)  Cora 
Lillian,  born  March  i,  1866,  is  the  wife 
of  Alfred  M.  Morton,  of  Cleveland.  (7) 
Genevieve  was  born  December  12,  1867. 
(8)  Benjamin  Mead  was  born  September 
26,  1872,  and  makes  his  home  in  Dan- 
bury township.  (9)  Flora  Belle  was  born 
February  13,  1874;  and  (lO)  Ernest  R. 
was  born  June  13,    1877. 

During  his  early  life  Mr.  Jameson  was 
connected    with    the     United     Brethren 


Church;  but  after  his  removal  to  his  late 
residence  in  Danbury  township  he  became 
a  consistent  member  of  the  Methodist 
Church,  and  contributed  liberally  of  his 
means  to  church  purposes  and  charities. 
For  sixteen  years  prior  to  his  death  he 
was  unable  to  do  active  business,  and  for 
five  years  was  a  constant  but  patient  suf- 
ferer. He  was  a  self-made  man  in  every 
respect,  having  from  small  beginnings 
made  a  complete  success  in  life,  and  ac- 
quired an  enviable  record  for  fair  and 
honest  dealing.  He  was  a  man  of  excel- 
lent judgment  and  sound  common  sense, 
while  his  unswerving  personal  integrity 
and  the  general  rectitude  of  his  life  gained 
for  him  a  favorable  reputation  in  the 
community  where  he  was  best  known. 


JOHN  WICKLIFFE   LOCKWOOD, 
who  is  numbered  among  the  leading 
business  men  of  Ottawa  county,  is 
extensively  engaged  in  farming  and 
fruit   growing,  and  also  operates  a  large 
plaster  quarry. 

He  was  born  June  23,  1827,  on  the  old 
homestead  farm  in  Portage  township, 
which  is  still  his  place  of  abode,  and  is  a 
son  of  Col.  Samuel  M.  and  Gertrude 
(Doughty)  Lockwood.  His  father  was 
born  in  Stamford,  Conn.,  and  his  mother 
in  New  York  Cit}'.  About  the  year  18 18 
the)'  took  up  their  abode  in  Danbury 
township,  Ottawa  Co. ,  Ohio,  and  in  1821 
removed  to  Portage  township,  where  the 
Colonel  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits, 
and  conducted  a  plaster  quarry  until  a 
few  years  previous  to  his  death,  when  he 
retired  from  active  business  life.  He  was 
one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  the  county, 
and  erected  the  first  stone  residence  in 
Portage  township.  He  won  his  title  of 
"Colonel"  by  serving  in  the  New  York 
State  Militia  during  the  war  of  181  2.  A 
prominent  and  influential  citizen,  he  was 
recognized  as  a  leader  in  the  community 
in  which  he  lived;  was  honored  with  elec- 
tion to  the  State  Legislature  on  several 


Jy/^~s^^  n  e^^^^'<^^-'^^'<^—t?~-ry  i 


/      'I 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


399 


different  occasions,  and  was  also  State 
coinmissioncr  of  the  Mad  River  &  Lake 
Eric  railroad,  the  first  road  built  in  Ohio, 
and  the  second  west  of  the  Alleghanies. 
He  passed  away  in  Sandusky  City  in  1 848. 
He  was  twice  married,  his  first  wife  being 
Mar\'  Doughty,  a  sister  of  the  mother  of 
our  subject.  They  had  four  children, 
only  one  of  whom  is  now  living,  Edward 
J.  Hy  the  second  union  there  were  seven 
children  who  reached  mature  years,  and 
those  of  them  who  survive  are  John  W. , 
Gertrude  Ann  (wife  of  F.  F.  Smith,  of 
Chicago),  and  Emeline  fliving  with  her 
brother). 

John  W.  Lockwood  was  reared  to 
manhood  on  the  old  home  farm,  and  like 
many  another  boy  who  has  made  his  life 
work  a  success  obtained  his  education  in 
the  old  log  school  house  near  his  home. 
With  exception  of  a  few  years  spent  on 
Sandusky  Bay,  in  connection  with  a  ferry- 
boat in  which  he  was  interested,  he  has 
always  lived  in  Portage  township,  and  his 
occupation  has  been  farming,  fruit  grow- 
ing and  plaster  quarr3ing.  He  is  a  thor- 
ough-going business  man,  upright  and 
honorable  in  all  transactions,  and  the  neat 
and  thrifty  appearance  of  his  place  indi- 
cates his  careful  supervision.  He  raises 
a  fine  variety  of  fruits,  wherebj'  not  a 
little  is  added  to  his  income,  and  success- 
fully operates  one  of  the  largest  quarries 
in  the  county. 

At  Port  Clinton,  June  20,  1850,  Mr. 
Lockwood  was  married  to  Miss  Elizabeth 
Smith,  who  was  born  in  November,  1827, 
daughter  of  Henry  V.  and  Catherine 
(Fralick)  Smith,  natives  of  New  York,  and 
later  residents  of  Portage  township.  Both 
have  now  departed  this  life.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Lockwood  had  a  family  of  eight 
children,  of  whom  one  died  in  infancy; 
the  others  are  Ida,  wife  of  R.  W.  Gill, 
who  is  living  at  Lakeside,  Ohio;  Herbert 
D  ,  on  the  old  homestead;  Horace  A.,  a 
resident  of  Victor,  Colo. ;  Gertrude,  wife 
of  John  Hclberg,  a  prominent  merchant 
of  Port  Clinton;  Imogene  E. ,  wife  of  W. 


H.  Althoff,  editor  of  the  Port  Clinton 
Dciiiocrat :  Alfred  H.,  of  Toledo;  and 
Stanton  W.,  at  home. 

Mr.  Lockwood  has  efficiently  tilled  the 
office  of  township  trustee  at  intervals, 
serving  altogether  more  than  twenty 
years,  and  has  been  honored  with  other 
positions  of  public  trust.  He  has  always 
voted  the  Republican  ticket,  and  has  been 
an  earnest  supporter  of  interests  calcu- 
lated to  prove  of  public  benefit,  lending  a 
helping  hand  to  all  worthy  enterprises. 
Such  a  man  is  well  worthy  of  representa- 
tion in  this  volume. 


IMMER  C.  MOORE  (deceased)  was 
a  farmer  and  fruit  grower  of  Erie 
township,     Ottawa    county,     and     a 

Union  soldier  in  the  war  of  the  Re- 
bellion. He  was  born  in  Port  Clinton, 
Portage  township,  Ottawa  county,  August 
21,  1841,  and  was  a  son  of  Cyrus  and 
Esther  H.  (Knight)  Moore,  who  were 
among  the  early  settlers  of  Port  Clinton, 
and  afterward  removed  to  Erie  township. 

Cyrus  Moore  died  December  7,  1871: 
his  widow,  Esther  H.,  is  still  living  at 
the  age  of  seventy-eight  years.  Thej' 
had  a  family  of  se\en  children,  as  follows: 
Eleanor  E.,  wife  of  I.  K.  Gibbons,  re- 
siding at  Gypsum,  Ottawa  county;  Im- 
mer  C,  subject  of  this  sketch;  CelinaS., 
wife  of  Richard  B.  Moore,  of  Oketo, 
Kans. ;  Lucinda  F.,  wife  of  Nathan  Pier- 
son,  of  Carroll;  Abigail  E.,  wife  of  Brin- 
ton  Hoopes,  residing  in  Toledo;  Robert 
B. ;  and  Mary  A. ,  wife  of  James  Snider, 
of  Erie  township. 

When  but  a  youth  Immer  C.  Moore 
accompanied  his  parents  to  Erie  town- 
ship. He  was  reared  a  farmer's  boy,  re- 
ceived his  education  in  the  district  schools, 
and  was  employed  for  a  number  of  years 
in  sawmills  in  Ottawa  county,  also  rail- 
roading for  a  short  time;  but  the  latter 
part  of  his  life  was  spent  in  agricultural 
pursuits.  He  served  as  a  private  in  Com- 
pany C,  Forty-tirst  O.  V.  I.,  from  Octo- 


400 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


ber,  1864.  until  the  close  of  the  war.  In 
Adrian,  Mich.,  September  21,  1876,  Im- 
mer  C.  Moore  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Mary  E.  Dubach,  and  they  had  five 
children,  their  names  and  dates  of  birth 
being  as  follows:  Laurence  D.,  January 
27,  1878;  Mabel,  July  31,  1879;  Grace, 
August  13,  1880;  Gertrude,  August  16, 
1883;  and  Harold,  February  23,  1887. 
Mr.  Moore  was  a  Republican  in  politics. 
The  family  attend  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church.  Inimer  C.  Moore  died  April 
8,   1895. 


ADDISON  RICHARDSON 
D  O  L  P  H  is  one  of  the  extensive 
and  progressive  farmers  of  Ot- 
tawa county,  one  who  thoroughly 
understands  the  scientific  side  of  farming, 
and  a  man  who  not  only  understands  that 
certain  things  must  be  done,  but  knows 
why  they  must  be  done. 

Although  he  is  one  of  the  younger 
agriculturists  of  the  community,  he  yet 
ranks  among  the  most  prominent.  The 
record  of  his  life  is  as  follows:  He  was 
born  in  Ashtabula  county.  Ohio,  August 
12.  1866,  and  when  six  years  of  age  was 
brought  by  his  parents  to  Ottawa  county, 
the  family  locating  upon  the  farm  where 
he  now  lives.  He  is  a  son  of  Aaron  and 
Lavina  (Richardson)  Dolph,  prominent 
people  of  Elmore.  He  obtained  his  early 
education  in  the  district  schools  of  Ottawa 
county,  afterward  attended  the  high  school 
of  Elmore,  and  completed  his  literary 
course  in  the  Ohio  Wesleyan  University, 
after  which  he  returned  to  his  father's 
home  and  aided  in  the  cultivation  of  the 
farm  for  two  years. 

On  Eebruarj-  7,  1888,  Mr.  Dolph  mar- 
ried Miss  Kate  Kelsej',  of  Toledo,  Ohio, 
who  was  born  March  26,  1866,  in  San- 
dusky, this  State.  She  is  a  daughter  of 
Capt.  Ira  and  Susanna  (Smith)  Kelsey. 
who,  during  her  early  girlhood,  removed 
to  Toledo,  where  she  was  educated.  She 
made    a    special    study    of    instrumental 


music,  became  quite  proficient  in  that  art, 
and  for  two  3ears  taught  music  in  Toledo. 
Her  father  was  born  in  New  York,  April 
1,  1833,  and  for  many  years  engaged  in 
teaching.  He  subsequently  went  to  Cali- 
fornia, where  he  mined  with  excellent 
success.  On  September  26,  1861,  he 
wedded  Miss  Susanna  Smith,  of  Mere- 
dith, Ohio,  and  when  President  Lincoln 
issued  his  call  for  75,000  volunteers,  he 
was  among  the  first  to  respond,  re-enlist- 
ing on  the  expiration  of  that  term.  He 
served  as  a  member  of  Company  I,  Sixty- 
eighth  O.  V.  I.,  until  the  close  of  the  war, 
and  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Gettys- 
burg. \Mien  the  country  no  longer  needed 
his  services,  he  became  a  resident  of  To- 
ledo, and  there  made  his  home  until  Au- 
gust I,  1 88 1,  when  he  was  drowned  in 
the  Maumee  river.  His  wife,  who  was 
born  in  Greene  county,  N.  J.,  February 
7,  1836,  acquired  the  greater  part  of  her 
education  in  the  public  schools  of  Fre- 
mont, Ohio.  On  September  9,  1888,  she 
became  the  wife  of  Edward  Upton,  and 
they  now  reside  in  Toledo. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dolph  began  their  do- 
mestic life  upon  the  farm  which  has  since 
been  their  home — a  rich  and  fertile  tract 
of  260  acres  of  the  finest  farming  land 
that  can  be  found  in  the  State.  They 
have  two  children:  Lovina  Belle,  born 
September  9,  1889;  and  Anna  Gertrude, 
born  April  2,  1893.  The  parents  are  nine- 
teenth-century people  in  every  sense  of  the 
term — educated,  hospitable,  genial  and 
possessed  of  the  true  enterprising  progres- 
sive spirit  of  the  West.  Each  year  Mr. 
Dolph  sows  about  fort)'  acres  in  wheat, 
and  in  1891  from  thirty-eight  acres  had  a 
yield  of  1,447  bushels,  while  in  1894  he 
raised  1,700  bushels  on  forty  acres.  His 
corn  crop  usually  averages  about  fifty-five 
bushels  of  shelled  corn  to  the  acre,  and 
the  yield  of  oats  has  been  as  high  as  six- 
ty-five bushels  per  acre.  He  keeps 
abreast,  if  not  in  the  lead,  of  the  times  in 
every  particular.  He  believes  in  and 
practices  the  rotation   of  crops,  and  also 


COMMEMORATIVE  BJOOUAPUWAL  RECORD. 


401 


plans  to  Rive  each  field  what  he  terms  a 
rest  in  each  rotation.  He  also  changes 
seed  grain,  and  before  using  it  makes  a 
special  test  of  it  by  purchasing  and  sow- 
ing a  couple  of  bushels,  then  makes  a 
careful  study  of  the  crop,  not  only  as  to 
the  yield,  but  also  as  to  the  weight  and 
color,  its  adaptability  to  the  soil,  etc.  If 
all  is  satisfactory  he  then  uses  what  he 
has  harvested  as  seed  for  the  next  year, 
and  thus  raises  his  own  seed  grain.  If  it 
proves  other  than  what  he  hopes,  it  is  at 
once  discarded  and  another  variety  tried. 
Mr.  Dolph  follows  this  plan  not  only  in 
regard  to  wheat  but  also  oats  and  pota- 
toes, and  his  products,  being  of  superior 
quality,  always  bring  the  highest  market 
price.  The  ground  is  always  carefully 
prepared  for  his  grains,  and  careful 
thought  and  study,  the  result  of  deep  re- 
search, is  always  applied  to  his  work. 
He  also  raises  considerable  stock  of  high 
grades,  being  full-blooded,  and  in  his 
shipments  receives  the  highest  market 
price.  He  now  has  on  hand  full-blooded 
Durham  cattle  and  Clydesdale  horses, 
and  is  the  possessor  of  some  of  the  finest 
stock  that  can  be  found  in  the  State. 
His  chickens  are  of  the  white  Plymouth- 
Rock  breed,  and  in  his  care  of  these  mem- 
bers of  the  feathered  tribe  he  displays 
the  same  painstaking  effort  that  char- 
acterizes his  other  work.  In  all  of  his 
labors  he  is  intensely  scientific,  at  the 
same  time  practical,  and  belongs  to  that 
class  of  progressive,  cultured  men  who 
have  made  the  business  of  farming  of 
equal  importance  to  that  of  any  other 
pursuit  in  life. 


FREDERICK  A.ALLYN  (deceased) 
was  born  in  New  London,  Conn., 
November  ii,  1809,  and  became 
one  of  the  valued  residents  and 
prominent  farmers  of  Erie  township,  Ot- 
tawa county.  His  loss  to  the  community 
was  a  matter  of  sincere  regret.  His  par- 
ents, Frederick   and   Cynthia  (Williams) 


Allyn,  were  also  natives  of  the  Nutmeg 
State.  He  began  to  write  his  own  biog- 
raphy, but  death  prevented  the  comple- 
tion of  this  task.  He  wrote:  "I  was 
born  in  North  Gaston,  now  called  Led- 
yard,  New  London,  Conn.,  and  left  there 
March  31,  1834,  going  to  Lycoming  coun- 
ty, Penn.,  on  the  west  branch  of  the 
Susquehanna  river,  and  staid  there  eight 
months.  I  then  went  to  Coventing  town- 
ship. Portage  Co.,  Ohio,  arriving  there 
December  9,  1S34;  left  there  January  i, 
1835,  and  came  to  Lower  Sandusky  (now 
Fremont);  next  I  went  to  Riley  township 
and  lived  there  two  years.  In  June,  1835, 
I  removed  to  Erie  township,  Ottawa  Co. , 
Ohio,  where  I  purchased  120  acres  of 
land,  and  in  1837  commenced  cutting  wild 
grass.  I  was  married  April  13,  1838,  [.'J 
to  Rebecca  Laforce,  who  died  February 
12,  [.']  1859,  and  was  married  again  No- 
vember 6,  1862." 

Here  the  writer  laid  down  his  pen 
never  to  resume  it  again,  but  he  is  well 
entitled  to  a  more  extended  mention  in 
this  work  devoted  to  the  honored  pioneers 
and  best  citizens  of  Ottawa  county.  He 
acquired  his  education  in  his  native  State, 
and  when  quite  a  young  man  left  home  to 
make  his  own  way  in  the  world.  Going 
to  Pennsylvania,  he  worked  as  a  farm 
hand  for  several  years,  and  on  leaving  the 
Keystone  State,  he  removed  to  what  was 
then  called  Upper  Sandusky,  Ohio.  From 
1835  up  to  the  time  of  his  death  he  was 
an  esteemed  resident  and  leading  farmer 
of  Erie  township,  Ottawa  county,  taking 
an  active  interest  in  all  that  pertained  to 
the  welfare  of  the  community,  and  doing 
all  in  his  power  for  its  advancement  and 
progress.  He  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Mrs.  Rebecca  Miscner  Laforce,  who  was 
born  February  20,  181 1,  and  died  Febru- 
ary 14,  1859,  leaving  one  son,  George 
Williams,  who  was  born  March  24,1838, 
and  lives  in  Elmore,  Ohio.  For  his  sec- 
ond wife,  Mr.  Allyn  wedded  Mrs.  Sarah 
(Adams)  Falley,  who  was  born  October 
19,  1825,  in  Erie  county,  Ohio,  and   was 


402 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


the  widow  of  Francis  Falley.  By  the 
second  marriage  was  born,  September  19, 
1863,  one  son, Charles  Lester.  Mr.  Allyn 
passed  away  at  his  home  in  Erie  town- 
ship, April  24,  1 89 1,  and  his  death  was 
deeply  and  sincerely  mourned.  He  had 
lived  an  honorable  life,  and  all  who  knew 
him  respected  him  for  his  sterling  worth. 
In  his  political  views  he  was  a  Republican. 

Ch.^rles  L.  Allyn  was  born  and 
reared  on  the  old  homestead  farm  which 
is  still  his  place  of  abode,  and  his  educa- 
tion was  obtained  mostly  in  the  schools 
of  Port  Clinton.  At  an  early  age  he  be- 
came familiar  with  all  the  duties  of  farm 
life,  and  has  since  been  identified  with 
the  agricultural  interests  of  his  native 
county,  being  one  of  the  enterprising  and 
progressive  farmers  of  Erie  township.  He 
was  married,  at  the  home  of  his  wife's 
parents  in  Erie  township,  February  3, 
1887,  to  Miss  Emma  Belle  Sharpe,  who 
was  born  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  January  29, 
1868,  daughter  of  Leonard  and  Elizabeth 
(Bailey)  Sharpe.  Her  father  died  July 
26,  1892;  her  mother  is  now  a  resident  of 
Lacarne.  To  this  union  were  born  four 
children,  two  of  whom  are  living:  Fred- 
erick Leonard,  born  April  19,  1888;  and 
Myrtle  Belle,  born  September  12,  1891. 
The  parents  attend  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  and  in  his  political  views 
Mr.  Allyn  is  also  a  Republican. 

George  W.  Alljn,  son  of  Frederick  A. 
Allyn  by  his  first  wife,  was  married  Au- 
gust 18,  1859,  to  Esther  K.  Gamble. 
Their  only  daughter,  Clara  Edna,  was 
born  July  16,  1862,  and  died  in  Novem- 
ber, 1879,  aged  seventeen  years.  They 
have  two  sons:  George  W. ,  born  Feb- 
ruary 12,  1872,  and  Andrew  Frederick, 
born  September  16,  1874. 


CARL  BUDDENHAGEN  (deceas- 
ed) was  in  his  lifetime  one  of   the 
extensive  grape  growers  of  Middle 
Bass    Island,   Ottawa  county,   of 
which  locality  he  was  one  of  the  earliest 


settlers.  He  was  born  September  16, 
1 819,  in  Mecklenburg,  Germany,  and 
was  a  son  of  John  and  Hannah  Budden- 
hagen,  who  were  born  in  Germany  and 
died  there. 

Carl  Buddenhagen  was  reared  to  man- 
hood and  received  his  education  in  his 
native  land,  where  he  also  learned  the 
trade  of  a  stone-mason.  He  was  married 
in  Germany,  in  1845,  to  Maria  Wardo, 
who  was  also  born  in  Mecklenburg,  and 
they  had  eleven  children,  five  of  whom 
are  living,  as  follows:  Caroline,  wife  of 
Peter  M.  Schnoor,  residing  at  Oak  Har- 
bor, Ottawa  county;  Wilhelmina,  wife  of 
Nicholas  Fox,  of  Put  in  Bay,  Ottawa 
county;  Louisa,  born  December  i,  1859, 
wife  of  J.  H.  Brady,  living  on  Middle 
Bass  Island;  Anna,  the  wife  of  H.  J. 
Sloat,  residing  at  Milan,  Ohio;  and  Carl 
Frederick,  residing  at  Sandusky,  Erie 
county. 

In  1853  Mr.  Buddenhagen  embarked 
for  America,  came  to  Ohio,  and  settled 
in  Sandusky,  Erie  county,  where  he  fol- 
lowed his  occupation  of  mason  some 
twelve  years.  About  1862  he  removed  to 
Middle  Bass  Island,  and  was  engaged  in 
grape  growing.  He  was  a  continuous 
resident  from  the  date  of  his  settlement 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  March 
21,  1872,  and  was  intimately  connected 
with  all  the  early  historj'  of  the  Island. 
Surrounded  by  an  intelligent  and  inter- 
esting family  in  his  home,  Mr.  Budden- 
hagen was  a  devoted  husband,  and  a  kind 
and  indulgent  father.  Among  men  he 
was  genial  and  companionable,  manly 
and  fearlessly  independent  in  character 
and  thought,  and  consistent  throughout. 
His  social  standing  was  high,  his  integrity 
incorruptible,  and  his  memory  will  long 
be  revered  by  those  who  knew  him. 

J.  H.  Bkadv,  who  married  Louisa 
Buddenhagen,  was  born  in  the  Province 
of  Ontario,  Canada,  went  to  Chicago, 
111.,  when  a  j'oung  man,  and  later  re- 
moved to  Toledo,  Ohio,  where  he  fol- 
lowed his  occupation,  that  of   contractor 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


403 


and  builder,  and  whence,  in  1874,  he 
came  to  Middle  Bass  Island.  On  No- 
vember 8,  1875,  l^s  ^^''is  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Louisa  Buddcnhagen,  and  they 
have  had  eight  children,  whose  names 
and  dates  of  birth  are  as  follows:  May  E., 
August  8,  1876;  Ella  Anna,  May  30,  1878; 
Alma  Belle,  December  3,  1879;  Lillian, 
October  5,  1882;  Carl  P.,  November  15, 
1884;  Walter,  September  12,  1886;  J. 
Bertram,  June  10,  1888,  and  Louis,  Oc- 
tober 30,  1893.  A  few  days  after  his 
marriage  Mr.  Brady  removed  to  Toledo, 
where  he  resided  for  three  years.  In 
1878  he  returned  to  Middle  Bass,  has 
since  been  a  continuous  resident  of  the 
Island,  and  is  now  extensively  engaged  in 
grape  growing.  He  is  Democratic  in  his 
political  views,  is  a  member  of  the  I.  O. 
O.  F.  at  Sandusky,  and  the  familv  are 
connected  with  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church. 


JOHN  H.  REHBERG  (deceased), 
who  was  connected  with  the  earliest 
history  of  Middle  Bass  Island,  Ot- 
tawa county,  and  was  one  of  the 
extensive  grape  growers  there,  was  born 
in  Mecklenburg,  Germany,  January  15, 
1827,  and  was  a  son  of  John  and  Chris- 
tina Rehberg.  Mrs.  Rehberg  died  in  the 
Fatherland,  and  John  Rehberg  on  Middle 
Bass  Island,  Ohio,  December  22,  1880. 
Our  subject  was  reared  to  manhood 
and  educated  in  Germany,  where  he  fol- 
lowed the  butcher  business,  and  in  1853 
came  to  America.  At  Mecklenburg, 
Germany,  in  the  spring  of  1848,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Sophia  V'arrnke, 
who  was  born  in  Mecklenburg  August  10, 
1825,  and  they  had  a  family  of  fifteen 
children,  nine  of  whom  are  yet  living,  as 
follows:  Henry,  born  December  4,  1849, 
now  residing  on  Point  Pelee  Island, 
Canada;  Caroline,  born  September  16, 
1854,  wife  of  Henry  Engel,  residing  in 
Michigan;  William,  born  .April  15.  1857; 
living   on  Catawba  Island,   Ottawa  Co., 


Ohio;  Frederick,  born  February  21,  1859, 
residing  at  Chagrin  Falls,  Cuyahoga  Co., 
Ohio;  Lena,  born  May  18,  i860,  wife  of 
Andrew  StoU,  living  on  Kelley's  Island, 
Erie  Co.,  Ohio;  Sophia,  born  November 
13,  1 86 1,  wife  of  Charles  Fisher,  also  of 
Kelley's  Island;  John,  born  April  30, 
1864,  a  resident  of  Put  in  Bay,  Ottawa 
county;  Augusta,  born  July  14,  1867, 
and  Edward,  born   August  22,   1872. 

Having  come  to  America  in  1853, 
John  H.  Rehberg  resided  for  about  three 
years  in  Chicago,  Ills.,  removed  to  Cedar 
Point,  Hamilton  Co.,  Ohio,  where  he 
lived  two  years,  and  then  returned  to 
Chicago,  whence,  about  six  months  later, 
he  removed  to  Indiana,  where  for  six 
years  he  was  engaged  in  agricultural  pur- 
suits. In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1864 
he  removed  to  Middle  Bass  Island,  and 
was  a  continuous  resident  of  the  Island, 
and  closely  identified  with  its  progressive 
interests  until  his  death  on  May  4,  1888. 

For  twenty-one  years  he  held  the 
office  of  school  director,  and  also  numer- 
ous other  township  offices,  all  of  which  he 
efficiently  filled.  He  took  a  great  interest 
in  educational  matters,  and  was  ever  fore- 
most In  promoting  the  welfare  of  the 
island.  He  was  loved  and  revered  in  life, 
and  in  death  many  marks  of  respect  were 
shown  him  by  sorrowing  friends  and 
neighbors.  Sadly  they  bore  him  to  his 
last  resting  place,  and.  as  the  island 
breezes  chant  their  requiem  o'er  his  grave, 
loving  hearts  will  entwine  and  bedew  with 
tears  an  imperishable  garland  to  his 
memorv. 


SAMUEL  KUESTHARDT,  editor 
of  the  Ottaica  County  Zcitung, 
published  al  Port  Clinton,  Ottawa 
county,  was  born  in  Arnsburg, 
Hesse  Darmstadt,  Germany,  February  6, 
1855,  and  is  one  of  the  best  known  and 
most  highly-respected  citizens  of  the 
county  in  which  he  now  resides. 

He  is  the  son  of  G.  C.  and  Elizabeth 


404 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHWAL  RECORD. 


(Wollenhaupt)  Kuesthardt.  His  father 
was  born  in  Rambach,  Hesse  Cassel, 
Germany,  in  1804;  was  educated  in  the 
teachers'  seminary  at  Beuggen;  followed 
the  profession  of  a  teacher  throughout  his 
life,  and  for  many  years  had  charge  of  a 
reform  school.  He  died  in  April,  1875,  a 
consistent  member  of  the  Lutheran 
Church.  His  first  wife  was  Marie  Wol- 
lenhaupt, bv  whom  he  had  one  child, 
Marie,  who  lives  in  California.  The  sec- 
ond wife  of  Mr.  Kuesthardt.  and  the 
mother  of  our  subject,  was  born  in  Harle, 
Hesse  Cassel,  German}',  in  1826,  came  to 
America  in  1875,  and  died  in  California 
April  5,  1894,  the  mother  of  seven  chil- 
dren, all  of  whom  lived  to  manhood  and 
womanhood:  Christiana,  died  at  the  age 
of  twenty  years;  Magdalena,  wife  of  Rev. 
Julius  Klopsteg,  lives  at  Henderson, 
Minn. ;  Tabitha  was  married  in  Germany 
to  Gustav  Brobst;  our  subject  comes 
ne.\t;  Anna  is  married  to  Julius  Ulber,  an 
artist,  now  of  California;  Hermina  is  the 
wife  of  Andrew  Peterson,  and  lives  in  St. 
Paul,  Minn. ;  G.  W.  lives  in  California, 
where  he  follows  the  trade  of  a  carpenter, 
and  is  also  engaged  in  fruit  raising. 

Samuel  Kuesthardt  attended  school  at 
the  theological  seminary  in  Melsungen, 
Germany,  from  which  he  w-as  a  graduate 
in  1874.  He  then  came  to  America  and 
took  a  practical  course  at  the  schools  of 
Mendota,  111.  He  was  the  assistant  min- 
ister for  one  year  in  a  church  in  Toledo, 
Ohio,  and  in  the  fall  of  iS76was  ordained 
the  pastor  of  a  church  at  Custer,  Wood 
Co. ,  this  State.  At  this  time  he  preached 
to  six  different  churches.  He  remained 
at  Custer  until  1881,  in  the  fall  of  which 
year  he  received  a  call  to  Fair  Haven, 
Mich.,  where  he  remained  until  1887. 
He  was  then  attacked  with  inflammatory 
rheumatism,  from  which  he  suffered 
greatly,  and,  being  obliged  to  seek  a 
change  of  climate,  went  to  Louisiana  and 
settled  in  Calcasieu  Parish,  where  he  took 
up  a  homestead  and  timber  claim,  32  5  acres 
in  all.      His  health  rapidly  impro\ed.  and 


he  spent  a  couple  of  months  in  that  place, 
while  there  preaching  at  Lake  Charles. 
He  then  returned  to  Toledo,  Ohio,  and  from 
there  came  to  Rocky  Ridge,  in  Ottawa 
count)',  where  he  founded  a  congregation, 
and  built  the  first  Lutheran  church  in  the 
place.  This  was  a  frame  building,  which 
soon  after  was  burnt  down,  and  they  then 
erected  one  of  brick.  He  preached  at 
Rocky  Ridge  for  two  and  a  half  years.  In 
September,  1890,  Mr.  Kuesthardt  gave 
up  preaching,  and  the  following  New 
Year  (1891)  took  charge  of  the  Otta'tK'a 
County  Zcituuf;,  then  published  at  Oak 
Harbor,  and  in  1893  he  removed  the 
paper  and  his  family  to  Port  Clinton.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  and  his  paper 
is  printed  in  the  German  language.  It  is 
a  newsy,  well-conducted  journal,  and  is 
popular  with  the  German  citizens. 

Mr.  Kuesthardt  was  married  in  Toledo, 
Ohio,  April  19,  1877,  to  Miss  Marie 
Kuehn,  of  that  city,  and  they  have  had 
nine  children  (seven  of  whom  are  living): 
Paul;  Martha;  Samuel;  Marie;  Laura; 
Ernest,  who  died  in  Louisiana:  Lydia, 
who  died  when  four  years  old;  Hans  and 
Phyllis. 


ALPHONSE  COUCHE  (deceased), 
for  many  years  a  prominent  lum- 
ber dealer  and  grain  merchant  of 
Port  Clinton,  Ottawa  county,  was 
a  native  of  France,  born  in  the  town  of 
Chinon.  old  Province  of  Touraine  (now 
Department  of  Indre  et  Loire),  February 
14,  1833.  His  father  was  born  in  1789, 
and  died  in  1859;  his  mother  was  born 
in  1794,  and  died  in  1838. 

Our  subject  received  a  good  education 
at  his  home,  and  succeeded  in  passing  an 
examination  for  entrance  into  the  College 
of  Arts  and  Manufactures  in  Angers, 
securing  the  bursary  which  admitted  him 
to  the  School  on  payment  of  a  small  sum; 
but  the  Revolution  of  1848  caused  the 
institution  to  be  closed  about  twelve 
months.      For  a  couple   of  years  he  fol- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQRAPUICAL  RECORD. 


405 


lowed  the  business  of  commission  mer- 
chant in  Paris,  purchasing-  <joods  for  the 
South  American  trade,  which  first  sug- 
gested to  him  the  idea  of  migrating  to  one 
or  other  of  the  English  colonies.  Pro- 
ceeding to  London,  England,  he  remained 
there  a  year,  familiarizing  himself  with 
the  language  and  gaining  some  msight 
into  general  business.  In  1856  he  came 
to  New  York,  and  there  remained  until 
the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war,  when 
he  returned  to  France,  but  two  years 
later  once  more  came  to  the  United 
States,  again  locating  in  New  York.  In 
1 864  he  moved  west  to  Ohio,  and  in  Otta- 
wa county  erected  a  sawmill  on  the  banks 
of  the  Portage  river,  a  few  miles  east  of 
Oak  Harbor,  where,  until  1873,  he  did  an 
extensive  business  in  the  manufacture  of 
lumber;  then  removed  his  main  plant  to 
Port  Clinton,  continuing,  however,  to  op- 
erate a  sawmill  at  Rocky  Ridge  and  Crane 
Creek.  In  the  Rocky  Ridge  branch  of 
the  business  he  had  two  partners  from 
1880  to  1889  in  the  persons  of  John. 
Mitchell  (who  was  interested  only  in  the 
Rocky  Ridge  mill)  and  J.  Lecluze  (who 
was  a  partner  in  all  the  businesses  of  Mr. 
Couchc,  and  acted  as  bookkeeper).  In 
addition  to  sawing  and  manufacturing 
building  material  they  bought  and  dealt 
extensively  in  pine  lumber  of  various 
kinds,  also  in  coal  and  wood.  Mr. 
Couche  erected  grain  elevators  at  Port 
Clinton  and  at  La  Carne,  where  he  bought 
and  shipped  grain.  His  largest  operations 
were  in  the  purchase  of  walnut  and  other 
hard  woods  from  the  Northern  and  South- 
ern States,  which,  for  about  fourteen 
years,  he  exported  to  different  countries  of 
Europe.  He  was  the  first  shipper  of 
"  Birdseye  Maple,"  from  America  to 
Europe.  From  the  year  1886  up  to  the 
time  of  his  death  Mr.  Couche  was  in  the 
habit  of  spending  his  winters  in  France, 
going  there  in  the  fall  and  returning  in 
the  spring. 

During  his  residence  at    Port    Clinton 
he  was  one  of  the  most   substantial  con- 


tributors to  the  prosperity  and  growth  of 
the  town,  paying  out  many  thousands  of 
dollars  in  wages  every  year,  and  keeping 
many  workmen  employed.  In  all  his 
business  affairs  he  was  honest,  just,  and 
prompt,  and  enjoyed  the  confidence  and 
esteem  of  all  who  knew  him.  July  30, 
i8gi,  he  suffered  from  a  stroke  of  paral- 
3'sis  of  the  brain  which  deprived  him  more 
or  less  of  the  use  of  his  mental  faculties, 
and  occasioned  his  death  December  19, 
same  year. 

On  December  15,  1877,  Mr.  Couche 
was  married  at  Tours,  Province  of  Tour- 
aine,  France,  to  Miss  Antonie  Cartier, 
daughter  of  Francois  and  Pauline  (Tros- 
seau)  Cartier,  the  former  of  whom  was  a 
manufacturer  of  champagne  wine,  and 
children  as  follows  blessed  their  union: 
Jane  Marie  Pauline  Alice,  born  October 
3,  1878;  Marie  Madeleine  Alphonsine, 
born  April  23,  1880;  and  Frank  Alphonse 
Antoine,  born  January  24,  1883.  Were 
Mr.  Couche  asked  during  his  busy  life- 
time for  the  secret  of  his  success,  he 
would  no  doubt  have  defined  it,  from  his 
own  e.xperience,  as  hard  work,  availing 
itself  of  fair  opportunities. 


AUGUST  SCHMIDT  (deceased), 
who  was  among  the  earliest  set- 
tlers of  Middle  Bass  Island,  Ot- 
tawa county,  and  who  during  his 
long  residence  here  was  extensivel}'  en- 
gaged in  grape  growing,  besides  following 
contracting  and  building,  was  born  in  An- 
halt,  (jermany,  October  7,   1825. 

The  father  of  August  Schmidt  died 
before  his  son  was  born,  and  the  mother, 
Rosamond  Schmidt,  died  when  August 
was  about  tw'ehe  years  of  age,  conse- 
quently verj'  little  is  known  regarding  their 
history.  When  but  a  youth  August 
Schmidt  went  to  Berlin,  and  there  grew 
to  manhood,  receiving  his  education,  and 
learning  the  trade  of  a  stone  mason.  In 
1852  he  came  to  America,  and  settling  in 
Detroit,    Mich.,    resided   there  and    near 


406 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


there  for  about  twelve  years,  engaged  in 
contracting  and  building.  On  January 
17,  1854,  Mr.  Schmidt  was  united  in  mar- 
riage, at  Detroit,  with  Christina  Mueller, 
who  was  born  in  Hesse,  Germany,  May 
26,  1830,  and  they  had  si.\  children,  five 
of  whom  are  still  living,  as  follows:  Au- 
gust, born  December  27,  1855,  now  re- 
siding in  Sandusky,  Erie  Co.,  Ohio;  Eliza- 
beth (Mrs.  E.  Wehrlei,  born  .May  13, 
1S59,  lately  living  on  Middle  Bass  Is- 
land, at  present  (December,  1895)  a  resi- 
dent of  Sandusky;  Katharine,  born  Sep- 
tember 29,  1861.  Charles,  born  Septem- 
ber I  I,  1863,  and  Emil  G.,  born  January 
3,  1866,  all  three  also  living  in  Sandusky. 
In  1864  Mr.  Schmidt  removed  to  Mid- 
dle Bass  Island,  where  he  resided  up  to 
his  death,  which  occurred  February  10, 
1886.  Mrs.  Schmidt  at  present  resides 
in  Sandusky,  Erie  county,  and  the  vine- 
yard is  rented  out  on  shares.  Mrs. 
Schmidt  attends  the  German  Evangelical 
Church,  while  of  the  children  some  at- 
tend the  Presbyterian  Church,  the  others 
the  Congregational. 

THOMAS  E.  KIRKBRIDE.  A  his- 
tor}-  of  the  growth  and  spread  of 
the  commercial  interests  of  San- 
dusky county  —  and  they  are 
neither  few  nor  unimportant — could  not 
well  be  written  without  containing  an 
account  of  the  enterprises  with  which  the 
name  of  this  gentleman  is  intimately  as- 
sociated, and  a  sketch  of  who.se  business 
career  is  here  presented. 

As  one  of  the  most  successful  business 
men  in  Sandusky  county,  and  one  of  the 
greatest  oil  producers  in  the  State  of 
Ohio,  if,  indeed,  not  the  greatest,  it  is  the 
more  proper  that  Mr.  Kirkbride  should 
be  conspicuously  represented  in  this  work; 
and  although  a  resident  of  Toledo,  where 
his  family  reside,  he  has  kindly  consented 
to  have  his  personal  history  and  portrait 
inserted  within  the  pages  of  this  Bio- 
graphical Record. 


A  native  of  New  York  State,  Mr. 
Kirkbride  was  born  in  Ogdensburg  De- 
cember 26,  185S,  and  is  a  son  of  Joseph 
and  Sarah  Jane  (Nugent)  Kirkbride.  X^e 
father  at  present  lives  at  Findlay,  Ohio, 
and  has  been  interested  in  the  oil  industry 
since  1866.  When  he  was  nearing  the 
age  of  eight  years  our  subject's  parents 
removed  to  Tidioute,  Warren  Co.,  Penn., 
and  here  he  received  his  education  and 
hp.d  his  home  until  he  was  about  twenty- 
one  years  old,  at  which  time  he  entered 
the  oil  fields.  His  first  venture  was  as 
wooden-tank  builder,  then  in  rig  building, 
pipe-line  work,  diilling;  in  fact,  engaging 
in  every  detail  of  the  business,  and  there 
is  no  branch  thereof  with  which  he  is  not 
thoroughly  conversant  "from  A  to  Z. " 
In  1 890,  disposing  of  his  interests  in  Penn- 
sylvania oil  fields,  Mr.  Kirkbride  removed 
with  his  family  to  Fostoria,  Ohio,  remain- 
ing there,  however,  but  a  short  time,  for 
it  was  not  long  before  he  entered  the 
arena  of  the  Ohio  oil  fields,  about  one 
mile  from  where  the  present  village  of 
Gibsonburg  now  stands,  by  purchasing 
the  Blousey  farm  of  forty  acres,  on  which 
there  were  already  three  wells,  to  which, 
by  drilling,  he  soon  added  two  more. 
Shortly  afterward  he  and  his  brother,  J. 
W.  Kirkbride,  bought  eighty  acres  of  oil 
land  in  the  Rollersville  field,  where  they 
have  put  down  si.x  wells.  This  completed, 
the  brothers  entered  Wood  county  and  pur- 
chased a  iio-acre  farm  of  C.  R.  Rosen- 
dale,  also  si.x  acres  of  Clark  Earle,  mak- 
ing a  total  in  that  neighborhood  of  116 
acres,  whereon  they  drilled  fourteen  wells. 
They  also  piped  gas  from  their  gas  well  at 
West  Millgrove  to  Hatton,  Wood  county, 
supplying  that  town  with  both  fuel  and 
light.  Their  oil  territory  became,  in  1S91, 
still  farther  increased  by  the  purchase  of 
120  acres  of  land  at  Pemberville,  they 
finishing  a  well  already  commenced  on 
this  property,  making  what  is  known  to 
oil  men  as  a  "mystery,"  for  not  being 
operated  the  outside  world  became  of  the 
opinion   that  the  "territory"  was  poor. 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPUWAL  RECORD. 


407 


This  gave  the  Kirkbrides  a  chance  to  buy 
all  the  surrounding  land,  some  thousand 
acres  in  extent,  and  here  they  drilled  fif- 
teen wells,  forming  at  the  same  time 
what  is  known  as  the  Alphonso  Oil  Co. 
Just  prior  to  this  our  subject  leased  sev- 
eral hundred  acres  in  Perry  township. 
Wood  count)',  where  a  number  of  gas 
wells  were  drilled,  which  to  some  extent 
supply  the  city  of  Toledo  with  gas. 

Mr.  Kirkbride  next  invested  in  a  half 
interest  in  the  Damschroeder  property  of 
175  acres,  and  here  they  drilled  a  dry 
hole.  This  property  they  still  hold,  be- 
lieving it  to  be  a  good  oil  country.  Mr. 
Kirkbride  purchased  twenty  acres  of  the 
Graver  farm,  on  which  he  put  down  five 
wells,  and  then  followed  an  unique  and 
remarkable  experience  in  his  oil  business 
well  worthy  of  record.  A  certain  well 
seemed  to  contain  nothing  but  water,  and 
many  a  speculator  turned  his  back  on  it 
and  derided  it;  j'et  Mr.  Kirkbride  believed 
it  would  ultimately  yield  oil,  and  for  eight 
weeks  he  pumped  incessantly,  but  got 
nothing  except  water  for  his  pains,  during 
which  time  he  and  the  well  were  the  butt 
of  many  a  jest.  However,  at  the  end  of 
about  two  months,  oil  began  to  manifest 
itself,  and  the  well  all  at  once  commenced 
to  produce  oil  at  the  rate  of  100  barrels 
per  day,  and  in  less  than  two  more  months 
not  only  paid  for  all  the  labor  expended 
on  it,  but  also  for  the  cost  of  the  twenty 
acres  of  land.  This  was  the  first  attempt 
in  the  county,  by  any  oil  producer,  to  ex- 
haust the  water  and  ultimately  reach  oil. 

The  Kirkbride  oil  territory  was  next  en- 
larged by  the  purchase  of  the  George  Mil- 
ler farm  of  eighty  acres  which  they  held 
an  entire  year  before  drilling.  They 
leased  surrounding  property,  and  on  the 
Morgan  farm  drilled  a  test  well  which  pro- 
duced 300  barrels  per  day;  this  was  also 
made  a  "mystery"  well  until  some  700 
acres  adjoining  could  be  secured  by  lease. 
With  everything  in  their  own  hands  they 
now  put  down  twelve  wells  on  the  Miller 
farm,  also  three  on  the  Morgan  farm,  and 

26 


at  the  end  of  one  year  they  leased  the 
Benjamin  Jones  farm  in  Sandusky  county, 
as  well  as  the  Myers  farm.  On  the  lat- 
ter they  drilled  three  wells,  one  of  them, 
which  "  came  in  "  November  9,  1894,  be- 
ing the  first  large  well  drilled  in  the  county, 
producing  1,400  barrels  per  day  for  nine- 
teen days!  Six  days  after  this  well  "came 
in,"  or  November  15,  1S94,  Mr.  Kirk- 
bride completed  the  largest  oil  well  in  the 
world,  known  as  the  "  Kirkbride  Gusher. " 
This  was  on  the  Jones  farm,  about  five 
miles  west  of  Gibsonburg.  When  the 
Trenton  rock  was  pierced,  in  boring,  the 
well  began  to  throw  up  a  column  of  oil 
some  200  feet  high,  so  that  houses  and 
land  were  covered  with  oil,  deep  ditches 
along  the  roads  being  filled  to  overflow, 
and  still  the  oil  continued  to  flow.  Mr. 
Kirkbride  believes  that  when  the  well 
started,  and  for  some  time  thereafter,  it 
must  have  produced  at  the  rate  of  60,- 
000  barrels  per  day,  running  at  full  flow. 
It  took  them  four  hours  to  get  the  well 
under  control  and  the  tanks  erected,  but 
of  course  they  could  not  get  the  oil  away 
as  fast  as  the  well  would  produce  it. 
Gradually  declining  in  yield,  at  the  end  of 
some  four  months  the  production  was  less 
than  one  thousand  barrels  per  day,  and 
the  once  Mammoth  has  dwindled  down 
to  an  humble  twenty-barrel-per-day  well! 
Last,  not  least,  Mr.  Kirkbride  bought 
twenty-seven  acres  of  land  from  Henry 
Schmucker,  in  Woodville  township,  on 
which  he  has  five  wells,  one  of  which  is 
in  one  respect  like  the  great  well  we  have 
just  given  an  account  of,  in  being  what 
Mr.  Kirkbride  calls  a  "crevice  well." 
This  produces  lOO  barrels  per  day,  but  had 
to  be  pumped  for  two  weeks  before  any- 
thing except  water  came.  At  this  writ- 
ing (November,  1895)  Mr.  Kirkbride  owns 
and  leases  about  ten  thousand  acres  of  oil 
territory,  and  is  operating,  in  all  200  wells. 
He  attributes  his  great  success  to  two 
things,  to-wit:  First — he  thoroughly  un- 
derstands every  detail  of  the  business; 
and.    Second — he  keeps  out  of  the  Ex- 


408 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


changes; — in  a  word  he  gives  his  time  and 
attention  exclusively  to  the  production  of 
oil  and  not  to  speculation  therein. 

.  On  January  5,  1880,  Mr.  Kirkbride 
was  married  to  Miss  Mary  A.  Edwards, 
and  six  children  have  blessed  their  union, 
their  names  and  dates  of  birth  being  as 
follows:  Joseph  Edward,  February  23, 
1 881;  Margaret  Mabel,  July  31,  1883, 
died  January  12,  1887;  Thomas  F.,  June 
24,  1885;  Mary  Alice,  December  25,  1887; 
Annie  Geneva,  August  14,  1889;  and 
James  William,  October  21,  1891.  Mrs. 
Kirkbride  was  born,  in  1857,  in  Liverpool, 
England,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Mar- 
garet fMolland)  Edwards,  the  former  of 
whom  (now  deceased)  was  a  sergeant  in  the 
English  army,  and  the  latter  is  now  a 
resident  of  Boston,  Mass.  Mrs.  Kirk- 
bride received  her  education  in  her  na- 
tive city,  whence  she  emigrated  to  Nova 
Scotia,  later  moving  to  Boston,  Mass.  In 
1890  Mr.  Kirkbride  took  up  his  residence 
n  Toledo,  where  on  Coliingwood  avenue 
he  has  an  elegant  home,  he  himself  being 
the  designer  and  architect  of  the  building. 
He  and  his  amiable  spouse  are  noted  for 
their  hospitality,  geniality  and  cordiality, 
and  live  in  the  unqualified  esteem  and  re- 
spect of  a  wide  circle  of  friends  and  ac- 
quaintances. 


185: 
James 
"  Ina,' 


NATHAN  DODGE  (deceased),  who 
was  a  carpenter  and  a  farmer  by 
occupation,  and  one  of  the  most 
popular  citizens  of  Middle  Bass 
Island,  Ottawa  county,  was  born  in 
Gainesville,  N.  Y.,  December  15,  1822, 
and  was  a  son  of  Elijah  and  Lorena 
(Thayer)  Dodge,  who  were  both  born  in 
New  York  State. 

When  Nathan  Dodge  was  but  a  youth 
his  parents  removed  to  Carlisle,  Ohio, 
where  he  grew  to  manhood,  received  his 
education,  and  learned  the  carpenter's 
trade,  which  he  followed  until  later  in 
life,  he  removed  to  Wisconsin,  locating 
in  Windsor,  Dane  county,  and  there  for 


seventeen  years  engaging  in  agricultural 
pursuits.  On  August  3,  1847,  Nathan 
Dodge  was  united  in  marriage  in  Strongs- 
ville,  Ohio,  with  Mary  I.  Carpenter, 
daughter  of  Caleb  and  Susan  (Haines) 
Carpenter,  and  born  in  Strongsville,  Ohio, 
June  4,  1826.  They  have  had  eight 
children,  six  of  whom  are  living,  as  fol- 
lows: Ellen  Maria,  born  July  13,  1848, 
now  the  widow  of  L.  R.  Webster,  and  re- 
siding on  Put  in  Bay  Island,  Ottawa 
count}';  Jennie,  born  April  9,  1850,  wife 
of  James  H.  Crowley,  residing  in  St. 
Louis,  Mo.;  Louis  C. ,  born  April  15, 
living  on  Middle  Bass  Island; 
E.,  who  is  captain  of  the  steamer 
born  February  17,  1854,  and  re- 
siding in  Put  in  Bay  Island;  Emma  C, 
born  April  30,  1856,  wife  of  Louis  Edli- 
son,  and  residing  in  Los  Angeles,  Cal. ; 
John  B.,  born  March  22,  1858,  a  resident 
of  St.  John's,  Mich.;  Edith  L. ,  who  be- 
came the  wife  of  Robert  L.  Harris,  and 
passed  away  at  Nordhoff,  Cal.,  March  6, 
1894;  and  Harvey  C,  deceased  at  the 
age  of  five  years. 

About  1865  Mr.  Dodge  removed  to 
Middle  Bass  Island,  where  he  resided  dur- 
ing the  remainder  of  his  days,  dying  Oc- 
tober 9,  1870.  He  was  a  man  of  high 
moral  qualities,  and  his  character  was  be- 
yond reproach.  His  kindness  of  heart 
and  unselfish  generosity  were  proverbial 
wherever  he  was  known,  none  appealing 
to  him  in  vain  in  a  worthy  cause.  Many 
instances  of  his  acts  of  kindness  might  be 
cited,  showing  his  characteristic  regard 
for  the  happiness  of  others.  His  great 
industrv,  unquestioned  integrity,  and  un- 
impeachable moral  character  won  for  him 
hosts  of  friends,  who  with  his  widow  and 
sorrowing  family  mourn  their  loss. 


ANDREW    SCHIELE    (deceased) 
was    a    native    of    Wurttemberg, 
Germany,  born  in  1819,  where  he 
passed  the  days    of    his  boyhood 
and  youth.      The  public  schools  there  af- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIGORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


409 


forded  him  his  educational  privileges,  and 
he  there  also  learned  the  trades  of  both 
baker  and  blacksmith.  Thinking  to  ben- 
efit his  financial  condition  by  crossing  the 
Atlantic  to  the  New  World,  he  bade  adieu 
to  his  native  land  in  1850,  and  sailed  for 
the  United  States,  locating  in  Toledo, 
Ohio,  where  for  fifteen  years  he  worked 
at  the  baker's  trade,  also  keeping  a  restau- 
rant. In  1865  he  took  up  his  residence 
on  Put  in  Bay  Island,  where  he  spent 
his  remaining  days.  He  here  de- 
voted his  time  and  energies  to  the  culti- 
vation of  a  vineyard  and  the  manufacture 
of  wine,  and  did  a  good  business,  becom- 
ing one  of  the  well-to-do  residents  of  the 
community. 

Mr.  Schiele  was  married  in  Toledo 
October  7,  1851,  to  Justina  Kirnberger, 
born  in  Wurttemberg,  Germany,  June  21, 
1830.  The}'  became  the  parents  of  ten 
children,  five  now  living,  their  names  and 
dates  of  birth  being  as  follows:  Louis, 
July  2,  1856;  Robert,  December  26, 
1858;  Frank,  September  15,  i860;  An- 
drew, February  8,  1862;  and  Edward, 
February  22.  1869,  all  still  living  in  Put 
in  Bay.  The  father  of  this  family  was 
called  to  his  final  rest  April  29,  1880,  and 
many  friends  mourned  his  death,  for  he 
was  a  highly-respected  man,  recognized 
as  one  of  the  prominent  residents  of  the 
community.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  to  which  his 
widow  also  belonged. 

Andrew  Schiele,  Jr.,  was  born  in 
Toledo,  Ohio,  and  when  a  child  of  two 
and  a  half  years  was  brought  by  his  par- 
ents to  Put  in  Bay  Island.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  district  schools,  and  since 
leaving  the  school-room  has  followed  the 
business  in  which  his  father  engaged,  that 
of  fruit  growing  and  wine  making.  He 
is  an  enterprising,  thrifty  young  business 
man,  carefully  managing  his  interests,  and 
in  his  undertakings  is  meeting  with  good 
success.  He  was  married  April  25.  1893, 
to  Marguerite  Duennisch,  a  daughter  of 
Christian    and    Elizabeth    (Beck)    Duen- 


nisch, who  were  natives  of  Germany. 
Her  father  is  now  living  in  Venice,  Erie 
Co.,  Ohio,  where  her  mother  died  in 
1886.  Mrs.  Schiele  was  born  at  that 
place,  July  27,  1869,  and  by  her  marriage 
has  become  the  mother  of  one  child — 
Elsie  Marie,  born  November  17,  1894. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schiele  are  well-known 
people  of  the  community,  and  their  friends 
are  many.  Our  subject  is  now  serving 
his  second  term  as  township  trustee,  to 
which  position  he  was  elected  by  the  Re- 
publican party.  He  and  his  wife  attend 
the  Lutheran  Church. 


GAVIN  WATSON  (deceased)  was 
for  over  forty  years  one  of  the 
honored  and  respected  citizens  of 
Danbury  township,  Ottawa  coun- 
ty, where  his  widow  still  makes  her  home. 
He  was  a  native  of  Scotland,  born  in 
Glasgow,  January  19,  1822,  and  was  a 
son  of  James  and  Margaret  Watson,  who 
were  also  natives  of  that  country.  He 
was  reared  to  manhood,  educated  and 
learned  the  trade  of  stone  cutting  in  his 
native  land,  where  he  remained  until 
1850,  when  he  came  to  America.  After 
residing  in  New  York  for  a  short  time,  he 
removed  to  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  remaining 
thereuntil  the  spring  of  1851,  at  which 
time  he  became  a  resident  of  Danbury 
township,  Ottawa  county,  and  here  con- 
tinued to  make  his  home  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  January  3,  1892.  For 
some  time  after  locating  in  the  township 
he  worked  at  his  trade,  but  later  was 
principally  engaged  in  farming,  which  he 
carried  on  with  good  success. 

On  June  3,  185 1,  in  Danbury  town- 
ship, Mr.  Watson  was  married  to  Mrs. 
Margaret  Tynan,  widow  of  William  Tynan, 
and  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Elizabeth 
Johnson.  They  became  the  parents  of 
five  children,  three  of  whom  are  still  liv- 
ing: John,  born  June  10,  1855,  makes  his 
home  in  Chicago,  111. ;  William,  born 
August    25,     1857;     and    Margaret,   born 


410 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


July  19,  1863,  married  January  13,  1886, 
to  Henry  Baxter,  of  Danbury  township, 
and  has  one  child — Pearl,  who  was  born 
March  20,  1889.  By  her  former  marriage 
Mrs.  Watson  was  the  mother  of  two  chil- 
dren, namely:  Elizabeth,  now  the  widow 
of  David  Jameson,  and  making  her  home 
in  Danbury  township;  and  Jane,  who  is 
an  invalid  and  lives  with  her  mother. 

During  his  residence  of  over  forty 
years  in  Danbury  township,  Mr.  Watson 
won  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  all  with 
whom  he  came  in  contact,  and  was  num- 
bered among  the  valued  citizens  of  the 
community.  His  character  was  beyond 
reproach,  and  his  many  virtues  and  pleas- 
ant ways  gained  him  a  host  of  friends. 

WiLLi.AM  W.'\TsoN,  since  the  death  of 
his  father,  has  assumed  the  management 
of  the  farm,  on  which  he  has  made  many 
good  and  useful  improvements.  He  is  a 
live,  progressive  business  man,  highly  es- 
teemed as  a  friend  and  neighbor. 


CHARLES  H.  HOUTS.  This  gen- 
tleman, who  is  one  of  the  oldest 
pioneers  of  Ottawa  county,  and  a 
prosperous  agriculturist  and  fruit 
grower  of  Clay  township,  has  also  a  rec- 
ord as  a  soldier  in  the  late  Civil  war  of 
which  he  may  well  be  proud.  The  par- 
ticipants in  that  struggle  for  the  preser- 
vation of  the  Union  are  growing  percep- 
tibly fewer  as  the  years  roll  on,  and  it 
will  not  be  long  ere  none  are  left  to  tell 
the  story.  We  who  hear  it  from  the  lips 
of  those  who  took  an  active  part  in  its 
victories  and  defeats  are  fortunate  indeed. 
Mr.  Houts  was  born  in  Scott  town- 
ship, Sandusky  Co. ,  Ohio,  August  1 1 , 
1842,  son  of  John  and  Rhoda  (Schroggy) 
Houts,  the  former  of  whom  was  born  in 
18 1 3,  in  Pennsylvania,  and  the  latter  in 
Columbiana  county,  Ohio.  When  seven 
months  old  he  was  brought  to  Ottawa 
county,  and  in  his  boyhood  he  attended 
the  public  school  at  Port  Clinton,  after- 
ward assisting  his  father  in  the  work  upon 


the  farm.  When  the  call  for  men  for 
three-years'  service  in  the  Civil  war  was 
made,  the  patriotic  youth  responded  by 
enlisting  January  4,  1864,  in  Company  G, 
One  Hundredth  Ohio  Infantry,  under  the 
command  of  Col.  Patrick  Sleaven.  He 
was  in  many  bloody  battles,  where  he 
saw  thousands  of  men  dying  on  the  field, 
and  learned  from  e.xperience  the  horrors 
of  war.  Among  the  notable  engagements 
in  which  he  took  part  were:  The  battle 
of  Rocky  Face  Ridge,  Ga. ,  May  5  to  9; 
Resaca,  Ga.,  May  13  to  16;  Dallas,  Ga., 
May  27  to  June  4;  Kenesaw  Mountain, 
Ga.,  June  9  to  30;  Utay  Creek,  where 
they  lost  one  hundred  men,  August  6; 
Atlanta,  Ga.,  July  29  to  September  2; 
Columbia,  Tenn.,  November  24  to  28; 
Franklin,  Tenn.,  November  30,  and 
Nashville,  Tenn.,  December  15  to  16,  all 
in  1864.  In  all  these  engagements  Mr. 
Houts  was  so  fortunate  as  not  to  receive 
even  a  scratch,  although  his  comrades  fell 
all  around  him,  and  indeed  throughout 
the  whole  campaign  he  enjoyed  the  best 
of  health,  with  the  exception  of  an  attack 
of  measles  which  kept  him  in  the  hospital 
for  a  week  or  two.  He  received  his  dis- 
charge after  brilliant  victories  at  Salis- 
bury, N.  C,  on  July  17,  1865. 

After  his  return  from  the  army  Mr. 
Houts  sailed  on  Lake  Erie  and  Lake 
Huron  for  six  years.  He  then  took  up 
the  trade  of  a  carpenter  and  joiner,  at 
which  he  worked  six  years,  during  three 
of  which  he  was  in  partnership  with  Sam- 
uel Wisner,  under  the  firm  name  of  Houts 
&  Wisner,  carrying  on  the  business  of 
contractors  and  builders  at  Port  Clinton. 
Subsequently  he  engaged  in  farming, 
working  for  six  years  on  a  farm  near  Port 
Clinton,  after  which  he  came  to  Clay 
township,  rented  a  farm,  and  worked 
thereon  for  five  more  years.  By  hard 
work  and  frugality  during  all  this  time 
he  managed  to  save  enough  money  to  buy 
a  farm  of  his  own,  and  in  1888  purchased 
eighty  acres  of  land  near  Clay  Center, 
which  was  partly  under  cultivation.    Here 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOOBAPmCAL  RECORD. 


411 


he  went  to  work  with  a  will,  spending 
every  spare  moment  in  beautifying  the 
place.  He  rebuilt  the  dwelling  house  and 
all  the  barns,  and  made  other  needed  im- 
provements, and  to-day  is  enjoying  the 
fruit  of  his  labors  in  a  pleasant,  comfort- 
able home. 

Mr.  Houts  was  married,  December  31, 
1868,  at  Port  Clinton,  to  Caroline  P., 
daughter  of  J.  R.  Heim,  a  merchant  of 
that  place,  and  they  have  one  child,  John 
Richard,  born  October  17,  1S70.  He  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Clay 
township,  and  worked  on  the  homestead 
farm  for  several  years.  He  was  married 
December  20,  1893,  to  Lillie  M.,  daugh- 
ter of  Frederick  Sutton,  Esq.,  of  Martin, 
where  the  couple  now  reside. 

John  Houts,  the  father  of  our  subject, 
was  born  near  Strasburg,  Penn.,  and 
came  to  Ottawa  county  when  quite  young, 
locating  near  Port  Clinton.  Here  he  was 
married  in  1836  to  Rhoda  Schroggy,  and 
to  them  five  children  were  born,  as  fol- 
lows: Henry,  born  in  1841,  died  when 
quite  young;  Charles  H.,  our  subject, 
born  in  1842;  Mary  A.  born  in  1844,  is 
the  widow  of  William  Britten,  who  was 
killed  in  a  stone  quarry  at  Marble  Head 
(she  has  three  children);  James,  born  in 
1846.  at  Port  Clinton,  is  married  and  lives 
in  Michigan  (he  has  two  children);  one 
died  in  infancy.  The  mother  of  our  sub- 
ject was  one  of  the  first  school  teachers 
in  Port  Clinton.  She  died  therein  1848. 
In  1853  the  father  married  again,  taking 
for  his  second  wife  Amanda  Mommeney,  of 
Port  Clinton,  and  five  more  children  were 
added  to  the  family,  viz. :  John,  who  is 
an  engineer  on  a  vessel  on  Lake  Erie; 
Rosie,  deceased;  William,  who  lives  in 
one  of  the  Western  States;  Clara,  living 
in  Kansas;  and  Ida,  married  and  living 
in  Cleveland.  Mr.  Houts  passed  peace- 
fully away  at  the  home  of  his  son  Charles, 
in  Clay  township,  March  i  1,  1894,  at  the 
ripe  old  age  of  eighty-one  years  and  two 
months,  beloved  and  respected  by  all  who 
knew  him. 


J.  R.  Heim,  the  father  of  Mrs.  Charles 
Houts,  was  born  at  Baden,  Germany, 
March  4,  1821,  and  came  to  this  country 
when  a  young  man,  living  for  some  years 
at  Plasterbed,  this  State.  He  then  re- 
moved to  Port  Clinton,  where  he  was 
engaged  in  the  hotel  business  for  a  num- 
ber of  years,  subsequently  buying  a  farm 
near  Port  Clinton,  on  which  he  lived  until 
his  death,  which  took  place  January  4, 
1886;  his  wife  preceded  him  to  the  bet- 
ter land,  dying  May  7,  1869.  Mr.  Heim 
was  married  in  1847  to  Pauline  Moos, 
and  they  became  the  parents  of  twelve 
children,  their  names  and  dates  of  birth 
being  as  follows:  Caroline,  November  7, 
184S,  now  the  wife  of  our  subject;  John 
R.,  born  January  26,  1850;  Adam,  March 
30,  1852,  died  March  30,  1S92;  Christine, 
February  17,  1854;  Maria  B..  September 
12,  1855;  Magdelena,  September  26,  1857; 
Catherine  P.,  July  11,  1859;  August,  Au- 
gust 9,  1861;  William  C.,  March  11, 
1863;  Edward  C,  February  22,  1865; 
Clara  E.  J.,  March  14,  1867;  and  Chris- 
toph  L. ,  May  7,  1869,  died  September  i, 
same  jear. 

Our  subject  in  politics  is  a  stanch 
Democrat,  and  an  admirer  of  President 
Cleveland.  He  was  a  trustee  of  Clay 
township  for  several  years,  and  a  school 
director  and  member  of  the  board  of  edu- 
cation at  Genoa.  He  was  clerk  of  the 
board  for  two  years,  and  held  the  office 
of  trustee  three  years  in  Portage  town- 
ship. Socially,  he  is  a  member  of  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and  also  of 
Clay  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  at  Genoa.  He 
is  a  man  of  influence,  well  liked,  both  in 
public  and  private  life. 


STULL  BROS  (J.  H.   and   Will- 
i.-\M  W.),    former   merchants  and 
manufacturers,  Fremont,  Sandus- 
ky  county,     were    born    in    Rice 
township,    Sandusky  county,   Ohio,   sons 
of  Jacob  and  Katie  (Rang)  Stull. 


41: 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Jacob  Stull,  Sr. ,  was  born  in  Hatmat, 
Alsace  (France),  and  came  with  his  par- 
ents to  America  when  fourteen  years  old, 
locating  in  Waj'nesburg,  Penn.  Eight 
years  later  he,  with  his  parents,  brothers, 
sisters,  and  others  migrated  by  wagon  to 
Rice  township,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio, 
a  distance  of  several  hundred  miles. 
Katie  Stull  was  born  in  Baden,  Germany, 
and  came  with  her  parents  to  America, 
settling  in  Rice  township,  Sandusky  Co., 
Ohio.  In  1837  she  and  Jacob  Stull  were 
married.  Both  are  now  deceased,  she 
having  died  August  25,  1866,  at  the  age 
of  forty-five  years,  five  months,  four 
daj's,  he  dying  February  4,  1873,  aged 
fifty-eight  years,  one  month,  twenty-nine 
days.  They  were  respected  and  loved  by 
all  who  knew  them,  and  their  remains 
now  rest  in  Rice  township.  They  had 
five  children:  Christina,  Mary,  Sarah, 
Jacob  H.  and  William  \V.  Of  these 
Christina  married  Joseph  Lambert,  in 
1865,  and  now  resides  in  Rice  township; 
the  names  of  their  children  are:  Emma, 
Rutherford,  Pearly  and  Homer.  Mary 
married  Hugo  Gross,  in  1866,  and  died 
March  11,  1888;  he  lives  near  Lansing, 
Mich. ;  the  names  of  their  children  are: 
Emma,     Ida,     Clara,      George,      Frank, 


Ollie   and  Arlin. 
Diedler,  in  1871, 
Ohio;  the   names 
Laura,  Florence, 
Irvin.     Jacob  H. 


Sarah  married  J.  H. 
and  lives   in  Fremont, 

of  their  children  are: 
Lillie,  Jennie,  Ivin  and 
married  Julia  Flora,  in 


1886,  and  lives  in  Fremont;  they  have 
one  child,  Arlin.  William  W.  also  re- 
sides in  Fremont,  Ohio.  In  1868  Jacob 
Stull,  Sr. ,  married  his  second  wife,  and 
they  had  one  child,  Emma,  who  in  1894 
married  Rev.  Will  M.  Waller,  and  now 
lives  in  Atlanta,  Georgia. 

Stull  Bros.  (J.  H.  &  William  W.), 
the  subjects  proper  of  this  sketch,  were 
quite  young  when  their  parents  died. 
Jacob  H.  staid  for  a  time  with  his  sister 
Sarah,  and  William  W.  with  his  sister 
Mary.  After  this,  their  time  was  occupied 
serving  on  farms,  canvassing  and  attend- 


ing school.  In  this  manner  those  young 
lives  passed  away  their  precious  time  of 
their  early  "teens,"  being  steadily  en- 
gaged in  the  rugged  discipline  of  labor, 
battling  with  Nature  for  subsistence. 
They  afterward  attended  the  Fremont 
High  School,  and  later  the  Port  Clinton 
Select  School.  Subsequentlj-  Jacob  H. 
attended  the  College  at  Oberlin,  Ohio, 
and  William  W.  the  Ada  Normal  School, 
Ada,  Ohio.  After  having  acquired  suffi- 
cient mental  discipline,  they  entered  the 
profession  of  teaching,  and  Jacob  H.  pur- 
sued that  for  nine  terms  in  the  country, 
and  William  W.  for  seven  terms.  They 
then  embarked  in  the  retail  grocery  busi- 
ness in  Fremont.  Ohio,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Stull  Bros.  They  were  engaged 
in  this  business  for  three  years.  While 
doing  this  they  encountered  a  difficulty  in 
the  usual  method  of  keeping  accounts, 
and  set  to  work  to  devise  something  bet- 
ter; the  result  of  which  was  the  now  well- 
known  "Simple  Account  File,"  which 
the}'  invented  and  patented,  the  patent 
having  been  taken  out  in  May,  1886. 
Having  unlimited  faith  in  their  invention, 
they  sold  out  their  mercantile  business 
and  commenced  the  manufacture  of  the 
"  File."  This  new  enterprise,  at  its  be- 
ginning, was  not  a  success — rather  uphill 
work — but  they  continued  in  the  business. 
Jacob  H.  was  then  chosen  manager  of  the 
concern,  while  William  W.  was  chosen 
their  traveling  agent.  During  the  sum- 
mer months  he  traveled  over  Ohio,  Indi- 
ana and  Pennsylvania  by  wagon,  and  the 
balance  of  the  time  in  other  States  by  rail, 
selling  Files  and  appointing  agents.  At 
the  expiration  of  three  years,  owing  to 
the  increase,  of  the  business,  he  was 
obliged  to  stay  at  home.  Their  business 
continued  to  increase,  until,  by  their  push 
and  business  ability,  the\'  extended  the 
sale  of  the  File  to  all  parts  of  the  United 
States.  In  1891  they  sold  the  right  to 
"  manufacture  and  sell  "  the  File  west  of 
the  Mississippi  river,  and  in  1892  the 
territory  east    of  the     Mississippi   river. 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPEICAL  RECORD. 


413 


These  two  sales  netted  them  a  handsome 
sum. 

Stull  Bros,  in  rehgious  connection,  are 
members  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  and  in 
poHtics  they  are  Repubhcans. 


JOSEPH  DEGROFT  (deceased),  who 
was  one  of  the  prominent  and  pro- 
gressive agriculturists  of  Madison 
township,  Sandusky  county,  and  one 
of  its  early  settlers,  was  born  in  Cumber- 
land count}-,  Penn.,  November  25,  1814, 
and  was  a  son  of  Joseph  Degroft,  a  na- 
tive of  the  same  county,  who  died  when 
our  subject  was  only  a  year  old. 

Our  subject  received  but  a  limited  ed- 
ucation in  the  schools  of  his  native  town, 
and  worked  at  different  kinds  of  employ- 
ment from  the  early  age  of  twelve  years 
until  he  reached  manhood.  He  received 
at  first  only  forty  cents  per  day  for  his  la- 
bor, and  continued  working  in  this  way 
until  1850,  when  with  his  family  he  came 
to  Ohio,  locating  in  Madison  township, 
where  he  purchased  eighty  acres  of  land, 
all  covered  with  timber.  His  first  work 
here  was  to  build  a  house,  and  he  erected 
a  log  cabin  upon  the  site  from  which  he 
cut  away  the  trees  in  order  to  make  room 
for  the  building.  He  began  life  in  true 
pioneer  style  here,  and  from  the  wilder- 
ness developed  a  highly-cultivated  farm. 
He  first  planted  corn  and  wheat,  and  con- 
tinued the  work  of  improvement  with  the 
aid  of  his  sons  until  he  became  the  owner 
of  one  of  the  most  valuable  farming  prop- 
erties in  this  section  of  the  county.  Often 
before  roads  were  constructed  he  had  to 
carry  on  his  back  to  Peinberville  a  sack 
of  corn  and  wheat  which  he  had  ground 
into  grist  in  order  that  the  family  might 
have  food.  He  also  traveled  through  the 
woods  and  over  the  muddy  roads  to  Fre- 
mont— a  distance  of  twenty  miles — lead- 
ing his  horse,  and  there  did  his  milling 
and  marketing.  He  would  then  not 
reach  his  home  until  after  midnight;  but 
the    pioneer    days    with    their    hardships 


passed,  the  log  cabin  was  replaced  by  a 
substantial  frame  residence,  barns  were 
erected  and  the  work  of  improvement 
carried  forward  until  he  became  the  own- 
er of  a  model  farm  and  the  possessor  of  a 
handsome  competence. 

Mr.  Degroft  was  married  on  New 
Year's  Day,  1849,  in  Cumberland  county, 
Penn.,  to  Mary  Chambers,  and  of  the  ten 
children  born  to  them,  seven  are  still  liv- 
ing: (i)  Mathew,  born  March  7,  1840,  in 
Cumberland  county,  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  of  this  localit\',  and  here 
follows  farming;  he  is  married  and  has  six 
children.  (2)  John,  born  November  5, 
1 84 1,  in  Cumberland  county,  was  edu- 
cated in  Madison  township,  Sandusky 
county,  and  with  his  family  resides  on  a 
farm  in  Michigan.  (3)  Joseph,  born  June 
5,  1845,  in  Pennsylvania,  is  a  contractor 
and  builder,  and  resides  on  the  homestead 
with  his  mother.  (4)  Shannon,  born  Oc- 
tober 14,  1847,  in  Cumberland  county, 
Penn.,  is  married  and  has  three  children; 
he  followed  agricultural  pursuits  in  Mad 
son  township,  Sandusky  county.  (5) 
Thomas,  born  November  25,  1850,  in 
Madison  township,  was  for  some  years 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine,  but 
is  now  in  the  railroad  business  in  Cali- 
fornia. (6)  Catherine,  born  May  4,  1855, 
in  Madison  township,  is  the  wife  of 
Charles  Sohnley,  of  Toledo.  (7)  Lewis 
is  an  honored  citizen  of  Sandusky  county. 
Alfred  and  Charles  both  died  in  infancy, 
and  one  girl  also  died  in  infancy. 

The  mother  of  this  family  was  born  in 
Cumberland  county,  Penn.,  September 
17,  1822,  and  is  a  daughter  of  Thomas 
Chambers,  a  blacksmith,  of  the  Keystone 
State.  In  1850  she  came  with  her  hus- 
band to  Sandusky  county,  and  shared  with 
him  the  trials  and  hardships  of  p  (  nee 
life  in  the  woods  of  Madison  township. 
She  also  assisted  him  in  every  way  to 
make  a  home  for  the  family,  often  aiding 
him  in  cutting  down  the  trees,  and  in 
planting  crops,  going  to  the  field  at  three 
o'clock  in  the  morning.      Her  devotion  to 


414 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


her  family  entitles  her  to  the  greatest 
credit.  She  is  now  over  seventy-three 
years  of  age,  and  looking  back  over  the 
past  recalls  many  interesting  incidents  of 
pioneer  life  in  Ohio.  She  still  transacts 
her  business  and  attends  to  the  duties  of 
her  house,  and  is  now  engaged  on  negotia- 
tions for  leasing  her  land  for  oil  prospect- 
ing purposes. 

Mr.  Degroft  was  trustee  of  his  town- 
ship for  several  years,  and  was  for  a  long 
period  school  director,  taking  a  deep  in- 
terest in  the  cause  of  education  and  every- 
thing calculated  to  benefit  the  county. 
After  a  long  illness  of  sixteen  months  he 
passed  peacefully  away,  April  27,  1892, 
and  a  faithful  wife  and  loving  children 
mourned  the  loss  of  a  kind  father  and 
devoted  husband.  He  was  ever  ready  to 
extend  a  helping  hand  to  the  poor  and 
needy,  and  considered  no  sacrifice  too 
great  that  would  enhance  the  happiness 
of  hi.s  family,  to  whom  he  left  an  untar- 
nished name.  His  widow  still  resides  on 
the  old  home  place,  where  she  is  enjoying 
the  reward  of  earnest  toil. 


EBEN  ROOT,  a  well-to-do  farmer 
of  Sandusky  township,  Sandusky 
county,  was  born  January  16. 
1843,  in  Erie  county,  Ohio,  near 
Milan.  The  Root  family  is  of  F"rench 
origin,  but  the  first  definite  history  we 
have  of  this  branch  of  the  family  is  that 
of  Caleb  Root,  grandfather  of  our  sub- 
ject, who  was  born  in  Connecticut,  and 
migrated  to  Milan,  Erie  Co.,  Ohio,  in 
pioneer  days.  He  was  a  farmer  by  occu- 
pation, and  died  there  August  13,  1843, 
aged  seventy-three  j'ears.  His  children 
were:  Hiram,  Jirah,  Lucy.  Anna,  Ly- 
man and  Perry,  the  last  named  being  the 
father  of  our  subject,  born  on  the  day  of 
Perry's  victory,  in  181 3,  and  hence  was 
named  after  that  naval  officer. 

Perry  Root  grew  to  manhood  in  Erie 
county,  on  a  farm,  received  the  ad- 
vantages   for    education    offered    by    the 


common  schools,  and  became  a  noted 
stock  dealer  at  an  early  day.  Oit  No- 
vember 6,  1839,  he  married  Miss  Celia 
Hardy,  a  native  of  New  York  State,  and 
he  died  July  23,  1869,  his  wife  passing 
away  in  March,   i  880. 

Their  children  were  as  follows:  Eliza- 
beth, born  September  6,  1840,  mar- 
ried November  26,  1862,  Robert  Wil- 
cox, of  Erie  county,  Ohio;  Lucy  Ann, 
born  October  i,  1841;  Eben,  our  sub- 
ject; Sarah  A.,  born  May  i  1,  1845,  mar- 
ried John  G.  Balcom,  June  15,  1870,  at 
Milan,  Ohio;  John  O.,  born  .\pril  20, 
1847,  married  Sarah  Fairchild,  Decem- 
ber 17,  1874;  Lucy,  born  in  October, 
1841,  died  September  27,  1861;  Savory 
Perry,  born  July  11,  1849,  died  May  6, 
1850;  Carleton  Perry,  born  October  5, 
1857,  died  March  18,  1873. 

Our  subject  spent  his  boyhood  and 
youth  in  Erie  county,  near  Milan,  and  at- 
tended the  common  schools.  On  May  2, 
1864,  he  enlisted  in  Company  F,  One 
Hundred  and  Forty-fifth  Regiment,  O. 
N.  G.,  and  served  one  hundred  days,  be- 
ing discharged  August  24,  1864,  at  Camp 
Chase,  Ohio.  While  a  young  man  he 
went  west,  and  on  the  trip  met  and  mar- 
ried on  October  9,  1867,  Miss  Jemima  B. 
Fell,  who  was  born  in  Liddisdale,  Scot- 
land, October  l,  1847,  and  came  to 
America  with  her  parents  when  four  years 
old.  They  settled  in  Stark  county,  Illi- 
nois, where  our  subject  and  she  were 
married.  The  children  born  to  this 
union  were  Sarah  Isabella,  born  March 
3,  1 871;  Carrie  Elizabeth,  born  October 
8,  1873;  Walter  Fell,  born  March  11, 
1875;  David  Perry,  born  December  20, 
1879,  died  January  18,  1881;  and  Bessie 
Alberta,  born  December  13.  1881.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Root  settled  in  Sandusky  coun- 
ty soon  after  their  marriage,  and  subse- 
quently lived  two  years  in  Erie  county, 
after  which  they  returned  here  and  have 
since  made  Sandusky  township  their 
home.  Mr.  Root  owns  230  acres  of  land 
which  he  operates    to    the    best    possible 


^^^i/^  '\yi^r^o'-. 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


415 


advantage,  and  in  addition  to  his  farm- 
ing interest  deals  largely  in  live  stock, 
handling  a  large  number  of  sheep.  He 
is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  is  one  of 
those  citizens  who,  in  an  unassuming  way, 
benefit  the  conmiunity  in  which  they  live 
and  make  a  success  of  life. 

Some  remarkable  facts  in  regard  to 
accidental  deaths  in  the  family  and  among 
relations  may  be  noted:  Our  subject's 
father.  Perry  Root,  was  killed  by  a  kick 
from  a  horse;  his  stepmother  was  acci- 
dentally burned  to  death;  his  wife's  father 
was  killed  by  a  runaway,  in  Scotland; 
one  of  his  mother's  sisters  married  a  man 
by  the  name  of  Morgan,  who,  falling  on 
the  ice,  broke  his  skull  and  died  from  the 
results;  one  of  Morgan's  sons  was  killed 
by  accident;  our  subject's  uncle  Jirah  fell 
from  a  wagon  and  was  killed;  and  his 
uncle  Hiram  was  killed  by  a  team  run- 
ning away,  while  hauling  lumber;  and 
grandfather,  Caleb  Root,  was  killed  by 
being  thrown  from  a  load  of  hay. 


'ILL! AM   A.    MUGG,    the    lead- 


ing   landowner    and    farmer    of 


U  w  York  township,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, and  vice-president  of  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Clyde,  is  of  the 
third  generation  from  the  earliest  settle- 
ment and  development  of  northwestern 
Ohio.  And  as  he  stands  to-day,  a  leader 
of  the  men  about  him,  so,  too,  in  the 
two  preceding  generations,  were  his 
father  and  grandfather  men  of  renown 
and  note  in  their  respective  spheres, 
though  perhaps  in  a  somewhat  different 
way.  \Villiam  A.  Mugg  has  inherited  the 
pioneer  strength  of  character.  His  mind 
is  keen  and  he  appreciates  a  witticism. 
His  good-natured  retort  is  sharp,  and 
stranger  or  friend  is  welcomed  at  his 
home  and  treated  with  that  old-time 
jovial  hospitality  that  is  becoming  rare  in 
these  so-called  degenerate  da}S. 

Mr.    Mugg  was  born   in  Milo,    Yates 
Co.,  \.  v.,  December    13,    1827,  .son  of 


John  B.  and  Susan  (Wheeler)  Mugg,  and 
grandson  of  Elder  John  Mugg.  But 
years  before  his  birth  his  father  and  his 
grandfather  had  already  become  identi- 
fied with  the  interests  of  York  township, 
Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio.  It  was  in  1822 
that  Elder  John  Mugg,  a  native  of  Mary- 
land, came  with  his  family  from  New 
York  State  to  the  vast  solitudes  of  north- 
western Ohio.  His  parents  had  died 
when  he  was  a  child,  and  he  was  bound 
out  and  reared  among  strangers.  How- 
ever, he  obtained  the  rudiments  of  an 
education,  and  became  a  preacher  of  the 
Baptist  Church.  When  he  came  to  Ohio 
he  purchased  400  acres  of  government 
land,  but  as  soon  as  the  cabins  for  himself 
and  family  were  built,  and  the  rude 
houses  made  comfortable,  he  began  his 
labors  as  a  pioneer  preacher,  a  task  then 
quite  different  from  the  ministeriai  duties 
of  to-day.  Elder  Mugg  was  a  man  of 
small  stature,  and  his  weight  was  less 
than  one  hundred  pounds;  but  he  was 
filled  with  nervous  force,  and  with  a 
love  for  his  fellow  men.  He  was  an 
enthusiastic  Churchman.  On  horseback, 
with  saddlebags  supplied  with  medicines, 
he  wended  his  way  along  Indian  trails 
through  the  forested  swamps  from  settle- 
ment to  settlement,  bringing  to  the  lone- 
ly pioneer  the  refreshing  and  cheering 
words  of  the  Gospel.  His  value  to  the 
mental,  moral  and  physical  welfare  of  the 
early  settler,  immersed  in  solitude,  can 
scarcely  be  appreciated  at  the  present 
da}-.  He  brought  words  of  cheer  and 
comfort  wherever  he  went,  and  the 
pleasant  memories  Df  his  visit  lingered 
long  after  he  had  departed.  He  carried 
the  current  news  of  the  day  from  cabin 
to  cabin,  and  to  the  sufferers  from  the 
malignant  fevers  that  were  then  so  com- 
mon he  brought  both  medicinal  and 
spiritual  good.  Once,  to  a  neighbor  who 
had  stolen  corn  from  him,  he  remarked: 
"  I  feel  sorry  for  you,  neighbor.  I  don't 
care  for  the  corn.  If  you  had  asked  me 
for  it  the  corn  would  have  been  yours." 


416 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPEICAL  RECORD. 


His  gentle,  forgiving,  Christian  spirit 
made  Eider  Mugg  a  man  who  was  widely 
beloved.  He  organized  the  Freewill 
Baptist  Church,  the  pioneer  religious  or- 
ganization of  York  township,  and  lived 
to  the  good  old  age  of  ninety-six  years, 
amidst  the  peope  to  whom  he  had  minis- 
tered for  many  years.  His  remains  were 
interred  in  Wales  Corners  cemetery,  in 
York  township,  where  many  of  his  fellow 
pioneers  also  rest.  He  was  the  father  of 
seven  children,  as  follows:  Thomas,  who 
moved  to  Indiana;  John  B.,  father  of 
William  A. ;  Marcus,  who  became  a  min- 
ister and  moved  to  Michigan,  where  he 
died;  Jesse,  who  died  in  Indiana:  William, 
who  died  in  early  manhood;  Mary  (after- 
ward Mrs.  Bennett),  of  Indiana;  and  Harriet 
(Mrs.  Colvin),  who  died  in  York  township. 

John  B.  Mugg  was  born  in  1801.  He 
came  with  his  father  to  York  township  in 
1822,  having  j)reviously  married  Susan 
Wheeler.  A  year  later,  after  the  birth  of 
his  eldest  child,  Charles,  he  returned 
with  his  family  to  Yates  county,  N.  Y. , 
and  remained  there  twelve  years.  In 
1836  he  again  came  west,  and  lived  in 
York  township  until  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred December  31,  1880,  when  he  was 
aged  seventy-nine  years,  four  months  and 
twenty-seven  days.  His  wife,  who  was 
born  in  1807,  died  March  3,  1880.  Nine 
children  were  born  to  John  B.  and  Susan 
Mugg:  Charles,  who  died  in  Missouri; 
Wheeler,  who  died  in  York  township; 
William  A.,  subject  of  this  sketch;  John 
who  died  in  New  York;  a  child  who  died 
in  infancy;  Elizabeth,  who  died  in  young 
womanhood;  Marietta,  who  died  in  girl- 
hood; George,  a  resident  of  Dundee, 
Mich.,  and  Alice,  who  died  in   childhood. 

William  A.  Mugg  was  a  child  when 
his  father  returned  from  New  York  to  the 
pioneer  Ohio  home.  He  remembers  well 
the  trip  on  the  lakes,  and  the  journey 
overland  to  the  old  farmstead  near  Wales 
Corners,  which  still  forms  a  part  of  the 
extensive  estate  of  Mr.  Mugg.  In  those 
days   the    driftwood    had    not    yet    been 


cleared  from  the  swamps.  The  pools 
were  full  of  water,  and  fish  were  abundant 
on  every  hand.  Mr.  Mugg  remembers 
that  many  times  in  his  boyhood  he  has 
skated  in  winter  all  the  way  from  the  old 
homestead  to  Sandusky  Bay.  The  young 
men  of  fifty  years  ago  propelled  skiffs 
over  lands  that  are  now  some  of  the  most 
fertile  field  in  Ohio.  Indians  were  numer- 
ous in  those  days,  and  game  abounded. 
But  educational  facilities  were  few. 
While  Mr.  Mugg  did  not  receive  a  finished 
literar\'  education,  he  learned  what  was 
better  still — the  value  of  thrift  and  econ- 
omy. After  he  was  of  age  he  worked 
five  years  for  his  father,  at  $200  per  year. 
Then  in  1854  he  married  Miss  Phebe  S. 
Russell,  who  was  born  April  2,  1833. 
Her  father,  Norton  Russell,  was  born  in 
Hopewell,  Ontario  Co. ,  N.  Y. ,  June  15, 
1 80 1,  of  parents  who  had  shortly  before 
moved  to  the  New  York  wilderness  from 
Massachusetts.  Young  Russell  was  bound 
out,  and  was  diligently  engaged  during 
his  youth  in  clearing  the  pioneer  land  of 
western  New  York.  In  October,  1S21, 
he  came  to  Ohio  with  three  other  young 
men,  William  McPherson,  James  Birds- 
eye  and  Lyman  Babcock,  all  of  whom 
became  prominent  pioneers  of  Sandusky 
county.  They  walked  almost  the  entire 
distance  from  New  York — -400  miles.  Mr. 
Russell  was  the  eldest  of  five  children,  and 
his  sisters  and  brother  were  as  follows: 
Rowena,  who  married  George  Swarthout, 
and  settled  near  Penn  Yan,  N.  Y. ;  Cyn- 
thia, who  married  William  McPherson, 
and  became  the  mother  of  the  martyred 
Gen.  James  B.  McPherson;  William,  who 
married  Elizabeth  Beach;  and  Lydia, 
wife  of  Lester  Beach.  Norton  Russell 
entered  the  S.  E.  Quarter  of  Section  7, 
York  township,  and  was  married  .April 
13,  1825,  to  Miss  Sibyl  S.  McMillen, 
daughter  of  Samiiel  and  Poll)-  McMillen, 
who  emigrated  from  their  old  home  near 
the  White  Mountains,  N.  H.,  to  Ohio, 
and  became  early  pioneers  of  Green  Creek 
township,  Sankusky  county.    Samuel  and 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOOBAPHICAL  RECORD. 


417 


Poll)'  McMillen  had  the  following  seven 
children:  Sibyl  (Mrs.  Russell);  Samuel; 
Henry;  Rachel,  who  married  Isaac  May; 
Sally,  who  married  Joseph  George;  Nancy 
who  married  Isaac  May,  and  Luther.  Nor- 
ton and  Sibyl  Russell  were  the  parents  of 
seven  children,  as  follows:  John  N.  and 
William  M.,  of  Clyde;  Charles  P.,  of  York; 
Phebe  S. ;  Sarah  R.  (Mrs.  Bell),  of  Clyde; 
Mary  M.  (Mrs.  J.  W.  Taylor),  of  Sabine 
Parish,  La.,  and  Belle  R.  (Mrs.  Collverj, 
of  Cleveland.  Norton  Russell  is  still,  at 
this  writing,  living  with  his  daughter, 
Mrs.  Mugg,  and  is  the  oldest  living 
pioneer  of  this  section.  His  wife,  who 
shared  with  him  the  toil  and  privation  of 
a  long  and  eventful  life,  died  December 
1 8.   1887,  aged  eighty  years. 

Nine  children  have  blessed  the  mar- 
riage of  William  A.  and  Phebe  S.  Mugg, 
a  brief  record  of  whom  is  as  follows: 
Nina,  born  December  31,  1857,  is  the 
wife  of  James  Ungerman;  they  reside 
in  New  Richland,  Minn.,  and  have  four 
children — Carl,  Nellie  B.,  Hazel  and 
Vera.  Clarence  M.,  born  January  14, 
1859,  married  Laura  Carr,  and  is  the 
father  of  two  children — Ethel  and  Wayne. 
N.  Russell,  born  March  31,  1861,  married 
Maggie  Matthews,  and  they  have  two 
children — Madeline  and  Maurice.  Mabel, 
born  April  26,  1863,  died  in  1S83.  Alice, 
born  September  10,  1865,  is  the  wife  of 
A.  R.  Pickett,  of  Clyde,  and  has  two 
children — Harold  and  Gladdon.  Moina, 
born  March  12,  1868,  is  the  wife  of  N. 
Greenslade,  of  Bellevue,  and  the}'  have 
one  child — Russell  M.  Amy  B.,  born 
February  19,  1870,  is  one  of  the  popular 
young  ladies  of  this  section,  devoted  to 
her  parents  and  the  home.  James  G., 
born  October  14,  1872,  was  married  Jan- 
uary I,  1895,  to  Anna  Needham,  of  York 
township.  Florence,  born  May  25,  1877, 
is  attending  school. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mugg  started  .in  life 
with  only  about  such  means  as  the  average 
young  couple  of  that  day  possessed,  but 
their  success  has  been    marked.      If  the 


accumulation  of  a  large  estate,  and  the 
rearing  of  a  numerous  and  honorable 
family  is  aught  of  satisfaction,  while  still 
in  the  meridian  of  life,  then  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Mugg  should  be  among  the  happiest 
of  mortals.  The  landed  property  of  Will- 
iam A.  Mugg  exceeds  in  quantity  that  of 
any  other  individual  in  Sandusky  county. 
The  finger  of  Time  has  touched  them 
lightly.  If  Mrs.  Mugg  is  as  young  as  she 
looks,  she  is  yet  in  the  high  noonday 
of  life.  She  is  an  active  member  of  the 
Grange,  and  deservedly  prominent  in  the 
social  affairs  of  the  township.  Mr.  Mugg 
possesses  a  hardy  constitution  which  he 
has  never  abused,  but  which  through 
proper  physical  exercise  he  has  maintain- 
ed in  its  maximum  degree  of  health.  In 
politics  he  is  a  pronounced  and  uncom- 
promising Republican.  In  the  commer- 
cial and  financial  spheres  he  takes  high 
rank.  He  is  a  master  of  the  science  of 
finance,  and  was  one  of  the  organizers, 
and  is  now  vice-president,  of  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Clyde. 


SM.  TERRY,  pioneer,  farmer, 
banker  and  author,  is  one  of  the 
best-known  citizens  of  Clyde,  San- 
dusky count}',  and  he  is  a  repre- 
sentative of  one  of  the  earliest  and  most 
patriotic  families  in  Sandusky  county. 
He  has  been  artisan  and  fruit  farmer. 
He  established  the  Farmers  and  Traders 
Bank,  and  alone  conducted  its  manage- 
ment for  four  years  when  he  organized  th 
First  National  Bank  as  its  successor,  and 
became  its  cashier.  He  possesses  a  literary 
skill  of  a  high  order,  and  to  the  natura 
beauty  and  strength  of  his  poetic  senti- 
ment is  added  a  peculiarly  facile  and  gifted 
rythm. 

Mr.  Terry  was  born  in  Townsend 
township,  Sandusky  county,  August  23, 
1838,  son  of  Jerry  and  Mary  T.  (Bonnell) 
Terry.  Jerry  Terry  was  born  in  New 
Hampshire  March  21,  1801,  son  of  Julius 
Terrv,  who  was  born  in  the  same  State 


418 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


in  1762,  and  in  1 808  migrated  with  his 
family  from  New  Hampshire  to  Living- 
ston county,  N.  Y.  There  Jerry  was 
married,  September  12,  1824,  to  Mary  T. 
Bonnell,  who  was  born  March  2,  1S05. 
Soon  afterward  Jerry  and  Mary  Terry 
moved  to  Townsend  township,  Sandusky 
county,  and  founded  a  home  in  the  wil- 
derness, entering  land  at  $1.25  per  acre 
at  a  time  when  there  was  not  a  tree  cut 
within  two  miles  of  where  they  settled. 
From  the  wilderness  he  carved  out  a  fer- 
tile farm,  and  by  industry  and  persever- 
ance acquired,  as  the  years  went  by,  a 
good  home  with  pleasant  surroundings. 
In  1872  he  retired  from  the  farm  and  re- 
sided in  Clyde  until  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred September  26,  1877.  His  devoted 
life  partner  died  July  24,  1874.  The 
father,  Julius  Terry,  had  also  come  to  the 
pioneer  Ohio  home,  and  died  here  July 
16,  1843.  To  Jerry  and  Mary  Terry 
nine  children  were  born — seven  sons  and 
two  daughters.  Of  the  sons  five  enlisted 
in  the  Civil  war.  and  three  of  the  five  were 
killed  in  battle.  The  children  were  as 
follows:  T.  C,  born  July  8,  1825,  who 
was  postmaster  at  Nevada  Mills,  Ind. , 
and  died  July  20,  1894;  Henry  G.,  born 
June  24,  1827,  who  enlisted  under  Col. 
Gibson,  and  was  killed  at  Dallas,  Ga. ; 
Mary  C,  born  July  23,  1829,  now  Mrs. 
Alfred  George,  of  Bowling  Green;  J.  H., 
born  September  26,  1831,  who  enlisted 
and  served  in  a  Michigan  regiment,  now 
a  farmer  in  Missouri;  W.  C,  born  March 
29,  1834,  a  furniture  dealer  at  Clyde; 
George  J.,  born  April  2,  1836,  who  en- 
listed in  the  Forty- ninth  O.  V.  I.,  and 
was  killed  at  Dallas,  Ga. ;  S.  M.,  subject 
of  this  sketch;  Isaiah,  born  March  23, 
1 841,  who  enlisted  in  the  Forty-ninth 
O.  V.  I.,  and  was  killed  at  Stone  River; 
and  Beulah  E.,  born  March  14,  1846, 
now  widow  of  Joseph  Kenny,  of  Clyde. 

S.  M.  Terry  grew  to  manhood  on  the 
pioneer  farm  of  his  father,  attended  the 
primitive  log-cabin  schools,  and  saw  the 
gleam     of    civilization     enter    the    wild 


land  and  gradually  broaden  until  the 
mists  and  deep  recesses  of  savagery  were 
gone  forever.  When  the  transformation 
scene  was  ended,  peaceful,  happy,  pros- 
perous homes  had  come.  In  his  youth 
Mr.  Terry  completed  a  course  at  Pough- 
keepsie  (N.  Y.)  Business  College,  and  at 
the  age  of  twentj'-five  he  left  the  farm 
and  learned  the  trade  of  carpenter  and 
builder.  Subsequently  he  entered  the  em- 
ploy of  the  old  Clyde  Banking  Co.,  and 
had  been  connected  with  that  institution 
seven  years  when  his  health  broke  down. 
He  went  to  New  York  State  and  took 
charge  of  his  father-in-law's  fruit  farm  on 
the  Hudson  river,  under  the  new  con- 
ditions of  life  regaining  his  health  and 
strength.  Returning  to  Clyde  he  in  1886 
established  the  Farmers  and  Traders 
Bank,  which  was  later  reorganized  as  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Clyde,  with  a 
capital  of  $50,000.  Mr.  Terry  was 
elected  cashier  and  held  that  position 
until  February,  1895,  when  he  sold  his 
interest  in  the  institution  and  retired  from 
active  business  life.  Under  his  manage- 
ment the  bank  was  conducted  on  conser- 
vative principles,  but  with  the  most  ad- 
vanced business  methods.  In  politics 
Mr.  Terry  is  a  Republican.  He  is  a  Royal 
Arch  Mason,  and  was  initiated  into  the 
lodge  in  i860.  Mr.  Terry  was  married 
to  Miss  Mary  Ettie  Coe,  who  was  born 
near  Fairfax  Courthouse,  \'a.,  and  is  a 
lady  of  many  charms  and  accomplish- 
ments. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Terry  have  a  mu- 
tual penchant  for  travel,  and  have  visited 
noted  or  historic  places  in  all  parts  of  the 
United  States. 

As  a  recreation  from  business  cares 
Mr.  Terry  has  quite  happily  wooed  the 
Muses,  and  the  products  of  his  "gray- 
goose  quill"  have  attracted  considerable 
attention.  Several  of  his  more  ambitious 
poems  have  been  printed  in  pamphlet 
form.  The  poetical  address  read  before 
the  One  Hundred  and  Si.xtj'-ninth  O.  V. 
I.,  at  Dalton,  June  3,  1891,  abounded  in 
patriotic      allusion,      with      intermittent 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


419 


gleams  of  wit  and  humor.  His  *'  Remin- 
iscences of  Pioneer  Life  in  Townsend 
Township  "  abounds  in  good  things.  The 
verse  does  not  lag,  but  the  limpid  stream 
of  thought  moves  smoothly  on,  and  de- 
tached fragments  fail  to  do  justice  to  or 
properly  represent  the  whole.  As  a 
specimen  of  his  rare  touch  of  melody  the 
following  extract  from  "A  Lay  Discourse 
on  the  Higher  Criticism  "  is  offered: 

No  mortal  thouglit  can  count  the  cost  or  damages  compute. 
Of  him  who  holds  the  Bible  up,  its  teachings  to  dispute. 
And  heaven  grant  that  this  poor  heart  may  never  wear  the 

stain 
Of  causing  any  doubting  soul  one  single  tinge  of  pain. 

No  finite  mind  can  comprehend  the  infinite  design. 

Or  gather  all  the  hidden  pearls  from  that  eshanstless  mine ; 

And  be  it  far  from  erring  man,  imperfect  at  the  best, 

By  stretch  ol  human  intellect  God's  purposes  to  test. 

The  Bible  stands  the  test  of  time,  its  teachings  ne'er  grow 

old. 
The  truth  shines  out  on  every  page  like  diamonds  set  in  gold. 
Without  it,  humaa  destiny  jn  darkness  lies  concealed  ; 
With  it,  life  immortal  most  gloriously  revealed. 

The  statutes  that  on  Sinai  were  deeply  carved  in  stone, 
Have,  on  the  page  ef  legal  lore,  throughout  the  ages  shone, 
And  vain  the  test  of  human  skill  to  formulate  the  taw, 
That  does  not  from  that  fountain  source   its  strength  and  wis- 
dom draw. 

The  prophecies,  the  golden  link  that  binds  the  old  and  new. 
The  logic  of  the  world's  events  has  demonstrated  true. 
And  science  stands  in  dread  dismay,  as  law's  imperial  sway. 
Unites  with  prophets  and  declares  this  world  must  pass  away. 

The  heavens  like  a  parchment  scroll  shall  be  together  rolled. 
The  elements  shall  melt  with  heat,  the  prophets  long  foretold, 
And  deepest  scientific  search  in  nature's  forces  sees 
The  agencies  that  must,  anon,  enforce  these  dread  decrees. 

The  higher  critics  act  a  part,  if  wc  but  read  aright, 
That  shadows  forth  the  coming  on  of  that  impending  night ; 
For  Holy  Writ  has  plainly  taught  that  in  the  latter  days. 
The  Lord's  elect  would  fall  away  to  follow  Satan's  ways. 

That  heresies  of  dumning  sorts,  would  innovate  the  Church. 
And  men  forsake  the  bidden  way,  and  after  pleasures  search. 
Yea,  e'en  deny  the  Lord  of  light  with  heady  self-conceit. 
And  while  they  sought  to  lead  the  fiock,  would  fill  a  scorner's 
seat. 

The  man  that  hath  an  eye  to  see,  or  hath  an  ear  to  hear, 

Must  see  in  modern  day  events  a  crisis  drawing  near; 

And  men  may  scoff  and   men   may  scorn,  and  all  the  world 

ignore. 
Yet  God  hath  said  it  draweth  nigh;  yea.  standeth  at  the  door. 

The  star  that  led  to  Bethlehem  the  wise  men  of  the  East. 
Is  shining  out  in  heaven's  dome  with  brilliancy  increased  ; 
And  Christian  rule  ia  moving  on  with  banners  all  unfurled, 
And  Anglo-Saxon  Israel  must  subjugate  the  world. 


The  Law.  the  Prophets,  and   the   Cross,  all  firmly   bound  in 

one, 
The  substance  of  the  Trinity,  of  Fatiier,  Spirit,  Son. 
The  Alpha  and  Omega,  the  Logos,  Life  and  Light, 
That  sweeps  two  vast  eternities  with  majesty  and  might. 

My  faith  accepts  the  risen  Christ,  the  Bible  I  revere. 
A  Father's  care,  a  Brothers  love,  1  fee!  are  always  near. 
I  stand  amazed  before  the  Cross.  I  cannot  understand, 
But  then  I  see  a  bleeding  side,  and  touch  a  wounded  hand. 

I  am  the  Way,  the  Truth,  the  Life,  come  unto  Me  and  live, 
I  hear  my  Lord  and  Savior  say,  I  freely  all  forgive. 
I  cannot,  do  not  longer  doubt,  my  soul  with  rapture  cries, 
I  know  that  my  Redeemer  lives,  that  fully  satisfies. 

That  sacred  Word,  a  treasure  mine  enshrined  upon  my  heart. 
And  while  this  transient   breath   remains  I'll   never  with  it 

part. 
It's  been  our  light  in  ages  past,  our  solace  and  our  stay, 
When  tempest  tossed,  amid  its   gloom,  to  guide  our  weary 

way. 

Its  promises  will  stand  secure  when  scoffers  are  no  more, 
And  he  whose  faith  is  anchored  there  'twill  safely  pilot  o'er; 
And  when  the  breakers  gather  round,  and  tempests  sweep  the 

sky. 
We  need  not  fear  the  raging  storms,  deliverance  is  nigh. 

It  tells    us  whence,   and  what,  and  where,   and  shows  the 

mighty  Arm 
That  wields  the  scepter  over  all  and  gives  to  life  a  charm, 
And  manifests  a  Father's  love  surpassing  human  thought, 
And  estimates  immortal  souls  through  sacrifices  wrought. 

It  throws  the  light  that   lifts  the   clouds  that  hover  o'er  the 

tomb. 
And  from  the  faithful  trusting  heart  it  dissipates  all  gloom, 
And  opens  wide  the  pearly  gates  to  show  a  Father's  face 
And  out-stretched  arms  to  welcome  home  with  tenderest  em- 
brace. 

The  weary  pilgrim  on  his  way,  oppressed  with  wordly  care, 
May  turn  a  leaf  and  ever  find  a  consolation  there, 
And  on  the  mount,  or  in  the  vale,  all  shadows  disappear, 
For  on  that  page,  in  love's  own  light,  he  reads  his  title  clear. 

When   I   behold   the   wondrous   grace  in   man's  redemption 

shown. 
And  estimate  the  heritage  unworthily  I  own, 
I  count  my  intellect  as  naught,  and  crucify  my  pride, 
Accept  by  faith  God's  Covenant,  and  in  that  grace  abide. 

The  Bible,  tike  a  guiding  star,  has  led  me  on  the  way. 
And  scattered  all  the  doubt  and  gloom  with  everlasting  day, 
And  now  I  wait  the  Fathers  will  to  bid  his  angel  come 
To  bear  my  weary  spirit  on  to  its  eternal  home. 

In  youth  it  guides  our  wayward  steps  from  sin'salluring  ways, 
And  scatters  seeds  of  golden  grain,  to  yield  in  other  days, 
And  later  on  when  troubles  come,  it  steadies  human  life. 
And  gives  us  strength  to  overcome  in  many  a  doubtful  strife. 

'Twill  be  our  stay  in  waning  years,  when  near  the  journey's 

end. 
And  when  the  night  of  death  appears  our  last  best  earthly 

friend. 
And  when  we  touch  the  river's  brink  and  hear  the  boatman's 

oar, 
Redemption's  theme  will  be  our  song  forever,  ever  more. 


420 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Enrapturing  thought:    The   Lord  be  praised!     That   Bible 

stands  alone. 
The  grandest  book  of  grandest  thoughts  this  world  has  ever 

known ; 
Between  its  lids,  would  man  obey,  the  balm  of  healing  flows, 
To  settle  all  earth's  differences  and  mitigate  its  woes. 

Upon  the  Cross  where  cruel  hate  its  torturing  nails  has  driven, 
A  dying  Saviour  cries  aloud,  "  Forgive,  and  be  forgiven!  " 
And  underneath  that  crimson  flow  all  cruel  passions  fall. 
And  peace  expands  her  golden  wings  where  Christ  is  all  in  all. 

That  smitten  Rock  is  pouring  forth  its  living  waters  pure; 
There's  manna  in  this  wilderness  the  humblest  may  secure; 
That  Word  divine,  the  fiery  cloud  for  Israel's  faithful  guide. 
And  Miriam's  shout  "  We've  been  redeemed,"  resounds  from 
yonder  side. 

Yea,  though  the  sea   before  us  lies,  and  Satan's  hosts  draw 

nigh, 
Through  faith  the  frowning  waters  part  to  leave         athway 

dry ; 
And  God's  command  to  forward  go.  fresh  confidence  inspires, 
And  promised  triumphs  realized,  transcend  all  fond  desires. 

In  grateful  praise  these  lips  employ,  and  joy  o'erwhelms  the 
soul, 

As  Providence  directs  the  way  to  yon  celestial  goal ; 

By  faith  we  mount  the  shining  stair,  where  Jesus  sits  en- 
throned, 

And  view  the  mansions  there  prepared  for  those  He  hath 
atoned. 

Eye  hath  not  seen,  no  ear  hath  heard,  nor  heart  of  man  con- 
ceived, 

The  glories  that  awaiteth  those  who  have  in  Him  believed; 

The  sun  may  fade  in  sombre  night,  and  light  of  stars  grow 
pale, 

But  Christ  the  Christian's  Light  and  Life  can  never  dim  nor 
fail. 

Eternal  life,  that  priceless  pearl  transmitted  from  the  cross. 
Can  never  find  a  recompense  in  any  wordly  dross, 
And  science  doth  not  yet  unfold  or  solve  that  mystery, 
That  love  divine  and  boundless  grace  have  rendered  full  and 
free. 

That  Word,  the  all  iiervading  Light,  can  make  these  temples 

shine. 
And  fill  the  soul  with  joy  and  peace  akin  to  that  divine. 
And  melt  away  the  locks  and  bars  that  doth  the  future  seal. 
And  in  a  risen,  living  Christ,  eternal  life  reveal. 

My  brother,  take  that  Holy   Book,  and  as  you  turn  its  leaves, 
Remember  it  hath  treasures  rare  for  him  that  well  believes. 
But  to  the  doubting,  scoffing  soul  that  reads  from  base  desire, 
'Twill  ever  prove  a  stumbling  block,  an  all-consuming  fire. 

Abiding  firmly  in  the  Law,  with  Prophets  well  in  view. 
The  central  Light  of  history  the  student  may  pursue. 
And  all  the  royal  tore  of  earth  will  cast  its  diadem. 
Upon  the  brow  of  Israel's  King,  the  Child  of  Bethlehem. 

Hail,  glorious  Prince  of  Righteousness!  Thy  sceptre  rule  the 

earth. 
Thy  word   be   taught   till   every  soul   shall  know  and   feel  its 

worth. 
And  o'er  this  world    from  pole  to  pole,  the  troubled  nations 

rest. 
Till  hope  is  in  fruition  lost,  forever  with  the  blest. 


"All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name,  let  angels  prostrate  fall. 
Bring  forth  the  royal  diadem,  and  crown  him  Lord  of  all." 
"Praise  God    from  whom   all  blessings  flow,  praise   Him  at[ 

creafurts  here  below. 
Praise  him  above,  ye  heavtnUj  host,  praise  Father,  Son  and 

Holy  Ghost." 
Amen !  Amen  I  So  let  it  be,  on  earth  as  reigns  above, 
When  man  shall  meet  his  fellow  man,  with  charity  and  love, 
And  truth  and  mercy  join  their  hands  and  sweetly  dwell  to- 
gether. 
And   righteousness  and  peace  unite,  embrace  and  kiss  each 
other. 

The  inherent  patriotism  and  religious 
zeal  of  Mr.  Terry's  nature  is  manifest  in 
all  his  work.  He  has  been  for  years  a 
leading  teacher  in  the  M.  E.  Sunday- 
school,  and  the  influence  which  he  wields 
at  Clyde  is  directed  unmistakably  to- 
ward the  higher  and  better  life. 


ADAM  BRUNTHAVER.  Promi- 
nent among  the  hardy  pioneers 
of  Sandusky  county,  who,  with 
hearts  of  oak,  muscles  of  iron,  and 
nerves  of  steel,  subdued  the  dense  forests 
of  the  Black  Swamp,  and  cleared  up  the 
country  for  the  purposes  of  agriculture, 
is  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  and  as  such 
he  deserves  honorable  mention  in  this 
volume. 

Adam  Brunthaver,  Patriarch  of  the 
Brunthavers  of  Green  Creek,  and  Ball- 
ville  townships,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  was 
born  near  Greensburg,  Westmoreland 
Co.,  Penn.  His  father  was  a  native  of 
Alsace,  France,  who  served  as  a  soldier 
in  the  capacity  of  teamster,  under  the 
First  Napoleon,  and  subsequenty  emi- 
grated to  America,  where  he  was  em- 
ployed by  the  United  States  Government 
to  drive  cattle  through  the  wilderness, 
from  Pennsylvania  to  the  military  post  at 
Detroit,  Mich.  He  was  always  on  friendly 
terms  with  the  Indians,  learned  to  con- 
verse with  them,  and  served  with  his 
party  as  interpreter.  When  passing  those 
Indians  who  were  allies  of  the  British,  he 
would  represent  to  them  that  he  was 
driving  cattle  for  the  '*  Great  P*ather, " 
the  King  of  England.  A  full  record  of 
his  life  can  not  here  be  given. 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOOBAPHICAL  RECORD. 


421 


Our  subject,  Adam  Bruuthaver,  was 
reared  on  a  farm,  learned  the  trade  of 
cooper,  became  a  soldier  in  the  war  of 
1812,  and  about  the  year  1828  made 
several  visits  to  the  Sandusky  region, 
where  he  bought  a  quarter  section  of  land 
of  William  Sn\-der,  at  $1.25  per  acre, 
and  arranged  with  Joseph  Hawk  to  build 
a  log  cabin  for  him  on  the  spot  now  oc- 
cupied bj'  his  grandson  William,  as  a 
place  of  residence,  in  Green  Creek  town- 
ship. He  was  married,  in  Pennsylvania, 
to  Miss  Mary  Ridenhour,  and  first  settled 
in  Fairfield  count}',  Ohio.  In  1S35  they 
moved  to  Sandusky  county,  and  the  fam- 
ily for  many  years  occupied  the  log  cabin 
which  Mr.  Hawk  had  erected  for  them. 
Mrs.  Mary  Brunthaver  died  in  the  fall  of 
1835.  Of  their  children:  Sally,  wife  of 
John  Purdy,  of  Ballville  township;  Esther, 
wife  of  ^[r.  Bowman,  of  Fulton  county, 
Ohio;  Henry,  who  married  Miss  Emma 
Cook,  now  residing  at  Clyde,  Ohio;  Mary, 
wife  of  Caleb  Clink,  of  Woodville,  Ohio; 
Christena,  wife  of  Luther  Van  Horn,  of 
Portland,  Mich. ;  John,  who  married  Miss 
Matilda  Scouten,  and  settled  in  Green 
Creek  township;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Jona- 
than Spohn,  of  Green  Creek  township; 
and  Leah,  wife  of  Enos  Osborn,  of  Ball- 
ville township. 

In  1839  Adam  Brunthaver  married 
Mary  Smith,  daughter  of  Adam  Smith, 
who  had  settled  in  Green  Creek  township, 
in  1824.  The  children  by  this  marriage 
were:  Louis,  who  married  Miss  Loraine 
Forgerson;  Martin,  who  married  Hannah 
Smith;  Margaret,  wife  of  Bert  Rathbone; 
Lucinda,  wife  of  John  Duesler;  Minerva, 
who  died  single;  Adam,  who  married  Miss 
Olive  Potter;  Delilah,  wife  of  Norton 
Young;  William,  who  married  Miss  Ann 
Smith;  and  Martha,  wife  of  Owen  Maurer. 
These  families  reside  in  Green  Creek  and 
Ballville  townships. 

The  death  of  Adam  Brunthaver,  Sen., 
occurred  April  28,  i860,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-five  years.  He  was  buried  in 
Long's  graveyard,  now  known   as    Mount 


Lebanon  U.  B.  Cemetery,  in  Ballville 
township.  To  this  place  the  remains  of  his 
first  wife  were  removed  from  the  pioneer 
Kernahan  burial  place.  Mr.  Brunthaver's 
widow  married,  in  1861,  Rev.  Israel 
Smith,  of  Fremont.  In  1867  they  moved 
upon  a  farm  in  Ballville  township,  bought 
by  them  jointly.  Mr.  Smith  died  in  1885, 
and  his  widow  has  since  that  time  occu- 
pied the  Smith  homestead,  which  she  had 
secured  by  the  proceeds  from  the  Brun- 
thaver homestead. 


P 


ETER  BRUNTHAVER,  a  farmer 
of  Ballville  township,  Sandusky 
county,  was  born  in  Fairfield 
county,  Ohio,  February  9,  1823, 
a  son  of  Adam  and  Marv  (Ridenhour) 
Brunthaver.  At  twelve  years  of  age  he 
came  with  his  parents  to  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, where  he  learned  the  trade  of  carpen- 
ter, at  which  he  wrought  in  Lucas,  W'ood 
and  Sandusky  counties  for  upward  of 
twenty  years.  At  Perrysburg,  Ohio.  July 
4,  1847,  he  married  Miss  Mary  Jane  Cook, 
who  was  born  March  2,  1827,  in  Richland 
county,  Ohio.  Several  3'ears  after  their 
marriage  they  settled  on  a  farm  east  of 
Fremont,  where  he  became  one  of  the 
substantial  farmers  of  Ballville  township. 
He  was  a  trustworthy,  reliable  man,  a 
Democrat  in  politics  previous  to  the  Civil 
war,  later  a  Republican.  He  and  a  part 
of  his  family  were  members  of  the  U.  B. 
Church.  His  death  occurred  April  6, 
1891,  that  of  his  wife  April  8,  1893,  and 
they  were  buried  in  Mt.  Lebanon  U.  B. 
Cemetery. 

The  children  of  Peter  and  Mary  J. 
Brunthaver  were:  (i)  Charles  E.  Brunt- 
haver, born  April  16,  1848,  in  Lucas 
county,  who  married  Miss  M.  A.  Merrald, 
November  16,  1870;  she  died  November 
I.  1873,  leaving  two  children — Edward, 
born  September  14.  1871,  and  Clara, 
born  May  29,  1873,  the  latter  of  whom 
died  at  the  age  of  ten  years;  Charles  E. 
Brunthaver  has  been  a  clerk   in  the  W'ar 


422 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Department,  at  Washington,  D.  C,  for 
upward  of  twelve  years.  (2)  Lucinda 
Jane  Brunthaver,  born  September  29, 
1849,  in  Wood  county,  who  married 
Charles  Dawley,  a  farmer  of  Green  Creek 
township,  Sandusky  county,  June  20, 
1872;  she  died  August  30,  1883;  their 
children  were:  Willis  W.,  born  February 
20,  1874;  Nellie,  January  23,  1876;  and 
Hazel,  November  16,  188 1.  (3j  Ellen 
E.  Brunthaver,  born  May  30,  185 1,  in 
Sandusky  county,  married  Henry  Bennett, 
December  25,  1871;  she  died  March  24, 
1882,  leaving  three  children — Clarence 
A.,  born  October  26,  1872;  George  Henry, 
February  19,  1877;  and  Fanny  A.,  Oc- 
tober 18,  1878.  (4)  Samuel  Willard 
Brunthaver,  born  August  18,  1853,  mar- 
ried Miss  Ann  Norton,  June  9,  1883.  (5) 
Orrin  James,  who  will  be  more  fully 
spoken  of  presently.  (6)  Frank  P.  Brunt- 
haver, born  January  16,  1862,  was  brought 
up  on  a  farm,  educated  in  the  home  dis- 
trict and  the  Fremont  city  schools,  took 
a  course  in  the  Medical  Department  of  the 
Western  Reserve  University,  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  and,  after  practicing  medicine  at 
Maumee  City  about  three  jears,  took  a 
course  at  the  Post  Graduate  Medical 
School  and  Hospital,  in  New  York  City; 
he  was  married,  November  27,  1884,  to 
Miss  Mary  E.  Smith,  of  Sugar  Ridge, 
Wood  county,  Ohio,  and  their  children 
are — Carrie  L. ,  born  August  4,  1888; 
Merine  A.,  April  14,  1890;  and  an  infant 
son.  (7)  Minnie  E.  Brunthaver,  born 
October  22,  1863,  married  Silas  Stroh- 
man,  a  farmer,  of  near  Tinney,  Ohio, 
May  27,  1885,  and  their  children  are — 
Edna  E. ,  born  March  9,  1886;  Cora  M., 
December  17,  1S89;  and  Mildred  E., 
September  5,  1893.  (8)  Clarence  W. 
Brunthaver,  born  March  12,  1867,  died  in 
childhood. 

Orrin  James  Brunthaver,  born  June 
20,  1859,  was  reared  on  a  farm,  learned 
the  carpenter's  trade  of  his  father,  attend- 
ed the  Fremont  High  School  and  the  Fos- 
toria   Normal   School,  read  law  for  some 


time  with  the  firm  of  Everett  &  Fowler, 
Fremont,  became  administrator  of  his 
father's  estate,  and  since  1893  has  been 
emplo}-ed  in  the  Railroad  Postal  Service 
between  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  Syracuse, 
N.  Y.  He  was  married  at  Fremont,  Sep- 
tember 24,  1893,  to  Miss  Carrie  E. 
Sn3'der,  who  was  born  February  23,  1871, 
at  Hudson,  Mich.,  and  they  have  one  son 
— Harry  Allen,  born  October  30,  1894. 


M 


ARTIN  SEIPLE,  one  of  the 
leading  farmers  and  stock  rais- 
ers of  Madison  township,  San- 
dusky county,  is  a  native  of 
Pennsylvania,  born  May  20,  1849,  in 
Williams  township,  Northampton  county. 
John  and  Susanna  (Unangst)  Seiple, 
parents  of  our  subject,  were  also  natives 
of  Northampton  county.  In  1864  they 
removed  to  Scott  township,  Sandusky 
Co.,  Ohio,  where  the  father  purchased 
300  acres  of  land,  and  carried  on  farming. 
In  their  family  were  ten  children:  Ed- 
ward (deceased),  who  during  his  life  fol- 
lowed farming,  and  whose  widow  resides 
at  Helena,  Sandusky  county;  Valentine,  a 
farmer,  butcher  and  stock  dealer,  who 
died  in  Pennsylvania;  Thomas,  a  farmer, 
living  on  the  old  homestead:  Eva  A.,  wife 
of  \\'illiam  Schrantz,  an  agriculturist,  who 
operates  half  of  the  old  home  farm;  Au- 
gust, deceased;  John,  who  was  a  member 
of  the  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-third  P. 
V.  I.,  and  was  killed  at  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg;  William,  who  died  of  brain 
fever,  in  Pennsylvania;  Adam,  a  retired 
farmer  living  in  Helena,  Ohio;  Martin; 
and  one  who  died  in  infancy.  The  par- 
ents are  both  now  deceased. 

Henry  and  Sarah  (Wagner)  Seiple, 
parents  of  John,  were  born,  the  former 
September  29,  1776,  the  latter  April  4, 
1780;  and  both  died  in  1863,  he  on  Jan- 
uary 12,  she  on  October  16.  They  had 
a  family  of  five  sons  and  three  daughters, 
viz. :  John  (father  of  Martin  Seiple), 
Henry,    Conrad,    David,    Joseph,    Sarah 


^^ 

^^^BK         S^^^IF            ^^^^^^^^^^^^^K 

If 

B  \                    ^^^^^KBr 

1^^P7^/ 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


423 


(who  married  Samuel  Johnson,  of  Allen- 
town,  Pcnn.),  Katy  (who  married  Henry 
Hildibrand,  of  Bethlehem,  Penn.),  and 
Julia  (who  married  Henry  W'oodring,  of 
Carroll,  Iowa). 

Mrs.  Susanna  (Unangst)  Seiple,  moth- 
er of  our  subject,  was  the  daughter  of  Val- 
entine and  Elizabeth  (Morgan)  Unangst. 
\'alentine  Unangst  was  born  July  27, 
1769,  and  died  August  23,  1857,  aged 
eighty-eight  years.  Elizabeth  (Morgan) 
Unangst  was  born  in  1754  and  died  in 
1824,  aged  seventy  years;  her  mother, 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  Morgan,  was  born  April 
23,  1727.  Valentine  Unangst  had  an 
only  sister.  Eve  Ahn  Unangst,  who  was 
born  June  24,  1764,  and  died  November 
15,   1S57. 

Martin  Seiple  attended  school  in  his 
native  county  up  to  his  si.xteenth  year, 
when  he  removed  with  his  parents  to 
Ohio,  and  located  in  Scott  township, 
Sandusky  count)-,  on  a  farm  of  300  acres. 
Here  he  continued  his  education  for  a 
short  time,  and  then  entered  upon  his 
business  career,  working  upon  his  father's 
farm  until  1867.  He  had  in  the  mean- 
time saved  from  his  earnings  some  capi- 
tal, with  which,  he  now  purchased  eight)' 
acres  of  land  on  which  stood  a  small 
frame  house.  It  took  many  years  of  hard 
toil  to  place  the  tract  under  its  present 
high  state  of  cultivation,  and  to  add  the 
improvements  that  we  to-day  find,  in- 
cluding an  excellent  frame  residence, 
barns  and  outbuildings,  which  are  models 
of  convenience,  a  tine  orchard  and  other 
general  improvements.  He  also  has  ten 
oil  wells  upon  his  land,  which  are  owned 
and  operated  by  the  Buffalo  Oil  Com- 
pany, in  which  Mr.  Seiple  owns  stock;  he 
is  also  engineer  in  helping  to  pump  in  the 
same.  He  is  one  of  the  most  progressive 
men  in  Madison  township,  and  good  man- 
agement and  business  ability  have  placed 
him  in  a  substantial  position. 

In  .August,  1869.  Mr.  Seiple  was  mar- 
ried, in  Medina,  Ohio,  to  Ruby  K.  Bow- 
man,   daughter   of    Daniel    and    Caroline 

27 


Ohio;  Alice,  wife 

farmer  of  Medina 

follows  the  same 

Frelena,    wife 

agriculturist  of  that 


Bowman,  of  Medina  county,  the  former 
born  in  1817  in  Pennsylvania,  in  which 
State  he  acquired  his  education,  and  for  a 
time  carried  on  farming  there.  Subse- 
quently he  removed  to  Medina  county, 
Ohio,  where,  in  1842,  he  married  Miss 
Caroline  Ross,  a  native  of  Vermont,  and 
by  their  union  were  born  fourteen  children, 
nine  of  whom  are  living:  Levi,  a  fanner 
of  Michigan;  Ja)ett,  wife  of  Jesse  Jacobs, 
an  agriculturist  in  Michigan;  Ruby,  who 
was  born  September  12,  1850;  Walter, 
a  resident  of  Medina, 
of  George  Moulton,  a 
county;  Charles,  who 
pursuit  in  Medina  county; 
of  Lewis  Abbott,  an 
county;  Edelia.  wifeof  Elsworth  Gilbert, 
who  operates  a  farm  in  Medina  county; 
Orson,  who  resides  in  Lorain,  Ohio; 
Mary,  John,  Joshua  and  George,  all  de- 
ceased, and  one  who  died  in  infancy.  Mr. 
Bowman  died  in  1879,  in  Medina  county, 
where  his  widow  is  still  living.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Daniel  Bowman  were  in  James  T. 
Garfield's  (afterward  President)  audience 
when  he  used  to  preach  in  John  Bowman's 
barn  in  Medina  county. 

Grandfather  Christopher  Bowman  was 
born  about  1783  in  Germany,  and  he 
and  his  wife  both  died  about  the  same 
time,  in  1858,  and  were  buried  in  the 
same  grave  in  Lafayette  township,  Medina 
county;  they  had  a  family  of  fourteen 
children,  three  of  whom  are  now  living. 
Mrs.  Seiple's  maternal  grandfather  Ross 
was  born  about  1783,  his  wife,  Susan 
Ross,  in  1799.  They  were  the  parents 
of  ten  children,  of  whom  are  now  living: 
Mrs.  Caroline  Bowman  (mother  of  Mrs. 
Seiple),  Charles,  Mrs.  .Almeda  White  (of 
Michigan),  and  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Newens 
(of  Cleveland). 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Seiple  have  been 
born  five  children — two  sons  and  three 
daughters — of  whom  John  D.,  born  June 
4,  1872,  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  of  Madison  township,  Sandusky 
county,  and  is  now  attending  the  Normal 


424 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


University,  at  Ada,  Hardin  Co.,  Ohio; 
when  quite  young  he  suffered  from  diph- 
theria, and  afterward  from  spinal  fever, 
which  left  him  a  cripple.  Chloa,  born 
on  the  old  home  farm  in  April,  1874,  was 
educated  in  her  native  township,  where 
she  was  married  April  7,  1894,  to  Corne- 
lius Burgher,  an  oil  driller,  by  whom  she 
has  one  child.  Caroline  S.,  born  Sep- 
tember 13,  1877,  also  obtained  her  educa- 
tion in  Madison  township.  Pearl,  born 
August  2,'  1 88 1,  and  Orson,  born  June 
8,  1888,  are  still  with  their  parents. 

Mr.  Seiple  is  pre-eminently  a  public- 
spirited  citizen,  taking  a  deep  interest  in 
everything  that  tends  to  benefit  the  town 
and  county  generally.  He  is  a  warm 
friend  of  the  cause  of  education,  has 
several  terms  served  as  school  director, 
and  does  all  in  his  power  for  the  advance- 
ment of  the  public  schools.  He  is  a 
popular  and  highly  esteemed  man.  In 
politics  he  is  a  stanch  Republican,  and 
he  and  his  family  are  adherents  of  the 
Reformed  Church,  attending  service  in 
Helena. 


FRANK  H.  SMITH,  one  of  the 
youngest  successful  and  prosper- 
ing residents  of  Gibsonburg,  San- 
dusky county,  e.xtensively  engaged 
in  the  oil  business,  was  born  in  \'enango 
county,  Penn.,  August  16,  1865,  son  of 
Abraham  and  Sarah  (Smith)  Smith,  the 
parents  not  by  blood  related. 

Abraham  Smith  was  born  in  1830  in 
Venango  count}-,  Penn.,  and  followed  the 
trade  of  blacksmithing.  He  died  April  9, 
1883.  The  mother,  Sarah  Smith,  was  a 
native  of  Franklin,  Venango  Co.,  Penn., 
and  died  in  1873.  They  reared  the  fol- 
lowing family  of  seven  children:  Leah, 
who  married  J.  B.  Wilson,  and  lives  at 
Gibsonburg;  Laura,  wife  of  C.  B.  Neely, 
of  Venango;  My  ram,  a  resident  of  Free- 
port,  Ohio;  Frank  H.,  subject  of  this 
sketch;  Clara,  wife  of  Geo.  Bloodheart, 
of  Gibsonburg,  Ohio;  Cora,  who  married 


George  Speck,  of  Pemberville,  Ohio,  and 
P.  A. ,  a  contractor  of  Gibsonburg. 

Frank  H.  Smith  was  a  lad  of  only 
fourteen  years  when  he  left  home  and 
drifted  to  the  oil  fields  of  McKean,  which 
attracted  him.  He  secured  employment 
in  the  oil  business  at  once,  and  has  ever 
since  been  engaged  in  it  successfully,  fol- 
lowing the  oil  fields  of  Pennsylvania  con- 
tinuously until  1890,  when  he  came 
to  Ohio,  and  has  here  continued  the 
same  pursuit.  He  obtained  his  start 
as  a  drill  contractor  of  oil  wells.  About 
four  j-ears  ago  he  became  interest- 
ed in  leasing  oil  lands  in  Sandusky  coun- 
ty. He  was  first  with  the  firm  of  Smith 
&  Dohn,  a  firm  which  has  undergone 
various  changes,  and  to  whom  he  sold 
many  leases  when  parti}'  developed.  Mr. 
Smith  is  now  interested  in  a  200-acre 
lease  along  the  Pennsylvania  railroad, 
three  miles  north  of  Gibsonburg,  where 
he  has  twenty-nine  wells  producing,  and 
the  venture  has  been  a  marked  financial 
success.  The  leased  land  produces  over 
12,000  barrels  of  oil  per  month.  On 
February  9,  1895,  Mr.  Smith  and  his  part- 
ner, Mr.  John  Shertzer,  purchased  the 
Gibsonburg  electric  light  plant,  paying 
the  sum  of  $4,500  therefor,  and  holding 
this  until  July  10,  of  the  same  year,  when 
they  sold  to  a  Pittsburg  firm  for  $5,500. 

On  September  23,  18S6,  Mr.  Smith 
was  married  in  Pennsylvania  to  Miss  Liz- 
zie Lusher,  and  has  two  children:  Arthur 
D.  and  Roscoe  M.  Mrs.  Smith  was  born 
May  5,  1864,  in  Rockland  township,  Ve- 
nango Co.,  Penn.,  where  she  resided  un- 
til her  marriage.  Her  parents  George 
and  Charity  (Jacobs)  Lusher,  were  also 
natives  of  Pennsylvania,  born  October  8, 
1 83 1,  and  May  30,  1834,  respectively, 
and  they  had  a  family  of  eight  children, 
viz. :  Andrew  married  a  MissGilmore,  and 
has  four  children;  Bell  lives  at  home; 
Miles  married  Maggie  Shoper,  by  whom 
he  has  four  children,  and  lives  near  Gib- 
sonburg; Maggie  is  Mrs.  J.  Watson,  of 
Pennsylvania;  Emma  became  the  wife  of 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


425 


H.  Davis,  of  Cleveland;  Lizzie  is  Mrs. 
Smith;  Perry,  unmarried,  is  employed  by 
Mr.  Smith  in  the  oil  fields;  Harry  is  at 
home.  The  paternal  grandfather  of  this 
family,  Jonathan  Lusher,  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania  March  i",  1812,  and  died 
December  i,  1S84;  he  married  Eliza 
Smith,  born  about  181  5,  and  they  had  a 
family  of  fourteen  children.  The  mater- 
nal grandfather,  Jacob  Jacobs,  also  had  a 
family  of  fourteen  children.  Mr.  Smith 
owns  a  pleasant  home  in  Gibsonburg,  and, 
financially,  he  has  prospered  far  beyond 
his  years.  He  is  recognized  as  one  of 
the  ablest  and  most  successful  young  bus- 
iness men  of  Sandusky  county. 


CA.  MINER,  a  prosperous  and 
highly  successful  business  man  of 
Clyde,  Sandusky  county,  was 
born  at  Ithaca,  N.  Y. ,  January 
5,  1825,  son  of  Avery  and  Emma  (Eddy) 
Miner. 

Avery  Miner,  a  large-hearted  and 
enterprising  man  of  affairs,  was  born  of 
English  ancestry  March  10,  1774.  He 
accumulated  considerable  wealth  at  Lan- 
sing, N.  Y. .  but  at  this  point  his  generos- 
ity was  his  ruin.  Becoming  surety  for 
some  acquaintances  who  proved  unequal 
to  the  task  of  meeting  their  obligations, 
the  property  of  Avery  Miner  was  taken 
in  satisfaction.  Thus  bereft  of  fortune, 
he  went  Ithaca  in  1835  at  the  age  of 
sixty-one  years;  then  came  west,  where 
capital  seemed  less  essential  to  success,  lo- 
cating at  Huron,  Ohio,  where  he  paid  $3 
for  a  broken-down  stage  horse,  and  in  a 
wagon  that  corresponded  with  the  steed 
began  to  keep  a  meat  market.  He  pros- 
pered as  a  butcher,  and  followed  that 
business  until  his  death,  which  resulted 
from  blood-poisoning.  May  13,  1854. 
A  neighbor  had  requested  Mr.  Miner  to 
conduct  the  autopsy  of  a  fine  cow  that 
had  died  of  some  unknown  ailment,  and 
in  the  dissection  Mr.  Miner  accidentally 
cut  his  left  hand.      A   Dr.    Burdick,    who 


was  present,  predicted  serious  results, 
and  the  prediction  slowly  came  true. 
Gradually  he  lost  the  power  of  his  hand, 
but  he  survived  six  or  seven  years  before 
death  ensued.  Nearly  thirty  years  later 
the  son,  C.  A.  Miner,  met  Dr.  Burdick, 
and  the  latter  at  once  inquired  as  to  the 
result  of  the  accident,  so  deeply  had  it 
impressed  him.  Avery  Miner  was  a 
powerful  man,  physically.  In  politics  he 
was  a  Whig.  Emma  (Eddy),  his  wife, 
was  born  March  23,  1797,  at  Great 
Bend,  Penn.  They  were  married  Febru- 
ary I,  1 816.  After  her  husband's  death 
she  resided  in  Huron,  Toledo,  and  finally 
in  Clyde  until  her  death,  which  occur- 
red December  8,  1874.  Avery  and  Emma 
Miner  had  three  children,  as  follows:  G. 
P.,  born  July  16,  1817,  for  many  years 
a  resident  of  Huron  and  Milan,  and  who 
died  at  Monroeville;  William  H.,  born 
August  29,  1828,  unmarried,  who  resided 
for  years  in  Clyde,  and  died  July  16. 
1895,  at  Toledo. 

C.  A.  Miner,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
attended  the  schools  of  Ithaca,  Huron 
and  Milan,  Ohio,  and  his  youth  was 
closely  associated  with  the  stock  business. 
He  was  reared  to  business  in  his  father's 
meat  market,  and  early  in  life  commenced 
shipping  cattle  to  New  York  and  other 
Eastern  cities  by  boat,  afterward  by  rail, 
lifting  the  steers  into  the  boats  by  means 
of  tackle  fastened  to  their  horns.  For 
nearly  twenty-five  years  Mr.  Miner  fol- 
lowed the  cattle  business  at  Huron  very 
successfully.  He  bought  a  farm  which  he 
used  as  a  pasture  and  shipped  hogs,  cat- 
tle and  horses  extensively.  In  1859  he 
moved  to  Clyde,  purchasing  a  half  section 
of  land,  a  portion  of  which  is  now  within 
the  corporation  limits.  He  was  married, 
November  22,  1855,  to  Mary  E.  Miller, 
who  was  born  at  Ballston,  N.  Y. ,  Ma\' 9, 
1 82 1.  She  died  January  4,  i860,  a  de- 
voted Christian  woman,  enthusiastic  and 
faithful  in  Sunday-school  and  all  Chris- 
tian work.  Both  she  and  her  husband 
were  active  teachers  in  the  Presbyterian 


420 


COMyrEMORATTYE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Sunday-school  at  Huron,  and  Mr.  Miner 
now  has  an  elegant  Bible  which  was 
presented  to  him  by  the  school  at  Huron. 
He  remained  on  the  farm  only  one  j-ear 
after  his  wife's  death.  He  then  sold  his 
Cl3'de  farm  and  purchased  an  interest  in 
a  foundry  and  machine  shop  at  Sandusky. 
Gas  from  the  foundry  proved  injurious  to 
his  health,  and  two  years  later  he  sold 
out  and  removed  to  Toledo,  Ohio;  for 
one  year  he  traveled  through  the  West. 
He  then  took  care  of  his  mother's  farm  at 
the  Junction  at  Toledo  for  two  years. 
Returning  to  Clyde  he  bought  a  ware- 
house, and  for  some  years  was  engaged 
in  the  grain  business,  and  a  grocerj',  after- 
ward handling  general  produce.  For 
some  years  Mr.  Miner  has  led  a  retired 
life,  which  he  has  well  merited  after  his 
active  and  prosperous  business  career. 
The  second  and  present  wife  of  Mr.  Miner 
was  Miss  Maria  Veletta  Stark,  who  was 
born  in  Fremont  February  6,  1842,  and 
whom  he  married  May  17,  1877.  To 
this  marriage  have  come  two  children: 
Charles  L. ,  born  November  25,  1880,  and 
Helen,  born  September  8,  1S83. 


CHARLES     T.     MOORE.       The 
great  ancestor  of  the  Moore  fam- 
ilies   with    which    our    subject  is 
connected    was    Samuel    Moore, 
who  emigrated  from  Dalkeith,    Scotland, 
about  the  year  1760,  and  settled  in  New 
Jersey. 

His  son,  David  Moore,  grandfather  of 
our  subject,  moved  from  Huntington 
county,  Pennsylvania,  to  Ross  county, 
Ohio,  in  1814,  and  from  Ross  to  San- 
dusky county  in  1818.  He  built  and  oc- 
cupied a  double  log  cabin  on  the  west 
bank  of  the  Sandusky  river,  about  half  a 
mile  southwest  of  the  present  village  of 
Ballville.  A  short  distance  below  that 
he  built  a  gristmill  and  a  sawmill  which 
were  patronized  by  the  early  pioneers  for 
many  miles  around.  His  death  occurred 
December  24,    1829,    and  was  caused  by 


an  accident  in  falling  at  night  from  the 
attic  in  the  mill  to  a  lower  story.  His 
wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Elizabeth 
Davis,  remained  on  a  farm  in  Ross  coun- 
ty, where  she  died  July  i,  1826.  Their 
children  were:  Eliza  (Justice),  Sarah 
(Fields),  George,  James  and  John  Moore, 
all  of  whom  came  to  reside  in  Sandusky 
county.  George  Moore  returned  to  Ross 
county  in  1830,  and  settled  near  Chilli- 
cothe,  where  he  died  in  1850.  John 
Moore  was  for  many  years  a  miller  at 
Ballville,  and  died  there  in  1876. 

James  Moore,  father  of  our  subject, 
was  born  in  Huntingdon  count}-,  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  1806,  came  to  Ross  county  in 
his  boyhood  and  to  Sandusky  county  at 
the  age  of  si.xteen,  where  he  assisted  his 
father  on  the  farm  and  in  the  mill.  After 
his  father's  death  he  became  his  successor 
in  the  mill,  and  carried  on  a  flourishing 
business  at  wool  carding.  He  was  an 
I  enterprising  and  public-spirited  citizen, 
and  contributed  largel)'  toward  the  build- 
ing of  the  Fremont  &  Fostoria  plank 
road,  and  the  Lake  Erie  and  Louisville 
(now  the  L.  E.  &  W.)  railroad.  During 
the  Civil  war  he  was  untiring  in  his 
efforts  to  aid  the  government  in  putting 
down  the  Rebellion,  and  perhaps  no  other 
man  in  the  county  did  more  to  encourage 
the  enlistment  of  soldiers,  assist  the  fam- 
ilies of  absent  soldiers,  or  relieve  the 
wants  of  the  widows  and  orphans  of  those 
who  lost  their  lives  in  the  service. 

James   Moore  was    married,  in    1832, 
to  Miss  Harriet  Patterson,  who  was  born 
May  17,  1 8 10,  in  Syracuse,  N.  Y. ,  daugh- 
ter   of    Reuben    and    Eunice    (Danforthj 
Patterson,  who  came  to  Ohio  in  18 16,  to 
Lower    Sandusky    in    1818,    passed  their 
first  winter  here  in  the  old  block  house  of 
Fort    Stephenson,     and    settled    on   the 
Whittaker  Reserve.     James  Moore    died 
December  6,  1873,  from  an  accident  that 
happened  to  him    in    his  mill.      He  was 
'  buried    in    Oak    W'ood    Cemetery.       His 
I  widow  resides  on  a  part  of  the  old  home- 
'  stead.       Their    children     were:        Orvin 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPnWAL  RECORD. 


427 


was    drowned    in    Sandusky 
eiglit     years    old;     Juliette 


Moore,  who 
river  when 
Moore,  who  married  William  Rice,  a  mer- 
chant of  Fremont,  whose  sketch  is  given 
elsewhere;  LeRoy  Moore,  a  sketch  of 
whom  follows;  Celiette  Moore,  who  died 
at  the  age  of  fifteen  years;  Manville 
Moore,  sketch  of  whom  follows;  Charles 
T. .  the  subject  proper  of  this  sketch; 
Celia  Moore,  wife  of  John  C.  Fisher,  now 
living  near  Rollersville,  Ohio,  whose  chil- 
dren are- — Claud,  Guy,  Webb,  James, 
Clara,  Maud,  Blanche,  Lester,  Bruce  and 
Brice;  Oriette  Moore,  wife  of  John  G. 
Speller,  whose  children  are — James  M. 
and  Alice,  living  at  home  in  Ballville 
township. 

Charles  T.  Moore  was  born  in  Ball- 
ville township,  and  spent  his  youth  on  a 
farm  and  in  his  father's  mill.  He  at- 
tended the  Ballville  village  and  the  Fremont 
city  schools,  and  the  State  University  at 
Ann  Arbor,  Mich.  His  vacations  were 
spent  in  assisting  his  father  in  the  mill  un- 
til he  was  twenty-four  years  of  age.  He 
is  at  present  living  on  the  old  Moore 
homestead,  carries  on  dairy  farming  and 
runs  a  milk  wagon  to  Fremont.  He  mar- 
ried Miss  Jennie  H.  Huber.  daughter  of 
Lewis  and  Mary  Jane  Huber,  farmers, 
near  Springfield,  111.,  and  the  children 
born  to  this  union  were:  Mabel,  who 
died,  aged  one  year,  and  Julia  and  Huber, 
at  home. 


CAPTAIN  LE  ROY  MOORE,  late 
of  Clyde,  Ohio,  was  born  in  Ball- 
ville township,  Sandusky  county, 
Ohio,  December  28,  1836,  a  son 
of  James  and  Harriet  (Patterson)  Moore. 
From  the  time  when  he  was  out  of  the 
district  school  until  near  the  outbreak  of 
the  Civil  war  he  assisted  his  father  in  a 
tlouring-mill  near  the  village  of  Ballville, 
attended  the  Fremont  city  schools,  and  at 
Oberlin  College  two  years.  In  the  fall 
of  i860  he  went  to  school  at  Ann  Arbor, 
Mich.,  and  remained   until  the  spring  of 


1861,  when  he  came  home  intending  to 
return  to  school  and  complete  a  full 
course  of  study.  Touched  with  patriotic 
ardor  to  serve  his  country,  he  responded 
to  Abraham  Lincoln's  call  for  troops,  and 
on  October  8,  1861,  enlisted  at  Colum- 
bus, Ohio,  as  a  recruiting  officer,  with  the 
rank  of  second  lieutenant,  and  speedily 
raised  the  requisite  number  of  men  to  form 
Company  F,  Seventy-second  Regiment, 
O.  \.  I.,  of  which  he  became  captain  on 
the  4th  of  January,  1862.  Two  years 
later  he  veteranized  at  Memphis,  Tenn., 
and  took  an  active  part  in  the  battles  of 
Pittsburg  Landing,  the  siege  of  Corinth, 
the  battle  of  Jackson  and  the  siege  of 
Vicksburg.  After  various  other  encount- 
ers with  the  enem\-.  the  regiment  was 
sent  to  Guntown,  Miss.,  on  what  is  known 
as  the  Sturgis  raid,  where  he  shared  the 
fate  of  many  other  brave  men  in  being 
taken  prisoner.  He  was  held  by  the  Con- 
federates at  Macon,  Ga.,  at  Charleston 
and  Columbia,  S.  C,  and  at  Raleigh  and 
Goldsboro,  N.  C.  He  was  paroled  for 
exchange  and  entered  the  Union  lines  at 
Wilmington,  N.  C,  March  i,  1865.  At 
one  time  he  was  detailed  to  run  a  mill  for 
the  purpose  of  grinding  corn  to  supply 
Gen.  Grant's  army,  cut  off  b\'  Van  Dorn, 
at  Holly  Springs.  During  three  years 
and  five  months  he  served  his  country 
with  distinction,  and  was  honorably  dis- 
charged at  Annapolis,  Md.,  March  5, 
1865.  On  his  return  home  his  health 
was  much  impaired,  but  as  soon  as  he 
was  able  to  work  he  resumed  his  place  in 
his  father's  mill,  and  afterward  became 
one  of  the  proprietors  of  the  same. 

Capt.  Le  Roy  Moore  married,  Novem- 
ber 9, 1869,  Miss  Mary  J.  Dawley, daughter 
of  Elisha  and  Sarah  N.  Brush)  Dawley, 
of  Green  Creek  township,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty. In  1876  they  moved  to  Pemberville, 
Wood  county,  where  he  went  into  milling 
on  his  own  account.  Being  much  af- 
flicted with  rheumatism,  resulting  from 
e.xposures  during  army  life,  and  having 
been  granted  a  soldier's  pension,  he  gave 


428 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


up  milling  and  retired  to  Clyde,  Ohio, 
where  he  established  his  permanent  resi- 
dence. His  death  occurred  June  29, 
1888.  He  was  buried  with  military  hon- 
ors in  McPherson  Cemetery.  His  family 
continued  to  reside  in  Clyde  until  1894, 
when  they  removed  to  Fremont.  The 
children  of  Capt.  Le  Roy  and  Mary  J. 
Moore  were,  Blanche  A.,  born  September 
20,  1 870,  now  official  stenographer  of  the 
court  of  common  pleas,  of  Sandusky 
count}',  and  James  K.,  born  February  22, 
1878,  now  at  home  in  Fremont,  Ohio. 


M 


ANVILLE  MOORE.  Among 
the  patriotic  young  men  of  San- 
dusky county,  who  sacrificed 
their  lives  on  the  altar  of  their 
country  during  the  Civil  war,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  deserves  honorable  men- 
tion. 

Born  and  reared  on  the  historic  banks  of 
the  Sandusky  river,  made  famous  by  deeds 
of  heroism  on  the  part  of  the  early  settlers 
in  repelling  foreign  invaders  and  their 
Indian  allies,  he  early  learned  those  les- 
sons of  patriotism  and  devotion  to  the 
cause  of  hutiian  liberty  which  inspired 
him  in  manhood  to  make  the  sacrifice 
which  has  rendered  his  name  immortal. 
His  youth  was  spent  at  home  in  perform- 
ing his  every-day  duties  faithfully  and 
well,  on  the  farm  and  in  the  mill,  and  in 
attendance  at  the  village  school;  yet  he 
was  ambitious  to  rise  above  the  dull 
routine  of  daily  toil.  Leaving  home  he 
attended  several  terms  at  Oberlin  College, 
where  he  intended  to  complete  a  course 
of  study.  When  Abraham  Lincoln  called 
for  troops  to  put  down  the  Rebellion,  he 
left  school,  and  in  April,  1861,  responded 
to  the  first  call,  by  enlisting  as  corporal 
in  Company  G,  Eighth  Ohio  Regiment. 
After  a  three-month's  service  he  re-en- 
listed and  served  with  his  comrades,  chief- 
I}'  in  Western  \'irginia.  He  was  at  the 
battles  of  Winchester,  Antietam,  Fred- 
ericksburg,   Chancellorsville  and  Gettys- 


burg. In  the  last  named  engagement  he 
was  mortally  wounded,  July  3,  1863;  he 
was  taken  to  a  hospital  in  Baltimore, 
Md.,  and  died  soon  after.  His  remains 
were  taken  home  by  his  father,  and  with 
fitting  services  were  laid  to  rest  in  Oak 
Wood  Cemetery.  His  age  was  twenty- 
five  years. 

On  June  22,  1885,  Post  No.  525,  De- 
partment of  Ohio,  G.  A.  R.,  was  organ- 
ized at  Fremont,  and  on  the  30th  day  of 
the  same  month  the  name  of  Manville 
Moore  was  unanimously  adopted  as  the 
name  of  the  Post.  On  November  30, 
following,  a  life-sized  portrait  of  Man- 
ville Moore,  drawn  by  his  cousin,  Milton 
J.  Justice,  was  presented  by  his  relatives 
to  the  Post,  in  their  new  hall  over  the 
First  National  Bank,  on  which  occasion 
appropriate  and  touching  remarks  were 
made  by  Dr.  J.  B.  Rice,  T.  F.  Heffner 
and  Col.  Frank  Sawyer,  each  testifying 
to  the  noble  character  and  faithful  serv- 
ices of  comrade  Manville  Moore. 


LOUIS    MYROSE    (deceased)    was 
born  in  Hanover,   Germany,    De- 
cember  18,  1822,  and  was    a  son 
of  Fred  and  Mary  (Taulker  1  Myrose, 
farming  people,  who  came  to  America  in 
1836,  settling  on  a  thirty-seven-acre  tract 
of  timberland. 

In  the  days  when  the  parents  of  Louis 
Myrose  were  pioneers,  extensive  farming 
in  that  section  was  out  of  the  question, 
as  the  settlers  could  clear  but  enough  to 
raise  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  scarcely 
that,  having  no  very  effective  tools,  with 
which  to  till  the  land.  McCormick  self- 
binders,  sulky  plows,  and  other  similar 
aids  to  agriculture  were  slow  to  come. 
Mr.  Myrose  lived  with  his  parents  until 
their  death,  after  which,  on  No\  ember  21, 
1847,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Angeline  Freyer,  and  they  became  the 
parents  of  five  children,  as  follows:  Julia 
(now  deceased)  married  Fred  Sielscott, 
and  had  seven  children — Louisa,    Mary, 


COMMSMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


429 


Caroline,  John,  Louis,  Einnia  and  Dora; 
Louisa  married  Andrew  Radeloff,  and  had 
eleven  children — Mary,  Emma,  Harmann, 
Fredrick  (deceased),  Julia,  Augusta,  An- 
drew, Louis,  \^'i]liam,  Carl  and  Clarence; 
Frank,  born  October  6,  1853,  and  now 
livinpf  on  a  farm  near  Lemoyne,  in  Wood 
county,  married  Mary  A.  Harmeyer,  No- 
vember 7,  1888,  and  three  children  have 
been  born  to  them — Carrie,  Henry  and 
William;  John  Henry,  born  February 
24,  1856,  died  April  17,  1856;  and  Anna 
Mary,  born  December  22,  1864,  married 
May  3,  1 888,  to  \\'illiam  Harmeyer,  and 
they  have  three  children — Edward,  Emma 
and  Dora. 

The  parents  of  Mrs.  Louis  Mj'rose, 
Frank  and  Glasia  (Hartman)  Freyer, 
came  from  Hanover,  Germany,  to  Amer- 
ica in  1S35,  and  located  in  Wood  county, 
Ohio,  where  the  father  died  March  2, 
1883,  having  lived  to  the  ripe  old  age  of 
eighty-one  years.  The  mother  died  Feb- 
ruary 22,  1895,  at  the  age  of  ninety-three 
years  and  twenty  days.  Mrs.  Myrose  is 
one  of  eight  children,  three  of  whom  are 
still  living — one  son  and  two  daughters. 

In  1 89 1  Mr.  Myrose  and  his  wife 
moved  to  Woodville,  Sandusky  county, 
and  bought  a  home,  where,  as  a  result  of 
the  hardships  he  had  encountered,  he 
died  on  November  i,  1894;  he  had  al- 
ways been  a  very  active  and  industrious 
man.  Politically,  he  was  a  strong  Dem- 
ocrat, and  in  religious  faith  he  was  an 
ardent  worker  in  behalf  of  the  Lutheran 
Church.  His  faithful  wife  still  survives, 
in  the  enjoyment  of  fairly  good  health, 
and  lives  to  see  live  great-grandchildren. 


PAUL  KROHN,  general  merchant, 
Woodville.  Sandusky  county,  was 
born  in  Prussia,  Germany.  July 
16,  i860,  a  son  of  Gustave  and 
Carolina  (Pfalkenthalj  Krohn.  His  father 
was  born  in  the  same  place  March  14, 
1832.  He  is  an  officer  in  the  employ  of 
the  German  Government,  now  acting  in 


the  capacity  of  inspector  of  prisons.  He 
served  twelve  years  in  the  German  army, 
and  received  the  commission  of  lieutenant. 
He  has  been  connected  with  the  govern- 
ment in  an  official  capacity  all  his  life. 
Our  subject's  mother  died  at  the  age  of 
forty-eight.  Both  parents  were  members 
of  the  Reformed  Church.  They  had 
three  children:  Max  and  Oscar,  both  of 
whom  died  young,  and  Paul,  of  whom 
this  sketch  is  written,  who  is  their  only 
living  child. 

Our  subject  grew  up  in  Germany  un- 
til about  twenty-one  \'ears  old,  attending 
the  common  schools,  and  subsequently 
the  college  at  Frankfort.  He  has  a  cer- 
tificate for  one  year's  service  in  the  Ger- 
man army.  He  entered  the  mercantile 
business  as  a  clerk  in  Berlin,  Prussia,  and 
was  there  four  years,  after  which,  in  1881, 
he  started  for  America.  He  landed  in 
New  York  City,  thence  proceeded  directly 
to  Chicago,  having  only  about  $50  in 
money  when  he  reached  that  city.  He 
found  sufficient  employment  to  sustain 
himself  there,  and  remained  about  two 
months,  after  which  he  came  to  Fremont, 
Ohio,  and  was  employed  in  the  Light 
Guard  Band  as  musician.  He  has  had  a 
good  musical  education,  but  only  studied 
it  for  pleasure,  never  having  intended  to 
follow  it  as  a  profession.  He  remained 
in  Fremont  one  3'ear,  when  he  went  to 
Genoa,  Ottawa  county,  working  there  in 
the  stave  factory  and  gristmill  about  a 
year  and  seven  months,  and  playing  in 
the  band.  He  then  came  to  Woodville, 
and  was  engaged  as  clerk  in  a  dry-goods 
store  for  two  years,  when  he  quit  that  and 
went  to  Toledo.  He  sold  goods  on  the 
road  about  eight  months,  and  played  in 
the  Toledo  City  Band,  which  line  he  fol- 
lowed some  eight  months  when  he  re- 
turned to  Woodville  to  work  for  his  former 
employer  as  clerk.  With  him  he  remained 
about  a  year  and  a  half,  and  then  bought 
out  the  business  and  January  i,  1889,  be- 
came successor  to  H.  Rancamp,  who  is 
now  in  business  in  Toledo.      Mr.    Krohn 


430 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


has  made  the  mercantile  business  a  great 
success,  and  operates  not  only  his  house 
in  Woodville,  but  also  a  second  store  at  ; 
Dunbridge,  Wood  Co.,  Ohio,  which  he  | 
opened  in  Maj',  1894,  and  is  conducted 
through  a  clerk,  but  supervised  by  him- 
self. 

In  October,  1891,  Mr.  Krohn  married 
Carrie  Frank,  of  Mansfield,  Ohio,  who 
was  born  September  21,  1868,  and  they 
have  one  child,  Helen  Esther.  Our  sub- 
ject is  a  Democrat  in  his  political  affilia- 
tions, and  socially,  he  is  a  member  of  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 


GEORGE  ELLITHOKPE,  one  of 
the  most  prosperous,  progressive 
and  extensive  fruit  growers  and 
shippers, of  Catawba  Island  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county,  is  the  senior  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  George  Ellithorpe  & 
Son.  He  is  a  native  of  Ottawa  county, 
born  November  21,  1830,  at  Marble 
Head,  Danbury  township,  which  at  that 
time  was  a  part  of  Huron  county. 

His  parents  were  Henry  and  Elizabeth 
(Neal)  Ellithorpe,  the  former  born  in  New 
York,  August  6,  1800,  and  the  latter  in 
Vermont,  July  6,  1805.  The  paternal 
grandparents  of  our  subject,  Samuel  and 

— —  (Owens)    Ellithorpe,    were    of 

English  and  Scotch  lineage.  He  is  the 
eldest  in  a  family  of  five  children,  four 
still  li\ing,  and  now  residing  in  Catawba 
township,  where  they  are  honored  and 
highly  esteemed  citizens.  The  others 
are  Cyrus,  born  October  15,  1832;  Rus- 
sell, September  22,  1834;  and  Emiy,  July 
8,  1839,  now  the  wife  of  Clark  Neal,  a 
prominent  fruit  grower  of  Catawba  Island. 
George  Ellithorpe  was  reared  amidst 
the  surroundings  of  a  comfortable  home, 
and  received  such  a  limited  education  as 
the  youths  of  that  day  were  able  to  obtain 
at  intervals  during  the  winter  months 
when  they  could  be  spared  from  the 
duties  pertaining  to  farm  life.  A  portion 
of   his  time  has    alwa\s  been   devoted  to 


agricultural  pursuits,  but  during  the  spring 
and  autumn  seasons,  for  thirty-two  years, 
he  also  engaged  in  fishing  on  Lake  Erie. 
During  the  seasons  from  1869  to  1872  in- 
clusive, he  was  master  and  part  owner  of 
the  steamers  "Clinton"  and  "  B.  F. 
Ferris,"  which  then  plied  between  San- 
dusky City,  Put-in  Bay  and  Catawba 
Island.  In  1872  he  retired  from  the 
steamboat  business,  since  which  time  he 
has  devoted  his  entire  attention  to  fruit 
growing  and  shipping  his  products,  mostly 
to  Eastern  markets,  where  they  find  a 
ready  sale  at  remunerative  prices. 

At  Sandusky  City,  Erie  countj',  Ohio, 
November  21,  i860.  Mr.  Ellithorpe  mar- 
ried Miss  Ann  Eliza  Moore,  who  was  born 
in  Portage  township,  Ottawa  county,  Oc- 
tober 16,  1835,  and  is  a  daughter  of  Na- 
thaniel B.  and  Fidelia  (Dewelle)  Moore, 
who  were  among  the  earliest  settlers  of 
that  township.  A  familj-  of  children  were 
born  of  this  union,  of  whom  F"rank,  the 
eldest  son,  born  February  2,  1863,  was 
killed  by  a  runaway  team  while  at  work 
on  his  farm.  May  28,  1895,  and  left  a 
widow;  socially,  he  was  a  member  of  O. 
H.,  Perry  Lodge,  F.  &A.  M..  the  Knights 
of  Pythias  and  the  National  Union.  The 
other  members  of  the  family  are  Ora  \'., 
born  Februar}'  14,  1866,  and  died  Octo- 
ber 5,  1871;  George  Henry,  born  June  8, 
1869;  Walter  James,  born  April  13, 
1872;  Addison  Kelly,  born  May  4,  1874; 
Elsie  R.,  born  December  28,  1876;  and 
Ira  v.,  born  August  21,  1879. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Ellithorpe  is 
an  ardent  supporter  of  the  Republican 
party,  but  in  no  sense  an  office  seeker. 
At  different  intervals  during  his  most  use- 
ful and  well-spent  life,  he  has  efficiently 
filled  almost  every  township  office  at  the 
disposal  of  his  constituents,  and  for  a 
period  extending  over  twenty-one  years, 
has  continuously  been  a  member  of  the 
board  of  education,  of  which  body  he  at 
present  holds  the  honorable  position  of 
president.  He  is  past  master  and  a  char- 
ter member    of  O.  H.  Perry  Lodge.  No. 


.^-^^-^r-'^t^^^^rr^lw-— ^ 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPIIICAL  RECORD. 


4:u 


341,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  Port  Clinton;  be- 
longs to  Sandusky  City  Chapter,  No.  72, 
R.  A.  M. :  Port  Clinton  Lodge,  No.  341, 
Knights  of  Pythias;  and  Catawba  Island 
Lodge,  No.  2783,  Knights  of  Honor.  He 
is  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  of  which  his  family  are 
also  members,  and  contributed  liberally 
to  the  construction  and  maintenance  of 
the  house  of  worship. 

The  character  of  Mr.  EUithorpe  is  too 
well  known  among  the  citizens  of  Ottawa 
county  to  need  eulogy  from  our  pen, 
which  at  the  best  would  fail  to  do  him 
justice  and  award  that  credit  which  is  due 
to  such  an  active  progressive  citizen  and 
promoter  of  the  welfare  of  his  county. 
He  uses  every  means  within  his  power  to 
promote  the  comfort  of  his  home  and  the 
happiness  of  his  family.  In  business  life 
he  is  honored  for  his  unswerving  integrity 
and  faithfulness  to  detail,  and  throughout 
the  county  and  State  his  character  stands 
above  reproach. 


JOHN  F.  BAUMAN,  retired  farmer, 
with  residence  in  Fremont,  San- 
dusky count}',  was  born  March  23, 
1827,  in  Wayne  county,  Ohio,  a  son 
of  John  W.  and  Mary  (Fry)  Bauman,  the 
former  of  whom  was  born  in  Lancaster 
county,  Penn.,  in  1794,  where  his  father 
and  mother,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jacob  Bau- 
man, lived  and  died. 

John  W.  Bauman  afterward  removed 
to  York  county,  Penn.,  thence  to  Wayne 
county,  Ohio,  where  he  remained  about 
ten  years,  and  in  1844  moved  to  Jackson 
township,  Sandusky  county,  and  there  re- 
mained a  year,  after  which  he  located 
permanently  in  Loudon  township,  Seneca 
county.  After  the  death  of  his  wife  he 
broke  up  housekeeping  and  lived  with  his 
children,  his  death  occurring  at  the  home 
of  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Sarah  Tucker,  in 
Bellevue,  Ohio,  and  his  interment  taking 
place  in  Bellevue  cemeter)'. 


The  children  of  John  W.  and  Marj' 
Bauman  were:  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Daniel 
Sloan,  a  farmer  of  near  Warsaw,  Ind. 
(she  died  August  2,  1895,  leaving  a  fam- 
ily of  eleven  children);  John  F.  Bauman, 
our  subject;  Aima,  wife  of  Joseph  Arnold, 
a  farmer  of  Barry  county,  Mich. ;  Mary, 
wife  of  George  Stebbins,  a  blacksmith,  of 
Peru,  Huron  county,  Ohio  (she  died  in 
1883);  Sarah,  wife  of  John  Tucker,  a 
blacksmith,  formerlj-  of  Bellevue,  Ohio 
(they  now  reside  at  Greenville,  Montcalm 
Co.,  Mich.);  Jacob  Bauman,  unmarried, 
was  a  soldier  in  the  regular  army  before 
the  Civil  war,  and  served,  later,  as  a  vol- 
unteer in  the  Third  Ohio  Cavalry,  until 
his  death,  which  occurred  in  Georgia; 
Susan,  wife  of  -Solomon  Good,  a  farmer 
of  Coldwater.  Mich,  (she  died  leaving  two 
children);  Solomon  Bauman,  unmarried, 
a  farmer  and  e.\-soldier,  who  died  in  Greene 
county,  Ind. ;  Lucinda,  wife  of  John 
Turner,  a  blacksmith,  of  Barry  county, 
Mich.,  where  they  both  died;  David,  who 
died  in  childhood;  twins  that  died  in  in- 
fancy: Delilah,  wife  of  William  Durn, 
a  farmer  of  Wood  county,  Ohio;  and 
twins  that  died  in  infancy,  February  iS, 
1847,  the  mother  dying  at  the  same  time. 

John  F.  Bauman  grew  to  manhood  in 
Wayne  county,  Ohio,  where  he  worked  as 
a  farm  laborer,  and  attended  common 
schools  in  the  winter  seasons.  In  his 
youth  he  learned  the  business  of  gelder, 
which  he  has  followed  about  fifty  years 
with  good  success  both  professionally  and 
financially.  His  father  followed  the  same 
occupation  forty  years,  and  his  grand- 
father forty-five  years.  Our  subject  came 
to  Jackson  township  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years.  On  May  30,  1850.  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Harriet  E.  W'inters,  daughter  of 
Jacob  W^inters,  of  Jackson  township.  In 
185-2  he  went  to  California  with  a  Betts- 
ville  company  of  fifteen  men,  the  part}' 
taking  the  overland  route,  with  o.xen, 
mules,  horses  and  prairie-schooner  wag- 
ons. They  started  from  Independence, 
Mo.,    May  2,  1S52.  arriving  in  Portland. 


432 


COMMEMORATIVE  BWOBAPEICAL  RECORD. 


Oregon,  August  14,  of  the  same  year,  and 
soon  after  entered  the  gold  mines. 

Mr.  Bauman's  first  mining  claim  was 
at  Long  Gulch,  on  a  mountain  side,  and 
his  next  was  in  a  valley.  He  had  good 
success  as  a  miner,  and  remained  at  the 
business  two  years,  then  returning  to 
Sandusky  county  and  following  farming. 
He  next  bought  a  farm  of  160  acres  in 
Seneca  county,  north  of  Fostoria,  and 
lived  there  two  years;  then  sold  it  and 
bought  several  tracts  in  Washington  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  amounting  in  all 
to  340  acres,  most  of  which  he  has  sold 
to  his  children,  reserving  one  hundred 
acres  for  himself  in  Section  thirty-five,  as 
a  residence.  He  is  extensivelj'  and  favor- 
ably known,  and  has  held  the  office  of 
justice  of  the  peace.  The  children  of 
John  F.  and  Harriet  E.  Bauman  were: 
Alice,  wife  of  Charles  Burgett,  liveryman 
(they  have  one  son — Clarence);  Emma, 
wife  of  A.  J.  Doll,  son  of  Samuel  Doll,  a 
farmer  (they  have  two  sons — John  and  A. 
J.);  Sarah,  wife  of  Calvin  Biddle,  super- 
intendent of  the  S.  Doll  &  Co.  Gas 
Company,  Fremont,  Ohio  (they  have  one 
daughter — Hattie);  Jerome  J.,  a  livery- 
man, whose  place  of  business  is  opposite 
"Ball  House,"  Fremont  (he  married  Flor- 
ence Lease,  and  they  have  one  daughter. 
Lulu). 


JOSEPH  FONCANNOX,  who  resides 
in  Green  Springs,  Sandusky  county, 
is  a  representative  of  one  of  the 
honored  pioneer  families  of  Ohio, 
that  have  been  identified  with  the  history 
of  the  State  since  it  was  on  the  frontier. 
He  was  born  in  Tiffin,  Seneca  Co., 
Ohio,  November  22,  1833,  and  is  a  son  of 
Joseph  and  Marj'  fPoorman)  Foncannon. 
The  father  was  born  in  Mifflin  count)-, 
Penn.,  in  1793,  and  having  arrived  at 
years  of  maturity  wedded  Miss  Poorman, 
a  native  of  the  same  State.  Removing 
to  Perry  county,  Ohio,  they  settled  on 
Honey  creek,  a  mile  and  a  half  south  of 


Tiffin;  but  when  they  took  up  their  resi- 
dence there  no  other  white  settler  lived 
in  the  locality,  their  nearest  neighbor 
being  at  Upper  Sandusky,  twenty-one 
miles  distant.  They  experienced  all  the 
hardships  and  trials  of  frontier  life,  and 
were  actively  identified  with  the  develop- 
ment and  upbuilding  of  the  count}'.  The 
father  secured  this  land  from  the  govern- 
ment and  transformed  it  into  a  good  farm 
upon  which  he  made  his  home  until 
within  four  years  of  his  death,  when  he 
went  to  live  with  his  daughter  in  Henry 
county,  Ohio.  In  politics  he  was  a 
Democrat.  He  held  membership  with 
the  Reformed  Church,  and  erected  a  fine 
house  of  worship  in  Tiffin,  making  the 
brick  himself.  When  a  young  man  he 
had  learned  the  cooper's  trade,  but  dur- 
ing the  greater  part  of  his  life  carried  on 
agricultural  pursuits.  During  the  war  of 
1 8 1 2  he  was  drafted  for  service  in  Perry's 
fleet,  but  as  he  could  not  go  sent  a  substi- 
tute; his  death  occurred  in  1S75;  his  wife 
died  in  Tiffin,  Seneca  Co.,  Ohio,  when  ■ 
past  the  age  of  seventy-five  years. 

The  family  were  as  follows:  John, 
who  was  a  farmer  in  Henry  county,  Ohio, 
and  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-five  years; 
Michael,  who  is  living  in  Tiffin,  Seneca 
county;  Mary,  wife  of  Joseph  Coon,  a 
resident  of  Henry  county;  Doward,  a 
farmer,  who  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-two; 
H.  Jackson,  who  makes  his  home  in 
Tiffin,  Seneca  county;  Jefferson,  who  died 
at  the  age  of  thirty-three  years;  and 
Oliver,  who  is  living  in  Fort  Wayne, 
Ind.  Upon  the  old  home  farm  Joseph 
Foncannon  spent  his  boyhood  antl  youth, 
and  the  educational  privileges  which  he 
received  were  those  afforded  by  the  com- 
mon schools  of  the  neighborhood.  He 
aided  in  the  arduous  task  of  developing 
wild  land,  and  experience  has  made  him 
familiar  with  the  history  of  pioneer  life. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-five  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Miss  Eugenia  R.  Marshall, 
who  was  born  m  Zanesville,  Ohio.  They 
have  three  children:      Minnie,     now    the 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


433 


wife  of  Walter  Huber,  a  resident  of  Green 
Creek  township,  Sandusky  county,  by 
whom  she  has  three  children,  Fred, 
Hazel  and  Bernice;  and  Robert  and  Belle, 
at  home. 

Upon  his  marriage  Mr.  Foncannon 
located  in  Tiffin,  Ohio,  but  after  si.\ 
months  came  to  Green  Springs  and  en- 
gaged with  the  Green  Springs  Sawmilling 
Compan\',  with  which  he  was  identified 
for  about  fifteen  years.  He  then  became 
interested  in  a  sash,  door  and  blind  factory, 
carrying  on  business  along  that  line  for 
twelve  years,  when,  in  1879,  he  pur- 
chased his  farm,  and  has  since  devoted  his 
energies  to  agricultural  pursuits.  He  has 
led  a  busy  and  useful  life,  and  belongs  to 
that  class  of  American  citizens  with  their 
progressive  ideas,  who  promote  the  public 
welfare,  while  advancing  individual  pros- 
perity.- He  has  ever  been  deepl}-  inter- 
ested in  the  welfare  and  upbuilding  of  the 
community  in  which  he  resides,  and  has 
been  an  important  factor  in  its  advance- 
ment. 


JOHN  HETER,  an  enterprising  farm- 
er of  York  township,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty,   was  born    December    13,    1825, 
in  Wayne  county,   Ohio,   a  son    of 
John  and  Salome  (Freese)  Heter. 

John  Heter  (i),  the  great  ancestor 
from  whom  the  Heter  families  in  this 
country  are  descended,  emigrated  from 
Bavaria,  Germany,  to  America,  about 
the  year  1735,  landing  at  Philadelphia; 
he  had  seven  sons,  five  of  whom  are 
named  Sebastian,  Jacob,  Isaac,  Daniel 
and  John  (2).  Isaac  was  killed  by  the 
Indians  near  Huntingdon,  Penn.  After 
their  arrival  the  sons  were  bound  out  for 
a  term  of  service  to  a  man  who  paid  their 
passage  money,  a  debt  which  had  been 
incurred  by  the  long  and  tedious  sea  voy- 
age. John  Heter  (2),  who  was  a  farmer, 
settled  in  Berks  county,  Penn.  He 
was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war, 
with    the    rank    of    captain.       He     had 


three  sons,  John  (3),  Adam  and  Jacob. 
John  Heter  (3)  was,  like  his  father,  a 
soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  He 
moved  to  Center  county,  Penn.,  when 
his  son  John  (4)  was  only  two  years 
old.  He  removed,  later,  to  Berks  coun- 
ty, same  State,  where  he  died.  He  had 
seven  children:  Adam,  Jacob,  Cath- 
arine (Ritter),  Barbara  (Ish),  Rebecca 
(Ulsh),  Maria  (Romig),  and  John  (5). 
All  of  these  e.xcept  the  last  named  lived 
and  died  in  Pennsylvania. 

John  Heter  (5)  was  born  in  Berks 
county,  Penn.,  in  1794,  being  the  sev- 
enth child  in  his  father's  family.  By 
trade  he  was  a  hatter,  working  in  the 
towns  of  Snyder  and  adjoining  counties. 
He  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  18  12  un- 
der Capt.  Narr  Middlesworth  and  Gen. 
Smythe,  of  Virginia,  and  served  at  Black 
Rock,  on  the  Niagara  river,  receiving  a 
pension,  and  a  patent  for  forty  acres  of 
government  land,  for  his  services.  He 
married  in  Union  (now  Snyder)  coun- 
ty, Penn.,  Miss  Salome  Freese,  who 
was  of  German  descent.  In  August, 
1825,  he  removed  to  Waj'ne  county, 
Ohio,  where  he  engaged  in  clearing  land 
and  farming,  and  in  March,  1829,  he  re- 
moved to  Oak  Openings,  of  Thompson 
township,  Seneca  Co.,  Ohio,  in  which 
region,  at  that  time,  there  were  more 
wolves  than  sheep,  and  more  Indians 
than  white  people.  An  Indian  trail 
crossed  his  farm  near  his  residence.  He 
entered  land  at  $1.25  per  acre,  and 
bought  at  second  hand,  at  different  times, 
eighteen  eighty-acre  lots  of  wild  land, 
some  of  which  he  cleared  and  improved, 
some  of  which  he  gave  to  his  children, 
and  some  of  which  he  sold.  He  was  a 
peaceable,  quiet  unassuming  man,  a  kind 
neighbor  and  agood  citizen.  He  brought 
up  his  sons  to  habits  of  industrj-,  econ- 
omy and  thrift.  He  was  quite  fond  of 
music,  and  took  delight  in  listening  to 
the  martial  tunes  of  two  ingeniously  con- 
structed musical  clocks  which  he  had 
bought   of   a    Frenchman.      Military    pa- 


434 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


rades  of  State  militia  where  held  on  his 
farm  about  the  years  1835-1840,  when 
Jacob  Bunn  was  captain  and  Jacob  Wales 
first  lieutenant.  He  and  his  wife  and 
some  of  the  children  were  members  of 
the  Lutheran  Church,  and  he  donated  an 
acre  of  land  to  the  joint  societies  of  the  Lu- 
theran and  German  Reformed  Churches 
for  the  erection  of  a  church  building  and 
for  cemetery  purposes.  About  the  year 
1S62  he  removed  to  Bellevue,  where  his 
wife  died  in  1864,  and  he  followed  her  to 
the  grave  in  1881.  Both  were  buried  in 
the  Reformed  cemetery  at  Bellevue, 
Ohio. 

A  brief  record  of  the  children  born  to 
John  and  Salome  (Freese)  Heter  is  as 
follows:  (i)  George  Heter,  a  farmer, 
married  Miss  Hannah  Kern,  and  lived 
near  Flat  Rock,  Ohio,  until  1878,  when 
he  retired  to  Bellevue,  Ohio,  where  he 
died  in  1892.  (2)  William  Heter,  a  farmer, 
married  Elizabeth  Decker,livedin  Thomp- 
son township  until  the  spring  of  1865, 
and  then  removed  to  Blue  Springs,  Neb., 
where  he  died  in  1891.  (3)  Maria  Heter 
married  Elias  Weiker,  a  farmer  of  Thomp- 
son township,   where   she   died    in    1859. 

(4)  Jacob  Heter,  a  farmer,  married  Miss 
Lucetta  Gamby,  and  until  the  spring  of 
1 878  lived  in  Seneca  county,  thence  re- 
moving to  near  Sterling,  Rice  Co.,  Kans. 

(5)  Elizabeth  Heter  died  when  two  years 
old.  (6)  Sarah  Heter  married  William 
Shock,  a  farmer  of  York  township,  San- 
dusky county,  where  they  lived  until  1875, 
in  that  year  removing  to  Fall  City,  Neb., 
where   she  died  in  1893.     (7)  John  Heter 

(6)  is  the  subject  of  this  biography.  (8) 
Magdalena  Heter  married  Henry  Shock, 
a  farmer  of  Thompson  township,  where 
she  died  in  1856.  (9)  Levi  Heter,  now  a 
retired  farmer,  living  at  Bellevue,  Ohio, 
married  Mary  Shock.  (10)  Eli  Heter,  a 
farmer  of  Thompson  township,  married 
Miss  Susan  Sherck,  and,  after  her  death. 
Miss  Margaret  German,  (i  1)  Adam  Heter, 
a  farmer,  married  Miss  Selina  Korner,  and 
in  1870  removed  to  Highland,  Kans.     (12) 


Eliza  Heter  married  Philip  Cupp,  who 
for  a  number  of  years  was  a  farmer  in 
Thompson  township,  and  is  now  engaged 
in  the  coal  business,  at  Bellevue,  Ohio. 

John  Heter  (6)  spent  his  earlj'  life  in 
the  wilds  of  Thompson  township,  Seneca 
Co.,  Ohio.  Some  of  his  plajmates  were 
Indians.  His  school  privileges  were  very 
limited  for  there  were  then  no  summer 
schools,  and  as  soon  as  he  was  old  enough 
to  work  he  had  to  help  his  father  and 
brothers  in  clearing  land,  chopping  wood, 
making  rails,  building  fences,  husking  corn, 
threshing  grain  with  the  flail,  or,  in  the 
winter  seasons,  by  the  tramping  of  horses, 
and  in  other  work  connected  with  pio- 
neer farming.  He  attended  winter  school 
onl}'  when  hindered  from  work  by  inclem- 
ent weather,  but  he  has  given  his  chil- 
dren opportunities  for  a  liberal  education. 
He  has  followed  farming  all  his  life,  but 
he  has  learned  to  combine  with  it  what 
is  called  "head  work, "and  he  has  lived 
upon  and  improved  twenty-two  different 
farms,  most  all  of  which  he  sold  at  a 
profit.  He  has  also  dealt  in  real  estate. 
He  has  lived  in  Seneca,  Sandusky.  Erie 
and  Wyandot  counties,  Ohio,  and  in 
Michigan,  and  he  now  has  his  home  two 
and  one-half  miles  west  of  Bellevue.  In 
politics  he  was  first  a  Whig,  then  a  Re- 
publican, but  he  is  not  a  partisan;  he  has 
held  various  township  offices.  Mr.  Heter 
belongs  to  the  Farmers'  Alliance.  He  is 
a  man  of  few  words,  sound  judgment  and 
strict  integrity,  qualities  which  have  as- 
sisted him  greatly  on  the  road  to  success. 

On  April  15,  1847,  John  Heter  mar- 
ried Miss  Lovina  Harpster,  who  was  born 
in  Wayne  county,  Ohio,  April  24,  1829, 
daughter  of  John  and  Eva  (Hartman) 
Harpster.  They  became  the  parents  of 
ten  children:  (i)  Sarah  Heter,  who  mar- 
ried George  W.  Hoch,  of  Bellevue,  Ohio, 
and  whose  children  are — .\ddie  Hoch 
(who  married  Amnion  Kern},  Olga  Hoch, 
Deiton  Hoch  1  bookkeeper  in  the  Ohio 
Cultivator  Works,  at  Bellevue),  Willis 
Hoch  and  Gladys  Hoch;  (2)  Eva  Heter, 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPEICAL  RECORD. 


485 


who  lives  at  home;  (3)  EUza  Heter,  who 
married  George  Setzler,  and  removed  to 
Blackstone,  Sumner  Co.,  Kans. ;  (4)  Charles 
F.  Heter,  a  farmer,  who  married  Malinda 
Mook,  and  whose  children  are — Edith, 
Duwane,  Merlon  and  Lawrence;  (5) 
George  W.  Heter,  a  farmer,  living  in  Pea- 
body,  Kans.,  who  married  Clara  Acker, 
and  has  one  son — Harry  John ;  (6)  Edith 
Heter,  who  is  a  teacher,  and  lives  at  home; 

(7)  Amanda  S.   Heter,  who  lives  at  home; 

(8)  Adelaide  E.  Heter,  married  to  Worrallo 
W.  Whitney,  of  Montville,  Geauga  Co. , 
Ohio,  who  is  a  teacher  in  the  Chicago 
city  schools  (their  children  are — Adell  and 
Lois);  (9)  Irvin  John  (7),  a  farmer  of  York 
township,  who  married  Mayme  Scanlan; 
and  (10)  Janette  B.  Heter,  a  teacher  in 
the  Chicago  city  schools. 


CHARLES  HASELBACH,  of 
Kingsway,  Rice  township,  San- 
dusky county,  is  one  of  the  most 
prosperous  and  enterprising  farm- 
ers in  the  township.  He  was  born  De- 
cember 1 8,  1847,  snd  is  a  son  of  Philip 
and  Elizabeth  :  Bingle)  Haselbach,  who 
were  born  in  German}',  in  1820  and  in 
iSiQrespectiveh'. 

Philip  Haselbach,  who  is  a  farmer  and 
weaver  by  trade,  came  with  his  family  to 
America  when  his  son  Charles  was  a  child, 
landing  in  New  York.  Going  thence  to 
Sandusky  city,  Erie  county,  he  remained 
six  months,  then  located  in  Washington 
township,  Sandusky  county,  and  remained 
seven  years  in  the  woods.  It  was  a  wild 
country,  not  ditched  and  full  of  swamps 
and  marshes;  but  they  cleared  the  land, 
brought  it  into  a  good  state  of  cultivation, 
sold  it  at  a  profit,  then  removed  to  Rice 
township,  and  bought  a  farm  of  120 
acres,  where  he  still  resides.  In  politics 
he  is  a  Democrat.  In  religious  affiliation 
he  is  a  Lutheran,  as  was  his  wife,  who 
died  in  1890,  in  Rice  township.  They 
were  the  parents  of  eight  children,  two  of 
whom    died    in    infanc\-.      The   following 


named  grew^  to  maturity:  Charles  is  the 
subject  of  this  sketch;  Katie,  now  Mrs. 
Truckemiller,  resides  in  Ottawa  count}-, 
Ohio;  Caroline  married  Peter  Garner, 
and  they  reside  in  Sanduskj'  township; 
Philip  lives  on  the  old  homestead  in  Rice 
township;  Sophia  married  Adam  Garn, 
and  they  reside  in  Ottawa  countv,  Ohio; 
and  Peter  is  a  farmer  in  Ottawa  county. 
The  family  are  all  members  of  the  Lu- 
theran Church. 

Charles  Haselbach  came  to  Ohio  with 
his  parents  in  his  boyhood.  He  received 
only  a  limited  education,  his  knowledge 
of  the  English  language  being  imperfect 
and  school  facilities  poor.  He  cleared 
land  and  chopped  and  hauled  cordwood 
for  the  Lake  Shore  &  Michigan  Southern 
railway  in  the  days  when  wood  was  used 
for  fuel  b\-  the  railroads,  and  thus  learned 
the  lessons  of  industry  and  the  value  of  it 
early  in  life.  He  remained  with  his  par- 
ents until  after  the  age  of  twenty-one, 
and  after  a  time  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Rosa  Locher,  who  was  born  in 
Germany  in  1852,  and  came  to  America 
with  her  parents  when  a  child. 

After  his  marriage  Mr.  Haselbach  and 
his  wife  settled  in  Ottawa  county,  Ohio, 
where  he  bought  forty  acres  of  land 
heavily  timbered.  Instead  of  locating 
upon  this  land,  he  rented  a  farm  in  San- 
dusky countj',  had  his  fortj'  acres  cleared, 
bought  another  fort}',  then  sold  and  traded 
that  property,  and  came  to  Rice  town- 
ship, where  he  purchased  sixty  acres. 
Selling  this  land,  he  bought  his  present 
fine  farm  of  1 2  i  4-5  acres,  at  the  rate  of 
one  hundred  dollars  an  acre.  He  and  his 
wife  are  the  parents  of  five  children,  as 
follows:  Ida,  born  in  January,  1872,  mar- 
ried John  Overmeyer,  a  school  teacher, 
in  Lindsey,  Sandusk}'  county;  Edward, 
born  November  5,  1874,  and  Katie,  No- 
vember 7,  1876,  are  now  at  home;  Will- 
iam, who  was  born  in  187S,  was  killed, 
when  quite  a  lad,  by  a  fall  from  a  tree;  and 
Lizzie  was  born  September  16,  1881. 
Mr.  Ha.selbach  is  a  Democrat  in  politics. 


436 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


He  is  engaged  in  general  farming,  has  done 
a  great  amount  of  fencing  and  clearing 
land  since  he  bought  his  present  home,  is 
out  of  debt  and  verj'  successful.  Realizing 
fully  how  limited  were  his  own  earlj'  edu- 
cational advantages,  he  has  given  his  chil- 
dren the  benefit  of  the  best  schools  in  the 
vicinity. 


NELSON  T.  BALDWIN,  a  pop- 
ular pioneer  of  Woodville  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  and  one 
who  by  his  honest  hard  work  in 
the  past  years  won  his  way  to  the  hearts 
of  his  countrymen,  was  born  in  Cortland 
county,  N.  Y.,  July  15,  1820,  son  of  Eb- 
enezer  and  Rachel  (Chaffa)  Baldwin,  and 
the  grandson  of  Ebenezer  Baldwin,  Sr. 
The  grandfather  was  born  in  Vermont 
August  7,  1772,  and  there  married  Susan- 
nah Rollins,  a  native  of  the  same  State, 
who  was  born  July  19,  1771.  In  1809 
he  migrated  with  his  wife,  daughter  and 
two  sons,  to  Cortland  county.  New  York. 
One  of  these  sons,  Ebenezer  Baldwin, 
Jr.,  was  born  in  Vermont  April  13,  1792. 
He  was  married  in  New  York  State, 
April  12,  181 1,  to  Rachel  Chaffa,  who 
was  also  a  native  of  Vermont.  In  1822 
Ebenezer  Baldwin  came  with  his  family 
to  Ohio.  For  three  years  he  lived  in 
Salem,  Columbiana  county,  then  in  1825 
he  moved  to  Geauga  county.  Here  the 
wife  of  Ebenezer  Baldwin,  Sr. ,  died  July 
5,  1825.  Six  years  later,  in  October, 
1 83 1,  the  Baldwin  and  Chaffa  families 
came  together  to  Sandusky  county,  and 
settled  in  the  "  Black  Swamp,"  as  it  was 
then  known,  in  Woodville  township. 
There  were  then  only  five  families  in  the 
township.  Here  Ebenezer  died  of  cholera 
in  1834,  aged  forty-three  years;  here  too 
his  father  died,  in  December,  1839,  aged 
sixty-seven  years.  To  Ebenezer  and 
Rachel  Baldwin  were  born  ten  children — 
seven  sons  and  three  daughters;  one 
daughter  still  lives  in  Woodville  township. 
Nelson    T.    Baldwin    in    his    infancy 


seemed  to  have  only  a  small  chance  for 
life  and  success,  for  at  the  age  of  five 
weeks  he  weighed  only  five  pounds,  two 
ounces,  but  in  time  he  developed  brawn 
and  strength,  and  now  tips  the  scales  at 
238  pounds.  His  j'outh  was  spent  in  the 
pioneer  home  of  Woodville,  and  at  the 
age  of  nineteen,  December  25,  1839,  he 
married  Catherine  E.  Boose.  She  was 
born  in  Ohio,  June  27,  1821,  and  moved 
with  her  parents  to  the  "  Black  Swamp" 
in  1830.  Her  mother  died  August  25, 
1846,  and  her  father  February  14,  1847. 
At  the  age  of  twenty  Mr.  Baldwin  learned 
the  carpenter  and  blacksmith  trades,  and 
he  put  up  the  first  frame  shop  in  Woodville 
township.  For  about  eight  years  he  fol- 
lowed his  trade,  then  bought  land,  and 
with  his  own  hands  cleared  sixty  acres. 
His  property  now  consists  of  130  acres  of 
valuable  land,  situated  in  the  heart  of  the 
oil  fields  of  Ohio. 

To  the  marriage  of  Nelson  T.  and 
Catherine  E.  Baldwin  six  children  have 
come,  as  follows:  (i)  Lemuel,  born  No- 
vember 9,  1840,  died  July  30,  1841.  (2) 
Philinda.  born  May  14,  1842,  married 
Oscar  Billings,  of  Ottawa  county,  and  has 
nine  children.  (3)  Warren,  of  Ashland, 
Saunders  Co.,  Neb.,  born  March  6,  1844, 
married  Matilda  Widner,  and  has  one 
child,  Seymore  B.  (4)  Sarah,  born  June 
I,  1846,  married  Fred  Voekle,  of  Ottawa 
county,  and  has  one  child.  (5)  William 
B.,  a  farmer  of  Woodville  township,  born 
July  I,  1852,  married  Etta  Feddersen, 
who  was  born  May  16,  1852,  and  eight 
children  have  blessed  their  union,  their 
names  and  dates  of  birth  being  as  follows: 
Henry,  September  13,  1877;  Bertha, 
March  26,  1882;  Ferdinand,  November 
20,  1883;  William,  September  30,  1885; 
Orville,  January  8,  1888;  Grover,  June  6, 
1890;  Philinda,  December  25,  18 — ,  died 
January  19,  1892;  Leo,  April  i,  1894.  (6) 
Cecil,  born  July  26,  1855,  died  Septem- 
ber 5,  1866.  After  the  death  of  his  wife 
Nelson  T.  Baldwin  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Miss   Christina  Schnakenberg,    who  is 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


437 


one  of  five  children,  and  whose  brothers 
and  sisters  are  as  follows:  Alice,  who 
died  in  1888,  wife  of  William  York,  and 
mother  of  one  child;  Maggie,  wife  of 
George  Meyers,  of  Ottawa  county,  and 
mother  of  one  child;  Tillie,  born  Decem- 
ber 13,  1874;  and  John,  born  October  23, 
1878.  In  1891  Mr.  Baldwin  retired  from 
active  life.  He  leased  some  of  his  land 
in  1892  for  oil  privileges,  and  several  wells 
have  been  put  down,  most  of  them  prov- 
ing valuable  producers.  His  son,  Will- 
iam B.,  now  operates  the  farm. 


WILLIAM  E.  LAMBERT,  who  is 
engaged  in  carrying  on  a  suc- 
cessful merchant-tailoring  busi- 
ness in  Clyde,  Sandusky  county, 
was  born  in  Oberlin,  Ohio,  November  i  i, 
1862,  and  is  a  son  of  James  and  Eliza- 
beth (Brice)  Lambert.  The  paternal 
grandfather,  John  Lambert,  was  born  in 
Somersetshire,  England,  and  by  occu- 
pation was  a  farmer.  He  came  to  Amer- 
ica about  1852,  and  after  residing  for  a 
time  in  Henrietta,  Lorain  county,  Ohio, 
removed  to  Oberlin,  where  his  last  days 
were  passed.  In  religious  faith  he  was  a 
Baptist.  Born  in  1800,  he  died  in  1882, 
at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-two  years. 
His  wife,  who  was  also  a  native  of  Eng- 
land, departed  this  life  in  Oberlin  at  the 
age  of  ninety-three. 

James  Lambert  was  born  in  Somerset- 
shire, England,  May  i,  1830,  and  in  his 
native  land  learned  the  trade  of  a  mer- 
chant tailor.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he 
crossed  the  Atlantic  to  America  and  fol- 
lowed his  trade  at  various  places,  after 
which  he  went  west  to  Pike's  Peak,  during 
the  gold  excitement  at  that  place.  A 
year's  residence  in  the  West  sufficed  him, 
and  he  returned  to  Oberlin,  Ohio,  where 
he  had  previously  carried  on  the  tailoring 
business,  and  where  he  soon  built  up  a 
good  trade.  During  his  residence  there 
he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Brice,  daughter  of  John  Brice,  also  a  na- 


tive of  England,  who  came  to  America 
when  his  daughter  was  a  maiden  of  thir- 
teen summers.  He  died  in  Oberlin,  Ohio, 
in  1890,  at  the  very  advanced  age  of 
eighty-one  years.  Mrs.  Lambert  was  one 
of  a  family  of  thirteen  children,  and  was 
seventeen  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  her 
marriage.  The  young  couple  began  their 
domestic  life  in  Oberlin,  where  they  re- 
sided until  1865,  when  they  came  to 
Cl3'de,  but  removing  to  other  places  sub- 
sequently, did  not  make  a  permanent  lo- 
cation here  until  1869.  Mr.  Lambert  es- 
tablished business  as  a  merchant  tailor 
and  dealer  in  ready-made  clothing.  In 
his  political  views  he  was  alwa3'S  a  Re- 
publican; socially,  he  was  connected  with 
the  F.  &  A.  M.,  Blue  Lodge;  in  his  re- 
ligious belief  he  was  a  Methodist.  He 
was  a  man  of  the  strictest  integrity  and 
sterling  worth,  an  honorable,  upright  citi- 
zen, one  that  any  community  might  be 
glad  to  number  among  its  members.  Mrs. 
Lambert  was  born  in  Lincolnshire,  Eng- 
land, in  September,  1840,  and  still  sur- 
vives her  husband,  her  home  being  in 
Clyde.  In  their  family  were  three  chil- 
dren, Byron  Lambert,  who  was  born  in 
i860,  and  died  in  1864;  Carrie,  who  was 
born  in  1863,  and  died  in  1866;  and  Will- 
iam E. 

The  subject  proper  of  this  sketch  was 
reared  in  Clyde,  and  completing  the  pre- 
scribed course  was  graduated  from  the 
high  school  in  the  class  of  1881.  He 
then  learned  the  trade  of  merchant  tailor- 
ing with  his  father  and  entered  into  part- 
nership with  him,  this  business  connection 
continuing  until  the  latter's  death.  He 
now  enjoys  a  good  trade,  for  he  turns  out 
an  excellent  class  of  work,  and  his  earn- 
est desire  to  please  his  patrons  hasgained 
him  their  confidence,  good  will  and  patron- 
age. He  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Ona  Fish,  who  was  born  December  8, 
1867,  and  throughout  the  community  the 
young  couple  have  many  friends  who  hold 
them  in  high  esteem.  Mr.  Lambert  is  a 
stanch  supporter  of  the  Republican  party; 


438 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


socially  he  is  a  member  the  F.  &  A.  M., 
Blue  Lodge,  and  Chapter,  R.  A.  M.  Re- 
ligiously he  is  connected  with  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church.  He  is  looked 
upon  as  one  of  the  rising  young  business 
men  of  Clyde,  is  progressive,  enterprising 
and  industrious,  and  will  no  doubt  mai<e 
a  success  of  life. 


CAPTAIN  WILSON  S.  MILLER 
is  one  of  the  native  sons  of  Ot- 
tawa county,  and  a  citizen  of 
whom  the  coilimunity  maj-  well 
be  proud.  He  was  born  in  Portage 
township  May  9,  1839,  son  of  Henrj-  J. 
and  Susan  (Wonnell)  Miller,  the  former 
of  whom  was  born  in  Zanesville,  Ohio, 
May  18,  1 81 2,  and  died  November  12, 
1874;  the  latter  was  born  July  25,  1817, 
and  is  still  living. 

Capt.  Miller's  paternal  grandfather, 
William  Miller,  was  born  in  Columbia 
county,  N.  Y. ,  of  Irish  parentage.  He 
removed  to  Ohio,  about  the  time  it  came 
into  the  Union  as  a  State,  settling  in 
Zanesville;  he  married  a  Miss  Barnes,  a 
lady  of  Scotch  ancestry.  The  maternal 
grandparents  were  natives  of  Maryland, 
and  coming  to  Ohio  about  1828  settled  in 
Portage  township,  Ottawa  count}',  where 
thov  passed  their  remaining  days. 

The  old  home  farm  was  our  subject's 
place  of  abode  during  his  childhood  and 
youth.  He  obtained  his  early  education 
in  the  district  schools,  and  then  entered 
Berea  (Ohio;  College,  where  he  studied 
during  the  fall  and  spring  terms,  and 
taught  in  the  winter  for  three  years.  His 
labors  in  that  direction,  however,  were 
interrupted  in  1861  by  his  response  to 
President  Lincoln's  first  call  for  75,000 
volunteers.  At  the  expiration  of  two  years' 
service  he  re-enlisted  as  a  veteran  for  three 
years  more,  and  served  with  Company  I, 
Fortj-first  O.  \'.  I.,  faithfulh' performing 
the  duties  which  fell  to  him,  and  valiantly 
defending  the  old  Hag  and  the  cause  it 
represented.     His  meritorious  service  won 


him  promotion  from  the  ranks  to  the 
place  of  second  sergeant,  then  orderly 
sergeant,  after  which  he  was  made  first 
lieutenant  and  subsequently  commissioned 
captain  of  his  company,  in  which  capac- 
ity he  served  until  the  close  of  the  war. 
He  was  also  placed  on  the  roll  of  honor 
established  bj*  Gen.  Rosecrans.  He 
participated  in  the  battles  of  Shiloh, 
Stone  River,  Missionary  Ridge,  Franklin 
and  Nashville,  the  Atlanta  campaign  and 
others,  and  during  his  four  j'ears  of  serv- 
ice made  a  militarj-  record  of  which  he 
may  justly  be  proud.  After  his  muster- 
out  from  the  army  on  November  27, 
1865,  Capt.  Miller  returned  to  his  home 
farm,  and  on  December  18,  1866,  was 
married  to  Miss  Mary  E.  Boggs,  of  El- 
more. Her  father,  Moses  Boggs,  was 
born  in  Nova  Scotia,  January  18,  1807, 
and  became  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Harris 
township,  Ottawa  county.  His  wife. 
Mary,  was  born  in  Clark  county,  Ohio, 
April  28,  1 8 14,  and  was  a  daughter  of 
Joseph  and  LethaHall.  They  were  mar- 
ried April  6,  1834,  and  to  them  werr 
born  two  children — Mary  E.  (Mrs.  Miller 
and  George  W.  Moses  Boggs  was  a  son 
of  James  Boggs  and  Mary  O'Brien,  who 
moved  with  their  family  from  Nova  Scotia 
to  Hamilton  county,  Ohio,  thence  in 
1824  to  Ottawa  county. 

After  their  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Miller  purchased  a  farm  one  mile  west  of 
Elmore,  living  there  until  1870,  when  he 
sold  that  place  and  purchased  the  farm 
on  which  he  now  resides,  one  mile  east  of 
Elmore.  It  is  one  of  the  finest  farming 
properties  in  the  county,  comprising  175 
acres  of  highly-cultivated  land,  supplied 
with  good  buildings,  and  all  modern  im- 
provements which  indicate  the  progres- 
sive farmer  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Four  children  came  to  bless  the  home: 
Bert  F.,  born  February  8,  1868;  Walter 
B.  and  Jessie  L.  (twins),  born  December 
21,  1870;  and  Mary  B.,born  October  26, 
1 874.  The  eldest  was  educated  at  Hiram 
College  and  Butler  University,  and  is  now 


/f^-/te^ 


COMMEIIORATIVE  BTOORAPniCAL  RECORD. 


439 


a  lawyer  of  San  Francisco,  Cal. ;  he  was 
married  March  17,  1894,  to  Esteila 
Thomas,  of  that  city.  Walter  was  edu- 
cated in  the  Elmore  schools,  and  at  Hiram 
College,  and  is  now  aiding  his  father  in 
the  labors  of  the  farm.  Jessie  was  edu- 
cated in  the  Elmore  schools  and  in  Hiram 
and  Berea  Colleges.  The  youngest  daugh- 
ter, Mary  B.,  was  graduated  from  the 
schools  of  Elmore  in  1893,  and  finished 
her  education  in  Hiram  and  Bethany 
Colleges.  The  mother  of  this  family 
died  April  27,  1878. 

On  November  17,  1881,  Mr.  Miller 
married  Miss  \'ictoria  N.  Paddock,  of 
Ashton,  111.,  who  was  born  in  Ogle  coun- 
ty, 111.,  December  19,  1 840.  Her  father, 
Riley  Paddock,  was  born  in  Clark  county, 
Ohio,  in  1810,  and  died  in  1S87.  He 
married  Eliza  Snoddy,  who  was  born  in 
Kentucky  August  31,  18 10,  and  they  had 
four  children,  all  yet  living.  Their  daugh- 
ter, Mrs.  Miller,  was  educated  in  Rock 
River  Seminary,  in  Illinois,  taking  a  three- 
years'  course  there  in  literature  and  music. 
When  twenty-five  years  of  age  she  re- 
moved to  Ashton,  111.,  where  her  mar- 
riage was  celebrated.  She  is  a  lady  of 
culture  and  refinement,  and  shares  the 
high  regard  in  which  her  husband  is  held. 

In  addition  to  his  large  farming  inter- 
ests Mr.  Miller  is  extensively  engaged  in 
fruit  raising,  and  has  on  his  farm  twenty- 
five  hundred  fine  peach  trees,  twelve 
hundred  plum  trees,  twelve  hundred  pear 
trees,  and  considerable  smaller  fruit. 
This  branch  of  his  business  yields  him  a 
good  income.  He  keeps  on  hand  fine 
grades  of  stock,  making  a  specialty  of  the 
breeding  of  polled  Shorthorn  cattle,  has 
shipped  cattle  to  nearly  every  State  in 
the  Union,  and  has  done  much  to  raise 
the  grade  of  stock  in  Ohio.  His  stock  is 
registered  in  both  the  American  Shorthorn 
and  Polled  Durham  Herd  Books,  and  he 
is  vice  president  of  the  Polled  Durham 
Breeders  Association  of  America.  He  is 
one  of  the  enterprising,  wide-awake 
farmers  and   stock  raisers,  and  is  recog- 

28 


nized  as  a  leader  in  his  line  of  business. 
He  is  a  contributor  to  various  agricultural 
journals,  especially  on  subjects  pertain- 
ing to  stock.  In  politics  he  is  a  Repub- 
lican, and  an  enthusiastic  worker  in  the 
interest  of  his  party.  His  entire  life  has 
been  passed  in  Ottawa  county,  and  he  is 
known  as  a  straightforward,  honorable 
business  man,  systematic  in  his  methods, 
and  possessed  of  excellent  executive 
ability.  He  has  won  success  through  his 
own  efforts,  and  to-day  is  numbered 
among  the  substantial  as  well  as  leading 
agriculturists  of  the  community.  As  a 
citizen  he  is  true  to  every  duty,  and  all 
who  know  him  respect  him. 


JOHN  H.    WIGLAND,   a  prominent 
citizen  of  Riley  township,  Sandusky 
county,  wasborn  Dacember  2,  1839, 
and  is  a  son  of  John  B.  and  Cath- 
erine Wigland. 

John  B.  Wigland  was  born  in  Ger- 
many June  3,  1810,  came  to  America  in 
1837,  and  settled  in  New  York,  where  he 
carried  on  a  livery  stable.  In  the  same 
year,  1837,  in  New  York,  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Catherine  Harkin,  and 
they  had  four  children,  namely:  Lizzie, 
born  July  31,  1840,  married  Lewis  Web- 
ber, and  died  in  1862,  the  mother  of  two 
children;  John  H.,  of  whom  we  write; 
and  Catherine  and  Joseph,  who  died  young 
and  were  buried  in  Riley  township.  Af- 
ter a  time  Mr.  Wigland  sold  out  his  livery 
stable  and  went  to  Michigan.  Later  he 
settled  in  Fremont,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio, 
worked  on  the  railroad  for  one  year, 
saved  his  money  and  bought  forty  acres 
of  land,  all  hea\-ily  timbered,  which  cost 
him  $250.  All  this  he  cleared  himself. 
Deer  were  plentiful  in  those  times,  and 
could  daily  be  seen  feeding  around  the 
cabin.  Here  he  lived  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  July  8,  1890,  and  he  was 
buried  in  Riley  township. 

John  H.  Wigland  is  a  carpenter,  and 
worked  at  his  trade  for  several  years,  until 


440 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


the  lime  of  his  marriage,  after  which  he 
bought  a  farm  of  forty  acres  in  Riley 
township,  and  built  himself  a  house, 
which  cost  him  $i,8oo.  He  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Catherine  Manner,  and 
they  have  had  nine  children,  named  as 
follows:  William,  Lizzie,  Mary,  John, 
Rose,  Annie,  Nora,  Frank  and  Catherine. 
Mr.  Wigland  was  drafted  for  the  army  in 
1864,  but  sent  a  substitute.  He  is  a 
natural  mechanic,  and  still  works  at  his 
trade,  and  carries  on  general  farming,  giv- 
ing special  attention  to  wheat,  oats  and 
corn.  In  religion  he  is  a  Catholic,  in 
politics  a  Democrat,  and  has  held  the 
office  of  supervisor  for  ten  years. 


WILLIAM  SCHOCH, retired  farm- 
er, now  a  resident  of   Fremont, 
Sandusky  county,   was  born  in 
Snyder  county,  Penn.,  October 
18,    1832,    a    son    of    Daniel    and    Mary 
(Romich)  Schoch,  who  were  both  of  Ger- 
man descent. 

Daniel  Schoch  was  born  in  Pennsylva- 
nia, where  he  worked  at  the  blacksmith's 
trade.  In  1835  he  moved  to  Seneca 
county,  and  two  years  later  came  to  Riley 
township,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  where  he 
followed  farming,  and  died  at  the  age  of 
sixty-two  years.  The  mother  of  our  sub- 
ject was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  and  de- 
parted this  life  in  Sandusky  county,  at  the 
age  of  eighty-one.  The  father  was  a 
member  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  the 
mother  of  the  Reformed  Church.  The)' 
had  eleven  children,  as  follows:  Michael 
(a  farmer),  Daniel  (who  operated  a  saw- 
mill), Henry  (a  farmer), Samuel  (a  farmer), 
and  Edward,  are  all  five  now  deceased; 
William,  our  subject,  comes  next;  then 
Frederick;  after  them,  Lydia,  wife  of  H. 
Swarm;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  A.  Stein; 
Catharine,  wife  of  J.  Parker;  and  Mary 
Ann,  wife  of  C.  Livingston. 

William  Schoch,  the  subject  proper  of 
there  lines,  attended  the  country  schools, 
and  was  reared  to  manhood  in  Riley  town- 


ship, on  his  father's  farm.  On  April  22, 
i860,  he  married  Miss  Lena  Shoemaker, 
who  was  born  in  Germany,  July  12,  1837, 
and  their  children  are:  (i)  Lydia  Ann, 
born  September  7,  1861,  was  married  to 
Charles  Hirt,  which  union  was  blessed 
with  one  son — Willie.  Mr.  Hirt  dying 
after  the  birth  of  his  son,  his  widow  was 
married  to  E.  S.  P.  Bingman,  by  whom 
she  had  two  children — Vergie  and  War- 
ren. (2)  Emma  J.,  born  December  28, 
1862,  who  married  Francis  Earl,  and  they 
have  three  children — Ada,  Lena  and  Myr- 
tle. (3)  William,  born  March  21,  1S64, 
and  died  at  the  age  of  sixteen.  (4) 
George  Samuel,  born  November  9,  1868, 
married  Clara  Martin,  and  they  have  one 
child — Maud  M.  (5)  Charles  Frederick, 
born  March  6,  1870,  married  Ella  Thurn, 
and  they  have  three  children — Lester, 
Ray,  and  Mable. 

Mr.  Schoch,  our  subject,  was  for  many 
years  one  of  the  substantial  farmers  of 
Riley  township,  where  he  still  owns  land. 
He  recently  retired  to  Fremont,  where 
he  bought  town  lots,  and  where  he  now 
resides. 


JOSEPH  A.  STOUT.  Our  national 
prosperity  is  largely  upheld  by  the 
integrity,  frugality  and  virtue  of 
large  numbers  of  the  citizens  of  the 
Republic.  Among  those  who  by  their 
praiseworthy  example  have  been  an  en- 
couragement and  a  help  to  others,  and 
whose  work  has  contributed  its  mite  to 
bring  forth  the  rich  inheritance  locked  up 
within  a  fertile  soil,  and  to  conserve  the 
forces  of  the  nation,  is  the  worthy  subject 
of  the  brief  sketch  here  given.  He  was 
born  August  11,  1847,  and  is  a  son  of 
Jonathan  and  Elizabeth  (Gilbert)  Stout. 

Jonathan  Stout  was  born  September 
18,  1S20,  and  early  trained  in  those  cor- 
rect principles  so  well  exemplified  in  his 
own  life  and  in  that  of  his  son.  He  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Elizabeth  Gilbert 
who  was  born  in    1826.      Working  by  the 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


4At 


day,  he  saved  his  money  with  an  eye  to 
larg:er  results  in  the  future,  and  finally 
bought  land,  for  a  home  in  Riley  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  where  other  re- 
solute and  persevering?  men  have  also  laid 
the  foundations  of  a  competence. 

Joseph  A.  Stout  worked  by  the  month 
on  the  farm,  saved  his  money,  as  had  his 
father  before  him,  and  bought   forty-six 
acres  of  valuable  land  in  Riley  township, 
to  establish   a  home    upon  it,  and   by   its 
cultivation   gain  a  livelihood,  and  more. 
On  October   lo,  1871,   he  was  united   in 
marriage  with   Clara  Daniels,    and   they 
have  five  children,  as  follows:  Maria,  born 
August  4,  1S73,  married  Frank  McCleary 
on  November   18,    1891,   and   they  have 
had  one  child  (they  live  in  Riley  town- 
ship);    Bertha  was  born  March  13,  1880; 
Isaac,  December    19,   1881;   Emma,  July 
■  5,  1886;  and  Jessie,  July  iS,    1888.      Mr. 
Stout    carries    on    general    farming,    not 
depending  upon   the  success  of  one  crop, 
or  one  line  of  agriculture  or  stock  raising, 
alone.      He  is  a  Democrat,  in  politics,  and 
has  been  repeatedly  honored  by  his  fel- 
low citizens  with    public    office,    having 
served  as  trustee  three  years,  as  constable 
two  years,  as  school  director  three  years, 
and  as  supervisor  five  years.      He  is  well 
and  favorably  known  in  the  community, 
is  much  liked   and    very    popular.     The 
family  attend  the  United  Brethren  Church. 


CASPER  FOOS,  retired  farmer  and 
a  resident  of  Millersville,  Jackson 
township,  Sandusky  county,  was 
born  February  20,  1826,  in  Al- 
sace, France  (now  Germany),  a  son  of 
Casper  and  Mary  fXoeppe)  Foos.  The 
parents  of  our  subject  came  to  America 
in  1842,  and  settled  near  Rochester,  N.Y., 
where  the  father's  death  occurred  in  1882, 
when  he  was  aged  seventy-eight  years; 
the  mother  died  seven  years  later  at  the 
age  of  eighty-four  years.  Mr.  P'oos  was 
a  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
and  in  politics  he  was  a  Democrat. 


Casper  Foos,  the  subject  proper  of 
these  lines,  who  was  one  of  a  family  of 
nine  children,  remained  at  home  until  his 
nineteenth  birthday,  when  he  started  out 
for  himself.  He  worked  at  different 
places,  and  at  various  employments  for 
two  years,  and  then  secured  a  paying  po- 
sition in  a  distillery,  where  he  was  em- 
ployed seven  years,  saving  his  earnings. 
In  1855  he  moved  to  Jackson  township, 
Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  and  there  bought 
forty  acres  of  land,  and  engaged  in  farm- 
ing pursuits.  Five  years  later  he  bought 
one  hundred  acres  more,  where  he  now 
resides. 

^  On  April  25,  1849,  Mr.  Foos  married 
Miss  Adeline  Horchelar,  of  Rochester, 
N.  Y.,  daughter  of  John  H.  Horchelarj 
now  deceased,  as  is  also  her  mother. 
The  children  of  Casper  and  Adeline  Foos 
were  as  follows:  Martin  (i),  Mary,  An- 
thony, John,  Louis  and  Martin  (2).  In 
politics  Mr.  Foos  is  a  Democrat,  and  has 
held  several  offices,  being  popular  and 
well-liked  in  the  community.  In  religious 
faith  he  is  a  member  of  the  Catholic 
Church. 


CLARENCE  L.  BOWLUS.  The 
use  of  steam  and  electricity  as 
motive  powers  for  the  conveyance 
of  passengers  in  masses,  and  the 
use  of  bicycles  for  individual  transit,  have 
made  vast  inroads  upon  the  domain  of 
liverymen,  yet  the  busy  public  can  not 
yet  afford  to  do  wholly  without  the  serv- 
ices of  the  noble  horse  in  connection  with 
an  easy  carriage,  especially  on  country 
roads,  and  those  who  cater  to  the  public 
in  this  line  of  business  deserve  their  share 
of  liberal  patronage  and  recognition.  As 
a  rising  young  man  of  enterprise  and 
push,  prepared  with  latest  livery  outfits 
to  acommodate  the  traveling  public,  in 
Fremont  and  vicinity,  we  present  the 
subject  of  this  sketch. 

Clarence  L.  Bowlus,  liveryman,  whose 
place    of  business  is  opposite  the   "Ball 


442 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


House,"  Fremont,  was  born  in  Sandusky 
township,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  January 
'3.  '875,  a  son  of  Warren  A.  and  Caro- 
line R.  (Engelman)  Bowlus.  Warren  A. 
Bowlus  was  born  in  the  same  locality, 
August  25,  1850,  a  son  of  Henry  Bowlus, 
■who  was  born  September  27,  1810,  and  in 
1828  came  with  his  father,  Henry  Bowlus, 
Sen.,  from  Middletown  \'alley,  Freder- 
ick Co.,  Md.,  to  Sandusky  county,  Ohio, 
where  the  latter  entered  320  acres  on  the 
borders  of  Muskallonge  creek,  in  Sandusky 
township,  which  he  made  his  permanent 
residence.  The  father  of  Henry  Bowlus, 
Sen.,  and  the  great  ancestor  of  the  many 
Bowlus  families  in  Sandusky  county,  was 
Nicholas  Bowlus,  who,  in  1735,  at  the 
age  of  five  years,  came  to  America,  and 
lived  and  died  in  Frederick  county,  Md., 
where  many  of  his  descendants  still  re- 
side. 

Our  subject  was  reared  on  a  farm,  and 
educated  in  the  common  schools  and  in 
the  Fremont  High  School.  He  brings  to 
his  chosen  vocation  the  freshness  and 
vigor  of  early  manhood,  which  betoken  a 
successful  business  career. 


IVI 


ORITZ  A.  GESSNER,  a  pros- 
perous farmer  of  Riley  town- 
ship. Sandusky  county,  was 
born  July  24,  1863,  a  son  of 
Dr.  Louis  and  Elizabeth  Gessner,  old 
residents  of  northern  Ohio. 

Dr.  Louis  Gessner  was  born  in  Ger- 
many April  6,  1804,  studied  medicine, 
graduated  in  Switzerland,  and  practiced 
in  Germany.  Coming  to  this  country, 
he  first  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his 
profession  in  Buffalo,  .N.  Y.,  coming  to 
Fremont,  Ohio,  in  1838.  On  July  8, 
1858,  Dr.  Gessner  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Elizabeth  Lhair,  who  was  born  in 
Germany  March  17,  1825,  and  they  had 
four  children,  as  follows:  Ida,  born 
October  8,  1859,  married  William  Nich- 
ols, and  they  live  in  Sandusky  county; 
Laura,  born   Februar)'  24,  1861,  married 


Louis  Balsixer,  and  they  had  seven  chil- 
dren (she  died  March  9,  1890,  and  was 
buried  in  Ballville  township);  Moritz  A. 
is  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  and  Minnie, 
born  September  10,  1867,  married  Charles 
Marks  (they  have  had  three  children,  and 
live  in  Riley  township).  In  1861  Dr. 
Gessner  discontinued  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine, and  moved  to  Riley  township, 
where  in  1838  he  had  bought  160  acres  of 
land,  giving  five  dollars  an  acre  for  it. 
Here  he  made  his  home  the  remainder  of 
his  life. 

Moritz  N.  Gessner  received  a  com- 
mon-school education,  and  worked  for  his 
father  until  the  death  of  the  latter,  who 
left  him  eighty  acres  of  land.  On  Janu- 
arj-  13,  1886,  in  his  twenty-third  year, 
our  subject  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Christina  Baker,  who  was  born  Novem- 
ber 2,  1866,  and  they  have  had  two  chil- 
dren— Louis  F. ,  born  March  24,  1887, 
and  Gertie  S..  born  October  16,  1888. 
Mr.  Gessner  is  a  member  of  Fort  Ste- 
phenson Lodge  No.  225,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  In 
religious  connection  he  is  a  member  of 
the  Lutheran  Church;  in  politics  he  is  a 
stanch  Democrat,  and  on  April  i,  1895, 
was  elected  trustee  of  Riley   township. 


JOACHIM  MEYER.  Among  those  of 
foreign  birth  who  have  become  prom- 
inent in  agricultural  circles  in  San- 
dusky county,  is  numbered  this  gen- 
tleman, a  native  of  German}',  who  was 
born  on  the  29th  and  baptized  on  the  30th 
of  July,  1836.  He  is  a  son  of  John  Meyer, 
who  died  two  months  before  his  son's 
birth,  and  in  consequence  our  subject 
knows  but  little  concerning  his  ancestral 
history.  The  father  was  a  sheep  raiser 
and  farmer,  and  the  family  was  not  in 
very  affluent  circumstances,  so  that  Joa- 
chim was  earl}-  forced  to  earn  his  own 
living.  As  soon  as  he  had  attained  a 
sufficient  age  he  began  work  as  a  farm 
hand,  and  was  thus  employed  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  in  Germany,  there  continu- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


443 


ing  his  labors  until  1867,  when,  with  his 
wife  and  mother,  he  came  to  America, 
sailing  from  Hamburg  on  the  14th  of  Oc- 
tober. His  brother  had  come  to  the 
United  States  the  year  previous,  and  lo- 
cated in  Fremont,   Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio. 

After  three  months'  sailing  on  the 
ocean,  Joachim  Meyer  and  family  landed 
at  New  York  City,  and  after  a  few  days 
there  passed,  came  to  Sandusky  county, 
where  he  has  since  made  his  home,  cover- 
ing a  period  of  about  twenty-eight  years. 
He  had  no  capital,  at  that  time,  but  de- 
termined to  succeed  he  eagerly  worked  at 
anything  that  he  could  find  to  do  which 
would  yield  him  an  honest  living.  By  in- 
dustry and  frugality  he  at  length  acquired 
some  capital,  and  with  it  purchased  the 
farm  on  which  he  now  resides.  He  began 
its  cultivation,  placed  acre  after  acre  under 
the  plow,  and  has  now  one  of  the  best  farm 
properties  in  that  section,  the  rich  and 
fertile  fields  yielding  to  him  a  golden  tri- 
bute in  return  for  the  care  and  labor  which 
he  bestows  upon  them. 

In  November,  1866,  Mr.  Meyer  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Dora  Witten- 
burg,  who  was  born  on  the  28th  and  bap- 
tized on  the  30th  of  July,  1838.  She 
was  a  most  estimable  lady,  also  a  native 
of  Germany,  in  which  country  her  parents 
died.  Mr.  Meyer  has  a  family  of  five 
children — one  son  and  four  daughters: 
Mary,  who  was  born  on  the  ocean,  is  the 
wife  of  Mr.  Banard,  of  Fremont,  and  they 
have  two  children;  Albert  is  at  home; 
Sophia  is  married  to  Ed.  Smitke,  and  re- 
sides in  Fremont;  Louisa  makes  her  home 
in  the  same  place,  and  Emma  completes 
the  family,  which  is  well  and  favorably 
known  in  the  locality  where  they  live. 
Mr.  Meyer  was  a  member  of  the  German 
army,  in  Mecklenburg  Schwerin,  serving 
as  a  dragoon  from  the  year  1857  to  1863. 
The  first  three  years  were  spent  in  the 
garrison  at  Ludwigslust,  one  of  the  chief 
cities  of  Mecklenburg,  the  remaining  three 
years  were  spent  at  his  home,  but  subject 
to  be  called    into   military   ranks  and  do 


military  service  at  any  time;  hence  not 
until  the  year  1863  did  he  receive  a  dis- 
charge from  military  duty,  and  such  hon- 
orable discharge  was  granted  on  the  24th 
of  October,  1863.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Lutheran  Church,  and  by  his  ballot  sup- 
ports the  Democracy.  He  leads  a  busy 
and  useful  life,  and  with  his  family  shares 
the  high  regard  of  their  friends. 


JOSEPH  E.  BOOP,  a  well-to-do 
farmer  of  Sandusky  township,  San- 
dusky county,  was  born  in  New  Ber- 
lin, Union  Co.,  Penn.,  January  6, 
1 85 1 ,  a  son  of  Samuel  and  Hannah  (Spet- 
ler)  Boop.  They  had  a  family  of  thirteen' 
children,  Joseph  being  the  youngest  one 
now  living. 

When  he  was  si.x  years  old  his  parents 
sent  him  to  school,  and  at  the  age  of 
eight  years  his  uncle,  William  Watson, 
wished  to  have  the  lad  with  him  on  the 
farm,  in  the  capacity  of  chore  boy,  to 
do  work  such  as  driving  cows  to  the 
fields,  feeding  chickens,  and  riding  the 
drill  to  plant  corn,  which  was  Joseph's 
first  e.xperience  of  farm  life.  In  the  fall 
of  that  year  he  became  anxious  to  go 
home  and  see  his  parents,  and  his  uncle 
thought  it  would  be  better  on  account  of 
the  boy  being  thereby  enabled  to  attend 
school.  In  the  fall  of  1859  his  father  and 
mother  made  a  trip  west,  visiting  relatives 
in  that  part  of  Ohio,  then  known  as  the 
' '  Black  Swamp, "  and  returned  home  after 
being  satisfied  with  their  visit.  They 
were  so  well  pleased  with  the  country 
that  they  concluded  at  once  to  make 
their  home  in  Ohio,  so,  on  March  20, 
i860,  Joseph  and  his  parents,  and  the 
other  members  of  the  family,  landed  in 
Fremont  (known  in  earlier  days  as  Lower 
Sandusky),  settling  on  eighty  acres  of 
land  lying  four  miles  west  of  Fremont, 
known  as  the  "Baldwin  farm."  The 
parents  lived  on  that  farm  five  years,  then 
sold  it,  and  located  on  a  farm  of  1 1 1  acres 
nearer  to   Fremont,   along   the  Maumee 


444 


COMMEiiORATIVE  BIOORAPEICAL  RECORD. 


pike.  After  Joseph  landed  in  Ohio  his 
school  days  were  but  few,  as  his  father 
needed  his  help  very  much.  During  the 
Civil  war  of  1861-65,  Joseph  and  his 
brother  would  be  out  in  the  fields  plow- 
ing, and  when  they  would  hear  of  a  train 
of  soldiers  coming  through  from  Indiana 
or  Michigan,  they  would  tie  the  horses  to 
the  fence  and  run  to  Fremont  to  see  the 
"boys  in  blue,"  and  hear  them  shoot 
"old  Betsy  Croghan." 

Joseph  well  remembers  his  early  boy- 
hood days,  of  how  he  would  help  to  log, 
burn  brush,  and  get  the  land  ready 
for  the  plow.  In  the  j'ear  1861  Joseph 
was  working  for  Charles  Reorick  at 
four  dollars  per  month,  and  after  hav- 
ing served  the  required  time — ten  months 
— he  went  home,  and  in  1869  he 
worked  for  Edward  Deemer  on  a  farm, 
receiving  $17  per  month.  Returning 
home,  he  in  the  year  1872  hired  out 
again  on  a  farm  to  Henry  Bowlus,  for 
nine  months  at  $23  per  month,  if  satis- 
faction was  given.  After  nine  months 
had  e.xpired  he  returned  home  again  to 
assist  his  aged  mother,  his  father  having 
died  in  the  fall  of  1872.  In  1874  he 
again  hired  to  Warren  Bowlus,  and  on 
October  20,  1874,  he  set  out  on  a  trip  to 
California,  in  company  with  his  mother, 
to  visit  a  brother  who  had  gone  there  in 
1 85  I .  There  they  remained  three  months, 
at  the  end  of  which  time  his  mother  de- 
sired to  return,  and  on  the  way  back  they 
visited  relatives  in  San  Francisco,  Wis- 
consin, Illinois,  and  Iowa.  They  settled 
in  Sandusky  township. 

On  the  1 6th  day  of  November,  1876, 
Mr.  Boop  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Faust, 
who  was  born  in  Washington  township, 
Sandusky  county,  Ohio,  October  16,  1857. 
She  died  September  15,  1891,  the  mother 
of  five  children:  Emma  G.,  Irvin  T. , 
Ada  P.,  Vernie  May  and  Edith  V.  For 
his  second  wife,  our  subject  married  Feb- 
ruary 16,  1892,  Miss  Mary  Mehle,  also  a 
native  of  Sandusky  township,  born  May 
19,    1862,  a  daughter  of  Frederick    and 


Sophia  (Smith)  Mehle,  who  both  lived  in 
Sandusky  township.  Mr.  Boop  is  one  of 
the  prosperous  men  among  the  younger 
element  in  his  township,  owns  a  well-im- 
proved farm,  and  he  and  his  wife  are 
genial  and  sociable.  In  politics  he  is  a 
Republican,  and  in  religious  faith  is  a 
member  of  the  Reformed  Church. 


SOLOMON  EMCH,  a  successful 
farmer,  was  born  in  Woodville 
township,  Sandusky  county,  Jan- 
uary 19,  1854.  He  remained  at 
home  until  his  twenty-first  birthday,  then 
worked  out  by  the  day,  being  employed 
at  different  places  for  about  si.\  years,  un- 
til the  time  of  his  marriage. 

On  March  18,  1880,  Solomon  Emch 
married  Caroline  Schreiner,  who  was 
born  in  Troy  township,  \\'ood  county, 
September  24,  1859,  and  they  have  be- 
come the  parents  of  three  bright  children 
— Bertha,  born  December  5,  1880;  Eddie, 
born  December  15,  1882,  and  Charles, 
born  March  27,  1889.  After  his  marriage 
Mr.  Emch  rented  a  farm  from  his  cousin, 
which  he  worked  for  about  eleven  j'ears. 
He  then  bought  forty-five  acres  which 
cost  him  $4,200.  In  1894  he  leased  his 
land  to  an  oil  firm,  and  they  put  down 
three  wells,  which  are  in  operation  daily. 
Mr.  Emch  is  very  popular,  is  an  honest, 
upright  man,  has  always  worked  hard  and 
saved  his  mone}-,  is  a  good  manager  and 
provides  well  for  his  famih'. 


EDWARD  SCHWARTZ,  funeral 
director  and  embalmer,  Fremont, 
Sandusky  county,  was  born  at 
Williamsville,  Erie  Co.,  N.  Y., 
January  26,  185 1.  His  father,  Joseph 
Schwartz,  was  born  in  Alsace,  France,  in 
1816,  came  to  America  in  his  youth,  lo- 
cated in  western  New  York,  married  Miss 
Theresa  Batt,  and  worked  at  shoemaking 
and  farming.  About  the  year  1853,  he 
removed  to  Ballville  township,    Sandusky 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHWAL  RECORD. 


445 


Co.,  Ohio,  where  he  bought  a  farm, 
whereon  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life 
in  agricultural  pursuits.  His  death  oc- 
curred in  1859.  Our  subject's  mother, 
who  was  also  a  native  of  Alsace,  born  in 
1831,  came  with  her  father,  Joseph  Batt, 
in  her  childhood,  to  the  New  World.  In 
crossing  the  Atlantic  Ocean  they  were  one 
hundred  days  at  sea,  their  ship  having 
been  driven  about  by  adverse  winds  and 
disabled  by  storms,  so  that  they  were 
obliged  to  put  into  the  harbor  of  Cork, 
Ireland,  for  repairs.  The  family  settled 
on  a  farm  in  western  New  York,  where  the 
parents  lived  to  celebrate  their  golden 
wedding,  surrounded  by  a  numerous  pos- 
terity, and  died  a  few  years  later  at  an 
advanced  age. 

The  children  of  Joseph  and  Theresa 
Schwartz  were:  (i)  John,  who  died  in 
childhood;  (2)  Joseph  Schwartz,  Jr.,  born 
February  29,  1844,  in  Lancaster,  Erie 
Co.,  N.  Y. ,  who  came  with  his  parents  to 
Ballville  township,  Sandusky  county, 
when  nine  years  of  age,  grew  up  to  farm 
work,  attended  country  schools,  enlisted 
in  Company  A,  One  Hundred  and  Eleventh 
Regiment,  O.  V.  I.,  in  the  spring  of  1862, 
served  during  the  war,  and  was  honorably 
discharged,  February  10,  1865;  on  May 
12,  1868,  he  married  Miss  Veronica 
Schmittuz,  of  Fremont,  and  they  have  si.x 
children ;  Mr.  Schwartz  is  a  leading  member 
of  various  social  orders  in  Fremont,  and 
has  held  positions  of  honor  and  trust; 
he  is  secretary  of  the  Fremont  Water 
Works,  and  of  the  German  Aid  Society; 
he  is  an  official  member  of  Eugene  Raw- 
son  Post,  No.  34,  Department  of  Ohio, 
G.  A.  R. ,  and  of  S.  A.  J.  Snyder  Com- 
mand, U.  V.  U.  (3)  Magdalena  M. 
Schwartz  became  the  wife  of  John  Snyder, 
a  farmer  and  carpenter,  now  living  at 
Charlotte,  Mich.  (4)  John  Schwartz,  a 
blacksmith,  married  Miss  Magdalen 
Feuerstein,  and  resides  at  Williamsville, 
N.  Y.  (5)  Mary  A.  Schwartz  died  in  child- 
hood. (6)  Edward  Schwartz  is  the  sub- 
ject proper  of  this  sketch,      (j)  Frank  X. 


Schwartz,  an  engineer,  married  Miss 
\'eronica  Brunier,  of  Fremont,  and  re- 
sides at  Lima,  Ohio.  (8)  Louis  Schwartz, 
a  blacksmith,  married  Miss  Elizabeth 
Epp,  and  resides  at  Fort  Wayne,  Ind. 
(9)  William  H.  Schwartz  died  in  child- 
hood. (10)  Mary  C.  Schwartz,  wife  of 
Joseph  Neinhaus,  a  laborer  at  Buffalo, 
N.  Y.,  died  in  1886. 

Our  subject,  Edward  Schwartz,  made 
his  home  with  his  parents  until  the  death 
of  his  father,  in  1859,  when  he  went  to 
live  with  his  uncle,  John  Daul,  proprietor 
of  a  brewery  at  Williamsville,  N.  Y. , 
where  he  attended  school.  Three  years 
later  he  returned  to  Ohio,  and  lived  with 
his  mother  about  four  years.  About  the 
year  1866  he  came  to  Fremont,  and  be- 
gan to  work  at  cabinet-making.  In  1869 
he  went  to  Buffalo,  N.  Y. ,  where  he  re- 
mained about  four  years,  thoroughly  learn- 
ing his  trade.  In  1873  he  returned  to 
Fremont,  and  soon  after  went  into  part- 
nership with  his  brother  in  the  furniture 
business,  on  State  street.  In  1878  he 
sold  out,  and  has  since  that  time  confined 
himself  exclusively  to  undertaking  and 
embalming,  in  which  particular  line  he 
e.xcels.  He  was  one  of  the  first  men  in 
the  State  of  Ohio  to  take  up  this  art  as  a 
profession,  having  graduated  from  the 
Embalmers' School  at  Cincinnati  in  1883. 
He  was  elected  third  vice-president  of  the 
Ohio  State  Undertakers'  Association,  in 
1893,  and  now  holds  the  position  of  first 
vice-president  of  the  same.  He  is  also  a 
member  of  various  social  organizations, 
in  some  of  which  he  holds  official  posi- 
tions. He  is  exalted  ruler  of  Fremont 
Lodge,  No.  169,  B.  P.  O.  Elks;  president 
of  Edna  Council,  No.  64,  N.  U. ;  treas- 
urer of  Dickinson  Tent,  No.  21,  K.  O. 
T.  M. ;  and  treasurer  of  Onoka  Tribe, 
No.  140.  I.  O.  R.  M. 

Edward  Schwartz  was  married  May 
iS,  1874,  to  Miss  Mary  Eichel,  of  Fre- 
mont, who  was  born  in  Ottawa  county, 
Ohio,  July  2,  1854,  daughter  of  Louis  and 
Elizabeth    Eichel,    natives    of  Germany, 


446 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOOBAPHICAL  RECORD. 


and  their  children  are:  Edward  L. ,  steno- 
grapher at  the  "  Boody  House,"  Toledo, 
Ohio;  Frances  M.  E. ,  assistant  book- 
keeper at  the  Christy  Knife  Works,  Fre- 
mont, Ohio;  Hilda  C.,  and  William  H., 
at  home  attending  school. 


SAMUEL  T.  WOOD,  the  popular 
and  efficient  sheriff  of  Ottawa 
county,  was  born  in  Seneca  coun- 
ty* Ohio,  February  28,  1841,  and 
is  a  son  of  David  and  Patience  (Rolfe) 
Wood,  both  natives  of  Greene  county, 
N.  Y.,  the  father  born  May  25,  1803,  the 
mother  born  March  7,  1806,  and  died  in 
Seneca  county,  Ohio,  March  8,  1848. 
The  father  passed  away  in  Clay  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county,  August  10,  1888. 
They  were  the  parents  of  ten  children, 
six  of  whom  still  survive,  namely:  Dor- 
cas, wife  of  T.  P.  Taylor,  who  is  living 
in  Genoa,  Ohio;  Mercy,  wife  of  John 
Tiplady,  who  is  living  in  Clay  township, 
Ottawa  county;  Samuel  T. ;  Louisa, 
wife  of  William  Armstrong,  of  Genoa, 
Ohio;  Felinda,  wife  of  Albert  Sponable, 
a  resident  of  Hastings,  Mich. ;  and  Francis 
v.,  who  is  located  in  Fremont,  Ohio. 
The  second  in  the  family  of  ten  children 
was  Mary  J.,  who  married  Michael  Tomp- 
kins (now  deceased),  and  died  in  Genoa, 
Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio,  November  13,  1876; 
Elizabeth  A.,  the  third  one  of  the  chil- 
dren, died  at  Genoa,  October  24,  1854; 
and  George,  the  eighth  child,  born  in 
September,   1846,  died  ininfancj*. 

■  Our  subject  was  educated  in  the  dis- 
trict schools  of  his  native  county,  and  his 
boyhood  was  passed  upon  the  old  farm 
amidst  the  surroundings  of  a  comfortable 
home  and  the  care  of  kind  indulgent  par- 
ents. When  about  thirteen  years  of  age 
he  removed  to  Clay  township,  Ottawa 
county,  with  the  family,  and  continued  to 
aid  in  the  farm  work  until  after  he  had 
attained  to  manhood,  when  he  began 
farming  in  his  own  interest.  For  over 
forty   years  he  was  an  honored  and   re- 


spected resident  of  Clay  township,  where 
his  agricultural  pursuits  by  their  success 
proved  his  energy  and  perseverance, 
while  the  high  estimation  in  which  he 
was  held  by  the  people  of  the  county 
bore  its  tribute  to  his  sterling  qualities 
and  upright,  honorable  principles.  On 
November  6,  1894,  he  was  elected  sheriff 
of  the  county  on  the  Republican  ticket, 
and,  abandoning  the  pursuit  he  had  so 
long  followed,  he  on  January  7,  1895, 
took  possession  of  the  office,  removing 
his  family  to  Port  Clinton. 

In  Fremont,  Ohio,  September  28, 
1865,  Mr.  Wood  married  Maria  E.  Jones, 
a  native  of  Ohio,  who  was  born  in  Pick- 
away county,  January  29,  1842,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Noah  and  Ruth  Jones.  Her  moth- 
er still  survives  at  the  advanced  age  of 
ninety-one  years,  and  resides  with  our 
subject  in  Port  Clinton,  being  probably 
the  oldest  living  resident  in  Ottawa  coun- 
ty, and  undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  in- 
telligent and  interesting  old  ladies,  having 
a  most  remarkable  memory  for  dates  and 
events.  She  was  born  in  Pendleton  coun- 
ty, Va.,  June  20,   1804,  and  is  a  daughter 

of  Uriah  and  Catherine  (Loother) , 

who  were  also  natives  of  Virginia.  In 
1805  the  mother  and  children  removed  to 
Pickaway  county,  Ohio,  and  six  months 
later  was  joined  b}'  the  husband,  who  at 
the  time  of  the  first  removal  was  serving 
as  sheriff  of  Pendleton  county.  Here  he 
passed  away  in  1812.  His  widow  con- 
tinued to  reside  in  Pickaway  county, 
Ohio,  until  1850,  when  she  removed  to 
Fairfield  county,  this  State,  where  her 
death  occurred  in  1858.  In  1826  the 
mother  of  Mrs.  Wood  was  married  to 
Noah  Jones,  and  to  their  union  came  nine 
children,  as  follows:  Benjamin  F. ,  born 
July  14,  1827,  now  living  in  Findlay, 
Ohio;  Uriah,  born  August  28,  1829,  now 
residing  in  Columbus,  Ohio;  Rebecca, 
born  March  28,  1832,  now  the  wife  of 
W'illiam  Adams,  of  Lithopolis,  Ohio; 
John  W.,  born  August  10,  1834.  is  living 
at    Burnips  Corners,    Mich.;   Daniel  W., 


<Z:J'^>L'^i.^nyLyUyf.cJ      "^^^^-T^  , 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


447 


born  May  3,  1837,  is  living  in  Genoa, 
Ohio;  Samuel,  born  June  27,  1839,  died 
August  3,  1846;  Maria  E.  is  the  wife  of 
our  subject;  Noah,  born  May  14,  1844,  is 
located  in  Toledo;  and  Nelson  A.,  born 
August  17,   1846,  died  June  19,   1880. 

The  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wood  has 
been  blessed  with  si.\  children,  as  follows: 
Alonzo,  born  July  6,  1866,  died  in  infancy; 
Mary  and  Martha  (twinsj,  born  August 
10,  1 87 1,  and  died  in  infancy;  Charles, 
born  July  7,  1875;  Lizzie,  born  Decem- 
ber 27,  1872,  died  March  6,  1876;  and 
Nelson  J.,  born  March  18,   1879. 

Mr.  Wood  manifested  his  loyalty  to 
the  government  during  the  Civil  war  by 
joining  Company  A,  Fourteenth  O.  V.  I., 
September  5,  1861.  He  served  for  three 
years,  participating  with  his  regiment  in 
numerous  skirmishes,  and  some  of  the 
most  important  battles  of  the  war.  At 
the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  he  was  taken 
prisoner  by  the  Confederates,  and  for 
forty-three  days  was  held  as  a  captive  in 
the  Smith  tobacco-house  prison,  opposite 
the  renowned  Libby  Prison,  in  Richmond, 
Va.  At  the  expiration  of  that  time  with 
a  number  of  others  he  was  removed  to  a 
prison  in  Danville,  Va.,  where  he  was 
held  until  February  21,  1864,  when  he  suc- 
ceeded in  making  his  escape,  and  reach- 
ing the  lines  of  the  Union  army  at  Browns- 
town.  For  twenty-one  days  he  was  trav- 
eling toward  the  Northern  army,  and  en- 
during untold  hardships  before  he  reached 
his  destination.  He  was  then  granted  a 
thirty-days'  furlough,  which  he  spent  in 
visiting  his  family,  rejoining  his  regiment 
at  Ringgold,  Ga. .  and  with  his  command 
participating  in  the  Atlanta  campaign.  At 
the  capture  of  Jonesboro,  five  days  after 
the  expiration  of  his  term  of  service,  he 
was  seriously  wounded,  and  when  hos- 
tilities ceased  was  sent  to  the  hospital. 
Fourteen  days  later  he  was  honorablj' 
discharged,  returning  to  his  home  in  Clay 
township,  Ottawa  county.  He  had  been 
a  faithful  soldier,  always  true  to  his  duties 
and  the  cause  of  the  Union  arms. 


Mr.  Wood  is  a  member  of  Clay  Lodge, 
No.  584,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  Elliott  Wyman 
Post,  G.  A.  R.  He  is  an  active  worker 
in  the  ranks  of  the  Republican  party,  and 
in  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties  has 
won  the  commendation  of  all  concerned. 
The  family  attend  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church,  of  which  he  and  his  estimable 
wife  are  consistent  members. 


HENRY  GERMAN,  the  efficient 
manager  and  superintendent  of 
the  Gypsum  Plaster  Mills  and 
Carielea  Farm,  Portage  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county,  was  born  in  the 
town  of  Tyrone,  Steuben  Co.,  N.  Y. , 
April  3,  1832,  and  is  a  son  of  Andrew 
and  Hannah  (Force)  German,  the  former 
a  native  of  Dutchess  county,  N.  Y. ,  the 
latter  of  Steuben  county.  Both  were  of 
German  lineage,  and  the  mother  was 
also  of  French  descent.  The  paternal 
grandmother  of  our  subject  was  a  grand- 
daughter of  Governor  Winthrop,  the  first 
governor  of  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts. 
Andrew  German  was  engaged  in  agricul- 
tural pursuits  in  Steuben  county,  N.  Y. , 
and  there  spent  the  greater  part  of  his 
life,  passing  away  in  185 1.  His  widow 
with  seven  of  her  children  removed  to 
Ohio  in  1857,  locating  in  Margaretta 
township,  Erie  county,  whence,  in  i88o, 
they  went  to  Sandusky  county,  where  the 
mother  departed  this  life  in  1882. 

Henry  German  acquired  his  education 
in  the  district  schools  of  his  native  coun- 
ty, and  his  boyhood  days  were  spent  at 
farm  work,  while  during  his  early  man- 
hood he  was  engaged  in  milling  and  engin- 
eering. After  locating  in  Erie  county,  he 
followed  agricultural  pursuits  in  the  town- 
ship, where  the  family  took  up  their  abode 
until  1880,  when  he  removed  to  Townsend 
township,  Sandusky  county.  There,  in 
association  with  his  son-in-law,  Henry 
Brown,  he  purchased  a  sawmill,  which  he 
operated  in  connection  with  his  agricul- 
tural  pursuits  until    1884,    when    he   en- 


448 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


tered  upon  his  present  position  as  man- 
ager and  superintendent  of  the  Gypsum 
Plaster  Mills  and  Carielea  Farm.  He 
still  makes  his  home  in  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, where  he  is  also  extensively  engaged 
in  fruit  farming.  He  is  now  manager  of 
one  of  the  largest  limestone  quarries  and 
mills,  and  also  one  of  the  most  e.xtensive 
fruit  farms  in  his  section  of  the  State, 
and  his  duties  are  performed  with  faithful- 
ness that  is  well  indicated  by  his  long 
continuance  in  office,  covering  a  period 
of  more  than  eleven  consecutive  years. 

On  January  lO,  1852,  in  Steuben 
county,  N.  Y. ,  Mr.  German  was  joined 
in  wedlock  with  Miss  Lydia  A.  Howe, 
daughter  of  Joseph  Howe,  and  to  their 
union  two  children  were  born — Eva, 
wife  of  H.  E.  Brown,  who  is  living  in 
Townsend  township,  Sandusky  county; 
and  Lyman,  who  died  in  infancy.  The 
family  attend  the  Universalist  Church,  and 
the  members  of  the  household  occupy  an 
enviable  position  in  social  circles,  while 
their  home  is  noted  for  its  hospitality. 
Mr.  German  is  a  Republican  in  politics, 
and  is  a  man  of  broad  views,  keen  and 
quick  perceptions,  sterling  integrity  and  a 
spotless  reputation — qualities  which  have 
secured  him  the  unlimited  confidence  of  all 
with  whom  he  has  come  in  contact. 
While  still  making  his  home  in  Sandusky 
county,  he  also  takes  an  active  interest 
in  the  welfare  of  Ottawa  county,  and 
well  deserves  representation  among  the 
leading  men  of  his  locality.^  [Since  the 
above  was  written,  Mr.  German  has  re- 
signed his  position  in  Ottawa  county,  and 
gone  back  to  Sandusky  county. — Ed. 


RICHARD  B.  SONOCRANT,  a 
leading  and  representative  citizen 
of  Ottawa  county,  ex-superintend- 
ent of  the  Ottawa  County  Infirm- 
ary, was  born  in  Lucas  county,  Ohio, 
July  27,  1845,  son  of  John  and  Matilda 
(Mommoney)  Sonocrant,  the  former  a 
native  of  Monroe,    Mich.,    of  French  an- 


cestry, the  latter  a  native  of  Port  Clinton, 
Ohio,  of  French  and  Scotch  ancestry. 
They  were  highly-respected  residents  of 
Carroll  township,  Ottawa  county,  for 
forty-three  years,  but  in  1893  moved  to 
Lucas  county,  where  they  now  reside. 
Their  family  consists  of  six  children,  viz.: 
Peter,  residing  in  Canada;  John  N. ,  of  To- 
ledo, Ohio;  Richard  B. ;  Elizabeth,  wife 
of  A.  G.  Renner,  of  Locust  Point,  Ohio; 
Jennie,  wife  of  Gabriel  Dubrie,  also  of 
Locust  Point;  and  Samuel  E.,  a  resident 
of  Lucas  county. 

Our  subject  is  one  of  the  wide-awake, 
pushing  men  of  his  day,  and  has  filled 
several  important  positions  in  life.  His 
primary  education  was  received  in  the 
public  schools  of  Carroll  township,  Ottawa 
county,  his  early  boyhood  being  spent  in 
assisting  in  the  care  of  the  farm.  At  the 
age  of  seventeen  years  he  left  the  paren- 
tal abode,  and  started  out  in  life  as  a  sail- 
or, sailing  on  Lakes  Erie  and  Michigan 
for  upward  of  six  years,  experiencing 
many  of  the  hardships  and  dangers  inci- 
dent to  a  sailor's  life.  In  1870,  having 
left  his  vessel,  he  engaged  in  the  fishing 
industry  for  one  year;  then  purchased  a 
farm,  which  he  cultivated  for  about  seven 
years,  after  which  he  sold  it,  and  in  1878 
embarked  in  mercantile  pursuits  at  Locust 
Point,  Ohio,  shortly  afterward  opening  a 
branch  at  Trowbridge,  Ottawa  county. 
In  1883  our  subject  transferred  the  busi- 
ness to  Clarksfield,  Huron  county,  but  re- 
turned to  Locust  Point  one  year  later.  In 
1885,  having  disposed  of  his  mercantile 
business,  and  being  recognized  as  a  man 
of  sound  judgment  and  excellent  business 
qualifications,  Mr.  Sonocrant  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  position  he  so  efficiently 
filled  for  some  ten  years,  and  in  this  in- 
cumbency, as  in  all  his  business  enter- 
prises, he  proved  a  success.  On  June 
26,  1895,  he  leased  the  "Lake  House" 
at  Port  Clinton,  which  he  has  re-modeled 
and  re-fitted.  He  is  a  genial  landlord, 
well  calculated  to  merit  and  hold  a  good 
patronage,  and  is  enjoying  a  fair  trade. 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


449 


Mr.  Sonocrant  was  united  in  marriage 
at  Locust  Point,  July  i6,  iS/r,  with  Miss 
Hetta  Pierson,  a  daughter  of  Alfred  and 
Mary  (Lindley)  Pierson,  natives  of  New 
Jersey,  and  for  many  years  prominent  res- 
idents of  Carroll  township,  Ottawa  coun- 
ty, the  former  of  whom  is  now  deceased 
and  the  latter  is  still  residing  in  that  town- 
ship. To  this  union  have  come  seven 
children,  as  follows:  Ora  M.  and  Cora 
M.  (twins),  born  August  5,  1872,  the  lat- 
ter dying  October  6,  1S76;  Alfred  Byron, 
born  July  20,  1874;  Elsie  L.,  born  April 
2,  1876;  Burgert  H.,  born  September  18, 
1879,  died  June  15,  1884;  Eber  R. ,  born 
August  20,  1881 ;  and  Vida  A.,  born  April 
13,  1884.  Politically  Mr.  Sonocrant  uses 
his  right  of  franchise  in  the  support  of  the 
Democratic  party.  Socially  he  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Oak  Harbor  Lodge  No.  735,  L  O. 
O.  F.,  and  of  the  K.  of  P. 


E 


DWARD  A.  POWERS,  county 
auditor  of  Ottawa  county,  is  num- 
bered among  the  native  sons  of 
Ohio,  his  birth  having  occurred 
in  Woodville,  Sandusky  county,  April  7, 
1861. 

His  father,  Charles  A.  Powers,  was 
born  in  New  York  in  18 19,  and  was  of 
Irish  descent.  He  married  Lydia  A. 
Banks,  who  was  born  in  Ontario,  Canada, 
August  24,  1829,  and  was  descended  from 
English  ancestry  who  settled  in  New  York 
at  an  early  day  in  the  history  of  this  coun- 
try. Coming  to  Ohio,  Charles  A.  Powers 
engaged  in  merchandising  for  many  years, 
carr}ing  on  the  business  in  Woodville  and 
in  Elmore.  In  1869  he  removed  to  Per- 
rysburg,  where  he  retired  from  active 
business  life  and  passed  away  in  July, 
1 87 1.  He  was  numbered  among  the  pio- 
neer settlers  of  Sandusky  county  of  1837; 
was  one  of  its  enterprising  and  successful 
business  men  for  over  thirty  years,  and 
did  much  toward  promoting  its  growth 
and  prosperity.  He  represented  that 
county  in  the    Legislature    in    1859,  and 


honorably  filled  various  positions  of  trust. 
His  widow  now  resides  in  Pawtucket, 
R.  I.,  with  her  younger  son.  Her  mother, 
Mrs.  Warriner,  nee  Banks,  is  also  yet  liv- 
ing at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-six 
years. 

To  Charles  and  Lydia  Powers  were 
born  eight  children,  seven  of  whom  are 
living,  one  having  died  in  infancy:  Helen 
A. ,  wife  of  Gustavus  Jaeger,  a  resident  of 
Elmore;  George  P.,  who  is  residing  in 
Marshalltown,  Iowa;  Charles  A.,  living  at 
Ardniore,  Ind.  Ter. ;  James  F. ,  of  Cali- 
fornia; Edward  A.,  subject  of  this  sketch; 
John  L.,  of  Carroll,  Iowa;  and  William 
H.,  who  is  located  in  Pawtucket,  Rhode 
Island. 

When  Edward  A.  Powers  was  eight 
years  of  age  he  removed  with  the  family 
to  Perrysburg,  where  he  acquired  his  edu- 
cation in  the  public  schools.  Subse- 
quently, in  1876,  he  entered  the  hard- 
ware store  of  Gustavus  Jaeger,  at  El- 
more, as  a  salesman,  and  remained  in 
his  employ  for  two  years,  when,  on  the 
expiration  of  that  period,  he  began  teach- 
ing school.  He  was  employed  for  two 
winter  terms  in  Harris  township,  Ottawa 
county,  and  in  the  summer  continued  to 
work  in  the  hardware  store.  In  1880  he 
bought  out  a  mercantile  establishment  at 
Webb,  Wood  Co.,  Ohio,  and  successfully 
conducted  that  business  until  the  spring 
of  1883,  when  he  removed  to  Genoa, 
where  he  followed  the  same  pursuit.  He 
has  also  erected  a  spacious  elevator  there, 
and  is  engaged  in  the  grain  business  and 
in  stock  buying,  still  retaining  an  interest 
in  the  store.  On  November  6,  1893,  Mr. 
Powers  was  elected  auditor  of  Ottawa 
county,  and  took  possession  of  the  office 
on  September  10,  1894.  He  is  discharg- 
ing his  duties  with  a  promptness  and  fidel- 
ity that  wins  him  high  commendation. 
He  has  also  efficiently  served  as  township 
clerk  for  two  years,  and  was  a  member  of 
the  school  board  some  five  years.  In  his 
political  views  he  is  a  stanch  supporter  of 
the  Democratic  party,  and  takes  a  deep 


450 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


interest  in  everything  that  pertains  to  its 
growth  and  success. 

Mr.  Powers  was  united  in  marriage  in 
Elmore,  Ohio,  on  the  2d  of  May,  1883, 
with  Wilhehiiina  Georgii,  daughter  of 
Otto  and  Frederica  (Jaeger)  Georgii,  and 
a  native  of  Prairie  du  Chien,  Wis.,  born 
in  January,  i860.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Powers 
have  an  interesting  little  family,  number- 
ing the  following  children:  Charles  A., 
born  March  25,  1885;  Helen  Gertrude, 
born  August  2,  1887;  and  Alice  Permelia, 
born  November  7,  1891.  The  family  at- 
tend the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
and  Mr.  Powers  is  a  member  of  Genoa 
Lodge,  No.  433,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  Genoa, 
and  Fort  Meigs  Chapter,  No.  29,  R.  A. 
M.,  of  Toledo.  He  is  also  connected 
with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows of  Genoa.  As  well  as  being  one  of 
Ottawa  county's  most  capable  public 
officers,  he  is  known  as  one  of  the  most 
enterprising  business  men  of  Clay  town- 
ship, and  few,  if  any,  residents  of  that 
township  have  taken  a  more  active  part 
in  its  upbuilding  or  done  more  toward  its 
prosperity  than  Edward  A.  Powers. 


WILLIAM  H.  FRY,  a  well-known 
citizen  and  ex-postmaster  of 
Oak  Harbor,  Ottawa  county, 
was  born  in  Baden,  Germany, 
May,  23,  1848.  His  parents  Andrew  and 
Katherine  (Schlenker)  Fry,  emigrated  to 
America  in  1850,  locating  in  Sandusky 
county,  Ohio,  whore  the  father  engaged 
in  agricultural  pursuits  and  resided  until 
his  death,  which  occurred  in  1858.  The 
mother  was  afterward  married  to  Chisto- 
pher  Lammale,  and  at  present  resides  on 
the  old  homestead  in  Sandusky  county. 
The  family  consisted  of  five  children, 
four  of  whom  still  survive,  viz. :  Rosana, 
wife  of  William  Schrenfeldt,  a  resident  of 
Sandusky  county;  William  H.,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch;  Emma,  wife  of  Simon 
Crane,  of  Hamler,  Henry  Co.,  Ohio; 
Christian,  wife  of  John  Speildiner,  a  resi- 


dent of  Conneaut,   Ashtabula  Co.,  Ohio, 
and  Andrew,  who  died  in  1893. 

William  H.  Fry,  subject  proper  of 
this  sketch,  received  his  early  education 
in  the  public  schools  of  Sandusky  county, 
subsequently  taking  a  course  in  the  Bry- 
ant &  Stratton  Business  College,  of 
Chicago,  on  leaving  which  he  accepted  a 
position  as  clerk  in  a  general  store  at 
Rocky  Ridge,  Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio.  In 
1874  he  entered  into  the  employ  of  H.  H. 
Mylander,  of  Oak  Harbor,  as  salesman, 
and  was  also  with  George  Deel,  of  the 
same  place,  for  one  year,  at  the  expiration 
of  which  time  he  engaged  in  the  grocery 
business  for  himself.  In  1885,  having 
received  the  appointment  of  postmaster 
of  Oak  Harbor,  Mr.  Ery  disposed  of  his 
grocery  store  and  efficiently  filled  the  po- 
sition four  years.  After  his  retirement 
from  official  life,  in  1890,  he  opend  a  res- 
tuarant  at  Oak  Harbor,  which  he  still 
continues  to  carry  on.  Besides  filling  the 
position  of  postmaster,  Mr.  Fry  has  serv- 
ed four  years  as  township  clerk,  also  one 
year  as  corporation  clerk,  and  as  a  serv- 
ant of  the  public  he  has  proved  himself  a 
thorough  business  man,  discharging  his 
various  duties  with  a  painstaking  fidelity 
that  won  for  him  the  respect  and  esteem 
of  the  entire  community  in  which  he  re- 
sides. Our  subject  also  saw  considerable 
service  as  a  soldier  during  the  Civil  war. 
On  December  12,  i863,he  enlisted  in  Com- 
pany D,  Twenty-third O.  V.  I.,  and  with 
his  regiment  participated  in  thirteen  im- 
portant engagements.  At  the  battle  of 
Winchester,  Va.,  he  was  wounded  and 
taken  prisoner  by  the  Confederates,  and 
for  seven  months  was  confined  a  prisoner 
in  Danville,  Lynchburg  and  Libby  pris- 
ons; after  being  paroled  from  the  latter 
prison  he  received  his  discharge  at  Camp 
Chase,  Columbus,  Ohio,  June  20,  1865, 
on  account  of  disability,  and  returned 
home.  Mr.  Fry  is  a  member  of  the  G. 
A.  R.,  George  Field  Post  No.  195,  Oak 
Harbor. 

On   June  20,    1878,   our  subject  was 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


451 


united  in  marriage  at  Oak  Harbor,  with 
Miss  Alice  Deel,  a  daughter  of  George 
and  JuHa  M.  (Koch)  Deel,  and  to  this 
union  were  born  five  children,  all  of  whom 
survive,  viz. :  William,  Mildred,  Roland, 
Ursie  and  Erma.  In  his  political  views 
Mr.  Fry  is  a  stanch  Democrat;  socially 
he  is  a  member  of  Oak  Harbor  Lodge 
No.  495,  F.  &  A.  M.  The  family  are 
members  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 


GEORGE  O.  MOMENY,  retired 
merchant  and  hotel-keeper  of  Oak 
Harbor,  Ottawa  county,  whose 
parents  ranked  among  the  promi- 
nent pioneers  of  Sandusky  county,  Ohio, 
and  who  himself  is  a  native  as  well  as 
one  of  the  oldest  living  residents  of  the 
section  of  the  State  to  which  this  volume 
is  devoted,  first  saw  the  light  of  day  in 
Fremont,  October  24,  1822. 

Joseph  Momeny,  father  of  our  subject, 
is  a  native  of  Canada,  while  the  mother, 
who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Catherine 
Gonia,  was  born  in  Monroe,  Mich.,  and 
both  were  of  French  descent.  The  for- 
mer served  as  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812, 
and  was  sent  by  Gen.  Harrison  with  dis- 
patches to  Gallipolis,  on  the  Ohio  river. 
On  the  close  of  the  war  he  took  his  fam- 
ily and,  accompanied  by  a  neighboring 
family  of  the  name  of  Beaugrant,  made 
his  way  across  the  country  with  one  horse 
from  Monroe,  Mich.,  to  Ohio.  They  left 
on  account  of  the  Indian  ravages.  He 
was  well  known  and  on  friendly  terms 
with  the  Indians,  however,  and  therefore 
his  party  was  not  molested,  though  they 
witnessed  the  death  of  several  other  set- 
tlers at  the  hands  of  the  savages.  The 
party  landed  at  Presque  Isle,  at  the  head 
of  Maumee  Bay,  and  continued  their 
journey  to  the  mouth  of  the  Huron  river, 
where  they  remained  until  the  winter  of 
181 3.  The  following  spring  they  pro- 
ceeded on  their  way  to  Sandusky  county, 
and  located  where  now  stands  the  city  of 
Fremont,  but  at  that  time  the  site  was  an 


unbroken  wilderness.  Joseph  Momeny 
worked  at  the  baker's  trade,  and  contin- 
ued his  residence  in  this  section  of  the 
State  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  1837.  His  faithful  wife 
passed  away  in  1834.  They  had  a  family 
of  eight  children,  of  whom  George  O.  is 
the  only  one  now  living. 

Our  subject's  boyhood  days  were 
passed  in  Sandusky  county  amidst  the 
wild  scenes  of  pioneer  life,  and  with  the 
family  he  shared  in  many  hardships  and 
dangers  of  which  the  present  generation 
have  little  realization.  Like  other  chil- 
dren of  pioneer  parents,  he  received  very 
limited  educational  privileges,  pursuing 
his  studies  in  an  old  log  schoolhouse  with 
half  barrels  for  seats.  The  strictest  dis- 
cipline was  maintained  by  a  stern  school- 
master, who  believed  that  "to  spare  the 
rod  is  to  spoil  the  child."  In  early  life 
Mr.  Momeny  was  initiated  into  farm  labor, 
and  became  familiar  with  the  arduous 
task  of  developing  wild  land  that  had 
hitherto  been  untouched  by  the  plow. 
Subsequently  he  entered  upon  a  clerkship 
in  a  general  store,  but  his  labors  were  in- 
terrupted in  1846  by  his  enlistment  in 
the  United  States  army.  He  was  assigned 
to  Company  C,  Fifteenth  Regiment,  com- 
manded by  Capt.  James  A.  Jones,  of  Nor- 
walk,  Ohio,  and  Col.  George  W.  Morgan. 
He  served  for  one  year,  and  September 
13,  1846,  was  so  severely  wounded  in  the 
left  arm  as  to  necessitate  the  amputation 
of  that  member  at  the  shoulder.  In  con- 
sequence he  was  detained  in  the  hospital 
for  nine  months,  and  on  becoming  con- 
valescent was  discharged  in  the  City  of 
Me.vico,  whereupon  he  returned  to  his 
home  in  Fremont,  Ohio. 

During  the  succeeding  five  years  Mr. 
Momeny  was  a  tollgate-keeper  on  the 
Western  Reserve  and  Maumee  road,  and 
in  1852  was  appointed  lighthouse-keeper 
at  Port  Clinton,  efficiently  filling  that  po- 
sition for  three  years.  In  1855  he  em- 
barked in  general  merchandise  there,  car- 
rying on  his  store  until    1858,   when  he 


452 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


emigrated  westward,  locating  in  Hanni- 
bal, Mo.,  where  he  was  again  engaged  in 
general  merchandising  for  three  years. 
In  1861  he  returned  to  Port  Clinton,  and 
re-engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  for  a 
year,  when  he  removed  to  the  country, 
and  devoted  his  time  and  energies  to  pur- 
chasing furs.  His  residence  in  Oak  Har- 
bor dates  from  1866,  and  for  seven  years 
he  was  proprietor  of  a  hotel  and  grocery 
store.  Since  1873  he  has  been  engaged 
in  fruit  growing,  but  is  now  practically 
living  retired. 

Mr.  Momeny  has  been  twice  married. 
He  first  wedded  Miss  Angeline  Guj-ett, 
but  afterward  separated,  and  later  he  was 
married  at  Oak  Harbor,  in  February, 
1866,  to  Miss  Hester  La  Jenness,  who 
was  born  in  Monroe,  Mich.,  January  14, 
1856,  a  daughter  of  Henry  L.  and  Delia 
La  Jenness,  residents  of  that  place  and 
natives  of  Canada.  Three  children  have 
been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Momeny: 
George  H.,  born  September  22,  1878; 
Mary  Louise,  born  January  6,  1880;  and 
Alverretta,  born  November  26,  1890. 
Mrs.  Momeny  and  the  family  attend  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church.  In  his  political 
views  Mr.  Momeny  is  a  stalwart  advocate 
of  the  Democracy,  and  has  served  as  a 
member  of  the  town  council  of  Oak  Har- 
bor, and  for  four  years  was  a  member  of 
the  school  board,  acting  for  three  years  as 
its  president.  His  fellow  townsmen  rec- 
ognize in  him  a  citizen  who  is  devoted  to 
the  welfare  of  Oak  Harbor,  and  who  in 
all  possible  ways  will  promote  its  inter- 
ests. His  career  has  been  that  of  an 
honorable,  straightforward  business  man, 
and  no  one  is  more  worthy  of  the  esteem 
in  which  he  is  held  than  is  George  O. 
Momeny. 


GUY  P.  RAFFERTY,  an  enterpris- 
ing citizen  and  successful  manu- 
facturer, of  Oak  Harbor,  Ottawa 
county,    was    born    at    Easton, 
Northampton  Co.,  Penn.,  September  16, 


1846,  to  Michael  and  Margaret  (Clem- 
men)  Rafferty,  the  former  of  whom  was  a 
native  of  New  York,  the  latter  of  Schuyl- 
kill county,  Penn.  The  family  consisted 
of  twelve  children— three  deceased  and 
nine  yet  living — namely:  John,  Mary 
(Mrs.  Peter  Magee)  and  Sarah,  all  three 
deceased;  and  Hannah  E.  (wife  of  T.  A. 
Hineline),  residing  in  Sandusky  county, 
Ohio;  Feli.x,  a  prosperous  farmer  of  near 
Fremont,  Sandusky  county;  Jacob  F.,  of 
Easton,  Penn. ;  Margaret  (Mrs.  George 
Brown),  of  Fremont;  Ellen  (wife  of  S.  B. 
Snyder),  also  of  Fremont;  Michael  H., 
residing  in  Creighton,  Knox  Co.,  Neb.; 
Guy  P.,  the  subject  proper  of  this  sketch; 
James  A. .residing  in  Fremont;  and  Mary, 
wife  of  Alfred  Stierwalt,  a  prosperous  ag- 
riculturist of  Sandusky  county.  The 
parents  have  both  long  since  passed  away, 
each  at  a  good  old  age,  and  are  now 
peacefully  awaiting  the  resurrection  morn. 
Guy  P.  Rafferty,  whose  name  intro- 
duces this  sketch,  remained  at  home  with 
his  parents  for  the  first  eight  years  of  his 
life,  then  going  to  live  with  his  sister  in 
Ohio,  near  Fremont,  and  remaining  with 
her  until  the  age  of  fifteen  years,  when 
he  returned  to  his  old  home  at  Easton, 
Penn.  His  primary  education  was  re- 
ceived in  the  public  schools  of  Fremont, 
to  which  place  his  parents  removed  in 
1863,  and  after  leaving  school  he  appren- 
ticed himself  to  the  trade  of  stone  and 
brick  mason.  On  finishing  his  term  of 
apprenticeship  Mr.  Rafferty  started  out  in 
life  as  a  builder  and  contractor,  in  Sandusky 
and  Ottawa  counties,  and  being  a  thorough 
business  man,  well  acquainted  with  all  the 
minute  details  of  his  trade,  he  proved  very 
successful.  In  1879  he  moved  to  Oak 
Harbor,  and  engaged  extensively  in  the 
manufacture  of  brick  and  tile,  and  has 
since  been  an  honored  and  respected  resi- 
dent of  that  town.  In  1880  he  was  elect- 
ed a  justice  of  the  peace,  which  office  he 
still  continues  to  fill  in  an  efficient  man- 
ner; he  is  also  president  of  the  board  of 
education,  and  has  served  two  terms  as  a 


COMMEMORATIVE  BTOOBAPHICAL  RECORD. 


453 


member  of  the  Oak  Harbor  council.  Mr. 
Rafferty  has  made  a  complete  success  as 
a  business  man,  and  fully  merits  the  re- 
spect and  good  opinion  of  his  fellow  citi- 
zens. 

On  March  25,  1879,  our  subject  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Auzurella  J. 
Yates,  born  at  Green  Spring,  Seneca 
Co.,  Ohio,  May  28,  1857,  a  daughter  of 
Dr.  Porter  and  Mary  L.  (Williams)  Yates. 
This  union  has  not  been  blessed  with  any 
children,  but  they  have  an  adopted  son, 
named  Bert  Yates  Rafferty.  In  his  polit- 
ical views  Mr.  Rafferty  is  an  ardent  sup- 
porter of  the  Democratic  party.  Socially 
he  is  a  member  of  Oak  Harbor  Lodge  No. 
516,  K.  of  P.  Mrs.  Rafferty  is  a  member 
of  the  Disciple  Church,  and  of  Rathbone 
Sisters,  Portage  Temple. 

Dr.  Porter  Yates,  a  retired  physician, 
father  of  Mrs.  Guy  P.  Rafferty,  now  re- 
siding with  his  son-in-law  at  Oak  Harbor, 
was  born  in  Hartwick,  Otsego  Co.,  N.  Y. , 
February  18,  181 8,  to  George  and  Eliza- 
beth (Harrington)  Yates,  both  natives  of 
New  York  State.  Dr.  Yates'  boyhood 
days  were  spent  in  New  York  State, 
where  he  received  his  preliminary 
education;  subsequently  he  commenced 
the  study  of  medicine  and  surgery 
under  the  preceptorship  of  Dr.  S.  Brow- 
nell,  a  medical  practitioner  of  Butter- 
nuts township,  Otsego  Co.,  N.  Y. ,  with 
whom  he  remained  three  years,  at  the  ex- 
piration of  that  time  removing  to  Chautau- 
qua county,  N.  Y. ,  where  he  continued 
his  studies  for  about  two  j'ears  with  Dr. 
Ellsworth,  teaching  school  during  the 
winter  months.  In  1850  Dr.  Yates  en- 
tered the  Medical  College  at  Cleveland, 
and  on  graduating  from  that  institution 
commenced  practice  in  Green  Spring, 
Seneca  Co.,  Ohio.  In  1862  he  enlisted 
in  the  United  States  army  as  surgeon,  and 
was  assigned  to  hospital  service  at  Brand's 
Hospital,  in  Farmington,  Tenn.  Besides 
attending  to  his  hospital  duties,  he  also 
served  as  surgeon  to  the  One  Hundred 
and  Twenty-fifth  and  One  Hundred  and 


Twenty-eighth  Regiments,  O.  V.  I.,  his 
duties  being  very  arduous.  In  July,  1865, 
he  was  mustered  out  at  Columbus,  Ohio, 
and  on  receiving  his  discharge  proceeded 
to  Port  Clinton,  Ottawa  county,  where 
he  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion and  was  a  resident  of  that  town  until 
1875,  in  which  year  he  removed  to  Green 
Spring,  Ohio.  In  1882  Dr.  Yates  be- 
came a  resident  of  Oak  Harbor,  and  has 
since  lived  a  comparatively  retired  life,  his 
health  having  been  seriously  impaired 
during  his  service  in  the  army. 

Dr.  Yates  was  united  in  marriage,  at 
Clymer,  Chautauqua  Co.,  N.  Y. ,  June  8, 
1847,  with  Miss  Mary  L.  Williams,  a 
daughter  of  Alva  and  Silva  Williams,  and 
to  their  union  came  four  children,  viz.: 
Florence,  born  October  6,  1848,  at 
Wattsburg,  Erie  Co.,  Penn.,  died  at 
Benton,  Ohio,  June  i,  1850;  Everett  E., 
born  at  Benton,  October  23,  1850,  died 
at  Toledo,  Ohio,  February  19,  1875; 
Auzurella  J.,  born  at  Green  Spring,  Ohio, 
May  28,  1857,  wife  of  Guy  P.  Rafferty; 
Edward  Van  Ness,  born  at  Green  Spring, 
June  21,  1859,  residmg  in  Sandusky, 
Ohio.  Mrs.  Yates  passed  away  at  Green 
Spring,  November  24,  1882.  Dr.  Yates 
is  a  member  of  George  Field  Post,  No. 
168,  G.  A.  R.,  at  Oak  Harbor,  is  affili- 
ated with  the  Masonic  Fraternity,  and 
was  a  member  of  Monticello  Lodge,  at 
Clyde,  Ohio,  but  is  not  now  connected 
with  any  lodge.  In  recognition  of  his 
valuable  services  rendered,  his  name  has 
been  inscribed  on  the  monument  erected 
at  Cleveland  to  the  heroes  of  the  war. 


WILLIAM  G.  WINSTONE  is  a 
practical  and  prominent  farmer 
and  fruit  grower  of  Portage 
township,  Ottawa  county,  liv- 
ing on  the  lake  shore  road.  A  native  of 
England,  he  was  born  in  Warwickshire, 
May  12,  181 1,  and  is  a  son  of  William 
and  Fannie  Winstone,  who  were  natives 
of  the   same    country.      In    their    family 


454 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


were  fourteen  children,  our  subject  being 
the  only  one  to  come  to  this  country. 
He  received  no  school  privileges,  for  at 
the  early  age  of  seven  years  he  began  to 
earn  his  own  living;  but  he  was  endowed 
by  nature  with  a  bright  mind,  and,  culti- 
vating powers  of  observation  and  reten- 
tive memory,  he  has  learned  in  the  school 
of  experience  lessons  which  have  made 
him  a  well-informed  man.  Through 
much  of  his  life  he  has  followed  bridge 
and  railroad  building. 

The  year  1850  witnessed  his  emigra- 
tion to  America,  and  he  soon  located  in 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  whence  in  December, 
of  the  same  year,  he  came  to  Portage 
township,  where  he  has  since  resided, 
while  to-daj"  he  ranks  among  the  oldest 
and  most  respected  citizens  of  Ottawa 
county.  He  has  been  twice  married,  his 
first  union  being  with  Mary  Kelig  and  the 
wedding  celebrated  at  Stratford-on-Avon 
in  1843.  They  became  the  parents  of 
three  children,  of  whom  two  survive, 
namely:  Stephen,  a  resident  of  Lorain, 
Ohio;  and  Lucy  Ruth,  wife  of  John 
French,  who  is  living  in  McMinnville, 
Tenn.  The  mother  of  these  was  called 
from  earth  in  1859,  and  in  1861  Mr. 
Winstone  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Mrs.  Fannie  Russell,  widow  of  Reuben 
Russell.  Again  Mr.  Winstone  was  de- 
prived by  death  of  his  wife,  this  lady 
dying  May  12,  1886.  By  her  first  hus- 
band she  had  four  children,  of  whom 
George,  a  resident  of  Toledo,  Ohio,  is  the 
only  survivor;  the  others  were  Mrs.  Jane 
McAlby  and  James,  who  died  January  3, 
1876,  leaving  a  widow  and  si.\  children, 
two  of  whom — Clara  and  Bert — reside 
with  Mr.  Winstone;  some  years  later 
their  mother  became  the  wife  of  Anthony 
Lafer,  and  now  resides  in  Sandusky  City. 
Her  other  children  were  George,  of  San- 
dusky county,  Ohio;  Alice,  wife  of  Ora 
Golden,  a  resident  of  Martin's  Point,  Erie 
Co.,  Ohio;  Fannie,  wife  of  Phineas  Dun- 
ham, of  Sandusky  City;  and  Nellie,  wife 
of  Theodore  Schrader,  of  Vickery,  Ohio. 


In  his  political  views  Mr.  Winstone 
has  been  a  faithful  supporter  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  and  in  his  religious  principles 
he  is  an  adherent  of  the  Universalist 
Church.  He  is  public  spirited  and  enter- 
prising, and  readily  endorses  an}'  project 
calculated  to  stimulate  the  development 
and  prosperity  of  the  township  and 
count}'.  He  is  a  kind-hearted  man,  ex- 
pressing his  generous  nature  in  kindliness 
to  his  friends  and  in  substantial  assistance 
to  the  needy.  In  all  the  relations  of  life 
he  has  been  trustworthy,  constant  and 
honest,  and  his  habits  of  industry  and 
application  have  enabled  him  to  secure  a 
handsome  and  comfortable  home  in  which 
to  spend  his  declining  years,  while  a  com- 
petence surrounds  him  with  the  neces- 
saries and  many  of  the  luxuries  of  life. 
His  home  is  ably  presided  over  by  his 
granddaughter,  Clara  Russell.  Prompt 
and  decisive  in  action,  practical  and 
steadfast  in  purpose,  industrious  and 
painstaking,  he  is  a  man  of  judgment  and 
probity,  held  in  the  highest  esteem  by  a 
large  circle  of  friends  and  acquaintances. 


DH.  BITTINGER,  proprietor  of  a 
steam  sawmill  and  stave  factory, 
at  Woodville,  Sandusky  county, 
was  born  January  4,  1849,  in 
Ashland  county,  Ohio,  son  of  George  and 
Mary  (Kidwell)  Bittinger. 

George  Bittinger  was  born  February 
10,  1 80S,  in  Franklin  county,  Penn.,  and 
came  with  his  father,  Daniel  Bittinger,  to 
Ashland  county,  where  the  family  settled, 
the  father  following  farming  and  weaving. 
Here  both  parents  died,  the  mother  at 
the  age  of  eighty,  the  father  at  the  age  of 
sixty-six.  Their  children  were:  SusAn, 
Catharine  Polly,  Betsey,  Barbara,  Sarah, 
Daniel  and  George.  George  Bittinger 
was  reared  in  Franklin  county,  Penn., 
and  remained  at  home  up  to  the  age  of 
eighteen.  He  became  a  farmer,  and  sell- 
ing out  his  interests  in  Ashland  county 
moved  to  Richland  county,   Ohio,  where 


Q)  ^  ^^^  ^^Zi 


id 


COMMEyfORATIVE  BTOORAPffTCAL  RECORD. 


455 


he  died  in  1894.  He  was  a  Democrat 
politically,  and  he  and  his  wife  were 
members  of  the  Evanj^elical  Lutheran 
Church.  She  is  still  living,  at  Mansfield, 
at  the  age  of  eighty-five.  They  had  nine 
children:  James,  who  lives  in  Richland 
county,  Ohio;  George,  who  lives  in  Huron 
county;  Margaret,  deceased  wife  of  Sam- 
uel Steel,  of  Tiffin,  Ohio;  Ellen,  now  re- 
siding at  Mansfield,  Ohio,  who  married 
for  her  first  husband  E.  C.  Walker  (who 
lived  in  Ottawa  county),  and  for  her  second 
wedded  Daniel  Black;  Hettic  Ann,  mar- 
ried to  I.  P.  Walker,  who  lives  at  Mans- 
field; Mary  Jane,  who  married  George 
Steele,  of  Mansfield;  Hattie  Alice,  de- 
ceased wife  of  I.  P.  Walker,  who  after- 
ward married  her  sister,  Hettie  Ann;  D. 
H.,  our  subject;  and  John  L. ,  of  Bowling 
Green,  Wood  county.  The  mother's  peo- 
ple were  from  Virginia,  of  English  de- 
scent. 

D.  H.  Bittinger  was  reared  in  Ashland 
county  to  the  age  of  nine  years,  when  he 
removed  to  Richland  county,  there  work- 
ing on  a  farm  and  at  the  carpenter's  and 
cooper's  trades,  having  early  manifested 
a  peculiar  aptitude  for  mechanical  work. 
On  January  7,  1869,  he  married  Miss 
Sarah  C.  Low,  who  was  born  in  Ashland 
county  November  16,  1849,  and  they 
have  six  children  living,  viz. :  Otis  E. 
(at  home),  Ella  Urettah,  Mary  Christina, 
George  McClellan,  Flora  Bell  and  Daniel 
Cleveland.  After  working  as  a  carpenter 
at  Mansfield  a  few  years  Mr.  Bittinger 
came,  in  1872,  to  Sandusky  county,  and 
worked  the  first  four  years  as  journey- 
man. He  then  embarked  in  the  cooper- 
ing business,  which  he  has  followed  al- 
most exclusively  for  fifteen  years,  manu- 
facturing, from  the  rough  logs,  flour,  lime 
and  meat  barrels,  etc.,  which  he  sells  to 
W.  H.  Bruns  and  H.  Rancamp.  He  does 
cooper  work,  head  sawing,  making  vats, 
and  in  fact  all  kinds  of  work  in  that  line, 
employing  from  fifteen  to  twenty  men. 
He  is  also  carrying  on  an  extensive  and 
constantly    increasing    lumber    business. 

29 


He  is  a  Democrat,  politically,  and  a 
member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  He  was 
elected  mayor  of  the  village,  but  resigned 
on  account  of  ill  health. 

ISfrs.  Bittinger  is  a  daughter  of  Samuel 
and  Christina  (Deeter)  Low,  and  was 
born  in  Ashland  county,  of  which  her 
maternal  grandparents  were  pioneers;  her 
paternal  grandparents  were  pioneers  of 
Richland  county.  Samuel  Low  died 
when  his  daughter  Sarah  (Mrs.  Bittinger) 
was  a  child;  Aiis.  Low  is  still  living,  in 
Ashland  county,  Ohio.  They  were  the 
parents  of  two  children — Sarah  C.  (Mrs. 
D.  H.  Bittinger)  and  Mary  Elizabeth 
(wife  of  John  Bittinger,  of  Wood  county, 
who  is  a  brother  of  our  subject).  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  D.  H.  Bittinger  have  a  fine 
home  in  Woodville,  in  which  community 
they  are  highly  respected,  and  Mr.  Bit- 
tinger is  one  of  the  influential  men  of  the 
village  in  wH^h  he  lives. 


JACOB  BURGNER.  The  ancestor 
from  whom  sprang  the  Burgner 
families  in  America,  with  which  our 
subject  is  connected,  was  a  native  of 
Switzerland,  who  lived  near  one  of  its 
beautiful  lakes,  in  view  of  the  snow- 
capped mountains,  breathed  the  pure  air 
of  liberty,  and  in  early  manh(jod  sought 
his  fortunes  in  the  New  World. 

In  the  year  1742  three  brothers — 
David,  Christopher  and  Peter  Burgner — 
carpenters  by  trade,  emigrated  from  the 
vicinity  of  Berne,  Switzerland,  and  after 
a  long  sea  voyage  on  the  brigantine 
"Mary,"  from  Rotterdam,  landed  in 
Philadelphia,  and  settled  in  Lancaster 
county,  Penn.  Peter,  the  youngest,  and 
the  ancestor  above  referred  to,  was  then 
about  twenty-three  years  old.  They  each 
brought  from  the  Fatherland  a  large  Ger- 
man Bible,  printed  at  P'rankfort-on-the- 
Main,  1574,  in  which  they  kept  brief 
family  records.  Peter's  Bible  has  de- 
scended by  inheritance  to  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  and   is  still,   1895,  in   a  good 


456 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


state  of  preservation.  It  may  be  seen  in 
a  glass  case  in  Birchard  Library,  Fre- 
mont, Ohio.  About  the  year  1759  Peter 
Burgner  married  Salome  Burkhardt,  and 
established  a  permanent  home  in  Lan- 
caster county.  Their  children  were  David, 
Elizabeth,  Mary  and  Jacob.  For  many 
years  he  lived  in  a  log  house,  the  roof  of 
which  was  thatched  with  straw.  His  oc- 
cupation was  that  of  building  houses  and 
bank  barns  after  Swiss  models. 

Jacob  Burgner,  grandfather  of  our 
subject,  was  born  in  1769,  and  first 
learned  the  trade  of  carpenter.  About 
the  year  1800  he  married  Mary  Conrad, 
and  they  lived  in  Cocalico  township,  Lan- 
caster Co.,  Penn.,  where  he  learned  the 
trade  of  blacksmith,  and  procured  his  sup- 
plies of  iron  from  Valley  Forge.  In  the 
spring  of  1806  he  moved  to  Franklin 
count}',  Pcnn.,  where  he  kept  a  black- 
smith shop  on  the  public  road,  near  what 
is  now  the  Richmond  Furnace  railroad 
station.  In  1812  he  removed  to  Stark 
county,  Ohio,  west  of  Massillon,  and  a 
year  later  settled  in  F"ranklin  township, 
now  a  part  of  Summit  count}',  on  a  tract 
of  320  acres  of  government  land,  where 
he  followed  blacksmithing  and  farming 
the  rest  of  his  life.  His  death  occurred 
January  7,  1S44,  when  he  was  seventy- 
five  years  of  age;  his  wife  died  in  1843, 
aged  sixty-four.  Their  children  were 
Salome,  Peter,  John,  Jacob,  David,  Sam- 
uel, George,  Elizabeth,  Anna,  Daniel  and 
Mary,  all  of  whom  but  two  became  heads 
of  families,  and  all  are  now  (1895)  dead 
except  Daniel,  who  is  a  farmer,  near 
Falls  City,  Nebraska. 

Peter  Burgner,  father  of  our  subject, 
was  born  in  Lancaster  county,  Penn.,  in 
1803,  came  with  his  father's  family  to 
Ohio  in  181 2,  and  grew  to  manhood  in 
the  vicinity  of  Clinton,  Summit  county, 
following  farming,  and  working  several 
years  in  the  construction  of  the  Ohio  and 
Erie  canal.  In  1830  he  married  Miss 
Catharine  Hollinger,  daughter  of  Jacob 
IloUinger,  and  for  a  short  time  operated 


a  sawmill  near  Clinton.  In  1831  he  moved 
to  the  "Oak  Openings,"  in  Thompson 
township,  Seneca  county,  Ohio,  and  set- 
tled upon  a  farm  of  160  acres,  four  miles 
southwest  of  Bellevue.  Here  he  cleared 
away  the  forest  and  raised  heavy  crops  of 
grain  and  grass.  He  had  been  accustom- 
ed to  plow  among  stumps  with  ox-teams 
and  cut  grain  with  a  hand  sickle,  but  was 
among  the  first  to  use  improved  methods 
and  implements.  In  1844  his  wife  and  in- 
fant son  died,  leaving  him  with  a  family 
of  six  children:  Jacob  (our  subject), 
David,  Samuel  H.,  Joseph  H.,  Mary  and 
Elizabeth,  of  whom  only  the  eldest  son 
and  the  two  daughters  are  now  living. 
Three  years  later  he  married  Miss  Sarah 
Schoch,  with  whom  he  lived  seven  years; 
there  were  no  children  by  this  union.  In 
August,  1854,  the  second  son  and  second 
wife  died  of  cholera.  In  April,  1862,  he 
married  Miss  Sarah  Decker,  sold  his  farm 
and  bought  another  adjoining  hers  and 
her  mother's,  about  one  mile  south  of  his 
old  home.  Here  the  three  lived  together 
about  thirteen  years.  His  wife  died  in 
January,  1875,  and  he  soon  after  sold  his 
farm  and  went  to  live  in  the  family  of  his 
daughter  Mary,  wife  of  Henry  Biechler, 
at  York  Center,  Sandusky  county.  He 
died  January  16,  1878,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-five.  He  had  been  a  member  of 
the  Christian  Church  at  York  Center 
about  forty  years.  His  third  son.  Dr. 
Samuel  H.  Burgner,  of  Bellevue,  Ohio, 
was  a  graduate  of  Jefferson  Medical  Col- 
lege, Philadelphia,  Penn. ;  he  died  in  1 866, 
leaving  a  daughter,  OrielleE.,  an  orphan, 
who  was  reared  in  the  family  of  her  uncle, 
Jacob  Burgner;  she  attended  the  Fremont 
High  School,  graduated  from  Obcrlin 
College  in  1883,  taught  school  two  years 
in  Chicago,  111.,  and  a  year  and  a  half 
in  the  Obcrlin  public  schools.  She  mar- 
ried in  1888  Mr.  S.  M.  McKee,  of  Grand 
Rapids,  Mich.,  and  now  lives  on  a  large 
farm  near  Portland,  Mich.  Mr.  Burg- 
ner's  fourth  son,  Joseph,  who  was  a 
teacher,  died   unmarried  at   the  Burgner 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


457 


homestead  in  1862.  The  youngest  daugh- 
ter, Elizabeth,  wife  of  Joseph  Maurer,  a 
farmer,  lives  near  Monticello,  White  Co., 
Indiana. 

Jacob  Burgner,  teacher  and  steno- 
grapher, Fremont,  Ohio,  was  born  in 
Thompson  township,  Seneca  Co.,  Ohio, 
November  5,  1833.  He  grew  up  to  hard 
work  on  his  father's  farm  and  attended 
the  pioneer  district  schools.  At  the  age 
of  seventeen  he  began  to  teach  country 
schools  in  the  winter  seasons  in  his  own 
township.  Between  the  years  1852  and 
1859  he  attended  several  teachers' insti- 
tutes, four  terms  of  school  at  the  Seneca 
County  Academy,  under  Prof.  Aaron 
Schuyler,  the  mathematician,  and  four 
years  at  Otterbein  University,  Wester- 
ville,  Ohio,  from  which  latter  institution 
he  graduated  with  the  title  of  B.  S.,  in 
June,  1859.  He  paid  nearly  all  his  ex- 
penses while  at  school  by  his  own  earn- 
ings. On  September  8,  1859,  he  was 
married,  near  Flat  Rock,  Ohio,  to  Miss 
Rebecca  M.  Miller,  daughter  of  Isaac 
Miller,  then  living  at  Tuscola,  Mich. 
During  the  following  school  year  he 
taught  the  East  Grammar  School  at  Fre- 
mont, Ohio,  and  the  ne.xt  year  taught  the 
Maumee  Grammar  School  under  J.  W. 
Hiett,  superintendent.  Returning  to 
Fremont  he  taught  the  Fremont  High 
School  one  year  under  Rev.  E.  Bushnell 
(now  of  Adelbert  College),  superinten- 
dent, and  he  next  served  as  superintend- 
ent of  the  Port  Clinton  and  Green  Spring 
Union  schools. 

In  the  fall  of  i  862  Mr.  Burgner  bought 
a  farm  of  fifty  acres  three  miles  southeast 
of  Fremont,  where  for  health  and  profit 
he  followed  farming  in  the  summer, 
teaching  country  school  in  the  winter 
seasons  for  twenty  years.  In  the  spring 
of  1864  he  enlisted  in  Company  H,  One 
Hundred  and  Sixty-ninth  Regiment  O. 
\.  I.,  and  served  about  four  months  as  a 
soldier,  at  Fort  Ethan  Allen,  Va.  He 
was  afterward  elected  justice  of  the  peace 
of  Ballville  township,  which  office  he  held 


six  years.  Having  learned  phonography, 
in  1853,  at  Seneca  County  Academy,  and 
kept  in  practice,  he  now  found  it  conven- 
ient to  furnish  verbatim  reports  of  public 
assemblies  for  the  county  papers,  and  of 
legal  testimony  for  the  court  and  bar  of 
Sandusky  county,  during  the  intervals 
that  could  be  spared  from  farm  work.  A 
mere  enumeration  of  his  voluminous  work 
in  this  line  during  the  last  forty  years 
would  be  tedious.  In  the  spring  of  1885 
he  reported  the  proceedings  of  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  of  the  United  Brethren 
Church,  at  Fostoria,  Ohio,  when  that 
Church  was  rent  in  twain  on  the  ciuestion 
of  granting  Church  membership  to  per- 
sons who  belonged  to  secret  societies. 
He  had  been  a  member  of  that  Church 
for  thirty-six  years,  and  was  a  decided 
"  liberal." 

In  the  fall  of  1885  Mr.  Burgner's 
family,  at  the  urgent  solicitation  of  his 
niece,  Orielle,  removed  to  Oberlin.  Ohio, 
for  educational  purposes,  leaving  him 
alone  on  the  farm.  After  finishing  up 
his  farm  work,  a  few  months  later,  he 
sold  his  live  stock  and  farm  produce, 
rented  his  farm  to  a  neighbor  and  joined 
his  family  at  Oberlin.  Here,  in  ill  health 
and  under  many  perplexing  difficulties,  he 
spent  four  busy  years  in  writing  the  His- 
tory and  Genealogy  of  the  Burgner 
Family  in  America,  a  book  of  200  pages, 
containing  1,500  personal  names,  and 
illustrated  with  portraits  and  family  trees. 
The  work  was  copyrighted  and  published 
in  1890,  and  found  a  ready  sale  among 
relatives.  Not  finding  enough  to  do  in 
the  line  of  shorthand  and  typewriting  to 
occupy  all  his  time  in  Oberlin,  Mr.  Burg- 
ner changed  his  place  of  business  back  to 
F"remont,  Ohio,  his  family  remaining  in 
Oberlin.  During  the  past  year  he  has 
assisted  in  preparing  sketches  for  this 
volume.  Mr.  Burgner  is  a  charter  mem- 
ber of  Manville  Moore  Post,  G.  A.  R., 
secretary  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Sixty- 
ninth  O.  V.  I.  Regimental  Association, 
stenographer  and    assistant  secretary   of 


458 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


the  Sandusky  County  Pioneer  and  His- 
torical Society,  and  a  teacher  of  short- 
hand and  typewriting  in  Odd  Fellows' 
Block,  Front  street,  Fremont.  He  and 
family  are  members  of  the  Second  Con- 
gregational Church,  Oberlin.  In  politics 
he  has  always  been  a  Republican. 

The  children  of  Jacob  and  Rebecca 
M.  Burgner  were  Mary  Alice,  who  died 
in  infancy;  Sarah  Katharine,  now  teaching 
her  fifth  year  in  the  Oberlin  public  schools; 
Linnaeus  Peter,  student  at  the  State 
University,  Minneapolis,  Minn. ;  and 
Louis  Elvero,  a  student  at  Oberlin  Col- 
lege. 


ISAAC  MILLER.  In  writing  sketches 
of  the  pioneer  farmers  of  the  Black 
Swamp  it  has  been  the  usual   custom 

to  select  those  who  have  made  a 
financial  success  in  life,  and  who  have 
lived  to  reap  the  rewards  of  their  toil  in 
rich  farms,  fine  residences  and  large  bank 
accounts.  Yet  it  is  not  always  the 
bravest  soldiers  who  survive  a  battle  and 
return  to  tell  of  the  victory  won.  In  the 
battles  of  life  many  brave  boys  must  fall 
through  no  fault  of  their  own;  so  also  it 
is  a  well-known  fact  that  many  honest, 
hard-working,  persevering,  intelligent  pio- 
neers, after  an  heroic  struggle  against  ad- 
verse circumstances,  were  obliged  to  give 
up  their  farms,  abandon  their  plans  for 
the  acquisition  of  wealth,  and  in  poverty 
and  comparative  obscurity  seek  the  higher 
and  nobler  consolations  of  Christianity. 
As  a  man  of  noble  character  and  kind 
disposition,  one  who  was  universally  es- 
teemed, who  bore  the  reverses  of  fortune 
with  manly  fortitude,  and  tried  by  pre- 
cept and  example  to  make  the  world  bet- 
ter for  his  having  lived  in  it,  we  give  place 
to  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

Isaac  Miller,  farmer  and  carpenter, 
was  born  in  Schuylkill  county,  Penn., 
April  1 6,  1806,  son  of  Jacob  and  Mar- 
garet (Moser)  Miller.    His  paternal  grand- 


father, John  Miller,  who  was  an  English- 
man, married  a  Miss  Bauman,  and  their 
children  were  Jacob,  Christian,  Henry, 
Mrs.  J.  Shafer  and  Mrs.  Cramer.  His 
maternal  grandfather  was  Michael  Moser, 
a  Welshman,  who  married  Miss  Catha- 
rine Wiseman  (born  on  the  Atlantic 
Ocean),  and  their  children  were  Michael, 
Isaac,  George,  Margaret,  Daniel  and 
Mrs.  Hepner.  The  children  of  Jacob 
Miller,  father  of  our  subject,  were  Sam- 
uel, Michael,  William,  Isaac,  Reuben, 
Jacob,  Rebecca  and  Charles.  Our  sub- 
ject grew  to  manhood  on  a  farm  near 
Orwigsburg,  Penn.,  where  he  obtained  a 
very  limited  common-school  education 
and  learned  the  trade  of  a  carpenter.  On 
August  7,  1827,  he  married  Miss  Mary, 
daughter  of  Abraham  and  Mary  (Faust) 
Seltzer,  of  the  same  neighborhood,  and 
in  the  spring  of  1828  removed  to  Dela- 
ware county,  Ohio.  Here  two  children 
were  born  to  them,  Abraham  F.  and 
Reuben  A.,  the  first  of  whom  died  in 
childhood.  In  the  spring  of  1830  they 
removed  to  Sandusky  county,  Ohio,  and 
settled  in  the  wilds  of  Jackson  township, 
on  Wolf  creek,  nearthesite  of  Bettsville. 
Here  was  born  their  eldest  daughter,  Re- 
becca M.,  now  wife  of  Jacob  Burgner. 
In  1832  the  family  removed  to  Scott 
township,  and  settled  on  an  eighty-acre 
tract  of  land  since  owned  by  John  Hum- 
mel. This  was  on  the  edge  of  what  was 
then  known  as  Mud  Creek  Prairie,  near 
the  present  site  of  Miliersville.  Here 
they  lived  and  toiled  about  ten  years, 
trying  to  clear  up  a  home,  drain  the  prai- 
rie and  carry  on  farming,  laboring  under 
very  adverse  circumstances.  Bad  roads, 
poor  crops,  sickness  from  fever  and  ague, 
and  doctor's  bills  were  constant  draw- 
backs. Here  the  family  was  increased  by 
the  birth  of  WeslejJ.,  Susannah,  Amelia, 
Hannah  and  Sarah,  of  whom  only  the 
first  and  the  last  two  named  grew  to  ma- 
turity. Their  log-cabin  home  was  often 
visited  by  the  pioneer  preachers  of  the 
United  Brethren,  Methodist  and  Albright 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


459 


denominations,    and  was  for  some   time 
used  as  a  place  of  worship. 

In  his  anxiety  to  remove  the  stagnant 
water  from  the  prairie,  Mr.  Miller  allowed 
his  zeal  to  get  the  better  of  his  judgment. 
With  commendable  enterprise  and  public 
spirit  he  got  the  promises  of  his  neighbors 
to  aid  him  in  the  construction  of  a  seven- 
mile  ditch  to  drain  Mud  Creek  prairie; 
but  when  the  job  was  completed  and  the 
June  freshets  came  it  was  found  that  their 
engineering  was  at  fault  and  the  ditch  did 
not  answer  its  purpose.  The  crops  of 
corn  were  all  drowned  out  as  before,  and 
some  of  the  neighbors  refused  to  pay 
their  shares  of  the  cost  of  the  ditch.  The 
debt  now  fell  so  heavily  on  Mr.  Miller 
that  he  was  obliged  to  lose  his  farm.  In 
the  spring  of  1842  he  bought  eighty  acres 
of  partl\-improved  land  in  York  town- 
ship of  George  Donaldson,  for  which  he 
again  went  in  debt.  Here  by  dint  of 
hard  work  he  succeeded  in  clearing  land 
and  raising  a  crop  of  wheat  the  second 
year.  The  price  of  wheat  was  then  50 
cents  a  bushel  at  Sandusk)'  City,  his  best 
market;  and  so  an.xious  was  he  to  make  a 
payment  on  his  farm  that  in  the  fall  of 
1843  he  hauled  his  wheat  twenty  miles  to 
that  market  for  that  price;  if  he  had 
waited  till  the  following  spring  he  could 
have  had  $1.50  per  bushel.  But  other 
misfortunes  were  in  store  for  him.  In 
the  log-cabin  home  on  this  farm  was  born 
his  youngest  daughter,  Minerva,  now  wife 
of  Mr.  Henry  Hitchcock,  a  farmer  in 
Nebraska,  and  a  few  months  later  Mrs. 
Miller  died — from  illness  contracted  by 
watching  at  the  bedside  of  the  wife  of  a 
neighbor,  A.  Dixon — leaving  him  with 
five  children.  His  eldest  daughter  then 
kept  house  for  him.  When  Mrs.  Dixon 
recovered  she  took  Mr.  Miller's  youngest 
daughter  to  raise,  as  she  had  no  children 
of  her  own.  Failing  to  receive  the  finan- 
cial aid  from  a  Pennsylvania  friend  which 
had  been  promised,  and  which  was  his 
due,  Mr.  Miller  was  again  obliged  to  sell 
his  home.      He  next  bought  a  house  and 


lot  at  Flat  Rock,  Seneca  county,  where 
he  tried  to  keep  his  children  together  and 
send  them  to  school,  while  he  worked  at 
his  trade  as  carpenter  or  shingle-maker. 
In  1850  his  sons  Reuben  and  Wesley  en- 
gaged in  the  lumber  business  in  Tuscola 
county,  Mich.  A  year  later  Mr.  Miller 
joined  them,  and  for  a  number  of  years 
conducted  a  sawmill  at  the  village  of  Tus- 
cola, to  which  his  sons  rafted  the  logs 
cut  each  winter  in  the  pine  forests  above 
on  the  Cass  river.  He  also  kept  a  board- 
ing-house for  the  mill-hands,  being  as- 
sisted by  his  daughters.  After  a  few 
3'ears  of  flourishing  business  Mr.  Miller's 
partner  in  the  sawmill,  who  also  kept  a 
general  supply  store,  failed,  and  Miller's 
property  was  taken  by  his  partner's  New 
York  creditors.  Such  was  the  law.  In 
1852  Mr.  Miller  married  Mrs.  Hannah 
Griswold,  of  Tuscola,  and  soon  after  re- 
tired from  the  lumber  industry  to  live  on 
her  farm  near  by.  This  was  a  welcome 
home  for  both  their  children  (Mrs.  Miller 
also  having  children  by  her  former  hus- 
band) for  several  years,  a  sort  of  lumber- 
men's headquarters.  Mrs.  Miller  died  in 
1873.  Mr.  Miller  remained  to  manage 
the  farm  about  two  years,  then  relin- 
quished his  life  lease  and  retired  from 
business  altogether.  In  1 876  he  attended 
the  Centennial  Exposition  at  Philadel- 
phia, and  spent  several  months  visiting 
among  friends  in  Pennsylvania.  In  1877 
he  lived  for  a  season  at  the  home  of  his 
daughter,  Mrs.  J.  Burgner,  near  Fremont, 
Ohio,  and  afterward  lived  in  the  family  of 
Mr.  John  Rinebolt,  in  Jackson  township. 
In  the  spring  of  1882  he  took  up  his  per- 
manent residence  at  the  home  of  his 
daughter  Hannah,  wife  of  Morgan  Ster- 
ner, at  Bristol,  Ind. ,  where  he  died  Sep- 
tember 3,  1885,  and  was  buried  in  the 
village  cemetery. 

Isaac  Miller  in  early  life  became  a 
member  of  the  Lutheran  Church;  but  on 
moving  to  the  Black  Swamp,  west  of 
Lower  Sandusky,  and  coining  under  the 
influence  of  the  pioneer  traveling  preach- 


460 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOOBAPHICAL  RECORD. 


ers,  he  united  with  the  Evangelical  Asso- 
ciation, and  became  one  of  its  most  zeal- 
ous and  consistent  members  for  many 
years.  In  1850  he  united  with  the  M.  E. 
Church  at  Flat  Kock,  Ohio,  and  adhered 
to  that  faith  during  the  rest  of  his  life. 
He  was  a  great  friend  of  children,  and 
established  a  number  of  pioneer  Sunday- 
schools  in  destitute  neighborhoods.  In 
politics  he  was  first  a  Whig,  then  a  Re- 
publican, and  finally  a  Prohibitionist. 
His  two  sons  were  soldiers  in  the  Civil 
war,  serving  in  the  Third  Michigan  Cav- 
alr)'.  His  eldest  son,  Reuben  A.,  living 
in  Wisconsin,  has  for  many  j'ears  been  a 
professional  pine-land  hunter;  his  other 
son,  Wesley,  has  valuable  interests  in 
some  gold  mines  near  Idaho  Springs, 
Colo.  His  daughter  Sarah,  deceased, 
was  the  wife  of  Dr.  Samuel  H.  Burgner, 
of  Bellevue,  Ohio.  Though  unfortunate 
in  his  financial  ventures,  as  the  world 
looks  at  it,  Mr.  Miller  gave  to  his  children 
a  more  precious  legacy  than  wealth  in  the 
practical  exemplification  of  an  exalted 
Christian  character. 


I 


HENRY  FRY,  farmer,  Ballville 
township,  Sandusky  county,  was 
born  in  Prussia,  Germany,  May 
3,  1813,  a  son  of  Lambert  and 
Mary  (Shoetler)  Fry,  natives  of  Germany. 
Lambert  Fry,  born  in  1775,  was  a  cab- 
inet-maker by  trade,  and  also  kept  a 
grocery  store;  he  died  in  1859  at  the  age 
of  eighty-four.  Their  children  were:  (i) 
Lambert,  Jr.,  born  September,  1803, 
died  in  1849;  (2)  Mary,  deceased  in  in- 
fancy; (3)  John,  born  February  28,  1810, 
retired  farmer,  Ballville  township;  (4) 
our  subject;  (5)  Mary,  born  September  i, 
1 8 19,  who  married  Lambert  Speller,  in 
Germany,  and  whose  children  are:  John, 
Henry,  Augustus,  Fred,  Lissette  and 
Wilhelmine,  all  of  whom  have  died,  ex- 
cept two,  and  are  buried  in  Oak  Wood 
Cemetery. 

Our  subject  grew   to  manhood  in  the 


German  Fatherland.  He  emigrated  to 
America  March  26,  1834,  landing  in  Bal- 
timore on  the  1st  of  July  following,  hav- 
ing been  forty-two  days  at  sea.  On  the 
I  ith  of  April  their  ship  was  wrecked  on  a 
sand-bar,  during  a  terrible  storm,  but 
Mr.  Fry  managed  to  keep  on  the  wreck, 
and  with  several  others  subsisted  on  the 
contents  of  a  keg  of  rum  which  they 
found  in  the  wreck.  They  were  out  in 
the  sea  from  Thursday  until  Saturday  be- 
fore they  were  rescued  by  small  boats  pro- 
cured from  shore  by  the  efforts  of  the 
second  mate  and  two  seamen.  Mr.  Fry 
was  the  onlj'  passenger  who  saved  all  his 
clothes.  Many  died  from  the  effects  of 
exposure,  and  thirty-one  out  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  were  drowned.  After 
reaching  land  Mr.  Fry  had  the  choice  of 
his  passage  money  back  or  passage  on 
another  ship.  He  chose  the  latter,  and  a 
few  days  later  engaged  passage  on  the 
"Neptune,"  Capt.  Williamson,  with  164 
passengers,  in  which  he  made  the  voyage 
in  safety.  Mr.  Fry  made  friends  with 
the  captain,  and  received  special  favors 
from  him  during  the  voyage.  After  land- 
ing in  Baltimore  he  remained  there  only 
three  days,  then  walked  to  Cumberland, 
Md. ,  where  he  worked  at  his  trade  of 
cabinet-making,  and  then  started  on  foot 
to  meet  his  cousin,  Philip  Fry,  in  Ohio, 
walking  nearlj'  all  the  way.  He  subse- 
quently came  to  Ballville  township,  San- 
dusky count}-,  and  worked  for  Samuel 
Treat.  He  put  up  several  buildings  for 
Mr.  Treat,  and  then  assisted  in  building 
a  gristmill  for  James  Moore.  For  the 
latter  he  worked  five  years  at  one  dollar 
per  day.  In  1837  he  went  to  Logans- 
port,  Ind.,  remained  there  one  year  and 
built  canal  locks.  On  his  return  to  Ball- 
ville township  he  married,  September  4, 
1 84 1,  Miss  Abigail  Rideout,  daughter  of 
John  and  Sarah  (Randall)  Rideout. 

John  G.  Rideout  was  born  in  Augusta, 
Maine,  of  English  parents.  Sarah  Ran- 
dall was  born  in  Connecticut,  and  after 
their  marriage  they  removed  to  Ross  coun- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


461 


ty,  Ohio,  and  in  1825  to  Ballville,  San- 
dusky Co.,  where  they  resided  until  their 
death.  The  names  and  dates  of  birth  of 
their  children  are  as  follows:  William, 
February  10,  1819;  David,  May  6,  1821; 
Abigail,  April  30,  1823;  Ebenezer.  April 
I,  1825;  Margaret,  March  6,  1827; 
Horace,  December  22,  1829;  Elizabeth, 
November  4,  1831;  Alice,  January  28, 
1833.  Abigail  (Rideout)  Fry  was  born  in 
Ross  county,  Ohio,  and  came  with  her 
parents  to  Ballville,  Sandusky  county,  in 
1825,  where  she  has  resided  for  more  than 
seventy  years,  and  has  seen  the  country 
grow  from  a  wilderness,  inhabited  by  In- 
dians and  infested  with  wolves,  to  its  pres- 
ent beautiful  and  prosperous  condition. 

Henry  Fry  and  his  brother  John 
bought  a  farm  of  190  acres,  where  they 
lived  together  about  eight  years,  after 
which  Henry  moved  to  a  piece  of  160 
acres,  which  he  had  bought  some  3'ears 
before,  and  which  has  been  his  place  of 
residence  since  1850.  He  lives  about  five 
miles  south  of  Fremont,  was  a  Whig  and 
is  now  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  is 
much  esteemed  wherever  known. 

The  children  of  Henry  and  Abigail  Fry 
were:  John  Lambert,  who  died  in  infancy; 
Cynthia  J.,  born  March  9,  1843;  and 
Amelia  S.,  born  April  18,  1846.  Cynthia 
attended  school  at  Oberlin  College  about 
three   years,  and   was   married   June   14, 

1865,  to  Dr.  Robert  H.  Rice,  whose 
sketch  appears  elsewhere  in  this  volume. 
Amelia  also  attended  school  at  Oberlin 
College,  and   was  married   December  26, 

1866,  to  Elias  B.,  son  of  John  and  Eliza 
(Rutter)  Moore,  of  Ballville. 

Elias  B.  Moore  attended  school  at 
Oberlin  College,  and  at  the  outbreak  of 
the  Rebellion,  enlisted  in  the  Seventy- 
second  Regiment,  O.  \'.  ,1.,  was  appoint- 
ed sergeant  of  Company  F,  with  many 
others  was  taken  prisoner  at  the  battle  of 
Guntown,  Miss. .  and  for  manj-  months 
suffered  the  horrors  of  Andersonville  and 
other  Rebel  prisons.  After  the  close  of 
the  war  he  was  engaged   in  business  in 


Fremont,  was  twice  elected  treasurer  of 
Sandusky  county,  and  afterward  with 
his  family  removed  to  Fort  Wayne,  Ind. , 
where  they  now  reside.  Their  children 
are  Abbie,  Mabel,  Elias,  Henry  and 
Ruth. 


LOUIS  A.  DICKINSON,  the  pres- 
ent postmaster  at  Fremont,  San- 
dusky county,  was  born  in  that 
cit\'  May  16,  i860,  a  son  of  Abner 
J.  and  Louise  P.  (Mitchener)  Dickinson. 
Abner  J.  Dickinson  was  born  in  New 
York  State  May  13,  1 8 1 7,  a  son  of  Alpheus 
and  Martha  Dickinson,  whose  family  con- 
sisted of  seven  sons  and  three  daughters: 
Rodolphus,  Rodolphus,  Alexander,  Al- 
pheus, Obid,  Martha,  Sarah  (Mrs.  David 
Beard,  of  Greene,  N.  Y. ),  Satira  (Mrs. 
George  Grant,  of  Fremont),  Champion, 
and  Abner  J.  Louise  P.  Mitchener,  moth- 
er of  our  subject,  was  born  in  Lancaster 
county,  Penn. ,  December  23,  1815,  the 
eldest  of  the  seven  children  of  Ryner  and 
Lj'dia  Mitchener,  viz.:  Louise  P.,  Hon. 
Charles  H.  (late  of  New  Philadelphia, 
Ohio),  Mrs.  Ann  French,  Mrs.  Rachel 
Bartlett,  Lydia,  Mrs.  Margaret  Evans, 
and  Mrs.  Henrietta  R.  Dickinson  (wife 
of  Hon.  E.  F.  Dickinson,  a  nephew  of 
Abner  J.),  all  of  whom  were  reared  and 
educated  among  the  Society  of  Friends. 
The  father  of  Louis  A.  came  to  Ohio  at 
the  age  of  twenty-one,  and  six  years 
later  settled  in  Lower  Sandusky  (now 
Fremont),  where  for  many  years  he  was 
engaged  in  general  mercantile  business. 
In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat,  and  in 
1S54-56  he  represented  his  county  in  the 
General  .Assembly  of  the  State  of  Ohio. 
During  the  Civil  war  he  entered  the  ranks 
of  the  Union  army,  and  died  May  28, 
1863,  at  Camp  Triune,  Tenn.  His 
widow  now  resides  at  No.  316  S.  Arch 
street,  Fremont.  To  them  were  born 
three  children:  Martha  J.,  deceased  wife 
of  James  H.  Fowler,  an  attorney  at  law, 


462 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


of    Fremont;  Charles   J.,     who    died    in 
•1874;  and  Louis  Abner. 

Louis  A.  Dickinson  was  reared  in 
Fremont  by  his  widowed  mother,  was 
educated  in  the  city  schools,  and  gradua- 
ted from  Fremont  High  School  at  the 
age  of  seventeen,  taking  the  combined 
Latin  and  English  four-years'  course  in 
three  years.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two  he 
was  elected  county  sur<'e3-or  of  Sanduskj' 
county  on  the  Democratic  ticket,  and 
served  in  that  capacity  for  six  years.  In 
1887  he  was  elected  to  the  city  council 
from  the  First  Ward,  and  in  1889  was 
appointed  city  civil  engineer,  which  po- 
sition he  held  until  February  25,  1895, 
when  he  was  appointed,  by  President 
Cleveland,  postmaster  of  the  city.  He 
is  a  member  of  Brainard  Lodge,  No. 
336,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  of  Fremont  Lodge, 
K.  of  P.  In  1886,  he  married  Frances 
H.  Mitchener,  of  New  Philadelphia,  Ohio, 
and  to  this  union  were  born  two  daughters: 
Christine  M.  and  M.  Louise.  Mrs.  Dick- 
inson died  in  Fremont,  August  9,  1890. 


RICHARD  HAGEL,    a  progressive 
merchant  of  and  the  efficient  post- 
master at  Gypsum,  Ottawa  county, 
is  a  native  of  Ohio,  born  in  Plaster- 
bed,    Portage  township,  Ottawa  county, 
March  26,  1862. 

He  is  a  son  of  Louis  and  Wilhelmina 
(Hartenfelt)  Hagel,  both  of  whom  were 
natives  of  Germany,  and  are  now  resi- 
dents of  Plasterbed.  The  father  was 
born  in  Baden,  Germany,  October  17, 
1828,  and  is  a  son  of  Andrew  and  Eliza- 
beth Hagel,  who  spent  their  entire  lives 
in  the  Fatherland.  He  was  there  edu- 
cated and  learned  the  trade  of  a  stone- 
mason. Crossing  the  broad  Atlantic  to 
America  in  1852.  he  resided  for  two  years 
in  Newark,  N.  J.,  and  in  1854  came  to 
Portage  township,  Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio, 
where  he  engaged  in  farming  and  quarrj-- 
ing.  In  1856  he  removed  to  Carroll 
township,    same  county,   where  he    pur- 


chased land,  and  for  two  years  carried  on 
agricultural  pursuits.  In  1858  he  sold 
his  farm  and  removed  to  Plasterbed, 
which  has  been  his  place  of  continuous 
residence  since.  His  wife  was  born  in 
Saxony,  Germany,  November  9,  1832, 
and  was  a  daughter  of  Frederick  and 
Hannah  Hartenfelt.  With  her  parents 
she  emigrated  to  America  in  1852,  and 
they  lived  in  Erie  township,  Ottawa  Co., 
Ohio,  until  called  to  their  final  rest. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hagel  were  married 
June  15,  1S56,  in  the  town  which  is  still 
their  home,  and  their  union  was  blessed 
with  ten  children,  six  of  whom  are  liv- 
ing: John,  born  March  26,  1857,  and 
residing  at  Plasterbed;  Emma,  born  De- 
cember 27,  1858;  Richard;  Sarah,  born 
January  18,  1872,  now  the  wifeof  George 
Austin,  of  Plasterbed;  William,  born  Feb- 
ruary 1 1,  1864,  now  residing  in  the  same 
place;  and  Annie,  born  April  27,   1878. 

Our  subject  acquired  a  fair  English 
education  in  the  district  schools  of  Port- 
age township,  Ottawa  county,  and  when 
his  school  life  was  ended  entered  upon 
his  business  career  as  a  clerk  in  the  store 
of  Charles  C.  Peet,  of  Gypsum.  He  has 
since  been  connected  with  mercantile  in- 
terests. For  nine  years  he  was  emploj-ed 
in  that  capacity,  during  which  time  he 
became  familiar  with  merchandising  in 
every  detail,  and  the  experience  thus  ac- 
quired well  fitted  him  for  his  own  career 
along  this  line.  In  1884,  after  the  death 
of  his  employers,  he  purchased  of  the  ad- 
ministrators the  store,  and  has  since  been 
sole  proprietor.  He  has  a  well-appoint- 
ed establishment,  carries  a  large  stock  of 
goods,  and  is  doing  a  flourishing  business. 

Mr.  Hagel  was  married  in  Gypsum, 
November  23,  1892,  to  Miss  Hannah  E. 
Hess,  a  daughter  of  Christian  and  Paulina 
(Warner)  Hess,  both  of  whom  were  na- 
tives of  German}',  residing  in  Gypsum. 
Mrs.  Hagel  was  born  at  Plasterbed,  Feb- 
ruary 20,  1869,  and  is  an  estimable  lady, 
having  many  friends.  Socially,  our  sub- 
ject is  connected  with  Port  Clinton  Lodge, 


L^'c^^^^a^  ^  -^-, 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


463 


No.  361.  K.  of  P..  and  O.  H.  Perry 
Lodge,  No.  627,  I.  O.  O.  F.  In  politics 
he  is  a  stalwart  Republican,  and  has  ably 
served  as  postmaster  at  Gypsum  since 
1884.  He  attends  the  Methodist  Church, 
and  is  interested  in  everything  pertaining 
to  the  welfare  and  upbuilding  of  the  com- 
munity. He  has  served  as  treasurer  of 
the  Island  &  Gypsum  Fruit  Co.  Mr. 
Hagel  is  one  of  the  progressive  j'oung 
business  men  of  the  county,  and  by  thrift 
and  energy  has  raised  himself  to  an  im- 
portant position  in  the  community;  by 
fair  dealing  and  perseverance  has  built  up 
a  large  and  rapidly-increasing  mercantile 
business  which  ranks  him  among  the 
solid  commercial  men  of  his  locality. 
In  1 89 1,  finding  his  quarters  too  small,  he 
erected  the  spacious  store  which  he  now 
occupies. 


w 


J.  ALESHIRE.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch,  who  is  the  edi- 
tor and  proprietor  of  the  Gib- 
sonburg  Derrick,  is  recognized 
as  one  of  the  leading  business  men  of  San- 
dusky county,  and  his  paper  shows  evi- 
dence of  his  ability  as  a  journalist,  it  be- 
ing a  readable,  newsy  sheet,  fully  up  to 
the  times,  and  an  acceptable  visitor  in 
homes  throughout  that  section  of  the 
State. 

Mr.  Aleshire  is  a  son  of  William  and 
Sarah  (Ewing)  Aleshire,  the  former  of 
whom  was  born  October  19,  18 14,  in  Vir- 
ginia, where  he  grew  to  manhood,  coming 
thence  to  Ohio,  where,  in  Meigs  county, 
he  was  married.  He  was  a  farmer 
by  occupation.  In  1846  he  went  to 
Fulton  county.  111.,  and  there  remained 
a  year  or  two,  afterward  removing  to 
Hancock  county,  that  State,  where  he 
spent  the  remainder  of  his  life,  dying  Oc- 
tober 3,  1890,  shortly  after  his  wife,  who 
passed  away  July  17,  that  year.  For 
twenty  years  he  was  engaged  in  the  hotel 
business.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Aleshire  were 
the    parents  of   ten    children,    of    whom 


three  left  their  home  at  the  call  for  loyal 
men  during  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  and 
served  their  country  well  and  faith- 
fully, one  finding  an  early  grave  in  the 
Sunny  South.  The  record  of  this  large 
family  is  briefly  given  as  follows:  San- 
ford,  who  was  a  soldier  in  the  One  Hun- 
dred and  Eighteenth  Illinois  Infantry, 
during  the  Civil  war,  is  deceased;  Virgil, 
who  served  four  years  in  the  same  regi- 
ment, and  was  wounded  in  Vicksburg,  is 
also  deceased;  Mary,  who  married  Thomas 
Swan,  lives  at  Granger,  Mo. ;  Orlando, 
who  was  in  the  Twelfth  Illinois  Cavalry, 
died  at  Napoleonville,  La. ;  Margaret  is 
the  wife  of  Uriah  Ashcraft,  and  lives  at 
La  Harpe,  111. ;  W.  J.  is  the  subject  of 
this  biograph}';  E.  E.,  who  is  an  attor- 
ney at  law,  resides  in  Stanberry,  Mo. ; 
Albert  is  carrying  on  a  hotel  and  livery 
business  in  Burnside,  111. ;  Henry  died  in 
early  youth;  O.  E.  received  an  e.\cellent 
education,  and  at  one  time  was  superin- 
tendent of  schools  at  Buchanan,  Mich., 
throughout  which  State  he  became  well- 
known  owing  to  his  oratorical  powers  and 
other  good  qualities,  and  was  sent  to  the 
Legislature;  growing  tired  of  politics,  he 
went  to  Chicago,  where  he  engaged  in 
business,  and  he  has  since  made  his  resi- 
dence in  that  city. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born 
February  15,  1849,  in  Hancock  county, 
111.,  and  grew  to  manhood  in  that  State. 
He  received  a  collegiate  education,  and 
turned  his  attention  to  teaching,  follow- 
ing that  occupation,  for  which  he  was  ad- 
mirably fitted,  for  nineteen  consecutive 
\'ears.  During  the  last  twelve  years  of 
this  time  he  was  principal  of  schools  in 
four  different  towns.  In  1889,  Mr.  Ale- 
shire decided  to  combine  newspaper  work 
with  teaching,  and  purchased  the  Good 
Hope  Torpedo,  which  he  carried  on  for 
three  and  a  half  years.  Selling  out  this 
paper  he  came,  in  1892,  to  Gibsonburg, 
and  purchased  the  Derrick,  of  which  he 
is  editor  and  proprietor.  When  he  took 
hold  of  the  paper,  it  was  a  seven-colum  n 


464 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


folio,  which  he  changed  to  an  eight-col- 
umn and  then  six-column  quarto.  The 
paper  is  independent  in  politics,  and  has 
a  good  circulation. 

Mr.  Aleshire  was  married  November 
30,  1882,  to  Miss  Mary  McClung,  who 
was  born  April  22,  i860,  in  Pike  county, 
111.,  and  they  have  two  children,  Oscar 
and  Harry.  Mrs.  Aleshire  is  the  daugh- 
ter of  George  and  Nancy  (Wayfield)  Mc- 
Clung, the  former  of  whom  was  a  native 
of  Virginia,  and  served  through  the  Civil 
war.  Two  children  were  born  to  them — 
Mary  (now  Mrs.  Aleshire),  and  Martha 
(Mrs.  Charles  Kennedy,  of  Quincy,  111.). 
Socially,  Mr.  Aleshire  is  a  member  of  the 
F.  &  A.  M.  and  I.  O.  O.  F. 


CAPTAIN  W.  E.  GILLETT,  town- 
ship and  corporation  clerk,  and 
ex-officio  clerk  of  the  school  board 
of  Green  Creek  township,  San- 
dusky county,  is  one  of  the  leading  citi- 
zens of  Clyde.  His  birth  occurred  in 
Groton  township,  Erie  Co.,  Ohio,  on  the 
4th  of  September,  i860,  and  he  is  a  son 
of  William  and  Elizabeth  (Hearson)  Gil- 
lett,  both  natives  of  Lincolnshire,  Eng- 
land, where  the  father  was  born  in  1833, 
and  the  mother  in  1835.  The  father  is 
a  son  of  John  Gillett,  with  whom  he  came 
to  America  when  quite  small,  locating 
near  Sandusky,  Erie  Co.,  Ohio,  where  he 
grew  to  manhood.  His  parents  both  died 
in  Sandusky  count}',  where  for  about  ten 
years  William  Gillett  conducted  a  shoe 
store,  but  he  now  makes  his  home  in 
Bellevue,  Ohio. 

In  this  vicinity  the  Captain  spent  the 
days  of  his  boyhood  and  3'outh,  no  event 
of  special  importance  occurring  during 
that  period.  His  education  was  com- 
pleted in  the  high  school  of  Clyde,  and  on 
the  farm  he  assisted  in  the  labors  of  the 
fields.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  be- 
came a  drug  clerk,  and  later  entered  a 
grocery  store.  For  about  eight  years  he 
was  with  his  father  in  the  shoe  business, 


being  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Gillett  & 
Sons.  Since  that  time  he  has  mostly 
filled  official  positions,  being  secretary  of 
the  water-works,  and,  while  holding  the 
office  of  township  and  corporation  clerk, 
was  also  connected  with  the  electric  light 
plant. 

Eleven  years  ago  Capt.  Gillett  joined 
the  McPherson  Guards  as  a  private,  was 
later  promoted  to  sergeant  and  then  to 
first  sergeant,  afterward  to  lieutenant, 
and  finally  to  captain  of  his  company, 
which  position  he  now  fills.  He  has  had 
charge  of  his  company  during  the  recent 
strikes  in  the  coal  mines,  and  on  several 
other  occasions  where  they  were  called  to 
aid  civil  authorities. 

Capt.  Gillett  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Ida  Day,  of  Sandusky,  Ohio, 
and  to  them  has  been  born  a  daughter, 
Edna.  The  Captain  is  one  of  the  most 
popular  men  in  Clyde,  and  is  spoken  of  as 
a  probable  man  for  future  honors  in  San- 
dusky county.  He  is  enterprising,  ener- 
getic and  progressive,  and  takes  a  deep 
interest  in  everything  pertaining'  to  the 
welfare  of  the  community,  where  he  is  so 
widely  and  favorably  known.  In  politics 
he  is  a  Republican,  and  is  a  stalwart  sup- 
porter of  its  men  and  measures.  Socially, 
he  belongs  to  the  Rojal  Arcanum. 


STEPHEN  D.  TERRILL.  This 
well-known  farmer  of  Green  Creek 
township,  Sandusky  county,  and 
for  many  years  a  successful  busi- 
ness man  of  Clyde,  has  made  the  most  of 
his  opportunities.  Instead  of  yearning 
for  the  distant  and  unattainable,  he  has 
cheerfull}'  and  resolutely  done  the  work 
that  lay  before  him,  and  by  diligence  and 
steadiness  of  purpose  he  has  demonstrated 
by  his  success  in  life  the  golden  value  of 
those  sterling  qualities. 

He  was  born  in  Chenango  county, 
N.  Y. ,  June  26,  18 18,  son  of  Elias  and 
Hannah  (Hickox)  Terrill,  sterling  Presby- 
terians.    Elias  Terrill  was  born  of  Scotch 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


465 


parentage  in  Waterbury,  Conn.,  August 
7,  1775,  and  was  married  May  6,  1798, 
to  Hannah  Hickox,  born  July  2,  1781. 
He  was  a  cooper,  and  followed  his  trade 
in  his  native  town  until  about  1S15,  when 
with  his  family  he  moved  to  Pitcher, 
Chenango  Co.,  N.  Y. ,  where  he  died 
August  14,  1835,  his  wife  surviving  until 
November  6,  1856.  They  were  the  par- 
ents of  the  following  twelve  children: 
Irene,  who  in  1817  married  Solomon  En- 
sign, and  reared  a  family  in  New  York, 
where  she  died;  Julia  M.,  who  in  1S19 
married  James  Hinman,  reared  a  family, 
and  died  in  New  York  City;  Beulah  S., 
who  married  Harry  Chandler,  and  died  in 
Bellevue,  Ohio;  Susan  H.,  who  married 
Amos  Leonard,  and  died  in  the  West; 
Lenora,  married  in  1 831  to  J.  R.  Freeman, 
and  died  in  Schenectady,  N.  Y. ;  Elias 
G.,    who     married     Penina    Dimmick   in 

1834,  and  died  in  Pennsylvania;  Shelby 
\V.,    married  to   Mary  Ann  Ruddock  in 

1835,  and  died  in  Pitcher,  N.  Y. ;  Jo- 
s'ah  R.,  who  went  to  Ogdensburg,  N.  Y., 
and  was  never  heard  from  afterward; 
Stephen  D.,  subject  of  this  sketch;  Nancy 
Judson,  married  Asa  Ensign,  and  died  in 
New  York;  Samuel  N.,  who  died  in  Cali- 
fornia; and  Eunice  Celestia,  who  married 
Henry  Warner,  and  lives  in  New  York. 
The  mother  lived  to  see  all  her  twelve 
children  married,  and  all  were  living  when 
she  died. 

Stephen  D.  Terrill,  at  the  age  of  fif- 
teen, left  the  home  of  his  parents  and 
came  to  Ridgeville,  Lorain  Co.,  Ohio,  to 
live  with  his  sister.  Two  years  later  he 
went  to  Cleveland,  and  for  two  years  en- 
gaged in  teaming.  He  then  drove  team  at 
Vermilion  for  over  two  years,  and  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  potash  at  Republic 
for  about  the  same  period.  For  a  season 
he  was  second  engineer  on  the  old  steam- 
er "Columbus,"  on  Lake  Erie,  and  after 
making  potash  at  Milan  during  the  fol- 
lowing winter  he  there  purchased  a  black- 
smith shop  in  the  spring  of  1842,  hired  a 
blacksmith   and   learned   the  trade.      He 


was  married,  June  4,  1843,  to  Martha 
Norton,  born  in  Vermilion,  Ohio,  July  18, 
1825,  daughter  of  Leonard  and  Mary 
(Bartow)  Norton.  Leonard  Norton  was 
born  July  11,  1798,  and  died  in  July, 
1845.  He  was  a  Universalist  in  religious 
belief,  and  in  politics  a  Democrat.  His 
father,  David  Norton,  a  member  of  the 
Church  of  England,  came  to  America 
from  Thruxton,  England,  and  was  twenty- 
four  weeks  on  the  voyage.  Mary  Bar- 
tow, wife  of  Leonard  Norton,  was  born 
in  New  York  State  in  1 796,  and  died  in 
i860;  she  was  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
Church.  Leonard  and  Mary  Norton  had 
nine  children,  as  follows:  A  child  who 
died  in  infancy;  Mary  Ann,  who  married 
Peter  Chance,  and  is  now  deceased; 
Leonard,  who  died  young;  I^orin,  who 
died  at  Milan,  aged  thirteen  years;  Mar- 
tha, wife  of  Mr.  Terrill;  John  G.,  engag- 
ed in  real  estate  at  Toledo;  Alfred,  who 
died  in  Pennsylvania,  aged  forty  years; 
Adeline,  wife  of  Myron  Mills,  of  Milan; 
Eliza  J.,  who  married  George  W.  Hayes, 
and  died  in  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin. 

After  his  marriage  Mr.  Terrill  re- 
mained in  Milan  until  1854,  when  he 
came  to  Clyde.  He  here  followed  his 
trade  for  a  while,  then  engaged  in  cabinet 
making,  and  later  operated  a  sawmill. 
About  a  year  ago  he  removed  to  the  farm 
in  Green  Creek  township  which  he  now 
occupies.  He  had  seven  children,  three 
of  whom  died  young,  and  those  who  lived 
to  adult  age  were  (i)  Stephen  H.,  born 
October  31,  1844,  who  enlisted  in  the 
One  Hundred  and  Si.xty-fifth  O.  V.  L, 
and  died  March  5,  1865,  after  his  return 
home.  (2)  John  G.,  born  January  6, 
1847,  a  stationary  engineer  at  Chicago, 
who  is  married  to  Mary  Youman,  and  has 
three  children — Gertrude,  wife  of  Henry 
Denhart;  Bessie  A.,  a  graduate  of  the 
Chicago  Conservatory  of  Music,  and  Nel- 
lie, a  graduate  of  a  business  college  at 
Chicago.  (3)  Alfred  N.,  born  September 
6,  1854,  now  in  charge  of  an  extensive 
sawmill  at  Portland,  Oregon.    (4)  Charles 


466 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


D.,  born  August  24,  1856,  killed  May  6, 
1873,  by  accident,  in  a  sawmill  in  Toledo. 
Mr.  Terrill  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Clyde  board  of  education.  He  has  been 
a  lifelong  Democrat,  first  voting  for  Mar- 
tin Van  Buren  and  every  Democrat  can- 
didate for  Presidency  since.  His  wife  is 
a  member  of  the  Universalist  Church. 


JOHN  T.  SIVALLS,  the  courteous 
and  popular  postmaster  at  Wood- 
ville,  Sandusk}'  countj^  where  he  is 
a  well-known  and  highly-respected 
citizen  of  several  years'  standing,  is  a  na- 
tive of  the  city  of  New  York,  born  August 
22,  1828.  He  is  of  English  descent  on 
the  paternal  side,  his  grandfather  Sivalls 
having  come  from  England  to  America, 
settling  in  New  Rochelle,  Westchester 
Co.,  N.  Y. ,  where  he  died. 

James  Sivalls,  father  of  John  T. ,  and 
of  the  same  nativity,  followed  the  occupa- 
tion of  grocery  merchant  in  New  York, 
and  died  there  in  1837  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
two  years.  He  was  twice  married,  and 
by  his  first  wife  had  two  children — George 
and  Franklin — both  of  whom  died  in  New 
York;  by  his  second  wife,  Cornelia 
(Lewis)  he  had  five  children,  namely: 
Carolina,  who  married  DeWitt  Brinhap, 
and  died  in  New  York  in  April,  1894; 
William,  who  also  died  in  New  York; 
John  T. ,  the  subject  of  these  lines;  Tracy, 
now  a  resident  of  Chicago,  111. ;  and  Ben- 
son, who  went  to  California,  and  has 
never  since  been  heard  of. 

As  will  be  seen,  our  subject  was  nine 
years  of  age  at  the  time  he  was  bereaved 
of  his  father,  and  he  then  left  his  native 
city  for  Ithaca,  N.  Y. ,  where  he  lived 
with  an  uncle  a  few  years,  attending 
school  and  learning  the  trade  of  shoe- 
maker. From  there  he  moved  to  Ashta- 
bula county,  Ohio,  and  then  after  a  short 
time  returned  to  Ithaca,  remaining  there 
some  eighteen  months,  all  the  time  fol- 
lowing his  trade.  This  brings  us  now  to 
1846,  the  year  of  the  breaking  out  of  the 


Mexican  war;  and  our  subject,  then  a  lad 
of  barely  eighteen  summers,  fired  with 
militar\-  enthusiasm  and  patriotic  ardor, 
proceeded  to  New  York,  where  he  en- 
listed in  Company  E,  Third  Light  Artil- 
lery, commanded  by  Brev.  Maj.-Gen. 
Sherman,  and  attached  to  the  army  under 
Gen.  Zachary  Taylor.  He  served  twenty- 
two  months,  participated  in  the  battle  of 
Buena  Vista,  and,  receiving  an  honorable 
discharge  in  New  Orleans,  at  once  re- 
turned northward.  For  a  time  he  moved 
from  place  to  place,  looking  for  work — in 
Rochester,  N.  Y. ,  remaining  one  year; 
then  in  Toledo,  Ohio;  later  in  Maumee, 
same  State.  He  worked  on  the  Wabash 
canal  about  three  months,  after  which,  in 
1 849,  he  located  in  Wood  county,  mak- 
his  home  with  a  family  by  the  name  of 
Truax,  whose  acquaintance  he  had  formed. 
In  1849  he  came  to  Woodville,  where 
he  followed  his  trade  some  time,  then 
worked  on  the  canal  five  seasons;  after 
which  he  bought  a  farm  in  \N'oodville 
township,  on  which  he  lived  five  years, 
cultivating  and  improving  it.  In  1861  he 
moved  into  the  town  of  Fremont,  same 
county,  but  shortly  afterward  again  lo- 
cated in  Woodville,  and  here  continued 
his  trade  until  1863,  in  which  year  he  en- 
listed in  Companj^  C,  Third  Regiment, 
O.  V.  C.  He  served  in  the  Western  com- 
mand about  twenty- two  months,  was 
honorably  discharged  at  Columbus,  Ohio, 
and  returned  to  Woodville,  where  he  re- 
sumed his  trade,  in  connection  with  which 
he  also  sold  sewing  machines  some  ten  or 
twelve  3'ears.  On  June  23,  1851,  he  was 
married  to  Miss  Mary  Truax,  of  the  family 
above  referred  to,  and  a  native  of  Penn- 
sylvania, born  in  Bedford  countj"  in  1830, 
to  which  union  eight  children  were  born, 
a  brief  record  of  whom  is  as  follows: 
Abner,  Benson  and  Caroline  died  at  the 
ages  of  ten,  twenty-four  and  four  years, 
respectively;  Stilwell  is  now  following  the 
trade  of  cooper  in  Woodville;  John  mar- 
ried Susan  Moore,  and  has  three  children 
R ,  Ralph  and  Frank;  Mary  is  assist- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


467 


ant  postmaster  at  Woodville;  James  is  a 
cooper  by  trade  at  Findlay,  Ohio;  and 
Ralph,  who  was  also  a  cooper,  was  so 
seriously  injured  on  July  2,  1895,  in  Find- 
lay,  Ohio,  that  he  died  on  the  following; 
day,  at  the  age  of  twenty-four  years. 

Mr.  Sivalls  is  a  Republican  in  his 
political  preferences,  and  during  President 
James  A.  Garfield's  administration,  was 
appointed  postmaster  at  Woodville,  con- 
tinued under  President  Harrison  and 
President  Cleveland,  and  still  occupies  the 
position.  In  church  connection  he  is  a 
member  of  the  United  Brethren  Society; 
in  secret  society  matters  he  is  a  member 
of  Elmore  Lodge,  No.  462,  I.  O.  O.  P., 
and  socially  no  one  in  the  county  enjoys 
more  fully  the  esteem  and  confidence  of 
the  community  at  large. 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  L.  DIRLAM, 
the    efficient    and    capable    post- 
master at  Clyde,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, is  a  native  of   Massachusetts, 
born  in  Berkshire  county,  March  2,  1831, 
and  is  a  son  of  Sylvenus  and  Mary  (Clark) 
Dirlam. 

The  father  was  born  in  Massachusetts 
in  1790,  there  followed  farming  and  car- 
pentering until  coming  west  on  the  ist  of 
June,  I  S3 1,  when  he  located  on  a  farm  in 
Sandusky  county,  three  miles  from  Clyde. 
This  place  he  improved  and  cultivated  up 
to  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1884.  His 
wife,  who  was  born  in  Berkshire  county, 
Mass.,  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-eight 
years.  In  their  family  were  nine  chil- 
dren: Hiram,  a  resident  farmer  of  Berk- 
shire county,  Mass. ;  James,  who  makes 
his  home  in  Indiana;  Curtis,  who  lives  in 
Carroll  county,  Iowa;  Joseph,  who  died 
at  the  age  of  ten  years;  Louise,  wife  of 
Myron  Tuttle,  of  Indiana;  Harriet,  wife 
of  L.  Craig;  Louis,  a  resident  of  Sandusky 
county,  Ohio;  D.  Dirlam,  in  Mansfield, 
Ohio;  and  Charles  L.  The  paternal 
grandfather  was  a  Hessian  soldier,  sent 
to  this  country  to   assist   the   British  in 


subduing  the  Colonies  during  the  Revol- 
utionarj'  war,  during  which  he  was 
wounded.  Later  he  deserted,  becoming 
a  resident  of  Massachusetts,  and  during 
the  war  of  18 12  fought  against  the  British 
troops. 

In  the  usual  manner  of  farmer  lads 
the  boyhood  and  youth  of  Charles  L. 
Dirlam  were  passed,  aiding  his  father  in 
clearing  and  developing  the  land.  Later 
he  learned  the  brick  layer's  and  mason's 
trades,  at  which  he  worked  until  the 
breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war,  when  he 
became  a  member  of  Company  A, 
Seventy-second  O.  V.  I.,  being  assigned  to 
the  Sixteenth  and  Seventeenth  Army 
Corps  under  Gen.  McPherson.  The  first 
battle  in  which  he  was  engaged  was  at 
Shiloh,  which  was  followed  by  the  Vicks- 
burg  campaign,  and  with  his  regiment  he 
participated  in  all  the  important  engage- 
ments in  the  Mississippi  Valley.  At  Gun- 
town,  Miss. ,  he  was  taken  prisoner,  was 
sent  to  Mobile,  Ala. ,  thence  to  Macon,  Ga. , 
from  there  to  Charleston  and  Columbus, 
S.  C. ;  on  reaching  Charlotte,  N.  C,  he 
managed  to  escape,  but  was  re-captured, 
after  which  he  was  confined  in  Libby 
prison.  As  his  term  of  service  had  e.\- 
pired  at  the  time  of  his  exchange,  he  re- 
turned home.  He  had  entered  the  army 
as  a  private,  but  at  the  time  of  being  made 
prisoner  was  holding  the  rank  of  captain, 
which  he  had  gained  b}'  meritorous  con- 
duct on  the  field  of  battle.  He  has  ever 
been  a  loyal  and  patriotic  citizen,  and  in 
his  defense  of  the  Union  was  a  fearless 
and  valiant  soldier. 

In  1858  Capt.  Dirlam  married  Miss 
Mary  Gale,  born  in  Sandusky  county  in 
1832,  and  by  this  union  there  are  three 
children:  Jay  C. ,  a  miner  at  Seattle, 
Wash.,  married  and  has  one  child,  Clyde; 
Staneberry,  a  house  painter  of  Denver, 
Col.,  married  and  has  one  son,  Charles; 
and  John,  the  youngest  of  the  family, 
still  with  his  parents.  On  his  return 
from  the  South  at  the  close  of  the  war 
the  Captain  resumed  work  at  his  trade  in 


468 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


his  vicinity.  In  1891  he  was  appointed 
postmaster  at  Clyde,  which  office  he  is 
still  holding,  and  has  ever  given  the  best 
of  satisfaction.  For  forty  years  he  has 
made  his  home  in  Clyde,  where  he  is 
widely  known  and  universally  respected. 
In  politics  the  Captain  is  a  steadfast  ad- 
herent of  the  principles  formulated  by 
the  Republican  party;  socially  he  is  a 
member  of  Edon  Post,  No.  55,  G.  A.  R. , 
in  which  he  takes  an  active  interest. 


SAMUEL    STORER,    farmer    and 
fruit  grower,  of  Green  Creek  town- 
ship, Sanduskj'  county,  was  born 
at     Westbrook,     near      Portland, 
Maine,   January  22,  1807,  son  of  Joseph 
and  Charlotte  (Ivnight)  Storer. 

Joseph  Storer  was  also  born  in  the 
"  Pine  Tree  State,"  the  year  of  his  birth 
being  1776.  His  father  was  a  Revolu- 
tionary soldier,  and  died  of  smallpox;  his 
wife  was  a  Miss  Graves,  who  was  born  at 
Broad  Cove,  Maine,  about  1720,  and  died 
at  the  age  of  ninet3'-nine  years.  The 
grandfather  of  Joseph  Storer  was  sup- 
posed to  be  of  Irish  birth.  Joseph  Storer 
was  a  ship  and  house  carpenter  by  trade, 
and  he  served  in  the  war  of  18 12.  In 
181 5  his  home  was  burned,  and  in  re- 
building he  became  involved  in  debt. 
Thinking  to  better  his  circumstances  in 
the  West,  and  also  wishing  to  keep  his 
boys  from  going  to  sea,  he  came  to  Ohio 
in  1 8 17,  and  settled  in  Zanesville.  He 
left  Portland  in  May,  that  j'ear,  accom- 
panied by  his  eldest  son,  George,  and 
Samuel,  then  a  boy  of  ten  years.  On 
reaching  Zanesvillehe  found  employment 
at  his  trade,  and  in  a  year  saved  money 
enough  to  send  for  his  family,  so,  purchasing 
a  wagon  and  team,  he  hired  a  man  to  drive 
to  Maine  for  them.  The  driver  went  as 
far  as  Connecticut,  where  he  appropriated 
the  team  to  his  own  use,  and,  as  a  conse- 
quence, the  family  was  obliged  to  wait 
another  year  before  coming  west.    Joseph 


Storer  remained  at  Zanesville  ten  years, 
and  while  there  he  and  his  partner,  John 
Wilson,  built  the  great  wooden  bridge 
across  the  Muskingum  river.  In  1827  he 
moved  to  Cleveland,  and  there  followed 
his  trade  of  ship  carpenter  for  many 
years.  He  died  in  Green  Creek  town- 
ship, Sandusky  Co.,  in  1867.  In  poli- 
tics he  was  a  Whig  and  a  Republican,  and 
in  religious  belief  a  Methodist.  His  wife, 
Charlotte  Knight,  was  born  in  Broad 
Cove,  Maine,  in  about  1777,  and  died  in 
1 85 1.  The  children  of  Joseph  and  Char- 
lotte Storer  were  as  follows:  Eliza,  who 
married  Joel  Chapman,  and  lived  in 
Cuyahoga  county  to  the  age  of  eighty-five 
years;  George,  still  living  in  Cleveland  at 
the  age  of  ninety-three  years;  Joseph, 
who  died  in  Brooklyn  village  January  11, 
1894,  aged  eighty-nine  years;  Samuel, 
subject  of  this  sketch,  now  (1895)  aged 
eighty-nine  years;  Webster,  now  eighty- 
six  years  old;  Hester,  wife  of  Harris  Brain- 
ard,  of  Cuyahoga  count\^ 

Samuel  Storer  attended  the  schools 
of  Zanesville,  served  an  apprenticeship  of 
six  years  to  the  trade  of  tanner  and  cur- 
rier, and  followed  it  for  thirty-five  years 
at  Brooklyn  village.  In  the  fall  of  1862 
he  sold  out,  and  in  the  spring  of  1 863 
moved  to  the  farm  near  Clyde,  which  he 
still  occupies  and  which  he  had  purchased 
in  1857.  Mr.  Storer  was  married  in  1831, 
to  Miss  Sarah  J.  Fish,  who  was  born  near 
Cleveland,  October  11,  181 1.  She  was 
the  daughter  of  James  Fish,  who,  in  181 1, 
migrated  from  Groton,  Conn.,  to  Ohio, 
with  an  ox-team,  and  settled  in  the  woods 
near  Brooklyn  village  (now  Cleveland). 
His  wife  was  a  weaver,  and  supported  the 
family  at  the  loom  while  he  cleared  the 
farm.  Mr.  Fish  lived  to  the  age  of  nine- 
ty-three years.  The  seven  children  born 
to  Samuel  and  Sarah  Storer  were  as  fol- 
lows: (I)  Sarah  S.,  born  in  1835,  was 
married  in  i860  to  Ira  H.  Pool,  who  in 
July,  1862,  enlisted  in  the  army  and  died 
in  Nashville  hospital  in  July,  1864;  she 
has  two  daughters:   Bessie,  wife  of  Will- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPUICAL  RECORD. 


4G0 


ard  Pcrin,  of  Green  Creek  township,  and 
mother  of  four  children — Ethel,  Cecil  and 
Gaylord  and  Gladys  (twins);  and  Irene, 
wife  of  Ira  Conistock  and  mother  of  three 
children — May,  Ruth  and  Clara.  (2) 
Miranda,  wife  of  William  Cunningham,  of 
Clyde,  has  five  children:  Harry;  Edna; 
Lizzie,  wife  of  A.  W.  Wilds;  Nellie,  wife 
of  William  Wallace,  of  Lorain,  and  May, 
wife  of  Har\ey  Cook,  of  Fremont,  and 
mother  of  two  children — Iva  and  Mabel 
L.  (3)  James,  who  served  throughout 
the  war  in  the  artillery  department,  and 
is  now  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the 
Geo.  Worthiiigton  Co.,  wholesale  hard- 
ware, Cleveland;  he  married  Emma 
Schneider,  of  Cleveland,  and  had  three 
children — May,  Winifred,  and  James  (de- 
ceased). (4)  Mary,  who  wedded  Robert 
Clapp,  of  Clyde  (now  deceased),  and  be- 
came the  mother  of  one  child — Irving; 
she  is  now  the  wife  of  George  Lee.  (5) 
Charles,  of  Green  Creek  township,  mar- 
ried Lucinda  Rathbun  and  has  five  chil- 
dren— Allie,  Bessie,  Mary,  James  and 
Carrie.  (6)  Etta,  wife  of  Morris  L.  Huss, 
of  Green  Creek  township,  and  mother  of 
two  children — Ruth  and  Dwight.  (7) 
Benjamin  is  now  deceased.  Mrs.  Storer, 
the  faithful  and  devoted  wife  and  mother, 
passed  away  in  1889.  She  had  been  for 
many  years  a  consistent  member  of  the 
M.  E.  Church,  and  that  religious  society 
at  Clyde  has  had  no  heartier  or  more  in- 
fluential supporter  than  Mr.  Storer,  who 
subscribes  liberally  to  the  Church  and  its 
missionary  societies.  He  first  joined  the 
church  in  1822,  and  has  ever  since  lived  in 
conformity  with  its  teachings  and  pre- 
cepts. He  is  a  man  above  reproach  in 
his  community,  and  a  good  citizen.  When 
operations  on  the  Ohio  canal  were  com- 
menced July  4,  1824,  Mr.  Storer  be- 
longed to  an  artillery  company  at  Zanes- 
ville,  which  was  ordered  to  Licking  Sum- 
mit to  be  present  at  the  celebration  on 
that  occasion.  Gov.  Clinton,  of  New 
York,  and  Gov.  Trimble,  of  Ohio,  lifted 
the  first spadesful  of  earth  in  the  construc- 


tion of  that  work.  This,  Mr.  Storer  says, 
was  his  first  and  only  experience  in  mili- 
tary service. 


ISAAC  AIGLER,  a  retired  agricultur- 
ist of  York  township,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty,  is    worthy  of    credit   for   untiring 

energy  and  exemplary  character,  and 
to  him  honor  should  be  rendered.  His 
farm  is  a  model  one.  The  same  marked 
care  shown  by  his  wife  in  the  arrange- 
ment of  her  house,  Mr.  Aigler  is  renowned 
for  in  the  appointment  of  his  premises. 

Amos  Aigler,  the  father  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania, 
December  11,  181 5,  and  in  1839  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Armina  Bobb, 
who  was  born  in  1819,  also  in  Pennsylva- 
nia. They  had  two  children:  Isaac,  the 
older  child,  born  in  Union  (now  Snyder) 
county,  Penn.,  August  23,  1840;  and 
Eliza,  now  the  wife  of  William  Hummel, 
of  York  township.  Mrs.  Aigler  died  in 
1844,  and  two  years  later  Mr.  Aigler  mar- 
ried Mrs.  Eliza  Aigler,  widow  of  his 
brother,  and  they  had  five  children, 
namely:  James,  late  of  Bellevue,  Huron 
county,  Ohio,  now  deceased,  and  Matilda 
L. ,  wife  of  J.  D.  Harpster,  a  Kansas 
banker  (they  were  twins);  Henry,  of  York 
township,  deceased;  J.  P.,  a  real-estate 
agent,  of  Kansas;  and  Clara,  wife  of  Al- 
len Kern,  a  farmer  of  York  township.  In 
1848  the  family  came  to  Thompson  town- 
ship, Seneca  county,  and  next  year  moved 
to  York  township,  where  Mr.  Aigler 
bought  eighty  acres  of  land.  Here  he 
lived  for  many  years,  and  then,  thinking 
he  had  well  earned  a  vacation,  moved  to 
Bellevue,  where  he  lives  retired. 

Isaac  Aigler  was  but  eight  years  old 
when  his  father  came  to  Ohio.  His  school 
life  ended  shortly  after  that,  and  he  had 
to  rise  early  and  work  late  as,  forty  years 
ago,  life  on  the  farm  was  not  lightened  by 
iinproved  machinery  as  at  present.  In 
1 86 1  he  enlisted  in  Company  D.  Fiftieth 
Ohio    National     Guards,    for    f\\c    years. 


470 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPniCAL   RECORD. 


A^ain,  on  Ma}-  2,  1864,  he  enlisted  in 
Company  I,  One  Hundred  and  Sixt}'- 
ninth  O.  V.  I.  He  served  in  Maryland 
and  Virginia,  defending  Washington  dur- 
ing the  summer  of  1864,  and  was  dis- 
charged September  4,  1864.  On  March 
5,  1868,  Mr.  Aigler  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Susan  Close,  who  was  born 
August  16,  1847. 

The  parents  of  Mrs.  Aigler,  George 
and  Mary  (Moyer)  Close,  came  to  Ohio 
in  1856.  They  had  eleven  children,  as 
follows:  Austin,  a  Kansas  farmer  and  car- 
penter; Eliza,  widow  of  LaFayette  Han- 
num,  of  Perrysburg,  Ohio;  Marguerite, 
wife  of  J.  K.  Frederick,  of  Mauniee, 
Ohio;  Melinda,  who  is  married  to  C.  P. 
Deyo,  of  Belle vue;  Henry,  who  is  in  the 
milling  business  at  Venice,  and  resides  in 
Sandusky  City;  Joseph  W.,  a  Bellevue 
banker;  Susan,  Mrs.  Aigler;  George  W. , 
a  banker  at  Berlin  Heights;  Cloyd,  a 
farmer,  of  Michigan;  Charles  C,  a  livery- 
man in  Fremont;  and  Jay  F.,  a  Kansas 
lawyer.  Mr.  Aigler  has  a  fertile  farm  of 
108  acres,  on  which  he  grows  principally 
grain,  also  some  fruit.  For  many  years 
he  affiliated  with  the  Republican  party; 
but  upon  the  organization  of  the  People's 
party  he  at  once  embraced  that  doctrine, 
being  the  first  man  in  York  township  to 
openly  advocate  the  Omaha  platform.  He 
is  one  of  the  best  known  Populists  in  the 
country,  and  for  several  years  has  served 
on  various  county  committees. 


Wn.LIAM  REHBERG.  Promi- 
nent among  the  old  settlers  and 
esteemed  residents  of  Middle 
Bass  Island,  Ottawa  county,  is 
found  the  gentleman  whose  name  intro- 
duces this  sketch.  He  was  born  in  Meck- 
lenburg-Schwerin,  Germany,  January  10, 
1825,  son  of  John  and  Christina  (Bohn- 
dorff)  Rehbcrg,  who  were  both  born  in 
Germany. 

William  Rehberg  was  educated,  reared 
to  manhood  and  learned  the  trade  of  ma- 


chinist in  his  native  land.  On  January/, 
1849,  in  Mecklenburg-Schwerin,  Ger- 
many, he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Louisa  Stevens,  who  was  born  in  Mamaro, 
and  they  have  had  seven  children,  three 
of  whom  are  now  living,  namely:  Mary, 
born  January  i,  1850,  now  the  wife  of 
John  Runkle,  of  Middle  Bass  Island; 
Herman,  born  June  2,  1857,  and  residing 
on  Middle  Bass  Island;  and  Ida,  born  July 
3,  1863,  wife  of  A.  Smith,  Jr.,  of  San- 
dusky, Erie  county. 

In  1849  Mr.  Rehberg  left  the  Father- 
land for  America,  and  after  his  arrival  in 
this  country  resided  at  Niagara  Falls  for 
a  few  months,  then  came  to  Ohio  and 
located  in  Wyandot  count}',  where  he  was 
engaged  in  the  gunsmith  business  for  two 
years.  He  then  removed  to  Sandusky, 
Erie  county,  and  for  two  years  was  occu- 
pied in  fishing,  in  i856removing  to  Middle 
Bass  Island,  of  which  locality  he  has  since 
been  a  continuous  resident  and  one  of  its 
most  progressive  citizens,  doing  more, 
perhaps,  than  any  other  settler  toward  the 
progress  that  has  been  made  on  that  beau- 
tiful island,  and  the  growth  of  its  material 
interests.  Mr.  Rehberg  was  the  first  pur- 
chaser of  land  on  the  island,  and  imme- 
diately after  his  purchase  agreed  to  im- 
prove this  part  of  the  township  by  clear- 
ing and  cultivating  the  land,  and  erecting 
substantial  houses  and  other  buildings.  A 
few  years  afterward  he  began  the  cultiva- 
tion of  grapes,  and  later  entered  upon  the 
business  of  wine  making,  in  which  he  has 
since  continued,  his  vineyard  now  being 
one  of  the  largest  and  best  cultivated  on 
the  island.  In  1869  he  built  his  large 
wine  cellar,  in  1879  his  spacious  Middle 
Bass  Club  hall,  used  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  the  club.  He  is  owner  and  master 
of  the  fine  steamer  "  Leroy  Brooks,"  part 
owner  of  the  steamer  "  Secord, "  which 
plies  between  Port  Clinton  and  the  islands 
during  the  summer  months,  and  is  also  a 
stockholder  in  the  Sandusky  Fish  Com- 
pany. 

In  his  political  views    Mr.  Rehberg  is 


>^  /IM^ 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


471 


an  active  member  of  the  Democratic 
party.  He  was  the  first  trustee  of  Put  in 
Bay  township,  and  has  also  efficiently 
filled  many  other  township  offices.  He 
is  a  member  of  Science  Lodge  No.  50, 
F.  &  A.  M.,  of  Sandusky,  Erie  county, 
and  was  a  member  of  Erie  Commandery 
No.  22,  Sandusky,  Ohio,  but  resigned  in 
189s;  is  a  member  of  Commodore  Perry 
Lodge  L  O.  O.  F.,  of  Put  in  Bay;  and  a 
charter  member  of  Guttenberg-Hin  Lodge 
No.  91,  Druids,  Sandusky.  Few  men 
have  come  more  in  contact  with  the  grow- 
ing interests  of  Put  in  Bay  township,  and 
none  have  commanded  more  completel)' 
the  respect  and  confidence  of  the  com- 
munity than  William  Rehberg.  He  has 
risen  by  his  own  individual  efforts,  and 
may  justly  be  styled  a  self-made  man. 
Of  gentlemanly  demeanor,  he  always 
meets  his  associates,  both  in  social  and 
business  circles,  with  a  cordial  and  friendly 
bearing;  as  a  public  man  he  has  dis- 
charged with  painstaking  fidelity  the  du- 
ties of  ever)'  position  in  which  he  has 
been  placed,  and  enjoys  the  respect  and 
esteem  of  the  people  he  has  so  faithfully 
served. 

In  1882,  after  an  absence  of  forty- 
three  years,  Mr.  Rehberg  paid  a  visit  to 
his  native  land  and  town,  and  after  pleas- 
antly sojourning  there  for  some  si.\  months 
with  relatives  and  friends,  returned  to  the 
United  States  and  to  Middle  Bass  in  the 
fall  of  the  same  year.  At  the  present 
time  (December,  1895)  he  is  in  Florida, 
building  a  cottage  in  an  orange  grove. 


RICHARD  BOYD  STEVENSON 
holds  an  honored  and  revered 
place  in  the  hearts  of  his  fellow- 
citizens  of  York  township,  San- 
dusky county.  He  has  passed  the  seventy- 
fifth  milestone  of  his  life,  and  is  thus 
linked  by  memory  to  a  past  generation. 
Coming  as  he  did  when  a  lad  of  tender 
years  to  the  "  Black  Swamp,"  he  has 
witnessed    the    conversion   of  a  swampy 

30 


jungle  into  a  region  as  fair  and  fertile  as 
the  sun  has  ever  shone  upon.  Gifted  with 
a  memory  remarkably  acute  and  vivid,  he 
is  an  unquestioned  authority  upon  the 
early  history  of  York  and  neighboring 
townships.  And  blessed  as  he  also  is 
with  a  keen  judgment  of  men  and  events, 
and  with  a  kindly  feeling  for  humanity, 
he  ranks  as  an  oracle  among  all  who  know 
him. 

Mr.  Stevenson  was  born  in  Frederick 
county,  Md.,  January  10,  1820,  son  of 
Dr.  Matthew  and  Jane  (Gilson)  Steven- 
son. Dr.  Stevenson  was  born  in  Fred- 
erick county,  Md.,  in  1777,  and  his  father, 
James  Stevenson,  who  was  of  Scotch 
origin,  emigrated  from  the  North  of  Ire- 
land to  Pennsylvania,  married  a  Miss 
Buchanan  fa  relative  of  President  Buchan- 
an), near  Carlisle,  Penn.,  and  removed 
across  the  Maryland  line,  buying  land  on 
the  foot  hills  between  Emmittsburg,  Md., 
and  Gettysburg,  Penn.  Here  he  lived  a 
farmer,  of  the  old  Presbyterian  faith, 
until  his  death.  His  children  were  as  fol- 
lows: Matthew;  William,  who  died  near 
Clyde,  Ohio;  Martha,  who  married  and 
lived  in  Cayuga  county,  N.Y. ;  Jane,  after- 
ward Mrs.  Knox;  Abigail,  who  married 
and  lived  in  New  York  State;  Elizabeth 
and  Mary.  Matthew  studied  medicine 
and  for  a  time  practiced  in  Gettysburg, 
where  his  uncle,  Dr.  Buchanan,  was  also 
a  practitioner.  Later  Dr.  Stevenson 
practiced  near  Youngstown,  Westmore- 
land Co.,  Penn.  He  v^'as  a  man  of 
thorough  classical  education,  and  his  son, 
Richard  B.,  still  has  many  of  his  books 
written  in  the  Latin  tongue.  He  also 
possessed  high  scientific  attainments.  The 
latter  he  was  obliged  sometimes  to  call 
into  requisition.  Thus  in  Westmoreland 
county  the  good  people  saw  phosphor- 
escent lights  move  slowly  to  and  fro,  and 
in  terror  believed  them  to  be  spirits  from 
the  other  world  until  Dr.  Stevenson  dem- 
onstrated to  them  the  earthly  origin  of 
the  lights. 

Jane  Gilson,  the  wife  of   Dr.  Steven- 


472 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPmCAL  RECORD. 


son,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1789. 
Her  mother  was  a  Miss  Boyd,  member  of 
a  family  who  settled  in  an  early  day 
among  the  Indians  at  Carlisle,  Penn. 
During  the  French  and  Indian  wars  the 
entire  family  was  captured  save  the 
father,  who  at  the  time  was  absent  from 
home.  In  a  neighboring  schoolhouse  the 
teacher  and  all  the  pupils  were  massa- 
cred. Grandmother  Boyd  was  killed  by 
the  Indians,  because  she  was  too  old  to 
be  taken  into  captivity,  and  also  an  in- 
fant. The  other  Boyds  were  carried 
back  into  the  wilderness.  One  of  the 
boys,  the  grandfather  of  Dr.  Stevenson's 
wife,  was  given  to  a  "good  Indian,"  and 
it  was  his  duty  to  wait  upon  an  enfeebled 
old  warrior  chief.  Three  years  later  he 
was  returned  to  Carlisle.  All  the  other 
members  of  the  family,  except  one  boy, 
were  restored  after  seven  years  of  cap- 
tivity. 

After  the  death  of  his  father.  Dr. 
Stevenson  returned  to  Frederick  county, 
Md.,  and  remained  there  until  his  migra- 
tion to  Ohio.  He  came  with  his  family 
in  a  three-horse  wagon  to  Tiffin,  and  later 
to  Sandusky  county,  arriving  June  3, 
1830,  at  the  farm  in  York  township  still 
owned  by  the  subject  of  this  sketch  and 
other  heirs.  The  land  had  been  entered 
by  Mr.  Birdseye  in  1822,  and  from  him 
purchased  by  Dr.  Stevenson.  The  latter 
did  not  practice  medicine  in  Ohio,  but 
followed  farming  until  his  death,  in  1849. 
In  politics  he  was  a  Whig,  and  in  relig- 
ious faith  a  Presbyterian  early  in  life,  but 
later  a  Methodist.  His  wife,  who  had 
nobly  braved  the  toils  and  privations  of 
pioneer  life,  survived  until  1877.  Dr. 
Matthew  and  Jane  Stevenson  had  eleven 
children,  as  follows:  James  G.  D.,  who 
lived  at  Buffalo,  N.  Y. ;  Thomas  W.  B., 
of  Fayette  county,  Iowa;  G.  H.,  for  some 
years  a  resident  of  California;  Nancy 
Jane,  who  married  W.  Gurley;  Richard 
Boyd,  subject  of  this  sketch;  Lucinda, 
born  September  15,  1822,  a  maiden  lady, 
who  cared  for  her  parents  in  their  declin- 


ing years,  and  who  now  lives  at  the  old 
homestead  with  her  brother,  Richard  B. ; 
John  W.,  of  Sandusky  City;  M.  A.  and 
B.  W.  (twins),  the  former  a  resident  of 
Chicago,  and  the  latter  a  farmer  of  York 
township;  Joseph  F. ,  who  died  in  1852, 
aged  twenty-two  years;  Mary  E. ,  born 
August  19,  1832,  the  only  child  of  the 
family  born  in  Ohio,  unmarried  and  living 
with  her  brother  and  sister  on  the  old 
homestead. 

The  occupants  at  the  old  farmhouse, 
around  which  cluster  many  fond  memo- 
ries, are  thus  Richard  Boyd  Stevenson 
and  his  two  unmarried  sisters — Mary  E. 
and  Lucinda.  Like  them  he  has  re- 
mained single.  The  home  is  one  of  the 
landmarks  of  the  revered  past,  and  in  the 
eyes  of  the  community  for  many  miles 
about  it  is  doubly  revered  because  of  the 
high  standing  of  its  owners.  The  Misses 
Stevenson  are  renowned  for  their  ladj'- 
like  and  reserved  manners,  and  for  their 
liberal  culture.  They  have  been  reared 
in  the  M.  E.  Church.  In  politics  Mr. 
Stevenson  is  a  Republican.  With  his 
accustomed  public  spirit  and  generosity, 
he  has  dedicated  to  public  use  a  spring  of 
remarkable  freshness  and  coldness,  which 
gushes  from  the  earth  a  short  distance  in 
front  of  the  Stevenson  home.  Around  it 
he  has  built  a  stone  house,  and  the  passer- 
by is  ever  welcome  to  enter  and  slake  his 
thirst  at  ' '  the  coldest  spring  and  purest 
water  in  northern  Ohio." 


ROBERT  L.  RIFE,  a  leading  citi- 
zen of  York  township,  Sandusky 
county,  has  amassed  one  of  the 
largest  landed  holdings  for  many 
miles  around  by  his  superior  business 
sagacity  and  enterprise.  He  began  his 
farming  career  in  a  small  way,  and  added 
to  his  acres  gradually  from  time  to  time, 
obeying  the  cardinal  principle  of  success 
in  life  by  keeping  expenses  within  his  in- 
come. He  is  yet  a  young  man,  and  a  na- 
tive   of  York  township,    born   April    27, 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


473 


1846,  son  of  Michael  and  Mary  (Long- 
well)  Rife. 

It  is  a  family  of  pioneer  stock.  Mich- 
ael Rife  was  born  in  Frederick  county, 
Md.,  February  15,  18 14,  a  son  of  Daniel 
and  Elizabeth  (Zumbrund)  Rife.  Daniel 
Rife  was  the  son  of  a  German  emigrant 
who  had  settled  in  Maryland.  Like  his 
father  he  was  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
Church.  He  continued  to  live  in  Mary- 
land many  years  after  his  marriage  to 
Elizabeth  Zumbrund,  but  in  1S32  he 
migrated  with  his  wife  and  ten  children — 
three  sons  and  seven  daughters — to  San- 
dusky county.  These  children  were  as 
follows:  Susan,  who  married  Chester 
Kinnej',  of  Green  Spring;  Michael,  father 
of  Robert  L. ;  Daniel,  a  farmer  of  Clyde; 
Julia  Ann,  who  married  John  Hamlin  and 
moved  to  Steuben  county,  Ind. ;  Eliza- 
beth, of  Bellevue;  Mary  and  Sarah 
(twins),  the  former  of  whom  married 
Aaron  Bartlett  of  Fulton  county;  Sophia; 
John,  of  York  township;  and  Frances. 
The  township  was  practically  uncleared 
and  largely  unsettled  when  Daniel  Rife 
became  a  resident  in  1832,  and  he  en- 
gaged in  the  serious  work  of  making  a 
home  for  himself  in  the  wilderness.  He 
met  with  success,  and  his  descendants  are 
among  the  most  highly-respected  citizens 
of  the  county.  He  died  at  the  age  of 
fifty-seven  j'ears,  his  wife  surviving  to  the 
age  of  seventy-six. 

Michael  Rife,  the  eldest  son,  was 
eighteen  when  he  came  to  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, just  the  right  age  to  be  of  most  value 
to  his  father  in  the  pioneer  life.  For 
seven  years  he  labored  at  home.  Then 
on  New  Year's  Day,  1839,  he  married 
Mary  Longwell,  a  young  lady  who  had 
been  orphaned  from  infancy,  and  whose 
parents  were  among  the  first  victims  of 
an  unhealthy  climate  in  York  township  in 
its  early  days.  She  was  born  in  Berlin 
township,  Delaware  county,  November 
9,  1 82 1,  only  daughter  of  Robert  and  Lu- 
cinda  (Butler)  Longwell.  They  were 
married  February  2,  1821,   and  in   1823 


journeyed  to  a  new  pioneer  home.  Mr. 
Longwell  brought  his  goods  in  an  o.x- 
wagon,  while  his  wife  carried  the  child 
Mary  in  her  arms  and  rode  horseback. 
After  one  brief  year  of  married  life  in  the 
new  land  the  family  was  destroyed.  Mrs. 
Longwell  died  September  17,  1824,  aged 
thirty-two  years,  her  husband,  who  was  a 
native  of  Kentuckj',  five  days  later,  aged 
thirty  years.  The  mother  was  one  of  a 
numerous  family;  she  was  born  in  Lenox 
township,  Berkshire  Co.,  Mass.  Her 
brothers  and  sisters  were:  Sarah;  Lydia, 
Rebecca,  Persus,  Thankful,  Jethrone, 
Daniel,  David,  Levi,  George,  Cornelius 
and  Mar}'.  The  orphaned  child  grew  up 
among  relatives  in  Sandusky  and  Dela- 
ware counties.  After  his  marriage  to  her 
in  1839  Michael  Rife  began  housekeeping 
in  York  township.  Currency  was  scarce 
in  those  days,  and  to  procure  the  small 
amount  of  money  needed  to  pay  taxes 
was  a  difftcult  matter.  Mrs.  Rife  raised 
chickens  and  produce  of  various  sorts, 
but  the  prices  they  commanded  would  in 
this  day  discourage  any  agriculturist. 
Michael  Rife  was  in  politics  a  Republican. 
He  was  industrious  and  economical,  and 
accumulated  a  highly-improved  farm  of 
400  acres  upon  which  he  lived  in  comfort 
during  his  declining  years  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  January  2,  1894.  His 
widow  is  at  this  writing  still  living  on  the 
old  homstead  on  the  North  Ridge,  York 
township.  Four  children  were  born  to 
Michael  and  Mary  Rife,  f  i)  Eudora  Ann, 
born  March  30,  1841,  married  October 
16,  1862,  to  Robert  Zuel,  of  Townsend 
township,  who  was  born  in  New  York 
State  October  29,  1831;  thej' have  four 
children:  Mary,  born  October  20,  1863, 
married  to  Robert  Asher,  and  living  in 
Kansas,  near  Kansas  Cit\';  Sarah,  born 
October  22,  1S65,  married  to  William 
Range,  and  the  mother  of  five  children — 
Charles,  Frank,  Fred,  Bessie  and  Harry; 
Hattie,  born  August  25,  1869,  married 
to  W.  Gursuch,  and  living  in  Wallace 
county,  Kans. ;   and   George,  born  March 


474 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQRAPEICAL  RECORD. 


4,  1877,  a  farmer  of  Johnson  county, 
Kans.  (2)  Sarah  Fideha,  born  September 
7,  1842,  is  the  wife  of  WilHam  L.  Rich- 
ards, of  York  township.  (3)  Robert  L. 
is  the  subject  of  this  sl<etch.  (4)  Charles, 
born  February  20,  1848,  died  March  24, 
same  year. 

Robert  L.  Rife  grew  up  in  York  town- 
ship, and  at  the  age  of  twenty-three, 
on  September  i,  1869,  married  Miss  Maria 
Dimock,  who  was  born  in  Brownhelm 
township,  Lorain  county,  August  4,  1849. 
After  marriage  they  settled  on  a  small 
place,  and  modestly  began  farming.  It 
can  be  said  that  Mr.  Rife  has  a  genius 
for  the  noble  art  of  husbandry,  for  he  has 
prospered  almost  beyond  measure,  and 
he  is  to-day  one  of  the  most  substantial 
farmers  of  Sandusk}'  county.  To  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Rife  have  been  born  five  chil- 
dren: Charles,  Fred,  Emmet,  Gertrude 
and  Homer.  Charles,  the  eldest,  mar- 
ried Hattie  Wyatt,  and  has  two  children — 
Beatrice  and  Ellis.  Fred  married  Miss 
Christena  Knoblow,  and  has  one  child — 
Helen. 


SAMUEL  FOUGHT,  one  of  the 
honored  pioneers  of  Sandusky 
county,  has  made  his  home  in 
Washington  township  since  the 
•days  when  this  locality  was  a  frontier 
settlement,  when  the  work  of  progress  and 
civilization  seemed  hardly  begun,  when 
homes  were  widely  scattered,  and  when 
many  of  the  now  thriving  towns  and  vil- 
lages had  not  j'et  sprung  into  existence. 
In  the  work  of  progress  and  advancement 
he  has  ever  borne  his  part,  and  his  name 
is  inseparably  connected  with  the  history 
of  the  county. 

Mr.  Fought  is  a  native  of  Ohio,  born 
in  Perry  county,  December  3,  1831,  and 
is  a  son  of  Michael  and  Elizabeth  (Kline) 
Fought,  who  removed  from  Pennsylvania 
to  Ohio  in  the  days  when  it  was  hardly 
safe  to  venture  far  from  their  log  cabin, 
for  the  wolves  were  then  more  numerous 


in  Sandusky  county  than  are  the  cattle 
to-day.  They  located  upon  a  fortj'-acre 
tract  of  land  about  two  miles  from  the 
present  home  of  our  subject,  and  there 
spent  their  remaining  days,  both  reaching 
an  advanced  age.  The  father  passed 
away  at  the  age  of  eighty-one,  and 
the  mother  was  called  to  her  final 
rest  at  the  age  of  eight\--three.  In  his 
political  relations  he  was  a  Democrat,  and 
both  were  members  of  the  Lutheran 
Church.  Their  family  numbered  eleven 
children,  of  whom  Pegg\-  became  the  wife 
of  J.  Cunningham,  by  whom  she  had  four 
children,  and  after  his  death  married  G. 
Heverland,  by  whom  she  had  one  child; 
Sally  married  J.  Hetrick,  and  both  are 
now  deceased;  Solomon,  Nancy  and 
Michael  are  also  deceased;  the  other 
members  of  the  family  are  Betsy,  William, 
Powell,  Polly,  Samuel  and  Levi. 

Our  subject  was  a  young  child  when 
his  parents  located  in  Sandusky  county, 
and  when  he  became  old  enough  to  attend 
school  he  was  sent  to  the  only  one  in  the 
township,  about  fi\e  miles  from  his  home, 
and  that  distance  he  was  compelled  to 
walk.  He  lived  with  his  parents  until 
1848,  when,  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  with 
the  money  that  he  had  saved  from  his 
earnings,  he  purchased  seventy  acres  of 
land  in  Washington  township,  and  took 
up  his  residence  thereon.  It  is  located 
on  what  is  termed  the  pike,  and  is  one  of 
the  most  valuable  tracts  in  the  township. 
Here  he  is  successfully  engaged  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits,  and  his  place  is  under  a 
high  state  of  cultivation,  and  well  improv- 
ed with  the  accessories  and  conveniences 
of  a  model  farm. 

On  October  5,  1843.  Mr.  Fought  was 
married  to  Miss  Susan  Klotz,  daughter  of 
David  Klotz,  a  farmer  of  Pennsylvania, 
in  whose  family  there  were  seven  children: 
Philip,  Katie,  Susan,  John,  Martin, 
Samuel  and  David.  The  father  died  at 
the  age  of  sixtj^-three,  the  mother  at  the 
advanced  age  of  eighty-six.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Fought   have  been  born  eight  chil- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


47& 


dren — six  sons  and  two  daughters — name- 
ly: Nancy,  born  December  i6,  1844,  now 
the  wife  of  Fred  Gillard;  Lucy,  born  Jan- 
uary 15,  1847,  now  the  wife  of  Frank 
Arnett,  a  carpenter  of  Fremont,  Ohio; 
Absalom,  born  May  11,  1S50;  William, 
born  February  23,  1852,  and  is  engaged 
in  carpentering  in  Fremont;  Freeman, 
who  was  born  January  13,  1854,  and  re- 
sides in  Hessville,  Ohio;  Levi,  who  was 
born  August  5,  1856,  and  follows  milling 
in  Fremont;  Franklin,  a  resident  of  Lind- 
sey,  Ohio,  born  May  31,  1861;  and  David 
E. ,  born  August  25,  1864,  now  a  contrac- 
tor of  Toledo,  Ohio.  Mr.  Fought  is  a 
stalwart  Republican  in  politics,  and  has 
filled  the  office  of  school  director,  taking 
a  deep  interest  in  the  cause  of  education, 
of  which  he  is  a  warm  friend.  He  belongs 
to  the  United  Brethren  Church. 


ALBERT  E.  RICHARDS  (better 
known  as  Bert),  who  is  engaged 
in  the  publication  of  the  Farmers 
Reporter,  of  which  he  is  editor 
and  proprietor,  has  spent  his  entire  life 
in  Sandusky  county,  his  birth  having  oc- 
curred in  Townsend  township,  November 
2,  1862.  He  is  a  son  of  Archibald  and 
Marj'  (George)  Richards.  His  father  was 
born  near  New  London,  Conn.,  in  1812, 
and  when  a  young  man  he  came  to  the 
West,  taking  up  his  residence  in  Sandusky 
county,  where  he  carried  on  agricultural 
pursuits  and  succeeded  in  amassing  a  com- 
fortable fortune.  In  politics  the  elder 
Richards  was  a  Democrat  until  after  the 
division  came  on  the  slavery  question, 
when  he  became  a  stalwart  Republican. 
His  death  occurred  in  1884.  The  mother 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in 
Seneca  county,  Ohio,  in  18 19.  Her  par- 
ents were  from  Vermont,  and  were  among 
the  first  settlers  in  this  section  of  the 
State.  Mrs.  Richards  is  still  living  and 
is  a  resident  of  Clyde. 

In   the    Richards   family    there    were 


thirteen  children,  of  whom  our  subject 
is  the  youngest.  He  attended  the  dis- 
trict schools  until  twelve  years  of  age, 
when  the  family  left  the  farm  and  moved 
to  Clyde,  thus  giving  him  the  advantage 
of  a  better  grade  of  public  schools.  In 
1S79  he  became  a  student  at  Hillsdale 
College,  Hillsdale,  Mich.,  and  remained 
there  three  years.  He  left  school  at  about 
the  time  of  his  father's  death,  and  en- 
gaged in  the  insurance  business,  which  he 
pursued  with  success  during  a  period  of 
two  3'ears.  He  then  disposed  of  his  in- 
surance interests,  and  devoted  his  whole 
time  and  attention  to  art,  for  which 
he  had  always  displayed  a  natural  taste  and 
inclination.  In  art  he  was  fairly  success- 
ful from  a  financial  standpoint,  and  his 
work  in  black  and  white  was  warmly  re- 
ceived by  some  of  the  best  art  critics. 
Our  subject,  however,  could  not  be  satis- 
fied with  anything  less  than  a  thorough 
schooling  in  color  work  among  the  mast- 
ers abroad,  and  did  not  feel  financially 
able  to  pursue  such  a  course  of  study. 
In  1892  he  decided  to  drop  his  art  work 
for  a  time,  and  purchased  the  Fanners' 
Reporter,  a  Republican  newspaper  with  a 
good  circulation,  published  at  Clyde.  Mr. 
Richards  at  once  changed  the  paper  to- 
a  Democratic  sheet,  being  a  stanch  Demo- 
crat himself.  It  is  well  edited,  neat  in 
appearance  and  devoted  to  the  best  inter- 
ests of  the  city  and  county.  Being  well 
conducted  it  receives  a  liberal  patronage, 
and  its  business  is  steadily  increasing. 
One  commendable  feature  about  the  pa- 
per, so  rare  now-a-days,  is  that  it  con- 
tains no  medical  or  other  advertisements 
of  a  questionable  sort,  regardless  of  the 
high  prices  offered  for  space  by  such  ad- 
vertisers. 

Mr.  Richards  is  an  inflexible  supporter 
of  the  principles  of  his  party.  He  is  well 
known  among  local  politicians  throughout 
northwestern  Ohio,  and  his  figure  is  a  fa- 
miliar one  at  conventions  and  other  polit- 
ical gatherings.  His  friends  are  many 
throughout  the  county,  where  his  genial. 


470 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


affable  nature  has  made  him  popular  with 
everybody. 

Our  subject  was  united  in  marriage  on 
May  17,  1S94,  to  Miss  Millicent  Fancher, 
the  charming  and  accomplished  daughter 
of  Postmaster  Fancher,  of  Lorain,  Ohio. 


A 


A.  FENN,  one  of  the  prosperous 
and  successful  business  men  of 
Clyde,  Sandusky  county,  a  fruit 
farmer  and  ice  dealer,  is  the  son 
of  a  well-known  pioneer  of  the  county, 
Amos  Fenn.  The  latter  came  to  Clyde 
in  1820,  with  the  Pogue  family,  Silas 
Dewey  and  Giles  Thompson,  the  earliest 
settlers,  and  for  more  than  half  a  century 
was  a  prominent  character  in  the  com- 
munity. 

Amos  Fenn  was  born  in  Litchfield 
county,  Conn.,  in  September,  1793,  and 
was  a  young  man  when  he  came  west. 
He  was  a  carpenter  by  trade,  and  built 
the  first  frame  house  in  the  city  of  San- 
dusky. He  was  twice  married,  first  at 
Marblehead  to  Nancy  Smith,  by  whom  he 
had  five  children,  as  follows:  Susan  P., 
now  Mrs.  Wing,  of  Kansas;  Charles  G., 
a  grocer  at  Adrian,  Ohio;  Clara  D.,  who 
married  Horace  Woodward,  and  died  near 
Norwalk;  William  U.,  who  died  many 
years  ago;  and  Harriet  J.,  unmarried,  a 
resident  of  Tiffin.  Mrs.  Fenn  died  in 
June,  1839,  and  in  1840  Amos  Fenn  mar- 
ried Emeline,  widow  of  Orrin  F.  Brace, 
and  daughter  of  Nathan  and  Lucy  (Smith) 
Jacobs.  She  was  born  in  \'ermont  Sep- 
tember 30,  1 8 10,  and  was  married  at 
Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  to  Mr.  Brace,  who  went 
west,  contracted  a  fever  and  returned  to 
Milan  to  die  soon  after.  By  that  marriage 
there  was  one  child,  George  Brace,  now 
of  Grand  Ledge,  Mich.  To  Amos  and 
Emeline  ¥enn  came  two  children,  who 
grew  to  maturity — Nancy,  born  February 
3,  1 84 1,  who  was  married  to  Joseph 
Dufran,  of  Bucyrus,  and  died  February 
16,  1892,  leaving  five  children — Charles, 
George,  Allen,  Jean  and  Fred;  and  A.  A., 


subject  of  this  sketch,  born  September  9, 
1848.  Amos  Fenn  remained  a  resident 
of  Clyde  until  his  death,  January  16, 
1879.  He  was  buried  in  Clyde  cemeterj-. 
He  was  a  man  of  deep  conviction,  and 
was  universally  admired  and  respected. 
For  a  time  after  coming  to  Clyde  he 
operated  an  old  water  sawmill  on  Coon 
creek,  near  the  village.  For  a  period  of 
eighteen  j'ears  from  1843  he  served  as  a 
justice  of  the  peace,  and  he  was  also 
elected  township  clerk;  in  politics  he  was 
a  Republican.  For  a  man  of  pioneer 
times  he  was  fairly  educated,  and  in  1844 
he  was  ordained  a  Methodist  minister, 
during  his  later  years  devoting  his  life  al- 
most exclusively  to  ministerial  duties,  and 
his  farewell  sermon  in  the  M.  E.  Church 
attracted  one  of  the  largest  audiences 
ever  assembled  in  Clyde.  Father  Fenn, 
as  he  was  generally  known,  delivered  more 
funeral  sermons,  perhaps,  than  any  other 
man  in  Sandusky  county,  and  often  left 
the  harvest  field  to  officiate  at  some  burial 
service.  This  was  purely  a  labor  of  love,  for 
all  he  ever  received  for  these  ministrations 
was  one  white  shirt.  It  was  not  alone  in 
trhe  lugubrious  aspects  of  life  that  he  par- 
ticipated, for  in  disposition  he  was  jovial 
and  generous;  he  married  hundreds  of 
young  couples,  and  his  one  daughter, 
Nancy,  was  among  the  large  number 
joined  in  wedlock  by  him.  His  widow, 
at  this  writing,  still  survives.  She  was  in 
early  life  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church, 
the  faith  of  her  parents,  but  in  1835 
joined  the  M.  E.  Church  at  Milan.  By 
letter  she,  in  1840,  became  a  member  of 
the  Clyde  Church,  and  still  holds  that 
membership.  Somewhat  enfeebled  by 
age,  she  now  makes  her  home  with  her 
son,  A.  A. 

Our  subject  spent  his  boyhood  days  in 
the  vicinity  of  Clyde,  and  assisted  his 
father  on  the  farm.  He  was  drummer  in 
Company  B,  One  Hundred  and  Sixty- 
ninth  O.  V.  I.,  which  did  guard  service 
at  Fort  Ethan  Allen  during  the  summer 
of  1864,  and  like  most  of  his  comrades  he 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


477 


came  home  broken  down  in  health  frorrt 
his  long  stay  in  a  malarial  locality.  In 
1876  he  was  married  to  Lida  Rathbun, 
who  was  born  in  Clyde  June  16,  1856, 
daughter  of  Franklin  and  Louisa  (Tucker) 
Rathbun,  the  former  also  a  native  of 
Clyde,  the  latter  born  February  17,  1827, 
in  Lorain,  Lorain  county.  Franklin 
Rathbun  and  wife  had  five  children,  as 
follows:  Newton,  of  Clyde;  Mary,  wife 
of  James  Stokes,  of  Clyde;  Amy,  wife  of 
John  H.  Keller,  of  Pomona,  Cal. ;  Lida; 
and  Burt,  of  Clyde.  A.  A.  and  Lida 
Fenn  have  three  children:  Franklin  Amos, 
Jay  Leon  and  Ethel  May.  After  mar- 
riage Mr.  Fenn  purchased  his  father's 
farm,  and  embarked  in  the  ice  and  fruit 
business  which  he  has  ever  since  very 
successfully  cenducted;  he  is  thoroughly 
attached  to  this  industry,  which  is  one 
of  inestimable  value  to  the  community  in 
which  he  lives.  He  has  a  fine  spring  wa- 
ter pond,  with  gate  outlet,  used  for  thor- 
oughly cleansing  the  pond,  which  is  used 
for  boating  in  summer.  He  has  sixteen 
acres  in  small  fruits,  three  acres  of 
which  are  devoted  to  blackberries,  the 
yield  increasing  every  year.  In  poli- 
tics Mr.  Fenn  is  a  Republican,  and  in 
religious  belief  a  Methodist.  He  is  a 
prominent  member  of  the  G.  A.  R.  and 
of  the  K.  of  P. 


JOSHUA  D.  SAMPSEL.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  is  well-known  in 
Sandusky  county,  where  he  has  re- 
sided all  his  life,  and  especially  in 
Madison  township,  of  which  he  is  one  of 
the  prominent  and  substantial  citizens. 
The  story  of  his  life  is  that  of  many  of 
the  early  settlers  of  Ohio;  a  boyhood  of 
hard  work  and  privation,  with  few  ad- 
vantages and  still  fewer  pleasures,  but 
with  plenty  of  grit,  earnest  endeavor,  and 
stubborn  perseverance  which  have,  in  the 
end,  lifted  him  to  the  level  of  success  and 
secured  for  him  a  competence  which  en- 


ables him  to  enjoy  those  privileges  of 
which  he  was  deprived  in  youth. 

Mr.  Sainpsel  was  born,  September  27, 
1849,  in  the  township  in  which  he  still 
makes  his  home,  son  of  George  and  Mary 
(Dick)  Sampsel.  who  came  thither  from 
Union  count}',  Penn.,  in  the  early  days  of 
Ohio,  and  long  before  our  subject  was 
born.  His  ancestors  on  both  sides  were 
natives  of  Pennsylvania,  and  lived  there 
throughout  their  lives,  with  the  exception 
of  his  maternal  grandmother,  who  accom- 
panied her  daughter  to  her  western  home 
and  died  in  Sandusky  county.  George 
Sampsel  settled  on  a  forty-acre  tract  of 
land  on  which  his  son  Joshua  still  lives, 
and  which  was  then  covered  with  a  wild 
growth  of  timber.  He  worked  assidu- 
ously to  clear  the  land  and  prepare  the 
fields  for  crops  by  which  to  support  his 
little  family,  but  before  his  task  was  done 
his  life  was  crushed  out  by  a  log  rolling 
onto  him.  At  the  time  of  this  sad  event 
our  subject  was  but  two  years  old,  and 
the  other  children  too  young  to  be  of  any 
assistance  to  their  mother.  This  brave 
woman  took  up  the  heavy  burden  thus 
thrown  upon  her  shoulders,  and  with  what 
she  could  raise  upon  the  farm,  and  by 
weaving  carpets,  managed  to  keep  the 
wolf  from  the  door.  The  family  consisted 
of  four  children:  Sophia,  who  married 
William  Ickes,  a  farmer  in  Madison  town- 
ship (thej'  have  one  child,  Erma);  Re- 
becca, wife  of  Henry  Friar,  also  a  farmer 
in  Madison  township  (they  have  three 
children,  a  daughter,  Minnie — wife  of 
Louis  Driftmyer — and  two  sons,  Bertie 
and  Clifford);  Joshua  D.,  our  subject;  and 
Zephaniah,  who  died  when  eighteen  years 
old. 

On  May  5,  1875,  Mr.  Sampsel  was 
married  to  Miss  Julia  Kingston,  who  was 
born  May  24,  1858,  in  Ottawa  county, 
daughter  of  Henry  and  Minnie  (Socedia) 
Kingston,  farming  people,  who  were  of 
German  birth.  Their  children  were  seven 
in  number:  Minnie,  Eliza,  Mary,  Anna, 
Julia,  Angeline,  and  one  who  died  in  in- 


478 


COMMEMOEATrVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


fancy.  Since  his  marriage,  Mr.  Sampsel 
has  added  to  his  original  farm,  and  now 
owns  104  acres  of  valuable  land  in  the 
center  of  the  oil  district.  On  it  he  has 
seven  good  wells,  which  bring  -him  in  a 
comfortable  monthlj-  income.  All  the 
land  is  cleared  with  the  exception  of 
about  thirty  acres,  which  he  uses  for  tim- 
ber and  pasturage.  His  family  consists 
of  si.x  bright  children,  as  follows:  Justis, 
born  July  11,  1876;  Vernie,  born  August 
4,  1878;  Elsworth,  born  August  28,  1880; 
Goldie,  born  April  3,  1884;  Mabel,  born 
August  3,  1887,  and  Arthur  K. ,  born 
October  11,  1894,  all  at  home.  Mr. 
Sampsel  has  one  of  the  finest  and  most 
comfortable  homes  in  the  township,  and 
the  handsomely  furnished  rooms  are  in- 
dicative of  the  e.xcellent  taste  of  its  owner. 
That  he  stands  high  in  the  estimation  of 
his  fellow  citizens  is  shown  by  the  various 
responsible  public  offices  in  which  he  has 
been  placed,  he  having  held  the  position 
of  school  director  and  road  supervisor, 
and  at  present  that  of  township  trustee. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  and,  with 
his  wife,  is  a  meiTiber  of  the  Evangelical 
Church.  Mr.  Sampsel's  father  was  in 
sympathy  with  the  principles  now  held  by 
the  Republican  party,  and  served  as  jus- 
tice of  the  peace. 


GEORGE  W.  BAILEY  (deceased) 
was  one  of  the  honored  pioneers 
and  highly-esteemed  citizens  of 
Catawba  Island  township,  Otta- 
wa count}'.  He  was  a  native  of  Connect- 
icut, born  in  Danbury,  Fairfield  county, 
February  i ,  1 8 1 1 ,  and  was  a  son  of  Will- 
iam Ward  and  Anna  (Bowton)  Bailey, 
the  former  of  whom  served  as  a  soldier 
in  the  war  of  181 2. 

In  his  native  city  our  subject  spent 
the  days  of  his  boyhood  and  youth,  and 
there  learned  the  trades  of  shoemaker  and 
bricklayer,  following  the  former  during 
the  winter  months,  while  through  the 
summer  season  he  worked  at  the  latter. 


In  1844  he  removed  to  Ohio,  and  on  May 
14  of  that  year  located  on  Catawba  Is- 
land (then  Van  Rensselaer  township), 
when  this  county  was  almost  an  unbroken 
wilderness.  Here  he  engaged  in  shoe- 
making  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
March  19,   1848. 

At  New  Fairfield,  Conn.,  Januarj*  12, 
1835,  Mr.  Bailey  married  Miss  Marj-  E. 
Bearss,  a  native  of  New  Fairfield,  born 
May  16,  1813,  and  a  daughter  of  Joseph 
T.  and  Annie  (Hubble)  Bearss,  also 
natives  of  Fairfield  county.  Conn.  In  the 
war  of  18 12,  her  father  fought  in  defense 
of  the  stars  and  stripes,  and  her  grand- 
fathers were  soldiers  in  the  Revolutionary 
war.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bailej'  became  the 
parents  of  four  children:  Thomas  W. , 
born  May  13.  1837,  died  March  8,  1890; 
Lorenzo  S.,  born  December  24,  1838; 
Anna  A.,  born  August  19,  1840,  is  the 
wife  of  Frank  Wonnel,  residing  in  Port- 
age township,  Ottawa  county;  and  George 
O.,  born  October  29.  1843,  died  March 
4,  1890,  from  hardships  incurred  while 
serving  in  the  army.  In  religious  faith 
the  family  is  identified  with  the  Univer- 
salist  Church. 

Lorenzo  S.  B.^iley,  smce  the  death 
of  his  father,  has  looked  after  the  interests 
of  the  homestead  farm  and  cared  for  his 
mother,  who  is  now  one  of  the  oldest 
living  residents  of  the  community,  having 
attained  her  eighty-second  year,  is  still 
hale  and  hearty,  and  able  to  attend  to  her 
household  duties.  During  her  life  she 
has  been  a  great  weaver  and  has  woven 
thousands  of  yards  of  rag  carpet,  prior  to 
which  for  years  she  spun  the  wool  and 
wove  the  cloth  for  the  family's  clothes. 
In  the  summer  time  they  wore  cotton 
clothes  colored  with  yellow  oak  or  black 
walnut  bark  boiled  down  to  an  extract  and 
set  with  copperas  to  hold  its  color.  ' '  Our 
young  people  of  to-day,"  says  Mr.  Lor- 
enzo Bailey,  "  think  they  have  hard  times, 
but  they  know  nothing  about  hard  times. 
I  remember  very  plainly  when  our  family 
had  nothing  but  boiled  wheat  and  hulled 


3  ^^ 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQBAPHICAL  RECORD. 


479 


corn  to  eat.  Flour  was  not  made  in  the 
county,  and  was  hard  to  get.  I  worked 
many  a  day  for  twenty-five  cents  per  day, 
and  the  winter  I  was  sixteen  I  chopped 
.wood  for  my  uncle  at  fifty  cents  a  cord, 
and  boarded  m}self.  At  eighteen  I  went 
to  learn  the  carpenter's  trade,  and  for 
three  years  worked  for  almost  only  my 
board;  then  followed  fishing  for  several 
years,  made  a  little  money,  bought  a  piece 
of  land  and  commenced  fruit  growing." 
Lorenzo  Bailey  is  one  of  the  most  suc- 
cessful fruit  growers  of  the  island,  and  is 
held  in  high  esteem  by  all  who  know  him. 


THOMAS  P.   DEWEY,    member  of 
the  law  firm  of  Finch  &  Dewey,  and 
one  of  the  prominent  attorneys  of 
Clyde,  Sandusky  county,  was  born 
in  Crawford  county,  Penn.,  December  27, 
1853,  son  of  George  and  Harriet  (Ensign) 
Dewey. 

George  Dewey  is  the  descendant  of  an 
old   Massachusetts  family  of  Scotch    ex- 
traction.     He  was  born  in  1818,  and  still 
survives,  a  resident  of  Clyde.      His  wife, 
who  was  born  in  1822  in  Ashtabula  coun- 
ty,   Ohio,    died    in    1881.      George    and 
Harriet   Dewey  had  six    children,    all   of 
whom  are  yet  living,  as  follows:     Carlie, 
wife  of  Henry  Bruning,  of  Toledo,  Ohio 
Charles,  of  Fremont,    Ohio;  Thomas  P. 
George,    a    merchant    of  Shelby,    Mich, 
and  Hattie  and  Mattie,  twins. 

Thomas  P.  Dewey  had  not  the  ad- 
vantages of  a  collegiate  training,  but  his 
education  was  by  no  means  neglected. 
He  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  na- 
tive town,  afterward  the  excellent  schools 
at  Kelloggsville,  Ohio,  and  he  was  amply 
compensated  by  private  study  for  the 
absence  of  extraneous  opportunities.  In 
1876  Mr.  Dewey  began  the  study  of  law 
at  Painesville,  Lake  Co.,  Ohio,  with  the 
firm  of  Tinker  &  Alvord,  the  following 
year  coming  to  Clyde,  where  he  continued 
his  studies  under  Judge  John  M.  Lennon. 
He  was  admitted   to   the   bar  April   23, 


1879,  and  in  the  following  autumn  began 
practice  at  Tiffin,  about  a  year  later, 
however,  returning  to  Clyde,  where  he 
has  ever  since  continued  in  active  prac- 
tice. For  three  years  he  practiced  alone, 
but  in  1883  the  firm  of  Finch  &  Dewey 
was  formed,  and  these  two  attorneys  have 
ever  since  been  very  successfully  associ- 
ated in  a  professional  way.  Theirs  is  one 
of  the  leading  firms  in  the  city,  and  does 
an  extensive  legal  business,  practicing  in 
all  the  courts.  In  politics  Mr.  Dewey  is 
a  strong  Republican.  He  is  actively  in- 
terested in  the  triumph  of  the  party's 
principles,  and  is  recognized  as  one  of  the 
county  leaders  of  his  party. 

On  September  9,  1879,  Mr.  Dewey 
was  married  to  Miss  Jennie  Stilwell,  and 
to  their  union  have  been  born  three  chil- 
dren: Hattie,  Benjamin  and  Lucy.  As 
a  sort  of  recreation,  and  to  get  relaxation 
from  his  law  practice,  Mr.  Dewey  pur- 
chased two  farms  one  mile  west  of  Clyde, 
and  has  put  them  in  splendid  state  of 
fertilization,  and  they  are  very  produc- 
tive, having  been  thoroughly  drained  by 
tiling,  etc.  On  one  of  these  farms  Mr. 
Dewey  was  so  fortunate  as  to  strike  a 
mineral  fountain  spring,  from  which  con- 
stantly flows  a  stream  of  nearly  five  in- 
ches in  diameter.  The  waters  have  great 
healing  and  medicinal  properties,  and  are 
highly  prized  by  the  people  of  the  city 
and  surrounding  country,  the  waters  be- 
ing very  cold  and  pure. 


RANDALL  SPARKS,  who  with  his 
wife  is  renowned  for  his  many 
virtues  and  exemplary  Christian 
life,  is  one  of  the  oldest  living  set- 
tlers of  York  township,  Sandusky  county. 
He  was  born  in  Fayette  county,  Penn., 
January  24,  18 14,  son  of  Ephraim  L.  and 
Sarah  (Cook)  Sparks. 

Ephraim  Sparks  was  born  January  i, 
1790,  in  Fayette  county,  Penn.,  whither 
his  father,  Isaac  Sparks,  who  was  a  na- 
tive  of  New  Jersey,  of   Welsh  ancestry, 


480 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


had  migrated,  and  there  married  Anna 
Lloyd.  He  followed  (arming,  but  also 
engaged  in  an  early  day  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  glass,  in  which  enterprise,  how- 
ever, he  did  not  meet  with  the  financial 
success  that  he  had  anticipated.  Ephraim 
Sparks,  his  son,  migrated  about  1817 
with  a  team  and  covered  wagon  to  Tusca- 
rawas county,  Ohio,  with  a  brother  John, 
locating  on  a  farm  in  Warren  township 
which  had  been  purchased  by  their  father 
some  years  before.  Here  they  remained 
through  life.  Ephraim  Sparks  was  twice 
married.  His  first  wife,  Sarah  Cook,  was 
born  in  Penns)lvania  July  17,  1794,  of 
old  Dutch  ancestry.  Their  seven  children 
were:  Randall,  subject  of  this  sketch; 
Thomas,  a  resident  of  Boone  county, 
Iowa;  David,  who  was  a  Lutheran  min- 
ister, of  Carroll  county,  Ohio;  Isaac,  of 
Clyde,  Ohio;  Elizabeth,  who  married  Sam- 
uel Tressel  and  reared  thirteen  children, 
in  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio,  still  living 
at  this  writing;  Annie,  who  married  James 
McCreary  and  died  in  Tovvnsend  township; 
and  Mary,  who  married  James  Neal  and 
lives  in  Mt.  Pleasant,  Westmoreland  Co., 
Penn.  Mrs.  Sparks  died  September  16, 
1828,  and  Mr.  Sparks  subsequently  mar- 
ried a  Mrs.  Lappin,  by  whom  he  had  five 
children.  In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat. 
He  died  March  24,   1871. 

Randall  Sparks  was  reared  on  the 
farm  in  Tuscarawas  county,  attending 
school  for  a  few  months  each  year  when 
pressing  farm  work  was  done.  He  was 
an  apt  pupil,  and  before  his  marriage,  at 
the  age  of  twenty-one,  he  had  taught 
three  terms  of  school.  On  May  31, 
1835,  he  married  Ann  Wingate,  who  was 
born  in  Tuscarawas  count}',  Ohio,  No- 
vember 7,  1 818,  daughter  of  Henry  and 
Mary  (Bridall)  Wingate,  both  natives  of 
Delaware,  who  became  early  settlers  of 
Carroll  county,  Ohio.  Henry  Wingate 
was  of  English  ancestry;  his  wife  was  of 
French  parentage.  He  died  at  the  age  of 
si.\ty-si.\  years,  she  dying  when  Ann,  the 
youngest  child,  was  five  weeks  old.      She 


was  the  mother  of  fifteen  children,  twelve 
of  whom  grew  to  manhood  and  woman- 
hood. Ann  (Mrs.  Sparks)  is  now  the 
only  survivor  of  the  famil3^  One  of  her 
brothers  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-three 
years,  another  at  the  age  of  eighty-five; 
the  eldest  brother,  who  remained  in  Del- 
aware, she  never  saw.  After  his  marriage 
Randall  Sparks  settled  in  Tuscarawas 
county.  He  taught  another  term  of 
school  in  the  winter,  and  for  nearly  eight 
years  he  remained  there,  engaged  in  farm- 
ing. In  the  fall  of  1842  he  came  to  York 
township,  Sandusky  county,  and  purchas- 
ing eighty  acres  of  land  on  the  ridge  be- 
gan to  clear  it  up.  In  the  following 
spring  he  removed  with  his  famil}^  to  the 
new  home,  and  he  has  lived  there  ever 
since.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sparks  eight 
children  have  been  born,  only  one  of 
whom  is  now  living.  They  were  as  fol- 
lows: (i)  Lemuel,  born  December  8, 
1836,  enlisted  November  9,  1861,  in 
Company  B,  Seventy-second  O.  V.  I., 
participated  in  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  and 
died  of  typhoid  fever  near  Corinth,  Miss., 
May  16,  1862,  after  two  days'  illness. 
(2)  Catherine,  born  July  8,  1839,  died 
January  5,  1858.  (3)  Albert, 
vember  26,  1841,  died  May 
(4)  Leslie  E. ,  born  March  21,  1844, 
joined  Company  M  of  the  First  Ohio 
Heavy  Artillery,  and  was  drowned  in  the 
Tennessee  river,  near  Loudon,  Tenn., 
June  2,  1864.  With  others  he  had  been 
ordered  to  guard  a  railroad  bridge,  and 
while  they  were  crossing  the  river  the 
canoe  capsized  and  he  was  drowned.  (5) 
Melissa,  born  January  13,  1847,  died  No- 
vember 6,  1869.  (6)  Elinda  Jane,  born 
September  16,  1850,  died  April  25,  1872. 
(7)  Wilbur  L. ,  born  February  27,  1S54, 
was  married  June  1 1,  1890,  to  Alice  Jar- 
vis,  by  whom  he  had  one  child,  born  June 


born   No- 
31,    1861. 


Wilbur  L.  died  May 


4.  1893- 
1859,   at 


5,  1S91 

(8)  Ella  Belle,   born   June   15 

home. 

In  politics  Mr.    Sparks   was  an  Old- 
line  Whig,  casting  his  first   vote  for  that 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


481 


party  in  1836.  He  was  an  earnest  anti- 
slavery  man,  and  when  the  Free-Soil 
party  was  organized  he  readily  adopted 
its  principles.  A  little  later  he  helped  to 
organize  the  Republican  party  in  San- 
dusky county.  When  attending  a  con- 
vention of  that  party  in  Fremont  he  tried 
to  secure  the  introduction  in  the  county 
platform  of  a  declaration  "That  the 
trafttc  in  intoxicating  drinks  is  a  curse  and 
ought  to  be  prohibited  by  law."  This 
resolution  was  rejected  by  the  convention, 
and  Mr.  Sparks  withdrew  from  the  party 
and  has  since  voted  with  the  Prohibition 
cause.  He  has  been  a  Church  member 
for  fifty-six  years.  They  celebrated  their 
golden  wedding  in  1885,  and  few  if  any 
residents  in  Sandusky  county  have  been 
blessed  with  a  married  life  of  a  duration 
as  long  as  theirs.  Both  he  and  his  faith- 
ful and  devoted  wife  are  hale  and  hearty 
at  this  writing. 


ORLIN  W.  HARRISON.  In  the 
tense  strife  and  activity  of  modern 
times  the  man  who  excels  in  any- 
field  of  action  is  necessarily  en- 
dowed either  with  superior  natural  abili- 
ties or  with  a  surpassing  will.  The  men 
who  are  best  respected  hold  their  good 
name  because  of  personal  character, 
which  is  the  resultant  of  inherited  quali- 
ties and  the  efforts  of  will.  Some  men 
rise  from  the  masses  with  no  traceable 
ancestry  of  notable  quality;  but  perhaps 
there  are  more  whose  prominence  is  easily 
explained  by  ancestral  traits.  Pioneer 
life  breeds  a  stronger,  more  enduring  race 
of  men  than  a  city  housing.  The  mental 
life  of  Orlin  W.  Harrison  has  been  marked 
by  unusual  activities,  and  he  has  proved 
to  be  well  fitted  for  these  conditions. 

His  ancestry,  paternally,  stretches 
back  through  records  and  parchment  to 
the  sixteenth  century,  and  all  the  links  in 
the  genealogy  have  been  landowners. 
His  great-grandfather,  William  Marks 
Harrison,  of  New  Jersey,  was  a  descend- 


ant of  John  Harrison,  an  early  settler  of 
Plymouth  Rock,  and  the  supposed  an- 
cestor, also,  of  President  Harrison.  Or- 
lin \\\  Harrison  was  born  in  Chautauqua 
county,  N.  Y. ,  October  4,  1844,  son  of 
William  Marks  and  Adaline  (Wright) 
Harrison.  William  Marks  Harrison  was 
born  in  Galway,  N.  Y.,  March  9,  1809, 
son  of  James  and  Clarinda  (Rose)  Harri- 
son. James  Harrison  was  born  in  Tren- 
ton, N.  J.,  September  9,  1779;  Clarinda 
Rose  was  born  in  Windsor,  Vt.,  October 
8,  1782.  After  marriage  they  settled,  in 
the  spring  of  18 14,  in  Galway,  N.  Y., 
and  removed  to  Chautauqua  county  in 
May,  1827.  Here,  at  Panama,  James 
Harrison  died,  January  12,  1858;  his  wife 
died  September  24,  1853.  William  Marks 
Harrison  was  seventeen  years  old  when 
he  moved  with  his  parents  to  Chautauqua 
county.  There  he  purchased  120  acres 
of  land  from  the  Holland  Land  Co.,  and 
there  engaged  in  farming  until  the  spring 
of  1845,  when  he  came  to  Ohio,  purchas- 
ing eight}'  acres  of  land  a  half  mile  east 
of  Clyde,  on  the  Maumee  and  Western 
Reserve  pike,  a  part  of  the  old  McPher- 
son  farm.  His  wife,  whom  he  married 
July  4,  1836,  was  born  April  2,  18 16,  in 
Avon,  N.  Y. ,  daughter  of  Eli  and  Martha 
(Bullard)  W'right,  who  migrated  from 
Massachusetts.  The  fathers  of  Eli  and 
Martha  Wright  both  served  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary war.  Martha's  father  was,  with 
two  companions,  taken  prisoner  by  In- 
dians. The  savages  painted  the  two 
companions  black,  which  meant  death; 
Mr.  Bullard,  however,  was  favored  with  a 
coat  of  red  paint,  which  signified  adop- 
tion. He  witnessed  the  death  of  his  two 
companions,  who  were  burned  at  the 
stake.  A  squaw  befriended  him,  and 
while  the  Indian  war  was  still  in  progress 
aided  him  in  escaping,  Eli  Weight  was 
a  soldier  of  the  war  of  181 2.  In  1845  he 
migrated  from  New  York  to  Clyde,  Ohio, 
where  he  lived  until  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred when  he  was  seventy-five  years 
old.      He   was  the   father  of  seven  chil- 


482 


COMMEliOBATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


dren,   all  of  whom  came  to  Ohio,   mar- 
ried and  reared  families. 

William  Marks  Harrison  resided  on 
his  farm  cast  of  Clyde  until  1865,  when 
he  moved  to  that  city.  For  over  thirty 
years  he  was  deputy  sheriff  of  Sandusky 
county.  He  was  the  first  high  priest  of 
Clyde  Chapter  No.  90,  Royal  Arch  Ma- 
sons, the  first  worshipful  master  of  Mon- 
ticello  Lodge  No.  244,  F.  &  A.  M., 
Clyde,  also  the  first  thrice  illustri- 
ous master  of  Morton  Council  No.  38, 
Royal  &  Select  Masters,  and'was  a  mem- 
ber of  Erie  Commandery  No.  23,  Ivnights 
Templar,  of  Sandusky.  In  politics  he  was 
an  active  Democrat,  and  while  not  a 
Church  member  led  an  exemplary  moral 
life,  religiously  eschewing  oaths,  tobacco 
and  intoxicating  drinks.  He  had  three 
children:  Helen,  for  many  years  a  school 
teacher,  and  still  living  at  the  old  home; 
Orlin  \V. ,  subject  of  this  sketch ;  and  Viola, 
wife  of  Eugene  Mathews,  and  the  mother 
of  two  children,  Maggie  and  Pearl,  of  whom 
Maggie  is  the  wife  of  Russell  Mugg  and 
has  one  child,  Madeline.  William  Marks 
Harrison  died,  December  4,  1884;  his 
widow  died  March  18,  1895,  at  Clyde. 
She  was  an  active  church  goer  and  a 
highly-esteemed  lady. 

Orlin  W.  Harrison  was  educated  at 
Clyde,  and  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  Octo- 
ber 12,  1S61,  enlisted  in  Company  A,  Sev- 
enty-second O.  V.  I.  The  regiment  was 
assigned  to  the  army  of  the  Tennessee, 
and  participated  in  the  battle  of  Shiloh. 
Mr.  Harrison  was  taken  sick  after  the 
battle  with  typhoid  fever,  and  lay  in  the 
hospital  tent  at  Shiloh,  Tenn.,  until  re- 
moved to  Cincinnati,  in  May.  He  was 
unconscious  ail  the  way  up  the  river, 
and  after  remaining  two  days  at  Cincin- 
nati was  sent  home  on  a  thirty-days'  fur- 
lough, afterward  extended  to  sixty-days. 
Returning  to  Camp  Chase  in  July,  the 
board  of  examining  surgeons  discharged 
him  from  further  service,  despite  his  re- 
monstrance. He  was  sick  all  through  the 
fall.      In  the  spring  of    1863    he  entered 


the  Law  Department  of  the  University 
of  Michigan,  at  Ann  Arbor,  but  the  war 
spirit  was  in  his  veins,  and  returning  home 
he  enlisted  in  the  Fiftieth  O.  N.  G. ,  and 
was  elected  second  sergeant  of  Company 
B.  The  imperfectly  formed  regiment  did 
drill  work  during  the  summer  and  winter, 
and  in  the  spring  of  1864  went  into  act- 
ive service  as  the  One  Hundred  and 
Sixty-ninth  Ohio  National  Guard  Infantr}'. 
From  Washington  city  it  was  ordered  on 
guard  duty  at  Fort  Ethan  Allen,  where 
it  remained  all  summer.  Returning  to 
Camp  Cleveland,  the  regiment  was  dis- 
charged, September  4,  1864.  During 
the  following  winter  Mr.  Harrison  pro- 
cured a  recruiting  commission,  and  re- 
cruited a  portion  of  a  company  for  the 
One  Hundred  and  Ninety-eight  O.  V.  I., 
until  receiving  orders  in  February,  1865, 
to  stop  further  enlistments.  For  two 
years  the  young  soldier  remained  at  home, 
then  in  1867  entered  a  department  of 
railroad  service  which  requires  endurance 
and  close  application.  He  became  a  mes- 
senger for  the  Merchants  Union  Express 
Co.,  between  Dayton  and  Cincinnati,  and 
on  various  other  western  runs.  In  this 
service  he  remained  two  years,  and  was 
then  for  six  years  messenger  for  the 
United  States  Express  Co.,  between 
Cleveland  and  Toledo,  between  Sandusky 
and  Newark,  between  Cleveland  and 
Sharon,  Penn.,  between  Columbus  and 
Indianapolis  and  between  Columbus  and 
Chicago.  He  was  also  sent  out  at  vari- 
ous times  to  relieve  agents,  and  had 
charge  of  offices  at  Elyria,  Monroeville 
and  Tiffin.  For  four  years — from  1876 
to  1880 — he  traveled  for  Weideman  Stet- 
son &  Co.,  wholesale  liquor  dealers,  and 
in  1883  entered  the  Lake  Shore  freight 
office  at  Clyde,  and  has  been  with  that 
company  ever  since,  excepting  three  years 
when  he  was  clerk  in  Judge  Lemmon's 
office.  He  is  now  billing  clerk  for  the 
Lake  Shore  and  Big  Four  joint  office. 

In   politics   Mr.    Harrison  has  been  a 
lifelong    Republican.     At     the     age     of 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


483 


twenty-one  he  became  a  member  of 
Monticello  Lod^e,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  has 
taken  all  the  degrees.  He  is  a  member 
of  Morton  Council  No.  38,  Clyde,  and  of 
Erie  Conimandery  No.  23,  K.  T. ,  since 
1877.  He  was  secretary  of  the  commit- 
tee which  arranged  for  the  McPherson 
monument  unveiling,  and  in  that  capacity 
corresponded  with  President  Garfield, 
James  G.  Blaine  and  other  celebrities, 
entertaining  some  of  them  at  his  home. 

In  1870  he  was  married  to  Anna  L. 
Brown,  a  native  of  Tiffin,  and  daughter 
of  Abordas  Brown,  who  was  born  in  Tomp- 
kins county,  N.  Y. ,  and  when  a  young 
man  migrated  to  Tiffin,  Ohio,  where  he 
married  Miss  Mary  A.  Taylor,  and  be- 
came one  of  the  proprietors  of  the  Tiffin 
Woolen  Mills;  he  died  in  1866.  Orlin 
W.  and  Anna  L.  Harrison  have  one  child, 
Clara.  In  manners  Mr.  Harrison  is 
genial  and  sociable.  He  possesses  a  rare 
fund  of  information,  and  is  a  gifted  con- 
versationalist. He  would  have  been  an 
attorney  but  for  the  war  excitement  dur- 
ing his  early  manhood.  He  is  popular  in 
the  community  at  Clyde,  and  ranks  with 
that  city's  most  highly  esteemed  citizens. 


FRANK  M.  INMAN  is  numbered 
among  the  leading  educators  of 
Sandusky  county.  He  was  born 
December  25,  1855,  in  Scott 
township,  where  he  still  resides,  and  is  a 
son  of  Benjamin  and  Eliza  (Jenning.s)  In- 
man.  His  father  was  born  in  New  Jer- 
sey, in  1S17,  made  farming  his  life  work, 
and  became  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of 
Sandusky  county  more  than  half  a  cen- 
tury ago.  Here  he  entered  a  claim, 
transforming  the  wild  land  into  a  rich  and 
fertile  farm,  which  our  subject  has  re- 
cently sold.  His  wife  was  born  in  New 
York  in  1820,  and  they  became  the  par- 
ents of  these  children:  Mrs.  Amanda  Put- 
nam, of  Middleville,  Mich. ;  Mrs.  Annette 
Shiverly;  Brazilla;  Mary,  wife  of  William 
Bates;  Benjamin,    deceased;   Mrs.    Eldo- 


rado Fousy;  Mrs.  Alfarette Ralph;  Frank, 
subject  of  this  sketch;  and  Mrs.  Candace 
Shawl.  The  great-grandparents  were 
from  England. 

Our  subject  acquired  his  early  educa- 
tion in  the  district  schools  of  his  native 
township,  after  which  he  pursued  his 
studies  in  the  Fremont  High  School,  and 
the  Ohio  University,  at  Columbus.  He 
was  therefore  well  fitted  for  the  profession 
of  teacher,  and  has  become  one  of  the 
most  successful  educators  of  Sandusky 
count}'.  In  1892  he  was  appointed  to 
the  county  board  of  examiners  of  teachers 
of  Sandusky  county,  and  at  the  present 
time  is  clerk  of  the  Sandusky  county 
School  Examiners;  has  held  other  posi- 
tions of  public  trust,  having  served  for 
some  time  in  the  capacity  of  clerk  of  Scott 
township.  He  is  a  very  progressive  man, 
a  supporter  of  the  advanced  ideas  of  mod- 
ern education,  and  has  done  much  to  raise 
the  standard  of  schools  in  his  locality. 

On  Christmas  Day,  1875,  Mr.  Inman 
married  Miss  Dellia  V.  Ernsberger,  of 
Fremont,  Ohio,  a  daughter  of  John  and 
Martha  (Long)  Ernsberger.  Her  father 
was  born  in  Maryland,  in  1 836,  her  mother 
in  Sandusky  county,  Ohio,  in  1840,  and 
their  marriage  was  celebrated  in  1858. 
They  now  have  three  children:  (i)  Ver- 
non, born  in  1867,  married  to  Lula  Hal- 
ter, and  they  have  two  children;  they  re- 
side in  Fremont,  where  he  is  engaged  in 
the  printing  business;  (2)  Juniata,  born 
in  1873,  is  the  wife  of  Ralph  Parke,  of 
Ohio,  and  they  have  one  child;  and  (3) 
Mrs.  Inman,  who  was  born  January  4, 
i860,  and  was  educated  in  the  district 
schools  and  in  Fremont.  Her  paternal 
great-grandmother  was  born  about  1783, 
died  in  1S70,  and  her  paternal  grand- 
parents, Michael  and  Sarah  (Gear)  Long, 
were  natives  of  Ohio,  the  former  born  in 
18 1 7,  the  latter  in  18 19;  his  death  oc- 
curred in  1892.  Of  their  six  children  five 
are  now  living. 

In  1875  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Inman  located 
on  a  farm  which  they  have  just  recently 


484 


COililEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


sold  to  an  oil  compan}'  of  Fremont,  sev- 
eral good  oil  wells  having  been  lo- 
cated on  the  place.  They  have  since  re- 
sided in  Scott  township,  Sandusk}'  coun- 
ty, with  the  exception  of  two  years,  when 
Mr.  Inman  was  teaching  in  Martin,  Otta- 
wa county.  They  have  one  son,  B.  M., 
who  was  born  May  lo,  1877,  and  obtained 
his  earh'  education  in  the  district  schools, 
after  which  he  pursued  a  course  in  the 
Fremont  High  School.  In  1S94  he  com- 
menced teaching  in  Rollersville,  Sandusky 
county,  and  is  now  engaged  in  the  oil 
business  near  his  home.  Frank  M.  In- 
man, the  subject  proper  of  this  review,  is 
one  of  the  ablest  educators  in  this  sec- 
tion of  the  State.  He  is  a  man  of  broad 
general  information,  and  has  the  happy 
faculty  of  imparting  readily  and  clearly  to 
others  his  knowledge.  He  also  wins  the 
respect  of  his  scholars,  and  this,  combined 
with  his  superior  talent,  has  made  his 
career  one  of  success. 


D.\\\T>  W.  BOWE.  About  a  half 
century  ago,  when  Scott  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  was  an 
almost  unbroken  wilderness,  be- 
fore roads  were  made  or  oil  wells  dreamed 
of,  there  settled  on  the  now  Greensburg 
pike,  about  two  miles  from  the  present  vil- 
lage of  Bradner,  a  gentleman  by  the  name 
of  George  Bowe,  and  his  wife,  Catherine 
(Wegstein).  Since  that  time  the  tract  of 
land  which  he  secured  has  been  known  as 
the  "Bowe  homestead."  These  honored 
pioneer  people  reared  a  faniilj^  of  six  sons, 
five  of  whom  are  living,  and  are  numbered 
among  the  most  prominent  citizens  of  the 
township,  worthy  representatives  of  the 
name.  They  are  possessors  of  fine  homes 
and  extensive  business  interests,  and  are 
highly  esteemed  by  all. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the 
youngest  of  the  five  sons.  Like  his 
brothers,  he  was  born  on  the  farm  which 
he  now  owns,  the  date  of  his  birth  being 
November  10,  1847.     There  is  a  marked 


contrast  between  the  farm  as  it  appears 
to-daj'  and  that  of  half  a  century  ago. 
The  giant  trees  have  fallen,  and  in  their 
place,  towering  skyward,  are  the  oil  der- 
ricks. The  old  log  house,  in  which  the 
sons  of  our  subject,  as  well  as  himself, 
were  born,  still  stands  and  is  well  pre- 
served. In  front  of  this,  however,  is  a 
modern  residence,  large  and  commodious, 
supplied  with  many  comforts  and  con- 
veniences. Mr.  Bowe  was  educated  in 
the  district  schools,  and  then  took  a  trip 
through  Indiana,  Illinois  and  Missouri, 
returning  after  nearly  a  year.  He  next 
entered  the  Fremont  High  School,  and  on 
the  completion  of  a  two-years'  course  of 
study  taught  one  term  in  a  district  school. 
In  his  mercantile  career  he  began  as  a 
clerk  in  a  jewelry  store  in  Fremont,  but 
on  account  of  poor  health  he  was  obliged 
to  abandon  his  labors  in  that  direction, 
and  employed  himself  in  teaching  for 
several  terms. 

On  November  28,  1872,  Mr.  Bowe 
married  Martha  P.  Lansdale,  of  Scott 
township,  Sandusk}'  county,  who  was  born 
April  13,  1851,  and  is  the  only  child  of 
Rezin  Addison  and  Martha  (Moore)  Lans- 
dale. Her  father  was  born  April  7,  1827, 
her  mother  December  19,  1833,  and  their 
marriage  was  celebrated  June  27,  1850. 
Mrs.  Bowe's  maternal  grandfather,  Elisha 
Moore,  was  born  December  27,  1809, 
and  died  in  September,  1892.  He  mar- 
ried Phoebe  Smith,  who  was  born  May  8, 
1807,  and  is  still  living.  Her  father, 
Randall  Smith,  was  born  in  1779,  and 
served  in  the  war  of  181 2.  He  wedded 
Martha  Crow,  who  was  born  about  1780, 
and  was  one  of  seventeen  children.  By 
her  marriage  she  became  the  mother  of 
thirteen  children,  three  of  whom  are  now 
living.  Randall  Smith  was  noted  as  a 
humorist.  On  one  occasion  he  was  pres- 
ent at  a  gathering,  and  remarked  that  he 
had  a  white  Crow.  This  seemed  such  an 
improbability  that  his  friends  were  rather 
inclined  to  question  his  statement,  where- 
on he  remarked:    "  If  you  will  accompany 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQRAPniCAL  RECORD. 


4B5 


me  home  I  will  prove  to  j'ou  I  am  a 
truthful  man."  This  his  friends  concluded 
to  do,  and  on  reaching  home  he  presented 
his  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Crow. 
They  at  once  saw  the  joke,  and  joined 
with  Mr.  Smith  in  his  hearty  laugh  at 
their  e.xpense.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Moore  were 
the  parents  of  six  children:  Daniel  W. , 
born  September  i8,  1830;  Charity  Ann, 
born  January  15,  1832,  became  Mrs. 
Braden,  and  died  March  26,  1878;  Mrs. 
Martha  Lansdale,  who  died  April  27, 
1S51;  Mrs.  Rachel  Jane  Edwards,  born 
November  4,  1836;  Mrs.  Alvina  Shively; 
and  Mrs.  Minerva  Angus. 

Mrs.  Bowe  was  educated  in  the  high 
school  of  Fremont,  and  at  Milan,  Ohio, 
and  became  a  teacher  of  recognized  abil- 
ity in  Sandusky  county.  She  is  a  lady 
of  culture  and  refinement,  and  has  been 
to  her  husband  a  faithful  companion  and 
helpmeet.  They  began  their  domestic 
life  on  the  farm  which  is  still  their  home, 
and  to  them  have  come  three  children: 
Agnes  Estella,  born  January  8,  1876, 
died  August  25,  1877;  Hugh  H.,  born 
January  19,  1880,  now  assisting  his  father 
in  the  oil  business;  and  Warren  W.,  born 
May  31,   1881. 

After  his  marriage,  Mr.  Bowe  engaged 
in  farming  and  the  dairy  business,  meet- 
ing with  excellent  success  in  his  under- 
taking. About  1890  a  new  industry  was 
established  in  this  section  of  the  country. 
Oil  was  found,  and  a  few  wells  were  pro- 
ducing quite  fair  returns.  Our  subject 
had  many  chances  to  lease  his  land  to  oil 
companies,  but  always  declined.  In 
March,  1895,  he  decided  to  find  out  if 
there  was  oil  upon  his  farm,  and  accord- 
ingly sunk  a  well  near  the  center  of  his 
land.  It  proved  very  profitable,  and 
there  has  since  been  a  steady  yield. 
He  has  now  sunk  the  sixth  well,  and 
from  the  oil  business  he  is  deriving  a 
good  income,  and  will  continue  to  sink 
wells  as  long  as  practicable.  In  addition 
to  his  other  interests,  he  has  for  some 
years  been  the  owner  of    a    fine   apiary, 


keeping    some     fifty  -  five     colonies      of 
bees.  • 

In  politics,  Mr.  Bowe  is  a  Democrat, 
and  has  served  as  trustee  of  Scott  town- 
ship for  two  3'ears,  as  justice  of  the  peace 
six  years,  and  was  president  of  the  board 
of  education  for  several  years.  He  is 
devoted  to  the  best  interests  of  the  com- 
munity, and  no  one  is  more  deserving  of 
the  high  regard  in  which  he  is  universally 
held  than  David  Bowe,  a  worthy  repre- 
sentative of  an    honored  pioneer  family. 


WILLIAM    MAURER,  '  a    retired 
farmer,    of   Fremont,  Sandusky 
county,  is   a  native  of   Ballville 
township,  that  county,  where  he 
grew  to  manhood  and  received  a  common- 
school  education. 

When  the  Civil  war  broke  out  Mr. 
Maurer  enlisted  August  7,  1862,  at  Fre- 
mont, in  Company  K,  One  Hundreth 
Regiment  O.  V.  I.,  which  was  assigned  to 
the  First  Brigade,  Second  Division, 
Twenty-third  Army  Corps.  At  Lime- 
stone Station  the  enemy  were  about  two 
thousand  strong,  under  Gen.  Jackson, 
while  the  Union  forces  numbered  only 
three  hundred,  under  Lt.-Col.  Hayes. 
Like  Spartans  they  held  the  Rebels  at 
bay  from  12  m.  to  4  p.  m.,  when  they 
were  surrounded,  and  all  but  one  man 
taken  prisoners.  They  were  sent  to  Libby 
Prison,  at  Richmond,  Va. ,  for  a  few  days, 
and  then  to  Belle  Isle,  where  they  re- 
mained for  six  months,  suffering  great 
hardships  and  privations.  In  March,  1864, 
they  were  paroled  and  sent  by  way  of  An- 
napolis and  Baltimore,  Md.,  to  Columbus, 
Ohio.  Having  recovered  somewhat  from 
the  infirmities  contracted  at  Belle  Isle, 
Mr.  Maurer  was  again  sent  to  the  front. 
He  afterward  took  part  in  the  battles  of 
Columbia  and  Franklin,  Tenn.,  and  in 
the  campaign  under  Gen.  Cox  against 
Gen.  Morgan.  On  November  20,  1864, 
he  was  wounded  in  the  wrist  by  a  minie 
ball  at   the    battle    of    Franklin,  and    he 


480 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


walked  to  Nash%-ille,  a  distance  of  twenty- 
fivejiniles,  to  the  hospital,  before  having 
his  wound  dressed.  After  a  few  days  he 
was  sent  to  the  hospital  at  Covington, 
Ky. ,  and  thence  on  a  furlough  of  twenty 
days  home,  which  was  extended  to  forty 
daj-s,  when  he  returned  to  the  hospital 
and  remained  until  May  23,  1865,  when 
he  was  mustered  out.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  the  time  he  was  in  prisons  and  in 
hospitals,  he  was  with  his  regiment  in  all 
its  marches  and  engagements,  during  two 
jears  and  ten  months  of  service.  He  is  a 
member  of  Manville  Moore  Post,  525, 
G.  A.  R.,  Fremont,  Ohio. 

After  the  war  Mr.  Maurer  returned  to 
his  father's  home  in  Ballville  township 
and  resumed  farming.  On  September  3, 
1865,  he  married  Miss  Eliza  J.  Worst, 
who  was  born  in  Ballville  township  De- 
cember 7,  1845,  daughter  of  Jacob  and 
Hannah  (Parks)  Worst.  Mr.  Maurer 
built  a  fine  farm  residence  on  his  excellent 
farm  adjoining  that  of  his  father,  and  fol- 
lowed agricultural  pursuits  about  fifteen 
years.  He  then  moved  to  Fremont  to 
give  his  children  better  opportunities  for 
education,  and  for  three  years  carried  on 
a  grocery  store  on  Buckland  avenue.  The 
children  of  William  and  Eli^a  J.  Maurer 
were:  Lilly  L. ,  born  March  6,  1867, 
was  married  April  16,  1888,  to  E.  A. 
Adams,  and  died  May  16,  1889;  they  had 
one  child,  Charles  H. ,  who  died  in  infancy. 
Delphin  B.,  born  September  i,  1868, 
who  graduated  from  the  Oberlin  Business 
College,  and  is  now  freight  solicitor  for 
the  Lake  Shore  &  Michigan  Southern 
railroad  at  Toledo,  Ohio.  Orpheus  C, 
born  September  21,  1871,  who  attended 
Fremont  schools  and  a  few  terms  at  Ober- 
lin College,  then  took  a  position  in  the 
Fremont  Savings  Bank,  about  five  years, 
and  is  now  traveling  salesman  for  the 
Capewell  Horse  Shoe  Nail  Co. 

Isaac  Maurer,  father  of  our  subject, 
was  born  in  Chester  county,  Penn.,  Jan- 
uary 2,  1809,  came  to  Ashland  county, 
Ohio,  when  a  boy,  and  became  a  skillful 


farm  hand.  In  Wayne  county,  Ohio,  he 
married  Miss  Mary  Ann  Ernsperger,  and 
in  1834  moved  to  Ballville  township, 
Sandusky  county,  where  he  cleared  up  a 
large  farm  and  reared  a  family  of  chil- 
dren. He  was  a  Republican  in  politics, 
and  in  religion  a  member  of  the  Reformed 
Church.  His  death  occurred  October  31, 
1893.  His  wife  was  born  in  Maryland  in 
1812,  and  died  in  Sandusky  county  in 
1879.  They  had  eight  children,  six  of 
whom  grew  to  maturity:  Martin,  who 
was  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  war,  serving  in 
Company  H,  One  Hundred  and  Sixty- 
ninth  Regiment  O.  V.  I.,  and  who  now 
lives  in  Nebraska;  Emanuel,  a  retired 
farmer  and  capitalist,  at  Springfield,  Mo. ; 
William,  our  subject;  Eli  B.,  who  is  a 
minister  of  the  United  Brethren  Church, 
in  Springfield,  Illinois;  Jane,  wife  of  H. 
C.  Smith,  of  Ballville  township;  and 
Owen  L. ,  a  farmer,  who  lives  on  the  old 
Maurer  homestead. 


CASPER  MOLITOR,  a  fruit  grow- 
er and  wine  manufacturer  of  Dan- 
bury  township,  Ottawa  county, 
was  born  in  Rhenish  Prussia, 
Germany,  July  30,  1828,  and  is  a  son  of 
Joseph  and  Katrina  (Cleis)  Molitor,  also 
natives  of  Germany,  who  passed  away  in 
the  Fatherland,  the  former  about  the  year 
1887,  the  latter  in  1866.  In  their  family 
were  eleven  children,  and  those  who  still 
survive  are  John  Joseph,  who  since  1894 
has  resided  in  Chicago;  Wentzel,  a  resi- 
dent of  St.  Louis,  Mo. ;  Catherina  Miller, 
living  in  Germany;  Marie  Josephine,  wife 
of  Henry  Spay,  a  resident  of  Blooming- 
ton,  111. ;  and  Moritz,  who  is  still  living  in 
the  Fatherland. 

The  gentleman,  whose  name  intro- 
duces this  record,  was  reared  to  manhood 
in  his  native  land,  and  acquired  his  edu- 
cation in  the  common  schools.  His  father 
was  a  contractor  and  builder,  and  in  the 
days  of  his  early    manhood    he    acted  as 


^'^^w^' 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


487 


overseer    of    his     father's    business.       In 
1849,  on  account  of  the  ■  Revolution  then 
in  progress  there,  he  left  his  own  country 
for  France,  and    made    his    home  in  the 
Province  of  Loraiiie  some  two  years.    He 
then   determined    to    try    his    fortune    in 
America,    and    in    185 1    crossed    the  At- 
lantic to  New    York,    where    he   resided 
three  years,     A  similar  period   he  spent 
in  Wisconsin,    and   in  1857    he   settled  in 
Cincinnati,    where    for    a    time    he    was 
engaged    in    the    leather  business    which 
pursuit      he     had      previousl}'     followed 
in    Springfield,    Ohio.       In    1869  he    re- 
turned    to     Germany,      and     there     re- 
mained three  years.      In  1872    he   again 
took  up  his   residence  in  Cincinnati,  and 
in  1873  removed  to  Sandusky,  Erie  coun- 
ty,   Ohio,    spending   the   succeeding  four 
years  of  his  life  in  that    place,  engaged  in 
the    manufacture    of   wine.      In    1877  he 
purchased  his   present  place   of  business, 
and    erected   the    winery    which    he  now 
owns,  and  which  is  one  of  the  largest  in 
the  county,  with  a  cask  capacity  of  150,- 
000  gallons.      He   conducts  his  affairs  on 
strict  business   principles,    and  is  meeting 
with  excellent  success  in  his  undertakings, 
deriving  therefrom  a  good  income. 

Mr.  Molitor  has  been  twice  married: 
first  time  to  Mrs.  Katrina  Hemish,  widow 
of  Edward  Hemish,  the  wedding  being 
celebrated  in  Cincinnati.  This  lady  died 
August  24,  1877,  and  in  1881  Mr.  Molitor 
was  again  married,  this  time  in  Buffalo, 
N.  Y. ,  to  Josephine,  daughter  of  Mathias 
and  Margaret  Molitor,  natives  of  the 
Rhenish  Province  in  Germany,  the  former 
of  whom  has  passed  away,  and  the  latter 
is  now  making  her  home  in  New  Orleans. 
To  our  subject  and  his  wife  have  been 
born  five  children,  three  of  whom  are  liv- 
ing: Bertha  Mina,  born  January  8,  1884; 
Theressa  Josephine,  born  March  21, 
1885;  and  Marguiretta,  born  January  12, 
1889. 

In  his  political  views,  Mr.  Molitor  is 
a  Republican,  having  supported  that  party 
since  1856,  becoming  an  American  citizen, 

31 


and  in  its  growth  and  success  he  takes  a 
deep  interest.  Socially  he  is  connected 
with  Castle  Rock  Lodge,  No.  21,  Knights 
of  G.  R. ,  of  Lakeside. 


PHILIP  MICHAELS,  retired  agri- 
culturist, now  residing  in  Fremont, 
Sandusky  county,  was  born  No- 
vember 10,  1840,  in  Fairfield  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  son  of  Isaac  and  Elizabeth 
(Hutchins)  Michaels,  who  were  of  Penn- 
sylvania-German descent.  Their  chil- 
dren were:  Jesse,  John,  Jackson,  Sarah 
Jane,  Philip,  Thomas,  James,  Susan,  and 
three  who  died  in  childhood. 

Jesse  Michaels  was  three  times  mar- 
ried: First  to  a  Miss  Carr;  then  to  Miss  Rit- 
ter,  by  whom  he  had  three  children — 
Hannah,  Jemima  and  Martha;  and,  finally, 
to  Miss  Margaret  Duncan,  by  whom  he 
had  one  son — John.  John  Michaels,  son 
of  Isaac,  married  Miss  Mary  Miner,  in 
Hancock  county,  Ohio;  he  went  as  a  sol- 
dier in  the  Civil  war,  from  Findlay,  Ohio, 
in  the  Fifty-seventh  Regiment,  O.  V.  I. 
Jackson  Michaels  married  Miss  Hoover, 
and  lives  at  Green  Spring,  Ohio;  they 
have  three  children:  LeRoy,  Richard, 
and  a  daughter;  he  was  a  soldier  in  a  New 
York  regiment  during  the  Civil  war,  serv- 
ing as  a  teamster,  and  died  in  the  service. 
James  Michaels  married  a  Miss  Ritter,  by 
whom  he  had  one  son;  he  also  was  a 
Union  soldier  in  the  Civil  war,  in  the 
Forty-ninth  Regiment,  O.  V.  I.,  and 
died  soon  after  his  return  home.  Sarah 
Jane  Michaels  married  Richard  Bigelow, 
who  followed  various  occupations;  he 
was  for  a  few  years  street  commissioner 
at  Oak  Harbor,  Ohio;  they  had  four  chil- 
dren: Mary  Ann,  Samuel,  Samantha  and 
Emma.  Thomas  Michaels,  farmer,  lived 
in  Sandusky  county,  from  where  he  en- 
listed, in  1862,  in  the  Seventy-second 
Regiment,  O.  V.  I.;  he  died  after  the  bat- 
tle of  Shiloh,  while  on  his  way  to  Cincin- 
nati, where  he  was  buried;  he  had  one 
son,    William.     Susan    Michaels  married 


488 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


George  Losey,  of  Oak  Harbor,  and  is 
now  living  in  Michigan;  the}'  have  one 
son,   Willie. 

Philip  Michaels,  our  subject,  lived  in 
Fairfield  county,  Ohio,  with  his  parents, 
until  he  was  about  twelve  years  old,  when 
he  removed  with  them  to  Hancock  county. 
Here  he  worked  upon  a  farm  and  at- 
tended a  few  terms  of  school.  When  he 
was  seventeen  years  of  age  his  father  died, 
and  he  soon  after  moved  to  Seneca  county, 
to  live  with  his  brother  Jackson.  Eight 
months  later  he  went  to  work  for  Mr. 
Jacob  Bechtel,  in  a  sawmill  on  Green 
creek  in  Sandusky  county,  remaining 
there  two  years,  and  then  went  to  work 
for  Jacob  Strohl,  one  of  the  pioneers  of 
Ballville  township,  at  clearing  a  strip  of 
land  north  of  his  residence.  He  after- 
ward worked  for  other  farmers  of  that 
vicinity,  until,  by  prudence,  economy  and 
good  management,  he  was  able  to  pur- 
chase a  farm  of  his  own.  He  was  mar- 
ried, June  24,  i860,  to  Miss  Martha  Bat- 
zole,  who  was  born  October  27,  1840, 
daughter  of  John  and  Sarah  (Ernsberger) 
Batzole.  Mr.  Michaels  worked  on  rented 
farms  until  1871,  when  he  bought  the  Mc- 
Gormle}'  farm,  in  Ballville  township,  on 
which  they  lived  about  twenty  years, 
erecting  a  fine  residence  now  occupied  by 
his  son  William.  About  the  year  1890 
the  family  removed  to  Fremont,  Ohio. 
Mr.  Michaels  and  his  wife  have  been  mem- 
bers of  the  Mt.  Lebanon  U.  B.  Church, 
Ballville  township,  but  now  belong  to 
the  M.  E.  Church,  Fremont.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Patrons  of  Industry. 

The  children  of  PhiHp  and  Martha 
Michaels,  born  in  Ballville  township,  are: 
Ida  Cordelia,  James  William,  George 
Franklin,  Chaunce\'  Adelphus,  Cora  La- 
vada.  Berton  Ellsworth,  Ray  Clifton,  and 
Ernest  LeRo}'.  Of  these  Ida  C.  Michaels 
married  Douglass  Morrison,  son  of  John 
Morrison,  on  January  30,  1879,  and  their 
children  are  Ettie  Estellc,  Lottie  La- 
vada,  Harry  James,  Edith  May,  Hazel 
Bell,  Arthur  Lee  and  Ruth.     James  W. 


Michaels  married  Miss  Minerva  Belle 
Reiser  on  Maj-  25,  1889,  and  they  live 
on  the  Michaels  homestead;  their  children 
are  Carl  S.  and  Arthur.  George  Frank- 
lin Michaels,  a  farmer,  was  married  No- 
vember 26,  1889,  to  Miss  Minnie,  daugh- 
ter of  Charles  and  Emma  (Smith)  Hamp- 
sher;  she  took  sick  while  at  the  World's 
Fair  in  Chicago,  111.,  and  died  at  home 
September  I,  1893.  Chauncey  Michaels, 
unmarried,  lives  with  his  parents  at  Fre- 
mont, Ohio;  he  has  been  successful  as  a 
traveling  salesman,  and  represented  the 
Clauss  Shear  Company,  of  Fremont,  Ohio, 
at  the  World's  Fair,  Chicago,  1S93. 
Cora  Lavada  Michaels  married  Arthur  H. 
Swank,  January  26,  1893,  at  Fremont, 
Ohio,  their  present  residence;  they  had  a 
son,  Howard  Michaels  Swank,  who  died 
July  26,  1S95,  aged  one  year,  seven 
months  and  ten  days. 


EV.     PAUL    RAETHER,    pastor 


of   the  German  Evangelical    Lu- 


R 

■  V  theran  Church  in  Woodville  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  was  born 
in  Prussia,  Germany,  June  4,  1850,  and 
is  a  son  of  Fred  and  Minnie  (Arndt)  Rae- 
ther,  who  never  came  to  America,  but 
lived  and  died  in  their  native  land.  Fred 
Raether  was  born  April  18,  18 14,  and 
was  a  teacher  of  the  German  Lutheran 
doctrine. 

Rev.  Paul  Raether  was  one  of  eleven 
children,  four  of  whom  came  to  America. 
Bertha  died  here,  and  Ida,  Emily  and 
Paul  are  still  living.  Our  subject  came 
to  this  country  in  1866,  prepared  to  fol- 
low in  the  footsteps  of  his  father.  Having 
received  a  very  thorough  education  his 
prospects  were  bright,  and  to-day  he  oc- 
cupies a  position  which  shows  how  well 
he  has  improved  his  opportunities.  After 
a  pleasant  voyage  across  the  Atlantic  he 
landed  in  New  York  City,  and  from  there 
went  direct  to  Buffalo,  N.  Y. ,  where  he 
remained  two  weeks,  going  thence  to 
Detroit,  Mich.,  and  from  there  to  Monroe, 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


489 


Mich.,  where  he  accepted  his  first  posi- 
tion as  a  teacher  in  the  German  Lutheran 
school.  After  that  he  entered  upon  a 
classical  and  theological  course  in  the 
University  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  where  he 
remained  seven  long  years,  graduating 
from  the  college  in  1872,  and  from  the 
theological  seminary  in  1875. 

On  October  21,  1875,  Rev.  Paul  Rae- 
ther  was  united  in  marriage  with  Anna 
C.  Kessler,  and  four  children  have  been 
born  to  them,  as  follows:  Federick,  De- 
cember 9,  1876;  George,  November  9, 
1879;  Marie,  March  16,  1882;  and  Carl, 
May  12,  1884.  Mrs.  Raether  is  a  daugh- 
ter of  Henry  and  Margaret  Kessler,  of 
Columbus,  Ohio,  the  former  of  whom  was 
a  wagon  maker.  From  Columbus  Rev. 
Mr.  Raether  went  to  North  Lima,  in  Beaver 
township,  Mahoning  Co.,  Ohio,  where 
he  took  charge  of  two  congregations,  hav- 
ing been  ordained  to  the  ministry  on 
leaving  Columbus.  He  remained  at  Lima 
seven  years,  when  he  was  called  to  take 
charge  of  a  missionary  post  at  Steuben- 
villc,  Jefferson  Co.,  Ohio,  in  which  capac- 
city  he  remained  some  six  years,  at  the 
end  of  that  time,  in  1887,  coming  to 
Woodville,  Sandusky  county,  to  accept  a 
position  as  professor  in  the  Teachers' 
Seminary.  In  January,  1888,  Rev.  Mr. 
Cronenwett  died,  and  the  congregation  re- 
solved to  have  the  vacancy  filled  by  Dr. 
Stinemann  and  by  Rev.  Mr.  Raether.  On 
March  28,  1888,  Rev.  Paul  Raether  was 
chosen  sole  minister  of  the  congregation, 
accepting  the  call  on  condition  that  he  be 
allowed  to  continue  as  professor  in  the 
seminary  until  June,  1888.  This  was 
granted  him,  and  on  April  29,  1888,  he 
was  installed  by  the  president  of  the 
Synod.  He  is  a  faithful  and  earnest 
worker,  and  is  much  beloved.  This  con- 
gregation, of  which  he  is  pastor,  consists 
of  over  200  families,  250  voting  members 
and  500  communicants,  and  has  a  paro- 
chial school  in  Woodville  of  over  100 
pupils,  with  two  teachers.  Politically  our 
subject  is  a  Democrat. 


G  ROVER  FAMILY.  Few  citizens 
of  Sandusky  county  have  a  gen- 
ealogical record  so  complete  as 
has  Enos  Grover,  of  Clyde,  one 
of  the  most  prominent  and  influential 
farmers  of  Green  Creek  township.  Few 
citizens  have  more  successfully  engaged 
in  agricultural  and  kindred  pursuits,  and 
few  have  left  a  deeper  impression  for  the 
weal  of  the  commonwealth  than  he. 

Steven  Grover  is  the  recognized  an- 
cestor of  the  family  in  America,  and  the 
fact  that  the  President  of  the  United 
States  was  christened  Steven  Grover 
Cleveland  indicates  his  affinity  to  the 
family.  Steven  Grover,  the  elder,  was  a 
resident  of  Stoneham,  Mass.,  early  in  the 
seventeenth  century.  He  was  the  parent 
of  John  Grover  and  the  grandparent  of 
Steven  Grover  (second),  who  was  the 
great-grandfather  of  Enos,  subject  of  this 
sketch.  Steven  Grover  (2)  was  born 
September  30,  1725,  and  married  Miriam 
Cady,  who  was  born  July  10,  1728,  and 
whose  mother  was  Elizabeth  Winters,  an 
Irish  girl.  Steven  Grover  (2)  died  June 
28,   1798;  his  wife  April  5,   1803. 

Joseph  Grover,  their  son,  vvas  born 
October  29,  1764,  at  West  Gloucester, 
R.  I.  He  was  married  to  his  second 
cousin,  Mehetabel  Gould,  who  was  born 
October  13,  1766,  in  Killingly,  Windham 
Co.,  Conn.,  daughter  of  Capt.  Thomas 
and  Ruth  (Bateman)  Gould.  (Alice  Gro- 
ver, sister  of  Steven  Grover  (2),  was  the 
mother  of  Ruth  Bateman.)  Capt.  Thomas 
Gould  was  born  June  23,  1738,  and  died 
in  1807.  His  wife,  Ruth  Bateman,  was 
born  September  10,  1744.  and  died  in 
1825.  The  eight  children  of  Capt.  Thomas 
and  Ruth  Gould  were  as  follows:  Sarah, 
born  May  25,  1765,  married  Timothy 
Baker;  Mehitabel,  who  married  Joseph 
Grover;  Eunice,  born  January  23,  1769, 
married  Cromwell  Bennett;  Ruth,  born 
March  23,  1771,  married  Steven  Grover, 
a  brother  of  Joseph  Grover;  Phcebe,  born 
March  21,  1773,  married  Samuel  Grover, 
cousin  of  Joseph  (both  are  buried  in  Ball- 


•190 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


ville  township,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio); 
Thomas,  born  March  17,  1775.  married 
Elde  Egberson;  Annie,  born  March  8, 
1 78 1,  married  Calvin  Goodrich:  Ruby, 
born  July  iS,  1783,  married  Peter  Sur- 
dam,  who  was  born  February  20,  1775, 
and  she  died  in  Russell  township,  Geauga 
Co.,  Ohio,  at  an  advanced  age. 

After  marriage  Joseph  and  Mehitabel 
Grover  settled  in  Granville  township, 
Washington  Co.,  N.  Y. ,  and  later  re- 
moved to  Cayuga  county,  N.  Y. ,  where 
Joseph  was  farmer,  merchant  and  pro- 
prietor of  an  ashery  and  distillery,  all  at 
the  same  time.  He  was  a  man  of  great 
energ)'  and  large  business  capacity,  and 
died  in  181 1.  His  wife  died  September  4, 
1 85 5,  in  Willoughby,  Lake  Co.,  Ohio,  at 
the  age  of  ninety-three,  of  dysentery, 
which  as  an  epidemic  also  carried  off, 
within  six  weeks,  her  other  brother, 
Thomas  Gould,  and  several  of  the  kin. 
To  the  union  of  Joseph  and  Mehitabel 
Grover  were  born  thirteen  children,  as 
follows:  (i)  Rachel,  born  March  23, 
1785,  was  married  in  1802  to  Silas  Chat- 
field,  afterward  a  captain  in  the  war  of 
18 12.  He  became  a  prominent  citizen 
of  Crawford  county,  Ohio,  giving  his 
name  to  a  township,  and  later  moved 
with  his  family  to  McHenrj'  county.  111., 
where  Mrs.  Chatfield  lived  to  the  age  of 
eighty-si.x  years.  (2)  Luther,  father  of 
Enos,  born  February  6,  1787,  in  Green- 
field, Washington  Co.,  N.  Y.,  and  died  June 
12,  1877,  at  the  home  of  his  son  Enos, 
near  Clyde.  (3)  Mehitabel,  born  March 
28,  1 789,  and  became  the  wife  of  Wheeler 
Sperry;  the}'  resided  for  sixty  years  in 
Painesvillc,  Ohio,  where  they  both  died. 
(4)  Joseph,  born  May  19,  1791,  died 
October  31,  1835.  (5)  Miriam,  born 
April  20,  1793,  died  August  15,  1793. 
(6)  Edna,  born  June  9,  1794,  died  April 
2,  1796.  (7)  Stephen,  born  February  25, 
1797,  died  January  16,  1843.  (8)  Han- 
nah, born  Jul}'  16,  1799,  married  Noah 
Warden.  February  14,  1821,  died  Janu- 
ary 13,  1827.      (9)  Asa,  born  March   16, 


1802,  died  at  Bellevue.  December  29, 
1855.  (10)  Charles,  born  Januarj-  9, 
1804,  died  at  Willoughbj-,  Lake  count}', 
October  6,  1886.  (11)  Parma,  born 
April  15,  1806,  died  about  1870.  (12) 
Maria,  born  May  22,  1808,  married 
Charles  Cummings,  of  Geauga  county, 
and  died  in  the  summer  of  1880  in  Ma- 
rengo township,  McHenry  Co.,  111.  (13) 
Ira,  born  July  21,  18 10,  was  run  over  by 
a  sleigh  and  killed  February  19,  1813. 

Luther  Grover  was  reared  in  Cayuga 
count}",  N.  Y. ,  and  was  married  January 
31,  1808,  to  Nanc)'  Nettleton,  who  was 
born  in  New  Haven,  Conn.,  July  2,  1792. 
They  remained  in  Cayuga  county,  N.  Y. , 
until  181S,  then  migrated  to  a  wilderness 
home  in  what  is  now  Willoughby  town- 
ship. Lake  Co.,  Ohio.  Here  Luther 
lived  to  the  age  of  ninety  years,  four 
months  and  five  days;  his  wife  died  at 
the  age  of  sixty-three  j'ears,  ten  months 
and  nine  days.  The  seven  children  of 
Luther  and  Nancy  Grover  were  Sheldon, 
born  December  10,  1809,  died  Octo- 
ber   13,     1823;     Joseph    N.,   born    July 

II,  181 1,  died  August  14,  1892;  Grace, 
born  June  12,  18 16,  married  Rev.  R. 
Storm,  February  13,  1839,  died  July 
16,  1883;  Enos,  subject  of  this  sketch, 
born  November  25,  18 18,  the  first  child 
of  the  family  born  in  Ohio;  Rachel,  born 
January  24,  1821,  married  Hiram  Fox, 
died  in  1883;  Mary  Ann,  born  July  i, 
1825,  died  March  7,  1846;  and  Dewitt, 
born  April   12,  1828,  died  in  May,  1889. 

Enos  Grover  was  born  in  Lake  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  was  reared  on  his  father's  farm, 
and  was  married,  January  11,  1842,  to 
Miss  Sarah  Swart.  She  was  born  in 
Oneida  county,  N.  Y.,  February  28, 
1823.  For  two  years  after  marriage  he 
lived  in  Lake  county,  then  in  1844 
moved  by   ox-team  to  McHenry  county, 

III.  Two  years  later,  on  the  death  of  his 
sister,  he  returned  with  his  familj-  to 
Ohio,  and  for  fifteen  months  worked  at 
stave-making.  Then  in  1847  he  removed 
to  Green  Creek  township,  near  Clyde,  pur- 


COMMEMOIiATIVE  BIOQRAPHWAL  RECORD. 


491 


chasing  a  portion  of  the  land  which  he  now 
owns.  He  hved  for  a  time  in  a  small 
house  built  of  boards,  and  in  1862  erected 
his  present  home.  His  first  wife  died 
October  13,  1877,  leaving  si.\-  children,  as 
follows:  (i)  Louisa  Jennett,  born  Feb- 
ruary 23,  1843,  married  Silas  P.  Leach, 
and  had  nine  children — Leroy,  Cynthia, 
Sarah,  Mar)-,  Zenas,  Hattie.  Lou  Enos, 
Arvada,  and  Clyde — of  whom  Mary  died 
at  the  age  of  three  months;  Hattie  died 
about  seventeen  years  ago  at  the  age  of 
seven  years,  and  Clyde  is  also  deceased; 
Zenas  is  married,  and  has  had  three  chil- 
dren— Frank,  Mary  and  Arthur.  (2) 
Eugene  P.,  born  September  11,  1846, 
married  first  to  Vestal  Seger,  by  whom 
he  had  two  children — Enos  and  Morna, 
the  latter  being  now  Mrs.  Mumford,  and  the 
mother  of  one  child;  after  the  death  of  his 
first  wife  Eugene  P.  married  Miss  Lena 
Donings,  by  whom  he  has  had  five  chil- 
dren— Hattie,  Mervin,  Mabel,  Maud  and 
Sibyl.  Eugene  P.  is  a  street  builder  in 
Chicago.  (3)  Mary  Ann,  born  January 
29,  1849,  married  Samuel  George,  and 
died  July  9,  1883,  leaving  four  children — 
Bertha,  wife  of  Rev.  John  Wagoner,  of 
Michigan;  Claudius,  Floyd  and  Elsie.  (4) 
Luther  Conrad,  born  January  i,  1855, 
married  Belle  Meek,  and  has  one  child, 
Robert.  (5)  Nancy,  born  August  30, 
1858,  married  W.  C.  Schellhammer,  and 
is  the  mother  of  three  children — Edith 
(deceased  at  the  age  of  two  years),  Carlton 
and  Sarah.  (6)  William  E.,  born  No- 
vember 20,  i860,  married  Lizzie  Seely, 
and  has  had  two  children — Mabel  (de- 
ceased) and  John,  the  last  named  now 
(November,  1895)  two  and  a  half  3ears 
old. 

The  second  wife  of  Enos  Grover  was 
Mrs.  Mahala  E.  Davis,  widow  of  Gursham 
Davis  (to  whom  she  was  wedded  April  29, 
1856),  and  daughter  of  John  Lloyd.  She 
was  born  in  Northumberland  count}-, 
Penn.,  in  1831,  of  German  ancestry. 
When  she  was  three  months  old  her 
father  died,  and  her  mother  sub.sequently 


moved  to  Delaware  county,  Ohio.  After 
her  mother's  death  she  lived  with  Quakers 
and  attended  a  Quaker  school.  On  June 
25,  1850,  she  first  wedded  Dr.  Nelson 
Wyatt  Clifton,  who  died  in  1852.  By  her 
second  marriage  she  had  one  child — 
Frank  Lloyd  Davis,  a  resident  of  Peru, 
Ind.,  who  is  married  and  has  two  chil- 
dren, Wayne  and  Ralph. 

Mr.  Grover  has  been  one  of  the  most 
prosperous  farmers  of  Sandusky  county, 
and  now  owns  over  400  acres  of  excellent 
land.  He  formerly  owned  farms  in 
Canada  and  in  fllinois.  He  is  a  man 
of  broad  intelligence,  and  wide  general 
information.  He  was  acquainted  with  the 
early  pioneers  of  Sandusky  county,  most 
of  whom  have  now  passed  away,  and  he 
knew  intimately  their  character  and  win- 
ning traits.  His  standing  in  the  com- 
munity for  integrity  is  the  highest,  and 
the  pure  motives  and  purposes  of  his  life 
have  ever  been  unquestioned. 


CYRUS  L.  HARNDEN,  M.  D., 
one  of  the  most  popular  and  suc- 
cessful physicians  of  Clyde,  San- 
dusky county,  a  graduate  of  the 
regular  school,  is  a  native  of  the  county. 
He  was  born  January  22,  1850,  on  his 
father's  farm,  situated  one  and  a  half 
miles  south  of  Clyde,  and  is  a  son  of  Jon- 
athan and  Nancy  (Smith)  Harnden. 

Jonathan  Harnden  was  born  in  New 
York  State  in  1813  of  English  paternal 
ancestry,  his  mother  being  of  Irish  birth. 
Nancy  Smith  was  also  a  native  of  the 
Empire  State,  descended  from  an  Eng- 
lish family.  Jonathan  migrated  from 
New  York  to  Ohio,  and  settled  on  a  farm 
in  Huron  county  which  he  cleared.  About 
1850  he  removed  from  Huron  county  to 
a  farm  south  of  Clyde,  where  he  remained, 
a  prosperous  farmer  and  an  influential 
citizen,  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
when  he  was  aged  sixty-five  years.  To 
Jonathan  and  Nancy  Harnden  were  born 
eight    children:      Two    died    in    infancy; 


492 


COMMEMORATIYE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Hosea,  of  Bellevue,  Ohio;  Kneeland,  an 
ex-soldier  of  the  Civil  war,  living  at  Clj'de; 
Smith,  a  farmer  at  Rising  Sun,  Wood 
county;  Alexander,  marshal  of  Clyde; 
Cyrus  L. ;  and  May,  deceased. 

The  foundation  for  his  thorough  ed- 
ucation Dr.  Harnden  received  in  the 
common  schools.  Subsequently  he  at- 
tended Wooster  University,  at  Wooster, 
and  later  entered  the  Medical  Depart- 
ment of  that  institution,  at  Cleveland, 
graduating  in  the  class  of  1875,  his  pre- 
ceptor being  the  well-known  Dr.  C.  G. 
Eaton.  In  1883  he  received  his  ad  cuii- 
dciii  degree  from  Western  Reserve  Col- 
lege. Dr.  Harnden  began  his  medical 
practice  in  Clyde  the  year  before  his  post- 
graduation,  and  he  has  remained  there 
ever  since.  By  his  strong  natural  en- 
dowments and  his  thorough  acquirements 
in  medical  science  he  has  built  up  a 
splendid  practice,  quite  the  maximum 
even  for  one'  of  his  activity  and  endur- 
ance. He  is  a  member  of  the  Sandusky 
County  Medical  Society,  and,  socially,  is 
prominent  in  the  Masonic  Lodge.  In  poli- 
tics he  is  a  Republican.  The  Doctor 
was  married  in  1887  to  Miss  Anna  C. 
Hawk,  and  they  have  two  children — 
Robert  Lee  and  Charles  Justin. 


FRANCIS  GNEPPER,  whose  en- 
tire life  has  been  passed  in  San- 
dusky county,  was  born  in  Rice 
township,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio, 
May  12,  1859,  and  is  of  German  lineage. 
His  father,  Ernest  Gnepper,  was  a  na- 
tive of  Germany,  coming  thence  to  Amer- 
ica, and  to  Ohio,  taking  up  his  residence 
in  Rice  township,  Sandusky  county,  where 
he  carried  on  agricultural  pursuits  the 
rest  of  his  life.  He  died  February  22, 
1 89 1,  at  the  age  of  sixty-seven  years,  and 
was  laid  to  rest  in  Lindsey  Cemetery. 
His  wife's  maiden  name  was  Mary  P'riar. 
In  the  family  were  five  children,  a 
brief  record  of  whom  is  as  follows:  (1) 
Henry,  the    eldest,  married    Ella   Boyer, 


is  a  resident  of  Oak  Harbor,  and  is  a 
farmer  by  occupation.  (2)  Angeline  is 
the  wife  of  Phillip  Siegenthaler,  and  they 
had  eight  children — Frank  E.,  who  lives 
at  home;  George,  who  died  in  infancy; 
John  W.,  at  home;  Charlie  H.,  who  died 
at  the  age  of  four  years;  Fred,  born  in 
1885;  Mary,  born  in  1887;  Cora,  born  in 
1889;  and  Chester,  born  in  1891.  (3) 
Francis  Gnepper  is  next  in  the  order  of 
birth.  (4)  Fred,  the  next  younger,  mar- 
ried Cass  Overm3'er,  and  they  have  three 
children — John,  born  in  1886;  Pearl,  born 
in  1889;  and  Amos,  born  in  1891.  (5) 
John  was  united  in  marriage  with  Alice 
Boyer,  and  their  family  also  numbers  three 
children — Katie,  born  in  1887;  Charlie, 
born  in    1889;  and   Bertie,  born  in   1891. 

In  taking  up  the  personal  history  of 
Francis  Gnepper  we  present  to  our  read- 
ers the  life  record  of  one  of  the  practical 
and  progressive  famers  of  Rice  township, 
Sandusky  county.  He  has  always  lived 
within  the  borders  of  that  county,  and  was 
reared  upon  the  old  homestead  where  he 
was  early  trained  to  habits  of  industry. 
His  education  was  obtained  in  the  district 
schools  of  the  neighborhood,  and  during 
the  greater  part  of  the  year  he  aided  in 
the  labors  of  the  farm.  Thus  his  child- 
hood and  youth  were  passed,  and  when  he 
had  reached  manhood  experience  had 
made  him  familiar  with  farm  work  in  all 
its  departments.  He  now  has  a  well-cul- 
tivated place,  and  is  raising  the  cereals 
best  adapted  to  this  climate.  He  takes 
no  very  prominent  part  in  public  affairs, 
but  gives  his  support  to  the  men  and 
measures  of  the  Democracy,  and  in  relig- 
ious faith  he  is  a  devout  Catholic. 

On  February  26,  1S85,  Mr.  Gnepper 
was  married,  in  Sandusky  county,  to  ^Iiss 
Sarah  A.  Yeagle,  who  was  born  October 
8,  1864,  in  Washington,  Sandusky  county, 
and  five  children  have  been  born  to  them: 
Cora  Ann,  November  15,  1885;  Noah  E., 
March  19,  1887;  Mary  E.,  January  30, 
1889;  Clarence  D.,  December  16,  1891; 
and  Clara  A.,  April   2,   1894,  all  born   in 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQRAPEICAL  RECORD. 


493 


Washington  township,  except  the  3'oung- 
est,  whose  place  of  birth  is  in  Rice  town- 
ship. 


CORNELIUS  HUFFORD,  a  farm- 
er and  pioneer  of  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, son  of  Christopher  HufTord, 
was  born  May  30,  1 806,  in  the 
State  of  Kentucky,  and  when  about  nine 
years  of  age  came  with  his  father's  family 
to  Greene  county,  Ohio.  Here  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Mary  Jane,  daughter  of  Abra- 
ham Zook.  She  was  born  in  Bedford 
county,  Penn.,  January  13,  1809,  of 
Pennsylvania  Dutch  descent.  Her  father 
removed  to  Seneca  county,  Ohio,  three 
miles  north  of  Tiffin,  where  he  died  at  the 
age  of  si.xty  years,  and  her  mother  died 
at  the  age  of  seventy-nine  years. 

In  1836  Cornelius  Huftord  moved  to 
Sandusky  township,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio, 
and  in  1S38  to  Ballville  township,  same 
county,  where  he  bought  1 30  acres  of 
heavily-timbered  land,  on  which  he  fol- 
lowed blacksmithing  for  about  twelve 
years  and  then  devoted  himself  exclusive- 
ly to  farming.  In  1868  he  sold  his  farm 
tojulius  Patterson,  and  bought  another 
farm  of  eighty  acres  in  Washington  town- 
ship. His  son  Simon  lived  with  him  on 
this  place  and  farmed  for  him.  Mary 
Hufford  died  April  7,  1882,  and  he  af- 
terward lived  among  his  children,  dying 
March  14,  1884.  In  politics  Mr.  Hufford 
was  a  Democrat;  he  and  his  wife  were 
members  of  the  Reformed  Church  for 
many  years.  He  was  a  man  of  large 
size,  stout,  hearty  and  vigorous  until  past 
fifty  years  of  age,  when  he  beciime  afflict- 
ed with  rheumatism  which  obliged  him  to 
use  a  cane  in  walking.  They  had  ten 
children,  only  five  of  whom  grew  to  ma- 
turity: Sarah,  born  April  17,  1834,  mar- 
ried Mark  Thraves;  Simon,  born  January 
14,  1837;  Elizabeth,  born  February  17, 
1842,  married  Norton  Rathbone,  and 
lives  in  Green  Creek  township;  Catharine, 


born  July  12,  1844,  married  James  Emer- 
son, and  lives  in  Ballville  township;  and 
Martha,  born  December  14,  1845,  mar- 
ried Elliot  Ferrenberg,  and  lives  near 
Gibsonburg,  Ohio. 

Simon  Hufford,  a  son  of  Cornelius 
Hufford,  was  born  in  Sandusky  township, 
Sandusky  county,  January  14,  1837.  His 
early  life  was  spent  on  his  father's  farm 
in  Ballville  township,  where  he  attended 
common  school  and  acquired  habits  of  in- 
dustry, economy  and  thrift.  On  Decem- 
ber 26,  1 86 1,  he  married  Miss  Sarah  E. 
Short,  daughter  of  Moulton  and  Matilda 
(Tracy)  Short,  born  August  13,  1842,  of 
Yankee  descent.  He  carried  on  farming 
on  his  father's  farm  in  Ballville  township 
for  a  number  of  years,  and  later  in  Wash- 
ington township,  but  now  lives  on  a  farm 
of  his  own  in  Ballville  township.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church  at  Fre- 
mont, Ohio,  and  in  politics  is  a  Demo- 
crat. A  record  of  their  children  is  given 
as  follows:  (i)  Lillie  Jeannette,  born 
November  2,  1862,  married  Joseph  Herr, 
and  their  children  are — Harry  J.,  born 
October  24,  1883,  and  Hattie  May,  born 
July  20,  1885.  (2)  Jennie  Lenora,  born 
March  20,  1864,  married  William  Inks, 
and  their  children  are — Ralph,  Jesse, 
Birchard,  Florence  aud  Maud.  (3)  Frank 
W. ,  born  August  4,  1867,  was  married 
October  2,  1889,  to  Miss  Eugenia  Myers, 
who  was  born  July  30,  1871,  and  they 
have  one  child — Hallie  Bell,  born  Sep- 
tember 9,  1891.  (4)  Armina,  born  Au- 
gust 13,  1870,  was  married  May  13,  1891, 
to  Frederick  Maurer,  who  was  born  May 
24,  1868,  now  residing  in  Helena,  Wash- 
ington township;  one  of  their  children, 
S.  Q.,  was  born  October  8,  1892,  and  died 
February  22,  1893,  the  other  child,  Gor- 
man Daine,  was  born  February  22,  1894. 
(5)  Burton  Hudson,  born  December  21, 
1873,  died  November  3,  1874.  (6)  Hattie 
May,  born  July  31,  1876.  Mrs.  HufTord, 
whose  health  had  been  failing  for  several 
years,  died  at  the  home  of  her  daughter 
Mina,    November    15,    1895,    ^g^d    fifty- 


494 


COMJIEMORATTVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


three  years,  three  months  and  two  dajs, 
and  was  buried  in  McGormley  cemetery, 
Ballville  township. 


CHARLES    H.     RADEMACHER. 
Among  those  who   are   devoting 
their  time   and    energies    to  agri- 
cultural and  horticultural  pursuits 
in  Ottawa  county,  is  this  gentleman,  who 
was  born  on   the  old    homestead  farm  in 
Portage  township,  October  18,  1863. 

He  is  descended  from  worth}'  German 
ancestry.  Henry  Rademacher,  his  father, 
was  born  in  the  Province  of  Hanover, 
Germany,  November  16,  181 3,  and  after 
arriving  at  years  of  maturity  married  An- 
nie D.  Buck,  who  was  born  in  the  same 
province,  August  9,  1822.  In  1835  he 
crossed  the  Atlantic  to  the  New  World, 
spending  two  years  in  New  York,  and  in 
1837  went  to  Florida,  where  he  remained 
four  years,  returning  in  1841  to  the  East- 
ern metropolis,  where  he  was  engaged  in 
the  grocery  business  until  1847. 

In  New  York  City,  November  21, 
1845,  Henry  Rademacher  married  Miss 
Buck,  and  in  1847  returned  to  the  Father- 
land, where  he  spent  about  a  year.  In 
1848  he  again  came  to  this  country,  and 
for  twelve  years  was  engaged  in  the  gro- 
cery business,  when  in  i860  he  started 
for  Ohio,  and  on  the  12th  of  May  took  up 
his  residence  in  Portage  township,  Ottawa 
county,  where  he  continued  to  make  his 
home  until  his  death.  He  was  born  No- 
vember 16,  1813,  and  passed  away  Jan- 
uary 17,  1892.  His  faithful  wife  still 
survives  him,  and  now  resides  on  the 
homestead  farm  with  our  subject.  In  the 
family  of  this  worthy  couple  were  seven 
children,  three  of  whom  are  still  living, 
namely:  Margaret,  wife  of  John  Bosch, 
of  Green  Spring.  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio; 
Anna  D.,  wife  of  C.  C.  StefTens,  living  on 
Catawba  Island;  and  Charles  H.  The 
members  of  the  family  were  born  as  fol- 
lows. Margaret.  November  18,  1846; 
Herman,    November    8,    1848,    and  died 


August  10,  1850;  John,  February  15, 
1850,  and  died  in  infancy;  Annie,  October 
26,  1852;  Mary  K.,  November  25,  1855; 
Henry,  March  31,  1861;  and  Charles  H., 

;  October  18,  1863. 

j  The  last  named  was  educated  in  the 
district  schools  of  his  native  township, 
also  in  the  Normal  School  of  Port  Clin- 
ton, Ohio,  and  since  his  early  boyhood 
days,  has  been  connected  with  the  agri- 
cultural interests  of  the  community,  and 
of  later  years  has  been  extensively  en- 
gaged in  fruit  growing.  He  has  a  fine 
farm,  well  improved,  and  supplied  with 
all  modern  accessories  and  conveniences 
for  carrying  on  a  successful  business.  He 
has  a  reputation  for  honest  dealing  that 
has  won  him  a  liberal  patronage,  and  to- 
day he  is  one  of  the  prosperous  farmers  of 
the  localitj'. 

In  his  political  views,  Mr.  Rademach- 
er is  a  Democrat,  and  he  and  his  family 
attend  the  Lutheran  Church.  He  was 
married  December  18,  1890,  to  Miss  An- 
nie EUena  Sass,  who  was  born  in  Dan- 
bury,  Ohio,  June  11,  1862,  a  daughter  of 
Herman  and  Adelaide  (Tewers)  Sass. 
The  parents  were  both  natives  of  Ger- 
man}',  became  early  settlers  of  Danbury 
township,  Ottawa  county,  and  have  now 
passed  away.  The  father  was  born  in 
Hanover,  February  18,  1823,  and  was  a 
son  of  Christian  and  Gesche  (Ropke) 
Sass.  He  was  married  in  New  York 
City,  February  21,  1852,  to  Adelaide 
Tewers,  who  was  born  in  Hanover,  Jan- 
uary 25,  1826.  They  came  to  Ohio  in 
1855,  and  the  mother  died  December  7, 
1877,  the  father  on  January  17,  1886. 
They  had  eight  children:  Mary,  born 
November  30,  1852,  wife  of  Martin  Kihl- 
ken,  of  Danburj",  Ohio;  Hermina,  born 
March  12,  1855;  William,  born  July  17, 
1857,  now  deceased;  F"rederick,  born  June 
6,  i860,  also  deceased;  Elizabeth  Louisa, 
born  June  11,  1862.  now  the  wife  of 
William  Libben,  of  Erie,  Ohio;  Annie 
Ellena,  twin  sister  of  Mrs.  Libben,  and 
the  honored  wife  of   our   subject;  Henry 


^    /yo     /  (<:::u;ti'4^C^i/2^A£''l>_^ 


COMMEMOKATIYE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


495 


H.,  born  December  22,  1864,  residing  in 
Danbury;  and  John  H.,  born  July  22, 
1869.  By  her  first  husband,  John  Lull- 
man,  Mrs.  Sass  had  a  daughter:  Kath- 
erina,  who  was  born  Januarj'  25,  1851, 
and  is  the  wife  of  Henry  Bosch,  of  Dan- 
bury. 


RBELL.  The  subject  of  this  sketch, 
senior  partner  in  the  firm  of  R. 
Bell  &  Co.,  is  one  of  the  leading 
men  of  Port  Clinton,  Ottawa 
county,  where  he  has  carried  on  the  fish- 
ery business  for  many  j'ears.  He  was 
born  April  7,  1832,  in  Cecil  county,  Md. , 
and  is  the  son  of  Abraham  and  Sarah 
Trump  Bell. 

Abraham  Bell  was  born  in  Pennsjl- 
vania,  near  the  Maryland  State  line,  in 
1800,  and  carried  on  his  occupation  of  a 
tanner  and  currier  in  Mar3land  until 
1834,  when  he  came  to  Ohio  and  located 
five  miles  west  of  Port  Clinton,  on  Lake 
Erie,  in  Erie  township.  Here  he  bought 
a  farm,  built  a  tannery,  and  manufactured 
the  first  leather  ever  made  in  the  count}'. 
He  was  engaged  in  the  business  for  some 
thirty-eight  years,  and  died  in  Ottawa 
county  in  1875.  In  politics  he  was  a 
Whig;  afterward,  on  the  absorption  of 
that  party  into  the  Republican  party, 
joining  the  ranks  of  the  latter.  In  relig- 
ious faith  he  was  brought  up  in  the 
Quaker  faith,  and  was  connected  with 
that  denomination  throughout  his  life. 
His  wife  was  born,  in  1802,  in  Cecil 
count)',  Md.,  and  died  in  1841,  the 
mother  of  twelve  children — six  sons  and 
six  daughters. 

The  following  is  a  record  of  the 
parental  famil)':  Robert  M.  lived  at  home 
until  eighteen  years  of  age,  when  he  re- 
turned to  the  East,  married  and  prac- 
ticed medicine  at  Harrisburg,  Penn. ;  he 
afterward  returned  to  Ohio,  where  he 
died,  leaving  a  widow  and  two  sons. 
Samuel  T.  is  living  retired  at  Riverside, 
Cal. ;   Mary  Anna  married   James  Hoops, 


and  lives  in  Chester  county,  Penn. ;  Ra- 
chel died  when  about  twenty  years  old; 
Rebecca,  who  lives  in  Louisville,  Ky. ,  is 
the  widow  of  Dr.  Officer,  and  has  had 
two  children,  both  living  with  her;  Phi- 
lena,  who  married  W.  W.  Batlin,  is  de- 
ceased; Sarah  Melissa  married  William 
Clark,  and  died  in  early  womanhood;  our 
subject  comes  next  in  order  of  birth; 
Abraham,  who  is  in  the  general  merchan- 
dise business,  lives  at  Elwell,  Ohio;  Jo- 
seph M.,  who  was  a  member  of  Company 
I,  Forty-first  Regiment  Ohio  Infantry,  in 
the  Civil  war,  died  near  Chattanooga, 
Tenn.,  in  the  latter  part  of   1863. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  spent  his 
boyhood  days  on  his  father's  farm,  assist- 
ing in  the  farm  work  and  in  the  tannery, 
and  having  onh'  the  limited  advantages  to 
be  obtained  at  a  country  school,  until  he 
was  sixteen  years  old,  when  he  started 
for  himself,  becoming  a  clerk  in  a  store 
at  Port  Clinton,  where  he  remained  two 
years.  At  the  early  age  of  eighteen  years 
he  was  married  to  Miss  Amelia  Wilson, 
and  made  his  home  in  Erie  township. 
Here  he  began  fishing  with  seines  in  1850, 
carrying  on  a  small  business  at  first, 
which  has  steadily  grown  ever  since.  In 
all  these  years  he  has  missed  but  one 
season's  fishing.  In  1859  he  went  to 
California,  crossing  the  Plains  with  an 
ox-team,  and  locating  near  the  foot  hills 
of  the  Sierra  Nevada  range.  It  was  a 
wearisome  journey  to  the  land  of  gold  in 
those  days,  and  Mr.  Bell  was  five  months 
making  the  trip,  leaving  home  on  the  6th 
of  March,  and  I'eaching  Placerville,  or 
Hangtown,  August  8.  He  returned  home 
via  the  Panama  Route,  and  was  twenty- 
four  days  coming  from  San  Francisco  to 
New  York.  In  1873  Mr.  BelJ  erected 
the  building  which  he  still  occupies,  and 
has  been  carr3'ing  on  a  prosperous  busi- 
ness ever  since,  sending  carloads  of  fish 
as  far  west  as  Omaha  and  east  to  the 
Atlantic.  His  yearly  catch  is  between 
five  thousand  and  eight  thousand  tons  of 
fish,  and   he  uses  two  steam  tugs  in  his 


49(3 


COMMEhOBATIVE  BIOOBAPHICAL  RECORD. 


business.  Mr.  Bell's  first  wife  died  in 
Port  Clinton  in  1873,  when  forty-one 
years  old.  They  were  the  parents  of 
the  following  named  children:  Perr}-,  who 
died  when  twenty-four  years  old,  was 
married,  and  left  four  children — Amelia, 
Norah,  Richard  and  Perry;  Ph3'lena  and 
George  died  in  early  youth;  Joseph  lives 
in  Port  Clinton  (he  married  Miss  Angeline 
^fagruder,  and  has  one  child — Ruth;  he 
is  a  member  of  the  firm  of  R.  Bell  &  Co.. 
and  captain  of  one  of  his  father's  tugs); 
Rebecca;  Josephine;  Sarah  Lucinda,  who 
married  \V.  R.  Webster,  editor  of  the 
Port  Clinton  Xcii's,  and  has  one  child — 
Chauncey;  and  two  that  died  in  infancy 
unnamed. 

Mr.  Bell  was  married  in  1 874  to  Miss 
Huldah  L.  ^fasten,  who  was  born  in 
Scottsburg,  N.  Y, ,  in  1852.  Of  this  mar- 
riage four  children  have  been  born:  John 
McAllister,  Bessie,  Edna  and  Earl.  Mr. 
Bell  is  a  Republican,  and,  socially,  has 
passed  all  the  chairs  in  the  I.  O.  O.  F. 
[Since  the  above  was  written  Mr.  Bell 
informs  us  that  he  left  Port  Clinton  Sep- 
tember 19,  1895,  and  will  spend  the 
remainder  of  his  life  at  Riverside,  Cali- 
fornia.— Editor. 


OSCAR  BILLINGS,  who  during  his 
long  and  useful  life  was  closely 
identified  with  the  flourishing 
township  of  Allen,  Ottawa  county, 
and  whose  death  was  sincerely  mourned 
by  hosts  of  friends  who  knew  him  as  the 
devoted  husband  and  father,  good  citizen 
and  faithful  minister,  was  born  December 
20,  1824,  at  Syracuse,  New  York. 

He  was  a  son  of  Augustus  and  Clar- 
inda  (English)  Billings,  both  of  whom 
were  natives  of  New  York  State.  After 
completing  his  education  in  the  schools  of 
his  native  town,  Mr.  Billings  came  with 
his  mother  to  Ohio,  settling  in  Woodville 
township,  Sandusky  county,  where  he 
learned  the  manufacture  of  furniture,  with 
a  man  named   Chamberlin.      He  worked 


at  this  trade  until  tne  Civil  war  broke  out, 
when  he  enlisted,  in  186 1,  in  Companj- 1, 
Twenty-first  Ohio  Infantry,  under  com- 
mand of  Capt.  I.  K.  Seaman,  as  a  drum- 
mer. He  served  four  months  and  re- 
ceived his  discharge  in  August,  of  the 
same  jear,  returning  to  Sandusky  county. 
Here  he  remained  a  short  time,  and  then 
took  his  wife  and  family  to  Minnesota, 
settling  in  Waseca  county  and  engaging 
in  farming.  Here  he  lived  for  nine  j'ears, 
and  then  went  back  to  Ottawa  county, 
locating  near  Genoa,  and  bought  a  farm 
which  he  carried  on  for  three  years.  He 
again  sold  out  and  came  to  Allen  (then 
Clay)  township,  and  buying  seventy  acres 
of  partially  cleared  land,  remained  here 
until  his  death.  Mr.  Billings  was  mar- 
ried in  Woodville,  February  4,  1S54,  to 
Miss  Mary  A.  Bosse,  and  to  this  union 
came  one  child,  Alice,  born  November  5, 
1854,  who  died  April  18,  1855,  the  mother 
passing  away  July  21,  of  the  same  year. 
Mr.  Billings  was  again  married,  October 
27,  1858,  taking  for  his  second  wife  Phi- 
linda  Baldwin,  daughter  of  Nelson  T. 
Baldwin,  a  farmer  of  Sandusky  count}". 
Of  this  marriage  nine  children  have  been 
born,  viz. :  Minerva  C,  born  July  3,  1859, 
is  the  wife  of  Jacob  S.  Stewart;  Sarah 
J.,  born  June  22,  1861,  became  the  wife 
of  Bradford  LiJsey.  a  farmer  of  Allen 
township;  Nelson  O. ,  born  March  10, 
1863,  is  a  barber  at  Genoa  (he  is  married 
and  has  one  child,  Harold);  Arthur  T. , 
born  August  31,  1S64,  and  Lorenzo  A., 
born  March  3,  1868,  live  at  home  with 
their  mother  and  carry  on  farming;  Leon- 
ard G. ,  born  December  11,  1870,  re- 
ceived his  primary  education  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  Allen  township,  and  was  for 
one  j-ear  in  the  High  School  at  Elmore, 
after  which  he  spent  three  years  at  the 
Academy  of  the  United  Brethren  at  Fos- 
toria,  and  then  began  teaching  till  he  was 
tsventy-one,  then  began  barbering  with  his 
brother  Nelson;  Casper  A.,  born  July  23, 
1874,  lived  at  home;  Myrtie  B.,  born 
August  29,  1876,  and  Laura,   born   May 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


497 


28,  1880.  Nelson  T.  Baldwin,  the  father 
of  Mrs.  Billings,  was  born  in  the  State  of 
New  York  and  came  to  Ohio  with  his  par- 
ents, when  a  small  boy.  They  settled  in 
Sandusky  county,  where  Mr.  Baldwin 
still  lives.  He  married  Cathrine  C.  Boose, 
and  they  have  had  a  family  of  four  children 
as  follows:  Philinda,  wife  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  was  born  in  Woodville,  May 
14,  1842;  Warren,  born  March  6,  1844, 
is  a  farmer  and  stonemason,  and  lives  in 
Nebraska  (he  married  Matilda  Widmer); 
Sarah,  born  June  i,  1846,  is  the  wife  of 
Frederick  Volkel,  of  Genoa;  William, 
born  July  2,  1850,  is  a  farmer  at  Wood- 
ville. The  mother  of  these  children  died 
in  Woodville,  March  3,  1892,  and  Mr. 
Baldwin  married,  for  his  second  wife,  Mrs. 
Sneakburger,  a  widow. 

Oscar  Billings,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  a  member  of  George  Doug- 
lass Post  No.  183,  G.  A.  R.,  of  Millbury, 
Ohio,  and  in  his  political  views  he  was  a 
Republican.  He  and  his  family  were  de- 
vout members  of  the  United  Brethren 
Church,  in  which  Church  he  was  a  local 
preacher  for  more  than  twelve  years  pre- 
ceding his  death,  which  took  place  Au- 
gust 12,  1894.  He  was  a  man  of  e.xcel- 
lent  character  and  a  good  father  and  hus- 
band, whose  death  will  long  be  mourned. 


FRED   BOLTE,    a   highly    popular 
citizen    of   Port  Clinton,    Ottawa 
county,  and  a  well-to-do  business 
man,  is  a  native  of  Hanover,  Ger- 
many,   born   August  20,    1851,   a  son  of 
Cord  and  Charlotte  (Harms)  Bolte. 

Cord  Bolte,  father  of  our  subject,  was 
born  in  181 8,  in  German}',  was  a  black- 
smith by  trade,  and  died  in  1865;  his 
wife,  Charlotte  (Harms),  was  born  in 
181 5,  and  died  in  1892,  at  the  residence 
of  her  son  Fred,  in  Port  Clinton,  Ohio. 
Seven  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Cord  Bolte,  as  follows:  William,  a 
blacksmith,  residing  in  Germany;  Louisa, 
nosv  the  wife  of    George    F.    Meyer,    of 


Port  Clinton;  Anna  (widow  of  William 
Dickman),  also  living  in  Port  Clinton; 
Meta,  wife  of  Benjamin  Boock,  of  Ca- 
tawba Island,  Ottawa  county;  Henry  (de- 
ceased); Sophy,  wife  of  Mr.  Andrew 
Heinsen,  of  Bay  township,  Ottawa  coun- 
ty; and  Fred,  our  subject.  When  the 
latter  was  six  years  old  his  parents  moved 
with  their  family  to  Amt  Syke,  Germany, 
five  years  later  taking  up  their  abode  in 
Osterholz,  in  both  of  which  places  young 
Fred  received  his  education,  which  was 
concluded  when  he  was  fourteen  years 
old,  after  which  he  served  a  three-years' 
apprenticeship  to  the  trade  of  blacksmith, 
and  for  two  years  followed  that  business 
in  Osterholz.  During  the  next  two  or 
three  3'ears  his  time  was  occupied  in 
working  at  his  trade  in  Bremen,  Stade, 
Gadebusch,  Berlin  and  Hanover,  which 
brings  us  to  1873,  in  which  year, 
desirous  of  bettering  his  condition,  he 
emigrated  to  the  United  Stales  arriv- 
ing at  New  York  on  July  10.  From  there 
he  came  directly  to  Sandusky,  Ohio, 
where  for  eight  months  he  followed  his 
trade,  and  then  moved  to  Oak  Harbor, 
being  here  similiarly  employed  other 
eight  months;  but  returning  to  Sandusky, 
he  once  more  made  his  home  there,  this 
time  remaining  about  a  year. 

From  Ohio  Mr.  Bolte  was  attracted  to 
Indiana  by  Cupid's  magnet,  and  April  10, 
1876,  was  married  to  the  lady  of  his 
choice — Miss  Mary  Cloy,  who  was  born 
February  18,  1859,  in  Auburn,  Ind., 
daughter  of  Christopher  Cloy,  of  that 
city,  where  she  passed  all  her  days  up  to 
her  marriage.  Her  parents  were  pioneers 
of  near  Garrett,  Ind.,  and  had  a  family  of 
four  children:  Julia  (deceased);  Mary 
(Mrs.  Bolte);  Fred,  an  upholsterer  in  a 
railroad  shop,  at  Garrett,  Ind. ;  and 
Charles  (deceased).  The  father  of  these 
died  in  1893;  the  mother  is  still  living. 
After  his  marriage  Mr.  Bolte  remained  in 
the  "  Hoosier  State  "  about  a  year,  and 
then  moved  to  Flat  Rock,  Ohio,  where 
he  followed  his  trade  nine  months.    From 


498 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


there  he  proceeded  to  Graj'tpvvn,  Ottawa 
Co.,  Ohio,  and  for  two  years  conducted 
a  blacksmith  shop  there,  at  the  end  of 
which  time  he  opened  a  saloon  and  res- 
taurant there,  twelve  months  later  em- 
barking in  the  hotel  business  in  the  same 
town,  in  which  he  continued  some  seven 
years.  Mr.  Bolte  then  rented  the  hotel, 
and  gave  his  undivided  attention  to  the 
saloon  and  restaurant  until  1890,  when  he 
was  elected  sheriff  of  Ottawa  county  on 
the  Democratic  ticket,  and  this  incum- 
bency he  ably  filled  four  years.  At  the 
time  of  his  election  to  that  office  he  re- 
moved his  residence  to  Port  Clinton,  the 
county  seat,  where  is  still  his  home,  al- 
though his  business  is  in  Graytown. 

During  the  winter  of  1894-95  ^^r. 
Bolte  took  a  trip  to  Europe,  spending 
some  time  at  the  place  of  his  birth,  and 
visiting  his  brother  William,  who  has 
never  left  the  Fatherland.  On  his  return 
from  Germany,  our  subject  sold  his  hotel 
property  at  Graytown  and  opened  his 
present  new  saloon  and  restaurant  at  that 
place.  In  politics  he  is  an  ardent  sup- 
porter of  the  Democratic  party,  and  on 
that  ticket  he  was  elected  treasurer  of 
Benton  township,  which  position  he  held 
for  some  time  prior  to  his  election  to  the 
office  of  county  sheriff.  To  him  and  his 
amiable  wife  have  been  born  four  chil- 
dren, their  names  and  dates  of  birth  being 
as  follows:  Louise,  February  24,  1878, 
at  present  devoting  her  time  to  the  stud\' 
of  instrumental  music;  Henry,  February 
4,  1880,  also  studying  music;  Otto,  Oc- 
tober 10,  1 88 1,  and  Charles,  March  13. 
1885,  all  born  in  Graytown,  Ohio,  except 
Louise,  whose  place  of  birth  is  Flat  Rock, 
Ohio.  They  are  all  attending  the  public 
schools  of  Port  Clinton. 


I 


N.ATHANIEL    AMOS    HADDEN, 
the    well-known    and     highly-re- 
spected fruit  grower  and  shipper, 
of  Catawba  Island,  Ottawa  coun- 
t}',  was  born  at  Rice  Creek,  Calhoun  Co., 


Mich.,  August  7,  1836,  and  was  the  third 
son  of  Amos  and  Mary  Jane  (Dutcber) 
Hadden,  both  natives  of  New  York  State. 

His  parents  left  New  York,  and  settled 
in  Michigan  in  1835,  buying,  from  the 
government,  120  acres  of  wild  land  in 
southern  Michigan,  among  the  wolves  and 
Indians,  their  nearest  neighbors  being 
four  miles  away,  and  there  made  for  them- 
selves a  fine  farm  home,  which  stands  to- 
day (1895)  a  monument  to  the  energy  and 
good  management  of  its  owner,  Amos 
Hadden,  who  died  suddenly  in  his  own 
yard,  in  November,  1S93,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-three  years.  His  wife,  now  eighty- 
four,  still  lives  there,  where  for  sixty  years 
she  has  lived,  and  faithfully  assisted  her 
husband  in  making  the  home  and  family 
what  it  is.  They  were  Methodists  in  re- 
ligious faith,  and  in  a  few  years,  with 
others  who  followed  them  from  New  York, 
planted  Methodism  in  that  section  of 
country,  and  built  a  good  church,  which 
still  stands.  A  small  stream  of  water  runs 
through  this  section,  called  Rice  creek 
from  the  quantities  of  wild  rice  growing 
on  its  banks,  and  from  this  the  early 
settlers  named  themselves  the  '  •  Rice 
Creek  Settlement,"  which  name  has  since 
been  given  the  post  office  now  there,  with 
its  daily  mail. 

It  was  there  at  Rice  Creek  in  1836, 
the  year  after  the  settlement  of  his  par- 
ents, that  N.  A.  Hadden,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  was  born  and  reared  to  young 
manhood,  assisting  his  father  in  every- 
thing pertaining  to  the  farm,  and  receiv- 
ing a  liberal  education  in  the  good  schools 
which  naturally  followed  in  the  wake  of 
this  civilized  people  from  the  East.  In  the 
spring  of  1859,  when  he  was  twentj'-two, 
he,  like  thousands  of  others,  was  seized 
with  the  Pike's  Peak  gold  fever,  and,  with 
a  party  of  eleven  men,  left  the  old  farm 
and  started  for  Pike's  Peak.  At  St. 
Joseph,  Mo.,  they  were  discouraged  by 
returning  men,  and  the  eleven,  with  two 
additions,  decided  to  go  to  California. 
They   bought    oxen    and  provisions,   and 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


499 


started  on  their  long  journey  across  the 
Plains,  which  took  six  months.  They  all 
arrived  in  safety,  but  our  Mr.  Hadden 
was  the  only  man  of  the  thirteen  who  was 
not  obliged  to  ride  on  account  of  illness. 
He  literally  walked  almost  the  entire  dis- 
tance. On  their  arrival  each  went  his 
own  way,  our  subject  working  in  the  gold 
mines  with  good  and  ill  success,  until 
called  home  by  the  death  of  a  brother  in 
the  army,  in  1862.  In  the  spring  of  1863 
he  was  married,  and  with  his  wife  lived 
on  the  old  farm  until  the  fall  of  1865. 
Here  two  children  were  born  to  them,  one 
dying.  He  then  removed  with  his  wife 
and  little  daughter  to  Mendon,  Mich., 
where  for  five  years  he  he  was  success- 
fully engaged  in  the  drug  and  grocery 
business.  Here  a  son  was  born  and  died, 
and  his  own  health  became  impaired,  and 
then  it  was  that  he  turned  his  attention  to 
Ottawa  county,  Ohio,  the  former  home  of 
his  wife.  In  1870  he  bought  a  vineyard, 
also  two  lake  lots  on  the  north  point  of 
Catawba  Island,  and  erected  a  summer 
hotel,  which,  when  just  finished  and 
opened,  and  with  its  first  guest,  was  en- 
tirely destroyed  by  fire,  on  the  night  of 
March  13,  1872,  at  the  close  of  a  fine 
school  entertainment,  which  he  had  gen- 
erously allowed  to  be  given  on  the  third 
unfinished  floor,  and  which  was  undoubt- 
edly the  cause  of  the  fire.  By  this  ca- 
lamity he  was  thrown  out  of  home  and 
business,  and  left  heavily  in  debt.  Dur- 
ing that  summer  his  third  son  was  born, 
and  in  the  fall  he  took  his  family  to  Kala- 
mazoo, Mich.,  where  they  spent  a  year, 
and  in  July,  1873,  he  accepted  the  posi- 
tion of  bookkeeper  and  salesman  for  the 
firm  of  J.  C.  Butler  &  Co.  (now  George 
R.  Butler),  proprietors  of  the  sash,  door 
and  blind  factory  in  Sandusky,  Erie  Co., 
Ohio,  whither  he  moved  his  family  and 
where  he  lived  for  fifteen  years,  during 
which  time  he  settled  his  entire  indebted- 
ness, built  him  a  good  home,  and  bought 
land  on  Catawba  Island.  This  last  pur- 
chase of  fifty-five  acres  was  made  in  No-  I 


vember,  1879,  and  was  entirely  woods 
and  stone,  and  looked  to  many  like  an 
unprofitable  investment,  but  with  his 
characteristic  pluck,  energy,  push  and 
hard  work  he  has  made  for  himself  a  fine 
fruit  farm  of  about  ten  thousand  trees, 
and  erected  a  comfortable  and  commodious 
residence,  with  all  the  necessary  outbuild- 
ings. This  he  has  named  "  Sunnyside 
Orchard,"  and  is  the  present  home  of 
himself  and  wife.  In  1888  he  left  the 
Butlers  and  devoted  his  entire  time  to 
fruit  culture.  For  eight  years  he  has  been 
rewarded  with  good  crops,  and  has  become 
the  third  largest  grower  and  shipper  of 
fruit  on  the  Island,  making  a  specialty  of 
the  peach. 

In  religion,  Mr.  Hadden  has  been  a 
Methodist  from  bo3'hood ;  in  politics  a  Re- 
publican, having  cast  his  first  vote  for  Abra- 
ham Lincoln,  and  he  has  voted  for  every 
Republican  President  since.  He  has  been 
president  and  manager  of  the  Catawba 
Island  Fruit  Co.,  since  its  organization  in 
1888.  Mr.  Hadden  is  a  man  of  perfect 
habits,  and  is  one  of  the  most  social  and 
liberal  of  men.  He  has  one  brother  liv- 
ing. Smith  Hadden,  of  Olivet,  Mich.,  and 
a  widowed  sister,  Mrs.  N.  L.  McCormick, 
who  with  her  daughter  lives  with  the  aged 
mother  at  the  old  Hadden  homestead. 

On  May  14,  1863,  Mr.  Hadden  was 
married  in  the  old  M.  E.  Church  at  Port 
Clinton,  Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio.,  to  Miss 
Marion  J.  Dutcher,  who  was  born  June 
22,  1839,  at  Oswego,  N.  Y. ,  eldest  daugh- 
ter of  Ira  S.  Dutcher,  a  sketch  of  whom 
follows.  Miss  Dutcher  first  came  to  Ca- 
tawba Island  with  her  father's  family  when 
she  was  but  sixteen  years  old.  The 
' '  point  "  was  then  called  '  •  Ottawa  City. " 
Two  years  later  she  taught  her  first  school, 
and  the  first  school  ever  taught  on  North 
Bass  Island,  or  "Isle  St.  George,"  as  it 
is  now  called.  From  here  she  was  called 
to  the  high  school  of  Port  Clinton,  which 
she  successfully  taught  a  year  or  more, 
and  then  went  to  Elmore,  and  taught  mu- 
sic.     From  there  she  was  called  to  Gyp- 


500 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


sum,  where  she  taught  until  her  marriage. 
After  seven  years  in  Michigan,  she  came 
with  her  husband  and  Httie  daughter  back 
to  Catawba  Island,  thence,  after  the  fire 
that  destroyed  their  home,  they  removed 
to  Sandusky,  as  already  related.  Here 
for  fifteen  years  she  assisted  her  husband 
in  retrieving  his  fallen  fortunes,  by  teach- 
ing music  and  playing  pipe  organ  in  two 
of  the  city  churches.  After  her  two  chil- 
dren were  graduated  from  the  high  school, 
the  son  gone  to  college,  and  the  daughter 
married,  she  with  her  husband  rented  her 
Sandusk)'  home,  and  went  to  live  on  their 
fruit  farm,  "Sunnyside  Orchard,"  at  Ca- 
tawba Island,  in  1892,  where  they  now, 
(1895)  reside.  Mrs.  Hadden  is  a  progres- 
sive woman,  being  interested  in  all  affairs 
pertaining  to  the  Island,  and  entertains 
largely  at  their  pleasant  hospitable  home. 
She  is  the  founder  of  "  The  Ladies  After- 
noon Club,"  which  was  organized  at  her 
home  on  June  15,  1892,  and  has  been  its 
president  since.  It  is  devoted  to  litera- 
ture and  current  events.  She  has  been  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  since  early  childhood. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  N.  A.  Hadden  were 
born  four  children,  a  brief  record  of  whom 
is  as  follows:  (i)  Ira  Amos,  born  Feb- 
ruary 28,  1864,  died  September  8,  1865. 
(2)  Stella  Belle,  born  March  29,  1865, 
was  married  to  Arthur  B.  Alexander,  of 
Decatur,  111.,  where  they  now  reside;  she 
made  music  a  specialty,  spent  a  year  and 
a  half  abroad  in  travel  and  study,  and  is 
a  thorough,  brilliant  musician  and  an  ac- 
complished lady.  (3)  James  Bertrand, 
born  August  24,  1867,  died  August  28, 
1868.  (4)  Clarence  Bernard,  born  May 
23,  1872,  a  graduate  of  Sandusky  High 
School,  also  of  Cornell  Universitj-,  Ithaca, 
N.  Y.  (1893),  after  which  he  spent  a  year 
in  post-graduate  work  in  political  econ- 
omy and  social  science,  under  Dr. 
Richard  T.  Ely,  University  of  Wisconsin, 
at  Madison,  ^^■is.  He  has  assisted  his 
father  in  the  management  of  the  Catawba 
Island  Fruit  Co.  every  season  for   seven 


years,  and  is  now  (1895)  financial  secre- 
tar}'  of  the  Associated  Charities  of  Cin- 
cinnati. He  is  also  in  active  work  at  the 
Social  Settlement,  having  charge  of  the 
"Idlewild  Athletic  and  Musical  Club," 
and  other  classes. 

Ira  S.  Dutcher,  father  of  Mrs.  Na- 
thaniel A.  Hadden,  was  born  March  13, 
1 8 14,  at  Dover,  Dutchess  Co.,  N.  Y. ,  of 
Holland  and  English  ancestry.  When 
five  years  old  he  went  with  his  parents, 
Ruleff  (or  Ralph)  and  Almira  (Waring) 
Dutcher,  to  Auburn,  Cayuga  Co.,  N.  Y. , 
where  he  received  his  education.  His 
father  being  a  millwright,  Ira  inherited 
from  him  his  love  for  machinery  and  me- 
chanics, and  when  quite  a  j'oung  man 
went  to  Rochester,  N.  Y. ,  where  he  learn- 
ed the  millwright's  trade,  which  he  worked 
at  more  or  less  until  the  last  few  years  of 
his  life.  He  was  married  July  4,  1838, 
to  Miss  Mary  Ann  Veeder,  who  was  of 
Scotch,  English  and  Dutch  extraction, 
her  grandmother  on  her  father's  side 
being  a  Scotch  lady,  and  on  her  mother's 
side  a  "Yankee  woman"  or  English 
lad}'.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dutcher  went  to 
housekeeping  in  East  Oswego,  N.  Y. ,  in 
1838,  and  for  thirteen  years  Mr.  Dutcher 
built  elevators  and  mills  on  the  Oswego 
river.  In  1852,  being  sent  for  to  come 
to  Sandusky,  Ohio,  to  build  an  ele- 
vator and  put  machinery  in  mills,  he 
removed  his  family  there,  remaining 
three  years,  and  in  1855  came  to  Ottawa 
county,  where  he  resided  until  his  death 
thirty  j'ears  later.  He  began  his  career 
by  building  the  "  Cement  W'orks  "  at  the 
north  point  of  Catawba  Island,  then 
called  Ottawa  City,  as  it  was  thought  a 
little  city  would  surely  grow  out  of  this 
enterprise,  and  a  plat  for  a  city  was  made 
and  named  as  above.  The  land  was 
owned  by  J.  B.  James,  a  wealth}'  gentle- 
man of  New  York,  who  was  sanguine  in 
the  belief  that  good  cement  could  be  pro- 
cured from  the  limestone  which  abounded 
in  such  large  quantities.  So  Mr.  Dutcher 
was  employed  as  builder  and  superintend- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


501 


ent,  and  in  1855  moved  his  famiij-  to  the 
superintendent's  house,  which  to-day  is 
the  "Catawba  Island  House,"  owned  by 
J.  P.  Cangney.  For  various  reasons  the 
cement  business  did  not  prove  as  remu- 
nerative as  Mr.  James  had  expected,  and 
in  1859,  after  a  four-years'  trial  he  aban- 
doned the  enterprise  and  removed  the  ma- 
chinery to  an  Eastern  plant.  Mr.  Dutcher 
had  opened  a  general  store,  while  man- 
ager of  the  works.  When  he  found  his 
occupation  gone,  he  moved  his  store  and 
family  to  Port  Clinton,  where  he  formed 
a  partnership  with  John  Jenney,  under 
the  firm  name  of  Dutcher  &  Jenney,  and 
for  four  years  did  a  general  mercantile 
business,  occasional!}-  going  out  for  a  job 
in  his  favorite  machine  work.  In  the 
fall  of  1863  he  sold  out  and  moved  to  a 
ten-acre  farm  on  the  extreme  northeast 
point  of  Catawba  Island,  known  as 
"  Scott's  Point,"  which  he  had  purchased 
some  time  previous.  Here,  in  the  old- 
fashioned  log  house  with  its  numerous  ad- 
ditions, " neath  the  old  Linden  tree"  (an 
immense  tree  over  a  hundred  years  old), 
he  moved  his  famil}',  and  lived  many 
happy  years.  Here  his  grandson,  Clar- 
ence B.  Hadden  was  born  in  1872. 
Mr.  Dutcher  devoted  the  most  of  his 
time  to  the  cultivation  of  fruit,  and 
was  one  of  the  earliest  growers  of 
the  peach  for  profit  on  the  Island.  His 
place  was  called  "  Linden  Place,"  and  his 
large  new  house,  which  he  built  in  1874- 
75,  "The  Linden."  Here  he  lived  until 
his  death,  in  1886.  The  old  house  later 
was  accidentally  burned,  the  great  linden 
tree  was  struck  by  lightning  two  or  three 
times,  and  was  taken  out  root  and  branch, 
so  to-day  no  trace  of  either  exists.  The 
new  house  is  now  owned  and  occupied  by 
the  second  daughter  and  her  husband, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  A.  Davey,  who  provide 
a  home  for  the  aged  widow,  who,  on  Oc- 
tober 2,  1895,  was  eighty  years  old.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Dutcher  had  eight  children,  only 
two  of  whom  are  living — the  two  eldest 
daughters,  Mrs.  N.  A.  Hadden  and  Mrs. 


J.  A.  Davey — both  of  whom  live  on  Ca- 
tawba Island.  Two  sons  and  a  daughter 
who  died  in  infancy  are  buried  in  Oswego, 
and  two  sons  and  a  daughter  are  buried 
with  their  father  and  grandmother  Vecder 
in  the  Catawba  Island  Cemetery.  Mr. 
Dutcher  in  politics  was  a  Whig  in  early 
life,  and  later  an  active  Republican;  he 
cast  his  first  vote  for  Gen.  William  Henry 
Harrison  in  1836.  He  was  always  a  tem- 
perance man  and  worker.  He  was  town- 
ship treasurer,  township  clerk  and  school 
director  for  many  years,  was  a  Good 
Templar,  Odd  Fellow  and  a  Roj'al  Arch 
Mason,  holding  the  office  of  worshipful 
master  in  both  Port  Clinton  and  Oak 
Harbor  Lodges.  In  1868  he  joined  the 
Methodist  Church  at  Catawba  Island;  his 
wife  has  been  a  Methodist  since  girlhood. 
Mr.  Dutcher  had  a  sudden  death  from 
heart  failure.  Arising  on  the  morning  of 
January  25,  1886,  in  his  usual  health  and 
spirits,  about  ten  o'clock,  sitting  in  his 
arm  chair  by  the  stove  opposite  his  be- 
loved wife,  he  suddenly  placed  his  hand 
on  his  breast,  saying.  "I  don't  know 
what  is  the  matter,"  leaned  back,  and 
ceased  to  breathe.  He  was  buried  from 
his  home,  January  27,  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Port  Clinton  Masonic  Lodge,  the 
members  of  which  came  in  a  body  to  do 
honor  to  their  deceased  Brother. 


CHARLES  BLECKNER,  a  popu- 
lar druggist  of  Oak  Harbor,  and 
one  of  the  leading  influential  men 
of  that  prosperous  little  town  in 
Ottawa  county,  was  born  in  Troy,  N.  Y. , 
March  19,  1852,  a  son  of  Adam  and 
Christina  (Lenhardt)  Bleckner,  both  na- 
tives of  Germany,  who  emigrated  to  the 
United  States  in  March,  1852,  landing  in 
America  on  the  day  our  subject  was  born. 
On  their  arrival  in  this  country  the 
parents  located  first  in  Troy,  N.  Y.,  re- 
maining there  only  a  few  months;  then 
removed  to  Fremont,  Sandusky  Co., 
Ohio,    thence    to    Rice    township,    same 


502 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


county,  where  Mr.  Bleckner  engaged  in 
agricultural  pursuits  for  upwards  of  two 
years.  But  from  the  year  1855  up  to  the 
time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  in 
1857,  he  was  employed  at  his  trade,  that 
of  stone  mason.  The  family  consisted  of 
two  sons  and  one  daughter:  Charles,  the 
subject  proper  of  this  sketch;  William, 
the  efficient  postmaster  at  Oak  Harbor; 
and  Lucinda,  now  the  wife  of  William 
Mclvenzie,  of  Bellevue,  Ohio.  The 
mother  was  again  united  in  marriage,  her 
second  husband  being  Charles  Remley, 
and  is  now  a  resident  of  Fremont,  Ohio. 
Charles  Bleckner,  the  subject  proper 
of  these  lines,  received  his  preliminary 
education  in  the  public  schools  of  San- 
dusky county,  and  later  in  life,  being  a 
young  man  of  very  studious  habits,  he 
added  considerably  to  his  fund  uf  knowl- 
edge. The  family  being  deprived,  in 
the  death  of  the  father,  of  the  only 
means  of  support,  our  subject  was  com- 
pelled to  start  out  when  very  young  to 
earn  his  own  livelihood.  When  eleven 
years  of  age  he  hired  out  with  a  neigh- 
boring farmer,  for  whom  he  worked  eight 
years,  receiving  in  compensation  for  his 
services  his  board  and  clothes,  and  at  the 
age  of  twenty-one  succeeded  in  purchasing 
some  land  and  enj^ged  in  agricultural  pur- 
suits on  his  own  responsibility;  but  in  \^77 
he  severed  his  connection  with  the  farm 
and  accepted  a  position  as  clerk  in  his 
brother  William's  drugstore,  and  in  1879 
purcliased  his  drug  business  at  Rocky 
Ridge,  Ohio,  remaining  there  for  two  years. 
In  1 88 1  our  subject  returned  to  Oak  Har- 
bor and  purchased  a  half  interest  in  his 
brother's  store,  in  1892  becoming  sole 
proprietor,  and  he  has  since  carried  on 
the  business  in  his  own  interests,  his  store 
being  one  ot  the  handsomest  in  the  county. 
Mr.  Bleckner  isa  "  self-made  man  "  in  the 
broadest  sense  of  the  term.  Thrown 
upon  his  own  resources  when  but  a  young 
lad,  he  has  displayed  wonderful  tact  in 
the  way  in  which  he  has  prospered.  His 
reputation  as  a  chemist — second  to  none 


in  the  county — his  success  as  a  business 
man,  and  his  popularity  as  a  citizen,  have 
been  acquired  by  a  life  of  hard,  honest 
labor. 

On  December  22,  1872,  Mr.  Bleckner 
was  united  in  marriage,  at  Perrysburg, 
Wood  Co.,  Ohio,  with  Miss  Annie  A. 
Hufford,  a  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Cather- 
ine Hufford,  the  former  of  whom  was  a 
native  of  Pennsylvania,  the  latter  a  native 
of  Holland,  honored  and  respected  resi- 
dents of  Wood  county  for'  many  years, 
both  now  deceased.  To  this  union  have 
come  si.\  children,  as  follows:  Noah  H., 
born  September  24,  1873,  now  a  clerk  in 
his  father's  store;  Emma  C. ,  born  Jan- 
uary 13,  1875,  now  a  teacher  in  Ot- 
tawa county;  Charles  C. ,  born  May  19, 
1877,  will  graduate  from  Oak  Harbor 
public  schools  in  June,  1896;  Cora  M., 
born  June  27,  1880,  died  September  24, 
1880;  Vernah  V.,  born  April  28,  1884; 
and  Chester  H.,  born  October  3,  1885. 
Mr.  Bleckner  is  an  active  member  of  the 
Oak  Harbor  school  board,  a  stockholder 
in  the  Oak  Harbor  Natural  Gas  Co.,  a 
member  of  Oak  Harbor  Lodge  No.  495,  F. 
&  A.  M.,  and  Fremont  Chapter  No.  64, 
Royal  Arch  Masons,  and  a  charter  mem- 
ber of  Oak  Harbor  Lodge  No.  735, 
I.  O.  O.  F.  Politically  he  is  affiliated 
with  the  Democratic  party.  The  family 
are  members  of  the  M.  E.  Church. 


HENRY  LAMMERS  (deceased), 
who  was  one  of  the  prominent 
and  representative  farmers  and 
fruit  growers  of  Ottawa  county, 
spent  his  entire  life  in  Danbury  township, 
where  his  birth  occurred  February  2, 
1850,  in  the  old  log  house  that  then  stood 
on  the  homestead  farm.  His  parents, 
Frederick  and  Martha  (Teeman)  Lam- 
mers,  were  both  natives  of  the  Province 
of  Hanover,  Germany.  He  was  reared 
in  the  usual  manner  of  farmer  boys,  aid- 
ing in  the  labor  of  the  field  and  attending 
the  district  schools  of  the  neighborhood, 


HENRY  LAMMERS. 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


503 


where  he  acquired  a  good  common-school 
education.  The  occupation  to  which  he 
was  reared  he  made  his  Ufa  work,  and 
was  very  successful   in   his   undertakings. 

At  Port  Clinton,  Ottawa  county,  on 
the  15th  of  November,  1877,  was  cele- 
brated the  marriage  of  Mr.  Henry  Lam- 
mers  and  Miss  Mary  L.  Graves,  who  was 
born  in  Danbury  township,  March  2, 
1854,  and  is  a  daughter  of  John  F.  and 
Christine  Graves,  old  and  highly-respected 
residents  of  Danbury  township,  but  who 
are  now  living  in  Hanover,  Germany. 
To  our  subject  and  his  worthy  wife  were 
born  two  sons,  both  still  living,  namely: 
Edwin  August,  born  December  26,  1879; 
and  Walter  Frederick,  born  December  4, 
1883. 

Mr.  Lammers  passed  to  the  other 
shore  on  the  14th  of  June,  1891.  Though 
yet  a  young  man  at  the  time  of  his  de- 
cease, still  he  had  done  much  toward  the 
prosperity  of  his  native  township,  and  was 
held  in  high  esteem  as  a  friend  and  neigh- 
bor. His  wife  continues  to  superintend 
the  duties  pertaining  to  the  farm,  and  the 
neat'  and  thrifty  appearance  of  the  place 
indicates  taste  and  good  judgment,  as  well 
as  abilit}'. 


GEORGE  DEEL  is  the  proprietor 
of  the  Enterprise  Machine  Works, 
of  Oak  Harbor,  Ottawa  county, 
No  greater  pleasure  can  be  en- 
joyed by  the  aged  than  to  look  back  on  a 
life  usefully  spent  for  the  good  of  others 
as  well  as  themselves — -a  happiness  that 
can  be  enjoyed  in  an  eminent  degree  by 
the  gentleman  whose  name  opens  this 
sketch. 

Mr.  Deel  is  a  native  of  Pennsylvania, 
born  in  New  Berlin,  Union  county,  May 
7,  1 83 1,  and  is  a  son  of  Jacob  and  Eliza- 
beth (Newhart)  Deel,  both  of  whom  were 
natives  of  the  Keystone  State.  On  both 
sides  the  families  are  of  German  ancestry, 
the  paternal  great-grandparents  of  our 
subject,    who    were    natives    of    Hessen, 

32 


Germany,  emigrating  to  what  is  now 
Frederick  City,  Md. ,  and  at  the  time  of 
the  Revolutionary  war  they  were  resi- 
dents of  that  city.  The  parents  of  our 
subject  came  to  Ohio  in  1861,  locating 
first  in  Fremont,  Sandusky  county,  but 
after  a  short  time  came  to  Ottawa  county 
and  took  up  their  residence  in  Salem 
township,  near  Oak  Harbor,  where  their 
remaining  days  were  passed,  the  father 
departing  this  life  in  1878,  the  mother  in 
1882.  They  had  twelve  children,  six  of 
whom  are  yet  living  besides  our  subject, 
namely:  Rebecca,  widow  of  John  Marks, 
of  Benton  township,  Ottawa  county; 
Mary,  wife  of  John  Orandorf,  of  Center 
county,  Penn. ;  John,  who  is  living 
on  the  homestead  in  Union  county, 
Penn. ;  Jacob  and  Peter,  both  of  Bar- 
ton county,  Kans. ;  and  Joseph,  who 
is  living  in  Gun  Marsh,  Michigan. 

George  Deel  acquired  a  common- 
school  education  near  his  home,  and  af- 
terward learned  the  trade  of  a  ship  car- 
penter, which  pursuit  he  followed  in  Penn- 
sylvania until  1 86 1.  He  then  came  to 
Ohio,  locating  in  Salem  township,  about 
three  miles  east  of  Oak  Harbor,  where  he 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  and  in  the 
purchase  and  sale  of  timber  for  about  si.\- 
teeti  years.  In  1877  he  came  to  Oak 
Harbor,  and  in  connection  with  dealing 
in  timber  he  also  engaged  in  the  hotel 
business,  conducting  the  first  hostelry  of 
any  importance  in  the  town.  In  1878 
this  hotel  was  destroye(^  by  fire,  and  the 
following  year  he  erected  the  large  and 
commodious  brick  hotel,  so  well  and 
favorably  known  to  the  traveling  public, 
called  the.  "  Portage  House."  It  too  was 
consumed  by  the  flames,  on  August  4, 
1894,  and  in  both  conflagrations  Mr.  Deel 
was  a  serious  loser.  In  August,  1894,  he 
purchased  the  Enterprise  Machine  Works, 
and  is  now  conducting  a  good  business. 

Mr.  Deel  was  married,  in  McAlister- 
ville,  Penn.,  September-2,  1S53,  to  Julia 
M.  Koch,  who  was  born  in  Richfield, 
Juniata  Co.,  Penn.,  September  28,  1834, 


504 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


a  daughter  of  John  and  Catherine  (Baer) 
Koch.  Seven  children  came  to  bless  this 
union:  Mary  Alice,  born  September  i, 
1858,  who  is  the  wife  of  William  Fry,  of 
Oak  Harbor;  Clara  E.,  born  November 
2,  i860,  who  died  September  29,  1862; 
James  E.,  born  November  13,  1862,  who 
died  May  24,  1864;  George  A.,  born  Jan- 
uary 19,  1865,  who  is  now  a  professor  in 
Eastman  College,  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y. ; 
Martha  E.  ,born  January  7,  1867,  who  died 
April  12,  of  that  year;  Nelson  K. ,  born 
January  22,  1869,  and  Lottie  V.,  born 
April  II,  1 87 1 ,  the  last  two  still  under  the 
parental  roof. 

In  March,  1865,  Mr.  Deel  manifested 
his  loyalty  to  the  government  by  enlisting 
in  Company  C,  One  Hundred  and  Ninety- 
sixth  O.  V.  I.,  and  served  until  the  close 
of  the  war,  acting  as  hospital  steward  part 
of  the  time.  His  brothers,  Jacob,  Joseph 
and  Peter,  were  also  Union  soldiers.  Mr. 
Deel  has  served  for  three  years  as  super- 
visor of  the  township;  was  school  director 
for  fifteen  years;  was  township  assessor 
three  years;  has  been  councilman  nine 
years;  was  infirmary  director  six  years; 
was  township  trustee  six  years,  and  coun- 
ty treasurer  for  one  term,  of  two  years. 
The  very  fact  of  his  being  called  to  these 
various  positions  indicates  the  confidence 
and  trust  reposed  in  him  by  his  fellow 
townsmen,  and  his  honorable  official  rec- 
ord shows  that  this  confidence  has  never 
been  betrayed.  In  connection  with  his 
other  interests,  he  is  a  charter  member  of 
Oak  Harbor  Lodge  No.  495.  F.  &  A.  M., 
the  second  oldest  Mason  in  the  place,  and 
a  member  of  George  Field  Post  No.  168, 
G.  A.  R.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat. 
In  addition  to  his  other  business  inter- 
ests he  is  a  director  of  the  Oak  Harbor 
State  Bank.  But  few  men  have  come 
more  directly  in  contact  with  the  inter- 
ests of  Ottawa  county,  and  none  have 
commanded  more  completely  the  respect 
and  confidence  of  the  community  at  large. 
His  circle  of  friends  and  acquaintances  is 
indeed  extensive,    and  in   the  history  of 


Ottawa  county  he  well  deserves  repre- 
sentation. The  Deel  family  attend  the 
Lutheran  Church. 


WILLIAM  NOBLE,  a  retired  farm- 
er of  Salem  township,  Ottawa 
county,  and  a  highly-respected 
resident  of  Oak  Harbor,  was 
born  June  19,  1830,  in  Germany,  on  the 
line  between  the  Provinces  of  Hanover 
and  Prussia,  and  is  a  son  of  Frederick 
and  Lena  Noble,  both  of  whom  passed 
away  in  their  native  land. 

Our  subject  received  his  primary  edu- 
cation in  his  native  land,  and  there  ap- 
prenticed himself  to  the  trade  of  carpen- 
tering. In  1 8  50  he  emigrated  to  America, 
and  for  two  years  was  employed  as  sales- 
man in  a  provision  store  in  New  York 
City.  In  1852  he  removed  to  the  State 
of  Ohio,  locating  in  Danbury  township, 
Ottawa  county,  working  at  his  trade  dur- 
ing the  winter  and  sailing  on  Lake  Erie 
during  the  summer  months.  In  1858  he 
purchased  land  in  Salem  township,  and 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits;  and  al- 
though for  the  past  four  years  he  has 
been  living  a  retired  life,  enjoying  the 
rest  he  has  so  well  earned,  he  still  retains 
his  farm,  which  is  in  charge  of  his  sons. 
Mr.  Noble  was  married  in  Danbury 
township  September  22,  1858,  to  Miss 
Mary  Ott,  a  daughter  of  Frederick  and 
Fredericka  (Grouman)  Ott,  both  natives 
of  Germany,  who  located  in  Danbury 
township  in  1855,  and  moved  to  Salem 
township  with  their  daughter  and  son-in- 
law  in  1858,  passing  away  there  in  1867 
and  1875  respectively.  Mrs.  Noble  was 
born  in  Mecklenburg,  Germany,  January 
18,  1837.  To  this  union  were  born  nine 
children,  viz. :  Doris,  wife  of  Sinese  Bahn- 
sen,  residing  in  Salem  township;  \\'illiam, 
born  April  14,  1861,  a  prominent  farmer 
of  Salem  township;  Frederick,  born  No- 
vember 22,  1S63,  a  merchant  of  Azalia, 
Mich.;  Matilda,  born  March  24,'  1866, 
wife    of    Niss    Paulsen,   residing   in    Bay 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


505> 


township,  Ottawa  county;  Charles,  born 
October  i,  1868,  residing  on  the  home- 
stead; Rudolf,  born  September  28,  1870, 
now  of  Toledo,  Ohio;  Mary,  born  July 
15,  1873,  died  March  4,  1876;  August, 
born  December  30,  1878;  and  one  child 
who  died  in  infancy. 

Mr.  Noble  is  a  Democrat  in  his  polit- 
ical views,  has  filled  a  number  of  town- 
ship offices,  and  b}'  the  entire  community 
in  which  he  lives  is  looked  up  to  and  ad- 
mired and  respected  as  a  man  of  sterling 
qualities.  The  family  are  members  of 
the  Lutheran  Church. 


HENRY  F.  HARRISON.  Among 
the  leading,  influential  and  repre- 
sentative citizens  of  Oak  Harbor, 
Salem  township,  Ottawa  county, 
there  is  probably  no  one  who  enjoys,  to  a 
greater  degree,  the  confidence,  respect 
and  esteem  of  his  fellow  citizens,  than 
does  Henry  F.  Harrison,  who  was  born 
in  Yorkshire,  England,  July  13,  1833, 
being  a  son  of  Thomas  and  Elizabeth 
(Jackson)   Harrison. 

The  parents  emigrated  to  America  in 
1844,  in  the  days  when  nearly  all  the 
transportation  across  the  Atlantic  had  to 
be  done  in  sailing  vessels.  After  a  rough, 
tempestuous  voyage,  extending  over  nine 
weeks,  they  landed  at  Yarmouth,  Nova 
Scotia,  and  upon  the  reopening  of  navi- 
gation in  the  spring  of  1845  proceeded  to 
Boston;  thence  they  journeyed  to  Ohio, 
eventually  settling  in  Erie  township,  Ot- 
tawa county,  where  Mr.  Harrison  engaged 
in  agricultural  pursuits  for  nearly  a  year, 
then  moving  to  Henry  county,  where  he 
found  employment  at  his  trade,  that  of  a 
miller,  remaining  there  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  1848,  he  being  one  of  j 
the  unfortunates  carried  off  by  the  epi-  j 
demic  of  cholera,  which  passed  over  that 
section  of  the  country  in  that  year.  After 
the  death  of  her  first  husband  Mrs.  Har- 
rison was  again  married,  this  time  to 
Phineas   Nearing,  and,  with   part   of  her 


family,  moved  to  Port  Clinton.  She 
finally  passed  away  at  the  home  of  her 
daughter,  Mary  Ann,  in  Erie  township. 
The  family  consisted  of  eight  children, 
two  of  whom  still  survive,  viz.:  Mary 
Ann,  wife  of  Frederick  Rymers,  a  resident 
of  Erie  township,  and  Henry  F. 

Henry  F.  Harrison,  the  subject  of 
this  biography,  received  his  primary  edu- 
cation in  the  district  schools  of  Henry 
county,  Ohio,  and  in  the  public  schools  of 
Port  Clinton,  his  early  life  being  devoted' 
to  agricultural  pursuits.  In  1853  he  pur- 
chased a  rough,  uncultivated  tract  of 
land  in  Salem  township,  then  but  a  wil- 
derness, and,  setting  to  work  with  that 
energy  and  determination  characteristic 
of  the  early  pioneer,  he  soon  became  the 
owner  of  a  valuable  farm,  and  in  the  face 
of  disappointments  and  difficulties  estab- 
lished himself  among  the  well-to-do  agri- 
culturists of  that  township.  In  1882  he 
sold  this  farm  and  purchased  the  land  m 
Oak  Harbor  upon  which  he  still  resides, 
where,  in  connection  with  agricultural 
pursuits,  he  is  also  engaged  in  fruit  grow- 
ing and  floriculture.  In  his  long  life  and 
early  pioneer  experiences,  Mr.  Harrison 
has  an  interesting  history  of  days  gone  by, 
full  of  hardships  and  dangers  unknown  to 
the  present  generation. 

Our  subject  has  been  united  in  mar- 
riage three  times,  the  first  time  to  Miss 
Susanna  E.  Kirk,  daughter  of  John  and 
Belinda  (Knight)  Kirk,  who  was  born  in- 
Erie  township,  Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio,  April 
25,  1837;  her  parents  were  both  natives 
of  Cecil  county,  Md.,  the  father,  born 
January  17,  1806,  the  mother  on  Febru- 
ary I,  1S09.  To  this  union  were  born' 
two  children:  John  W. ,  born  March  29, 
1857,  died  June  9,  1857,  and  Mary  E., 
born  August  19,  1858,  the  wife  of  William 
Snyder,  of  Toledo,  Ohio.  Mrs.  Harri- 
son's death  occurred  February  10,  1862, 
and  on  October  i,  1864.  Mr.  Harrison 
was  again  married,  this  time  to  Mrs.  Sarah 
M.  Vincent,  widow  of  Freeman  Vincent, 
of  Lorain  county,  Ohio.     To  this  second 


50G 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


union  were  born  five  children,  two  of 
whom  now  survive:  Susan  E. ,  principal 
of  the  Oak  Harbor  High  School,  and 
Ralph  M.,  in  the  fruit  business  with  his 
father.  After  the  death  of  his  second  wife 
Mr.  Harrison  was  married  to  her  sister, 
Lydia  A.  Merion;  no  children  were  born 
to  this  marriage.  Mr.  Harrison's  second 
and  third  wives  were  daughters  of  David 
and  Mar}'  (Shaller)  Merion,  the  former  of 
whom  was  born  in  1839,  passing  away  in 
1876;  the  latter  was  born  in  1835;  their 
parents  were  born  near  Boston,  Mass., 
the  father  in  1796,  the  mother  in  1801; 
these  died  in  1886  and  i860,  respectively. 
They  were  married  in  1819,  and  became 
the  parents  of  eleven  children — nine  who 
grew  to  maturity  and  two  who  died  in  in- 
fancy. They  came  to  Ohio  the  year  of 
their  marriage,  first  locating  near  Colum- 
bus, where  they  lived  a  few  years,  and 
thence  removing  to  Ottawa  county,  where 
they  made  a  permanent  home  and  passed 
•the  remainder  of  their  days. 

In  politics  our  subject  votes  with  the 
Republican  party;  socially  he  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Oak  Harbor  Lodge  No.  495,  F.  & 
A.  M.  He  also  fills  the  position  of  vice- 
president  and  secretary  of  the  Oak  Harbor 
State  Bank,  and  director  of  the  Oak  Har- 
bor Natural  Gas  Co.  The  family  are  de- 
vout adherents  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church. 


OHN    BLOOM.      Prominent    among 
the  retired   successful   agriculturists 


^  I  of  Ottawa  county,  and  tjpical  rep- 
resentative German- Americans  of 
the  industrious  and  thrifty  class,  may  be 
found  the  gentleman  whose  name  here 
appears. 

He  was  born  in  Prussia,  Germany, 
October  3,  1829,  a  son  of  John  and  Mar- 
garet (Demon)  Bloom,  natives  of  the 
same  province,  the  former  born  in  1802, 
the  latter  in  1801.  In  the  year  1832  they 
emigrated  to  the  United  States,  settling 
in  Schuylkill  county,    Penn.,    where  the 


father  purchased  land,  engaging  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits,  and  where  he  and  his 
wife  passed  the  rest  of  their  days,  hon- 
ored and  respected  by  all  who  knew  them. 
The  father  died  in  1835,  the  result  of  a 
railroad  accident,  caused  by  the  locomo- 
tive, on  which  he  was  riding,  leaving  the 
track;  the  mother  passed  away  in  1S61, 
and  was  laid  besides  the  remains  of  her 
husband  in  a  cemetery  near  their  old 
Pennsylvania  home.  Their  family  num- 
bered six  children,  as  follows:  Catherine, 
now  Mrs.  John  Engerhart,  living  in  Penn- 
sylvania; Mary,  wife  of  Henry  Boch,  also 
in  Pennsylvania;  John,  the  subject  of 
these  lines;  Christian,  a  blacksmith  in  the 
Keystone  State;  and  two  who  died  in  in- 
fancy. As  will  be  seen,  John  Bloom  was 
between  two  and  three  years  of  age  when 
he  accompanied  his  parents  to  this  coun- 
try, and  at  the  common  schools  of  the 
neighborhood  of  his  first  New-World  home 
he  received  his  education,  at  the  same 
time  assisting  on  the  farm.  Under  his 
father's  preceptorship  he  bicame  well  ex- 
perienced in  the  various  details  of  agri- 
culture, and  deciding  to  make  it  his  life 
work,  he,  on  reaching  maturity,  purchased 
a  farm  for  himself  in  Schuylkill  county, 
Pennsylvania. 

In  1S51  Mr.  Bloom  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Miss  Polly  Leiser,  of  whom 
further  mention  will  presently  be  made. 
In  1 86 1  the  family  migrated  to  Rice 
township,  Sandusk}'  Co.,  Ohio,  whence 
at  the  end  of  a  j'ear  they  removed  to 
Salem  township,  Ottawa  county,  the 
father  having  purchased  160  acres  of  tim- 
ber land,  being  the  N.  E.  quarter  of  Sec- 
tion 19.  Here,  assisted  by  his  family,  he 
set  to  work  to  hew  out  a  home,  clearing 
away  the  forest  trees,  converting  the  wild 
land  into  fruitful  fields,  and  placing  good 
buildings  thereon.  Later  he  bought  an- 
other eighty-acre  tract  in  the  same  sec- 
tion, which  he  afterward  disposed  of  to 
one  of  his  sons.  In  1888,  having  by  that 
time  accumulated  a  comfortable  compe- 
tence, he  and  his   faithful  wife,  who  had 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


507 


well  done  her  share  toward  securincf  their 
prosperity,  retired  from  the  arduous  duties 
of  farm  life,  and  took  up  their  abode  in 
the  villaj^e  of  Oak  Harbor,  where  in  a 
comfortable  home  they  are  enjoying  the 
fruits  of  their  labor.  In  addition  to  his 
farm  our  subject  also  owns  a  sawmill  in 
Washington  township,  Sandusky  Co., 
Ohio,  which  was  successfully  conducted 
by  him  some  twenty-five  years  in  connec- 
tion with  his  other  interests,  and  is  now 
being  operated  by  his  son  Levi. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Bloom  have 
been  born  si.\  children,  a  brief  record  of 
whom  is  as  follows:  (i)  John  M.,  born 
June  29,  1854,  married  Sarah  Ann  Boyer 
(by  whom  he  had  two  children),  and  died 
in  1881;  his  wife  passed  away  in  the 
month  of  March,  same  year.  (2)  Levi, 
born  January  6,  1858,  married  Catherine 
Boyer,  by  whom  he  has  five  children. 
(3)  Louisa,  born  June  4,  1862,  married 
Israel  Druckenmiller,  a  farmer  of  Wash- 
ington township,  Sandusky  county,  Ohio, 
and  has  four  children.  (4)  Susanna,  born 
December  12,  1864,  married  Perr}' Boyer, 
tile  manufacturer,  also  of  Washington 
township,  by  whom  she  has  three  chil- 
dren. (5)  Franklin,  born  March  i,  1S67, 
married  Ida  Auxter,  and  has  two  chil- 
dren; he  rents  his  father's  farm.  (6) 
Charles  H.,  born  October  23,  1870,  mar- 
ried Alvesta  Siegenthaler,  and  has  one 
child;   he  also  operates  his  father's  farm. 

The  mother  of  this  family  was  born 
October  21,  1832,  in  Pennsylvania, 
where  she  grew  to  womanhood,  receiving 
her  education  at  the  schools  of  that  State. 
She  is  a  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Susan 
(Schumaker)  Leiser,  both  also  natives  of 
the  Keystone  State,  her  father  born  in 
18 1 2,  and  died  in  1880,  the  mother  born 
in  1809,  and  died  in  1887.  They  were 
the  parents  of  eight  children,  to  wit: 
John  (deceased),  Nathan,  Polly  (Mrs. 
Bloom),  Sarah,  David,  Joseph,  Rebecca 
(deceased)  and  Samuel;  those  yet  living 
are  all  residents  of  Ohio.  The  maternal 
ancestry   of    Mrs.    Bloom   dates  to  days 


long  prior  to  Revolutionary  times.  Her 
maternal  grandfather,  John  Schumaker, 
was  born  in  1776,  and  died  in  1856;  his 
wife,  Susanna  Kunze,  died  the  same  year 
and  at  about  the  same  age  as  her  hus- 
band. Mrs.  Bloom's  great-grandmother 
Susanna  Kunze  was  born  in  1756,  and 
lived  to  a  ripe  old  age. 

Mr.  Bloom  is  a  stockholder  in  the 
Oak  Harbor  State  Bank,  and  also  in  the 
Basket  Factory  of  Oak  Harbor.  Polit- 
ically, he  supports  the  principles  of  the 
Democratic  party;  socially,  he  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  Lodge  No.  735, 
Oak  Harbor,  while  Mrs.  Bloom  is  affili- 
ated with  Lodge  No.  735,  Daughters  of 
Rebekah,  Oak  Harbor. 


GEORGE    L.    SEELEY,    one     of 
the  leading,  influential  and  repre- 
sentative  men  of    Oak    Harbor, 
Ottawa    county,    and    cashier   of 
the  Oak  Harbor  State  Bank,  is  a  native 
of   Ohio,    born    May   2,    1S53,  in   Lorain 
county. 

Morton  C.  Seelej',  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, was  of  New  England  birth,  coming 
at  an  early  day  to  Lorain  county,  Ohio, 
where  for  many  years  he  was  engaged  in 
agricultural  pursuits  and  real-estate  busi- 
ness until  in  his  declining  years  he  retired 
into  private  life.  He  was  a  progressive 
and  honored  citizen,  and  filled  many 
county  offices,  with  honor  to  himself  and 
satisfaction  to  the  community  which  he 
represented.  He  married  Sophia  On- 
stein,  also  a  native  of  New  England,  and 
they  had  one  son,  George  L. ,  the  only 
child  born  to  them. 

The  subject  proper  of  this  sketch  re- 
ceived his  elementary  education  at  the 
public  schools  of  his  native  county,  which 
was  supplemented  with  a  course  of  study 
at  Oberlin  College,  and,  after  graduating 
therefrom,  he  was  employed  in  drug  bus- 
iness for  about  three  years,  then  in  a 
banking  business  at  Amherst  and  Chicago 
until   1887.     In  October  of  that  year  he 


608 


COMMEMORATTVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


removed  to  Oak  Harbor,  and  assisted  in 
the  organization  of  the  Oaic  Harbor  State 
Bank,  since  which  time  he  has  continu- 
ously filled  the  position  of  cashier,  with 
recognized  ability  and  judgment.  In 
1884  he  was  married,  in  Medina  county, 
Ohio,  to  Miss  Luetta  M.  Spitzer,  daugh- 
ter of  Garret  and  Mary  Spitzer.  the  for- 
mer of  whom  died  January  3,  1891,  aged 
seventy-three  years;  the  latter  at  the 
present  time  an  honored  and  respected 
resident  of  Medina.  To  this  union  were 
born  on  July  10,  1885,  twin  sons  named 
respectively  Morton  C.  and  Clifton  M. 
Mrs.  Seeley  in  her  native  town  attended 
the  Congregational  Church,  but  in  Oak 
Harbor  she  worships  in  the  Methodist 
Church.  In  his  political  views  Mr.  See- 
ley is  a  stanch  Republican. 

Garret  and  Mary  Spitzer,  parents  of 
George  L.  Seeley,  had  born  to  them  a 
family  of  eight  children,  all  of  whom  are 
yet  living,  a  brief  record  of  them  being  as 
follows:  Alice  is  the  wife  of  Aaron  Loom- 
is,  a  prominest  merchant  of  Wyoming, 
Iowa;  Amherst  T.  is  president  of  the 
Medina  Savings  and  Deposit  Bank,  with 
residence  at  Medina,  Ohio;  Eva  is  the 
wife  of  W.  C.  Lyon,  editor  of  the  Newark 
(Ohio)  American,  and  ex-lieutenant  gov- 
ernor of  the  State  of  Ohio,  his  home  be- 
ing in  Newark;  Aaron  E.  is  a  prominent 
clothing  merchant  of  Vinton.  Iowa; 
Francelia  is  the  wife  of  Dr.  David  N. 
Loose,  a  well-known  physician  of  Maquo- 
keta,  Iowa;  Adelbert  L.  is  a  banker  and 
prominent  citizen  of  Toledo,  Ohio;  Luet- 
ta M.,  is  the  wife  of  George  L.  Seeley, 
the  subject  proper  of  this  sketch;  Bessie 
is  the  wife  of  Dr.  Hodson  D.  Bishop,  a 
popular  and  leading  physician  of  Cleve- 
land, Ohio. 


GEORGE    W.    KEIGHTLEY.    a 
talented    lawyer  and  progressive 
citizen  of   Elmore,    Ottawa  Co., 
Ohio,    was     born    in    Chatham, 
Province  of  Ontario,    Canada,    June  30. 


1836,  and  is  a  son  of  Peter  L.  and  Eliz- 
abeth Keightley,  who  were  both  natives 
of  England,  born  in  Boston,  Lincoln- 
shire, in  1 8 14,  the  former  the  son  of 
John  and  Margaret  Keightley,  the  latter 
the  daughter  of  George  and  Sarah  Winter, 
who,  as  well  as  their  parents,  were  also 
born  in  Boston,  England.  In  1837  Mr. 
Keightley's  parents  left  Canada,  removing 
to  the  township  of  Van  Buren,  near  Ship- 
shewana,  Lagrange  Co. ,  Ind.,  where  they 
are  still  living,  and  are  worthy  and  re- 
spected members  of  the  community.  Our 
subject  is  the  eldest  in  their  family  of 
four  children;  Jennie  is  the  wife  of  J.  C. 
Cook,  residing  in  Lagrange  county,  Ind. ; 
Edwin  W. ,  is  a  prominent  member  of  the 
legal  profession,  and  makes  his  home  at 
Chicago,  111.,  and  Anna  is  dead. 

George  W.  Keightley  was  only  one 
year  old  when  his  parents  located  in  In- 
diana, and  he  recalls,  many  times,  of  hav- 
ing when  a  child  seen  the  Indians,  who 
had  not  been  removed  from  that  lo- 
cality. His  boyhood  days  were  there 
spent  on  the  farm.  His  primary  educa- 
tion, which  he  commenced  at  the  age  of 
ten  years,  was  received  in  the  district 
schools  of  the  county,  and  at  the  age  of 
seventeen  he  entered  the  Academy  at 
Ontario,  Ind.  On  completing  his  literary 
course,  he  engaged  in  the  profession  of 
teaching,  and  during  the  years  1856  and 
1857  he  taught  in  Ottawa  county,  Ohio. 
The  following  year,  having  been  elected 
to  the  office  of  surve\or  of  Lagrange 
county,  Ind.,  he  returned  to  that  State, 
and  efficiently  tilled  the  position  for  four 
years;  during  the  latter  part  of  his  service 
he  was  also  engaged  in  the  survey  of  that 
part  of  the  line  of  the  Cincinnati  &  Chi- 
cago Air  Line  railway  that  lies  between 
Logansport  and  \'alparaiso,  Indiana. 

In  1862  Mr.  Keightle)'  commenced 
the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Robert 
Parrot,  at  Lagrange,  Ind.,  with  whom  he 
read  for  nearly  two  years.  He  went  to 
Philadelphia,  however,  in  the  spring  of 
1864,  and  entered  the  Military  School  of 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


509 


that  city,  which  he  attended  some  six 
weeks,  at  the  expiration  of  that  time  go- 
ing to  Washington,  D.  C.  He  passed 
the  required  examination  of  the  United 
States  Military  Board,  of  which  Maj.- 
Gen.  Casey,  was  president,  and  soon  af- 
ter, having  received  a  commission  as  first 
Heiitenant,  was  assigned  to  the  Forty- 
first  United  States  Colored  Troops,  and 
he  remained  in  the  Union  service  during 
the  war  of  the  Rebellion  from  that  date 
to  the  close  of  the  war.  He  participated 
in  the  capture  of  Fort  Harrison,  near 
Richmond,  Va.,  and  spent  the  winter  of 
1864-65  in  the  trenches  at  Dutch  Gap 
Canal,  and  was  with  his  regiment  on  the 
marches  and  in  the  engagements  from 
Petersburg  to  Appomattox  in  the  spring 
campaign  of  1S65.  He  was  mustered 
out  in  November,  that  year. 

After  receiving  his  discharge  from  the 
army  Mr.  Keightley  went  to  Ann  Arbor, 
Mich.,  where  he  entered  the  law  depart- 
ment of  the  University  of  Michigan,  from 
which  institution  he  was  a  graduate  in 
1866,  and  soon  after  commenced  the 
practice  of  his  profession  at  White  Pig- 
eon, St.  Joseph  Co.,  Mich.  In  Septem- 
ber of  the  same  year,  however,  he  came 
to  Elmore,  where  he  has  since  been  con- 
stantly engaged  in  the  practice,  and  to- 
day ranks  among  the  leading  professional 
men  of  Ottawa  county.  He  has  always 
taken  an  active  part  in  public  matters, 
giving  his  time  and  assistance  to  all  en- 
terprises having  for  their  object  the  ad- 
vancement and  welfare  of  the  town  and 
county,  and  is  a  citizen  whom  Elmore 
may  be  proud  to  claim. 

In  Chardon,  Geauga  Co.,  Ohio,  on 
September  21,  1866,  Mr.  Keightley  was 
married  to  Miss  Lois  Mathevves,  a  daugh- 
ter of  John  and  Rachel  Mathewes,  and 
two  children  have  come  of  this  union: 
Blanche,  born  February  20,  1873,  and 
Edwin  M.,  born  April  4,  1875,  both  of 
whom  are  still  living.  Mr.  Keightley  has 
ever  taken  an  active  part  in  educational 
affairs,  and  for  ten  years  held  the  position 


of  school  examiner.  For  many  years 
he  has  been  a  member  of  Robert  H. 
Caldwell  Post,  G.  A.  R. ,  and  is  a  past 
commander  of  the  same. 

He  is  a  leading  and  representative 
man  of  Ottawa  county,  and  merits  and 
receives  the  warmest  confidence  and  es- 
teem of  his  fellow  citizens,  who  elected 
him  prosecuting  attorney  of  Ottawa  coun- 
ty three  times,  which  office  he  filled  to 
the  satisfaction  of  all  concerned,  and 
when  he  retired  from  office  the  opposition 
press  said  of  him,  in  noticing  the  change: 
"We  desire  to  compliment  Mr.  Keightley 
by  saying  that  without  exception  he  made 
one  of  the  most  intelligent,  industrious, 
careful  officers  the  county  ever  had.  His 
record  for  the  terms  he  has  discharged 
the  exacting  duties  of  the  office  is  without 
a  blemish.  He  elevated  the  dignity  of 
the  office,  and  has  always  dared  to  do  his 
dut)',  at  all  times  commanding  the  respect 
of  the  court,  the  bar  and  the  community." 


HENRY  KAHLER.  Among  the 
early  pioneers  who  fought  their 
way  through  the  many  dangers 
and  hardships  incident  to  a  pio- 
neer's life,  none  are  deserving  of  more 
prominent  mention  than  the  parents  of 
this  gentleman — Otto  and  Rachel  (Nails) 
Kahler,  both  natives  of  Germany,  who 
emigrated  to  America  and  settled  in  Dan- 
bury  township,  Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio,  at  an 
early  date,  there  residing  for  many  years. 
The  father's  death  occurred  in  Carroll 
township  May  2,  1891,  the  mother  dying 
in  Danbury  township  on  September  17, 
1880. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born 
in  Mecklenburg,  Germany,  December  4, 
1846.  His  boyhood  days  were  spent 
partly  about  the  farm,  partly  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  his  native  land,  and  since 
his  arrival  in  America  he  has  been  active- 
ly engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  On 
November  20,  1872,  Mr.  Kahler  located 
in  Danbury  township,  where  he  remained 


510 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


some  five  years.  In  1 880  he  removed  to 
Carroll  township,  where  he  has  since  con- 
tinued to  reside,  ranking  to-day  among 
the  prominent  and  successful  farmers  of 
that  county.  Mr.  Kahler  was  married  in 
Germany  in  1870  to  Mary  Kulow,  who 
was  born  February  25,  1853,  daughter  of 
John  and  Dora  (Daunk)  Kulow,  both 
natives  of  Germany,  the  former  of  whom 
passed  away  in  Germany  June  24,  1867; 
the  mother  is  still  living  at  the  advanced 
age  of  seventj-three  jears,  and  resides 
with  her  son-in-law,  Mr.  Kahler.  To 
this  union  were  born  nine  children,  as 
follows:  Minnie,  September  7,  1871 
(died  August  23,  1874);  Charles  A.,  De- 
cember 24,  1874;  George.  March  28, 
1875  (died  in  infancy);  Edward,  May  2. 
1876;  Habbetta  M.,  January  29,  1878; 
John  H.,  January  26,  1879;  William  T., 
July  17,  1882;  Herman  T.,  October  30, 
1885;  Cora  J.,  August  2  I,  1894.  Politic- 
allj^  Mr.  Kahler  is  a  strong  and  active 
supporter  of  the  Democratic  party.  The 
family  are  devout  adherents  of  the  Lu- 
theran Church,  and  enjoy  the  respect  and 
esteem  of  the  community  in  which  they 
reside. 


JACOB  C.  CLAPPER,  contractor  and 
builder,  of  Madison  township,  San- 
dusky county,  also  a  well-known 
agriculturist,  was  born  in  Bedford 
county,  Penn.,  December  12,  1840,  and 
is  a  son  of  Abraham  and  Mary  (Cashman) 
Clapper,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of 
the  Keystone  State.  The  father  acquired 
his  education  in  the  schools  of  the  neigh- 
borhood, and  learned  the  trade  of  a  watch 
maker  in  his  youth,  but  also  followed 
farming  in  early  life.  He  was  married  in 
Bedford  county  to  Miss  Cashman,  and 
they  became  the  parents  of  seven  children, 
as  follows:  John,  a  soldier  of  the  Civil 
war,  now  deceased;  Susie,  wife  of  Andrew 
Biddle;  Henry,  a  lumber  manufacturer; 
Jacob  C. ;   Eva,  wife  of  David  Koons,  a 


farmer  of  Madison  township;  Mary,  who 
died  in  childhood;  and  Elizabeth,  wife  of 
Eli  Strayer,  a  farmer  of  Pennsylvania.  In 
i  1877  the  parents  of  this  family  came  to 
'  Ohio  and  bought  ten  acres  of  land  of  our 
subject,  but  later  made  their  home  with 
their  daughter,  Mrs.  Koons,  where  the 
mother  died  in  1879,  at  the  age  of  si.xty- 
six,  while  the  father  passed  away  in  1884, 
at  the  ripe  old  age  of  eighty  years. 

The  school  privileges  which  our  sub- 
ject received  were  very  meagre,  for 
schools  in  his  boyhood  days  were  widely 
scattered,  and  the  advantages  in  that  re- 
spect were  not  of  the  best.  At  the  age  of 
fourteen  years  he  began  to  earn  his  own 
living,  and  has  since  been  dependent  upon 
his  own  resources,  so  that  he  may  truly 
be  called  a  self-made  man.  He  began 
work  as  a  farm  hand  for  $7  per  month 
and  board,  being  thus  employed  during 
the  summer  and  autumn  months,  while 
during  the  winter  he  worked  for  his  board 
and  the  privilege  of  attending  school,  of 
which  privilege  he  gladly  availed  himself. 
He  would  arise  early  in  the  morning  and 
work  late  at  night  in  order  that  he  might 
pursue  his  studies  through  the  day.  He 
thus  managed  to  spend  three  seasons  in 
school,  and  throughout  his  life  has  taken 
advantage  of  every  opportunity  to  increase 
his  knowlege  until  he  is  now  a  well  in- 
formed man.  For  four  years  he  continued 
to  work  as  a  farm  hand,  his  wages  being 
increased  as  he  gained  added  strength  and 
facility,  and  to  his  parents  he  gave  his 
earnings,  saving  only  enough  to  clothe 
himself.  He  was  ambitious  to  make  the 
best  of  life,  and  at  the  age  of  eighteen  he 
began  serving  a  three-years'  apprentice- 
ship to  the  carpenter's  trade.  During  the 
first  year  he  received  $7  per  month  for 
his  services,  and  an  increase  the  two  suc- 
ceeding 3ears.  He  then  resolved  to  start 
out  in  business  for  himself,  and  in  1861 
came  to  Ohio,  locating  in  Fremont,  were 
he  was  employed  for  a  time.  He  then 
went  down  the  river,  and  obtained  em- 
ployment   at    building    a   sailing   vessel. 


^^L/i-i^.  t§^. 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


511 


Subsequently    he  returned   to    Fremont, 
where  he  followed  his  trade  until  1863. 

In  that  year  Mr.  Clapper  enlisted  in 
the  government  service,  to  build  bridges, 
and  was  thus  employed  at  Nashville  and 
Stevensville,  Tenn.,  Bridgeport  and  sev- 
eral other  places  during  the  Civil  war. 
When  the  war  was  over,  and  his  services 
were  no  longer  needed,  he  again  went  to 
Fremont,  where  he  followed  carpentering 
for  a  year.  During  that  time  he  came  to 
Madison  township,  and  purchased  a  tract 
of  improved  land  of  eighty  acres,  for 
which  he  paid  $2,250.  He  borrowed  the 
money  to  make  the  first  payment  upon  the 
place,  giving  ten  per  cent  interest  for  the 
same.  He  then  rented  the  farm  while  he 
removed  to  Defiance,  Ohio,  where  he  be- 
gan contracting  and  building,  being  asso- 
ciated with  two  partners,  who  cheated 
him  out  of  $550  on  their  first  contract, 
and  then  left  him.  Nothing  daunted, 
however,  he  resolved  to  engage  in  business 
alone,  and  met  with  a  fair  degree  of  suc- 
cess, thus  continuing  operations  until 
1875,  when  he  removed  to  his  farm  in 
Madison  township,  Sandusky  county.  He 
at  once  began  the  improvement  of  his 
place,  and  to-day  has  one  of  the  most 
highly  cultivated  and  best  equipped  farms 
in  the  township,  supplied  with  good  build- 
ings, the  latest  improved  machinery  and 
a  fine  orchard.  He  was  the  first  in  the 
township  to  engage  in  the  cultivation  of 
grapes,  and  in  the  new  enterprise  met  with 
success,  at  first  receiving  seven  cents  per 
pound  for  his  fruit.  He  erected  a  splen- 
did frame  dwelling,  second  to  none  in  the 
township  for  architectural  beauty,  the 
lumber  for  the  same  being  made  from 
timber  which  grew  on  his  own  farm,  buy- 
ing only  the  window  sashes  and  doors  for 
the  building,  which  was  erected  at  a  cost 
of  $2,000.  He  has  paid  off  all  indebted- 
ness upon  the  place,  besides  adding  many 
good  improvements  to  it,  and  the  farm 
with  its  buildings  is  a  monument  to  his 
thrift  and  enterprise.  He  now  carries  on 
general  farming,  and  in  addition  still  en- 


gages in    contracting    and    building   with 
good  success. 

In  September,  1871,  at  Defiance, 
Ohio,  Mr.  Clapper  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Elizabeth  Block,  of  Defiance 
county,  and  five  ohildren  were  born  to 
them,  all  of  whom  are  still  living,  namely: 
RainredJ.,  who  was  born  July  22,  1872, 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of 
Madison  township,  and  also  in  select 
school,  and  took  a  course  in  a  business 
college  of  Toledo,  since  which  time,  with 
the  exception  of  one  year  in  a  store  at 
Helena,  he  has  been  engaged  in  the  drug 
business  in  Gibsonburg,  Ohio;  Spencer  S., 
born  August  15,  1874,  is  now  engaged  in 
farming  and  operating  in  oil;  Boyd,  born 
August  II,  1876,  is  working  on  the  farm 
and  going  to  school;  George  H-, ,  born  No- 
vember 20,  1878,  follows  farming;  and 
Daisy  E.,  born  July  12,  1880,  is  at  school. 
The  motherof  this  family  died  December  3, 
1 88 1,  and  Mr.  Clapper  remained  single 
for  eleven  years.  He  was  married  Sep- 
tember 22,  1892,  to  Sophia  Ickes,  widow 
of  John  Rosenburg,  who  was  a  gunsmith 
of  Elmore,  Ottawa  county. 

For  some  years  Mr.  Clapper  has  held 
the  office  of  school  director,  and  is  still 
serving  in  that  position.  He  has  been 
clerk  of  the  board  for  some  time,  and  has 
done  effective  service  in  the  interest  of 
education,  being  devoted  to  all  that  per- 
tains to  the  advancement  of  the  cause  of 
education.  In  politics  he  is  a  stanch  ad- 
vocate of  the  Republican  party,  and  the 
family  adhere  to  the  United  Brethren 
Church.  He  belongs  to  that  class  of  rep- 
resentative American  citizens  who  push 
aside  the  barriers  that  obstruct  the  path 
to  competency,  and  climbing  over  obsta- 
cles reach  the  desired  goal. 


CHARLES  F.  FRESE,  senior  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  C.  F.  Frese  & 
Co.,  Graytown,   Ottawa   county, 
and  among  the  foremost  business 
men  of  the  county,  was  born  at  Wood- 


512 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


ville,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  August  lo, 
1853,  a  son  of  Henrj'  and  Louisa  (Heil- 
bron)  Frese. 

Henry  Frese  and  his  wife,  Louisa 
(Heilbron),  were  both  born  in  Germany, 
in  1813  and  in  181  5  respectively,  and  in 
1838  came  to  America,  setthng  in  Wood- 
ville  township,  Sandusky  Co. ,  Ohio,  where 
Mr.  Frese  died  in  1853.  They  had  seven 
children,  three  born  in  Germany — Henry, 
Louis  and  Charlotte — and  four  in  Amer- 
ica— May,  Augustus  F. ,  Charles  F.  (the 
subject  of  this  sketch),  and  Louisa — all 
of  whom  are  living  in  Ohio,  excepting 
Henry,  whose  home  is  in  Minnesota. 
The  mother  remained  a  widow  some  six 
years,  and  was  then  married  to  R.  Berle- 
man,  and  six  years  afterward  they  moved 
to  Toledo,  where  Mrs.  Berleman  died 
April  6,  1893,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
eight. 

Shortly  after  the  birth  of  Charles  F. 
his  parents  moved  to  Toledo,  where  he 
lived  until  1869,  at  which  time  he  struck 
out  in  the  world  for  himself.  Locating 
first  at  Elmore,  Ohio,  he  remained  there 
two  years  as  clerk  for  C.  H.  Damschroe- 
der  &  Co. ;  then,  at  the  age  of  nineteen, 
took  a  trip  to  Minnesota,  where  he  re- 
mained six  years,  and  in  1877  returned  to 
his  native  State,  in  perfect  health  from 
his  western  trip,  and  ready  for  active 
business.  Coming  at  once  to  Graytown, 
Ohio,  he  entered  the  store  of  Ames  & 
Frese,  at  that  place,  as  clerk,  and  held 
that  position  until  1882.  In  the  mean- 
time NIr.  Ames  had  sold  his  interest  to 
A.  F.  Frese,  his  partner,  the  latter  hav- 
ing been  elected  to  the  Legislature  of 
Ohio  in  1882,  and  Charles  F.  Frese  pur- 
chased a  half  interest  in  the  business  of 
his  brother.  He  is  now  at  the  head  of 
the  firm;  is  one  of  the  well-known  and 
highly-esteemed  business  men  of  the 
count}',  is  practical,  a  man  of  modern 
ideas,  and  vastly  popular.  In  addition  to 
his  mercantile  interests  he  has  invested 
quite  extensively'  in  landed  property,  which 
he    carefully    superintends    and    directs. 


Like  many  other  good  men,  he  became 
tired  of  traveling  life's  pathway  alone, 
and  consequently,  on  July  27,  1893,  he 
united  himself  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Amanda  Elizabeth  Steffens,  of  Gypsum, 
Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio.  Mr.  Frese  and  his 
estimable  wife  are  pleasantly  located  in  a 
comfortable  home  at  Graytown. 

Mrs.  Amanda  E.  Frese  was  born  at 
Gypsum,  Ohio,  November  i,  1875,  where 
she  lived  the  greater  part  of  her  life  until 
her  marriage.  She  acquired  a  liberal 
education  in  the  public  schools  of  her 
native  town,  and  also  took  up  the  study 
of  instrumental  music.  Her  father,  Henry 
Steffens,  was  born  in  Germany  January 
25,  1837;  came  to  America  at  the  age  of 
fourteen,  and  settled  in  Gypsum,  Ohio, 
where  he  now  lives.  On  Februar}'  22, 
1866,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Dorathy  Dittmer,  of  the  same  nativity, 
born  January  23,  1847,  and  they  have  had 
four  children — two  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters. Henry  Steffens'  father,  Herr  Jo- 
hans  Steffens,  was  born  July  15,  1807, 
and  died  November  26,  1837.  The  ma- 
ternal grandmother  of  Mrs.  Frese,  Sophia 
(Huelse)  Dittmer,  was  born  May  5,  1805; 
died  October  19,  1866;  and  the  maternal 
grandfather  was  born  in  Germany  in  1801 ; 
died  in  1847.  Mrs.  Frese's  great  grand- 
parents on  her  mother's  side  were  born  in 
Germany,  the  great-grandfather  in  1760, 
and  the  great-grandmother  in  1785.  Mrs. 
Frese's  ancestry  is  therefore  here  traced 
back  one  hundred  and  thirty-tive  years. 


JAMES     FERRIS.      This    gentleman 
has  been  a  resident  of  Ottawa  coun- 
ty since  before  its  organization,  and 
for  the  last   forty  years  has  been  a 
resident  of  Benton  township,  where,  as  a 
progressive  farmer  and  valuable  citizen,  he 
is  well  and  favorably  known. 

An  Ohioan  bj'  birth,  he  is  a  native  of 
Clark  county,  born  November  18,  1829, 
son  of  Andrew  and  Desire  (Larnard)  Fer- 
ris, both  of  whom  were  New  Englanders, 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


518 


the  father  born  about  1776  in  the  State 
of  Connecticut.  They  were  the  parents 
of  ten  children,  all  now  deceased  but  two 
— James,  and  Lewis,  who  lives  near 
Topeka,  Kans.  The  mother  died  July  23, 
1832,  and  was  buried  in  Clark  county, 
Ohio,  and  in  about  1S37  the  father  came 
to  Ottawa  county,'  where  he  passed  the 
remainder  of  his  days,  dying  in  1858; 
he  was  laid  to  rest  in  the  cemetery  at 
Elmore. 

James  Ferris  spent  his  boyhood  in  his 
native  county,  attending  the  log  school- 
house  of  the  district,  where  he  obtained 
all  his  education.  When  about  thirteen 
years  of  age  he  hired  out  to  do  farm  labor 
at  four  dollars  per  month,  afterward  re- 
ceiving eight  and,  later,  ten  dollars  per 
month,  and  at  the  early  age  of  sixteen  he 
rented  a  farm,  which  he  continued  to 
work  for  seven  years.  Meantime,  when 
twenty-one  years  old,  he  purchased  eighty 
acres  of  land  of  ex-Gov.  Wood,  and 
shortly  afterward  traded  this  tract  for  the 
farm  whereon  he  now  lives,  consisting  of 
ninety-six  acres,  lying  in  Section  30,  Ben- 
ton township,  of  which  at  that  time  only 
twenty  acres  had  been  cleared.  A  little 
log  house.  12x12,  was  the  only  building 
on  the  tract,  and  Mr.  Ferris  lived  therein 
until  he  had  erected  a  more  substantial 
dwelling,  in  which  he  lived  for  fifteen 
years.  His  stock  of  agricultural  imple- 
ments in  those  days  was  materially  differ- 
ent from  the  outfit  he  now  uses;  he  had  a 
plow  with  wooden  mould-board  instead 
of  the  modern  sulky  plow,  with  steel 
mould-board,  and  a  yoke  of  oxen  for  a 
team.  Wagons  were  a  luxury.  Having 
none  of  the  modern  conveniences  for 
handling  hay,  they  used  a  forked  brush 
with  limbs  bent  down,  onto  which  they 
would  roll  a  bunch  or  two  of  hay  and  haul 
it  to  the  stack;  another  way  was  to  take 
a  long  grape-vine,  wrap  it  around  a  bunch 
of  ha\-,  and  draw  it  to  the  stack.  In  com- 
paring the  old  and  new  methods,  the  great 
improvements  in  farming  which  have  been 
made  in  recent  years  for  economizing  and 


saving  both  time  and  labor  are  really 
striking.  In  1852,  when  the  Lake  Shore 
&  Michigan  Southern  railroad  was  in  pro- 
cess of  construction  through  Benton  town- 
ship, Mr.  Ferris  engaged  in  getting  out 
ties,  and  later,  in  1853,  he  assisted  in  the 
grading  of  this  road  between  Elliston  and 
Graytown.  After  the  grading  was  com- 
pleted, he  hauled  ties  for  the  Railroad 
Company,  as  well  as  all  the  timber  for 
the  old  Graytown  bridge  over  the  Tou- 
saint  creek.  In  connection  with  general 
farming,  he  has  paid  some  attention  to 
fruit  growing,  especially  apples  and 
peaches,  and  he  has  one  peach  tree  which 
has  borne  fruit  for  the  past  forty  years. 
Mr.  Ferris  has  certainly  done  one  man's 
share  in  the  development  of  Benton  town- 
ship's agricultural  interests,  and  he  has 
also  taken  an  interest  in  local  public  af- 
fairs, taking  a  loyal  pride  in  the  welfare 
and  prosperity  of  his  community.  When 
Ottawa  county  was  erected  he  was  a 
resident  of  Harris  township,  and  saw  the 
officials  when  they  were  making  their  tour 
of  the  county  to  locate  the  county  seat; 
for  ten  years  he  served  faithfully  as  treas- 
urer of  Benton  township,  during  part  of 
which  time  there  were  only  twelve  or  fif- 
teen votes  within  its  limits;  now  there  are 
nearly  six  hundred. 

In  1853  Mr.  Ferris  was  married  to 
Miss  Elizabeth  E.  Brayton,  of  Harris 
township,  and  she  was  his  constant  ad- 
viser and  helper  until  her  death,  in  April, 
1895,  husband  and  wife  uniting  their  ef- 
forts to  secure  a  good  home  for  them- 
selves and  family;  and  the  fine  farm, 
cleared  and  improved  with  good  fences, 
buildings,  etc.,  shows  that  their  labor  was 
not  in  vain.  To  this  union  were  born 
nine  children,  viz. :  Stephen,  born  Feb- 
ruary 2,  1854;  Ezekiel  R.,  born  October 
30,  1857;  Evelyn  F. ,  born  October  9, 
1859;  Asa  I.,  born  August  19,  1861; 
Mary  C,  born  April  24,  1864;  Augustus 
L. ,  born  March  13,  1866;  James,  born 
February  28,  1868;  Cora  E.,  born  Sep- 
tember   26,     1870;    and    Christina,    born 


514 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


May  I,  1873.  Of  these,  Stephen  died 
September  15,  1870,  and  Evelyn  F. ,  on 
September  22,  1879.  One  daughter, 
Christiana  (Mrs.  Shoemaker)  Uves  in 
Graytown.  Mr.  Ferris  has  always  taken 
an  interest  and  pride  in  the  success  of  his 
children,  helping  them  as  much  as  possi- 
ble on  their  start  in  life,  for  having  him- 
self commenced  unaided  he  realizes  to  the 
full  the  advantages  of  such  help  to  a  be- 
ginner; they  have,  however,  made  the 
most  of  their  abilities  and  opportunities, 
and  industry  and  ambition  are  prominent 
characteristics  of  the  entire  family.  The 
eldest  living  son,  Ezekiel  R.,  left  home 
for  Kansas  with  but  ninety  dollars,  which 
he  paid  for  arranging  papers  for  his  prop- 
erty out  there;  during  the  erection  of  his 
house  he  was  boarding  seven  miles  from 
the  place,  and  frequently,  at  the  close  of 
a  hard  day's  work,  he  would  lie  down  on 
the  ground  and  sleep  until  morning;  he  is 
still  living  in  ICansas;  he  is  a  farmer,  and 
has  320  acres  of  land.  Augustus  L.  Fer- 
ris, the  sixth  child,  like  others  of  the 
family,  is  a  great  lover  of  books,  and  he 
always  carries  one  in  his  pocket,  improv- 
ing every  leisure  moment.  In  his  boy- 
hood he  worked  on  the  farm  in  summer 
and  attended  district  school  in  the  winter, 
making  the  most  of  his  time  in  and  out  of 
school,  and  by  reading  and  study  fitted 
himself  for  the  profession  of  teaching, 
now  holding  a  three-years'  certificate  in 
Ottawa  county;  the  State  of  Ohio  issues 
only  one  grade  of  certificate  higher  than 
this.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he  commenced 
teaching  in  the  county,  and  after  three 
terms  of  teaching  learned  telegraphy,  at 
which  he  worked  for  several  years.  In 
1892  he  returned  to  his  profession,  ac- 
cepting his  present  position  of  principal  of 
the  Graytown  schools.  It  may  be  said 
that  this  young  man  has  made  a  success 
of  everything  he  has  undertaken,  and  he 
has  a  bright  future  before  him.  On  Sep- 
tember 15,  1892,  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Miss  Mary  Eisenman,  of  Gray- 
town,   and   to  this  union   has  come  one 


child,  Harold  Brayton,  born  August  17, 
1893.  Four  children  of  the  Ferris  family 
are  teachers,  and  excellent  ones,  and  they 
may  be  said  to  have  taken  the  same  part 
in  the  intellectual  advancement  of  the 
county  as  their  father  has  in  its  agricul- 
tural development.  One  daughter,  Mary, 
remained  at  home,  assisting  in  the  house- 
hold duties,  until  seventeen  j'ears  of  age, 
when  she  set  out  to  fit  herself  for  teach- 
ing, and  she  became  one  of  the  best  teach- 
ers in  the  county.  Cora  was  the  only 
member  of  the  family  who  enjoyed  the 
privilege  of  attending  high  school.  She 
began  teaching  when  sixteen  years  of  age 
and  taught  eight  years,  when  she  married 
Charles  Hess,  of  Gypsum,  Ohio. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  E.  (Brayton)  Ferris 
was  born  October  18,  1831,  in  Huron 
count}',  Ohio,  where  she  spent  her  girl- 
hood, and  met  Mr.  Ferris  after  coming  to 
Ottawa  county.  Asa  Brayton,  her  father, 
was  born  about  1798,  in  Vermont,  and 
her  mother  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey, 
born  in  1796;  they  had  three  children — 
two  sons  and  one  daughter  (Mrs.  Ferris) — 
of  whom,  one  son  died  while  serving  in 
the  Mexican  war.  Asa  Brayton  met  his 
death  in  the  service  of  his  country,  he  and 
his  brother  having  entered  the  war  of  the 
Rebellion,  and  he  was  shot  at  the  battle 
of  Pittsburg  Landing.  One  of  Mrs.  Fer- 
ris' cousins,  Mathew  Brayton,  was  stolen 
by  the  Indians  when  seven  years  old,  and 
grew  up  among  them,  marrying  the 
daughter  of  an  Indian  chief,  by  whom  he 
had  two  children.  Two  brothers  of  Mr. 
Ferris'  grandmother  were  scalped  by  the 
Indians. 


HENRY  CROLL  is   recognized   as 
one  of  Ottawa  county's  foremost 
agriculturists,  not  only  as  a  large 
landowner,  but  also  for  the  very 
able  manner  in  which  he  conducts    his 
extensive  farming  business. 

Mr.    Croll  is    the  son    of   Jacob    and 
Martha  (Schu)  Croll,  and  was  born  Janu- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


515 


ary  14,  1843,  in  Germany,  where  he  lived 
until  fourteen  years  of  age,  during  which 
time  he  acquired  a  liberal  education  in  the 
German  language.  This,  together  with 
three  months'  schooling  in  this  country, 
was  all  the  education  he  received  in  the 
schoolroom;  but  he  has  gained,  in  the 
broad  school  of  experience,  a  practical 
business  education  which,  coupled  with 
patience  and  perseverance,  has  enabled 
him  to  accumulate  a  large  property  and 
make  a  handsome  home.  In  1857  he 
came  to  America  with  his  parents,  the 
family  settling  in  Erie  county,  Ohio, 
where  they  remained  about  eighteen 
months,  thence  removing  to  Benton  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county,  where  the  father 
purchased  fifty-two  acres  in  Section  36. 
This  he  cleared  with  the  help  of  his  sons, 
and  subsequently  selling  it  to  Valentine 
Fulkert,  removed  to  Wood  county,  Ohio, 
where  he  and  his  wife  both  passed  the  re- 
mainder of  their  days. 

In  1865  our  subject  returned  to  Ben- 
ton township  and  married  Miss  Anna  Fulk- 
ert, and  from  the  time  of  his  marriage  up 
to  1 873  rented  a  farm  of  his  father-in-law. 
In  that  year  he  purchased  of  Mr.  Fulkert 
the  fifty-two  acres  formerly  owned  b}-  his 
father,  where  he  has  since  lived,  and 
which  is  now  equipped  with  large  modern 
buildings  and  other  substantial  improve- 
ments, everything  on  the  farm  indicating 
that  the  owner  is  a  nineteenth-century 
agriculturist,  both  theoretically  and  prac- 
ticall)'.  In  1876  he  added  forty-four  acres 
to  the  original  tract;  in  1882,  fifty  acres; 
in  1885,  seventy  acres;  in  1890,  eighty 
acres,  and  later  a  farm  of  eighty  acres 
near  Oak  Harbor.  Mrs.  Croll  has  forty 
acres  of  timber  land  from  her  father's  es- 
tate, the  whole  making  a  grand  total  of 
416  acres,  all  of  which  is  under  cultiva- 
tion. In  addition  to  these  extensive  farm- 
ing operations,  Mr.  Croll  is  a  dealer  in  all 
kinds  of  stock,  selling  to  local  dealers.  As 
in  farming  so  in  politics,  Mr.  Croll  is  act- 
ive, using  his  influence  in  behalf  of  the 
Republican  party,  of  which  he  is  a  stanch 


adherent.  In  religious  connection  he  and 
his  wife  are  both  members  of  the  Evan- 
gelical Church,  and  their  Christian  char- 
acter and  lives  are  indeed  worthy  exam- 
ples to  their  children. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Croll  have  had  a  family 
of  nine  children,  as  follows:  Lizzie,  born 
November  19,  1865;  Sophia,  born  Janu- 
ary 20,  1868;  William,  born  March  5, 
1870;  John,  born  April  14,  1872;  George, 
born  May  19,  1874;  \'alentine,  born  April 
30,  1877;  Katie,  born  November  28, 
1879;  Henry  F. ,  born  April  9,  1882;  and 
Emma,  born  December  25,  1887,  of 
whom  Lizzie  was  married  May  3,  1883, 
to  John  Dorsch,  by  whom  she  has  four 
children — three  daughters  and  one  son. 
Of  these,  Sophia  is  the  wife  of  William 
Almroth,  an  enterprising  farmer  of  Ben- 
ton township;  George,  died  December  25, 
1877;  Willian,  John,  and  Valentine  and 
Henrj'  are  engaged  with  their  father  in 
his  agricultural  operations;  John  was  mar- 
ried September  19,  1895,  to  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Stick.  Katie  and  Emma  superin- 
tend the  hoasehold  work,  their  mother 
having  been  an  invalid  for  several  j'ears. 
In  addition  to  their  home  duties  the)'  find 
time  to  pursue  the  study  of  instrumental 
music,  and  in  every  way  possible  keep 
pace  with  the  times,  the  spirit  of  progres- 
siveness  being  a  distinct  characteristic  of 
the  entire  family. 

Mrs.  Croll  was  born  November  5, 
1845,  in  Ottawa  county,  where  she  lived 
during  her  girlhood  days,  receiving  such 
education  as  was  offered  the  youth  of  that 
time.  She  has  seen  the  development  of 
her  own  beautiful  home,  and  of  the  entire 
surrounding  country  as  well.  She  has 
always  been  an  active  thinker,  keeping 
abreast  with  the  times,  and  leaves  nothing 
undone  for  the  comfort  and  happiness  of 
her  family,  training  her  children  to  lives 
of  usefulness.  From  the  time  of  her  mar- 
riage she  has  taken  a  keen  interest  in  her 
husband's  business  success,  keeping  well 
in  mind  all  his  transactions,  even  to  the 
dates  of  land  purchases,  erection  of  build- 


516 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


ings,  etc.,  and  though  she  has  been  an 
invalid,  confined  to  her  easy  chair,  for 
some  time,  she  is  never  idle,  preferring  to 
be  occupied  at  something.  Her  parents, 
Valentine  and  Elizabeth  (Haman)  Ful- 
kert,  were  both  natives  of  Germany,  the 
father  born  in  1812,  the  mother  in  1816; 
they  were  married  in  Ohio  in  1844,  and 
reared  a  family  of  four  children,  two  of 
whom  are  now  living — Mrs.  Croll  and  her 
brother  John. 

Mr.  Croll's  parents  were  also  natives 
of  the  Fatherland,  where  his  father,  who 
was  a  blacksmith  by  vocation,  was  born 
in  1806,  his  mother  in  1809.  They  were 
married  in  1832,  and  by  their  union  be- 
came the  parents  of  eight  children,  three 
of  whom  are  living — two  sons  and  one 
daughter.  The  father  died  March  24, 
1879,  the  mother  on  September  21,  1887. 


JOHN  ELKINGTON,  Sr.  This  hon- 
ored pioneer,  highly  respected  citi- 
zen and  worthy  farmer  of  Clay  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county,  was  born  in 
England,  opening  his  eyes  to  the  light  of 
day  on  the  20th  of  January,  1809,  in  the 
town  of  Bourton,  near  Banbury,  Oxford- 
shire. He  is  a  son  of  Thomas  and  Jane 
(White)  Elkington,  who  resided  in  that 
place,  the  father  following  the  occupation 
of  a  shepherd  in  the  employ  of  a  farmer 
of  that  county.  John  acquired  a  limited 
education  in  his  native  town,  and  began 
earning  his  living  as  an  employe  in  a  mill, 
to  which  work  he  devoted  his  energies 
until  forty  years  of  age. 

On  April  30,  1831,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Elizabeth  Lovell,  of  North- 
amptonshire, England,  and  they  became 
the  parents  of  two  children:  Eli,  and 
one  who  died  early  in  childhood.  The 
mother  died  in  her  native  land  in  1842, 
and  nine  years  afterward  Mr.  Elkington 
with  his  son  Eli  emigrated  to  America, 
coming  to  Ohio,  and  took  up  his  residence 
in  East  Toledo,  where  he  worked  on  a 
railroad  for  a   year   or   more.      He  then 


came  to  Clay  township,  Ottawa  county, 
purchasing  forty  acres  of  timber  land,  in 
a  locality  where  no  roads  were  laid  out, 
and  where  the  settlers  were  widely  scat- 
tered. After  building  a  log  cabin,  he  at 
once  began  to  clear  his  land,  undaunted 
by  the  arduous  task  that  lay  before  him. 
He  worked  early  and  late  to  accomplish 
his  labor,  and  in  course  of  time  his  tract 
was  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation, 
while  a  comfortable  dwelling  took  the 
place  of  the  log  cabin  in  which  he  and  his 
family  were  sheltered  in  those  early  days. 
He  also  built  barns  and  other  necessary 
outbuildings,  planted  an  orchard  and  made 
the  improvements  that  are  found  upon 
the  model  farms  of  to-day.  He  had  to 
endure  many  trials  and  hardships;  but 
patience,  perseverance  and  energy  at 
length  overcame  these,  and  he  accom- 
plished a  task  which  would  daunt  the 
energy  of  many  of  the  present  genera- 
tion. 

Mr.  Elkington  was  married  again 
August  23,  185 1,  his  second  union  being 
with  Mehitable  Butler,  who  was  born  in 
New  York,  April  9,  1824.  Five  children 
were  the  fruit  of  this  union,  namely: 
Jane,  born  December  4,  1852,  and  died 
February  i,  1854;  John,  born  October 
29.  1855;  Thomas,  born  June  17,  1857, 
and  drowned  while  bathing  near  his 
home,  July  20,  1878;  David,  born  August 
I,  1859;  and  Lewis,  born  May  i,  1861. 
The  mother  died  August  27,  1891,  leav- 
ing a  loving  husband  and  three  children 
to  mourn  the  loss  of  a  devoted  wife  and 
faithful  mother.  The  eldest  son  was  edu- 
cated in  Clay  township,  Ottawa  county, 
and  has  always  followed  farming.  He  was 
married  December  6,  1888,  to  Melissa 
(Risley)  Wood,  widow  of  David  Wood, 
whose  brother,  Samuel  Wood,  is  sheriff 
of  Ottawa  county. 

John  Elkington,  Jr.,  and  his  wife 
have  one  son,  John,  born  December  26, 
1 89 1.  He  was  elected  trustee  of  Clay, 
Ottawa  county,  for  one  term  on  the  Dem- 
ocratic ticket,  was  constable  of  the  town- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


517 


ship  two  terms,  and  is  also  school  director 
in  the  special  school  district,  and  clerk  of 
the  school  board.  He  belongs  to  Clay 
Lodge,  No.  584,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Genoa, 
and  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  and  is  a 
prominent  and  highly-respected  citizen. 
David  Elkington,  the  second  son  of  our 
subject,  was  educated  in  Clay  township, 
and  follows  the  occupation  of  bridge 
building  in  Zanesville,  Ohio;  he  was  mar- 
ried October  10,  1893,  to  Jennie  Gal- 
lager,  and  they  have  one  child.  Lewis, 
the  third  son  of  the  familj',  was  born  and 
educated  in  Clay  township  and  follows 
farming  on  the  old  homestead;  he  married 
January  2,  1894,  to  Alice  Walker,  of  Oak 
Harbor.  Eli,  the  eldest  son,  died  in 
Toledo,  Ohio,  leaving  a  family. 

Our  subject,  John  Elkington,  is  one  of 
the  oldest  residents  of  Clay  township, 
having  attained  the  ripe  age  of  eighty-six 
years.  Although  somewhat  feeble,  his 
mind  is  active  and  he  is  an  entertaining 
conversationalist,  relating  in  an  interest- 
ing manner  incidents  of  pioneer  life  here 
when  he  was  struggling  to  make  a  home, 
of  how  he  aided  in  erecting  and  main- 
taining the  schools  in  the  district,  and 
served  as  a  member  of  the  school  board 
for  several  3ears.  He  also  assisted  in 
laying  out  the  roads  and  digging  ditches, 
and  in  promoting  the  work  of  public 
progress.  He  is  a  stalwart  Democrat, 
but  not  an  office  seeker,  preferring  to  give 
his  attention  to  his  business.  He  has 
lived  honestly,  treating  all  with  fairness 
and  justice,  and  is  widely  and  favorably 
known  throughout  Sandusky  county,  es- 
teemed by  young  and  old,  rich  and  poor 
alike.  While  devoted  to  the  best  inter- 
ests of  his  adopted  land,  he  still  retains  a 
true  love  for  England. 


WILLIAM    A.    COOPER,    senior 
member  of  the  firm  of  Cooper 
Brothers, general  merchants  and 
prominent  citizens  of  Lakeside, 
was  born   in    Portage    township,  Ottawa 


county,  June  22,  1853,  and  is  a  son  of 
Caleb  and  Jeanette  (McDonald)  Cooper. 
He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of 
his  native  township,  and,  on  leaving  the 
school-room,  worked  upon  the  homestead 
farm  until  1882,  when  he  began  contract- 
ing and  building  at  Lakeside,  putting  up 
the  addition  to  the  "Lakeside  Hotel," 
and  also  erecting  several  other  prominent 
buildings  in  the  vicinity.  In  1894,  in  con- 
nection with  his  brother,  Ranald  L.,  he 
began  his  present  business,  in  which  he 
is  meeting  with  excellent  success. 

On  December  18,  1877,  in  Portage 
township,  Mr.  Cooper  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Eliza  Howard,  a  daughter  of 
\\'illiam  and  Mar}'  Howard,  natives  of 
England.  Her  mother  is  now  deceased, 
but  her  father  is  still  living,  and  makes 
his  home  in  Jefferson  county.  Neb.  To 
our  subject  and  his  wife  were  born  four 
children,  two  of  whom  are  yet  living, 
Bessie  and  Mary.  Mr.  Cooper  belongs 
to  Peninsular  Lodge,  No.  607,  K.  of  P. , 
of  Lakeside,  and  Lakeside  Tent,  No.  81, 
K.  O.  T.  M.  His  political  views  coincide 
with  those  of  the  Republican  party,  to 
which  he  gives  his  support,  and  the  family 
attend  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
Though  still  a  young  man,  Mr.  Cooper 
occupies  a  high  position  among  his  fel- 
low citizens.  Standing  on  the  vantage 
ground  of  his  past  achievements,  he  has 
certainly  much  to  hope  for  and  look  for- 
ward to,  and  with  his  practical  business 
knowledge  and  good  judgment  his  future 
is  sure  to  be  a  bright  and  prosperous  one. 

Caleb  Cooper,  the  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, is  a  prominent  and  successful  fruit 
grower  of  Portage  township,  Ottawa 
county.  His  birth  occurred  in  Boughton, 
County  of  Kent,  England,  August  17, 
1826,  and  he  is  a  son  of  Thomas  and 
Sarah  (Billsby)  Cooper,  the  former  a  na- 
tive of  Northamptonshire,  the  latter  of 
Lincolnshire,  England.  His  mother  died 
when  he  was  quite  young,  and  with  his 
father  and  the  other  members  of  the  fam- 
ily he  migrated  to  this   country,  locating 


518 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


in  Monroeville,  near Bellevue, Huron  Co., 
Ohio,  about  1844.  His  father  resided 
with  his  children  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  about  1870,  when  he  was  at  the 
advanced  age  of  eighty-three  years.  In 
his  early  life  he  had  been  a  stock  buyer 
for  a  number  of  years,  but  later  for 
eleven  years  superintended  the  estate  of 
the  Earl  of  Chelsea,  in  Kent,  England. 
After  coming  to  America  he  made  his 
home  with  his  children,  and  did  not  en- 
gage in  any  arduous  duties.  He  had  ten 
children,  only  two  of  whom  are  now  liv- 
ing— the  father  of  our  subject;  and  Maria, 
widow  of  William  Dey,  and  a  resident  of 
North  Monroeville,  Huron  Co.,  Ohio. 
Caleb  Cooper  received  a  very  limited  edu- 
cation in  the  school  on  the  estate  of  the 
Earl  of  Winchelsea,  after  which  he  acted 
as  page  for  a  clergyman  for  some  years. 
On  his  arrival  in  the  United  States,  he 
began  agricultural  pursuits,  but  soon  after 
the  breaking  out  of  the  Mexican  war,  he 
enlisted  in  the  First  Mich.  V.  I.,  under 
command  of  Col.  Stocton,  and  did  gar- 
rison duty  at  Cordova,  Mexico,  for  four 
months.  After  serving  for  a  little  over 
seven  months,  he  was  discharged  at  De- 
troit, Mich.,  after  which  he  returned  to 
his  home  at  Monroeville,  Ohio,  where  he 
resumed  farming.  It  was  about  1848 
when  he  purchased  his  prcseut  farm  in 
Portage  township,  Ottawa  county,  where 
he  has  since  engaged  in  agricultural  pur- 
suits, but  of  late  years  has  devoted  the 
greater  part  of  his  attention  to  fruit  grow- 
ing. 

At  Plaster  Bed,  Ottawa  count}-,  on 
November  16,  1849,  was  celebrated  the 
marriage  of  Caleb  Cooper  and  Jeanette 
McDonald,  who  was  born  in  Banffshire, 
Scotland,  January  15,  1859,  and  was  a 
daughter  of  Alexander  McDonald,  a  na- 
tive of  Scotland  and  early  settler  of  Port- 
age township,  Ottawa  county.  Her 
mother  is  still  living,  but  her  father  is  de- 
ceased, having  passed  away  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  over  eighty  years.  Mrs. 
Cooper  died  March  17,  1888,  leaving  four 


children:  Sarah,  born  October  15,  1850, 
wife  of  George  P.  Englebeck,  of  Des 
Moines,  Iowa;  William  A.  is  next  in  order 
of  birth;  Ranald  L.,  born  July  10,  1857; 
and  Margaret  M.,  born  January  10,  1859, 
still  living  with  her  father. 

Mr.  Cooper  generally  supports  the 
men  and  measures  of  the  Republican 
party,  but  is  not  strictly  partisan,  believ- 
ing in  voting  for  the  best  man  regardless 
of  his  party  affiliations.  With  his  family 
he  attends  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  He  is  a  systematic  agriculturist 
who  has  met  with  a  well-deserved  suc- 
cess, and  has  acquired  all  his  possessions 
by  his  own  industry,  business  econom}' 
and  good  management.  He  is  a  quiet, 
peaceable,  kind-hearted  neighbor,  re- 
spected by  all  who  know  him  for  his 
many  noble  traits  of  character. 


JOHN  BOSCHEN,   one  of  the  most 
progressive     and    prosperous     fruit 
growers  of    Portage    township,    Ot- 
tawa county,  is  a  native  of  the  coun- 
ty, having  first  seen  the  light  July  4,  1839, 
in  Danbury  township. 

His  father,  Claus  H.  Boschen,  was  a 
native  of  Hanover,  Germany,  and  in 
1832  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  New  York. 
On  landing  in  that  city  as  he  could  find 
no  employment  at  his  trade,  that  of 
blacksmith,  he  went  to  Long  Island, 
where  for  four  months  he  was  engaged  in 
farm  labor  at  $4.00  per  month.  Return- 
ing then  to  New  York  City,  he  met  an 
old  friend  who  was  then  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  candy,  and  worked  with 
him  for  some  time,  finally  buying  his 
employer  out  and  continuing  in  the  busi- 
ness until  his  removal  to  Ohio,  in  1835. 
Locating  in  Danbury  township,  where  he 
was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers,  he  car- 
ried on  agricultural  pursuits  there  up  to 
the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred 
April  13,  1883.  He  married  Elizabeth 
shook,  who  was  born  in  Pickaway  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  and  in  1825  settled  in  Portage 


^^^^4^^^     ^d^^^^-^^^^ 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


519 


township,  Ottawa  county,  with  her  par- 
ents, John  and  Susanna  Shook,  who  in 
pioneer  days  migrated  from  Pennsylvania 
to  Pickaway  county,  Ohio,  hving  there 
until  couiing  to  Ottawa  county.  The 
father  was  a  teamster,  and  during  the 
war  of  1812  carried  provisions  across  the 
Alleghany  mountains  for  the  army.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Boschen  became  the  parents  of 
four  children,  all  yet  living,  namely:  John; 
Susanna,  wife  of  William  Tankey,  who 
lives  near  Elmore,  Ottawa  county;  Mar- 
tha, wife  of  Henry  Schweck,  who  is  liv- 
ing on  the  old  homestead  in  Danbury 
township;  and  Mary  E.,  who  makes  her 
home  with  her  sister  Martha. 

Our  subject  was  reared  a  farmer  boy, 
and  acquired  but  a  limited  education  in 
the  district  schools  of  his  native  town; 
but  he  had  ample  training  at  farm  labor, 
and  since  his  boyhood  days  has  success- 
fully followed  agricultural  pursuits.  He 
has  also  operated  a  threshing  machine  for 
nine  years,  and  a  cider-mill  some  twelve 
years,  while  for  the  past  fourteen  years  he 
has  been  extensively  engaged  in  the  culti- 
vation of  grapes  and  peaches,  and  owns 
and  operates  one  of  the  most  productive 
fruit  farms  in  the  township. 

On  April  7,  1861,  in  Danbury  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county.  Mr.  Boschen  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Laura  J. 
Rouse,  who  was  born  in  that  township 
August  3,  1 84 1,  and  is  a  daughter  of 
George  L.  and  Mary  (Knapp)  Rouse. 
Three  children  graced  this  union:  Norma 
S.,  born  August  6,  1863,  who  died  Sep- 
tember 2,  1883;  BennieF. ,  born  Decem- 
ber 14,  1866,  died  May  12,  1889;  and 
Mattie  A.,  born  April  i,  1868,  married 
June  II,  1887,  to  Sherman  Shook,  and 
they  have  two  children — Bennie  B.,  born 
March  5,  1888,  and  Ethel,  born  June  21, 
1889.  Mr.  Boschen  has  efBciently  filled 
the  office  of  township  trustee  four  terms, 
and  though  frequently  tendered  numerous 
other  positions  of  trust  has  always  de- 
clined to  serve,  preferring  to  give  his  time 
to  the  duties  of  his  farm  and  the  enjoy- 
33 


ment  of  his  home.  Politically,  he  votes 
with  the  Democratic  party,  and,  socially, 
he  is  connected  with  O.  H.  Perry  Lodge 
No.  341.  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  Port  Clinton, 
and  he  is  a  member  of  Sandusky  City 
Chapter.  He  is  a  man  of  untiring  energy 
and  perseverance.  Favored  with  but 
few  early  advantages  for  mental  culture, 
he  made  the  most  of  his  opportunities, 
has  became  w^ell-informed  and  the  posses- 
sor of  a  handsome  competence.  He  is  an 
ideal  self-made  man,  and,  having  earned 
what  he  possesses  by  hard  labor  and 
economy,  thoroughly  understands  its  true 
worth. 


RANALD  L.    COOPER,  a  member 
of  the   firm  of   Cooper  Brothers, 
general    merchants,    of  Lakeside, 
Ottawa  county,  and  the  youngest 
son  of  Caleb    and  Jeanette    (McDonald) 
Cooper,    was    born  in  Portage  township, 
Ottawa  county,  July  10,  1857. 

He  spent  his  boyhood  days  upon  the 
homestead  farm  amidst  the  surroundings 
of  a  comfortable  home,  and  received  the 
advantages  of  a  liberal  education  in  the 
public  schools  of  his  native  township.  On 
completing  his  studies,  he  was  engaged  as 
a  salesman  in  general  mercantile  establish- 
ments in  Port  Clinton  and  Gypsum,  Ohio, 
and  also  in  Victor,  Iowa,  until  188 1. 
From  that  year  until  1883  he  was  em- 
ployed as  a  clerk  by  the  Lake  Shore  & 
Michigan  Southern  Railroad  Company, 
at  Sandusky,  Ohio,  and  for  the  next  five 
years  then  served  in  the  same  capacity 
with  the  Lake  Erie  &  Western  railroad, 
at  Lima,  Ohio.  In  1889  he  was  appointed 
freight  agent  for  that  company  at  Lima, 
which  position  he  filled  until  the  latter 
part  of  November,  1893.  In  the  follow- 
ing year  he  formed  a  connection  with  his 
brother  William  A.,  and  they  are  now 
conducting  a  successful  general  mercan- 
tile establishment. 

In  the  city  of  Sandusky,  Ohio,  on  No- 
vember 13,  1883,  was  celebrated  the  mar- 


520 


COMMEMOBATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


riage  which  united  the  destinies  of  Mr. 
Cooper  and  Miss  Flora  A.  Boor,  a  daugh- 
ter of  WilUam  and  Elizabeth  Boor,  both 
natives  of  Pennsylvania,  and  three  chil- 
dren have  come  to  bless  their  union:  Ran- 
ald L.,  born  March  22,  1886;  Hazel,  born 
January  i,  1890,  and  Kenneth,  born  De- 
cember 13,   1892.' 

Mr.  Cooper  is  connected  with  several 
civic  orders  in  Lima,  Ohio,  belonging  to 
Lima  Lodge,  No  91,  Knights  of  Pythias; 
Criterion  Council,  No  1 162,  Royal  Ar- 
canum; and  Ottawa  Council,  No.  125,  Na- 
tional Union.  His  political  preferences 
are  with  the  Republican  party,  which  he 
always  supports  by  his  ballot,  and  with 
his  family  attends  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church.  He  holds  a  high  position  in 
social  as  well  as  business  circles,  and  gains 
the  confidence  and  regard  of  all  with  whom 
he  comes  in  contact. 


CHARLES    INGRAHAM,    of    the 
firm  of  F.  Ingraham  &  Co.,  gen- 
eral merchants,  of  Curtice,  Otta- 
wa county,  and  a  popular  citizen 
of  that    thriving   town,  was  born  in  On- 
tario, La  Grange  Co.,  Ind.,  October  28, 
1847. 

He  is  a  son  of  Dwight  and  Mary 
(Wykel)  Ingraham,  the  former  a  native 
of  Huron  county,  N.  V.,  the  latter  born 
near  Philadelphia,  Penn.  They  were 
married  at  Middleburg,  Ohio,  in  1844, 
and  became  the  parents  of  three  children: 
Vesta,  born  May  7,  1846,  now  the  wife 
of  Christian  Linderman,  and  living  near 
McCotnb,  Ohio;  Charles,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch;  Emma,  born  September  8, 
1852,  now  the  widow  of  Albert  S.  Burtch, 
and  living  with  her  mother  in  Sturgis,  St. 
Joseph  Co.,  Mich.  During  his  life  Mr. 
Ingraham  was  engaged  in  the  coopering 
business,  and  was  a  prominent  and  highly- 
respected  citizen  of  Sturgis,  St.  Joseph 
Co.,  Mich.,  where  he  died  October  30, 
1865;  his  widow  is  still  living  in  that 
county. 


Charles  Ingraham,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  but  a  year  old  when  his  par- 
ents removed  from  Indiana  to  Michigan. 
He  received  a  fair  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  Sturgis,  Mich.,  and  learned  the 
trade  of  a  cooper  with  his  father,  follow- 
ing that  occupation  some  twenty-five 
years.  In  1870  he  moved  to  Clayton, 
Lenawee  Co.,  Mich.,  and  there  worked 
at  his  trade  for  six  years.  He  then  went 
to  Toledo,  and  became  identified  with  the 
firm  of  H.  C.  Haskins  &  Co.,  wholesale 
dealers  in  fruit,  in  which  he  continued 
five  years.  He  then  became  the  secretary 
of  the  Toledo  Fruit  Co.,  in  which  he  was 
a  stockholder,  remaining  with  that  com- 
pany for  one  year.  In  1894  Mr.  Ingraham 
came  to  Ohio,  settling  in  Curtice,  where 
his  son  Frederick  had  established  himself 
in  business  some  three  years  previous,  and 
has  been  engaged  in  the  mercantile  busi- 
ness, also  owning  large  farming  interests 
in  Lucas  county.  He  has  been  twice 
married,  the  first  time  in  Ontario,  Ind., 
in  October,  1868,  to  Catherine  Olive 
Tyler,  a  native  of  New  York  State;  of 
this  union,  one  child,  Frederick  Dwight, 
was  born,  in  Ontario,  Ind.,  April  10, 
1869.  Mrs.  Ingraham  died  in  Sturgis, 
St.  Joseph  Co.,  Mich.,  February  15,  1874. 
The  second  marriage  of  Mr.  Ingraham 
took  place  at  Bronson,  Branch  Co., 
Mich.,  October  31,  1876,  to  Miss  Emma 
Louise  Moore,  a  native  of  that  State,  and 
they  became  the  parents  of  three  chil- 
dren: Pearl,  born  in  Centreville,  Mich., 
July  20,  1878;  Nellie,  born  in  Sturgis, 
Mich.,  July  14,  1880;  and  Lulu,  born  in 
Clayton,  Mich.,  April  25,  1886. 

Mr.  Ingraham  has  recently  been  elect- 
ed treasurer  of  Allen  township,  and  his 
well-known  business  ability  and  undoubted 
integrity  give  the  assurance  that  he  will 
fill  the  position  with  credit  to  himself  and 
with  fidelity  to  the  best  interests  of  his 
community.  Politically,  he  is  a  stanch 
Republican:  and  socially,  he  is  a  member 
of  the  Masonic  Fraternity  (although  he  is 
not  at   present  affiliated  with  any  lodge), 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


521 


and  is  a  member  of  Adrian  Command- 
ery,  at  Adrian,  Mich.  His  family  attend 
the  services  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  and  are  highly  respected  by  all 
who  know  them. 


ERNST  FRANCK,  better  known 
to  the  residents  of  Ottawa  and 
Sandusky  counties  as  "Squire 
Franck, "  has  for  the  past  forty- 
five  years  been  an  honored  and  respected 
resident  of  this  section  of  the  State.  He 
was  born  August  lo,  1824,  in  the  extreme 
northern  part  of  Wurtemberg,  Germany, 
son  of  John  Christian  and  Augusta  Wil- 
hehnina  (Smitt)  Franck,  also  natives  of 
Wurtemberg,  where  they  spent  their  en- 
tire lives,  the  father  passing  away  in  1847, 
the  mother  in  1846. 

The  subject  of  this  review  acquired  his 
primary  education  in  the  district  schools 
of  his  native  town,  and  from  1839  until 
1843  attended  the  Polytechnic  School  of 
Stuttgart.  In  1843  he  entered  the  Univer- 
sity of  Tuebingen,  where  he  spent  three  and 
a  half  years,  in  1 847  graduating  for  State 
service  in  the  branches  of  forestry  and 
finance.  He  served  in  those  departments 
until  1850,  in  March  of  which  year  he 
crossed  the  ocean  to  America,  coming  di- 
rect to  Ohio.  He  located  in  Salem  town- 
ship about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  site 
of  Oak  Harbor,  on  the  land  where  hejstill 
has  his  residence.  He  has  lived  to  see 
Oak  Harbor  grow  from  an  insignificant 
village  of  two  or  three  log  cabins  to  an 
important  and  flourishing  town,  which  he 
himself  laid  out.  Mr.  I'ranck  served  as 
county  engineer  for  thirty-eight  years — 
during  which  time  he  platted  all  the  towns 
in  Ottawa  county — and  for  thirty-three 
years  as  county  surveyor,  and  the  greater 
part  of  the  roads  and  ditches  and  town- 
ships have  been  laid  out  and  platted  by 
him  or  under  his  supervision.  In  1856 
he  was  appointed  justice  of  the  peace,  and 
for  more  than  thirty-eight  jears  has  faith- 
fully performed  the  duties  of  that  office 


with  a  painstaking  fidelity  that  has  won 
for  him  the  unlimited  confidence  and  re- 
spect of  the  people  he  has  so  efficiently 
served.  Mr.  Franck  is  an  excellent  type 
of  the  sturdy  old  pioneers  of  Ottawa 
county,  to  whom  too  much  credit  can  not 
be  given  for  the  improvement  and  ad- 
vancement of  the  country.  He  has  seen 
the  dense  forest  replaced  by  fertile  fields, 
and  has  himself  been  instrumental  in  ef- 
fecting these  changes.  In  his  long  life 
and  early  pioneer  e.xperiences  he  has  an 
interesting  history,  and  could  relate  many 
a  tale  of  hardships  and  dangers  endured 
by  the  early  settlers  of  these  counties  that 
the  present  generation  does  not  realize. 
He  has  a  host  of  friends  whose  confidence 
he  well  merits,  and  he  is  one  of  the  best 
known  residents  of  Ottawa  county.  In 
manner  he  is  modest  and  unassuminjr, 
but  his  sterling  worth  is  recognized,  and 
he  has  the  esteem  of  young  and  old,  rich 
and  poor.  Since  becoming  a  citizen  of 
the  United  States,  he  has  been  a  sup- 
porter of  the  Democracy. 

Mr.  Franck  has  been  twice  married; 
first  time,  in  Salem  township,  in  185  i,  to 
Miss  Mary  Wheeler,  daughter  of  John 
and  Nancy  Wheeler,  natives  of  Connec- 
ticut and  early  settlers  of  Ottawa  county. 
Mrs.  Franck  died  February  10,  1854,  and 
the  three  children  of  that  marriage  have 
also  passed  away;  the  eldest,  Rudolph 
E.,  born  March  13,  [852,  died  August  14, 
1894;  the  other  two  (twins)  died  in  in- 
fancy. In  the  fall  of  1854  our  subject 
married  Louisa,  daughter  of  William  G. 
and  Regina  Franck,  natives  of  Germany, 
who  spent  their  last  days  in  Salem  town- 
ship, Ottawa  count}-.  The  family  born 
of  the  second  marriage  numbered  ten  chil- 
dren, to  wit:  Wilhelmena  Augusta,  born 
December  7,  1855.  now  the  wife  of  Dr. 
S.  D.  Allen,  of  Oak  Harbor;  Caroline 
Feodora,  born  April  15,  1857,  now  the 
wife  of  John  Eckhoff,  of  Oak  Harbor; 
Herman,  born  January  29,  1859,  died 
May  16,  1870;  Julia  Louisa,  born  March 
10,   1861,  now  the  wife  of  William  Camp- 


522 


COMMEhORATIVE  BIOORAPEICAL  RECORD. 


bell,  of  Oak  Harbor;  Elenora,  born  De- 
cember 9,  1862,  now  the  wife  of  Dr. 
Gradolph,  a  dentist  of  Oak  Harbor; 
Ernestina  Louisa,  born  February  16, 
1864,  now  the  wife  of  Carl  Bauch,  of 
Oak  Harbor;  Christian  William  Godfrey, 
born  November  7,  1867,  married  to  Miss 
Cora  Lattimore,  and  they  reside  on  the 
old  homestead;  Paul  Frederick,  born 
March  20,  1870,  died  August  26,  1878; 
Carl  A.  Frederick,  born  October  14, 
1872,  now  a  merchant  in  Crossville, 
Tenn. ;  and  Emil  Feodor  born  January 
23,  1876,  living  in  Oak  Harbor.  The 
family  attend  the  Lutheran  Church,  and 
all  the  members  are  people  of  prominence 
in  the  community. 


HENRY  E.  PHILE.  No  better  il- 
lustration is  needed  of  what  can 
be  accomplished  in  the  face  of 
seemingly  unsurmountable obstac- 
les, by  any  one  who  possesses  a  coura- 
geous heart  and  determined  will,  than  that 
shown  in  the  simple  record  of  the  gentle- 
man whose  name  opens  this  sketch,  and 
who  holds  a  prominent  place  in  Allen 
township,  Ottawa  county,  where  he  has 
resided  for  nearly  thirty  years.  That  he 
has  inherited  some  of  his  energy  and  per- 
severance, the  following  brief  sketch  of 
his  parents  will  testify. 

Henry  Phile,  the  father  of  our  subject, 
was  born  in  York  county,  Penn.,  May  30, 
1804.  His  education  was  very  limited, 
for  the  schools  in  those  days  were  few 
and  far  between,  and  the  facilities  offered 
exceedingly  meagre;  he  was,  however,  of 
an  inquiring  turn  of  mind,  and  eagerly 
seized  every  opportunity  to  add  to  his 
store  ol  knowledge,  reading  everything  he 
could  procure.  He  learned  the  trade  of 
a  cabinet-maker,  when  a  youth,  and 
worked  at  it  for  several  years,  then  took 
up  farming  in  Northfield,  Summit  Co., 
this  State,  to  which  he  came  about  the 
year  1826.  He  was  very  ingenious,  and 
although   he  had    never   served   any  ap- 


prenticeship at  carpentering,  he  readily 
picked  up  the  practical  part  of  the  busi- 
ness and  built  several  houses,  barns  and 
other  buildings  in  and  around  Summit 
county,  as  well  as  two  canal  boats.  He 
also  worked  at  coopering,  and  could  boast 
of  making  the  first  pail  and  barrel  ever 
made  in  Northfield  township,  and  also 
the  first  window  sash  that  was  ever  put 
in  a  house  there.  In  addition  to  this  he 
began  the  manufacture  of  carriages,  of 
which  he  built  seven,  and  at  the  age  of 
eighty-five  he  made  a  wagon,  out  and  out, 
which  is  now  in  the  possession  of  a  grand- 
son, and  is  highly  prized  by  him.  He 
lived  to  the  good  old  age  of  ninety  years, 
passing  away  in  Northfield  township,  Jan- 
uary 16,  1894.  He  was  a  man  of  strong 
character  and  great  energy,  and  was  re- 
spected by  all  who  knew  him. 

The  mother  of  our  subject,  Ro.xana 
(Cranmer)  Phile,  was  born  in  181 1,  in 
Northfield  township,  and  was  a  daughter 
of  Jeremiah  and  Hannah  (Cole)  Cranmer. 
Her  father  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  during  which  he  was  wounded, 
and  he  carried  both  British  and  Indian 
lead  in  his  body  to  his  grave;  he  was  bur- 
ied in  Northfield  township.  His  family 
consisted  of  ten  children,  namely:  Jere- 
miah, David,  Abram  (who  served  in  the 
Rebellion),  Esther,  Hannah,  Eunice, 
Nancy,  Ro.xana  (mother  of  our  subject), 
Sallie,  and  Joseph,  who  died  young  (his 
was  the  first  grave  made  in  what  is  now 
the  cemeter}-  at  Northfield,  and  for  seven 
years  was  the  onlj'  one;  wolves  and  wild 
beasts  were  plentiful  in  those  days,  and 
the  family  were  obliged  to  build  heaps  of 
logs  over  his  grave  to  prevent  them  from 
despoiling  it).  Mrs.  Phile  died  in  1892, 
two  years  before  her  husband,  having 
lived  a  useful  and  busy  life,  and  leaving 
behind  her  only  tender  recollections  of  a 
mother's  care  and  affection. 

Henry  E.  Phile,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  born  March  14,  1837,  in  the 
township  of  Northfield,  Summit  Co., 
Ohio,  where,  at  the  public  schools,  he  re- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


523 


ceived  his  education.  On  arriving  at 
manhood  he  assisted  his  father  upon  the 
farm  until  1862,  at  which  time,  with 
many  of  his  neighbors  and  friends  who 
ralhed  around  "the  fiag  of  their  country  " 
when  it  was  threatened  by  disloyal  hands, 
he  enlisted  in  Company  B,  Sixty-tirst 
Ohio  Infantry,  in  which  he  served  two 
years  and  three  months,  the  regiment  be- 
ing stationed  most  of  the  time  on  the 
Rapidan  river,  Virginia,  where  they  were 
doing  hard  service  at  the  front.  Mr.  Phile 
was  on  detail  duty  in  Kentucky,  Tennes- 
see, Alabama  and  Georgia.  He  was  not 
mustered  out  with  his  regiment,  but  was 
discharged  in  Nashville,  Tenn.  Return- 
ing home  he  came  to  Clay  (now  Allen) 
township,  and  purchased  eighty  acres  of 
timber  land,  on  which  he  built  a  small 
log  cabin  and  lived  for  some  time.  In 
February,  1865,  he  again  enlisted  in  the 
army,  this  time  joining  the  One  Hundred 
and  Eighty-eighth  Ohio  Infantry.  His 
time  of  service  was  short,  however,  for 
he  was  seized  with  paralysis  and  was  dis- 
charged June  9,  of  the  same  year,  at 
Nashville,  and  returned  to  his  father's 
home  at  Northfield,  where  he  remained 
until  May,  1866.  At  the  expiration  of 
that  time  he  returned  to  Clay  township 
and  added  forty  acres  more  to  his  pos- 
sessions, making  a  total  of  120  acres. 

A  w'eighty  problem  in  life  now  pre- 
sented itself.  How  was  he,  in  feeble 
health,  obliged  to  go  about  on  crutches, 
and  physically  unable  to  labor,  to  accom- 
plish the  feat  of  clearing  off  this  land, 
supporting  his  familj'  and  paying  a  debt 
of  five  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.'  There 
were  only  four  log  cabins  in  his  vicinity, 
not  a  road  within  three  miles  of  his 
shanty,  the  land  covered  with  dense  for- 
ests, and  no  comforts  or  conveniences  of 
any  description.  It  was  here  that  the 
undaunted  courage  and  steadfast  purpose 
of  this  stout-hearted  pioneer  and  his  brave 
wife  came  into  play.  They  cheerfully 
bore  all  hardships,  hired  what  help  they 
could    procure,    worked    day   and    night, 


and,  as  a  result  of  twenty-nine  years' 
labor,  have  to-day  one  of  the  most  highly 
improved  farms  in  the  county,  on  which 
stands  a  splendid  brick  residence,  with 
numerous  barns,  outhouses  and  other  im- 
provements, which  make  the  place  an 
ornament  to  the  township,  and  a  credit  to 
the  intelligent  management  of  its  owner. 
Mr.  Phile  was  married,  January  7, 
i860,  to  Evaline  N.,  daughter  of  John 
and  Lydia  (Spafford)  Tryon,  the  former 
of  whom  was  a  farmer  in  Northfield 
township.  Mrs.  Phile  proved  herself  the 
worthy  wife  of  a  worthy  pioneer,  and 
bore  no  small  part  in  the  prosperity  of 
her  husband  and  the  development  of  the 
township.  She  died  May  27,  1885,  much 
regretted.  To  this  happy  union  but  one 
child  has  come,  Alsom  E.,  whose  birth 
took  place  May  9,  1862,  in  Northfield 
township.  He  attended  the  public  schools 
in  Clay  township  for  some  years,  and 
took  a  three-years'  course  at  Oberlin;  he 
then  attended  a  private  school  at  Port 
Clinton,  conducted  by  Miss  Mothly,  from 
which  he  was  graduated  in  1881.  He 
now  owns  eighty  acres  of  his  father's  old 
farm,  on  which  he  lives.  Alsom  Phile 
was  married  November  18,  1884,  to 
Emma,  daughter  of  Reuben  M.  and  Lucy 
M.  (Ensign)  Babcock,  the  former  an  agri- 
culturist and  manufacturer  of  charcoal, 
who  lives  in  Allen  township.  They  have 
one  son,  Alsom  E.,  born  December  21, 
1 89 1,  and  one  daughter,  Eva  J.,  born 
December  20,  1886.  Our  subject  be- 
longs to  the  G.  A.  R. ,  and  is  a  member 
of  the  American  Protective  Association. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and  with 
his  family  he  attends  the  Baptist  Church. 


J 


OHN  KLEINHANS,  a  retired  farm- 
er, and  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of 
Erie  township,  Ottawa  county,  is 
now  spending  his  declining  daj's  in 
the  village  of  Lacarne  amidst  the  sur- 
roundings of  a  comfortable  and  happy 
home.      He  is  an  honored  citizen,  and  one 


524 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


well  worthy  of  representation  in  this  vol- 
ume. 

^^r.  Kleinhans  was  born  in  Williams 
township.  Northampton  Co.,  Penn.,  De- 
cember I.  1816,  and  is  a  son  of  George 
Henry  and  Elizabeth  (Richardson)  Klein- 
hans. In  I <S32  they  removed  from  Penn- 
sylvania to  Ohio,  and  spent  the  remainder 
of  their  lives  in  Erie  township,  Ottawa 
county,  where  they  were  esteemed  and 
valued  citizens  for  many  years.  When 
they  had  reached  a  ripe  old  age  death 
ended  their  active  and  useful  lives,  but 
their  memory  will  long  be  cherished  by 
all  who  knew  them.  Their  union  was 
blessed  with  a  family  of  eleven  children, 
five  of  whom  are  still  living:  Maria, 
widow  of  Frederick  W^itmore,  and  now 
residing  in  Detroit,  Mich.,  at  the  ad- 
vanced aged  of  ninety-five;  George,  also 
living  in  Detroit;  John  is  ne.xt  in  the 
family;  David  makes  his  home  in  Mid- 
land county,  Mich. ;  and  Henry  is  also 
located  in  that  State. 

We  now  take  up  the  personal  history 
of  John  Kleinhans,  knowing  that  it  will 
prove  of  interest  to  many  of  our  readers, 
for  he  is  widely  and  favorably  known. 
He  was  educated  in  the  district  schools  of 
his  native  township,  and  when  sixteen 
years  of  age  came  to  Erie  township  with 
his  parents.  For  si.xty-three  years  he  has 
been  one  of  its  most  progressive  residents, 
always  found  in  the  foremost  rank  of  any 
undertaking  tending  to  the  advancement 
of  the  general  welfare.  He  gives  of  both 
his  time  and  means  to  all  such  worthy 
objects,  and  is  indeed  a  progressive  and 
valued  citizen.  Several  lines  of  business 
have  been  carried  on  by  him  chiefly  fish- 
ing, butchering,  farming  and  stock  raising. 

On  June  7,  1839,  in  Bay  township, 
Ottawa  county,  Mr.  Kleinhans  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Maria  Hineline,  a 
daughter  of  William  and  Susan  Hineline, 
and  born  in  Berks  county,  Penn., Decem- 
ber 25,  1 8 19,  who  came  with  her  parents 
to  Ottawa  county  in  1832.  Eight  children 
came  to  this  union:     Anna,  born  October 


9,  1 84 1,  is  the  widow  of  Richard  Wood- 
ing, and  is  living  in  Lacarne;  Elizabeth, 
born  July  28,  1843,  is  the  wife  of  Freder- 
ick Hall,  of  Lacarne;  William  H..  born 
August  5,  1844,  is  a  resident  of  Toledo, 
Ohio;  George,  born  November  9,  1845, 
is  living  in  Erie  township;  Susan,  born 
September  5,  1847,  's  the  wife  of  Samuel 
Minier,  a  representative  farmer  of  Erie 
township;  Margaret,  born  April  22,  1849, 
is  the  widow  of  George  O.  Bailey,  a  resi- 
dent of  Lacarne;  John,  born  September 
27,  1850,  is  living  in  Erie  township; 
Lavina,  born  in  Port  Clinton,  February 
24,  1857,  is  the  wife  of  Reuben  Rymers, 
of  Salem  township,  Ottawa  county.  The 
mother  of  this  family  died  October  13, 
1 893,  from  the  effects  of  an  accident  caused 
by  a  train  on  the  Lake  Shore  &  Michigan 
Southern  railroad,  while  crossing  the 
track  in  front  of  her  home,  October  9, 
1893.  Her  death  was  deeply  mourned, 
for  she  was  an  estimable  lady,  having  the 
warm  friendship  of  many. 

Mr.  Kleinhans  has  been  called  to 
several  positions  of  public  trust.  For 
four  years  he  faithfully  served  as  county 
treasurer,  for  one  year  was  deputy  treas- 
urer, and  has  filled  various  local  offices. 
He  is  ever  true  to  his  duties  of  citizen- 
ship, and  in  all  the  relations  of  life  has 
been  an  honorable,  upright  gentleman. 
In  his  declining  years  he  is  now  enjoying 
a  rest  which  he  has  truly  earned  and  well 
deserves. 


JAMES  B.  THORP,  attorney  at  law 
and  agriculturist.  This  well-known 
and  highly-respected  citizen  of  Allen 
township,  Ottawa  county,  who  has 
contributed  in  no  small  degree  to  the  de- 
velopment and  substantial  progress  of  the 
community  in  which  he  lives,  is  a  native 
of  the  Buckeye  State,  his  birth  taking 
place  January  22,  1830,  at  Warrensville, 
Cuyahoga  county. 

Mr.  Thorp   received  his  early  educa- 
tion in  the  district   schools  of   his  birth- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


525 


place,  which  was  supplemented  by  a 
course  in  the  high  school  at  Cleveland. 
On  leaving  school  he  decided  to  learn  a 
trade,  and  served  an  apprenticeship  with 
the  well-known  firm  of  Scofield  &  Gill, 
contractors  and  builders,  of  Cleveland. 
At  the  expiration  of  that  time  he  went 
into  business  for  himself  in  that  line  in 
Cleveland,  which  he  carried  on  with  great 
success  for  eleven  years.  His  health  then 
failing,  he  gave  up  his  work  and  went  to 
Michigan,  hoping  to  be  benefited  b}'  the 
change,  and;  located  in  Hillsdale,  where 
he  remained  for  two  years.  Not  finding 
any  improvement  in  his  health,  he  con- 
cluded to  seek  a  more  genial  climate,  and 
journeyed  to  Oregon;  from  there  by  sea 
to  Cuba,  Central  America,  Mexico  and 
California.  Jn  1862  Mr.  Thorp  returned 
to  Oregon,  and  located  in  Josephine 
county,  where  he  remained  for  two  years, 
spending  his  time  most  delightfull}-  and 
rapidly  regaining  health  and  strength.  In 
1S64,  being  fully  restored  to  his  former 
activity,  he  returned  to  his  old  home  in 
Warrensville,  this  State,  and  decided  to 
engage  in  farming,  as  a  more  healthful 
occupation  than  the  one  he  had  been  fol- 
lowing. In  1870  Mr.  Thorp  left  War- 
rensville and  settled  in  Ottawa  county,  in 
what  is  now  Allen  township.  Here  he 
bought  forty  acres  of  timberland,  and, 
first  building  a  log  cabin,  set  to  work  to 
clear  his  land.  He  found  the  soil  to  be 
verj'  productive,  and,  with  the  shrewd 
judgment  which  has  always  characterized 
his  career,  he  added  eighty  acres  more, 
continuing  to  purchase  as  his  means  war- 
ranted, until  he  owned  335  acres.  On 
this  propert}-  he  has  expended  much 
time,  labor  and  money,  and  its  present 
high  state  of  cultivation  and  consequent 
increase  in  value  are  evidences  of  the  in- 
dustry and  intelligent  management  of  the 
owner.  Six  years  were  spent  in  the 
humble  log  cabin,  that  then  gave  place  to 
the  handsome  residence,  which  is  one  of 
the  finest  and  most  comfortable  homes  in 
Allen  township.      Mr.  Thorp  was  married, 


March  19,  1868,  at  Berea,  Cuyahoga 
county,  to  Carolina,  daughter  of  \'an- 
Rennesaler  and  Catherine  (Weller)  Sur- 
rarer,  both  natives  of  New  York  State. 
Of  this  union  one  child,  Yale  J.,  has  been 
born,  his  birth  taking  place  January  24, 
1 87 1.  He  was  educated  at  the  public 
schools  of  Allen  township,  and  also  in 
the  high  school  of  Toledo.  Having  de- 
cided to  follow  the  occupation  of  a  farmer, 
he  is  now  the  managing  partner  on  his 
father's  farm,  and  transacts  all  business 
appertaining  to  it;  is  also  a  notary  public. 
Warren  Thorp,  the  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, was  born  April  12,  1802,  in  the 
third  log  house  that  was  built  on  the 
ground  where  the  city  of  Cleveland  now 
stands.  His  father,  Joel  Thorp,  a  mill- 
wright by  trade,  came  from  Connecticut 
to  Ohio  in  1799,  traveling  the  long  dis- 
tance by  ox-team.  He  settled  in  Ashta- 
bula county,  and  was  killed  in  the  war  of 
181 2.  Warren  Thorp  settled  in  War- 
rensville and  carried  on  farming.  He 
married  Hannah  Burnside,  a  daughter  of 
James  Burnside,  who  w'as  a  drummer  boy 
in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  a  colonel  in 
the  war  of  181 2.  In  the  latter  war  he 
was  in  a  number  of  battles  and  received 
eleven  wounds  (he  was  an  uncle  of  Col. 
Burnside,  who  served  in  the  Civil  war). 
To  the  parents  of  our  subject  seven  chil- 
dren were  born  as  follows:  (i)  Jane  L. , 
born  October  25,  1826,  was  married  in 
1847  to  Henry  N.  Clark,  a  farmer  of 
Cuyahoga  county;  they  have  one  child. 
(2)  Harriette  L.,  born  February  27,  1828, 
was  married,  August  6,  1845,  ^'^  Lewis 
B.  Harrington,  a  farmer  of  Rockport, 
and  they  have  five  children.  (3)  James 
B.,  our  subject.  (4)  Warren  A.,  born 
January  15,  1832,  is  a  farmer  in  Mayfield, 
and  married  Elizabeth  Barber,  and  they 
have  five  children.  (5)  Joseph  P.,  born 
January  22,  1834,  is  a  farmer  and  lives 
on  the  old  homestead  in  W'arrensville, 
where  he  is  a  justice  of  the  peace;  was 
married  in  1864  to  Miss  Melissa  Morris, 
and  the}'  have  five  children.      (6)    Han- 


52G 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


nah  M.,  born  April  30,  1836,  now  the 
wife  of  Daniel  Gardner,  of  Berea;  they 
also  have  five  children.  (7)  Charles  W. , 
born  March  16,  1S40,  was  married  in 
1864  to  Melinda  Gardner,  and  they  had 
five  children;  his  wife  died  in  1873,  and 
his  second  wife  is  Miss  Mary  Brier,  whom 
he  married  about  1880;  they  have  no 
children.  Hannah  (Burnside)  Thorp,  the 
mother  of  our  subject,  was  born  May  4, 
1809,  and  died  May  3,  1884,  her  husband 
passing  away  April  3,  1888;  both  died  in 
Warrensville.  Caroline  Surrarer,  the  wife 
of  our  subject  was  born  in  Cuyahoga 
county,  August  30,  1842,  and  was  one  of 
eleven  children  born  to  her  parents. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  after  fol- 
lowing fanning  for  a  number  of  years, 
decided  to  begin  the  study  of  law  and 
accordingly,  in  1887,  began  reading  in 
the  office  of  Thomas  J.  Marshall,  at  Port 
Clinton,  this  State.  Since  beginning 
practice  he  has  been  very  successful  and 
has  an  extensive  clientele,  both  in  his 
immediate  vicinity  and  throughout  the 
county.  He  takes  cases  in  the  Justice 
Courts  and  assists  Mr.  Marshall  in  the 
court  of  common  pleas.  He  was  census 
enumerator  in  1890,  has  served  as  asses- 
sor for  several  years,  has  been  a  member 
of  the  school  board  several  times,  being 
now  president  of  the  board  of  school  di- 
rectors of  Allen  township,  and  is  also 
notary  public.  Mr.  Thorp  is  an  ardent 
Republican  and  always  alive  to  the  needs 
and  welfare  of  his  community.  He  is  a 
man  of  much  energy  and  of  broad  and 
progressive  views,  and  his  opinion  carries 
weight  with  his  fellow  citizens.  He  and 
his  family  are  attendants  of  the  Methodist 
Chuich. 


GEORGE  F.  BOWSER.      It  mat- 
ters not  into  what  station  of   life 
one  is  born   in  this  free  land  of 
ours,  all  avenues  of  business,   of 
political  or  of  military   life   are  open  to 
the  individual  who  has   high    ambitions, 


determination  and  enterprise.  Mr.  Bow- 
ser, who  began  life  for  himself  at  an  early 
age,  has  steadily  worked  his  way  upward 
from  a  position  of  limited  means  to  one 
of  afifluence,  and  to-day  is  numbered 
among  the  substantial  farmers  of  Scott 
township,  Sandusky  county. 

He  was  born  August  17,  1849,  in  Bed- 
ford county,  Penn.,  son  of  Fred  and  Mar- 
garet (Fickes)  Bowser,  who,  when  our 
subject  was  five  years  of  age,  brought 
their  family  to  Scott  township,  becoming 
pioneers  of  this  locality.  The  father,  who 
was  a  farmer  and  mechanic,  was  born  in 
Bedford  county,  Penn.,  in  1S24,  and  de- 
parted this  life  in  January,  1872.  His 
wife,  who  was  born  in  the  same  county 
in  1823,  still  survives,  and  is  now  living 
in  Helena,  Ohio.  They  were  the  parents 
of  seven  children:  George  P.;  Rosanna, 
who  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-four,  and 
is  buried  by  her  father  in  the  cemetery 
between  Clyde  and  Green  Spring;  Jacob, 
a  resident  of  Cowley  county,  Kans. ,  who 
married  Susan  Fickes,  and  has  nine  chil- 
dren; Alice  (deceased),  who  became  the 
wife  of  John  Goate,  and  the  mother  of 
two  children;  Barbara,  wife  of  John 
Ward,  of  Helena;  Daniel,  who  died  July 
'7'  1873;  and  Maggie  M.,  who  is  the  wife 
of  John  Goate,  and  the  mother  of  three 
children. 

The  subject  proper  of  this  biography 
was  a  mere  lad  when  he  left  his  native 
State,  and  the  greater  part  of  his  boy- 
hood and  youth  was  spent  upon  the  home 
farm  in  the  midst  of  the  Ohio  forests. 
Being  the  eldest  child  he  greatly  aided 
his  father  in  the  work  of  clearing  and  de- 
veloping the  land,  and  as  opportunity 
offered  attended  the  district  schools  of 
the  neighborhood.  Before  attaining  his 
majority  he  learned  the  carpenter's  trade, 
and  at  the  age  of  twenty-six  he  went  to 
Indiana,  where  he  followed  that  pursuit 
two  years. 

On  March  10,  1S74,  Mr.  Bowser  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Elizabeth 
Miser,  born  August  29,  1853,  daughter  of 


^.3^i6. 


^^^tv-U/l , 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


527 


Samuel  and  Catherine  Miser,  who  Hved  in 
Ohio  in  an  early  day,  afterward  removing 
to  Indiana.  The  father,  who  was  a  farmer 
by  occupation,  was  born  in  Ohio,  in  1809, 
and  died  in  1883  in  Indiana;  the  mother 
was  born  in  1 8 1 3.  Their  family  numbered 
ten  children,  namely:  John,  Peter, 
Susanna,  Rachel,  Catherine,  Christian, 
Anna,  Elizabeth,  and  Jacob  and  Mary, 
who  died  in  infancy.  Six  children  grace 
the  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bowser,  their 
names  and  dates  of  birth  being  as  fol- 
lows: Jacob  H.,  March  10,  1875;  Aaron, 
January  11,  1876;  Curtis  A.,  March  26, 
1878;  William,  August  31,  i882;Maudy 
May,  September  15,  1884;  and  Bertha, 
February  3,   1886. 

Since  his  marriage  Mr.  Bowser  has 
resided  upon  the  farm  which  has  been 
his  home,  and  made  of  the  place  a  valua- 
ble propert}'.  His  success  is  due  to  his 
own  persistent  efforts,  and  the  able  as- 
sistance of  his  estimable  wife.  He  is  a 
man  of  unfaltering  energy  and  capable 
management,  and  justly  ranks  among  the 
leading  and  progressive  agriculturists  of 
Scott  township. 


LBERT    PETTIBONE    is    num- 


bered  among  the  native  sons  of 


A 

I  \  Ottawa  county,  and  one  of  the 
honored  pioneers,  who  for  si.xty- 
five  years  has  been  a  witness  of  its  growth 
and  development,  aiding  in  its  progress 
and  promoting  its  material  prosperity. 
He  has  a  wide  acquaintance  and  his  pleas- 
ant, genial  manner  and  sterling  worth 
have  made  him  very  popular,  so  that  we 
feel  assured  this  record  of  his  life  will 
prove  of  interest  to  many  of  our  readers. 
Mr.  Pettibone  was  born  in  Danbury 
township,  Ottawa  county,  March  15, 
1830,  and  is  a  son  of  Truman  and  Phoebe 
(Wolcotte)  Pettibone,  the  former  a  native 
of  the  Green  Mountain  State,  the  latter 
of  Danbury,  Conn.,  born  February  12, 
1796.  The  father  died  July  23,  1830, 
when  our  subject  was  only  four  months 


old,  but  the  mother  long  survived  him, 
and  passed  away  December  24,  1872. 
They  were  the  parents  of  five  children — 
three  sons  and  two  daughters — only  one  of 
whom  is  now  living,  Albert,  subject  of  this 
sketch. 

The  educational  privileges  which  our 
subject  received  were  limited  to  those 
afforded  by  the  district  schools  during  the 
winter  months.  The  schoolhouse  was 
built  of  logs  and  furnished  in  a  primitive 
manner.  Since  his  boyhood  he  has  en- 
gaged in  fishing  and  farming,  and  was 
early  inured  to  the  arduous  labors  that 
fall  to  the  lot  of  the  agriculturists  who 
lives  on  the  frontier.  Of  late  years  he 
has  also  extensively  engaged  in  fruit 
farming,  and  has  found  this  branch  of  his 
business  a  very  remunerative  one.  In 
Danbury  township,  Ottawa  county,  Feb- 
ruary 5,  1854,  Mr.  Pettibone  married 
Eliza  Ramsdell,  who  was  born  December 
7,  1836,  and  is  a  daughter  of  Jacob  and 
Experience  (Willett)  Ramsdell,  who  were 
among  the  earliest  settlers  of  Danbury 
township,  where  they  located  in  181 1. 
The  maternal  grandparents  of  our  subject, 
Bcnnajah  and  Elizabeth  Wolcott,  natives 
of  New  York,  preceded  them,  however, 
emigrating  from  Connecticut  to  Ohio  in 
1 809.  No  one  else  at  that  time  resided 
in  Danbury  township,  and  they  therefore 
had  the  honor  of  opening  it  up  to  civil- 
ization. 

The  family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pettibone 
numbered  twelve  children:  Clara  M., 
born  October  22,  1855,  residing  in  Dan- 
bury township;  Oscar  P.,  born  October 
28,  1857,  a  fireman  on  the  Lakeside  rail- 
road, residing  at  Lakeside,  Ohio;  Orra 
E.,  born  May  8,  i860,  and  died  January 
22,  1864;  Phrebe  L. ,  born  January  13, 
1862.  now  the  wife  of  \\'illiam  Killey,  of 
Danbury  township;  Cora  E. ,  born  May  7, 
1864,  now  the  wife  of  William  Brede- 
hoft,  of  Oak  Harbor,  Ohio;  Selina  A., 
born  December  13,  1866.  and  now  living 
at  Oak  Harbor;  George  A.,  born  Decem- 
ber 25,  1868;  Edna  J.,  born  August  17, 


528 


COMMEMORATIVE  BWGRAPRICAL  RECORD. 


1 8/ 1,  now  the  wife  of  Martin  Southard, 
of  Danbury  township;  Jacob  T.,  born 
September  7,  1873,  and  died  February 
20,  1876;  Lydia  A.,  born  November  23, 
1875;  Willett  A.,  born  May  10,  1878;  and 
Zehna  E..  born  October  21,   1881. 

His  fellow  citizens,  appreciating  his 
worth  and  abiUty,  have  frequently  called 
Mr.  Pettibone  to  public  office,  where  he 
has  discharged  his  duties  with  a  prompt- 
ness and  fidelity  that  have  won  him  the 
highest  commendation.  He  was  the  first 
supervisor  of  Danbury  township,  was 
township  clerk  for  twenty  years,  township 
trustee  three  years,  has  been  justice  of 
the  peace  some  eighteen  years,  was  town- 
ship real-estate  assessor  for  one  term,  for 
four  years  served  as  postmaster  of  Vine 
Ridge,  and  was  instrumental  in  establishing 
this  office,  and  has  held  other  public  posi- 
tions of  honor  and  trust.  In  his  political 
views  he  is  a  stalwart  Republican,  while 
socially  he  is  a  charter  member  of  the 
Knights  of  the  Golden  Rule,  of  Castle 
Rock  Lodge,  No.  21,  of  Lakeside.  The 
family  attend  the  services  of  the  Methodist 
and  Congregational  Churches,  but  hold 
membership  with  no  religious  organiza- 
tion. Mr.  Pettibone  enjoys  the  respect 
and  esteem  of  all  who  know  him,  and  is 
one  of  the  few  remaining  settlers  who 
have  been  spared  to  see  the  dense  forests 
and  log  cabins  give  place  to  extensive 
fruit  orchards,  waving  fields  of  grain  and 
large  and  imposing  residences.  He  is  a 
man  of  noble  character,  of  strict  integrity 
and  genuine  worth,  and  is  honored  and 
revered  by  a  large  circle  of  friends  and 
acquaintances. 


JOHN  P.  VOGEL.   Among  the  prom- 
inent and  influential  young  business 
men  of  Oak  Harbor,  Ottawa  county, 
who  have  done  much  to  build  up  and 
further  the  interests  of  that  enterprising 
little  town,  there  is  no  one  more  deserving 
of  representation   in  this  work  than   the 


gentleman  whose  name  introduces  this 
sketch. 

Our  subject  is  a  native  of  Ottawa 
county,  Ohio,  born  December  18,  1858, 
son  of  Christian  and  Salomane  Vogel, 
both  natives  of  Germany.  His  prelimi- 
nary education  was  received  in  the  public 
schools  of  his  native  county.  At  the  age 
of  twenty-one  years  he  began  his  career 
as  a  business  man,  opening  a  hardware 
store  at  Oak  Harbor,  in  partnership  with 
C.  L.  Danner,  under*  the  firm  name  of 
Danner  &  Vogel.  In  1884  Christian  Vo- 
gel, father  of  our  subject,  purchased  Mr. 
Danner's  interest,  and  the  business  was 
then  conducted  by  father  and  son,  under 
the  firm  name  of  C.  Vogel  &  Son,  until 
1887,  when  the  former  disposed  of  his  in- 
terest to  G.  H.  Bredbeck,  the  business 
then  and  now  being  successfully  conducted 
by  these  two  gentlemen,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Vogel  &  Bredbeck. 

Mr.  Vogel  has  been  twice  married,  the 
first  time,  in  1883,  to  Miss  Bella  Hugle,  a 
native  of  Ottawa  county,  the  union  being 
blessed  by  the  birth  of  one  child,  Ger- 
trude. In  January,  18S5,  our  subject  was 
called  upon  to  mourn  the  death  of  his  be- 
loved wife,  the  sorrow  felt  at  her  death 
being  greatly  enhanced  by  the  unusually 
sad  circumstances  with  which  it  was  at- 
tended. While  out  driving  with  her  hus- 
band and  a  party  of  friends,  their  carriage 
was  struck  by  a  train  on  the  Lake  Shore 
and  Michigan  Southern  railroad,  Mrs.  Vo- 
gel being  instantly  killed.  Mr.  Vogel  was 
afterward  united  in  marriage,  at  Oak  Har- 
bor, in  1889.  with  Miss  Millie  Rantz,  a 
daughter  of  Jacob  and  Maria  Rantz,  old 
and  respected  residents  of  Oak  Harbor. 
To  this  union  were  born  three  children, 
viz. :  Arminta,  Florence  and  Esther.  Po- 
litically our  subject  is  an  active  supporter 
of  the  Democratic  party,  has  filled  with 
honor  the  offices  of  township  clerk  and 
corporation  treasurer,  and  has  also  ren- 
dered valuable  service  as  a  member  of 
the  Oak  Harbor  Council.  Socially  he  is 
affiliated  with  Oak  Harbor  Lodge  No.  495, 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHTCAL  RECORD. 


529 


F.  &  A.  M.,  also  with  Fremont  Chapter 
No.  64,  Royal  Arch  Masons.  The  family 
are  strict  adherents  of  the  Lutheran 
Church. 

Christian  Vogel,  our  subject's  father, . 
was  born  in  Baden,  Germany,  July  3, 
1829,  a  son  of  Frederick  G.  and  Mary 
(Bengert)  Vogel,  both  also  natives  of 
Germany,  where  they  resided  up  to  the 
time  of  their  decease,  the  former  passing 
away  in  1S63,  the  latter  in  1857.  They 
had  a  family  of  five  children,  of  whom 
Christian  is  the  only  living  representative. 
Christian  Vogel  received  his  primary  edu- 
cation in  the  schools  of  his  native  land, 
afterward  serving  an  apprenticeship  term 
to  the  trade  of  blacksmithing.  In  June, 
1857,  hearing  of  the  exceptional  advan- 
tages offered  to  young  men  in  the  United 
States,  he  embarked  in  a  sailing  vessel, 
which,  after  a  tedious  voyage  lasting  sev- 
eral weeks,  dropped  anchor  in  an  Ameri- 
can port.  On  his  arrival  in  this  country 
our  subject  located  in  Portage  township, 
Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio,  and  engaged  in  the 
blacksmithing  industry.  In  1861  he 
moved  to  Port  Clinton,  where  he  embark- 
ed in  agricultural  pursuits,  also  working 
a  short  time  at  his  trade,  remaining  there 
four  years;  he  then  removed  to  Oak  Har- 
bor, and  has  since  been  a  constant  resi- 
dent of  that  town.  Since  taking  up  his 
residence  here  Mr.  Vogel  has  followed 
various  pursuits,  first  engaging  in  the 
hotel  business,  shortly  afterward  opening 
a  general  store,  and  also  working  at  his 
trade.  He  then  embarked  in  a  butcher- 
ing business,  and  other  important 
branches  of  trade,  and  of  late  years  he 
has  been  engaged  in  the  buying  and  selling 
of  stock  during  the  summer  months.  In 
his  different  vocations  he  has  ever  proved 
himself  a  man  of  excellent  business 
qualifications  and  of  sound  character,  and 
as  a  reward  of  an  industrious  life  he  has 
now  acquired  a  comfortable  competence 
to  tide  him  over  his  remaining  years. 

Mr.  Vogel  was  married,  at  Plasterbed, 
Ottawa   Co.,    Ohio,    in    .April,     1851,    to 


Salomane  Heim,  a  native  of  Germany, 
and  to  this  union  have  been  born  nine 
children,  seven  of  whom  are  still  living, 
viz.:  Christian  and  Charles  (twins),  the 
former  a  resident  of'  Oak  Harbor;  Will- 
iam, an  enterprising  agriculturist  of  Salem 
township;  Elizabeth,  wife  of- Otto  Schi- 
mansky,  of  Sandusky,  Ohio;  John  P.,  a 
prominent  hardware  merchant  of  Oak 
Harbor;  August  B.,  a  resident  of  Oak 
Harbor;  and  Caroline,  wife  of  A.  D. 
Thierwechter.  The  mother  departed 
this  life  in  187S.  Mr.  Vogel  was  united 
in  marriage,  the  second  time,  at  San- 
dusky, Ohio,  with  Miss  Adelina  Twight- 
man,  of  Oak  Harbor,  a  native  of  Ger- 
many, and  to  this  union  has  been  born 
one  child — George  G. ,  of  Oak  Harbor. 
Mr.  Vogel  has  never  been  an  office-seeker; 
but  his  man}'  friends,  recognizing  in  him 
a  man  exceedingly  well  qualified  to  fill 
positions  of  trust,  have  frequentl}'  per- 
suaded him  to  accept  important  township 
and  county  offices. 


DANIEL  KREILICK,  member  of 
the  firm  of  Miller  &  Kreilick,  man- 
ufacturers of  lumber  and  cooper- 
age stock,  in  Salem  township, 
Ottawa  county,  was  born  in  Rice  town- 
ship, Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  January  i, 
1 84 1,  and  is  a  son  of  Adam  and  Eliza- 
beth (Reitz)  Kreilick,  pioneers  of  San- 
dusky county. 

Our  subject  was  reared  in  the  usual 
manner  of  farmer  lads  of  that  da}',  and 
his  educational  privileges  were  meagre, 
being  those  afforded  in  the  old  primitive 
schools  of  the  township.  His  training  at 
farm  labor,  however,  was  of  a  higher  or- 
der, and  he  soon  became  familiar  with  all 
the  duties  of  agricultural  life.  In  1866, 
when  about  twenty-five  years  of  age,  in 
connection  with  Samuel  Miller,  he  em- 
barked in  his  present  business,  and  is  now 
extensively  and  successfully  engaged  in 
the  manufacture  of  lumber  and  cooperage 


530 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


stock,  also  farming  a  piece  of  fine  land  in 
Salem  township. 

Mr.  Kreilick  was  married,  July  5, 
1868,  to  Miss  Lydia  Siegenthaler,  a 
daughter  of  William  and  Leah  (Harmel) 
Siegenthaler,  who  were  honored  and  rep- 
resentative citizens  of  Sandusky  county. 
The  father,  who  was  a  native  of  Ger- 
many, passed  away  in  1874;  the  mother, 
who  was  born  in  Pennsj'lvania,  survived 
him  until  1881.  In  their  family  were  ten 
children,  all  3'et  living,  namely:  Mary, 
wife  of  Daniel  Heitrick;  Francis;  Will- 
oughby;  Henry;  Melinda,  wife  of  Nathan 
Miller;  Lydia,  wife  of  Daniel  Kreilick; 
Philip;  Catherine,  wife  of  George  Cook; 
George;  and  Rebecca,  wife  of  John  Star- 
wald;  ail  are  now  residing  either  in  Ot- 
tawa or  Sandusky  county.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Kreilick  have  three  children — Lu- 
cinda  C,  who  was  born  April  4,  1869, 
and  is  the  wife  of  Albert  Beirlein,  of  Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio;  Alta,  who  was  born  April 
25,  1871,  and  is  the  wife  of  Charles 
Leaser,  a  prominent  farmer  of  Rice  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county;  and  Emma  R. , 
born  February  5,  1875.  Mr.  Kreilick 
has  served  as  justice  of  the  peace  for  one 
term,  and  in  his  political  affiliations  is  a 
Democrat.  He  is  recognized  as  an  able, 
straightforward  and  enterprising  business 
man,  and  in  the  community  where  he  has 
always  lived  he  has  the  warm  regard  of 
many  friends.  The  family  attend  the 
Lutheran  Church. 

In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to 
note  something  of  the  history  of  his  father, 
Adam  Kreilick,  who  was  one  of  the  pio- 
neers of  Rice  township,  Sandusky  county. 
He  was  born  in  Northumberland  county, 
Penn.,  March  iS,  i  S04,  and  passed  away 
near  Kingsway,  Ohio,  June  11,  1891,  at 
the  advanced  age  of  eighty-seven  years, 
two  months  and  twenty-four  days.  His 
childhood  and  youth  were  largely  devoted 
to  reading,  and  his  taste  for  literature 
continued  through  life.  In  his  early  years 
he  had  access  to  a  select  library  of  ancient 
and  modern  works,   and  his  reading  was 


directed  by  his  father,  who  was  a  teacher 
in  the  parochial  schools.  He  possessed  a 
retentive  memor}',  and  his  quick  percep- 
tion gave  him  such  a  command  of  knowl- 
edge in  the  various  departments  of  learn- 
ing that  he  found  his  equal  only  in  the 
higher  callings  of  life.  His  conversa- 
tional powers  and  mother  wit,  coupled 
with  his  ripe  scholarship,  made  him  a  con- 
genial and  entertaining  companion. 

Adam  Kreilick  married  Miss  Elizabeth 
Reitz  in  June,  1831,  and  two  years  later 
the  young  couple  started  with  their  first 
child  (now  the  wife  of  Capt.  Kline,  of 
Fremont,  Ohio)  from  their  old  home  in 
eastern  Pennsylvania  for  the  wild  regions 
of  northeastern  Ohio,  after  a  five-weeks' 
journey  with  a  horse  and  wagon  over 
mountains  and  rivers,  hills  and  valleys, 
arriving  on  the  banks  of  Mud  creek,  in 
the  "  Black  Swamp, "  where  David  Druck- 
enmiller,  Peter  Heitrick  and  David  Gep- 
hardt had  located  two  years  previous.  Mr. 
Kreilick  entered  200  acres  of  government 
land,  purchasing  the  same  at  the  land 
office  in  Bucyrus,  Ohio.  He  walked  the 
entire  distance  there  and  back,  following 
the  old  Indian  trail  up  the  Sandusky  river, 
for  there  were  no  roads  at  the  time. 
Lower  Sandusky  then  boasted  of  only  i  50 
inhabitants,  and  only  one  small  brick 
building.  There  was  no  Maumee  pike, 
no  open  roads  through  the  Black  Swamp, 
and  only  here  and  there  a  few  log  cabins, 
with  patches  of  cleared  land.  From  the 
point  where  Mr.  Kreilick  located  there 
was  a  dense  forest — the  haunt  of  deer  and 
wild  turkey — reaching  south  to  the  Port- 
age river  and  east  toward  Port  Clinton 
and  Sandusky  Bay.  In  all  that  region 
there  was  not  a  single  white  inhabitant. 


were  the  surroundings  of 


Such 

hardy  pioneers.  The  a.xe, 
fire  were  the  means  used 
the   forest,    openin 


through 


these 
the  ox,  and 
in  breaking 
:   roads    and 


making  a  place  for  fruitful  fields  and  rich 
and  inviting  farms.  Log  cabins  often 
sheltered  from  twelve  to  fifteen  persons, 
but  in  course  of  time  they  were  replaced 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


531 


by  more  commodious  frame  or  stately 
brick  dwellings,  with  all  the  comforts  of 
modern  life.  All  other  surroundings,  in- 
cluding barns,  school  houses,  churches 
and  business  industries,  kept  pace  with 
the  remarkable  transformation  wrought 
by  the  pioneers.  Mr.  Kreilick  and  his 
faithful  wife  shared  in  all  the  experiences 
of  frontier  life.  The  first  school  in  the 
settlement  was  taught  by  William  Rear- 
ick,  at  the  double  log  cabin  of  Philip 
Siegenthaler,  and  the  first  schoolhouse 
was  a  log  structure  erected  on  Mr.  Krei- 
lick's  farm.  The  family  first  attended 
Church  at  the  Four-Mile  House,  and  the 
first  regular  pastor  at  Mud  Creek  settle- 
ment. Rev.  Long,  held  services  in  a  barn, 
later  in  the  schoolhouse  until  the  log 
church  was  erected  in  1852.  In  1867  it 
was  replaced  by  the  present  brick  struc- 
ture. 

In  the  Kreilick  family  were  six  sons 
and  five  daughters,  all  now  married  and 
living  in  comfortable  homes  either  in  Ot- 
tawa county  or  Sandusky  county,  being 
located  near  the  old  homestead.  They 
are  Mrs.  Andrew  Kline,  Mrs.  Simon 
Bovversox,  John,  Elias,  Daniel,  Aaron, 
Adam,  Peter,  Mrs.  William  Reiser,  Mrs. 
Samuel  Miller,  and  Mrs.  Jonas  Hetrick. 
The  mother  of  this  family  passed  away  in 
1883,  and  the  father  mourned  the  de- 
parture of  her  who  had  long  been  to  him 
a  faithful  companion  and  helpmeet.  He 
lived  to  a  ripe  old  age,  and  saw  his  chil- 
dren and  grandchildren  comfortably  situ- 
ated in  life.  He  was  confirmed  in  the 
Evangelical  Church  in  Pennsylvania,  and 
all  his  children  and  a  large  majority  of 
their  descendants  are  members  of  St. 
Paul's  Lutheran  Church  of  Rice  township, 
Sandusky  county,  in  which  church  his 
funeral  was  held  June  14,  1891,  the  ser- 
vices being  conducted  by  the  pastor.  Rev. 
W.  A.  Bowman.  From  far  and  near  the 
people  came  to  pay  their  last  tribute  of 
respect  to  him.  He  had  been  possessed 
of  a  robust  constitution,  determined  will 
and  untarnished  character,  and  was  be- 


loved by  his  family  and  esteemed  by  his 
many  friends.  Annually  his  children 
would  assemble  at  the  old  home  to  cele- 
brate his  birthday,  exchange  greetings  and 
receive  tokens  of  his  well  wishes.  An 
aged  sister,  Mrs.  Philip  Heitrick,  six  sons, 
fifty  grandchildren,  lifty-seven  great- 
grandchildren and  one  great-great-grand- 
child are  the  living  representatives  of  the 
family  to  which  this  honored  man  be 
longed. 


STEPHEN  FETTERLY, proprietor 
of  the  basket  factory  at  Oak  Har- 
bor,   Ottawa  county,    and   one   of 
the  live,  wide-awake  men   of  the 
county,  is  a  native  of  Ohio,  having  been 
born  at  Painesville,  Lake  county,  October 
5,  1849. 

He  is  a  son  of  David  and  Emily 
(Hoople)  Fetterly,  the  former  of  whom 
was  born  in  1807,  of  Holland  parentage, 
and  when  a  young  man  moved  to  Canada, 
where  he  married  a  Miss  Hoople.  In 
that  country  he  and  his  wife  remained 
till  1849,  in  which  year  they  removed  to 
Painesville,  Ohio,  where  they  remained 
three  years,  the  father  in  the  meantime 
working  at  his  trade,  that  of  blacksmith. 
In  1852  they  took  up  their  residence  in 
Salem  township,  Ottawa  county,  where 
Mr.  Fetterly  was  made  the  first  justice  of 
the  peace,  and  where  he  and  his  wife 
passed  the  rest  of  their  honored  lives.  He 
met  with  a  heroic  death:  In  1857,  while 
attempting  the  rescue  from  drowning  of 
two  men  in  the  Portage  river,  where  the 
Locust  street  bridge,  at  Oak  Harbor, 
crosses,  Mr.  Fetterly's  exertion  proved 
too  great,  resulting  in  the  bursting  of  a 
blood  vessel,  which  caused  him  to  sink 
beneath  the  surface  of  the  water,  and 
when  his  body  was  recovered  life  was  ex- 
tinct. His  wife  survived  him  until  1889, 
when  she,  too,  passed  away,  and  her  re- 
mains were  laid  beside  those  of  her  hus- 
band in  the  Oak  Harbor  cemetery.  They 
were  the  parents  of  eight  children:  Amos, 


532 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


George,  Maria,  Albert,  Charles,  two  who 
died  in  infancy,  and  Stephen,  all  except 
the  last  named  having  been  born  in 
Canada.  Two  of  the  sons  served  in  the 
war  of  the  Rebellion,  Amos  enlisting  in 
1 86 1,  and  remaining  in  the  army  till  1865, 
participating  in  the  battles  of  Shiloh, 
Missionary  Ridge  and  many  others,  be- 
sides suffering  a  three  months'  imprison- 
ment in  Libby  Prison;  his  brother  Charles 
served  from  1864  till  the  close  of  the  war. 
As  will  be  seen,  Stephen  Fetterly  was 
three  years  old  when  the  family  made 
their  home  in  Salem  township,  Ottawa 
count)-,  and  here  he  acquired  his  educa- 
tion at  the  schools  of  the  neighborhood. 
When  thirteen  years  old  he  commenced 
sailing  the  lakes,  for  twentj'-five  j'ears,  in 
various  capacities,  plowing  the  cerulean 
waters  of  lakes  Erie,  Huron,  Superior 
and  Michigan.  Commencing  as  steward, 
he  served  in  that  capacity  three  years, 
and  then  boarded  the  "  Forcastle  "  as  or- 
dinary seaman,  remaining  as  such  for 
four  seasons,  the  next  two  years  serving 
as  mate  on  different  vessels.  At  the  end 
of  that  time  opportunity  presenting  itself 
for  Mr.  Fetterly  to  embark  in  business  for 
himself,  he  in  August,  1873,  purchased 
the  "Gould,"  a  boat  running  on  Lake 
Erie,  which  he  resold  about  the  close  of 
the  same  year.  In  1874  he  bought  the 
"  Melissa,"  selling  same  two  years  later, 
and  in  1877  he  took  charge,  as  captain, 
of  the  "Emily  and  Eliza,"  owned  by 
Anspaugh  &  Bros.,  of  Oak  Harbor,  hold- 
ing that  position  till  1887.  In  that  year 
Mr.  Fetterly  proceeded  to  Detroit,  where 
he  purchased  the  "Hero,"  a  fine  Lake 
Erie  boat,  in  1888  buying  also  the  steam- 
barge  "Lafayette,"  running  on  the  same 
lake,  and  these  two  boats  he  owned  and 
operated  five  years,  when  he  sold  them 
and  became  owner  by  purchase  of  the 
steam-barge  "  Du  Sault,"  also  running 
on  Lake  Erie.  About  this  time  he  passed 
his  examination  as  marine  engineer. 
While  running  these  boats  he  did  a  good 
deal  of  contracting  for  the  U.  S.  Govern- 


ment in  the  line  of  constructing  break- 
waters and  such  like,  along  the  lake 
shore,  for  the  protection  of  roads,  etc., 
from  the  encroachment  of  the  water.  For 
several  years  he  handled  sandstone  and 
general  freight  for  Oak  Harbor,  which 
line  of  work  was  confined  to  the  summer 
months,  he  in  the  winter  time  engaging 
in  timber  speculation,  in  which  he  met 
with  signal  success. 

In  the  year  1891,  Mr.  Fetterly,  in 
company  with  two  others,  established  a 
basket  factory  at  Port  Clinton,  Ottawa 
county,  in  which  connection  he  remained 
two  years.  His  experience  in  this  venture 
led  him  to  undertake  the  organization  of 
a  similar  company  at  Oak  Harbor,  which 
after  much  labor  and  considerable  plan- 
ning he  accomplished,  the  present  basket 
factory  being  opened  May  3,  1895,  with 
a  capital  stock  of  twelve  thousand  dollars. 
Employment  is  already  given  to  nearly  100 
hands  and  the  pay-roll  sums  up  to  about 
fourteen  hundred  dollars  per  month.  In 
addition  to  his  interests  in  this  industry 
Mr.  Fetterly  owns  a  farm  in  Salem  town- 
ship, and  a  propeller  running  between 
Oak  Harbor  and  Sandusky;  he  also  con- 
ducts a  sand  and  stone  business,  and 
speculates  in  oil. 

On  November  27,  1873,  Stephen  Fet- 
terly was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Susan  Legett,  daughter  of  Robert  and 
Rebecca  (Magrew)  Legett,  honored  pio- 
neers of  Ottawa  county,  and  descended 
from  the  Blackburns  of  England.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Legett  are  the  parents  of 
children — five  sons  and 
— seven  of  whom  are  yet  living.  One 
son,  Albert,  served  three  years  in  Com- 
pany I,  Forty-first  O.  V.  I.,  during  the 
Civil  war.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fetterly 
have  been  born  six  children,  as  follows: 
Agnes  (wife  of  August  Madison,  engineer 
in  the  basket  factory  at  Oak  Harbor); 
Mabel,  Georgia,  Charles,  Ralph  and 
Ruby.  Mrs.  Fetterly  is  a  member  of  the 
M.  E.  Church,  and  is  af^liated  with  the 
Daughters  of  Rebekah.      In  his  political 


eight 


three  daughters 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


533 


predilections  our  subject  is  a  Democrat; 
socially  he  is  a  member  of  Oak  Harbor 
Lodge  No.  495,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  of  the 
I.  O.  O.  F.  He  is  a  tj'pical  American 
"hustler,"  and  has  made  a  success  of 
everything  to  which  he  has  put  his  hand. 


PA.  SHAENFELD  is  one  of  El- 
more's most  progressive  and  solid 
business  men,  one  who  takes  an 
active  part  in  all  matters  that 
have  for  their  object  the  advancement 
and  welfare  of  Ottawa  county. 

Our  subject  was  born  October  18, 
1836,  in  Mudershausen,  Germany,  son  of 
Henry  P.  and  Catherine  P.  Shaenfeld. 
In  his  native  land  he  received  his  educa- 
tion, and  was  confirmed  in  the  Evangelical 
Lutheran  Church.  In  April,  1852,  his 
parents,  accompanied  by  their  children, 
started  for  the  New  World,  being  forty- 
four  days  upon  the  broad  Atlantic,  and  it 
was  almost  two  months  from  the  time 
they  left  their  old  home  ere  they  reached 
Fremont,  Ohio.  The  father  purchased 
forty  acres  of  land  eight  miles  west  of 
that  city  in  the  Black  Swamp,  where  the 
mother  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-two,  while 
the  father  reached  the  advanced  age  of 
eighty-four  years,  and  they  now  lie  buried 
side  by  side  in  the  Four- Mile  House  Cem- 
etery. Bv  a  former  marriage  the  father 
had  si.\  sons,  and  by  the  second  union 
two  sons  and  two  daughters  were  born. 
William,  the  brother  of  our  subject,  was 
born  in  1831,  and  now  resides  in  Wash- 
ington township,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio. 
His  sisters  are  Jane,  who  was  born  in 
1839,  and  is  the  wife  of  John  Bauer,  of 
Blue  Hill,  Neb. ;  and  Louise,  born  in 
1842,  who  is  the  wife  of  Mathias  Stattler, 
of  Kedwillow  county,  that  State. 

P.  A.  Shaenfeld  aided  his  father  in 
clearing  and  developing  the  new  farm, 
working  in  the  woods  during  the  winter, 
while  during  the  summer  months  he 
labored  in  the  fields.  He  early  started 
out  as  a  farm   hand,    being   etnployed  by 


farmers  in  Huron  county  until  1859, 
when,  anxious  to  see  more  of  the  world, 
he  started  westward.  He  landed  in  south- 
eastern Missouri  when  it  was  wild  and 
sparsely  settled,  and  there  kept  store  in  a 
log  cabin,  for  other  parties,  until  the  war 
broke  out,  when  the  Confederates  took 
what  little  stock  he  had,  and  forced 
him  to  enlist  in  the  Rebel  army.  He  suc- 
ceeded, however,  in  making  his  escape, 
and  in  1862  returned  to  Ohio,  where  he 
found  employment  in  the  grocery  store  at 
Bellevue. 

In  that  city,  in  1863,  Mr.  Shaenfeld 
was  married  to  Miss  Sophie  P.  Hoffman, 
who  was  born  November  30,  1840,  in 
Nassau,  Germany,  and  in  that  country 
was  educated  and  confirmed  in  the  Evan- 
gelical Lutheran  Church.  At  the  age  of 
fourteen  years  she  came  to  America  with 
her  married  sister  and  brother-in-law, 
Jacob  Deutesfeld.  One  son  came  to  this 
union — CorneHus  W.,  born  January  24, 
1864,  who  now  makes  his  home  in  El- 
more. In  1865,  with  his  wife  and  baby, 
Mr.  Shaenfeld  came  to  Elmore,  and  em- 
barked in  the  grocery  business,  in  which 
he  was  very  successful.  In  this  city  his 
wife  departed  this  life  September  5,  1884. 
The  following  year  he  sold  a  half  interest 
in  his  store  to  E.  G.  Kirk,  and  gave  his 
son  the  other  half.  In  June,  of  the  same 
year  he  went  to  California  on  account  of 
poor  health,  and  after  his  return  the  fol- 
lowing September  lived  with  his  son  until 
his  second  marriage.  On  August  11, 
1887,  he  wedded  Mary  Huth,  who  was 
born  in  Nassau.  Germany,  July  17,  1850, 
and  with  her  parents,  Philip  and  Cather- 
ine Huth,  emigrated  to  the  United  States 
in  1 85 1,  locating  in  Riley  township,  San- 
dusky Co.,  Ohio.  Her  parents  both  died 
at  an  early  age,  the  mother  being  only 
thirty-three,  and  the  father  forty-six. 

In  1887,  Mr.  Shaenfeld  purchased  his 
store  which  he  has  since  successfully  con- 
ducted, doing  a  large  and  prosperous  bus- 
iness. He  and  his  family  are  highly  re- 
spected in  social  circles,    and,  as  a  busi- 


534 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


ness  man,  his  dealings  have  ever  been 
characterized  by  honesty  and  fairness,  so 
that  he  ranks  among  the  prominent  mer- 
chants of  Elmore.  He  has  filled  many 
important  positions,  and  for  two  terms 
each  was  member  of  the  city  council,  cor- 
poration treasurer,  township  treasurer 
and  township  trustee,  in  all  of  which  of- 
fices he  served  with  credit  to  himself  and 
to  the  satisfaction  of  his  constituents. 
The  Democratic  party  has  ever  found  in 
him  a  stanch  supporter. 


CHARLES  ROOSE  is  one  of  the 
most  prominent  business  men  of 
Oak  Harbor,  being  engaged  in 
lumbering  and  agricultural  pur- 
suits, in  the  manufacture  of  slack  barrel 
cooperage,  and  in  the  management  of 
the  Oak  Harbor  State  Bank,  of  which 
he  is  president.  The  true  standard  by 
which  to  judge  a  community  is  the  charac- 
ter of  its  leading  citizens.  Progress  is 
rarely,  if  ever,  the  result  of  chance,  but 
always  the  execution  of  well-laid  plans, 
based  on  a  thorough  comprehension  of 
the  laws  of  business.  It  is  only  by  keep- 
ing in  view  the  lives  of  men  who  are  ever 
associated  with  the  busy  marts  of  com- 
merce that  we  can  judge  of  the  import- 
ance of  development  and  the  possibilities 
of  progress.  Thus  it  is  that  from  the 
commercial  more  than  the  literary  or 
political  world,  the  most  valuable  lessons 
of  life  are  to  be  extracted.  As  a  repre- 
sentative of  this  class  stands  the  subject 
of  this  review,  a  typical  self-made  man 
whose  excellent  business  qualifications 
are  indicated  by  the  numerous  enterprises 
he  has  brought  to  a  successful  issue. 

Mr.  Roose  was  born  May  7,  1824,  in 
the  city  of  Schwerin,  Mecklenburg- 
Schwerin,  Germany,  and  is  a  son  of  Louis 
and  Frederica  (Hengvoos)  Roose,  who 
were  also  natives  of  the  same  country, 
where  they  spent  their  entire  lives.  Of 
their  family  of  seven  children  only  three 
are  now  living:     Charles,  subject  of  this 


sketch;  Lizzetta,  wife  of  August  Milhahn, 
a  prominent  farmer  of  Salem  township, 
Ottawa  county;  and  Lena,  of  the  same 
township. 

Charles  Roose  was  reared  to  man- 
hood and  educated  in  his  native  land,  and 
for  some  years  was  emplo}ed  as  a  clerk 
in  a  hotel,  after  which  he  engaged  in  the 
hotel  business  on  his  own  account  until 
his  departure  for  America.  In  1853  he 
sold  his  business  in  the  Fatherland  and 
crossed  the  Atlantic,  landing  in  New 
York,  whence  he  came  to  Ohio.  After 
spending  six  weeks  in  Sandusky,  he  re- 
moved to  Ottawa  county,  purchasing  160 
acres  of  land  in  Salem  township,  then  a 
wild  tract,  but  with  willing  heart  and 
hands  he  began  to  make  a  home  for  him- 
self and  famil}'.  Not  long  after  he  com- 
menced the  purchase  of  staves,  which 
were  shipped  to  the  West  Indies  and  other 
markets.  Within  two  years  his  business 
had  increased  to  such  extended  propor- 
tirms  that  he  was  not  able  to  secure  a 
supply  sufficient  to  fill  his  orders  in  the 
ordinary  way,  and  so  purchased  large 
tracts  of  land  in  Salem,  Carroll,  Clay 
and  Benton  townships,  placing  thereon 
German  immigrants  to  prepare  the 
timber  for  the  market.  Manj'  of  these 
being  entirely  without  means  of  their 
own,  he  furnished  them  with  teams  and 
all  necessary  supplies,  thus  enabling 
them  to  become  prosperous  farmers  and 
citizens,  owing  their  start  in  life  to 
his  energy  and  kindness.  In  1868,  in 
connection  with  the  buying  of  staves, 
he  established  a  slack  barrel  cooperage 
industry,  which  has  also  proved  a  profitable 
investment;  his  comprehensive  business 
ability  has  also  been  manifest  in  other 
directions.  In  1887,  having  purchased 
2,145  acres  of  land  in  Indiana,  adjoining 
the  Ohio  State  line,  he  there  laid  out  and 
built  a  town  which  was  named  ' '  Edger- 
ton  "  for  the  man  of  whom  Mr.  Roose 
purchased  the  land.  In  1887  he  aided 
in  the  organization  of  the  Oak  Harbor 
State  Bank,  and  from  its  commencement 


/pAjiLV^      (Vw^e^ 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


535 


has  served  as  its  honored  president,  its 
success  being  largely  due  to  his  efforts. 

Mr.  Koose  was  married  in  Butzow, 
Mfcklenburg-Schwerin,  Germany,  Jan- 
uary 2,  1849,  to  Miss  Marie  Drewes,  who 
was  born  November  30,  1829,  daughter 
of  Joachim  and  Marie  (Haas)  Drewes, 
the  former  of  whom  passed  away  in  Sa- 
lem township,  Ottawa  county,  in  1872, 
the  latter  d3'ing  in  Germany,  in  1870. 
Mrs.  Roose  was  born  in  Doberan,  Ger- 
many, and  has  become  the  mother  of 
nine  children:  Charles,  born  in  Ger- 
many, July  20,  1850.  is  one  of  the  most 
prominent  agriculturists  of  Salem  town- 
ship; Hannah,  born  in  Germany,  June 
22,  1852,  is  the  wife  of  Frederick  Uied- 
rich,  a  leading  farmer  of  Salem  township; 
Frederick,  born  in  Salem  township,  Jan- 
uary 13,  1855,  is  now  one  of  its  success- 
ful merchants;  Emma,  born  in  Salem 
township,  March  10,  1858,  died  ten  days 
later;  Ernst,  born  in  Salem  township, 
January  10,  i860,  is  now  one  of  its  pros- 
perous farmers;  William,  born  in  Salem 
township.  May  26,  1862,  a  sketch  of 
whom  follows;  Wilhelmina,  born  in  Sa- 
lem township,  May  20,  1864,  is  the  wife 
of  Charles  Hanck,  of  Sandusky.  Ohio; 
Herman  H..  born  in  Salem  township, 
December  16,  1866,  is  now  in  partner- 
ship, and  is  superintendent  of  the  Indi- 
ana business,  with  residence  at  Edgerton, 
in  that  State;  Lena,  born  in  Salem  town- 
ship, March  11,  1868,  is  the  wife  of 
George  (">armroth,  also  of  Edgerton. 

In  I859  Mr.  Roose  was  elected  trustee 
of  his  township,  in  which  capacity  he 
serve«nor  eleven  consecutive  years.  He 
was  also  county  commissioner  for  six 
years,  a  director  of  the  Ohio  Penitentiary 
for  three  years,  and  under  Governor 
Campbell  was  appointed  a  trustee  of  the 
Institute  for  the  Instruction  of  the  Rlhid, 
at  Columbus;  he  has  twice  been  appointed 
to  that  position  by  Governor  McKinley, 
and  is  still  serving.  For  many  years  he 
has  been  a  school  director,  and  is  deeply 
interested  in  everything  calculated  to  ben- 

34 


enfit  mankind.  Socially  he  is  a  charter 
member  of  Oak  Harbor  Lodge,  No.  495, 
F.  &  A.  M.,  and  in  religious  connection 
the  family  attend  the  Lutheran  Church. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  and  one  of 
the  trusted  advisors  of  his  part)'  in  Ot- 
tawa county.  In  1888  he  was  a  dele- 
gate to  the  Democratic  National  Conven- 
tion, at  St.  Louis,  which  resulted  in  the 
nomination  of  President  Cleveland  for  a 
second  term.  Mr.  Roose  is  a  man  of 
broad  views,  of  keen  quick  perception,  of 
sterlino^  integrity  and  spotless  reputation, 
and  therefore  has  the  unlimited  confi- 
dence of  the  people  with  whom  he  has 
come  in  contact.  In  addition  to  his  du- 
ties as  president  of  the  largest  moneyed 
institution  in  the  county  he  has  as  a  pub- 
lic official  discharged  the  duties  of  every 
office  in  which  he  has  been  placed  with  a 
painstaking  fidelity  that  has  won  him  the 
highest  commendation.  He  is  a  man  of 
gentlemanly  demeanor,  always  meeting 
his  associates  both  in  the  social  circle  and 
in  business  pursuits,  with  a  cordial  and 
friendly  bearing,  and  both  his  time  and 
means  have  been  liberalty  expended  in 
all  matters  pertaining  to  the  advance- 
ment of  the  county's  interest  and  welfare. 


OTTO  BEIER,  a  prominent,  pro- 
gressive citizen,  and  a  successful 
busine.ss  man  of  Oak  Harbor,  Ot- 
tawa county,  senior  member  of 
the  firm  of  Otto  Be;er  &  Bro. ,  proprietors 
of  the  Oak  Harbor  Creamery,  is  a  native 
of  Ottawa  county,  Ohio,  born  in  Carroll 
township,  August  19,   1866. 

Tl-.e  parents  of  our  subject,  Frederick 
and  Amelia  (.Miller;  Beier,  who  are  na- 
rtives  of  the  Fatherland,  crossed  the  ocean 
and  came  to  the  New  World  in  the  j'ear 
1 86 1,  locating  first  in  Oak  Harbor,  Otta- 
wa Co  ,  Ohio.  Two  years  later  they 
moved  to  Carroll  townsiiip,  where  they 
purchased  some  land,  with  all  the  timber 
that  had  grown  upon  it,  and  engaged  in 
the  work  of  clearing  of?  the  timber  and  in 


530 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


agricultural  pursuits.  They  still  reside 
there,  and  Mr.  Beier  is  recognized  as  one 
of  the  thrifty,  progressive  farmers  of  that 
township.  Mr.  Beier  has  served  his  fel- 
low citizens  as  trustee  of  the  township  for 
two  years,  supervisor  for  two  years,  and 
school  director  for  a  number  of  years. 
Politically,  he  votes  with  the  Democratic 
party.  The  family  are  strict  adherents  of 
the  Lutheran  Church,  and  are  highly  es- 
teemed by  the  entire  community.  Their 
family  consisted  of  ten  children,  eight  of 
whom  are  now  living,  viz. :  Harmon, 
Charles,  Otto,  Amelia,  Minnie,  Emma, 
Sopha  and  P'rederick. 

Otto  Beier,  the  subject  proper  of  this 
biography,  received  his  early  education  in 
the  public  schools  of  his  native  township, 
his  boyhood  days  being  spent  in  assisting 
his  father  in  the  care  of  the  farm.  At  the 
age  of  si.xteen  years  he  left  his  home  and 
served  an  apprenticeship  to  the  carpen- 
ter's trade,  at  which  he  worked,  during 
the  harvest  season  also  running  a  thresh- 
ing machine,  which  he  and  his  brothers 
owned  for  ten  years.  In  1891,  in  part- 
nership with  his  brother  Charles,  he  built 
and  commenced  the  operation  of  the  Oak 
Harbor  Creamery,  located  in  Oak  Harbor, 
which  has  since  been  fitted  up  with  all 
the  latest  and  most  improved  machinery 
used  in  this  important  branch  of  industry, 
this  factory  being  one  of  the  largest  of  its 
kind  in  the  State;  the  large  output  of 
butter,  necessitating  the  delivery  of  some- 
thing like  two  thousand  gallons  of  milk 
daily,  is  a  great  boon  to  the  farmers  of 
Salem  and  the  adjoining  township. 

Mr.  Beier  was  united  in  marriage  at 
Oak  Harbor,  Ohio,  January  i,  1889,  with 
Miss  Christina  Glaser,  who  was  born  in 
Carroll  township,  July  14,  1864,  a  daugh- 
ter of  George  and  Maggie  (Schrom) 
Glaser,  early  settlers  of  Carroll  township. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Glaser  were  the  parents  of 
ten  children,  seven  of  whom  are  living, 
namely:  Maggie,  Harmon,  Lucy,  Chris- 
tina, Henry,  George  and  August.  In  re- 
ligious  faith,  the   family  are  strict  adher- 


ents of  the  Lutheran  Church;  they  are 
highly  respected  by  all  who  know  them. 
Four  children  have  come  to  brighten  the 
home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Beier,  viz. :  Alma 
A.,  born  September  15,  1889;  Florence 
M.,  born  July  10,  1891;  Leon  George, 
born  March  31,  1893;  and  Laura  S.,  born 
October  19,  1895.  In  1893  Mr.  Beier 
was  elected  as  a  member  of  council  for  the 
village  of  Oak  Harbor,  and  was  re-elected 
in  1895.  The  family  are  strict  adherents 
of  the  Lutheran  Church,  and  are  highly 
esteemed  throughout  the  community  in 
which  they  reside. 


AARON  DOLPH,  one  of  the  lead- 
ing business  men  of  Ottawa  coun- 
ty, and  a  representative  citizen, 
was  born  in  Rome,  Ashtabula 
Co.,  Ohio,  August  19,  1836.  His  father 
was  born  in  Batavia,  N.  Y.,  in  18 10,  and 
died  in  1848.  His  mother,  who  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  Eliza  Perkins,  was  born 
about  the  same  time  and  died  in  1873. 
After  the  death  of  her  first  husband  she 
was  again  married,  in  1854,  becoming  the 
wife  of  David  Nellis,  of  Pennsylvania. 
His  father  came  to  Ohio  in  an  early  day, 
and  purchased  1,300  acres  of  land  near 
Elmore  for  $1.25  per  acre.  At  different 
times  portions  of  this  land  were  sold,  but 
200  acres  became  the  property  of  David 
Nellis,  and  was  left  by  him  to  his  wife, 
the  mother  of  our  subject,  who  in  turn 
left  it  to  Aaron  Dolph. 

The  gentleman  whose  name  begins 
this  record  spent  the  days  of  his  boyhood 
and  youth  in  the  county  of  his  nativity, 
and  acquired  his  education  under  the  di- 
rection of  Prof.  Tuckerman.  On  March 
27,  1856,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Lovina  Richerson,  of  Rome,  Ashta- 
bula county.  Her  father  was  a  native  of 
the  same  county,  his  birth  having  oc- 
curred in  1813,  his  death  in  1877;  her 
mother  was  born  in  181 1,  and  in  their 
family  were  five  children.  The  maternal 
grandmother,    Hannah  Strong,  was   born 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


537 


in  Connecticut  in  1789,  and  came  of  a 
family  noted  for  intelligence  and  culture, 
numbering  among  its  members  many  lead- 
ing ministers  and  teachers.  She  married 
Elisher  Hall,  who  was  born  in  1780,  and 
was  one  of  the  prominent  school  teachers 
of  his  day,  devoting  his  entire  life  to  that 
work.  They  reared  a  large  family — five 
sons  and  five  daughters. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dolph  began  their  do- 
mestic life  in  Ashtabula  county,  Ohio, 
where  for  sixteen  years  he  carried  on 
agricultural  pursuits.  In  1872  they  came 
to  Ottawa  county,  Ohio,  locating  in  Har- 
ris township,  on  what  is  known  as  the 
old  Nellis  farm  near  Elmore,  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  and  productive  tracts  in 
the  countv.  It  is  improved  with  all  the 
accessories  and  conveniences  known  to 
the  modern  agriculturist,  including  excel- 
lent buildings,  well-kept  fences,  a  good 
orchard,  etc.  The  lawn  is  surrounded  by 
a  nicely  trimmed  hedge  fence,  and  beauti- 
ful evergreens  adorn  the  place  and  cast 
their  grateful  shade  over  the  home 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dolph  have  been 
born  five  children,  a  brief  record  of  whom 
is  as  follows:  W'ira,  born  March  23, 
1858,  obtained  his  education  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  Elmore,  and  in  Austinburg, 
Ashtabula  Co.,  Ohio,  where  he  completed 
his  studies  under  the  instruction  of  his 
father's  old  preceptor.  He  then  en- 
gaged in  teaching  for  several  terms  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  State.  Having  mar- 
ried ^Iiss  Alice  Gilson,  of  Elmore,  he 
purchased  and  now  operates  and  conducts 
a  large  furniture  store  in  Blissfield,  Mich., 
and  a  farm  near  that  place.  Ellsworth, 
born  August  23,  1863,  and  named  in 
honor  of  Col.  Ellsworth,  was  educated  in 
the  public  schools  of  Elmore,  and  mar- 
ried Addie  Caneff,  of  this  town.  They 
are  now  pleasantly  located  on  a  farm 
near  Genoa,  where  he  is  extensivelj-  en- 
gaged in  stock  raising.  Addison,  born 
August  12,  1866,  is  also  a  representative 
citizen  of  Ottawa  county.  Clara,  born 
December  17,   1872,  acquired  her  literary 


education  in  Elmore  and  then  studied 
painting;  her  mother's  parlors  are  adorned 
with  many  beautiful  works  of  art  from 
her  hand.  She  also  gave  some  attention 
to  music,  becoming  quite  proficient  as  a 
pianist.  She  is  now  the  wife  of  J.  H. 
Laurie,  a  decoration  architect,  of  De- 
troit, Mich.  Willet,  born  January  10, 
1883,  is  attending  school  in  Elmore.  He 
is  specially  fond  of  horses,  and  is  now  the 
proud  owner  of  a  fine  driving  horse. 

In  1887  Mr.  Dolph  purchased  a  hand- 
some brick  residence  in  Elmore,  where 
with  his  wife  and  youngest  son  he  now 
makes  his  home.  In  addition  to  the  place 
already  mentioned  he  owns  other  farms 
in  different  parts  of  the  State.  He  is  also 
extensively  engaged  in  the  furniture  and 
undertaking  business  in  Elmore,  and  has 
a  very  fine  store,  supplied  with  an  excel- 
lent grade  of  goods.  His  fair  and  hon- 
orable dealing,  his  courteous  treatment 
and  his  earnest  desire  to  please  his  patrons 
have  secured  for  him  a  large  trade.  He 
has  been  quite  successful  in  his  business 
dealitigs,  and  he  owes  his  prosperity  solely 
to  his  own  labor,  perseverance  and  well- 
directed  efforts.  He  is  a  very  popular 
man,  has  a  wide  acquaintance  and  a  host 
of  warm  friends. 


JOHN  ORTH.  The  city  of  Port 
Clinton,  Ottawa  county,  enjoj's  the 
distinction  of  having  within  her  lim- 
its as  progressive  and  enterprising 
citizens  as  are  to  be  found  in  the  State, 
among  whom  stands  prominent  the  firm 
of  Mizener  &  Orth,  dealers  in  general 
hardware,  etc.,  of  which  firm  our  subject 
is  a  member. 

Mr.  Orth  is  a  native  of  Ohio,  born 
December  3,  1854,  at  Port  Clinton,  Ot- 
tawa county,  a  son  of  Frank  and  Mary 
(Wagoner)  Orth,  the  former  of  whom  was 
the  youngest  of  six  brothers  who  emi- 
grated from  Germany  to  the  United 
States,  settling  in  Detroit,  Mich.,  where 
they  organized  a  musical  band  known  as 


533 


COMMEMORATTVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


the  "Orth  Brothers'  Band."  John  Orth, 
Sr. ,  one  of  these  brothers,  recently  died 
at  Detroit,  aged  eighty-seven  years. 
Frank  Orth  married  and  removed  to  Port 
CHnton  about  the  year  1850,  and  being  a 
shoemaker  and  harness-maker  by  trade, 
worked  a  number  of  years  for  Joseph  Syl- 
vester. In  1 861  he  enlisted  in  the  Thir- 
ty-seventh Regiment,  O.V.  I.,  and  served 
as  sergeant  of  a  company  four  years,  or 
to  near  the  close  of  the  war,  when  on  ac- 
count of  sickness  he  was  honorably  dis- 
charged; he  died  at  Port  Clinton  some 
time  afterward.  His  widow,  who  is  still 
residing  there,  receives  a  pension.  Their 
children  were:  Frances,  John,  Louis  and 
Albert  B.,  of  whom  Frances  married 
Samuel  Wisner,  a  carpenter  at  Port  Clin- 
ton, and  they  have  one  son  living;  Louis, 
a  tinner  by  trade,  married  Carrie  An- 
drews, daughter  of  Peter  Andi^ews,  a  pio- 
neer of  Ottawa  county,  Ohio;  Albert  B. 
is  a  confectioner  at  Port  Clinton,  Ohio. 

John  Orth,  the  subject  proper  of  these 
lines,  attended  Port  Clinton  schools  only, 
and  at  an  early  age  learned  the  tinner's 
trade  with  Harms  &  Bliss,  for  whom  he 
worked  three  years.  He  was  ne.xt  em- 
ployed by  Georjje  E.  Bliss  about  two 
years,  after  which,  in  1883,  he  entered 
into  partnership  with  Mr.  Mizener.  they 
jointly  buying  out  iMr.  Bliss,  and  they 
have  continued  together  in  the  hardware 
business,  doing  an  extensive  local  and 
Island  trade.  Their  store  building  is 
26x66  feet  in  dimensions,  with  additions 
in  the  rear  20x  26,  1 8  x  36  and  20  x  30  feet 
respectively.  Politically  Mr.  Orth  is  a 
Republican,  and  he  has  held  several  civic 
ofhces,  such  as  those  of  township  and  cor- 
poration clerk  and  treasurer,  filling  the 
latter  incumbency  four  years,  while  at  the 
present  time  he  is  a  member  of  the  board 
of  education.  Socially  he  is  affiliated 
with  the  Knights  of  Honor  and  National 
Union;  in  religious  faith  the  family  are 
identified  with  the  German  Lutheran 
Church. 

On  December  3,  1878,  Mr.  Orth  was 


married  at  Port  Clinton  to  Miss  Emma  C. 
Harms,  a  native  of  that  cit)',  born  in 
1858,  daughter  of  William  and  Regina 
Harms,  and  their  children  are  Frank  W. 
and  Estella  May.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Orth 
are  widely  known  and  highly  respected  in 
the  community  in  which  they  live. 


SAMUEL  MILLER,  senior  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  Miller  &  Krei- 
lick,  manufacturers  of  lumber  and 
cooperage  stock,  and  an  enter- 
prising, successful  business  man  of  Salem 
township,  Ottawa  county,  was  born  in 
Schuylkill  county.  Penn.,  August  3,1841, 
to  Samuel  and  Polly  (Zimmerman)  Miller, 
both  natives  of  Pennsylvania,  who  set- 
tled in  Rice  township,  Sandusky  county, 
in  the  year  1858,  and  were  honored  and 
respected  residents  of  that  county  for 
many  years.  Their  family  consisted  of 
eleven  children,  nine  of  whom  are  yet 
living:  Nathan,  residing  in  Sandusky 
county, Ohio;  William, residing  in  Uecatur, 
Ind. ;  Mary,  now  the  wife  of  Solomon 
Linn,  residing  in  Decatur,  Ind. ;  Samuel, 
our  subject;  Fiana,  wife  of  David  Davis, 
of  Fremont,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio;  Isaac, 
residing  in  Ottawa  county;  Rebecca,  now 
the  wife  of  Samuel  Leaser,  of  Sandusky 
county;  Ella,  wife  of  Wallace  Bloom,  of 
Bethlehem,  Northampton  Co.,  Penn.; 
and  David,  who  resides  on  the  homestead 
farm  in  Rice  township,  Sandusky  county. 
Both  the  parents  have  now  been  laid  to 
rest. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  received 
but  the  meager  educational  advantages  of 
a  frontier  period.  He  attended  the  Ger- 
man schools  of  Pennsylvania  for  a  short 
time;  but  his  English  education  has  been 
acquired  chietly  through  his  own  personal 
efforts.  When  but  a  young  lad  he  ap- 
prenticed himself  to  the  trade  of  a  car- 
penter, at  which  he  worked  until  1861, 
when  he  enlisted  in  Companj-  G,  Eighth 
V.  I.,  for  ninety  days,  and  when  his  term 
of  service  had  expired,  having  decided  to 


COMMEMORArrVE  BTOGRAPmCAL  RECORD. 


539 


abandon  military  life,  he  catne  to  Salem 
township  and  engaged  in  the  lumbering 
business,  and  he  has  been  a  continuous 
resident  of  the  township  for  about  thirty 
years. 

In  July,  1869,  Mr.  Miller  was  married 
to  Miss  Amelia  Kreilick,  a  daughter  of 
Adam  and  Elizabeth  (Reit/)  Kreilick,  and 
to  this  union  have  been  born  four  chil- 
dren, viz.:  Cassie  E.,  wife  of  Edward 
Gordon,  of  Oak  Harbor;  Cora  Alice, now 
the  wife  of  Charles  Fought,  also  of  Oak 
Harbor;Alvesta,now  the  wife  of  Laurence 
Leiser,  and  Adam  Franklin,  both  of 
whom  reside  on  the  home  place.  During 
his  long  residence  in  Salem  township  Mr. 
Miller  has  made  many  warm  friends,  who 
recognize  in  him  a  man  of  sound  judg- 
ment and  of  upright  character.  In  his 
political  affiliations  our  subject  is  an  active 
supporter  of  the  Democratic  party;  soci- 
ally, he  is  a  member  of  Oak  Harbor  Lodge 
No.  495,  F.  &.  A.  M. 


CHARLES  E.  PAYNE,  for  the  past 
fifteen  years  a  successful  and  popu- 
lar druggist  of  Port  Clinton,  Ot- 
tawa county,  is  a  native  of  Ohio, 
born  Dec.  4,  1857,  in  Portage  township, 
Ottawa  county,  son  of  Norval  W.  and 
Elizabeth  (Rhodes)  Payne,  well-to-do 
farming  people  of  English  descent,  who 
moved  to  Ohio  from  Winchester,  Va. ,  in 
which  State  the  first  of  the  family  to  come 
from  England  settled. 

Charles  E.  Payne's  grandfather  states 
(February  26,  1854,  in  his  eighty-first 
year)  that  his  great-grandfather  was 
kidnapped  from  England,  and  brought  to 
America,  probably  about  the  year  1700 
(hisgiven  name  is  missing).  His  son  George 
married  Rachel  Cowgill,  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  their  son  Henry,  one  of  nine  children, 
married  Elizabeth  Kootz,  who  came  from 
Germany  about  1764.  Their  son  Jesse, 
one  of  nine  children,  was  twice  married, 
first  time  to  Martha  Dunn,  by  whom  he 
had  nine  children,  of  whom  Martha  (who 


married  William  Gill)  and  Elizabeth  (who 
married  Irving  Johnson)  lived  and  left  de- 
scendants in  the  vicinity  of  Port  Clinton, 
Ohio.  Jesse  Payne's  second  marriage  was 
with  Jane  Long,  a  widow,  and  nine  chil- 
dren were  born  to  them,  of  whom  Benja- 
min D.,  Norval  Wilson,  Isaac  N.  and  A. 
Clarke  came  to  Port  Clinton,  and  engaged 
in  farming.  Benjamin  D.  died  in  1864; 
Isaac  N.  still  lives  on  a  farm  adjacent  to 
Port  Clinton;  A.  Clarke  moved  to  Wichita, 
Kans.,  in  1882. 

Norval  Wilson,  father  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  was  born  in  Virginia  in 
1829,  and  about  1848  came  to  Ohio, 
where  he  met  and  married  Elizabeth 
Rhodes.  She  was  born  in  Winchester, 
Va. ,  in  1828,  and  was  one  of  seven  chil- 
dren of  William  Rhodes,  who  came  from 
near  Leeds,  England.  Norval  W.  and 
Elizabeth  (Rhodes)  Payne  had  a  family 
of  seven  children,  named  respectively: 
William,  Thomas  Wilbur,  Charles  E., 
Angelina  Belle,  Joseph  Clark,  Jennie  E. 
and  Albert  S  ;  of  whom,  William  died  in 
infancy;  Thomas  Wilbur  married  Jennie 
Elvvell,  lives  on  part  of  the  old  home- 
stead in  Portage  township,  and  has  one 
child — Estelle;  Angelina  B.  married  Frank 
Lander,  city  draughtsman,  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  and  has  one  child,  \\'illiam;  Joseph 
Clark  married  Gladis  McDowell,  at  Port 
Clinton,  follows  farming  on  a  part  of  the 
old  homestead,  and  has  one  child — Earl 
P. ;  Jennie  E.  married  Burt  Mooreland, 
and  lives  in  Idaho  Springs,  Colo. ;  Albert 
S.  is  a  physician  and  surgeon  at  East 
Lake,  Manistee  Co.,  Michigan. 

The  subject  of  these  lines,  whose 
name  appears  at  the  opening,  grew  to 
manhood  on  his  father's  farm,  attending 
the  district  schools,  and,  later,  the  schools 
of  Port  Clinton.  He  then  took  a  three- 
years'  course  at  Baldwin  University, 
Berea,  Ohio,  and  later  attended  the  Uni- 
versity of  Michigan,  from  which  latter 
institution  he  graduated  in  pharmacy  in 
1880  Returning  to  Port  Clinton  in  that 
year,  he  bought  the  drug  store  of  George 


540 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPniCAL  RECORD. 


M.  Thayer,  where  he  has  continued  in 
business  during  the  last  fifteen  jears  with 
good  success.  He  was  married  in  1882 
at  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.,  to  Miss  Mary  EHza- 
beth  Snell,  only  daughter  of  E.  W.  and 
May  (Congdon)  Snell.  Mr.  Payne  is  a 
member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  of 
the  National  Union.  In  politics  he  has 
alwas  been  a  Republican,  and  in  religious 
faith  he  is  identified  with  the  Methodist 
Church. 


FRED  \V.  CAMPER,  proprietor  of 
the    leading   grocery   business    in 
Port  Clinton,  Ottawa  county,  is  a 
native  of  Ohio,  born    at    Cincin- 
nati,   March    12,    1855,    a  son   of  F.    W. 
and   Frederika  (Kramer)  Camper. 

In  Berlin,  Germany,  our  subject's 
father  had  been  coachman  for  the  Em- 
peror Frederick  William,  and  in  1S47  he 
emigrated  to  America,  locating  at  Cincin- 
nati, Ohio,  in  the  suburbs  of  which  city 
he  followed  gardening  till  1886,  when  he 
removed  to  Genoa,  where  he  still  resides, 
now  (1895)  aged  eighty  years,  having 
been  born  in  1815.  His  wife  was  born 
in  1822,  and  died  January  25,  1892. 
They  had  seven  children  who  grew  to 
maturity,  named  respectively:  Charles  F., 
Henry  F.,  Lucy,  Fred  W.,  John  A.,  Liz- 
zie and  William  H.  Of  these,  Charles 
F. ,  who  is  an  employe  at  the  Carbon 
Works,  at  Fremont,  Ohio,  married  Car- 
rie Dryer,  and  they  have  four  children; 
Henry  F.,  a  farmer  on  the  old  homestead 
at  Genoa,  married  Eliza  Hoch,  and  has 
five  children;  Lucy  was  married  in  1871 
to  Henry  Hotho,  who  for  several  years 
has  been  foreman  in  a  malt  house  at  Buf- 
falo, N.  Y. ,  and  they  have  seven  children; 
John  A.,  a  farmer  of  Genoa,  married 
Rosa  Ernst,  and  has  two  children;  Lizzie 
married  August  Reeman,  and  lives  on  the 
home  farm;  William  H.,  a  dry-goods 
merchant  of  Genoa,  married  Clara  Enich, 
and  they  have  two  children. 

Fred    W.     Camper,     of    whom    this 


sketch  pertains,  attended  the  common 
schools  of  Genoa,  Ottawa  county,  until 
he  was  eighteen  years  of  age,  and  re- 
mained on  his  father's  farm  until  he  was 
twenty-four.  In  1 880,  in  partnership 
with  his  brother  Charles  F. ,  he  embarked 
in  mercantile  business  at  Genoa,  Ottawa 
county,  but  after  five  years  sold  out  to 
William  Habbler.  In  the  fall  of  1884  he 
was  elected  county  recorder  of  Ottawa 
county,  and  held  that  office  si.x  years.  In 
1 890  he  went  into  the  wholsale  fish  busi- 
ness, as  member  of  the  firm  of  Bense, 
Camper  &  Co.,  but  at  the  end  of  one  year 
he  sold  out  to  William  E.  Bense,  and 
then  traveled  on  the  road  for  the  whole- 
sale house  of  J,  L.  Anthony  &  Co.,  of 
Sandusky,  Ohio,  two  years,  after  which 
he  opened  the  retail  grocery  in  Port  Clin- 
ton, of  which  he  is  sole  proprietor. 

On  September  21,  1882,  Mr.  Camper 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Lutie 
E.  Cole,  a  lady  of  Scotch  descent,  daugh- 
ter of  William  L.  and  Margaret  (Mc- 
Ritchie)  Cole,  the  former  of  whom  is  now 
deceased,  and  three  children  have  blessed 
their  union,  their  names  and  dates  of 
birth  being  as  follows:  Clara  M.,  July  4, 
1884;  Nellie  H.,  June  17,  1885,  and  Carl 
Eugene,  June  27,  1888,  the  first  named 
born  at  Genoa,  the  other  two  at  Port  Clin- 
ton. In  religious  faith  the  family  are  con- 
necled  with  the  M.  E.  Church,  though 
Mr.  Camper  himself  was  reared  a  Lu- 
theran. He  is  a  member  of  the  I.  O. 
O.  F. ,  subordinate  Lodge  and  Encamp- 
ment, and  of  the  National  Union;  politic- 
ally he  is  a  Democrat. 


GUSTAVUS  JAEGER,  senior  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  Jaeger  &  Geor- 
gii,  the  leading  hardware  mer- 
chants of  Elmore,  Ottawa  county, 
was  born  in  Wurtemburg,  Germany, 
April  30,  1838,  and  is  a  son  of  Dr. 
Frederick  and  Louisa  (Unger")  Jaeger,  also 
natives  of  the  Kingdom  of  Wurtemburg. 
The  father  with  his  two  eldest  sons, 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGItAPUICAL  RECORD. 


541 


emigrated  to  America  in  1843.  locating  in 
Albany,  N.  Y. ,  where  lie  was  joined  the 
following  year  by  his  wife  and  the  re- 
maining members  of  the  family.  In  the 
fall  of  1845  the  family  removed  to  Wood - 
ville,  Ohio,  where  the  father  engaged  in 
the  practice  of  his  profession,  and  earned 
the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the  most 
skillful  practitioners  in  his  day.  He  went 
to  Prairie  du  Chien,  Wis.,  in  1S66,  and 
there  continued  in  practice  for  two  years, 
when  he  came  to  Elmore,  where  he  con- 
tinued to  prosecute  his  profession  up  to 
within  a  short  time  of  his  death.  He 
passed  peacefully  away  December  1 3, 
1878,  and  his  faithful  wife  had  gone  to 
her  final  rest  a  few  months  previous,  dy- 
ing September  2,  same  year.  Their 
memory  will  long  be  cherished  by  their 
friends  and  relatives  who  are  the  better 
for  their  having  lived.  Both  the  Doctor 
and  his  wife  were  people  of  culture  and 
taste,  kind  and  benevolent,  esteemed  by 
all  who  knew  them,  and  popular  members 
of  society. 

Our  subject  was  but  si.x  years  old 
when  he  came  to  America,  and  received 
most  of  his  literary  education  in  the  dis- 
trict schools  of  Woodville.  In  1854  he 
entered  the  store  of  Charles  Powers  as 
salesman,  and  after  filling  that  position  for 
one  year  went  to  O.xford,  Marquette  Co., 
Wis.,  where  he  was  engaged  in  the  same 
capacity  in  the  store  of  Pettibone  & 
Jaeger  until  1862,  when  he  became  a 
resident  of  Neenah,  \\'is. ,  for  a  year.  In 
August,  1862,  Mr.  Jaeger  enlisted  in 
Company  I,  Twenty-first  Wis.  V.  I.,  of 
which  he  was  chosen  orderly  sergeant  in 
May,  1863,  and  the  following  month 
was  commissioned  lieutenant.  At  the 
battle  of  Chickamauga,  September  20, 
1863,  he  was  wounded,  after  which  he  re- 
turned to  Woodville,  Ohio,  on  a  fur- 
lough, where  his  wounds  were  attended 
to  by  his  father.  On  his  recovery  in  Jan- 
uary, 1864,  he  rejoined  his  regiment, 
which  went  with  Sherman's  army  on  the 
campaign  from  Chattanooga  to  Atlanta, 


and  after  the  capture  of  Atlanta  was  on 
the  famous  march  to  the  sea,  and  served 
until  the  close  of  the  war.  During  his 
service  Mr.  Jaeger  participated  in  many 
important  engagements,  among  which 
were  the  battles  of  Perry  ville  (Ky.),  Stone 
River  (Tenn.),  and  Chickamauga,  the 
capture  of  Savannah  (Ga),  and  was  with 
his  regiment  at  the  surrender  of  Johnston 
and  his  army  at  Raleigh.  N.  C,  besides 
which  he  was  in  many  other  battles  and 
skirmishes.  After  the  close  of  the  war 
the  regiment  marched  from  North  Caro- 
lina by  way  of  Richmond,  Va.,  to  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  where  it  took  part  in  the 
grand  review  of  Sherman's  army  and  the 
army  of  the  Potomac. 

After  being  mustered  out  at  Milwau- 
kee, Wis.,  June  i,  1865,  Mr.  Jaeger  went 
to  Portage  City,  that  State,  where  he  be- 
came a  salesman  in  the  store  of  Petti- 
bone &  Jaeger;  but  in  the  following  Oc- 
tober returned  to  Ohio,  and  in  Woodville 
commenced  business  on  his  own  account 
in  connection  with  P.  Smith,  under  the 
firm  name  of  Smith  &  Jaeger.  In  the 
fall  of  1867  the  business  was  removed  to 
Boscobel,  Wis.;  but,  in  the  succeeding 
January,  Mr.  Jaeger  retired  from  the 
firm  and  came  to  Elmore,  Ohio.  In 
April,  however,  he  went  to  Lodi.  Wis., 
where  he  formed  a  partnership  with  his 
brother  Ernest,  purchasing  the  interest 
of  a  Mr.  Pettibone.  That  connection  was 
continued  until  April,  1870,  at  which 
time  our  subject  again  came  to  Elmore, 
and  in  June  of  the  same  year  embarked 
in  his  present  business,  having  the  largest 
and  most  complete  stock  of  hardware  in 
the  place.  He  is  ranked  to-day  among 
the  solid  business  men  of  Ottawa  county, 
and  besides  his  store  in  Elmore,  he  also 
has  a  branch  house  in  Genoa,  which  was 
established  in  1876.  It  is  conducted  un- 
der the  firm  style  of  Jaeger  &  Bryant, 
Mr.  Bryant  being  the  manager. 

At  Woodville,  Ohio,  Mr.  Jaeger  was 
united  in  marriage  January  26,  1869, 
with   Miss  Helen   A.    Powers,    who  wa§ 


542 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPniCAL  RECORD. 


born  near  that  city,  October  lo,  1848,  a 
daughter  of  Charles  and  Lydia  A.  (Banks) 
Powers.  Six  children  blessed  their  union, 
their  names  and  dates  of  birth  being  as 
follows:  Lucy  P.,  September  25,  1870; 
Wilhelmina,  March  14,  1872,  died  April 
22.  1884;  C.  Ernest,  July  12,  1876; 
Caroline  L. ,  F"ebruary  29,  1880;  Julia 
H.,  June  5,  18S2;  and  Mary  Margaret, 
January  2,  1892,  died  on  the  17th  of  the 
same  month.  Mr.  Jaeger  takes  an  active 
interest  in  the  welfare  and  advancement 
of  the  community  in  which  he  lives,  has 
filled  the  office  of  township  treasurer,  and 
served  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  edu- 
cation for  twelve  years.  He  is  a  charter 
member  of  Elmore  Lodge,  No.  462,  I. 
O.  O.  P.,  and  also  a  member  of  Robert 
A.  Caldwell  Post,  No.  439,  G.  A.  R. 
With  the  Presbyterian  Church  he  and  his 
family  hold  membership,  and  in  its  work 
he  takes  a  deep  interest;  also  takes  an 
active  part  in  Sunday-school  work  in  the 
county,  and  has  been  president  of  the 
county  S.  S.  Association  for  twelve  years, 
or  more.  Politically  Mr.  Jaeger's  views 
were  in  accordance  with  those  of  the 
Democratic  party  for  many  years,  but  for 
the  past  twelve  years  he  has  been  an  ard- 
ent worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  Prohibi- 
tion party.  True  to  his  friends,  true  to 
his  principles,  and  unyielding  in  his  de- 
fense of  right  and  justice,  his  high  character 
and  integrity  are  appreciated  by  all  who 
know  him  or  have  business  relations  with 
him,  and  his  genial  manner  has  won  him 
hosts  of  friends  among  all  classes  of  citi- 
zens. As  a  soldier  he  did  valiant  service 
for  his  adopted  country,  and  as  a  citizen 
he  is  equally  loyal. 

Mrs.  Jaeger's  maternal  grandmother, 
Mrs.  Pamelia  (Phillips)  (Banks)  Warriner, 
was  born  February  12,  1809,  in  Peters- 
burg, N.  Y.,  daughter  of  Elisha  and  Mary 
(Lewis)  Phillips.  She  was  married  Jan- 
uary I,  1826,  to  David  B.  Banks,  who 
died  in  1838,  and  in  1867  she  married  Mr. 
Warriner,  who  died  in  1879.  She  is  now 
making    her    home    with    Mr.    and    Mrs. 


Jaeger,  and  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty- 
six  is  enjoying  good  health.  She  was  a 
pioneer  of  Seneca  and  Sandusky  counties, 
having  lived  there  at  a  time  when  the  vil- 
lage of  Woodville  was  unknown,  and  the 
county  was  still  a  wilderness  and  a  swamp. 
Her  father  was  born  about  1782,  her 
mother  in  March,  1791,  and  he  was 
drowned  in  the  Conewango  creek,  Penn- 
sylvania, in  1840,  she  dying  in  1886;  he 
served  a  short  time  in  the  war  of  1S12. 
Mrs.  Warriner's  paternal  grandfather, 
'Squire  Phillips,  was  born  about  1752, 
and  he  and  his  wife,  Anna  (Gates),  died 
in  Pennsylvania,  she  preceding  him  sev- 
eral years  to  the  grave.  Her  maternal 
grandfather,  Augustus  Lewis,  was  born 
about  1735,  in  Rhode  Island,  his  wife. 
Ester  Lewis,  about  1745;  both  died  in 
Petersburg,  New  York. 


CHARLES  D.  JOHNSON.  Pomi- 
ncnt  among  the  enterprising,  pros- 
perous and  progressive  fruit  grow- 
ers of  Danbury  township,  Ottawa 
county,  who,  by  willing  heart  and  hands, 
have  attained  an  eviable  position  in  the 
histor}'  of  Ottawa  county,  stands  the 
gentleman  whose  name  here  appears. 

He  was  born  in  the  town  of  West- 
brook,  Middlesex  Co.,  Conn.,  May  13, 
1835,  and  is  a  son  of  William  and  Har- 
riet (Hill)  Johnson,  who  were  also  both 
natives  of  the  Nutmeg  State.  The  father 
died  at  Northford,  Conn. ,  when  Charles  was 
but  a  youth,  the  mother  coming  to  Dan- 
bury  township  soon  after  he  had  located 
here,  and  passed  away  at  his  home,  April 
23,  1894,  at  the  very  advanced  age  of 
ninety-one  years.  In  the  family  were  five 
children,  three  of  whom  still  survive: 
Charles  D. ;  Frederick  A. ,  a  prominent  resi- 
dent of  Danbury  township;  and  William 
G.,  who  makes  his  home  in  Canada. 

Our  subject  was  reared  to  manhood 
in  his  native  town  amidst  the  surround- 
ings of  a  comfortable  home,  and  received 
the    advantages    of    a    liberal    common- 


COMMEMORATIVK  BIOOBAPHICAL  RECORD. 


543 


school  education.  Since  early  life  he  has 
followed  the  vocations  of  fishing  and  farm- 
ing,but  of  lateyearshas  devoted thegreatcr 
part  of  his  time  to  fruit  culture,  which  he 
at  present  conducts  on  an  extensive  scale. 
In  1S58  he  located  in  Danbury  township, 
and  for  thirty-seven  years  has  now  been  a 
continuous  resident,  during  which  time  he 
has  done  much  toward  developing  the  re- 
sources of  the  county,  ever  taking  an  act- 
ive part  in  all  matters  having  for  their 
object  the  advancement  of  the  interests  of 
the  county  and  township. 

In  Danbur}'  township,  February  13, 
1859,  Mr.  Johnson  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Miss  Harriet  Hartshorn,  who 
was  born  in  that  township  December  27, 
1837,  a  daughter  of  Wyatt  and  Jane 
(Kelly)  Hartshorn.  To  this  union  were 
born  seven  children,  six  of  whom  are  yet 
living,  as  follows:  Etta,  born  May  20, 
i860,  is  the  wife  of  Emanuel  Jesse,  a 
resident  of  Danbury  township;  Lottie, 
born  November  18,  1862,  is  the  wife  of 
W.  D.  Preston,  and  they  also  make  their 
home  in  Danbury  township;  Dewitt  C, 
born  July  6,  1864,  lives  at  Lakeside, 
Ottawa  county;  Irwin  C,  born  October 
23,  1865,  is  a  resident  of  Pennsylvania; 
Fletcher  H.,  born  September  26,  1870, 
is  at  present  in  Oregon;  and  Gertrude, 
born  November  10,  1871,  is  a  teacher  in 
the  Lakeside  High  School. 

Mr.  Johnson  is  a  firm  Republican  in 
politics,  always  casting  his  ballot  with 
that  party,  and  socially  is  a  member  of 
Castle  Rock  Lodge,  Knights  of  the  Golden 
Rule,  of  Lakeside.  The  family  attend  the 
Congregational  Church,  and  are  classed 
among  the  best  people  of  the  community, 
worthy  of  any  distinction  that  may  be 
conferred  upon  them. 


JOHN   LUCKEY   has  the  distinction 
of  being  the  first    white  person  born 
in  Ottawa  county,  his  natal  day  be- 
ing April  6,  1824.    His  parents  were 
John  and  Anna    (Wolfly)    Luckey.      His 


maternal  grandfather  was  a  native  of 
France,  his  maternal  grandmother  of 
Germany. 

He  is  the  owner  oi  one  of  the  largest 
and  finest  farms  in  the  county  of  his  na- 
tivity. The  valuable  tract  of  land  of  160 
acres  on  which  he  now  makes  his  home 
has  been  entirely  cleared  and  developed 
by  him.  He  cut  down  the  timber,  dug 
up  the  stumps,  plowed,  planted  and 
fenced  his  land,  and  in  the  course  of  time 
rich  fields  of  grain  replaced  the  once  wild 
tract.  He  also  erected  a  fine  brick  resi- 
dence, spacious  barns  and  other  outbuild- 
ings which  are  models  of  convenience. 
As  time  passed  and  his  financial  resources 
increased  owing  to  his  well-directed  ef- 
forts and  good  business  ability,  he  was 
enabled  to  add  to  his  farm  and  by  pur- 
chase extended  its  bounderies  until  it  now 
comprises  nearly  500  acres.  Much  of 
this  he  rents  in  order  that  he  may  be  free 
from  the  care  of  the  place  and  enjoy  a 
more  quiet  life,  together  with  the  fruits  of 
his  former  toil.  His  home  has  always  been 
in  Harris  township,  and  his  life  has  ever 
been  a  busy  one,  devoted  to  his  business 
interests  and  his  family.  He  has  won  the 
prosperity  that  comes  from  honest  labor, 
and  gained  the  confidence  and  good  will 
of  all  with  whom  he  has  come  in  contact. 
In  politics  he  is  a  supporter  of  the  Repub- 
lican party. 

His  wife  was  born  in  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  July  28,  1833,  and  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools  of  Fremont.  In  1850 
she  became  a  resident  of  Port  Clinton, 
and  in  185 1  was  married  to  George  E. 
Bell,  of  Sandusky  City,  by  whom  she  had 
one  son,  George  E.,  who  is  now  in  busi- 
ness in  Toledo.  They  became  residents 
of  Illinois,  where  Mr.  Bell  soon  after  de- 
parted this  life.  In  1858  was  celebrated 
the  marriage  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Luckey,  in 
Elmore,  Ohio,  and  their  union  has  been 
blessed  with  three  children:  Delia  C. , 
who  was  born  October  31,  1859,  now  the 
wife  of  John  N.  Magee,  a  banker  of  El- 
more; Oscar  L.,  born  April  20,  i86i,  and 


544 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOQRAPmCAL   RECORD. 


Rebecca  M.,  born  May  i,  1863,  and  died 
September  16,  1870.  The  eldest  daugh- 
ter pursired  a  course  of  stud\-  in  Oberlin 
College. 

Mrs.  Luckey's  father,  Halsey  Forger- 
son,  was  born  February  3,  1789,  in 
Orange  county,  N.  Y. ,  and  on  January  3, 
1830,  married  Caroline  Camp,  who  was 
born  August  14,  1804,  daughter  of  David 
Camp,  who  was  born  in  1778.  His  wife 
was  born  in  1787,  and  they  became  the 
parents  of  ten  children,  all  now  deceased 
with  the  exception  of  a  daughter,  who 
reached  the  ripe  old  age  of  ninety-one 
years,  dying  September  30,  1895.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Forgerson  had  a  family  of  four 
children,  and  the  sur\iving  representatives 
are  Mrs.  Ann  Luckey  and  Mrs.  Emily 
Beach.  One  brother,  Oscar  Forgerson, 
D.  D.  S.,  was  born  April  13,  1831,  and 
died  April  28,  1859,  while  Halsey  F., 
born  September  24,  1840,  died  August 
28,  1843.  The  father  of  this  family 
passed  away  in  1840,  but  Mrs.  Forgerson 
died  since  this  was  written,  September 
30.  1895. 


JOSEPH    W.  SYLVESTER,  who   at 
the  advanced  age  of  eighty-five  jears 
is  in  the  enjoyment  of   good  health 
and   possessed    of   a    freshness    and 
vigor  seldom  seen  in  octogenarians,  is  a 
native  of  New  Jersey,  born  April  6,   1810, 
in  Essex  county. 

He  is  a  son  of  Obadiah  and  Mary 
(Wallen)  Sylvester,  who  were  of  English 
descent,  and  the  parents  of  children  as 
follows:  Hannah,  Sarah,  Benjamin,  Oba- 
diah, Jr.,  Wallen.  Joel,  Matilda.  John. 
William.  Phebe  Ann.  Susan  Maria.  Joseph 
W. ,  and  three  who  died  in  infancy. 
Twelve  of  these  grew  to  maturity,  most 
of  them  marrying  in  Ohio,  and  their  de- 
scendants settled  in  different  parts  of  the 
West — Obadiah  in  Tennessee  and  Wallen 
in  Texas.  In  18 14  the  family,  after  the 
death  of  the  father,  moved  to  Franklin 
county,  Ohio,  where  the   mother  died  in 


1823.  and  our  subject  lived  nine  years, 
thence  removing  to  Licking  county,  thence 
to  Delaware  county,  remaining  three  j-ears 
in  each,  after  which,  in  1828,  he  went  to 
near  Fremont,  Sandusky  county,  and 
from  there,  in  1830,  to  Port  Clinton, 
where  he  has  since  made  his  home.  Oba- 
diah Sjlvester,  father  of  our  subject,  died 
in  Licking  county,  Ohio,  when  the  latter 
was  five  years  old.  He  was  a  Revolu- 
tionary soldier  from  his  native  State,  Ver- 
mont, serving  seven  years,  as  did  also 
three  of  his  brothers.  When  they  ex- 
pressed a  desire  to  fight  for  the  independ- 
ence of  their  country  their  mother  ex- 
claimed: "Go,  my  sons,  and  fight  for 
your  Country  and  Liberty!  " 

Joseph  W.  Sylvester,  the  subject  pro- 
per of  these  lines,  learned  the  tanning 
business  with  his  brother  William  in  Dela- 
ware county,  Ohio,  and  afterward  worked 
for  him  in  Port  Clinton  from  1830  to 
1840,  in  which  latter  year  he  was  elect- 
ed county  treasurer,  serving  one  term. 
Afterward,  from  1844  to  i860,  he  car- 
ried on  a  boot  and  shoe  business,  and 
from  i860  to  1872  a  harness  business  in 
the  same  city,  when,  having  been  appoint- 
ed deputy  United  States  collector  of  cus- 
toms for  the  port  of  Clinton,  he  retired 
from  the  trade,  and  for  eight  years,  from 
1872  to  1880,  filled  that  incumbency. 
Since  the  year  1868  he  has  been  fire  in- 
surance agent,  representing  the  "  Home," 
of  Columbus,  the  "  Clevelanti,"  of  Cleve- 
land, Ohio,  and  the  "  Star,  "of  New  York. 
He  now  represents  the  "Phenix,"  of 
Brooklyn,  and  the  "Pueen,"  of  New 
York. 

On  March  i.  1S49.  Mr.  Sylvester  was 
married  at  Toledo,  Ohio,  to  Mi.ss  Eliza 
Correll,  who  was  born  in  Tuscarawas 
county,  Ohio,  April  i,  1826,  daughter  of 
Daniel  and  Sarah  (Officer)  Correll.  The 
children  of  this  union  were  Hattie  E., 
John  Wesley,  Mary  Eva,  Edward  J.,  El- 
mer G.,  and  Susan  M..  only  the  first  two 
of  whom  are  now  living.  Hattie  E.  is 
living  with  her  parents  at  the  old  home- 


COMMEMOBATIVE  BIOGRAPmCAL  RECORD. 


545 


stead;  John  W.,  who  is  a  conductor  on 
the  L.  S.  &  M.  S.  R.  R.  was  married  in 
187S,  at  Port  Clinton,  to  Lucy  Gates,  by 
whom  he  has  three  children — William 
Ray,  Nora  and  Wailen  Joseph.  Our  sub- 
ject and  his  faithful  wife  have  been  resi- 
dents of  Port  Clinton  a  great  many  years, 
as  will  be  seen,  and  are  held  in  universal 
respect.  They  are  consistent  and  promi- 
nent members  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  at 
Port  Clinton,  which  they  joined  in  1841 ; 
in  politics  Mr.  Sylvester  was  originally  a 
whig,  arterward,  on  the  organization  of 
the  party  becoming  an  equally  ardent  Re- 
publican. 


WILLIAM  A.  HOLBROOK.  As 
an  earl}'  pioneer  of  this  State,  a 
well-known  agriculturist  of  Clay 
township,  and  a  brave  veteran 
of  the  Civil  war,  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
is  well  worthy  of  place  in  this  volume,  in 
which  is  preserved  the  record  of  many  of 
the  men  who  have  aided  in  placing  the 
"  Buckeye  State  "  in  the  proud  position 
which  she  now  holds.  A  man  who  has 
seen  many  vicissitudes  of  fortune,  yet  has 
always  borne  himself  courageously,  this 
honored  citizen,  with  the  faithful  wife, 
who  has  traveled  by  his  side  without  fal- 
tering for  these  many  years,  is  now  tak- 
ing his  ease,  happily  enjoj'ing  the  sunset 
of  life  after  the  heat  and  burden  of  the 
day. 

Our  subject  is  the  son  of  Josiah  G. 
and  Clarissa  (Felton)  Holbrook,  who 
were  natives  of  Massachusetts  and  Penn- 
sylvania, respectively,  and  his  birth  took 
place  in  Groton  township,  Huron  (now 
Erie)  county,  Ohio,  March  12,  1823. 
His  education  was  very  limited,  as  the 
school  facilities  at  that  early  day  were 
exceedingly  meagre.  A  rough  log  cabin 
with  puncheon  floor  and  slab  seats,  with 
an  aperture  between  logs,  covered  with 
greased  paper  doing  duty  for  windows, 
very  few  and  simple  text  books  and  a 
teacher   who    probably    knew    but    little 


more  than  the  pupils,  were  not  great  in- 
centives to  learning;  yet  from  such  school- 
houses  have  emanated  some  of  the  great 
minds  who  have  controlled  the  nation. 
At  twelve  years  of  age  our  subject  was 
thought  old  enough  to  take  up  the  burden 
of  life,  and  began  work  on  the  farm  with 
his  father.  At  this  he  labored  until  eigh- 
teen 3'ears  old,  when  he  learned  the  trade 
of  a  blacksmith,  serving  as  an  apprentice 
for  five  years.  He  then  worked  as  a 
journeyman  for  a  year  and  a  half,  when 
his  eyesight  became  affected  and  he  was 
forced  to  give  up  the  business.  He  next 
took  up  the  trade  of  a  carpenter  and 
builder,  although  he  had  no  previous 
knowledge  of  it,  and  also  worked  as  a 
shipwright  for  a  period  of  three  years. 
He  then  tried  sailing  on  the  lakes,  and  at 
one  time  commanded  a  boat  plying  on 
the  Wabash  Canal.  In  1852,  he  went 
to  Michigan,  where  he  took  any  employ- 
ment that  came  to  hand,  from  that  of  a 
common  laborer,  to  that  of  a  contractor 
and  builder.  He  remained  there  until 
enlisting  September  3,  1862,  in  Company 
A,  Third  Michigan  Cavalry.  With  his 
regiment  he  traveled  over  a  good  portion 
of  the  Southern  States,  and  on  March  12, 
1863,  in  the  engagement  at  Island  No. 
10,  he  was  shot  in  the  left  arm,  the  bul- 
let passing  through  his  shoulder  and 
disabling  him.  He  was  sent  to  the  hospi- 
tal, where  he  remained  one  month,  and 
then  receiving  leave  of  absence,  went  to 
his  father's  house  in  Sandusky  county, 
where  his  wife  was  staying.  After  the 
expiration  of  his  month's  furlough,  he 
returned  to  Camp  Chase  in  July,  but  his 
wound  still  being  troublesome  he  was 
discharged  in  August,  as  physically  unable 
for  duty.  On  leaving  the  army  Mr.  Hol- 
brook spent  a  short  time  in  Sandusky 
county  and  then  came  to  Clay  township, 
locating  at  Genoa,  where  he  was  engaged 
in  the  cooper's  business  for  three  years. 
At  the  end  of  that  time  he  sold  out  and 
purchased  eighty  acres  of  timberland  in 
a  part  of  the  same  township,  which  is  now 


546 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Allen  township.  At  that  time  there  were 
only  three  log  cabins  in  the  vicinity,  no 
roads,  no  schools,  nothing  to  foretell  the 
great  future  in  store  for  the  State  and 
county.  With  the  energy  and  industry 
so  characteristic  of  those  grand  old  pio- 
neers, our  subject  at  once  began  work, 
and  in  a  short  time  had  built  a  cabin  and 
cleared  fifteen  acres  of  the  land.  Be- 
coming dissatisfied  with  his  location  he 
sold  this  place  and  bought  forty  acres 
in  another  part  of  Clay  township.  This 
was  also  tiiiiberland,  and  he  began  the 
work  of  carving  out  a  home  in  the  wilder- 
ness. By  degrees  the  trees  were  felled, 
orchards  planted,  fields  tilled  and  soon  a 
comfortable  dwelling  house,  with  its  ac- 
companying barns  and  outhouses,  trans- 
formed the  place  into  a  home  worthy  its 
industrious  occupants.  With  his  own 
hands  Mr.  Holbrook  erected  all  the  build- 
ings upon  the  f)lace,  and  with  the  aid  of 
his  devoted  wife  has  secured  the  pleasant 
home  where  they  are  spending  their  later 
years,  surrounded  by  their  children,  and 
happy  in  the  consciousness  of  well-spent 
hves. 

On  August  19,  1849,  our  subject  was 
married  in  Sherman  township,  Huron 
county,  to  Miss  Nancy  Murry,  and  to  them 
have  come  four  children,  viz. :  LcwcUa 
A.,  born  in  Huron  count)',  June  i,  1850, 
died  at  New  Buffalo,  Mich.,  August  29, 
1857;  Naomi,  born  November  22,  1856, 
at  New  Buffalo,  and  educated  in  Clay 
township,  was  married  to  George  M. 
Pierson,  who  was  killed  in  1892,  in  a 
railroad  accident  at  St.  Louis  (she  has  one 
child,  Lillia,  a  graduate  teacher  at  Port 
Clinton,  where  they  reside);  Jennie  was 
born  October  9,  1865,  in  Clay  township, 
where  she  attended  school,  and  was  mar- 
ried June  8,  1894,  to  Elmer  Rue,  who  is 
in  the  oil  business  at  Gibsonburg,  San- 
dusky county  (they  have  no  children); 
Eleazer  M.,  born  April  29,  1869,  received 
his  education  in  Genoa,  and  was  married 
August  18,  1893.  to  Eiinna  Ulrich, daugh- 
ter of  Charles  Ulrich,  a  farmer  of  Clay 


township  (one  child  has  come  to  them, 
Annie  Lewella,  born  May  14,  1895).' 

Josiah  G.  Holbrook,  father  of  our 
subject,  was  born  March  8,  1796,  in  New 
York  State,  where  he  was  a  farmer.  In 
1815  he  came  to  Ohio,  locating  in  Groton 
township,  Huron  (now  Erie)  county,  and 
fanning  there  for  twelve  years;  he  tfien  re- 
moved to  Sandusky  county,  and  there 
resided  until  just  before  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  Michigan  in  1882.  He 
was  first  married  in  1815,  in  the  State  of 
New  York,  to  Deborah  Olds,  by  whom  he 
had  three  children:  Alvina,  Silas  and 
Rachel.  His  wife  died  in  Huron  county 
December  17,  1819,  and  on  October  22, 
1820,  he  was  again  married,  this  time  to 
Clarissa  Felton,  daughter  of  John  Felton, 
of  Sherman  township,  Huron  county.  To 
this  marriage  children  were  born  as  fol- 
lows: Deborah,  July  17,  1S21  (died  No- 
vember 25,  1 822);  William  A.,  March  12, 
1823;  Erastus  F.,  November  21,  1824; 
Lucinda,  September  2,  1826  (died  August 
25,  1827);  Margaret,  July  24,  1828;  So- 
phia, March  26,  1832;  Josiah.  born  July 
10,  1830  (died  in  1851);  Samuel,  April 
25,  1836  (died  October  25,  1836);  Henry, 
born  August  26,  1838;  one  child  died  in 
infancy.  The  mother  of  this  family  died 
in  Sandusky  count}'  in  May,  1872. 

James  Murry,  the  father  of  Mrs.  Will- 
iam Holbrook,  was  a  native  of  Ireland, 
and  came  to  this  country  when  a  lad  of 
sixteen,  learning  the  blacksmith's  trade  in 
New  York,  and  working  there  until  com- 
ing to  Ohio,  where  he  located  in  Huron 
county  and  followed  his  trade.  He  was 
married  about  18 14  to  Miss  Almira  Slater, 
and  they  became  the  parents  of  five  chil- 
dren, viz. :  John,  Naomi,  Nancy  (Mrs. 
Holbrook),  James,  and  Eleazer  (who  died 
in  April,  1865).  Mr.  Murry  died  in  1840 
in  Huron  county.  His  wife  passed  away 
July  20,  1895,  at  the  ripe  old  age  of 
eighty-nine  years. 

Mr.  Holbrook  is  a  strong  supporter  of 
the  Republican  party,  from  principle,  and 
has  no  aspirations  for  office,  never  having; 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


547 


accepted  even  the  smallest  gift  in  that 
way  that  could  be  conferred  upon  him. 
He  is  content  to  do  his  duty  for  the  sake 
of  right,  and  commands  the  respect  and  es- 
teem of  all  who  know  him.  He  belongs  to 
Elliott  Wyman  Post  No.  39,  G.  A.  R.,  and 
in  religious  connection  both  he  and  his  wife 
are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  attending  services  at  Genoa. 


OH.  THOMAS,  M.  D.,  physician 
and  surgeon,  F"remont,  Sandusky 
county,  was  born  in  Findlay,  Han- 
cock Co.,  Ohio,  January  14,  1859, 
a  son  of  James  B.  and  Louisa  H.  (Ab- 
rams)  Thomas. 

The  father  of  our  subject,  a  native  of 
Virginia,  was  born  in  1804,  came  to  Ohio 
in  1 818,  and  located  in  Gallia  county. 
There  he  remained  until  after  his  mar- 
riage, when  he  removed  to  Hancock  coun- 
ty, where  he  opened  up  a  farm  on  which 
he  resided  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
December  5,  1877.  His  wife,  who  was 
also  a  Virginian,  born  of  Huguenot  ances- 
try, died  at  the  old  homestead  in  Findlay, 
April  6,  1863.  They  had  ten  children — 
five  sons  and  five  daughters — a  record  of 
them  being  as  follows:  Nannie  is  the  wife 
of  Alexander  S.  Skelley,  of  Ottawa,  Ohio; 
Caroline  is  the  wife  of  William  Ramsey, 
of  Findlay,  Ohio;  Martha  is  the  wife  of 
William  Glauner,  also  of  Findlay,  Ohio; 
Jennie  died  at  the  age  of  nineteen;  Hat- 
tie  is  the  wife  of  Ambrose  Thomas,  of 
McComb,  Ohio;  John  A.  is  a  contractor, 
of  Findlay,  Ohio;  James  N.,  who  was  a 
grocer,  of  Findlay,  Ohio,  died  Septem- 
ber 6,  1895;  Percy  C. ,  is  a  farmer,  of 
Findlay,  Ohio;  Alexander  P.  is  a  farmer, 
of  Weston,  Ohio;oursubject  is  the  young- 
est, and  all  are  yet  living  except  Jennie. 
Dr.  Thomas  was  reared  in  Findlay, 
Ohio,  educated  in  the  Findlay  public 
schools,  the  Normal  School  at  Ada.  Ohio, 
also  the  Ohio  University,  at  Delaware, 
Ohio,  and  taught  school  for  four  consecu- 
tive winters  in  Hancock  county.      In  1875 


he  began  the  study  of  medicine,  and  in 
1876  he  matriculated  at  the  Ohio  Medi- 
cal College,  Cincinnati,  from  which  he 
graduated  with  the  iir.st  honors  of  his 
class  of  104  members,  winning  the  Faculty 
prize,  consisting  of  a  fine  microscope, 
March  i,  1882.  He  located  the  same 
year  in  Fremont,  for  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine, and  has  since  built  up  an  extensive 
clientele. 

On  June  6,  1888,  Dr.  Thomas  mar- 
ried Jennie  A.  Rawson,  youngest  daughter 
of  Jos.  L.  Rawson,  whose  family  history 
appears  elsewhere.  Dr.  Thomas  is  a 
member  of  the  Northwestern  Ohio  Med- 
ical Association,  also  of  the  Ohio  Medical 
Association,  and  a  charter  member  of 
Fremont  Lodge,  No.  204,  Knights  of 
Pythias. 


SAMUEL  A.    MAGRUDER,    man- 
ager of  the  S.  A.  Magruder  &  Co. 
banking  house.  Port  Clinton,    Ot- 
tawa  county,   is  a   native  of  that 
city,  born  October  8,   1843. 

James  H.  Magruder,  his  father,  was  a 
native  of  Maryland,  born,  in  1820,  in 
Calvert  county,  where  he  was  reared  un- 
til he  was  about  fifteen  years  old,  his 
elementary  education  being  received  there. 
He  then  attended  school  at  W'ashington, 
D.  C. ,  and  at  Gambler,  Ohio,  at  which 
latter  city  he  was  graduated.  He  then 
studied  law  in  Holmes  county,  Ohio, 
where  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  In 
1 84 1  he  came  to  Port  Clinton,  where  he 
practiced  law  up  to  the  time  of  his  death, 
which  occurred  April  15,  1888.  He 
became  an  important  factor  in  the  affairs 
of  Ottawa  county,  which  he  served  as 
prosecuting  attorney  several  years.  In 
1874,  in  connection  with  his  son,  Samuel 
A.,  he  established  what  is  now  known  as 
the  S.  A.  Magruder  &  Co.'s  Bank,  at  Port 
Clinton,  which  has  always  enjoyed  the 
reputation  of  doing  a  safe  and  conserva- 
tive business.  On  December  27,  1842, 
James   H.  Magruder  was  married  to  Miss 


548 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHIGAL  RECORD. 


Elizabeth  Holliiishead,  who  was  born,  in 
1S25,  in  Ohio,  on  Portage  river,  daughter 
of  Samuel  and  Mary  (Myers)  Hollinshead, 
and  a  family  of  children  was  born  to  this 
union.  The  mother  is  yet  living  in  Port 
Clinton,  hale  and  hearty,  and  ever  taking 
a  lively  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the 
family. 

The  subject  proper  of  these  lines, 
whose  name  appears  at  the  opening,  at- 
tended the  Port  Clinton  schools  until  he 
was  fourteen  years  old,  completing  his 
education  at  the  Sandusky  High  School, 
where  he  was  graduated  in  June,  1859, 
after  which  he  entered  the  business  house 
of  C.  C.  Keech,  dealer  in  fur,  wool,  hides 
etc.,  Sandusky.  Here  he  remained  some 
sixteen  years,  or  until  1874,  when  he  re- 
turned to  Port  Clinton.  Here  on  July 
1st,  of  that  year,  in  conjunction  with  his 
father,  he  opened  what  is  now  known  as 
the  S.  A.  Magruder  &  Co.'s  Bank,  of 
which  he  has  since  been  manager.  For 
several  years  he  has  been  treasurer  of  the 
Port  Clinton  Board  of  Education,  and  has 
in  many  other  ways  proved  himself  a  use- 
ful and  progressive  citizen. 

On  October  19,  1876,  Samuel  A. 
Magruder  was  united  ,in  marriage  with 
Miss  Ella  C.  Mott,  who  was  born  March 
14,  185 1,  in  Upper  Sandusky.  Ohio, 
daughter  of  Judge  C.  K.  Mott,  of  that 
city,  and  three  children  have  been  born  to 
them,  their  names  and  dates  of  birth  be- 
ing as  follows:  Eleanor  E.,  October  19, 
1S78;  Mary  Augusta,  September  14, 
1882  (died  December  25,  1885);  and  Jes- 
sie Dorothea,  February  22,  1886.  In 
religious  faith  Mr.  Magruder  is  an  Epis- 
copalian, but  at  present  is  identified  with 
the  U.  B.  Church. 


JOHN  H.  MAGEE  is  one  of  the  pio- 
neers of  Ottawa  county,  not  only  in 
the  settlement   but  also  in   its  busi- 
ness interests.      He  established  the 
first  bank  in  Ottawa  county,  and  is  recog- 
nized as  an  able  financier  whose   honor- 


able business  methods  have  gained  him 
the  confidence  and  respect  of  the  entire 
community.  He  was  born  in  New  York, 
September  15,  1833,  and  is  a  son  of 
James  and  Mary  (Mjers)  Magee,  the  for- 
mer of  whom  was  born  in  the  Empire 
State  in  1786,  the  latter  at  about  the 
same  date.  In  1838  they  emigrated  west- 
ward to  Sandusky  count}',  Ohio,  where 
they  purchased  a  farm  and  in  this  State 
spent  their  remaining  days.  The  pater- 
nal grandfather  of  our  subject,  who  was  a 
native  of  Scotland,  when  only  ten  years 
of  age  ran  away  from  home,  boarded  a 
man-of-war,  and  for  si.\  years  remained 
on  that  vessel.  He  then  went  to  New 
York  City,  and  spent  his  remaining  days 
in  this  country. 

The  subject  proper  of  this  sketch  was 
reared  on  the  old  home  farm  and  ac- 
quired his  education  in  a  log  schoolhouse 
with  slab  seats  and  other  primitive  fur- 
niture. At  the  age  of  twenty  he  started 
out  in  life  for  himself,  buying  his  time 
of  his  father.  He  was  first  employed  as 
a  laborer  on  the  Lake  Shore  railroad,  help- 
ing to  grade  the  southern  division.  W'hen 
this  was  completed  he  secured  a  clerk- 
ship with  C.  H.  Haines,  of  Fremont, 
Ohio,  for  whom  he  worked  two  years, 
and  was  then  employed  by  another  firm 
of  the  same  place  for  si.\  years.  While 
residing  there  he  was  married,  in  1856,  to 
Miss  Anna  Shepard,  of  Huron  county, 
Ohio,  and  to  them  was  born  a  son,  John 
N.,  in  1857.  He  is  now  serving  as  cash- 
ier in  the  Bank  of  Elmore,  and  is  a  pro- 
gressive business  man.  He  married  the 
only  daughter  of  John  Lucky,  who  was 
the  first  white  male  child  born  in  Ottawa 
county.  Mrs.  Magee  died  in  1855,  and 
in  1858  Mr.  Magee  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Miss  Sarah  Tench,  of  Erie  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  and  to  them  have  been  born 
four  children:  Cyrus,  Clarence,  Ralph 
and  Grace. 

In  1 86 1  Mr.  Magee  removed  from 
Fremont  to  Hessville,  Sandusky  Co., 
Ohio,  where  he  engaged  in   merchandis- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


549 


ing,  but  his  residence  in  that  place  cov- 
ered a  period  of  only  fifteen  months.  He 
then  sold  out  and  came  to  Elmore,  where 
he  bought  out  Mr.  Rider,  and  in  1864 
established  himself  again  in  the  mercan- 
tile business,  which  he  continued  until  a 
period  of  fifteen  years  had  elapsed.  Once 
more  he  sold  out,  and  his  next  enterprise 
was  in  the  grain  and  pork  business,  buy- 
ing and  selling  on  an  extensive  scale  for 
six  years.  He  then  extended  his  opera- 
tions by  adding  to  this  the  banking  bus- 
iness, and  controlled  both  interests  for 
two  years;  but  finding  his  attention  large- 
ly taken  up  with  the  latter,  he  placed  the 
grain  business  in  care  of  his  son,  while  he 
is  devoting  his  energies  to  banking.  He 
also  owns  a  large  stave  factory,  which 
is  managed  by  his  younger  son.  He 
is  a  highly  enterprising  and  successful 
business  man,  whose  careful  management, 
well-directed  efforts  and  honorable  deal- 
ing have  won  him  the  confidence  of  all 
concerned,  and  made  him  one  of  the 
most  successful  of  Ottawa  county's  citi- 
zens. He  is  highly  esteemed,  and  his 
fellow  townsmen  showed  their  apprecia- 
tion of  his  worth  and  ability  by  electing 
him  to  the  office  of  county  treasurer  of 
Ottawa  county,  in  which  capacity  he 
served  for  four  years,  discharging  his 
duties  with  credit  to  himself  and  satisfac- 
tion to  his  constituents. 


JOHN  NEWMAN,  retired  farmer,  of 
Fremont,     Sandusky    county,     is    a 
native  of  York  county,  Penn.,  born 
in  November,  1809,  son  of  John  and 
Eve  (Brenneman)  Newman. 

John  Newman,  Sr. ,  who  was  a  weaver, 
died  in  York  county  at  the  age  of  sixty, 
and  his  wife  passed  away  in  Sandusky 
county,  Ohio,  when  aged  eighty.  His 
(John's)  father,  Henry  Newman,  was 
born  in  Saxony,  emigrated  to  America 
and  settled  in  New  York  State.  John 
Newman,  Sr. ,  was  drafted  in  the  war  of 
i8i2,    at   Little    York,    Penn.,    and  saw 


some  military  service.  His  children  were: 
Michael,  a  grocer  and  baker,  who  died  in 
Fremont  at  the  age  of  thirty-two;  John, 
our  subject;  Lydia,  who  died  unmarried 
at  the  age  of  twenty-six;  Polly,  who  died 
in  Pennsylvania,  wife  of  John  Carr;  and 
Catharine,  who  first  married  David  Bur- 
ger (who  was  sheriff  of  Sandusky  county 
two  terms),  and  after  his  death  wedded 
Patrick  Graham,  who  died  at  Toledo, 
Ohio,  in  1873. 

John  Newman,  our  subject,  was 
reared  in  Pennsylvania  up  to  the  age  of 
twenty  years,  and  had  charge  of  a  distil- 
lery. In  1S36  he  came  to  Ohio,  locat- 
ing at  Tiffin,  the  following  spring  coming 
to  Lower  Sandusky,  in  which  village  he 
established  a  grocery  and  provision  store. 
About  the  year  1S40,  when  his  brother 
died,  he  sold  out  and  he  and  his  sisters 
found  work  in  other  places.  On  April  8, 
1841,  he  married  at  Fremont,  Ohio, 
Margaretta  Livingstine,  of  Canton,  Ohio, 
who  was  born  January  31,  1822.  She 
was  a  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth 
(Wymen)  Livingstine,  natives  of  Alsace, 
France,  and  members  of  the  Lutheran 
Church,  who  came  to  America,  and  set- 
tled in  Riley  township,  Sandusky  Co., 
Ohio,  where  the  father  died  at  the  age  of 
seventy-seven,  and  the  mother  when  sixty- 
eight  years  of  age.  They  had  a  family 
of  seven  children:  Sarah,  wife  of  George 
Hilt,  of  Sandusky  county  (both  now  de- 
ceased); Lizzie,  who  died  in  childhood 
on  the  ocean;  Barbara,  deceased  wife  of 
Henry  Huffman,  of  Jackson  township; 
Margaretta,  wife  of  our  subject;  Anna, 
who  died  in  childhood;  Elizabeth,  de- 
ceased wife  of  George  Hendricks;  and 
Charles,  living  in  Riley  township.  Mrs. 
John  Newman's  grandfather,  Charles 
Livingstine,  was  mayor  of  a  small  village 
in  Germany  for  about  thirty  years.  He 
was  an  Englishman  by  birth,  and  settled 
in  Alsace  to  avoid  service  in  the  English 
army;  he  and  his  wife,  Barbara,  died  in 
Germany. 

John  Newman  and  his  wife  have  lived 


550 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


on  the  same  lot,  No.  621  Croghan  street, 
Fremont,  ever  since  their  marriage,  a 
period  of  fifty-five  years.  He  followed 
farming  and  dealing  in  real  estate;  bought 
new  farms,  cleared  them  up,  made  im- 
provements, sold  the  timber,  and  then 
disposed  of  the  farms  at  a  profit,  and  he 
is  now  classed  as  one  of  the  wealthy  citi- 
zens of  Fremont.  The  children  of  John 
and  Margaretta  Newman  were:  John, 
born  March  31,  1842,  and  died  in  1880; 
Catharine  E..  born  August  14,  1845,  wife 
of  Charles  Boyer,  whose  children  are — 
Hattie  (widow  of  Eugene  Wagner),  Jennie 
(wife  of  James  \\'caver,  and  has  one  child 
—  Roy),  Minnie  (wife  of  Michael  Wolf, 
and  has  one  child — Hazel  Corinne).  Katie 
(wife  of  James  Wolf,  and  has  one  child — 
James,  Jr.),  Charles,  Harry  and  Burt; 
Mary  L.,  born  July  10,  1847,  widow  of 
W^iliiam  Forsythe,  whose  children  are 
John  (e.\-deputy  county  clerk,  book- 
keeper now  in  June's  gristmill;  he  married 
Minnie  Moore),  Robert  H.  (in  the  livery 
business,  at  Fremont,  Ohio;  he  married 
Mabel  Dieffenbaugh,  December  25,  1895); 
Margaret  Evaline  (who  married  Fred 
Birdsell,  May  25,  1895);  Lydia  Ann,  born 
November  14,  1851,  died  in  September, 
1885;  and  Charles  J.,  born  November  16, 
1854,  who  was  educated  in  the  city 
schools,  and  attends  to  the  general  busi- 
ness interests  of  the  family  (he  is  unmar- 
ried). Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Newman  are, 
perhaps,  the  oldest  couple  now  residing  in 
Fremont.  They  celebrated  their  golden 
wedding  April  8,   1891. 


WILLIAM  SCHWANE.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  who  resides 
in  Ciibsonburg,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, is  the  proprietor  of  a  meat 
market  and  a  sample  room,  as  well  as  the 
owner  of  a  farm,  and  he  has  been  success- 
ful in  all  these  lines,  owing  to  his  energy 
and  perseverance  and  the  reputation 
which  he  has  acquired  as  an  honest,  up- 
right man. 


He  was  born  October  30,  1850,  in 
Wood  count}',  this  State,  a  son  of  Henry 
and  Marie  (Westerfeldt)  Schwane,  natives 
of  Germany.  On  coming  to  America 
they  settled  in  Wood  county,  and  when 
our  subject  was  a  little  over  one  year  old 
his  father  was  killed  by  a  tree  falling  on 
him  when  he  was  chopping  in  the  woods. 
The  mother  was  fortunately  spared  to 
see  her  little  family  grow  up  to  be  re- 
spected citizens,  and  she  died  in  Decem- 
ber, 1877,  at  the  age  of  si.\t3-two  years, 
happy  in  the  consciousness  of  having 
reared  her  children  in  paths  of  rectitude, 
and  of  having  borne  the  responsibilities  of 
her  busy  life  with  unfailing  fidelitj'.  Her 
remains  rest  in  Frieding  township,  W^ood 
county.  The  record  of  the  children  is 
as  follows:  Henry  resides  in  Wood  coun- 
ty; Ernst  died  in  German)';  Kasper  died 
in  Wood  county;  Frank  and  Fred  live  in 
Wood  county;  \\'illiam  is  the  subject  of 
this  sketch. 

Mr.  Schwane  grew  to  manhood  in  the 
place  of  his  birth,  where  he  accjuired  his 
education  at  the  German  Lutheran 
schools.  He  has  always  been  an  exceed- 
ingly busy  man.  For  twenty-two  years 
he  ran  a  harvesting  machine,  and  for  four 
years  operated  a  sawmill.  He  purchased 
a  farm  in  Madison  township,  two  and  a 
half  miles  west  of  Gibsonburg,  which  he 
carried  on  for  six  years,  and  still  owns 
eighty  acres  of  land  in  the  center 
of  the  great  oil  region  of  Ohio.  He 
has  sunk  two  wells  on  this  property  which 
produce  twenty  barrels  of  oil  per  day. 

On  May  i,  1873,  Mr.  Schwane  was 
married  to  Miss  Caroline  Borckhelding,  of 
Woodville  township.  Sandusky,  county  and 
they  have  had  five  children:  Carrie,  born 
January  31,  1874,  who  married  Charles 
Westerhou.se  (she  died  August  6,  1895, 
leaving  one  child  four  months  old) ;  Henry, 
who  died  when  a  child;  Frederick,  W'ill- 
iam  and  Frank.  Mr.  Schwane  is  a  man 
of  more  than  average  intelligence  and  in- 
formation, and  is  active  and  zealous  in  all 
things  pertaining  to  the  public  good.     He 


\ar>'^    Ly  C  J^  ^tj  a/)  i^ 


COMMEMORATIVE  BTOGRAPEICAL  RECORD. 


551 


served  for  several  years  as  trustee  of 
Madison  township,  and  is  the  present 
treasurer  of  the  corporation  of  Gibson- 
burg.  In  pohtics  he  is  a  Democrat,  and 
he  is  a  prominent  member  of  the  Luther- 
an Church.  He  is  also  president  of  the 
German  Aid  Society. 


w 


ILLIAM  B.  SHELDON,  retired 
merchant,  of  Fremont,  Sandusky 
count}',  was  born  in  East  I^upert, 
Bennington  Co.,  Vt.,  Novem- 
ber 28,  18 18,  son  of  David  and  Sarah 
(Dunton)  Sheldon. 

DavidjSheldon  was  born  in  East  Ru- 
pert, \'t.,  December  i,  1785,  was  a  farm- 
er by  occupation,  and  died  October  i, 
1842,  on  the  larm  where  he  was  bcrn. 
Sarah  Dunton  was  born  at  Dorset,  Ben- 
nington Co.,  Vt.,  November  26,  1790, 
and  died  October  11,  1828.  Their  chil- 
dren were:  Joel,  born  September  27.  1 8  i  i , 
who  was  a  farmer,  and  is  now  li\ing  re- 
tired in  the  town  of  Pawlet,  \'t. ;  William 
B.,  our  subject;  Thaddeus  D.,  born  De- 
cember 5,  1824,  died  in  May,  1855  (he 
was  born  in  East  Rupert,  and  later  lived 
ill  Pawlet,  Rutland  Co.,  Vermont). 

William  B.  Sheldon  was  reared  on  a 
farm  at  East  Rupert  until  seventeen  years 
old,  when  he  went  to  Pawlet,  Vt.,  to  clerk 
in  a  store.  He  remained  there  as  clerk  un- 
til 1839,  when  he  became  a  member  of 
the  firm  of  William  B.  Sheldon  &  Co., 
dealers  in  general  merchandise,  continu- 
ing as  such  for  about  one  year,  when  he 
became  successor  to  the  firm,  and  con- 
ducted the  business  until  1852,  when  he 
sold  out.  In  May,  1853,  he  located  in 
Fremont,  Ohio,  becoming  a  member  of 
the  firm  of  Roberts  &  Sheldon.  deaUrrs 
in  hardware,  which  partnership  lasted 
until  1869,  when  both  sold  out.  In 
1872  Mr.  Sheldon  became  actively  inter- 
ested as  a  stockholder  and  worker  in  the 
Fremont  Car  Company.  This  was  subse- 
(luently  changed  to  The  I-'remont  Harv- 
ester Companv,  of  which  Mr.  Sheldon 
35 


was  president  during  its  entire  existence. 
He  is  one  of  the  oldest  living  merchants 
of  Fremont.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republi- 
can, and  cast  his  first  Presidential  vote 
for  William  H.  Harrison,  in  1840. 

In  1 84 1  our  subject  married  Miss 
Maria  Betsey  Andrus.  a  native  of  New 
York,  who  died  in  February,  1844.  On 
September  17,  1845,  he  married  Miss 
Esther  Ann,  daughter  of  Samuel  Hafford, 
who  in  the  fall  of  1835  came  to  Ballville 
township,  Sandusky  county,  and  settled 
on  a  farm  where  he  continued  to  reside 
until  his  death,  in  1871.  Mrs.  Sheldon 
was  born  in  Hoosick  Falls,  N.  Y. ,  Sep- 
tember II,  1823,  and  died  at  Fremont, 
Ohio,  October  21,  1887.  Mr.  Sheldon 
had  no  children  by  his  first  marriage. 
The  children  of  the  second  marriage  were 
— (i)  Altie  Maria, born  June  8,  1852,  who 
was  married  September  17,  1879,  to  John 
P.  Bell,  and  is  residing  in  Fremont;  they 
have  two  children,  Esther  L.  and  Francis 
S.  (2)  Harry  G. ,  born  June  5,  1855, 
who  is  engaged  in  the  lumber  business  in 
Fremont;  he  married  October  22,  1879, 
Miss  Alice  Huff,  and  their  children  are 
Catharine  and  William  H. 


FRED  N.  FALLER,  proprietor  of 
a  leading  drug  business  in  Port 
Clinton,  Ottawa  county,  is  a  na- 
tive of  Ohio,  born  at  Fremont, 
Sandusky  county,  August  30.  1867,  son 
of  George  F.  and  Mary  (Grund)  Faller. 
The  father  of  subject  emigrated  from 
Germany  about  the  year  1854,  and  after 
spending  some  time  in  New  York  City 
came,  about  the  year  1857,  to  Fremont, 
Ohio,  where  he  worked  at  cabinet-making 
several  years  with  T.  S.  Tschurny.  He 
afterward  built  a  shop  of  his  own,  and 
was  twice  burnt  out.  The  rapid  manu- 
facture of  furniture  by  machinery,  and  its 
consequent  cheapness,  at  length  induced 
Mr.  Faller  to  give  up  cabinet-making  by 
hand,  and  he  now  lives  arc  tired  life  with 
his    family    at    Fremont.       His   children 


552 


COMMEMORATIVE  BTOORAPEICAL  RECORD. 


were:  Edward,  born  October  2.  1864, 
died  at  Fremont  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
two;  Fred  N..  our  subject;  and  Bertha 
C. ,  born  January  8,  1873,  living  with  her 
parents.  Fred  N.  attended  the  schools 
of  Fremont  until  he  was  sixteen  years  old 
when  he  commenced  an  apprenticeship  to 
the  drug  business  in  the  store  of  S.  Buck- 
land  &  Son  (now  L.  W.  Buckland),  where 
he  remained  four  years,  after  which  he 
attended  the  School  of  Pharmac)',  Michi- 
gan State  University,  one  year.  Return- 
ing to  Ohio,  he  passed  tlie  State  Phar- 
maceutical examination  successfully,  and 
then  for  some  eighteen  months  took  charge 
of  a  drug  store  at  Toledo,  Ohio,  for  Mrs. 
Fenneberg.  He  then  came  to  Port  Clin- 
ton, where  he  had  the  management  of 
the  drug  store  of  Eisenhour  &  Bleckner, 
whom  he  bought  out  in  July,  1890,  since 
when  he  has  been  sole  proprietor. 

On  May  i,  1890,  Fred  N.  Fallcr  mar- 
ried Miss  Cora  E.  Mackey,  daughter  of 
Louis  Mackey.  She  died  in  October, 
1892,  and  October  4,  1893,  Mr.  F'aller 
married  Miss  Hattie  I.  Affleck,  daughter 
of  William  J.  and  Belle  (Duff)  .'\fi1eck, 
the  former  of  whom  is  secretary  of  the 
water  works  at  Sandusky  City.  Mr. 
Faller  was  reared  in  the  faith  of  the  Lu- 
theran Church;  in  politics  he  is  a  stanch 
Democrat,  has  served  in  the  cit}'  council 
of  Port  Clinton  one  term,  and  as  a  public- 
spirited,  honorable  citi/en,  he  enjoys  the 
highest  respect. 


I 


LEANDER  S.  PORTER,  M.  D., 
who  has  for  some  years  been  iinun- 
iucntly  connected  with  the  busi- 
ness interests  of  Port  Clinton,  Ot- 
tawa count}',  in  his  professional  capacity, 
as  well  as  along  other  lines  of  enterprise, 
is  a  native  of  Connecticut,  born  in  New 
Fairfield,  New  Fairfield  county,  October 
22,  1829. 

His  parents,  Wheeler  and  Lydia  Ann 
(Bearss)  Porter,  were  both  also  natives  of 
Connecticut,  whence  they  migrated  west- 


ward, locating  in  October,  1832,  in  Dan- 
bury  township,  then  in  Huron  county, 
now  Catawba  Island  township,  Ottawa 
county,  when  there  was  but  one  other 
white  family  residing  on  the  Island. 
There  the  father  engaged  in  agricultural 
pursuits  and  also  worked  at  his  trade  of 
shoe  making.  He  carried  on  farming  and 
engaged  in  dealing  in  shoes  in  Port  Clin- 
ton for  several  years  He  was  well  and 
favorably  known  as  an  expert  at  his  trade, 
and,  as  an  upright,  honorable  citizen. 
He  passed  away  at  his  home  on  Catawba 
Island,  April  10,  1888,  and  his  faithful 
and  devoted  wife  was  called  to  her  final 
rest  September  2.  1852.  They  had  a 
family  of  three  children,  of  whom  Lean- 
der  S.  is  the  only  known  survivor.  One 
died  in  infancy,  and  Augustus  W.  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  killed  at  the  battle 
of  the  W'ilderness  while  serving  in  de- 
fense of  his  home  and  country'.  The 
great-grandfather  Hubble,  the  father  of 
the  Doctor's  paternal  grandmother,  fought 
in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  Grand- 
father Bearss  was  a  soldier  of  the  War 
of  181 2.  The  grandparents  on  both  sides 
of  the  Doctor's  family  were  natives  of 
Connecticut,  and  were  of  English  de- 
scent. The  paternal  grandparents  with 
their  three  sons — Wheeler,  Lyman  and 
Charles — all  settled  on  Catawba  Island 
in  1832.  After  a  short  time  Lyman  re- 
turned to  Connecticut,  where  he  spent 
his  remaining  days,  while  the  other  mem- 
bers of  the  family  continued  to  reside  in 
this  locality  until  called  to  the  home  be- 
yond, and  were  well-known  and  highly 
respected  residents  of  the  community. 

Dr.  L.  S.  Porter  lived  on  Catawba 
Island  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil 
war.  He  received  his  primary  education 
in  the  district  schools  of  his  township,  and 
in  early  life  became  familiar  with  agricul- 
tural pursuits,  following  that  honorable 
occupation  for  many  years.  W'hen  he 
had  attained  the  age  of  manhood,  he  en- 
tered the  Delaware  University,  Delaware, 
Ohio,  where  he  remained  a  year,  and  also 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQRAPEWAL  RECORD. 


553 


spent  two  terms  at  the  Baldwin  Univer- 
sity, Berea,  Ohio,  attendinfj  to  the  duties 
of  the  farm  during  vacations.  He  then 
engaged  in  teaching,  and  from  1856  until 
1 86 1  carried  on  farming  on  his  own  ac- 
count. In  September  of  the  latter  year 
Dr.  Porter  responded  to  the  country's  call 
for  troops,  enlisting  in  Company  F,  Forty- 
ninth  O.  V.  I.  On  December  31,  1862, 
during  the  battle  of  Murfretsboro,  he  was 
severely  wounded  in  the  ankle  by  a  rifle 
ball,  and  he  lay  on  the  field  of  battle  four 
days  and  three  nights  before  receiving 
any  assistance.  On  the  morning  of  Jan- 
uary 7,  1863,  he  wasconvej'ed  to  the  hos- 
pital at  Nashville,  Tenn. ,  where  he  re- 
mained for  about  three  weeks.  He  was 
then  transferred  to  the  hospital  at  Cov- 
ington, Ky. ,  where  it  was  found  necessary 
to  amputate  his  foot,  and  the  operation 
was  performed.  On  becoming  convales- 
cent, he  was  honorably  discharged  and 
proceeded  to  Port  Clinton,  where  for  a 
short  time  he  was  engaged  in  the  photo- 
graph business. 

In  1 864  the  Doctor  was  appointed 
lighthouse  keeper  at  Port  Clinton,  and 
efficiently  filled  that  position  some  five 
years.  In  1869  he  resumed  agricultural 
pursuits,  which  he  followed  three  years, 
and  then  removed  to  Sandusky  City, 
where  he  began  reading  medicine  with 
Dr.  Ed.  Gillard.  In  1877  he  entered  the 
Homeopathic  Hospital  College  at  Cleve- 
land, Ohio,  and  was  graduated  at  that 
institution  with  the  class  of  1880,  where- 
upon he  immediately  commenced  practice 
in  Bellevue,  Ohio,  remaining  there  for  a 
year.  In  1881  he  removed  to  Vernon, 
Mich.,  where  he  continued  for  about 
eleven  years,  in  i8gi  returning  to  Port 
Clinton,  and  here  lived  a  comparatively 
retired  life,  attending  only  to  office  prac- 
tice until  1894. 

The  Doctor  was  married,  May  6, 
1856,  to  Elizabeth  Lowry,  a  native  of 
Ottawa  county.  He  and  his  wife  are 
members  of  the  Daughters  of  Rebekah, 
Port  Clinton,    and    also  consistent   mem- 


bers of  the  Congregational  Church,  and 
are  most  highly-esteemed  people.  He 
also  belongs  to  the  Michigan  State  Med- 
ical Society;  O.  H.  Perry  Lodge,  F.  & 
A.  M. ;  Vernon  Lodge  No.  99,  I.  O.  O.  F. ; 
Perseverance  Encampment  No.  88,  of 
Vernon,  Mich. ;  and  George  K.  McRitchie 
Post  No.  524,  G.  A.  R.  In  politics  he  is 
an  earnest  Republican,  and  at  various 
times  has  served  as  trustee,  clerk,  asses- 
sor and  constable  of  Catawba  Island  town- 
ship. He  served  as  health  officer  of  \'er- 
non,  Mich.,  and  for  one  year  as  member 
of  the  board  of  health  of  Port  Clinton. 
He  has  always  performed  the  duties  per- 
taining to  these  various  positions  with 
rare  judgment  and  to  the  entire  satis- 
faction of  his  constituents,  and  he  is  an 
enterprising  and  public-spirited  citizen, 
ever  to  be  found  on  the  side  of  pro- 
gressive good  government  and  of  every- 
thing pertaining  to  the  welfare  and  up- 
building of  the  community.  He  enjoys 
the  sincere  regard  of  all  who  know  him. 


HENRY  \V.  NIEMAN,  a  prominent 
member  of  the  legal  profession 
and  highly-esteemed  resident  of 
Elmore,  Ottawa  county,  is  a  son 
of  Frederick  A.  and  Christine  (Schreiber) 
Nieman.  His  birth  occurred  July  11, 
1857,  in  Westphalia,  Prussia,  of  which 
kingdom  his  parents  were  also  natives, 
and  there  his  mother  departed  this  life. 
Later,  in  April,  1871,  the  father,  with 
the  other  members  of  the  family,  emi- 
grated to  the  United  States,  locating  near 
Port  Clinton,  Ohio,  where  the  father  still 
resides,  and  is  one  of  the  prominent  agri- 
culturists of  Ottawa  county.  In  the  fam- 
ily were  eight  children,  all  of  whom  are 
still  living:  Fred  H.  is  a  leading  farmer 
of  Bay  township,  Ottawa  county;  Caro- 
line is  the  wife  of  George  Westfall,  of  the 
same  township;  Louisa  is  the  wife  of 
Thomas  Seaman,  of  Port  Clinton;  Henry 
W.  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Chris- 
tian G.   is    a   resident    of    Port    Clinton; 


554 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


William  also  lives  in  that  city;  Ferdinand 
is  in  Bay  township;  and  August  C.  is  a 
hardware  merchant  and  machine  agent  of 
Port  Clinton. 

In  the  schools  of  his  native  land  our 
subject  received  a  good  German  educa- 
tion, and  his  early  life  was  spent  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits,  which  occupation  he 
continued  to  follow  for  several  years  after 
his  arrival  in  America.  In  1878  he  com- 
menced attending  a  select  school  in  Port 
Clinton,  and  after  perfecting  himself  in 
the  English  branches  he  engaged  in  teach- 
ing, being  thus  employed  for  two  terms  in 
Bay  township,  Ottawa  county.  He  con- 
tinued to  follow  that  profession  during 
the  winter  months  until  1883,  and  also 
took  a  normal  course  during  the  same 
period.  In  1883  he  entered  the  engi- 
neering department  of  Ann  Arbor  (Mich.) 
University,  but  in  the  fall  of  1884  became 
a  student  in  the  law  department  of  the 
same  institution,  from  which  he  was  grad- 
uated with  the  class  of  1886.  In  the 
same  year  he  began  the  practice  of  his 
profession  in  Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  but 
the  following  year  found  him  a  resident 
of  Elmore,  where  he  has  since  continued 
in  active  practice,  and  has  been  very  suc- 
cessful, both  from  a  professional  and  finan- 
cial standpoint.  He  is  one  of  the  pro- 
gressive citi;;ens  of  the  county,  always 
deeply  interested  in  everything  which  will 
advance  the  prosperity  of  the  community, 
and  has  the  utmost  respect  of  his  fellow 
citizens. 

On  Christmas  Day,  1886.  in  Oak 
Harbor,  Ottawa  county,  Mr.  Nicman  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Delia  Boggs, 
a  daughter  of  James  and  Susan  (White) 
Boggs,  who  rank  among  the  earliest  set- 
tlers of  Harris  township,  where  they  are 
honored  and  respected  residents.  Our 
subject  and  his  wife  have  become  the 
parents  of  one  daughter.  Amy,  born  May 
8,  1888.  Mr.  Nieman  has  been  called 
upon  to  fill  several  official  positions  of 
honor  and  trust,  having  served  as  county 
examiner  of  teachers  some  si.x  years;  has 


been  president  of  the  township  board  of 
education,  and  held  the  offices  of  justice 
of  the  peace  and  notary  public.  He  is  a 
Democrat  in  political  faith,  taking  quite 
an  active  interest  in  the  success  of  his 
party;  and  socially  is  a  member  of  Elmore 
Lodge,  No.  26,  K.  P.  With  the  Disci- 
ples Church  he  and  his  wife  hold  mem- 
bership. 


WILLIAM  KESSLER,  a  promi- 
nent and  progressive  citizen  of 
Oak  Harbor,  Ottawa  county, 
undertaker  and  an  extensive 
dealer  in  furniture,  pianos,  organs,  sewing 
machines,  bicycles,  general  merchandise, 
etc.,  is  a  native  of  Salem  township,  Otta- 
wa Co.,  Ohio,  having  been  born  there 
December  18,  1857,  to  Charles  and  Bar- 
bara Kessler,  natives  of  Germany,  and 
early  settlers  of  Salem  township. 

The  father,  now  at  the  advanced  age 
of  seventy-three  years,  is  a  resident  of 
Oak  Harbor;  the  mother  passed  away 
May  13,  1892.  Their  family  consisted  of 
eight  children,  seven  of  whom  are  yet 
living,  viz.:  William;  Mary,  now  the  wife 
of  Charles  Zimmerman,  a  resident  of 
Bowling  Green,  Wood  Co.,  Ohio;  John, 
a  resident  of  Lakeside,  Nebr. ;  George, 
Albert  and  Edward,  all  residents  of  Oak 
Harbor;  and  Annie  (Kessler)  Leberman, 
widow  of  Frederick  Leberman,  for  many 
years  a  respected  resident  of  Harris  town- 
ship, who  for  three  years,  during  the  Re- 
bellion, served  in  the  Thirty-seventh  O. 
V.  I.  (Annie  is  a  daughter  of  Charles 
Kessler  by  a  former  marriage).  The 
father  is  a  veteran  of  the  war  of  the  Re- 
bellion, having  served  for  three  years  in 
Company  G,  One  Hundredth  O.  V.  I., 
and  with  his  regiment  participated  in  sev- 
eral important  engagements. 

William  Kessler,  the  subject  proper  of 
this  sketch,  received  his  preliminary  edu- 
cation in  the  district  schools  of  Harris 
township,  Ottawa  county,  and  his  early 
life  was  spent  in  assisting  his  father  in  the 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQBAPUWAL  liECORD. 


555 


care  of  the  farm.  When  eighteen  years 
of  age  he  left  the  farm,  apprenticing  him- 
self to  the  trade  of  cabinet  maker,  and  in 
1878,  his  term  of  apprenticeshi]i  having 
expired,  he  went  to  Oak  Harbor  and  en- 
gaged in  business  for  himself,  having  been 
a  constant  resident  of  that  town  ever 
since.  By  a  life  of  energy,  perseverance, 
and  strict  attention  to  business,  Mr. 
Kessler  now  takes  a  leading  position 
among  the  prominent  and  substantial 
business  men  of  the  county,  and  well 
merits  the  confidence  and  esteem  extend- 
ed to  him  by  his  fellow  citizens. 

On  September  5,  1882,  our  subject 
was  united  in  marriage,  at  Lockport,  N. 
Y. ,  with  Julia  S.  Haj'es,  a  daughter  of 
James  and  Mary  (Hayes)  Hayes,  both  na- 
tives of  Ireland,  who  emigrated  to  Amer- 
ica in  1840,  and  are  now  honored  and  re- 
spected residents  of  Lockport.  To  this 
union  have  come  five  children,  their 
names  and  dates  of  birth  being  as  follows: 
Mary  Gertrude,  March  13,  1884;  Julia 
Maud,  March  9,  1885;  Cornelius  Flor- 
ence, July  4,  1886,  died  December  10, 
1890;  Clara,  February  15,  1888;  and 
William  Bernard,  December  13,  1893, 
died  January  13,  1895.  The  family  are 
strict  adherents  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church.  Mr.  Kessler  has  served  as  a 
member  of  the  Oak  Harbor  council  board 
one  term.  Politically  he  is  an  active  sup- 
porter of  the  Democratic  party,  and 
socially  he  fills  the  positions  of  first  lieu- 
tenant of  Kahler  Camp  No.  292,  Sons  of 
Veterans,  and  captain  of  the  I\nights  of 
St.  John. 


JOHN  H.  PFEIFER.  The  history 
of  Ottawa  county,  and  especially  of 
Benton  township,  would  be  incom- 
plete without  honorable  mention  of 
the  Pfeifer  family,  Jacob  Pfeifer  and  his 
sons  having  been  actively  identified  with 
the  growth  and  development  of  its  agri- 
cultural interests  from  early  pioneer  times. 
Their  progress  and  thrift  have  been  almost 


proverbial,  and  the  land  now  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  family  is  among  the  most  highly 
improved  in  the  vicinity. 

The  family  is  of  good  old  German 
stock.  The  great-grandfather  was  born 
in  Germany  in  1769,  served  under  Napo- 
leon the  First  in  the  war  with  Russia,  was 
with  him  at  the  burning  of  Moscow,  and 
alsoat  the  defeat  at  Waterloo;  while  in  the 
service  he  had  one  limb  badly  frozen. 
The  great-grandmother  was  born  in  Ger- 
many about  1779,  and  died  at  the  age  of 
forty-two.  Tney  had  two  children,  one 
of  whom,  George,  came  to  America  about 
1847.  He  was  accidentally  shot  in  New 
Orleans.  John  Pfeifer,  grandfather  of 
our  subject,  was  born  in  Germany,  May 
10,  1 80 1,  and  was  a  farmer  by  occupa- 
tion; he  was  exempt  from  military  duty 
on  account  of  the  loss  of  a  finger.  The 
grandmother  was  born  in  1807,  and  they 
were  married  in  1831,  becoming  the  par- 
ents of  two  children,  of  whom  Jacob 
Pfiefer  is  the  only  survivor.  Jacob  Pfeifer 
has  been  a  prominent  factor  in  the  ad- 
vancement and  progress  of  Benton  town- 
ship and  vicinity.  Born  in  Rabelshausen 
Kurhessen,  Germany,  June  28,  1838,  he 
came  to  America  in  early  manhood, locating 
first  in  Cleveland  and  later  in  Bellaire, 
whence  after  a  brief  residence  he  came  to 
Ottawa  county,  settling  first  in  Elliston. 
On  coming  to  Benton  township  he  took  up 
the  farm  where  his  son  John  now  lives, 
when  the  surrounding  country  was  all  a  wil- 
derness. The  only  road  was  an  Indian  trail 
along  the  creek,  now  known  as  the  ' '  Creek 
road."  The  country  was  all  a  forest, 
and  Jacob  Pfeifer  has  helped  to  make  the 
township  of  Benton  the  fertile  region  it 
now  is  by  clearing  up  and  improving  one 
of  the  best  farms  in  Ottawa  county.  His 
wife  has  been  of  great  service  in  making 
the  home,  for  she  has  taken  a  noble  inter- 
est and  borne  an  active  part  in  the  work, 
and  her  assistance  has  been  fully  appre- 
ciated by  her  husband  and  family.  Mr. 
Pfeifer's  first  wheat  crop  in  Benton  town- 
ship   is   an   illustration   of  some   of    the 


556 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


hardships  the  pioneers  of  those  days 
underwent;  the  seed  he  secured  from 
Cleveland — ten  bushels  at  $i  per  bushel; 
the  crop  was  harvested,  and  threshed  with 
a  flail;  and  the  entire  return  from  the 
ten  bushels  of  sowing  amounted  to  eight 
bushels,  and  that  at  a  time  when  flour  was 
$i6  per  barrel,  and  not  first-class  either. 
They  had  to  drive  nine  miles  through  the 
woods  to  the  mill,  and  then  get  chopped 
feed  for  the  grist.  The  old  farm  is  all 
underdrained,  so  that  the  surface  water  is 
quickly  carried  away,  leaving  the  land  in 
good  shape  for  cultivation,  and  the  farm 
is  a  credit  indeed  to  those  whose  labor 
has  brought  it  to  its  present  state  of  per- 
fection. Jacob  Pfeifer  purchased  the 
first  steam  threshing  machine  rig  ever 
used  in  Benton  township,  and  his  sons 
John  and  George  operated  the  machine 
for  si.xteen  years,  making  a  financial  suc- 
cess of  the  business.  For  several  years  Mr. 
Pfeifer  was  foreman  of  the  L.  S.  &  M.  S. 
railroad,  and  it  was  while  engaged  in  this 
work  that  he  practically  ruined  his  health. 
Industrious  and  progressive,  he  and  his 
family  have  contributed  in  no  small  de- 
gree toward  the  welfare  of  the  community, 
and  the  kind  and  obliging  spirit  they  have 
ever  shown  has  made  them  highly  es- 
teemed in  the  township  which  has  so  long 
been  their  home. 

Mr.  Pfeifer's  marriage  to  Elizabeth 
Emerich  took  place  in  1857,  and  their 
union  was  blessed  with  three  children: 
John,  born  September  29,  1858;  George, 
born  February  26,  1862;  and  Edward, 
born  April  25,  1864.  On  July  14,  1873, 
Edward  was  accidentally  killed  by  the  dis- 
charge of  a  gun,  the  charge  entering  his 
right  side  below  the  ribs  and  passing  di- 
agonally through  the  body.  Mrs.  Pfeifer 
was  born  in  Germany  February  25,  1828, 
and  came  to  America  in  1848.  George 
Pfeifer  the  second  son,  lives  on  a  farm 
near  his  brother  John.  At  the  age  of 
twenty-two  he  married  Matilda  Tabbert, 
of  Elliston,  who  was  born  December  22, 
1 86 1,  at  Elliston  (where  she  obtained  a 


liberal  education),  daughter  of  August 
Tabbert,  who  died  in  1894.  Soon  after 
their  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  Pfeifer 
settled  on  the  farm  where  they  now  live, 
a  place  which,  like  that  of  his  brother, 
shows  enterprise  and  neatness  on  the  part 
of  the  owner. 

John  H.  Pfeifer,  son  of  Jacob  and 
Elizabeth  (Emrich)  Pfeifer,  was  born 
September  29,  1858,  at  Bellaire,  Ohio, 
and  spent  his  boyhood  days  in  Cleveland 
and  Ottawa  county,  where  he  received 
the  education  afforded  by  the  district 
schools  of  his  time  and  place.  An  inci- 
dent which  occurred  when  he  was  nine 
years  of  age  is  worth  relating:  He  was 
sent  to  Elliston  on  mule  back  for  some 
groceries.  He  rode  down  the  L.  S.  & 
M.  S.  track,  and  all  went  well  until  the 
train  was  seen  backing  to  Elliston  from 
Toledo.  The  mule  did  not  propose  to 
give  the  right  of  way  for  the  train,  and 
John  succeeded  in  dismounting  in  time  to 
save  all  of  himself  save  a  piece  of  one  toe, 
but  the  animal  was  not  a  match  for  the 
train,  which  completely  demolished  him. 
When  twenty-two  years  of  age  our  sub- 
ject commenced  life  for  himself  as  a  fire- 
man on  the  L.  S.  &  M.  S.  railroad,  con- 
tinuing thus  for  three  years.  On  September 
25,  1883,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Matilda 
Lick,  of  Elliston,  and  having  purchased  a 
farm  near  Rocky  Ridge  they  made  their 
home  thereon  for  six  years.  They  then 
sold  out  and  purchased  the  old  homestead 
of  his  father  on  Section  23,  Benton  town- 
ship, where  they  now  live.  His  parents 
moved  to  Rocky  Ridge,  where  they  have 
erected  the  finest  home  in  the  village.  A 
walk  over  Mr.  Pfeifer's  farm  at  once  con- 
vinces one  that  he  is  a  thorough  agricul- 
turist ;  the  fences  are  in  neat  shape,  the 
farm  stock  and  buildings  are  all  well  kept, 
and  the  yards  around  both  house  and  barn 
display  neatness  and  care  on  the  part  of 
the  owner,  who  takes  a  pardonable  pride 
in  his  beautiful  property.  The  history  of 
one  member  of  the  family  is  the  history 
of  all,  and  to  say  that  he  has  worked  with 


COMMSMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


557 


his  father  from  boyhood  shows  what  part 
he  has  taken  in  this  work. 

Mrs.  Matilda  (Lick)  Pfeifer  was  born 
Auguest  28,  1862,  at  Elliston,  where  she 
received  her  education  and  lived  until  her 
marriage.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pfeifer  have 
been  born  three  children:  Walter  George, 
April  10,  1885;  Reuben  Edward,  May  6, 
1887,  and  William  Carl,  October  19, 
1891.  Walter  G  ,  died  March  19,  1892, 
and  was  buried  in  the  Elliston  cemetery. 


CAPTAIN  WILLIAM  J.  SLACK- 
FORD  (deceased)  sailed  on  the 
lakes  for  many  years,  and  was  a 
well-known  sea  captain,  whose 
death  was  deeply  regretted  by  a  large 
circle  of  friends  and  acquaintances.  A 
native  of  England,  he  was  born  near 
Kent,  February  28,  1831,  and  was  one  of 
a  family  of  four  children,  two  of  whom 
are  now  living:  Edward,  a  retired  sea 
captain  now  in  Detroit,  Mich. ;  and  Han- 
nah, wife  of  Thomas  Clayton,  who  makes 
his  home  in  Carthage,  Hamilton  Co., 
Ohio.  In  the  summer  of  1849,  when 
he  was  seventeen  years  of  age,  the  Cap- 
tain came  with  his  father  to  the  United 
States,  locating  at  Plasterbed,  Portage 
township,  Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio.  Here, 
soon  afterward  they  were  joined  b\'  the 
wife  and  mother,  and  other  children  of 
the  family,  and  the  parents  were  contin- 
uous residents  of  the  township  through- 
out their  remaining  days. 

In  1 86 1  the  Captain  purchnsed  a 
farm  a  short  distance  from  the  old  family 
homestead,  and  engaged  extensively  in 
fruit  growing  and  farming  up  to  the  time 
of  his  death.  From  1864  up  to  1878  he 
was  part  owner  and  operator  of  the  steam- 
ers "Gen.  Grant,"  "Clinton  "  and  "  R. 
B.  Hayes,"  running  ferry  between  the 
Peninsula  and  Sandusky.  The  change 
in  his  occupation  was  caused  by  ill  health. 
The  captain  was  for  many  years  num- 
bered among  the  valued  citizens,  and 
took  an   active   part   in   all   progressive 


movements.  He  was  esteemed  by  all 
who  knew  him  for  his  many  sterling 
qualities  and  straightforward  business 
methods. 

On  November  20,  i860,  at  Sandusky, 
Ohio,  the  Captain  was  married  to  Thirsa 
Gertrude  Moore,  who  died  October  12, 
1864,  and  this  union  was  blessed  with  one 
child,  William  George,  born  September 
24.  1 861;  he  is  a  licensed  sea  captain, 
and  resides  in  Danbury  township,  Ottawa 
county.  The  Captain  was  again  married, 
this  time  at  Fremont,  Ohio,  December 
7,  1875,  to  Kate  C.  Englebeck,  daughter 
of  Herman  and  Caroline  (Fechtler)  Engle- 
beck. This  union  was  blessed  with  two 
children:  May  Pearl,  born  May  i,  1878; 
and  Jennie  Gertrude,  born    May  5,   1884. 

After  a  long  illness  of  three  years,  the 
Captain  passed  away  December  14,  1890. 
His  last  voyage  was  over  and  he  reached 
the  harbor  of  rest.  He  had  been  a  promi- 
nent member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity, 
and  was  highly  esteemed  by  his  brethren 
in  that  Order.  He  was  a  man  of  more 
than  ordinary  ability,  and  was  possessed 
of  broad,  general  information.  He  had 
a  genial,  sunny  temperment,  and  was 
held  in  the  highest  esteem  by  all  who 
knew  him.  His  faithful  and  devoted  wife 
deserves  no  little  credit  for  the  manner 
in  which  she  has  conducted  the  affafrs  of 
the  estate  since  h^r  husband's  death. 
She  is  a  lady  of  culture  and  sound  judg- 
ment, and  controls  her  farm  in  a  way  that 
well  exemplifies  her  innate  business  sa- 
gacity and  acumen.  Her  residence  is 
among  the  finest  in  the  township,  and  all 
its  surroundings  give  evidence  of  the  ex- 
quisite state  and  refinement  of  the  owner. 


JOAB  KELLY,  one  of  the  best  known 
and  most  honored  farmers  and  fruit 
growers  of  Danbury  township,  Otta- 
wa  county,    was  born   January  31, 
1842,  on   the  homestead  farm  on  which 
he  still  resides,  and  is  a  son  of  Hon.  John 
and    Ehzabeth   (Pettibone)     Kelly.      His 


558 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOOIiAPUICAL  RECORD. 


educational  privileges  were  such  as  were 
afforded  by  the  district  schools  of  that 
day,  and  since  early  life  he  has  been  en- 
gaged in  agricultural  pursuits,  though  for 
the  past  twenty-five  years  he  has  devoted 
his  attention  more  especially  to  the  culti- 
vation of  grapes,  peaches  and  other  fruits. 

Mr.  Kelly  was  married  in  Danbury, 
December  21,  1870,  to  Miss  Stella  M. 
Hogg,  who  was  born  in  Sandusky  City, 
Erie  Co.,  Ohio,  June  15,  KS49,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Thomas  and  Mary  (Driver;  Hogg, 
early  settlers  of  Erie  county,  Ohio,  who 
removed  to  Danbury  township  about  1 868, 
where  the  former  passed  away  in  1882; 
the  latter  still  makes  her  home  in  Dan- 
bury. To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kelly  have  been 
born  two  sons — Thomas  LeRoy,  on  Sep- 
tember 15,  1 871;  and  J.  I\eid,  on  October 
8,  1874;  both  are  still  under  the  parental 
roof.  In  his  political  views  Mr.  Kelly  is  a 
Republican,  and  he  and  his  family  attend 
the  Congregational  Church. 

The  mother  of  our  subject  was  the 
first  white  child  born  in  Newberg,  Ohio, 
her  birth  having  occurred  October  18, 
1 8 14,  and  she  was  but  si.x  weeks  old 
when  she  was  brought  to  Danbury  town- 
ship by  her  parents,  Truman  and  PhcEbe 
(Wolcotte)  Pettibone.  The  Wolcotte 
family  came  to  Danbury  township  in 
1808,  but  after  a  residence  of  three  years 
were  driven  away  by  the  Indians,  and 
went  to  Cleveland,  Ohio,  where  they  re- 
mained until  1 8 14,  when  they  returned 
and  from  that  time  until  their  deaths  were 
continuous  residents  of  Danbury  township. 

On  July  23,  1835,  Hon.  John  A. 
B.  Kelly  and  Miss  Elizabeth  Pettibone 
were  united  in  marriage.  Mr.  Kelly 
was  born  in  Troy,  N.  Y. ,  December 
14,  1809,  and  was  a  son  of  William  and 
Jane  (Keidj  Kelly,  both  natives  of  Ire- 
land. Eight  children  were  born  of  this 
union,  their  names  and  dates  of  birth 
being  as  follows:  Jane,  May,  1836,  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Josias  B.  Wright, 
now  of  Danbury,  October  i,  1853;  Will- 
iam, March   17,  1838,  makes  his  home  in 


Port  Clinton,  Ohio;  Alice,  October  14, 
1840,  died  November  5,  of  the  same  year; 
Joab  comes  next  in  the  order  of  birth; 
Malcolm,  July  31,  1844,  is  judge  of  the 
court  of  common  pleas  and  resides  in 
Port  Clinton;  Salima,  January  6,  1847,  is 
the  wife  of  John  G.  Bredehoft,  of  Dan- 
bury township;  John  August  14,  1851, 
lives  in  the  same  township;  and  Mary, 
March  28,  1855,  died  June  13,  1856.  The 
father,  who  represented  the  Thirtieth  Sen- 
atorial District  in  the  Fifty-fifth  General 
Assembly  of  Ohio,  1862-63,  died  April 
18,  1883;  the  mother  passed  away  Oc- 
tober 8,  1895. 


SIMON  HENRY  KINSTING  is 
numbered  among  the  pioneer  set- 
tlers of  Ottawa  county,  having  lo- 
cated within  its  borders  when  it 
was  almost  an  unbroken  wilderness,  with 
few  roads  laid  out  and  few  settlements 
made.  With  the  work  of  development 
and  progress  he  has  been  identified,  and 
has  aided  in  the  improvement  of  the  lo- 
cality by  faithfuU}'  performing  his  duties 
of  citizenship. 

Mr.  Kinsting  was  born  in  Prussia,  De- 
cember 25,  1832,  and  is  a  son  of  Fred- 
erick William  Kinsting,  also  a  native  of 
Prussia,  born  in  1800,  a  tailor  by  trade, 
who  died  at  the  home  of  his  son,  July  28, 
1871.  In  1849  he  emigrated  with  his 
wife  and  two  children  to  America,  after 
which  he  followed  the  occupation  of  farm- 
ing. He  was  first  employed  for  onlj'  fifty 
cents  per  day,  and  was  very  well  satisfied, 
but  as  years  passed  his  financial  resources 
increased.  In  the  Fatherland  he  married 
Minnie  Saack,  who  was  born  in  Prussia, 
April  4,  1804,  and  died  December  13, 
1885.  They  had  two  children — Simon 
Henry,  and  Henrietta,  wife  of  William 
Budky,  of  \\'oodville,  Sandusky  county. 
The  parents  spent  their  last  years  at  the 
home  of  their  son,  who  tenderly  cared  for 
them  in  their  declining  days.  Our  sub- 
ject's paternal  grandfather  and  his  wife 


-^  ^p     /^-'^^^ 


COMMKMOHATIVE  BIOQRAPUICAL  RECORD. 


559 


were  both  born  in  Gennanj'  about  Octo- 
ber, 1766,  and  the  former  died  in  1833. 
The  maternal  grandfather  was  born  in 
Prussia,  in  1774,  and  his  wife's  birth  oc- 
curred there  in  1775. 

S.  H.  Kinsting,  the  subject  proper  of 
this  review,  spent  the  first  seventeen  years 
of  his  life  in  his  native  land,  and  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools.  He  then 
came  with  his  parents  to  the  United 
States,  and  here  attended  the  English 
schools,  so  that  he  now  speaks  both 
languages  fluently.  In  1858  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Frederica  Priesing, 
a  native  of  Hanover,  Germany,  born  June 
6,  1835.  She  obtained  her  education 
there,  and  when  twenty-two  years  of  age 
came  to  America,  locating  in  Toledo, 
Ohio,  where  she  met  her  future  husband. 
The  wedding  was  celebrated  six  months 
later  at  the  old  homestead,  one  mile  from 
Elmore,  where  our  subject  now  resides. 
Her  parents,  who  were  also  natives  of 
Hanover,  Germany,  had  a  family  of  six 
children,  five  of  whom  are  now  living, 
one  son,  Henry,  having  died  in  the  hos- 
pital in  Memphis,  Tenn.,  while  serving  in 
the  Civil  war.  The  father  was  a  black- 
smith by  trade,  and  died  at  an  early  age, 
leaving  a  widow  to  care  for  her  family. 
Mrs.  Kinsting  was  a  faithful  wife  and  lov- 
ing mother,  one  who  trained  her  children 
to  habits  of  industry  and  uprightness.  A 
fall  occasioned  the  loss  of  her  mental 
faculties  to  a  degree,  and  on  September 
2,  1892,  she  passed  away. 

Mr.  and  Sirs.  Kinstring  were  the  par- 
ents of  four  children,  namely:  (i)  Will- 
iam, born  August  13,  i860,  was  married 
March  23,  1881,  to  Rachel  Ernsthausen, 
of  Elmore,  and  resides  on  a  farm  one 
mile  from  the  town;  they  have  three  chil- 
dren— Mary,  William  and  Clara.  (2)  Fred, 
born  September  16,  1863,  was  married  in 
August,  1885,  to  Cora  Netcher,  and  lives 
on  a  farm  in  Monroe  county,  Mich. ;  their 
children  are — John  and  George.  (3) 
Henry,  born  April  10,  1867,  was  married 
in  November,  i890,toLibbie  Wainwright, 


and  they  have  one  child — Naomi,  born 
June  25,  1894.  (4)  Minnie,  born  April 
25,  1870,  was  married  in  October,  iSgo, 
to  Frank  Dishinger,  of  Harris  township, 
Ottawa  county,  and  they  had  two  chil- 
dren— Henry  and  Eddie;  Mrs.  Dishinger 
died  August  10,  1895,  and  was  buried  at 
Elmore. 

During  his  entire  residence  in  America 
Mr.  Kinsting  has  lived  on  the  farm  which 
now  belongs  to  Frank  Dishinger.  The 
first  forty  acres  of  land  were  purchased  in 
1849  for  $375,  and  the  first  home  was  a 
little  log  cabin.  By  diligence  and  close 
attention  to  business  our  subject  and  his 
father  and  son  cleared  and  developed  the 
farm,  extending  its  boundaries  by  the  ad- 
ditional purchase  of  seventy-three  acres  in 
Sandusky  and  Ottawa  counties,  erected 
good  buildings  and  secured  a  nice  home. 
Since  his  father's  death  our  subject  has 
purchased  eighty  acres,  for  which  he  paid 
$100  per  acre.  He  has  succeeded  in  busi- 
ness through  his  own  well-directed  efforts, 
and  to-day  is  the  owner  of  a  valuable 
property,  and  the  possessor  of  a  comfort- 
able competence.  In  March,  1895,  he 
called  his  children  together,  and,  after  a 
very  pleasant  family  reunion,  gave  each 
of  them  five  thousand  dollars.  He  has 
now  reached  the  age  of  sixty-three  years, 
has  been  a  cripple  for  twenty-two  years, 
but  is  one  of  the  most  cheerful  and  happy 
men  in  the  community,  finding  great 
pleasure  in  visiting  his  children,  who  have 
for  him  the  warmest  affection,  and  take 
great  delight  in  his  visits  to  them.  Since 
1858  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Ger- 
man Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  a  con- 
sistent and  earnest  Christian,  enjoying 
the  respect  and  confidence  of  all  who 
know  him. 


GEORGE    M.    HIGH,   one  of  the 
most    prominent    and    extensive 
fruit  growers  on  Middle  Bass  Is- 
land,   Ottawa  county,   was  born 
in  Springfield,  Clark  Co.,  Ohio,  July    13, 


560 


COMMEMORATIVE  BTOORAPmCAL  RECORD. 


1825,  son  of  Hosea  S.  and  Mary  A.  (Mc- 
Cormick)  High.  George  McCormick,  the 
maternal  grandfather  of  our  subject,  was 
one  of  the  contractors  on  the  building 
of  the  first  U.  S.  Capitol  at  Washington, 
D.  C. ,  which  was  destroyed  by  the  British. 

Hosea  S.  High,  born  January  3,  1797, 
at  Bridgeton,  N.  J.,  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Mary  A.  McCormick,  who  was 
born  November  21,  1801,  at  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  and  they  had  eleven  children, 
seven  of  whom  are  now  living,  namely: 
George  M.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch; 
Charles  G.  and  Martin  V.  B.,  both  resid- 
ing in  Madison  county,  Ohio;  Jacob,  in 
Franklin  county,  Ohio;  Fannie,  wife  of 
John  G.  Thompson,  of  Columbus,  Ohio; 
and  Jennie  and  Susan,  in  Columbus. 
Hosea  S.  High  passed  away  in  Franklin 
county,  Ohio,  in  September,  1874,  and 
his  widow,  Mary  A.,  at  Columbus,  Ohio, 
in  March,  1S93,  she  being  at  the  time  of 
her  death  one  of  the  oldest  inhabitants 
and  residents  of  Columbus.  Mr.  High 
was  Indian  agent  for  several  years,  and  in 
1837  moved  the  Wyandotte,  Delaware 
and  Sandusky  tribes  to  their  reservations 
in  Kansas. 

George  M.  High  spent  his  boyhood 
days  among  the  surroundings  of  a  com- 
fortable home,  and  received  his  primary 
education  in  the  district  schools,  after- 
ward taking  a  course  at  the  Delaware 
College,  at  Delaware,  Ohio.  About  a 
year  after  completing  his  studies  he  left 
home  for  Cincinnati,  where  in  the  winter 
months  he  was  engaged  in  the  pork  busi- 
ness. During  the  first  summer  he  was  a 
tutor  in  a  private  family  near  Independ- 
ence, Ky. ,  and  the  second  summer  he 
taught  the  district  school  in  the  same 
neighborhood.  For  the  eighteen  years 
succeeding  he  was  engaged  in  the  pork 
business,  purchasing  in  summer  and 
slaughtering  and  shipping  in  winter. 

At  Pleasant  Ridge,  Hamilton  Co., 
Ohio,  on  October  21,  1852,  George  M. 
High  was  united  in  marriage  with  Anna 
M.  Kincaid,   daughter  of  Blair  and  Mary 


(Lancaster)  Kincaid,  and  born  in  Dela- 
ware October  30,  1834.  They  have  had 
four  children,  as  follows:  Hosea  and  Fan- 
nie (twins),  born  June  29,  1853,  of  whom 
Hosea  is  still  living  at  home,  and  Fannie 
is  the  wife  of  Curtis  P.  Gladding,  residing 
at  Hartford,  Conn. ;  George  M.,  Jr.,  born 
in  Cincinnati,  May  16,  1859,  was  formerly 
the  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  Evening 
Advertiser,  a  newspaper  of  Socorro,  N.  M. , 
and  now  resides  in  Butte  City,  Mont. ; 
and  Carrie  D.,  born  February  4,  1864, 
resides  at  home. 

During  the  winter  of  1864-65  Mr. 
High  sold  out  his  interest  in  the  pork 
business,  and  late  in  the  spring  of  1865 
loaded  up  a  steamer  with  $30,000  worth 
of  provisions,  with  which  he  went  up  the 
Arkansas  river  as  far  as  Fort  Smith,  dis- 
posing of  the  goods  on  the  way.  He  then 
returned  to  Cincinnati,  purchased  another 
cargo,  and  returned  up  the  river;  but, 
owing  to  delays  caused  by  business,  he  was 
late,  and  so  established  a  store  at  Spadra 
Bluff,  Arkansas,  in  connection  with  Col. 
A.  D.  King.  In  the  fall  of  1866  he  re- 
turned to  Springfield,  Ohio,  where  he  re- 
sided during  the  ne.\t  four  years,  for  three 
3'ears  of  that  time  continuing  his  interest 
in  the  business  at  Spadra  Bluff,  which  he 
sold  in  1869.  On  July  13,  1870,  he  re- 
moved to  Middle  Bass,  and  engaged  in 
fruit  growing.  He  has  now  been  a  contin- 
uous resident  of  the  Island  for  twenty-five 
years,  and  has  probably  set  out  more 
grape  vines  than  any  other  man  on  the 
Island.  Mr.  High  was  the  first  in  the 
West  to  introduce  the  spraying  of  grapes 
and  other  fruits,  for  mildew  and  insects 
that  have  destroyed  so  much  of  the  fruits, 
and  this  system  has  produced  highly  satis- 
factory results  wherever  introduced. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  High  is  in- 
dependent, but  leans  toward  the  Demo- 
cratic party.  He  is  a  prominent  citizen, 
and  a  leader,  especially  in  such  good 
works  as  need  sympathy,  active  work  and 
benevolent  contributions.  To  those  who 
know  him,  it  seems  evident  that  he  would 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


561 


have  been  as  successful  in  almost  any  line 
of  life  he  inifjht  have  chosen  as  he  has 
been  in  that  which  he  did  choose.  He  is 
well  educated  by  schooling,  reading, 
travel  and  experience;  happy  in  society, 
in  his  own  home  and  abroad;  hospitable, 
thoroughly  appreciated  by  all  who  know 
him;  intelligent,  possessing  tact  and  gener- 
osity. He  has  a  most  charming  home, 
situated  close  to  the  shores  of  Lake  Erie; 
is  happily  contented  with  such  reasonable 
hobbies  as  occupy  his  mind,  is  independ- 
ent in  his  own  pursuits,  and  able  to  pro- 
vide abundantly  for  the  comfort  and  hap- 
piness of  his  appreciative  wife  and 
family. 


THOMAS  BOWLAND,  a  promi- 
nent manufacturer,  of  Martin,  Clay 
township,  Ottawa  county,  was 
born  in  Perry  county,  this  State, 
October  14,  1844,  and  was  a  son  of  John 
and  Diana  (Parrott)  Rowland,  the  former 
of  whom  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania, 
the  latter  of  Ohio. 

The  father  of  our  subject  died  when 
the  latter  was  only  ten  years  old,  and  the 
little  lad  was  early  put  to  work  that  he 
might  contribute  his  share  to  the  support 
of  his  widowed  mother  and  the  younger 
children.  His  early  education  was  there- 
fore very  limited;  but,  like  many  of  the 
men  who  have  been  leaders  of  our  nation, 
he  neglected  no  opportunity  to  add  to  his 
scanty  stock  of  book  knowledge,  and  by 
reading  and  observation  has  made  of  him- 
self an  intelligent  man  whose  opinions  are 
eagerly  sought  for,  and  whose  judgment 
in  all  matters  is  well  worth  considering. 
His  parents  removed  before  his  death  to 
Ottawa  county,  living  for  a  time  in  El- 
more, Harris  township,  and  afterward 
coming  to  Clay  township.  Here  our  sub- 
ject worked  upon  a  farm  with  his  two 
elder  brothers  until  the  breaking  out  of 
the  Civil  war  in  1861,  when  they  enlisted 
and  left  the  care  of  the  family  to  Thomas 
and  a  younger  brother,  John,  of  whom  a 


sketch  is  given  elsewhere.  This  labor  of 
love  which  he  performed  diligently  and 
faithfully  was  pursued  for  a  number  of 
years,  the  few  leisure  hours  not  employed 
in  farm  work  being  given  to  the  improve- 
ment of  his  mind. 

In  1879  Mr.  Bowland  began  the  man- 
ufacture of  hoops,  starting  a  factory  in 
Martin  and  employing  several  men.  This 
proved  to  be  a  profitable  business,  and  he 
has  since  successfully  carried  it  on,  being 
now  assisted  by  two  of  his  sons  who  have 
an  interest  in  the  establishment.  Mr. 
Bowland  was  married  January  21,  1869, 
to  Charlotte  Jones,  daughter  of  Daniel 
and  Ruth  Jones,  of  Sandusky  count}', 
and  they  became  the  parents  of  one  child, 
Irvin,  who  was  born  Jaunuary  20,  1870; 
his  mother  died  March  26,  1871.  Mr. 
Bowland  was  again  married  December 
22,  1872,  to  Miss  Herminia,  daughter  of 
George  and  Sarah  (Wall)  Eyre,  both  of 
whom  were  natives  of  England.  Three 
children  have  come  of  this  marriage, 
namely:  (i)  George  D.,  who  was  born 
April  6,  1874,  at  Genoa,  and  was  there 
educated;  he  is  unmarried,  and  is  engaged 
in  business  with  his  father.  (2)  Ernest, 
born  April  7,  1877,  in  the  same  town, 
was  educated  in  the  schools  there,  and  in 
the  high  school,  and  holds  a  teacher's 
certificate;  he  is  also  connected  with  his 
father's  firm.  (3)  Estella,  born  February 
22,   1886,  died  August  13,  1887. 

The  parental  family  of  our  subject 
comprised  fourteen  children,  eight  of 
whom  are  living,  as  follows:  Mary  is  the 
wife  of  Powell  Frugh,  a  farmer  in  San- 
dusky county;  Daniel  is  a  farmer  of  Clay 
township;  Jeremiah,  a  machinist,  lives  in 
Wood  county;  Elizabeth  is  the  wife  of 
Stephen  Walsh,  of  Clay  township;  Martin 
is  a  miller  of  Benton  township;  Thomas 
is  our  subject;  Hannah  is  the  widow  of 
Walter  Warrener;  and  John  is  postmaster 
at  Genoa.  The  father  of  this  large  family 
died  in  Harris  township,  in  June,  1854,  and 
his  wife  in  Clay  township,  April  17,   1875. 

George  Eyre,  the  father  of  our  sub- 


502 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


ject'swife,  was  born  in  London,  England, 
and  came  to  this  country  when  eighteen 
years  old,  settling  first  in  Cleveland, 
where  he  followed  the  Qccupation  of  a 
millwright,  and  also  did  some  carpenter- 
ing; his  wife,  Sarah  Wall,  was  also  born 
in  England.  They  were  the  parents  of 
eight  children,  five  of  whom  are  living: 
Mary  is  the  wife  of  John  Bowland,  post- 
master at  Genoa;  Cilena  is  the  wife  of 
William  Bodett,  a  railroad  man;  Esletta 
married  Albert  Stewart,  a  cigar  manu- 
facturer, living  in  Toledo;  Sarah  is  the 
wife  of  Miles  Price,  of  Detroit;  George 
died  when  aged  thirty-six,  Henry  when  five, 
and  Carrie  when  fourteen.  The  parents 
are  still  living,  and  reside  in  Genoa. 

Mr.  Bowland  has  always  been  very 
popular  with  his  fellow  citizens,  as  well  as 
throughout  the  entire  county,  and  in  con- 
sequence has  held  numerous  responsible 
offices.  He  was  for  two  years  constable 
of  Clay  township,  and  has  been  time  and 
again  elected  justice  of  the  peace,  or 
local  judge  of  Clay  township,  which  posi- 
tion he  is  now  filling  with  dignity  and 
great  ability.  In  all  the  cases  which  have 
come  before  him  in  the  past  twelve  years, 
and  which  have  been  carried  to  the  higher 
courts,  his  decisions  have  there  been  con- 
firmed, without  exception,  and  his  honesty 
and  integrity  have  never  been  questioned. 
During  his  official  life  he  has  solemnized 
upward  of  thirty-five  marriages,  which  is 
a  further  evidence  of  his  popularity  with 
the  people.  Mr.  Bowland  has  held  the 
office  of  school  director  for  seven  years, 
and  has  been  clerk  of  the  board  through- 
out that  period.  In  politics  he  is  a  strong 
Democrat  and  a  leader  in  his  party,  and, 
with  his  family,  holds  a  prominent  posi- 
tion in  society. 


ALBERT     ZIPFEL,     mill    owner 
and  one  of  the  well-known  busi- 
ness men   of  Rocky  Ridge,    Ben- 
ton  township,  Ottawa  county,  is 
a  native  of    Germany,   born   September 


-7<  1S57,  son  of  Lawrence  Zipfel.  When 
about  four  years  of  age  our  subject  came 
to  America  with  his  father,  who  settled 
at  Port  Clinton,  Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio,  and 
engaged  in  the  boot  and  shoe  business, 
following  same  for  several  years,  when 
he  sold  out  and  purchased  a  farm  near 
Oak  Harbor.  After  farming  for  some 
time  he  sold  his  place  and  settled  in  Oak 
Harbor,  where  he   died   in  the   spring  of 

1895- 

During  the  first  nine  j'ears  of  his  life 
Albert  Zipfel  obtained  what  education  he 
could,  and  at  the  early  age  of  nine  he 
went  out  into  the  world  to  earn  a  liveli- 
hood for  himself,  commencing  work  in  a 
shingle  mill  in  Oak  Harbor,  where  he 
labored  some  twelve  years.  On  July  8, 
1879,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Amanda  A. 
Fountain,  of  Oak  Harbor,  and  they 
shortly  afterward  settled  in  Rocky  Ridge, 
where  he  was  employed  as  foreman  in  the 
stave  factory  of  Bopst  &  Bosh,  a  position 
he  held  for  eleven  years.  In  18S9  Mr. 
Zipfel  purchased  an  elevator  and  feed 
mill  of  Mr.  Bopst  at  Rocky  Ridge,  in 
1890  adding  to  the  mill  a  sawmill;  and 
he  has  since  been  engaged  in  lumber  saw- 
ing and  feed  grinding.  The  business  is 
prospering,  and  the  mill  is  busy  the  en- 
tire 3'ear.  For  several  years  Mr.  Zipfel 
has  been  village  councilman  in  Rocky 
Ridge;  he  is  greatly  interested  in  the 
improvement  of  the  public  schools  of  the 
place,  and  endeavors  to  have  them  the 
best  possible.  His  business,  which  is 
constantly  increasing,  demands  his  strict 
personal  attention,  and  he  may  always  be 
found  at  the  mill,  attending  very  careful- 
ly to  every  detail;  this  surely  is  the  only 
way  to  success. 

Mr.  Zipfel  was  married  Jul}'  8,  1879, 
to  Miss  Amanda  A.  Fountain,  who  was 
born  October  30,  1857,  near  Port  Clinton, 
where  she  received  her  early  education, 
completing  it  in  the  schools  of  Oak  Har- 
bor. Her  parents  were  Alexander  and 
Amy  (Sampson)  Fountain,  the  father  born 
July     4,      1829,    in     Sandusky    county, 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


568 


where  he  li\ed  his  entire  Hfe,  save  the 
one  hundred  days  he  served  in  the  war  of 
the  RebelHon.  He  died  in  1876.  Mrs. 
Zipfel's  grandfather,  Alexander  Fountain, 
Sr. ,  was  born  in  Michigan.  Her  pater- 
nal great-grandfather  was  of  French  de- 
scent. Mrs.  Zipfel's  mother,  Mrs.  Amy 
Fountain,  was  born  in  Port  Clinton,  May 
II,  1837,  and  when  eight  years  of  age 
removed  with  her  parents  to  Chicago, 
where  they  remained  for  three  years. 
Her  father,  Joel  Sampson,  then  entered 
the  Mexican  war,  and  died  of  cholera 
near  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  He  was  born 
in  Vermont  in  1807.  Mrs.  Zipfel's 
maternal  great-grandfather  was  of  French 
descent,  born  early  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  and  served  in  the  French  and 
Indian  war,   1757-1763. 


GEORGE  W.  GALLANT,  an  en- 
terprising and  wide-awake  busi- 
ness man  of  Elmore,  where  he 
is  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
doors,  sash  and  blinds,  was  born  in  Bay 
township,  Ottawa  county,  January  15, 
1842,  and  is  the  only  known  living  repre- 
sentative of  the  family  of  seven  children 
born  to  John  and  Eleanor  (Desclms)  Gal- 
lant, the  former  a  native  of  Baltimore, 
Md.,  the  latter  of  Belmont,  Ohio.  The 
parents  located  in  Bay  township  at  an 
early  date  in  the  history  of  the  county, 
but  in  1863  removed  to  Sandusky,  Ohio, 
where  the  following  year  the  father's 
death  occurred;  later,  the  mother  came 
to  Elmore,  where  she  passed  awaj'  in 
1884. 

In  the  district  schools  of  Bay  township, 
George  W.  Gallant  acquired  a  limited 
education,  but  his  instruction  in  the  du- 
ties of  farm  life  was  not  so  meagre,  and 
he  continued  to  follow  that  honorable  oc- 
cupation until  1862,  when  he  enlisted  in 
Company  G,  One  Hundredth  Regiment, 
O.  V.  I.  On  May  4,  1864,  he  was 
wounded  at  the  battle  of  Resaca,  Ga., 
and  sent  to  the  hospital  at  Chattanooga, 


Tenn.,  from  which  place  he  was  trans- 
ferred to  Knoxville.  After  becoming  con- 
valescent he  rejoined  his  regiment  at  Fort 
Fisher,  anddater  was  ordered  to  David's 
Island,  N.  Y.  On  the  close  of  hostilities 
he  received  an  honorable  discharge,  and 
returned  to  Jackson  township,  Sandusky 
county,  where  he  engaged  in  agricultural 
pursuits  until  1873.  On  the  first  of  Janu- 
ary of  that  year  he  removed  to  Elmore, 
and  since  that  date  has  continuously  car- 
ried on  his  present  business  with  marked 
success,  having  now  secured  a  liberal  and 
lucrative  trade. 

At  Jackson,  Ohio,  October  22,  1865, 
Mr.  Gallant  wedded  Miss  Nancy  Huffman, 
who  was  born  in  Fremont,  this  State, 
July  I,  1846,  a  daughter  of  Michael  and 
Nancy  (Nye)  Huffman,  the  former  now 
deceased,  the  latter  still  a  resident  of  Fre- 
mont. Mrs.  Gallant  is  one  of  a  family  of 
ten  children,  eight  of  whom  still  survive: 
Washington,  who  makes  his  home  in  Bat- 
tle Creek,  Mich.;  Michael,  living  in  Fre- 
mont; Ellen,  wife  of  Henry  Hiller,  of 
Hillsdale,  Mich.;  William  H.,  a  resident 
of  Hastings;  Mrs.  Gallant,  the  next  in  or- 
der of  birth;  May  Etta,  widow  of  the  late 
Andrew  Whitemore,  residing  in  Fremont; 
Charles  Luther,  living  in  Hastings,  Mich.; 
and  Elizabeth  A.,  now  the  widow  of  Louis 
Benner,  and  making  her  home  in  Fre- 
mont. 

Five  children  have  come  to  bless  the 
union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gallant,  as  follows: 
Charles  M.,  born  April  25,  1867;  Lillie 
Jane,  born  March  ig,  1869,  now  the  wife 
John  F.  Sanders,  of  Elmore;  James  W., 
born  February  7,  1871;  Edward  E.,  born 
July  21,  1885;  and  Bertha  Belle,  born 
June  I,  1887.  Of  these  Charles  M., 
whose  education  was  begun  in  the  public 
schools  of  Elmore,  completed  a  course  in 
the  North  American  Normal  School  of 
Fostoria,  Ohio,  graduating  from  that  in- 
stitution in  1887.  He  then  took  up  the 
study  of  mechanical  engineering  at  Salt 
Lake  City,  Utah,  and  for  four  years  was 
a  locomotive  engineer  on  the  Rio  Grande 


564 


C0MMEM0RATr7E  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


&  Western  railroad.  At  the  expiration 
of  that  time  he  returned  to  Elmore,  and 
engaged  with  his  father  as  bookkeeper. 
At  the  present  time,  however,  he  is  en- 
gaged in  the  manufacture  of  a  patent 
clothes  rack,  in  connection  with  his  brother 
James.  On  Januarj-  15,  1895,  in  Elmore, 
he  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Hotmer,  a 
daughter  of  John  and  Sarah  Hotmer,  the 
former  a' resident  of  Elmore,  the  latter  being 
now  deceased.  James  W.,  the  second  son 
of  our  subject,  after  completing  his  edu- 
cation in  the  public  schools  of  Elmore, 
learned  the  trade  of  wood  turning,  which 
occupation  he  followed  up  to  a  recent 
date,  but  is  now  engaged  in  the  manu- 
facture of  a  patent  clothes  rack.  In 
Toledo,  Ohio,  January  2,  1895,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Nettie  Walt- 
ers, a  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Nettie 
Walters,  the  former  of  whom  still  makes 
his  home  in  Toledo,  but  the  latter  has 
departed  this  life. 

In  his  political  views,  George  W.  Gal- 
lant is  an  ardent  Republican,  being  a 
strong  supporter  of  the  men  and  measures 
of  that  party,  and  he  has  served  his  fel- 
low-citizens as  a  councilman  in  the  cor- 
poration of  Elmore  for  four  terms.  He 
is  one  of  the  solid  and  reliable  business 
men  of  the  city,  and  in  social  as  well  as 
business  circles  stands  high,  having  the 
confidence  and  esteem  of  ail  with  whom 
he  comes  in  contact.  With  the  Knights 
of  Pythias  fraternity  he  holds  member- 
ship, belonging  to  Elmore  Lodge,  No. 
261,  K.  of  P.,  and  also  takes  a  promi- 
nent part  in  Robert  Caldwell  Post,  G.A.R. 


SAMUEL  R.  GILL,  secretary  of  the 
Lakeside  Company,  of  Lakeside, 
Ottawa  county,  is  a  native  of  the 
county,  born  in  Portage  township, 
December  16,  1845,  and  is  a  son  of  Will- 
iam and  Martha  (Payne)  Gill,  both  natives 
of  Berkeley  county,  W.  Va.,  the  father 
born  in  1796. 

In  1840  William  Gill  located  in  Port- 


age township,  Ottawa  county,  where  he 
engaged  in  farming  until  his  death  which 
occurred  December  31,  1857.  His  wife, 
who  was  a  daughter  of  Jesse  and  Martha 
(Dunn)  Payne,  was  born  December  10, 
1 8 10,  and  her  death  occurred  on  the  old 
homestead  in  Portage  township,  April  28, 
1894.  They  became  the  parents  of  four 
children,  namely:  (i)  Joseph,  a  resident 
of  Port  Clinton,  Ottawa  county.  (2) 
\\'illiam,  who  died  at  Evansville,  Ind., 
from  wounds  received  while  serving  in  the 
Union  army  as  a  private  in  Company  I, 
Fortj'-first  O.  V.  I.,  in  which  he  enlisted 
September  6,  i86t,  and  being  wounded 
at  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  which  was  fought 
April  6-7,   1862.  he  died  a  few  days  later. 

(3)  Mary  P.,  wife  of  Lane  Lockwood,  a 
resident   of   Sanduskj'    City,    Ohio,    and 

(4)  Samuel  R. 

The  primary  education  of  our  subject 
was  acquired  in  the  district  schools  of 
Portage  township,  and  he  completed  his 
literary  studies  at  Baldwin  University, 
Berea,  Ohio,  graduating  from  that  insti- 
tution in  1869.  He  then  engaged  in 
agricultural  pursuits  on  the  old  homestead 
farm,  following  that  honorable  occupation 
until  1873,  when,  in  January  of  that  year, 
he  was  appointed  secretary  of  the  Lake- 
side company,  since  when  he  has  made 
his  home  in  Lakeside,  devoting  his  entire 
attention  to  the  duties  pertaining  to  the 
office,  still  retaining  possession  of  his  farm 
in  Portage  township.  He  is  also  a  stock- 
holder in  the  Lakeside  Company. 

In  Danbury  township,  Ottawa  county, 
on  January  12,  1875,  Mr.  Gill  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Mary  C.  Alexander, 
a  daughter  of  David  and  Harriet  R.  (Petit) 
Alexander,  who,  in  1863,  located  in  Dan- 
bury  township,  near  Marblehead,  where 
the  latter  still  resides;  the  former  passed 
away  December  23,  1894,  at  the  advanced 
age  of  eighty-two  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Gill  have  three  children:  Robert  Alex- 
ander, bom  May  21,  1880;  William 
Payne,  born  February  16,  1883,  and 
Samuel  Vincent,  born  September  i,  1893. 


COMMEMOUATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


565 


Mr.  Gill  has  always  been  a  progressive 
citizen,  taking  an  active  part  in  all  mat- 
ters pertaining  to  the  improvement  and 
welfare  of  the  county.  Both  he  and  his 
wife  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church.  In  politics  he  votes  the 
Republican  ticket,  but  in  sentiment  is  a 
strong  Prohibitionist. 


LEMAN  M.  THOMPSON,  a  leading 
and  influential  farmer,  who  makes 
his  home  in  Carroll  township, 
Ottawa  county,  first  opened  his 
eyes  to  the  light  of  day  in  that  township, 
April  I,  1845.  His  parents  are  William 
and  Ruth  (Ogden)  Thompson,  the  former 
a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  the  latter  of 
New  Jersey.  From  his  early  boyhood  he 
has  been  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits, 
having  assisted  in  the  cultivation  of  the 
home  farm,  while  he  obtained  his  literary 
education  in  the  district  schools  of  the 
community. 

Mr.  Thompson  displayed  his  loyalty 
to  his  country,  by  enlisting,  in  August, 
1862,  in  Company  G,  One  Hundredth 
Ohio  V.  I.,  and  remained  in  the  service 
until  the  close  of  the  war,  being  mustered 
out  at  Greensboro,  N.  C,  and  finally  dis- 
charged at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  July  3,  1865. 
He  took  part  in  numerous  important  en- 
gagements, among  which  were  the  battles 
of  Ringgold,  Resaca  and  Franklin,  Tenn  , 
the  siege  of  Kno.xville,  the  battle  of 
Eltawa,  the  siege  of  Atlanta  and  the  bat- 
tle of  Pumpkin  Vine  Run,  Ga.,  together 
with  a  large  number  of  skirmishes,  in  all 
of  which  he  proved  a  valiant  and  fear- 
less soldier,  always  found  at  his  post  of 
duty.  After  being  discharged  from  the 
army,  Mr.  Thompson  returned  to  Car- 
roll township,  where  he  again  engaged  in 
farming,  which  occupation  he  has  made  his 
life  work,  and  he  is  still  a  resident  of  his 
native  township.  There  he  was  married 
July  4,  18G9,  to  Miss  Rebecca  Brown, 
daughter  of  Daniel  and  Melissa  J.Brown. 


By  this  union  there  is  one  child — ^William 
EeRoy,  born  July  9,  1882. 

In  politics  Mr.  Thompson  generally 
supports  the  men  and  measures  of  the 
Democratic  party,  though  he  is  not  strictly 
partisan,  and  has  served  his  fellow  citi- 
zens as  township  assessor  two  terms,  and 
school  director  three  years.  He  and 
his  family  attend  the  United  Brethren 
Church.  He  is  a  practical,  self-made 
man,  having,  by  energy  and  perseverance, 
secured  his  own  financial  success. 
Equipped  by  nature  with  strong  intel- 
lectual endowments  and  rugged  physical 
powers,  he  has  worked  his  way  upward, 
and,  possessing  a  sterling  honesty  which 
characterizes  his  conduct  in  all  the  offices 
of  life,  he  has  won  a  high  place  in  the 
esteem  and  confidence  of  his  fellowmen. 


JOHN  H.  WENDT  is  an  enterprising 
and     popular     merchant     and     fruit 
grower  of    Danbury    township,    Ot- 
tawa county,  of  which  township  he 
is  a  native,  having  been   born  October  2, 
1853,  on  the  homestead  where  he  still  re- 
sides. 

His  early  life  was  passed  amidst  the 
surroundings  of  a  comfortable  home  and 
fond,  indulgent  parents'  care.  He  re- 
ceived the  advantages  of  a  liberal  com- 
mon-school education,  and  at  an  early 
age  adopted  farming  for  his  life  vocation, 
which  he  still  continues  to  follow.  In 
1887,  in  connection  with  agricultural  pur- 
suits, he  also  began  merchandising  at 
Marblehead  Junction,  and  by  his  straight- 
forward business  principles  has  built  up  a 
large  and  increasing  trade,  and  established 
an  enviable  record  for  honesty  and  fair 
dealing.  In  1887  he  was  appointed  post- 
master at  Danbury,  which  position  he 
filled  seven  years  to  the  satisfaction  of 
all  concerned. 

In  Danbury,  November  15,  1882, 
John  H.  Wendt  was  married  to  Miss  Ma- 
tilda Meter,  a  daughter  of  Christian  and 
Dorothy  Meter,  both  natives  of  Germany, 


566 


CO-VifEVORATrrE  BTOCfRAPmCAL  RECORD. 


the  former  of  whom  is  deceased,  the  lat- 
ter still  making  her  home  in  Danbury 
township.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wendt  have 
three  children:  Lydia  S.,  born  May  iS, 
18S3;  William  H.,  born  February  19. 
1S85;  and  Clara,  born  February  22.  1SS9. 
Politically,  our  subject  affiliates  with  the 
Republican  party,  while  in  relig:ious  faith 
he  and  his  family  attend  the  Lutheran 
Church.  He  is  one  of  the  live  progres- 
sive men  of  Danburv  township,  a  good 
friend  and  desirable  neighbor.  The  pleas- 
ant social  and  hospitable  qualities  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Wendt  are  widely  known,  and 
they  enjoy  the  esteem  and  respect  of  all 
in  their  community  to  a  marked  degree. 

Herman  Wendt.  the  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, was  bom  in  the  Pro\nnce  of  Han- 
over. Germany.  April  14.  1827.  was  edu- 
cated in  his  native  land,  where  he  also 
learned  the  trade  of  a  cabinet  maker.  In 
1S45  he  landed  on  the  shores  of  the 
New  World,  and  for  about  a  year  after  his 
arrival  worked  at  his  trade  in  New  York 
City.  He  came  to  Ohio  in  i  S46.  and  for 
a  few  years  was  employed  at  the  coopers 
trade  at  the  Plasterbed  Mills  in  Portage 
township.  Ottawa  county.  In  1S51  he 
located  in  Danbury  township,  where  he 
followed  farming  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  on  the  6th  of  February.  1S94. 
He  was  a  true  friend,  a  good  neighbor,  a 
loving  husband  and  a  kind,  indulgent 
father,  and  his  memory  will  long  be  cher- 
ished by  those  who  knew  him  best. 

Herman  Wendt  was  twice  married, 
his  first  union  being  with  Mrs.  Anna 
Marie  Brauer.  the  widow  of  Henry  Brau- 
er,  and  of  the  four  children  born  to  this 
union,  three  are  still  living,  namely: 
Christina,  born  April  iS.  1850,  is  the  wife 
of  Angelus  Hauschild,  of  Salem  township. 
Ottawa  county:  Anna,  born  November 
18.  1851,  is  the  wife  of  Henry  Windish. 
of  Carroll  township.  Ottawa  county:  and 
John  H..  who  forms  the  subject  of  this 
brief  sketch,  is  the  third  child.  His 
mother  died  on  the  21st  of  September. 
1855.       The    father   later   wedded    Miss 


Rachel  Schwartz,  a  native  of  Germany, 
and  to  them  were  bcrn  three  children, 
one  of  whom  still  survives — John  .\. .  born 
July  1 8.  1857,  makes  his  home  in  Chica- 
go. Mrs.  Wendt  passed  awav  June  5, 
187--. 


M 


KS.  MARIAR  E.  NELLIS.  In 
a  record  devoted  to  the  repre- 
sentative people  of  a  county  the 
ladies  who  have  borne  their 
part  in  public  work  are  also  deserving  of 
mention,  and  prominent  among  this  class 
is  the  one  whose  name  opens  this  sketch. 
She  is  a  most  capable  business  woman, 
and  is  successfully  carrying  on  a  farm  of 
more  than  200  acres,  superintending  its 
cultivation  and  its  management  and  mak- 
ing it  one  of  the  neatest  and  most  valua- 
ble countn.-  homes  in  this  section  of  the 
State. 

Mrs.  Nellis  is  a  daughter  of  Isaac  W. 
and  Lucy  Ann  (Lewisl  Ingraham.  and  was 
born  in  Harris  township.  Ottawa  county. 
March  26,  1853.  Her  father  was  born 
July  22,  1827,  in  Connecticut,  and  came 
with  his  parents  to  Ohio,  where  he  is  still 
living,  on  a  farm  that  belongs  to  Mrs.  Nel- 
lis. His  wife  was  born  June  23.  1836.  in 
New  York,  and  they  were  married  in  the 
Buckeye  State.  November  30.  1S51. 
Eleven  children  were  born  of  this  union, 
namely:  Mariar  E. :  Calista.  wife  of  G.  H. 
Damschroeder:  Flora,  wife  of  David  Mc- 
Gowan;  Gleny.  who  died  at  the  age  of  one 
year:  Theodore:  Arnold  W. :  Ruth,  who 
died  in  infancy:  Eunice,  wife  of  George 
Hotmer:  and  three  that  died  in  infancy 
unnamed.  Benjamin  Ingraham,  the  pa- 
ternal grandfather  of  Mrs.  Nellis,  was  born 
in  1779.  and  died  in  1869.  He  followed 
farming  the  greater  part  of  his  life,  and 
reared  a  family  of  thirteen  children,  eight 
of  whom  have  families  of  their  own.  Ben- 
jamin Ingraham.  Sr. .  father  of  Benjamin 
Ingraham.  came  to  .America  on  the  ••  May- 
flower." Sallie  Maria  Fuller,  the  mater- 
nal grandmother  of  Mrs.  Nellis,  was  bom 


jUc<^i^  (f  y/'d'L 


VOMMEMOnATIVE  BIOORAPmCAL  RECORD. 


567 


in  Bristol  county,  Mass.,  May  lo,  1807, 
and  was  one  of  the  eight  children  of  Jo- 
seph Fuller,  who  fought  in  the  war  of 
1 81 2.  His  father  was  one  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary heroes,  and  was  one  of  the  famous 
band  who  participated  in  the  "Boston 
Tea  Party,"  when  the  British  tea  was 
thrown  into  the  harbor.  Miss  Fuller  was 
married  in  1S2S  to  Lyman  Lewis,  and 
they  became  the  parents  of  eight  children, 
four  born  in  New  York  and  four  in  Ohio. 
The  father  died  in  1845,  and  in  1S48  the 
mother  became  the  wife  of  George 
Fletcher,  b}'  whom  she  had  one  son.  Mr. 
Fletcher  died  in  1857.  On  May  10,  18S9, 
Grandma  Fletcher  celebrated  her  eighty- 
second  birthday,  in  which  celebration 
twenty-one  grandchildren  and  twenty-five 
great-grandchildren  participated.  Two  of 
her  sons  and  one  son-in-law  were  in  the 
war  of  the  Rebellion.  The  family  has 
long  been  prominently  connected  with  this 
locality,  and  Mrs.  Nellis'  father  helped  to 
grade  the  Lake  Shore  &  Michigan  South- 
ern railroad.  He  has  also  cradled  wheat 
on  the  site  of  the  depot  at  Elmore,  and  is 
numbered  among  the  honored  pioneer  set- 
tlers of  Ottawa  county. 

Mrs.  Nellis  obtained  her  education  in 
a  countrj'  schoolhouse  that  stands  on  the 
farm  which  she  now  owns.  W'hen  six- 
teen years  of  age  she  began  to  earn  her 
own  living,  and  displayed  the  remarkable 
business  ability  which  has  always  charac- 
terized her.  She  was  emplo3ed  in  a 
tailor  shop  until  about  nineteen  years  of 
age,  and  then  began  doing  housework. 
On  May  5,  1874,  she  became  the  wife  of 
Cyrus  T.  Nellis,  of  Elmore,  and  the  first 
six  months  of  their  married  life  were 
passed  in  Elmore,  during  which  time  Mr. 
Nellis  erected  buildings  on  their  farm 
north  of  the  village.  In  the  autumn  they 
removed  to  the  new  home,  where  they 
lived  four  years,  in  the  meantime  pur- 
chasing the  farm  upon  which  Mrs.  Nellis 
is  now  living,  and  still  retaining  posses- 
sion of  the  other.  The  present  home  ad- 
joins  the  corporation  limits  of    Elmore, 

36 


and  on  the  place  stands  a  beautiful  brick 
residence  and  barns  and  outbuildings 
which  are  models  of  convenience.  All  the 
improvements  of  a  model  farm  may  be 
found  there,  and  have  been  secured  en- 
tirely through  the  efforts  of  Mrs.  Nellis. 
When  Mr.  Nellis  had  the  large  barn  well 
under  construction  he  lost  his  mind  and 
insanity  caused  him  to  attempt  his  own 
life  by  trying  to  hang  himself  in  the  new 
barn,  which  was  unfinished.  He  was 
then,  on  October  28,  187S,  taken  to  the 
hospital  at  Columbus,  where  he  remained 
one  year.  During  that  time  Mrs.  Nellis 
completed  the  buildings  which  were  then 
in  process  of  erection.  On  his  return  Mr. 
Nellis  began  preparations  for  a  fine  brick 
residence,  and  had  the  foundations  laid 
when  his  mind  again  became  unsettled, 
and  he  was  once  more  taken  to  Columbus, 
remaining  there  six  years,  after  which  he 
was  transferred  to  Toledo.  The  work  of 
completing  the  home  then  fell  to  his  wife, 
and  with  indomitable  energy  and  perse- 
verance she  has  carried  forward  the  enter- 
prise, and  to-day  has  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  homes  in  Ottawa  county.  [On 
September  25,  1895,  since  the  above  was 
written,  by  some  cause  unknown,  Mrs. 
Nellis'  barns,  three  in  number,  caught  fire 
and  were  totalh'  destroyed  together  with 
all  the  contents,  her  own  property  as  well 
as  that  of  her  father,  including  the  latter's 
two  span  of  horses,  the  best  in  the  coun- 
ty. By  November  6,  1895,  she  had  man- 
aged to  have  a  new  barn  erected.] 

The  family  of  Mrs.  Nellis  numbered 
three  children,  the  eldest  of  whom  died 
in  infancy;  Dow  L. ,  born  March  20,  1878, 
has  acquired  a  good  literary  education  in 
the  public  schools  of  Elmore,  and  now 
aids  his  mother  in  the  care  of  her  prop- 
erty; the  youngest,  Bede  C. ,  born  Sep- 
tember 16,  1881,  is  attending  school  in 
Elmore,  and  has  also  studied  music.  The 
family  is  one  of  prominence  in  the  com- 
munity, having  many  warm  friends,  and 
Mrs.  Nellis  commands  the  respect  and  ad- 
miration  of  all  by  the  masterly   way  in 


568 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


which  she  has  carried  forward  her  busi- 
ness interests.  A  thorough  lady,  she  yet 
has  the  business  ability  which  character- 
izes usually  the  sterner  sex. 


HUGH  SMITH,  an  old  and  highly 
respected  resident  of  Danbury 
town  ship,  Ottawa  county,  is  a  na- 
tive of  the  Emerald  Isle,  born  in 
County  Monaghan,  about  the  year  1825. 
His  parents,  James  and  Alice  (Burns) 
Smith,  were  also  born  in  the  same  coun- 
try, and  passed  away  in  their  native  land. 
The  subject  of  this  review  received  a 
limited  education  in  the  schools  of  Ire- 
land, and  from  his  early  youth  has  been 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  In  1847 
he  left  his  native  land,  going  to  Scotland, 
and  for  about  seven  years  resided  in  Glas- 
gow and  Busby.  He  worked  at  farming 
and  in  a  print  factory  until,  deciding  to 
try  his  fortune  in  America,  he  took  pass- 
age, June  17,  1854,  on  a  sailing  vessel, 
which  reached  Quebec,  Canada,  in  August 
of  the  same  year,  after  a  voyage  of  two 
months.  From  there  he  at  once  pro- 
ceeded to  Ohio,  locating  in  Marblehead, 
Danbury  township,  Ottawa  county,  where 
he  worked  in  the  plaster  quarries  for  about 
a  year.  The  succeeding  three  years  were 
spent  in  the  same  line  of  business  at  Ca- 
tawba Island  and  Plasterbed.  About  1 86 1 
he  removed  to  Kelley's  Island,  Sandusky 
county,  where  he  also  worked  in  the  quar- 
ries some  three  years.  In  1861  he  pur- 
chased his  present  farm  near  Lakeside, 
making  it  his  home  continuously  since, 
and  for  some  time  past  he  has  devoted  his 
time  and  energy  to  fruit  growing  on  an 
extensive  scale. 

Mr.  Smith  was  married  in  Sandusky 
City,  in  February,  1855,  to  Alice  Boylan, 
a  daughter  of  James  and  Nancy  (Mat- 
thews) Boylan,  who  were  natives  of 
County  Cavan,  Ireland,  and  are  both 
now  deceased.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith  be- 
came   the  parents    of   ten  children,      (i) 


Mary,  the  eldest,  born  September  2 3, 1855, 
became  the  wife  of  Robert  McKinney,  a 
native  of  Rochester,  N.  Y. ,  who  died 
October  12,  1889,  leaving  three  chil- 
pren — Alice,  Isabel,  and  Jeanette;  Mrs. 
McKinney  was  married  November  6,  1 894, 
to  Francis  Thomson,  and  they  now  re- 
side at  Lakeside.  (2)  Hughie  died  in  in- 
fancy. (3)  Alice,  born  March  8,  1859, 
married  James  Connolly,  and  passed  away 
November  27,  1 893, leaving  a  husband  and 
two  children — Alice  and  Mary — to  mourn 
theloss  of  a  faithful  wife  and  loving  mother. 
(4)  James,  born  January  12,  1861,  resides 
near  Marblehead,  Ohio;  he  married  Miss 
Annie  McMahon,  a  native  of  Ireland,  and 
they  have  a  family  of  six  children,  namely: 
Mary,  James  W.,  Isabel,  Walter,  John 
and  Alice  Margaret.  (5)  Hugh,  born  July 
12,  1863,  died  December  12.  1894.  (6) 
John  B.,  born  August  5,  1865,  is  a  resi- 
dent of  Lakeside;  he  was  married  No- 
vember 29,  1888,  to  Miss  Bridget  Rowan, 
a  native  of  Ireland,  and  they  have  three 
children,  named  respectively — Henry  M. 
and  Elizabeth  (twins),  born  May  i  5,  1889, 
and  William  P.,  born  May  15,  1892.  (7) 
Henry,  born  September  6,  1867,  and  (8) 
Lillian,  born  December  23,  1869,  are  at 
home.  (9)  Catherine,  born  January  27, 
1872,  is  the  wife  of  George  Connolly,  a 
resident  of  Port  Clinton,  Ohio,  and  had 
two  children — George  G.  and  Clarence 
C,  the  former  born  October  7,  1893, 
died  December  26,  1894,  the  latter  born 
February  10,  1895.  (10)  William  T.,  born 
October  6,  1870,  died  March  19,  1889. 
The  mother  of  this  family  was  called  to 
her  final  rest  in  1892,  and  her  death  was 
widely  and  deeply  mourned. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Smith  is  in- 
dependent, voting  for  the  man  rather  than 
the  party,  and  he  and  his  family  are  con- 
sistent members  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church.  Though  well  advanced  in  years 
he  is  still  hale  and  hearty,  and  retains  con- 
siderable of  the  vigor  of  his  youth,  attend- 
ing daily  to  his  fine  fruit  orchard.  He  has 
led  a  busy  life,  and  his  success  is  the  re- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPUICAL  RECORD. 


569 


ward  of  his  own  labors.  Genial  and  social 
in  disposition,  he  is  highly  esteemed  as  a 
friend  and  neighbor. 


JULIUS  M.  PETERSON,  a  substan- 
tial farmer  of  Benton  township,  Ot- 
tawa county,  is  a  son   of  Peter  and 
Hanna  (Hansen)  Peterson,  and  was 
born  at  Port    Clinton,  Portage  township, 
Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio,  May  3,   1859. 

Peter  Peterson,  our  subject's  father 
was  born  in  Schleswig,  Germany,  in  1825, 
and  on  June  18,  1848,  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Hanna  Hansen,  who  was  born, 
in  1823,  also  in  Schleswig,  Germany. 
They  had  nine  children,  three  of  whom 
are  now  living,  as  follows:  Julius  M., 
whose  name  introduces  this  sketch;  Wdl- 
iarn,  who  lives  in  Arkansas,  and  Sophia, 
now  Mrs.  Carstensen,  of  Oak  Harbor, 
Salem  township,  Ottawa  county.  Peter 
Peterson  came  to  America  in  1855,  and 
located  in  Danbury  township,  Ottawa 
Co.,  Ohio,  thence  moving  to  Port  Clinton, 
and  in  1861  coming  to  Benton  township, 
where  he  settled  in  Section  31,  cleared  a 
farm  of  sixty-two  acres,  built  a  barn  and 
fenced  thp  land,  being  assisted  by  his 
children. 

Julius  M.  Peterson,  the  subject  of 
these  lines,  was  about  two  years  of  age 
when  his  parents  brought  him  to  Benton 
township  and,  later,  he  attended  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  Elliston,  Benton  township, 
receiving  a  business  education  that  has 
helped  him  in  his  life  work  since.  On 
September  7,  1881,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Miss  Dora  Braun,  of  Clay 
township,  Ottawa  county,  and  they  have 
had  eight  chiUlren,  their  names  and  dates 
of  birth  being  as  follows:  Julia,  Novem- 
ber 22,  1882;  Leora,  April  i,  1884;  Ed- 
ward, September  10,  1885;  Mabel,  May  6, 
1887;  Ora,  March  3,  1889;  Eliza,  August 
23,  1890;  Gertrude,  February  7,  1892; 
and  Hazel,  May  8,  1894.  Mrs.  Peter- 
son's father,  Adam  Braun,  was  born  in 
Hessen,  Germany,    in  1805;   her  mother, 


Margaret  (Brandt),  was  born  in  Hessen, 
Germany,  in  1S19.  They  were  married 
in  1 836,  and  had  eleven  children,  of  whom 
five  are  now  living,  as  follows:  Dorathea 
(Gerlach),  of  Lorain  county,  Ohio;  Jus- 
tus Braun,  of  Ottawa  county;  Henry 
Braun,  of  Lorain  county,  C3hio;  Eva 
(Truman),  of  Toledo,  Ohio;  and  Dora, 
now  the  wife  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
She  was  born  September  7,  1858,  in  Hes- 
sen, Germany,  where  she  lived  until  four 
years  old,  when  she  came  to  America 
with  her  parents,  who  settled  in  Lorain 
county,  Ohio,  residing  there  seven  years, 
and  then  removing  to  Clay  township,  Ot- 
tawa county,  where  the  daughter  Dora 
lived  until  her  marriage. 

Immediately  after  his  marriage  Mr. 
Peterson  took  his  father's  farm  to  work 
for  three  years.  In  1885  he  went  to  Ar- 
kansas where  he  remained  only  a  few 
months,  making  the  trip  mainly  for  his 
health,  which,  however,  he  did  not  fully 
recover  until  two  years  after  his  return. 
He  then,  in  1887,  went  to  North  Am- 
herst, Lorain  county,  and  was  engineer 
in  a  flour-mill  there  for  two  and  a  half 
years,  after  which  he  removed  to  Benton 
township,  where  he  now  lives  and  farms 
110  acres  of  land,  dealing  somewhat  in 
stock,  mainly  hogs,  which  he  sells  to  local 
buyers.  He  and  his. wife  are  highly- 
esteemed  citizens  of  Benton  township, 
and  are  training  up  a  family  of  children 
to  good  citizenship  and  usefulness  in  the 
world,  work  ranking  among  the  noblest  of 
parental  duties.  In  society  Mr.  Peterson 
ranks  high  among  the  Grangers,  being 
one  of  the  founders  of  Benton  Grange, 
P.  of  H.,  and  is  prominent  among  the 
Odd  Fellows.  In  politics  Mr.  Peterson 
is  a  liberal  Democrat. 


JOHN  H.  OVERMYER  is  one  of  the 
esteemed  and  representative  citizens 
of  Washington    township,  Sandusky 
county,  and  it  is  with    pleasure  that 
we  present  to   our   readers  the  record  of 


570 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


his  life,  knowing  that  it  will  be  received 
with  interest,  for  his  friends  are  many. 
He  was  born  July  20,  18 19,  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, son  of  Samuel  and  Elizabeth 
(Hoke)  Overmyer,  who  were  also  natives 
of  the  Keystone  State,  and  in  1834 
came  to  Ohio,  locating  in  Washington 
township,  Sandusky  county,  on  the  farm 
which  is  now  owned  by  our  subject. 
There  they  spent  their  remaining  days. 

John  H.  Overmyer  received  but  lim- 
ited school  privileges.  When  only  ten 
years  of  age  he  came  to  Ohio,  and  this 
region,  being  then  on  the  frontier,  afford- 
ed few  advantages  to  its  residents.  His 
training  at  farm  labor,  however,  was  not 
meager,  and  he  was  soon  familiar  with 
the  arduous  task  of  developing  wild  land. 
He  worked  with  his  father  up  to  the  time 
of  the  latter's  death,  and  then  inherited 
the  old  homestead,  a  valuable  property, 
which  is  accounted  one  of  the  best  farms 
in  tiis  locality.  He  has  made  farming 
his  life  work,  and  the  evidence  of  his 
labor  is  seen  in  the  highly  improved  place 
which  he  to-day  owns. 

The  domestic  relations  of  Mr.  Over- 
myer have  been  of  the  most  pleasant 
character.  On  January  24,  1856,  he 
was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Boyer,  who 
was  born  December  25,  1833,  daughter 
of  John  and  Catherine  (Smith)  Boyer, 
and  of  this  union  were  born  eleven  chil- 
dren, a  brief  record  of  whom  is  as  follows: 
(i)  Barbara  E.,  born  January  2,  1857,  is 
the  wife  of  David  Miller;  they  were  mar- 
ried October  27,  1881.  and  have  four 
children — Wesley,  born  October  i  5, 1883; 
Rosella,  December  5,  1885;  Harry,  Oc- 
tober 14,  1888,  and  Lula,  April  14,  1894. 
(2)  Mary  E.,  born  September  24,  1859, 
was  married  September  1 3,  1 892,  to  Jeffer- 
son Notstin,  and  children  as  follows  were 
born  to  them — a  daughter,  born  August 
30,  1893,  died  in  infancy;  and  Berl  Em- 
erson, born  June  6,  1895.  (3)  Catherine 
A.,  born  November  23,  i860,  was  mar- 
ried December  17,  1885,  to  Fred  Gnep- 
per,  who  was  born  May  12,   1859,  son  of 


Ernst  and  Mary  Gnepper,  and  children  as 
follows  have  blessed  this  union — J.  V., 
born  December  18,  1886;  P.  ^^.,  January 

30,  1889;  A.  F. ,  January  21,  1891;  and 
M.  F.,  April  6,  1894.  (4)  Amos  A., 
born  November  6,  1862,  was  married  June 
16,  1892,  to  Emma  Hetrick,  and  they 
have  two  children — Clyde,  born  January 

31,  1893;  and  Ray  F. ,  November  30, 
1894.  (5)  Alvin  S  ,  born  October  9, 
1864,  was  married  December  15,  1887, 
to  Edessa  Lattig,  and  two  children  were 
born  to  them — a  son  on  May  16,  1892, 
died,  in  infancy;  and  R.  Ruth,  born 
April  24,  1895.  (6)  Susanna,  Born  April 
28,  1867,  died  May  27.  1883.  (7) 
Celesta,  born  November  8,  1869,  was 
married  March  19,  1891,  to  Alfred  D. 
Hetrick,  and  two  children  blessed  their 
union — Lloyd  E.,  born  July  14,  1892, 
died  July  30,  1893;  and  Vida,  born  Sep- 
tember 3,  1894.  (8)  Elam,  born  Febru- 
ary 15,  1873.  (9)  Festus,  born  March 
23,  1876.  The  two  other  children  died 
in  infancy.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Overmyer 
have  also  an  adopted  daughter,  named 
Mabel  Overmyer,  who  was  born  May  25, 
1880. 

Mr.  Overmyer  and  his  sons  are  sup- 
porters of  the  Republican  party.  The 
family  is  one  of  prominence  in  the  com- 
munity, and  its  members  are  highly  es- 
teemed for  their  genuine  worth.  The 
long  life  of  our  subject  has  been  well 
spent.  He  has  ever  been  true  to  all 
trusts,  whether  public  or  private,  and 
those  who  know  him  best  are  his  warm- 
est friends. 


GEORGE  MALLORY  is  one  of  the 
extensive  fruit  growers  of  Marble 
Head,  Ottawa  county.  Promi- 
nent among  the  brave  old  pio- 
neers of  Danbury  township  stands  this 
worthy  citizen,  who  is  deserving  of  more 
than  a  passing  notice  in  this  volume. 
His  birth  occurred  in  Newtown,  Fairfield 
Co.,    Conn.,  December  27,  1823,  and  he 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQRAPniCAL  RECORD. 


571 


is  a  son  of  Nathaniel  and  Laiirena  fFoote) 
Mallory,  wiio  were  both  also  natives  of  the 
Nutmeg  State.  Of  the  family  of  four 
children,  George  was  the  only  one  to  lo- 
cate in  Ohio,  while  his  sister  and  two 
brothers  are  still  supp(«ed  to  reside  in 
Connecticut.  The  father  died  in  Au- 
gust, 1825,  and  in  1S30  George  went  to 
live  with  an  uncle. 

The  education  of  our  subject  was 
very  limited,  as  in  boyhood  and  early 
youth  his  time  was  almost  entirely  occu- 
pied in  laboring  for  his  imcle  and  his  only 
opportunity  for  attending  school  each 
year  being  the  short  winter  term,  while 
ofttimes  not  even  then  could  he  be  spared 
from  the  farm  duties.  He  is  a  thorough, 
practical  fanner  as  his  well-cultivated 
lands  bear  evidence,  and  for  the  past 
twenty  years  almost  his  entire  attention 
has  been  devoted  to  fruit  growing.  In 
September,  1843,  he  located  on  Catawba 
Island,  there  being  at  that  time  but  twen- 
ty-two voters  on  the  Island.  For  seven 
years  he  there  engaged  in  agricultural 
pursuits,  and  in  1850  he  sold  that  place, 
purchasing  his  present  farm  in  Danbury 
township,  upon  which  he  has  now  made 
his  home  for  over  forty-five  years. 

In  that  township,  on  May  18,  1845, 
Mr.  Mallory  was  married  to  Miss  Cather- 
ine D.  Hartshorne,  who  was  born  in  San- 
dusky City,  Erie  Co.,  Ohio,  March  8, 
1825,  a  daughter  of  Wyatt  and  Jane 
(Kelly)  Hartshorne.  Their  union  was 
blessed  with  five  children,  three  of  whom 
are  yet  living:  Eli/;aJ.,  born  November 
15,  1850;  Hattie  M.,  born  April  3,  1853, 
married  to  F.  A.  Rice,  February  6,  1883, 
and  resides  at  Lakeside,  Ohio;  and  George, 
born  September  23,  1865.  The  mother 
of  this  family  passed  from  earth  July  27, 
1892.  Her  father  had  come  to  Ohio  in 
1 8 10,  and  two  years  later  located  in  Erie 
county,  where  in  1824  he  married  Jane 
Kelly.  Later  he  removed  to  Danbury 
township,  and  here  resided  up  to  the 
time  of  his  death.  He  was  one  of  Otta- 
wa county's  most  progressive  and  popu- 


lar agriculturists,  and  was  a  highly  es- 
teemed citizen.  His  faithful  wife  still 
survives  him  at  the  advanced  age  of 
ninety  years,  and  makes  her  home  with  a 
daughter  in  Sandusky  City. 

Mr.  Mallory  is  one  of  the  few  remain- 
ing pioneers  of  the  county,  who  has  been 
spared  to  see  the  wild  timber  land  give 
place  to  fertile  farms,  and  the  untutored 
Indian  and  wild  animals  of  the  forest 
vanish  before  the  inevitable  march  of 
civilization,  while  his  personal  unswerv- 
ing integrity  and  general  rectitude  through 
life  has  gained  for  him  an  enviable  repu- 
tation in  the  commimity  where  he  is  best 
known.  In  his  political  principles  he  has 
always  been  a  stanch  Republican,  and  the 
family  attend  the  Congregational  Church. 


WILLIAM  WONNELL.  Among 
those  who  follow  farming  and 
fruit  growing  in  Portage  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county,  and  well 
deserve  mention  among  the  leading  citi- 
zens of  the  community  is  Mr.  Wonnell. 
Born  December  28,  1832,  in  the 
township  which  is  still  his  home,  he  is  a 
son  of  Isaac  and  Margaret  (Shook)  Won- 
nell, the  former  of  whom  was  born  in 
Maryland,  June  18,  18 10,  and  died  Feb- 
ruary 18,  1875,  while  his  wife,  to  whom 
he  was  married  February  16,  1832,  was 
born  in  Pickaway  county,  Ohio,  August 
18,  1814,  and  died  February  2,  1895. 
Both  became  early  settlers  of  Ottawa 
county,  the  Shook  family  locating  in  Port- 
age township  about  1825,  the  Wonnell 
family  a  short  time  afterward.  John 
Shook,  father  of  Mrs.  Wonnell,  died 
April  20,  1865,  at  the  age  of  seventy-five, 
and  his  wife  Susanna  passed  away  March 
3,  1856,  at  the  age  of  si.xty-two;  the 
mother  of  our  subject  died  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  eighty  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Wonnell  had  a  family  of  seven  children, 
namely:  William;  Samuel,  born  March  24, 
1834,  and  died  January  5,  1858;  Su- 
sanna, born  November  8,  1835,  and  die^ 


572 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHWAL  RECORD. 


November  4,  1836;  Margaret,  born  De- 
cember 9,  1837,  and  died  October  17, 
1 861;  Sarah,  born  February  19,  1842, 
and  died  October  10,  1893;  Daniel,  born 
December  13,  1843,  and  died  September 
26,  1849;  and  Ephraim,  born  January  8, 
1850.  The  eldest  and  the  youngest  are 
now  the  only  surviving  members  of  the 
family. 

William  ^^'onnell  acquired  his  educa- 
tion in  the  district  schools  of  the  town- 
ship, and  since  earl)-  life  has  devoted  his 
energies  to  agricultural  pursuits,  while  for 
the  past  twelve  years  he  has  also  exten- 
sively engaged  in  fruit  growing.  His 
labors  were  interrupted,  however,  by  his 
enlistment  in  his  country's  service  May  i, 
1864,  with  the  one-hundred-day  men  of 
Company  K,  One  Hundred  and  Thirty- 
ninth  Ohio  V.  I.  During  his  service  he 
was  stationed  at  Point  Lookout,  Md., 
and  after  being  discharged  he  returned  to 
his  home,  where  he  resumed  farming. 

Mr.  Wonncll  was  married  March  26, 
1 86 1,  to  Mary  S.,  the  estimable  daughter 
of  Joshua  C.  and  Stila  (Shirley)  Martin. 
Her  father  was  born  in  the  Mohawk  Val- 
ley, New  York,  in  1 806,  and  was  of  En- 
glish lineage,  while  her  mother  was  born 
in  Almeda  county,  N.  Y. ,  October  13, 
1 8 1 1 ,  of  American  parentage.  The  grand- 
parents of  Mrs.  Wonnell  removed  from 
the  latter  county  to  Ohio,  in  181 7,  and  af- 
ter living  in  Erie  county,  for  a  short  time 
took  up  their  residence  in  Danbury  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county,  where  they  both 
passed  away.  Joshua  Martin  was  one  of  the 
first  settlers  of  Erie  county,  and  was  a  sea 
captain,  sailing  on  the  lakes  for  many  years, 
during  which  time  he  resided  in  Sandusky 
county.  He  died  December  23,  1840,  his 
wife  on  January  28,  1885,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-tive  years,  three  months  and  thir- 
teen days.  She  removed  to  the  Penin- 
sula when  a  young  girl  with  her  parents 
who  located  near  Lakeside,  which  at  that 
time  was  mainly  the  home  of  the  Indians. 
She  endured  many  trials  and  hardships 
incident  to  the  frontier,  and  lived  a  noble 


Christian  life.  In  1S31  she  became  the 
wife  of  J.  C.  Martin,  who  died  nine\ears 
later,  and  a  year  after  married  Elijah 
Nichols,  whose  death  occurred  ten  years 
later.  In  1858  she  became  the  wife  of 
James  Metcalf,  who  survived  her  about 
two  weeks,  dying  at  the  very  advanced  age 
of  ninety-two.  In  1843  Mrs.  Metcalf  be- 
came a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church,  and  her  exemplary  life  was  in 
harmony  with  her  profession.  She  reared 
eleven  children,  including  two  adopted 
children  and  one  grandson.  Her  devo- 
tion to  her  family  was  unceasing,  and  she 
had  not  only  their  love  and  esteem,  but 
also  the  high  regard  of  all  who  knew  her. 
Mrs  Wonnell,  who  was  born  in  Ohio, 
October  11,  1840,  is  the  only  surviving 
member  of  the  family.  By  her  marriage 
she  has  become  the  mother  of  four  chil- 
dren, only  one  of  whom  is  now  living — 
Maggie  Estelle,  born  November  5,  1865. 
The  youngest  child  died  in  infancy;  Ella 
May,  born  December  25,  1S61,  died  July 
31,  1S83;  William  Courtland,  born  April 
14,  1863,  died  November  i,  1888.  Mr. 
Wonnell  is  a  member  of  George  R.  Mc- 
Ritchie  Post,  No.  524,  G.  A.  R.  In  poli- 
tics he  is  a  stalwart  Republican,  and  has 
served  as  school  director  and  supervisor 
for  several  terms.  He  and  his  family  at- 
tend the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  of 
which  he  is  a  consistent  member.  His 
friendship  is  prized  most  by  those  who 
know  him  best,  a  fact  which  indicates  a 
well-spent  and  honorable  life. 


WILLIAM  G.  MILLER,  a  most 
prominent  fruit  grower  of  Dan- 
bury  township,  Ottawa  county, 
was  born  December  13,  1859, 
on  the  old  homestead  farm  which  is  still 
his  place  of  abode,  and  throughout  the 
community  in  which  he  has  always  lived 
he  is  held  in  high  regard,  a  fact  which  in- 
dicates a  well-spent  life. 

Descended    from    German    ancestry, 
the  family  was  founded   in   America  by 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


573 


Claus  Miller,  the  father  of  our  subject, 
who  was  born  in  the  Province  of  Han- 
over, June  2,  1 82  I,  and  emigrated  to  this 
country  in  1838',  locating  in  New  York 
City,  where  he  engaged  in  the  grocery 
business  until  185 1.  In  that  year  he 
came  to  Ohio,  and  took  up  his  residence 
in  Danbury  township,  Ottawa  county, 
casting  in  his  lot  with  its  early  settlers. 
Here  he  successfully  engaged  in  agricul- 
tural pursuits  until  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred May  2,  1880.  He  was  married 
in  New  York  City.  June  2,  1847,  to  Kath- 
rina  Buck,  who  was  born  in  the  Province 
of  Hanover,  Germany,  August  i,  1824, 
and  with  her  parents  crossed  the  briny 
deep  in  1840.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Miller 
were  born  five  children:  Anna  C. ,  who 
was  born  in  New  York,  April  2,  1848,  is 
now  residing  in  Toledo,  Ohio;  John  H., 
born  in  the  same  place,  March  11,  185  i, 
was  a  prominent  farmer  and  fruit  grower 
of  Danbury  township,  Ottawa  county, 
and  died  April  20,  1894,  leaving  a  widow 
and  two  sons;  Herman,  born  March  4, 
1853,  is  now  residing  in  Sandusky,  Ohio; 
William  G.  is  the  ne.\t  in  the  family;  Ma- 
tilda R. ,  born  May  5,  1862,  is  the  wife  of 
J.  W.  Muggy,  who  is  living  in  Catawba 
Island. 

In  the  usual  manner  of  farmer  lads 
William  G.  Miller  spent  the  days  of  his 
boyhood  and  youth  and  acquired  his  ele- 
mentary education  in  the  district  schools 
of  his  native  township,  after  which  he  en- 
tered Oberlin  College,  at  Oberlin,  Ohio, 
where  he  pursued  his  studies  four  years. 
In  the  meantime  he  taught  school  three 
terms,  and  after  the  completion  of  his 
school  life  continued  teaching  several 
terms,  being  employed  seven  terms  in 
Danbury  township,  and  two  on  Catawba 
Island.-  During  this  time  he  also  followed 
agricultural  pursuits  on  the  old  home- 
stead, and  since  1886  he  has  devoted  his 
entire  attention  to  farming  and  fruit  rais- 
ing. He  now  owns  and  operates  a  rich 
and  well-cultivated  tract  of  land,  forty 
acres  being  devoted  to  peaches,  pears  and 


plums,  and  the  neat  appearance  of  the 
place  indicates  his  systematic  and  careful 
supervision.  He  has  made  the  growing 
of  different  kinds  of  fruits  adapted  to  the 
soil  a  specialty,  and  believes  in  thorough 
and  intensive  cultivation,  to  obtain  best 
results. 

On  January  20,  1892,  Mr.  Miller  mar- 
ried Miss  Lydia  Reitz,  daughter  of  Rev. 
G.  F.  Reitz,  who  was  born  in  Browns- 
ville, Minn.,  June  29.  1866,  and  one  child 
graces  their  union — Helen  C  born  No- 
vember 8,  1892.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Miller 
attend  the  Lutheran  Church.  He  is 
highly  esteemed  in  the  community,  where 
he  resides,  for  his  sterling  worth  and 
strict  integrity,  and  belongs  to  that  class 
of  progressive  and  public -spirited  young 
men  to  which  the  West  owes  its  prosper- 
ity and  advancement. 


ELIHU  LINDSLEY.  Among  the 
prosperous  farmers  of  Carroll 
township,  Ottawa  county,  the 
records  of  whose  lives  fill  an  im- 
portant place  in  this  volume,  it  gives  us 
pleasure  to  commemorate  the  name  of  the 
gentleman  whose  sketch  is  here  given. 
He  is  a  native  of  Ottawa  county,  born  in 
the  town  where  he  now  resides.  March  14, 
1849,  and  is  a  son  of  Elihu  and  Nancy 
(Webster)  Lindsley,  both  of  English  de- 
scent, the  former  a  native  of  New  Jersey, 
the  latter  of  Kentucky. 

Like  the  majority  of  the  young  men 
of  that  day,  our  subject  received  but  a 
limited  education  in  the  primitive  log 
schoolhouseof  the  district,  and  from  early 
life  has  been  engaged  in  agricultural  pur- 
suits. His  life  has  been  a  quiet  one, 
without  any  uncommon  incidents,  as  he 
had  no  adventures  as  a  pioneer  in  a  new 
country,  was  engaged  in  business  in  a  new 
town,  nor  has  he  aspired  to  any  conspicu- 
ous office.  Yet  to  those  who  know  him, 
it  is  evident  he  would  have  been  success- 
ful in  any  line  of  life  as  he  has  been  in 
that  which  he  has  chosen.     On  March  7, 


574 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


1869,  in  Carroll  township,  he  wedded 
Vashti  E.  Humphrey,  who  was  born  in 
Ashtabula,  Ohio,  January  15,  1849,  and  is 
a  daughter  of  Henry  and  Catherine  (Zieg- 
ler)  Humphrey.  To  this  union  have  come 
eight  children,  as  follows:  Charles  H., 
born  May  10,  1870,  now  makes  his  home 
in  Ashtabula;  Katie  O.  I.,  born  August  12, 
1872,  is  the  wife  of  Albert  Gyde,  of  Car- 
roll township;  Florence  A.,  born  January 
15,  1875,  is  the  wife  of  Elliott  Whipple, 
of  the  same  township;  Kalph  B.,  born  De- 
cember 9,  1876,  is  residing  in  Ashtabula; 
Lelila  M.  was  born  February  3,  1879; 
Wesley  R.  was  born  January  i,  1881; 
Bertha  M.  was  born  November  15,  1882; 
and  Laura  M.  was  born  July  16,  1885. 

Mr.  Lindsley  is  a  prominent  citizen, 
especiallj'  as  a  leader  in  such  good  deeds 
as  need  sympathy,  active  work  and  be- 
nevolent contribution — in  fact,  his  whole 
life  has  been  an  example  of  what  princi- 
ple, square  dealing  and  honesty  can  ac- 
complish. He  and  his  famih'  are  faith- 
ful attendants  of  the  United  Brethren 
Church,  and  are  held  in  the  highest  esteem. 
Though  no  office  seeker,  Mr.  Lindsey  has 
been  called  upon  by  his  fellow  citizens  to 
serve  as  school  director  and  constable  of 
his  township,  and  he  served  as  trustee  of 
his  township  a  number  of  years. 


JOHN  F.  RUDY,  who  for  some  time 
has  been  mail  agent  at   Limestone, 
Ottawa  county,  is  a  native  of  Penn- 
sylvania, born  in  the  town   of  Lan- 
caster, July  14,  1 83 1,  son  of  Theophilus 
and  Elizabeth  (Frittz)  Rudy. 

The  parents  of  our  subject  were  both  al- 
so born  in  Pennsylvania,  the  father  in  about 
1 8 10,  and  of  their  family  five  are  still  liv- 
ing— three  sons  and  two  daughters — all 
but  John  F.  living  in  Pennsylvania,  where 
the  mother  also  makes  her  home.  The 
father  died  in  that  State  May  29,  1894. 
Mr.  Rudy's  maternal  grandfather,  John 
Frittz,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  and 
lived    to    be    seventy-five  years  old;  the 


grandmother,  who  was  some  years  his 
junior,  died  at  a  comparatively  early  age. 
The  great-grandmother,  Mrs.  Merrick, 
was  born  in  Philadelphia  in  1754,  and 
lived  to  the  extraordinary  age  of  one  hun- 
dred and  five  years  and  five  days. 

John  F.  Rudy  attended  the  district 
schools  until  fifteen  years  of  age,  when  he 
commenced  to  work,  turning  over  his 
wages  to  his  father  until  of  age.  In  his 
Nouth  he  learned  the  blacksmithing  trade, 
but  he  has  never  devoted  himself  to  it, 
preferring  farming  and  other  work.  At 
the  age  of  nineteen  he  married  Miss  Liz- 
zie Porter,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  this  mar- 
riage has  been  blessed  with  two  children: 
Emma,  born  May  6,  1861,  and  Ida,  born 
in  1867,  the  last  named  dying  in  infancy. 
Emma  is  married  and  lives  in  Pennsylva- 
nia, where  her  husband,  Mr.  Wilco.x,  is  act- 
ively engaged  in  the  tobacco  business.  Af- 
ter marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rudy  lived  at  his 
father's  for  two  years,  after  which  he 
worked  by  the  day  among  farmers  in  his 
native  State  for  two  years,  or  until  1863, 
when  he  came  west  to  Ohio,  locating  in 
Clark  county.  Early  in  1865  Mr.  Rudy 
entered  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  enlist- 
ing in  Company  I,  One  Hundred  and 
Ninety-seventh  O.  V.  I.,  with  which  he 
served  to  the  close  of  the  conflict.  He 
was  never  in  any  hard-fought  battles  dur- 
ing his  service,  and  the  command  was  just 
on  its  way  to  assist  in  the  siege  of  Rich- 
mond when  the  news  of  its  surrender 
reached  them.  During  his  absence  Mrs. 
Rudy  was  in  Pennsylvania  with  her  people. 

After  his  return  from  the  army  Mr. 
Rudy  farmed  six  months  in  Ohio,  and 
then  went  to  Pennsylvania  to  visit  his 
parents,  remaining  there  one  year,  after 
which  he  traveled  for  a  time  through 
Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illinois.  He  finally 
took  a  position  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  as 
clerk  on  a  steamer  on  the  Ohio  river, 
which  he  held  one  year,  and  subsequently 
farmed  near  Dayton  for  three  years.  Af- 
ter making  another  trip  to  Pennsj'lvania 
to  visit  his    parents,   he   traveled    exten- 


^' 


f^L^     ^  /i<^ 


I 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPmCAL  RECORD. 


575 


sively  throughout  the  United  States,  and 
on  March  9,  1892,  he  came  to  Ottawa 
county,  Ohio,  taking  up  his  residence  in 
Limestone,  where  since  1892  he  has  been 
mail  agent,  and  he  is  comfortably  sit- 
uated. In  Benton  township  and  vicinity 
he  enjoys  the  respect  of  all  who  know 
him  as  a  useful  citizen;  socially,  he  is  also 
well-known,  holding  membership  with 
George  Fields  Post  No.  168,  G.  A.  R. ,  in 
which  he  is  chaplain,  is  a  member  of  Ben- 
ton Grange,  in  which  he  is  also  chaplain; 
and  of  the  Soldiers  Union  of  Ottawa 
county. 


OLIVER  J.  TRUE,  retired  railroad 
contractor  and  builder,  whose 
home  has  been  in  Port  Clinton, 
Ottawa  county,  since  1864,  is  a 
native  of  New  York  State,  born  June  12, 
1827,  in  the  city  of  Batavia.  He  was  the 
only  son  of  Oliver  and  Sarah  (Marvin) 
True,  both  New  Englanders  by  birth, 
the  former  of  whom  died  in  the  State  of 
New  York,  the  latter  in  Minnesota. 

Our  subject  received  a  liberal  educa- 
tion at  the  public  schools  of  and  seminary 
in  Norwalk,  Ohio,  after  which  he  served 
an  apprenticeship  to  the  carpenter's  trade 
under  John  Randolph.  Completing  same 
at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  he  commenced 
railroad  work,  bridge  building  on  the 
Junction  railroad,  now  the  northern  divi- 
sion of  the  Lake  Shore  &  Michigan 
Southern  railroad.  He  constructed  the 
first  bridge  across  Sandusky  Bay,  rebuilt 
it  in  1871,  and  again  in  1880;  in  fact  he 
was  connected  with  the  Lake  Shore  & 
Michigan  Southern  railroad  as  bridge 
builder  and  road  master,  between  Cleve- 
land and  Toledo,  for  about  thirty-three 
years,  or  until  1883,  when  he  retired  from 
the  service.  His  home  in  Port  Clinton 
is  situated  in  the  corner  of  a  large  fruit 
farm  containing  apple  and  peach  trees  in 
abundance,  and  4,000  quince  trees.  In 
his  fraternal  affiliations  he  is  a  thirty-sec- 


ond-degree Freemason ;  in  politics  a  stanch 
Democrat. 

On  May  15,  1849,  Mr.  True  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Eunice  Sanderson,  who  was 
born  March  12,  1829,  at  Brookfield,  Vt., 
daughter  of  Ozias  and  Olive  (Jefferson) 
Sanderson,  the  former  of  whom  died  in 
Indiana,  the  latter  in  Berlin  Heights, 
Ohio.  To  this  union  came  children  as 
follows:  Charles  C. ,  born  February  18, 
1850;  he  is  a  practicing  physician  in  Cleve- 
land, Ohio,  and  professor  of  diseases  of 
the  nervous  system  in  the  Cleveland 
Medical  College.  Willis  C. ,  born  De- 
cember 29,  1852,  died  March  17,  1853. 
Adaleta,  born  July  14,  1854,  died  April 
15,  1894.  Allen  Jay  is  spoken  of  farther 
on.  Edwin  M.,  born  August  18,  1861, 
is  engaged  in  the  milling  business  in  Port 
Clinton,  Ohio.  George  A.  is  also  spoken 
of  below.  John  W.,  born  January  20, 
1869,  died  December  22,  1890. 

Allen  Jaj'  True  was  born  in  Sandusky 
City,  Ohio,  September  6,  1857,  He  at- 
tended the  common  schools  of  Port  Clin- 
ton, after  which  he  commenced  an  ap- 
prenticeship in  the  repair  works  of  the 
Lake  Shore  &  Michigan  Southern  railroad. 
After  some  three  years  so  engaged  he 
learned  telegraphy  on  the  same  road, 
which  branch  of  the  service  he  followed 
some  years,  part  of  the  time  as  night 
operator  at  Danbury,  Ottawa  county, 
and  was  then  (in  1879)  promoted  to  as- 
sistant road  master  and  tie  and  lumber 
inspector,  on  the  Toledo  division  of  the 
road.  In  1884  he  left  the  railroad,  and 
buying  out  a  general  fire  insurance  busi- 
ness at  Peru,  Ind.,  he  removed  thither, 
there  remaining  till  1888,  when  he  sold 
out,  and  returning  to  Port  Clinton  took 
charge  of  the  agency  for  Ottawa  county 
of  the  Ohio  Farmers  Insurance  Co.,  in 
which  he  has  since  been  successfully  en- 
gaged, having  the  leading  insurance  busi- 
ness in  the  county.  In  January,  1885, 
Allen  J.  True  was  married  to  Miss  Clara 
B.  Johnson,  who  was  born  at  Port  Clin- 
ton, Ohio,  in    December,  1858,   and  two 


576 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


children  have  been  born  to  them:  John 
A.  and  Mary  Eunice.  Socially  Mr.  True 
is  a  Knight  Templar,  and  has  been  mas- 
ter of  O.  H.  Perry  Lodge,  Port  Clinton, 
for  a  number  of  years.  Politically  he  is 
a  Democrat. 

George  A.  True  was  born  December 
31,  1865,  at  Port  Clinton,  Ohio,  the  pub- 
lic and  high  schools  of  which  city  he  at- 
tended, graduating  from  the  latter  in  the 
spring  of  1886,  in  the  fall  of  which  year 
he  entered  the  high  school  at  Ann  Arbor, 
Mich.,  remaining  there  one  winter.  In 
the  following  spring  and  summer,  having 
returned  to  Port  Clinton,  he  did  some 
work  in  the  interests  of  the  Ohio  Farm- 
ers Insurance  Co.,  and  in  the  fall  of  the 
same  year  (1887)  he  commenced  teaching 
the  Port  Clinton  High  School,  as  principal, 
a  position  he  held  some  two  years.  In 
1890  he  was  appointed  county  school  ex- 
aminer, an  incumbency  he  has  since  filled, 
and,  same  year,  commenced  reading  law 
in  the  office  of  T.  J.  Marshall,  attorney 
at  law.  Port  Clinton.  After  about  a  year 
he  entered  the  Unisersity  of  Michigan, 
Ann  Arbor,  graduated  therefrom  in  the 
spring  of  1893;  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  in 
C)hio,in  March,  same  year,  and  in  Michigan 
in  the  following  June.  In  August,  1893,  he 
opened  an  office  in  Port  Clinton  for  the 
general  practice  of  law,  was  elected  city 
solicitor  in  the  spring  of  1895,  and  still 
holds  that  ofifice.  In  politics  Mr.  True  is 
a  Democrat.  He  has  not  yet  enlisted  in 
the  noble  army  of  benedicts,  preferring 
to  disport  himself  for  some  time  longer, 
at  least,  in  the  Arcadian  fields  of  single- 
blessedness. 


GEORGE  A.  BEEBE,  one  of  the 
most  prominent  and  successful 
fruit  growers  and  highly  respected 
citizens  of  Danbury  township,  Ot- 
tawa county,  was  born  in  Columbia  town- 
ship, Lorain  Co.,  Ohio,  January  3,  1836, 
to  Willis  and  Sally  (Bronson)  Beebe,  the 
former  a  native  of  the  Empire  State,  the 


latter  of  Lorain  county,  Ohio.  Our  sub- 
ject received  an  elementary  education  in 
the  schools  of  his  native  township,  after 
which  he  attended  Oberlin  College,  at 
Oberlin,  Ohio,  and  in  early  life  he  learned 
the  carpenter's  trade,  which  occupation 
he  followed  until  1861. 

In  October  of  that  year  Mr.  Beebe 
became  a  member  of  Company  E,  Si.xty- 
fifth  O.  V.  I.,  and  with  his  regiment  took 
part  in  many  important  engagements  no- 
ticeable among  which  were  the  battles  of 
Shiloh,  Chickamauga,  Buzzard  Roost 
Mountain  and  Resaca.  For  four  years 
he  valiantly  aided  in  the  defense  of  his 
country,  being  mustered  out  of  service  at 
Nashville,  Tenn. ,  in  November,  1865, 
after  which  he  returned  to  Columbia 
township,  Lorain  county.  In  the  winter 
of  1865  Mr.  Beebe  went  to  Middletown, 
Conn.,  where,  March  13,  1866,  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Selina  L.  Tryon,  a  daughter  of 
Joseph  and  Lucetta  Tryon,  and  their  un- 
ion has  been  blessed  with  two  children: 
Gertrude  L. ,  born  May  27,  1S67,  now 
teaching  school  in  .Middletown,  Conn.; 
and  T.  Ervin,  born  January  2,  1870,  now 
a  civil  engineer  in  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

Shortly  after  his  marriage,  in  1866, 
Mr.  Beebe  located  in  Danbury  township, 
Ottawa  county,  and  for  almost  thirty 
years  has  been  one  of  its  most  progressive 
and  honored  residents.  Of  late  years  he 
has  been  extensively  engaged  in  fruit  cul- 
ture, and  thoroughly  understands  that 
business  as  well  as  farming  in  all  its  de- 
tails, to  which  fact  his  well-cultivated 
fields,  productive  orchards  and  neat  sur- 
roundings bear  ample  evidence.  In  all 
his  duties  of  husband,  father  and  neigh- 
bor he  occupies  a  high  place  in  the  es- 
teem of  his  fellow  citizens.  He  has  never 
been  a  seeker  after  public  office,  but  has 
efficiently  filled  the  position  of  trustee  of 
his  township  for  several  terms.  Socially, 
he  belongs  to  O.  H.  Perry  Lodge,  No. 
241,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  I.  B.  Richards 
Post,  No.  454,  G.  A.  R.  In  political 
preferences  he  is  a  Republican,  and  both 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPUICAL  RECORD. 


577 


he  and  his  wife  are  consistent  members  of 
the  Congregational  Church,  and  at  the 
organization  of  the  Church  in  March, 
1S73,  in  his  township,  ho  was  elected 
clerk  of  the  Church,  and  has  filled  that 
position  till  the  present  time. 

Willis  Beebe,  the  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, was  born  March  16,  1806,  and  was 
a  son  of  Abram  Beebe  and  grandson  of 
Zera  Beebe,  the  latter  of  whom  was  a 
lieutenant  in  the  Colonial  army  during 
the  Revolutionary  war.  The  father  lo- 
cated in  Danbury  township  in  1866,  with 
his  sons  Sherlock,  George  A.,  and  Bela 
B. ,  and  became  an  honored  and  revered 
citizen  of  the  community,  but  did  not  live 
long  to  enjoy  his  home,  dying  April  25, 
1868.  In  Lorain  count}',  Ohio,  March 
18,  1827,  he  wedded  Miss  Sally  Bronson, 
whose  birth  occurred  November  11,  18 10. 
She  passed  away  October  4,  1889.  By 
this  union  nine  children  were  born,  six  of 
whom  are  still  living,  namely:  Sherlock 
U.,  residing  at  Lakeside,  Danbury  town- 
ship; George  A.,  subject  of  this  sketch; 
Mary  B. ,  widow  of  Norris  C.  North,  of 
Marshall,  Minn.;  Miles  A.,  the  oldest 
letter  carrier  in  the  Cleveland  post  office 
department,  and  the  second  oldest  in  the 
United  States;  Eva  B.,  wife  of  Frank  G. 
Lee,  of  Lakeside,  Danbury  township;  and 
Bela  B.,  who  enlisted  in  the  One  Hundred 
and  Eleventh  O.  V.  I.,  in  1S62,  and 
served  during  the  war. 

Sherlock  Beebe,  the  oldest  living 
member  of  the  family,  is  a  leading  fruit 
grower  of  Danbury  township;  his  orchard 
adjoining  that  of  our  subject.  He  was 
born  in  Liverpool,  Medina  Co.,  Ohio, 
June  12,  1 83 1,  and  received  the  advant- 
ages of  a  very  liberal  education  in  the 
select  schools  of  his  native  township.  He 
was  reared  to  agricultural  pursuits,  and 
also  engaged  in  fishing;  but  of  late  years 
his  entire  attention  has  been  given  to  fruit 
culture,  and  his  fine  orchards  bear  evi- 
dence of  the  care,  thrift  and  sound  judg- 
ment of  the  owner,  who  justly  enjoys  the 
good  will  and  confidence  of  his  neighbors. 


He  was  married  June  12,  1862,  in  Xenia, 
Greene  Co.,  Ohio,  to  Miss  Louisa  L. 
Stowe,  a  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Mary 
Stowe,  but  she  was  called  to  her  final 
rest  on  the  first  of  the  following  Septem- 
ber. He  is  an  earnest  supporter  of  the 
Republican  party,  and  has  served  as  clerk 
of  Columbia  township  one  term,  and  for 
si.x  years  was  justice  of  the  peace  in  Dan- 
bury township;  at  the  organization  of  the 
Congregational  Church  in  Danbury  town- 
ship, he  was  chosen  as  one  of  its  deacons, 
and  has  held  that  office  in  the  church 
continuousiy  till  the  present  time. 


FRANK  BROWN,  a  practical 
farmer  and  fisherman,  and  a  pop- 
ular and  respected  resident  of 
Carroll  township,  Ottawa  county, 
was  born  in  Venice,  Erie  Co.,  Ohio,  Au- 
gust II,  1S56,  and  is  a  son  of  Daniel  and 
Melissa  J.  (James)  Brown.  He  was  but 
eight  years  old  when  he  accompanied  his 
parents  to  Carroll  township,  and  when 
his  farm  duties  would  permit  he  attended 
the  district  schools  of  the  townships  where- 
in his  youthful  days  were  spent.  With 
the  exception  of  two  years  devoted  to 
railroading,  his  whole  life  has  been  given 
to  agricultural  puisuits  and  to  fishing. 

At  Port  Clinton,  Ottawa  county,  on 
January  20,  1880,  Mr.  Brown  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Minnie  Goodside, 
who  was  born  near  Dubuque,  Iowa,  Au- 
gust 13,  1859,  and  is  one  of  a  family  of 
nine  children  born  to  William  and  Min- 
nie Goodside,  seven  of  whom  are  yet  liv- 
ing: William,  of  Bogart,  Erie  Co.,  Ohio; 
Minnie,  wife  of  our  subject;  Frank,  of 
Detroit,  Mich. ;  and  Charles,  Andrew, 
Clelia  and  Eugene,  of  Sandusky  City, 
Ohio.  Her  parents  located  in  Erie 
county,  Ohio,  in  1861,  where  they  still 
reside.  In  the  family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Brown  were  four  children:  Alvira,  born 
January  16,  1881;  Bertha,  born  June  16, 
1882;  Nettie  G.,  born  March  22,    1884, 


oiS 


COMMR.VORATn'E  BIOGRAPmCAL  RECORD. 


and  died  March  3.  1894;  and  George  R., 
born  April  4.  iSS;. 

Socially.  Mr.  Brown  is  a  prominent 
member  of  the  Knights  of  the.  Maccabees, 
while  politically  he  is  an  ardent  adherent 
of  the  men  and  measures  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  and  for  two  terms  served  as 
township  clerk.  Thouich  still  a  young 
mnn.  he  has  won  for  himself  a  name  and 
standing  in  the  community  in  which  he 
resides,  that  might  well  be  envied  by 
many  an  older  man.  He  well  deserves 
the  prosperity  that  has  rewarded  his  years 
of  toil,  and  his  hospitality  and  cheering 
manner,  combined  with  sterling  worth, 
have  won  for  him  a  host  of  friends. 


PHILLIP  VROMAN.  one  of  the 
most  progressive  and  highlynes- 
teemed  residents,  as  well  as  the 
oldest  living  settler  of  Put  in  Bay- 
Island.  Ottawa  county,  and  a  prominent 
and  successful  fruit  grower,  whose  sur- 
roundings indicate  thrift,  enterprise  and 
good  management,  was  born  in  Otsego 
county,  X.  Y..  August  ^.:.  1823.  and  is  a 
son  of  John  and  Nancy  ^Becker'*  Woman, 
both  of  whom  were  natives  of  New  York 
State.  Their  parents,  who  were  born  in 
Germany,  located  in  New  York  in  an 
early  day  in  the  histon."  of  that  State,  and 
their  respective  fathers  were  soldiers  in 
the  K  .^ry  war. 

W  _-  nine  years  of  age  our  sub- 

ject removed  to  Canada,  where  for  a  few 
years  he  resided  with  his  father's  brother. 
He  then  went  to  what  is  now  Lake  county, 
Ohio,  where  he  obtained  a  limited  educa- 
tion, and  after  leaving  school  he  sailed 
upon  the  lakes  for  several  years.  On 
July  I.  1S44,  he  located  in  Put  in  Bay 
township,  Ottawa  county,  and  for  over 
fifty  years  has  been  a  continuous  resident 
of  that  Island,  foremost  in  all  works  per- 
taining to  its  improvement,  and  giving  of 
his  time  and  means  toward  all  interests 
calculated  to  promote  the  general  welfare. 
Shortly  after  his  arrival  here  he  purchased 


too  acres  of  land,  erected  a  substantial 
home,  and  for  many  years  eng-aged  in  ag- 
ricultural pursuits  and  fishing  for  a  liveli- 
hood; but  of  late  years  his  attention  has 
been  more  particularly  devoted  to  fruit 
culture — his  orchards  and  vineyards  Iving 
among  the  finest  on  the  island,  on  which 
he  set  the  first  vineyard. 

Mr.  \'roman  was  married  in  Tiffin. 
Ohio,  May  2.  1847,  to  Miss  .\melia  Luce. 
a  daughter  of  Joshua  and  Electa  ^Sander- 
son) Luce.  She  was  iK^rn  in  O.xford. 
Erie  Co.,  Ohio,  March  31,  1S29,  and  is 
of  English  and  Welsh  lineage.  The  fam- 
ily lx>rn  of  this  marriage  numbers  four 
sons:  Daniel  P..  born  in  Sandusky  City. 
Ohio,  April  ^i,  1S4S,  was  united  in  mar- 
riage in  Cincinnati  November  i,  1S71,  to 
Alice  Bertrand,  and  now  resides  on  Put  in 
Bay  Island.  Frank,  born  at  Groton 
Center,  Ohio,  July  5.  1854.  died  June  23. 
1S66.  George  Henrj',  born  at  Put  in 
Bay  February  29,  1S60,  was  married  on 
the  Island  November  10,  iSoi,  and  now 
has  two  children — Frank  Leslie,  born 
November  30,  1892;  and  Erma  May.  born 
September  7,  1894;  with  his  family  he 
now  resides  on  the  old  homestead;  he 
had  been  previously  married,  his  first 
union  being  with  Lottie  Reynolds,  by 
whom  he  had  two  children — Edna  Amelia, 
born  in  January,  1881;  and  Florence, 
born  Februan*-  22,  1883.  The  fourth 
son,  Solomon  Welden.  was  born  at  Put  in 
Bay  Deceml^er  30.  1870.  and  died  Feb- 
ruar\-  6,  1S9!. 

Mr.  Vroman  purchased  the  first  land 
ever  sold  on  Put  in  Bay  Island,  and  also 
erected  the  first  schoolhouse  on  the  Isl- 
and. He  has  been  treasurer  of  the  town- 
ship since  its  formation,  and  has  been  a 
prominent  factor  in  the  development  of 
this  region,  and  in  making  the  Island 
what  it  is  to-day,  one  of  the  most  highly 
cultivated  localities  in  northern  Ohio. 
Though  well  advanced  in  years,  he  still 
takes  an  active  part  in  all  matters  that 
will  add  to  its  attraction.  In  politics  he 
affiliates  with  the  RepubUcan  party.      He 


co}f}f}J3fonATrvE  nroonAPiircAT.  nEconn. 


679 


is  an  active  member  of  the  Reformed 
Episcopal  Church,  and  superintendent  of 
the  Sunday-school,  and  enjoys  a  reputa- 
tion that  is  above  rejjroach.  He  and  his 
family  have  the  respect  and  confidence  of 
every  resident  of  the  county  with  whom 
they  are  acquainted,  and  in  this  volume 
well  deserve  representation. 


JOHN  McKENZIE  is  a  prominent 
business  man  of  Lakeside,  Ottawa 
county,  proprietor  of  livery  and 
transfer  stables.  Being  well  known 
in  this  community,  we  feel  assured  that 
the  record  of  his  life  will  prove  of  inter- 
est to  many  of  our  readers  and  f^ladly 
give  it  a  place  in  this  volume.  He  was 
born  in  Paisley,  Scotland,  July  12,  1841, 
and  is  a  son  of  Neil  and  Mary  McKenzie, 
both  of  whom  were  natives  of  the  High- 
lands of  Scotland.  When  he  was  only 
three  weeks  old  his  mother  died,  and 
while  still  a  young  child  he  went  with  his 
father  and  an  aunt,  and  two  brothers  of  the 
latter,  to  Canada.  They  located  in  Hamil- 
ton, Ontario,  where  our  subject  received  a 
common-school  education.  His  father 
died  leaving  him  an  orphan  when  he  was 
only  seven  years  of  age. 

On  the  completion  of  his  school  life, 
John  McKenzie  drove  a  stage  for  about 
five  years,  and  afterward  engaged  in 
agricultural  pursuits.  In  1865  he  re- 
moved to  Ohio,  settling  near  Norwalk, 
in  Huron  county,  where  he  carried  on 
farming,  and  worked  in  a  sawmill  for 
about  three  years,  then  spent  a  similar 
period  in  fishing  in  I^ake  Erie,  at  Huron. 
In  1 87 1  he  came  to  Lakeside,  Ohio, 
where  he  has  since  resided,  and  for 
twenty-two  consecutive  years  he  has  held 
the  position  of  dock  master.  He  has 
also  had  extensive  business  relations, 
and  has  been  a  prominent  official.  On 
November  6.  1894.  he  was  elected 
county  commissioner  on  the  Republican 
ticket,    and   has  also  filled  the   office  of 


school  director  in  Danbury  township, 
Ottawa  county,  for  several  years. 

On  January  7.  iS/f,  Mr.  McKenzie 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Martha, 
daughter  of  Ilishop  and  Perrnelia  Knapp, 
natives  of  the  Empire  State,  who  settled 
in  Huron  county,  Ohio,  at  an  early  day 
in  its  history.  They  located  first  in 
Bronson  township,  where  they  resided 
for  many  years,  and  then  removed  to 
Milan,  going  thence  to  Norwalk.  The 
father  died  about  1866,  the  mother  in 
October,   1873. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  McKenzie  have  four 
children;  Fenie  was  the  first  child  born 
in  Lakeside,  the  natal  day  being  Febru- 
ary 23.  1874;  the  others  are  Daniel  B., 
born  November  17,  1875;  Margery  Aiken, 
born  August  17,  1879;  and  John  H., 
born  April  24,  1883.  The  family  attend 
the  .Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  In  his 
political  views,  Mr.  McKenzie  is  a  Re- 
publican, and,  socially,  is  connected  with 
Peninsular  Lrjdge,  No.  607,  K.  of  P. 
He  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  represent- 
ative and  progressive  men  of  Ottawa 
county,  his  character  is  above  reproach, 
and  he  and  his  family  are  highly  es- 
teemed residents  of  Lakeside. 


JOSEPH  G.   TOEPPE.      In  the  fall 
of    the  year   1844,   prompted  by  a 
desire  to    better  their  condition   in 
life,  there  came   from    Baden,  Ger- 
many, to  America,    .Michael  Toeppe   and 
his  brother,  who  settled  near  Buffalo,  N. 
Y. ,  and  engaged  in  farming. 

Michael  Toeppe  was  born  in  Baden, 
April  15,  1813.  and  was  married  in  New 
York  State,  in  October,  185 5. to  Miss  Mary 
Hillinger,  also  a  native  of  Baden,  born 
May  18,  1830.  Eight  children  blessed 
their  union:  Joseph  G.,  our  subject; 
Mary,  born  in  January,  1859,  married  and 
living  at  Tiffin,  Ohio,  has  one  child;  Will- 
iam A.,  bom  in  May,  1861,  died  at  the 
age  of  twenty  years;  Mary,  born  in  May, 
1863,  living  at  home;  Helen,    born   Au- 


580 


COMyiEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


gust  31,  1865,  living  in  Seneca  county, 
Ohio;  Moyette,  born  in  1867,  living  in 
Chicago,  111. ;  George  and  John,  both 
living  at  home. 

Joseph  G.  Toeppe  was  born  Novem- 
ber 12,  1856,  in  Erie  county.  He  re- 
ceived a  common-school  education  in  the 
near  vicinity  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y. ,  and  at 
the  age  of  twenty-six  left  home  and  em- 
barked in  a  general  merchandise  business 
in  Kansas,  Seneca  Co.,  Ohio.  After  six 
weeks  of  trade  he  was  burned  out.  On 
August  12,  1883,  he  located  in  Millersville, 
Ohio,  where  he  rented  a  store  and  put  in 
general  supples.  After  two  years  of 
profitable  trade  he  erected  the  two-story 
brick  building  which  he  now  occupies. 
Mr.  Toeppe  is  a  Republican  in  politics, 
and  a  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church.  He  was  appointed  postmaster 
of  Millersville,  Ohio,  August  10,  1 890. 
On  April  17,  1887,  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Mary  F. ,  daughter  of  John  Schock, 
a  farmer  of  Seneca  county,  Ohio,  and  two 
children  have  come  to  them:  Otto  George, 
born  August  30,  1891,  and  Mary  F., 
born  April  21,  1893. 


HENRY  BEHRMAN  is  pleasantly 
located  in  Danbury  township,  Ot- 
tawa county,  where  he  is  success- 
fully conducting  a  fine  fruit  farm. 
He  is  a  native  of  Germany,  born  in  the 
Province  of  Hanover,  March  25,  1841, 
and  is  a  son  of  Henry  and  Mata  (Lenan) 
Behrman,  also  natives  of  the  same  prov- 
ince. His  parents  are  now  both  deceased, 
the  mother  having  departed  his  life  Jan- 
uary 28,  1867,  the  father  on  December 
8,  1890.  In  their  family  were  three 
children,  two  of  whom  still  survive. 
Henry,  and  his  sister  Gasha,  wife  of  Al- 
bert Bahs,  of  Danbury,  Ottawa  county. 
In  1848  Mr.  Behrman,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  crossed  the  broad  At- 
lantic to  America,  and  located  in  Dan- 
bury township,  where  he  has  since  made 
his    home.      In   the  common    schools   of 


Ottawa  county  he  acquired  his  education, 
and  since  large  enough  to  handle  a  plow 
he  has  followed  farming.  On  February 
20,  1868,  in  Danbury  township,  Mr. 
Behrman  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Kahrs, 
a  daughter  of  John  and  Helena  Kahrs 
both  natives  of  Germany,  the  former  of 
whom  has  passed  away,  the  latter  still 
living  and  making  her  home  in  Danbury 
township.  By  this  union  seven  children 
were  born,  one  of  whom  died  in  infancy; 
the  names  and  dates  of  birth  of  those 
still  living  are  Edward  A.,  February  21, 
1 871;  Martha,  July  22,  1873;  Hattie, 
May  7,  1876;  Mary,  May  18,  1878;  Hel- 
ena, July  28,  1883;  and  Henry,  Septem- 
ber 5,  1887. 

Mr.  Behrman  and  his  family  attend 
the  Lutheran  Church,  and  are  highly  re- 
spected and  esteemed  as  valuable  mem- 
bers of  the  community.  In  politics  he 
affiliates  with  the  Democratic  party.  He 
is  a  typical  self-made  man,  having  ac- 
quired his  possessions  through  his  own  in- 
dustrious efforts  and  good  management, 
and  has  arisen  to  a  prominent  and  in- 
fluential position  in  his  neighborhood. 
His  reputation  is  above  reproach,  and  he 
may  undoubtedly  be  classed  among  the 
best  citizens  of  Ottawa  county. 


CASPER  FOOS,  retired  farmer  and 
a  resident  of  Millersville,  Jack- 
son township,  Sandusky  county, 
was  born  February  20,  1826,  in 
Alsace,  F"rance  (now  Germany)  a  son  of 
Casper  and  Mary  (Toeppe)  Foos.  The 
parents  of  our  subject  came  to  America 
in  1842,  and  settled  near  Rochester,  N. 
Y. ,  where  the  father's  death  occurred  in 
1882,  when  he  was  aged  seventy-eight 
years;  the  mother  died  seven  years  later 
at  the  age  of  eighty-four  years.  Mr. 
Foos  was  a  member  of  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic Church,  and  in  politics  he  was  a 
Democrat. 

Casper   Foos,    the  subject   proper    of 
these  lines,  who  was  one  of  a  family  of 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPmCAL  RECORD. 


581 


nine  children,  remained  at  home  until 
his  nineteenth  birthday,  when  he  started 
out  for  himself.  He  worked  at  different 
places  and  at  various  employments,  for 
two  years,  and  then  secured  a  paying 
position  in  a  distillery  where  he  was  em- 
ployed seven  years,  saving  his  earnings. 
In  1855  he  moved  to  Jackson  township, 
Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  and  there  bought 
forty  acres  of  land  and  engaged  in  farm- 
ing pursuits.  Five  years  later  he  bought 
one  hundred   acres  more. 

On  April  25.  1849,  Mr.  Foos  married 
Miss  Adeline  Horchelar,  of  Rochester, 
N.  Y. ,  daughter  of  John  H.  Horchelar, 
now  deceased,  as  is  also  her  mother. 
The  children  of  Casper  and  Adeline  Foos 
were  as  follows:  George,  Maryette,  John, 
Martin  (i),  Helena,  Anthony,  Louis  and 
Martin  (2).  In  politics  Mr.  Foos  is  a 
Democrat,  and  has  held  several  offices, 
being  popular  and  well-liked  in  the  com- 
munity. He  served  in  Company  F, 
Thirty-second  Ohio  Volunteers,  under 
Capt.  W.  W.  Webb,  Seventeenth  Corps, 
Sherman's  Army.  In  religious  faith  he  is 
a  member  of  the  Catholic  Church. 


ELLIOTT  F.  PEIRCE.  Among 
the  leading  and  representative 
fruit  growers  of  Catawba  Island 
township,  Ottawa  county,  there  is 
none  more  prominent  than  the  gentleman 
of  whom  this  notice  is  written.  He  is  a 
native  of  the  Old  Dominion,  his  birth 
having  occurred  in  Lancaster  county, 
August  22,  1857,  and  is  a  son  of  John  A. 
and  Mary  E.  (Cox)  Peirce.  When  about 
twelve  years  of  age  he  removed  with  his 
parents  to  Baltimore,  Md.,  where  most 
of  his  education  was  obtained  in  the  pub- 
lic schools. 

In  1875  Mr.  Peirce  came  to  Ohio, 
locating  in  Carroll  township,  Ottawa 
county,  where  he  engaged  in  agricultural 
pursuits  for  over  a  year,  and  in  1877  re- 
moved to  Catawba  Island  where  he  spent 
five  years  in    fruit    culture.      From    1882 


until  1889  he  was  in  the  employ  of  the 
Chicago  and  North  Western  Railroad 
Company  as  telegraph  operator  and  sta- 
tion agent  at  Irwin,  Iowa.  At  the  end  of 
that  time  he  returned  to  Catawba  Island, 
and  after  remaining  there  for  about  eigh- 
teen months,  removed  to  Arkansas  dur- 
ing the  year  1890,  where  for  two  years 
he  was  employed  as  station  agent  by  the 
Iron  Mountain  Railroad  Company. 
Since  1892  he  has  been  extensively  en- 
gaged in  fruit  growing  in  Catawba  Island 
township,  and  is  meeting  with  excellent 
success. 

On  September  28,  1882,  Mr.  Peirce 
was  married  to  Miss  Elnora  H.  Porter, 
who  was  born  June  22,  1858,  a  daughter 
of  Wheeler  and  Flora  H.  (Bearss)  Porter, 
and  they  have  one  child:  Wheeler  R. , 
born  July  25,  1883.  The  father  of  Mrs. 
Peirce  was  born  in  western  Connecticut, 
May  30,  1808,  and  was  a  son  of  John  and 
Sarah  (Beers)  Porter.  In  October,  1832, 
he  located  on  what  is  now  Catawba 
Island,  and  during  his  residence  there  re- 
sided in  three  different  counties,  though  on 
the  same  farm,  as  the  name  was  changed 
three  times  by  reason  of  alterations  made 
in  the  surveys.  Dr.  L.  S.  Porter  is  his 
son  by  his  first  marriage,  and  on  Decem- 
ber 22,  1853,  he  wedded  Miss  Flora  H. 
Bearss,  a  sister  of  his  former  wife.  They 
had  two  daughters — Sarah  A. ,  who  was 
born  December  19,  1854,  and  is  the  wife 
of  Theodore  S.  Porter;  and  Elnora  H., 
the  honored  wife  of  our  subject.  The 
father  passed  away  April  10,  18S8;  the 
mother,  who  was  born  in  New  Fair- 
field, Conn.,  December  17,  1832,  still 
survives  him  and  finds  a  pleasant  home 
with  our  subject.  From  a  local  paper 
published  in  1887  we  glean  the  following 
reminiscence  concerning  Mr.  Wheeler 
Porter:  "Mr.  Porter  is  one  of  the  pio- 
neers of  Catawba.  He  left  Connecticut, 
September  27,  1832,  and  landed  on  his 
present  farm  (then  consisting  of  300 
acres)  one  month  later,  where  he  re- 
mained   until    the    fall    of    1839,   when. 


582 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


becoming  homesick,  he  sold  out  and 
returned  to  Connecticut;  but  the  first 
line  of  boats  the  following  spring 
brought  him  back,  and  he  purchased  lOO 
acres  of  his  old  farm  where  he  has  resided 
ever  since.  When  he  first  came  to  Ca- 
tawba it  was  known  as  Danbury  township, 
Huron  count}'.  There  was  only  one 
American  family  on  the  Island  at  that 
time.  His  party  consisted  of  eight  per- 
sons, the  first  night  was  spent  in  a  log  hut 
with  no  fioor,  door,  windows  or  roof,  ex- 
cept the  heavens  above.  The  first  Thanks- 
giving Day  observed  on  Catawba  was  cel- 
ebrated at  Mr.  Porter's  house  in  1833. 
The  first  religious  service  held  on  the 
Island  was  at  his  home  down  on  the  east 
shore  in  1840.  Many  changes  have  taken 
place  during  his  fifty-si.x  years  of  residence 
on  the  Island,  he  has  seen  it  change,  as 
it  were,  from  a  howling  wilderness  to  a 
garden  of  fruit. 

Socially,  Mr.  Peirce  is  a  member  of 
Ellsworth  Lodge,  No.  473,  I.  O.  O.  F., 
of  Irwin,  Iowa,  and  is  a  charter  member 
of  Port  Clinton  Lodge,  No.  361,  K.  of 
P.,  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  which  he  was 
the  first  representative.  In  political  sen- 
timent he  is  a  stanch  advocate  of  the  men 
and  measures  of  the  Republican  party, 
while,  in  religious  faith,  he  and  his  family 
attend  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
He  is  one  of  the  energetic  young  fruit 
growers  of  Catawba  Island,  and  his  farm 
is  part  of  the  old  Porter  homestead.  He 
is  pleasant  and  genial  as  a  host,  a  general 
favorite  with  all  who  have  the  pleasure  of 
his  acquaintance,  and  both  he  and  his 
wife  enjoy  the  the  respect  and  esteem  of 
many  friends  and  neighbors. 


JOHN  WELLES.      No  name  is  bet- 
ter known   or   more    highly   revered 
throughout  Ottawa  county  than  the 
one    which    introduces    this   sketch. 
For    more     than    thirty-five    years    Mr. 
Welles  has  been    closely  identified   with 


the  history  of  Martin,  the  thriving  little 
village  of  which  he  is  the  founder,  and 
which  is  indebted  to  him  for  its  growth 
and  prosperity.  He  comes  of  good  old 
Revolutionary  stock,  and  his  life,  full  of 
enterprise,  persistence  and  industry,  and 
crowned  with  good  deeds  to  his  fellow 
men,  proves  the  truth  of  the  old  adage, 
"  blood  will  tell." 

John  Welles  was  born  November  13, 
1824,  at  Wethersfield,  near  Hartford, 
Conn.,  in  the  old  Webb  mansion,  one  of 
the  oldest  historic  buildings  in  that  State. 
The  hospitality  of  its  owners  was  so  well 
known  that  it  was  styled  "Hospitality 
Hall."  It  stands  on  Main  street,  in 
Wethersfield,  and  in  1752  was  bought  by 
Joseph  Webb,  Sr. ,  from  Maj.  Samuel 
Wolcott,  for  two  thousand  eight  hundred 
pounds  sterling.  The  father  of  our  sub- 
ject purchased  it  in  1820.  This  home 
was  on  more  than  one  occasion  a  resting 
place  of  Gen.  George  Washington.  His 
first  visit  was  made  June  30,  1775.  when 
on  his  way  to  take  command  of  the  army 
at  Cambridge.  He  was  accompanied  by 
Gen.  Charles  Lee  and  other  military  offi- 
cers. It  was  at  the  Webb  home  i^lso 
that  a  most  important  military  conference 
was  held  May  19,  1781,  when  Gen. 
Washington,  with  Count  Rochanibeau 
and  other  French  officers,  outlined  the 
campaign  which  resulted  in  the  siege  of 
Yorktown  and  the  close  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary war.  In  this  house,  in  1753, 
Gen.  Samuel  Webb  was  born.  He  was 
aid-de-camp  to  Gen.  Putnam,  wounded 
at  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  and  after- 
ward private  secretary  to  Gen.  Wash- 
ington. He  was  the  grandfather  of 
the  well-known  Dr.  William  Seward 
Webb,  president  general  of  the  "Sons 
of  American  Revolution,"  and  of  his 
three  distinguished  l)rothers.  Our  sub- 
ject's paternal  great-grandfather  was  a 
major  in  La  Fayette's  corps,  and  after- 
ward genera!  of  the  State  Militia. 

John  Welles  obtained  his  primary 
education  in  the  schools  of  his  native  town, 


\J/i}'Z^iyt^<^ 


(^'h^-^CUj 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


583 


and  was  preparing  to  enter  Yale  College 
when  illness  intervened  and  prevented 
him.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  years  he 
left  home,  and  going  to  New  York  City 
found  emplo\-ment  as  clerk  in  a  whole- 
sale drj'-goods  store,  where  he  remained 
for  seven  years.  Being  a  young  man  of 
good  business  ability  and  progressive 
ideas,  he  determined  to  start  in  some  en- 
terprise of  his  own,  and  embarked  in  the 
wholesale  commission  business,  which  he 
carried  on  for  seven  years  with  great  suc- 
cess, shipping  produce,  butter,  etc.,  all 
over  the  Western  States,  chiefly  to  Cali- 
fornia. He  once  sold  two  shipments  of 
butter,  in  two  days — bound  to  California 
by  way  of  Cape  Horn,  there  being  no 
railroads  in  those  days — which  amounted 
to  $30,000.  In  fact  he  dealt  so  largely 
in  butter  that  it  was  impossible  to  obtain 
a  sufficient  quantity  of  barrels  in  which 
to  place  the  firkins;  but  this  only  stirred 
up  the  Yankee  blood  of  Mr.  Welles,  and 
with  true  grit  he  determined  to  show  the 
dealers  that  he  was  not  dependent  on 
them.  He  came  to  Ohio  and  purchased 
six  thousand  acres  of  timber  land,  built  a 
sawmill  and  employed  a  large  force  of 
men  cutting  logs  and  turning  them  into 
lumber,  staves,  heading,  etc.,  making  his 
own  nece.ssary  utensils.  He  carried  on 
the  commission  business  in  New  York  for 
a  year  longer,  then  sold  out  and  returned 
to  Ohio,  where  he  devoted  himself  to  the 
manufacturing  of  lumber,  etc. 

At  this  time  Mr.  Welles  established  the 
now  thriving  little  town  of  Martin,  nam- 
ing it  for  his  father,  Martin  Welles.  He 
extended  his  business,  employing  from 
eighty  to  one  hundred  men,  and  nineteen 
teams,  and  continued  in  this  work  for  up- 
ward of  twentj'-five  years,  in  the  mean- 
time clearing  his  large  tract  of  land  and 
turning  it  into  fertile  fields,  planting  150 
acres  of  corn  in  one  season.  In  1880  a 
disastrous  fire  swept  away  his  entire  plant 
at  a  loss  of  $13,000,  on  which  there  was 
no  insurance.     A  new  mill  speedily  arose, 

phcenix-like,    from  the  ashes  of   the  old 
37 


one,  and  the  business  was  again  under 
way.  The  fire-fiend,  however,  continued 
to  pursue  him,  and  in  1885^  smaller  mill 
was  burned,  Mr.  Welles  hSsuig  $3,000,  on 
which  there  was  but  little  insurance. 
After  his  second  calamitj'  he  retired  from 
the  lumber  and  stave  manufacturing 
business,  which  had  not  proved  very 
profitable,  and  has  since  devoted  his 
entire  time  and  attention  to  his  extensive 
farm. 

On  October  6,  1863,  Mr.  Welles  was 
married  to  Ada  M.,  daughter  of  Rev. 
Henry  Moore,  and  they  became  the  par- 
ents of  two  children:  Frances  Adaline, 
born  October  29,  1878,  who  died  October 
22,  1880;  and  John  Moore,  born  April  5, 
1 88 1,  who  is  attending  high  school  in 
Genoa. 

Martin  Welles,  the  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, was  born  in  1788,  in  Newington, 
Conn.,  read  law  at  Hartford,  where  he 
practiced  for  a  number  of  years,  and  also 
for  a  time  in  New  York  City.  He  was 
for  eight  years  speaker  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  in  Connecticut,  was  after- 
ward a  member  of  the  State  Senate,  and 
was  also  a  candidate  for  governor  of  that 
State.  In  political  faith  he  was  an  Old- 
line  Whig.  He  was  a  man  of  strong 
character  and  excellent  principles,  and  for 
many  years  prior  to  his  death  he  served 
as  judge  of  the  Superior  Court  of  Con- 
necticut. About  1808  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Frances  Norton,  who  was  born  in 
T791,  a  daughter  of  Reuben  Norton,  who 
was  a  merchant  of  Farmington,  Conn. 
She  became  the  mother  of  five  children, 
a  brief  record  of  whom  is  as  follows: 
Thomas  Norton  was  born,  in  18 10,  in 
Newburgh,  N.  Y. ,  and  received  his  edu- 
cation in  his  native  town  and  in  New  York 
City,  where  he  studied  for  the  ministry, 
but  on  account  of  ill-health,  was  obliged 
to  give  up  his  plans,  and  in  hope  of 
reovering  his  health  went  to  Illinois 
and  took  up  farming;  there  he  died  in 
1852,  and  was  laid  to  rest  in  Jubi- 
lee College   Cemetery.      Charles    R.    was 


584 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


born  in  1812,  in  Newburgh,  N.  Y. , 
graduated  from  Yale  College  and  read  law 
at  Springfield,  111. ;  he  was  a  warm  per- 
sonal friend  of  the  martj'red  President, 
Abraham  Lincoln,  and  they  practiced  law 
side  by  side  in  the  courts;  after  the  death 
of  Mr.  Welles,  which  occurred  in  1850,  at 
Springfield,  Mr.  Lincoln,  as  his  e.xecutor, 
transacted  all  the  business  for  Mrs. 
Welles  up  to  the  time  of  his  leaving  the 
city  to  take  his  seat  in  the  White  House. 
Julia  Welles  was  born  in  the  old  Webb 
mansion  and  died  in  infancy.  Francis 
N.  Welles  was  also  born  in  the  old  Webb 
mansion,  in  1823,  and  was  educated  in 
Hartford,  graduating  from  Yale  College; 
he  took  his  degree  from  the  Medical  Uni- 
versity of  Missouri,  at  St.  Louis,  and 
practiced  for  a  short  time  at  Springfield, 
111.,  returning  to  Wethersfield,  Conn., 
where  he  died  June  10,  1893;  he  was 
married  to  Miss  Augusta  Pulsifer,  of 
Rocky  Hill,  Conn.,  and  they  had  two 
children,  Dr.  J.  N.  Welles,  a  dentist  at 
Hartford,  Conn.,  and  Dr.  F.  M.  Welles, 
a  physician.  John  Welles,  the  subject 
proper  of  this  sketch,  is  the  youngest 
child.  The  father  of  this  family  died 
January  18,  1863,  while  on  a  visit  to  his 
son  John,  at  Martin,  the  mother  passing 
away  at  the  old  home  in  1876. 

Adaline  Moore,  wife  of  our  subject, 
was  born  February  16,  1840,  in  Portage 
count}',  Ohio,  daughter  of  Rev.  Henry 
and  Adaline  (Miller;  Moore.  Her  mother 
was  born  in  Hartford,  Conn.,  and  was  a 
minister  of  the  Congregational  Church, 
as  was  also  her  mother's  father.  The 
children  born  to  this  couple  were  as  fol- 
lows: Adaline  M. ;  Catherine  E.,  born 
October  16,  1841,  who  resides  at  Toledo; 
Lucetta  P.,  born  at  Wayne,  Ohio,  in 
1849,  and  died  in  infancy;  Clara,  de- 
ceased in  infancy;  Delia,  wife  of  the  re- 
nowned Dr.  Carl  Von  Ruch,  of  Asheville, 
N.C. ,  who  graduated  at  Ann  Arbor  (Mich.) 
College,  and  afterward  studied  in  Ger- 
many; Mary  Alice,  widow  of  George 
Bishoprich,  who  lives  at  St.  Catharines, 


Ontario,  Canada;  Carrie,  who  died  in  in- 
fancy; Abbie  B.,  residing  at  .Asheville,  N. 
C. ;  Grace,  wife  of  William  Schoenheit,  of 
Asheville,  N.  C. ;  and  Henry  Welles  Moore, 
who  studied  medicine  in  the  universities 
at  Cleveland  (Ohio)  and  Ann  Arbor  (Mich.) 
and  is  a  practicing  physician  at  Milan, 
this  State.  Henry  Moore,  the  father  of 
this  family,  died  suddenly  in  1890,  while 
on  a  visit  to  his  son-in-law.  Dr.  Carl  Von 
Ruch,  at  Asheville,  N.  C. ,  and  at  his  re- 
quest was  buried  in  Woodlawn  Cemetery, 
Toledo,  beside  his  granddaughter,  Fran- 
ces Adaline  Welles,  daughter  of  our  sub- 
ject. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Welles  are  consistent 
members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at 
Genoa,  at  which  they  are  regular  attend- 
ants. 

The  name  "philanthropist"  might 
with  propriety  be  applied  to  our  subject, 
John  Welles,  for  his  heart  and  purse  have 
ever  been  open  to  the  call  of  humanity  or 
the  furtherance  of  any  laudable  project. 
He  has  always  contributed  freely  to  the 
erection  of  churches,  schools  and  other 
public  institutions,  giving  land,  lumber 
and  personal  services,  and  by  his  wise 
counsels  and  judicious  management  has 
wrought  to  successful  completion  many 
projects  for  the  growth  and  improvement 
of  his  community.  Since  the  formation 
of  the  party  he  has  always  been  a  stanch 
Republican,  but  has  never  been  an  office- 
seeker,  for  though  on  several  occasions 
he  has  been  tendered  the  suffrage  of  the 
people  he  has  always  declined,  on  the 
ground  that  he  supported  his  party  from 
principal,  and  that  he  should  never  look 
for  or  accept  office.  He  has  in  his  pos- 
session several  valuable  heirlooms  which 
date  back  to  the  time  of  the  Revolution- 
ary war  in  1775.  One  of  them  is  the  sub- 
joined letter,  written  by  Gen.  Alex.  Gel- 
latly,  an  officer  of  the  British  army,  to 
Mr.  Seth  Norton,  grand-uncle  of  our  sub- 
ject, who  was  a  Tory,  and  fought  on  the 
side  of  the  British  in  the  war  of  the  Revo- 
lution. 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


585 


Mr.  Seth  JJorton,  Connnissary  General's  Of- 
fice, Charleston,  South  Carolina. 

New  York,  3  Nov.,  1780. 
Dear  Sir:  Your  favor  of  the  7  Sept.,  was 
delivered  to  nie  on  the  25  of  same  Month,  which 
tho'  short,  conveyed  nie  the  agreeable  account 
of  your  wellfare,  of  which  I  wish  a  long  contin- 
uance; it  also  gives  me  satisfaction  to  under- 
stand that  your  conduct  meets  the  approbation 
of  Mr.  Townsend.  He  is  a  worthy  man.  I 
obeyed  your  commands  to  Messrs.  Humphrys 
and  Clayton,  the  former  by  letter,  the  latter  in 
person.  Mr.  Humphrys  has  been  stationed  at 
Lords  Neck  ever  since  July  in  receiving  For- 
age. He  informed  me  in  his  last  letter  that  he 
was  in  good  health.  Mr.  Clayton  desires  his 
respects  to  you.  I  am  sorry  it  is  not  in  our 
power  to  communicate  to  you  any  interesting 
Intelligence:  we  seem  here  at  present  to  lye 
upon  our  oars.  It  is  from  your  quarter  that  we 
look  for  and  expect  great  things,  and  indeed 
you  have  hitherto  acquitted  3-ourselves  like 
Brittish  Heroes,  and  I  hope  that  every  oppor- 
tunity from  you  will  convey  us  fresh  additions 
to  tlie  Laurels  already  acquired  by  your  Brave 
Noble  Commander,  whom  I  pray  may  be  the 
happy  Instrument  under  God  of  restoring 
Peace  in  the  South.  Admiral  Sir  George 
Bridges  Rodney  arrived  here  several  weeks  ago 
with  ten  Sail  of  the  Line.  His  departure  is  ex- 
pected in  a  few  days.  Admiral  Arbuthnott  has 
the  French  Fleet  and  Army  fast  blocked  up  at 
Rhode  Island;  it  is  hoped  they  will  both  fall  into 
his  hands.  On  the  15th  the  first  Division  of 
the  London  Fleet  arrived  here  with  a  reinforce- 
ment of  Troops.  No  news  of  importance  was 
broughcby  this  Fleet.  Before  now  you  have 
no  doubt  been  informed  of  the  tragical  affair  of 
the  much  lamented  unfortunate  Major  Andre 
and  of  the  coming  in  of  General  Arnold  from 
the  Rebels.  The  particulars  of  the  Causes  of 
both  will,  I  dare  say,  have  at  this  time  transpired 
with  you.  I  have  sent  Dr.  Watson  a  few  of  our 
Latest  News  Papers:  to  them  I  refer  you,  for 
what  is  going  amongst  us.  Our  Friend  Mr. 
Gillane  Butler  is  stationed  at  Flushing  where 
he  resides  with  his  famil3' — I  shall  expect  to 
hear  from  you  by  first  Opportunity — Wishing 
you  Health  and  every  other  Blessing.  I  re- 
main. Dear  Sir,  Your  Friend  and  Humble 
Servant,  Alex.  GelLatly. 

Another  interesting  heirloom  is  a  solid 
mahogany  bedstead,  nine  feet  in  height, 
imported  from  England,  and  a  part  of  the 
original  furniture  of  the  old  Webb  man- 
sion. Gen.  George  Washington  slept  on 
this  bed  on  more  than  one  occasion.  The 
paper  which  adorned  the  bedroom  of  this 
distinguished  guest  still  remains  on  the 
wall  in  the  ok!  Webb  mansion.  The 
house  still  remains  in  good  preservation 
in  possession  of  the  Welles  family. 


FREDERICK  BRETZ,  one  of  the 
prominent  fruit  growers  of  Middle 
Bass,  Ottawa  county,  was  born  in 
Mecklenburg,  Germany,  February 
8,  1843,  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Kulow) 
Bretz,  who  were  both  born  in  Mecklen- 
burg, came  to  America  in  1853,  and  lo- 
cated in  Sandusky,  Erie  Co.,  Ohio. 

John  Bretz  was  engaged  in  business 
for  a  number  of  years  in  Sandusky,  Ohio, 
but  during  his  declining  years  lived  a  re- 
tired life.  His  death  occurred  April  11, 
1885,  and  that  of  his  wife  on  December 
15,  1893.  They  had  a  family  of  four  chil- 
dren, all  now  living,  as  follows:  Frederick 
is  the  eldest,  and  is  the  subject  of  this 
sketch;  Lena  is  the  wife  of  August  Graves, 
residing  in  Danbury  township,  Ottawa 
county;  Bertha  is  the  wife  of  Henry 
Foster,  a  hardware  merchant  of  San- 
dusky; and  Louis  resides  in  Sandusky. 
Frederick  Bretz  received  part  of  his  school 
education  in  the  Fatherland,  but  when  ten 
years  old  came  with  his  parents  to  Amer- 
ica, and  completed  his  education  in  the 
schools  of  Sandusky.  He  then  worked  at 
agricultural  pursuits,  afterward  learned 
the  trade  of  mason  and  plasterer,  and  fol- 
lowed that  occupation  for  about  twenty 
years,  being,  for  a  part  of  the  time,  also 
engaged  in  fruit  growing.  In  1865  he 
settled  on  Middle  Bass  Island,  has  lived 
here  ever  since,  and  ranks  to-day  among 
the  most  prominent  and  honored  resi- 
dents. 

At  Sandusky,  Ohio,  May  17,  1866, 
Frederick  Bretz  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Caroline  Burggraf,  and  they  have  had 
five  children,  one  of  whom  died  in  in- 
fancy, four  now  living,  as  follows:  Fred- 
erick, born  May  29,  1867,  residing  in 
Cleveland,  Ohio;  Julia,  born  July  12, 
1869,  wife  of  John  Rehberg,  Jr.,  residing 
at  Put  in  Bay,  Ottawa  county;  Edward, 
born  January  13,  1872,  living  at  home; 
and  Herman,  born  Jul}'  21,  1879.  Mrs. 
Bretz's  parents  were  Mathias  and  Maria 
Bruggraf.  Mr.  Bretz  has  served  as  trus- 
tee of   Put  in  Bay  township  three  terms, 


58G 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


also  as  school  director.  In  his  political 
views  he  is  a  Republican.  The  family  at- 
tend the  Lutheran  Church. 


ANDREW  BECHSTEIN,  a  prom- 
inent grape  grower  and  wine 
maker  of  Middle  Bass  Island, 
Put  in  Bay  township,  Ottawa  coun- 
ty, was  born  in  Hessen-Xassau,  Germany, 
January  12,  1843,  son  of  John  and  Mar- 
tha (Mueller)  Bechestein.  who  were 
both  also  born  in  Hessen.  Germany. 
John  Bechstein,  who  was  a  farmer  by 
occupation,  died  in  February,  1887,  his 
wife  on  March  9,  1 869.  They  had  three 
children,  namely:  Andrew,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  and  George  and  Adam, 
both  of  whom  are  still  living  in  Germany. 
Andrew  Bechstein  was  reared  to  man- 
hood and  received  his  education  in  the 
Fatherland.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he 
voluntarily  joined  the  bodyguard  of  King 
William  I,  in  Kassel,  in  which  he  served 
three  years,  and  then  returned  to  his  trade 
as  weaver,  which  he  continued  to  follow 
together  with  agricultural  pursuits,  up  to 
the  time  of  his  departure  for  America.  In 
Germany,  on  April  24,  1S66,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Fredericka  Horn, 
who  was  born  in  Hessen,  July  11,  1S45, 
and  they  have  had  five  children,  as  fol- 
lows: ^lary  Kathrine,  born  June  i,  1867, 
married  to  Frank  A.  Fischer  September 
6,  1888,  at  Detroit,  Mich.,  and  now  re- 
siding at  Middle  Bass  Island;  Lawrence 
J.,  born  January  10,  1869,  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Bertha  Steinle  November 
26,  1895,  at  Sandusky,  Erie  county, 
Ohio,  where  he  now  resides;  Emil  A., 
born  November  15,  1872;  Andrew  C.  J., 
born  June  20,  1S75;  and  Emma  M.  E., 
born  February  i,  1881. 

Mrs.  Bechstein's  parents  were  An- 
drew and  Sophia  (Bechstein)  Horn,  the 
former  of  whom  was  born  in  Germany 
June  16,  1S02;  in  1822  he  joined  the 
Hunters  Guard,  and  served  ten  years  in 
Hessen-Kassel;  in  1832  he  was  appointed 


Forester  in  Falkenberg,  whence  he  re- 
moved to  Dens,  and  at  his  own  request  he 
again  returned  to  Rockensuess  Hessen, 
where  at  his  first  home,  he  died  April  2, 
1879.  His  wife  preceded  him  to  the 
grave  bj-  many  years,  having  passed  away 
when  the  daughter  Fredericka  was  but  an 
infant.  Mrs.  Bechstein  still  has  living 
two  brothers  and  two  sisters,  the  elder 
brother,  John  Horn,  being  teacher  and 
composer  of  music  at  Louisville,  Ky. ; 
Lorenz  Horn,  the  younger  brother,  is  in 
the  furniture  business  at  North  Amherst, 
Ohio;  one  sister  resides  in  New  Albany, 
Ind. ,  and  the  other  at  their  dear  old  home 
in  the  Fatherland. 

In  1869  Andrew  Bechstein  came  to 
America,  locating  in  Detroit,  Mich., where 
he  resided  two  3ears.  In  March,  1871, 
he  removed  to  Middle  Bass  Island,  and 
engaged  in  grape  growing,  having  been  a 
continuous  resident  of  the  Island  since. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Republican.  The 
family  attend  the  Evangelical  Protestant 
Church. 


A 


LBERT  W.    SADDORIS,   fisher- 
man, of  Point  Locust,  is  a  native 
of  Carroll  township,  Ottawa  coun- 
ty, born    at    Point    Locust,    Jan- 
uary 5,  1856. 

His  parents,  Elias  and  Eliza  Melissa 
(Root)  Saddoris,  were  both  natives  of 
Ohio,  the  former  born  in  Holmes  county, 
July  25,  1827,  and  the  latter  in  Huron 
county,  on  December  14,  1835.  In  their 
family  were  five  children,  namely:  James 
W. ,  born  February  2,  1854,  is  a  promi- 
nent farmer  of  Carroll  township:  Albert 
W.  is  the  ne.xt  in  order  of  birth;  Mary  E., 
born  September  6,  1S60,  is  the  wife  of 
James  Floral,  who  resides  in  Port  Clin- 
ton; Theodore  E.,  born  in  November, 
1S62,  died  in  infancy;  Eunice,  born  Feb- 
ruary 13,  1S64,  died  February  9,  1867. 

The  father  of  our  subject  for  many 
years  was  a  prominent  agriculturist  of  Car- 
roll township,  both  he  and  his  wife  being 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOOBAPHICAL  RECORD. 


587 


early  settlers  of  Ottawa  county.  In  1864 
he  was  drafted  for  service  in  the  war  of 
the  Rebellion,  and  was  attached  to  Com- 
pany H,  Fifty-fifth  O.  V.  I.  At  Savan- 
nah, Ga. ,  he  died  from  illness  contracted 
while  defending  his  country,  and  his  re- 
mains were  interred  in  that  citj'.  He  had 
many  friends  in  Ottawa  county,  where  he 
was  both  widely  and  favorably  known. 

In  the  district  schools  of  Carroll  town- 
ship, Albert  W.  Saddoris  acquired  his 
education,  and  since  attaining  the  age  of 
fifteen  years  has  engaged  in  fishing  and 
sailing  on  the  lakes,  so  that  almost  his 
entire  life  has  been  spent  upon  the  water. 
He  stands  highin  thecommunit}'  in  which 
he  lives,  winning  the  confidence  and  re- 
spect of  all  with  whom  he  comes  in  con- 
tact. He  uses  his  right  of  franchise  in 
support  of  the  Republican  party,  but 
cares  little  for  the  honors  or  emoluments 
of  public  office. 


JOHN  C.  BLEHER,  a  prominent 
merchant  and  popular  citizen  of  the 
village  of  Lacarne,  Ottawa  county, 
was  born  in  Wurtemberg,  Germany. 
December  20,  1836,  and  is  a  son  of 
George  and  Eva  (Holder)  Bleher,  both  of 
whom  were  natives  of  the  same  country, 
and  emigrated  to  America  in  184S,  locat- 
ing in  Sandusky,  Ohio,  on  the  loth  of 
May,  that  year.  The  father  was  not  long 
permitted  to  enjoj'  his  new  home  for  he 
died  three  months  later.  His  wife  con- 
tinued her  residence  in  Sandusky  until  her 
life's  labors  were  ended  in  18S8.  Their 
family  numbered  seven  children — four 
sons  and  three  daughters— of  whom  only 
three  are  living:  John  C. ,  whose  name 
opens  this  record;  Charles,  a  resident  of 
Clyde,  Ohio;  and  John  M. 

The  subject  proper  of  this  review  was 
only  twelve  years  of  age  when  brought  by 
his  parents  to  America.  He  acquired  his 
education  in  the  public  schools  of  San- 
dusky, and  for  some  twelve  years  after 
leaving  school  engaged  in  a  sea-faring  life 


on  the  lakes.  After  that  he  spent  twelve 
years  in  the  car  shops  of  the  C.  S.  C. 
Railroad  Co.,  at  Sandusky.  On  May 
I,  1874,  he  took  up  his  residence  in  La- 
carne and  opened  a  general  mercantile 
establishment  which  he  has  since  success- 
fully conducted,  building  up  a  good  trade. 
His  fair  and  honest  dealings,  his  earnest 
desire  to  please  his  customers,  and  his 
courteous  treatment,  have  won  him  a  liber- 
al patronage.  On  June  30,  i860,  in  San- 
dusky, Mr.  Bleher  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Julia  Ann  Meachem,  a  daughter 
of  Charles  and  Susan  Meachem,  and  a 
native  of  Stratford,  Conn.,  born  Decem- 
ber 2,  1844.  By  their  marriage  they 
have  seven  children,  as  follows:  Susan 
E.,  born  April  19,  1861,  in  Sandusky, 
Ohio,  now  the  wife  of  John  W.  Snyder, 
of  Erie  township,  Ottawa  county;  Ida  E., 
born  August  ?,  1863,  now  the  wife  of 
John  Streeter,  a  resident  of  Lacarne;  Cora 
E.,  born  January  10,  1866,  now  the  wife 
of  William  S.  Woodring,  also  of  Erie 
township;  Julia  Ann,  born  July  7,  1868, 
living  in  Toledo,  Ohio;  John  A.,  born 
November  3,  1874,  also  a  resident  of 
Toledo;  William  H.,  born  July  23,  1876, 
living  in  Erie  township,  Ottawa  county; 
and  Gertrude  May,  born  March  27,  1882. 
Mr.  Bleher  manifested  his  loyalty  to 
the  government  during  the  Civil  war  by 
enlisting,  May  2,  1864,  in  the  One  Hun- 
dred and  Forty-fifth  O.  \'.  I.,  with  which 
he  continued  until  after  the  South  laid 
down  its  arms.  He  was  then  mustered 
out,  receiving  his  final  discharge  in  May, 
1S65,  after  which  he  returned  to  Sandus- 
k)'.  He  is  now  a  member  of  the  G.  A. 
R. ,  and  is  as  true  to  the  duties  of  citizen- 
ship in  days  of  peace  as  when  he  followed 
the  old  flag  on  Southern  battle  fields.  In 
his  political  views  he  is  a  stalwart  Repub- 
lican, and  has  held  several  public  offices. 
For  seventeen  years  he  efficiently  served 
as  postmaster  at  Lacarne,  was  township 
trustee  for  one  year,  assessor  for  two 
years,  supervisor  also  two  years,  and  town 
constable    three    years,    in  all    of    which 


588 


COMldEilORATTVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


offices  he  has  discharged  his  duties  with 
promptness  and  tideHty,  winning  the  com- 
mendation of  all  concerned.  Socially  he 
is  a  member  of  Oliver  H.  Perrv  Lodge, 
F.  &  A.  M..  and  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  Lodge 
at  Oak  Harbor.  Mr.  Bleher  is  one  of  the 
most  progressive  men  of  Lacarne,  taking 
an  active  part  in  all  matters  pertaining  to 
the  growth  and  welfare  of  the  community, 
and  is  a  truly  valued  citizen.  His  busi- 
ness life  is  above  reproach,  and  the  honor- 
able and  straightforward  methods  which 
he  follows  command  the  respect  of  all. 


EDWIN  MAR\-IX  TRUE.  This 
gentleman,  who  is  the  proprietor 
of  the  E.  M.  True  Elevator  and 
Feed  Mills  at  Port  Clinton,  Ot- 
tawa county,  is  one  of  the  leading  business 
men  of  the  place,  and  ma\*  be  well  called 
a  "hustler."  He  is  full  of  energ}-  and 
enterprise,  and  by  his  natural  ability  and 
unerring  judgment  has  made  a  success  of 
his  business.  He  has  a  large  local  trade 
which  is  graduall)-  being  e.xtended. 

Mr.  True  was  born  August  iS,  iS6t, 
in  Ottawa  county,  Ohio,  and  is  the  son  of 
Oliver  J.  and  Eunice  Saunderson  True, 
who  removed  to  Port  Clinton  in  iS66, 
when  our  subject  was  a  small  boy.  He  ob- 
tained his  education  in  the  public  schools 
of  that  place,  and  subsequently  was  em- 
ployed as  a  clerk  in  the  office  of  the  L.  S. 
&  M.  S.  Ry.  Co.,  holding  that  position 
some  four  years.  In  18S3  he  took  charge 
of  the  Merchant  Mills,  of  Port  Clinton, 
for  O.  J.  True  &  Co.,  which  he  managed 
until  in  February,  1S91,  when  they  were 
destroyed  by  fire.  The  mills  at  one  time 
did  a  large  export  business  with  France, 
and  also  shipped  their  products  all  over 
the  Eastern  States.  After  the  fire  our 
subject  built  his  present  elevator  and  feed 
mills,  on  the  sight  of  the  old  mill,  and,  as 
has  been  stated,  has  been  ven,-  successful. 
On  April  16,  1893,  Mr.  True  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Nettie  G.  Bardshar, 
who  was  born  in  Erie  county,  this  State, 


and  is  the  daughter  of  Solomon  and 
Amelia  L.  (Spone'  Bardshar,  who  were 
descended  from  wealthy  pioneer  families. 
In  politics  Mr.  True  is  a  Democrat,  and, 
socially,  belongs  to  the  K.  of  P.  He 
began  studying  medicine  in  1SS3,  but  the 
mills  required  so  much  attention  that  he 
gave  up  the  idea  of  becoming  a  physician. 
He  is  now  a  well-known  business  man. 


ERNST  ROOSE,  one  of  the  wide- 
awake and  enterprising  young 
farmers  of  Ottawa  county,  was 
born  in  Salem  township  Januarj- 
10,  i860,  and  still  makes  his  home  within 
its  borders.  He  is  a  son  of  Charles  and 
Marie  Roose.  who  are  living  :n  the  same 
township,  numbered  among  the  highly- 
respected  people  of  the  community.  Our 
subject  acquired  a  good  English  education 
in  the  public  schools  of  Oak  Harbor,  and 
is  a  well-informed  man  on  subjects  of 
general  interest,  having  a  practical  know- 
ledge that  fits  him  for  the  responsible 
duties  of  a  business  career. 

After  arriving  at  man"s  estate,  Mr. 
Roose  was  married  in  Bay  township,  Ot- 
tawa county,  November  i,  18S3,  the  ladj' 
of  his  choice  being  Nancy  Paulsen,  a 
daughter  of  Paul  and  Siecke  Paulsen, 
who  was  born  in  Schleswig.  Germany, 
February  16,  1S59.  Four  children  graced 
the  union  of  our  subject  and  his  worthy 
wife,  their  names  and  dates  of  birth  be- 
ing as  follows:  Carl  P.,  July  23.  1SS4; 
Bertha  M.,  January  20,  1SS6;  Ernst  W., 
September  4.  18S9;  and  Albert  E.,  Jan- 
uary 5,  1894.  Mr.  Roose  was  reared  to 
agricultural  pursuits,  and  his  life  has  al- 
ways been  that  of  a  farmer.  He  was 
trained  to  habits  of  industry  and  enter- 
prise, and  when  he  began  business  for 
himself  it  was  with  a  good  fund  of  experi- 
ence that  has  brought  to  him  success. 
His  place  is  well  cared  for,  the  barns  and 
fences  are  always  in  good  condition,  and 
his  careful  supervision  is  shown  in  the 
neat  and  thrifty  appearance  of  everything 


COMMEMOIiATTVE  BIOORAPHWAL  RECORD. 


589 


pertaining  to  his  home.  He  well  deserves 
to  be  numbered  among  the  practical  and 
progressive  young  farmers  of  the  county 
of  his  nativity. 

Mr.  Roose  cast  his  first  ballot  in  sup- 
port of  the  men  and  measures  of  the 
Democratic  party,  and  has  since  been  a 
stalwart  advocate  of  its  principles,  taking 
a  deep  interest  in  all  that  pertains  to  its 
growth  and  success.  He  has.  however, 
never  sought  or  desired  political  prefer- 
ment. The  family  attend  the  Lutheran 
Church,  and  all  have  the  regard  and  es- 
teem of  their  neighbors  and  friends.  Mr. 
Roose  has  led  an  upright  life,  and  is 
highly  respected  as  a  valued  citizen  and 
progressive  business  man. 


WILLIAM  ROOSE,  a  prosperous 
and  enterprising  young  business 
man  of  Oak  Harbor,  Ottawa 
county,  is  a  native  of  that  coun- 
ty, having  first  seen  the  light  in  Salem 
township  May  26,  1862.  He  is  a  son  of 
Charles  and  Marie  fDrewesj  Roose,  men- 
tioned above.' 

Our  subject's  boyhood  was  passed  on 
the  farm  whereon  he  was  born,  attending 
the  district  schools  until  he  was  fitted  for 
entering  the  public  educational  institu- 
tion of  Oak  Harbor,  where  his  education 
was  completed.  After  laying  aside  his 
books  he  entered  the  service  of  M.  D. 
Thierwechter,  of  Oak  Harbor,  where  he 
earned  his  first  money — one  hundred  dol- 
lars for  one  year's  clerkship,  which  sum 
was  paid  him  at  the  end  of  twelve  months, 
he  not  having  drawn  a  single  dollar  in 
the  meantime,  an  early  illustration  in  his 
life  of  his  innate  thrift  and  care.  On 
leaving  Mr.  Thierwechter's  employ,  Mr. 
Roose  entered  the  Business  College  at 
Toledo,  where  he  took  a  thorough  course, 
completing  same  February  11,  1880,  and 
in  the  following  April  he  was  given  the 
position  of  bookkeeper  in  his  father's 
office  in  Oak  Harbor,  which  incumbencv 


he  has  since  filled  with  acknowledged 
ability.  In  1887  in  company  with  five 
others  Mr.  Roose  organized  what  is 
known  as  the  Oak  Harbor  Cooperage  & 
Lumber  Co.,  located  at  Edgerton,  Ind., 
and  of  which  he  is  secretary  and  treasur- 
er. The  plant  cost  $100,000,  and  the 
concern  is  under  the  immediate  super- 
vision of  Herman  Roose,  a  brother  of 
William;  the  latter  is  also  one  of  the 
stockholders  in  and  a  director  of  the  Oak 
Harbor  Basket  Co.,  at  Oak  Harbor. 

On  October  29,  1885,  at  the  home  of 
the  bride  in  New  Baltimore,  Mich.,  Will- 
iam Roose  and  Miss  Ida  Stuth  were 
united  in  marriage.  She  is  a  daughter 
of  August  and  Johanna  TRoose;  Stuth, 
and  was  born  in  New  Baltimore,  Mich., 
March  21,  1863.  She  received  her  edu- 
cation at  the  Hathaway  Institute  of  New 
Baltimore,  in  which  town  she  passed  her 
life  up  to  the  time  of  her  marriage.  Her 
father,  who  was  a  native  of  Mecklenburg- 
Strelitz,  North  Germany,  born  in  1820, 
died  in  Michigan  in  January,  1872;  the 
mother  of  Mrs.  Roose  was  born  in  1822, 
in  Mecklenburg-Schwerin,  and  died  at 
New  Baltimore,  Mich.,  July  2,  1882. 
They  were  married  in  1844,  and  became 
the  parents  of  children  named  as  follows: 
Eliza  (deceased;,  Henrietta  (Mrs.  Henry 
Heidebreicht.  of  Edgerton,  Ind.),  August 
(deceased;,  William  (deceased),  Adolph 
(deceased;,  Caroline  (Mrs.  August  Colloff, 
of  Oak  Harbor)  and  Ida  (Mrs.  Roose). 
To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Roose  were  born  two 
children:  William,  born  October  25,  1886, 
died  December  20,  1892,  and  buried  in 
Oak  Harbor  Cemetery;  and  Lyndon,  born 
Augusta,  1893.  the  life  of  her  parents' 
pleasant  and  attractive  home  on  Water 
street.  Oak  Harbor,  which  property  Mr. 
Roose  had  purchased  in  the  spring  of 
1885.  Our  subject  and  his  amiable  wife 
are  members  of  the  Lutheran  Church:  in 
his  political  preferences  he  is  a  stalwart 
supporter  of  the  Democratic  party.  He 
comes  of  a  good  family,  and  the  name  .of 
Roose  is  entitled  to  be  permanently  asso- 


590 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


ciated,  not  only  with  the  industrial,  but 
also  with  the  intellectual  development  of 
our  time. 


REUBEN  M.  BABCOCK,  charcoal 
manufacturer  and  landowner.  This 
old  and  highly-respected  citizen  of 
Williston,  Allen  township,  Ottawa 
county,  is  a  native  of  New  York  State, 
born  in  Columbia  county,  October  24, 
1820,  and  is  the  son  of  John  and  Clarissa 
(Gray)  Babcock,  of  Berkshire  county, 
^Iass. ,  and  Columbia  county,  N.  Y. ,  re- 
spectively. 

Our  subject  received  a  better  educa- 
tion than  fell  to  the  lot  of  most  boys  of 
his  day,  attending  the  public  schools  of 
his  native  place  in  his  boyhood,  and  then, 
for  three  years,  going  to  the  college  at 
Farmington,  Trumbull  Co.,  Ohio,  from 
which  he  was  graduated  at  the  age  of 
twenty-two  years.  He  taught  school  for 
several  years,  both  in  Burn  township, 
Athens  county,  and  in  Belmont  county, 
Ohio.  He  then  decided  to  learn  a  trade, 
and  took  up  that  of  carpenter  for  twenty- 
one  years,  part  of  the  time  being  spent  at 
Farmington,  and  a  part  at  Pittsfield, 
Mass. ;  during  this  time  he  helped  to  build 
three  steamers  for  the  Ohio  river  trade. 
Later  he  gave  up  working  at  his  trade 
and  went  to  Michigan,  settling  in  Ash 
township,  Monroe  county,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  the  manufacture  of  staves,  giving 
employment  to  a  number  of  men.  In 
connection  with  this  enterprise  he  carried 
on  farming,  and  also  went  into  the  real- 
estate  business,  in  which  latter  he  was 
fairly  successful.  While  at  this  place  he 
also  began  the  manufacture  of  charcoal, 
running  four  kilns.  At  the  end  of  twenty- 
one  years  spent  in  Michigan,  Mr.  Bab- 
cock came  to  Ottawa  county,  this  State, 
and  located  at  Martin,  in  Clay  township, 
where  he  built  four  kilns,  and  continued 
the  manufacture  of  charcoal.  Here  he 
remained  one  year,  and  then  selling  out, 
removed    to    Williston,    Allen    township, 


in 


where  he  built  six  charcoal  kilns.  He 
purchased  a  tract  of  160  acres  of  timber- 
land,  near  Williston.  and  used  the  timber 
which  he  cleared  from  it  to  make  his 
charcoal.  Here  he  erected  a  comfortable 
dwelling  house,  with  all  necessar\'  barns 
and  outhouses,  and  has  made  his  property 
a  highly-cultivated  farm  and  pleasant 
home,  where  he  is  spending  his  declining 
years  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  fruits  of 
his  labor. 

Mr.  Babcock  was  married,  Maj'  23, 
1850,  to  Miss  Lucy  M.,  daughter  of 
Thomas  and  Electa  (Williams)  Ensign,  of 
Pittsfield,  Mass.,  and  children  were  born 
of  this  union,  of  whom  the  followin 
record  is  given:  ^Villiam  H.,  born 
Pittsfield,  Mass.,  September  iS,  1852, 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of 
Michigan.  Reuben  E.,  more  fully  spoken 
of  farther  on.  Lucy  E. ,  born  March  3 1 , 
18^7,  was  married  March  21,  1877,  to 
Nelson  Richards,  a  farmer  of  Monroe 
county,  Mich.,  and  they  have  four  chil- 
dren— Frank,  born  May  11,  1879;  Judy, 
October  3,  1884;  May,  March  3,  1887; 
and  Pearl,  December  4,  1889.  Emily  E., 
born  September  6,  1859,  in  Ohio,  was 
married  November  18,  1884,  to  Alsom 
Phile,  son  of  Henry  E.  Phile  (whose 
sketch  will  be  found  elsewhere) ;  two  chil- 
dren have  been  born  to  them — Eva  and 
Alsom  E.  Edwin  H.  Babcock,  was  born 
in  Ash  township,  Michigan,  June  13.  1865, 
and  received  his  early  training  in  the  high 
school  at  Genoa,  Ottawa  county,  this 
State,  which  was  supplemented  by  a 
course  in  a  private  school  at  Port  Clinton, 
conducted  by  Miss  Mothly;  he  afterward 
attended  the  high  school  at  Ada,  and 
subsequently  the  Business  College  at 
Cleveland,  from  which  institution  he 
was  graduated  with  honor;  after  this 
he  went  to  Ann  Arbor,  and  entered  the 
high  school,  at  which  he  pursued  his 
studies  in  geology  and  botany;  he  was 
married  June  3,  1890,  to  Miss  Cora  M. 
Chapman,  of  Bowling  Green,  Ohio,  who 
was   a   graduate    of    Ann  Arbor    (Mich.) 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQRAPIIICAL  RECORD. 


501 


College,  and  two  children  are  the  result 
of  this  union — Corvvin,  born  December  i, 
1892,  and  Edna,  born  January  7,  1894. 
Mr.  Babcock  resides  in  LaPlata,  Mo., 
where  he  is  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
charcoal.  James  Babcock  was  born  in 
Ash  township,  Monroe  Co.,  Mich.,  Sep- 
tember 6,  1863,  and  died  in  youth.  Two 
other  children  died  in  infancy.  I^euben  E. 
Babcock,  above  mentioned,  was  born  at 
Pittsfield,  Mass.,  September  22, 1854,  and 
received  his  education  in  the  public  schools 
of  Ada,  Ohio,  and  Valparaiso,  Ind., 
where  he  attended  the  high  school.  De- 
ciding to  adopt  the  profession  of  a  lawyer 
he  entered  the  Law  Department  of  Ann 
Arbor  (^fich.)  University,  graduated  in 
1887,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at 
Columbus,  Ohio,  the  same  year;  he  prac- 
ticed in  Toledo  for  two  3'ears.  On 
March  31,  1883,  he  was  married  to  Addie 
Carpenter,  a  daughter  of  Erastus  Car- 
penter, of  Pittsfield,  Mass.,  and  one  son, 
named  after  his  father  and  grandfather, 
blessed  their  union.  Mrs.  Babcock  grad- 
uated at  Pittsfield,  Mass.  The  promising 
career  of  this  brilliant  scholar  and  fine 
lawyer  was  cut  short  by  his  sudden  death 
at  Williston,  July  10,  18S9,  from  heart 
failure.  His  death  was  deeply  felt,  not 
only  by  his  immediate  friends  but  by  his 
associates  at  the  bar  and  business  men 
who  knew  his  worth. 

John  Babcock,  the  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, was  born  in  1780  at  Berkshire, 
Mass.,  and  was  a  son  of  John  Babcock, 
the  latter  a  native  of  England,  who  took 
arms  against  the  mother  country  during 
the  war  of  the  colonies  for  independence 
in  1775.  John  Babcock,  Jr.,  received  a 
very  limited  education,  and  learned  the 
tade  of  a  cabinet  maker  in  Pittsfield. 
He  was  married  March  17,  1808,  to 
Clarissa  H.  Gray,  who  was  born  in  1787, 
and  they  became  the  parents  of  eleven 
children,  as  follows:  Thaddeus  G.,  born 
April  7,  1809;  John  G.,  born  April  28, 
181 1 ;  Sylvia  Ann,  born  March  22,  1S13, 
now  the  widow  of    Henry  Roberts;  Eliza 


A.,  born  May  5,  1815,  deceased  Novem- 
ber 21,  1854;  James  M.,  born  July  4, 
1S18,  at  New  Lebanon,  N.  Y. ;  Reuben 
M.,  our  subject;  Edwin  H.,  born  Novem- 
ber 4,  1822,  died  October  9,  1863,  at 
the  Chestnut  Street  Hospital,  Philadel- 
phia, from  the  effects  of  a  wound  received 
during  the  Civil  war;  Adaline  A.,  born 
February  16,  1825,  died  at  Pittsfield, 
Mass.,  iniS93;  George  H.,  born  April  20, 
1826,  at  New  Lebanon,  N.  Y. ;  Horatio 
N.,  born  July  12,  1828,  died  January  23, 
1853;  and  Clara  A.,  born  February  4, 
1830,  deceased  wife  of  Frank  Sparks. 
The  parents  of  this  large  family  have  both 
passed  away,  the  father  having  died  July 
22,   i860,  the  mother  in  1S57. 

Thomas  Ensign,  father  of  Mrs. 
Reuben  M.  Babcock,  was  born  May  27, 
1790,  at  Pittsfield,  Mass.,  and  was  a  car- 
penter and  joiner  by  trade.  He  was 
married  February  16,  18 14,  to  Electa 
Williams,  whose  father  was  a  blacksmith, 
born  in  Connecticut,  and  they  became 
the  parents  of  five  children:  Mary  E. , 
born  May  19,  181 5,  married  September 
22,  1835,  to  Calvin  Carver;  Kezia,  born 
April  10,  18  19,  who  was  married  April  i, 
1838,  to  William  Treadwell;  Edgar  N., 
born  October  i,  1821;  Lucy  M.,  born 
December  22,  1823,  wife  of  our  subject; 
and  James  M.,  born  April  2,  1826,  who 
died  in  youth.  Mr.  Babcock  is  a  stanch 
Republican,  and  the  family  are  members 
of  the  Free  Methodist  Church. 


PETER  LICKERT,  one  of  the  most 
prominent     farmers     of     Benton 
township,  Ottawa  county,  is  a  son 
of    Daniel    and    Catherine   (Pfaff) 
Lickert,   and    was    born   in    Hesse,    Ger- 
many, January  1,   1852. 

The  parents  of  Daniel  Lickert,  John 
and  Sophia  (Hassell)  Lickert,  were  born 
in  Hessen,  Germany,  in  1755  and  in  1770 
respectively.  They  had  ten  children, 
five  sons  and  five  daughters.  Daniel 
Lickert  was  born  in  Germany  January  i. 


592 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


1824;  married  Catherine  Pfaff  in  1847, 
and  they  had  nine  children,  seven  sons 
and  two  daughters,  seven  of  whom  are 
living,  two  sons  having  died.  Daniel 
Lickert  had  the  misfortune  to  fall  from  a 
scaffold,  thus  breaking  his  right  leg  in 
three  places.  Peter  Lickert's  maternal 
grandfather,  John  Pfaff,  was  born  in 
Hessen,  Germany,  about  1780,  and  the 
maternal  grandmother,  Sarah  (Suerbrei) 
Pfaff,  was  born  about  17S4.  Mr.  Lickert 
is  related  to  the  Crolls,  who  were  also  old 
settlers  of  Benton  township,  by  the  mar- 
riage of  his  uncle,  Peter  Lickert,  Sr. ,  to 
Miss  Fulkert,  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Henry 
Croll's  father. 

Peter  Lickert,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  lived  in  Hessen,  Germany,  until 
he  was  thirteen  years  of  age,  and  acquired 
there  a  liberal  education  in  the  German 
language.  He  came  to  America  to  stay 
with  his  uncle,  Peter  Lickert,  Sr. ,  who 
lived  near  Elliston,  in  Benton  township; 
here  he  has  since  had  his  home,  and  he 
owns  one  of  the  finest  farms  not  only  of 
Benton  township,  but  of  Ottawa  county. 
At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  commenced  life 
for  himself  by  working  on  a  farm  for  one 
year,  receiving  seven  dollars  a  month. 
He  then  learned  the  carpenter's  trade,  in 
which  he  has  always  been  very  proficient, 
and  has  since  planned  and  superintended 
the  erection  of  his  fine  dwelling  and  all 
the  outbuildings,  besides  other  structures 
and  many  buildings  for  his  neighbors.  On 
February  18,  1874,  Peter  Lickert  was 
imited  in  marriage  with  Miss  Sophia 
Ernsthausen,  of  Elmore,  Harris  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county,  and  they  have  had 
eight  children,  namely:  Henry,  born  De- 
cember 5,  1874;  Clara,  April  27,  1876; 
Sophia  Catherine,  January  28. 1878;  ^fary 
Elizabeth,  May  18,  1880;  William  Henry, 
August  15,  1882;  Edward,  June  19,  1885; 
George  Daniel,  August  3,  1888;  and  John 
Henry,  April  4,  1892.  Mary  died  May 
12,  1882.  Mrs.  Lickert  has  always  been 
a  faithful  adviser  and  helper  to  her  hus- 
band.     She  was  born  in  Toledo,  Ohio, 


October  15,  1851.  Her  parents  moved 
to  Genoa,  in  Clay  township,  Ottawa  Co. , 
Ohio,  when  she  was  three  j'ears  of  age, 
and  remained  there  nine  years,  thence 
moving  to  Gibsonburg,  Sandusky  county, 
where  they  lived  eight  years,  and  where 
she  obtained  her  education.  She  then 
went  to  Elmore,  in  Harris  township,  Ot- 
tawa county,  and  remained  there  until 
her  marriage,  in  1874.  Her  father,  Cas- 
per H.  Ernsthausen,  was  born  in  Ger- 
many January  15,  1828,  and  came  to 
America  in  1842.  Her  mother  was  born 
in  Germany  September  15,  1827.  They 
were  married,  in  1850,  in  Toledo,  Ohio; 
have  since  lived  in  the  State,  and  have 
had  seven  children,  five  of  whom  are 
still  living.  Mrs.  Ernsthausen's  mother, 
grandmother  of  Mrs.  Lickert,  whose 
maiden  name  was  Sophie  Gerwin,  was 
born  in  Germany  about  181 2,  and  died  in 
Elmore,  Ohio,  in  1878. 

For  eight  years  after  his  marriage  Mr. 
Lickert  continued  to  work  at  his  trade. 
In  1877  he  planned  and  built  the  Method- 
ist Church  at  Rocky  Ridge,  Benton  town- 
ship; in  1882  he  built  the  hotel  at 
Graytown,  Benton  township,  and  a  lit- 
tle later  a  large  planing-mlil  at  Gray- 
town,  Benton  township.  For  seven 
years,  from  1881  to  1888,  he  was 
land  agent  for  Mr.  A.  W.  Cutler,  who 
owns  extensive  tracts  of  land  in  Ottawa 
county.  In  1875  Mr.  Lickert  purchased 
a  farm  from  Martin  Witty,  near  Elliston, 
Benton  township,  hired  a  man  to  run  it, 
and  continued  at  his  trade;  about  that 
time,  also,  he  was  associated  with  O.  G. 
Guss  in  the  erection  of  a  planing-mill  at 
Rocky  Ridge,  but  they  were  soon  burned 
out,  in  consequence  of  which  he  sustained 
a  loss  of  two  thousand  dollars.  He  then 
went  to  Graytown  and  erected  the  mill 
now  owned  by  W.  H.  Lachmiller,  ope- 
rating it  for  one  year,  when  Mr.  Lachmil- 
ler came  in  as  a  partner,  the  firm  being 
known  as  Lickert  &  Lachmiller.  Mr. 
Lickert  sold  his  interest  in  the  mill  to  Mr. 
A.  F.  Frese  in  1885,  and  purchased  440 


1 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


593 


acres  of  tiiiiberland  in  Sections  12,  13  and 
14,  Benton  township,  on  which  there 
were  no  buildings  and  no  fences.  In  the 
short  space  of  ten  years  he  cleared  330 
acres  of  land,  took  out  part  of  the  stumps 
and  fenced  the  entire  440  acres.  In 
walking  over  this  farm  to-day,  tilled  by 
modern  methods,  one  would  scarcely 
realize  that  only  a  decade  ago  it  was  all  a 
wilderness.  Thus  the  hand  of  industry 
brings  order  out  of  chaos,  and  a  home 
out  of  the  wilderness.  He  sold  off  200 
acres  of  his  original  purchase,  leaving 
himself  240  acres  of  highly  productive  and 
well-tilled  land  on  which  are  three  good 
barns  and  two  spacious  houses.  It  was 
through  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Lickert  and 
Mr.  Muggy  that  School  District  No.  1 1 
was  organized,  and  a  fine  brick  building 
erected,  where  the  rising  generations  may 
be  trained  to  usefulness  in  the  world.  All 
Mr.  Lickert's  children  who  are  old  enough 
to  attend  are  having  the  advantages  of 
this  school  which  their  father  helped  to 
organize.  Politically  Mr.  Lickert  is  a 
Republican,  and  an  earnest  supporter  of 
his  party-  He  was  president  of  the 
school  board  in  his  township  for  several 
years  and  has  ever  taken  an  active  part 
in  educational  matters. 


AUGUST  FLECKNER.  To  the 
residents  of  Oak  Harbor,  Ottawa 
county,  and  to  the  traveling  pub- 
lic, in  general,  there  is  perhaps 
no  name  in  this  section  more  familiar,  or 
more  respected,  than  that  of  August 
Fleckner,  the  genial  proprietor  of  the 
"Wheeling  Hotel,"  at  Oak  Harbor,  and 
one  of  the  most  progressive  citizens  of 
Salem  township. 

Born  in  Prussia,  Germany,  December 
31,  1 85 1,  he  is  a  son  of  Frederick  Will- 
iam and  Caroline  (Wiltke)  Fleckner, 
both  natives  of  Germany,  the  former 
born  August  23,  1824,  the  latter  on  Janu- 
ary 8,  1 83 1.  They  were  married  in  their 
native   land  in    February,     1848,    and  in 


1872  emigrated  to  America,  locating  in 
Oak  Harbor.  Their  famil}'  consists  of 
five  children,  namely:  Robert,  born  Feb- 
ruary 25,  1849,  a  resident  of  Oak  Harbor; 
August,  our  subject;  Frederick  William, 
born  August  30,  1853,  a  prominent  agri- 
culturist of  Carroll  township;  H.  Otto, 
born  January  11,  1856,  a  resident  of  Oak 
Harbor;  and  Hugo  H.,  a  farmer  of  Car- 
roll township.  The  father  died  March  3, 
1875;  the  mother  is  now  residing  with 
her  son  in  Carroll  township. 

August  Fleckner,  the  subject  proper 
of  these  lines,  received  his  primary  edu- 
cation in  the  schools  of  his  native  land, 
afterward  learning  the  trade  of  a  gardener, 
at  which  he  worked  until  twenty  years  of 
age,  when  he  entered  the  German  army, 
seeing  three  years'  service.  In  1874,  on 
receiving  his  discharge,  he  emigrated  to 
America,  locating  in  Oak  Harbor,  Ottawa 
Co.,  Ohio,  where  he  remained  eight 
years,  working  at  his  trade.  In  1882  he 
moved  to  Cleveland,  Ohio;  but  returning 
to  Oak  Harbor  the  following  year  he  has 
since  been  a  constant  resident  of  that 
town,  for  the  past  eleven  years  engaged 
in  the  hotel  business.  He  was  united 
in  marriage  at  Oak  Harbor.  May  12, 
1S77,  with  Augusta  Louisa  Feitz,  a 
daughter  of  Gottleib  and  Caroline  (We- 
zer)  Feitz,  born  in  Prussia,  Germany, 
August  12,  1852.  By  this  union  there 
were  three  children,  viz. :  August,  born 
April  II,  1878;  Oscar  Emanuel,  born 
February  4,  1881;  and  Bernhardt  Harry, 
born  July  29,  1884,  and  died  August  i, 
same  year.  Mrs.  Fleckner's  parents  were 
both  natives  of  Germany,  the  father  hav- 
ing been  born  therein  November,  1822, 
and  the  mother  on  February  15,  1826. 
They  were  married  February  16,  1848, 
and  to  their  union  were  born  thirteen 
children,  only  three  of  whom  are  now 
living,  namely:  Augusta  Louisa,  wife  of 
August  Fleckner;  Caroline,  born  April 
12,  1 86 1,  now  the  wife  of  John  Forman, 
of  Oak  Harbor,  and  Frederick,  born  No- 
vember   18.     1869,    residing    in    Toledo, 


594 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOOBAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Ohio.  The  {ather  died  in  his  native  land 
November  25,  1874;  in  1S80  the  mother 
came  to  America,  and  is  now  living  with 
her  son-in-law,  August  Fleckner,  at  the 
advanced  age  of  seventy  years. 

Politically  Mr.  Fleckner  is  an  ardent 
supporter  of  the  Democratic  party,  and 
wields  a  strong  political  and  social  influ- 
ence throughout  the  country,  being  one 
of  the  most  progressive  men  of  his  time 
and  place.  The  family  are  members  of 
the  Lutheran  Church. 


JOHN  MITCHELL,  proprietor  of  the 
"Lake  House,"  Port  Clinton,  Ot- 
tawa county,  a  well-established  and 
popular  hotel,  is  a  native  of  New 
York  State,  born  October  14,  1833,  at 
Ithaca,  a  son  of  Patrick  and  Ann  (O'Neil) 
Mitchell,  natives  of  Ireland,  who  came  to 
this  continent  about  the  year  1828. 

Patrick  Mitchell  was  a  soldier  in  a 
British  regiment  stationed  at  Quebec, 
Canada,  for  about  a  year,  then  left  for  the 
United  States,  locating  at  Ithaca,  where, 
in  1832,  he  married  Ann  O'Neil.  Here 
for  a  time  he  followed  the  trade  of  stone 
mason,  and  some  \ears  later  served  in 
what  was  known  as  the  Florida  war, 
under  Gen.  Wool,  having  enlisted  at 
Utica,  N.  Y. ,  in  Compan}'  D,  Third 
United  States  Infantry;  also  served  in  the 
Mexican  war,  enlisting  at  Pontiac,  Mich., 
and  on  his  return  from  that  campaign,  in 
1847,  he  died  at  Detroit,  Mich.  Later 
his  widow  (who  with  her  only  child,  our 
subject,  occompanied  her  husband  during 
the  Florida  war),  married  Patrick  Gillick; 
she  died,  in  1866,  at  Milford, Oakland  Co., 
Mich.,  her  second  husband  following  her 
to  the  grave  one  year  later. 

John  Mitchell,  our  subject,  spent  his 
childhood  in  Utica,  N.  Y. ,  and  his  boy- 
hood in  Fennville  and  Milford,  Mich., 
until  he  was  eighteen  years  old,  when  he 
moved  to  Detroit  and  hired  out  as  team- 
ster to  Reeves  &  Jennison,  contractors 
and    builders.      After   working  for   them 


about  a  year  they  took  a  contract  to  build 
a  large  cement  mill  at  Ottawa  City,  and 
sent  him  there  to  take  charge  of  their 
teams,  which  he  did  until  the  mill  was 
completed;  after  that  he  sailed  the  lakes 
about  three  years,  as  man  before  the 
mast,  running  chiefly  between  Toledo  and 
Buffalo,  and  occasionally  to  Lake  Huron. 
He  afterward  worked  among  the  farmers 
on  the  Peninsula,  and  was  the  first  to  fol- 
low fishing  at  Port  Clinton  with  pound 
nets. 

In  1 86 1  Mr.  Mitchell  raised  Company 
I,  Forty-first  O.  V.  I.,  for  service  in  the 
Civil  war,  of  which  companj',  when  or- 
ganized, he  was  elected  captain.  At  the 
camp  of  instruction,  Cleveland,  he  was 
by  some  unaccountable  error,  through  no 
fault  of  his  own,  deprived  of  his  rank, 
and  obliged  to  go  as  a  private,  which  he 
did,  remaining  with  Company  I  until  De- 
cember, 1864,  during  which  time  he  had 
been  promoted  to  second  lieutenant,  then 
to  first  lieutenant,  later  to  captain.  The 
war  being  nearly  at  an  end,  he  resigned 
and  settled  on  a  farm  he  had  bought  on 
Catawba  Island,  which  he  cleared  up  and 
put  into  fruit.  In  the  fall  of  1866  he  was 
elected  sheriff  of  Ottawa  county,  and 
held  the  office  four  years.  In  1870  he 
went  into  the  lumber  business,  and  four 
years  later  was  re-elected  sheriff,  serving 
four  years  more.  After  this  he  followed 
lumbering  extensively,  in  partnership  with 
Alphonse  Couche  (since  deceased),  at  va- 
rious localities — Port  Clinton,  Rocky 
Ridge,  and  several  places  in  the  State  of 
Tennessee.  After  that  he  rebuilt  a  large 
gristmill  at  Oak  Harbor,  ran  it  several 
years,  and  then  sold  it  to  a  Mr.  Barnes. 
He  then  took  charge  of  the  "  Central 
Hotel  "  at  Oak  Harbor,  conducting  it 
two  years;  after  which  he  came  to  Port 
Clinton,  and  bought  the  "  Lake  House, '* 
of  which  he  has  since  been  proprietor. 

On  February  S,  1858,  Mr.  Mitchell 
was  married  at  Port  Clinton,  Ohio,  to 
Miss  Nancy  Ann  Napier,  who  was  born 
April    25,     1S40,    daughter   of   Benjamin 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


595 


and  Erepta  (Landon)  Napier,  the  former 
by  birth  a  Scotchman,  the  later  being  of 
Enghsh  descent.  Mr.  Napier  was  a 
sailor  on  the  lakes  from  his  boyhood  until 
seventy  years  of  age,  when  he  died  of 
cholera  at  Chicago,  111. ;  his  wife  passed 
away  at  Marblehead,  Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio, 
in  1890,  at  the  age  of  eighty-six  j-ears. 
The  children  of  John  and  Nancy  Mitchell 
are:  Jennie  Ann  (born  in  Port  Clinton 
lighthouse),  John,  Catherine,  Delia,  Clar- 
ence, James,  Alpha,  Frank  and  Robert 
Emmett. 


ERNST     HEMINGER,    a     promi- 
nent   agriculturist    and   manufac- 
turer, of  Salem  township,  Ottawa 
county,  and  a  representative,  pro- 
gressive business  man,  was  born  in  Salem 
township,  April  12,  1851. 

The  parents  of  our  subject,  Frederick 
and  Katherina  (Holt)  Heminger,  natives 
of  Germany,  emigrated  to  America  and 
settled  in  Salem  township,  Ottawa  Co., 
Ohio,  in  October,  1850,  when  that  section 
of  country  was  still  in  its  primitive  condi- 
tion. Their  family  consisted  of  ten  chil- 
dren, as  follows:  Rosa,  wife  of  Andrew 
Shegor,  of  Port  Clinton,  Ohio,  and  Fred- 
erick, of  Cleveland,  Ohio  (children  of  the 
father  by  a  former  marriage);  Ernst,  the 
subject  proper  of  this  sketch;  ^^'illiam,  of 
Oak  Harbor;  Albert,  of  Lakeview, Oregon; 
August,  of  Erie  count}',  Ohio;  Louis,  of 
Carroll  township,  Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio; 
Amelia,  wife  of  John  Minke,  also  of  Car- 
roll township;  Nettie,  wife  of  Ferdinand 
Shellhorn,  of  Sandusky,  Ohio,  and  Chris- 
topher, of  Erie  county.  The  father  de- 
parted this  life  January  16,  1887;  the 
mother  is  still  living,  and  is  now  a  resi- 
dent of  Oak  Harbor. 

Ernst  Heminger,  the  gentleman  whose 
name  introduces  this  sketch,  received  his 
preliminary  education  in  the  district  schools 
of  his  native  township,  his  early  boyhood 
days  being  spent  about  the  farm.  On 
leaving  school  he  served  an  apprenticeship 


term  to  the  trade  of  a  carpenter,  which 
vocation  he  followed  for  nearly  ten  years, 
then  embarking  in  agricultural  pursuits, 
lumber  manufacturing  and  also  in  the 
manufacturing  of  wine  and  cider,  his  busi- 
ness relations  extending  over  a  large  ex- 
tent of  territor\-.  In  his  different  enter- 
prises, Mr.  Heminger  has  ever  proved 
himself  a  man  of  sound  judgment  and  ex- 
cellent business  qualifications,  and  it  is 
needless  to  say  that  success  has  crowned 
his  efforts. 

Our  subject  was  united  in  marriage,  in 
Salem  township,  Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio,  April 
16,  1877,  with  Miss  Mina  Huttenlocher, 
whose  parents,  Michael  and  Katheriue 
(Grain)  Huttenlocher,  both  natives  of  the 
Fatherland,  crossed  the  ocean  to  the  New 
\\'orld  and  settled  in  Salem  township, 
Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio,  in  1852,  where  they 
have  since  resided.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Heminger  have  come  nine  children,  as 
follows:  W.  F.  August,  born  March  25, 
1878;  C.William,  born  December  7,  1S79; 
E.  Harman,  born  February  4,  1881;  C. 
Anna,  born  March  13,  1884;  Louis,  born 
June  14,  1886;  Rosa,  born  April  3,  1889; 
Emma,  born  March  30,  1891;  Olga,  born 
July  30,  1893,  and  Elizabeth,  born  Sep- 
tember 13,  1895.  The  family  are  devout 
members  of  the  Lutheran  Church.  So- 
cially they  enjoy  the  respect  of  the  entire 
communit}-.  In  his  political  preferences 
Mr.  Heminger  affiliates  with  the  Demo- 
cratic part}-. 


GEORGE  BICKFORD,  the  owner 
of  a  fine  vineyard  on  Put  in  Bay 
Island,  is  a  native  son  of  Ohio, 
born  in  Sandusky  City,  Erie 
county,  August  24,  1S34.  He  is  one  of 
the  eighteen  children  of  Hezekiah  and 
Mary  Charlotte  (Gibaut;  Bickford,  the 
former  born  in  Maine,  May  2,  1808,  the 
latter  on  the  Isle  of  Guernsey,  in  the  Eng- 
lish Channel,  September  13,  1815.  The 
paternal  grandfather  settled  in  Erie  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  at  a  very  early  day  in  the  his- 


59G 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


torj'  of  that  locality,  and  there  he  and  his 
wife  spent  the  remainder  of  their  lives. 
The  father  of  our  subject  removed  to 
Canada  about  1840,  and  continued  his 
residence  in  that  country  until  called  to 
the  home  beyond,  April  6,  1879;  his 
wife  also  died  in  Canada.  Of  their  larp^e 
family  of  children  ten  grew  to  mature 
years,  and  nine  are  now  living,  as  follows: 
Charles,  who  resides  in  Essex  county, 
Canada;  Sarah,  wife  of  \\'illiam  McLean, 
of  the  same  place;  George,  subject  of  this 
sketch;  Clarissa  Ann,  wife  of  JacobTuffle- 
myer,  of  Esse.x;  Hezekiah,  also  of  Essex; 
John,  who  is  living  in  Fort  Wayne,  Ind. ; 
William,  Mary  Jane  (wife  of  Maxim 
Reyno),  and  Robert,  all  three  living  in 
Essex  county,  Canada. 

We  now  take  up  the  personal  history 
of  George  Bickford,  and  feel  assured  that 
it  will  prove  of  interest  to  many  of  our 
readers,  for  he  is  both  widely  and  favor- 
ably known  in  the  locality  where  he  re- 
sides. When  about  six  years  of  age  he 
removed  with  his  parents  to  Canada,  and 
was  reared  to  manhood  in  Essex  county, 
in  the  Province  of  Ontario,  where  he  ac- 
quired his  education  in  the  public  schools. 
He  also  learned  the  trade  of  blacksmith- 
ing  there,  and  in  1856  he  left  his  home  in 
that  locality  to  return  to  his  native  city, 
where  for  one  season  he  engaged  in  fish- 
ing. In  the  spring  of  1857  he  located  in 
Put  in  Bay  Island,  where  for  thirty-eight 
years  he  has  made  his  home,  and  the 
length  of  his  residence  is  equaled  by  the 
high  regard  in  which  he  is  held.  During 
the  greater  part  of  the  time  he  has  fol- 
lowed blacksmithing  and  fishing,  but  dur- 
ing the  past  ten  years  has  exclusively  en- 
gaged in  the  cultivation  of  grapes.  He  is 
an  energetic,  industrious  and  enterprising 
man,  and  his  earnest  and  well-directed 
labors  have  brought  to  him  success. 

Mr.  Bickford  has  been  twice  married. 
On  July  14,  1 861,  he  wedded  Mathilda 
Poskile,  who  died  August  30,  1865,  leav- 
ing two  children — Hezekiah,  born  Sep- 
tember 30,    1S62;  and  Jennie,   who  was 


born  February  11,  1864,  and  died  March 
30,  1S67.  For  his  second  wife,  Mr.  Bick- 
ford chose  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  James 
and  Hannah  (Leard)  Edwards,  and  born 
in  Gosfield,  Canada,  February  13,  1843. 
The}'  were  married  in  Kingsville,  Canada, 
February  14,  1867,  and  have  had  six  chil- 
dren, their  names  and  dates  of  birth  being 
as  follows:  Ezra,  January  14,  1868; 
Edith,  June  12,  1869;  Bertha,  December 
27,  1870,  died  December  26,  1886; 
Hannah,  July  4,  1S74,  died  December2i, 
1886;  Mina,  October  3,  1878;  and  Ada 
May,  August  7,  1882. 

Mr.  Bickford  has  served  as  township 
trustee,  has  been  trustee  of  the  public 
lawn  of  Put  in  Bay,  and  has  held  other 
minor  positions,  faithfully  discharging  his 
duties,  and  proving  true  to  the  trust  re- 
posed in  him.  His  political  support  is 
given  to  the  Republican  party,  and  he 
attends  the  Reformed  Episcopal  Church. 


ENOS  E.  WILLIAMS,  a  prominent 
farmer  of  Carroll  township,  ranks 
among  the  oldest  living  pioneers 
of  Ottawa  county,  having  arrived 
here  with  his  parents  in  1834,  when  he 
was  but  a  year  old,  and  then  the  county 
was  one  vast  forest,  and  still  a  part  of 
Sandusky  county.  With  the  exception 
of  four  years  spent  in  Indiana,  he  ha& 
been  a  constant  resident  of  the  county 
since  that  early  date.  His  birth  occurred 
in  Guernsey  county,  Ohio,  October  14, 
1833,  and  in  1S34  his  parents,  Nehemiab 
and  Hester  (Pickering)  Williams,  brought 
him  to  what  is  now  Bay  township,  Otta- 
wa county.  The  sketch  of  his  life  can 
not  be  better  written  than  by  giving  it  in 
his  own  words: 

' '  I  recollect  when  there  were  no  roads 
and  but  very  few  bridges  in  the  county, 
and  at  one  time  I  was  acquainted  with 
every  family  in  Port  Clinton.  At  that 
time  Lower  Sandusky,  Venice,  and  Mon- 
roe, Mich.,  were  the  nearest  milling 
points,  and  to   one  or  the  other  of  these 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQBAPEICAL  RECORD. 


597- 


towns  the  people  were  obliged  to  carry 
their  grain  to  have  it  ground,  many  often 
going  to  Monroe  with  it  _  in  canoes,  the 
trip  occuping  nearly  two  weeks.  I  have 
lived  in  Carroll  township  constantly  since 
i860,  and  have  by  my  own  hard  work 
cleared  up  thirty-six  of  the  forty  acres  of 
land  I  now  reside  on.  I  have  run  a 
threshing  machine,  worked  at  the  carpen- 
ter trade,  farmed  a  little,  fished  a  little 
and  done  nothing  the  greater  part  of  the 
time."  At  present  Mr.  E.  E.  Williams 
is  a  successful  fruit  grower,  having  now 
over  1,100  peach  trees  under  cultivation 
on  his  farm. 

Mr.  Williams  has  been  twice  married. 
On  March  12,  i860,  he  wedded  Mrs. 
Dorotha  Leithenburg,  a  native  of  Ger- 
many, whose  parents  were  early  settlers 
of  Ottawa  county.  In  the  spring  of  1 870, 
she  was  called  to  her  final  rest,  and  on 
the  19th  of  the  following  November,  Mr. 
Williams  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Mrs.  Eliza  Melissa  (Root)  Saddoris,  widow 
of  Elias  Saddoris,  and  they  have  become 
the  parents  of  five  children — Eugene  E. , 
born  August  20,  1871,  now  a  student  for 
the  ministry,  and  is  at  present  living  on 
the  homestead;  Nina  E.,  born  June  4, 
1872;  Eva  L.,  born  February  23,  1875, 
died  May  2,  1877;  Maurice  E. ,  born 
March  21,  1877;  and  James  E.,  born 
April  25,  1880,  died  August  8,  1895. 

Mrs.  Williams'  birth  occurred  Decem- 
ber 14,  1835,  and  she  is  the  daughter  of 
Rev.  V.  S.  and  Lovica  (Foote)  Root,  the 
former  born  in  the  Empire  State,  March 
4,  1 8 10,  and  the  latter,  also  a  native  of 
the  same  State,  born  December  14,  1803. 
Her  mother  died  November  21,  1847;  the 
father,  who  has  reached  the  advanced  age 
of  eighty-five  years,  is  a  native  of  Tustin, 
Osceola  Co.,  Mich.  Rev.  Root  located 
in  Carroll  township,  Ottawa  county,  in 
1840,  and  there  continued  to  make  his 
home  until  1880.  He  filled  many  im- 
portant county  and  township  offices,  be- 
ing the  first  notary  public  and  the  second 
justice  of  the  peace  appointed  in  the  town- 


ship. In  early  life  he  taught  school  and 
also  practiced  law  for  many  years,  but 
later  engaged  as  a  laborer  in  the  Lord's 
vineyard.  He  is  a  man  of  fair  legal  abil- 
ity, excellent  judgment  and  sound  com- 
mon sense,  while  his  unswerving  integrity 
and  general  rectitude  of  life  have  gained 
for  him  an  enviable  reputation  wherever 
he  is  known. 

Mr.  Williams  has  served  his  fellow 
citizens  as  road  supervisor  and  school 
director,  and  for  the  past  twelve  years 
has  been  master  of  the  Grange.  The 
family  are  consistent  members  of  the 
United  Brethren  Church,  and  belong  to 
the  Good  Templars  Society;  he  is  also 
connected  with  the  Knights  of  Honor,  and 
has  efficiently  filled  the  office  of  reporter 
in  that  body  for  nine  years.  He  has  been 
successfully  elected  three  times  to  repre- 
sent his  lodge  in  the  Knights  of  Honor  in 
the  State  of  Ohio.  PoHtically  he  is  a 
true-blue  Republican.  Surrounded  by 
an  interesting  family,  Mr.  Williams  is  a 
thoughtful,  devoted  husband  and  a  kind 
indulgent  father.  Among  men  he  is  gen- 
ial and  companionable,  manly  and  fear- 
lessly independent  in  character  and 
thought;  and  consistent  and  temperate  in 
all  respects.  He  is  a  practical  farmer  and 
fruit  grower;  a  man  of  taste  and  culture 
with  broad  and  liberal  views,  and  his  in- 
tegrity is  incorruptible.  His  social  stand- 
ing is  high,  and  he  and  his  family  have 
the  esteem  of  all. 

We  can  not  well  conclude  this  sketch 
without  some  favorable  mention  of  Mr. 
Williams'  eldest  son — Eugene  E. — who 
has  early  had  a  taste  for  literature,  and 
knows  the  value  of  books.  He  is  also 
aware  of  the  fact  that  toil  and  frugality 
are  essential  to  success,  and  by  careful 
study  and  the  practice  of  the  latter  prin- 
ciples is  fitting  himself  to  take  a  promi- 
nent place  in  this  world,  and  point  out  to 
others  the  duties  to  be  performed  in  order 
to  fit  themselves  for  the  world  to  come. 
He  is  a  writer  of  no  mean  ability,  and  has 
compiled  a  very  interesting  history  of  Ot- 


598 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


tawa  count}'.  On  September  20,  1S95, 
he  entered  the  Sandusky  Conference  of 
the  United  Brethren  Church,  where  he  re- 
ceived Hcense  to  preach.  He  is  at.  pres- 
ent engaged  in  teaching  school  at  Lime- 
stone, Ohio. 


JOHN  K.  TEETZELL,  M.  D., a  lead- 
ing  physician    and  surgeon,    whose 
skill  and  ability  have  won  him  high 
rank  among  his  professional  breth- 
ren,   was  born   April   23,    1S59,  in  Blen- 
heim, County  of  Kent,  Ontario,  Canada, 
son  of  John  and  Eliza  (King)  Teetzell. 

The  grandfather  of  our  subject  was  a 
native  of  W'urtemburg,  Germany.  On  emi- 
grating to  this  country  he  landed  at  New 
Jersey  after  a  tempestuous  voyage  which 
consumed  more  than  three  months,  cross- 
ing the  water  in  one  of  the  old-fashioned 
sailing  crafts  of  those  days.  He  made 
his  home  in  what  was  then  Log  Jail,  now 
Trenton,  N.  J.,  and  after  an  active  and 
well-spent  life  passed  away  at  a  ripe  old 
age,  respected  and  beloved  by  all  who 
knew  him.  The  father  of  our  subject 
first  saw  the  light  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  in 
1 8 19,  the  year  in  which  Queen  Victoria 
was  born.  When  a  young  man  he  re- 
moved to  Canada,  locating  in  Ontario, 
afterward  went  to  St.  Thomas,  Elgin 
county,  Ontario,  (then  known  as  Up- 
per Canada),  and  later  took  up  his 
residence  at  Blenheim,  County  of  Kent, 
where  he  filled  the  office  of  sheriff 
for  nine  years.  He  is  now  spending 
his  declining  days  in  retirement,  en- 
joying the  fruits  of  his  former  toil.  His 
wife,  who  was  a  native  of  Cornwallis, 
Kings  county.  Nova  Scotia,  removed  to 
Fingall,  Ontario,  where  their  marriage 
was  celebrated.  Her  death  occurred  in 
Blenheim,  May  31,  1891.  In  the  family 
were  ten  children,  five  of  whom  are  yet 
living,  as  follows;  Rosanna,  wife  of  S. 
T.  Martin,  a  prominent  banker,  and 
mayor,  of  the  city  of  Chatham,  Ontario, 
Canada;  William  H.  and  James  D.  (twins). 


the  former  a  wholesale  druggist,  of  Chi- 
cago, and  the  latter  a  retired  real-estate 
dealer,  residing  in  Morpeth,  County  of 
Kent,  Ontario;"  Elizabeth,  widow  of  W. 
A.  Smith,  and  a  resident  of  St.  Thomas, 
Ontario,  and  Dr.  John  K. 

Dr.  John  K.  Teetzell  obtained  both 
his  preliminary  and  college  education  in 
the  County  of  Kent,  Ontario,  and  when 
si.xteen  years  of  age  left  home  for  Chicago, 
where  he  learned  the  drug  businress  under 
the  instruction  of  his  brother,  W.  H.  He 
also  took  a  business  course  in  Devilines 
Literary  &  Commercial  College,  Jackson, 
Mich.,  completed  his  course  in  pharmacy 
and  chemistrj',  and  during  that  time  began 
reading  medicine  with  Dr.  Myar  Mc- 
Laughlin, an  eminent  physician  of  Jack- 
son, Mich.  In  1S80  he  entered  the  Med- 
ical Department  of  the  State  Universit}' 
of  Michigan,  at  Ann  Arbor,  and  was 
graduated  from  that  institution  with  honor 
in  the  class  of  '84.  He  then  took  a  post- 
graduate course  in  three  different  hospitals 
in  New  York  City,  a  special  course  in 
surgery  and  a  course  in  the  diseases  of 
women  and  children  at  the  Maternity 
Hospital  in  that  city.  The  following  year 
he  passed  in  recreation  and  travel,  and  in 
1887,  with  a  thorough  knowledge  of  his 
profession  to  fit  him  for  his  life  work,  he 
entered  upon  the  practice  of  medicine  in 
Toledo,  where  he  still  retains  an  office. 
He  built  up  for  himself  a  large  practice 
there,  his  skill  and  ability  being  widely 
recognized.  In  1893  he  removed  to 
Genoa,  where  he  opened  a  branch  office, 
and  his  high  reputation  and  thorough 
competency  have  already  won  for  him  a 
a  large  and  constantly  increasing  business. 
He  is  a  thorough  student  of  his  profession, 
and  his  brethren  of  the  medical  fraternity, 
as  well  as  the  public,  acknowledge  his 
superior  worth,  both  professionally  and 
personally. 

The  Doctor  was  united  in  marriage, 
March  17,  1S81,  in  Crawford  county, 
Ohio,  with  Miss  Martha  L.,  daughter  of 
David   and   Margaret   (Schultz)  Burgert, 


-^^ 


-^<^^4^ 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


599 


who  shares  with  her  husband  the  regard 
in  which  he  is  held.  In  his  political  views 
the  Doctor  is  liberal,  and  he  is  not  con- 
nected with  any  religious  organization. 
He  does  ever3thing  in  his  power  to  per- 
fect himself  in  his  chosen  calling,  and  is 
contemplating  a  trip  to  Europe  during 
the  3'ear  1896,  in  order  to  perfect  himself 
in  g3-necology  by  study  in  European  hospi- 
tals. He  possesses  a  verj-  genial  and 
affable  manner,  is  an  interesting  conver- 
sationalist, and  is  verj-  popular  in  the 
town  in  which  he  makes  his  home,  and 
also  in  Toledo,  where  he  still  practices, 
making  weekly  visits  to  that  city. 


WILLIAM  JOHN  SAUERWEIN 
is  a   native  of   Elmore,  Ottawa 
county,     born     September    29, 
1864,    and    is    a    son    of   John 
George  and  Catherine  Elizabeth  (Krontz) 
Sauerwein,   early  settlers  of  this  section 
of  Ohio. 

The  father  was  born  in  Hessen,  Ger- 
many, March  19,  1S18,  was  educated  in 
that  country,  and  there  married  Catherine 
Schneider.  Emigrating  to  America,  he 
located  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  subse- 
quently removed  to  EUiston,  Ottawa 
county,  where  his  wife  died,  March  18, 
1S62.  On  January  23,  1863,  he  married 
Catherine  E.  Krontz,  of  Elmore,  who  was 
born  in  Hessen.  Germany,  June  30, 
1843,  and  came  alone  to  America  when 
thirteen  years  old,  being  forty-five  days 
upon  the  water,  during  which  some  se- 
vere storms  occurred.  She  has  since 
spent  the  greater  part  of  her  life  in  El- 
more. Her  grandfather,  George  Krontz, 
was  born  in  1788.  Her  parents  were 
Peter  and  Catherine  (Schneider)  Krontz, 
the  former  born  in  18 16,  the  latter  in 
1813.  In  1877  her  father  departed  this 
life,  her  mother  dying  in  1 869.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Sauerwein  had  five  children:  Mary, 
born  November  11,  1863;  William  J., 
September  29,  1S65;  George  October  3 1 , 

38 


1867;  Elizabeth,  December  27,  1869; 
and  Anna  Margaret,  August  31,  1872. 

Our  subject  was  obliged  to  leave 
school  at  the  age  of  thirteen  years  on  ac- 
count of  the  death  of  his  father.  He  then 
began  work  in  the  stave  factory  of  H.  V. 
Becker,  of  Elmore,  where  he  was  em- 
ployed for  about  nine  years.  Since  1879 
he  has  been  an  employe  in  the  flouring- 
mill  of  C.  Metsch  &  Co.,  of  Elmore,  and 
his  faithful  service  and  fidelity  to  duty  is 
well  indicated  by  his  long  continuance 
with  that  firm.  On  November  12,  1891, 
William  Sauerwein  married  Miss  Minnie 
E.  Smith,  of  Elmore,  daughter  of  John 
and  Mary  Jane  (Logan)  Smith.  Her 
grandparents  were  J.  B.  Smith  and  Nancy 
A.  (Archer)  Smith,  pioneer  settlers  of 
Ohio,  of  1833.  The  former  was  born  in 
\'irginia,  in  1786,  made  farming  his  life 
work,  and  died  in  1839.  His  wife  was 
born  in  1788,  died  in  1868,  and  was  laid 
to  rest  in  the  old  cemetery  at  Elmore. 
Her  father,  at  the  time  of  his  last  sick- 
ness, owned  ninety-nine  slaves  whom  he 
set  at  liberty,  at  the  same  time  giving  to 
each  a  cottage  and  small  piece  of  land. 

John  Smith,  father  of  Mrs.  Minnie  E. 
(Smith)  Sauerwein,  was  born  in  Wayne 
county,  Ohio,  May  29,  181 8,  and  came 
with  his  parents  to  Ottawa  county,  in 
1833.  He  was  married  July  7,  1839,  to 
Amelia  W^ilson,  who  died  May  18,  1856, 
and  was  buried  in  the  old  cemetery  at 
Elmore.  They  had  seven  children:  Mary 
Jane,  born  June  13.  1 840;  Susan,  May  20, 
1842;  Emanuel,  February  4,  1844;  Jere- 
miah, May  31,  1846;  Henrietta,  in  1848; 
John  H.,  January  18,  1850;  and  Nancy 
Ann,  June  16,  1852.  On  September  29, 
1857,  the  father  of  this  family  wedded 
Mary  Jane  Logan,  daughter  of  James  and 
Mercy  (Sebring)  Logan,  and  born  in 
Pennsylvania  December  11,  1834;  by  this 
marriage  there  are  five  children,  as  fol- 
lows: Sarah  E.,  born  August  23,  1858, 
died  October  15,  1858;  James  L.,  born 
July  29,  i860,  died  March  6,  1864;  David 
E.  Ellsworth,   July  12,  1862,  now  of  To- 


600 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


ledo  (his  wife,  Alice ,  died  in  1894 

leaving  four  children);  Elta  Elnora,  born 
October  17,  1865,  died  April  13,  1870; 
and  Minnie  Estella  (Mrs.  Sauerwein)  born 
July  26,  1 87 1.  Mr.  Smith  died  October 
12,  1886.  For  twenty-one  years  he  was 
school  director,  and  several  years  served  as 
township  trustee,  proving  a  capable  of- 
ficer. He  accumulated  a  handsome  prop- 
ert}',  and  erected  in  Elmore  one  of  its 
finest  homes,  which  is  now  occupied  by 
his  widow  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sauerwein. 
He  was  a  very  prominent  and  influential 
citizen,  enjoying  the  esteem  of  all  who 
knew  him.  He  was  an  active  worker  in 
the  Christian  cause,  and  had  been  an 
elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  for  man}- 
years  up  to  his  death. 

Mrs.  Smith  (mother  of  Mrs.  Sauer- 
wein) li%-ed  in  her  native  State  (Pennsyl- 
vania) up  to  the  age  of  sixteen,  receiving 
her  education  there,  and  thence  removed 
to  Ohio,  where  she  has  since  resided, 
having  since  her  marriage  had  her  home 
in  Ottawa  county.  Her  father,  James 
Logan,  was  born  in  1802  in  Ireland,  came 
to  America  in  1820,  and  in  1834  wedded 
Mrs.  Mercy  (Sebring)  McF"all,  who  was 
born  in  Pennsylvania,  in  1798.  She  had 
one  child,  Hugh,  by  her  first  husband, 
and  three  by  her  marriage  to  Mr.  Logan, 
viz.:  Mary  Jane  (Mrs.  Smith);  Elizabeth 
Macfallen;  and  Ann,  who  died  at  the  age 
of  twenty-four.  Mr.  Logan  was  for  many 
years  as  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
His  father,  John  Logan,  was  a  native  of 
Ireland,  where  he  followed  farming;  he 
married  a  Miss  Miller,  a  native  of  Scot- 
land. Mrs.  Smith's  maternal  grandmother 
Elizabeth  (Bennett),  was  born  September 
3,  1766,  in  Pennsylvania,  and  died  June 
25,  1855;  she  had  nine  children.  Mrs. 
Sauerwein  was  born  in  Elmore,  and  com- 
pleted her  education  in  the  public  schools 
of  her  native  city  in  1886.  She  has  made 
a  special  study  of  instrumental  music,  and 
is  a  fine  performer  on  the  piano  and 
organ.  In  the  family  are  two  interesting 
children — Erma    M.,   born   October    27, 


1892 
1S95 


and  Olive  Grace,  born  January  18, 

In  politics  our  subject  is  a  stalwart 
Republican,  but  has  never  sought  office. 
A  prominent  and  active  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Elmore,  he  is 
serving  as  one  of  its  elders  and  directors, 
and  is  also  superintendent  of  the  Sunday- 
school.  He  does  all  in  his  power  to  pro- 
mote the  work  of  the  church  and  advance 
the  cause  of  Christianity,  and  his  well- 
spent  life  has  won  him  high  regard  in 
which  his  estimable  wife  also  shares. 


c 


ONRAD  MILLER,  who  is  widely 
and  favorably  known  in  Elmore, 
Ottawa  county,  was  born  Jan- 
uary 8,  1S52,  in  Westphalia, 
Germany,  where  he  spent  his  boyhood 
days  and  attended  school.  His  ancestors 
lived  for  some  generations  in  that  coun- 
try. The  maternal  grandfather  of  our 
subject  was  born  in  Germany,  in  1783, 
and  was  a  miller  by  trade.  The  father 
of  our  subject,  Simon  Miller,  was  born  in 
1 8 17,  and  learned  the  brick  mason's 
trade,  which  he  followed  through  the 
greater  part  of  his  life;  he  died  in  1876, 
and  his  wife,  Minnie  (Henning),  who  was 
born  in  Germany,  in  1S18,  survived  un- 
til 1S94.  They  were  the  parents  of  six 
children:  \\'illiam,  born  in  1845;  Fred, 
November  14,  1848;  Conrad,  January  8, 
1852;  William  F.,  in  1855;  Louisa,  in 
1858;  and  William  F.  in  1861.  Fred  and 
Conrad  are  the  only  members  of  this 
family  now  living. 

At  the  age  of  eighteen  Conrad  Miller 
left  home  to  learn  the  butcher's  trade, 
serving  a  two-years'  apprenticeship,  and 
then  following  that  pursuit  in  Germany 
for  eleven  years.  He  is  now  an  expert, 
there  being  no  kind  of  meat  that  he  can 
not  prepare.  He  was  married  November 
5,  1876,  to  Miss  Augusta  Kroos,  of  Lippe 
Detmold,  Germany,  born  in  that  country 
February  16,  1852.  Her  father,  Fred 
Kroos,  was  there  born  in  1803,  and  died. 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


601 


in  1855.  He  was  a  gardener  by  trade 
and  lived  at  Schoedmar,  Germany.  His 
wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Min- 
ne  Meyer,  was  born  at  Ahsen,  Ger- 
many, in  181  5,  and  died  in  1870.  Their 
family  numbered  six  children,  namely: 
August,  who  died  at  the  age  of  eighteen 
years;  William;  Minnie  Caroline;  Fred, 
who  died  in  1889;  Augusta  and  Henry. 
Of  those  living  Mrs.  Miller  is  now  the 
only  one  in  America.  She  remained  at 
home  until  eleven  years  of  age,  and  from 
that  time  until  her  marriage  cared  for 
herself.  To  her  husband  she  has  been  a 
faithful  companion  and  helpmeet,  aiding 
him  in  securing  the  competence  which 
they  now  enjoy. 

In  December,  18S0,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Miller  sailed  for  America,  landing  in  New 
York  in  January,  1S81,  and  coming  di- 
rect to  Ohio.  They  located  on  a  farm 
which  was  their  home  forsi.K  months,  and 
then  removed  to  the  village  of  Elmore, 
buying  a  small  place,  which,  however, 
was  soon  sold.  Mr.  Miller  next  pur- 
chased four  nice  lots  and  a  fine  residence 
on  Fremont  street,  and  to-daj-  has  one 
of  the  most  pleasant  homes  in  Elmore, 
characterized  by  its  neatness  both  within 
doors  and  without.  For  five  and  a  half 
years  he  engaged  in  clerking  in  the  hard- 
ware store  of  Wolf  &  Bendig,  after  which 
he  returned  to  his  old  trade,  and  for 
eight  and  one-half  years  he  has  been  en- 
gaged in  the  butchering  business,  six  years 
for  Mr.  Wittie.  He  thoroughly  under- 
stands his  trade,  and  his  long  connection 
with  one  store  indicates  the  faithfulness 
and  integrity  that  is  above  question.  He 
and  his  wife  have  many  warm  friends, 
and  are  widely  known. 


DR.    HENRY  JOHN   HELLWIG, 
veterinary  surgeon,    Elmore,   Ot- 
tawa county,  is  the  son   of  hon- 
ored pioneers  of   Ottawa  county, 
Justus  and  Elizabeth  fLang)  Hellwig.    He 
was  born  June  23.  1868,  on  the  old  home- 


stead farm  near  Elliston,  Ohio,  and  ac- 
quired his  education  in  the  schools  of  that 
place,  after  which  he  engaged  in  the 
operation  of  the  honie  farm  for  eight 
years,  carrying  on  the  place  for  his  mother 
for  some  years  after  his  father's  death. 
He  there  made  a  specialty  of  stock  rais- 
ing, keeping  on  hand  fine  grades  of  Per- 
cheron  horses,  and  from  his  boyhood  he 
has  always  been  a  lover  of  fine  horses. 

In  1890  the  Doctor  went  to  New 
Hamburg,  Canada,  in  order  to  study  vet- 
erinary surgery  with  Dr.  William  Sterl- 
ing, of  that  place.  After  six  months  he 
returned  home  to  spend  the  summer,  and 
then  went  to  Toronto,  Canada,  where  he 
took  a  regular  course  in  the  Ontario  Vet- 
erinary College,  from  which  he  graduated 
in  the  class  of  1892.  When  his  studies 
were  ended  he  located  in  Elliston,  spend- 
ing four  days  in  each  week  there  and 
three  days  in  Oak  Harbor,  practicing  his 
profession.  In  the  fall  of  1893  he  re- 
moved to  Elmore,  where,  in  two  )'ears,  he 
has  built  up  an  enviable  reputation  as  a 
veterinary  surgeon,  and  enjoys  a  very  ex- 
lensive  practice.  On  June  iS,  1891,  the 
Doctor  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Elva  Hammond,  of  Elliston.  Her  father, 
Henry  Hammond,  was  born  in  Harris 
township,  Ottawa  county,  January  25, 
1845,  and  is  a  thorough  mechanic,  having 
been  employed  by  the  Toledo  Bridge 
Company  for  twenty  years,  superintend- 
ing the  erection  of  the  bridges  after  the 
material  is  prepared.  He  served  in  the 
army  for  three  years,  where  he  was 
wounded,  January  4.  1864. 

On  April  1 1 ,  1 866,  Mr.  Hammond  mar- 
ried Emilv  Gyde,  who  was  born  in  Ottawa 
county,  Ohio,  February  25,  1848,  and 
for  a  time  was  engaged  in  teaching  school 
in  Ottawa  county.  Two  children  were 
born  to  them:  Emily  (Mrs.  Hellwig), 
and  William,  the  latter  of  whom  is  a 
bridge  builder.      The  grandfather,  Anson 

I  Hammond,  was  born  in  Ohio  about  1820, 
and  died  in  a  hospital  at   Savannah,  Ga.. 

;  during    the    Civil    war.      His    wife,    who 


602 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOORAPHICAL   RECORD. 


bore  the  name  of  Margaretta  Witty,  was 
born  in  Germany,  October  9,  1822,  and 
died  February  6,  1891.  The  maternal 
grandparents  were  WiUiam  and  Harriet 
(Meeker)  Gyde,  the  former  of  whom  was 
born  in  England,  in  18 13,  and  was  a  car- 
penter by  trade,  but  also  pursued  the  oc- 
cupation of  farming,  while  the  latter  was 
born  in  Butler  county,  Ohio,  in  1829. 

Mrs.  Hellwig  was  born  in  Elliston, 
Ohio,  January  4,  1867,  and,  after  attend- 
ing the  public  schools  of  that  place,  was 
a  student  in  the  normal  school  of  Oak 
Harbor.  In  18S4  she  began  teaching  in 
this  section  of  the  State,  and  for  six  years 
was  numbered  among  the  successful  and 
popular  teachers  of  Ottawa  county.  Mrs. 
Hellwig  is  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church, 
and  president  of  the  Epworth  League. 
Both  the  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Hellwig  have 
music-loving  natures,  his  violin  making 
an  excellent  accompaniment  to  her  organ 
or  piano,  and  in  their  home  their  friends 
ma}'  always  be  sure  of  a  refined  literarj- 
treat. 


JOSEPH  SLIGER,  one  of  the  repre- 
sentative self-made   farmer  citizens 
of  Benton  township,  Ottawa  county, 
is    a    native  of    Pennsylvania,   born 
March  28,  1848,  son  of  Henry  and  Anna 
(Hardman;  Sliger. 

Henry  Sliger  was  born  in  March, 
1818,  in  Bedford  county,  Penn.,  where 
he  was  reared  to  manhood,  and  on  Sep- 
tember 18,  1842,  there  married  Anna 
Hardman,  a  native  of  the  same  State, 
born  November  22,  1823.  To  their  union 
were  born  eleven  children,  six  of  whom 
are  living,  Joseph  Sliger  being  the  only 
one  in  Ohio.  They  came  to  Ohio  in  1852, 
settling  in  Richland  county,  where  Mr. 
Sliger  cleared  up  a  farm  and  made  a  com- 
fortable home  for  his  family,  living  there 
until  about  1868,  when  he  sold  out  and 
removed  to  Sandusky  county.  Here  he 
cleared  another  farm  and  became  owner 
of  a  nice  property,  which  he  lost  by  sign- 


ing papers  to  assist  his  friends  in  business. 
Here  his  wife  died,  and  shortly  afterward 
he  went  to  Michigan,  where  he  passed 
away  April  7,  1886.  Mr.  Joseph  Sliger's 
maternal  grandfather,  Jacob  Hardman, 
was  born  about  1790  in  Pennsylvania, 
and  came  thence  with  a  team  to  Richland 
county,  Ohio,  where  he  died  in  i860;  his 
wife,  who  was  born  about  1 790,  died  in 
1856. 

Joseph  Sliger  was  a  mere  child  when 
his  parents  came  to  Richland  county, 
Ohio,  where  he  lived  until  eighteen  years 
of  age,  obtaining  his  education  in  the  dis- 
trict schools.  At  the  age  of  twenty-three 
he  was  married  September  14,  1871,  to 
Miss  Jenette  Smith,  of  Sandusky  county, 
Ohio,  and  the}'  settled  in  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, where  they  remained  for  six  years. 
They  then  came  to  Section  1 1 ,  Benton 
township,  Ottawa  county,  where  they 
bought  forty  acres  of  mill  land,  not  a  foot 
of  which  was  cleared.  There  was  no 
road  to  their  new  liome,  and  they  cut  a 
road  through  the  timber  some  distance  to 
get  onto  their  land,  on  which  they  built  a 
frame  house  by  addition  to  shelter  them, 
and  at  once  began  clearing  away  the  tim- 
ber that  they  might  raise  something  for 
their  sustenance.  On  going  over  the 
farm  now  one  would  not  realize  the  work 
that  has  been  accomplished  by  him  and 
his  faithful  wife  in  the  developing  of  that 
part  of  the  township;  the  land  is  all 
cleared,  not  only  of  timber,  but  also  of 
stumps,  is  well  fenced,  and  equipped  with 
comfortable  buildings,  and  the  well-kept 
condition  of  the  place  and  all  the  sur- 
roundings gives  evidence  of  the  neatness 
and  taste  of  the  owners.  In  connection 
with  general  agriculture  he  is  also  engaged 
in  bee  culture,  having  at  various  times 
nearly  forty  swarms,  from  which  he  has 
sold  100  gallons  of  honey  in  a  season, 
and  for  seven  seasons  he  has  also  operated 
a  threshing  outfit,  in  which  business  he 
has  made  a  reasonably  fair  success.  In 
addition  to  his  own  home  business  he  has 
done  much  contracting  in  the  line  of  get- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQBAPHICAL  RECORD. 


G03 


tins  out  timber  for  different  parties.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Sliger  have  always  been  busy, 
striving  to  make  home  pleasant  for  them- 
selves and  their  children,  and  their  efforts 
have  resulted  in  a  very  cheerful  and  hap- 
py home. 

Mrs.  Jenette  (Smith)  Sliger  was  born 
May  7,  1S51,  in  Sandusky  count3^  Ohio, 
where  she   lived  until    1877,  acquiring   at 
the  public  schools  as  complete  an  educa- 
tion   as    the    times    would    afford.       Her 
mother  dying  when  she  was  quite  young, 
her  help  was  needed   in   the   home,  and 
this  somewhat  curtailed    her   advantages 
for   an    education,  for    which   she   had    a 
great    desire.      Her  elder  sister,  Calesta, 
was  a  teacher  and  away  from  home  much 
of  the  time,  thus  leaving  a  great  deal  for 
Mrs.  Sliger  to  do;  but  this  early  experi- 
ence has  of  course  added  much  to  her  suc- 
cess in  managing  her  own  home,  and  she 
has  been  of   great  assistance   to  her   hus- 
band in  securing  the  home.      To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Sliger  have  been  born  four  children: 
Newton,  August  31,  1872;  Anna,  June  18, 
1874;  Edwin,  August  14,  1885,  and  May, 
May  8,   1890,  of   whom  Edwin  died  when 
only   two   months  old.     The   others    are 
living  with  their  parents  on  the  farm,  and 
have   been  very  faithful   in  helping  them 
in  various  ways.      Special  mention  should 
here  be  made  of  Newton  and  .\nna;  they 
have  improved  every  opportunity  to  secure 
an  education,  having  adopted  the  profes- 
sion  of  teaching.      In  addition    to    their 
countrj-   schooling,  Newton   attended  the 
high   school  at   Rocky  Ridge  for   a  time, 
and  Anna  the  high  school  at  Oak  Harbor, 
leaving  when  in  her  senior  year  to  accept 
a  position  as  a  teacher,  which  occupation 
she  has   followed  for  three  years,  and  is 
now  among  the  most  promising  teachers 
in  Ottawa  county.      Newton   taught  one 
term,  and  was  obliged  to  discontinue  the 
work  on  account  of  his  health.      They  are 
truly  ambitious,  self-made  young  people, 
and,  if  health  permits,  they  will  no  doubt 
make  creditable   records  for  themselves. 
Daniel   Smith,  father  of  Mrs.   Sliger, 


was  born  in  Pennsylvania  July  11,  1814, 
and  December  6,  1834,  was  married  to 
Miss  Jenette  Holcomb,  who  was  born  June 
30,  1 81 5.  To  them  were  born  seven  chil- 
dren, four  of  whom  are  living — two  sons 
and  two  daughters.  Daniel  Smith  was 
one  of  the  first  justices  in  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, an  office  he  held  for  thirty-three  years. 
The  grandfather,  Daniel  Smith,  Sr. ,  was 
born  about  1777,  and  in  his  family  were 
thirteen  children.  They  were  among  the 
pioneers  of  Sandusky  county,  coming  to 
this  region  when  it  was  a  forest,  out  of 
which  thev  cleared  up  a  farm  and  made  for 
themselves  a  comfortable  home.  [To  the 
above  sketch  Mr.  Sliger  adds  in  the  early 
part  of  November,  1895:  "We  are  pack- 
ing our  household  goods  preparatory  to 
starting  for  Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  where  we 
intend  making  our  future  home. " — Editor. 


REV.  ERNEST  WALTER 
Y  A  E  C  K  E  R,  son  of  Robert  and 
Louisa  (von  Weber)  Yaecker,  was 
born  in  Duesseldorf,  Germany, 
May  8,  1S67,  was  educated  in  the  scien- 
tific schools  of  Germany,  and  took  the 
theological  course  in  the  Northwestern 
College  of  Illinois,  from  which  he  gradu- 
ated in  1888. 

Carl  Yaecker,  the  father  of  Robert 
Yaecker,  was  born  in  Germany,  February 
7,  1 81 2,  and  died  in  that  country  in  1890. 
Robert  Yaecker  was  born  April  17,  183S, 
in  Kronenberg,  Germany,  and  he  now 
lives  in  Duesseldorf.  He  married  Louisa 
von  Weber,  who  was  born  in  Pohlhausen, 
Rhine  Proving,  Germany,  in  1838,  and 
they  had  eight  children,  seven  of  whom 
are  now  living,  all  in  Germany  except  the 
subject  of  this  sketch.  An  uncle  of  Rev. 
E.  W.  Yaecker  was  a  soldier  in  the  war 
of  the  Rebellion,  and  died  in  Anderson- 
ville  prison.  Robert  Yaecker  was  for  a 
time  in  the  hardware  business,  sold  out 
and  is  now  foreman  in  a  large  iron  pipe 
factory.  At  one  time  he  had  a  nice  sum 
of  money  in  one  of  the  banks  of  Germany, 


604 


COMyrEilORATTTE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


but  lost  much  of  his  hard  earnings  in  con- 
sequence of  the  failure  of  the  bank.  His 
wife,  Louisa,  died  in  Germanj-  in  1S71. 
Her  parents,  who  were  descendants  of 
German  nobility,  died  at  an  advanced  age. 

While  in  Germany  Rev.  E.  W.  Yaecker 
learned  the  trade  of  truss  and  limb  manu- 
facturing and  followed  it  for  some  time. 
He  embarked  for  America  in  18S5,  and 
encountered  a  severe  storm  at  sea,  dur- 
ing which  the  machiner}-  of  the  ves- 
sel got  out  of  repair,  and  they  were 
adrift  for  half  a  day  until  repairs  could 
be  made,  when  the  vessel  proceeded 
on  her  course.  Soon  after  reaching 
America  our  subject  took  up  his  theo- 
logical studies,  and  since  his  gradua- 
tion has  been  engaged  in  the  active  work 
of  the  ministry.  He  was  first  located  in 
Cleveland  for  one  year  as  pastor  of  the 
Evangelical  Association  (he  is  a  member 
of  its  Erie  Conference),  after  which  he 
preached  at  EUiston,  in  Benton  township, 
Ottawa  county,  for  one  year,  was  located 
for  four  \-ears  in  Pennsylvania,  and  then 
returned  to  Elliston,  where  he  has  been 
since  March,  1894.  He  fills  three  appoint- 
ments, all  in  Benton  township,  namely: 
Elliston,  Rocky  Ridge  and  Blackberry,  in 
which  there  is  a  large  membership.  Since 
coming  to  Benton  township  he  has  re- 
ceived his  naturalization  papers,  which 
were  issued  1 890. 

On  May  8,  1890,  the  Rev.  E.  \\'. 
Yaecker  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Mar}-  Albertrne  Kopf,  who  was  born  Au- 
gust 1 1,  1869,  inMunster.  Alsace-Loraine, 
and  they  have  had  three  children — Wal- 
ter Ernest,  born  September  27,  1891; 
Robert  Arthur,  June  13,  1893;  and  Henry 
Emerson,  September  10,  1894 — all  living. 
Mary  A.  Kopf,  now  Mrs.  Yaecker,  came 
to  America  at  the  age  of  five  years  with 
her  widowed  mother,  who  settled  in  Cleve- 
land, Ohio,  and  she  was  educated  in  the 
schools  of  that  city,  graduating  in  1S83. 
Mrs.  Yaecker  has  also  made  a  study  of 
music,  and  is  proficient  on  the  organ  and 
piano.    Her  father,  Albert  Kopf,  was  born 


in  Muhlburg.  Baden,  Germany,  in  1824, 
and  died  in  the  Fatherland  in  1871.  Her 
mother,  whose  maiden  name  was  Ruhland, 
came  from  a  wealthy  family  and  was  born 
at  Munster,  Germany;  she  is  now  living 
in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  where  she  located 
upon  coming  to  America.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Albert  Kopf  were  the  parents  of  three 
children,  Mrs.  Yaecker  being  the  only  one 
of  them  now  livine. 


JACOB  S.  PICKARD,  proprietor  of 
the  only  barber  shop  in  Rock}' 
Ridge,  is  one  of  the  best  in  his  line 
in  Ottawa  county.  He  is  an  Ohioan 
by  birth,  having  first  seen  the  light  Au- 
gust 4,  1840,  in  Wayne  county,  where 
his  early  years  were  spent.  At  the  age 
of  six  he  was  bound  out,  and  the  people 
with  whom  he  lived,  instead  of  sending 
him  to  school,  kept  him  doing  little  er- 
rands for  them,  thus  depriving  him  of 
even  a  show  for  an  elementary  education. 
At  the  age  of  eight  years  he  ran  away 
from  those  to  whom  he  was  bound  out, 
and  went  to  work  for  a  farmer  for  three 
dollar  per  month,  remaining  with  him 
five  years.  At  the  age  of  thirteen  he 
took  up  the  carpenter's  trade  with  his 
brother,  working  at  same  one  and  one- 
half  years  for  his  board  and  clothes.  He 
then  went  to  work  on  a  farm  again  for 
eight  dollars  per  month,  and  so  continued 
until  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war. 

In  1861  Mr.  Pickard  enlisted  for  three 
months  in  the  Seventeenth  Ind.  \'.  I.,  at 
the  end  of  that  time  re-enlisting,  but  his 
health  was  so  poor  that  he  was  rejected. 
He  remained  at  home  for  six  months,  and 
having  somewhat  regained  his  health  he 
entered,  in  August,  1862,  Company  E, 
Si.xty-fifth  O.  \.  I. ;  he  was  again  taken 
sick,  and  in  the  fall  of  1863  was  dis- 
charged, but  at  the  end  of  eight  months 
he  had  so  far  recovered  that  he  again  en- 
listed, this  time  in  the  One  Hundred  and 
Twenty-ninth  O.  V.  I.,  and  served  out 
his    time.      Mr.    Pickard    was  in   several 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPmCAL  RECORD. 


605 


skirmishes,  and  in  the  hot  battles  of  Cum- 
berland Gap  and  Shiloh.  In  the  fall  of 
1S64  he  went  to  Nashville  as  teamster 
for  the  pjovernment,  and  there  remained 
for  five  months.  In  January,  1865,  he 
went  to  Graytown,  in  Benton  township, 
Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio,  to  work  in  the  saw- 
mill of  Walker  &  Harman,  with  whom  he 
continued  some  ten  years.  About  1875 
he  began  work  in  the  stave  factory  of 
Joseph  Traults,  at  Graytown,  where  he 
labored  four  years;  then,  after  spending 
several  years  on  a  farm,  he  took  up  and 
learned  the  barber's  trade.  He  is  self- 
made  in  his  vocation,  and  is  known  as 
one  of  the  most  skillful  tonsorial  artists  in 
the  county.  Mr.  Pickard  has  a  neat 
place  of  business,  and,  it  being  the  only 
establishment  of  the  kind  in  Rocky  Ridge, 
he  has  all  the  custom  he  can  convenient- 
ly handle.  He  has  purchased  a  comfort- 
able home  on  Third  street,  and  has  met 
with  well-merited  success,  being  now 
able  to  enjoy  life  as  he  deserves. 

On  August  14,  1865,  Mr.  Pickard  was 
married  to  Miss  Nancy  Ann  Bennett,  of 
Port  Clinton,  and  to  their  union  were  born 
si.\  children,  their  names  and  dates  of 
birth  being  as  follows:  Annie,  September 
5,  1868;  William  Henry,  November  27, 
1870;  Alvin  Francis,  September  8,  1872; 
George  Frederick,  January  22,  1875; 
Lanoria  Jane,  October  4,  1876;  Jacob  J., 
January  8,  1883;  of  whom,  Alvin  F.  died 
May  6,  1875;  Jacob  J.  died  June  29,  1883; 
and  Annie  died  May  29.  1884;  Lanoria 
Jane  is  married  to  Frank  Riser,  of  Rocky 
Ridge;  William  H.  is  engaged  in  the 
stave  business  in  Paulding  county,  Ohio; 
George  F.  is  a  clerk  for  C.  F.  Frese  & 
Co.,  of  Graytown,  and  is  known  as  a 
capable,  energetic  young  man.  Mrs. 
Nancy  Ann  Pickard  died  April  7,  1883, 
after  eight  years'  illness,  and  Mr.  Pickard 
then  remained  a  widower  a  few  years, 
caring  for  his  three  remaining  children. 
In  1887  he  was  married  to  Mrs.  Bell  Mor- 
gan, of  Rocky  Ridge,  by  whom  he  had 
the    following   children:   Frank   S.,   born 


July  17,  1 88-,  deceased  August  28,  1890; 
and  Ella  Belle,  born  January  i,  1890. 
On  April  r,  1895,  Mr.  Pickard  was  mar- 
ried to  Mrs.  Jennie  Baker,  of  Rocky  Ridge, 
a  lady  of  Scotch-Irish  descent. 

The  parents  of  our  subject  were  John 
and  Mary  (Shrolley)  Pickard,  the  former 
of  whom  was  born  in  1797,  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  passed  from  earth  in  1882,  in 
Benton  township,  Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio. 
The  paternal  grandparents  of  Mr.  Pickard 
were  John  and  Ellen  Pickard,  the  former 
of  whom,  born  in  Germany  in  1740,  died 
in  1858,  at  the  advanced  age  of  one  hun- 
dred and  eighteen  years;  the  grandmother 
was  born  in  Ireland  in  1742,  and  died  in 
Indiana  in  1858,  being  one  hundred  and 
sixteen  years  old.  For  twenty  years  prior 
to  his  death  the  grandfather  was  blind  and 
deaf.  The  parents  of  Mr.  Pickard's  first 
wife  were  of  French  descent. 


WASHINGTON  D.   SMITH,  who 
was  one  of  the  brave  defenders 
of  the  Union  in  the  war  of  the 
Rebellion,  is  a  son  of  James  A. 
and  Jane    (McCormick)    Smith,    and   was 
born  in  Harris  township,  Ottawa  county, 
Ohio,  February  7,  1837. 

James  A.  Smith  was  born  in  \'irginia, 
June  5,  1806,  and  his  wife,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Jane  McCormick,  was  born  in 
Canada  in  181 1.  They  had  nine  chil- 
dren— five  sons  and  four  daughters — four 
of  whom  are  now  living.  The  father  of 
James  A.  Smith  was  John  B.  Smith. 
Mrs.  James  A.  Smith's  father  was  born  in 
Ireland. 

Washington  D.  Smith  remained  at 
home  until  he  was  nineteen  years  of  age, 
then  went  to  Indiana,  where  for  two 
years  he  worked  on  the  Wabash  and  Erie 
canal,  and  also  on  a  farm.  He  then  re- 
turned to  Ohio,  and  learned  the  stone  and 
brick  mason's  trade,  which  he  had  just 
completed  attheoutbreakof  the  Rebellion. 
On  April  27,  1861,  Mr.  Smith  responded 
to   President  Lincoln's  call  for  seventy- 


606 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


five  thousand  men  for  three  months,  en- 
listing inCompany  I,  Twenty-first  O.  V.  I. 
He  served  his  time  and  immediately  re- 
enlisted  in  the  same  company  for  three 
years  or  during  the  war.  In  1863,  under 
the  bounty  plan,  he  again  re-enlisted,  re- 
ceiving the  four-hundred  dollars  bounty 
for  three  years  or  during  the  war.  Mr. 
Smith  was  in  some  of  the  hardest  battles 
of  the  Rebellion,  among  which  may  be 
mentioned  those  of  Stone  River,  Chicka- 
niauga,  and  Atlanta.  He  was  also  with 
Sherman  on  his  famous  march  to  the 
sea.  After  the  battle  of  Chickamauga  he 
was  taken  prisoner  October  2,  1S63,  was 
held  only  four  days,  and  then  allowed  to 
return  to  his  regiment.  Mr.  Smith  re- 
gards as  one  of  the  most  interesting  scenes 
he  ever  witnessed  the  battle  of  Missionarj- 
Ridge,  which  he  viewed  from  a  distance 
of  three  miles.  He  was  in  the  grand  re- 
view at  Washington  at  the  close  of  the 
war,  then  returned  to  Ohio,  has  since 
given  his  attention  to  his  trade  and  to 
farming,  and  for  the  last  twenty-three 
years  has  lived  in  Benton  township. 

Politically  Mr.  Smith  is  an  ardent 
supporter  of  his  party's  ideas.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  G.  A.  R.,  of  the  I.  O.  O. 
F.,  and  of  the  P.  of  H.  On  July  25, 1870, 
he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Sarah 
Davenport,  of  Carroll  township,  Ottawa 
Co.,  Ohio,  and  they  have  had  four  chil- 
dren, as  follows:  James  Edson,  born  June 
27,  1871,  died  March  11,  1880;  Emma, 
born  October  10,  1872;  Lula,  born  No- 
vember 5,  1875;  and  Mary  Elizabeth, 
born  September  6,  1886.  Mrs.  W.  D. 
Smith's  father  was  born  in  1807  in  Ohio; 
her  mother  was  born  in  1809.  They  had 
nine  children — four  sons  and  five  daugh- 
ters— five  of  whom  are  still  living.  Miss 
Emma  Smith,  the  eldest  daughter  of  W. 
D.  Smith,  was  born  in  Harris  township, 
Ottawa  county,  where  she  lived  until 
three  years  of  age,  when  her  parents 
moved  to  Benton  township.  As  did  also 
her  young  sisters,  she  acquired  a  liberal 
Literary  education  in  the  public  schools  of 


Graytown.  She  has  been  away  from 
home  the  greater  part  of  the  time  since 
sixteen  years  of  age,  and  is  at  present, 
and  has  been  for  the  past  four  years,  en- 
gaged in  Decatur;  at  the  time  of  this 
writing  she  was  at  home  visiting  her 
parents.  Lula  Smith,  the  second  daugh- 
ter of  the  subject  of  these  lines,  was  born 
November  5,  1875,  in  Benton  township, 
where  she  has  since  lived.  She  was  edu^ 
cated  in  the  public  schools  of  Graytown, 
in  Benton  township,  and  completed  her 
course  of  studies  in  1894,  under  the  su- 
pervision of  Principal  A.  L.  Ferris.  In 
October,  1894,  Miss  Lula  began  her  work 
as  a  teacher  in  one  of  the  public  schools 
of  Carroll  township,  Ottawa  county,  where 
she  has  very  successfully  taught  her  first 
year.  Her  ambition  is  to  pursue  her 
studies  further  as  soon  as  possible,  and  to 
make  of  herself  a  professional  teacher. 


ALFRED  C.  JOHNSON,  manu- 
facturer of  brick  and  tile,  Martin, 
Ottawa  county,  and  superintend- 
ent of  and  stockholder  in  the 
Toledo  White  Lime  Company,  was  born 
February  7,  1850,  in  ttie  Kingdom  of 
Sweden,  son  of  Charles  Johnson,  who 
followed  the  occupation  of  fishing  in  that 
country. 

When  our  subject  was  but  a  year  and 
a  half  old  his  father  died,  and  when  Al- 
fred had  reached  the  age  of  si.\  years  the 
mother  came  with  her  family  to  America, 
locating  in  Sandusky,  Ohio.  His  edu- 
cational privileges  were  very  meager,  and 
he  early  began  to  earn  his  livelihood  in 
connection  with  the  fishing  business.  He 
then  began  sailing  on  the  lakes,  following 
that  life  until  twenty-four  years  of  age, 
when,  thinking  he  might  bend  his  ener- 
gies to  a  more  profitable  business,  he 
came  to  Martin,  Ohio,  and  entered  into 
partnership  with  his  father-in-law,  A.  E. 
Salisbury,  in  the  stave  manufacturing 
industr\',  with  which  he  was  connected 
until   1886,  at  the  same  time  also  engag- 


^-'^-^'^ttS-a--*^ 


1 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


607 


ing  in  mercantile  pursuits  at  Martin. 
In  1886  Mr.  Salisbury  withdrew,  and  Mr. 
Johnson  continued  the  enterprise  alone 
until  1889,  when  he  embarked  in  the 
brick  and  tile  manufacturing,  business 
which  he  yet  conducts. 

In  1880  Mr.  Johnson  entered  the  em- 
ploy of  the  Toledo  White  Lime  Company 
as  superintendent,  and  has  since  served 
in  that  capacity,  operating  the  works  at 
Clay  Center,  Ohio.  In  1890  he  became 
one  of  the  stockholders  in  the  company, 
and  the  two  industries  with  which  he  is 
now  connected  yield  him  a  good  income. 
Through  his  business  ability  and  progres- 
sive ideas  he  has  succeeded  in  making 
the  lime  works  a  paying  concern,  and  un- 
der his  supervision  many  improvements 
have  been  made  in  the  kilns,  and  in  the 
use  of  the  best  machinery.  He  is  now 
superintending  the  construction  of  a 
branch  railroad  which  is  to  be  run  from 
the  factory  to  Clay  Center,  and  he  has 
charge  of  the  erection  of  a  new  kiln  in 
connection  with  the  present  one. 

On  October  13,  1875.  Mr.  Johnson 
married  Miss  Mary  Salisbury,  daughter 
of  A.  E.  Salisbury,  a  prominent  business 
man  of  Martin.  She  was  born  October 
22,  1855,  '"  Randall,  Cuyahoga  Co., 
Ohio,  was  educated  at  Martin,  Genoa  and 
in  Berea  (Ohio)  College,  and  made  her 
home  with  her  father  until  her  marriage. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Johnson  now  have  one 
daughter,  Lottie  A.,  who  was  born  July 
5,  1876,  in  Martin,  where  she  attended 
school,  completing  her  literary  education 
in  the  high  school  of  Toledo,  after  which 
she  entered  a  business  college  of  that  city, 
taking  a  full  business  course.  She  is  now 
a  bookkeeper,  stenographer  and  type- 
writer in  the  office  of  the  Toledo  White 
Lime  Company,  and  is  a  most  estimable 
young  lady,  possessed  of  superior  busi- 
ness ability. 

His  success  in  life  Mr.  Johnson  owes 
to  no  man,  it  being  the  reward  of  his  own 
efforts.  He  began  life  without  capital, 
but  energy  and  industry  are  the  traits  of 


character  which  have  brought  him  suc- 
cess. He  was  self-educated,  and  is  en- 
tirely self-made,  but  possesses  good  busi- 
ness abilit}',  and  the  energy  and  determin- 
ation that  helped  him  to  accomplish  what- 
ever he  has  undertaken.  His  straight- 
forward dealing  in  all  transactions  has 
won  him  the  confidence  and  good  will  of 
all  with  whom  he  has  been  brought  in 
contact,  and  his  life  furnishes  an  e.xample 
well  worthy  of  emulation.  His  political 
support  is  ever  given  to  the  Republican 
party,  of  whose  principles  he  is  a  stanch 
advocate.      The  family  reside  in  Toledo. 


JOHN  McINTYRE  LEMMON.  Few 
men  are  better  or  more  favorably 
known  throughqut  northern  Ohio,  or 
indeed  throughout  the  State,  than 
was  the  one  whose  name  is  here  given. 
In  the  various  relations  of  citizen,  soldier, 
member  of  the  bar  and  judge  upon  the 
bench,  his  record  has  been  so  full  of  all 
that  is  to  be  emulated  in  the  conduct  of 
life  that  it  is  with  more  than  ordinary 
pleasure  we  include  a  sketch  of  his  career 
in  this  volume.  Necessarily  condensed, 
owing  to  the  limitations  of  such  a  work, 
we  present  only  tho  salient  points,  from 
which,  however,  a  correct  idea  can  be  ob- 
tained of  the  character  of  the  man  who 
possessed  the  love  and  admiration  of  his 
fellow-citizens,  as  well  as  the  respect  and 
esteem  of  all  who  ever  had  dealings  with 
him. 

Judge  Lemmon  was  a  native  of  Ohio, 
born  July  25,  1839,  in  Townsend,  San- 
dusky county,  a  son  of  Uriah  Blake  and 
Emily  Amanda  (Mclntyre)  Lemmon.  His 
ancestrj'  were  Scotch-Irish,  and  he  in- 
herited much  of  the  vigorous,  well-bal- 
anced temperament  which  marks  that 
race.  His  father's  family,  in  this  country,  is 
traced  back  to  Hugh  Lemmon,  who  left 
Ireland  when  seventeen  years  old,  coming 
to  New  York,  where  he  learned  the  trade 
of  a  tailor,  at  which  he  worked  for  several 


■608 


COMMEMORATIVE  BTOOHAPUWAL  RECORD. 


years.  He  then  removed  to  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  married  into  a  family  named 
McHenry,  of  Scotch  origin.  He  had  a 
family  of  twelve  children,  of  whom  James 
Lemmon,  Sr. ,  the  grandfather  of  our 
subject,  was  the  second.  He  was  born  in 
Northumberland  county,  Penn.,  July  17, 
1779;  was  married  to  Rebecca  Blake  in 
1S05;  was  a  volunteer  soldier  in  the  war 
of  181 2;  removed  to  Ohio  in  1827,  and 
died  at  his  home  on  North  Ridge,  Town- 
send,  Sandusky  county,  May  7,  1854. 
Uriah  Blake  Lemmon,  the  father  of  our 
subject,  died  at  Clyde,  this  State,  Febru- 
ary 16,  1887,  when  nearly  seventy-nine 
years  old.  His  wife  departed  this  life  July 
12,  i860,  in  Townsend  township,  San- 
dusky county. 

The  present  generation  can  scarcely 
comprehend  the  manner  in  which  the 
early  settlers  of  this  and  other  western 
States  were  obliged  to  live,  in  those  early 
days.  The  country  was  wild  and  sparsely 
inhabited.  It  was  miles  to  the  house  of 
the  nearest  neighbor;  the  only  and  chief 
mode  of  travel  was  by  ox-teams;  no  roads 
were  laid  out,  no  bridges  built;  dense  for- 
ests surrounded  the  log  cabin  of  the  lonely 
settler.  It  depended  on  his  strong  right 
arm  to  wrest  from  the  wilderness  a  living 
for  his  little  family,  and  too  often  sickness 
and  death  resulted  from  the  too  great  la- 
bor, and  on  the  mother's  weaker  should- 
ers was  placed  the  burden  of  caring  for 
her  little  ones.  The  home  in  which  Judge 
Lemmon  opened  his  eyes  upon  the  world 
differed  but  little  from  those  which 
abounded  throughout  the  West.  A  log 
cabin  with  two  rooms,  in  this  case  one 
above  the  other,  through  whose  chinks 
peeped  the  sun  by  day,  and  the  moon  by 
night;  innocent  of  lath  and  plaster,  the 
crevices  daubed  with  mud  which  needed 
constantly  to  be  renewed  to  keep  out  the 
heat  of  summer  and  the  chilling  rains  and 
snows  of  winter.  The  only  heat  to  be 
obtained  was  from  an  immense  fire-place 
in  one  end  of  the  living  room,  at 
which,  also,  all  the  cooking  was  done.    It 


was  lonesome  in  the  little  home  until  the 
faces  of  children  brightened  the  bare  in- 
terior and  childish  voices  rang  out  among 
the  trees,  and  doubtless  the  mother's  heart 
often  longed  for  her  girlhood's  home  while 
the  wear)'  hours  stole  on,  her  husband 
hard  at  work  and  often  absent  for  a  week 
at  a  time.  The  home  place  comprised 
1 20  acres  of  land  which  our  subject's  father 
purchased  at  a  low  price,  and  which  was 
covered  with  heavy  timber.  He  was  a 
carpenter  bj'  trade,  and  worked  at  this 
after  he  was  married,  by  this  means  sup- 
porting his  family,  while  in  the  few  leis- 
ure hours  he  had  he  cleared  off  his  farm 
and  prepared  it  for  cultivation.  It  was 
a  hard  life,  and  involved  an  amount  of  la- 
bor which  few  men  of  the  present  day 
would  care  to  undertake.  Of  such  stuff, 
however,  were  our  pioneers  made,  and  we 
who  reap  the  benefits  of  their  toil  can 
never  sufficiently  thank  and  honor  them. 
The  father  of  Judge  Lemmon  was  a 
man  of  limited  education,  but  of  exxel- 
lent  judgment  and  practical  wisdom,  and 
determined  that  his  children  should  have 
all  the  advantages  that  he  could  afford 
them.  His  wife  was  well-educated,  a 
great  reader,  and  possessed  fine  conver- 
sational powers.  Until  he  was  about 
twelve  years  of  age  Judge  Lemmon  at- 
tended the  district  school,  which  was  then 
held  for  three  months  in  the  winter  and 
three  and  a  half  in  the  summer.  Soon, 
however,  his  help  was  needed  on  the  farm, 
and  he  was  reduced  to  the  winter  term 
only.  When  eighteen  years  of  age  he 
attended  a  select  school  for  six  weeks. 
These  tastes  of  knowledge  only  gave  the 
ambitious  boy  a  hunger  for  more,  and  he 
employed  all  his  spare  time  in  studying, 
so  well  profiting  thereby  that  at  the  age 
of  nineteen  he  secured  a  teacher's  certifi- 
cate and  took  charge  of  a  school  at  Clyde. 
At  the  close  of  this  school  he  entered 
Oberlin  College,  remaining  there  three 
terms.  He  then  taught  school  again  for 
several  terms,  and  in  the  spring  of  1859 
accompanied  an  uncle  to  Missouri,  where 


II 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


609 


he  located  in  Memphis,  the  seat  of  Scot- 
land count)'. 

In  November  of  the  same  j^ear  Judge 
Lemmon  went  to  Jefferson  City,  Mo., 
where  he  took  the  decisive  step  of  his 
career,  beginning  the  studj-  of  law  under 
James  Proctor  Knott,  then  attorney-gen- 
eral of  that  State.  During  the  time  he 
spent  there  he  met  and  became  acquainted 
with  men  who  afterward  were  well-  known 
characters  in  the  Civil  war,  among  them 
being  Sterling  Price,  Claiborne  Jackson, 
afterward  governor,  Stringfellow  and 
Atchison.  In  i860,  owing  to  the  illness 
of  his  mother,  the  young  lawyer  returned 
to  Ohio,  and  read  law  in  the  office  of  J. 
R.  Bartlett,  of  Fremont,  and  in  the 
winter  following  took  charge  of  the  school 
in  his  home  district.  When  news  of  the 
firing  on  Fort  Sumter  reached  Fremont 
on  that  eventful  April  day  in  1861,  j-oung 
Lemmon  did  not  hesitate  as  to  his  duty. 
He  enlisted  in  Company  F,  Eighth  O.  V.  I. , 
for  three  months'  service.  Before  the 
company  left  Fremont,  however,  he  was 
taken  with  the  measles,  and  did  not  re- 
join his  company  until  the  regiment 
reached  Fort  Denison;  soon  afterward  he 
was  again  taken  sick,  and  was  compelled 
to  go  home.  In  October  of  the  same 
year,  having  regained  his  health, he  again 
enlisted  ki  Company  B,  Seventv-second 
O.  V.  I.,  which  was  organized  under 
Ralph  P.  Buckland,  of  Fremont.  It  may 
be  mentioned  incidentally  here,  that  at  a 
reunion  of  this  regiment  held  in  Fremont 
in  October,  1893,  Judge  Lemmon  read 
a  most  interesting  biograph}'  of  Gen. 
Buckland,  who  served  throughout  the 
war  with  great  bravery,  and  who  was 
afterward  elected  to  Congress. 

While  waiting  for  this  regiment  to  be 
completely  organized,  Mr.  Lemmon  went 
over  the  county  making  speeches  in  favor 
of  a  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war,  and 
urging  his  friends  and  neighbors  to  enlist. 
On  January  18,  1862,  his  regiment  was 
sent  to  Camp  Chase,  and  thence  to  Cin- 
cinnati and  Paducah,  where  it  was  placed 


in  a  division  under  Brigadier-General  W. 
T.  Sherman.  His  first  fight  was  on 
April  2,  1S62,  two  days  before  the  battle 
of  Shiloh,  and  at  that  memorable  battle 
his  regiment  saw  hard  service.  It  is  a 
curious  circumstance  that  the  only  injur- 
ies Mr.  Lemmon  received  in  his  military 
career,  which  lasted  throughout  the  en- 
tire war,  were  received  on  the  first  two 
days  of  the  battle  at  Shiloh.  On  the  first 
day  he  was  wounded  in  the  left  arm  by  a 
musket  ball,  and  the  ne.xt  day  a  ball 
struck  his  right  arm,  benumbing  it  so 
that  he  lost  the  use  of  it  for  a  time.  In 
the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  he  was  dis- 
abled by  a  shell  from  the  Rebel  batteries 
exploding  and  throwing  a  heavy  piece  of 
timber  against  him. 

Mr.  Lemmon  was  in  the  expedition  un- 
der Gen.  Grant  which  started  November 
26,  1862,  and  went  as  far  as  Oxford,  Miss., 
and  on  the  return  accompanied  his  regi- 
ment to  Moscow,  Bolivar  and  Corinth. 
This  expedition  was  full  of  hardships  and 
privations.  After  the  surrender  of  \'icks- 
burg,  he  was  in  the  siege  of  Jackson  under 
Sherman,  and  then  in  the  expedition  to 
Brandon,  Miss.,  which  to  him  was  the 
hardest  service  seen  during  the  war.  The 
weather  was  exceedingly  hot,  and  he  was 
on  provost-guard  duty  a  part  of  the  time. 
They  marched  back  to  Jackson  under  a 
burning  sun,  and  he  received  a  sunstroke 
which  affected  his  eyes  so  that  they  were 
never  afterward  strong,  and  also  his 
head,  which  troubled  him  in  extremely  hot 
weather.  In  June,  1864,  Mr.  Lemmon 
was  detailed  as  judge-advocate  of  a  mili- 
tary commission  in  Memphis;  which  was 
a  military  court  organized  for  the  trial  of 
criminal  cases  for  violation  of  both  com- 
mon and  military  law  by  citizens.  Some 
very  important  cases  were  brought  before 
this  court,  and  one  man,  convicted  of  be- 
ing the  leader  of  a  band  of  guerrillas,  was 
hanged.  Judge  Lemmon  served  for  seven 
months  as  judge  of  this  court,  and  was  re- 
lieved at  his  own  request,  having  gained 
an  enviable  reputation  for  the  manner  in 


610 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


which  he  performed  his  responsible  duties. 
Judge  Lemmon  participated  in  the  cam- 
paign, under  Gen.  Canby,  against  Mobile, 
and  in  the  siege  of  Spanish  Fort,  whence 
his  command  was  marched  to  Mont- 
gomery, Ala.,  and  the  welcome  news  re- 
ceived that  the  war  was  at  an  end.  Two 
hundred  guns  were  fired  in  honor  of  the 
great  event.  During  his  service  Judge 
Lemmon,  who  enlisted  as  a  private,  was 
promoted  to  a  second  lieutenancy.  May 
23,  1862,  and  was  made  captain  July  23, 
1863. 

In  June,  1865,  the  war  being  over, 
Judge  Lemmon  was  mustered  out  of  serv- 
ice, and  returned  home.  He  had  been 
married,  March  29,  1864,  to  Miss  Annie 
Covell,  at  Perkins,  Erie  county,  this 
State,  and,  as  his  health  was  poor  on 
his  return  from  the  army,  he  settled  in 
Clyde,  a  quiet  little  place,  where  he  pur- 
sued his  law  studies,  practiced  his  profes- 
sion, and  also  carried  on  the  business  of 
claim  agent  and  insurance  agent.  On 
June  II,  1886,  he  was  elected  the  first 
mayor  of  Clyde,  and  in  April,  1867,  was 
re-elected  to  the  same  position.  His  law 
practice  now  grew  so  large  that  he  gave 
up  all  other  occupations,  and  devoted  his 
entire  time  to  his  profession.  He  became 
widely  known  as  thoroughly  conversant  • 
with  every  phase  of  legal  knowledge,  and 
as  a  man  of  unerring  judgment  and  great 
ability.  In  1881  he  received  a  flattering 
offer  to  go  to  \ew  York  City  and  devote 
himself  entirely  to  corporation  law  at  a 
large  salary,  and  where  he  would  have  un- 
doubtedly made  both  fame  and  fortune, 
but  his  love  for  a  quiet  and  retired  life 
prevented  his  acceptance. 

In  October,  1866,  Mr.  Lemmon  was 
appointed,  without  solicitation  on  his 
part,  as  the  successor  of  Charles  P.  Wick- 
ham,  judge  of  the  common  pleas  court  of 
the  First  Sub-division  of  the  Fourth  Judi- 
cial District  of  Ohio.  He  had  only 
shortly  before  declined  to  accept  the 
nomination  for  the  same  office  at  the 
hands  of  his  party   friends.      In  1887  he 


was  again  asked  to  fill  the  place,  but  de- 
clined, as  he  did  not  then  wish  to  wholly 
give  up  his  practice. 

In  the  summer  of  1887  Judge  Lem- 
mon, with  his  wife,  made  a  tour  through 
France,  England,  Scotland  and  Wales, 
the  first  vacation  which  he  had  enjoyed 
in  twenty-three  years  of  incessant  activ- 
ity, hoping  thereby  to  gain  renewed 
health  and  strength.  In  Jul}',  1888,  how- 
ever, he  was  seriously  threatened  with 
nervous  prostration  if  not  with  paralysis, 
from  which,  later,  he  fully  recovered.  He 
died  August  17,  1895,  ^t  his  home  in 
Cljde,  deeply  regretted  by  all  who  knew 
him.  His  last  days  were  daj'S  of  com- 
fort and  peace,  for  he  had  secured  a  com- 
fortable competence,  and  felt  that  he  had 
completed  his  part  in  the  busy  world. 
He  was  a  Republican,  and  though  not  an 
active  politician  did  much  for  the  good  of 
his  party.  His  character  was  above  re- 
proach, and  his  record  as  a  jurist  unsur- 
passed in  the  State. 


WILLIAM  H.  LACH. MILLER, 
one  of  the  most  enterprising  and 
public-spirited  citizens  of  Ben- 
ton township,  Ottawa  county, 
was  born  in  Elmore,  same  county,  April 
25,  1S58,  son  of  William  and  Mary  (Roh- 
terd)  Lachmiller,  who  settled  at  Elmore 
in  the  year  of  his  birth. 

The  boyhood  of  our  subject  was  passed 
in  attending  the  public  schools  of  Elmore 
up  to  the  age  of  fourteen,  when  he  was 
confirmed  in  the  German  Lutheran 
Church,  of  which  he  is  still  a  member. 
When  fifteen  years  old  he  removed,  with 
his  parents,  to  Woodville,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, where,  for  seven  years,  he  assisted  his 
father  in  the  manufacture  of  wagons,  and 
soon  after  his  marriage,  in  1 881,  he  re- 
moved to  Benton  township,  Ottawa  coun- 
tj-,  where  he  has  since  been  identified  with 
business  interests,  first  engaging  as  clerk 
in  the  store  of  C.  F.  Frese  &  Co.  At  the 
end  of  two  years  he  severed  his  connection 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


611 


with  this  firm  and  embarked  in  business 
for  himself,  engaging  in  the  hunber  trade 
in  company  with  Peter  Lickert,  under  the 
firm  name  of  Lickert  &  Lachmiller.  On 
March  i,  1885,  Mr.  Lickert  sold  out  his 
interest  in  the  concern  to  Frese  &  Co. , 
the  name  changing  to  Lachmiller  &  Frese 
Bros.,  and  so  continuing  for  four  years, 
when  Mr.  Lachmiller  purchased  the  Frese 
Brothers'  share,  thus  becoming  sole 
owner  of  the  business.  At  the  end  of 
one  year  he  sold  a  third  interest  to  his 
brother-in-law,  John  F.  Shoemaker,  pur- 
chasing this  share  again,  however,  in 
1894,  since  which  time  he  has  conducted 
the  business  alone.  He  carries  a  stock  of 
lumber,  shingles,  etc.,  ranging  in  value 
from  $5, 000  to  $10,000,  and  his  large  and 
flourishing  trade  is  ever  on  the  increase, 
the  hum  of  the  mill  being  heard  unceas- 
ingly from  7  A.  M.  to  6  p.  m. 

In  1883,  when  Mr.  Lachmiller  ven- 
tured into  business,  he  had  but  $1,000, 
which  he  invested  in  his  plant,  going  in 
debt  for  the  remainder,  and  by  diligent 
attention  to  his  affairs  he  has  not  only 
succeeded  in  paying  that  debt,  but  now 
has  a  lumber  stock  and  mill  free  of  all  in- 
cumbrances, the  value  of  which  is  not 
less  than  $17,000.  Aside  from  the  lum- 
ber industry  and  his  large  mill  Mr.  Lach- 
miller owns  property  in  Graytown,  Oak 
Harbor  and  Toledo,  valued  at  $10,000. 
By  the  foregoing  it  will  be  seen  that  in 
the  short  space  of  twelve  years  this  com- 
paratively young  man  has,  by  his  own 
individual  efforts,  made  for  himself  the 
snug  fortune  of  over  $25,000.  This  is 
indeed  a  business  record  of  which  any 
young  man  would  have  great  reason  to 
feel  proud.  Many  a  young  man  has  be- 
come wealth}'  by  inheritance;  but  for  a 
man  to  start  with  only  $1,000,  and  in  the 
short  period  of  twelve  years  work  out  a 
fortune  such  as  he  has,  is  a  record  of 
which  few  can  boast.  Mr.  Lachmiller 
is  very  public-spirited,  takes  great  interest 
in  educational  matters,  having  for  eight 
years  been  a  member  of  the  school  board 


of  the  village  of  Graytown,  and  is  justice 
of  the  peace  in  the  township  where  he 
now  lives. 

On  April  28,  1880,  Mr.  Lachmiller 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Mary 
Eliza  Shoemaker,  of  Woodville,  Sandus- 
ky county,  who  was  born  in  Sandusky 
county  September  18,  i860,  daughter  of 
a  thrifty  farmer  of  that  section.  She  re- 
ceived a  liberal  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  Woodville,  where  she  spent  her 
girlhood  days.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  she 
was  confirmed  in  the  German  Lutheran 
Church,  of  which  she  is  still  a  member. 
To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lachmiller  have  been 
born  five  children,  all  of  whom  are  living, 
their  names  and  dates  of  birth  being 
as  follows:  Bertha,  January  25,  188 1; 
Achsa,  January  26,  1883;  Eddie,  May  30, 
1885;  Leah,  September  5,  1887;  and  Em- 
ory, January  23,  1892.  The  eldest,  Ber- 
tha, has  now  nearly  completed  the  course 
in  the  public  school  of  Graytown;  she  has 
a  decided  talent  for  music,  of  which  she 
will  make  a  specialty,  it  being  her  parents' 
intention  to  give  her  the  advantages  of  a 
course  in  some  institution  where  this — one 
of  the  finest  of  the  arts — is  thoroughly 
taught. 

William  Lachmiller,  father  of  our  sub- 
•ject,  was  born  in  Germany,  February  26, 
1S27.  He  served  in  the  standing  army 
of  his  country  two  and  one-half  jears, 
attaining  the  rank  of  lieutenant  two  years 
before  his  discharge.  In  1854  became  to 
America,  and  in  1855  settled  in  what  is 
now  Toledo,  Ohio,  then  but  a  hamlet, 
where  he  at  one  time  owned  the  block  of 
property  between  Oak  and  Adams  streets, 
on  Summit  street.  He  purchased  this 
block  for  $400,  selling  it  one  year  later 
for  $500,  and  it  is  now  valued  at  half  a 
million.  In  1857  Mr.  Lachmiller  came 
to  Elmore,  where  he  j'et  resides,  hale  and 
hearty  at  the  ripe  old  age  of  sixty-nine 
years.  In  1857  he  married  Miss  Mary 
Rohterd,  who  was  born  in  Woodville 
November  5,  1839,  and  their  entire  mar- 
ried life  has  been  passed  in  Sandusky  and 


612 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGBAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Ottawa  counties.  Nine  children  were 
born  to  them,  eight  of  whom  are  still  liv- 
ing, the  eldest  being  William  H.  This 
record  would  be  incomplete  without  men- 
tion of  Mrs.  Lachmiller's  parents.  They 
were  among  the  earliest  settlers  of  San- 
dusky county,  coming  here  when  the  coun- 
ty was  a  wilderness,  and  the  only  path 
was  the  Indian  trail.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Shoemaker  cleared  for  themselves  a  home 
in  this  region,  and  many  a  time  has  Mr. 
Shoemaker  carried  a  grist  on  his  back  to 
Fremont,  a  distance  of  twelve  miles. 
Thus  our  ancestors  labored,  and  we  enter 
into  the  fruits  of  their  labors. 


GEORGE  MYERHOLTS,  a  sub- 
stantia! farmer  of  Benton  town- 
ship, Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio,  is  one  of 
the  sons  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Henry 
Myerholts,  and  was  born  November  13, 
1865,  in  Harris  township,  Ottawa  county, 
where  he  lived  until  eighteen  years  of  age. 
He  then  started  out  to  seek  his  fortune, 
with  fifty  cents  in  his  pocket.  He  ob- 
tained employment  in  Sandusky  count}" 
on  a  farm,  receiving  $18  per  month  the 
first  season  and  $19  the  ne.xt. 

He  was  emplojed  by  his  father  the 
next  four  summers,  receiving  $20  a  month, 
and  spent  the  winters  "batching  in  the 
wilderness,"  clearing  on  his  father's  land 
in  Benton  township.  As  he  was  now 
twenty-one  years  old,  and  having  saved 
$500,  he  and  his  brother  John  bought 
forty  acres  of  timbered  land,  and  they 
worked  diligently,  clearing  and  cutting 
timber.  Two  years  later  forty  acres  more 
were  purchased,  and  another  two  years 
saw  them  the  owners  of  120  acres,  one 
hundred  being  under  cultivation  and  well 
underdrained,  with  a  fine  house  and  out- 
buildings, and  an  orchard  planted.  They 
lived  together  while  clearing  their  farms, 
doing  their  own  cooking.  During  the 
autumn  of  1891  they  dis.solved  partner- 
ship, John  taking  eighty  acres  and  George 
forty,  while  George  purchased  forty  acres 


near  by.  He  has  now  a  fine  farm  of 
eighty  acres,  well  under  cultivation  and 
underdrained,  with  a  comfortable  house 
and  a  fine  barn,  sufficiently  large  to  hold 
his  hay  and  grain.  In  the  season  of  1895 
he  raised  100  bushels  of  potatoes,  300  of 
wheat,  over  2,000  of  corn,  and  fifteen 
tons  of  hay.  His  farm  is  well  stocked 
with  horses,  cattle,  sheep  and  hogs.  He 
has  a  fine  orchard  and  vineyard,  while 
the  garden  is  well  supplied  with  small 
fruits. 

On  May  14,  1891,  George  Myerholts 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary 
Ferris,  a  daughter  of  James  Ferris,  of 
Benton  township,  and  two  children  have 
been  born  to  them:  A  son,  born  March 
21,  1892,  and  died  a  week  later;  and 
Nellie  Elizabeth,  born  March  i,  1893. 

Mrs.  Myerholts,  when  a  girl,  was 
obliged  to  remain  at  home  much  of  the 
time  to  assist  in  caring  for  the  younger 
children,  and  was  thus  deprived  of  school 
advantages  that  the  others  enjoyed.  She 
had  some  opportunity  to  attend  the  dis- 
trict school  until  thirteen  years  of  age, 
but  from  that  time  until  she  was  nineteen 
she  was  deprived  entirely  of  every  educa- 
tional privilege.  She  then  resumed  her 
studies  at  the  district  school,  and  so  thor- 
oughly applied  herself  that  at  the  end  of 
eighteen  months  she  obtained  a  teacher's 
certificate.  She  began  teaching  at  twen- 
ty-one years,  and  followed  that  profession 
for  six  years.  The  worthy  example  and 
merited  success  of  such  young  people  fur- 
nish great  encouragement  to  the  young, 
as  well  as  to  those  of  mature  j'ears,  and 
should  prove  strong  incentives  to  industry 
and  virtue. 


RICHARD  BARNES,  a  thrifty  and 
well-known  farmer  of  Benton  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county,  is  a  son  of 
Hamilton     and     Renew    (Sweet) 
Barnes,  and  was  born  July  24,    1840,   in 
Lorain  county,  Ohio. 

Hamilton  Barnes,  the  father,  was  bora 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


613; 


in  1803,  in  New  York,  lived  there  until 
thirty  years  of  age,  and  then  came  to 
Ohio,  where  he  died  in  1893;  the  mother 
was  born  in  New  York  in  1804.  They 
were  married  about  1825,  and  ten  chil- 
dren were  born  to  them,  four  now  living, 
viz.:  A.  H.,  H.  S.,  E.  L.  and  Richard. 
Grandfather  Barnes  was  born  about  1775, 
the  grandmother  about  1783. 

Our  subject  lived  in  his  native  county 
until  twenty-four  years  of  age,  obtaining 
his  education  in  the  district  school,  which 
he  attended  during  the  winter  until  six- 
teen years  of  age.  From  the  time  he  was 
twelve  years  of  age  he  was  obliged  to 
work  on  the  farm  summers,  with  only  a 
meagre  opportunity  for  schooling  even  in 
the  winter.  At  the  age  of  si.xteen  he 
struck  out  in  life  for  himself,  and  for  two 
3'ears  worked  on  a  farm  for  thirteen  dol- 
lars per  month,  at  the  end  of  which  time 
he  returned  home  and  worked  the  home- 
stead for  two  years.  Coming  to  Ottawa 
county,  he  worked  here  on  a  farm  for  one 
summer,  and  then  going  to  Saginaw, 
Mich.,  he  worked  for  one  season  in  the 
salt  works,  after  which  he  returned  to 
Ohio.  For  one  year  he  was  laid  up  with 
typhoid  fever,  and  on  recovering  he  went 
to  Elmore,  Ohio,  where,  for  some  time, 
he  was  engaged  in  getting  out  stave  tim- 
ber. 

In  1864  Mr.  Barnes  was  married  to 
Miss  Mary  Yost,  of  Elmore,  and  he  then 
settled  on  the  old  farm,  buying  out  the 
heirs.  In  July,  same  year,  he  enlisted  in 
Company  H,  First  O.  V.  H.  A.,  re- 
maining in  the  service  until  the  close 
of  the  war;  he  was  in  no  special 
battles,  his  regiment  being  mainly  en- 
gaged in  foraging.  In  July,  1S65,  he 
returned  to  his  home  on  the  old  farm, 
but  alter  a  residence  there  of  two  years 
sold  out  and  settled  in  Section  14,  Ben- 
ton township;  the  township  was  at  that 
time  a  forest,  there  being  not  even  a  road 
by  which  to  reach  his  farm,  and  a  road 
had  to  be  cut  before  he  could  move  on 
to  his  property.      He  at    once  erected  a 


comfortable  house,  and  settled  down  to 
clearing  his  new  land.  He  remained 
here  for  fourteen  years,  when  he  pur- 
chased a  place  at  Limestone  on  which  he 
lived  three  years,  and  on  selling  out  he 
came  to  Section  ii,  Benton  township, 
where  he  purchased  sixty  acres  more  land. 
He  and  his  brother  now  divided  up  their 
property,  Richard  taking  the  Limestone 
property  and  fifteen  acres  of  the  first 
piece  purchased  in  Section  14.  In  1882 
he  sold  the  Limestone  property,  and  gave 
his  entire  attention  to  the  improving  of 
the  farm  whereon  he  now  lives.  The 
place  is  systematically  cultivated,  and  a 
fine  orchard,  good  fences  and  comfort- 
able buildings  add  considerably  to  its  ap- 
pearance and  value. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Barnes  have  come 
two  children:  Phcebe,  born  January  14, 
1865,  died  May  23,  1883;  and  Bertha  L. , 
born  August  16,  1868,  married  February 
16,  1893,  to  Oliver  Kincaid,  of  Nevada, 
and  had  one  child,  Leah,  born  March  25, 
1894,  died  October  25,  1895.  Mrs.  Mary 
Barnes  was  born  in  Harris  township,  Ot- 
tawa county,  December  17,  1846,  at- 
tended the  Portage  River  schools,  obtain- 
ing what  education  could  be  gained  therein 
in  her  day,  and  lived  in  her  native  town- 
ship until  her  marriage  to  Mr.  Barnes. 
Her  father,  John  S.  Yost,  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania  in  18 10,  her  mother,  Phcebe 
Ferris  Yost,  in  Clark  count}-,  Ohio,  De- 
cember25,  1814.  There  were  seven  chil- 
dren in  their  family,  six  of  whom  are  liv- 
ing— three  in  Kansas  and  three  in  Ohio. 


EDWIN  H.  FALL,  member  of  the 
enterprising  firm  of  A.  Couche  & 
Co.,  exporters  of  logs,  is  one  of 
the  prominent  and  highly  re- 
spected citizens  of  Port  Clinton,  Ottawa 
county.  He  is  a  native  '  of  Ohio,  born 
September  5,  i860,  in  Fremont,  San- 
dusky county,  a  son  of  Amos  W.  and 
Hannah    (Kistler)  Fall,    who    have    been 


614 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


residents  of  Port  Clinton  for  the  past 
thirty-five  years. 

Amos  W.  Fall  followed  sailing  on  the 
lakes  for  about  twelve  years  or  until  1873, 
when  he  commenced  working  for  Al- 
phonse  Couche  in  the  lumber  business, 
attending  to  the  elevators  in  shipping 
grain  and  lumber,  and  getting  out  timber 
for  shipment  to  Europe.  For  a  number 
of  years  he  was  traveling  purchaser  for 
Mr.  Couche,  and  had  the  management  of 
large  shipments  of  various  kinds  of  tim- 
ber and  lumber  to  domestic  and  foreign 
ports,  his  wide  experience  thus  acquired 
having  been  of  great  service  to  him  in  the 
conduct  of  the  business  of  the  firm  since 
Mr.  Couche's  death  in  1891.  Mr.  Fall 
was  married  March  8,  1859,  at  Fremont, 
Ohio,  to  Miss  Hannah  Kistler,  and  the 
children  born  to  this  union  are  Abbie  E. , 
Edwin  H.,  Jennie  E.,  Mary,  Ida  B., 
Josephine,  Amos  W.,  Jr.,  and  Alice,  all 
born  in  Port  Clinton,  Ohio,  e.xcept  the 
eldest  two. 

Our  subject  grew  to  manhood  in  Port 
Clinton,  Ohio,  where  he  attended  school 
during  the  winter  seasons  and  worked  at 
various  jobs  in  the  employ  of  Alphonse 
Couche  during  the  summer  seasons.  He 
worked  for  no  other  man.  He  began  by 
hauling  sawdust,  and  later,  was  employed 
at  everything  in  the  sawmill  and  outside, 
in  regard  to  the  shipment  of  timber,  lum- 
ber and  grain.  He  also  traveled  occa- 
sionally, as  salesman  and  purchaser  for 
Mr.  Couche.  In  the  month  of  March, 
1882,  he  commenced  working  in  the  of- 
fice as  bookkeeper,  which  position  he  has 
held  ever  since,  and  in  June,  1887,  he  be- 
came equal  owner;  he  also  has  charge  of 
business  outside  the  office.  From  his 
long  acquaintance  with  the  details  of  the 
business  firm,  and  his  care  and  fidelity  in 
the  performance  of  his  duties,  he  was  en- 
trusted with  the  general  management  in 
the  absence  of  Mr.  Couche,  who  between 
1886  and  1 89 1  spent  from  si.x  to  eight 
months  of  each  year  in  France,  going  in 
the  fall  and  returning  in   the  spring.      In 


August,  1894,  Mr.  Fall  was  appointed 
guardian  for  the  minor  heirs  of  Alphonse 
Couche.  In  November,  1894,  he  com- 
menced on  his  own  account,  and  inde- 
pendent of  his  log-exporting  business, 
dealing  in  lumber,  building  material,  wood 
and  coal,  in  which  line  he  is  enjoying  a 
lucrative  patronage.  In  fact  he  is  one  of 
the  busiest  men  in  Port  Clinton,  where 
he  is  popular  in  both  business  and  social 
circles,  being  a  gentleman  of  pleasing  ad- 
dress and  genial  disposition. 

On  July  I,  1885,  Mr.  Fall  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Emma  J.  Richardson,  who 
was  born  December  8,  1863,  in  Portage 
township,  Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio,  daughter  of 
David  and  Pauline  (Adleman)  Richard- 
son, and  the  names  and  dates  of  birth  of 
their  children  are  as  follows:  Clara  P., 
April  I,  1886;  Arthur  E.,  December  15, 
1887;  David  W.,  November  16,  1890; 
Mable  M.,  November  21,  1S92,  and  Ed- 
win H.,  June  II,  1895,  all  born  at  Port 
Clinton,  Ohio. 


JOHN  STANG,  contractor  of  public 
works — government,  railroad,  etc. — 
capitalist,  merchant  and  banker, 
whose  residence  is  in  Lorain,  Ohio, 
is  one  of  the  most  progressive  and  busiest 
of  busy  citizens  in  the  "Buckeye  State." 
A  native  of  Germany,  he  was  born 
February  19,  1836,  in  Allmershausen, 
Hessen,  a  son  of  Augustus  and  Marguer- 
itha  (Herwig)  Stang,  of  the  same  nativity. 
At  the  district  school  of  the  neighborhood 
of  his  birthplace  our  subject  received  a 
liberal  education  up  to  the  age  of  four- 
teen, when,  like  all  other  boys,  he  was 
put  to  learn  a  trade,  the  one  chosen  for 
him  being  that  of  woolen-cloth  making — 
chiefiy  broad-cloths.  There  being  several 
branches  in  that  business,  it  took  Mr. 
Stang  five  years  to  complete  his  appren- 
ticeship, at  the  end  of  which  time  he  re- 
solved to  turn  his  face  toward  the  New 
World,  and  emigrate  to  a  land  where 
there  was  more  scope  for  a  young  man  of 


^;<//'^/^VX       ^<^Wt>«^ 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHWAL  RECORD. 


615 


ambition.  One  of  the  main  reasons  for 
his  leaving  the  Fatherland  was  his  dislike 
to  the  system  of  the  German  Government 
in  compelling  30ung  men  at  the  age  of 
from  twenty  to  twenty-five  years  to  serve 
forthrec  or  fouryearsin  the  army,  and  giv- 
ing for  their  services  onlj'  their  board  and 
clothing,  whether  in  time  of  peace  or  time 
of  war.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  Mr.  Stang 
set  sail  from  the  port  of  Bremen,  and  after 
a  voyage  of  fifty-three  days — during  which 
long  passage  the  vessel  was  nearly  ship- 
wrecked, the  foremast  having  been  com- 
pletely dismantled  by  a  stroke  of  lightning 
— the  ship  reached  New  York,  a  sorry- 
looking  craft,  but  the  passengers  were 
safely  landed  October  i6,  1855.  From 
that  city  Mr.  Stang  at  once  set  out  for 
Lorain  (then  called  Black  River),  Ohio; 
but  on  his  arrival  there  he  found  there 
were  no  woolen-mills,  and  consequently 
he  had  to  turn  his  attention  to  some  other 
trade  than  the  one  he  had  learned.  There 
being  a  shipyard  at  Black  River,  he  se- 
cured employment  therein  at  seventy-five 
cents  per  day,  and  worked  hard  to  acquire 
that  trade,  in  the  meantime  learning  the 
English  language.  Soon  he  received  more 
wages,  and  when  the  shipyard  stopped 
from  the  lack  of  orders  for  new  vessels, 
he  took  up  house-carpentry  (chietly  among 
farmers);  but  in  1859,  house-build'ing 
being  very  quiet,  he  bought  a  half  interest 
in  a  small  lake  vessel,  and  went  sailing. 
Now  his  first  serious  misfortune  happened 
to  him — the  breaking  of  his  leg  while  try- 
ing to  make  port  in  a  storm,  which  acci- 
dent laid  him  up  for  six  months,  during 
which  time  he  lost  all  his  savings,  includ- 
ing his  interest  in  the  vessel. 

On  his  recovery  Mr.  Stang  commenced 
business  "on  his  own  hook,"  to  use  his 
own  expression,  as  contractor  in  house  and 
barn  building,  also  sub-contracting  for 
part  of  vessel  work,  as  well  as  erecting 
mills,  and  whatever  came  in  his  way  in 
that  line.  He  found  people  very  kind, 
all  the  work  he  could  do  being  given  him, 
and  he  was  never  out  of  a  job.     Thus  he 

30 


continued  until  1864,  in  which  year,  there 
being  a  lively  demand  for  ship  timber  and 
plank,  he  bought  oak  timber,  which  he 
cut,  hauled  and  manufactured  into  bills 
such  as  the  United  States  Government 
used  for  gunboats.  This  he  shipped  to 
New  York  by  order  of  Hiram  Smith,  who 
had  a  contract  for  supplying  an  entire 
shipyard  in  that  city.  In  1865,  the  Civil 
war  having  closed,  no  more  gunboats 
were  required,  and  as  the  New  York 
parties  could  not  sell  the  lumber  they  had 
not  used,  they  failed,  taking  down  with 
them  the  contractor,  Mr.  Hiram  Smith, 
of  whom  mention  has  just  been  made. 
Mr.  Stang  tried  to  collect  from  him,  but 
found  that  Mr.  Smith's  wife  owned  all  the 
belongings — the  timber  on  hand,  saw- 
mills, house,  horses, mules, wagons,  etc., — 
everything  in  fact;  and  as  a  consequence 
our  subject  lost  nearly  all  he  possessed, 
nothing  being  left  him  except  nine  yoke 
of  oxen  and  two  span  of  horses.  As  he 
had  no  work  to  occupy  the  animals  on,  he 
had  nothing  for  it  but  sell  them  to  satisfy 
his  creditors;  then  getting  together  his 
carpenter  tools  he  commenced  the  world 
afresh,  poor  in  pocket  but  rich  in  experi- 
ence. Succeeding  in  getting  bridge  work, 
at  first  in  the  county,  later  on  railroads, 
he  procured  fresh  teams  and  commenced 
the  buying  and  selling  of  timber  at  Lo- 
rain, Cleveland  and  Buffalo,  selling  also  a 
large  amount  for  export,  shipping  from 
Quebec  to  England,  and  so  securely  pro- 
tecting.himself  that  he  incurred  no  more 
losses.  In  this  line  he  continued  until 
about  1885.  In  1873  he  also  constructed 
pile-drivers,  building  all  the  docks  at  Lo- 
rain for  the  C.  L.  &  W.  R.  R.  Co.,  as 
well  as  bridges  on  that  road  as  far  as  the 
Ohio  river.  In  addition  to  all  this  he 
built  docks  in  Cleveland,  and  the  first 
1, 100  feet  of  the  breakwater  at  that  city, 
for  the  government,  which  class  of  work 
naturally  caused  him  to  drift  into  dredging. 
In  1 88 1  he  built  all  the  docks  for  the 
Wheeling  &  Lake  Erie  Railroad  Com- 
pany,   at   Huron,    Ohio,    after  which  he 


616 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


constructed  the  docks,  and  dredged  from 
Erie,  Penn.,  to  Toledo,  Ohio.       He  also 
built  several  government    piers  along  the 
south  shore  of  Lake  Erie,  and  the  range- 
light  cribs  in   Sandusky   Bay.      For  two 
years  he   dredged  for  the   government  at 
Bay   City,    Mich.;   built    railroad    bridges 
from   Cleveland  to  Akron  for  the  Valley 
road,  at  the  time  of  its  construction,  now 
some  twenty-two  years  ago;  in  1881  and 
1882  he  built  all  the  wooden  trestles,  and 
put  in  the  foundations  for   the   iron  and 
wooden   bridges  between   Cleveland  and 
Ft.  Seneca  and  Wolf  Creek,  on  the  Nickel 
Plate  road,  putting  in  over  two   million 
feet  of  pine  beside  the  oak  timber,  which 
contract  amounted  to  $110,000;  he  put 
m  the  foundations  for  a  double-track  rail- 
road bridge   across  the  Ohio  river,  near 
Wheeling,  W.  Va.  (while    this  work  was 
in    progress   the    Johnstown    flood    took 
place,  and   Mr.'  Stang  came   near  losing 
his  pile  drivers,    caissons,    timber,   rafts, 
etc.,  the  water  was  so  high  in   the   river, 
and  the    under  current  so    full    of    large 
rafts  of  logs,  loose   lumber,    old  bridges 
etc. ,  the  worst  sight,  he  says,  he  ever  set 
his  eyes  on,  and,  he  adds,  he  would  rather 
take  his  chances  on  Lake   Erie  any  day). 
At  Cleveland  he  built  a   dry-dock  for  the 
Ship  Owners  Dry  Dock  Co.,  and  in  1885 
he  built    foundations    for    the   Cleveland 
central  viaduct  at  a  cost  of   $65,000,  for 
the  city,  which  bridge  is  nearly  a  mile  in 
length.      In    1879    Mr.    Stang   bought  a 
tract  of  timber  land   in   Ottawa   county, 
Ohio,  erected  a  saw  and   stave   mill,    and 
cut  off  most  of  the  timber,  which  land  his 
son  John  J.    is  now  farming.       Our  sub- 
ject has  also  done  some  wrecking — rais- 
ing sunken  vessels,  tugs  and  dredges,  and 
pulling  some  off  the  shore  when  stranded, 
which    was    always    hard     and    incessant 
work,  there  being  no  rest,  day   or  night, 
till  the  job,   once  commenced,   was  suc- 
cessfully   completed.       During    the    past 
two  years  he   has   been   busy   dredging  a 
harbor  and  river  three  miles  south  of  Lo- 
rain, and  got  seventeen  feet  of  water  up 


to  the  Johnson  Company  Steel  Plant  at 
Lorian,  at  which  city  he  this  season  built 
the  extension  on  the  government  pier. 

In  addition  to  all  the  above-mentioned 
vast  amount  of  contract  and  other  work, 
Mr.  Stang,  in  1867,  along  with  another 
party,  built  a  sailing  vessel  at  a  cost  of 
$16,000,  in  which  he  had  a  quarter  inter- 
est. She  sank  or  was  shipwrecked  near 
Au  Sable  river.  Lake  Huron,  while  on 
her  wa\-  to  Chicago  with  a  cargo,  the 
captain  being  drowned.  The  vessel  was 
raised,  however,  and  Mr.  Stang  sold  out 
his  interest,  though  at  a  loss,  as  soon  as 
she  arrived  at  Buffalo.  He  built  all  the 
docks,  for  the  past  seven  years,  at  Fair- 
port,  Ohio,  and  also  at  Conneaut,  as  well 
as  the  e.xtension  docks  for  the  Sandusky 
&  Columbus  Short  Line  Railway  Co.,  at 
Sandusky,  Ohio.  Among  his  commercial 
interests,  he  operates  a  grocery  store,  and 
is  interested  in  the  Lorain  Fish  Co.,  Lo- 
rain Lumber  &  Mfg.  Co.,  of  which  he  is 
president,  real  estate  and  banking,  being 
president  of  the  Citizens  Savings  Bank 
Co.,  of  Lorain.  He  says  his  health  is 
good,  and  that  he  hopes  to  see  Lorain 
built  up  to  the  dignity  of  a  city  before  he 
dies. 

Mr.  Stang  has  been  twice  married, 
first  time,  in  186 1,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
six  years,  to  Miss  Mary  Brown,  of  Lo- 
rain, Ohio,  and  by  this  union  his  home 
was  blessed  with  two  sons  and  two 
daughters,  namely:  Christina  M.,  wife 
of  H.  Little;  W.  F.  and  John  J.,  attend- 
ing to  their  father's  timber  interests;  and 
Lizzie,  wife  of  P.  Jackson.  The  son 
John  J.  has  for  the  past  eleven  years 
operated  the  saw  and  stave  mill  already 
referred  to,  and  been  clearing  the  land. 
In  March,  1872,  the  dear  mother  of  these 
children  was  called  from  earth,  deeply 
lamented  by  all,  and  mourned  to  the  ut- 
most by  her  bereaved  husband  and  fam- 
ily. In  October,  1872,  Mr.  Stang  be- 
came united  in  marriage  with  Mrs.  Cath- 
erine Brown,  who  had  four  children — all 
sons — by  her  first  husband,  who  had  died. 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


617 


five  j^ears  before  her  second  marriage. 
In  his  political  sympathies  Mr.  Stang  is  a 
stanch  Republican,  and  an  enthusiastic 
admirer  of  Lincoln  and  Harrison,  his  first 
Presidential  vote  being  cast  for  the  for- 
mer. In  religious  faith  he  is  a  member 
of  the  German  Evangelical  Church,  while, 
socially,  he  is  affiliated  with  the  Ro5'al 
Arcanum,  Knights  of  the  Maccabees  and 
Knights  of  Honor. 

Such  is  the  record  of  one  of  the  busi- 
est men  in  northern  Ohio,  one,  who  from 
the  commencement  of  absolutely  nothing, 
a  poor  immigrant  lad,  has,  by  persever- 
ance, assidious  toil,  sound  judgment  and 
a  life  of  integrity,  built  up  solid  enter- 
prises, established  businesses  on  founda- 
tions of  positive  safety,  and,  withal,  made 
for  himself  a  name  second  to  none  in  the 
commercial  and  social  world. 


weeks,  Mrs.  Stang  died,  leaving  a  kind 
husband  and  two  little  children,  as  well 
as  many  friends,  to  mourn  their  loss.  She 
was  educated  in  the  schools  of  Lucas 
county,  and  made  a  special  study  of  in- 
strumental music,  in  which  she  was  pro- 
ficient, although  she  studied  it  only  for  her 
own  pleasure  and  that  of  her  friends.  Her 
father,  Moses  Perry,  was  born  February 
9,  1830,  and  her  mother  on  February  25, 
1840,  and  both  are  yet  living;  their  family 
consisted  of  twelve  children:  James,  Vic- 
tory, Maryettie,  Virginia,  William,  Henry, 
Napoleon,  Georgia,  Pearly,  Frank,  Nel- 
son and  Albert,  seven  of  whom  are  now 
living. 

Mrs.  Perry's  mother,  Maryann  Shovar, 
was  born  October  3,  1820,  and  her  father, 
Henry  Shovar,  was  born  April  8,  18 16; 
Mrs.  Shovar  died  February  24,  1894,  but 
Mr.  Shovar  is  still  living. 


JOHN  J.  STANG,  an  enterprising  and 
thorough  business  man  of  Benton 
township,  Ottawa  county,  is  the  son 
of  John  and  Mary  (Brown)  Stang, 
a  biographical  sketch  of  whom  appears 
above.  He  was  born  April  20,  1866,  in 
Lorain  county,  Ohio,  where  he  lived  until 
eighteen  years  of  age,  receiving  his  educa- 
tion in  the  public  schools,  which  he  left 
just  one  year  before  completing  the  pre- 
scribed course  of  study. 

Mr.  Stang  came  to  Benton  township. 
May  22,  1884,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  and 
took  charge  of  his  father's  e.xtensive  busi- 
ness in  that  township.  He  and  his  father 
together  have  525  acres  of  land,  on  which 
are  twelve  acres  of  fruit,  consisting  of  500 
apple  trees,  500  pear  trees,  and  200 
quinces.  The  orchard  is  young,  but  bids 
fair  to  become  one  of  the  best  in  that  sec- 
tion of  the  county. 

On  January  17,  1889,  he  was  married 
to  Miss  Virginia  L.  Perry,  of  Lucas  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  and  to  them  were  born  two  chil- 
dren: Harvey  Edward,  October  14,  1890, 
and  John  Perry,  October  i,  1893.  On 
January   2,  1895,  after  an  illness  of  two 


DANIEL  MUGGY.  This  gentle- 
man takes  prominent  rank  among 
the  progressive  well-to-do  farmers 
of  Ottawa  county,  especially  in 
Benton  township,  where  his  industry  and 
public  spirit  have  been  no  small  factors 
in  the  advancement  of  the  community 
and  the  development  of  its  interests. 

John  C.  Muggy,  father  of  our  subject, 
was  born  in  Germany  in  18 16,  and  the 
mother,  Ellen  (McMahan),  was  born  in  Ire- 
land in  1820.  They  came  to  America  in 
early  life,  and  not  long  after  settling  in  this 
country  they  both  happened  to  be  en- 
gaged to  work  for  the  same  family,  the 
Johnsons,  of  New  York  City.  Here  they 
met,  and  they  were  married  in  Johnson's 
parlor  about  1840.  To  their  union  came 
ten  children,  si.x  of  whom  are  living,  Dan- 
iel being  ne.xt  to  the  eldest.  John  C. 
Muggy  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Ottawa 
county.  He  came  here  about  1852,  and 
after  clearing  up  one  large  farm  removed 
to  Catwaba  Island,  where  he  cleared  one 
hundred  acres  of  land  and  put  out  sixty 
acres  to  fruit,   spending  the  remainder  of 


618 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


his  life  on  that  tract.  When  he  landed 
in  this  country  he  had  but  fifty  cents;  at 
the  time  of  his  death  his  property  was 
valued  at  $75,000,  all  accumulated  by 
hard  work  and  careful  attention  to  busi- 
ness. The  result  speaks  for  itself,  and 
our  subject  has  no  doubt  inherited  the 
energy  and  ambition  of  his  pioneer  father, 
for  like  him  he  is  a  self-made  man,  one 
who  has  earned  his  right  to  that  title  by 
hard  work  and  judicious  management  of 
his  affairs.  The  paternal  grandfather  of 
our  subject  was  born  in  Germany  in  1 764, 
and  was  a  teacher  in  the  public  schools 
of  his  native  country  during  the  later 
years  of  his  life;  he  lived  tc  the  advanced 
age  of  ninety-eight,  and  his  wife,  who  was 
born  in  Germany  in  1772,  died  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  ninety-two.  Mr.  Muggy's 
maternal  grandparents  were  born  in  Ire- 
land, and  died  comparatively  young. 

Daniel  Muggy  first  opened  his  eyes  to 
the  world  December  31,  1845,  in  New 
York  City,  living  there  until  brought  bj' 
his  parents  to  Danbury,  Ottawa  Co., 
Ohio,  where  he  had  his  home  six  years. 
The  family  then  removed  to  Catawba 
Island,  whence,  after  a  residence  of  four- 
teen years,  our  subject  came  to  Benton 
township,  purchasing  a  farm  in  Section 
30,  whereon  he  lived  one  year.  He  then 
purchased  a  farm  in  Clay  township,  same 
county,  which  he  soon  sold,  and  return- 
ing to  Benton  township  settled  on  land 
in  Section  13.  Mr.  Muggy  has  cleared 
up  three  large  farms  in  Ottawa  county, 
also  developing  a  fiuit  farm  on  Catawba 
Island,  and  on  all  these  tracts  he  erected 
buildings  and  made  other  valuable  im- 
provements. In  1887  he  purchased  his 
present  farm  in  Benton  township,  which 
was  all  timber  at  the  time,  and  in  the 
eight  years  of  their  residence  thereon  he 
and  his  family  have  succeeded  by  hard 
labor  in  clearing  the  land  entirely  of  tim- 
ber, removing  all  the  stumps,  etc.,  and 
the  place  has  been  well  fenced  and  equip- 
ped with  good  buildings — an  achievement 
which  is  indeed  worthy  of  notice.      After 


the  Civil  war  Mr.  Muggy  engaged  in  fish- 
ing for  a  time  on  Lake  Erie,  and,  besides 
attending  to  his  general  agricultural  inter- 
ests, he  has  for  the  past  several  years  been 
extensively  engaged  in  fruit  growing,  hav- 
ing twelve  acres  in  fruit;  he  has  also  for 
some  time  dealt  in  nursery  stock.  His 
business  ability  has  never  been  allowed 
to  rust  for  want  of  use,  for  since  his  re- 
moval to  his  present  farm  he  has,  in 
addition  to  all  his  other  interests,  been 
engaged  in  handling  farm  machinery,  and 
the  prosperity  which  has  attended  his  la- 
bors is  only  the  reward  which  is  sure  to 
follow  persistent  energy  and  attention  to 
business.  There  is  probably  no  man  of 
his  age  who  has  aided  more  in  the  de- 
velopment of  Benton  township  than 
Daniel  Muggy,  and  he  is  now  reaping  the 
fruits  of  his  toil  in  the  enjoyment  of  the 
home  which  he  and  his  estimable  wife 
have,  by  their  care  and  labor,  converted 
into  one  of  the  finest  farms  in  the  vi- 
cinity. 

On  December  23,  186S,  Mr.  Muggy 
was  married  to  Miss  Susan  E.  Tillotson, 
of  Catawba  Island.  Roy,  the  eldest 
child  is  now  in  Lima,  Ohio,  engaged  in 
the  insurance  business.  George,  another 
son,  by  profession  a  school  teacher,  was 
born  on  Catawba  Island,  where  he  lived 
until  four  years  of  age;  his  education 
has  been  obtained  in  the  same  manner 
that  his  father  obtained  his  handsome 
farm,  by  : '  hard  digging;  "  he  attended 
the  district  schools  in  Clay  township  un- 
til fifteen  years  old,  then  in  Benton  town- 
ship for  three  years,  when  he  began 
teaching,  a  profession  he  has  since  fol- 
lowed; though  yet  young  he  is  regarded 
as  a  leading  educator.  Unlike  many  young 
men  he  does  not  waste  his  summer  vaca- 
tions, but  has  helped  his  father  on  the 
farm.  In  addition  to  his  study  in  the 
common  schools  he  attended  the  Ohio 
Normal  University,  at  Ada,  Ohio,  where 
he  thoroughly  fitted  himself  for  his  chos- 
en calling.  He  is  now  in  St.  Louis,  Mo., 
as  agent  for  the  Oak  Harbor  File  &  Sup- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGBAPHICAL  RECORD. 


619 


ply  Co.,  {or  the  present  season,  but  he 
will  resume  teaching  in  September.  In 
his  own  neighborhood,  where  he  is  best 
known,  he  will  probably  have  the  same 
distinction  as  his  father  and  grandfather 
before  him,  that  of  being  a  "self-made 
man,"  and  he  has  a  bright  outlook  for  the 
future. 

Mrs.  Susan  E.  Muggy  was  born  De- 
cember II,  1847,  on  Catawba  Island, 
where  she  attended  the  public  schools, 
acquiring  a  liberal  education,  and  re- 
mained in  her  native  town  until  her  mar- 
riage to  Mr.  Muggy.  She  is  the  daughter 
of  O.  Tillotson  (who  was  born  in  Cleve- 
land in  1805)  and  Elizabeth  Wonnell 
(who  was  born  in  Maryland  in  18 17);  the 
father  died  May  25,  1873,  and  was  buried 
in  Shook  cemetery,  Ottawa  county,  by 
the  side  of  the  mother,  who  had  passed 
away  on  Catawba  Island  January  i,  1858. 
They  were  the  parents  of  three  children — 
one  son  and  two  daughters. 

Mr.  Muggy's  history  would  not  be 
complete  without  some  mention  of  his 
long  service  in  the  Civil  war.  When 
eighteen  years  of  age  he  enlisted  in  the 
battalion  of  sharpshooters  formed  at 
Cleveland  by  G.  M.  Barber,  and  he  par- 
ticipated in  many  skirmishes  and  hard- 
fought  battles,  seeing  active  service  at 
Chickamauga,  Ringgold,  Dalton,  Resaca, 
Big  Shanty,  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Look- 
out Mountain,  Missionary  Ridge,  siege  of 
Atlanta,  Nashville  and  Atlanta.  Though 
always  in  front  and  in  the  hottest  of  the 
fight,  he  went  through  the  war  without 
a  wound  or  any  sickness,  a  record 
equalled  by  few  soldiers  of  the  Rebellion. 


JOHN   E.    MYERHOLTS,    an  enter- 
prising and  prosperous  young  farmer 
of  Benton  township,  Ottawa  county, 
was   born    January   22,    1864,   near 
Elmore,    Harris    township,   Ottawa  Co., 
Ohio,  where  he  spent  his  boyhood  days, 
and  received  his  education. 

Grandfather  Myerholts  was  born  No- 


vember I,  1794,  and  died  July  2,  1857, 
at  the  age  of  si.xty-three  years;  his  wife 
was  born  December  18,  1797,  and  died 
March  21,  1892,  aged  ninety-five  years. 
Grandfather  Dusing  was  born  July  18, 
1 804,  and  died  April  i ,  1 880,  aged  seventy- 
six  years;  his  wife  was  born  February  i, 
1809,  and  died  June  24,  1892,  aged 
eighty-three  years. 

Henry  Mj'erholts,  the  father  of  John 
E.,  was  born  in  Germany  in  1832,  and 
when  two  years  old  came  to  America  with 
his  parents,  who  settled  on  the  pike  near 
Woodville,  Sandusky  Co. ,  Ohio,  where  they 
spent  the  remainder  of  their  lives.  Henry 
Myerholts  started  out  for  himself  in  Har- 
ris township,  Ottawa  county, when  twenty- 
five  years  old,  cleared  the  farm  where  he 
now  lives,  and  in  1856  was  married.  His 
wife,  the  mother  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  born  in  Germany  in  1836, 
and  when  a  year  and  a  half  old  came  to 
America  with  her  parents,  who  settled  in 
Wood  county,  Ohio,  where  she  was 
reared,  receiving  her  education  in  the. 
district  schools  of  the  township  where 
they  resided.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Henry  Myer- 
holts had  children  as  follows:  Clara,  born 
in  1857;  Henry,  in  1858;  Ricca,  in  1859; 
Fred,  in  1861;  John,  in  1864;  George,  in 
1865;  Amelia,  in  1867;  Mary,  in  1869; 
Louisa,  in  1871;  August,  in  1875;  and 
Lucy,  in  1879.  One  daughter  lives  in 
Michigan,  a  son  in  Wisconsin,  and  the 
remainder  in  Ohio.  The  mother  of  Henry 
Myerholts  (Sr.)  was  born  in  Germany, 
March  21,  1797,  and  died  in  Sandusky, 
Ohio,  at  the  age  of  ninety-five  years. 

When  a  young  man  John  E.  Myerholts 
came  with  his  father  to  Benton  township, 
where  they  purchased  quite  a  tract  of 
land,  and  he  now  has  a  fine  farm  of  his 
own  of  eighty  acres  near  that  of  his 
father.  When  he  purchased  the  farm, 
it  was  nearly  all  timber,  but  by  hard  work 
he  has  cleared  this  away,  and  erected  a 
nice  frame  house,  a  barn  and  outbuildings 
for  hisstock.  The  farm  is  now  fenced,  under 
good  cultivation,  and  in  every  way  shows  the 


620 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


care  and  industry  of  the  owner.  For  sev- 
eral years  prior  to  his  marriage  he  and  his 
brothers  ' '  bached. "  as  they  call  it,  cutting 
timber  and  clearing  their  farms  in  the 
winter,  and  at  times  having  several  men 
helping  them.  They  worked  in  the  woods 
until  noon,  then  came  up  and  cooked  their 
own  dinner.  They  did  their  own  baking 
and  cooking,  John  being  a  general  cook  and 
able  to  bake  bread,  pies,  etc.,  and,  in 
fact,  do  any  kind  of  housework.  Thus  he 
worked  ou  until  the  time  of  his  marriage, 
when  he  had  his  farm  well  cleared  and 
under  cultivation,  buildings  completed, 
and  all  in  readiness.  On  September  8, 
1892,  John  E.  Myerholts  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Miss  Emma  Libba,  of  San- 
dusky county,  Ohio,  who  is  to  him  a 
faithful  wife  and  helper,  and  they  have 
one  child,  Mabel  Hazel,  born  October 
20,  1894. 

Mrs.  Myerholts  was  born  April  28, 
1873,  in  Sandusky  county,  Ohio,  where 
she  was  educated,  and  where  she  lived 
until  her  marriage.  Her  father,  Mr.  Libba, 
was  born  in  Germany  in  1833,  came  to 
America  when  quite  young,  and  settled  in 
Sandusky  county,  near  Woodville,  where 
he  cleared  a  farm,  making  a  pleasant 
home  for  himself  and  family.  His  wife 
was  born  in  Germany  in  1843  and  came 
to  America  when  si.xteen  years  of  age. 
Their  children  were:  Henry,  born  in 
1864;  John,  in  iSGG;  Flora, in  1868;  Anna, 
in  1870;  Emma  (Mrs.  Myerholts),  in  1873; 
William,  in  1875;  Edward,  in  1878;  Car- 
rie, in  1880;  and  Rica,  in  1884.  All  but 
one  are  living  and  are  residents  of  Ohio. 

Mr.  Myerholts  has  set  out  a  nice  or- 
chard of  apple  trees,  and  before  long  will 
have  an  abundance  of  fruit  for  his  own 
use  and  to  spare.  He  is  also  somewhat 
engaged  in  the  stock  business.  It  is  just 
to  him  to  say,  that,  as  a  young  man,  he 
has  made  his  mark  in  the  world,  securing 
a  nice  farm  well  cultivated,  fenced  and 
under-drained,  with  good  team  and  tools 
with  which  to  work.  His  record  as  a 
young  farmer  is  one  worthy  ol  emulation. 


LOUIS  WILSON  WALKER 
SPOHN,  a  representative  farmer 
and  highly-esteemed  citizen  of 
W^ashington  township,  Sandusky 
count}',  Ohio,  was  born  January  31, 
1864,  on  the  farm  which  is  still  his  home, 
and  is  a  son  of  David  and  Catherine 
(Spohn)  Spohn.  They  were  both  natives 
of  Pennsylvania,  and,  emigrating  west- 
ward in  1854,  took  up  their  residence  in 
Sandusky  county,  Ohio,  where  the  father 
secured  from  the  government  forty  acres 
of  land  in  Washington  township.  This 
was  a  wild  tract,  on  which  not  a  furrow 
had  been  turned  or  an  improvement 
made;  but  it  had  not  long  been  in  his 
possession  when  it  was  transformed  into 
rich  and  fertile  fields.  Success  attended 
his  well-directed  efforts,  and  as  his  finan- 
cial resources  increased  he  added  two 
hundred  acres  to  his  farm.  The  improve- 
ments he  placed  upon  it  and  the  care  and 
attention  which  he  gave  to  it  made  it  one 
of  the  most  desirable  properties  in  his 
section  of  the  country,  and  the  owner 
was  ranked  among  the  leading  farmers. 
His  death  occurred  in  1871,  when  he  was 
aged  fifty-seven  years,  and  his  wife,  who 
survived  him  several  years,  passed  away 
in  1885,  willing  the  old  homestead  to  her 
son,  Louis. 

Our  subject  is  one  of  the  three  living 
children  in  a  family  that  once  numbered 
thirteen  members.  The  educational 
privileges  which  he  received  were  those 
afforded  by  the  common  schools,  but 
through  contact  with  the  world,  experi- 
ence and  observation  he  has  added  great- 
ly to  his  store  of  knowledge,  and  is  to- 
day one  of  the  well-informed  men  of  the 
community.  A  well-spent  life  has  also 
made  him  highly  esteemed,  and  gained 
him  the  confidence  and  good  will  of  many 
friends.  An  interesting  event  in  his  life 
occurred  on  the  4th  of  October,  1884, 
when  was  celebrated  his  marriage  with 
Miss  Mary  Shenfield.  a  daughter  of  a  well- 
to-do  farmer  of  Washington  township, 
Sandusky  coiintx'.      One  child  now  graces 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOaRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


621 


this  union,  a  daughter,  Bertha,  who  was 
born  February  21,  1890. 

Mr.  Spohn  votes  with  the  Republican 
party,  and,  as  every  true  American  citi- 
zen should  do,  manifests  an  interest  in 
political  affairs,  but  has  never  been  an 
office  seeker.  He  belongs  to  the  Meth- 
odist Church,  and  his  life  is  in  harmony 
with  his  professions,  while  his  upright, 
honorable  career  has  gained  him  a  wide 
circle  of  warm  friends.  He  is  a  worthy  rep- 
resentative of  a  family  that  has  been  con- 
nected with  the  history  of  Sandusky 
county  since  its  pioneer  days,  and  mani- 
fests a  deep  and  abiding  interest  in  all 
that  pertains  to  the  welfare  of  the  com- 
munit}',  and  its  upbuilding. 


EDWARD  STONE,  of  Benton  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county,  is  to-day 
one  of  the  active  men  of  Benton. 
He  was  born  in  Canada  July  4, 
i860.  His  father  J.  B.  Stone,  was  born 
in  1804,  in  Canada,  died  in  1874,  in  Iron- 
dale,  Clinton  county,  N.  Y. ,  and  is  buried 
in  the  cemetery  at  Redford,  in  the  same 
county.  His  widow  was  born  in  Cork, 
Ireland,  in  1824,  and  is  still  living  in  Bos- 
ton, Mass.  The\'  were  the  parents  of  si.\ 
children — three  sons  and  three  daughters, 
as  follows:  Edward,  our  subject;  Henry, 
who  is  employed  as  a  lumber  contractor 
in  Harriettstown,  Franklin  Co.,  N.  Y. ; 
John  B.,  a  resident  of  Boston,  Mass.,  a 
competent  engineer,  and  at  present  run- 
ning hydraulic  presses;  Jennie,  living  in 
Cambridge,  Mass. ;  Anna,  in  Chelsea, 
Mass. ;  and  Rosa,  in  Kittery  Point,  Maine. 
When  Edward  Stone  was  seven  years 
of  age,  his  people  moved  to  New  York 
State,  where  they  lived  until  1873,  when, 
at  the  age  of  only  thirteen  years,  he 
struck  out  in  life  for  himself.  His  first 
move  was  to  Cleveland.  Ohio,  where  he 
worked  in  a  meat  market  for  two  months. 
He  then  went  to  Toledo,  remaining  only 
a  month;  was  office  boy  in  Deshler, 
Henry  Co.,  Ohio,   for  two  months;  took 


charge  of  a  machine  in  the  hoop  factory 
there,  where  he  remained  one  year;  then 
went  into  a  machine  shop,  at  the  same 
place,  and  was  there  fifteen  months.  He 
then  went  to  Sandusky  City,  Erie  Co., 
Ohio,  where  in  1875  he  embarked  as  a 
deck  hand  on  the  steambarge  "  Yose- 
mite,"  running  on  the  lake  between  San- 
dusky and  Bay  City,  Mich.  At  the 
close  of  the  season  on  the  lake  Mr.  Stone 
went  to  Mooretown,  Canada,  engaged  as 
clerk  in  one  of  the  hotels,  remained  there 
two  months,  was  on  a  farm  for  a  short 
time,  and  then  returned  to  the  lakes,  on 
the  steamer  "Huron  City,"  running  be- 
tween Alpena  and  Buffalo.  At  the  close 
of  the  season  Mr.  Stone  made  a  visit  of 
two  months  in  Toledo,  Ohio,  and  then 
went  to  Harris  township,  Ottawa  Co., 
Ohio,  where  he  spent  the  winter  cutting 
timber  on  Joseph  Terault's  farm.  He 
then  returned  to  the  lakes  again,  making 
his  headquarters  at  Cleveland,  remained 
during  the  sailing  season,  returned  to  Ben- 
ton township  as  hoop  worker  for  the 
winter,  and  in  the  spring  went  back  to 
the  lakes.  At  the  close  of  that  season 
Mr.  Stone  went  to  Lindsey,  Sandusky 
Co.,  Ohio,  as  fireman  in  a  stave  factory, 
remaining  si.\  months,  and  then  engaged 
as  engineer  in  a  tile  yard,  and  remained 
one  year.  He  next  worked  by  the  month 
for  two  years  on  a  farm  in  Sandusky 
county,  and  was  engaged  in  hoop  working 
for  a  year  in  Paulding  county,  Ohio.  For 
six  months  he  was  employed  in  the  cam- 
bric mill  at  Boston,  Mass. ;  worked  also 
at  East  Brookfield,  Mass.,  in  a  wheel 
factory,  and  as  engineer  in  a  pottery  at 
Spencer,  Mass. ;  also  drove  a  'bus  in 
Providence,  R.  I.,  four  months,  and  from 
there  went  to  a  summer  resort  at  Saranac 
Lake,  N.  Y.  Mr.  Stone  then  returned 
to  Ohio  b)'  way  of  Canada,  and  began 
farming.  After  about  eight  months,  and 
while  at  Peter  Lickert's,  he  was  united  in 
marriage,  March  17,  1888,  with  Miss 
Kattie  R.  Harman,  of  Harris  township, 
Ottawa  county,    and   they    have  had  two 


622 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


children,  namely:  Jennie  May,  born  De- 
cember 30,  1888;  and  Daniel  Edward, 
born  September  20,  1892.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Stone  remained  one  summer  at  Mr.  Lick- 
ert's  where  he  was  employed  in  clearing 
and  getting  out  timber.  They  then  came 
to  the  farm  on  which  they  now  live,  con- 
taining eighty  acres,  fourteen  of  which 
Mr.  Stone  has  cleared  himself  and  fenced 
and  tilled.  In  addition  to  his  farming,  he 
deals  in  all  kinds  of  stock,  selling  to  local 
dealers. 

Politically,  Mr.  Stone  is  a  Democrat. 
His  estimable  wife  is  the  daughter  of  Jacob 
and  Martha  (Randall)  Harman,  and  was 
born  in  Harris  township,  Ottawa  county, 
received  a  literary  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  that  township,  and  lived  there 
until  her  marriage.  Her  parents,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Harman,  are  now  living  in  Har- 
ris township. 


ELI  L.\  VIGNE,  general  merchant 
and  postmaster  at  Martin,  Ottawa 
county,  well  worthy  of  represen- 
tation in  this  volume,  is  numbered 
among  the  most  prominent  and  influential 
citizens  of  the  county,  and  belongs  to 
that  type  of  representative  Americans  who 
advance  the  public  welfare,  while  pro- 
moting individual  prosperity. 

A  native  of  Michigan,  he  was  born  in 
La  Salle  township,  Monroe  county,  Feb- 
ruary 7,  1847,  and  is  a  son  of  Joseph  and 
Mary  (Jenaur)  La  Vigne,  both  of  whom 
were  natives  of  Michigan,  and  were  of 
French-Canadian  parentage.  The  father 
followed  the  occupation  of  farming  in  that 
State,  but  both  he  and  his  wife  are  now 
passed  away.  Their  family  numbered 
eleven  children,  si.x  of  whom  are  still  liv- 
ing, namely:  Joseph,  a  resident  of  La 
Salle  township,  Monroe  Co.,  Mich.; 
Eliza,  wife  of  Samuel  Arguett,  of  Wayne 
county,  Mich.;  Eli,  subject  of  this  sketch; 
Dolphus,  who  is  living  in  Wayne  county; 
Moses,     a    resident    of    Monroe    county. 


Mich. ;    and    Rosaline,    wife    of    Charles 
Bomier. 

In  taking  up  the  personal  history  of 
our  subject  we  present  to  our  readers  the 
life  record  of  one  who  is  widely  and  fa- 
vorablj-  known  in  Ottawa  county.  The 
public  schools  afforded  him  his  educational 
privileges,  and  to  his  father  he  gave  the 
benefit  of  his  services  until  twenty-six 
years  of  age,  working  on  the  home  farm. 
In  1872  he  came  to  Ohio,  and  has  since 
been  a  continuous  resident  of  Martin. 
For  a  few  years  he  was  in  the  employ  of 
the  Lake  Shore  &  Michigan  Southern 
Railroad  Company,  and  in  1875  he  em^ 
barked  in  business  as  a  general  merchant 
at  Martin,  and  is  still  conducting  one  of 
the  leading  establishments  of  the  kind  in 
the  county.  His  genial  and  affable  man- 
ner has  won  for  him  the  esteem  and  pat- 
ronage of  the  residents  of  Martin  and 
the  surrounding  locality,  and  he  carries 
a  large  stock  of  goods  to  meet  the  grow- 
ing demand  of  his  trade. 

In  Erie  township,  in  his  native  county, 
on  August  8,  1876,  Mr.  La  Vigne  was 
married  to  Agnes  Baron,  who  was  born 
May  18,  /SsS,  and  is  a  daughter  of  Noel 
and  Margaret  (Mominee)  Baron,  natives 
of  La  Salle  township,  Monroe  county. 
Five  children  have  been  born  to  our  sub- 
ject and  his  wife,  their  names  and  dates 
of  birth  being  as  follows:  Gertrude, 
born  in  Martin,  May  26,  1877;  Clarence, 
March  9,  1879;  Mary  Ettie,  November 
17,  1881 ;  Alice.  April  21,  1884;  and  Bes- 
sie, April  24,  1890. 

Mr.  La  Vigne  is  now  serving  his  sec- 
ond term  as  postmaster  of  the  village  of 
Martin,  having  first  been  appointed  by 
President  Cleveland  to  a  second  term. 
He  is  a  sound  Democrat  in  his  political 
views,  and  the  religion  of  himself  and  fam- 
ily is  that  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 
He  possesses  business  ability  of  a  high  or- 
der, and  his  keen  discrimination,  enter-- 
prise  and  sound  judgment  have  brought 
to  him  success.  He  is  one  of  the  most 
popular    and    influential    citizens    of    his 


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COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQRAPHWAL  RECORD. 


623 


adopted  county,  and  is  public  spirited  in 
an  eminent  degree,  taking  an  active  inter- 
est in  all  that  pertains  to  the  welfare  of 
the  community  and  its  advancement.  A 
pleasant,  genial  gentleman,  his  circle  of 
friends  is  limited  only  by  the  circle  of  his 
acquaintances,  and  all  who  know  him 
have  for  him  the  highest  regard. 


JOHN  YOUNG,  owner  of  a  fine  farm 
in  Allen  township,  Ottawa  county,  is 
one  of  the  many  German  settlers 
who  came  to  Ohio  in  an  early  day, 
bringing  with  them  the  habits  of  industry, 
thrift  and  perseverance  acquired  in  their 
native  land,  and  which  have  enabled  them 
to  become  important  factors  in  the  growth 
and  progress  of  the  State  of  their  adop- 
tion. 

Our  subject  was  born  in  Spiesheim, 
Hesse-Darmstadt,  Germany,  April  lo, 
1838,  and  is  the  son  of  John  and  Cather- 
ine (Young)  Young,  both  natives  of  the 
same  province  as  their  son.  His  boyhood 
days  were  spent  in  school  and  upon  his 
father's  farm,  and  in  1856  he  came  with 
the  family  to  America.  They  settled  in 
Lake  township,  Wood  Co.,  Ohio,  and 
here,  when  old  enough,  he  carried  on 
farming  until  February  13,  1865,  when,  on 
the  last  call  for  men  to  take  arms  against 
the  Rebellion,  he  enlisted  in  Company 
B,  One  Hundred  and  Eighty-ninth  Ohio 
Infantry,  under  command  of  Col.  Henry 
Kingsbury.  He  served  in  this  regiment 
for  eight  months,  and  on  September  28, 
same  year,  received  his  discharge  at 
Nashville,  Tenn.  He  then  returned  to 
Wood  county  where  he  worked  on  his 
father's  farm  for  upward  of  twenty  jears, 
at  the  end  of  which  time  he  went  to  Hills- 
dale county,  Mich.,  where  he  bought  land 
and  farmed  two  years.  In  1886  Mr. 
Young  returned  to  this  State,  and  pur- 
chasing fifty-three  acres  of  partially- 
cleared  land  in  Allen  township,  Ottawa 
county,  began  the  improvements,  which 
have    made  it   such   a  valuable  piece    of 


property.  He  now  has  a  comfortable 
dwelling,  etc..  and  is  regarded  as  one  of 
the  solid,  thorough-going  and  intelligent 
men  of  the  county.  Mr.  Young  was  mar- 
ried July  30,  1871,  at  Genoa,  Ohio,  to 
Katie,  daughter  of  John  and  Susanna 
(Bihn)  Young,  who  were  farmers  of  Ot- 
tawa county,  and  of  this  union  there  are 
seven  children,  as  follows:  Matilda,  born 
August  20,  1872,  was  married  March  29, 
1894,  to  John  Vogelpohl,  a  farmer  of 
Lucas  county,  Ohio,  and  has  one  child — 
Willie,  born  April  15,  1895;  Charles  J., 
born  June  29,  1874,  is  farming  in  Ottawa 
county;  while  Magdalena,  born  April  26, 
1876,  MaryE.,  June  3, 1879,  Lewis  J., No- 
vember 25,  1882,  and  Katie  E.,  July  18, 
1889,  are  all  at  home  with  their  parents. 
One  child  died  in  infancy. 

John  Young,  the  father  of  our  subject, 
was  born  in  Germany  in  1802,  and  was  a 
farmer  by  occupation.  He  was  there 
married  to  Miss  Catherine  Young,  who  was 
born  in  1800,  and  they  emigrated  to  this 
country  when  their  children  were  quite 
young.  They  at  first  settled  in  New  York 
State,  near  Niagara  Falls,  where  they  re- 
mained for  three  years,  then  came  to  Ohio 
and  made  their  home  in  Lake  township. 
Wood  countv.  They  were  the  parents  of 
seven  children,  all  born  in  Germany,  of 
whom  the  following  record  is  given: 
Philip,  the  eldest,  is  a  farmer  in  Wood 
county;  Charles  is  a  stone  mason,  and 
lives  in  Toledo;  Elizabeth  married  Joseph 
Kapp,  a  farmer  of  Wood  county,  and  both 
are  deceased,  the  former  dying  September 
2,  1 89 1,  the  latter  on  August  26,  same 
year  (they  left  five  children);  John,  our 
subject,  is  the  fourth  in  order  of  birth; 
Andrew  is  married,  lives  at  Toledo,  and  is 
the  father  of  four  children,  two  of  whom 
are  living;  two  died  in  Germany.  The 
parents  of  this  family  died  in  Wood  coun- 
ty, the  father  in  August,  1866.  and  the 
mother  in  September,  1862. 

It  is  a  curious  coincidence  that  the 
names  of  the  fathers  of  both  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Young  should   be  John  Young,  and  that 


C24 


COyfUEMORATIVE  BIOQRAPEICAL  RECORD. 


those  of  our  subject's  mother  and  his  wife 
should  both  be  Catherine  Young.  The 
father  of  our  subject's  wife  was  also  a  na- 
tive of  Germany,  his  birth  taking  place  in 
Spiesheim,  Hesse-Darmstadt,  February 
21,  1819.  He  followed  farming  in  the 
old  country,  until  his  emigration  to  Amer- 
ica, in  1857.  He  settled  in  Clay  town- 
ship, Ottawa  Co. ,  Ohio,  where  he  carried 
on  farming  for  a  number  of  years;  he  now 
resides  in  Genoa,  that  county,  where  he 
is  a  mail  carrier.  He  was  married  in 
1843,  in  Germany,  to  Susanna  Bihn, 
daughter  of  Peter  Bihn,  and  to  them  have 
been  born  si.x  children:  Mary  E. ,  born 
January  22,  1844,  now  the  widow  of 
Jacob  Long,  a  farmer,  and  residing  in 
Michigan;  Katie,  born  August  6,  1S48, 
now  the  wife  of  our  subject;  Jacob,  born 
January  28,  1854,  married,  and  living  in 
New  York  City;  Phillipina  M.,  born 
December  31,  1856,  now  the  wife  of  John 
Ernst,  a  jeweler,  residing  in  Genoa;  John, 
born  August  4,  1858,  a  butcher  by  trade, 
and  living  in  Huntington,  Ind. ;  Matilda, 
born  October  24,  1862,  died  at  the  age  of 
eleven  years,  in  Ohio. 

Mr.  Young  is  highly  estc^emed  by  his 
fellow  citizens,  and  held  the  office  of 
school  director  in  Lake  township.  Wood 
county,  for  two  years,  and  in  Allen  town- 
ship, where  he  now  resides,  for  the  same 
length  of  time.  He  is  a  strong  Republican, 
and  has  the  best  interests  of  his  com- 
munity at  heart.  He  and  his  family  are 
regular  attendants  at  the  Lutheran 
Church. 


WILLI.\M  ERNSTHAUSEN  is 
the  ownerof  oneof  the  fine  farms 
of  Ottawa  county — a  tract  of 
land  of  100  acres  on  which 
stands  a  comfortable  and  commodious 
brick  residence,  and  substantial  barns  and 
outbuildings  for  the  care  and  shelter  of 
the  stock  and  grain.  Well-kept  fences 
divide  the  land  into  fields  of  convenient 
size,  and  the  place  is  under  a  high  state 


of  cultivation  and  improved  with  all  mod- 
ern accessories.  The  ownerof  this  desir- 
able farm  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  most 
successful  agriculturists  of  the  community, 
and  is  well  deserving  of  mention  in  this 
volume. 

He  was  born  in  Genoa,  Ohio,  Decem- 
ber 31,  1862,  and  is  a  son  of  Casper  and 
Dorotha  (Gerwin)  Ernsthausen.  The 
father  was  born  in  Germany,    June    15, 

1826,  and  was  a  son  of  Henry  Ernsthau- 
sen, who  was  born  in  the  same  land  in 
1790,  and  was  by  trade  a  carpenter.  The 
great-grandfather,  Fred  Hunter,  was  born 
in  1779.  and  his  wife,  Sophia,  was  born 
in  1786.  He  served  in  the  German  army 
from  1803  until  1812,  and  was  instrumen- 
tal in  saving  the  life  of  Prince  Bismarck, 
the  father  of  Germany's  late  chancellor, 
and  in  recognition  of  this  service  was  pre- 
sented with  a  tea-set  by  the  Prince.  The 
ancestry  of  the  Gerwin  familj-  can  be 
traced  back  in  the  following  manner: 
The  grandfather  of  our  subject,  Lewis 
Gerwin,  was  born  in  Germany,  August  i  5, 
1798,  and  was  a  wagon  maker  by  trade. 
In  1826  he  married  Sophia  Hunter  (who 
was  born  in  Hanover,  Germany,  March 
II,  1803),  and  to  them  were  born  seven 
children,  of  whom  five  are  living,  all  resi- 
dents of  America.  His  father,  Henry 
Gerwin,  was  born  in  Germany,  in  1762, 
and  wedded  Clara  Brightholdt,  who  was 
born  in  1767.  The  mother  of  our  subject 
was    born    in    German}-,    November    12, 

1827,  and  tiiere  resided  until  she  was 
nineteen  years  of  age,  when  in  1847  she 
crossed  the  Atlantic  to  the  New  World, 
and  after  two  years  spent  in  New  York 
became  a  resident  of  Toledo,  Ohio,  where 
her  marriage  wtth  Casper  Ernsthausen 
was  celebrated. 

We  now  take  up  the  personal  history 
of  their  son  William,  in  whom  the  citi- 
zens of  Ottawa  count}-  are  deeply  inter- 
ested. When  he  was  only  a  year  old  his 
parents  removed  to  Ohio,  where  they 
lived  five  years,  when  they  came  to  the 
farm  which    is    now  his   residence.      His 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


625 


shly- 

modern 


youth,  therefore,  was  largely  passed  within 
its  boundaries,  and  he  early  became  famil- 
iar with  all  the  duties  that  fall  to  the  lot 
of  an  agriculturist.  To  his  father  he  con- 
tinued to  give  the  benefit  of  his  services 
until  twenty  years  of  age,  when  he  started 
out  in  life  for  himself.  He  is  now  the 
owner  of  one  hundred  acres  of  the  old 
home  place,  and  is  surrounded  by  all  the 
comforts  and  conveniences  that  go  to 
make  life  worth  living.  In  addition  to 
his  own  farm  he  controls  and  operates 
sixty  acres  of  land  belonging  to  a  sister- 
in-law.  He  employs  two  hands  upon  the 
place  to  aid  him  in  the  cultivation  of  the 
various  crops  adapted  to  this  climate,  and 
his  average  yearly  yield  of  grain  is  one 
thousand  bushels  of  wheat,  one  thousand 
si.x  hundred  bushels  of  corn,  and  seven 
hundred  bushels  of  oats.  He  also  deals 
quite  extensively  in  stock,  making  a 
specialty  of  the  raising  of  horses  and  hogs 
The  excellence  of  his  farm,  its  hi 
cultivated  appearance  and  the 
accessories,  all  together  make  it  one  of 
the  most  valuable  places  in  the  county, 
and  give  the  owner  rank  among  the  most 
prominent  agriculturists. 

.\n  important  event  in  the  life  of  Mr. 
Ernsthausen  occurred  December  8,  1886, 
when  was  celebrated  his  marriage  with 
Miss  Carrie  E.  Otto,  daughter  of  Ludwig 
and  Margaretta  (Schafer)  Otto.  Her  father 
lost  his  parents  during  his  early  life,  so  we 
have  no  account  of  the  family.  He  was 
reared  in  Germany,  became  a  shoemaker 
by  trade,  and  served  for  one  year  and  six 
months  in  the  war  of  the  Rebellion.  He 
was  married  January  16,  1S56,  to  Miss 
Otto,  whose  father  was  born  in  Germany 
in  1803,  and  whose  mother,  Margaret 
Korb,  was  born  in  the  same  year.  They 
had  five  children,  three  of  whom  are  now 
living.  Great-grandfather  Schafer  was 
born  in  Germany  in  1770,  and  his  wife 
was  born  about  the  same  time.  Mrs. 
Otto  was  born  in  Prussia  April  12,  1832; 
at  the  age  of  nineteen  came  to  America, 
locating   in   Clyde,  Ohio,  which  was  her 


place  of  abode  for  twelve  years.  Mr. 
Otto  died  in  1864,  leaving  three  children 
— May  Jennie,  born  August  14,  1859; 
Matilda,  born  July  26,  1861;  and  Carrie 
E  ,  born  February  2,  1864.  The  last 
named  is  now  the  wife  of  our  subject. 
Her  birth  occurred  in  Elmore,  and  she 
acquired  her  literary  education  in  its  pub- 
lic schools,  and  also  received  superior  in- 
struction in  instrumental  music.  She  is  a 
lady  of  culture  and  refinement,  presiding 
with  grace  over  her  home,  which  is  noted 
for  its  hospitality.  Four  children  bless 
this  union:  John  F. ,  born  January  15, 
1888;  Bertha  E.,  born  August  8,  1889; 
Clarence  \V.,  born  October  11,  i89i;and 
Mabel  M.,  born  July  21,  1894. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Ernsthausen 
is  a  Republican,  taking  an  active  interest 
in  the  growth  and  success  of  his  part}', 
and  doing  all  in  his  power  to  advance  its 
interests.  For  some  time  he  has  been 
president  of  the  school  board  of  his  dis- 
trict, and  the  cause  of  education  and  all 
other  interests  calculated  to  promote  the 
general  welfare  find  in  him  a  warm  friend. 


CHARLES  H.  GRAVES,  one  of 
the  prominent  members  of  the 
Ottawa  county  bar,  was  born 
June  6,  1872,  in  Clay  township, 
Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio.  He  was  reared  amid 
pleasant  surroundings,  and  his  childhood 
was  similar  to  that  of  other  boys  of  the 
period,  he  thoroughly  enjoying  and  par- 
ticipating in  the  sports  of  the  time.  He 
is  a  son  of  John  H.  and  Mary  (Joseph) 
Graves,  residents  of  Harris  township,  Ot- 
tawa county,  the  father  a  native  of  Prussia, 
the  mother  of  Baden,  Germany. 

Our  subject  received  his  early  educa- 
tion in  the  public  schools  of  Oak  Harbor, 
Ohio,  where  he  was  graduated  in  1889. 
He  then  taught  school  two  years  in  Salem 
township,  and  at  the  same  time  pursued 
the  study  of  law  under  the  tutorship  of 
Charles  I.  York,  of  Oak  Harbor,  Ohio. 
In  1 891  he  entered  the  Law  Department 


C2G 


commemohative  biographical  record. 


of  the  University  of  Michigan,  at  Ann 
Arbor,  where  he  took  a  thoroug^h  course 
in  law,  being  graduated  from  that  institu- 
tion in  1893  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor 
of  Laws.  He  was  admitted  to  practice 
as  an  attorney  and  counselor  at  law  in  the 
State  of  Ohio,  on  June  9,  1893,  at  the 
age  of  twenty-one  years.  Returning  to 
Oak  Harbor,  he  at  once  embarked  in  the 
practice  of  his  chosen  profession,  and  to- 
day, although  a  young  man,  enjoys  a  large 
and  lucrative  clientage,  and  ranks  among 
the  leading  members  of  the  bar. 

Politically,  he  is  a  Democrat.  Socially, 
he  is  a  member  of  Oak  Harbor  Lodge 
No.  495,  F.  tv:  A.  M.,  and  formerh'  he 
belonged  to  Fremont  Chapter  No.  64,  R. 
A.  M. ;  at  present  he  is  a  member  of  Oak 
Harbor  Chapter,  U.  D. ,  Royal  Arch 
Masons.  He  possesses  a  keen  analytical 
mind,  is  quick  to  grasp  a  situation,  and 
his  abilities,  both  natural  and  acquired, 
lead  one  to  predict  that  his  career  as  a 
lawyer  will  be  one  of  marked  success.  In 
social  life  he  has  the  respect  of  all  who 
know  him. 


FERDINAND  L.  MILLER.  Among 
the  prominent  and  well-to-do 
farmers  of  Salem  township,  Ot- 
tawa county,  who  can  now  look 
back  nearly  half  a  century  to  the  days 
when  that  township  was  nothing  more 
than  a  vast  unbroken  wilderness,  and  re- 
call the  many  dangers  and  hardships  ex- 
perienced by  them;  the  discouragements 
incident  to  an  early  life  on  the  frontier; 
and  who,  as  the  reward  of  many  years 
of  hard,  honest  labor,  have  now  acquired 
a  comfortable  competence  to  tide  them 
over  the  balance  of  life's  journey,  there 
is  probably  no  one  deserving  of  a  more 
prominent  place  in  this  biographical  record 
than  the  gentleman  whose  name  intro- 
duces this  brief  sketch. 

Our  subject  is  a  native  of  the  Father- 
land, born  in  Baden  March  16,  1834. 
His  parents,    George    and   Lena    Miller, 


emigrated    to 
in    Danburj' 


also  natives  of  Germany, 
America  in  1857,  locatin; 
township,  Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio,  of  which 
township,  they  were  honored  and  re- 
spected citizens  for  many  years.  They 
have  both  long  since  passed  away  from 
earth,  the  father  dying  in  1864,  the 
mother  in   1874. 

Ferdinand  L.  Miller  received  his  pre- 
liminary education  in  the  public  schools 
of  his  native  land,  and  since  early  youth 
he  has  constantly  been  engaged  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits,  his  long  e.xperience  in 
this  honorable  branch  of  industry  making 
him  one  of  the  most  practical  farmers  of 
the  county,  his  well-tilled  fields,  comfort- 
able home  and  barns  bearing  striking 
evidence  of  this  fact.  In  1854  Mr.  Miller 
crossed  the  ocean  to  the  "New  World," 
locating  first  in  Sandusky  county,  Ohio, 
thence,  in  1859,  moving  to  Ottawa  coun- 
ty, same  State,  locating  in  Danbury 
township;  in  1865  he  settled  on  his  pres- 
ent farm  in  Salem  township,  of  which 
he  has  since  been  a  continuous  resident, 
honored  and  respected  by  all  who  know 
him  for  his  thrift,  honesty  and  many 
other  sterling  qualities. 

Mr.  Miller  was  united  in  marriage  in 
April,  1865,  with  Miss  Mary  Wiganist,  of 
Riley  township,  Sandusky  county,  a  na- 
tive of  Germany.  To  this  union  were 
born  si.\  children,  five  of  whom  are  living, 
viz.:  Amelia,  born  Januarj' 37,  1867,  now 
the  wife  of  Henry  Godeman,  of  Toledo, 
Ohio;  Elizabeth,  born  August  17,  1868, 
wife  of  J.  F.  Mylander,  of  Salem  town- 
ship; Ellen,  born  October  26,  1870;  John, 
born  February  21,  1874;  and  Katherine, 
born  August  16,  1877,  the  latter  three 
residing  on  the  homestead  farm  in  Salem 
township.  In  1880  the  father  was  called 
upon  to  mourn  the  demise  of  his  faithful 
wife,  and  the  children  that  of  a  kind  and 
loving  mother,  Mrs.  Miller  passing  away 
during  that  year.  In  1881  Mr.  Miller 
was  again  united  in  marriage,  his  second 
wife  being  a  Miss  Rosina  Koser,  a  native 
of  Germany,  born  October  24,  1844.   To 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


627 


this  union  have  been  born  three  children, 
viz.:  Rosa  and  George  (twins),  born  Feb- 
ruary 20,  1882,  the  latter  of  whom  died 
in  infancy;  and  Matie,  born  August  17, 
1886,  died  September  23,  1890. 

Mr.  Miller  has  ever  taken  an  active 
interest  in  the  welfare  and  progress  of  his 
township;  but  although  he  has  frequently 
been  requested,  by  his  man}'  friends,  to 
accept  positions  of  trust,  he  has  never 
been  an  office  seeker,  always  refusing  to 
accept  them,  recognizing  the  fact  that 
the  duties  in  connection  with  his  home 
and  farm  commanded  his  unremitting 
time  and  attention.  In  his  political  views 
our  subject  votes  with  the  Democratic 
party.  The  family  are  strict  adherents 
of  the  Evangelical  Church. 


JACOB    S.    STEWART,    one   of  the 
earliest  pioneers  of  Allen  township. 
Ottawa  county,  and  a  brave  soldier 
in  the  Civil  war,  was  born  in  Vinton 
county,    Ohio,    August  6,   1844,  a  son  of 
John  N.  and  Letitia  (Sain)  Stewart,  both 
also  natives  of  this  State. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  of  Sandusky 
county,  on  leaving  which  he  worked  on  a 
farm  for  si.\  months.  The  Civil  war  break- 
ing out,  he  felt  called  to  go  to  the  defense 
of  the  old  flag,  and,  although  only  a  boy, 
offered  his  services,enlisting  July  24,  1862, 
in  Company  F,  One  Hundredth  Ohio  In- 
fantry. He  took  part  in  the  siege  of 
Kno.wille,  Tenn.,  and  in  the  battle  of 
Strawberry  Plains,  in  the  same  State.  His 
regiment  was  then  sent  back  to  Kno.wille, 
and  was  placed  among  those  who  went 
with  Sherman  on  that  famous  "March  to 
the  Sea,"  near  Atlanta.  Mr.  Stewart  re- 
ceived a  severe  wound  in  his  right  leg, 
from  the  effects  of  which  he  suffered  for 
si.x  months.  In  that  engagement  he  saw 
men  fall  all  around  him,  and  out  of  a  force 
of  309  men,  over  two  hundred  were 
killed,  or  died  from  the  effects  of  their 
wounds.      When  Mr.    Stewart    had    par- 


tially recovered,  he  rejoined  his  company, 
which  was  then  a    part    of  Twenty-third 
corps.      They  left  Atlanta  and  marched 
to  City  Point,  North  Carolina,  and  then 
to  Goldsborough,  where  they  met  General 
Sherman.      Mr.  Stewart  received  his  final 
discharge   at  Cleveland,   Ohio,   in    18.65, 
and  coming  to  Allen    (then   Clay)   town- 
ship,   Ottawa    county,    purchased    si.xty 
acres  of   unimproved  land.      On   this  he 
built  a  log  cabin,  in  which   he  lived   for 
twenty-five  years,  in  the  meantime  being 
diligentl\-  at  work  clearing  off  the  timber 
and  cultivating  the  soil,  and  to-day  he  is 
the  happy  owner  of  one  of  the  most  pro- 
ductive and  best  improved  farms  in  the 
township,    with   a   comfortable  residence 
and  all  necessary  attachments,  the  result 
of  his  untiring  industry  and  perseverance. 
Mr.  Stewart  was  married,  March   12, 
1879,  to  Minerva  C,   daughter  of  Oscar 
and  Philindia (Baldwin)  Billings,  of  Wood- 
ville  township,  Sandusky  county,  and  they 
are  the  parents   of  four  children:   Rollin 
L. ,  born  December  26,  1S81;  Oscar  T., 
April  12,   1886;   DaseyM.,  December  23, 
1S90;  and  Harley,    born  June   12,  1880, 
died  February  25,  1883.     John  N.  Stew- 
art, the  father  of  our  subject,  was  born 
in  Ohio,  May  6,  181  5,  and  was  of  Scotch 
and  English  descent.      His  father  fought 
against  the  English  in  the  war  of  18 12  at 
Fort  Stevenson,    in  Fremont.     John  N. 
was  a  tanner  and  currier,  and  assisted  his 
father  for  a  time  at  his  trade.      He  after- 
ward worked  in  the  flour-mills,  and  was 
also  in  the  employ  of  Carder  &  Fuller; 
in  his  later  years  he  returned  to  farming. 
Mr.    Stewart    was    married    to    Letitia, 
daughter  of  Jacob  Sain,  a  farmer  of  Vin- 
ton county,  this  State,  and  by  this  mar- 
riage eight  children   were  born,  three  of 
whom  still  survive:  Jacob  S.,  our  subject; 
Spencer,   a   mail  carrier   at  Toledo;  and 
Emma  V.,  wife  of  Stephen  Heckathorne, 
of  Toledo.      Levi  S.  was  killed  during  the 
Civil     war,    in     1862,     in    the    skirmish 
on  Cheat  Mountain,  West  Virginia.      Os- 
car Billings,  father  of  Mrs.  J.  S.  Stewart, 


628 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


was  born  in  the  State  of  New  York  in 
1824,  where  he  was  a  farmer  for  many 
years.  He  came  to  Ohio  in  1841,  where 
he  was  engaged  at  his  trade  in  Woodville, 
Sandusky  county.  At  the  breaking  out 
of  the  Civil  war  he  enhsted  in  the  three- 
months'  service,  after  which  he  removed 
to  Minnesota,  where  he  was  engaged  in 
agricultural  pursuits.  His  first  wife  was 
Mary  Boose,  who  died  two  years  after 
marriage,  leaving  one  child.  He  subse- 
quently married  Miss  Philindia  Baldwin, 
October  27,  1858,  and  of  this  marriage 
there  were  ninechildren:  Minerva  C, 
born  in  Elmore,  Ottawa  county,  July  3, 
1859,  became  the  wife  of  our  subject; 
Sarah  J.,  born  in  Woodville,  Sandusky 
county,  June  22,  1862,  married  Bradford 
Lindsey,  a  farmer  of  Allen  township,  and 
of  this  marriage  four  children  were  born, 
viz.:  Orvil,  Clarence,  Leroy  and  Edith; 
Nelson  O.,  born  March  10,  1863,  is  a 
barber  in  Genoa,  Clay  township  (he  mar- 
ried Annie  Fuller,  of  that  township,  and 
they  have  one  child  named  Harold);  Ar- 
thur T.,  born  August  31,  1864,  is  unmar- 
ried and  lives  in  Allen  township;  Lorenzo 
A.,  born  March  3,  1868;  Leonard  G., 
born  December  11,  1871,  in  Woodville 
township,  Sandusky  count}';  Casper  A., 
born  July  23,  1874,  in  Harris  township, 
Ottawa  county;  Mirtie  B.,  born  August 
29,  1S76,  in  Harris  township,  and  Laura 
born  May  28,  1880,  are  all  single.  The 
mother  of  these  children  was  born  in 
Woodville,  and  was  a  daughter  of  Nelson 
and  Catherine  E.  Baldwin. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  Re- 
publican, a  member  of  the  G.  A.  R. ,  and 
with  his  family  attends  the  Church  of  the 
United  Brethren.  He  still  suffers  from 
the  effects  of  a  wound  received  while  in 
the  army,  and  is  obliged  to  use  crutches  a 
part  of  the  time.  In  his  noble  wife  he 
finds  a  true  helpmate,  and  she  has  been 
of  inestimable  service  to  him.  In  1889 
she  began  the  weaving  of  carpets,  and  she 
has  made  many  thousand  yards,  adding 
materially  in  this  way  to  their  income. 


BARNEY  VALIQUETTE  is  one  of 
the  young  and  progressive  farmers 
of  Carroll  township,  Ottawa  coun- 
ty, of  which  township  he  is  na- 
tive born,  his  birth  having  occurred  Sep- 
tember 28,  1870,  and  he  is  a  son  of  James 
and  Elizabeth  (Doroucher)  \'aliquette. 
The  early  life  of  our  subject  was  spent 
upon  the  homestead  farm,  and  in  the 
public  schools  of  the  neighborhood  he  ac- 
quired his  education.  In  connection  with 
his  farm  duties  he  also  assisted  his  father 
in  mercantile  pursuits.  On  February  6, 
1895,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Dora  Pickard,  a  daughter  of  Andrew 
and  Serdelia  (Moore)  Pickard. 

James  Valiquette,  the  father  of  our 
subject,  was  born  in  Monroe,  Mich.,  No- 
vember 23,  1S23,  and  is  a  son  of  Joseph 
and  Monique  (Ganier)  Valiquette,  both 
natives  of  Monroe  county,  Mich.,  and  of 
French-Canadian  ancestry.  In  their  fam- 
ily were  nine  children,  four  of  whom  still 
survive,  namely:  James;  T.  Isadore,  a 
resident  of  La  Crosse,  Wis. ;  Henry,  of 
Toledo,  Ohio;  and  Matilda,  wife  of  Ra- 
phael Navare,  of  Toledo.  The  father  of 
this  family  served  with  distinction  in  the 
war  of  1812,  and  was  a  prominent  farmer 
of  his  native  countj',  where  his  death  oc- 
curred in  February,  1861.  His  faithful 
and  devoted  wife  survived  him  for  some 
years,  and  passed  from  earth  in  Carroll 
township.  Like  the  majority  of  the 
youth  of  his  day,  James  Valiquette  re- 
ceived only  such  education  as  could  be 
obtained  in  the  primitive  log  schoolhouse, 
and  only  at  such  times  as  he  could  be 
spared  from  the  farm  duties,  which  in 
those  days  took  precedence  to  education. 
In  1846,  he  came  to  Ottawa  countv,  the 
trip  from  Michigan  being  made  by  way  of 
the  canal,  and  on  his  arrival  made  his 
home  in  Carroll  township,  which  at  that 
time  was  a  vast  forest,  inhabited  princi- 
pally by  Indians.  Here  he  has  since  re- 
sided and  to-day  ranks  among  the  oldest 
living  pioneer  residents  in  the  county.  In 
1848  he   began  merchandising,  which  he- 


COMMEMORATIVE  SIOOIiAPIIICAL  RECORD. 


629 


continued  in  connection  with  agricultural 
pursuits  until  1885,  since  which  time  he 
has  lived  a  comparativels'  retired  life, 
resting  in  the  enjojment  of  tiie  fruits  of 
his  former  toil. 

In   Monroe   count}-,     Mich.,    May   26, 

1850,  was  celebrated  the  marriage  of 
James  Valiquette  and  Elizabeth  Dorouch- 
er,  daughter  of  Lawrence  and  Moniqne 
(Saucombe)  Doroncher,  who  were  the 
parents  of  nine  children,  six  of  whom  are 
still  living:  Lawrence,  Saucombe,  Luke, 
Cleopha  (widow  of  Anthonj'  Miltz),  Marie 
(wife  of  Henry  Latour),  and  the  mother 
of  our  subject.  Mrs.  Valiquette  was  born 
in  Monroe,  Mich.,  July  22,  1829,  and  by 
her  marriage  has  become  the  mother  of 
children  whose  names  and  dates  of  birth 
are    as    follows:       Elizabeth,    April     11, 

1851,  died  April  25,  1879; Caroline,  April 
15,  1853,  died  April  25,  1861;  Saucombe, 
July  29,  1855;  Clara,  October  7,  1859, 
now  the  wife  of  D.  M.  McLean,  of  Kala- 
mazoo, Mich.;  Annie,  July  10,  1861;  and 
Barney. 


FREDEI^ICIC  COOK  is  a  native  of 
Germany,  born  June  18,  1852. 
His  father  died  a  few  months  prior 
to  the  birth  of  his  son,  and  when 
Frederick  was  three  years  old  he  was 
brought  by  his  mother  and  a  friend  of  the 
family  to  this  country.  Mrs.  Cook  re- 
mained in  New  York,  and  gave  her  son 
to  one  of  the  friends  that  accompanied 
her  on  the  voyage  in  order  that  he  might 
have  a  good  home  and  education.  With 
his  foster-parents  he  went  to  Sandusky 
county,  Ohio,  and  by  them  was  reared  on  a 
farm,  where  he  worked  from  early  age 
until  he  had  attained  his  majority.  For 
his  services  he  received  only  his  board 
and  clothing,  being  granted  no  education- 
al privileges,  and  the  only  knowledge  he 
acquired  during  this  period  was  through 
experience  and  observation. 

When   he  had  attained  his  majority, 
Frederick   Cook  left    his    foster-parents, 


and  for  a  year  and  a  half  worked  as  a 
farm  laborer.  He  then  took  up  the  trade 
of  carpenter  and  joiner,  which  he  followed 
some  five  years,  and  he  afterward  was 
employed  for  several  years  as  a  journey- 
man in  the  same  line  of  business.  After 
saving  enough  money  from  his  meager 
earnings  he  went  west  to  the  State  of 
Kansas  to  visit  his  mother,  who  had  mar- 
ried in  New  York  and  was  then  living  up- 
on a  farm  in  the  "  Sunflower  State."  He 
spent  a  year  or  more  in  that  place,  work- 
ing on  farms  until  he  had  obtained  enough 
money  to  take  him  to  Ohio  again,  when 
he  once  more  settled  in  Sandusky  county, 
working  at  carpentering  two  years. 
Abandoning  that  pursuit,  he  then  rented 
a  farm  in  that  locality,  which  he  operated 
until  1887,  when  he  removed  to  Ottawa 
county,  and  purchased  a  farm  in  Clay 
township,  containing  seventy  acres,  most 
of  which  was  improved.  He  then  cleared 
the  remaining  eleven  acres,  and  trans- 
formed the  whole  into  rich  and  fertile 
fields.  He  has  made  many  improvements 
upon  the  place,  planted  an  orchard, 
erected  a  good  barn  and  other  necessary 
outbuildings,  and  to-day  has  one  of  the 
best  cultivated  farms  of  the  neighbor- 
hood. 

On  September  5,  1876,  in  Woodville 
township,  Ottawa  county,  Mr.  Cook 
wedded  MaryBlausey,  daughter  of  Henry 
Blausey,  a  farmer  of  that  township. 
Nine  children  came  of  that  union,  their 
names  and  dates  of  birth  being  as  follows: 
Henry,  who  was  born  in  Woodville  town- 
ship, January  5,  1877.  and  now  aids  in 
the  operation  of  the  home  farm;  Ricke, 
October  8,  1878;  Minnie,  September  27, 
1880;  August,  May  11,  1882;  Caroline, 
September  5,  1884;  Lucy,  September  25, 
1886;  Lena,  January  18,  1889;  Julia, 
April  I,  1 891;  and  Lewis,  December  18, 
1893.  Mrs.  Cook  died  December  20, 
1893,  and  Mr.  Cook  was  again  married 
July  5,  1894,  his  second  union  being  with 
Tillie  Zesing,  who  was  born  Mays,  '872, 
daughter  of  Charles  and    Minnie  (Tropp) 


C30 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Zesing,  farming  people  of  Wood  county, 
Ohio. 

In  his  political  views,  Mr.  Cook  is  a 
stanch  Democrat,  has  held  the  office  of 
school  director  for  several  years,  and  is  a 
warm  friend  of  the  cause  of  education. 
He  is  numbered  among  the  leading  agri- 
culturists of  Ottawa  county,  and  his 
straightforward,  honorable  life  well  en- 
titles him  to  representation  in  its  volume. 


JAMES  PALMER,  M.  D.  That  a 
smooth  sea  never  made  a  skillful 
mariner  is  fully  realized  by  all  who 
have  successfully  carried  to  comple- 
tion any  undertaking  on  the  sea  of  life. 
The  world  is  indebted  to-day  for  its  great- 
est achievements  to  men  who  have  come 
upward  through  adversity;  to  men  who 
are  self-made;  to  men  who  from  early 
manhood  have  been  compelled  to  stand 
alone  and  fight  single-handed  for  what 
they  believe  to  be  true,  and  for  their  own 
best  interests. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  one  of 
Ottawa  county's  self-made  men.      He  is  a 
native    of    England,   born    December   9, 
1832,  in  the  Parish   of   Harlington,  some 
thirteen  miles  west  from    London,  and  is 
a    son    of    Thomas    and    Ann    (Palmer) 
Palmer,  the  former  of  whom  was  born  in 
1 801,  and  lived  to  be  ninety-three  years 
of  age;   the  latter  was  born  in  1803,  and 
died  in  1887.      Seven  children — si.\  sons 
and   one  daughter — were  born  to  them, 
one  of  the  sons  being  now  a  shoemaker 
in  Saginaw,  Mich. ;   another  (our  subject) 
a   physician   in   Oak    Harbor,    Ohio;  the 
other  three  being  farmers;  the  daughter 
resides   in  Canada.      Robert  Palmer,  the 
maternal  grandfather  of  this  family,  rep- 
resented the  fifth  generation  of   Palmers 
who  rented   the  same   farm  in  England. 
One  of  Dr.  Palmer's  uncles  served  in  the 
ever-memorable  Crimean  war  of  1854-56, 
in  which  the  quadruple  alliance — England, 
France,   Sardinia    and  Turkey — was  en- 
gaged in  a  sanguinary  struggle  with  Russia. 


When  our  subject  was  nine  \ears  old 
(1 84 1)  his  parents  emigrated  to  this  coun- 
try, bringing  their  family  and  settling  in 
Cuyahoga  county,   Ohio,   where  for  four 
years  they  made  their  home,   the  father 
following  his  trade,  shoemaking.      It  was 
here  our  subject  received  his  first  school- 
ing, only  three  months  in  all,  the  rest  of 
his  time  being  occupied  in  farm  labor,  he 
working  by  the  day  or  month  as  occasion 
presented.      In  1845  the  family  moved  to 
Canada,  settling  on  a  farm  in  that   por- 
tion of  Middlesex  county  that  is  now  in- 
cluded   in    Elgin    county,    and   here    our 
subject  had  his  home  until  he  was  twenty 
years  of  age,  his  time  and  energy  for  the 
most  part  being  devoted  toward  assisting 
in   the  clearing  up   and  developing  of  a 
homestead  for  his   parents,  although  for 
nearly  three  years  (owing  to  illness  which 
seized    him    when    eighteen    years    old, 
through  exposure  in  the  timber)  he  was 
unable  to  do  much  hard  work.      In  1852 
he  went  to  live  with  his  brother,  Thomas 
K. ,  of  Port  Burwell,  now  in  Elgin  county, 
Ontario,  but  soon  afterward  moved  with 
him  to  St.  Thomas,  a  few  miles  northwest 
of  Port   Burwell,  and    here    he    was  con- 
verted  to   Christianity,    uniting  with  the 
Baptist  Church.      At  the  same  place,  and 
through  the  kindness  of  his  brother,  he 
received  another  three-months'  schooling, 
making  in  all  six  months'  education  up  to 
the  age  of  twenty-one. 

From  early  boyhood  Dr.  Palmer  had 
looked  forward  to  the  possibility  of  the 
practice  of  medicine  being  his  life  work, 
such  being  his  devout  wish;  but  lack  of 
means  all  along  stood  in  the  way  of  his 
accomplishing  his  desire  in  that  respect. 
Moreover,  more  money  would  have  to  be 
earned,  to  accomplish  which  he  com- 
menced, after  leaving  school  the  second 
time,  to  learn  the  trade  of  carpenter, 
which  he  continued  several  years,  among 
other  work  assisting  in  erecting  all  the 
Great  Western  railroad  buildings,  includ- 
ing docks,  at  Windsor,  Canada.  About 
the    year    1858    our   subject    moved   to 


^^/^a^z^ 


^^t-^'-Z-^^ 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


631 


Painesville,  Lake  Co.,  Ohio,  where  he 
began  the  study  of  medicine  under  the 
preceptorship  of  Dr.  R.  F.  Dow,  and 
with  him  diligently  pursued  his  prelimi- 
nary readings,  completing  same  with  a 
three-years'  course  at  the  Medical  De- 
partment of  the  Western  Reserve  Uni- 
versity, Cleveland,  Ohio,  where  our  sub- 
ject was  graduated  with  the  degree  of 
M.  D.  Immediately  thereafter  he  opened 
an  office  in  Cleveland,  where  for  si.x 
months  he  enjojed  a  good  practice;  his 
business  relations  in  Painesville,  however, 
were  such  that  he  deemed  it  advisable  to 
remove  thither.  In  1893,  after  building 
up  an  extensive  practice  in  that  city,  the 
Doctor,  for  reasons  that  will  presently  be 
explained,  transferred  his  practice  to  Oak 
Harbor,  Ottawa  county,  where  he  has 
since  remained. 

Dr.  James  Palmer  has  been  twice 
married,  first  time  at  St.  Thomas,  Canada, 
January  i,  1857,  to  Miss  Margaret  L. 
Card,  of  that  city.  In  1883,  while  they 
were  on  a  visit  to  Canada,  Mrs.  Palmer 
was  taken  ill,  and  died  there  before  she 
could  be  removed  to  her  home  in  Paines- 
ville. On  November  22,1 887,  Dr.  Palmer 
was  wedded  to  Miss  Mary  B.  Beatty,  of 
Butler  county,  Penn.  In  1893,  as  already 
related,  the  Doctor  removed  from  Paines- 
ville to  Oak  Harbor,  hoping  that  his  wife's 
health  would  be  improved  by  the  change, 
for  she  had  been  unwell  for  some  time. 
Only  temporary  relief,  however,  was  se- 
cured to  the  patient,  for  on  April  2,  1894, 
she  passed  to  the  home  beyond.  Her 
brothers  are  the  proprietors  of  one  of  the 
largest  rose  gardens  in  the  world,  same 
being  located  at  Oil  City,  Penn.,  and 
their  productions  received  first  premium 
at  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition, 
held  at  Chicago  in  1893.  Dr.  Palmer  is 
a  typical  self-made  man,  and  the  enviable 
position  he  now  holds  in  his  chosen  pro- 
fession is  conclusive  proof  that  "where 
there's  a  will  there's  a  way."  Let  every 
young  person  who  may  read  this  sketch 
remember   that    what    has    been  accom- 

40 


plished  under  adverse  circumstances  can 
be  done  again,  and  that  a  man  with  en- 
ergy, perseverance  and  application  will, 
in  any  sphere  of  life  in  this  wide  country, 
always  find  "room  at  the  top."  The 
Doctor  attributes  his  success  in  life  to  his 
adherence  to  the  principles  of  rectitude 
instilled  into  him  by  his  mother,  whom  he 
remembers  with  true  filial  devotion  and 
loyalty. 


NATHAN  PIERSON.  The  splendid 
farm  of  this  gentleman  in  Carroll 
township,  Ottawa  county,  is  a 
standing  monument  to  his  indus- 
try, perseverance  and  good  management, 
and  he  is  numbered  among  the  prominent 
representative  agriculturists  of  the  com- 
munit}'.  He  was  born  on  the  homestead 
farm  where  he  still  resides,  November  18, 
1845,  ^nd  is  a  son  of  Alfred  and  Mary  C. 
(Lindsley)  Pierson.  His  elementary  edu- 
cation was  obtained  in  the  common 
schools  of  the  district,  after  which  he  at- 
tended a  commercial  college  in  the  citj'  of 
Sandusky,  Ohio.  After  completing  his 
education,  Mr.  Pierson  followed  the  vo- 
cation of  teaching  for  ten  years,  being  em- 
ployed in  the  schools  of  Harris,  Carroll 
and  Clay  townships,  Ottawa  county;  but 
since  the  expiration  of  that  time,  he  has 
devoted  his  whole  attention  to  agricultural 
pursuits. 

On  October  15,  1871,  Mr.  Pierson 
married  Miss  Lucinda  Moore,  a  daughter 
of  Cyrus  and  Esther  Moore,  who  were 
early  residents  of  Erie  township,  Ottawa 
county,  where  the  widowed  mother  is 
still  living,  the  father  having  gone  to  the 
final  home.  Around  the  domestic  hearth 
of  our  subject  and  his  wife  are  gathered 
their  little  family  of  three  children — Stella 
M.,  born  September  4,  1872;  Ethel  M., 
born  May  19,  1875;  and  Alfred  F.,  born 
November  26,  I S79.  For  two  terms  Mr. 
Pierson  held  the  position  of  trustee,  and 
is  now  serving  as  township  treasurer.  He 
has  been  clerk  of  Harris    township,  and 


632 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHWAL  RECORD. 


also  of  Elmore  corporation.  He  has  been 
quite  prominent  in  local  affairs,  and  in 
politics  is  an  earnest  advocate  of  Demo- 
cratic principles,  of  which  part)'  he  is  a 
stalwart  supporter.  Surrounded  by  his 
interesting  and  intelligent  family,  Mr.  Pier- 
son  is  a  thoughtful  and  devoted  husband, 
and  a  kind,  indulgent  father.  Among 
men  he  is  genial  and  companionable; 
manly  and  fearlessly  independent  in 
thought  and  character,  and  consistent 
and  temperate  in  all  respects.  His  social 
standing  is  high  and  his  integrity  incor- 
ruptible. As  a  friend  he  is  true  and  loyal; 
a  man  of  taste  and  culture,  with  broad 
and  liberal  views;  and  a  man,  all  in  all,  of 
large  body,  soul  and  mind. 

The  father  of  our  subject,  Alfred  Pier- 
son  (deceased),  was  one  of  the  prominent 
farmers  of  Carroll  township,  as  well  as 
one  of  its  pioneers.  His  birth  occurred  in 
New  Jersey  in  March,  1815,  and  he  was 
a  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Miller) 
Pierson,  who  were  of  English  and  Ger- 
man ancestry.  He  was  reared  and  edu- 
cated in  his  native  State,  where  he  also 
learned  the  trade  of  blacksmith  and  buggy- 
spring  maker,  and  there  followed  those 
pursuits  until  1838,  when  he  came  to  Car- 
roll township,  at  that  time  still  a  part  of 
Sandusky  county,  Ohio.  For  a  number 
of  years  he  worked  at  his  trade  in  con- 
nection with  farming,  but  in  later  years 
abandoned  the  former,  and  devoted  his 
time  entirely  to  agricultural  pursuits. 

On  October  16,  1837,  in  New  Jersey, 
Alfred  Pierson  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Mary  C.  Lindsley,  who  was  born  in 
Chatham  township,  Morris  Co.,  N.  J., 
February  17.  18 1 9,  a  daughter  of  Luther 
and  Nancy  (Lace}')  Lindsley,  natives  of 
that  State,  coming  to  Ottawa  county  in 
1S38,  where  the  father  engaged  in  farm- 
ing. His  death  occurred  March  31,  1858; 
the  mother  departed  this  life  March  25, 
1850.  They  had  a  family  of  nine  chil- 
dren, of  whom  Mrs.  Pierson  is  the  only 
one  now  living.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs..  Pier- 
son   were    born    si.\     children,     namel}': 


Elizabeth,  born  July  22,  1838,  died 
March  29,  1856;  Lewis,  born  October  9, 
1842,  is  living  on  the  old  homestead; 
Nathan  is  ne.xt  in  order  of  birth;  Phcebe, 
born  December  22,  1848,  died  December 
ir,  1862;  Alfred,  born  November  25, 
1855,  died  June  i,  1856;  and  Hetta,  born 
March  3,  1857,  is  the  wife  of  R.  B.  Sono- 
crant.  The  eldest  son,  Lewis,  received 
his  education  in  the  district  schools,  and 
since  early  life  has  been  principally  en- 
gaged in  farming,  On  December  10, 
1864,  he  married  Lucina  Davenport,  a 
daughter  of  Edson  and  Jane  Davenport, 
and  to  them  was  born  one  child,  who 
died  in  infancy;  the  mother  departed  this 
life  October  29,  1869.  In  his  political 
views,  Lewis  Pierson  is  a  Democrat,  and 
has  served  as  assessor  of  his  township 
two  terms.  He  always  takes  an  active 
part  in  all  measures  tending  to  advance 
the  welfare  of  the  county,  where  he  is 
highly  respected,  and  is  a  practical  and 
progressive  farmer. 

The  father  was  also  a  strong  Demo- 
crot,  and  held  several  important  positions 
of  honor  and  trust,  being  county  com- 
missioner several  terms,  infirmary  di- 
rector five  years,  treasurer  of  the  town- 
ship si.xteen  years,  and  also  filled  other 
township  offices.  Locating  in  Carroll 
township  in  an  early  date  in  the  history  of 
the  country,  he  and  his  faithful  wife  ex- 
perienced all  the  hardships  and  trials  in- 
cident to  pioneer  life.  Here  in  the  dense 
forest,  by  which  they  were  surrounded 
for  miles  on  every  side,  Mr.  Pierson  carved 
out  a  home  for  himself  and  family,  subse- 
quentl}'  clearing  up  and  improving  an  ex- 
cellent farm.  In  this  home  the  family 
also  experienced  some  of  the  hardships  of 
pioneer  life,  mitigated,  however,  by  va- 
rious pleasures  common  to  backwoods  life 
in  those  early  days.  In  the  vast  forest 
around  them  was  game  of  all  kinds,  and 
though  their  white  neighbors  were  few 
and  far  between,  a  warmhearted  neigh- 
borly feeling  existed  among  them,  and 
!  their  social  intercourse    at    the    frequent 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


633 


house  and  barn  raisings  and  quilting  bees, 
was  of  the  most  friendly  character.  In 
after  years  Mr.  Pierson  devoted  close  at- 
tention to  his  agricultural  interests,  and 
was  considered  one  of  the  most  industrious 
citizens,  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  syste- 
matic and  intelligent  farmers  of  the  dis- 
trict. He  was  deservedly  popular  among 
all  classes  in  the  community,  and  his  de- 
mise left  a  blank  not  easily  filled. 


LAURENXE  D.  RYAN,  one  of  the 
most  prominent  and  successful 
farmers  of  Carroll  township,  Ot- 
tawa county,  and  a  gentleman 
honored  and  respected  by  all  who  know 
him,  was  born  Februarj'  i8,  185  i,  in  the 
township  where  is  still  his  home,  and  is  a 
son  of  Edward  P.  and  Monique  (Du- 
Ruchie)  Ryan.  His  father  was  for  many 
years  engaged  in  the  grocery  business  and 
in  trading  in  furs,  but  the  greater  part  of 
his  life  was  devoted  to  agricultural  pur- 
suits. He  served  as  auditor  of  said  coun- 
ty in  i860  and  1862.  He  was  born  in 
Detroit,  Mich.,  October  31,  18 16,  of 
Irish  descent.  His  father  was  a  brick- 
layer and  mason  by  trade,  and  put  up 
the  first  brick  building  ever  erected  in  the 
city  of  Detroit.  Edward  Ryan  married 
Miss  Du-Ruchie,  a  lady  of  French  line- 
age, born  in  Monroe  county,  Mich.,  De- 
cember 22,  1826.  They  came  to  Ohio  in 
1846,  locating  in  Carroll  township,  where 
Mr.  R3an  purchased  land  and  transformed 
it  into  a  fine  farm.  They  went  through  all 
the  experiences  and  hardships  incident  to 
pioneer  life,  and  were  honored  and  re- 
spected residents  of  the  township.  The 
father  died  June  20,  1S67,  the  mother 
July  10,  1875,  and  their  memory  will 
long  be  cherished  by  those  who  knew 
them  in  life.  They  had  a  family  of 
twelve  children,  as  follows:  Luke  P., 
the  eldest,  was  born  at  Sandy  Creek, 
Monroe  Co.,  Mich.,  June  i,  1842,  and  is 
now  residing  in  Toledo.  William,  born 
at  Monroe  City,  August  5,  1844,  enlisted 


in  1 86 1,  in  Company  I, Forty-first  O.V.  I., 
and  served  through  the  war  of  the  Rebel- 
lion; on  October  31,  1867,  he  accident- 
ally shot  himself  while  duck  hunting. 
Elizabeth  was  born  at  Locust  Point,  Ot- 
tawa county,  February  26,  1847,  and 
died  in  infancy.  Laurence  D.  (i),  born 
at  Locust  Point,  March  7,  1849,  died  in 
infancy.  Laurence  D.  (2)  is  the  ne.xt 
younger.  Clarissa  was  born  in  Carroll 
township,  May  31,  1853.  Edward  was 
born  April  13,  1855.  Napoleon  B.,  born 
July  29,  1857,  resides  in  Allen  township, 
Ottawa  county.  Clement  V'.  is  also  liv- 
ing in  Allen  township.  Josephine  was 
born  in  Carroll  township,  Ottawa  county, 
July  4,  1859,  and  died  August  6,  1881. 
Eugenie,  born  March  20,  1861,  died 
September  8,  1872.  Dean  Richmond, 
bornJune3,  1867,  died  February  2,  1868. 

Laurence  D.  Ryan  was  reared  to 
manhood  on  the  old  homestead  farm, 
and  received  the  advantages  of  a  fair  ed- 
ucation in  the  district  schools  of  Carroll 
township.  Within  its  borders  he  has 
spent  his  entire  life,  and  from  early  youth 
has  been  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits. 
He  is  an  enterprising,  progressive  citizen, 
always  taking  a  leading  part  in  interests 
that  are  calculated  to  improve  the  coun- 
ty and  communit}^  in  which  he  resides. 
He  is  an  industrious  and  practical  farmer 
whose  busy  and  ".veil  spent  life  commands 
the  respect  of  all,  and  his  character  is  be- 
yond reproach.  In  Carroll  township, 
Ottawa  county,  July  15,  1873,  he  was 
married  to  Miss  Lucina  A.  Gyde,  who 
was  born  in  Carroll  township,  August  14, 
1850,  a  daughter  of  William  and  Harriet 
B.  (Meeker)  Gyde.  The  marriage  has 
been  blessed  with  four  children:  Hattie, 
born  March  20,  1876;  Ernest,  born  July 
3,  1878;  Elva  L. ,  born  April  30,  1883; 
and  Nellie  E.,  born  August  15,  1889. 

Mr.  Ryan  has  frequently  been  solicited 
to  accept  official  positions  of  trust  in  his 
township,  but  having  no  aspirations  in 
that  direction  he  has  always  declined  to 
become    a  candidate,    believing    that    in 


634 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


order  to  achieve  success  it  was  necessary 
for  him  to  give  his  entire  time  and  atten- 
tion to  his  farming  interests.  This  he 
has  done,  and  his  well-directed  efforts 
have  brought  to  him  a  comfortable  com- 
petence. 


HENRY  ANDERSON.  Each  com- 
munity has  its  representative  citi- 
zens, men  who  are  devoted  to  its 
best  interests  and  to  the  advance- 
ment of  all  that  pertains  to  its  welfare. 
Among  this  class  is  numbered  Mr.  Ander- 
son, and  the  record  of  his  life  is  as  follows. 
He  was  born  in  Auburn,  N.  Y. ,  Sep- 
tember 18,  1835,  and  is  the  son  of  William 
and  Sarah  (Sanders)  Anderson,  the  former 
born  in  Pennsylvania,  in  August,  1800, 
the  latter  born  September  16,  1806. 
They  were  married  in  1823,  and  had  a 
family  of  nine  children,  of  whom  eight  are 
now  living.  The  family  is  of  Scotch 
origin,  and  the  great-grandfather  of  our 
subject,  John  Anderson,  was  born  in  Edin- 
burgh, Scotland,  in  1771.  He  was  a 
farmer  by  occupation,  for  many  years 
served  as  justice  of  the  peace,  and  died 
in  1846.  His  wife  was  a  Miss  La  Bruer. 
The  maternal  grandfather,  Henry  Sand- 
ers, was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  in  1766, 
and  his  wife  was  born  in  1 763.  He  owned 
and  operated  a  distillery,  and  died  in  1841. 
During  his  infancy,  Henry  Anderson 
was  brought  by  his  parents  to  Sandusky 
county,  Ohio,  where  he  made  his  home 
until  seventeen  years  of  age.  He  then 
went  to  Fremont,  and  he  was  a  resident 
of  that  place  until  1866.  His  education 
was  acquired  in  Woodville,  Ohio,  where 
his  childhood  and  youth  were  quietly 
passed.  When  President  Lincoln  issued 
his  first  call  for  75,000  volunteers  to  crush 
out  the  Rebellion  in  its  infancy,  Mr.  An- 
derson was  among  the  first  to  enlist,  and 
after  serving  for  three  months  he  entered 
the  mechanical  department  of  the  army, 
where  he  continued  some  eighteen  months. 
He  then  joined  the  navy,  and  for  fourteen 


months  served  as  steward  on  one  of  the 
boats  engaged  in  the  Union  service. 
When  the  war  was  over  and  the  country 
no  longer  needed  his  aid,  he  returned  to 
Ohio,  and  settled  in  Fremont.  For  a 
year  thereafter  he  was  engaged  in  clerking, 
and  in  1868  he  went  to  Elmore,  where  he 
began  business  as  a  dealer  in  harness  and 
saddlery,  carrying  on  operations  along 
that  line  for  about  six  years.  In  1874  he 
began  the  development  of  a  farm  which 
had  been  inherited  by  his  wife  from  her 
father's  estate.  This  farm  he  cleared  of 
timber,  fenced  and  drained  it,  and  soon, 
where  once  were  wild  forest  trees,  ap- 
peared waving  fields  of  grain,  a  substan- 
tial residence,  barns  and  outbuildings,  a 
good  orchard,  containing  a  variety  of 
fruits,  the  latest  improved  machinery,  and 
all  other  accessories  of  a  model  farm  of 
this  latter  part  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

In  1874  Mr.  Anderson  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Miss  Mary  C.  Nellis,  of 
Elmore,  and  their  union  has  been  blessed 
with  a  son,  George  A. ,  who  was  born  May 
10,  1875.  Her  father,  David  Nellis,  was 
born  August  6,  1806,  and  her  mother, 
Caroline  Nellis,  was  born  October  22, 
1809.  They  had  a  family  of  six  children, 
of  whom  three  yet  survive.  Mrs.  Ander- 
son is  second  cousin  to  Commodore  Perry 
of  naval  fame,  and  is  also  a  distant  rela- 
tive of  Gen.  Anderson.  Her  grandfather, 
John  Nellis,  was  a  native  of  Germany, 
born  in  1786,  and  his  wife  was  born  in 
the  same  country  in  1787.  Her  maternal 
grandfather,  Mr.  Stedman,  was  born  in 
New  York,  in  1783,  and  his  wife  was  a 
native  of  the  Empire  State,  her  birth  oc- 
curring in  the  same  year.  Her  great- 
grandfather on  her  father's  side  was  born 
about  1764. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Anderson  are  pleasantly 
located  in  Elmore,  in  a  fine  home  on 
Main  street,  and  he  is  now  doing  a  thriv- 
ing business  in  the  harness  and  saddlery 
trade.  He  is  energetic  and  enterprising, 
and  his  success  has  come  to  him  through 
labor,   constant    and   concentrated.      His 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


635 


son  George  is  a  yoiinp;  man  of  high  ambi- 
tions, of  superior  intellect  and  business 
ability.  He  completed  a  course  of  study 
in  the  Elmore  High  School  in  1893,  and 
then  took  a  thorough  business  course  in  a 
commercial  college  of  Poughkeepsie.N.  Y. 
He  has  since  been  engaged  in  business 
with  his  father,  aiding  in  the  labors  of  the 
farm  and  of  the  store,  and  both  Mr.  An- 
derson and  his  son  have  the  confidence  of 
the  public,  and  the  esteem  of  the  social 
world. 


Hl^.NRY  O.  MYLANDER,  a  car- 
riage maker  and  blacksmith  of 
Oak  Harbor,  and  a  popular  and 
progressive  citizen,  was  born  upon 
the  old  homestead  farm  in  Salem  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county,  February  27,  1864, 
and  is  the  eldest  son  of  Casper  and  Flora 
(Brinkmyer)  Mylander.  The  public 
schools  of  the  neighborhood  afforded  him 
his  educational  privileges,  and  he  spent 
the  days  of  his  boyhood  and  youth  upon 
his  father's  farm  until  eighteen  years  of 
age;  but  not  wishing  to  make  agriculture 
his  life  work  he  then  began  to  learn  the 
blacksmith's  trade  in  Oak  Harbor.  A  few 
years  later  he  embarked  in  business  for 
himself,  and  carried  on  operations  for 
about  eight  years,  when  he  found  that  his 
health  was  failing.  This  necessitated  a 
change  of  employment,  and  selling  out, 
he  accepted  a  position  on  the  steamer, 
"Frank  E.  Kirby,"  plying  on  the  lakes. 
He  continued  in  that  employ  for  three 
summers,  working  at  the  blacksmith's 
trade  during  the  winter.  On  the  expira- 
tion of  that  period  he  returned  to  Oak 
Harbor,  and  in  December,  1894,  again 
began  business  for  himself  in  that  place. 
Mr.  Mylander  was  married  in  Port 
Clinton.  Ohio,  March  17,  1885,  to  Miss 
Annie  Holder,  daughter  of  Christian  and 
Mary  Holder,  who  was  born  in  \^'itten- 
berg,  Germany.  Thej'  now  have  two  in- 
teresting children:  Eleanora  F.  R. ,  born 
November  24,    1885;  and  Clara  Lucilla 


Mary,  born  July  27,  1889.  They  gladden 
the  home  with  their  presence,  and  the 
little  household  is  noted  for  its  hospitality 
which  is  cordially  extended  to  the  many 
friends  of  our  subject  and  his  wife.  In 
his  political  views,  Mr.  Mylander  is  a  Dem- 
ocrat, but  has  had  neither  time  nor  inclin- 
ation for  public  office,  although  he  faith- 
fully performs  every  duty  of  citizenship  as 
it  comes  to  him.  He  is  now  doing  a  good 
business  as  the  leading  carriage  maker  and 
blacksmith  in  Oak  Harbor,  where  by  cour- 
teous treatment,  fair  dealing  and  an  earnest 
desire  to  please  his  customers  he  has  built 
up  an  excellent  trade.  He  is  enterprising 
and  progressive,  and  well  deserving  of  the 
success  that  may  come  to  him. 


JACOB  HARMON,  who  is  numbered 
among  the  native  sons  of  Ohio,  was 
born  in  Pickaway  county,  January 
18,  1835,  and  is  a  son  of  Jacob  and 
Susan  (Peer)  Harmon.  The  father  was 
born  in  Knox  county,  Penn.,  in  1790,  and 
died  in  1853,  his  remains  being  interred 
in  the  cemetery  of  Elmore,  Ohio.  The 
mother  was  born  in  Virginia  in  1800,  and 
in  their  family  were  two  children — Jacob, 
subject  of  this  sketch,  and  Mrs.  Dorotha 
Schafer,  of  Toledo,  Ohio.  The  paternal 
grandmother  of  our  subject  was  born  in 
1772,  and  little  else  is  known  concerning 
the  ancestry  of  the  family. 

During  the  infancy  of  Jacob  Harmon, 
his  parents  came  to  Ottawa  county,  Ohio, 
locating  in  Harris  township,  where  they 
spent  their  remaining  days.  Upon  the 
old  homestead  he  was  reared  to  manhood, 
and  his  early  life  was  very  similar  to  that 
of  farmer  boys  of  the  neighborhood.  At 
the  age  of  twenty-three  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Miss  Martha  Randall,  of 
Benton  township,  Ottawacounty,  who  was 
born  in  Trumbull  county,  Ohio,  March  9, 
1837.  Her  father,  Daniel  Randall,  was 
born  in  Allegany  county,  X.  Y. ,  in  1800, 
and  her  mother's  birth  occurred  in  1812, 
while  her  maternal  grandmother  was  born 


636 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


in  1 79 1.  Her  paternal  grandfather  was 
born  in  1790,  his  wife  in  1793.  They 
became  the  parents  of  eight  children,  six 
of  whom  are  now  living.  Of  the  eight 
children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Randall, 
six  yet  survive.  During  the  early  girl- 
hood of  Mrs.  Harmon,  the  parents  re- 
moved to  Lorain  county,  where  she  at- 
tended the  public  schools  of  Pittsfield, 
concluding  the  prescribed  course  of  study 
there.  She  then  lived  in  Benton  township 
until  her  marriage. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harmon  began  their 
domestic  life  on  a  farm  on  the  old  river 
road,  where  the)'  lived  some  three  years, 
after  which  they  removed  to  Minnesota, 
where  our  subject  was  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  potash  for  a  year,  return- 
ing then  to  his  father's  farm  in  Harris 
township,  Ottawa  county,  where  he  re- 
mained until  1875,  when  he  became  owner 
of  forty. acres  of  timber  land  in  Section  5, 
same  township.  This  he  at  once  began 
to  clear,  and  as  the  trees  were  cut  and  the 
stumps  removed  he  plowed  and  planted 
the  land,  till  now  he  has  it  under  a  high 
state  of  cultivation.  He  also  planted  a 
fine  orchard,  and  the  place  is  to-day  one 
of  the  best  improved  farms  in  his  part  of 
the  county. 

The  home  of  our  subject  and  wife  has 
been  brightened  by  the  presence  of  seven 
children,  their  names  and  dates  of  birth 
being  as  follows:  Daniel,  March  18,  1859; 
George,  July  11,  1862;  John,  July  6, 
1864;  Elizabeth,  April  26,  1867;  Eph- 
raim,  October  22,  1871:  Katie,  November 
5,  1869;  Jacob,  July  13,  1874;  they  lost 
two  children — Daniel,  who  died  October 
23,  i86i;  and  John,  who  died  November 
7,  1892.  For  many  years  Mr.  Harmon 
has  served  as  supervisor  of  Harris  town- 
ship, and  has  also  been  school  director  of 
his  district  five  years.  He  has  experienced 
many  of  the  hardships  and  trials  of  a  pio- 
neer life,  and  for  some  years  after  locat- 
ing upon  his  present  farm,  he  expected 
each  spring  that  his  home  would  be  flood- 
ed  as  the  river  rose.      He  has  ridden  on 


horseback  from  Portage  river  to  Toussaint 
creek  when  the  water  was  deep  enough  to 
wet  his  feet  as  the  horse  made  its  way 
through  the  woods.  The  cabin  home 
stood  in  the  midst  of  a  dense  forest,  and 
it  seemed  to  Mrs.  Harmon  that  the  trees 
could  never  be  cleared  away  so  that  she 
might  look  across  the  country  to  her 
neighbors. 

This  has  happened,  however,  and  as 
the  years  have  passed  advancing  civiliza- 
tion has  done  away  with  the  trials  of 
frontier  life,  and  to-day  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Harmon  are  the  owners  of  a  fine  and 
valuable  farm.  The  success  which  has 
crowned  their  efforts  is  well-merited,  and 
their  lives  are  busy  and  useful.  Their 
son,  Jacob,  now  operates  the  home  farm, 
and  cares  for  those  who  cared  for  him 
during  his  childhood,  relieving  them  of 
much  labor  and  anxiety. 


DANIEL  M.  LOWE,  a  farmer  and 
wholesale  butcher  of  Allen  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county,  was  born  in 
Franklin  county,  Penn.,  March 
16,  1845,  and  is  a  son  of  Philip  and  Mary 
Nancy  (Lower}')  Lowe,  of  the  same  place. 
He  received  his  early  education  in  the  dis- 
trict schools  of  his  native  county,  and  for 
sometime  worked  by  the  month  on  va- 
rious farms,  afterward  returning  home 
and  learning  the  blacksmith's  trade  with 
his  father,  which  occupation  he  followed 
some  three  years.  At  the  expiration  of 
that  tima  he  became  overseer  of  slaves  on 
a  plantation  in  Maryland,  remaining  there 
two  years,  or  until  the  beginning  of  the 
Civil  war  in  1861. 

On  leaving  Maryland,  Mr.  Lowe  re- 
turned home  and  assisted  his  father  upon 
the  farm  for  about  four  months,  when  he 
went  to  Somerset  county,  Penn.,  and 
worked  in  a  tannery  for  the  same  length 
of  time.  Although  he  did  not  enlist  as  a 
soldier,  Mr.  Lowe  had  some  exciting  ex- 
periences during  the  war.  While  in  Som- 
erset county,  the  Rebels  crossed  the  Po- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


637 


tomac  and  the  owner  of  the  tannery  with 
his  employes  were  obliged  to  leave  tlieir 
occupation.  They  fled  to  Yorktown, 
with  a  string  of  twenty-two  six-horse 
teams,  with  neighbors  and  people  from 
different  parts  of  the  country.  There 
they  remained  three  weeks  until  the  enemj- 
was  repulsed,  when  they  returned  to  their 
work.  The  calm,  however,  was  of  short 
duration,  as  the  Rebels  again  came  upon 
them,  and  forced  our  subject  and  his  em- 
ployer to  take  refuge  in  the  mountains, 
with  the  same  stock.  There  they  hid  for 
three  days,  and  then  once  more  returned 
to  the  tannery,  only  to  be  driven  out  the 
third  time,  the  Rebels  this  time  carrying 
oH  the  best  of  the  farm  stock,  including 
his  father's.  Discouraged  in  his  attempts 
to  go  on  with  his  work  at  this  point,  Mr. 
Lowe  again  returned  to  his  father's  home, 
but  even  here  his  ill-luck  pursued  him. 
One  day  while  out  on  a  creek  near  his 
home,  he  was  seized  by  a  party  of  the 
enemy  and  forced  to  drive  the  stock  be- 
longing to  his  neighbors  to  their  camp 
across  the  Potomac.  Here  he  was  kept 
as  a  prisoner  four  da\s,  herding  cattle. 
^^'atching  his  opportunity,  he  got  away 
one  dark  night  and  reached  his  home  in 
safet}'.  He  worked  on  the  farm  some  si.x 
months  when  he  was  again  surprised  by 
the  Rebels  which  invaded  our  countrx', 
this  time  taking  with  them  the  remainder 
of  the  farm  stock. 

Mr.  Lowe  remained  on  the  old  home- 
stead untiFhis  marriage,  March  30,  1865, 
to  Miss  Susan  A.  Talhelm,  daughter  of 
William  and  Susan  Talhelm,  of  Washing- 
ton township,  Franklin  Co.,  Penn.  He 
then  came  to  Ohio,  locating  in  Sandusky 
county  in  1866,  and  for  two  jears  worked 
by  the  month  on  a  farm,  at  the  end  of 
that  time  renting  a  farm  for  himself.  In 
1878  he  removed  to  Clay  (then  Allen) 
township,  and  in  addition  to  farming  took 
up  the  business  of  a  butcher,  in  both  of 
which  pursuits  he  has  been  successful, 
having  a  good  trade  in  the  surrounding 
county,  and  a  fine,  productive  farm.    Mr. 


and  Mrs.  Lowe  are  the  parents  of  ten 
children,  of  whom  the  following  record  is 
given:  Susan  A.,  born  April  9,  1866,  is 
the  widow  of  Charles  Brown,  and  the 
mother  of  two  children,  one  of  whom  lives 
with  his  grandfather,  our  subject,  the 
other  at  Lulu,  Mich.;  Emma  C. ,  born 
September  18,  1S67,  is  the  wife  of  Jacob 
Youncker,  a  farmer  in  Allen  township, 
and  they  have  three  children:  Clara  E., 
born  October  18,  i86g,  married  William 
Jacobs,  and  resides  in  Coleman,  Mich. 
(she  is  the  mother  of  five  children);  Al- 
bert, born  June  4,  iS/i;  William  C. , 
June  15,  1873;  John  P.,  March  24,  1S75; 
Franklin  D.,  January  3,  1877,  died  May 
12,  1882;  Herman  E.,  born  October  18, 
1878;  Jessie  B.,  born  July  14,  1881; 
Myrtle  M.,  born  January  3,  1884,  died 
Maj'  6,  of  the  same  year. 

Philip  Lowe,  grandfather  of  our  sub- 
ject, was  of  Scotch  nativity.  His  son 
(also  named  Philip),  the  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, was  born  in  Franklin  county,  Penn., 
where  he  carried  on  farming  and  also 
blacksmithing.  He  married  Nancy  Low- 
ery,  who  was  of  Pennsylvania  birth,  and 
ten  children  were  born  to  them,  viz. : 
William,  Philip,  John,  Martin,  Daniel, 
Josiah,  Henry,  Jacob,  Barbara  and  Su- 
san. The  wife  of  our  subject  was  born 
in  Pennsylvania.  Her  parents  were  na- 
tives of  Pennsylvania,  the  father  born 
October  5,  1845,  and  they  are  still  living 
in  Pennsylvania.  Her  grandparents  were 
born  in  Germany.  Mr.  Lowe  is  an  ar- 
dent Republican,  and  with  his  family  at- 
tends the  Church  of  the  United  Brethren. 


WILLIAM  J.  BAKER,  one  of  the 
prominent  agriculturists  of  Allen 
township,  Ottawa  county,  was 
born  in  Devonshire,  England, 
February  28,  1847,  and  is  a  son  of  James 
and  Eliza  (Bailey)  Baker,  the  former  a 
native  of  Devonshire,  the  latter  of  Corn- 
wall, England.  He  received  a  limited 
education  in  the  schools  of  his  native  coun- 


638 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


t)',  attending  to  his  studies  during;  the 
winter  seasons  and  working  upon  his 
grandfather's  farm  in  Cornwall,  in  the 
summer,  until  he  was  sixteen  years  old. 
He  then  learned  the  trade  of  a  carriage 
maker,  spending  five  \'ears  as  an  appren- 
tice and  one  3ear  afterward  as  a  journey- 
man. 

On  February  20,  1869,  Mr.  Baker  left 
the  home  of  his  birth  for  America,  find- 
ing his    way    to   Ohio,    and    locating    in 
Woodville   township,    Sandusky    county, 
where  he  followed  carpentering  and  paint- 
ing some  eight  years.      He  then   married 
and  moved  to  Allen  (then  Clay)  township, 
and  began  work  on  a  farm  of  seventy-five 
acres  owned  by  his  wife,  the  larger  por- 
tion of  which  was  unimproved.      He  did 
much  hard  work  on  this  place,  letting  not 
a  moment  go  to  waste,  and  succeeded  in 
clearing  the  land,  erecting  a  large,  com- 
fortable dwelling  house,  barns,  outhouses, 
and    making  other   improvements    which 
to-day  testify  to   his   industry  and   enter- 
prise.     The  marriage  of  our  subject  took 
place   September  13,   1877,  when  he  was 
united  to  Miss  Mary  E.  Kent,  daughter  of 
Anson    and   Mercy  (Wood)  Kent,  farmers 
of  Allen   township.     To  them    has  been 
born  a  family  of  five  children,  as  follows: 
Delia  P.,  born  June  24,   1878,  was  edu- 
cated   in  the  schools  of  Allen    township, 
and  is  housekeeper  for  her  widowed  father; 
Eliza  M.  was  born  July  29,   1880;   Mary 
E.  on  April  i,  1884;  Florence  M.  on  Au- 
gust 2,   1886,  and   Dorothy  H.  on  August 
14,1891.     All   the  younger  children   are 
attending  school  in  Allen  township.    Mrs. 
Baker,  the  wife  of  our  subject,  was  born 
in    Clay  township,   Ottawa    county,  Au- 
gust  21,    1856,   and   there   obtained    her 
education.      Her    father    died    April    28, 
1864,  and  her  mother  was  again  married, 
this   time    in    December,    1869,   to  John 
Tiplady,    of    Allen    township.      He    died 
January  5,  1892.      The  mother  is  still  liv- 
ing, and   resides  in  Allen    township   with 
her  daughters,  Carrie,  who  was  born  Oc- 
tober 31,   1870,  and   Inez,  born   October 


27,  1874.  Mrs.  Baker  passed  peacefully 
away  March  13,  1894,  leaving  a  devoted 
husband  and  five  young  daughters  to 
mourn  the  loss  of  a  faithful  and  loving 
wife  and  mother. 

James  Baker,  the  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, was  a  native  of  Devonshire,  England, 
where  he  was  a  farmer.  He  was  married 
in  1845  to  Eliza  Bailey,  and  a  family  of 
twelve  children  was  born  to  them,  of 
whom  the  following  record  is  given:  Will- 
iam J.  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Annie 
M.  is  the  wife  of  Walter  Hewitt, of  Island- 
ville,  Mass.;  Eliza,  wife  of  Francis  Bailey, 
is  residing  in  California;  Rachel  is  the 
wife  of  Dr.  Hobert  Hewitt,  of  Glenwood 
Springs,  Garfield  Co.,  Colo.;  Richard  is 
a  school  teacher  and  farmer,  residing  in 
Allen  township;  Frances  resides  in  Mor- 
rison, Colo. ;  Elizabeth  is  the  wife  of 
Francis  Monroe,  owner  of  a  coffee  plan- 
tation in  San  Jose,  Costa  Rico,  Central 
America;  John  H.  is  in  the  United  States 
mail  service  at  Toledo;  Thomas  sleeps  in 
in  the  Denver  (Colo.)  cemetery,  and  the 
three  younger  children  sleep  in  the  old 
home  churchyard  in  England.  Mr.  Baker, 
in  his  political  views,  affiliates  with  the 
Prohibition  party.  In  religion  he  and  his 
family  are  in  sympathy  with  the  Disciples 
Church, the  services  of  which  they  attend 
at  Genoa.  Mr.  Baker  is  looked  upon  as 
a  man  of  principle,  upright  in  his  business 
relations  and  a  good  citizen. 


CHARLES  R.   TSCHUMY,  a  rep- 
resentative citizen,  and  a  leading 
watchmaker  and  jeweler  of  Oak 
Harbor,  Ottawa  county,    is  a  na- 
tive of  Sandusky    county,    Ohio,    having 
first  seen  the    light    August    21,  1S58,  in 
Fremont. 

His  parents,  Frederick  and  Marie 
(Birmley)  Tschumy,  were  both  born  in 
Baden,  Germany,  the  former  December 
25,  1823,  the  latter  August  10.  1825. 
They  were  married  in  the  Fatherland, 
and  in  1849  immigrated  to  America,  lo- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


639 


eating  first  in  New  Orleans,  La.,  where 
they  resided  several  years,  the  father 
working  at  his  trade,  that  of  a  cabinet 
maker,  at  which  he  was  an  expert.  From 
New  Orleans  the  family  moved  to  Fre- 
mont, Sandusky  Co.,  Oliio,  afterward,  in 
1863,  to  Port  Huron,  Mich.,  where  Mr. 
Tschumy  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
pumps.  In  1864  they  removed  to  Na- 
poleon, Henry  Co.,  Ohio;  thence,  in 
1866,  to  Oak  Harbor,  where  they  con- 
tinued to  reside  for  many  years,  enjoying 
the  love  and  respect  of  all  who  knew 
them.  The  father's  death  occurred  March 
10,  1874,  his  faithful  and  loving  wife  sur- 
viving him  until  December,  1886,  when 
she,  too,  passed  away.  The  Tschumy 
family  consisted  of  eleven  children,  five 
of  whom  are  yet  living,  viz. :  Frederick 
J.,  a  marine  engineer,  residing  in  Cleve- 
land, Ohio;  Emma,  the  wife  of  Ira 
Neville,  aresident  of  Teegarden,  Marshall 
Co.,  Ind. ;  Louis  H.,  a  prominent  builder 
and  contractor  of  Toledo,  Ohio;  Charles 
R. ;  and  Louisa,  now  the  wife  of  William 
Heminger,  of  Oak  Harbor. 

Charles  R.  Tschumy,  whose  name  in- 
troduces these  lines,  received  his  prelim- 
inary education  in  the  public  schools  of 
Oak  Harbor,  on  leaving  which  he  was 
apprenticed  to  the  trade  of  watch-mak- 
ing, entering  the  employ  of  Otto  Brown, 
a  practical  watchmaker  from  Germany, 
who  was  at  that  time  doing  business  in 
Oak  Harbor.  After  completing  his  ap- 
prenticeship our  subject  worked,  at  in- 
tervals, for  James  Moore,  of  Toledo,  and 
gained  further  information  regarding  the 
details  of  his  trade,  more  especially  the 
use  of  tools  for  manufacturing  the  finer 
parts  of  watches,  though  it  is  mainly 
through  his  own  energy  and  skill  as  a 
mechanic  that  he  has  attained  the 
thorough  knowledge  of  and  perfection  in 
his  business  he  to-day  possesses.  From 
his  early  boyhood  Mr.  Tschumy  has  been 
of  an  inventive  turn  of  mind,  and  when 
but  eleven  years  of  age  he  modelled  and 
built,    unaided,    a    miniature    engine,  the 


parts  being  composed  principally  of  wood, 
the  motive  power  being  compressed  air 
instead  of  steam;  and  po.ssessing  these  in- 
ventive faculties  to  so  great  a  degree,  he 
has  become  a  thorough  master  of  the 
many  technical  details  of  his  business. 
Mr.  Tschumy  has  been  engaged  in  watch- 
making since  1872,  and  his  reputation  as 
a  practical,  thorough  watch-maker  and 
business  man  is  recognized  far  and  near, 
work  being  sent  him  from  many  places 
outside  of  the  State  in  which  he  lives. 
The  jewelry  department  of  his  large  and 
handsome  store  is  well  stocked  with  the 
finest  quality  of  goods,  and  his  prompt- 
ness, strict  integrity  and  skill  as  a  work- 
man have  established  for  him  a  reputa- 
tion and  trade  not  excelled,  if  equalled, 
by  any  firm  in  the  county. 

In  18S4  Mr.  Tschumy  was  united  in 
marriage,  at  Oak  Harbor,  with  Belle 
Vining,  who  was  born  in  Bellevue,  Huron 
Co.,  Ohio,  May  8,  1858,  daughter  of 
Calvin  and  Harriet  (Croney)  Vining,  na- 
tives of  Virginia.  The  family  consists  of 
six  children,  viz.:  Ina  and  Edna  (twins), 
Beulah  Marie,  Grace,  Florabell.  and  an 
infant  yet  unnamed,  besides  a  daughter, 
Lula,  by  a  previous  marriage  of  Mrs. 
Tschumy.  Our  subject  is  a  member  of 
Lodge  No.  516,  K.  of  P.,  also  of  Oak 
Harbor  Lodge  No.  735,  I.  O.  O.  F. ,  and 
in  his  political  views  he  favors  the  Dem- 
ocratic party.  The  family  are  consistent 
members  of  the  M.  E.  Church.  A  bio- 
graphical sketch  of  Mr.  Tschumy,  to  those 
who  know  him,  would  be  incomplete 
were  mention  of  his  musical  abilities 
omitted.  In  his  home  life  he  has  always 
found  relief  from  his  routine  of  duties  in 
literature  and  music,  and  for  a  number  of 
years  he  has  been  leader  of  the  Oak  Har- 
bor Band,  and  his  assistance  in  all  social 
and  Church  gatherings  has  added  much 
to  his  popularity  and  success.  He  is  also 
an  ardent  lover  of  the  science  of  astron- 
omy, and  he  is  the  possessor  of  a  small 
telescope,  with  which  he  spends  many  a 
pleasant  evening  in  the  contemplation  of 


640 


OOMMEMOBATJVE  BIOORAFniCAL  RECORD. 


different  heavenly  bodies,  especially  the 
planets.  He  renders  much  aid  to  the  as- 
tronomy classes  in  the  public  school  by 
kindly  illustrating  to  them  the  various 
systems  treated  in  their  text-books.  He 
is  regarded  as  an  honorable  man,  above 
reproach  in  all  things,  kind  to  everyone, 
generous  to  those  who  are  in  need,  a  man 
of  strong  convictions  of  right  and  wrong, 
and  ever  fearless  in  upholding  that  which 
he  knows  to  be  right. 


SAMUEL  MINIER  is  a  native  of 
Salem  township,  Ottawa  Co. ,  Ohio, 
his  birth  having  occurred  July  15, 
1847,  on  the  old  homestead  farm, 
the  third  farm  which  was  opened  up  in 
the  township.  It  is  still  his  home  and 
has  been  his  place  of  abode  through  child- 
hood and  manhood.  He  received  such 
limited  educational  privileges  as  the  dis- 
trict schools  of  that  day  afforded,  and 
from  early  youth  has  been  engaged  in 
agricultural  pursuits.  As  soon  as  old 
enough  to  handle  the  plow  he  began  work 
in  the  fields,  and  it  was  not  long  before  he 
was  familiar  with  farm  work  in  all  its  de- 
partments. The  pursuit  to  which  he  was 
reared  he  has  made  his  life  work,  and  to- 
daj'  he  is  one  of  the  enterprising  agricul- 
turists of  the  community,  the  owner  of  a 
highly-cultivated  tract  of  land,  which  in 
its  neat  appearance  indicates  the  careful 
supervision  of  the  owner.  His  business 
transactions  are  conducted  with  the  ut- 
most fairness,  and  his  industry  and  honesty 
have  won  him  the  respect  and  confidence 
of  all  who  know  him. 

Mr.  Minier  has  been  twice  married; 
first  time  to  Miss  Rachel  Beard,  a  resi- 
dent of  Stark  county,  Ohio,  and  they  be- 
came the  parents  of  two  children — Joseph, 
who  is  residing  in  Salem  township,  Ot- 
tawa county ;  and  Flora  Belle.  The  mother 
of  this  family,  who  was  a  most  estimable 
lady,  passed  away  February  5,  1877,  and 
one  year  later,  December  19,  1878,  Mr. 
Minier  married   Miss  Susanna  Kleinhans, 


who  was  born  September  5,  1847,  daugh- 
ter of  John  and  Maria  (Hiueline)  Klein- 
hans, well-known  people  of  Ottawa  coun- 
ty. Five  children  grace  this  marriage — 
four  sons  and  one  daughter — their  names 
and  dates  of  birth  being  as  follows:  Claude 
A.,  October  5,  1879;  Gwendolen,  Febru- 
ary 27,  1 881;  George  S.,  August  3,  1883; 
Orville  Earl,  May  6,  1885:  and  Lloyd  D., 
June  4,  1890.  The  family  are  well-known 
in  this  communit)-,  the  household  is  the 
abode  of  hospitality,  and  our  subject  and 
his  wife  hold  an  enviable  position  in  social 
circles.  Mr.  Minier  is  a  member  of  La- 
care  Tent,  Knights  of  the  Macabees,  and 
in  his  political  views  is  a  stanch  Dem- 
ocrat, ha\ing  supported  that  party  since 
attaining  his  majority.  He  is  a  worthy 
representative  of  an  honored  pioneer  fam- 
ily, and  well  deserves  representation  in 
this  volume. 


ALBERT  A.  CLEMONS,  a  lead- 
ing fruit  grower  of  Danbury  town- 
ship, Ottawa  count}-,  and  a  son 
of  Alexander  demons,  was  born 
on  the  old  homestead  at  Marblehead, 
Ohio,  April  9,  1840.  Since  infancy  he 
has  been  a  resident  of  that  community, 
where  by  his  good  qualities  and  genial 
disposition  he  has  endeared  himself  to  the 
residents  of  that  as  well  as  other  sections 
of  the  county,  and,  throughout,  his  friends 
are  legion.  His  education  was  acquired 
in  the  public  schools  of  Marblehead,  and 
from  early  boyhood  until  1S62  he  was  en- 
gaged in  farm  work. 

In  August,  1862,  Mr.  demons  en- 
listed in  Company  G,  One  Hundredth 
O.  Y.  I.,  with  which  regiment  he  par- 
ticipated in  numerous  engagements,  in- 
cluding the  siege  of  Knoxville,  and  the 
battles  of  Franklin,  Resaca,  Atlanta  and 
Nashville.  He  was  a  faithful  soldier,  al- 
wajs  found  at  his  post  of  dutj-,  and  at  the 
close  of  the  war  was  mustered  out  and 
discharged  at  Goldsboro,  July  20,  1865. 
On  returning  to  his  home  in   Marblehead 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


641 


he  became  connected  with  his  brother  in 
the  quarrying  business,  being  owners  of 
one  of  the  largest  quarries  in  the  State. 
They  carried  on  operations  under  the  firm 
name  of  demons  Sons  until  1890,  when 
business  was  discontinueil,  and  the  part- 
nership dissolved,  since  which  time  our 
subject  has  devoted  his  entire  attention  to 
fruit  growing. 

At  Sandusky  City,  Ohio,  in  1875  Al- 
bert demons  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Josephine  Catherman,  a  daughter  of 
Samuel  and  Clarissa  Catherman,  the  for- 
mer a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  the  latter 
of  Ohio,  both  now  residents  of  Sandusk}' 
City.  To  this  union  has  been  born  one 
child,  Georgie  D. ,  who  is  still  with  her 
parents.  Mr.  demons  is  a  member  of 
Peninsular  Lodge,  No.  607,  K.  of  P.,  and 
of  R.  B.  Richardson  Post,  No.  454,  G. 
A.  R.,  while  in  politics  he  is  an  ardent 
supporter  of  the  Republican  party.  As  a 
citi;?en  he  is  broad  guaged  and  enterpris- 
ing, and  can  worthily  be  accredited  with 
having  done  his  share  in  developing  the 
interests  of  the  county.  While  -not  a 
Church  member,  he  is  a  supporter  of  all 
religious  efforts,  and  gives  liberal  financial 
aid  thereto.  The  family  hold  prominent 
place  in  social  circles. 


HERMAN  W.  ENGLEBECK.  Of 
German  descent,  this  gentleman 
was  born  in  Portage  township, 
Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio,  December  23, 
1836,  a  son  of  Herman  and  Caroline 
(Fechtler)  Englebeck,  natives  of  the  F'a- 
therland.  Leaving  their  old  home  they 
crossed  the  Atlantic  to  America,  and  about 
1835  located  in  what  is  now  Portage  town- 
ship, Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio,  which  was  then 
a  part  of  Sandusky  county,  there  continu- 
ing their  residence  until  called  to  the  home 
beyond.  Of  their  family  of  nine  children, 
si.\  are  still  living,  namely:  William,  who 
resides  in  Weston,  Wood  Co.,  Ohio;  Her- 
man W. ,  in  Portage  township,  Ottawa 
county;  John  R. ,  a  resident  of  Denver, 


Colo. ;  Henry  J. ,  who  is  living  in  Lakeside, 
Ohio;  Katherine,  wife  of  Capt.  William 
Slackford,  and  a  resident  of  Portage  town- 
ship; and  George,  who  is  located  in  Des 
I^foines,  Iowa. 

Our  subject  was  reared  in  the  usual 
manner  of  farmer  lads,  receiving  such  edu- 
cational advantages  as  were  obtainable  in 
the  district  schools  of  the  neighborhood, 
and  from  his  boyhood  daj's  up  to  the 
present  time  has  been  engaged  in  agricul- 
tural pursuits,  winning  a  well-merited  suc- 
cess, and  becoming  the  owner  of  one  of 
the  most  fertile  farms  and  productive  or- 
chards of  the  township.  He  enjoys  the 
reputation  of  being  a  thorough  and  prac- 
tical agriculturist  and  fruit  grower,  and 
his  well-tilled  fields  and  fruit-bearing  or- 
chards indicate  his  care  and  supervision. 
His  handsome  residence  and  neat  sur- 
roundings bespeak  thrift,  and  the  home  is 
noted  for  its  hospitality. 

The  ladj'  who  presides  in  the  Engle- 
beck residence,  was,  in  her  maidenhood, 
Nancy  Wonnell,  and  in  Port  Clinton,  on 
the  1 8th  of  December,  1859,  she  became 
the  wife  of  our  subject.  Her  parents  were 
earl\-  settlers  of  Portage  township,  Otta- 
wa county,  where  she  was  born  April  17, 
1838.  The  children  of  this  marriage  are 
six  in  number:  Oscar  W.,  born  Septem- 
ber 18,  1 86 1,  was  married  July  3,  1883, 
to  Lizzie  Lickfelt,  and  has  one  son,  Ar- 
thur; Charles  Grant,  born  December  6, 
1864.  married  Jennie  Fall,  and  with  his 
I  wife  and  two  children,  Amos  and  Helen, 
resides  in  Port  Clinton;  Effie  Josephine, 
born  July  3,  1863.  was  married  April  9, 
1887,  to  Burton  Elwell,  and  died  January 
25,  1893,  leaving  a  daughter.  Florence  E., 
who  is  still  Hving;  Carrie  Leah  was  born 
March  7,  1871;  Bertie  Hayes,  born  June 
6,  1875,  died  March  8,  1876;  Nannie 
Belle,  born  July  20,  1879,  completes  the 
family. 

In  all  the  duties  of  husband,  father, 
neighbor  and  citizen,  Mr.  Englebeck  is 
found  faithful,  and  occupies  a  high  place 
in  the  esteem   of   those   who   know   him. 


642 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPUICAL  RECORD. 


He  is  a  representative  farmer,  one  whose 
example  may  well  be  followed,  for  his 
character  is  above  reproach  and  he  is 
worthy  of  the  highest  respect.  For  al- 
most sixty  j'ears  he  has  resided  in  Ottawa 
county,  and  well  deserves  mention  among 
the  honored  pioneers. 


Scott 


HENRY  BOWE.  one  of  the  de- 
scendants of  George  Bowe,  Sr. , 
a  well-known  pioneer  of  Sandusk)' 
county,  was  born  June  6,  1843,  in 
township,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio, 
where  he  still  resides.  He  lived  with  his 
parents  on  the  old  farm  in  Scott  township 
until  he  was  twenty-one  years,  when  he 
began  life  for  himself,  working  the  old 
farm  on  shares. 

In  1864  Mr.  I3owe  took  a  trip  to  Green 
Baj%  Lake  Superior,  and  Ft.  Wayne,  Ind. 
In  the  following  jear  he  again  visited  Ft. 
Wayne,  Ind.,  where  he  remained  a  few 
months,  and  then  returned  home  and 
worked  on  the  old  farm  one  year.  He 
then  again  went  to  Indiana,  returning,  in 
1867,  to  the  old  farm  where  he  remained 
until  his  marriage,  January  27,  1847,  to 
Catherine  Fry,  of  Jackson  township,  San- 
dqsky  county.  To  them  have  come  four 
children:  Sarah  A.,  born  August  31,  1878, 
died  August  14,  1887;  Mary  Annie,  born 
April  1 1,  1880,  at  the  present  time  study- 
ing music;  Roulif,  born  August  10,  1S83; 
and  Lulu  L. ,  born  January  27,   1889. 

A  part  of  the  farm,  where  Mr.  Bowe 
now  resides,  he  obtained  from  his  father. 
To  it  he  has  added  forty  acres  more, 
erected  substantial  buildings,  and  now 
has  the  place  under  good  cultivation.  In 
addition  to  his  farming  he  is  engaged  in 
the  oil  business.  His  first  lease  was  in 
18S6,  and  provided  that  Mr.  Bowe  should 
have  one-eighth  of  the  oil,  $300,  and  an 
oil  well  in  five  years.  The  wells  were 
not  drilled,  nor  were  they  expected  to  be 
— hence  the  lease  practically  amounted  to 
very  little.  In  1887,  he  leased  his  farm 
again,    this    time   for  one    year,    he    to 


have  one-eighth  of  the  oil,  but  no  wells 
were  put  down.  In  1888  another  lease 
was  drawn,  but  nothing  was  done.  On 
April  8,  1895,  ^he  first  real  business  for 
oil  began  on  Mr.  Bowe's  farm.  Accord- 
ing to  the  lease  he  is  to  have  $300,  and 
one-sixth  of  the  oil,  besides  which  a  well 
is  to  be  put  down  every  sixty  days  until 
there  are  six  wells  in  all.  In  addition  to 
this  Mr.  Bowe  has  at  the  present  time 
just  drilled  and  shot  a  well  of  his  own 
which  promises  to  be  a  very  good  one. 
The  wells  now  running  are  producing 
about  twenty  barrels  each  per  day.  One- 
sixth  of  the  oil,  together  with  the  well 
owned  by  himself,  returns  a  fine  income 
from  the  oil  business. 

Mr.  Bowe's  father,  George  Bowe,  Sr. , 
was  one  of  Sandusky  county's  pioneers. 
He  relates  a  striking  incident  in  his  own 
life  while  living  in  Scott  township.  One 
day,  about  the  year  1843,  while  laboring 
on  his  farm,  there  suddenly  appeared  be- 
fore him  an  image  of  his  father,  as  natural 
as  life;  he  spoke  and  the  vision  vanished. 
He  at. once  went  to  the  house,  related  the 
incident  to  his  wife  and  family,  and  after 
a  little  consultation  it  was  decided  that 
he  had  better  go  to  Buffalo  and  visit  his 
father.  Accordingly  he  left  at  once  for 
that  cit}',  and  on  coming  there  he  found 
his  father  a  corpse.  At  that  time  the  old 
gentleman  was  about  seventy-five  years 
old,  thus  making  the  date  of  birth  of  our 
subject's  paternal  grandfather  about  the 
year  1768.  The  father  of  our  subject  was 
born  in  France  in  1802,  and  came  to 
America  in  1832,  settling  in  New  York 
State,  where  he  remained  three  years. 
Thence  he  came  to  Ohio,  and  in  Scott 
township  entered  210  acres  of  land,  one- 
half  for  himself  and  the  other  half  for  his 
sister.  In  1834-35  he  married  Catherine 
Wegstein,  daughter  of  Michael  Wegstein, 
born  in  Baden,  Germany,  in  18 13.  To 
them  were  born  ten  children,  three  of 
whom  died  in  infancy,  the  others  being: 
George,  Jacob,  Frederick,  Henry,  Mich- 
ael, David  and  Mary  C.      Of  these,  Fred- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


043 


erick  and  Man'  C.  died  some  time  ago, 
while  the  remainder  are  yet  living.  The 
father  of  our  subject  acquired  a  large 
property  in  Scott  township,  owning  at  one 
time  600  acres  of  land.  He  died  June  3, 
1872,  and  was  buried  in  the  Bradner 
Cemetery. 

Our  subject's  maternal  grandfather, 
Michael  Wegstein,  was  born  about  1779, 
in  Baden,  Germany,  where  he  was  mar- 
ried, and  had  a  family  of  si.\  children.  In 
1832  he  started  for  America,  but  on  the 
voyage  his  wife  took  sick,  died,  and  was 
buried  in  mid-ocean.  Of  his  family  only 
two  are  now  living.  One  son,  Michael, 
was  captain  of  Company  H,  Seventy- 
second  Ohio  Volunteers,  and  was  killed  at 
the  battle  of  Shiloh. 

Mrs.  Bowe,  wife  of  our  subject,  was 
born  June  7,  1849,  in  Jackson  township, 
Sandusk}'  Co.,  Ohio,  where  she  lived 
until  her  marriage.  Her  father,  George 
Fr}',  a  pioneer  of  Sandusky  county,  was 
born  in  Westphalia,  Kingdom  of  Prussia, 
in  1798,  came  to  America  in  1835,  and  in 
1843  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Mary  Gust,  who  was  born  March  14, 
1 82 1,  and  died  in  1880.  They  had  nine 
children,  five  of  whom  are  living.  He 
died  November  26,  1890.  He  helped  to 
construct  the  Maumee  pike,  the  famous 
Ohio  road.  Mrs.  Bowe's  maternal  grand- 
father, Casper  Gust,  was  born  about  1790, 
and  his  wife  about  1799.  They  were  the 
parents  of  ten  children. 


JEPTHA  L.  OGDEN,  one  of  the 
most  successful  farmers  and  fruit 
growers  of  Carroll  township,  Ot- 
tawa county,  was  born  in  Morris 
county,  N.  J.,  November  28,  1827,  and 
is  one  of  a  family  of  six  children,  only 
two  of  whom  now  survive,  our  subject 
and  his  sister  Ruth,  wife  of  Henry  Jide. 
Their  parents,  Jeptha  and  Rachel 
(Munson)  Ogden,  were  also  natives  of 
New  Jersey,  the  father  born  July  24, 
1795,  the  mother  on  June  12,  1788.   They 


came  across  the  mountains  from  New 
Jersey  with  teams  to  Ottawa  county,  the 
trip  occupying  a  month,  and  reached  Port 
Clinton,  May  25,  1838.  After  resting  a 
few  days  in  that  city  they  proceeded  in  a 
scow  by  river  to  Carroll  township,  where 
they  located  on  the  land  now  owned  by 
our  subject.  The  farm  was  then  a  per- 
fect wilderness,  but  they  at  once  began 
to  clear  and  develop  the  land,  which  has 
now  been  placed  under  a  high  state  of 
cultivation.  In  the  log  house  which  was 
there  erected  the  deaths  of  both  parents 
occurred,  the  mother  dying  February  23, 
1874,  the  father  on  May  15,  1877. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  passed  his 
boyhood  and  youth  after  the  manner  of 
most  farmers'  sons,  acquiring  his  educa- 
tion in  the  old  log  schoolhouse  of  the 
district,  at  an  early  age  being  trained  to 
those  habits  of  industry  and  economy 
which  have  proven  the  secret  of  his  suc- 
cess in  life.  In  connection  with  general 
farming  he  is  also  engaged  in  fruit  grow- 
ing, in  which  he  is  meeting  with  a  well- 
deserved  success.  In  Ottawa  count\-,  on 
November  28,  1852,  Mr.  Ogden  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Margaret  Cover,  a  daughter 
of  Adam  and  Elizabeth  Cover,  and  they 
became  the  parents  of  six  children:  Sa- 
phroni,  born  September  26,  1853,  now 
the  wife  of  John  Meeker;  Reuha,born  Sep- 
tember 18,  1855,  was  married  February 
II,  1874,  to  Charles  Humphrey,  and  died 
July  19,  1882;  Philina,  born  February  8, 
1857,  now  the  wife  of  Daniel  Day,  of 
Port  Clinton,  Ottawa  county;  Rachel  E., 
born  April  14,  1862,  now  the  wife  of 
Charles  Humphrey;  Jeptha  William  was 
born  September  29,  1864;  Alice,  born 
April  6,  1 87 1,  is  the  wife  of  Edward  Jide; 
and  one  child  died  in  infancy.  The 
mother  of  this  family  died  February  18. 
1879,  and  F"ebruary  8,  1881,  Mr.  Ogden 
was  again  married,  this  time  to  Mrs. 
Mary  Giger,  widow  of  Henry  Giger,  and 
sister  of  his  first  wife,  and  her  death  oc- 
curred November  19,  1888.  On  Feb- 
ruary  13,  1892,  Mr.   Ogden  wedded  Mrs. 


644 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


Clemenza  Almira  (Mattock;  Conn,  widow 
of  Philip  Conn.  She  was  born  in  Coshoc- 
ton county,  Ohio,  June  5,  1842,  and  is  a 
daughter  of  Isaac  and  Matilda  Mattock, 
the  former  of  whom  now  makes  his  home 
in  Adams,  Defiance  Co.,  Ohio.  By  her 
former  marriage  Mrs.  Ogden  became  the 
mother  of  five  children:  Emma,  born 
August  I,  icS63,  died  August  11,  1866; 
Matilda,  born  December  11,  1865,  mar- 
ried January  8, 1 884,  to  William  Schmaltz, 
of  Defiance  county;  Marj',  born  March 
19.  1873,  married  April  28,  1889,  to 
William  Tittle;  Euphema,  born  April  22, 
1 881;  and  Theodocia,  born  June  16,  1883. 
In  his  political  views  Mr.  Ogden  is  a 
Democrat,  and  in  religious  faith  the  family 
attend  the  services  of  the  United 
Brethren  Church.  From  his  early  boy- 
hood our  subject's  life  has  been  spent  in 
Carroll  township,  and  from  a  wilderness, 
inhabited  mostly  by  savages  with  only  a 
few  white  settlers,  he  has  seen  the  coun- 
try converted  into  finely-tilled  land, 
dotted  with  handsome  residences,  in 
which  work  he  has  contributed  his  share, 
and  he  enjoys  and  respect  of  all  who 
knew  him. 


F 


1846, 


REDERICK  HOLTKAMP,  who 
is  successfully  engaged  in  farming 
in  Harris  township,  Ottawa  coun- 
ty, was  born  in  Prussia,  June  26, 
a  son  of  Frederick  and  Angeline 
(Schope)  Holtkamp,  also  natives  of  Prus- 
sia. They  were  both  born  in  181  5,  and 
the  father,  now  at  the  age  of  eight}'  years, 
a  hale  and  hearty  old  man,  is  living  with 
our  subject;  they  were  the  parents  of 
three  children,  Frederick  being  the  only 
survivor.  The  paternal  grandfather, 
who  also  bore  the  name  of  Frederick,  was 
born  in  Prussia,  in  1775.  He  was  a  liter- 
ary man,  highly  educated,  and  spent  the 
greater  portion  of  his  life  in  Germany. 
His  wife  was  born  in  Prussia  in  1786,  and 
they  were  the  parents  of  seven  children. 
The  great -grandmother  of  Mr.  Holtkamp 


was  born  in  Prussia,  in  1755,  but  further 
than  this  the  ancestry  of  the  family  can 
not  be  traced. 

During  the  first  fourteen  years  of  his 
life,  Frederick  Holtkamp,  the  subject 
proper  of  this  review,  remained  in  the 
land  of  his  birth,  and  then  accompanied 
his  parents  on  their  emigration  to  the  New 
World,  the  family  locating  at  Elmore, 
Ohio,  where  the  father  purchased  a  tract 
of  land  and  began  farming.  Our  subject 
remained  under  the  parental  roof  until  he 
had  attained  his  majority,  when  he 
started  out  to  make  his  own  way  in  the 
world.  As  a  helpmeet  on  life's  journey 
he  chose  Miss  Mary  Hubcr,  of  Monroe, 
Mich.,  who  was  born  in  Hessen,  Ger- 
many, March  23,  1835,  and  is  a  daughter 
of  John  and  Agnes  (Lisben)  Huber,  na- 
tives of  the  same  locality,  the  former 
born  November  11,  1805,  and  the  latter 
in  1806;  of  their  eight  children,  four  are 
now  living,  all  residents  of  the  Buckeye 
State.  Her  paternal  grandmother,  Helen 
Pricker,  was  born  in  Hessen  in  1778,  and 
her  maternal  grandmother,  Maria  Hof!- 
spier,  was  born  in  1773,  while  the  great- 
grandmother  was  born  in  1749,  nearly 
one  ccnturj'  and  a  half  ago. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Holtkamp  began  their 
domestic  life  upon  a  farm  near  Elmore, 
Ohio,  where  they  lived  for  some  years, 
and  then  removed  to  the  village  of  El- 
more, which  was  their  place  of  abode  six 
years,  and  where  he  was  in  the  tailoring 
business.  In  1875  he  purchased  the  farm 
which  he  yet  owns,  and  at  once  began  to 
clear  and  develop  it,  placing  it  under  a 
high  state  of  cultivation.  The  e.xcellent 
buildings  which  he  has  erected,  the  fences 
always  kept  in  good  repair,  the  well-tilled 
fields,  and  the  fine  orchard  with  its  va- 
riety of  fruits,  all  indicate  the  care  and 
supervision  of  a  painstaking  owner.  He 
also  devotes  some  time  to  stock-raising, 
selling  to  local  dealers,  and  has  made  this 
a  profitable  part  of  his  business.  He  and 
his  famih-  are  all  members  of  the  Meth- 
odist Church  of  Elmore,  and   are  people 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


645 


whose  well-spent  lives  have  won  them 
the  respect  and  confidence  of  all  with 
whom  they  have  come  in  contact.  In  his 
political  views  Mr.  Holtkamp  is  a  Re- 
publican, but  has  never  sought  or  desired 
the  honors  or  emoluments  of  public  office. 
To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Holtkamp  have  been 
born  children  as  follows:  (i)  Mary, 
the^  eldest,  married  O.  O.  Overmyer,  a 
wealthy  farmer  of  Lindsey,  Ohio.  (2) 
Angeline  married  A.  Coleman,  of  Genoa, 
Ohio,  who  lives  on  a  farm  which  he 
bought  of  Mr.  Holtkamp.  (3)  Lizzie 
married  Rev.  P.  S.  Ingersoll,  of  Nor- 
walk,  Ohio,  who  is  at  the  present  time  in 
Minnesota.  (4)  John  H.,  who  is  a  grad- 
uate of  the  German  Wollace,  of  Berea, 
Ohio,  is  now  minister  at  McKeesport, 
Penn.  (5)  Henry  C. ,  is  an  expert  uphols- 
terer in  Toledo,  Ohio.  (6j  Frank  E.  is  a 
printer,  at  the  present  time  in  Cairo,  111., 
where  he  has  an  interest  in  the  Cairo 
Daily  People.  (7)  Caroline  is  one  of  El- 
more's noted  dressmakers.  (8)  Daniel 
Webster  H.,  who  is  in  his  "teens"  yet, 
is  still  at  home  on  the  farm  with  his 
father;  during  spare  time  he  devotes  him- 
self at  his  desk  writing;  he  is  correspond- 
ent for  the  Cleveland  Press,  which  work 
he  likes  and  takes  much  interest  in,  and 
some  day  expects,  when  old  enough,  to 
follow;  he  is  a  bright  and  energetic  joung 
man,  standing  high  in  society;  he  is  a 
member  of  the  Elmore  Band,  in  which 
he  plays  cornet;  he  and  his  little  sister 
Emma,  who  is  but  sixteen  years  old, 
and  a  graduate  of  the  Elmore  High  school, 
play  cornet  solos.  (9)  Emma  is  a  re- 
markable musician,  being  especially  a 
very  fine  piano  player. 


HENRY  DIERKER.      Among  the 
worthy  citizens  that  Germany  has 
furnished    to     Ohio,    to     become 
prominent  in  her  agricultural  in- 
terests,   is    the   gentleman    whose    name 
opens  this  review,  and  who  was  born   in 


Hanover,  Germany,  on  the  8th  of  July, 
1851. 

The  father  of  our  subject  died  during 
the  early  childhood  of  the  latter,  after 
which  the  mother,  whose  maiden  name 
was  Gertrude  Buck,  came  to  America. 
In  the  family  were  eleven  children,  six  of 
whom  are  now  living.  Mrs.  Dierker 
spent  her  remaining  days  in  Ohio,  and  her 
death  occurred  in  Wood  county,  March 
24,  1879.  Henry  Dierker  remained  in 
his  native  land  until  nine  years  of  age,  and 
then  came  with  his  mother  to  America. 
His  first  home  in  this  country  was  in  San- 
dusky county,  Ohio,  and  in  1863  he  re- 
moved to  Wood  county,  where  he  spent 
the  succeeding  ten  years  of  his  life,  com- 
ing to  Ottawa  county  in  1S73,  at  which 
time  he  located  in  Section  6,  Harris  town- 
ship, where  he  has  since  made  his  home. 
Mr.  Dierker  here  cleared  a  farm,  fenced 
and  tiled  it,  and  has  made  all  the  improve- 
ments that  are  found  upon  a  model  farm 
of  the  19th  century.  The  land  is  highly 
cultivated,  and  the  neat  and  thrifty  ap- 
pearance of  the  place  indicates  the  care- 
ful supervision  and  systematic  manage- 
ment of  the  owner.  He  is  also  success- 
fully engaged  in  stock  raising,  making  a 
specialty  of  cattle  and  hogs. 

On  April  6,  1873,  Mr.  Dierker  mar- 
ried Miss  Mary  Zilch,  of  Lorain  county, 
Ohio,  where  she  was  born  January  28, 
1854.  In  i860  her  parents  came  to  Har- 
ris township,  Ottawa  county,  and  here  she 
was  educated.  Her  father  was  born  in 
Hessen,  Germany,  February  18,  1809, 
and  came  to  America  in  1851,  his  death 
occurring  in  Harris  township,  Ottawa 
county,  in  1892.  Her  mother,  who  bore 
the  maiden  name  of  Gertrude  Schuch, 
was  born  in  Hessen,  Germany,  October 
27,  1 8 16,  and  their  marriage  was  cele- 
brated in  that  country  in  1838.  By  their 
union  was  born  a  family  of  eight  children, 
only  two  of  whom  are  now  living — Mrs. 
Dierker  and  Mrs.  Konetzka. 

Our  subject  and  his  wife  are  the  par- 
ents of  nine  children,   namely:     Henry, 


646 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPmCAL  RECORD. 


born  January  21,  1874,  died  February  8, 
1874;  Anna,  born  February  8,  1875,  died 
March  2,  1875;  Emma,  born  August  17, 
1876,  died  August  10,  1888;  Eliza,  born 
July  15,  1878;  Mary,  born  December  9, 
1880;  Louisa,  born  July  4,  1883;  Ger- 
trude, born  December  30,  1887;  Freder- 
ick, born  December  5,  1890;  and  Clara, 
born  January  24,  1893.  The  family  is 
widely  known  in  Ottawa  county,  and  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Dierker  have  the  warm  regard 
of  many  friends. 


GEORGE  E.  POST.  This  promi- 
nent and  enterprising  gentleman, 
who  is  extensively  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  lumber,  at  Mar- 
tin, Clay  township,  Ottawa  county,  was 
born  in  Tvvinsburgh,  Summit  county, 
Ohio,  March  28,  1844,  and  was  one  of 
seven  children  composing  the  family  of 
Eben  and  Maria  (Davis)  Post,  the  former 
of  whom  was  a  native  of  Ohio,  the  latter 
of  Connecticut. 

Zina  Post,  paternal  grandfather  of  our 
subject,  was  born  about  the  j'ear  1775, 
and  was  a  pioneer  of  Hudson,  Summit 
county,  Ohio,  where  he  was  engaged  in 
farming.  His  wife,  Rena  Post,  was  about 
ten  years  younger  than  he,  and  survived 
him  several  years.  They  had  a  family  of 
eight  children  of  whom  are  living  the  fol- 
lowing: Aurelia,  married  to  Augustus 
Foote,  for  many  years  connected  with  the 
Second  National  Bank  of  Cleveland,  Ohio; 
Alvira,  married  to  Chauncy  Fowler,  a 
carriage  trimmer  at  Hudson,  Ohio;  Ann, 
married  to  Horace  Chamberlin,  a  farmer, 
also  living  at  Northfield;  Cynthia,  wife  of 
Nelson  Wate,  a  miner  in  California;  Brad- 
ford, who  for  several  years  was  a  farmer, 
and  is  now  a  retired  merchant.  William, 
one  of  the  sons,  lived  on  the  old  home- 
stead, taking  care  of  his  parents  to  the 
close  of  their  lives.  He  bought  up  all 
the  shares  in  the  property,  and  when  he 
died,  about  nine  years  ago,  he  was  worth 
some  $30,cx)0.      His  death  was  caused  by 


blood  poison,  the  result  of  a  wound  he 
received  in  one  of  his  fingers,  a  common 
table-fork  having  struck  it. 

Eben  Post,  the  father  of  our  subject, 
was  born  in  18 16,  in  Ohio,  and  was  a 
farmer  in  Twinsburgh  township.  Summit 
county.  He  died  in  Hudson  June  5, 
1887,  aged  seventy-one  years;  his  wife, 
who  survives  him,  is  living  on  the  old 
homestead  at  Hudson.  They  were  the 
parents  of  seven  children,  as  follows: 
Lewis  A.,  born  June  20,  1842,  at  Twins- 
burgh, Summit  Co.,  Ohio,  is  now  in  the 
cheese  business  in  Andrew  county,  ^fo. 
(he  married  Miss  Mary  Pease,  and  they 
have  had  three  children,  of  whom  two 
survive);  George  E.  is  our  subject;  Will- 
iam, of  Hudson,  Ohio,  married  Cora 
Morse,  of  the  same  place;  Aurelia  was 
also  born  and  educated  in  Hudson,  and 
married  Lyman  Laudenslager,  a  liveryman 
of  that  place;  the  remaining  children  were 
Clark,  Zina  and  May,  the  latter  of  whom 
died  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  in  Hudson. 
When  a  young  man,  Eben  Post  bought 
an  eighty-acre  lot  in  Twinsburgh  town- 
ship. Summit  county,  a  portion  of  which 
he  cleared,  and  getting  it  well  cultivated, 
and  converted  into  pasture  land,  he  com- 
menced keeping  a  dairy,  and  making 
cheese.  Prospering  in  this,  he  bought 
two  more  forty-acre  lots,  and  in  the  spring 
would  go  west  to  purchase  cows  for  dairy 
purposes,  and  then  sell  to  the  farmers,  in 
which  line  he  continued  year  after  year. 
Later  in  the  season  he  would  buy  cattle 
for  the  Standard  Packing  House  Co.,  at 
Cleveland.  He  then  bought  a  farm,  near 
Hudson,  of  125  acres, to  which  he  moved, 
and  afterward  he  would  buy  cows  bv  the 
car-load,  in  Illinois,  Indiana,  W'isconsin 
and  Missouri,  shipping  them  by  rail  in- 
stead of  driving  them  by  road. 

Georg  E.  Post,  the  subject  proper  of 
these  lines,  remained  at  the  place  of  his 
birth  until  he  was  seventeen  years  old, 
receiving  all  his  education  at  the  schools 
of  the  neighborhood,  with  the  exception 
of  two  or  three  terms  attendance  at  the 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


647 


schools  of  Hudson,  Summit  county, 
whither  the  family  had  removed  in  i860, 
when  our  subject  was  sixteen  years  old. 
His  first  work  was  as  a  farmer  boy  upon 
his  father's  farm,  and  in  1866,  when 
twenty-two  jears  old  he  went  south  with 
his  uncle,  Bradford  Post,  traveling 
through  Kentucky,  Tennessee  and  Geor- 
gia, the  uncle  buying  a  farm  east  of 
Chattanooga.  Our  subject  remained  with 
him  all  winter,  selling  a  few  lots  of  cheese 
in  Atlanta,  Ga.,  then  in  the  spring  re- 
turned home,  remaining  there  until  he 
came  to  Clay  township,  and  took  up 
work  in  a  lumber  mill  at  Martin,  which 
was  then  owned  and  operated  by  H.  W. 
Salisbury.  He  worked  in  this  mill  for 
a  year,  learning  all  branches  of  the  busi- 
ness, and  the  following  year  bought  a 
half  interest  therein,  the  name  and  style 
of  the  new  firm  being  Salisbury  &  Post. 
Being  a  man  of  good  executive  ability 
and  progressive  ideas,  Mr.  Post  soon  suc- 
ceeded in  acquiring  control  of  the  busi- 
ness, bought  out  the  interest  of  his  part- 
ner, and  for  fourteen  years  has  operated 
it  in  his  own  name,  building  up  an  ex- 
tensive trade  and  giving  employment  to  a 
large  number  of  men.  By  his  strictly 
honest  and  enterprising  business  methods 
he  has  made  of  it  a  financial  success, 
and  to-day  is  the  only  lumber  manufac- 
turer in  Martin,  which  heretofore  has 
continued  several  similar  industries.  Not 
contented  with  his  work  at  ^fartin,  Mr. 
Post  has  pushed  his  enterprises  as  far  as 
Cleveland,  where  he  has  purchased  a 
building  lot  in  the  southern  portion  of 
that  ^city,  on  which  he  is  erecting,  at  a 
cost  of  upwards  of  $3,000,  a  fine  busi- 
ness block,  20  X65  feet,  which  will  be  an 
ornament  to  the  city,  and  no  doubt,  will 
prove  a  good  investment.  The  building 
and  lot  are  valued  at  $5,000. 

Mr.  Post  was  married,  at  Kent,  Ohio, 
November  11,  1865,  to  Miss  Frances 
Brewster,  who  was  born  in  1844,  daugh- 
ter of  John  Brewster,  a  prominent  farm- 
er,   of  Stow    township,  Summit    county, 

41 


and  one  child  has  come  to  this  union, 
Clarence,  born  July  2,  1875,  at  Martin. 
He  received  his  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  Martin,  Ohio,  also  attending 
for  one  term  the  high  school  at  Hudson; 
he  is  now  in  Hudson,  Ohio,  with  his 
uncle,  in  the  livery  business.  Mrs.  Post, 
who  was  a  devoted  wife  and  mother,  and 
a  woman  of  most  estimable  character, 
passed  away  March  26,  1891,  having 
fallen  a  victim  to  that  dread  complaint, 
Bright's  disease,  and  her  remains  were 
deposited  in  the  cemetery  at  Hudson, 
Ohio.  Her  memory  will  long  be  cher- 
ished by  her  bereaved  husband  and  son, 
and  the  hosts  of  friends  who  have  enjoyed 
her  hospitality  and  friendship. 

Mr.  Post  is  a  man  of  genial  disposi- 
tion, a  pleasant  conversationalist,  very 
popular  with  and  highly  esteemed  by  his 
fellow  citizens.  He  is  a  Republican  in 
political  views,  and  votes  from  principle, 
being  in  no  sense  an  office  seeker,  and  is 
interested  in  whatever  tends  to  the  de- 
velopment or  progress  of  the  commun- 
ity in  which  he  lives. 


JOHN  L.  WHEELER,  a  well-known 
highly-respected     resident    of    Oak 
Harbor,  is  a  native  of  Ottawa  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  born    in    Salem    township 
August  22,  1857,  a  son  of    Charles    and 
Mary  (Fought)  Wheeler. 

The  father  of  our  subject,  a  retired 
agriculturist  of  Salem  township,  first  saw 
the  light  near  Bridgeport,  Conn. ,  April  27, 
1827,  being  a  son  of  John  and  Mary 
(Wheeler)  Wheeler,  both  natives  of  Con- 
necticut and  very  early  settlers  of  Ottawa 
county,  they  having  located  near  Elmore 
in  1833,  and  they  were  highly-respected 
residents  of  that  township  up  to  the  time 
of  their  decease.  Mr.  Wheeler's  educa- 
tional advantages  were  confined  to  those 
afforded  by  the  old  logschoolhouse  of  half 
a  century  ago,  his  early  life  being  spent 
in  acquiring  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
many  duties  in  connection  with  the  farm. 


648 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


When  a  lad  six  years  of  age  he  came  with 
his  parents  to  Ottawa  county,  and  has 
been  a  continuous  resident  thereof  for 
nearly  fifty  years,  honored  and  respected 
by  the  entire  community  as  a  man  of 
sound  character  and  many  other  excellent 
qualities. 

Mr.  Wheeler  was  married  in  Hessville, 
Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  July  13,  1847,  the 
lady  of  his  choice  being  a  Miss  Mary 
Fought,  daughter  of  George  and  Mary 
Fought,  early  settlers  of  Sandusk\-  county. 
To  this  union  were  born  seven  children, 
as  follows:  Samuel,  Levi,  John  L. ,  Al- 
bert, Laura  E.  (wife  of  George  Fry),  Mary 
Melissa  (wife  of  George  Gordon)  and 
Harve\'.  The  mother  passed  to  the  home 
beyond  November  16,  1888.  In  1864 
Mr.  Wheeler  enlisted  in  Company  I, 
Fifty-fifth  O.  \'.  I.,  and  served  until  the 
close  of  the  war,  being  mustered  out  near 
Cincinnati  in  June,  1865,  shortly  after- 
ward returning  to  his  home  in  Salem  town- 
ship. Our  subject  is  one  of  the  few  old 
pioneer  settlers  who  have  lived  to  see 
what  was  at  one  time  a  vast,  unbroken 
wilderness  transformed  into  thriving  towns 
and  prosperous  villages.  In  his  political 
preferences  Mr.  Wheeler  is  a  stanch  sup- 
porter of  the  Republican  party. 

John  L.  Wheeler,  the  gentleman 
whose  name  introduces  this  sketch,  re- 
ceived his  preliminary  education  in  the 
public  schools  of  his  native  township,  on 
leaving  school  served  an  apprenticeship 
term  to  the  trade  of  a  plasterer,  which  vo- 
cation he  has  followed  throughout  his  en- 
tire life,  and  his  reputation  as  a  workman 
and  as  a  citizen  who  has  ever  been  found 
willing  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  advance 
any  cause  which  has  had  for  its  culmina- 
tion the  welfare  of  his  town  and  county, 
is  a  most  enviable  one  indeed.  He  was 
united  in  marriage,  August  22,  1892,  with 
Mrs.  Angeline  Alice  (Young)  Smith,  widow 
of  Duncan  Smith,  whose  death  occurred 
November  16,  1883,  and  a  daughter  of 
George  Young,  of  Carroll  township,  Ot- 
tawa county.      This  union  has  not  been 


blessed  by  the  birth  of  any  children.  Mrs. 
Wheeler  had  three  children  by  her  former 
marriage,  viz.:  George  D.,  a  prominent 
photographer  of  Oak  Harbor,  born  Octo- 
ber 16,  1874;  Alice  M.,  born  October  18, 
1876,  and  Emma  Jane,  born  January  i, 
1 88 1.  The  family  enjoy  the  respect  and 
esteem  of  a  large  circle  of  friends.  Mrs. 
Wheeler  has  conducted  a  millinery  bazaar 
and  fancy-goods  business  ever  since  her 
first  husband  was  drowned,  some  seven 
years  ago;  in  fact  she  raised  her  family  in 
business,  and  is  one  of  Oak  Harbor's 
brightest  and  most  industrious  women. 

George  Young,  an  enterprising  agri- 
culturist, trapper  and  lumber  manufac- 
turer, of  Carroll  township,  father  of  Mrs. 
J.  L.  Wheeler,  is  a  native  of  Center  town- 
ship, Berks  Co.,  Penn.,  born  November 
30,  1 82-,  a  son  of  John  and  Susannah 
(Keen)  Young,  natives  of  Pennsylvania, 
of  German  ancestry.  When  a  lad  six 
years  of  age  Mr.  Young  came  with  his 
parents  to  Stark  county,  Ohio,  where  he 
received  his  primary  education.  When 
twenty  years  of  age  he  left  the  parental 
abode  and  went  to  Harrison  county,  Ohio, 
where  he  found  employment  at  his  trade, 
that  of  a  carpenter,  remaining  there  about 
six  years.  He  then  moved  to  Sandusky, 
Erie  county,  where  he  remained  until 
1850,  being  employed  in  the  car  shops. 
In  185 1  he  embarked  in  the  fishing  in- 
dustry at  Port  Clinton,  Ottawa  county, 
and  has  since  been  a  continuous  resident 
of  that  county,  for  the  past  twenty-five 
years  extensively  engaged  in  the  manu- 
facture of  lumber  and  also  in  the  building 
of  bridges.  He  was  united  in  marriage 
April  28,  1846,  with  Miss  Maria  Jane 
Zouvers,  daughter  of  Solomon  and  Susan- 
nah E.  fHoy)  Zouvers,  born  October  2, 
1828.  To  this  union  have  been  born 
nine  children,  their  names  and  dates  of 
birth  being  as  follows:  John,  May  15, 
1847;  Angeline  Alice,  January  6,  1850, 
now  the  wife  of  John  L.  Wheeler,  of  Oak 
Harbor;  Susanna  E.,  March  26,  1852, 
wife  of    George    Reid,    of   Oak    Harbor; 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


G49 


Marj' Jane,  May  15,  1854,  wife  of  Mor- 
gan Sharpe;  Catherine  E.,  September  3, 
1856,  wife  of  Louis  Daly,  of  Havana, 
Huron  county;  Emma  P.,  October  20, 
1858,  wife  of  Martin  Smith,  of  Toledo; 
Marian  A.,  March  18,  1861,  wife  of  H. 
C.  Mylander,  of  Oak  Harbor;  George  D., 
April  26.  1863;  Robert  Eugene,  October 
6,  1865.  Mr.  Young  has  been  a  member 
of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  Oak  Har- 
bor Infirmary  for  the  past  six  years. 


LYSAXDER  CURTIS  BALL.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in 
Rockingham  county,  Vt.,  March 
26,  1795.  His  father,  Eusebius 
Ball,  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  served  in 
the  war  of  1812,  and  died  in  the  State  of 
New  York  at  about  the  age  of  si.xty  years. 
When  eighteen  years  old,  Lysander  C. 
Ball  went  to  Trenton  Falls,  N.  Y.,  where 
he  learned  the  trade  of  blacksmithing. 
At  twenty-three,  he  moved  to  Boston, 
Mass.,  and  soon  after  started  westward 
for  Detroit,  on  foot,  arriving  at  Lower 
Sandusky,  Ohio,  in  April,  18 18.  He  saw 
but  one  house  on  the  present  site  of 
Cleveland  when  he  came  through  there, 
and  on  reaching  the  Sandusky  river  there 
was  no  way  of  crossing  it  but  in  little  In- 
/dian  bark  canoes.  At  Fremont  there 
were  but  three  or  four  log  cabins,  and 
very  little  enterprise,  yet  he  found  em- 
ployment with  Thomas  L.  Hawkins,  who 
owned  a  good  pair  of  o.xen,  and  Mr.  Ball, 
being  very  skillful  in  the  management  of 
them,  helped  to  build  the  first  dam  across 
the  Sandusky  river,  his  compensation 
for  one  month's  labor  being  a  pair  of 
shoes. 

The  roads  westward  through  the  old 
"Black  Swamp,"  as  it  was  then  called, 
being  perfectly  impassable  at  the  time, 
Mr.  Ball  was  persuaded  to  establish  him- 
self in  business  at  Fremont,  and  like 
many  others  with  small  means  took 
"  Hobson's  choice.  "     He  placed  his  little 


blacksmith  shop  on  ground  now  occupied 
by  State  street,  between  the  Croghan 
House  Block  and  Buckland's  corner. 

Mr.  Ball  was  married,  Februarj-  23, 
1823,  to  Miss  Eveline  Patterson,  daugh- 
ter of  Reuben  and  Eunice  TDanforth) 
Patterson,  and  took  up  his  residence  in  a 
log  cabin  adjoining  the  back  part  of  what 
is  now  "Croghan  House"  lot.  In  this 
cabin  two  children  were  bom  to  them, 
the  first  dying  in  infancy.  He  afterward 
built  and  for  many  years  occupied  a  resi- 
dence and  shop  on  Front  street,  north  of 
the  \Vheeling  depot,  which  property  was 
in  later  years  purchased  by  the  Wheeling 
&  Lake  Erie  Railroad  Company.  In 
1853  he  moved  thence  to  a  farm  north  of 
the  city,  but  adjoining  the  corporation, 
where  he  continued  to  reside  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  March  21,  1877, 
when  he  was  at  the  age  of  eighty-two 
years.  His  residence  was  on  high  ground 
overlooking  a  bend  in  the  river  from 
which  the  scenery  is  delightful.  Being  a 
lover  of  the  beauties  of  natural  scenery, 
he  employed  his  sound,  well-balanced 
mind  and  his  industrious  hands  in  work- 
ing a  magical  change  in  his  home  sur- 
roundings. 

In  the  life  and  character  of  Mr.  Ball, 
the  virtues  of  industry,  temperance, 
frugality,  truth  and  integrity,  order  and 
peace,  were  conspicuously  displayed.  A 
model  husband  and  father,  a  good  and 
generous  neighbor,  carried  away  by  no 
excitement,  misled  by  no  shams  or  false 
appearances,  loving  his  home  and  family 
so  that  except  on  duty  he  was  seldom 
away  from  it,  he  led  that  peaceful  and 
complete  life  which  entitles  him  to  a  last- 
ing and  honored  remembrance. 

Mrs.  Eveline  Ball  was  born  February 
15,  1800,  in  Onondaga  county,  N.  Y.  At 
the  age  of  sixteen  she  came  with  her  par- 
ents, in  large  moving  wagons,  to  Ohio, 
and  in  181 8  they  located  at  Lower  San- 
dusky, and  spent  the  first  winter  in  one 
of  the  block  houses  of  Fort  Stephenson. 
Mrs.  Ball  rthen  Eveline  Patterson}  taught 


650 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


a  small  school  in  one  of  the  block  houses, 
and  one  of  her  best  and  most  capable 
pupils  was  an  Indian  boy.  Mrs.  Ball  was  a 
most  excellent  and  highly-respected  lady, 
who,  with  her  husband,  embarked  in  mar- 
ried life  and  bravely  met  their  many  trials 
with  womanly  fortitude,  until  separated 
by  death.  She  passed  away  December 
25,  1883.  Their  children  were — (i)  Eve- 
line and  (2j  Alvira,  the  eldest  of  the  family, 
both  unmarried,  who  reside  on  a  part  of 
the  old  homestead,  where  they  wish  to 
remain  during  their  natural  life.  (3) 
Thaddeus  Ball,  born  November  9,  1830, 
who  was  reared  and  educated  in  the  best 
schools  and  society  the  country  afforded 
in  pioneer  days.  In  i860  he  married 
Sarah  E.  Kelley,  formerly  of  Fostoria. 
His  occupation  was  farming  and  fruit 
growing,  in  which  he  took  much  pleasure, 
until  he  became  broken  down  in  health. 
He  died  November  2,  1886.  Their  chil- 
dren were — Katie  E.  Ball,  Thomas  L. , 
Frank  I.,  Emma  A.,  and  Hattie,  all  of 
whom  now  reside  in  Oregon.  (4)  Oscar 
Ball,  born  April  4,  1833,  rose  from  the 
humble  occupations  of  farm  life  to  posi- 
tions of  honor  and  trust  in  his  community. 
In  1862  he  became  auditor  of  Sandusky 
county,  and  held  the  office  until  the  fall 
of  1865,  when  he  was  appointed  to  fill  an 
unexpired  term  as  treasurer.  He  is  now 
postmaster  in  McMurray.  State  of  Wash- 
ington. On  October  11,  1858,  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Ella  Amsden,  of  Fremont,  and 
their  children  are — Edward  A.,  Jennie  E., 
Sarah  D., and  John  R.,  all  living  at  home. 
(5)  Sarah  Uanforth  Ball,  born  June  23, 
1 836,  was  for  a  number  of  years  a  teacher  in 
the  country  and  in  the  city  schools.  She 
married.  October  26,  1859,  Stephen  M. 
Emerson,  attorney  at  law,  Ballville  town- 
ship, who  died  in  Kansas,  August  12, 
1863.  Mrs.  Emerson  passed  away  in 
Fremont,  April  7,  1886.  They  had  a 
son  who  died  in  infancy,  and  a  daughter, 
Jessie  Eunice  Emerson,  whose  home  is  at 
Green  Spring  Sanitarium,  Ohio.  (6)  Ly- 
sander  Curtis  Ball,  Jr., was  born  in  Lower 


Sandusky,  December  3,  1839.  He  lived 
on  the  farm  with  his  father  and  family 
until  the  fall  of  1862,  when  he  spent  some 
time  in  Kentucky,  having,  in  company 
with  many  other  citizens  of  Fremont,  re- 
sponded to  the  call  for  troops  to  defend 
his  native  State  from  invasion.  On  Oc- 
tober 20.  1863,  he  enlisted  in  the  navy  of 
the  United  States,  as  master's  mate,  to 
perform  duty  in  the  Mississippi  squadron. 
He  was  in  several  engagements  along  the 
Mississippi  river  and  on  the  Yazoo,  and 
in  the  one  which  occurred  April  22, 1864, 
our  vessel,  the  "Petrel,"  was  captured 
and  destroyed  by  the  Confederates.  Mr. 
Ball  was  then  ordered  to  the  ram  "Vindi- 
cator "  for  duty,  where  he  served  until 
March  16,  1865,  when  he  was  promoted 
to  acting  ensign,  and  sent  to  the  U.  S. 
steamer  "Juliet"  for  duty,  where  he  re- 
mained until  the  close  of  hostilities.  He 
reached  home  July  12,  1865,  and  was 
honorably  discharged  November  i,  1865. 
In  the  same  year  he  married  Miss  Hannah 
Morrison,  and  is  now  living  on  a  farm  in 
North  Dakota.  Their  children  were — 
Eva,  Charles,  Alma  and  Ball.  In  1893, 
the  eldest,  a  most  lovable  daughter,  was 
taken  from  them  by  death.  A  son  and  a 
daughter  are  now  clerking  in  a  dry-goods 
store  in  Jamestown,  North  Dakota. 


REUBEN  PATTERSON.  The  early 
settlement  of  Sandusky  township, 
Sandusky  county,  was  not  so  rapid 
as  that  of  the  eastern  part  of  the 
county,  because  the  land  was  more  low 
and  wet,  the  timber  more  dense,  and  the 
air  more  full  of  malaria,  which  caused 
fever  and  ague.  Such  was  the  condition 
of  the  country  when  Reuben  Patterson 
and  his  wife,  Eunice  (Danforth)  Patterson, 
and  family,  in  the  fall  of  18 16,  came  in 
wagons  from  the  State  of  New  York  to 
the  wilds  of  Ohio.  They  located  first  at 
Huron,  in  Erie  county,  which  was  then 
the  stopping  place  of  many  western  immi- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


651 


grants.  The  following  spring  they  re- 
moved to  the  Peninsula,  in  Ottawa  county, 
but  here  sickness  so  afflicted  them  that 
their  new  home  with  improvements  had 
to  be  abandoned.  In  the  spring  of  1818 
the}'  moved  to  Lower  Sandusky,  and 
found  temporary  shelter  in  a  small  log 
house  in  the  old  fort,  which  had  been 
used  during  the  war  of  18 12-13  by  U.  S. 
military  officers.  Comforts  and  conven- 
iences were  out  of  the  question,  and  the 
floor  of  the  house  was  made  of  clay. 
There  was  but  one  bedstead,  in  a  corner, 
and  during  the  day  all  the  clothing  was 
piled  upon  it.  At  night  the  beds  for  eight 
persons  were  made  mostly  on  the  bare 
ground.  One  gate  of  the  fort  served  as  a 
part  of  the  floor.  Mr.  Patterson  and  his 
sons  during  the  winter  cleared  a  piece  of 
land  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  and  in 
the  spring  of  18 19  the  family  moved  into 
the  log  cabin  they  had  constructed  on 
this  place,  which  is  known  as  the  Whit- 
taker  Reserve,  in  Sandusky  township.  In 
the  meantime  his  eldest  daughter,  Eve- 
line, taught  school  in  one  of  the  block 
houses  of  the  fort,  having  some  Indian  as 
well  as  white  children  under  her  care. 

About  the  year  1821-22  Mrs.  Eunice 
Patterson,  being  well  provided  with  pur- 
chase mone)',  mounted  her  horse  and,  in 
company  with  Lysander  C.  Ball  and 
James  Whittaker,  traveled  through  the 
wilderness,  one  hundred  miles,  to  attend 
the  government  sales  of  public  lands  at 
Delaware,  Ohio.  She  there  bought  the 
tract  which  became  their  homestead,  and 
it  has  for  many  years  been  known  as  the 
Patterson  Farm,  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Sandusky  river,  just  north  of  Fremont. 
The  incidents  of  this  heioic  trip  were 
often  related  by  her  to  her  grandchildren. 
She  was  remarkably  determined  and  cour- 
ageous in  business  matters,  but  kind  and 
generous  to  a  fault  in  her  home. 

The  children  of  Reuben  and  Eunice 
Patterson  were:  (i)  Sear  Patterson,  who 
retained  his  residence  in  the  State  of  New 
York.      (2)  Alvord  Patterson,  who  married 


Miss  Julia  Webb,  in  New  York  State,  and 
subsequently  came  to  Lower  Sandusky, 
where  he  died;  their  children  were — Eve- 
line Patterson,  who  married  John  Shan- 
non, and  died  at  Fremont  in  1893;  Will- 
iam Patterson,  now  married  and  living  in 
South  Dakota;  Fanny  Patterson,  who 
married,  lived  and  died  in  Iowa;  Cordelia 
Patterson,  who  died  in  childhood  at  Lower 
Sandusky.  (3)  Eveline  Patterson,  mar- 
ried to  Lysander  C.  Ball,  whose  sketch 
appears  above.  (4)  Danforth  Patterson, 
who  married  Miss  Sarah  Perry,  and  for  a 
number  of  years  lived  on  the  Patterson 
farm,  where  each  passed  away,  leaving 
no  children.  (5)  Harriet  Patterson,  mar- 
ried to  James  Moore,  whose  sketch  is 
given  elsewhere.  (6)  Julius  Patterson, 
married  to  Miss  Margaret  Leary,  by 
whom  he  had  eight  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters^— Robert  C,  Danforth,  Rodolphus 
D.,  Sardis  B.,  John  P.,  Rawson,  Oscar, 
Charles  M.,  Sarah  and  Juliette.  Julius 
Patterson  was  for  many  years  a  successful 
farmer,  also  a  contractor  on  public  works. 
He  led  an  honest  and  temperate  life.  He 
was  born  May  17,  1S08,  and  died  at  his 
residence  in  Fremont  May  23,  1887.  (7) 
Caroline  Patterson  died  at  the  age  of 
twelve  years  from  the  effects  of  a  fall  on 
the  ice  in  the  river,  which  she  crossed  in 
attending  school.  The  death  of  Reuben 
Patterson  occurred  June  i,  1840,  at 
Lower  Sandusky,  and  that  of  his  wife, 
Eunice  Patterson,  December  17,  1839, 
the  latter  at  the  age  of  sixty-five  years. 

Mrs.  Eunice  Patterson  was  a  daughter 
of  Gen.  Asa  Danforth,  who  was  born 
July  6,  1746,  at  W'orcester,  Mass.;  he 
entered  military  life  at  fourteen  years  of 
age,  served  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution, 
was  at  the  battle  of  Lexington,  and  dis- 
tinguished himself  by  many  brave  and 
patriotic  achievements.  He  was  one  of 
the  first  to  begin  the  manufacture  of  salt 
at  Onondaga,  N.  Y.  He  died  September 
2.  18 1 8,  at  the  age  of  seventy-three.  The 
stories  of  his  eventful  life  are  stranger 
than  fiction. 


652 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


JOHN  W.  WORST.  Prominent  among 
Sandusky  county  boys,  who,  by 
their  own  exertions  under  difficulties, 
worked  their  way  up  from  the  com- 
parative obscurity  of  Hfe  on  a  farm  to 
that  of  holding  responsible  offices  at  the 
county  seat  for  several  successive  terms, 
and  retired  from  the  same  with  a  clean 
record  and  the  good  will  of  their  fellow 
citizens,  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

John  W.  Worst,  attorney  at  law,  of 
the  firm  of  Meek,  Dudrow  &  Worst,  Fre- 
mont, Ohio,  was  born  in  Ballville  town- 
ship, Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  September  3, 
1847,  a  son  of  Jacob  and  Hannah  (Parks) 
Worst.  Jacob  Worst  was  a  native  of  the 
Keystone  State,  and  when  a  young  man 
in  pioneer  days,  came  to  Lower  San- 
dusky. He  grew  up  on  a  farm  and 
learned  the  trade  of  shoemaker,  at  which 
he  worked  for  some  time  in  Lower  San- 
dusky. In  1845-46  he  served  as  a  sol- 
dier of  the  Mexican  war,  under  Gen. 
Zachary  Tajlor.  He  located  on  a  farm 
in  Ballville  township.  In  November, 
1861,  he  enlisted  in  Company  B,  Seventy- 
second  Regiment,  O.  V.  I.,  for  three 
years  or  during  the  war,  and  served  un- 
der Gen.  U.  S.  Grant,  in  the  Western 
Department.  He  was  killed  at  the  battle 
of  Shiloh,  or  Pittsburg  Landing,  on  Sun- 
day morning  April  6,  1862.  His  widow 
is  still  living  on  the  family  homestead. 

Our  subject  was  one  of  a  family  of 
nine  children,  and  fifth  in  the  order  of 
birth.  He  was  reared  on  a  farm,  ed- 
ucated in  the  public  schools,  and  grad- 
uated from  the  Fremont  High  School 
with  the  class  of  1872,  having  worked 
his  way  chiefiy  by  teaching  country  schools 
for  twelve  successive  terms.  He  had  also 
during  this  time  read  law  as  he  had  op- 
portunity. Having  finished  his  course  of 
study,  he  ne.\t  served  as  superintendent 
of  the  schools  at  Green  Spring,  Seneca 
county,  two  years,  and  at  Elmore,  Ot- 
tawa county,  eight  years.  From  1882 
to  1 88 5,  Mr.  Worst  served  as  school  ex- 
aminer of   Sandusky   county,    and   in  the 


fall  of  1887  was  elected  county  clerk, 
which  office  he  held  six  years.  Unlike 
man\'  other  teachers,  he  did  not  confine 
his  mind  solely  to  school  matters,  but 
during  these  years  became  interested 
financially  in  the  timber  and  lumber  bus- 
iness in  Paulding  county,  Ohio,  where  he 
has  for  a  number  of  years  been  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  stave  heading  and 
lumber.  He  has,  more  recently,  in  con- 
nection with  other  parties,  opened  up  an 
extensive  lumber  interest  in  Missouri. 
Having  had  a  good  opportunity,  during 
his  service  as  Clerk  of  Courts,  to  observe 
the  practice  of  law,  he  continued  to  read 
on  that  subject,  under  the  tuition  of  B. 
R.  Dudrow,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
at  Columbus,  Ohio,  on  December  6,  1894. 
Mr.  Worst  is  a  member  of  the  Sons 
of  Veterans,  and  of  McPherson  Post,  No. 
367,  I.  O.  O.  F.  and  Encampment,  and 
has  passed  all  the  chairs  in  each.  In 
1872,  he  married  Miss  Calista  S.  Long, 
daughter  of  Rev.  M.  Long,  an  early 
pioneer  of  Sandusky  county,  and  an 
United  Brethren  divine  for  more  than 
fifty  years,  whose  death  occurred  Novem- 
ber 18,  1 89 1.  To  our  subject  and  wife 
were  born  three  children:  M.  Le  Clare, 
Cleo  G.  and  Vonnieda  Grey. 


BF.  JACKSON,  editor  of  the  Clyde 
lintcrf^risc.  Ch'de,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, was  born  June  17,  1861,  in 
Chester  county,  Penn.  After  se- 
curing the  rudiments  of  a  good  education 
in  the  common  schools  of  the  county,  he 
learned  the  printer's  art  in  Downingtown, 
Pennsylvania. 

In  1 88 1  he  came  to  Clyde,  and  began 
the  stud)-  of  law,  teaching  school  during 
the  winters  in  order  to  pay  expenses.  In 
1884  he  bought  a  half-interest  in  the  En- 
terprise, which  was  then  in  bad  financial 
condition.  A  year  later  he  became  sole 
proprietor,  and  began  a  series  of  improve- 
ments and  a  systematic  pushing  of  the 
business  that  soon  placed  the  paper  on  a 


COMMSMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


658 


paying  basis,  so  that  it  is  now  a  most 
valuable  property  and  an  influential  fam- 
ily journal.  Meantime  Mr.  Jackson  found 
time  to  pmsue  his  legal  studies,  and  in 
1894  was  admitted  to  the  bar  by  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  Ohio.  He  does  not  prac- 
tice law,  however,  but  devotes  all  his  en- 
ergies to  his  newspaper  business. 

Mr.  Jackson  was  married  November 
20,  1884,  to  Miss  Margaret  Taylor,  and 
they  have  two  sons — Howard  H.,  born 
December  7,  1885,  and  Arthur  Taylor, 
born  May  31,   1894. 


CASPER  H.  MEILANDER,  one  of 
the  most  progressive  and  prosper- 
ous farmers  of  Ottawa  county, 
was  born  in  Prussia,  Germany, 
and  is  a  son  of  William  and  Anna  Louisa 
(Speakamon)  Meilander,  both  of  whom 
were  also  natives  of  Prussia.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1854,  they  emigrated  with  theirfam- 
ily  to  America,  locating  in  Pemberville, 
Wood  Co.,  Ohio,  where  the  mother  passed 
away  in  September,  1S55.  The  father 
afterward  removed  to  Salem  township, 
Ottawa  county,  where  he  resided  until 
his  death,  which  occurred  January  16, 
1887.  In  the  family  were  seven  children, 
five  of  whom  are  living  at  the  time  of  this 
writing  (summer  of  1895),  namely:  Henry, 
residing  in  Bedford,  Cuyahoga  county, 
Ohio;  Casper  H.,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch;  Mary,  wife  of  Martin  Seberlin,  a 
resident  of  Cleveland;  Louisa,  wife  of  Dr. 
L.  Schimansky,  a  ph3sician  of  Oak  Har- 
bor; and  Ann,  wife  of  Frederick  Hage- 
myer,  whose  home  is  in  Pemberville, 
Ohio. 

The  subject  proper  of  this  record  ob- 
tained his  education  and  was  reared  to 
manhood  in  the  land  of  his  birth,  and  in 
April,  1854,  left  his  home  in  Germany  for 
the  United  States.  His  first  location  was 
in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  but  after  a  few 
months  he  removed  to  Pemberville,  Wood 
county,  where  he  made  his  home  for  a 
year,   and  then,   returning  to  Cleveland, 


was  a  resident  of  that  city  until  1861. 
On  April  16  he  located  in  Salem  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county,  where  for  the  past 
thirty-four  years  he  has  been  one  of  the 
most  honored  and  respected  citizens.  He 
devotes  his  time  and  energies  to  agricul- 
tural pursuits,  and  his  good  management 
and  business  ability  have  brought  to  him 
success. 

Mr.  Meilander  was  married  in  Cleve- 
land, April  16,  1861,  to  Flora  Brinkmyer, 
who  was  born  in  Prussia,  Germany,  Sep- 
tember 4,  1836,  daughter  of  Herman  and 
Margaret  (Grotthouse)  Brinkmyer,  and 
their  family  numbered  seven  children: 
William,  born  in  January,  1862,  died 
June  3,  1S76;  Henry  Otto,  born  February 
27,  1864,  is  doing  business  in  Oak  Har- 
bor as  one  of  the  firm  of  Meilander  & 
Williamson,  blacksmiths  and  wagon  mak- 
ers; Louis  F. ,  born  January  20,  1866, 
aids  in  the  operation  of  the  home  farm; 
Clara,  born  May  7,  1868;  Mary,  born 
January  31,  1 87 1 ,  is  the  wife  of  John  Han- 
son, a  resident  of  Clay  Center,  Ohio; 
Flora,  born  February  27,  1873,  is  the 
wife  of  Henry  Longanbach,  and  they  re- 
side near  Fremont,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio; 
and  Louisa,  born  September  12,  1875, 
is  the  wife  of  George  Glaser,  of  Carroll 
township,  Ottawa  county. 

Mr.  Meilander  has  served  as  township 
trustee  for  three  years,  and  was  treasurer 
for  twenty  years.  What  higher  testi- 
monial could  be  given  of  his  faithful  serv- 
ice than  his  long  continuance  in  office .'' 
His  public  and  private  life  arealike  above 
reproach,  and  his  example  is  well  worthy 
of  emulation.  In  political  views  he  is  a 
Democrat,  and  the  family  attend  the  Lu- 
theran Church. 


GABRIEL  DUBRIE.  a  prominent 
and  progressive  farmer  of  Carroll 
township,   Ottawa    county,    was 
born  in  Lucas  county,  Ohio,  Sep- 
tember 4,   1846,  and  is  a  son    of  Gabriel 


654 


COMMEMORATIYE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


and    Cleophe  (Page)  Dubrie,  the    former 
of  French  ancestry,  the  latter  of  German. 

Our  subject's  mother  died  when  he 
was  but  two  years  old,  and  he  was  only 
four  when  his  father  also  departed  this 
life,  after  which  he  was  adopted  by  Jan- 
uary Valiquette,  of  Carroll  township,  by 
whom  he  was  reared  to  manhood.  In 
the  district  schools  of  the  neij^hborhood 
he  acquired  his  education,  and  at  a  very 
early  age  began  to  assist  in  the  labors  of 
the  fields.  With  the  Valiquette  family 
he  remained  until  he  had  reached  the  age 
of  seventeen  years,  and  on  February  26, 
1864,  he  enlisted  in  Company  I,  Forty- 
first  O.  V.  I.  For  two  years  he  remained 
in  the  service  of  his  country,  during 
which  time  he  participated  in  numerous 
important  engagements.  At  the  close  of 
the  war  he  was  mustered  out  and  dis- 
charged at  Columbus,  Ohio,  in  1865,  and 
returned  to  Carroll  township,  where  he 
has  since  made  his  home. 

On  November  15,  1870,  in  Fremont, 
Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  Mr.  Dubrie  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Mary  Jane  Sono- 
crant,  who  was  born  in  Lucas  county, 
Ohio,  August  20,  1 849,  a  daughter  of 
John  and  Matilda  Sonocrant.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Dubrie  have  three  children:  Gabri- 
ella  J.,  born  August  16,  187 1,  now  the 
wife  of  Daniel  O'Hearn,  of  Sandusky 
City,  Erie  county;  and  Lester  J.,  born 
June  4,  1876,  and  Stanley  R.,  born  Octo- 
ber 2,  1877,  still  at  home.  At  the  time 
of  his  parents'  death,  Mr.  Dubrie  had  a 
baby  sister,  but  since  then  he  has  heard 
nothing  of  her. 

Both  our  subject  and  his  worthy  wife 
were  reared  in  the  faith  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  and  in  his  political 
views  Mr.  Dubrie  is  a  stanch  I^epublican, 
always  advocating  the  men  and  measures 
of  that  party.  He  may  truly  be  said  to  be 
a  representative  self-made  man,  being 
left  an  orphan  almost  in  infancy,  he  has 
from  a  small  beginning,  by  dint  of  inde- 
fatigable energy,  coupled  with  sound  judg- 
ment and   good  management,  attained  a 


comfortable  competence.  He  is  now  the 
possessor  of  a  fine  farm,  well  equipped  with 
commodious  buildings,  and  is  a  thorough- 
ly practical  as  well  as  theoretical  agricul- 
turist, one  who  has  proven  himself  as 
capable  as  he  is  popular. 


DAVID  GILLARD.  M.  D.  This 
well-known  physician  and  surgeon 
of  Port  Clinton,  Ottawa  county, 
was  born  at  Venice,  Erie  Co. , 
Ohio,  July  30,  1852,  and  is  the  son  of  John 
and  Margaret  (Hynes)  Gillard.  His  mother 
died  when  he  was  thirteen  years  old,  after 
which  he  went  to  live  with  his  brother. 
Dr.  Edwin  Gillard.  He  attended  the 
public  schools  in  Sandusky  for  one  year 
(1866),  and  then  entered  Oberlin  College. 
After  leaving  college  he  took  a  course  of 
reading  in  medicine  with  his  brother, 
which  he  supplemented  with  a  course  in 
Hahnemann  Medical  College  at  Cleve- 
land. 

Dr.  Gillard  began  the  practice  of 
medicine  in  Port  Clinton  on  March  6, 
1878,  which  he  has  carried  on  very  suc- 
cessfully ever  since.  He  is  widely  and 
favorably  known  throughout  this  section 
of  the  country,  and  has  gained  the  con- 
fidence of  the  people,  both  by  his  un- 
doubted skill  in  all  branches  of  his  pro- 
fession and  by  his  integrity  of  character. 
He  has  a  very  extensive  and  constantly 
increasing  practice,  often  more  than  he 
can  attend  to,  and,  while  being  a  general 
practitioner,  he  has  made  a  specialty  of 
surgery,  in  which  also  he  has  been  re- 
markably successful.  He  has  held  the 
position  of  surgeon  for  the  L.  S.  &.  M.  S. 
Railway  Company  since  1S90,  and  is 
major  surgeon  of  the  Fourth  Ohio  Regi- 
ment, Patriarchs  Militant.  He  is  also  a 
member  of  the  encampment  and  canton 
of  the  I.  O.  O.  F. ;  of  the  Maccabees  and 
of  the  Knights  of  Honor.  He  was  brought 
up  in  the  faith  of  the  Episcopal  Church, 
but  is  not  exclusive  in  his  views  on  relig- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


655 


ious  subjects.       In   politics   he  is  a   Re- 
publican. 

Mrs.  Clara  H.  Gillard,  M.  D.,  wife  of 
Dr.  David  Gillard,  was  born  April  4, 
1862.  in  Bay  township,  and  is  a  daughter 
of  Edward  and  Mary  (Lattimore)  Hyde. 
Her  father  is  a  retired  farmer,  living,  with 
his  wife,  at  Port  Clinton,  Ottawa  county. 
Their  children  are:  John,  Elizabeth, 
Alice,  Olive  and  Clara.  John  married 
Lucy  Park,  and  is  a  farmer  in  Bay  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county  (they  have  six  chil- 
dren); Elizabeth  is  the  wife  of  Roswell 
Robinson,  and  lives  in  Port  Clinton;  Alice 
married  David  McRitchie,  who  is  in  the 
meat  business  at  Port  Clinton,  and  has  one 
child;  Olive  is  the  wife  of  Charles  Freer,  a 
fish  dealer,  and  lives  in  Port  Clinton. 

Mrs.  Gillard  grew  to  womanhood  in 
Port  Clinton,  Ottawa  county,  attended 
the  public  schools  in  that  place  until 
1S79,  and  taught  school  one  year  in  Bay 
township.  After  her  marriage  to  Dr.  Gil- 
lard, November  22,  1881,  she  became  in- 
terested in  the  study  of  medicine,  and, 
after  completing  a  course  of  reading  with 
her  husband,  went  to  Chicago,  where  she 
became  a  student  in  the  Hahnemann 
Medical  Cellege,  from  which  she  grad- 
uated in  1889.  Returning  to  Port  Clin- 
ton, she  opened  an  office  in  connection 
with  her  husband,  and  has  been  practic- 
ing ever  since.  She  has  a  large  clientele, 
and  is  very  popular  with  all  classes.  She 
is  an  enthusiast  in  the  Hahnemann  meth- 
ods of  treatment,  and  has  been  unusually 
successful  therein.  Mrs.  Gillard  is  a  lady 
of  culture  and  refinement,  always  inter- 
ested in  whatever  tends  to  the  advance- 
ment of  her  se.x  and  the  general  good  of 
the  (Hiblic.  She  takes  an  active  part  in 
the  studies  of  the  Chautauqua  Circle,  of 
Port  Clinton,  from  which  she  was  grad- 
uated at  Lakeside,  August  21,  1895,  and 
is  a  valuable  member  of  that  organization. 
She  served  one  year  as  president  of  the 
Ladies'  Literary  and  Social  Club,  and 
this  year  is  corresponding  secretary  of  the 
same. 


A  sketch  of  the  parental  family  of  Dr. 
Gillard  may  not  be  out  of  place  in  the 
biographical  record,  and  is  herewith  given. 
John  Gillard,  the  father  of  our  subject, 
was  born  October  30,  18 14,  at  London- 
derry, Ireland,  and  was  of  Scotch  and 
Irish  descent.  His  father,  whose  name  was 
Richard,  was  a  native  of  County  Donegal, 
Ireland.  His  people  went  from  Scotland 
to  Ireland,  and  were  linen  dealers.  He 
learned  the  trade  of  a  flax  dresser,  and 
subsequentlj'  owned  mills  of  his  own  and 
prepared  flax  for  the  market.  He  also 
carried  on  the  business  of  a  commission 
merchant,  dealing  in  yarn  in  the  city  of 
Londonderry,  Ireland.  He  afterward 
went  to  Scotland,  settling  in  the  vicinity  of 
Glasgow,  near  the  same  mill  to  which  he 
had  formerly  shipped  yarn.  He  lived  to 
an  advanced  age.  Nothing  further  is 
known  of  this  branch  of  the  family  as 
the  father  of  Dr.  Gillard  came  to  this 
country  before  his  parents  removed  to 
Scotland.  The  Gillard  family  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Scotch  Presbyterian  Church, 
until  some  trouble  arose  between  our  sub- 
ject's father  and  the  minister,  after  which 
he  united  with  the  Episcopal  Church. 

John  Gillard,  the  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, grew  to  manhood  about  a  mile  and 
a  half  from  Londonderry,  Ireland.  He 
attended  a  subscription  school  until  four- 
teen or  fifteen  years  of  age,  working 
meanwhile  upon  his  father's  farm,  and 
learned  the  trade  of  wagon  maker.  Af- 
terward he  went  to  Londonderry  and 
entered  the  service  of  a  gentleman,  as 
coachman;  he  had  the  reputation  of  being 
the  best  coachman  in  the  city,  and  re- 
ceived the  munificent  sum  of  four  dollars 
a  week  and  his  board,  which  was  consid- 
ered good  wages  in  those  days.  In  the 
employ  of  this  man  he  remained  for  some 
four  or  five  years,  and  then  having  deter- 
mined to  try  what  the  New  World  held  in 
store  for  him,  set  sail  on  May  i,  1833.  for 
America.  It  was  a  comparatively  seri- 
ous matter  to  make  a  voyage  across  the  At- 
lantic in  those  days,  as  steam  had  not  come 


CoG 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


into  general  use  for  traveling  purposes  and 
the  sailing  vessels  were  very  slow.  He 
was  just  two  months  making  the  voyage, 
which  was  rendered  not  only  more  tedious, 
but  even  dangerous,  by  the  breaking  out 
of  typhus  fever,  from  which  fifteen  pas- 
sengers died.  They  were  quarantined  for 
two  weeks  at  Quebec,  Canada,  whore  they 
landed.  Mr.  Gillard  at  first  worked  in  a 
livery  stable  in  Quebec,  then  went  into 
the  country  two  and  a  half  miles  from 
the  city,  entering  the  employ  of  a  Mr. 
Hunt,  with  whom  he  remained  four  years. 
He  was  married  to  Miss  Margaret  Hynes, 
a  daughter  of  John  Hynes.  She  was  born 
in  County  Antrim,  Ireland,  in  1821,  and 
died  December  i,  1864,  at  Venice,  Ohio. 
After  his  marriage  Mr.  Gillard,  with  his 
wife,  went  to  Buffalo,  N.  Y. ,  where  he 
worked  for  a  short  time  in  a  quarry  for 
the  government,  which  was  then  building 
the  Erie  canal.  Leaving  Buffalo  he  came 
to  Venice,  Erie  Co.,  Ohio,  and  for  a 
while  worked  on  a  farm.  He  then  be- 
gan hauling  flour  and  carrying  the  mail 
between  \'enice  and  Sandusky,  which  oc- 
cupation he  followed  some  eleven  years. 
At  the  expiration  of  that  time  he  went 
into  partnership  with  Mr.  Haywood,  for 
whom  he  had  formerly  worked,  in  the 
sheep  business,  at  which  they  made  a 
great  success,  owning  at  one  time  about 
five  thousand  sheep.  This  occupation  he 
followed  for  five  years,  but  the  price  of 
wool  fell,  under  a  Democratic  adminis- 
tration, and  he  disposed  of  his  sheep, 
selling  them  at  a  low  price.  He  then 
bought  a  farm  near  Venice,  and  carried 
on  farming  until  1874.  In  the  meantime, 
his  wife  having  died,  Mr.  Gillard  was  mar- 
ried, the  second  time,  September  18, 
1866,  to  Miss  Ida  Matt,  who  was  born  in 
Baden,  Germany,  March  30,  1846.  By 
his  first  marriage  he  had  seven  children, 
as  follows:  William,  who  was  born  July 
3,  1840,  enlisted  in  1861  in  the  One 
Hundred  and  Twenty-third  Ohio  In- 
fantry, and  was  made  corporal  of  his 
company  (he  was   killed  at  the  battle  of 


Winchester,  Va. ,  in  June,  1863);  James 
was  born  May  17,  1843;  Edwin,  June  20, 
1 845 ;  Samuel.  December  1 1 . 1 847 ;  David, 
July  30,  1852;  Louisa,  January  28,  1859; 
and  Martha,  April  1 1,  1862.  By  his  sec- 
ond marriage  Mr.  Gillard  had  six  chil- 
dren: Mary  W.,  born  September  5,  1867, 
wife  of  Duglass  Borden;  John  W.,  Sep- 
tember 28,  1870;  Belle  O.,  .August  8, 
1872;  Stella  A.,  January  16,  1876;  R.  H., 
January  9,  1879;  and  Ann  L. ,  January  5, 
1 88 1.  John  Gillard  was  a  Whig  in  the 
olden  times,  and  remembers  helping  to 
build  a  log-cabin  for  a  demonstration  dur- 
ing the  log-cabin  and  hard  cider  cam- 
paign, and  also  remembers  shaking  hands 
with  President  ^^'illiam  Henry  Harrison 
in  Sandusky,  Ohio.  After  the  formation 
of  the  Republican  party  he  joined  its 
ranks,  and  has  always  been  an  ardent 
advocate  of  its  principles.  He  hauled  the 
first  engine  used  on  the  old  Mad  River 
railway  at  Sandusky,  when  it  was  carried 
from  the  boat  on  the  lake  to  the  main 
train  on  the  track.  In  addition  to  his 
other  occupations  Mr.  Gillard  for  many 
years  practiced  as  a  veterinary  surgeon, 
in  which  he  was  very  successful.  He  is 
postmaster  at  Rocky  Ridge,  having  served 
under  Harrison's  administration,  and  so 
far  under  that  of  Cleveland.  .Mthough 
arrived  at  a  good  old  age,  Mr.  Gillard  is 
hale  and  hearty,  with  a  clear  head,  has 
never  used  tobacco,  and  is  strictly  tem- 
perate. He  once  suffered  an  attack  of 
Asiatic  cholera,  which  was  the  worst  ill- 
ness he  ever  had.  He  has  the  respect 
and  esteem  of  the  entire  community,  and 
in  peace  and  prosperitj'  is  passing  the 
closing  days  of  a  well-spent  life. 


FREDRICK      JORDAN.       Among 
the  progressive   farmers  of  Salem 
township,    Ottawa   county,    none 
are  more  deserving  of  representa- 
tion in  this  volume  than  the  gentleman 
whose   name  begins   this  sketch.      He  is 
one  of  the  worthy  citizens  that  Germany 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


057 


has  furnished  to  Ohio,  his  birth  having 
occurred  February  lo,  1845,  in  Baden. 
His  parents,  Christopher  and  Barbara 
Katherine  (Walterj  Jordan,  were  also  na- 
tives of  the  same  country,  and  when 
their  son  Fredrick  was  a  \'ear  old  came 
to  America. 

Our  subject  obtained  his  education  in 
the  district  schools  of  Erie  county,  Ohio, 
and  since  his  youth  has  been  engaged  in 
agricultural  pursuits.  In  186 1  he  accom- 
panied his  jKirents  on  their  removal  to 
Ottawa  county,  the  family  locating  in 
Salem  township,  where  he  has  since 
made  his  home.  To-day  he  ranks  among 
the  most  popular  and  progressive  farmers 
of  his  time,  taking  an  active  part  in  all 
matters  tending  to  the  advancement  of 
the  township  and  county.  On  April  27, 
1S70,  in  Salem  township,  Mr.  Jordan  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Rachel 
Lapp,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Doratha 
(Draves)  Lapp,  who  were  both  natives  of 
Mecklenburg,  Germany,  the  former  born 
August  18,  1824,  and  the  latter  August 
20,  1823.  Mr.  Lapp  is  still  living,  but 
his  wife  departed  this  life  November  9, 
1893,  in  Oak  Harbor.  They  emigrated 
to  the  United  States  in  1852,  and  located 
in  Sandusky,  Erie  Co.,  Ohio,  where  the 
father  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits. 
After  a  two-years'  residence  there  they 
removed  to  Salem  township,  Ottawa 
county,  locating  about  a  mile  south  of 
Oak  I-Iarbor,  where  they  made  their  home 
until  1883,  when  Mr.  Lapp  abandoned 
farm  life.  He  has  since  lived  retired  in  Oak 
Harbor,  and  is  one  of  the  most  highly- 
esteemed  residents  of  that  town.  The 
family  numbered  four  daughters,  but  only 
two  are  now  living — Rachel,  who  was 
born  in  Mecklenburg,  Germany,  and  is 
the  wife  of  Fredrick  Jordan;  and  Amanda, 
who  was  born  April  21,  1S54,  and  is  the 
wife  of  Frederick  Beck,  a  resident  of 
Salem  township,  Ottawa  county. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jordan  have  an  inter- 
esting family  of  seven  children,  all  of 
whom  are  living,  namely:     Charles    H., 


born  April  26,  1872,  who  is  now  studying 
dentistry  in  Chicago;  Julia  A.,  born  Sep- 
tember 10,  1874,  who  is  now  the  wife  of 
Carl  W.  Sperling,  of  Oak  Harbor,  their 
wedding  having  been  celebrated  Septem- 
ber 4,  1894;  Fredrick  P.,  born  September 
23,  1876;  Emma  Magdelena,  born  Oc- 
tober 6,  1878;  Albert  F'ranklin,  born  Oc- 
tober 28.  1880;  Odessa  Regina,  born 
November  21,  1882;  and  Paul  Grover, 
born  November  5,  1884.  Mr.  Jordan  is 
a  member  of  the  Ivnights  of  the  Macca- 
bees, and  with  his  family  attends  the 
Lutheran  Church.  In  his  political  views 
he  is  a  Democrat,  but  has  neither  time 
nor  inclination  for  public  office.  His  life 
work  has  been  that  of  a  practical  farmer, 
and  he  is  one  who  has  found  pleasure  in 
the  performance  of  his  duties  and  in  lead- 
ing an  upright,  honest  life.  He  holds  to 
the  theory  that  whatever  is  worth  doing 
at  all  is  worth  doing  well,  and  his  aim  has 
been  to  put  this  principle  into  effect.  As 
a  result  success,  not  only  in  material 
things,  but  in  the  higher  walks  of  life  as 
well,  has  crowned  his  efforts. 

The  Jordans  have  long  been  promin- 
ently connected  with  the  history  of  Ottawa 
county,  and  this  work  would  be  incom- 
plete without  further  mention  of  the 
parents  of  our  subject,  Christopher  and 
Barbara  K.  Jordan,  both  of  whom  were 
natives  of  Baden,  Germany,  the  former 
born  July  6,  1809.  They  emigrated  to 
America  in  1846,  locating  first  in  Craw- 
ford county,  Ohio,  where  they  resided  one 
year,  removing  thence  to  Margaretta  town- 
ship. Erie  county,  where  they  resided 
fourteen  years.  In  1861  they  came  to 
Ottawa  county,  locating  on  the  farm  which 
is  now  the  home  of  their  son  Fredrick, 
and  until  1870  Christopher  Jordan  was 
actively  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits. 
He  has  since  lived  a  retired  life,  making 
his  home  with  his  son  Fredrick,  who  man- 
ages the  farm.  His  is  now  in  his  eighty- 
sixth  year  and  is  the  oldest  living  resident 
of  the  township,  if  not  of  Ottawa  county. 
He  has  retained  his  mental  and  physical 


658 


COyrMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


vigor  to  a  remarkable  degree,  but  during 
the  past  few  months  has  been  suffering 
from  cancer  of  the  throat. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jordan  had  a  family  of 
seven  children — Jacob,  who  was  born 
April  3,  1843,  and  is  living  in  Astoria, 
Oregon;  Fredrick,  mentioned  above; 
Christopher,  who  died  in  infancy;  Kath- 
erine,  wife  of  Albert  Bichalmyer,  of  Cleve- 
land, Ohio;  Magdelene,  who  was  born 
December  18,  1848,  became  the  wife  of 
Frank  Stang,  and  died  in  Denver,  Colo. ; 
Caroline,  born  May  3,  1852,  died  July  6, 
1894;  and  Peter,  born  April  5,  1859.  who 
is  now  living  in  Astoria,  Oregon.  The 
father  of  this  family  served  as  trustee  of 
the  township  for  one  term,  but  was  never 
a  politician  in  the  sense  of  office-seeking. 
For  thirty-five  years  be  has  been  a  con- 
stant resident  of  Salem  township,  and 
those  who  know  him  best  know  how  much 
his  strong  arm  and  tireless  industry  have 
done,  toward  the  removal  of  the  primitive 
forest  and  the  development  of  the  ma- 
terial prosperity  of  this  section  of  the 
county.  But  never  in  his  devotion  to 
material  things  has  he  forgotten  the  higher 
duties  of  life,  for  whatever  tends  to  pro- 
mote moral  or  intellectual  culture  and 
social  reform  has  found  in  him  a  read}' 
helper.  He  is  always  to  be  found  on  the 
side  of  whatever  is  true  and  honest,  what- 
ever is  just  and  pure.  He  is  one  to  whom 
the  hand  of  deserving  charity  never  ap- 
pealed in  vain.  Whatever  tends  to  ele- 
vate humanity  in  the  social,  moral  or 
educational  scale  receives  his  support. 
He  has  been  a  devoted  husband  and 
father,  attentive  to  all  home  duties,  and 
as  a  friend  and  neighbor  has  always  been 
held  in  high  esteem. 


WILLIAM    KING.       This    promi- 
nent agriculturist,  who  is  closely 
identified   with  the  interests  of 
Allen  township,  Ottawa  county, 
of  which  he  has  been  a   resident  for  the 
past  twenty-eight   years,    is  a  native    of 


New  York,  having  been  born  in  Niagara 
county,  that  State,  January  11,  1837. 
His  parents  were  Sherman  and  Rebecca 
(Benedict^  King,  the  former  a  native  of 
Connecticut,  and  the  latter  of  Massachu- 
setts, of  English  descent. 

Mr.  King  was  brought  up  on  a  farm 
in  the  State  of  his  birth,  receiving  his 
education  in  the  district  Schools.  In 
1856  he  came  to  Ohio,  and  locating  near 
Fremont  was  for  some  time  employed  by 
Mr.  Samuel  King,  a  farmer  of  Sandusky 
county.  For  ten  years  he  remained  in 
that  count}',  engaged  in  farm  work,  and 
in  1867  came  to  Clay  township,  Ottawa 
county,  settling  in  that  part  which  has 
since  been  set  off  and  named  Allen  town- 
ship. Here  he  has  continuously  carried 
on  agricultural  pursuits,  and  has  done 
much  toward  the  improvement  and  up- 
building of  his  community.  Mr.  King 
was  married  January  11,  1858,  to  Mary, 
daughter  of  George  and  Sarah  (Lones) 
Roberts,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of 
Perry  county,  Ohio,  and  of  German  an- 
cestry. The  father  was  born  March  22, 
1807,  and  passed  away  July  7,  1880;  the 
mother  was  born  February  i,  18 10,  near 
Rushville,  Perry  county,  and  died  at  her 
home  in  Sandusky  county,  August  10, 
1S87,  Their  marriage  took  place  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1834,  and  for  nearly  half  a  century 
they  fought  life's  battle  together.  They 
were  among  the  very  earliest  settlers  of 
Sandusky  county,  having  come  there 
when  that  section  of  the  county  was  a 
vast  wilderness.  They  cleared  away  the 
forests  and  planted  orchards,  sowed  the 
grains,  tilled  the  soil,  made  for  them- 
selves and  children  a  comfortable  home, 
and  lived  to  see  towns  spring  up  around 
them,  churches  and  schoolhouses  built, 
and  all  the  comforts  and  conveniences  of 
civilization  brought  within  their  reach. 
For  forty-seven  years  they  were  valued 
members  of  their  community,  and  they 
died  honored  and  respected  by  all. 

Mrs.    King,    the  wife   of  our  subject, 
was  born  in  Sandusky  county  August  24, 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


659 


1840,  and  to  her  and  her  husband  seven 
children  have  come,  namely:  S.  Ervin, 
born  August  21,  1859,  resides  in  Saun- 
ders county,  Neb.;  Sarah  P.,  born  Janu- 
ary 17,  1 861,  is  the  wife  of  Herman 
Bunte,  and  resides  at  Curtice,  Allen 
township,  Ottawa  county;  Kosie  E. 
married  William  Gerkensmyer,  and  also 
lives  at  Curtice;  Solomon  P.  resides  in 
Allen  township;  Viola  R.  is  the  wife  of 
Robert  Oberst,  and  lives  in  Jackson 
township,  Sandusky  county;  Mary  M. 
and  Cynthia  Edna  live  at  home  with  their 
parents.  Mr.  King  has  always  been  a 
firm  adherent  of  the  Democratic  party, 
and  is  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  intelH- 
gent,  reliable  men  of  the  count}-.  His 
family  are  faithful  attendants  at  the 
Methodist  Protestant  Church  in  Curtice. 


LAWRENCE  WEATHERWAX  is 
one  of  the  oldest  residents  and 
leading  farmers  of  Ottawa  county. 
He  was  born  in  New  York,  Octo- 
ber 3,  181 3,  and  comes  of  an  old  Ameri- 
can famil}'.  His  grandfather,  John  L. 
Weatherwa.x,  was  born  April  18,  1764, 
and  married  Anna  Williams,  who  was 
born  September  14,  1763,  and  they  be- 
came the  parents  of  Andrew  W'eatherwax, 
born  September  28,  1788.  His  business 
was  that  of  a  glass  blower.  Having  arrived 
at  years  of  maturity  he  married  Lydia 
Fulton,  who  was  born  in  1 780,  and 
among  their  children  was  the  subject  of 
this  review. 

Lawrence  Weatherwax  spent  the  first 
eight  years  of  his  life  in  the  State  of  his 
nativity,  and  then  accompanied  his  par- 
ents on  their  removal  to  Ohio,  remaining 
with  them  until  his  marriage.  April  2, 
1837,  with  Nancy  M.  Weatherwax.  She 
was  born  iMarch  i,  1821,  in  New  York, 
where  she  acquired  her  education,  com- 
ing to  Ohio  with  her  parents  in  1836. 
Her  father,  Adam  Weatherwax,  was  born 
February  i,  1793,  in  Albany,  N.  Y. ,  and 
her  mother,  who  bore    the  maiden  name 


of  Elizabeth  Fulton,  was  born  in  1796. 
They  were  married  in  18 16,  and  had  a 
family  of  three  children,  of  whom  two  are 
living.  The  paternal  grandparents  of 
Mrs.  Weatherwax  were  John  L.  and 
Anna  (Williams)  Weatherwax,  the  former 
born  in  Holland,  April  18,  1764.  the  lat- 
ter on  September  14,  1763.  Their  family 
numbered  twelve  children,  their  names 
and  dates  of  birth  being  as  follows:  Cath- 
erine, July  28,  1785;  Elizabeth,  October 
28,  1787;  Andrew,  September  28,  17S8; 
Jacob,  May  26,  1790;  Adam,  February  7, 
1793;  Sebastian,  December  30,  1795; 
George,  May  7,  1797;  Leonard,  February 
22,  1799;  Anna,  March  i,  i8oi;  Maria, 
in  1803;  Anna,  February  16,  1805;  Mag- 
dalene, December  28,  1807;  and  Abra- 
ham, February  27,  18 10.  Mr.  Fuller, 
the  maternal  grandfather  of  Mrs.  Weather- 
wax, was  born  in  1756,  and  his  wife, 
Olive,  was  born  in  1759. 

Soon  after  their  marriage  Lawrence 
Weatherwax  and  his  wife  located  on  the 
farm  where  they  now  live,  in  Harris 
township,  Ottawa  county,  and  their  home 
has  been  blessed  with  six  children,  viz. : 
Elizabeth,  born  June  13,  1838,  is  now 
Mrs.  Paden,  of  Nebraska,  and  has  four 
children:  Lydia,  born  April  2,  1S40,  is 
the  wife  of  S.  P.  Klotz,  of  Lenawee 
county,  Mich; ,  and  has  one  child ;  Nancy, 
born  August  28,  1842,  is  the  wife  of  Ira 
Mannahan,  and  has  five  children;  John, 
born  May  20,  1S44,  died  October  2>6, 
same  year;  Maria  Jane,  born  Julj'  18, 
1855,  is  now  the  wife  of  L.  F.  Leedore; 
Martha,  born  July  23,  1859,  is  the  wife 
of  Mr.  Wotring,  who  operates  the  old 
home  farm. 

During  the  greater  part  of  his  life, 
Mr.  Weatherwax  followed  agricultural 
pursuits,  but  is  now  enjoying  a  well- 
earned  rest — the  deserved  resvard  of  a 
useful  life.  His  career  has  always  been 
an  honorable  and  upright  one,  and  to-day 
he  is  one  of  the  most  highly  esteemed  as 
well  as  one  of  the  oldest  residents  of  his 
adopted  count}-. 


660 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


PETER  R.  KLEINHANS,  son  of 
William  and  Alzada  Kleinhans.and 
the  only  one  surviving  of  their 
children,  is  a  substantial  farmer 
of  Erie  township,  Ottawa  count}',  residing 
on  the  homestead  farm  there.  He  was 
born  in  Erie  township,  November  i,  1846, 
and  has  been  a  resident  of  same  all  his  life. 
William  Kleinhans,  now  deceased  was 
one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Erie  town- 
ship, and  one  of  the  successful  and  pro- 
gressive farmers  located  there.  He  was 
born  in  Williams  township,  Northhamp- 
ton Co.,  Penn.,  October  16,  18 10,  son  of 
George  Henry  and  Elizabeth  (Richardson) 
Kleinhans,  who  were  of  German  and  Irish 
ancestr}',  and  was  reared  a  farmer's  boy. 
He  lived  in  his  native  township  until  he 
was  twenty-one  j'ears  of  age,  in  1832  re- 
moving to  Ohio  and  locating  in  Erie  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county,  where  he  cleared  up 
the  land  and  made  himself  a  home,  in 
which  he  resided  the  remainder  of  his  life. 
In  1839,  at  Port  Clinton,  Portage  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county,  William  Kleinhans 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Alzada  Deer, 
and  they  had  five  children,  of  whom  only 
one,  Peter  R. ,  survives.  William  Klein- 
hans was  one  of  the  progressive  residents 
of  the  township,  and  took  an  active  part 
in  all  movements  tending  toward  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  interests  of  the  com- 
munity. He  died  June  3,  1893,  at  the 
advanced  age  of  eightj'-two  years.  Mrs. 
Kleinhans,  who  was  the  daughter  of  Ti- 
mon  and  Melinda  (Russell)  Deer,  was  born 
in  Onondaga  county,  N.  Y. ,  became  one 
of  the  pioneers  of  Erie  township,  having 
settled  here  about  1834.  and  was  an  es- 
teemed and  honored  resident  of  same  for 
over  sixty  years.  She  passed  away  at  the 
home  of  Timothy  Perry,  in  Port  Clinton, 
August  24,  1894,  at  the  advanced  age  of 
seventy-six  years  and  seven  months,  her 
husband  and  four  of  her  five  children  hav- 
ing preceded  her  to  the  other  world.  Her 
life  was  a  continuous  career  of  mercy  and 
benevolence,  and  she  will  long  be  remem- 
bered  by  her  friends   and  neighbors,  to 


whom  she  was  always  ready  to  adminis- 
ter aid  in  sickness  or  in  want. 

Peter  R.  Kleinhans  was  reared  to  man- 
hood on  the  homestead  farm,  educated 
in  the  district  schools  of  the  township, 
and  since  early  life  has  been  engaged  in 
agricultural  pursuits.  Since  the  death  of 
his  father  he  has  been  managing  the  home 
farm.  In  Sandusky  township,  Sandusky 
count}',  Mr.  Kleinhans  was  united  in  mar- 
riage. May  II,  1873,  with  Rachel  T. 
Tucker,daughter  of  Nelson  K.and  Miranda 
(Bergoon)  Tucker,  and  born  in  Sandusky 
township  November  20,  1853.  They 
have  had  four  children:  William  Nel- 
son, born  March  20,  1875;  Sarah  Eliza- 
beth, born  June  30,  1876;  Rodney  O. 
Dell,  born  July  23,  1878,  and  Bessie 
Miranda,  born  February  2,  1885.  Mr. 
Kleinhans  has  efficiently  filled  several 
township  offices,  is  a  member  of  the 
Grange,  and  politically  has  affiliated  with 
the  Democratic  party.  The  family  at- 
tend the  United  Brethren  Church. 


FRANKLIN  H.  MARTIN,  who  is 
numbered  among  the  native  sons 
of  Ottawa  county,  and  now  living 
in  Clay  township,  was  born  in  El- 
more, Harris  township,  November  8,  1856. 
His  parents,  JohnC.  and  Eva  (Brandt) 
Martin,  were  both  natives  of  Fairfield 
county,  Ohio,  the  father  born  June  22, 
1818,  and  son  of  William  Martin,  who 
followed  the  occupation  of  a  day  laborer. 
John  acquired  but  a  limited  education,  for 
the  schools  of  those  days  were  not  then 
free,  and  followed  the  occupation  of  farm- 
ing, working  by  the  month  until  the  spring 
of  1850,  when  he  removed  to  Ottawa 
county,  purchasing  1 1 1  acres  of  land  in 
Harris  township,  which  was  covered  with 
timber.  For  four  years  he  lived  on  that 
farm,  clearing  thirty  acres,  which  he 
placed  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation 
and  paying  off  the  taxes  and  mortgages 
which  the  original  owners  failed  to  do. 
He  was  making  preparations  for  securing 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


661 


a  full  title  when  the  first  owners,  in  an 
underhand  way,  bought  the  place  which 
left  Mr.  Martin  without  a  farm  and  with- 
out any  profit  for  his  four-years'  hard 
labor.  He  also  lost  seven  horses  and  four 
head  of  cattle  which  died  in  a  mysterious 
way.  Going  to  Elmore  he  then  embarked 
in  the  livery  business,  which  he  followed 
until  1859,  when  he  rented  a  farm  near 
that  place,  continuing  its  cultivation  for 
seven  years.  His  next  removal  took  him 
further  down  the  Portage  river,  where  he 
bought  eighty  acres  of  land,  entirely  cov- 
ered with  timber.  During  his  seven-years' 
residence  thereon  he  cleared  and  culti- 
vated a  considerable  portion,  built  a  log 
cabin  and  outbuildings,  and  otherwise 
improved  the  place.  On  selling  he  came 
to  Clay  township,  where  he  purchased 
eighty-three  acres  of  land,  two  miles  east 
of  the  town  of  Martin,  near  the  boundary 
line  of  Benton  township.  Having  built  a 
log  cabin  into  which  the  family  moved,  he 
began  the  arduous  task  of  improving  the 
land,  and  in  course  of  time  accomplished 
the  work  by  the  aid  of  his  sons.  The  log 
cabin  was  replaced  by  a  substantial  frame 
residence,  good  barns  were  built  for  the 
shelter  of  his  stock  and  grain,  a  fine 
orchard  was  planted,  and  other  improve- 
ments added  until  the  farm  became  one 
of  the  valuable  properties  of  the. county. 
The  trials  and  difficulties  which  Mr.  Mar- 
tin had  to  bear  in  those  days  were  of  a 
self-sacrificing  nature.  He  frequently  had 
to  take  his  grain  to  the  mill  on  horseback 
in  order  to  supply  his  family  with  bread — 
two  days  being  consumed  on  the  trip — 
during  one  of  which  trips  he  contracted 
cholera,  and  had  to  lie  in  the  woods  all 
night,  for  if  he  sought  shelter  in  a  home 
he  would  probably  have  given  the  disease 
to  some  member  of  the  family.  He  re- 
turned to  his  own  home,  and  one  of  his 
own  children  was  stricken  with  the  con- 
tagion and  died,  and  his  wife  almost  lost 
her  life. 

On  November   24,    1842,   in  Fairfield 
county,    Ohio,    Mr.  Martin   married  Miss 


Eva  Brandt,  who  was  born  in  that  coun- 
ty, November  5,  1823,  and  they  became 
parents  of  nine  children,  four  of  whom 
are  living,  as  follows:  (i)  Adam  W.,  who 
was  born  October  14,  1843,  in  Fairfield 
county,  and  acquired  his  education  in  El- 
more, Ohio,  is  now  a  butcher  and  farmer; 
in  April,  1871,  he  wedded  Ammesta  Hul- 
burt,  of  Canada,  and  is  living  near  the  old 
homestead,  operating  half  of  the  original 
farm.  (2)  John  Wesley,  born  December 
26,  1846,  in  Fairfield  county,  was  edu- 
cated in  Elmore,  and  is  now  farming  in 
his  native  county.  (3)  Rachel  was  born 
May  14,  1854,  in  Harris  township,  Otta- 
wa county,  was  there  educated,  and  is 
now  the  wife  of  James  Brownlo.  They 
became  the  parents  of  ten  children— -four 
sons  and  six  daughters — their  names  and 
dates  of  birth  being  as  follows:  Eva,  Oc- 
tober 27,  1874;  Lillie,  December  30, 
1875;  Lizzie,  February  1,  1877;  Emma 
E.,  January  i,  1879;  Sarah,  January  4, 
1882;  Annie,  May  19,  1884;  James,  June 
23,  1886;  John,  in  June,  1888;  William, 
August  31,  1 891;  and  an  infant,  who  was 
born  April  2,  1893,  and  died  unnamed. 
The  parents  of  this  family  reside  in  To- 
ledo. (4)  Franklin  H.  is  the  next  child 
of  John  C.  Martin.  Those  of  the  family 
who  have  passed  away  are  James  E. , 
born  August  2,  1844,  and  died  October  2, 
1845;  Jacob,  born  October  2,  1848,  and 
died  April  30,  1850;  Sylvester,  born  Oc- 
tober 4,  1850,  and  died  October  i,  1852; 
and  twins,  born  April  i,  1852,  died  un- 
named. 

John  C.  Martin  passed  away  on  the 
old  home  farm,  April  18,  1892,  leaving 
many  friends  and  a  loving  family  to  mourn 
his  loss.  He  was  well-known  throughout 
the  county  as  an  honest,  industrious  man, 
attending  strictly  to  his  own  business,  was 
esteemed  as  a  good  neighbor,  and  was  a 
friend  to  the  poor  and  needy.  His  circle 
of  friends  was  limited  only  by  his  circle  of 
acquaintances.  He  was  always  a  stanch 
supporter  of  Republican  principles,  but 
never  sought  political  office,  preferring  to 


G62 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


devote  his  time  and  attention  to  the  inter- 
ests of  the  farm  and  the  enjojments  of 
his  home.  His  widow  now  resides  with 
her  son  Franklin  at  a  ripe  old  age.  She 
belongs  to  the  class  of  worthy  pioneer 
women  who  with  their  husbands  shared 
in  the  labor  of  developing  the  county,  and 
to  whom  great  credit  is  due  for  the  efforts 
they  put  forth.  She  has  now  reached  the 
ripe  old  age  of  seventy-two  years,  and  for 
more  than  half  a  century  she  traveled 
life's  journey  by  the  side  of  her  late  hus- 
band, sharing  with  him  in  all  the  joys  and 
sorrows  that  fell  to  his  lot. 

Franklin  H.  Martin,  whose  name 
opens  this  record,  has  spent  his  entire 
life  on  the  old  homestead,  and  upon  his 
father's  death  assumed  the  management 
and  care  of  the  farm.  On  June  6,  1880, 
he  was  joined  in  wedlock  with  Mary  E. 
Deal,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Jane  Deal, 
of  Iowa,  and  children  as  follows  graced 
their  union,  their  names  and  dates  of 
birth  being:  Jane  H.,  May  29,  1 881;  Pearl 
L. ,  March  11,  1884;  JohnD.,  March  23, 
1887;  I\atie  E.,  August  31,  1S89;  Alice 
M.,  April  18,  1892,  and  died  July  3,  same 
year;  and  Ruth  L.,  born  April  21,1894. 
Mrs.  Martin  was  born  in  Emmet  coun- 
ty, Iowa,  June  4,  1854.  Her  father  died 
when  she  was  quite  young  ,  and  her  mother 
when  she  was  only  eight  years  of  age. 
She  has  two  brothers  and  one  sister,  as 
follows:  John  S.,  who  was  born  April  19, 
1852,  and  is  a  fruit  grower  of  Oregon; 
Matilda,  who  was  born  July  30,  i860, 
and  became  the  wife  of  Frederick  Sim- 
mons, died  in  Iowa,  June  30,  1889;  and 
George  Deal,  born  December  27,  1862.  is 
farming  in  Nebraska. 

Mr.  Martin  is  numbered  among  the 
progressive  and  enterprising  agriculturists 
of  Ottawa  county,  and  is  now  e.xtensively 
engaged  in  market  gardening,  in  which 
he  is  meeting  with  good  success.  In  his 
political  views  he  is  a  Republican,  but 
has  never  sought  or  desired  public  office, 
although  he  faithfully  performs  all  duties 
of  citizenship. 


M 


ICHAEL  PUTMAN,  Jr.,  son  of 
Michael  and  Elizabeth  (Bates) 
Putman,  was  born  in  Hancock 
county,  Ohio,  January  16,  185  i. 
When  he  was  a  year  old  his  parents  moved 
to  the  farm  where  they  now  live,  in  Sec- 
tion 29,  Scott  township,  Sanduskj' county. 
It  was  heavily  timbered,  no  roads  had 
been  made,  and  in  fact  the  country  was 
practically  a  wilderness.  He  remained 
at  home  until  he  was  twenty-three  years 
old,  receiving  his  education  in  the  college 
at  Tiffin,  Ohio,  where  he  made  a  special 
study  of  surveying.  Shortly  after  his  re- 
turn from  college  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Melissa  Inman,  of  Scott  township,  and 
moved  to  the  home  of  his  father,  working 
his  farm  for  one  year.  He  then  bought 
eight}'  acres  in  Section  2 1 ,  Scott  township, 
where  he  now  lives. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-five  years  Mr. 
Putman  was  elected  county  surveyor  of 
Sandusky  county.  He  then  moved 'his 
family  to  Fremont,  the  county  seat,  where 
he  remained  eight  jears,  at  the  expiiration 
of  which  time  they  returned  to  the  farm 
where  he  now  resides.  Mr.  Putman  has 
been  township  clerk  for  two  years,  and 
justice  of  the  peace  for  one  year.  When 
he  came  to  his  farm  it  was  in  a  wild  state, 
but  he  has  cleared  it,  erected  substantial 
buildings  and  made  a  comfortable  and 
pleasant  home  there.  The  present  sys- 
tem of  ditching  in  Sandusky  county  was 
originated  with  Mr.  Putman  when  he  was 
county  surveyor,  the  law  providing  that 
the  county  surveyor  shall  have  charge  of 
the  ditching.  In  1880  $62,000  was  e.\- 
pended  in  Sandusky  county,  under  Sur- 
veyor's Putman's  direction,  in  putting  in 
suitable  ditches,  and  so  carefully  had  he 
estimated  the  cost  of  the  work  that  when 
completed  it  was  entirely  free  from  debt, 
and  a  credit  to  his  business  abilit)'. 

In  1892  the  oil  industry  was  begun  on 
Mr.  Putman's  farm.  The  first  lease  gave 
him  $180  every  six  months,  until  wells 
were  running,  and  he  then  received  one- 
eighth  of  the  oil.     This  well  was  located 


COMMEMORAJ  IVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


663 


on  Section  21,  and  is  producing  eight 
barrels  pet  day.  Other  wells  are  being 
sunk  on  the  farm,  for  each  of  which  Mr. 
Putman  receives  $100  royalty  and  one- 
si.xth  of  the  oil,  which  is  pumped  through 
pipes  to  Cleveland,  over  one  hundred 
miles.  Mr.  Putman  now  has  a  fine  farm 
of  160  acres,  and,  in  addition,  works  his 
father's  farm  of  eighty  acres. 

To  him  and  his  wife  have  come  three 
children:  Alfred,  born  February  1 1, 1876; 
Lewis,  born  August  10,  1881,  and  Hazel 
Maudolin,  born  October  26,  18S2.  Alfred 
received  his  early  education  in  the  dis- 
trict sch<^ols,  later  attending  the  academy 
at  Fostoria,  and  began  teaching  at  the  age 
of  sixteen  years,  an  occupation  which  he 
has  followed  several  terms;  his  attention 
is  to  law  or  medicine. 

The  father  of  our  subject,  Michael 
Putman,  Sr. ,  was  born  December  22, 
1S15,  in  Pennsylvania,  and  when  four 
years  old,  came  to  Wayne  county,  Ohio, 
where  he  lived  until  he  was  twenty. 
Thence  he  removed  to  Hancock  county, 
where  he  remained  one  year,  at  which 
time  he  was  married  to  Miss  Elizabeth 
Bates,  on  March  23,  1837.  For  many 
years  they  have  been  residents  of  Scott 
township,  and  were  among  the  pioneers 
of  that  part  of  the  county,  coming  hither 
when  all  was  a  wilderness,  and  clearing  a 
comfortable  home.  Mrs.  Putman  was  born 
October  22,  18 16,  in  Stark  county,  Ohio, 
and  when  a  girl  came  to  Hancock  county, 
where  she  remained  until  her  marriage. 
To  them  have  been  born  children  whose 
names  and  dates  of  birth  are  as  follows: 
Alpheus,  November  10,  1837;  Mary  Ann, 
April  29, 1839;  Sarah  Ann,  March  9,1841; 
Eliza  Jane,  August  16,  1842;  Jacob,  May 
22,  1844;  Andrew,  October  20,  1848; 
Hannah,  September  8,  1850;  Michael  (our 
subject),  January  16,  185 1;  Sophronia, 
Afarch  6,  1854;  Fanny,  August  15,  1857; 
and  Amanda,  July  6,   1859. 

The  paternal  grandfather,  Jacob  Put- 
man, was  born  in  1783  in  Pennsylvania, 
and  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  San- 

42 


dusky  county.  His  wife  was  born  in 
1789,  in  Pennsylvania.  To  them  were 
born  ten  children,  three  of  whom  are  liv- 
ing— one  in  Ohio  and  two  in  Indiana. 
The  maternal  great-grandfather,  Jacob 
Gross,  was  born  about  1750.  The  ma- 
ternal grandfather,  Andrew  Bates,  was 
born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1787,  and  was  a 
farmer.  He  served  in  the  war  of  1812. 
His  wife,  Anor  Homon,  was  born  in  1790. 
To  them  were  born  ten  children,  of  whom 
are  living:  Mrs.  D.  Phillips  (of  Scott 
township),  Adam  and  William  Bates, 
Susan  Strouse,  Anor  Smith,  Louisa  Mil- 
ler, and  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Putman.  Great- 
grandfather Bates  was  a  soldier  in  the 
Revolution.  Alpheus  was  a  captain  in 
the  Civil  war,  and  was  wounded  in  the 
battle  of  Shiloh;  Jacob  served  in  the  Re- 
bellion, and  was  shot  at  Vicksburg.  and 
Andrew  was  also  in  the  Civil  war. 

Mrs.  Melissa  Putman,  wife  of  Michael 
Putman,  Jr.,  is  a  daughter  of  William 
and  Calista  (Barringer)  Inman,  and  was 
born  on  a  farm  in  Scott  township,  San- 
dusky Co.,  Ohio,  April  27,  1S50.  Her 
education  was  obtained  at  Tinney,  Scott 
township,  where  she  lived  most  of  the 
time  until  her  marriage.  Her  father  was 
born  February  14,  1816,  in  New  Jersey, 
and  when  a  bo}'  removed  with  his  parents 
to  Sandusky  county,  the  family  settling 
on  a  large  farm  of  400  acres  near  Fre- 
mont. Here  he  went  to  school,  and  at 
the  age  of  twenty-two  years  was  gradua- 
ted from  the  public  schools  of  that  place. 
He  was  then  married  to  Miss  Calista  Bar- 
ringer, of  Fremont,  and  they  shortly  af- 
terward, about  1 844,  purchased  a  forty- 
acre  farm  in  Scott  township,  to  which  he 
added  until  at  one  time  they  owned  200 
acres.  He  made  two  trips  to  California 
in  the  interest  of  gold  mining,  in  which 
he  was  successful,  making  quite  an  amount 
of  money.  He  died  in  1892,  and  was 
buried  in  the  Metzger  Cemetery.  Mr.  In- 
man's  father,  Brazil  C.  Inman,  was  born 
about  1785;  his  mother  was  born  Octo- 
ber 15,   1 8 16,  about  nine  miles  from  Col- 


GW 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


umbus,  Ohio,  where  she  lived  until  she 
was  fifteen  years  old,  and  where  she  at- 
tended school.  She  then  came  to  San- 
dusky county,  remaining  there  the  greater 
part  of  her  life.  Her  father,  William 
Barringer,  was  born  about  1791,  and  was 
a  farmer  by  occupation;  he  was  killed  by 
a  falling  tree.  His  wife,  Sarah  Cammell, 
was  born  about  1793.  To  them  were 
born  four  children — two  sons  and  two 
daughters.  Mrs.  Putman's  paternal  grand- 
father was  born  about  1759;  her  maternal 
grandmother,  Jane  Cammell,  was  born 
about  1760. 


HENRY  BREDBECK,    who  occu- 
pies a  prominent  position  among 
the  prosperous  fruit  growers  and 
agriculturists  of    Uanbury   town- 
ship,   Ottawa  county,   was  born  in  New 
York  City,  September  7,    1842,    of   Ger- 
man parentage. 

He  is  a  son  of  Gerd  and  Martha  Bred- 
beck,  both  natives  of  Hanover,  Germany. 
The  paternal  grandparents,  John  H.  and 
Martha  Bredbeck,  were  also  born  in  the 
Province  of  Hanover,  and  continued  to 
reside  in  the  Fatherland  until  they  crossed 
the  dark  river  of  death.  At  the  age  of  nine- 
teen the  father  of  our  subject  went  to 
London,  England,  where  for  a  number  of 
years  he  worked  in  a  sugar  refinery,  but 
emigrated  to  this  country  at  an  early  date, 
and  for  some  time  was  engaged  in  the 
grocery  business  in  New  York  City.  In 
1847  he  came  to  the  Buckeye  State,  lo- 
cating in  Danbury  township,  Ottawa 
county,  where  he  resided  until  his  death 
in  March,  1883.  He  was  a  wide-awake 
and  enterprising  citizen,  highly  esteemed 
by  all  his  friends  and  acquaintances  for 
his  many  sterling  qualities.  His  wife  still 
makes  her  home  in  Danbury  township. 

In  1847  Henry  Bredbeck  came  with 
his  parents  to  Ohio,  where  his  father  en- 
gaged in  agricultural  pursuits  up  to  within 
a  short  time  of  his  death.  After  leaving 
the  district  schools  of  Danbury  township, 


where  his  education  was  begun,  our  sub- 
ject entered  Oberlin  College,  at  Oberlin, 
Ohio,  and  continued  his  studies  for  two 
terms.  Being  familiar  with  farm  duties 
from  his  early  boyhood,  he  decided  to 
make  that  his  life  work,  in  which  he  has 
been  very  successful,  and  has  also  been 
extensively  engaged  in  fruit  growing,  one 
of  the  important  industries  of  Ottawa 
county.  He  was  married  in  Danbury 
township,  February  26,  1867,  Mrs.  So- 
phia Wedekind,  a  daughter  of  Frederick 
and  Martha  Schraeder.  They  became 
the  parents  of  seven  children,  but  only 
four  of  them  are  still  living,  their  names 
and  dates  of  birth  being:  Herbert,  June  10, 
1 871;  Minnie,  December  19,  1875;  Fred-- 
erick,  February  26,  1877;  and  Estella, 
March  20,  1879. 

Mr.  Bredbeck  has  been  called  upon  to 
fill  in  several  positions  of  honor  and 
trust,  having  served  as  township  trustee 
and  school  director  two  terms  each.  He 
has  been  the  efficient  president  of  the  Ot- 
tawa Count}'  Agricultural  Society,  and  for 
fifteen  years  has  been  a  member  of  the 
board  of  Erie  County  Agricultural  Asso- 
ciation. He  is  a  stockholder  and  director 
of  the  German  American  Bank  of  Port 
Clinton,  Ohio,  and  for  many  years  has 
been  a  director  of  the  Erie  County  Farm- 
ers Mutual  Insurance  Company,  and  a 
member  of  the  Grange.  His  residence  is 
one  of  the  finest  in  the  township,  and  all 
its  surroundings  bespeaks  care  and  cul- 
ture, while  he  owns  and  operates  most 
successfully  one  of  the  best  fruit  orchards 
in  the  vicinity. 

In  the  career  of  Mr.  Bredbeck,  we 
find  one  of  the  best  examples  of  what  may 
be  accomplished  by  industry  and  perse- 
verance, and  although  he  disdains  the  pos- 
session of  any  qualities  that  entitle  him  to 
the  mention  which  his  many  friends  be- 
lieve him  to  be  worthy  of,  yet  it  is  in  no 
spirit  of  adulation  that  we  say  of  him  that 
his  life  is  illustrative  of  the  success  that 
attends  honest,  well-directed  endeavor 
and  conscientious  adherence  to  duty.    Al- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


665 


though  unassuming  in  manner,  he  is  a 
very  popular  man,  and  his  friends  are 
numbered  by  the  score.  He  devotes  to 
agriculture  and  fruit  growing  the  care  and 
attention  that  warrants  success,  and  to- 
day he  ranks  with  the  leading  business 
men  of  Ottawa  county.  His  life  might 
well  serve  as  an  example  worthy  of  imi- 
tation by  the  future  generations,  as  the 
valuable  property  which  he  now  posses- 
ses is  the  direct  result  of  his  own  indus- 
try and  good  management. 


I 


SAAC  M.  FLORO  is  numbered  among 
the  native  sons  of  Ottawa  county,  his 
birth  having  occurred  in  Erie  town- 
ship, April  28,  1848,  a  son  of  John 
and  Lydia  Floro,  well  known  and  es- 
teemed people  of  the  community.  In  the 
usual  manner  of  farmer  lads  he  was  reared, 
obtaining  his  education  in  the  district 
schools  of  the  neighborhood,  and  aiding 
in  the  labors  of  the  farm  as  soon  as  he 
had  reached  a  sufficient  age.  The  occupa- 
tion to  which  he  was  reared  he  has  made 
his  life  work,  and  to-day  he  is  ranked 
among  the  progressive  and  prominent 
farmers  of  the  township.  He  is  thorough 
and  painstaking  in  all  his  work,  and  his 
home  place,  with  its  neat  appearance  and 
good  improvements,  indicates  the  saga- 
cious supervision  of  a  careful  owner. 

On  June  6,  1873,  at  Locust  Point, 
Ohio,  was  celebrated  the  marriage  of  Isaac 
M.  Floro  and  Miss  Mary  Finkin,  who  was 
born  in  Erie  township,  March  16,  1854, 
and  is  a  daughter  of  ^fartin  and  Elizabeth 
(Sinclair)  Finkin.  Her  father  has  now 
departed  this  life,  but  her  mother  is  still 
living  in  Carroll  township,  Ottawa  county. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Floro  are  the  parents  of 
children,  as  follows:  Martin,  born  April 
12,  1874;  Henry,  born  June  8,  1876;  Nana, 
born  -September  25,  1878,  now  the  wife 
of  William  Dewitt,  a  resident  of  Carroll 
township,  Ottawa  county;  Hattie,  born 
June  12,  1881;  George  W.,  born  Decem- 


ber 27,  1886;  and  Calvin  L. ,  born  July  8, 
1892.  died  August  21,   1893. 

Mr.  Floro  is  a  justice  of  the  peace  in 
Ottawa  county,  and  has  efficiently  filled 
various  township  offices,  discharging  his 
duties  with  credit  to  himself  and  satisfac- 
tion to  his  constituents.  His  political 
support  is  given  to  the  Democracy,  and 
he  is  an  enterprising  citizen,  deeply  inter- 
ested in  all  that  pertains  to  the  welfare  of 
the  community.  He  was  deputy  master 
of  the  Ohio  State  Grange  for  Ottawa 
county  for  twelve  years,  having  been  ap- 
pointed by  Col.  J.  H.  Brigham,  then 
master  of  the  Ohio  State  Grange. 


ALEXANDER  SCRYMGER,  a  rep- 
resentative agriculturist,  and  one 
of  the  most  popular  men  in  Clay 
township.    Ottawa     county,     was 
born  in  the  State  of  New  York,  Novem- 
ber 26,  1839. 

Our  subject  grew  up  on  the  farm,  ob- 
taining what  meagre  education  could  be 
derived  from  the  district  school  of  those 
days,  and  assisting  his  father,  until  the 
Civil  war  broke  out,  and  the  youth  of  the 
country  responded  with  alacrity  to  the 
call  for  help.  In  August,  1862,  he  enlist- 
ed in  Company  K,  One  Hundredth  Ohio 
Infantry,  in  which  regiment  he  served 
three  years,  during  which  time  he  took 
part  in  the  battles  of  P'ranklin,  Nashville, 
and  Limestone  Station,  all  in  Tennessee, 
besides  in  several  minor  engagements. 
He  spent  six  months  in  the  terrible  prison 
of  Belle  Isle,  enduring  many  hardships 
and  sufferings.  In  1865  he  received  his 
discharge,  and,  returning  to  Ottawa  coun- 
ty, resumed  the  peaceful  occupation  of  a 
farmer.  In  i867,Mr.  Scry mger  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Alice  Frayer,  and  three  chil- 
dren have  come  to  them:  William,  born 
February  16.  1869;  Ida,  born  January  4, 
1872;  and  Maud,  born  August  i,  1878. 
Mr.  Scrymger  remained  in  Bay  township 
until  1877,  when  he  came  to  Clay  town- 
ship, and   purchased  fifty-three    acres  of 


600 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


land.  This  he  has  brought  to  a  high  state 
of  cultivation,  having  a  fine  orchard, 
fruitful  fields  and  a  fine  dwelling  house, 
with  all  necessary  barns,  outbuildings, etc. 
Mr.  Scrymgeris  widely  known  through- 
out the  county  as  an  able  business  man, 
progressive  in  his  ideas,  with  a  fund  of 
sound  common  sense,  and  withal  as  a 
man  of  genial  disposition.  His  popular- 
ity with  all  classes  of  men  is  well-known, 
and  has  been  shown  by  his  election,  in 
the  fall  of  1886,  to  the  office  of  county 
commissioner,  on  the  Democratic  ticket, 
by  a  large  majority  of  the  popular  vote, 
and  his  re-election  on  the  same  ticket. 
During  his  administration  several  im- 
portant public  works  were  carried  through 
such  as  the  building  of  bridges,  dykes,  and 
other  much-needed  improvements,  on 
which  achievements  Mr.  Scrymger  is  en- 
titled to  a  large  share  of  the  credit.  He 
also  held  the  office  of  trustee  of  the  town- 
ship, for  three  years,  and  has  filled  other 
minor  positions.  He  is  an  active  mem- 
ber of  his  party,  and  in  every  respect  is 
one  of  the  leading  men  of  his  township. 


NICHOLAS  FOX  is  a  fruit  grower 
and  proprietor  of  a  flour  and  feed 
store  at  Put  in  Bay,  Sandusky 
county.  Among  the  most  prom- 
inent and  influential  residents  of  this  lo- 
cality there  is  probably  no  one  more 
worthy  of  mention  in  this  volume  than 
the  gentleman  whose  name  is  here  re- 
corded. 

Mr.  Fox  was  born  in  Bavaria,  Ger- 
many, September  22,  1839,  and  is  a  son 
of  John  Adam  and  Eva  (Parr)  Fo.x,  who 
were  also  natives  of  that  country,  and 
there  spent  their  entire  lives,  the  former 
dying  in  January,  1871,  while  the  latter 
survived  until  April  24,  1S78.  By  occu- 
pation the  father  was  a  fanner  and  weaver, 
and  these  two  pursuits  he  successfully  fol- 
lowed in  his  native  land.  In  the  family 
were  ten  children,  five  of  whom  became 
residents  of  the   United  States,    namely: 


Andrew,  who  died  in  Brenham,  Texas,  in 
1 878;  John  A.,  who  resides  on  Middle  Bass 
Island;  Nicholas,  subject  of  this  sketch; 
George  A.,  who  died  in  Texas,  in  1887; 
and  Catherina,  who  died  in  Brenham, 
Texas,  in  1886;  of  the  remaining  five 
members  of  the  famil}-  two  died  in  in- 
fancy, and  the  others  reside  in  their  na- 
tive land. 

Nicholas  Fox  was  reared  and  educated 
in  Germany,  and  resided  upon  his  father's 
farm  until  twenty-four  years  of  age,  aiding 
in  the  labors  of  the  field  and  becoming  fa- 
miliar with  farm  work  in  all  its  depart- 
ments. In  1 863  he  bade  adieu  to  home  and 
friends  and  crossed  the  broad  Atlantic  to 
America,  reaching  New  York  City  on  the 
29th  of  December.  Aftera  month  he  pushed 
on  toward  the  West,  and  selecting  Put  in 
Bay  as  a  suitable  place  to  make  his  home 
purchased  a  good  farm,  and  at  once  be- 
gan the  cultivation  of  grapes,  having  had 
considerable  experience  in  that  line  of 
business  in  his  native  land.  He  now  has 
extensive  and  valuable  vineyards,  and  by 
energy  and  perseverance  has  acquired  the 
success  which  crowns  his  efforts. 

In  Sandusky  City,  Ohio,  November 
9,  1869,  Mr.  Fox  married  Miss  Wilhel- 
mina  Buddenhagen,  a  daughter  of 
Charles  and  Marie  (\\'ardo_,  Buddenhagen, 
and  born  in  Mecklenburg.  Germany,  July 
15,  1851.  To  this  marriage  have  come 
four  children,  as  follows:  Henry,  born 
August  2,  1870,  is  the  present  mayor  of 
Put  in  Bay  Island,  a  notary  public  and 
agent  for  the  Detroit  &  Cleveland  Steam- 
ship Line;  George  A.,  born  April  19, 
1872,  is  also  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Fox 
&  Sons,  of  Put  in  Bay  Island;  Louisa, 
born  November  28,  1875;  and  Andrew 
N.,  born  January  28,  1SS5.  In  his  polit- 
ical views,  Mr.  Fox  is  liberal,  voting  for 
the  man  rather  than  for  the  party,  and  he 
has  never  sought  office,  preferring  to  give 
his  time  and  attention  to  his  business  in- 
terests. In  addition  to  his  vineyards  and 
store  he  is  the  owner  of  the  finest  dock 
and  warehouses  on   Put  in   Bay   Island, 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


007 


and  he  carries  forward  to  successful  com- 
pletion whatever  he  undertakes.  He 
would  be  a  desirable  acquisition  to  any 
community,  and  Ottawa  county  numbers 
him  among  its  valued  citizens. 


HENRY  SETHMAN,  a  successful 
and  enterprising  fruit  grower  of 
Danbury  township,  Ottawa  coun- 
ty, is  a  native  of  that  township, 
having  first  seen  the  light  of  day  in  the 
old  log  house  which  stood  on  the  land 
now  occupied  by  his  handsome  and  im- 
posing residence.  His  birth  occurred 
September  i8,  1856,  and  he  is  a  son  of 
Carsten  Henry  and  Mary  (Muller)  Seth- 
man,  both  now  deceased. 

The  father  of  our  subject  was  born  in 
the  Province  of  Hanover,  Germany,  Sep- 
tember 12,  1822,  and  there  he  was  reared 
and  educated.  Besides  being  engaged  in 
farming,  he  carried  on  a  hotel,  and  also 
operated  a  distillery.  In  1847  he  emi- 
grated to  the  New  World,  and  after  reach- 
ing New  York  City  there  engaged  as  a 
clerk  in  a  grocery  store  for  about  a  year 
and  a  half,  when  he  embarked  in  the 
grocery  business  for  himself.  On  dispos- 
ing of  his  store  in  1855  he  located  in 
Danbury  township,  Ottawa  county,  in 
September,  and  followed  farming  with 
good  success.  He  here  made  his  home 
until  within  a  few  weeks  of  his  death, 
which  occurred  Januar\'  12,  i8go,  at  the 
residence  of  his  daughter  Sophia — Mrs. 
Charles  A.  Smith — of  Lansing,  Mich. 
The  mother  of  our  subject  was  born  in 
Hanover  January  9,  1830,  and  in  1847 
came  to  the  United  States.  For  a  year 
after  her  arrival  in  this  country  she  made 
her  home  in  Baltimore,  Md.,  but  at  the 
expiration  of  that  time  she  went  to  New 
York  City,  where  she  married  Mr.  Seth- 
man.  She  passed  away  at  her  residence 
in  Danbury  township  November  i,  1886. 
In  the  familj'  were  seven  children,  as  fol- 
lows: John  H.,  born  January  31,  1853, 
died  February  14  of  the  same  year;  John 


D.,  born  October  5,  1854,  died  Decem- 
ber 26,  1867;  Henry  is  the  next  in  order 
of  birth;  Diedrich,  born  January  9,  1858, 
died  May  27  following;  Claus  D.,  born 
July  9,  i860,  died  January  26,  1876; 
Sophia,  born  June  29,  1867,  is  the  wife 
of  Charles  A.  Smith,  of  Lansing,  Mich. ; 
and  Mary  M.,  born  April  8,  1870,  died 
April  15,  1870. 

Henry  Sethman  remained  under  the 
parental  roof,  assisting  in  the  labors  of 
the  home  farm,  where  he  has  spent  his 
entire  life  engaged  in  the  cultivation  of 
the  land,  but  now  gives  his  attention 
more  particularly  to  fruit  culture.  His 
education  was  acquired  in  the  district 
schools  of  the  neighborhood,  and  by  sub- 
sequent reading  and  observation  he  has 
become  a  well-informed  man.  On  No- 
vember 15,  1887,  he  wedded  Miss  Henri- 
etta Weigman,  daughter  of  James  and 
Mary  E.  (Smith)  Weigman,  the  marriage 
ceremony  being  performed  in  Holt,  Ing- 
ham Co.,  Mich.  By  this  marriage  there 
is  one  son — Clarence  Henry,  born  March 
4, 1890.  Mrs.  Sethman's  father  was  born 
at  Mud  Creek,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  and 
her  mother  on  the  Sethman  homestead. 
After  their  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Weig- 
man resided  for  a  number  of  years  in 
Sandusky  county,  and  later  removed  to 
Lansing,  Mich.,  wherethey  and  the  grand- 
parents of  Mrs.  Sethman  now  reside. 
She  is  the  eldest  in  their  family  of  four 
children,  and  was  born  in  Holt,  Mich., 
July  14,  1870;  the  others  are  Charles  A., 
born  June  29,  1873,  and  died  June  29, 
1888;  Henry,  born  September  21,  1875; 
and  an  infant  yet  unnamed. 

Mr.  Sethman  is  a  valued  member  of 
Oliver  H.  Perry  Lodge,  No.  341,  F.  & 
A.  M.,  of  Port  Clinton,  Ohio.  In  politics 
he  is  an  earnest  supporter  of  the  princi- 
ples of  the  Democratic  party,  and  he  and 
his  family  are  Lutherans  in  religious  be- 
lief. He  is  a  typical  illustration  of  a 
practical  farmer,  his  well-tilled  fields  and 
well-kept  fruit  orchards  showing  thrift 
and  a  thorough  acquaintance  with  his  eg- 


608 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPUICAL  RECORD. 


cupation.  His  residence  is  one  of  the 
finest  and  most  attractive  in  the  county, 
and  after  a  day  of  toil  in  his  extensive 
orchards  he  knows  how  to  enjoy  an  even- 
ing of  rest  amidst  his  home  comforts, 
brif^htened  by  his  faithful  and  loving  wife 
and  their  little,  interesting  son.  [Since 
the  above  was  written  we  have  received 
the  lamentable  news  of  Mr.  Henry  Seth- 
man's  accidental  death,  which  occurred 
on  Thanksgiving  Day,  1895.  He  was 
handling  a  revolver  in  the  kitchen  of  his 
own  house,  and  by  some  means  one  of 
the  cartridges  exploded,  the  bullet  enter- 
ing the  left  side  below  the  heart.  He 
screamed,  "  Oh,  Will,  I'm  shot!"  and  fell 
to  the  floor  a  corpse.  The  funeral  was 
held  on  the  following  Sunday  afternoon, 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Masonic  frater- 
nity of  Port  Clinton. — Editor. 


FRANCIS  M.  O'CALLAGHAN,  a 
well-known  farmer  and  trader  of 
Allen  township,  Ottawa  county, 
and  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  war,  is 
a  native  of  the  Emerald  Isle,  having  been 
born  in  Dublin  April  4,  1840.  His  parents, 
William  and  Henrietta  (Walker)  O'Calla- 
ghan,  were  both  born  in  Ireland,  and  his 
paternal  grandfather,  Andrew  O'Calla- 
ghan,  was  a  clergyman  of  the  English 
Church. 

William  O'Callaghan  was  what  is 
known  in  the  old  country  as  a  country 
gentleman,  and  was  the  owner  of  a  large 
estate  in  and  near  Dublin.  He  was  the 
father  of  fourteen  children.  In  1850  he 
emigrated  to  this  country,  when  our  sub- 
ject was  a  lad  of  ten  years  of  age,  but  the 
climate  not  agreeing  with  him  he  returned 
to  Ireland  and  from  there  went  to  Liver- 
pool, England,  at  which  place  he  died. 
Francis  M.,  our  subject,  was  one  of  the 
family  who  decided  to  remain  in  America, 
and  he  lived  for  eight  years  in  Detroit, 
Mich.,  earning  his  own  livelihood,  and  at 
the  same  time  attending  school  and  fitting 
himself  for  business.     About  this  time  a 


tumor  made  its  appearance  on  his  face, 
causing  him  great  suffering,  and  he  con- 
cluded to  go  back  to  Dublin,  and  have  an 
operation  performed.  This  he  did,  and 
after  remaining  abroad  one  year  returned 
to  this  country,  coming  to  Ohio  and  en- 
tering the  brewing  business  at  Toledo, 
at  which  he  worked  for  three  j'ears,  for 
the  next  three  j'ears  engaging  in  the  con- 
fectionery business.  In  the  spring  of  186 1 
the  call  to  arms  was  heard,  and  all  over 
the  North  volunteers  gladly  sprang  to  the 
defense  of  the  "stars  and  stripes;"  our 
brave  young  Irishman  was  not  lacking  in 
love  for  the  country  of  his  adoption, 
whose  institutions  he  appreciated,  and  on 
October  5,  1861,  he  enlisted  in  the  Sixty- 
seventh  Ohio  Infantry,  and  took  part  in 
many  desperate  conflicts.  Among  these 
were    the  battles    of  Winchester,    Deep- 


bottom  and    Fort   Wagener,    S.    C. 


In 


the  latter  engagement  he  was  severely 
wounded,  being  shot  through  the  neck, 
and  was  sent  to  a  hospital,  where  he  re- 
mained for  a  year.  He  received  his  dis- 
charge January  17,  1865,  after  a  service 
of  over  three  years.  When  the  war  was 
over  Mr.  O'Callaghan  spent  several  years 
as  a  sailor  on  the  great  lakes.  He  helped 
to  construct  a  vessel  called  the  "  Rough 
and  Ready,"  of  which  he  was  mate  for 
about  two  years,  and  then  built  the 
"  Raven,"  which  he  commanded  for  five 
years,  carrying  freight,  etc.  Giving  up 
his  life  on  the  water,  our  subject  next 
turned  his  attention  to  trading  in  Lucas 
county,  this  State,  and  also  farmed  to 
some  extent.  After  two  years  of  this  oc- 
cupation he  came  to  Williston,  Ottawa 
county,  where  he  bought  twent)'  acres  of 
land,  built  a  comfortable  residence  and 
other  buildings  and  made  numerous  im- 
provements. Here  he  has  since  made 
his  home  and  is  known  as  a  successful 
trader  and  prosperous  farmer. 

Our  subject  was   married  October  31, 
1867,    in     Lucas    county,    this  State,    to 

Elizabeth  H ,  and  to  them  have 

come  fourteen  children;     Olivia  G.,  born 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGItAPniCAL  RECORD. 


CG9 


May  12,  1869,  is  the  wife  of  Charles 
Fislibact:,  an  employe  of  Harte  &  Co., 
Cleveland;  Frances,  born  November  12, 
1870,  married  William  Rath,  of  Willis- 
ton,  and  has  one  child,  Eddena  S. ;  Edith 
May,  born  May  215,  18 — ,  is  the  wife  of 
Francis  Watson,  of  Williston,  and  has 
one  child,  Freddie;  Julia  E.,  born  August 
18,  1S76;  Henry  M.,  born  April  30, 
1878;  Edward  F. ,  born  March  i,  1881; 
Arthur  W.,  born  December  18,  1882; 
Agnes  H.,  born  December  29.  1884; 
Laura  B.,  born  March  4,  1889;  Marion, 
July  21,  1892.  Those  deceased  are 
Robert  C,  born  February  15,  1872,  died 
May,  1872;  Maudie  C. ,  born  January  2, 
died  in  June,  1876;  Geneva,  born  Septem- 
ber 3,  1 89 1,  died  April  30,  1894.  Mr. 
O'Callaghan  is  a  Democrat  and  a  warm 
supporter  of  President  Cleveland.  The 
family  are  all  members  of  the  Episcopal 
Church,  and  are  well  and  favorably  known 
throughout  the  communitj'. 


WILLIAM    GRANT    ELWELL, 
of  Erie  township,  Ottawa  coun- 
ty, a  thorough  and    experienced 
railroadman,  is  a  son  of  Thomas 
Franklin  and    Ellen   (Mananay)    Elwcll, 
and  was  born  in    Ottawa   county,    Ohio, 
July  22,   1862. 

Thomas  Franklin  Elwell  was  born  in 
New  York  State  March  30,  1822,  was 
married  September  5,  1841,  and  died 
October  22,  1866.  His  wife  was  born 
September  26,  1824,  and  died  September 
27,  1893.  They  had  ten  children  born 
to  them,  as  follows:  Arthur,  June  20, 
1842;  George  F. ,  January  22,  1844;  An- 
genette,  March  12,  1846;  Alice  E.,  Octo- 
ber 23,  1848;  Amanda  L.,  July  18,  1851 ; 
Rosetta,  June  26,  1854;  Ross  J.,  June  26, 
1854;  Martha  E.,  August  19,  1858;  Will- 
iam Grant,  July  22,  1862;  and  Zelpha, 
September  2,  1864.  All  but  two  are  liv- 
ing; Zelpha,  who  died  August  8,  1887; 
and  Amanda,  March  24,  1893. 

William  G,    Elwell  lived   in    Ottawa 


county  until  his  marriage.  He  received 
a  liberal  education  in  the  public  schools 
of  Lacarne,  Erie  township,  Ottawa  coun- 
ty, and  in  1879  began  the  study  of  teleg- 
raphy with  C.  F.  Hosford  in  the  Lake 
Shore  railway  office  at  Lacarne,  where 
he  remained  for  one  year.  He  was  then 
baggageman  at  Oak  Harbor,  Salem  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county,  for  one  year,  after 
which  he  returned  to  Lacarne  and  com- 
pleted his  study  of  telegraphy  in  1882, 
accepted  the  position  of  night  operator 
at  Marblehead  Junction,  in  Danbury  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county,  which  he  held  for 
some  time,  and  then  for  eighteen  months 
was  out  of  office  work.  From  Marble- 
head  Junction  Mr.  Elwell  went  to  Rocky 
Ridge,  Benton  township,  where  he  was 
night  watch  for  two  years.  He  then 
accepted  the  position  of  night  operator 
at  Shawville,  in  Ridgeville  township,  Lo- 
rain county,  which  he  held  some  six 
months,  after  which  he  went  to  Lacarne, 
and  was  night  operator  there  for  four  years. 
He  was  next  promoted  to  the  position  of 
.station  agent  at  Lacarne,  Ohio,  and  con- 
tinued in  that  capacity  for  two  years,  being 
further  promoted  to  be  station  agent,  oper- 
ator, and  agent  of  the  United  States  Ex- 
press Co.  at  Rocky  Ridge,  which  positions 
he  now  holds.  For  about  fifteen  years  Mr. 
Elwell  has  been  connected  with  the  Lake 
Shore  road  as  an  efficient  operator  and  a 
thorough  railroad  man  in  all  lines  of  his 
work. 

On  July  26,  1892,  William  G.  El- 
well married  Miss  Lena  E.  Beebe,  of 
Lakeside,  Danbury  township,  Ottawa 
county,  the  ceremony  being  performed  by 
Rev.  T.  S.  Ayers,  in  the  auditorium  at 
Lake  Side.  Since  their  marriage  they 
have  resided  at  Lacarne  and  Rocky 
Ridge,  and  they  have  had  one  child, 
Lucy  Maude,  born  October  6,  1893.  Mrs. 
Elwell  is  a  daughter  of  Bela  B.  and 
Lucy  (Farnsworth)  Beebe,  of  Lakeside, 
where  she  was  born  December  14,  1869. 
When  she  was  one  year  old  her  parents 
moved  to  Defiance  county,  Ohio,  where 


070 


COMMEMORATIVE  BWORAPITIC'AL  RECORD. 


they  lived  four  years.  They  next  re- 
moved to  Seneca  county,  and  after  living 
there  six  years  returned  to  Lakeside. 
Mrs.  Elweil  obtained  her  education  at 
Lakeside  and  at  Ada,  completed  her  liter- 
ary work  at  the  latter  place  in  1888,  and 
in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  began  teach- 
ing at  Catawba  Island,  Ottawa  county, 
where  she  remained  eight  months.  In 
November.  1889,  she  took  charge  of  the 
school  at  Lacarne,  and  held  that  position 
four  months,  after  which  she  went  to 
Lakeside  as  clerk  in  the  Cobb  Bazaar, 
remaining  there  through  the  summer  va- 
cation. In  the  fall  of  1890  a  position  in 
the  public  schools  at  Lakeside  was  offered 
to  her,  which  was  accepted,  and  she  re- 
mained three  years,  during  which  time 
she  was  married  to  Mr.  Elweil. 

Mrs.  Elwell's  father,  Mr.  Beebe,  was 
born  in  December,  1833,  in  Lorain 
county,  Ohio,  where  he  lived  until  1865. 
On  May  i,  i860,  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Lucy  Farnsworth,  who  was  born 
January  15,  1843,  in  Defiance,  Ohio,  and 
they  had  three  children  and  adopted  one 
child.  The  names  and  dates  of  birth  of 
the  children  are  as  follows:  Miles  H., 
April  I,  1 861;  Charles  L.,  August  26, 
1866;  Lena  E.  (Mrs.  Elwellj,  December 
14,  1869;  and  Bertha  Belle,  December  2, 
1878.  They  are  all  living.  Charles  is  in 
Detroit,  Mich.,  and  Miles  is  in  Cleveland, 
Ohio.  Mr.  Beebe  served  three  years  in 
the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  from  1862  to 
1865,  and  after  returning  from  the  war 
located  for  a  time  on  Catawba  Island, 
Ottawa  county,  thence  going  to  Lakeside, 
where  he  now  lives.  Mrs.  Elwell's 
mother  married  William  Jackson,  No- 
vember 12,  1 891;  and  lives  in  Allegan 
county,  Michigan.  The  maternal  grand- 
father of  Mrs.  Elweil,  Oliver  Farnsworth, 
was  born  June  18,  1796,  and  died  in 
1882.  His  wife,  who  was  Edna  King, 
was  born  in  18 10,  in  Vermont.  They 
were  married  in  Boston  about  1825,  and 
had  twelve  children,  nine  of  whom  Ptir- 
vived  them, 


Hugh 


RODERICK  MORRISON.  Among 
the  prominent  men  of  Gibsonburg, 
or,  indeed,  of  Sandusky  county,  as 
well,  stands  Roderick  Morrison, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Mr.  Morrison 
is  of  Scotch  parentage,  and  a  Canadian 
by  birth,  having  first  seen  the  light  Octo- 
ber 22,  1855,  in  Oxford  county,  Ontario. 
George  and  Henrietta  (Macintosh) 
Morrison,  his  parents,  were  born  in  Scot- 
land in  1 809  and  1 8 19,  respectively.  They 
were  married  in  1841,  came  to  Canada 
from  Scotland  on  their  wedding  tour,  and 
locating  in  Oxford  county  remained  there 
until  1883,  when  they  removed  to  Bruce 
county,  where  they  died,  the  mother  in 
1 885,  the  father  on  December  9,  1S93. 
They  reared  a  family  of  seven  children: 
Elizabeth,  Catherine,  Hector,  Donald, 
Hugh  and  Mary,  of  whom,  Hector  is  a 
resident  of  West  V'irginia;  Donald  is  a 
Presbyterian  minister  in  Michigan; 
is  an  attorney  in  Ontario. 

R.  Morrison,  the  subject  proper  of  this 
review,  grew  to  manhood  on  the  home 
farm  in  Canada.  In  1877  he  came  to  the 
United  states,  entering  the  oil  business  in 
Butler  county,  Penn.,  but  soon  turned  his 
attention  to  the  lumber  business,  in  its 
relation  to  the  oil  industry.  After  con- 
tinuing in  this  business  in  Butler  and  Mc- 
Kean  cotmties  for  ten  years,  he  moved  to 
F'indlay,  Ohio,  where  for  four  years  he 
continued  his  business  in  connection  with 
the  oil  and  gas  interests  of  that  section. 
In  1893  the  great  oil  fields  of  Sandusky 
county  were  being  opened,  and  Mr.  Mor- 
rison, with  a  keen  e\e  to  business,  settled 
in  Gibsonburg,  where  he  has  since  done 
a  large  business  in  the  lumber  trade.  In 
addition  to  his  home  interests  he  also  car- 
ries on  the  same  business  in  Woodville, 
Sandusky  county.  He  is  also  connected 
with  the  Gibsonburg  Banking  Co.,  of 
which  he  is  the  vice-president,  and  is 
everywhere  known  and  esteemed,  not  only 
as  a  thorough  business  man,  but  also  as  a 
Christian  gentleman.  Politically,  he  is  a, 
Democrat,  in  religion  a  Presbyterian, 


/ 


(rrnMyij 


COMMEMORATIVE  BTOORAPJTTCAL  RECORD. 


r.71 


In  Bradford,  McKean  Co.,  Penn.,  on 
August  22,  1S82,  Mr.  Morrison  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Catherine 
Casey,  who  was  born  in  Roulette,  Penn., 
September  26,  i86i,  a  daughter  of  Jo- 
seph J.  and  Honora  (Moran)  Casey.  She 
received  her  education  in  part  in  her  na- 
tive town,  in  part  in  the  public  schools  of 
Coudersport,  and  after  completing  her 
schooling  was  for  four  years  a  successful 
teacher  in  the  public  schools  of  Potter 
count}',  Penn.  Mrs.  Morrison's  father 
was  born,  in  1833,  in  Ireland,  came  to 
America  when  eighteen  years  old,  and  was 
married  in  i860  to  Miss  Honora  Moran, 
of  Pennsylvania,  who  was  born  in  July, 
1839.  To  this  union  were  born  eight 
children:  Catherine  (Mrs.  Morrison); 
Sarah  (Mrs.  L.  L.  Forsyth,  of  Gibson- 
burg);  William  J.  (deceased);  May  B. 
and  Alice,  both  of  whom  are  teachers  in 
Pennsylvania;  Anna  F.,  for  sometime  a 
teacher,  now  bookkeeper  for  the  Gibson- 
burg  Banking  Co. ;  Lawrence  D. ,  a  teacher 
in  Pennsylvania;  and  Iva  F.,  a  student. 
The  paternal  grandfather  of  Mrs.  Morri- 
son (James  Casey),  was  a  native  of  Ire- 
land, born  in  1796,  and  about  1820  wed- 
ded Miss  Belle  Canon.  For  many  3'ears 
they  lived  in  Ireland,  where  they  reared 
a  family  of  seven  children,  two  of  whom 
are  now  living.  Later  they  moved  to 
Scotland,  and  thence  emigrated  to  Ameri- 
ca, settling  in  Pennsylvania,  where  Mr. 
C3asey  died  in  1868,  Mrs.  Casey  surviving 
until  1875,  when  she  too  passed  away, 
at  the  age  of  seventy-two  years.  Mrs. 
Morrison's  maternal  grandfather,  Law- 
rence Moran,  was  a  native  of  Ireland, 
born  about  1795,  and  his  wife,  Cath- 
erine (Moran)  ^[oran,  was  born  about 
1805;  they  emigrated  to  America  and 
settled  in  Pennsylvania,  rearing  a  family 
of  nine  children,  seven  of  whom  arc  now 
living. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morrison  have  a  fine 
home  in  Gibsonburg,  and  are  esteemed 
by  all  who  know  them,  for  their  social, 
business,  intellectual  and  moral  worth. 


CHRISTOPHER  H.  DAM- 
SCHRODER,  one  of  the 
most  prominent  factors  in  com- 
mercial circles  in  Elmore.  Ottawa 
county,  and  an  enterprising  and  wide- 
awake merchant,  was  born  in  Toledo, 
Ohio,  January  i,  1840,  son  of  Christo- 
pher and  Mary  (Myerholts)  Damschroder. 
The  father  was  born  in  Hanover,  Ger- 
many, in  18 1 3,  where  he  was  for  many 
years  foreman  of  a  large  plantation,  re- 
ceiving, however,  only  .$16  per  year.  At 
the  age  of  twenty-one  he  emigrated  to 
America  in  order  to  avoid  service  in  the 
German  army,  but  during  the  year  after 
his  arrival  he  had  a  severe  attack  of 
cholera.  Later  he  went  to  Toledo,  and, 
after  working  on  the  Ohio  canal  and  the 
Ohio  railroad  for  a  time,  learned  the 
carpenter's  trade,  which  he  followed  for 
six  years.  In  1844  he  removed  to  Wood- 
ville  township,  Sandusky  county,  and 
engaged  in  farming,  which  he  fol- 
lowed with  excellent  success,  accumu- 
lating a  property  valued  at  $125,000. 
In  1838  he  wedded  Mary  Myerholts,  who 
was  born  in  Germany  in  1 8 1 8.  Her  father, 
John  F.  Myerholts,  was  born  about  1795, 
and  served  in  the  memorable  battle  of 
Waterloo,  as  did  the  paternal  grandfather 
of  our  subject;  both  spent  their  last  days 
in  America,  and  were  buried  in  the  old 
Damschroder  cemetery.  When  a  young 
girl,  the  mother  of  our  subject  worked  out 
by  the  week,  and  gave  her  earning  for  the 
support  of  her  younger  brothers  and 
sisters.  On  different  occasions  she  walked 
to  Fremont,  purchased  a  bushel  of  pota- 
toes and  carried  them  home,  walking 
through  the  mud.  Such  were  the  experi- 
ences which  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  early 
pioneer.  She  has  lived,  however,  to  see 
the  country  develop  from  a  wilderness 
into  one  of  the  best  counties  of  the  State, 
and  also  to  see  her  children,  for  whom 
she  struggled  hard,  now  in  a  prosperous 
condition. 

Our  subject   was  only  four  years  old 
when  his  parents  removed  to  Woodville 


672 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


township,  Sandusky  county,  where  he 
lived  until  twenty-one  years  of  age.  He 
attended  the  district  schools  of  the  neigh- 
borhood, which  were  held  in  log  build- 
ings, and  in  this  way  and  through  his  own 
efforts  has  secured  a  liberal  education, 
which  has  enabled  him  to  become  one  of 
the  successful  business  men  of  Ottawa 
county.  In  1859  he  started  in  business 
for  himself  as  a  salesman  in  the  store 
owned  by  his  father  and  J.  H.  Blinn.  At 
the  end  of  two  years  the  father  purchased 
his  partner's  interest  and  built  a  store  on 
his  farm  near  Woodville,  of  which  our 
subject  had  charge  for  several  years.  In 
1864  he  removed  his  stock  of  goods  to 
Elmore,  establishing  a  store  in  what  is 
now  a  part  of  the  ' '  Elmore  House, "  there 
remaining  two  years.  He  then  spent 
three  years  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
street,  after  which  he  purchased  the  stock 
of  Beach  &  Wilson,  where  he  continued 
for  sixteen  years,  when  he  built  the  hand- 
some brick  block  that  he  now  owns  and 
occupies,  and  where  he  has  been  located 
for  eleven  years.  He  carries  a  full  stock 
of  general  merchandise,  and  his  annual 
sales  amount  to  $1 5,000,  being  one  of  the 
largest  trades  in  the  county. 

In  I S63  Mr.  Damschroder  wedded 
Mary  Frese,  daughter  of  Henry  and 
Louise  (Heilbrant)  Frese,  and  born  Oc- 
tober 15,  1S44,  in  Woodville,  where  she 
lived  until  her  marriage  at  the  age  of 
eighteen  years.  Her  father  was  born  in 
Germany,  in  181 3,  her  mother  in  181  5, 
and  in  1838  they  came  to  America,  locat- 
ing in  Woodville  township,  Sandusky  Co., 
Ohio,  where  Mr.  Frese  died  in  1853. 
Five  years  later  his  widow  married  R. 
Berleman,  and  about  1865  they  removed 
to  Toledo,  Ohio,  where  her  death  occurred 
April  6,  1893,  when  she  was  aged  seventy- 
eight  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Frese  had 
seven  children:  Henry,  Louis,  Charlotte, 
Mar)',  Augustus,  Charles  and  Louise,  all 
of  whom,  with  the  exception  of  Henry, 
are  living  in  Ohio,  his  home  being  in  Min- 
nesota, 


Mr.  and  Mrs.  Damschroder  have  nine 
children,  their  names  and  dates  of  birth 
being  as  follows:  Henry  L. ,  June  5,  1864; 
John  Henry  R. ,  October  10,  1866;  Clara, 
April  26,  1869;  Dora  Louise,  January  27, 
1 871;  Bertha  H.,  January  12,  1874; 
Augusta  F.,  June  24,  1S76;  Nellie,  Jan- 
uary I,  1879;  Charles  F.,  May  14,  1881; 
and  Edwin  Frese,  March  27,  1883.  They 
have  a  fine  home  on  Main  street,  and  the 
elder  children  aid  the  father  in  carrying 
on  their  excellent  store.  Mrs.  Dam- 
schroder is  also  daily  found  at  the  store, 
and  is  of  great  assistance  to  her  husband 
in  his  business.  He  is  an  energetic  and 
progressive  business  man,  and  their  suc- 
cess is  the  just  reward  of  their  own 
efforts.  While  of  German  parentage, 
Mr.  Damschroder  is  a  loyal  American, 
believing  full}'  in  the  principles  of  our 
government,  and,  although  his  business 
interests  are  extensive,  he  yet  finds  time 
to  keep  well  informed  on  the  subjects  of 
the  day,  and  to  materially  advance  the 
interests  of  town  and  county.  He  is 
eminently  public  spirited,  and  no  citizen 
of  the  community  is  held  in  higher  regard 
or  has  more  warm  friends. 


AUGUSTUS  HELLWIG  is  one  of 
the  most  enterprising  young  men 
of  Benton  township,  Ottawa  coun- 
ts', of  which  he  is  a  native,  having 
been    born    September  9,    1870,   on    the 
farm  which  he  now  superintends,  son  of 
Justis  and  Elizabeth  (Lang)  Hellwig. 

Justis  Hellwig  was  born  February  1 1, 
1837,  in  Germany,  where  he  was  edu- 
cated. In  1 8  54  he  came  to  Canada,  where 
he  lived  until  he  was  twenty-three  years 
old,  in  i860  removing  to  Benton  town- 
ship, Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio,  where,  in  1861, 
he  and  Mr.  Fred  Kewit  purchased  160 
acres  of  land  in  Section  19,  which  they 
divided  equally  between  them.  In  1864 
Mr.  Hellwig  bought  the  portion  belonging 
to  Mr.  Kewit,  becoming  the  owner  of  the 
entire  tract.      On  March  30,  1862,  he  was 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPniCAL  RECORD. 


673 


married  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Lang,  of  Can- 
ada, and  the  young  couple  settled  on 
their  new  farm,  then  a  wilderness,  on 
which  Mr.  Hellwig  had  worked  one  year, 
keeping  " bachelor's  hall."  They  moved 
into  a  log  cabin  until  a  better  house  could 
be  erected,  and,  by  hard  toil,  he  and  his 
faithful  helpmeet  succeeded  in  makmg  for 
themselves  one  of  the  finest  homes  in  Ot- 
tawa county.  They  cleared  off  the  farm, 
fenced  it,  put  on  the  buildings,  put  out 
fruit  trees  and  made  it  a  really  modern 
farm,  continuing  its  improvement  up  to 
Mr.  Hellwig's  death,  which  occurred 
March  19,  1880.  Mr.  Hellwig  was  treas- 
urer of  the  township  eleven  years,  and  for 
several  years  was  township  trustee,  also 
serving  as  real-estate  assessor  one  term. 
Politically  he  was  a  Democrat. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hellwig  were  born 
nine  children,  theirnames  and  datesof  birth 
being  as  follows:  Anna  G.,  January  21, 
1863;  Catherine  Elizabeth,  October  14, 
1864;  George  P.,  September  15,  1866; 
John  Henry,  June  23,1868;  Augustus  G., 
September  9,  1870;  John  Ernest,  October 
13,  1872;  William  E.,  January  i,  1875; 
Emma  Augusta,  December  9,  1876,  and 
Carl  P.,  May  22,  1878.  Of  these,  Emma 
died  May  29,  1^77 ;  Catherine  on  March 
23,  1880;  Anna  on  December  9,  1880, 
and  George  on  November  29,1887.  John 
H.  was  married  in  June,  1891,  to  Elva 
Hammond,  of  Elliston.  Mrs.  Hellwig 
was  born  February  i,  1838,  in  Canada, 
where  she  was  educated,  living  there  until 
her  marriage,  from  which  time  she  was  a 
faithful  wife  and  kind  mother.  Since  her 
husband's  death  she  has  continued  to  con- 
duct the  farm,  and  has  erected  a  large 
barn  and  made  other  improvements,  prov- 
ing her  ability  in  man)'  ways  to  manage 
an  extensive  business.  Ilcr  father,  Detrick 
Lang  (maternal  grandfather  of  our  sub- 
ject), was  born  about  1800,  in  Germany, 
and  was  by  trade  a  wagon  maker.  He 
was  killed  at  the  raising  of  a  barn.  His 
wife,  Margaret  (Bates),  was  born  about 
1805,    in    Germany,    and  they  were  the 


parents  of  four  children — two  sons  and 
two  daughters — Margaret,  Casper,  Eliza- 
beth and  Peter.  Jolm  Hellwig,  paternal 
grandfather  of  the  gentleman  whose  name 
opens  this  sketch,  was  born  about  1804, 
in  Germany,  and  married  Anna  Hetrick, 
who  was  born  in  that  country  about  1806. 
They  were  the  parents  of  seven  children, 
only  one  of  whom  is  now  living.  John 
Hellwig  died  in  1864,  his  wife  in  1865. 

Augustus  Hellwig  attended  the  public 
schools  of  Elliston,  completing  his  stud- 
ies at  the  age  of  twenty.  After  his 
father's  death  the  farm  was  left  to  the 
supervision  of  the  mother  and  her  older 
son  Augustus,  who  remained  on  the  place, 
working  for  his  mother  until  1893,  when 
he  took  the  management  of  it  himself. 
He  now  superintends  all  the  business  of 
the  farm,  owns  horses  and  machinery, 
and  is  carrying  on  a  modern  farming  busi- 
ness on  160  acres  of  fine  farming  land, 
doing  all  the  work  with  the  aid  of  only  one 
man,  hired  by  the  month.  In  addition  to 
his  farming  interests  he  is  also  a  stock- 
holder in  the  Graytown  Elgin  Butter  Co., 
of  Graytown,  Ohio.  His  output  of  crops 
annually  is  about  thirty-five  acresof  wheat, 
forty  acres  of  hay,  and  twenty-five  acres 
of  corn.  He  is  also  successfully  engaged 
in  raising  fruit,  principally  apples,  pears 
and  plums. 

On  November  28,  1S95,  Mr.  Hellwig 
was  married  to  Miss  Emma  T.  I\riegcr, 
of  Graytown,  Ohio,  who  was  born  July 
24,  1868,  at  Klein  Ehrenberg,  Province 
of  Brandenburg,  Germany,  where  she 
was  educated.  In  1882  she  came  to 
America  with  her  parents,  locating  at 
Graytown,  Ohio,  where  they  moved  on 
a  farm  and  there  lived  until  Mr.  Krieger's 
death,  in  1892,  after  which  the  family  re- 
moved into  Graytown.  In  Germany  Mrs. 
Emma  T.  (Krieger)  Hellwig's  father, 
William  Kreiger,  was  a  shepherd.  He 
was  born  at  Brandenburg,  Germany,  Sep- 
tembe  r2  5,  1825,  and  was  married  in  i860 
to  Louisa  Shertz,  who  was  born  Decem- 
ber 24,  1837,  also  at  Brandenburg.      To 


f)74 


COMMEMORATIVE  BTOGRAPHWAL  RECORD. 


them  were  born  five  children,  their  names 
and  dates  of  birth  being  as  follows:  Har- 
man  G.,  October  25,  1861;  Bertha  A., 
May  2,  1863;  Mary  L. ,  December  27, 
1865;  Emma  T.,  July  24,  1868;  Augusta 
W. ,  August  6,  1873.  William  Krieger 
died  March  24,  1892,  near  Graytown. 
Harman  G.  died,  in  1868,  at  Branden- 
burg, Germany. 

Politically  Mr.  Hellwig  is  a  Democrat, 
and  a  zealous  worker  for  the  success  of 
his  party.  In  religious  affiliation  he  is  a 
member  of  the  Lutheran  Church  of  Ellis- 
ton.  In  addition  to  his  ability  as  a  busi- 
ness man  Mr.  Hellwig  is  also  an  able  mu- 
sician, and  is  the  leader  and  instructor  of 
the  Elliston  Cornet  Band,  one  of  the  best 
in  the  county.  The  children  of  this  fam- 
ily are  all  musicians,  but  at  present  he  is 
the  most  devoted  to  it.  He  is  a  highly- 
respected  young  man,  both  in  social  and 
business  circles,  and  his  uprightness  in 
every  way  has  gained  him  universal  good 
will. 


ALFRED  G.  WITTE,  one  of  the 
most  successful  business  men  of 
Elmore,  Ottawa  county,  is  pos- 
sessed of  the  true  spirit  of  Wes- 
tern progress  and  enterprise.  He  is 
numbered  among  the  native  sons  of  Otta- 
wa county,  his  birth  having  occurred  in 
Harris  township,  October  17,  1861,  and 
he  has  always  lived  in  that  locality.  His 
primary  education,  acquired  in  the  com- 
mon schools,  was  supplemented  by  a  course 
in  the  high  school  of  Elmore,  at  which 
he  was  graduated  in  1878.  He  remained 
at  home  until  twentj'-one  years  of  age,  and 
on  the  31st  of  October,  1882,  went  to  a 
home  of  his  own. 

Ludwig  Conrad  Adolph  Witte,  pater- 
nal grandfather  of  our  subject,  was  born 
in  Guitersloh,  Germany,  in  1783,  and  in 
1813  he  was  married  to  Katherine  Ost- 
haus.  They  had  a  family  of  eight  chil- 
dren— five     sons    and    three    daughters: 


Henry,  Ludwig,  Fred,  William,  Charles, 
Johanna,  Dora  and  Katherine.  Charles 
Witte,  the  father  of  our  subject,  came  to 
this  country  in  1854,  and  was  married  at 
Elmore,  Ohio,  in  1858,  to  Fredericke 
Frank,  by  whom  he  had  eight  children, 
their  names  and  dates  of  birth  being  as 
follows:  Clara,  Januarj' 9,  1859;  Alfred 
G.,  October  17,  1861;  Emma,  October 
26,  1863;  William,  January  4,  1865; 
Ernst,  March  23,  1870;  Bertha,  February 
5,  1873;  Edmund,  March  12,  1878.  and 
Franciska,  September  9,  1880,  died  De- 
cember 30,    1 881. 

William  Godfrey  Frank,  maternal 
grandfather  of  our  subject,  was  born  in 
Oren,  Germany,  January  6,  1792,  where 
he  was  reared.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one 
he  joined  the  German  armj',  and  served 
as  a  sergeant  of  riflemen  in  the  struggle 
against  Napoleon  Bonaparte.  He  par- 
ticipated in  four  battles,  namely,  those  of 
Strassburg,  Sens,  Montereau  and  Epinai, 
receiving  medals  for  bravery,  all,  how- 
ever, on  account  of  his  political  opinions, 
being  subsequently  taken  from  him  except 
one,  which  his  daughter  still  has  in  her 
possession.  At  the  battle  of  Epinai  he 
was  captured,  and  was  held  prisoner  one 
year,  when  he  was  released,  the  war  hav- 
ing ended.  During  the  time  he  was  in 
the  army  he  was  married  to  Kegina  Kober, 
and  three  daughters  were  born  to  them: 
Caroline,  Louisa  and  Fredericke.  The 
last  named  who  is  the  mother  of  Mr. 
Witte,  was  born  July  13,  1836,  in  Stutt- 
gart, Wurtemburg,  Germany,  where  she 
lived  till  sixteen  years  of  age,  at  which 
time  she  came  to  America.  In  1858,  at 
Elmore,  Ohio,  she  married  Charles  Witte, 
as  above  related. 

On  October  3 1,  1883,  Alfred  G.  Witte, 
our  subject,  married  Miss  Evelyn  Pratt, 
of  Elmore,  daughter  of  Kellogg  and  Cor- 
delia (Billings)  Pratt.  She  was  born  No- 
vember 14,  1859,  in  Harris  township, 
Ottawa  county,  and  completed  a  course 
in  the  Elmore  schools  in  1877.  Her  fa- 
ther was  born  in  New  York,  August   18, 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHIOAL  RECORD. 


675 


1 8 19,  and  was  married  March  31,  1847. 
I'or  three  years  they  lived  in  New  York, 
after  which  they  spent  a  3'ear  in  Pensau- 
kee,  Wis.,  whence  they  removed  to  San- 
dusky county,  Ohio.  Two  years  later 
they  came  to  Ottawa  county,  and  the 
father  purchased  a  farm  in  Harris  town- 
ship. About  1S70  he  boup;ht  a  home  in 
Ehnore,  where  he  hved  until  his  death, 
December  14,  1878.  Mrs.  Pratt  was  born 
in  New  York,  April  10,  1830,  and  by  her 
inarriafje  became  the  mother  of  foLir  chil- 
dren: (i)  Emma,  born  July  18,  1S51,  was 
married  in  May,  1878,  to  Arthur  Harrison, 
and  they  have  one  child — Ellen,  born 
November  3,  1878.  (2)  Mary  Eliza,  born 
March  9,  1858,  has  for  seventeen  years 
been  a  successful  teacher,  and  for  the  past 
four  years  has  taught  in  Elmore;  she  ob- 
tained her  education  in  the  Normal  School 
at  Ada,  Ohio,  and  in  Oberlin  College. 
(3)  Mrs.  Witte  is  the  next  younger.  (4) 
Elnora,  born  October  17,  1870,  is  a  grad- 
uate of  the  Toledo  Music  School,  and  is 
now  teaching  music. 

Abner  Pratt,  the  paternal  grandfather 
of  Mrs.  Witte,  was  born  in  1788  and 
died  in  1850.  His  wife,  Rhoda  (Billings) 
Pratt,  was  born  in  1786  and  died  in  1864. 
They  had  twelve  children,  of  whom  ten 
reached  mature  years.  Augustus  Billings, 
the  maternal  grandfather  of  Mrs.  Witte, 
was  born  about  1773,  and  was  the  eldest 
in  a  family  of  six  children.  W'hen  a 
young  man  he  went  on  a  whaling  expedi- 
tion and  was  taken  as  a  prisoner  to 
France,  where  he  remained  two  years. 
In  1803  he  was  married  to  Clarissa  Eng- 
lish, of  Medina  county,  N.  Y. ,  who  was 
born  in  1781,  and  they  became  the  par- 
ents of  seven  children^ — six  sons  and  a 
daughter — two  of  whom  are  now  living. 
The  paternal  grandfather  of  Mrs.  Witte's 
mother  was  born  about  1748,  and  married 
Lucina  Earrington,  who  was  born  about 
the  same  time.  Her  grandfather,  John 
English,  served  for  three  j'ears  in  the  I\ev- 
olution,  and  was  with  Gen.  Washington 
during  the   memorable  winter  at  Valley 


Forge.     During  the  war  for  Independence 
he  married  Desire  Bagley. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  W^itte,  for  five  years 
after  their  marriage,  lived  upon  a  farm, 
our  subject  purchasing  a  tract  of  land 
and  also  operating  that  which  belonged 
to  his  father.  He  then  rented  his  place 
and  removed  to  Elmore,  where  he  is  en- 
gaged in  the  meat  business.  He  runs  two 
wagons  in  the  country,  supplj'ing  the 
Genoa  market  and  also  an  extensive  home 
market.  In  addition  to  his  business  in 
dressed  meats,  he  buys  and  ships  cattle, 
sheep  and  hogs,  and  has  an  extensive 
trade.  He  is  a  lover  of  a  fine  horse  and 
a  dealer  in  thoroughbreds.  His  business 
has  been  a  very  profitable  one,  and  in  ad- 
dition to  his  farm  and  market  he  owns  a 
fine  home  on  Toledo  street.  Four  chil- 
dren came  to  bless  the  home,  of  whom 
Jack,  born  May  23,  1877,  died  March  19, 
1 89 1,  and  was  buried  in  the  Gus  ceme- 
tery ;  the  others  are  Bertha,  born  August 
24,  1883  ;  Florence,  born  November  3, 
1884;  and  Carl,  born  March  6,  1886. 
The  parents  are  widely  and  favorably 
known  in  the  locality  where  they  live, 
and  have  a  large  circle  of  warm  friends. 
Mr.  Witte  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of 
Pythias.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat, 
and  is  serving  as  a  member  of  the  coun- 
cil of  Elmore,  while  as  an  official  and 
private  citizen  he  gives  his  support  to  all 
interests  that  are  calculated  to  prove  of 
public  benefit. 


HART  BEARSS,  a  leading  and  in- 
fluential citizen  of  Ottawa  county, 
residing  on  Catawba  Island,  claims 
New  York  State  as  the  place  of 
his  nativity,  where  he  first  opened  his  eyes 
to  the  light  of  day,  in  Putnam  county, 
October  14,  1840.  He  is  descended  from 
one  of  the  early  families  of  that  region. 
His  grandparents,  Joseph  T.  and  Annie 
Bearss,  had  a  family  of  thirteen  children, 
of  whom  eight  are  still  living,  namely: 
Mary,  widow  of  George  W.  Bailey;  Gid- 


GTO 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


eon  H. ;  Louisa,  widow  of  William  Shep- 
herd, and  a  resident  of  Wood  county, 
Ohio;  Joseph  T.,  of  Ottawa  county,  Ohio; 
David,  who  is  living  in  Lucas  county, 
Ohio;  Orson,  a  resident  of  Bureau  county, 
111.  ;  Lucinda,  wife  of  Ashabell  Burke,  of 
Portage  township,  Ottawa  county;  and 
Flora,  widow  of  Wheeler  Porter. 

Gideon  H.  Bearss,  the  father  of  our 
subject,  is  a  retired  fruit  grower,  and  the 
oldest  survivingpioneer  settler  of  Catawba 
Island — a  man  honored  and  revered  by  all 
who  know  him.  He  was  born  in  New 
Fairfield,  Fairfield  Co.,  Conn.,  August  3, 
1 8 1  5,  and  is  a  son  of  Joseph  T.  and  Annie 
(Hubble)  Bearss,  who  were  also  natives 
of  the  Nutmeg  State.  Like  many  boys  of 
that  day  he  had  very  limited  advantages 
for  procuring  even  a  primary  education, 
the  duties  pertaining  to  farm  life  requiring 
all  his  time  in  his  bojhood  days.  In  1S31, 
when  sixteen  years  of  age,  he  left  home 
and  went  to  Putnam  county,  N.  Y., 
where  he  learned  the  trade  of  shoemaking, 
following  that  business  for  thirteen  years. 
In  1844  he  removed  to  Ohio,  locating  on 
Catawba  Island  which  at  that  time  was 
known  as  Van  Rensselaer  township,  and 
was  an  almost  unbroken  wilderness.  Here 
he  entered  land  and  made  a  home  for  his 
family,  willing  heart  and  hands  soon  enabl- 
ing him  to  convert  the  raw  land  into  a  fruit- 
ful farm.  In  peace  and  contentment  he  has 
here  lived  for  over  fifty  years,  and  now  in 
his  declining  days  he  has  given  over  the 
care  of  the  farm  to  his  children,  while  he 
is  resting  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  fruits  of 
his  former  toil.  Manj'  a  lesson  might  well 
be  learned  from  his  well-spent  life,  which 
shows  what  can  be  accomplished  by  in- 
dustry, integrity  and  perseverance  in  a 
land  where  merit  is  not  hampered  by  caste 
or  class. 

Gideon  Bearss  was  married  in  Putnam 
county,  N.  Y. ,  October  6,  1835,  to  Betsy 
Turner,  daughter  of  Adam  and  Eunice 
(Rockwell)  Turner.  She  was  born  in  that 
county,  July  12,  1809,  and  died  on  Ca- 
tawba   Island,    March    23,    1S78.      They 


became  the  parents  of  five  children,  two 
of  whom  died  in  iafa:icy;  George  Henry 
died  at  Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  while  nobly 
aiding  in  the  defense  of  the  old  flag,  and 
the  cause  it  represented;  Clarasia  became 
the  wife  of  Henry  Wonnell,  of  Portage 
township,  Ottawa  county,  and  has  also 
passed  away,  leaving  our  subject  the  only 
surviving  member  of  the  family.  The 
father  has  served  for  many  years  as  town- 
ship trustee,  and  has  acceptablj'  filled 
other  local  offices.  He  cast  his  lirst 
Presidential  vote  for  William  Henry  Har- 
rison, and  was  a  stanch  supporter  of  the 
Whig  party,  until  the  organization  of  the 
■  Republican  party,  with  which  he  has  been 
identified  since  its  inception. 

When  a  child  of  onl}'  four  years  Hart 
Bearss  came  with  his  parents  to  Catawba 
Island,  whereon  he  has  since  resided,  and 
during  this  period  has  witnessed  its  devel- 
opment from  a  wilderness  into  fine  farms 
and  fruit  orchards,  dotted  with  beautiful 
residences.  He  received  a  limited  educa- 
tion in  the  village  school  of  his  day,  and 
for  over  forty  years  has  been  connected 
with  the  fishing  business,  but  for  the  past 
six  3'ears  has  devoted  his  entire  time  and 
attention  to  the  cultivation  of  fruit.  He 
has  to-day  one  of  the  finest  orchards  on 
the  Island,  and  the  excellent  variety  of 
fruit  which  he  raises  finds  a  ready  sale  on 
the  market. 

On  May  29,  1863,  on  Catawba  Is- 
land was  celebrated  the  marriage  of  Mr. 
Bearss  and  Miss  Catherine  Rogers,  who 
was  born  in  Seneca  county,  Ohio,  Feb- 
ruary 26,  1844,  a  daughter  of  Thomas 
and  Verlinda  Rebecca  (Wheeler)  Rogers, 
the  former  a  native  of  England,  and  the 
latter  of  Maryland.  About  1859  they  lo- 
cated on  the  Island  where  they  continued 
to  live  until  called  to  the  home  beyond, 
the  father  dying  in  October,  1870,  and 
the  mother  October  6,  1894.  To  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Bearss  were  born  five  children: 
Alvertes,  born  June  29,  1863,  married  to 
Kate  Gron  October  30,  1889;  Gusta 
Amelia,  born   October  23,  1865,  the  wife 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPIIWAL  RECORD. 


677 


of  Oliver  H.  Elliott,  of  Elyria,  Ohio; 
George  H.,  born  January  15,  1868,  killed 
August  15,  1887,  by  a  fall  from  the 
Poughkeepsie  (N.  Y.)  Bridge;  Jennie  L. , 
born  November  12,  1871,  now  the  wife 
of  William  Freer;  and  Carrie  E.,  born 
October  26,  i  874,  the  wife  of  William  F. 
Leinbach,  operator  on  the  Lake  Shore  & 
Michigan  Southern  railroad,  at  Marble 
Head  Junction,  Ottawa  county. 

Mr.  Bearss  has  served  as  trustee  of 
his  township  for  four  terms,  and  has 
filled  other  offices.  He  is  a  worthy  mem- 
ber of  Port  Clinton  Lodge,  No.  341,  F. 
&  A.  M. ;  Catawba  Island  Lodge,  No. 
2783,  Knights  of  Honor;  and  during  the 
Civil  war  he  joined  the  one-hundred-day 
men  of  Company  K,  One  Hundred  and 
Thirty-ninth  O.  V.  I.,  doing  guard  duty 
at  Point  Lookout,  Md.  In  politics  he  is 
a  stalwart  Republican,  is  a  wide-awake 
and  progressive  citizen,  and  one  of  the 
most  esteemed  residents  of  Catawba  Is- 
land. The  family  attend  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  of  which  his  wife  and 
daughter  Jennie  are  worthy  members, 
and  all  who  know  them  hold  them  in  high 
regard.  They  have  just  completed  their 
handsome  dwelling  on  the  old  farm. 


ELIJAH  LATTIMORE,  who  is  en- 
gaged in  general  farming  and  stock 
raising,  is  a  native  of  the  town- 
ship in  which  he  still  resides.  He 
was  born  February  5,  1833,  on  the  old 
place  in  Bay  township,  Ottawa  county, 
and  is  a  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Stan- 
ley) Lattimore,  both  of  whom  were  na- 
tives of  England,  and  located  in  San- 
dusky county,  Ohio,  July  4,  1824.  In 
March,  1829,  they  took  up  their  residence 
in  Bay  township,  which  at  that  time  was 
an  almost  unbroken  wilderness. 

The  father  had  come  to  America 
when  a  young  man,  and  had  settled  first 
in  Gjorgetown,  D.  C,  four  miles  from 
the  city  of  Washington,  where  he  fought 


the  British  troops  during  the  war  of  18 12. 
Aftjr  t'.ie  close  of  that  struggle  he  engagjd 
in  vegetable  gardening  for  about  four 
years.  Subsequently  he  removed  to  In- 
diana, where  he  was  married,  and  in 
April,  1824,  he  started  from  that  State  on 
a  journey  to  Ohio,  traveling  with  his  own 
team.  During  the  third  day  of  the  jour- 
ney, while  his  horses  were  hitched  to  a 
tree  by  the  roadside,  eating  their  noon- 
day meal,  a  wind  storm  arose  which  blew 
down  the  tree  and  killed  both  horses. 
In  consequence  he  was  obliged  to  hire 
teams  to  convey  himself  and  family  on 
their  way.  From  1829  until  October, 
1 8 57,  they  were  continuous  residents  of 
Bay  township,  Ottawa  county,  at  the  lat- 
ter date  removing  to  Rice  township,  San- 
dusky county.  The  father  died  there 
August  29,  1869,  and  the  mother's  death 
occurred  in  Port  Clinton,  October  27, 
1876. 

Our  subject  received  but  limited  ed- 
ucational privileges,  pursuing  his  studies 
in  an  old  log  schoolhouse,  but  his  train- 
ing at  farm  labor  was  not  meagre.  From 
his  early  boyhoood  he  has  been  engaged 
in  agricultural  pursuits,  and  thorough- 
ly understands  the  business  in  all  its 
details.  He  was  married  in  Port 
Clinton,  April  5,  i860,  to  Christina 
McRitchie,  a  daughter  of  John  and 
Elizabeth  (Richardson)  McRitchie,  both 
of  whom  were  natives  of  Scotland,  the 
former  born  April  13,  1801,  the  latter  in 
1809.  They  located  in  Bay  township, 
Ottawa  county,  at  a  very  early  day  in  the 
history  of  this  localitj',  becoming  residents 
in  1836.  From  that  date  until  his  death, 
Mr.  McRitchie  was  prominently  identified 
with  its  growth  and  development.  He 
passed  through  all  the  trials  and  hard- 
ships of  pioneer  life,  but  lived  to  see  this 
become  a  fertile  region,  inhabited  by  a 
progressive  class  of  citizens.  He  died  De- 
cember 15,  1888,  and  his  wife  crossed  the 
river  of  death  January  2,  1887.  Their 
family  numbered  seven  children,  as  fol- 
lows: George,  born  November   15,  1839, 


678 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD 


was  killed  in  the  war  of  the  Rebellion, 
near  Atlanta,  Ga.,  June  14.  i<S64,  while 
nobly  serving  in  defense  of  his  country; 
William,  born  August  29,  1845,  died 
September  22,  1847;  John,  born  January 
24,  1848,  died  September  24,  1850.  The 
other  members  of  the  family  are  still  liv- 
ing: Margaret,  born  in  Perthshire,  Scot- 
land, April  13,  1834,  is  the  widow  of 
William  L.  Cole,  and  is  now  residing  in 
Port  Clinton,  Ohio;  David  R. ,  born  in 
Perthshire,  February  4,  1836,  is  a  lead- 
ing agriculturist  of  Bay  township,  Ottawa 
county;  Christina,  born  in  Baj'  township, 
February  6,  1842,  is  the  wife  of  our  sub- 
ject; and  Mary  E.,  born  in  Bay  township. 
September  26,  1851,  is  the  wife  of  W.  A. 
Wonneli. 

Nine  children  grace  the  union  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Lattimore,  to  wit:  Robert  John, 
who  was  born  March  28,  1861,  and  is  still 
living  on  the  old  home  place;  I.  Elmer, 
born  February  16,  1863,  died  February 
23,  I S65;  Mary  Ida.  born  March  26,  1864, 
died  August  10,  following;  Maggie  Belle, 
born  November  18,  1865,  now  the  wife  of 
H.  D.  Lockwood,  of  Plasterbed,  Ohio; 
Elizabeth  Jane,  born  January  25,  1868, 
the  wife  of  H.  L.  Hineline,  of  Port  Clin- 
ton; Harry  E.,  born  June  25,  1871,  died 
August  3,  same  year;  Mattie  Adell,  born 
January  16,  1873,  now  the  wife  of  Frank 
Mackey,  of  Bay  township,  Ottawa  county; 
Addie  May,  born  July  27,  1875;  and 
Amos,  born  January  16,  1881. 

Mr.  Lattimore,  recognized  as  a  valued 
citizen,  has  been  honored  with  a  number 
of  public  offices  of  trust.  In  1864  and 
1S65  he  served  as  county  auditor;  was 
county  commissioner  for  two  successive 
terms;  served  as  township  treasurer  some 
ten  years;  was  township  assessor  ten 
years;  land  assessor  one  year;  and  has 
filled  other  local  positions.  He  supports 
by  his  ballot  the  men  and  measures  of  the 
Democracy.  Socially,  he  is  connected 
with  Port  Clinton  Lodge,  No.  627,  I.  O. 
O.  F. ,  and  Lake  Erie  Encampment,  and 
has  filled  every  office  in  both;  he  is  also  a 


member  of  the  Knights  of  Honor,  and 
his  family  attends  iho  Method'st  Episcopal 
Church. 


RUDOLPH  HARTMAN  was  born 
in  Germany  September  21,  1825, 
a  son  of  John  H.  and  Clarissa 
Hartman,  and  died  August  28, 
1895.  He  was  one  of  two  children,  the 
other  being  Eliza,  who  married  Henry 
Myers,  and  died  December  21,  1894,  near 
Elmore. 

The  father  of  our  subject  came  to 
America  in  1830,  locating  in  Woodville 
township,  and,  having  no  money,  he  bor- 
rowed a  few  dollars  to  buy  twenty-five 
acres  of  land,  which  was  then  worth  ten 
shillings  ($1.25)  per  acre.  The  pioneer 
forests  were  then  unbroken,  the  streams 
unbridged,  and  they  had  to  go  on  foot  to 
Lower  Sandusky  for  supplies,  and  carry 
their  articles  by  hand  or  on  their  backs, 
as  the  woods  were  impassable  for  horses 
or  vehicles.  Mr.  Hartman  bought  a  large 
coffee-mill,  in  which  he  and  the  neighbors 
used  to  grind  their  grain  into  meal  for 
bread.  Wild  deer  roamed  at  will  in  the 
woods,  and  could  be  seen  in  large  herds; 
but  those  early  Germans  were  not  used  to 
firearms,  and  had  neither  money  nor  guns, 
so  the  deer  were  at  first  left  untouched. 
The  simplest  fare  was  then  a  luxury  to 
these  pioneers.  Food  was  often  scarce, 
and  it  was  not  an  unusual  thing  for  people 
to  go  hungry  for  want  of  it. 

When  the  father  died  Rudolph  bought 
his  sister's  interest  in  the  estate.  He 
learned  the  trade  of  carpenter,  at  which 
he  worked  in  Wood  and  Sandusky  coun- 
ties, and  in  the  early  days  he  also  oper- 
ated a  threshing  machine,  and  by  working 
over  a  wide  e.xtent  of  territory  made  some 
money.  He  owned  350  acres  of  land  in 
Woodville  township  and  eighty-five  acres 
in  Wood  county,  on  which  there  are  twen- 
ty-five oil  wells  in  operation.  He  received 
$10,000  for  the  oil  lease  of  his  land,  be- 
sides one-sixth  of  the  oil.      Mr.  Hartman 


■ftet^^L^^ 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


679 


fully  appreciated  the  abundance  of  wealth 
that  had  been  placed  at  his  disposal,  and 
he  thoroughly  educated  his  family,  and 
started  his  children  well  in  life.  In  poli- 
tics he  was  a  Democrat,  and  in  religious 
faith  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 
He  always  took  an  active  part  in  develop- 
ing the  educational  interests  of  his  com- 
munity. 

On  February  2,  1851,  Rudolph  Hart- 
man  married  Miss  Anna  Marie  Louisa 
Sielschott,  who  was  born  September  10, 
1834,  in  Germany.  Their  children  were: 
John,  born  June  12,  1853,  died  May  i, 
1864;  Henry,  born  February  19,  1 856, 
died  April  22,  1864;  Mary  C,  born  De- 
cember 25,  1851,  died  January  2,  1852; 
William,  born  August  25,  1859,  died  Oc- 
tober 22,  i860;  Frederick,  born  Septem- 
ber 22,  1861,  married  Miss  Lizzie  Bruns, 
and  they  have  two  children — Oscar  and 
Lydia;  Louis,  born  July  21,  1864,  mar- 
ried Minnie  Bruns,  and  they  have  three 
children — Otto,  Carl  and  Alma;  Louisa, 
born  July  18,  1866.  married  John  Swan, 
and  has  three  children — Lydia.  Mabel 
and  Clarence;  Sophia,  born  July  i,  1871, 
married  William  Leopold,  and  has  one 
child — Arthur;  George,  born  July  3,  1874, 
has  been  educated  in  the  German  and  the 
public  schools;  Henry,  born  February  28, 
1880.  Mr.  Hartman  was  a  man  of  in- 
telligence and  moral  worth,  a  kind  hus- 
band and  father,  an  enterprising  citizen 
and  an  obliging  neighbor. 

Mrs.  Hartman's  parents,  Garhard  and 
Mary  (Wilker)  Sielschott,  also  natives  of 
the  Fatherland,  were  born  in  1806  and 
1805  respectively,  and  they  both  died  in 
May,  1882,  the  mother  on  the  6th,  the 
father  on  the  24th.  They  were  married 
in  about  1830,  and  were  pioneers  of  ^^'ood 
county,  Ohio,  where  they  spent  their 
days,  and  where,  in  Troy  township,  they 
now  lie  buried.  To  them  were  born  four 
children:  Engel,  widow  of  Harmon 
Schroeder.  of  Wood  county,  who  has  had 
five  children;  Anna  Marie  Louisa,  Mrs. 
Hartman;  Mary,  Mrs.  Henry  F'rier,  of 
43 


Wood  county,  who  has  seven  children; 
and  Fred,  who  has  been  twice  married, 
first  to  Julia  Mirosey,  who  had  seven  chil- 
dren, and  died  March  20,  1882,  after 
which  he  married  Mary  Welling,  by  whom 
he  had  five  children.  Mrs.  Hartman's 
paternal  grandmother,  Mary  Otten,  was 
born  about  1760  in  Germany,  and  was 
the  mother  of  four  children,  all  of  whom 
are  now  deceased. 


c 


ARMI    G.     SANFORD.     One    of 

the  pioneer  families  of  Sandusky 
county  is  represented  at  Clyde  by 
an  individual  whom  all  delight  to 
honor — the  venerable  Carmi  G.  Sanford, 
first  president  of  the  People's  Bank. 

Mr.  Sanford  was  born  December  28, 
181 8,  in  Ontario  county,  N.  Y. ,  son  of 
Zachariah  and  Mary  P.  (Mantorj  Sanford. 
The  father  was  born  near  Saybrook,  Conn. , 
in  1790.  In  1808  he  left  Connecticut 
with  his  widowed  mother,  and  settled  on 
a  farm  in  Madison  county,  N.  Y.  There 
he  married  Mary  P.  Mantor,  who  was 
born  in  Massachusetts  in  1798,  and  had 
migrated  with  her  parents  to  central  New 
York.  After  their  marriage  Zachariah 
and  Mary  Sanford  moved  to  the  western 
part  of  the  Empire  State,  settling  on  a 
farm  in  Ontario  county.  On  the  farm  a  fam- 
ily of  children  was  growing  up  about  them, 
and  again  the  spirit  of  migration  moved 
the  pioneer.  In  the  fall  of  1832  the  fa- 
ther brought  his  family  to  Townsend 
township,  Sanduskv  county,  where  he 
purchased  an  eighty-acre  tract  entirely 
covered  with  forest.  \\'ith  the  aid  of  his 
half-grown  boys  Mr.  Sanford  built  a  cabin, 
and  during  the  winter  made  a  clearing  for 
the  spring  crops.  Gradually  the  wilder- 
ness was  converted  into  fertile  fields,  and 
here  the  peace-loving  father  concluded 
his  life's  history.  His  death  occurred 
May  6,  1862,  and  the  wife  survived  until 
March  17,  1868.  It  has  been  said  that 
Zachariah  Sanford  died  without  an  enemy. 
He  had  brought  with  him  from  New  En- 


680 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


gland  the  gentle  but  invincible  spirit  of  the 
Puritan.  He  was  unobtrusive  in  manner, 
and  hospitable.  His  neighbors  always 
spoke  well  of  him.  The  wife  and  mother 
had  deep  religious  convictions,  and  sought 
to  impress  the  habit  of  piety  upon  her 
children.  Carmi  G.  remembers  that  in 
his  boyhood  days  he  was  presented  by  his 
mother  with  a  sheep  as  a  reward  for  hav- 
ing read  the  entire  Bible.  Seven  children 
were  born  to  Zachariah  and  Mary  San- 
ford,  as  follows:  Elias  M.,  who  was  born 
July  17,  1817,  and  died  in  Townsend 
township,  May  31,  1843,  leaving  a  wife 
and  one  child;  Carmi  G..  subject  of  this 
sketch,  born  December  28,  181S;  Henry 
A.,  who  was  born  March  4,  1820,  married 
Mary,  daughter  of  Daniel  Rice,  and  now 
lives  on  the  home  farm;  Sally  M.,  born 
December  27,  1826;  William  B.,  born 
April  7,  1828;  Almira,  born  July  10,  1832, 
married  Samuel  H.  Tibbals,  and  died 
leaving  no  children;  George  W. ,  born 
February  2,  1839,  a  resident  of  Townsend 
township. 

Carmi  G.  Sanford  was  fourteen  years 
of  age  when  he  came  with  his  parents  to 
Sandusky  county.  He  had  attended  the 
public  schools  in  New  York,  but  in  the 
pioneer  Ohio  home  educational  facilities 
were  few,  and  the  work  of  clearing  the 
farm  was  imperative.  He  was  an  indus- 
trious and  willing  worker,  and  remained 
on  his  father's  farm  until  after  he  reached 
his  majority.  Then  he  purchased  for 
himself  a  forty-acre  wooded  tract,  which 
he  afterward  traded  for  another.  He  was 
married,  March  9,  1844,  to  Lydia  Allyn, 
daughter  of  Isaac  and  Permelia  (Down- 
ing) Allyn.  Isaac  Allyn  was  born  in  Con- 
necticut, September  21,  1786,  and  at  the 
age  of  eighteen  years  left  home  for  the 
West.  After  traveling  from  place  to  place 
for  several  years,  he  settled  in  Erie  coun- 
ty. About  1820,  in  company  with  Jonas 
Gibbs,  he  settled  on  the  prairie  in  the 
northern  part  of  Riley  township,  Sandusky 
count}',  and  there  engaged  extensively  in 
stockraising.     He  raised  horses  and  cattle, 


and  was  a  primitive  porkpacker  on  a  large 
scale.  For  a  few  years  he  lived  at  the 
Gibbs  cabin,  then  kept  bachelor's  hall 
until  his  marriage,  June  12,  1827,  to  Mrs. 
Permelia   Daniels.      She   was    born  June 

24.  1795,  '1  Windom  county.  Conn., 
daughter  of  Cyrus  Downing,  who,  with 
his  family,  migrated  in  1797  to  New 
York,  and  in  1809  to  Erie  county,  Ohio, 
settling  near  Huron.  He  was  then  in 
hostile  Indian  territory,  and  prior  to  the 
outbreak  during  the  war  of  18 12  was 
compelled  to  abandon  home  and  seek 
refuge  in  the  fort  at  Cleveland.  Permelia 
was  married  in  April,  181 3,  to  Jeremiah 
Daniels.  At  that  time  about  twenty 
families  lived  at  Huron,  and  so  active  were 
Indian  depredations  in  the  vicinity  that 
they  were  compelled  to  leave  their  homes 
nine  times  during  one  year.  After  the 
death  of  Mr.  Daniels,  the  widow  married 
Isaac  Allyn.  The  latter  died  January  30, 
1839,  and  Mrs.  Allyn  survived  until  Sep- 
tember 18,  1874,  living  during  the  last 
eighteen  months  of  her  life  with  her 
daughter  Lydia.  Mrs.  Allyn  was  a  woman 
of  considerable  business  ability  and  very 
industrious.  One  year  with  her  own 
hands  she  salted  more  than  one  hundred 
barrels  of  pork.  To  Isaac  and  Permelia 
Allyn  three  children  were  born:  Lydia, 
born  March  20,  1828;  Isaac  M.,  of  Riley 
township,  born  February  8,  1832;  Per- 
melia, born  Novembers,  1837,  died  June 

25,  1881. 

After  his  marriage  to  Lydia  Allyn, 
Carmi  G.  Sanford  began  housekeeping  in 
a  small  cabin  in  Townsend  township.  It 
was  made  entirely  of  logs  and  puncheons, 
except  the  door,  which  was  fashioned 
from  the  boards  of  a  store  box.  In  this 
cabin  Mr.  Sanford  lived  for  about  ten 
years.  Onlj-  a  small  part  of  his  little 
farm  was  cleared,  and  he  had  an  abun- 
dance of  work  before  him.  He  kept  pace 
with  the  new  methods  and  machinery  for 
farming,  and  by  economj'  and  industry 
added  to  his  possessions  until  he  owned 
400  well-improved  acres.    Like  his  father, 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGBAPHICAL  RECORD. 


631 


he  was  a  Whig  in  politics,  and  in  later 
years  became  a  Republican.  Sostrongwere 
his  political  convictions  that  he  quite  natur- 
ally became  a  leader  in  the  community  in 
which  he  lived.  During  the  war  he  was 
active  in  encouraging  enlistments  and  in 
caring  for  the  families  of  soldiers,  spend- 
ing time  and  money  freely.  When  the 
One  Hundred  and  Sixty-ninth  O.  V.  I. 
was  formed  he  was  chosen  captain  of 
Company  C,  composed  of  volunteers 
from  Riley  and  Townsend  townships, 
and  at  the  regimental  organization  in 
Fremont  he  was  chosen  lieutenant  col- 
onel, Nathaniel  Ha}nes  being  elected 
colonel.  Lieut. -Col.  Sanford  had  charge 
of  the  regiment  on  its  march  from  Fre- 
mont to  Sandusky,  but  through  the  ca- 
price of  Col.  Wiley  he  was  relieved  from 
service  before  he  had  been  mustered  in, 
much  to  the  regret  of  the  regiment,  which 
had  become  very  much  attached  to  him. 
Mr.  Sanford  has  served  Townsend  town- 
ship as  clerk  and  justice  of  the  peace, 
and  his  county  as  infirmary  director  and 
as  county  commissioner.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  Clyde  Lodge  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  of 
Erie  Commandery  No.  23.  In  1882  he 
removed  to  Clyde.  He  was  one  of  the 
organizers  of  the  People's  Bank,  and  was 
elected  its  president,  a  position  he  held 
until  his  death  which  occurred  Sep- 
tember 13,  1894.  He  was  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  marble  firm  of  Sanford  & 
Hughes,  one  of  the  largest  and  most  act- 
ive business  houses  of  the  kind  in  this 
part  of  Ohio. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sanford  seven  chil- 
dren were  born,  as  follows:  Mary  P., 
born  April  24,  1846,  died  in  infancy;  Win- 
field  Scott,  born  August  16, 1847,  who  mar- 
ried Eliza  McCartney,  by  whom  he  had 
three  children — Carmi  G.,  Jr.,  Cora  and 
Charles  F. — and  who  died  September  8, 
1889;  Flora  A.,  born  February  3,  1850, 
who  married  James  Gaw  and  died  Febru- 
ary 28,  1872;  Morgan  C,  born  July  25, 
1861,  who  married  Ida  White,  and  has 
three  children — Blake,  John  H.and  Flora; 


Kate  L. ,  born  November  7,  1864,  died 
March  i,  1868;  Hattie  M.,  born  January 
24,  1868,  and  married  to  W.  E.  Hughes, 
of  the  marble  firm  of  Sanford  &  Hughes; 
Charles  G. ,  born  January  24,  1871,  died 
October  6,  1872.  Mrs.  Lydia  Sanford 
died  February  11,  1893.  She  was  a 
whole-souled  woman,  happy  and  cheerful 
in  temperament,  and  deeply  devoted  to 
her  husband  and  children.  She  made  her 
home  one  of  the  most  attractive  in  the 
county,  and  was  beloved  by  ail  who  knew 
her.  Her  death  was  a  severe  blow  to  her 
husband.  Carmi  G.  Sanford  inherited 
the  gentle  and  courtly  manners  of  his 
father,  and  by  his  ever-present  considera- 
tion for  others  he  seemed  a  survivor  of  an 
earlier  type  of  men.  No  man  speaks  un- 
kindly of  Carmi  G.  Sanford,  and  no  man 
in  Sandusky  county  ranks  higher  in  pub- 
lic esteem  than  did  he.  He  had  a  striking 
individuality,  and  such  a  whole-souled, 
good-natured  disposition  that  all  knew 
him  and  none  knew  him  but  to  like  him. 
He  was  a  friend  of  the  people — the  capi- 
talist, the  business  man,  the  laborer  and 
the  street  urchin. 


CAPTAN  JOHN  L.  COLE,  a  pio- 
neer of  Sandusky  county,  was  born 
at  Greenbush,  Rensselaer  Co., 
N.  Y. ,  in  1807.  He  was  a  son  of 
Lucius  and  Esther  Cole,  who  died  about 
the  year  181  5,  leaving  three  children — 
John  L. ,  Mary  and  Lima — who  then  be- 
came separated  and  were  reared  by  strang- 
ers. It  fell  to  the  lot  of  our  subject  to  be 
bound  out  to  a  sea  captain  by  the  name  of 
Tift,  and  to  spend  his  time  from  the  age 
of  eight  to  twenty-one  years  on  a  sailing 
vessel  in  the  New  York  and  Liverpool 
trade;  so  that  he  did  not  have  the  privi- 
lege of  attending  school  a  single  day 
After  he  had  served  his  time  with  this  salt- 
water captain,  he  went  to  visit  his  sister, 
Lima,  at  Cortland,  N.  Y. ,  and  wintered 
there.  In  the  following  spring  he  re- 
turned to  New  York  City,  married  Miss 


682 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Elizabeth  French,  daughter  of  a  Baptist 
minister,  and  took  a  position  as  captain 
on  a  packet  boat  on  the  Hudson  river, 
where  he  remained  until  he  was  twenty- 
four  years  of  age. 

In  1 830  Mr.  Cole  wasisolicited  to  come 
to  Buffalo,  N.  Y. ,  to  rig  out  a  brig.  This 
he  did  satisfactorily,  and  subsequently 
sailed  as  master  of  the  vessel,  for  several 
seasons,  on  the  upper  lakes,  his  interven- 
ing winter  seasons  being  spent  in  rigging 
out  other  vessels  for  similar  service.  He 
sailed  for  several  seasons  as  captain  of  the 
"Wabash."  About  the  year  1833  he 
made  his  first  voyage  to  Lower  Sandusky, 
in  quest  of  pipe  staves  for  the  Southern 
sugar  trade,  and  in  the  fall  of  that  year 
laid  up  his  vessel  at  that  port  to  await  its 
spring  cargo  of  staves.  While  here  he 
made  the  acquaintance  of  Sardis  Birch- 
ard,  a  leading  merchant  and  a  large  land 
holder,  and  bought  of  him  a  tract  of  480 
acres  of  land  in  Scott  township,  on  which 
he  made  a  temporary  settlement  a  few 
years  later.  In  1842  Mr.  Cole  and  Mr. 
Birchard  went  to  Huron,  Erie  county, 
and  built  the  schooner  ' '  Sardis  Birchard.  " 
On  this  vessel,  owned  by  these  two  men, 
Mr.  Cole  sailed  as  captain,  hailing  from 
the  port  of  Lower  Sandusky  and  running 
the  chain  of  lakes  for  a  number  of  years, 
until  he  abandoned  the  business.  He 
carried  many  cargoes  of  grain  from  the 
port  of  Chicago  when  the  site  of  that  city 
was  little  better  than  a  malarious  marsh. 
n  About  the  year  1850  Capt.  Cole  sold 
his  land  in  Scott  township  and  bought 
upwards  of  three  hundred  acres  of  the 
Whittaker  Reserve,  to  which  he  added 
by  later  purchases  from  other  parties  un- 
til he  had  six  hundred  acres.  This  tract, 
which  was  then  a  dense  forest,  he  cleared 
up  and  improved,  and  it  remains  to-day  a 
fine  monument  to  his  industry  and  skill. 
He  was  a  man  of  small  stature,  but  pos- 
sessed of  untiring  energy,  practical  tact 
and  good  common  sense.  Though  cast 
upon  the  wide  world  without  book  learn- 
ing, he  learned  to  read  men  instead,  and 


later  mastered  the  rudiments  of  English 
by  the  aid  of  his  intelligent  and  helpful 
wife,  so  that  he  could  manage  his  large 
business  interests  with  marked  success. 
He  was  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  his 
wife  was  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church, 
Fremont.  The  children  of  Capt.  J.  L. 
and  Elizabeth  Cole  were:  Frances  M., 
wife  of  J.  C.  Barnes,  of  St.  Lawrence 
county,  N.  Y. ,  a  student  five  years  at 
Oberlin  College  (their  children  were  John, 
Arthur,  Charles,  and  Frank);  John  W., 
who  died  at  the  age  of  fifteen;  Sardis  B., 
sketch  of  whom  follows;  Hannah  E.,  wife 
of  George  W.  Stull,  residing  on  the  Cole 
homestead  (their  children  were — Ida,  El- 
bert, Frank,  Robert,  Eva,  Claud  and 
Fanny) ;  Mercy,  wife  of  Judge  William  F. 
Bailey,  of  Armenia,  N.  Y. ,  who  removed 
to  Eau  Claire,  Wis. ,  where  she  died,  leav- 
ing no  children.  Sarah  L. ,  wife  of  A.  L. 
Dodge,  druggist,  of  Eau  Claire,  Wis. , 
whose  children  were — Bert,  Sadie,  Jessie 
and  Jamie;  Emma,  wife  of  S.  J.  Ludwick, 
of  Fremont,  Ohio  (she  died  without  issue); 
and  Evaline,  wife  of  L.  G.  Hamilton, 
jeweller,  Fremont  (they  have  one  child — 
Mildred). 

After  the  death  of  his  wife,  Elizabeth 
(French),  Junes,  1872,  Capt.  Cole  mar- 
ried on  Januarj'  14,  1875,  Miss  Sarah  A. 
Hineline,  a  daughter  of  Hugh  B.  and  Re- 
becca (Lattig)  Hineline.  His  death  oc- 
curred March  18,  1889,  and  he  was  buried 
in  Oak  Wood  Cemetery.  His  widow  re- 
sides in  Fremont,  Ohio. 


SARDIS  B.  COLE,  retired  farmer, 
of  Fremont,  Sandusky  county, 
was  born  in  Scott  township,  San- 
dusky Co.,  Ohio,  September  8, 
1842,  a  son  of  Capt.  J.  L.  and  Elizabeth 
(French)  Cole.  His  early  life  was  spent 
in  the  heart  of  the  I-5lack  Swamp,  in  his 
native  township,  and  when  eight  years  of 
age  he  came  with  his  father's  family  to 
live  on  the  historic  Whittaker  Reserve, 
about  two  miles  north  of  Lower  Sandusky. 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


683 


Here  he  grew  to  manhood  amid  the  cares 
and  labors  of  farm  life,  and  attending  the 
home  schools  and  those  of  Fremont  village. 

In  the  year  i860  he  entered  Oberlin 
College  with  the  object  of  taking  a  course 
of  study,  but  on  the  outbreak  of  the 
Civil  war,  when  farm  laborers  became 
scarce,  he  was  obliged  to  abandon  his 
books  and  assist  his  father  on  the  home 
farm.  He  afterward  took  a  commercial 
course  at  Oberlin,  Ohio,  and  served  as 
bookkeeper  for  I.  T.  Lyon,  of  Cleveland, 
Ohio.  He  retained  his  home  with  his 
parents  until  1866,  when  he  married 
Miss  Margaret  E.  Hyatt,  daughter  of  J. 
W.  Hyatt,  of  Sandusky  township.  They 
settled  upon  a  farm  in  that  township, 
comprising  about  240  acres  of  choice  land, 
where  they  lived  about  twenty-two  years. 
Their  children  were:  Charles  W. ,  a 
banker  at  Hartford  City,  Ind.,  who  mar- 
ried Miss  Elizabeth  Winning,  of  that  city; 
John  B.,  a  farmer  who  married  Miss  Mat- 
tie  Ernst,  and  lives  on  the  Sardis  Cole 
farm;  Grace  E.,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
seventeen,  just  after  having  completed  a 
course  of  study  at  St.  Paul,  Minn.  ;  Sar- 
dis B.,  Jr.,  a  grocer  of  Hartford  City, 
Ind.;  George  D.,  and  Jessie,  attending 
the  Fremont  city  schools. 

Sardis  B.  Cole  is  a  Republican  in  poli- 
tics, and  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church. 
He  is  also  an  active  member  of  Croghan 
Lodge,  No.  yj,  I.  O.  O.  F. ;  a  member 
of  the  Pioneer  and  Historical  Society  of 
Sandusky  county;  president  of  the  Agri- 
cultural Society,  and  a  liberal  contributor 
to  various  benevolent  enterprises.  In 
1892  he  removed  to  Fremont,  and  now 
occupies  a  residence  near  the  M.  E. 
Church,  on  Main  street. 


JAMES  ROSEN'BERGER,  a   promi- 
nent farmer   of  Sandusky  township, 
Sandusky   county,    was    born  in  the 
Shenandoah    Valley,    Virginia,  near 
the    famous    battle-ground,     January    i, 
1 8 19,  a  son  of  Henry  and  Jane  (Shawl) 


Rosenberger,  the  former  of  whom  was 
born  in  Virginia,  and  was  a  farmer.  His 
parents  came  from  Germany. 

Grandfather  Henry  Rosenberger  came 
to  this  country  in  early  life,  and  was  mar- 
ried in  Virginia.  The  grandfather  of  our 
subject,  on  mother's  side,  was  bound  out 
to  work  for  payment  of  passage  to  this 
country;  he  settled  in  Virginia.  Grand- 
father Nicholas  Shawl  came  to  Seneca 
county  after  our  subject's  father  came 
here.  Both  grandfathers  came  to  Seneca 
county  in  1818,  bought  land,  and  returned 
to  Virginia.  The  paternal  grandfather 
died  in  Virginia,  the  maternal  grandfather 
in  Seneca  county,  Ohio.  The  father  of 
our  subject  came  to  Ohio  in  October, 
1823,  locating  in  Seneca  township,  Seneca 
Co.,  Ohio,  on  land  his  father  had  bought. 
Our  subject's  uncle  John  was  a  distiller 
and  a  miller  in  V'irginia,  in  the  Shenan- 
doah Valley,  which  occupations  he  gave 
up,  entering  a  quarter  section  of  land  in 
Seneca  county,  Ohio,  in  1822.  The  near- 
est neighbor  the  Rosenberger's  had  at  that 
time  was  four  miles  distant.  When  go- 
ing to  see  their  neighbors  they  were  guided 
by  blazed  trees  along  the  way.  Uncle 
John  lived  there  about  twenty-five  years, 
and  then  moved  to  Iowa.  The  father 
of  our  subject  was  one  of  three  sons  who 
went  there.  There  were  six  children  by 
the  first  marriage,  two  by  the  last:  Our 
subject's  father  lived  in  Seneca  county 
until  1853,  and  died  in  Tiffin,  aged  eighty- 
nine.  Our  subject's  mother  was  born  in 
Virginia,  and  died  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
four.  The  father  was  a  Republican  in 
politics,  originally  a  Whig.  They  were 
members  of  the  M.  E.  Church.  James 
Rosenberger  was  one  of  eleven  children: 
Subject,  Elizabeth,  William,  George,  Har- 
riet. David,  Martha,  John,  Eliza,  Jacob, 
and  Anna,  who  died  in  infancy.  Ten  of 
these  grew  up  to  maturity. 

Our  subject  attended  school  in  a  log 
schoolhousc  which  had  a  chimney  built 
of  sticks  plastered  with  mud  or  clay  mor- 
tar.     In  1843    he    married,    in  Sandusky 


684 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


county,  Miss  Mary  Ramsberg^,  who  was 
born  in  Maryland,  November  3,  18 17. 
She  is  yet  living.  There  were  eight  chil- 
dren born  to  this  union:  (i)  Mariba  M., 
born  January  10,  1845,  married  Silas 
Saffel,  and  had  children — William,  Gus- 
tave,  Jennie,  George,  Bertie,  and  Pearl. 
(2)  Lucinda,  born  April  13,  1848,  mar- 
ried Wallace  Knight,  whose  children 
were — Oliver,  Bertha,  Clara,  George, 
Robert  and  LeRoy.  (3)  Perry  F.,  born 
March  15,  1850,  married  Anna  Hummel, 
whose  children  were — Arthur,  Burt,  Er- 
mie,  George,  Ollie,  and  Willie.  (4)  Amos 
E.,  born  June  17,  1852,  died  in  infancy. 
(5)  John  A.,  born  June  28,  1854,  died 
when  twenty-one  years  old.  (6)  Theo- 
dore, born  July  12,  1856,  by  his  first  mar- 
riage had  one  child — Clarence — and  by 
his  second  marriage  had  two  children, 
LeRoy  and  one  whose  name  is  not  given; 
they  live  in  Kansas.  (7)  Mary  Jane 
Rosenberger,  born  January  24,  1859, 
married  David  Burgoon;  they  have  no 
children. 

In  1846  our  subject  came  to  Sandusky 
township,  locating  on  Muskallonge  creek, 
and  he  has  been  on  his  present  farm  since 
1854.  It  was  then  all  woods.  He 
cleared  it  up  himself.  He  remembers 
distinctly  the  political  campaign  of  1840, 
known  in  history  as  the  "  Log  Cabin  and 
Hard  Cider"  campaign,  which  resulted  in 
the  election  of  Gen.  William  H.  Harri- 
son to  the  Presidency.  Mr.  Rosenberger 
helped  to  build  a  log  cabin  out  of  all 
buckeye  logs,  at  Tiffin,  Ohio,  on  which 
they  put  a  clapboard  roof,  a  barrel  of 
hard  cider  on  top,  a  flagstaff  with  the 
United  States  flag,  and  on  top  of  the  pole 
a  live  raccoon. 


JAMES  H.   McRITCHIE,  postmaster 
at  Port  Clinton,  Ottawa  county,  was 
born  in  Bay   township,  Ottawa  Co., 
Ohio,  September    24,  1854,  a  son  of 
David  and   Jane   (Yule)    McRitchie,    who 
were  married  in  Forfarshire,  Scotland. 


The  parents  of  our  subject  emigrated 
to  America  in  1832.  After  arriving  in 
New  York  City  they  journeyed  westward 
to  Buffalo,  there  taking  passage  on  a  ves- 
sel, bound  for  Chicago,  where  they  ex- 
pected to  meet  some  friends.  The  ves- 
sel, however,  was  wrecked  in  a  storm 
near  the  harbor  of  Port  Clinton,  and  they 
were  taken  ashore  at  that  place,  stopped 
at  a  brick  hotel  that  now  forms  part  of 
the  ' '  Lake  House, "  kept  bj'  John  Mitchell. 
This  was  in  August,  1832.  Mr.  Mc- 
Ritchie relinquished  his  plan  of  going  to 
Chicago,  and  instead  bought  a  farm  of 
120  acres  of  timbered  land  in  Bay  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county,  which  he  cleared 
and  which  served  him  and  his  family  as  a 
home  for  many  years.  The  countrj'  was 
then  almost  a  wilderness,  and  the  pio- 
neers endured  many  privations.  There 
was  no  work  for  laboring  people  at  which 
they  could  earn  money,  except  in  the 
quarries  at  Plaster  Bed,  and  that  was 
seven  miles  from  his  farm.  He  was  ac- 
customed to  go  to  his  work  on  Monday 
morning,  returning  on  Saturday  evening, 
carrying  provisions  with  him  for  a  week, 
and  was  often  obliged  to  take  his  pay  in 
dry  goods  and  groceries  and  such  like, 
in  lieu  of  money.  As  soon  as  he  was  able 
to  purchase  an  ox  team  he  got  his  supplies 
from  Lower  Sandusky  (now  Fremont), 
which  occupied  two  days — one  to  go  and 
one  to  return.  Having  received  a  fairly 
liberal  education  in  Scotland,  Mr.  Mc- 
Ritchie was  well  qualified  to  fill  various 
positions  of  honor  and  trust  to  which  he 
was  afterward  elected.  He  held  the  of- 
fices of  township  clerk  and  justice  of  the 
peace;  later  (1848!  was  elected  auditor  of 
Ottawa  county,  which  office  he  held  nine 
years,  and  in  1874  was  elected  county 
treasurer,  in  which  incumbency  he  served 
four  years.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  was  an  enter- 
prising and  public-spirited  citizen.  He 
died  April  7.  1883,  after  which  his  widow 
remained  on  the  homestead  until  1888, 
when  she  went  to  live  with  her  son  James 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


085 


H.,  at  Port  Clinton.  Their  children 
were:  Jeannette,  William,  Maria,  Ellen, 
John  D.,  Jane,  Nancy,  David  and  James 
H.,  all  born  in  Bay  township,  Ottawa 
Co.,  Ohio.  Of  these,  Jeannette  died  in 
childhood;  William  died  at  the  age  of 
twenty-six;  Maria  married  Darwin  Hyde, 
and  lived  on  Catawba  Island,  where  they 
both  died,  leaving  three  children — Ho- 
mer, Ora  and  Lemuel;  Ellen  married 
Charles  Darr,  and  lived  in  Bay  township, 
where  they  both  died  (one  of  their  sons, 
William,  lives  on  the  family  homestead, 
the  other,  Frank,  died  at  the  age  of  six- 
teen); John  D.  married  Sarah  Legget, 
lived  on  a  farm  for  a  time,  then  moved  to 
Port  Clinton,  and  followed  butchering 
(their  children  were — Emma,  William, 
Mary,  Charlotte,  Ida,  Ora.  Clara  and 
George);  Jane  married  J.  W.  Mizner, 
hardware  merchant,  Port  Clinton  (their 
children  were — James  H.,  Clara,  Edward 
and  Grace);  Nancy  married  James  L. 
Mackey  (they  lived  on  a  farm  in  Bay  town- 
ship, where  he  died,  after  which  she 
moved  to  Port  Clinton;  their  children 
were  Pearl,  David  and  Alma);  David 
married  Alice  Hyde,  and  follows  the 
butchering  business  in  Port  Clinton  (they 
have  one  child,  Charles  S.).  In  politics 
Mr.  McRitchie  was  a  Democrat  and  all 
his  sons  are  Democrats. 

James  H.  McRitchie,  the  subject 
proper  of  this  sketch,  was  raised  on  his 
father's  farm  and  attended  country  schools 
during  the  winter  seasons.  In  1888  he 
commenced  the  butcher  business,  and  so 
continued  until  May  22,  1893,  when  he 
was  appointed  postmaster  at  Port  Clinton 
by  President  Cleveland.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  Lodge,  No.  627,  and 
passed  all  the  chairs  of  Lake  Erie  En- 
campment, No.  232,  and  of  Canton  Ot- 
tawa, No.  60;  also  the  National  Union, 
No.  60.  On  November  6,  1879,  he  was 
married  to  Miss  Clara  E.  Lattimore,  who 
was  born  September  25,  1854,  daughter 
of  John  and  Mary  (Park)  Lattimore,  and 
their  children  are:    Irma  A.,  Mack  A.  Mc- 


Ritchie, Hattie  A.  and  Mabel.  Mr.  Mc- 
Ritchie is  a  typical  self-made  man,  one 
whose  record  is  without  a  stain,  and, 
whether  in  prosperity  or  adversit}',  he  has 
ever  been  upright,  conscientious  and  hon- 
orable. 


D 


ENNIS  FAMILY.  Arthur  Nelson 
Dennis  and  his  wife  were  both 
born  in  Maine,  and  in  their  native 
State  eight  children  were  born  to 
them,  one  son  and  seven  daughters,  as 
follows:  Lucy,  who  became  the  wife  of  a 
Mr.  Churchill,  and  after  his  death  wedded 
Elder  \\'ire;  Polly;  Sarah;  Hannah,  who 
wedded  Horace  Flower;  Betsy,  who  mar- 
ried Alpheus  Barber;  Fanny,  who  wedded 
Solomon  Drown;  Rebecca,  who  married 
John  Kilbourne;  and  John.  Of  this  family 
two  came  to  Ohio — Mrs.  Drown  and  John. 

Arthur  Dennis  moved  into  New  York 
State,  locating  in  the  vicinity  of  Lyons, 
but  later  in  life  moved  to  Erie  county, 
Penn.,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of 
his  days.  His  occupation  was  that  of 
shoemaker.      Politically  he  was  a  Whig. 

John  Dennis  followed  farming  all  his 
life;  after  leaving,  the  Keystone  State  he 
located,  in  about  1845,  in  York  township, 
Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  and  he  owned  160 
acres  of  land  in  Lucas  county,  Ohio.  In 
New  York  State  he  married  Malinda 
Hatch,  a  native  of  Maine,  to  which  union 
came  thirteen  children,  namely:  Alvira, 
who  became  the  wife  of  Washington 
Collom;  Hiram;  John;  Hatch;  Spellman; 
Malinda,  who  was  the  wife  of  William 
McLain;  Arthur  Nelson;  William  George; 
Syrenus;  two  who  died  in  infancy;  Fla- 
vel;  and  one  unnamed,  a  twin  to  Malin- 
da. All  are  now  deceased  except  Will- 
iam. The  mother  of  this  family  died 
August  10,  1854,  and  the  father  in  Sep- 
tember,  1864. 

William  Dennis  was  born  in  Erie, 
Penn.,  November  28,  1833.  When  sev- 
enteen years  of  age  he  entered  upon  an  ap- 
prenticeship to   the   blacksmith  trade,  in 


686 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


learning  which  he  spent  three  years,  and 
which  he  pursued  until  September,  1862. 
At  that  time  he  enlisted,  serving  until  the 
close  of  the  war;  he  participated  in  many 
skirmishes,  and  was  in  the  engagements  at 
Nashville,  and  with  his  command  made  a 
thirty-one-days.'  march  with  but  six  hours 
rest.  On  April  3,  1855,  Mr.  Dennis  wed- 
ded Jane  Nottage,  a  native  of  Ashtabula 
county,  Ohio,  who  died  in  South  Dakota 
November  3,  1885.  Three  children  came 
to  bless  this  union:  Clara,  wife  of  Foster 
Thompson,  of  Stillwater,  Minn. ;  Flora, 
wife  of  James  May,  of  Seneca  county, 
Ohio,  and  William  N.,  foreman  of  the 
old  White  Lime  Co.,  Bowling  Green, 
Ohio.  For  his  second  wife  William  Den- 
nis wedded  Ella  Hinton,  and  to  this  mar- 
riage was  born  one  child,  Harry  B.  Will- 
iam Dennis  is  engaged  in  dealing  in  horses. 

Arthur  Nelson  Dennis  (brother  of 
William  Dennis)  came  to  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  in  1845,  in  the  earlier  days  fol- 
lowing farming;  just  before  the  outbreak 
of  the  Civil  war,  and  also  during  the  con- 
flict, he  was  in  the  livery  business.  For 
a  short  time,  however,  he  gave  this  up, 
having  enlisted,  but  he  was  discharged  on 
account  of  disability  after  eight  months' 
service,  and  returning  to  Clyde  resumed 
the  livery  business,  continuing  to  follow 
it  for  two  years.  Selling  out,  he  subse- 
quently bought  a  hotel  and  livery  barn  in 
Green  Spring,  which  he  conducted  for 
about  fifteen  years,  or  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  December  3,  1892.  Mr. 
Dennis  married  Mary  Jane  Whiteman, 
who  bore  him  seven  children,  viz. :  Mar- 
cellus,  a  drayman  of  Green  Spring,  Ohio; 
Willie,  who  died  when  four  years  old; 
Net  E. ;  George,  a  conductor  on  the  "  Big 
Four"  railroad;  Bert,  yard  master  in  the 
Short  Line,  at  Sandusky,  Ohio;  "Pet," 
who  died  at  the  age  of  nine  years;  and 
Mack  Charlie. 

Net  E.  Dennis  is  one  of  the  hustling 
young  men  of  Clyde,  popular  in  both  busi- 
ness and  social  circles.  He  is  the  owner 
of  some  valuable  property  there,  and  he 


also  pays  considerable  attention  to  good 
horses.  He  married  Alice  Reed,  of  Green 
Spring,  and  two  children — Lela  and  Jim- 
mie — have  blessed  their  union. 


M 


ICHAEL     D.    THIERWECH- 

TER  (deceased)  was  born  June 
5,  1 83 1,  in  Jackson  township, 
Lebanon  Co.,  Penn.,  a  son  of 
Samuel  and  Mary  (Groh)  Thierwechter. 
At  about  the  age  of  twenty  years  he  came 
to  Shelby,  Ohio,  where  he  began  an  ap- 
prenticeship at  the  brick-making  business 
— manufacturing  by  hand — at  the  same 
time  learning  the  trade  of  blacksmith. 

In  1854,  became  to  Sandusky  county, 
Ohio,  and  after  his  marriage,  which  event 
will  be  more  fully  spoken  of  farther  on, 
he  settled  on  a  142-acre  farm  in  Sandusky 
county,  near  the  "Four-Mile  House." 
The  place  at  that  time  was  a  dense  wild 
forest,  but  by  hard  labor  and  assiduous 
toil  he  succeeded  in  converting  it  into  one 
of  the  fine  farms  of  that  county.  In  an 
early  day  he  also  followed  the  business  of 
auctioneer,  during  the  war  acting  in  that 
capacity  in  the  counties  of  Sandusky,  Ot- 
tawa, Huron,  Erie,  Hancock  and  Wood. 
About  the  year  1867  he  rented  his  farm 
and  moved  to  Elmore,  Ottawa  county, 
where  he  embarked  in  a  general  mer- 
cantile business.  Here  he  remained  un- 
til April  6,  1  ?>■/-,  when  he  removed  to  Oak 
Harbor,  in  which  then  rising  little  village 
he  continued  in  the  same  line  of  business 
occupying  a  store  rented  of  Judge 
Kraemer,  his  son  Emery  being  associated 
with  him.  In  1882  the  latter  was  taken 
into  full  partnership  with  his  father,  and 
during  the  same  year  they  built  the  spa- 
cious structure,  now  owned  and  occupied 
by  Emerj-  Thierwechter  &  Co.  (Emery 
and  A.  D.  Thierwechter),  and  the  amount 
of  business  done  within  the  first  twelve 
months  in  Oak  Harbor  amounted  to  be- 
tween $25,000  and  $30,000;  but  under  the 
able  management  of  both  father  and  son 
the  business  grew  so  rapidly  that  by  the 


cyft^  v^x  (fT^^j^-y^tH^^^^^m^ 


A 


^&^^^,^/t,<:^^>G%'<i-^^<^><t>^^^^-^^^X-^ 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


G87 


time  of  Mr.  Michael  D.  Thierwechter's 
decease  the  business  had  reached  the  enor- 
mous figure  of  $22 5,000  annually.  From 
1882  to  1890  the  firm  was  known  as  M. 
D.  Thierwechter  &  Son,  but  in  the  latter 
year  the  father  divided  his  personal  inter- 
est in  the  concern  with  his  son  A.  D.  Thier- 
wechter, the  firm  name  then  becoming  ^f. 
D.  Thierwechter  &  Sons,  and  since  the 
death  of  the  senior  member  the  style  of  the 
firm  has  been  Emery  Thierwechter  &  Co. 

On  November  29,  18=; 5.  our  subject 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Caroline 
Waggoner,  who  was  born  June  29,  1839, 
daughter  of  George  and  Margaret  (Klinger) 
Waggoner,  old  pioneers  of  Sandusky  coun- 
ty. To  this  union  were  born  one  daugh- 
ter and  three  sons,  as  follows:  Alice  (Mrs. 
H.  L.  Miller,  of  Tampa,  Florida),  born 
September  12,  1856;  Abraham  D.  and 
Emery  (sketches  of  whom  follow),  born 
September  19,  1S58,  and  July  5,  i860, 
respectively;  and  George,  born  May  18, 
1862.  The  father  was  called  from  earth 
April  27,  1 891,  and  in  his  death  the  com- 
munity lost  a  valued  and  progressive  citi- 
zen, his  neighbors  a  faithful  friend,  his  wife 
a  devoted  husband,  and  his  family  a  loving, 
indulgent  father.  The  widowed  mother 
still  makes  her  home  in  Oak  Harbor. 

Michael  D.  Thierwechter  was  an  en- 
ergetic, hardworking  man  all  his  lifetime, 
by  his  straightforward  business  and  social 
life  winning  the  confidence  of  all  who 
knew  him.  His  political  interests  cen- 
tered in  the  Republican  party,  and  he  was 
once  a  candidate  for  the  Legislature.  In 
civic  affairs,  having  been  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  city  council,  he  held  that  posi- 
tion several  years  with  characteristic  fidel- 
ity and  loyalty.  In  religious  faith  he  was 
a  member  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 


EMERY  THIERWECHTER,  pro- 
prietor of  a  large  mercantile  busi- 
ness, is  a  son  of  the  late  Michael 
D.    Thierwechter    and     his     wife 
Caroline  (Waggoner)  Thierwechter. 


He  was  born  July  5,  i860,  on  a  farm 
near  the  "Four-Mile  House  "  in  Sandus- 
ky county,  Ohio,  and  was  some  seven 
years  old  when  his  father  moved  with  his 
family  to  Elmore,  Ottawa  county,  as 
related  in  the  sketch  of  Michael  D. 
Thierwechter.  Here  Emery's  education 
was  received,  and  here  was  laid  the  foun- 
dation of  his  future  business  career.  Dur- 
ing school  vacations  he  worked  in  his 
father's  store,  and  for  a  time  was  engaged 
in  the  retail  grocery  store  of  Louis  Avers. 
In  November,  1876,  Mr.  Thierwechter 
entered  the  business  college  of  Spencer 
and  Bigelow,  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  where 
he  received  a  thorough  business  training. 
In  1877  his  father  and  he  rented  a  room 
of  Judge  Kraemer.  at  Oak  Harbor,  and  on 
April  7  they  embarked  in  a  general  mer- 
cantile business.  Since  the  death  of  the 
latter  the  style  of  the  firm  has  been 
Emery  Thierwechter  &  Co. ,  Emery  and 
A.  D.  Thierwechter  being  the  sole  repre- 
sentatives. 

That  Mr.  Thierwechter  is  a  man  of 
consummate  business  ability  is  proven  by 
the  fact  that  he  has  made  a  most  phe- 
nomenal success  in  his  business,  and  has 
established  for  himself  a  highly  enviable 
reputation  for  integrity  and  probity  in  all 
his  dealings. 

In  September,  1880,  Emery  Thier- 
wechter was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Luella  Bruner,  a  native  of  Fremont,  and 
daughter  of  David  and  Sophia  (Faust) 
Bruner,  to  which  union  have  come  three 
children:  Caroline,  born  July  7,  1881, 
died  September  24,  1889;  Edgar  Weed, 
born  July  20,  1887;  and  Morton  Emery, 
born  February  13,   1889. 

Mr.  Thierwechter  in  his  political  pre- 
dilections is  a  pronounced  Republican,  and 
in  the  fall  of  1895  he  was  nominated  by 
acclamation,  by  the  Republican  Conven- 
tion of  Ottawa  county,  for  the  State  Leg- 
islature. Although  the  county  is  largely 
Democratic,  he  ran  far  ahead  of  his  ticket, 
and  was  defeated  by  a  very  small  major- 
ity.     With  all  his  business  cares  and  re- 


688 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


sponsibilities  he  has  not  been  unmindful 
of  his  duty  to  the  town  of  his  adoption. 
He  was  twice  elected  to  the  city  council, 
and  it  was  during  his  administration  as 
councilor  that  the  city  was  paved  and 
other  improvements  were  made.  Being 
a  friend  to  education  and  progress,  he 
served  on  the  school  board,  and  was 
treasurer  thereof  three  years.  Socially  he 
holds  membership  with  the  I.  O.  O.  F. , 
also  the  F.  &  A.  M.,  Blue  Lodge  at  Oak 
Harbor,  and  is  a  Knight  Templar,  Toledo 
Commandery  No.  7.  He  is  a  stockholder 
in  the  Oak  Harbor  Oil  Co.,  in  the  Oak 
Harbor  Natural  Gas  Co.,  and  in  the  Oak 
Harbor  Basket  Factory.  In  his  many 
business  responsibilities  he  has  displayed 
marked  ability,  in  that  and  in  all  other 
respects  sustaining  the  high  reputation  the 
name  has  for  so  many  years  enjoyed. 


ABRAHAM  D.THIERWECHTER 
is  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Emerj' 
Thierwechter  &  Co.,  prominent 
and  progressive  merchants  and 
extensive  grain  and  produce  buyers  and 
shippers,  of  Oak  Harbor,  Ottawa  county, 
and  was  born  in  \\'ashington  township, 
Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  September  19,  1858, 
being  the  eldest  son  of  Michael  and  Car- 
oline (Waggoner)  Thierwechter. 

Our  subject  spent  his  boyhood  days 
in  Elmore,  Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio,  receiving  a 
good  business  education  in  the  schools  of 
that  town.  On  leaving  school  he  entered 
the  employ  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railway 
Co.,  with  which  he  continued  some  years. 
After  severing  his  connection  with  that 
line  he  engaged  in  the  baking  business, 
and  also  in  a  livery  until  1883,  in  which 
j'ear  he  entered  his  father's  store,  being 
made  a  member  of  the  firm  in  1891.  Mr. 
Thierwechter  is  a  man  of  recognized  abil- 
ity, an  active,  enterprising  citizen,  com- 
manding the  respect  of  every  one  with 
whom  he  is  brought  in  contact. 

Mr.  Thierwechter  was  married  at  Fre- 
mont,   Ohio,  in  January,   1883,  the   lady 


of  his  choice  being  Miss  Caroline  Vogel, 
whose  parents.  Christian  and  Salome 
Vogel,  were  both  born  in  Germany,  and 
crossed  the  ocean  to  this  country  at  an 
early  date,  settling  in  Ottawa  county. 
The  mother  passed  from  earth  some  j'ears 
ago;  the  father  still  survives,  and  is  now 
an  honored  resident  of  Oak  Harbor.  To 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thierwechter  have  come 
four  children  to  brighten  their  home,  viz. : 
Mildred,  Luella,  Homer  and  Pauline,  all 
of  whom  are  yet  living.  In  his  political 
afifiliations  Mr.  Thierwechter  is  an  ardent 
supporter  of  the  Republican  party;  Mrs. 
Thierwechter  is  a  member  of  the  Church 
of  the  Disciples. 


SD.  ALLEN.  M.  D.,  a  popular 
citizen  and  a  leading  physician 
and  surgeon  of  Oak  Harbor,  Ot- 
tawa county,  was  born  in  New 
Castle,  Lawrence  Co.,  Penn.,  March  26, 
1852. 

His  parents,  Zebina  N.  and  Mary  A. 
(Van  Eman)  Allen,  were  born  in  Beaver 
county,  Penn. ,  the  father  August  23,  1 82 1 , 
the  mother  April  20,  1828,  and  for  many 
years  have  been  honored  and  respected 
residents  of  Scott  township,  Lawrence 
Co.,  Penn.  Mr.  Allen  is  a  cabinet-maker 
by  trade,  but  for  a  number  of  years  he  has 
been  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits,  and 
in  teaching  school.  He  has  also  served 
two  terms  as  auditor  for  his  county.  Their 
family  consisted  of  seven  children,  three 
of  whom  are  yet  living:  Our  subject; 
John,  residing  in  New  Castle,  Penn.,  and 
Amos,  living  at  home. 

Dr.  S.  D.  Allen,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  received  his  primary  education  in 
the  public  schools  of  his  native  State,  and 
subsequently  became  a  student  in  Western 
Reserve  College,  at  that  time  located  at 
Hudson,  Ohio.  On  graduating  from  this 
institution  he  studied  medicine  with  Dr. 
J.  W.  Smith,  then  police  surgeon  of  Cleve- 
land, now  a  resident  of  Wellington,  Ohio, 
taking  a  two-years'  course  under  his  tui- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPniCAL  RECORD. 


689 


tion  in  Wooster  University,  Cleveland, 
and  graduating  from  "  the  Cleveland  Uni- 
versity of  Medicine"  in  1S85.  He  then 
spent  a  year  in  Europe,  making  a  special 
study  of  surgery,  and  upon  his  return  to 
America,  in  1886,  commenced  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  in  Oak  Harbor, 
where  he  has  since  resided.  By  a  life  of 
hard  study  and  devotion  to  his  profession 
Dr.  Allen  has  been  eminently  successful 
as  a  practitioner,  and  has  succeeded  in  win- 
ning the  confidence  and  respect  of  the 
entire  community  in  which  he  resides. 

The  Doctor  was  united  in  marriage  at 
Oak  Harbor,  October  21,  1881,  with  Miss 
Augusta  Franck,  a  daughter  of  'Squire 
Ernst  and  Louise  (Frank)  Franck,  and  to 
this  union  came  five  children,  viz. :  Mary 
A.,  born  September  10,  1882;  Frederick 
S.,  born  August  8,  1884;  E.  Arvilla,  born 
May  18,  1886;  Laura  L. ,  born  August  18, 
1888;  and  Clara  E. ,  born  August  10, 
1890.  Dr.  Allen  is  an  honored  member 
of  the  following  societies:  The  North- 
western Homeopathic  Medical  Society; 
Oak  Harbor  Lodge  No.  495,  F.  &  A.  M., 
Forest  Chapter  No.  64,  R.  A.  M.,  and 
Forest  Council.  The  family  are  members 
of  the  Lutheran  Church.  In  his  political 
views  our  subject  is  a  Republican. 


NATHAN  F.  PIERSON.  The  early 
history  of  this  section  of  the  North- 
west can  easily  be  read  in  the  Irves 
of  the  men  of  whom  these  bio- 
graphical sketches  are  written,  and  there 
is  but  little  variety  in  the  stories.  The 
trials  and  privations  of  the  pioneers  in 
any  new  country  are  about  the  same;  the 
wresting  of  fertile  farms  from  the  virgin 
soil,  the  clearing  of  vast  forests,  the 
bridging  of  streams,  making  of  roads  and 
building  of  log  cabins  are  common  expe- 
riences, and  the  success  or  failure  in  life 
due  to  the  same  causes,  practically,  as  in 
the  older  and  more  civilized  communi- 
ties;  but   we  are  glad  to  know  just  how 


our  early  settlers  fared,  and  how  they 
reached  their  present  enviable  condition. 
Nathan  F.  Pierson,  one  of  the  oldest 
pioneers  and  a  prominent  agriculturist  of 
Clay  township,  Ottawa  county,  was  born 
in  Morris  county,  N.  J.,  June  13,  1821. 
He  is  a  son  of  Daniel  and  Elizabeth 
(Miller)  Pierson,  natives  of  Connecticut 
and  New  jersey  respectively,  the  former 
of  whom  was  born  February  22,  1777. 
Their  marriage  took  place  in  New  Jersey 
June  19,  1800,  and  to  them  were  born 
ten  children,  as  follows:  Jacob,  June  2, 
1 801;  Lewis,  in  1803;  Stephen,  in  1805; 
Frederick,  in  1806;  Sarah,  in  1808; 
Moses,  in  181  i;  Nathaniel,  in  181 3;  Al- 
fred, in  18 1 5;  Catherine,  in  18 17;  and 
Nathan  F.,  in  1821.  The  father  died 
July  14,   1825,  and  the  mother  died  July 

14.   1834- 

Our  subject  received  a  limited  educa- 
tion in  the  countrj'  schools  of  that  day, 
and  began  active  life  on  a  farm,  also 
working  in  a  blacksmith  shop,  where  he 
remained  for  three  years.  He  also  learned 
the  trade  of  a  wagon-maker,  at  which  he 
continued  for  several  3'ears,  and  alter- 
nated this  with  work  in  a  sawmill,  farm- 
ing, carpentering  and  millwrighting  for  a 
period  of  seven  years.  He  then  spent 
eight  years  in  one  of  the  largest  factories 
in  Newark,  N.  J.,  bending  rims,  spokes, 
etc.,  after  which  he  went  to  Michigan, 
where  he  spent  three  years  working  at 
his  trade  of  a  carpenter  and  joiner.  Re- 
turning now  to  Ohio,  he  located  in  Harris 
township,  Ottawa  county,  where  he  bought 
land,  a  part  of  which  was  under  cultiva- 
tion. He  worked  this  farm  for  two  years, 
but,  not  liking  the  location,  he  sold  out 
and  came  to  Clay  township  in  1866,  buy- 
ing a  tract  of  eighty  acres,  a  portion  only 
of  which  was  improved.  It  was  in  the 
midst  of  a  forest,  with  few  neighbors 
within  a  mile,  the  land  swampy  and  the 
roads  muddy.  It  was  enough  to  appall 
the  stoutest  heart,  but  our  subject  was 
equal  to  the  task,  and  with  indomitable 
will   and  energy  went  to   work,  clearing 


690 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHJCAL  RECORD. 


the  land,  planting  an  orchard,  building  a 
dwelling  house,  barns  and  other  outbuild- 
ings, and  in  the  course  of  time  bringing 
the  land  into  a  high  state  of  cultivation 
and  making  of  it  a  valuable  property,  on 
which  he  is  spending  his  last  days  in  the 
peaceful  enjoyment  of  the  fruits  of  his 
labors. 

Mr.  Pierson  was  married  at  Newark, 
N.  J.,  September  20,  1847,  to  Sarah  E. 
Brush,  of  New  York  State,  and  this 
happy  union  has  been  blessed  with  si.\ 
children,  namely:  Henrietta,  born  Jan- 
uary 26,  1850,  at  Newark,  N.  J.,  died 
July  30,  1850;  George  W.,  born  August 
29,  1 85 1,  at  Newark,  was  educated  in 
the  puplic  schools  of  Ottawa  count)^  this 
State,  and  worked  at  the  cooper's  trade 
for  several  years;  he  then  went  on  the 
railroad  as  brakeman,  and  worked  his 
way  up  to  the  position  of  conductor,  dur- 
ing which  time  he  met  with  several  acci- 
dents, finally  meeting  his  death  in  the 
company's  yards  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  JuU^ 
17,  1892,  where  a  train  of  eighteen  cars 
ran  over  his  body,  killing  him  instantly; 
his  remains  were  brought  back  to  his 
home  in  Clay  township,  and  there  buried; 
he  was  married  and  left  one  child,  a 
daughter,  Lillie,  who  is  a  school  teacher 
at  Port  Clinton;  Franklin,  born  June  5. 
1853,  died  in  infancy;  Morris  NI.,  born 
September  20,  1855,  also  died  in  infancy; 
Andrew,  born  November  15,  1859,  died 
July  29,  i860;  Francis  Marion  was 
born  November  30,  1857,  and  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Ot- 
tawa county;  he  learned  the  trade  of  a 
barber  and  worked  in  Nebraska  for  sev- 
eral 3'ears,and  also  in  Kansas,  going  from 
there  to  Colorado,  where  he  now  resides; 
he  was  married  in  1882  to  Miss  Minnie 
Comstock,  and  they  have  one  child. 

Mr.  Pierson  held  the  office  of  school 
director  for  two  terms  in  Clay  township. 
Socially  he  belongs  to  Genoa  Lodge  No. 
433,  F.  &  A.  M.  He  has  been  a  Repub- 
lican ever  since  the  formation  of  that 
partj ,  having  formerly  been  a  Whig.    He 


and  his  wife  are  in  good  health,  and  en- 
joy the  blessings  of  a  well-spent  life. 
Elisha  Brush,  the  father  of  Mrs.  N. 
F.  Pierson,  was  born  in  June,  1796.  He 
was  in  the  general  merchandise  business 
at  Nelson,  N.  Y.,  where  he  was  married 
April  29,  18 19,  to  Chloe  Crisby,  whose 
birth  occurred  July  11,  1796.  They  had 
five  children:  Mary,  born  May  9,  1820; 
Sarah,  November  11,  1821 ;  Maria,  August 
20,  1S23;  Caroline,  July  11,  1825;  and 
John,  January  2,  1829,  all  of  whom  are 
living. 


LEVI     H.     THRAVES,     ex-county 
treasurer  of  Sandusky  county,  was 
born     in    Washington    township, 
Sandusky    Co..    Ohio,    March    2, 
1847,     a    son    of    William    and    Marilla 
(Graves)   Thraves,  whose  sketch  appears 
elsewhere. 

Our  subject  was  reared  on  a  farm,  and 
educated  in  the  common  schools.  At  the 
age  of  nine  he  came  with  his  parents  to 
Ballville  township,  Sandusky  county, 
where  he  grew  to  manhood,  finished  his 
common-school  education  and  attended 
the  Fremont  city  schools.  Being  the 
youngest  son.  he  remained  with  his  par- 
ents, and  carried  on  farming  and  stock 
raising  for  several  years,  afterward  pur- 
chasing the  family  homestead.  For  ten 
years  he  taught  school  in  the  winter  sea- 
sons, principally  in  Sandusky  county.  An 
ardent  Democrat,  he  held  the  offices  of 
township  trustee  and  justice  of  the  peace. 
In  1889  he  was  elected  treasurer  of  San- 
dusky county,  rented  his  farm  and  moved 
to  Fremont. 

In  1875  L.  H.  Thraves  married  Miss 
Loretta  Sendelbauch,  daughter  of  John 
and  Frances  Floretta  (Baumgardner) 
Sendelbauch,  natives  of  Germany,  who 
had  moved  to  Fremont,  Ohio,  in  an  early 
day.  Mr.  Sendelbauch  was  an  undertaker 
and  a  teacher  of  music.  He  taught  the 
first  band  of  music  in  Fremont.  His  death 
occurred  in  1873,  and  his  widow  lives  on 


C0MMEM0RA7  IVE  BIOOBAPEICAL  RECORD. 


691 


their  old  farm  homestead,  east  of  Fre- 
mont. They  were  members  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church. 

The  children  of  L.  H.  and  Loretta 
Thraves  are:  John  W. ,  Francis  F. ,  and 
Mary  H.  Mr.  Thraves  is  a  member  of 
Fremont  Lodge,  202,  Knights  of  Pythias, 
also  of  the  Order  of  Elks,  169.  Mrs. 
Thraves  is  a  member  of  St.  Ann's  Church, 
Fremont. 


PHILLIP  R.  SNIDER,  a  retired 
farmer,  and  one  of  the  pioneer 
settlers  and  highly-esteemed  citi- 
zens of  Erie  township,  Ottawa 
county,  was  born  in  Warren  county.  New 
Jersey,  March  5,  1821,  and  is  a  son  of 
Henry  and  Margaret  (Redding)  Snider. 
They  were  also  natives  of  that  State,  the 
father  coming  of  German,  the  mother  of 
English,  ancestry.  In  1835  they  mi- 
grated westward  to  Ottawa  county,  Ohio, 
when  it  was  still  in  a  wild  state.  They 
were  honored  residents  of  the  commu- 
nity from  that  time  until  called  to  their 
final  rest,  the  father  dying  in  1839,  the 
mother  in  August,  1885.  They  were  the 
parents  of  six  children,  only  two  of  whom 
are  now  living:  Henry,  a  resident  of 
Lucas  county,  Ohio;  and  Phillip  R. 

The  subject  proper  of  this  sketch, 
Phillip  R.  Snider,  acquired  his  elemen- 
tary education  in  the  district  schools  of 
his  native  State,  and  in  the  spring  of 
1835  came  with  his  parents  to  Ottawa 
county,  where  for  si.xty  years  he  has  con- 
tinuously made  his  home.  He  was 
reared  in  the  usual  manner  of  farmer  lads, 
and  throughout  his  active  business  life 
has  devoted  his  time  and  energies  to  agri- 
cultural pursuits.  His  industry,  persever- 
ance and  good  management  have  brought 
to  him  a  comfortable  competence,  and 
now  in  his  declining  jears  he  is  resting  in 
the  enjoyment  of  the  fruits  of  his  former 
toil.  He  has  been  twice  married;  first 
time  on  November  7,  1844,  in  Erie  town- 
ship, to  Octalana  Webster,  by  whom  he 


had  nine  children,  a  brief  record  of 
whom  is  as  follows:  (i)  James  H.,  born 
September  21,  1846,  married  June  24, 
1866,  Mary  A.  Minier,  who  was  born 
September  11,  1850,  youngest  daughter 
of  John  Minier,  Sr. ,  a  pioneer  of  Salem 
township,  Ottawa  county,  and  the  chil- 
dren of  this  union  were  as  follows:  James 
W. ,  born  March  2,  1868,  died  January 
1894;  Alverdia  B.,  born  November 
1870,  married  September  3,  1890,  to 
V.  Ruff  (their  children  are  Raymond 
born  June  6,  1891,  and  Lina  A., 
1894);  Esther  N.,  born 
married  William  Huber 
Adelia  A.,  born  July  12, 
Ream  November 
born   August   29, 


13. 

29. 

W. 

R., 

born  August  19 

April  15,    1871, 

April  15,  1895; 

1873,  married  Edward 

I,    1893;  Cornelia   B., 


1875;  Philip  Elsworth,  born  January  31, 
1878;  Josephine  Mabel,  born  November 
12,  1880,  died  December  25,  1885;  and 
Hiram  Hurd,  born  May  8,  1882.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  James  H.  Snider  live  in  Toledo, 
Ohio. 

(2)  Margaret  Ann,  born  May  8,  1849, 
became  the  wife  of  Benjamin  Minier,  and 
had  children  as  follows:  Octa  L. ,  born 
July  13,  1869,  was  married  November  12, 
1892,  to  George  Stephens;  ElvaE. ,  born 
January  17,  1870;  Stella  M.,  born  March 
-3-  '873,  was  married  October  12,  1893, 
to  Edward  Hendricks;  Elmer  B.,  born 
December  30,  1874;  Christopher  C, 
born  May  19,  1879;  and  Clarence  J.,  born 
March  29,  1881.  The  mother  of  these 
died  November  2,   1882. 

(3)  Theodore  L.,  born  July  19,  1852, 
resides  on  the  old  homestead,  and  will 
presently  be  more  fully  spoken  of.  (4) 
Elva  M.,  born  March  19,  1854,  died  Oc- 
tober 2,  1894,  married  Joseph  Yeisley, 
of  Erie  township,  and  had  children  as  fol- 
lows: Edith  Bell,  born  July  27,  1874; 
George  Orvill,  born  July  10,  1878;  Ivy 
May,  born  July  19,  1883,  and  Ralph  R. , 
born  July  31,  1888.  (5)  William  Henry, 
born  March  16,  1856,  wedded  Marj'  Har- 
rison, and  they  have  a  family  of  four  chil- 
dren— May,  EUwood,  Vernon,   and  Stan- 


692 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


ley.  (6)  Clarissa  Jane,  born  February  2, 
1858,  is  the  wife  of  Ralph  Webster,  of 
Defiance,  Ohio,  and  has  one  child — 
Phillip  H.  (7)  Abigail  L. ,  born  January 
3,  i860,  is  the  wife  of  Albert  Lewis,  of 
Defiance,  and  they  have  a  daughter — 
Nina.  (8)  Edmund  K.,  born  November 
2  2,  1 86 1,  married  Ozzie  Pelton,  and  with 
their  son,  Munson,  they  now  reside  in 
Toledo,  Ohio.  (9)  George  Ellsworth,  born 
February  26,  1864,  died  October  16, 1886. 

Mrs.  Snider,  the  mother  of  the  above 
mentioned  family,  died  May  18,  1869, 
and  on  November  12,  1870,  Mr.  Snider 
married  Mrs.  Mary  Webster,  widow  of 
James  H.  \\'cbster,  and  a  daughter  of 
Nathaniel  and  Mary  Ann  (Ballard)  Tucker. 
She  was  born  in  Pitcairn,  St.  Lawrence 
Co.,  N.  Y. ,  September  11,  1824.  By 
her  first  marriage  she  had  ten  children, 
seven  of  whom  are  still  living,  namely: 
Jason,  born  January  16,  1845;  Herbert  T., 
born  October  14.  1847,  now  living  in 
Oakland,  Cal. ;  Henry  Howard,  born  July 
30,  1849,  residing  in  Brooklyn,  Ohio; 
Ella  Ann,  born  February  18,  1853,  now 
the  wife  of  William  Laidler,  of  Cleveland, 
Ohio;  Ralph  D.,  born  March  9,  1855, 
residing  in  Defiance,  Ohio;  Israel  J.,  born 
April  10,  1858,  living  in  Paulding,  Ohio; 
and  Nelson  R.,  born  June  25,  1862,  a 
resident  of  Riverside,  California. 

Mr.  Snider  has  served  as  county  com- 
missioner for  six  years;  was  a  director  of 
Ottawa  County  Infirmary  six  years;  has 
served  as  justice  of  the  peace  twenty-nine 
years,  and  has  honorably  and  acceptably 
filled  all  township  offices.  In  politics  he 
has  been  a  life-long  Democrat,  and  he 
and  his  wife  are  worthy  members  of  the 
United  Brethren  Church.  His  life  has 
been  well  spent,  and  during  his  residence 
in  Ottawa  county  he  has  won  the  respect 
of  all  with  whom  he  has  come  in  contact. 

Thkodore  L.  Snider,  second  son  of 
our  subject,  was  born  July  19,  1852,  and 
since  his  infancy  has  been  numbered 
among  the  residents  of  Erie  township, 
Ottawa  county.      Its  district   schools   af- 


forded him  his  educational  privileges,  and 
from  early  life  he  has  followed  the  voca- 
tion of  farming.  After  arriving  at  years 
of  maturity,  he  was  married  in  Sandusky 
City,  July  12,  1877,  to  Sarah  Pickard, 
who  was  born  in  Carroll  township,  Ot- 
tawa county,  August  12,  1850,  daughter 
of  George  and  Abi  (Moore)  Pickard.  Six 
children  have  been  born  to  this  marriage: 
Grace.  July  28,  187S;  Clayton,  October 
9,  1879;"  Pearl,  March  18,  1S81;  Zehnr, 
November  12,  1883;  George  D.,  Septem- 
ber 7,  1887;  and  Hazel  Jeanette,  Febru- 
ary 6,  1893.  Mr.  T.  L.  Snider  is  one  of 
the  young  and  progressive  farmers  of  his 
section  of  Ottawa  county,  an  enterprising 
and  industrious  citizen,  popular  and  high- 
ly esteemed  by  all  who  know  him. 


SAGISHMAEL  BARNES,  an  enter- 
prising, progressive  citizen  of  Oak 
Harbor,  Ottawa  county,  and  pro- 
prietor of  one  of  the  best  equipped 
and  most  extensive  flour  mills  in  the  coun- 
ty, was  born  in  Monroeville,   Allen  Co., 
Ind.,  July  20,  1850. 

Henry  and  Mary  (Curtis)  Barnes,  the 
parents  of  our  subject,  were  both  natives 
of  the  State  of  Vermont,  and  honored  and 
respected  citizens  of  Allen  county,  Ind., 
for  over  thirty-five  years.  Their  family 
consisted  of  nine  children,  five  of  whom 
still  survive,  viz. :  Sarah,  widow  of  Henry 
Stevens,  residing  at  Fort  Wayne,  Allen 
Co.,  Ind.;  Sagishmael;  Garmiel,  residing 
in  Oak  Harbor;  Annie,  wife  of  Charles 
Swede,  residing  in  Paulding,  Ohio;  and 
\\'illiam  A.  Mr.  Barnes'  death  occurred 
in  June,  1881,  Mrs.  Barnes  dying  in 
March  of  the  same  year. 

Sagishmael  Barnes,  the  subject  proper 
of  this  sketch,  received  his  education  in 
the  district  schools  of  his  native  town, 
and  early  in  life  was  trained  to  farm  work. 
On  attaining  the  age  of  seventeen  j'ears 
he  began  his  career  as  a  miller,  working 
first  as  an  apprentice,  then  as  a  journey- 
man,   until    1873,  when   he  entered  into 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHWAL  RECORD. 


G93 


partnership  with  Daniel  Shani?  in  the 
miihng  business,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Shank  &  Co.  In  1878  Mr.  Barnes  dis- 
posed of  his  interest  in  this  mill,  and  re- 
movetl  to  Pauldinj^,  Ohio,  operating  a 
mill  at  that  place  until  his  removal  to  Oak 
Harbor,  where  he  purchased  the  mill 
which  he  still  continues  to  run,  having 
fitted  it  up  with  the  most  modern  ma- 
chinery. Mr.  Barnes,  possessing  a  thor- 
ough knowledge  of  his  business,  and  by  a 
life  of  energy  and  perseverance,  has  suc- 
ceeded in  building  up  a  large  and  rapidly 
increasing  trade,  ranking  to-day  among 
the  most  prominent  and  influential  busi- 
ness men  of  Oak  Harbor. 

Our  subject  has  been  twice  married, 
first  time  to  Miss  Mary  Calvert,  of  Penn- 
sylvania, to  which  union  were  born  five 
children,  one  of  whom,  Harlan,  still  sur- 
vives. On  March  3,  1888,  Mr.  Barnes 
was  again  united  in  marriage,  this  time 
with  Miss  Maria  Welden.  daughter  of 
Joseph  and  Mary  (Stewart)  Welden. 
There  are  no  children  by  the  second  mar- 
riage. Politically,  our  subject  has  always 
been  a  Republican.  The  family  are 
members  of  the  Methodist  Church,  and 
sociallj'  they  enjoy  the  respect  of  a  wide 
circle  of  friends. 


EDWARD  WEDEKIND  is  one  of 
the  wide-awake,  "up-to-date" 
pushing  young  business  men  of 
Port  Clinton,  Ottawa  county. 
He  is  a  native  of  Ohio,  born  October 
12,  1863,  in  Danbury  township,  Ottawa 
county, son  of  Edward  and  Sophia  (Schrce- 
der)  Wedckind,  well-to-do  farming  peo- 
ple of  Danbury  township,  where  the  father 
died  in  1863,  leaving  one  son,  Edward. 
His  widow  afterward  married  Henry 
Bredbeck,  farmer  and  fruit  grower  of 
Danbury  township,  and  they  became  the 
parents  of  seven  children,  four  of  whom 
are  yet  living,  viz. :  Herbert,  born  June 
10,    1 871;    Minnie,    December    19,    1875; 


Frederick,  February  26, 1877;  and  Estella, 
March  20,   1879. 

Edward  Wedekind,  our  subject,  grew 
to  manhood  on  a  farm,  and  attended 
country  schools  until  he  was  about  eight- 
een years  of  age;  also  Port  Clinton  Normal 
School.  In  1884  he  attended  the  Spen- 
cerian  Business  College,  Cleveland,  Ohio, 
one  term,  and  in  1885  entered  into  part- 
nership with  H.  J.  Rohrs,  in  the  hardware 
business,  at  Port  Clinton.  In  July,  18S7, 
he  bought  out  his  partner. 

On  December  26,  1888,  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Mary  J.  Richardson, 
of  Port  Clinton,  Ohio,  daughter  of  David 
and  Pauline  (A.delman)  Richardson,  and 
their  children  are:  Jessie  Rhea  and  Ralph, 
born  in  1889  and  1891  respective!}'. 
Sociallv,  our  subject  is  a  member  of  the 
I.  O.  6.  F.,  K.  of  P.  (in  which  he  has 
passed  all  the  Chairs)  and  National  Union. 
Politically  he  is  a  Democrat. 


DAVID  B.    LOVE,  member  of  the 
firm  of   Buckland  &  Love,  Attor- 
neys at  Law,  Fremont,  Sandusky 
county,  is  a  native  of   Ohio,  and 
was  born  January    15,  1859,  in   Harrison 
county. 

George  Love,  his  father,  was  a  native 
of  Belmont  county,  Ohio,  born  in  1827, 
and  while  a  mere  boy  removed  with  his 
mother  to  Harrison  county,  where,  after 
receiving  all  the  educational  advantages 
of  the  common  schools,  he  followed  farm- 
ing, and  in  1856  was  married  to  Barbara 
Barclay,  daughter  of  David  and  Elizabeth 
Barclay,  who  were  among  the  early  pio- 
neers of  Harrison  county.  Both  are 
members  of  the  United  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  still  reside  on  the  old 'home- 
stead in  Harrison  county,  where  the  father 
has  held  and  filled  various  offices  of  pub- 
lic trust.  His  father,  Capt.  George  Love, 
served  with  distinction  in  the  war  of  1812 
under  General  Harrison. 

David    B.    Love,   the  subject  of   our 


694 


COMMEMORATTVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


sketch,  was  reared  amid  all  the  experi- 
ences of  farm  life,  which,  from  the  rolling 
surface  and  varied  and  fertile  soils  of  his 
native  county,  afforded  ample  opportuni- 
ties for  acquiring  not  only  a  general 
knowledge  of  this,  but  also  of  all  kindred 
industries.  He  received  his  elementary 
education  at  the  common  schools  of  the 
neighborhood  of  his  boyhood  home,  and 
the  village  schools  of  Moorefield,  Ohio, 
working  on  the  farm  during  the  spring, 
summer  and  fall  seasons,  and  attending 
school  in  the  winter  until  he  was  nineteen 
years  of  age.  He  then  attended  Franklin 
College,  at  New  Athens,  Ohio,  for  two 
years,  teaching  school  between  terms  in  his 
home  district,  in  order  to  pay  for  his  col- 
lege instruction.  For  the  purpose  of 
specially  fitting  himself  for  the  profes- 
sion of  teaching,  he  later  entered  the 
Ohio  Normal  University  at  Ada,  where  he 
spent  four  years,  completed  the  Univer- 
sity course,  and  graduated  with  honor, 
with  the  class  of  '85,  receiving  the  degree 
of  M.  A.  Before  completing  his  course  of 
studies,  however,  he  decided  to  take  up  the 
study  of  law  immediately  after  graduation ; 
but  upon  the  unsolicited  recommendation 
of  the  President  of  the  University,  he  was 
elected  to  the  superintendency  of  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  Oak  Harbor,  Ohio,  which 
position  he  accepted  and  filled  for  two 
years,  during  which  time  he  reorganized 
and  graded  the  schools,  outlined  and  se- 
cured the  adoption,  by  the  Board  of  Edu- 
cation, of  an  advanced  course  of  study, 
and  graduated  the  first  class  therefrom  in 
1887.  To  the  credit  of  Mr.  Love  it  can 
be  said  that  the  educational  interests  of 
Oak  Harbor  received  an  impetus  in  the 
right  direction.  Having  decided  to  make 
the  legal  profession  his  future  life  work,  he 
then  removed  to  Fremont  and  renewed 
his  legal  studies,  to  which  he  had  given 
considerable  attention  while  teaching,  in 
the  office  of  Finefrock  «S:  Dudrow.  In 
December,  1890,  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar,  and  at  once  opened  an  office  for  the 
practice  of  law,    in   which  he   continued 


alone  until  October,  1892,  when  he  be- 
came associated  with  Horace  S.  Buckland, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Buckland  &  Love. 
This  firm  will  be  dissolved  in  May,  1896, 
by  reason  of  the  election  of  Mr.  Buck- 
land  to  the  office  of  Common  Pleas  Judge. 

Mr.  Love  in  his  political  preferences 
is  a  Republican,  but  does  not  court  politi- 
cal distinction;  he  has  been  for  two  years 
Chairman  of  the  count}-  Republican  E.xec- 
utive  Committee.  In  i  894  he  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  city  Board  of  Educa- 
tion for  one  year,  and  in  1895  was  re- 
elected for  two  3'ears.  He  still  retains  his 
interest  in  educational  matters,  and  this, 
coupled  with  his  former  experience  as  a 
teacher  and  superintendent  of  schools,  has 
rendered  his  counsel  valuable  in  the  re- 
cent educational  reforms  instituted  by 
the  Board  of  Education. 

In  1888.  at  Mt.  Gilead,  Ohio.  Mr. 
Love  was  married  to  Miss  Josephine  S. 
Wood,  daughter  of  Asa  M.  and  Eliza  J. 
Wood.  Four  childien  have  been  born 
to  them:  D.  Ewing,  Esther  Josephine, 
Anna  Maree  and  C.  Wendell.  Mrs.  Love 
graduated  from  the  Mt.  Gilead  public 
schools,  and  afterward  attended  the  Ohio 
Normal  University,  and  graduated  in  the 
classical  course  in  1883.  Possessed  of 
superior  scholarship  and  ability,  she  was 
employed  there  as  a  teacher  of  Latin  and 
mathematics  until  her  marriage,  when  she 
resigned.  During  her  career  as  a  teacher 
at  the  University  she  acquired  the  reputa- 
tion of  being  most  thorough  and  success- 
ful, and  received  the  degree  of  A.  M. 
in  1886. 

Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Love  are  members 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  of  the  Sun- 
day-school of  which  he  was  Superintend- 
ent for  four  years.  In  his  profession 
Mr.  Love's  course  is  marked  by  caution, 
always  advising  settlements  rather  than 
suits,  and  at  all  times  making  his  client's 
interests  his  own;  and  blessed  with  a 
genial  disposition,  a  high  sense  of  honor 
and  correct  habits,  we  predict  for  him  a 
successful  professional  career. 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


695 


t 


HERMAN  BUNTE.  Among  the 
enterprising  and  prosperous  citi- 
zens of  Allen  township,  Ottawa 
county,  is  found  the  gentleman 
whose  name  here  appears,  and  who,  be- 
sides carrying  on  farming,  is  engaged  in 
the  manufacture  of  tiles  and  also  coopers' 
material. 

Mr.  Bunte  is  a  native  of  the 
"  Fatherland,"  having  been  born  in  Han- 
over, Germany,  October  i8,  1849,  a  son 
of  William  and  Mary  (Hebbeler)  Bunte, 
both  also  natives  of  Hanover,  who  had  a 
family  of  nine  children,  si.x  of  whom  are 
living,  as  follows:  Mary,  wife  of  Henry 
Gerkensmyer,  residing  in  Clay  township; 
Henry,  who  lives  in  Woodville,  Sandusky 
county;  Herman,  our  subject;  William, 
who  lives  at  Curtis,  in  Allen  township; 
Annie,  wife  of  Herman  Strautman,  re- 
siding in  Clay  township;  and  Louis,  who 
lives  in  Allen  township.  The  father  is 
still  living,  near  Williston,  Allen  town- 
ship, but  the  mother  passed  away  July 
26,  1 89 1.  Our  subject  received  his  edu- 
cation in  the  district  schools  of  his  native 
county,  and  spent  his  boyhood  upon  his 
father's  farm.  In  1866  he  accompanied 
the  family  to  America,  where  they  settled 
in  Woodville  township,  Sandusky  Co., 
this  State.  Here  he  was  engaged  in 
farming  for  thirteen  years,  and  in  1879 
removed  to  the  section  of  Clay  township 
which  is  now  Allen  township,  where  he 
has  since  carried  on  agricultural  pur- 
suits. Not  content  to  confine  his  en- 
ergies to  one  branch  of  business,  Mr. 
Bunte  entered  upon  the  manufacture  of 
tiles,  in  which  he  has  been  so  successful 
as  to  place  him  among  the  leading  manu- 
facturers of  this  part  of  the  county. 
Later  he  still  further  extended  his  opera- 
tions by  going  into  the  lumber  business  in 
Centre  township.  Wood  county,  where  he 
owns  and  operates  a  mill  for  furnishing 
boards  and  other  material  for  the  use  of 
coopers.  In  this  as  well  as  in  other  ven- 
tures he  has  been  remarkably  successful, 

a  result  due    to   his  industry,  progressive 

4-1 


ideas  and  excellent  judgment.  Mr.  Bunte 
was  married  in  Covington,  Ky. ,  Decem- 
ber 18,  1884,  to  Sarah  Philena,  daughter 
of  William  and  Mary  (Roberts)  King. 
No  children  have  been  born  of  this  mar- 
riage. 

Mr.  Bunte  is  a  stanch  Democrat,  and 
is  interested  in  all  that  pertains  to  the 
growth  and  upbuilding  of  the  community 
in  which  he  resides.  He  and  his  wife  are 
worthy  members  of  the  Lutheran  Church, 
and  command  the  respect  and  esteem  of 
their  neighbors. 


CYRUS    ELLITHORPE,     a    fruit 
grower  of  Catawba  Island  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county,  was  the  first 
white  child  born  on  Kelley's  Is- 
land, the  date  of  his  birth  being  October 
15,  1832. 

When  about  three  years  old,  he  re- 
moved with  his  parents,  Henry  and  Eliza- 
beth (Neal)  Ellithorpe,  to  Danbury  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county  (then  a  part  of 
Huron  county,  however,),  and  four  years 
later  came  to  what  is  now  Catawba  Island 
township.  Here  he  received  such  a  limited 
education  as  was  obtainable  in  those 
days  in  the  old  log  schoolhouse  with  its 
slab  seats,  and  like  the  majority  of  boys 
of  that  date  was  early  inured  to  the  ardu- 
ous duties  of  farm  life.  He  has  always 
devoted  a  portion  of  his  time  to  agricultu- 
ral pursuits,  and  during  the  spring  and 
fall  for  fourteen  years  was  also  engaged 
in  fishing  on  Lake  Erie,  but  of  late  years 
his  chief  occupation  has  been  fruit  culture. 
On  September  10,  1867,  Mr.  Ellithorpe 
was  married  on  Catawba  Island  to  Miss 
Emma  Reynolds,  born  August  23,  1850, 
a  daughter  of  Andrew  S.  and  Adeline 
(Stevens)  Reynolds,  who  located  on  Ca- 
tawba Island  in  1855,  where  the  mother 
still  resides;  the  father  passed  away  June 
20,  1892.  To  the  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Ellithorpe  have  come  ten  children,  namely: 
Cora  I.,  born  July  7,  1868,  now  the  wife 
of  Thurman  Leslie,  of  Toledo,  Ohio;Orrin 


696 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


A.,  born  April  1 1,  1870,  was  married  Oc- 
tober 25,  1894,  to  May  Tompson,  of  Port 
Clinton,  Ohio,  and  they  reside  on  Cataw- 
ba Island;  Marion  R.,  born  February  5, 
1872,  now  the  wife  of  Herman  Mierke,  of 
Fremont,  Ohio;  Myra  E.,  born  April  10, 
1875,  wife  of  William  Hyde,  residing  near 
Lacarne,  Eric  township,  Ottawa  county; 
William  P.,  born  June  16,  1877,  still  un- 
der the  parental  roof;  Asa  A.,  born  Janu- 
ary 10,  1 881;  Charles  R. ,  born  February 
23,  1883;  Pearl  B.,  born  March  4,  1885; 
Lloyd  R. ,  born  April  22,  1889,  died  Jan- 
uary 31,  1892;  and  Mildred  A.,  born  May 
28,   1892. 

In  May,  1864,  Mr.  Ellithorpe  enlisted 
in  the  service  of  his  country  as  a  one- 
hundred-day  man  and  was  attached  to 
Company  K,  One  Hundred  and  Thirty- 
nitnh  O.  V.  I.  He  did  guard  duty  at 
Point  Lookout,  Md.,  and  on  the  expira- 
tion of  his  term  of  service  received  an 
honorable  discharge;  he  now  holds  mem- 
bership with  George  H.  McRitchie  Post, 
No.  524,  G.  A.  R.  Politically  he  is  an 
ardent  Republican.  Mr.  Ellithorpe  can 
well  be  classed  among  the  most  prosper- 
ous and  successful  fruit  growers  of  the 
Island,  his  orchards  being  among  the  best 
cultivated  and  most  productive  in  his 
section  of  the  country.  He  is  a  man  of 
unassuming  manner,  and  he  and  his  fam- 
ily are  held  in  high  esteem  as  neighbors 
and  friends. 


PETER  BELTS  devotes  his  time 
and  energies  to  fruit  growing 
on  Put  in  Bay  Island,  where  he 
is  a  highly-esteemed  citizen.  His 
name  is  almost  a  household  word,  so 
widely  is  he  known  and  so  highly  is  he  re- 
spected. He  was  born  in  Lycoming 
county,  Penn.,  April  20,  1832,  and  is  a 
son  of  the  late  Peter  and  Mary  (Stinger) 
Belts,  who  were  also  natives  of  the  Key- 
stone State.  There  they  spent  their  en- 
tire lives  and  passed  peacefully  away  at 
the  old  homestead  in   Lycoming  county. 


Their  union  was  blessed  with  a  family  of 
eleven  children,  four  of  whom  are  still 
living:  Sarah,  widow  of  Joseph  Mackey, 
a  resident  of  Missouri;  Charles,  who  is 
residing  on  the  old  home  farm  in  Pennsyl- 
vania; Peter,  subject  of  this  sketch,  and 
Ellis,  a  resident  of  Kansas. 

In  the  usual  manner  of  farmer  lads 
our  subject  spent  the  days  of  his  boyhood 
and  youth,  and  the  duties  of  the  farm 
left  him  little  spare  time  in  which  to  pro- 
cure even  a  limited  education,  but  in  the 
school  of  e.xperience  he  has  learned  many 
valuable  lessons,  and  reading,  observa- 
tion and  contact  with  the  world  have 
made  him  a  well-informed  man,  and  given 
him  the  important  position  in  the  com- 
munity which  he  now  fills.  In  1855 
he  bade  adieu  to  his  old  home  and  mi- 
grated to  Iowa,  locating  in  Chickasaw 
county,  where  he  was  manager  of  a  saw- 
mill for  more  than  four  years.  In  1859 
he  left  the  Hawkeye  State,  and  took  up 
his  residence  in  Huron  county,  Ohio, 
where  for  three  years  he  was  engaged  in 
agricultural  pursuits.  In  the  fall  of  1862 
Mr.  Betts  removed  to  Put  in  Bay  Island, 
and  for  thirty-three  years  has  been  a  con- 
stant resident  of  that  place,  extensively 
engaged  in  the  cultivation  of  fruit.  He 
raises  fine  varieties,  and  the  care  and 
labor  which  he  bestows  upon  his  orchard 
command  for  its  fine  products  a  good 
price  on  the  market. 

Mr.  Betts  has  been  twice  married, 
first  time  to  Mar\-  Jane  Mackey,  the  mar- 
riage being  celebrated  in  Lycoming  coun- 
ty, Penn.,  December  i,  1854.  Of  the 
four  children  born  of  this  union,  two 
died  in  infanc}';  Sarah  Catherine  is  now 
the  wife  of  J.  V.  Hitchcock,  a  resident 
of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  Oscar  resides  on 
Put  in  Bay  Island.  Mrs.  Betts  died  Au- 
gust 20,  1862,  in  Huron  county,  Ohio, 
and  Mr.  Betts,  for  his  second  wife,  mar- 
ried, on  Put  in  Ba\-  Island,  March  17, 
1864,  Miss  Saphroni  Hughes,  who  was 
born  in  Lexington,  Mich.,  a  daughter  of 
Capt.     James     and    Helen     (Ellsworth) 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


697 


Hughes.  When  Mrs.  Saphroni  Betts 
was  about  seven  years  old  her  father  re- 
moved with  his  family  from  Le.xington, 
Mich.,  to  Manitowoc,  Wis.,  to  make 
their  home  there,  and  Mrs.  Betts  resided 
there  until  1863,  when  she  came  to  Put 
in  Bay.  Capt.  James  Hughes,  father  of 
Mrs.  Betts,  sailed  on  the  lakes  for  about 
twenty-five  years,  and  most  of  the  time 
sailed  the  Transit,  one  of  the  Goodrich 
steamers  His  residence  was  at  Mani- 
towoc, Wisconsin. 

Mr.  Betts  is  a  progressive  citizen, 
manifesting  a  commendable  interest  in 
everything  pertaining  to  the  welfare  of 
the  community  and  its  upbuilding.  In 
politics  he  is  a  stanch  Republican,  and 
for  eleven  years  has  efficiently  served  his 
township  in  office.  He  and  his  wife  are 
members  of  the  Reformed  Episcopal 
Church,  and  have  a  wide  circle  of  friends 
and  acquaintances  who  hold  them  in  high 
regard. 


DAVID  LONG.  None  but  the  old 
pioneers  and  their  families  know 
of  the  toil  and  the  hardships  un- 
dergone by  the  early  settlers  of 
the  countrj',  and  none  have  experienced 
more  of  these  than  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  who  is  the  oldest  settler  in  Clay 
township,  Ottawa  county. 

Mr.  Long  was  born  in  Medina  county, 
April  24,  1830,  whence  he  moved  with  his 
parents,  in  1836,  to  Hardin  countj',  where 
he  attended  school  for  a  few  winter  terms 
in  the  log  schoolhouse  of  that  day,  with 
its  puncheon  floor,  slab  seats,  and  greased 
paper  for  windows.  The  schools  were 
few  and  far  between,  and  the  advantages 
for  learning  very  limited.  In  the  summer 
seasons  he  assisted  his  father  upon  the 
farm.  When  he  was  fourteen  years  old, 
his  father  purchased  a  farm  in  Clay  town- 
ship, all  of  which  was  covered  with  tim- 
ber. Here  the  young  lad  worked  with 
his  brother  and  father,  until  attaining  his 
majority,  when  he  started  out  for  himself, 


buying  eighty  acres  of  timber  land.  He 
at  once  set  to  work  clearing  off  the  trees, 
planting  corn  and  sowing  wheat  as  fast  as 
the  soil  was  prepared.  For  many  years 
he  had  to  carry  his  grain  a  long  distance 
by  o.\-team  to  be  ground.  After  several 
years  of  hard  struggle  and  toil,  Mr.  Long 
managed  to  bring  his  land  up  to  its  pres- 
ent high  state  of  cultivation,  and  is  now 
reaping  the  benefits  of  his  early  labors. 
On  February  20,  1865,  he  enlisted  in 
Company  B,  One  Hundred  and  Eighty- 
ninth  Ohio  Infantry,  under  the  command 
of  Col.  H.  D.  Kingsbury  and  Capt.  Lake- 
man,  and  was  at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  when 
he  was  made  cook  for  his  company.  He 
received  his  discharge  September  13, 
1865,  and  returned  home,  resuming  work 
upon  his  farm  and  building  a  fine  resi- 
dence, barns,  and  making  other  needed 
improvements.  On  March  13,  1853,  Mr. 
Long  was  married,  at  Genoa,  this  State, 
to  Miss  Abbie,  a  daughter  of  Andrew  and 
Margaret  Snider,  of  Clay  township,  and 
of  tlieir  union  seven  children  have  been 
born,  of  whom  the  following  record  has 
been  given:  (i)  David  S.  was  born  August 
II,  1855,  in  Clay  township,  where  he  re- 
ceived his  education;  he  was  married  to 
Miss  May  Sheets,  August  11,  1893,  and 
resides  at  Coleman,  Mich.,  where  he  is 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  potash; 
they  have  one  child.  (2)  Sarah  A.,  born 
January  31,  1858,  was  educated  in  Genoa; 
in  1875  was  married  to  A.  Shantan,  and 
they  had  one  daughter,  Priscilla  Shantan; 
after  three  years'  married  life  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Shantan  separated,  and  September 
4,  1895,  she  married  Charles  Reef,  who 
is  doing  business  in  Toledo.  (3)  Harriet 
A.,  born  November  28,  1862,  was  married 
April  24,  1 882,  to  John  Englehart,  a  manu- 
facturer of  potash  at  Woodville,  Sandusky 
county;  they  are  the  parents  of  six  chil- 
dren— Lizzie,  Laura,  Frederick,  Charles, 
Clarence  and  John.  (4)  Marj'  S. ,  born 
February  5,  1866,  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  of  Clay  township,  and  was 
married  December  23,    1886,   to  Edward 


698 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Schneider,  who  was  born  in  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  March  7,  1864;  he  is  a  son  of 
Frederick  Schneider,  a  cooper,  and  after 
attending  school  there  for  some  years, 
learned  the  coopering  business,  afterward 
taking  up  that  of  stave  cutting;  he  is  now 
working  his  father-in-law's  farm;  three 
children  have  been  born  of  this  union — 
Frederick  D.,  born  May  6,  1888;  Abbie 
C,  born  December  8,  1889;  and  Earl  C, 
born  January  21,  1894.  (5)  Charles  A. 
Long  was  born  August  8,  1870,  in  Clay 
township,  where  he  attended  school;  he 
was  married,  March  12,  1895,  to  Miss 
Rosie  Sheffield,  at  Coleman,  Mich.,  where 
he  resides,  being  employed  as  engineer  in 
a  factory.  (6)  William  Edward  was  born 
September  22,  1865,  and  died  in  January, 
1867;  one  child  died  in  infancy. 

Louis  Long,  father  of  our  subject,  was 
born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1803.  came  to 
Hardin,  Ohio,  and  located  in  Medina 
county,  where  he  was  married  to  Julia  De- 
long,  who  was  also  a  native  of  Pennsylva- 
nia. Twelve  children  were  born  to  them, 
as  follows  :  David,  Jacob,  Powell,  Cath- 
erine, Lewis,  May,  Joseph,  Andrew, 
Julia,  and  three  who  died  in  infancy.  Mr. 
Long  removed  to  Hardin  county,  and 
afterward  to  Ottawa  county,  in  March, 
1846,  settling  in  Clay  township,  where 
he  carried  on  farming  until  his  death,  in 
1874.  His  wife  died  four  years  previous. 
They  were  beloved  and  respected  by  all 
who  knew  them. 

Andrew  Snider,  father  of  Mrs.  David 
Long,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  where 
he  carried  on  farming  and  also  weaving. 
He  married  Margaret  Laudenstine,  and 
to  them  eight  children  were  born — five 
sons  and  three  daughters,  viz. :  Eliza, 
Sophia,  Daniel,  Andrew  (a  sketch  of 
whom  is  given  elsewhere;,  Henry,  Ed- 
ward, Hannah  and  Abigail,  the  latter 
becoming  the  wife  of  our  subject.  Mr. 
Snider  farmed  for  several  years  in  Medina 
county,  this  State,  afterward  coming  to 
Clay  township,  where  he  died  in  1876, 
his  wife  passing  away  in  1882. 


Francis  S.  Lutman,  nephew  of  our 
subject,  and  who  is  at  present  residing 
with  his  uncle,  was  born  in  Mulberry, 
Wood  Co.,  Ohio,  September  23,  1862, 
and  is  the  son  of  the  late  George  L.  Lut- 
man, a  merchant  at  Mulberry.  Francis 
studied  for  the  ministry  under  the  tutor- 
ship of  the  Rev.  D.  Calkins,  of  Mul- 
berr\-,  but  on  account  of  ill  health  has 
had  to  give  it  up  for  a  time.  He  hopes 
soon  to  be  able  to  resume  his  studies,  and 
in  the  meantime  has  a  license  to  perform 
ministerial  duties. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  held  the 
office  of  school  director  for  thirty  years, 
and  was  one  of  the  few  who  helped  to 
establish  his  neighborhood.  He  helped 
to  form  the  church  at  East  Toledo,  and 
worked  for  several  years  in  Toledo  when 
it  had  but  a  few  houses.  The  family  be- 
long to  the  Lutheran  Church,  and  in  pol- 
itics Mr.  Long  is  a  Democrat.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Long  are  both  enjoying  a  hale  and 
hearty  old  age,  surrounded  by  their  chil- 
dren, able  to  look  after  their  own  affairs, 
and  proud  of  the  development  of  Clay 
township  in  which  they  have  borne  an 
important  part. 


CHARLES  F.  HOLDER,  land- 
owner and  agriculturist  of  Allen 
township,  Ottawa  county,  was 
born  in  Wittenberg,  Germany, 
December  31,  1847.  He  was  a  son  of 
Christian  and  Annie  (Miller)  Holder,  both 
natives  of  that  country,  and  who  with  their 
family  emigrated  to  America  when  Charles 
was  ten  years  old.  locating  on  a  farm  at 
Fremont,  Sandusky  county,  Ohio. 

Here  the  boy  assisted  his  father  in 
farm  work,  during  the  summer,  and  in 
winter  attended  the  district  school,  carry- 
ing on  the  studies  begun  in  the  public 
schools  of  his  native  land,  until  he  was 
thirteen  years  old.  Then,  becoming  tired 
of  the  monotonous  life  of  a  farmer's  boy, 
he  determined  to  see  something  more  of 
the  great  world,  and  shipped  as  a  cabin 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


699 


boy  on  one  of  the  lake  vessels.  For  eight- 
een years  he  followed  the  life  of  a  sea- 
man during  the  summer  season,  spending 
the  winter  months  in  cutting  railroad  ties, 
staves,  spokes,  etc., during  which  years  he 
worked  his  way  up  from  a  cabin  boy  to 
captain.  During  the  last  three  years  of 
his  sea-faring  career,  he  commanded  the 
schooners  "  Heatherbell  "  and  "Bessie," 
sailing  on  Lakes  Erie,  Michigan  and  Hu- 
ron. By  industry  and  frugalit}',  Mr.  Hol- 
der acquired  enough  money  to  purchase, 
in  1 88 1,  a  tract  of  fortj^  acres  of  land  in 
Salem  township,  Ottawa  Co.,  this  State, 
part  of  which  was  cleared.  This  he  fin- 
ished clearing,  but  the  attraction  of  the 
water  was  still  too  strong  for  him  and  he 
sold  the  place  and  again  became  a  sailor, 
going  out  as  commander  of  the  "  Bessie," 
and  taking  his  wife  and  three  children 
with  him.  He  remained  on  this  vessel 
one  year,  when  he  came  to  Allen  (then 
Clay)  township,  and  purchased  eighty 
acres  of  land,  the  larger  part  of  which  was 
in  a  wild  state.  A  small  log  cabin  was 
on  the  place,  and  into  this  Mr.  Holder 
moved  with  his  family.  With  the  help 
of  his  brave  wife  he  went  to  work  with  a 
will  to  clear  off  the  timber  and  bring  the 
land  under  cultivation,  succeeding,  after 
years  of  hard  toil,  in  redeeming  it  from 
the  wilderness  and  making  of  it  a  valua- 
ble property.  He  planted  orchards  and 
vines  as  well  as  fields  of  grain,  and  built 
a  dwelling  house,  barns  and  outhouses, 
all  of  which  stand  as  monuments  to  the 
enterprising  and  progressive  ideas  of  the 
man,  and  to-day  he  is  enjoying  the  fruits 
of  his  labor.  He  afterward  bought  thirty- 
five  acres  of  land,  almost  cleared,  near 
his  first  location,  for  which  he  paid  up- 
ward of  $1,500,  besides  spending  hun- 
dreds of  dollars  in  clearing  and  improv- 
ing it. 

Mr.  Holder  was  married  June  18, 
1873,  to  Lousia,  daughter  of  Casper  and 
Christiana  (Plumkhorne)  Whittaker,  the 
former  a  native  of  Switzerland,  the  latter 
of  Germany.     To  Mr.   and  Mrs.    Holder 


have  been  born  five  children,  all  of  whom 
are  living;  Charles  C.  F. ,  born  August 
31,  1874;  William  J.,  November  4,  1875; 
Frank  J.,  January  31,  1879;  Ida  M., 
October  18,  1881;  and  Ella  C.,  June  25, 
1885.  All  the  children  have  been  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  of  Allen  town- 
ship, and  the  boys  assist  their  father  on 
the  farm. 

Christian  Holder,  the  father  of  our 
subject,  was  born  in  Wittenberg,  Ger- 
many, in  September,  1804.  He  married 
and  became  the  father  of  five  children, 
four  of  whom  with  his  wife  died  of  con- 
sumption. He  again  married.  Annie 
Miller  becoming  his  wife,  and  to  them 
five  children  were  born.  John,  the  eldest 
of  this  union  born  in  Germany,  August 
15,  1846,  was  married  in  Fremont,  this 
State,  to  Miss  Fannie  Phiper,  and  died 
in  April,  1891;  he  became  the  father  of 
three  children:  Albert,  Clara  R.  L. ,  and 
Lizzie  G. 

Christian  Holder  emigrated  with  his 
family  to  this  country  in  1857  and  settled 
in  Sandusky  county,  where,  after  under- 
going many  trials  and  hardships,  he  suc- 
ceeded, with  the  help  of  his  sons,  in 
bringing  his  swampy  land  under  a  high 
state  of  cultivation.  Here  he  lived  and 
worked  for  twenty-five  years,  gaining  the 
esteem  and  respect  of  his  neighbors.  On 
October  10,  1882,  while  crossing  the 
railroad  track  near  his  home, he  was  struck 
by  an  engine  and  instantly  killed.  His 
wife  died  some  four  years  previous,  in 
1878. 

Casper  Whittaker,  father  of  the  wife 
of  our  subject,  was  born  in  Switzerland 
in  18 1 7,  and  was  a  carriage  builder  by 
occupation.  He  came  to  this  country 
when  a  young  man,  and  settled  in  San- 
dusky county,  where  he  followed  his  trade 
for  some  years,  after  which  he  farmed  in 
Riley  township,  that  county,  until  his 
death  June  15,  1885.  He  was  married  to 
Christiana  Plumkhorne,  a  native  of  Ger- 
manj',  and  to  them  eleven  children  were 
born,    of    whom    the    following    survive: 


roo 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


John,  born  April  5,  1857,  is  a  fanner  at 
Fremont;  Louisa,  born  July  24,  1858,  is 
the  wife  of  our  subject;  Albert,  born  June 
25,  1 86 1,  is  a  farmer  of  Allen  township; 
Rosa,  born  in  July,  1868,  married  March 
4,    1879,  and  lives  in  Wood  county. 

Mr.  Holder  is  a  man  who  has  the  wel- 
fare of  the  community  at  heart,  and  is 
deeply  interested  in  the  cause  of  educa- 
tion. He  was  one  of  the  few  who  aided 
in  the  establishment  of  public  schools  in 
Allen  township,  and  has  held  the  office  of 
a  school  director  for  the  past  twelve 
years.  In  his  political  views  he  is  a 
Democrat,  and,  socially,  belongs  to  Genoa 
Lodf,'e,  No.  584,  I.  O.  O.  F. ,  and  also 
to  the  Truants  Lodge,  a  German  organ- 
ization. The  family  attend  the  Lutheran 
Church,  and  stand  high  in  the  estimation 
of  their  fellow  citizens. 


ANDREW  FEILBACH  is  a  worthy 
representative  of  the  business  in- 
terests of  Elmore,  Ottawa  coun- 
ty,   and  having  a  wide  acquaint- 
ance  in  the  community  we  feel  assured 
that   the  record  of  his  life   will  prove  of 
interest  to  many  of  our  readers. 

He  was  born  in  Sandusky  county  De- 
cember 13,  1854,  and  comes  of  German 
origin.  His  father,  Philip  Feilbach,  was 
born  in  Prussia,  November  11,  1813,  and 
while  in  that  country  engaged  in  the  mill- 
ing and  bakery  business.  The  year  1852 
witnessed  his  emigration  to  America.  He 
located  first  in  Sandusky  City,  Ohio, 
where  he  worked  in  a  lumber  yard  for  a 
time,  and  then  removed  to  Sandusky 
county,  where  he  purchased  a  farm, 
cleared  and  developed  the  land,  and  made 
a  valuable  farming  property  and  fine 
home.  For  six  years  he  was  also  exten- 
sively engaged  in  the  stave  business.  He 
passed  away  at  his  home  in  Sandusky 
county,  March  30,  1893,  and  was  buried 
in  the  Guss  Cemetery  at  Elmore.  His 
wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Mar- 
garet   Steinborn,    was    born    in    Prussia, 


January  24,  1825;  they  were  married  in 
1S43,  and  reared  a  family  of  nine  chil- 
dren, their  names  and  dates  of  birth  be- 
ing as  follows:  Caroline,  January  15, 
1845;  Margaret,  March  16,  1847;  Chris- 
tian, March  31,  1850;  Jacob  H.,  Decem- 
ber 24,  1S52;  Andrew,  December  13, 
1854;  Catherine,  July  4,  1857;  Enmia 
May,  October  23,  1859;  Charles,  August 
23,  1862;  and  Philip,  April  17,  1868. 
All  but  Margaret  are  still  living.  Andrew 
Steinborn,  father  of  Mrs.  Philip  Feilbach, 
mother  of  Andrew  Feilbach,  was  born  in 
Brumberg,  in  1795. 

Our  subject  remained  for  thirty-four 
years  in  the  count}'  of  his  nativit}'.  His 
educational  advantages  were  limited  to 
the  privileges  afforded  by  the  district 
schools,  but  his  training  at  farm  labor 
was  not  meagre.  At  the  age  of  twenty 
he  rented  his  father's  farm  and  began  life 
for  himself,  operating  that  place  some 
fourteen  years.  As  a  companion  and 
helpmeet  on  life's  journey  he  wedded 
Miss  Bertha  Beck,  who  was  born  in  Ot- 
tawa county,  the  wedding  being  celebrated 
October  i,  1876.  She  was  born  at  Port 
Clinton,  September  14,  1857,  and  when  a 
child  her  parents  went  to  Sandusky 
county,  where  she  lived  until  her  marriage. 
Her  father,  Joseph  Beck,  was  born  in 
Switzerland,  December  14,  1822.  and  in 
the  city  of  Sandusky  was  married.  His 
wife  was  born  in  the  same  country,  April 
13,  1827,  and  came  to  America  in  1851. 
Their  children,  ten  in  number,  were 
Emma,  Hermina,  Bertha,  Frank,  George, 
Julia,  Edward,  Fred,  William  and 
Charles.  Of  the  family  six  are  yet  living. 
The  parents  of  Mrs.  Beck  were  both  born 
in  Switzerland  on  April  7,  1804,  and  were 
baptised  at  the  same  time.  Her  father 
was  a  carpenter  by  trade,  and  in  1852 
crossed  the  Atlantic  to  America,  locating 
in  the  city  of  Sandusky,  Ohio,  where  they 
lived  some  six  years,  removing  then  to 
Washington  township,  Sandusky  county. 
There  the  father  died  in  1884;  the  mother 
is  still  living  on  the  old  home  farm.      Her 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


701 


father,  John  Witmer,  was  born  in  May, 
1804,  in  Switzerland,  and  was  a  farmer 
and  carpenter;  his  wife  was  born  in  the 
same  country  in  1804;  they  became  the 
parents  of  six  children.  The  maternal 
grandfather  of  Mrs.  Beck,  John  Heinz- 
ger,  was  born  in  Switzerland,  in  1769, 
and  his  wife  in  1781.  Frank  Beck, 
the  grandfather  of  Mrs.  Feilbach,  was 
born  in  the  same  country  in  1790,  and 
made  farming  his  life  work.  He  married 
Barbara  Weber,  whose  birth  occurred 
there  in  1808,  and  in  their  family  were 
ten  children. 

On  March  4,  1889,  our  subject  re- 
moved with  his  family  to  Elmore,  where 
for  a  year  he  conducted  a  meat  market. 
Selling  out,  he  then  joined  his  brother  in 
the  grocery  and  crockery  business,  which 
they  still  conduct,  enjoying  an  extensive 
trade.  He  is  an  enterprising  successful 
business  man,  and  Elmore  numbers  him 
among  its  respected  citizens.  In  politics, 
Mr.  Feilbach  is  a  Republican,  and  is  now 
serving  his  second  term  as  a  member  of 
the  board  of  education,  taking  a  deep  and 
commendable  interest  in  all  that  pertains 
to  the  public  schools  and  to  the  welfare  of 
the  community.  Our  subject  and  his 
wife  have  three  children:  Clara,  born  De- 
cember 29,  1879;  George,  born  March  25, 
1882;  and  Mable,  born  September  14, 
1888,  died  October  18,  1892,  and  laid  to 
rest  in  the  Guss  Cemetery  at  Elmore. 


DAMD  AMES,  a   son  of   Lysander 
Leeds  and  Mary  Ann  (Barnhart) 
Ames,  was    born   June   29,   1853, 
in  Harris  township,  Ottawa  coun- 
ty, where  he  lived  until  twenty-one  years 
of  age,  receiving  a   literary  education  in 
the  public  school  of  the  district. 

At  twelve  o'clock  (noon)  of  his  twen- 
t3--first  birthday  David  Ames  started  in 
life  for  himself,  hiring  out  by  the  month 
that  afternoon  to  a  Mr.  Chapman,  for 
whom  he  worked  two  months.  Mr.  Ames 
was    united    in  marriage  April   iS,  1S75, 


with  Miss  Adella  Ingraham,  of  Sandusky 
county;  then  rented  a  farm  in  Woodville 
township,  in  that  county,  where  they  lived 
until  1879.  They  then  went  to  Kansas 
and  took  160  acres  of  land  from  the  gov- 
ernment; sold  it  at  the  end  of  two  years, 
and  moved  to  Iowa,  where  they  remained 
one  year.  Mr.  Ames  then  returned  with 
his  family  to  his  old  home,  and  worked 
his  father's  farm  two  years.  They  then 
removed  to  Elmore,  Harris  township,  Ot- 
tawa county,  where  he  engaged  in  saw- 
mill work,  in  which  occupation  he  con- 
tinued for  some  time.  In  1881  he  went 
to  Graytown,  Benton  township,  Ottawa 
Co.,  Ohio,  and  settled  on  the  "Ames 
farm,"  owned  by  his  brother,  Lyman 
Ames,  which  he  has  worked  for  the  past 
four  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  David  Ames 
have  had  seven  children,  as  follows: 
Welby,  born  December  8,  1876;  Milo, 
October  2,  1877;  Edith,  April  6,  1879; 
John,  February  28,  1881;  Clarence,  Feb- 
ruary 9,  1883;  Ada  Belle,  October  29, 
1888;  and  Otto  George,  May  29,  1890. 
Of  these  Milo  died  September  29,  1878, 
aged  eleven  months  and  twenty-seven 
days;  Ada  Belle  died  June  15,  1891,  aged 
two  years,  seven  months  and  seventeen 
days;  Otto  George  died  July  7,  1891, 
aged  one  year,  one  month  and  nine  days. 
The  other  children  are  at  home,  and  at- 
tending the  public  schools  of  Graytown 
and  Elliston,  in  Benton  township,  except- 
ing Welby,  who  has  been  at  Elmore, 
Harris  township,  for  one  year  fitting  him- 
self for  the  profession  of  teacher.  Mrs. 
Ames  is  daughter  of  Joseph  C.  and  Har- 
riet E.  (Morse)  Ingraham,  and  was  born 
September  16,  1858,  in  Woodville  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  where  she  lived 
during  her  girlhood  days,  attending  the 
public  schools  there.  Her  father  was 
born  in  1825;  her  mother  on  September 
20,  1829,  in  Pennsylvania,  and  died  Sep- 
tember 4,  1878.  They  had  seven  chil- 
dren, five  of  whom  are  still  living. 

The  parents  of  David  Ames,  Lysander 
L.  and  Mary  Ann  Ames,  celebrated  their 


702 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


golden  wedding  March  14,  i88g.  Ly- 
sander  L.  Ames  was  born  in  New  York 
State  April  10,  181 2;  came  to  Seneca 
county,  Ohio,  when  nineteen  years  of  age, 
and  three  years  later  moved  to  Ottawa 
county,  where  he  afterward  lived.  On 
March  14,  1839,  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Mary  Ann  Barnhart,  who  was  born 
in  Fairfield  county,  Ohio,  February  12, 
1820.  In  Ottawa  county  Lysander  Ames 
cleared  and  made  for  himself  and  his  esti- 
mable wife  a  fine  home,  at  which  place 
they  both  died.  They  purchased  their 
home  near  Elmore,  eighty  acres  of  land, 
for  one  hundred  dollars,  and  when  they 
died  it  was  worth  five  thousand  dollars. 
The  farm  was  deeded  to  Mr.  Ames  from 
the  government,  had  never  changed  hands 
during  his  lifetime,  and  they  had  made 
one  of  the  finest  homes  in  Ottawa  county. 
This  sketch  would  be  unsatisfactory  to 
Mr.  David  Ames  and  his  children  without 
some  account  of  how  he  once  made  two 
dollars  and  a  half.  It  was  before  the 
stone  pike  was  built,  and  he  had  gone  to 
Fremont  with  a  wagon  and  two  yoke  of. 
o.xen  to  lay  in  a  supply  of  necessaries  for 
the  household.  The  roads  were  very 
muddy,  and  just  this  side  of  Fremont  he 
was  overtaken  by  a  man  with  a  team  of 
horses  and  a  loaded  wagon.  They  spoke, 
and  inquired  each  other's  destination,  and 
the  man  with  the  horses  e.xpressed  his  re- 
gret that  his  fellow  traveler  had  not  horses 
instead  of  cattle  to  his  wagon,  so  that 
they  might  bear  each  other  company,  but 
as  he  had  not  he  must  drive  on.  They 
bade  each  other  good-bye.  but  Mr.  Ames 
told  the  man  that  he  (Mr.  Ames)  would 
be  far  behind  by  the  time  they  reached 
Woodville,  when  he  would  leave  that  road 
for  his  home.  All  went  well  until,  near- 
ing  the  Muskalonge  creek,  the  o.xen  stuck 
fast  in  an  enormous  mud  hole,  and  could 
not  budge  an  inch.  The  man  ahead  with 
the  horses  went  through  all  right,  and 
offered  to  hitch  on  ahead  of  the  oxen  and 
help  them  out,  which  he  did.  Mr.  Ames  1 
was  about  to   thank  the  stranger  for  his  ! 


kindness  when  he  asked  for  fifty  cents  to 
pay  for  assistance.  This  being  paid,  thej- 
had  not  gone  far  when  the  horse-team 
got  stuck,  and  Mr.  Ames  helped  them 
out,  and  got  back  his  fifty  cents.  But 
before  reaching  Woodville  he  was  obliged 
to  assist  the  man  with  the  horse-team 
five  different  times,  thus  receiving  two 
dollars  and  a  half  for  his  labor! 


JAMES     W.     SADDORIS,     a     well- 
known,    highly-respected    and    pro- 
gressive agriculturist  of  Carroll  town- 
ship, Ottawa   county,  is  a  native  of 
the  same,  having  been    born  February  2, 
1854. 

Elias  and  Melissa  E.  (Root)  Saddoris, 
parents  of  our  subject,  were  the  parents 
of  five  children,  a  brief  record  of  whom 
is  as  follows  :  James  W.  is  the  eldest  ; 
Albert  W.  was  born  January  6,  1856,  and 
still  lives  in  Carroll  township  ;  Mary  E. , 
born  September  6,  1859,  is  now  the  wife 
of  James  \\'.  Floro,  and  living  at  Port 
Clinton,  Ohio  ;  Theodore  E.,  born  No- 
vember 5,  1 86 1,  died  March  21,  [863  ; 
and  Eunice  A.,  born  February  13,  1864, 
died  February  2,  1867.  The  father  of 
this  family  died  February  28,  1865,  at 
Savannah,  Ga. ,  while  in  the  service  of 
the  United  States  army.  George  Sad- 
doris, grandfather  of  our  subject,  was 
born  in  Germany  January  22,  1778,  and 
Sarah  W. ,  his  wife,  was  born,  October  6, 
1786.  While  yet  a  boy  he  came  to  Ohio 
with  his  parents  and  died  July  2,  1848, 
his  wife,  Sarah  W. ,  having  preceded  him 
to  the  grave  February  27,   1840. 

Our  subject  received  his  education  in 
the  district  schools  of  the  neighborhood 
of  his  home.  His  entire  life  has  been 
spent  in  his  native  township,  and  since 
an  early  age  he  has  been  engaged  in  the 
honorable  occupation  of  farming.  When 
he  was  but  thirteen  years  of  age  he  be- 
came a  farm  hand  in  the  employ  of  Dan 
and  Ozila  Davenport  (first  cousins  to  the 
Saddoris  family),  and  remained  with  them 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


703 


about  seven  years,  or  until  his  marriage. 
He  says  they  were  very  kind  to  him,  as 
much  as  if  they  had  been  father  and 
mother  to  him.  Mr.  Saddoris  is  now 
owner  of  the  farm  formerly  owned  by 
E.  P.  Ryan.  He  is  a  man  of  sterling 
integrity,  and,  though  never  aspiring  to 
office,  takes  an  active  interest  in  all  matters 
pertaining  to  the  welfare  of  his  township 
and  county.  In  Carroll  township,  De- 
cember 28,  1873,  he  married  Miss  Mary 
Rudiforth,  a  daughter  of  Michael  and 
Alice  (Hornb})  Rudiforth,  the  former  of 
whom  was  born  November  27,  1823,  in 
Holme,  Yorkshire,  England,  son  of  Rob- 
ert and  Elizabeth  (Smith)  Rudiforth. 

Michael  Rudiforth  was  married  July 
5,  1850,  at  Skipsea,  Yorkshire,  to  Miss 
Alice  Hornby,  who  was  born  in  Barmston, 
same  count}-,  in  June,  1831.  In  1858 
Michael  Rudiforth  emigrated  with  his 
family  to  the  United  States  and  located 
at  Avon,  Lorain  Co.,  Ohio.  To  him  and 
his  wife  were  born  twelve  children,  as 
follows:  Elizabeth,  born  October  11, 
1853,  married  to  John  Wilder,  and  now 
living  in  Clinton,  Missouri;  Robert,  born 
September  9,  1854,  his  present  place  of 
residence  not  known;  Mary  (wife  of  our 
subject)  and  Ann  Whipple  (twins),  born 
July  30,  1856,  both  residents  of  Ottawa 
Co.,  Ohio;  Selena,  born  August  21, 
1858,  married  to  Charles  Beinard,  of 
Lodi,  Ohio;  Eliza,  born  September  4, 
i860;  Albert  Victory  and  Alice  Victoria 
(twins),  born  July  29,  1862,  the  latter 
being  now  the  wife  of  Charles  Eglier; 
Jessie,  born  October  28,  1864,  married 
to  Steven  Brisbin;  Frank,  born  October 
8,  1869;  Jennie  Lind,  born  Februarj'  12, 
1872,  married  John  Nixon;  and  Herbert 
Lincoln,  born  December  10,  1874.  On 
November  19,  1861,  Michael  Rudiforth 
enlisted  in  the  U.  S.  army;  was  dis- 
charged from  the  service  July  13,  1865, 
and  on  the  25th  of  the  same  month  he 
settled  in  Ottawa  county. 

To  James  W.  and  Mary  (Rudiforth) 
Saddoris  were  born  seven  children,  their 


names  and  dates  of  birth,  etc.,  being  as 
follows:  Alice  M.,  February  8,  1875, 
now  the  wife  of  Solomon  King,  of  Allen 
township,  Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio;  Ada  M., 
born  August  20,  1876;  Eva  L. ,  August 
20,  1878;  Clarence  E. ,  February  26, 
1882,  died  December  14,  1893;  Robert 
W.,  November  19,  1888;  Mary,  March 
18,  1892,  died  March  4,  1894;  and  Elias 
B.,  June  13,  1884,  died  November  13, 
1893.  Socially,  Mr.  Saddoris  is  a  prom- 
inent member  of  the  Knights  of  Honor, 
Knights  of  the  Maccabees,  and  Sons  of 
Veterans.  Politically,  he  is  a  straight 
out-and-out  Republican,  always  giving  his 
support  to  that  party,  while  in  religious 
belief  he  and  his  family  are  identified 
with  the  United  Brethren  Church. 


AUGUST  BREDBECK,  a  wide- 
awake and  enterprising  fruit  grow- 
er and  stock-raiser  of  Danbury 
township,  Ottawa  county,  was 
born  July  17,  1853,  on  the  farm  where  he 
still  resides,  and  is  a  son  of  Gerd  and 
Marguerite  (Busch)  Bredbeck,  natives  of 
Germany,  the  father  born  October  12, 
1812,  and  the  mother  August  15,  1816. 

The  mother  of  oursubject  was  a  daugh- 
ter of  Henry  Busch,  and  both  her  parents 
died  when  she  was  a  child.  About  1830 
she  came  to  America,  locating  in  New 
York  City,  where,  in  July,  1839,  she  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Mr.  Bredbeck, 
and  they  became  the  parents  of  the  fol- 
lowing children:  Christina,  born  June  12, 
1840,  became  the  wife  of  F.  L.  Koth,  and 
passed  away  January  14,  1888;  Henry, 
born  September  7,  1842,  is  a  prominent 
resident  of  Danbury  township;  Anna  Mar- 
guerite, born  December  2,  1844,  died 
August  25,  1847;  Mary  Ann,  born  August 
6,  1847,  is  the  widow  of  William  Von 
Sack,  and  resides  in  Sandusky  City,  Ohio; 
George,  born  February  13,  1850,  also 
lives  in  Sandusky  City;  Edward,  born 
March  10,  1852,  died  on  the  24th  of  the 
same   month;  August   is  next  in  order  of 


704 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


birth;  and  Amelia  J.,  born  April  22,  1858, 
is  the  wife  of  Edward  Tredor,  of  Cleve- 
land, Ohio. 

Midst  play  and  work  the  earl}-  days  of 
August  Bredbeck  were  passed  in  much  the 
usual  manner  of  most  farmer  lads,  and 
his  literary  education  was  obtained  in  the 
district  schools  common  at  that  date. 
Since  early  life  he  has  devoted  his  time 
and  energy  to  general  farming  and  stock- 
raising,  while  of  late  years  he  has  also 
been  interested  in  fruit  culture,  and  ranks 
among  the  most  successful  and  promi- 
nent agriculturists  of  the  township.  In 
Danbury  township,  July  16,  18S1,  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Anna  S.  D.  Winters,  who  was 
born  July  i,  i860,  in  Danbury  township, 
a  daughter  of  Herman  and  Ann  (Harms) 
Winters,  both  natives  of  the  province  of 
Hanover,  Germany,  the  former  born  Oc- 
tober 8,  1830.  About  the  year  1849  her 
father  emigrated  to  America,  and  the 
same  year  he  located  in  Danbury  town- 
ship, where  he  has  since  followed  farming. 
Here,  in  1859,  he  married  Miss  Harns, 
who  had  come  to  the  New  World  about 
the  same  time  as  her  husband,  and  by 
their  union  ten  children  were  born,  all 
of  whom  are  still  living,  as  follows:  Mina, 
wife  of  George  Bredbeck,  of  Oak  Harbor, 
Ottawa  county;  Anna  S.  D.,  the  honored 
wife  of  oursubject;  Mary,  wife  of  Thomas 
Lanum,  of  Oak  Harbor;  Christine,  wife 
of  James  McCallum,  of  the  State  of 
Washington;  Herman,  of  Toledo,  Ohio; 
Henry,  who  resides  in  Danbury  township; 
£mma,  wife  of  William  Collins,  of  Ben- 
ton township,  Ottawa  county;  and  John, 
Edward  and  Andrew,  all  living  on  the  old 
homestead  farm.  The  mother  of  this 
family  departed  this  life  in  Danbury  town- 
ship, February  9,   1881. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bredbeck  were  born 
four  children  as  follows:  Walter  B., 
March  2,  1883;  Agnes  I.,  September  28, 
1886;  Ada  M.,  December  3,  1889;  and 
Ralph  A.,  December  10,  1891.  In  his 
political  views,  Mr.  Bredbeck  is  a  stal- 
wart Democrat,  and  he  and  his  family  at- 


tend the  Lutheran  Church.  He  is  a  pub- 
lic-spirited and  progressive  citizen,  readily 
endorsing  any  project  culculated  to  stimu- 
late the  development  and  prosperity'  of 
his  township  and  county.  He  is  gene- 
rous and  affable,  his  sympathies  e.xpress- 
ing  themselves  in  kindness  to  friends  and 
in  charities  where  they  are  merited.  It 
may  truthfully  be  said  of  him.  that  in  all 
the  relations  of  life  in  which  he  is  called 
upon  to  act,  he  is  trustworthy  and  hon- 
est. His  habits  of  industry  and  applica- 
tion to  business  show  themselves  in  his 
neat  surroundings  and  well-kept  orchards, 
and  he  enjoys  the  esteem  and  confidence 
of  all  his  friends  and  neighbors.  On  his 
farm  near  the  shores  of  Sandusky  Bay 
there  are  the  remains  of  an  old  Indian  for- 
tification, which  he  keeps  unmolested 
from  the  ravages  of  the  plow  and  harrow, 
and  which  is  an  object  of  considerable 
curiosity — one  of  the  old  landmarks  of 
the  daj's  when  the  noble  Red  man  held 
full  possession  of  this  section  of  the 
country. 


TC.    WHITEHEAD,    one    of   the 
honored  and  respected  citizens  of 
Clyde,     Sandusky     county,     was 
born  November  23,  1850,  in  Gos- 
den,    Cambridgeshire.  England,    and  is  a 
son  of  Joseph  and  Matilda  (Albon)  White- 
head, both  natives  of  that  locality. 

W^hen  our  subject  was  four  months 
old  he  was  brought  to  the  United  States, 
by  his  parents,  who  located  on  a  farm  in 
Tovvnsend  township,  Sandusky  county, 
where  they  purchased  the  farm  laterowned 
by  the  father  of  our  subject,  who  there 
resided  until  his  retirement  from  active 
life,  when  he  came  to  Clyde.  Here  he 
died  February  10,  1 891,  at  the  advanced 
age  of  eighty  years.  The  mother's  death 
occurred  in  Townsend  township.  Their 
union  had  been  blessed  with  seven  chil- 
dren: Sarah  Ann,  who  married  Herman 
Howe,  and  lived  in  Sandusky  county  un- 
til after  the  death  of  her  husband;  Joseph, 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


705 


a  resident  of  Townsend  township,  San- 
dusky county;  Samuel,  who  was  a  mem- 
ber of  Company  K,  One  Hundredth  O. 
V.  I.,  during  the  Civil  war,  was  wounded 
at  the  battle  of  Franklin,  Tenn.,  and 
died  soon  afterward;  William,  who  was  a 
soldier  in  the  one-hundred-day  service, 
and  died  below  Washington,  D.  C. ; 
George,  who  lives  in  Henry  county,  Ohio; 
Bessie,  now  the  wife  of  James  Fuller,  of 
Townsend  township,  and  our  subject. 

T.  C.  Whitehead  was  reared  to  man- 
hood in  Townsend  township,  where  he 
attended  the  common  schools,  later  be- 
coming a  student  in  the  schools  of  Hills- 
dale, Mich.,  where  he  pursued  his  studies 
for  a  few  terms.  He  then  took  charge 
of  the  old  homestead.  For  many  years 
he  was  engaged  in  dealing  in  horses,  and 
besides  those  raised  on  his  own  farm  he 
bought  and  sold  others,  shipping  princi- 
pally to  New  York  City,  Jersey  City,  and 
Cleveland;  he  dealt  both  in  carriage 
horses  and  roadsters.  He  has  three  stal- 
lions and  some  fine  trotters;  one  trotter, 
four  years  old,  made  a  record  of  2:25  at 
Newburg,  Ohio,  last  year,  and  was  sold 
for  $1,300.  He  also  sold  a  three-year- 
old  filly,  "  Josephine,"  for  $825.00  at 
public  sale  in  Cleveland;  also  one  team  of 
five-year-old  colts  for  $700.00  to  a  party 
in  New  Jersey,  and  one  pair  of  four-year- 
olds  going  to  Baltimore,  Md.,  besides 
several  other  horses  at  good  prices.  Mr. 
Whitehead  now  has  a  pacer,  "  Solarion," 
which  he  e.xpects  to  rival  any  horse  he 
has  ever  possessed,  already  having  a  mark 
of  15^.  He  made  his  home  upon  the 
farm  until  1891,  when  he  erected  his  pres- 
ent fine  residence  in  Clyde.  He  now 
gives  special  attention  to  trotting  and 
pacing  horses,  and  is  considered  one  of 
the  best  judges  of  those  animals  in  San- 
dusky county. 

Mr.  Whitehead  has  been  twice  mar- 
ried, first  time  to  Miss  Zina  Gibbs,  and 
after  her  death  to  Belle  Powell,  of  Oneida, 
Kno.x  Co.,  Ills.  Two  children  blessed 
their  union:  Earl  Monte, born  July  3,1887, 


now  eight  years  of  age;  and  Cleopatra, 
born  in  1892,  now  three  years  old.  Mr. 
Whitehead  has  the  reputation  of  being  a 
strictl}-  first-class  business  man,  reliable 
and  energetic,  and  is  a  citizen  of  whom 
Clyde  may  be  justly  proud.  Politically, 
he  gives  his  adherence  to  the  Republican 
party;  socially,  he  is  a  member  of  the 
Royal  Arcanum. 


NICOLAI  NISSEN.  The  success 
which  almost  invariably  attends 
the  young  emigrant  from  Ger- 
many, who  comes  to  our  shores 
armed  with  good  health  and  a  knowledge 
of  some  trade,  can  not  fail  of  remark,  and 
is  indicative  of  the  steady  habits,  economy, 
thrift  and  industrj-  of  that  people.  It 
would  be  well,  perhaps,  if  the  youth  of 
America  were  to  profit  by  the  example  set 
them,  and  emulate  their  foreign  brothers 
in  some  of  these  traits  of  character.  The 
cry  of  "hard  times"  would  surely  be 
heard  less  frequently,  and  fewer  business 
failures  would  occur. 

In  the  gentleman  whose  name  opens 
this  sketch,  and  who  is  one  of  the  lead- 
ing merchants  of  Port  Clinton,  Ottawa 
county,  we  see  one  of  the  men  who  from  a 
small  beginning  built  up  an  enviable  trade, 
and  who  from  their  merits  take  a  prom- 
inent place  in  the  community.  Mr.  Nis- 
sen's  father,  whose  name  was  Nis  Thomas, 
was  a  farmer  in  Schleswig-Holstein,  Ger- 
many, born  in  1809,  and  died  in  1876,  at 
the  age  of  sixty-seven  years.  His  mother, 
born  in  1806,  died  in  1853,  at  Stadum, 
Schleswig,  Germany,  at  the  age  of  forty- 
seven  years.  Her  maiden  name  was 
Trinke  Dorothea.  The  family  of  this 
worthy  couple  comprised  five  children: 
Matthias,  Carsten,  Marie,  Catherina,  and 
Nicolai. 

Our  subject  attended  school  in  his 
J  youthful  days,  as  all  children  are  required 
i  to  do  in  Germany,  and  obtained  a  good  com- 
,  mon-school  education.  He  then  learned 
j  the  trade  of  a  shoemaker,  and  when  twen- 


706 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOOBAPHICAL  RECORD. 


ty-foiir  years  old  emigrated  to  America, 
landing  at  New  York,  from  there  coming 
to  Sandusky,  and  later  to  Port  Clin- 
ton. Here  he  went  to  work  at  his  trade, 
and  after  seven  years  was  enabled  to  com- 
mence business  for  himself.  He  lived  for 
one  year  (1866-67)  '"  Michigan,  then  re- 
turned to  Port  Clinton.  For  a  couple  of 
3'ears  he  had  partners  in  his  business,  but 
since  that  time  has  carried  on  operations 
alone.  He  began  in  a  small  way  where 
Payne's  drug  store  now  stands.  He 
erected  the  brick  block,  that  now  occupies 
the  place,  which  he  afterward  sold,  pur- 
chasing the  building  in  which  his  store  is 
now  located.  Here  he  carries  on  an  ex- 
tensive business,  and  is  constantly  increas- 
ing his  facilities  for  trade.  Mr.  Nis- 
sen  was  married,  October  18,  1870,  to 
Miss  Theresa  Eybsen,  who  was  born  in 
New  York  City,  April  2,  1853.  Seven 
children  were  born  to  this  union,  four  of 
whom  are  living — August,  Frank,  Charles 
and  Rosa — and  three  are  deceased — Will- 
iam (who  died  when  two  years  old),  Julia 
and  Matilda.  Of  this  interesting  family, 
August,  the  eldest,  born  September  5, 
1 872,  is  now  an  United  States  army  officer. 
He  was  a  cadet  at  West  Point,  and  after 
hard  study  succeeded  in  graduating  on 
June  12,  1895,  standing  No.  20  out  of  a 
class  of  fifty-two.  Immediately  after  grad- 
uating he  received  a  furlough  of  three 
months,  which  he  spent  at  his  home  in 
Port  Clinton,  and  while  there  received  his 
commission  as  an  officer,  and  was  as- 
signed to  the  Sixth  U.  S.  Cavalry,  at  Fort 
Myer,  Virginia,  near  Washington,  D.  C, 
where  at  the  present  time  he  is  discharging 
his  duties.  Frank,  the  next  son,w  ho  is  at 
home,  has  assumed  the  management  of  his 
father's  business,  and  in  time  will,  proba- 
bly, become  a  partner,  and  then  successor 
to  the  present  firm.  Although  at  present 
but  twenty-one  years  of  age,  he  has  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  shoe  business, 
and  has  that  energy  which  tends  to  in- 
crease instead  of  decline.  Charles  and 
Rosa,  the  two  younger  children,  are  still 


attending  school,  and  Charles  will  gradu- 
ate in  '96,  Rosa  in  '97. 

In  politics,  Mr.  Nissen  is  a  good  Demo- 
crat, and  is  active  in  work  for  his  party. 
In  religious  faith,  he  is  a  Lutheran,  a 
member  of  that  Church,  and  takes  an  in- 
terest in  whatever  tends  to  upbuild  the 
community  in  which  he  lives.  He  is  the 
leading  boot  and  shoe  dealer  in  Port 
Clinton,  and  is  highly  respected  for  his 
integrity  and  excellent  business  qualifica- 
tions. 


THEODORE  S.  PORTER,  a 
thorough  and  skillful  farmer  and 
fruit  grower  of  Catawba  Island 
township,  Ottawa  county,  is  a  na- 
tive of  Connecticut,  born  in  Bethel  De- 
cember 4,  i860.  His  parents,  Charles 
J.  and  Hannah  A.  (Wilkes)  Porter,  were 
likewise  born  in  Connecticut,  and  still 
make  their  home  in  that  State,  being 
residents  of  Bethel,  where  the  father 
holds  the  position  of  postmaster.  In  the 
family  were  six  children,  of  whom  Lewis 
died  when  about  nineteen  years  of  age; 
those  living  are  Frederick  N.,  Frank  W., 
Theodore  S.,  George  A.  and  John  L.,  all, 
with  the  exception  of  our  subject,  residing 
in  Connecticut. 

As  a  farmer  boy,  Theodore  S.  Porter 
was  reared  to  manhood,  receiving  a  fair 
education  in  the  public  schools  of  his  na- 
tive town,  and  when  he  had  arrived  at  the 
age  of  twenty-two  he  left  home,  going  to 
Dakota,  where  he  engaged  in  agricultural 
pursuits  for  about  four  years.  In  1886 
he  returned  to  Bethel,  Conn.,  and  there 
learned  the  trade  of  a  hat  finisher,  which 
occupation  he  followed  until  1890.  In 
that  year  he  became  a  resident  of  Cataw- 
ba Island  township,  Ottawa  county, 
where  he  is  now  engaged  in  fruit  growing. 
On  December  23,  1890,  on  Catawba  Is- 
land, he  was  married  to  Miss  Sarah  Por- 
ter, a  daughter  of  Wheeler  and  Flora  H. 
(Bearss)  Porter,  and  one  child  has  come 
to  bless   their  union — Charles   Wheeler, 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


101 


born  November  3,  1893.  Wheeler  Por- 
ter was  the  second  white  man  to  settle 
on  Catawba  Island,  at  that  time  (1833) 
called  Huron  township,  afterward  Van- 
Rensselaer  township.  He  resided  in  three 
townships  and  three  counties,  and  yet 
never  moved  off  the  farm  where  Mr.  Por- 
ter now  resides. 

Mr.  Porter  is  a  thoroujjh  Republican 
in  his  political  views.  Though  a  com- 
paratively recent  arrival  in  Ottawa  coun- 
ty, he  has  made  many  friends  by  his 
straightforward  and  upright  life,  and  is 
considered  a  valuable  acquisition  to  the 
population.  He  is  industrious  and  perse- 
vering, and  at  no  distant  day  will  rank 
among  the  most  successful  fruit  growers 
of  the  Island.  He  has  under  construction 
a  handsome  dwelling,  in  which  we  hope 
that  he  and  his  most  estimable  wife  may 
be  long  spared  to  pass  their  declining 
years. 


In   this  region 


HENRY  LAUDY. 
of  Ohio,  so  largely  devoted  to  the 
growth  of  fine  fruits,  lived  the 
gentleman  whose  name  introduces 
this  notice,  and  who  was  one  of  the  most 
prominent  and  progressive  agriculturists 
of  the  community.  A  native  of  the  Pro- 
vince of  Hanover,  Germany,  he  was  born 
about  the  year  1827,  and  in  the  land  of 
his  birth  he  passed  the  days  of  his  boyhood 
and  youth,  no  event  of  special  importance 
occurring  during  that  period.  At  the  age  of 
eighteen  he  bade  adieu  to  the  Fatherland, 
and  crossing  the  Atlantic  was  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  engaged  in  the  grocery  busi- 
ness in  New  York  City.  On  leaving  there 
he  came  to  Ohio,  and  took  up  his  resi- 
cence  on  Catawba  Island,  where  he  spent 
his  remaining  days. 

Mr.  Laudy  was  married  in  New  York, 
to  Miss  Elizabeth  Libben,  also  a  native  of 
Hanover,  and  to  their  union  were  born  six 
children  (five  of  whom  are  still  living): 
Henry,  born  in  New  York,  July  14,  1856; 
Annie,  born  in  New  York,  June  14,  1858, 


now  the  widow  of  Jacob  Pulschen,  and  a 
resident  of  Port  Clinton,  Ohio;  John,  born 
January  24,  1862;  George,  born  June  20, 
1863,  and  died  January  25,  1893;  Eliza- 
beth, born  October  8,  1867,  now  the  wife 
of  Haskel  Spies,  of  Catawba  Island;  and 
Amanda,  born  November  6,  1869.  The 
mother  of  this  family  passed  away  June 
24,  1892,  having  survived  her  husband 
several  years.  Henry  Laudy  died  Febru- 
ary 28,  1885.  He  was  a  man  of  no  small 
prominence  in  the  community;  served  as 
township  trustee  and  in  other  local  offices, 
and  by  his  ballot  supported  the  men  and 
measures  of  the  Democratic  party. 

Henry  Laudy,  J  r.  ,  who  now  carries  on 
the  farm,  was  only  two  years  old  when  his 
parents  madeatripto  Europeforhishealth, 
there  remaining  for  si.x  months.  He  after- 
ward returned  to  New  York,  and  a  year 
later  the  family  came  to  Catawba  Island, 
where  he  has  since  been  engaged  in  fruit 
growing.  He  was  married  in  Erie  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county,  June  26,  1888,  to 
Miss  Anna  C.  Ineichen,  who  was  born  in 
that  township,  September  29,  1864,  and 
is  a  daughter  of  Alois  and  Mary  (Beck) 
Ineichen,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of 
Switzerland,  and  came  to  America  at  an 
early  day,  locating  in  Erie  township, 
where  the  father's  death  occurred,  Octo- 
ber 19,  1874;  the  mother  died  at  Port 
Clinton,  September  17,  1894.  Two  chil- 
dren grace  the  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Laudy:  Leo  H.,  born  February  5,  1892; 
and  Florence  M.,  born  December  29, 
1894. 

Mr.  Laudy  has  served  as  town  treas- 
urer for  about  five  years,  and  proved  him- 
self a  competent  and  faithful  officer. 
Socially,  he  is  connected  with  Port  Clinton 
Lodge,  No.  627,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  with 
Orchard  Lodge,  No.  60,  Knights  of  the 
Maccabees.  In  his  political  views  he  is  a 
Democrat,  in  religious  belief  a  Lutheran, 
but  his  wife  is  a  member  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church.  Mr.  Laudy  is  a  gentle- 
man of  unassuming  manner,  devoting  his 
whole  time  and  attention  to  the  cultiva- 


708 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPEICAL  RECORD. 


tion  of  his  fine  orchards,  which  are  among 
the  best  and  most  productive  in  the  town- 
ship. All  his  surroundings  bespeak  thrift 
and  enterprise,  and  he  holds  a  reputation 
second  to  none  in  the  community  in  which 
he  resides. 


HENRY  .AND  JOHN  AHRENS  are 
two  of  the  most  prominent  farm- 
ers and  fruit  growers  of  Danbury 
township,  Ottawa  county,  the  for- 
mer of  whom  was  born  September  22, 
i860,  on  the  old  homestead  farm  upon 
which  he  still  resides.  He  is  a  son  of 
Carsten  and  Elizabeth  (Fauble)  Ahrens, 
both  natives  of  Germany,  was  reared  to 
manhood  upon  the  farm,  and  received  his 
education  in  the  district  schools  of  the 
neighborhood.  From  early  boyhood  he 
has  been  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits, 
and  of  late  years  has  devoted  a  great  deal 
of  his  time  and  attention  to  fruit  growing, 
owning  and  operating  one  of  the  largest 
and  most  extensive  fruit  orchards  in  the 
township.  Socially  he  is  a  member  of 
Peninsular  Lodge,  No.  607,  Knights  of 
Pythias,  and,  politically,  is  a  stalwart 
Republican. 

Carsten  Ahrens.  the  father,  was  born 
in  the  Province  of  Hanover,  June  5,  1805, 
and  was  a  son  of  Adolph  and  Katherina 
Ahrens,  also  natives  of  the  same  province. 
Until  the  age  of  sixteen  years  he  remained 
in  his  native  land,  it  being  about  1821 
when  he  left  home,  going  to  England, 
where  he  worked  in  a  sugar  refinery  some 
seven  years.  In  1828  we  find  him  a 
resident  of  New  York,  where  he  engaged 
in  the  grocery  business.  Five  years  later 
he  came  to  Danbury  township,  Ottawa 
Co.,  Ohio,  where  he  purchased  the  land 
on  which  he  afterward  resided,  and  then 
returned  to  New  York.  Several  years  later 
he  removed  to  his  farm,  but  after  a  resi- 
dence of  a  few  years  rented  his  land  to  his 
brother  and  again  went  to  New  York,  re- 
maining their  until  about  1838,  when  he 
returned  to  Danbury  township,  and  from 


that  date  until  the  time  of  his  death  there 
made  his  home.  He  departed  this  life 
May  2,   1883. 

The  mother  of  our  subject  was  born 
in  the  Province  of  Hesse,  Germany,  April 
14,  1830,  and  was  a  daughter  of  ^^'ilhelm 
and  Katrina  Fauble,  both  of  whose  births 
occurred  in  the  Fatherland.  She  came 
to  America  in  1850,  and  for  about  a  year 
made  her  home  in  Cleveland.  Ohio.  On 
December  6,  1851,  at  Sandusky  City, 
Erie  Co.,  Ohio,  she  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Carsten  Ahrens,  and  became 
the  mother  of  six  children,  as  follows: 
Katherine,  born  February  11,  1853,  who 
became  the  wife  of  Daniel  Finken,  and 
died  October  5,  1884;  Adolph,  born  Jan- 
uary 23,  1855,  died  December  17,  1874; 
Elizabeth,  born  October  21,  1858,  who 
became  the  wife  of  William  Hess,  of  Dan- 
bury township,  and  died  suddenly  April 
13,  1895,  at  the  residence  of  our  subject, 
leaving  a  husband  and  four  children  to 
mourn  the  loss  of  a  faithful  wife  and  lov- 
ing mother;  Henry  is  the  next  in  order  of 
birth;  Anna  was  born  in  February,  1862; 
and  John,  born  April  25,  1864,  also  re- 
siding on  the  old  homestead. 

The  farm  is  now  under  the  personal 
supervision  of  our  subjects,  and  the  neat 
and  imposing  appearance  of  the  surround- 
ings are  ample  proof  of  their  ability  as 
thorough,  practical  farmers  and  fruit  grow- 
ers. They  take  a  lively  interest  in  the 
progress  and  development  of  the  county, 
giving  their  encouragement  and  more  sub- 
stantial support  to  those  enterprises  which 
are  calculated  to  upbuild  the  community. 
The  family  attend  the  services  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 


BENJAMIN     FRANKLIN      HET- 
RICK,   one    of     the  enterprising 
and  successful  farmers  of  Benton 
township,  Ottawa  county,  is  a  son 
of   Daniel    and    Mary  (Siegenthaler)  Het- 
rick,    and  was  born   in  Sandusky  county, 
Ohio,  in  1855. 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


709 


Daniel  Hetrick  was  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania in  1832,  and  came  to  Sandusky 
county  in  an  early  day,  where  he  has 
since  lived.  About  1852  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Mary  Siegenthaler,  who 
was  born  in  Pennsylvania  about  1837,  B. 
F.  Hetrick  being  next  to  the  eldest  in 
their  family.  Daniel  Hctrick's  father  and 
mother  were  born  respectively  in  iSio 
(in  Pennsylvania)  and  in  18 14.  The 
father  of  Mrs.  Daniel  Hetrick,  William 
Siegenthaler,  was  born  in  181 5,  her 
mother  in  181 2.  Benjamin  F.  Hetrick 
received  a  good  education  in  the  district 
schools  of  his  native  county,  attending 
until  eighteen  years  of  age.  When 
twentj'  years  old  he  struck  out  in  life 
for  himself,  working  four  years  at  the 
carpenter's  trade.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
four  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Maria  E.  Reed,  of  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio, 
and  they  had  four  children,  namely: 
Arthur  M.,  born  May  23,  1878;  BertH., 
January  21,  1881;  Lillie  M.,  October26, 
1883;  and  Alda  L. ,  January  21,  1887; 
they  are  all  living  at  home,  receiving  the 
advantages  of  a  good  education  and  the 
encouragement  of  a  father  who  knows 
well  the  value  of  thorough   training. 

After  his  marriage  Mr.  Hetrick  rented 
his  farm,  which  he  worked  four  years, 
then  purchased  eighty  acres  in  Section 
14,  Benton  township,  which  was  all  tim- 
bered, and,  Hke  many  another  man  in 
Benton  township,  he  set  to  work  to  clear 
the  land  and  make  for  himself  a  home. 
In  this  he  has  had  marked  success,  the 
timber  is  removed  and  stumps  are  all  out, 
and  fences  are  in  fine  condition;  there  are 
comfortable  buildings,  a  good  orchard, 
and  the  farm  is  well  under  cultivation  and 
provided  with  the  necessary  teams  and 
tools  for  thorough  work.  Besides  the 
ordinary  farm  routine,  Mr.  Hetrick  han- 
dles all  kinds  of  stock,  and  is  to  some 
extent  engaged  in  bee-culture.  When  a 
resident  of  Sanduskj'  county  he  was  con- 
stable for  three  years,  and  he  has  also  held 
the  office  of  postmaster  at  Limestone,  Ben- 


ton township,  for  the  six  years  from  1888 
to  1894.  Mrs.  Hetrick  died  March  11, 
1889,  after  a  protracted  illness  of  six 
years.  She  was  born  in  1863,  was  edu- 
ucated  in  the  district  schools  of  Sandusky 
county,  and  was  well  fitted  to  train  her 
children  to  become  noble  men  and  women. 
She  was  a  faithful  wife  and  a  loving 
mother.  Her  father,  John  Reed,  was 
born  in  1837,  in  Sandusky  county,  Ohio, 
where  he  resided  all  his  life;  he  died  in 
1895,  at  the  age  of  fifty-eight  years.  His 
wife,  Mrs.  Hetrick's  mother,  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania  about  1841.  John  Reed's 
father  and  mother  were  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania about  1 8 10  and  18 14,  respectively. 
Mrs.  Hetrick's  grandfather  on  her 
mother's  side  was  born  in  1817,  and  her 
grandmother,  on  the  same  side,  in  18 14. 
Benjamin  F.  Hetrick  again  married 
on  July  16,  1 89 1,  taking  for  his  second 
wife  Miss  Mary  Markley,  who  was  born 
in  Benton  township,  Ottawa  Co.,  in  1867, 
and  is  the  daughter  of  Jacob  Markley, 
one  of  the  oldest  settlers  of  Benton  town- 
ship. Mrs  Hetrick  has  given  some  at- 
tention to  both  vocal  and  instrumental 
music,  and  has  been  a  teacher  of  instru- 
mental music.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hetrick 
are  pleasantly  situated  on  their  fine 
farm  in  Benton  township,  Ottawa  county, 
and  are  giving  their  children  excellent 
advantages. 


JOHN  MINIER,  a  prominent  farmer 
and  one  of  the  enterprising  residents 
of  Erie  township,  Ottawa  county, 
was  born  in  Salem  township,  same 
county,  April  23,  1843,  son  of  John  and 
Esther  (Whestone)  Minier,  who  were  born 
in  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania  respect- 
ively, and  were  very  early  settlers  of 
Salem  township,  where  they  resided  up 
to  the  time  of  their  death. 

John  Minier,  Sr. ,  died  July  4,  1882, 
and  his  wife,  Esther,  January  11,  1892. 
They  had  eleven  children,  all  of  whom 
grew  to  maturity,  seven   now  living,  viz. : 


710 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Hiram,  residing  at  Sheldon,  111. ;  Eliza- 
beth, widow  of  Job  Kelley,  residing  at 
Sheldon,  111.;  Darius,  residing  in  Iowa; 
John,  the  subject  of  these  lines;  Benja- 
min, residing  in  Erie  township;  Samuel, 
living  in  Salem  township;  and  Mary,  wife 
of  Harvey  Snyder,  in  Paulding,  Paulding 
Co.,  Ohio. 

The  subject  proper  of  this  sketch  was 
reared  to  manhood  in  Salem  township, 
receiving  a  very  limited  education  in  the 
schools  located  there,  and  his  life  from 
early  boyhood  has  been  devoted  to  agri- 
culture, with  the  exception  of  the  nine 
months  he  served  in  the  army.  In  May, 
1 86 1,  he  enlisted  in  the  Twenty-fifth  O. 
V.  I.,  and  nine  months  later  was  dis- 
charged on  account  of  disability,  return- 
ing to  Salem  township.  On  July  i,  1864, 
John  Minier  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Adeline  Cairl,  who  was  born  in  Hallville 
township,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  May  16, 
1846,  and  they  have  had  six  children,  as 
follows:  Josephine,  born  June  28,  1865, 
was  married  to  James  McCullough  May 
1 1,  1882,  and  is  now  residing  in  Toledo, 
Ohio;  Matilda,  born  March  7,  1867,  now 
the  wife  of  Horace  Conkey,  and  residing 
in  Carroll  township,  Ottawa  county; 
Rodolphus  B.,  born  February  15,  1870, 
was  married  to  Mary  Winters  March  4, 
1893,  and  is  now  residing  in  Erie  town- 
ship; Samuel  W.,  born  January  15,  1872, 
is  living  at  home;  Angie,  born  October  2, 
1874,  wife  of  Louis  Ohm,  and  residing  in 
Carroll  township;  and  Dora,  born  May 
22,  1878,  married  July  2,  1895,  and  is 
now  the  wife  of  Harmon  Goodknick. 
The  parents  of  Mrs.  Minier,  Daniel  and 
Mary  (White)  Cairl,  were  from  New 
Jersey  and  Pennsylvania,  respectively. 
They  removed  from  Sandusky  county  to 
Erie  township  about  1858,  and  Mr.  Cairl 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  there  un- 
til his  death,  which  occurred  in  Erie 
township,  December  18,  1872.  Mrs. 
Cairl  died  in  September,    1873. 

In  1872  John  Minier  removed  from 
Salem  township  to  Erie  township,  where 


he  has  resided  ever  since.  He  has  served 
as  trustee  of  the  township  one  term,  and 
also  as  supervisor.  In  his  political  views 
he  is  liberal,  and  he  is  a  member  of  the 
G.  A.  R.  The  family  attend  the  Method- 
ist Church. 


DE  WILTON  WOOD,  son  of  Amos 
E.  and  Parintha  (Case)  Wood, 
was  born  in  \\'oodville,  Sandusky 
Co.,  Ohio,  December  28,  1842. 
His  paternal  grandparents  were  Ephraim 
and  Hannah  Wood,  the  latter  of  whom 
was  born  September  25,  1780,  and  died  in 
Woodville,  Ohio,  October  6,  1854.  They 
were  the  parents  of  the  following  children: 
Parthena,  who  was  born  in  Ellisburg,  N. 
Y. ,  January  17,  1809,  and  died  in  1890.; 
Amos  E.  ;  Valdi,  who  married  Harriet 
Cameron;  Mrs.  Amelia  Hubbard;  and  Syl- 
via, who  died  in  infancy. 

Our  subject  remained  in  the  place  of 
his  nativaty  until  eighteen  years  of  age, 
obtaining  his  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  Woodville,  and  at  Berea  Col- 
lege. In  1861  he  responded  to  President 
Lincoln's  first  call  for  75,000  volunteers 
by  enlisting  in  Company  I.  Twenty-first  O. 
V.  I.,  April  26,  1 86 1,  and  on  his  re-enlist- 
ment he  joined  Company  L,  Third  O.  V.  C. , 
with  which  he  remained  three  years.  He 
was  offered  a  major's  commission  in  the 
One  Hundredth  Ohio  Regiment,  but  de- 
clined and  entered  the  service  as  a  private. 
A  year  and  a  half  later,  however,  he  was 
made  sergeant  and  held  that  rank  until 
the  close  of  the  war,  but  he  cared  not  for 
promotion,  being  content  to  defend  the 
Union  in  the  ranks.  He  participated 
in  the  battles  of  Franklin,  Stone  River, 
Atlanta  and  Chattanooga,  and  was  on  the 
march  to  the  sea;  was  never  wounded  by 
ball  or  sabre,  but  on  one  occasion,  while 
hotly  pursued  by  Rebels,  his  horse,  going 
at  full  speed,  passed  under  a  tree  against 
which  he  struck,  and  was  torn  from  his 
saddle.  The  animal  soon  stopped,  how- 
ever, and  Mr.  Wood  remounted  and  made 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


ni 


his  escape,  but  has  never  recovered  from 
the  injur}-  he  then  received.  He  rendered 
efficient  service  to  the  Union  until  June 
26,  1865,  when  he  was  mustered  out. 

Mr.  Wood  then  located  in  Elmore, 
and  on  September  26,  1865,  wedded 
Miss  Mary  Lucke\\  of  that  place,  daughter 
of  Augustus  W.  Luckey.  Mrs.  Wood's 
great-great-grandfather,  Hugh  Luckey, 
came  in  1735  from  Londonderry,  Ireland, 
to  Chester  county,  Penn.  His  son,  Rev. 
George  Lucke}',  was  born  in  1755,  gradua- 
ted from  Princeton  College  in  1772,  and 
in  1785  settled  at  Black  Horse,  Md., 
where  he  preached  for  nearly  forty  years. 
He  was  pastor  of  Bethel  Church,  which 
he  built  up,  and  in  which  he  was  buried, 
having  continued  in  his  ministerial  duties 
almost  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in 
1823.  Among  his  children  was  John  L. 
Luckey,  born  near  Black  Horse,  Md.,  in 
1790,  and  who,  in  1S15,  wedded  Anna 
Wolfly,  who  was  born  about  the  same 
year.  The\-  came  to  Ohio,  and  settled  in 
Elmore.  In  the  family  were  si.\  chil- 
dren: Augustus  W.,  George  W.,  Robert, 
John,  Catherine  and  Rebecca.  Of  these, 
Augustus  W.  was  born  March  6,  1817,  in 
Gallipolis,  Ohio,  and  in  1823  came  with 
his  parents  to  Elmore,  Ottawa  county. 
He  became  popular  and  well-known,  and 
prospered  well,  at  the  time  of  his  decease 
being  an  extensive  landowner  and  well- 
to-do  farmer,  and  a  director  of  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Fremont.  On  March 
20,  1 88 1,  while  in  the  Disciple  Church  at 
Elmore,  he  was  called  from  earth,  his 
death  being  caused  by  apople.xy.  The 
funeral  was  held  from  his  late  residence, 
and  was  attended  by  the  largest  multitude 
of  people  ever  gathered  in  Elmore  on  a 
similar  occasion.  E.\-President  Hayes, 
who  was  one  of  Mr.  Luckey's  intimate 
friends,  was  one  of  the  pall-bearers. 
Augustus  W.  Luckey  married  Desire  M. 
Hall,  who  was  born  in  Clark  county, 
Ohio,  March  23,  :8i8.  and  died  August 
4,  1854,  leaving   three    children:     Capt. 

J.  B.  Luckey,  who  served  three  years  in 
45 


the  Third  O.  V.  C,  married  Retta  Borden 
in  1 87 1,  and  has  one  child — Mae,  born  in 
1873;  Mrs.  Wood  and  Frank  A.  Her 
father,  Joseph  Hall,  was  born  in  Ken- 
tucky September  2,  1784,  and  died  June 
I,  1859.  In  1807  he  married  Leatha 
Ferguson,  who  was  born  in  Butler  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  March  4,  1785,  and  died  June 
4,  1838.  She  too  had  si.\  children:  James, 
Samuel,  George  W.,  Mary,  Nancy  A., 
and  Desire  M. 

In  this  connection  it  will  not  be  inap- 
propriate to  make  further  mention  of  Mr. 
Wood's  father,  who  was  born  January  2, 
1 8 10,  and  became  a  prominent  farmer 
and  stock  raiser.  He  served  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Ohio  Legislature  two  terms,  as 
a  member  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives and  of  the  Senate.  He  was  also 
twice  elected  to  Congress,  and  was  serv- 
ing his  second  term  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  November  19,  1850.  The  chil- 
dren of  Amos  E.  Wood  and  his  wife  are 
as  follows:  Amelia,  born  August  2,  1836, 
Victoria,  born  July  10,  1838;  Amos,  born 
October  5,  1839,  who  died  June  16, 
1863;  Augusta,  born  April  28,  1841,  who 
died  December  5,  1842;  De  Wilton,  born 
December  28,  1842;  Cornelia,  born  March 
20,  1844.  who  died  March  3,  1849;  and 
Eugene,  born  August  2,  1847,  who  died 
in  infancy. 

Upon  his  marriage  our  subject  located 
on  a  farm  near  Elmore,  which  he  culti- 
vated some  four  years,  when  he  accepted 
a  position  as  clerk  in  the  store  of  Shaen- 
feld  &  Borden,  of  Elmore,  spending  one 
year  at  that  place.  He  ne,\t  removed  to 
Fostoria,  Ohio,  where  he  engaged  in  the 
crockery  business  for  seven  years.  Dur- 
ing that  time  he  served  for  two  years  as 
justice  of  the  peace,  resigning  his  position 
on  his  removal  to  Elmore.  Here  he  pur- 
chased the  fine  home  and  farm  which  is 
still  his  place  of  residence,  and  since  his 
return  he  has  here  served  as  justice  of  the 
peace  for  several  years,  and  for  four  years 
was  postmaster  of  Elmore.  On  April  i, 
1894,  he  embarked  in  the  livery  business 


712 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


in  connection  with  his  only  son,  James 
L. ,  and  they  now  have  a  good  patronage. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wood  have  three  children: 
Emma  Marian,  born  November  9,  1868; 
James  L. ,  born  August  11,  1871;  and 
Florence  A.,  born  December  24.  1882. 
The  son  acquired  his  early  education  in 
Elmore,  spent  two  terms  in  the  Ohio 
Normal  University  at  Ada,  Ohio,  and  for 
six  months  attended  Hiram  College.  Af- 
ter that  time  he  spent  four  months  with  a 
railroad  surveying  corps  in  Virginia  and 
North  Carolina,  and  also  passed  one  win- 
ter in  Florida.  He  was  deputy  postmas- 
ter under  his  father  for  four  years  under 
President  Harrison's  administration. 

Mrs.  W'ood  was  born  in  Elmore  Feb- 
ruary 10,  1847,  here  spent  her  early  girl- 
hood days  and  completed  her  education 
by  two  years'  attendance  at  Oberlin  Col- 
lege. Her  elder  daughter,  Emma,  was 
born  on  the  same  farm  where  her  own 
birth  occurred,  attended  the  same  public 
school,  and  then  spent  two  terms  in  the 
college  at  Ada,  Ohio;  she  also  entered 
Oberlin  College,  but  ill  health  prevented 
her  from  completing  the  course.  She  has 
given  special  attention  to  the  study  of 
music  and  painting.  The  younger  daugh- 
ter is  now  attending  school  in  Elmore. 
The  family  is  one  of  prominence  in  the 
community,  holding  an  enviable  position  in 
social  circles  where  true  worth  and  intel- 
ligence are  received  as  the  passports  into 
good  society.  They  have  a  wide  ac- 
quaintance, and  their   friends   are   many. 


JUNE  FAMILY.  The  ancestors  from 
whom  are  descended  the  June  fami- 
lies in  the  United  States  were  two 
brothers  by  the  name  of  Junett, 
Huguenot  Frenchmen,  one  of  whom  set- 
tled on  the  Hud.son  and  the  other  on  the 
Connecticut  river.  The  June  families  re- 
siding in  Sandusky  county,  Ohio,  are 
descended  from  the  one  who  settled  on 
the  Hudson,  Zebbard  June  by  name,  and 
who,  becoming  disgusted  with  the  religion 


of  France,  dropped  the  last  two  letters  of 
his  name,  leaving  it  June.  His  home  was 
at  Peekskill,  N.  Y.  He  served  in  the 
Revolutionary  war  under  Gen.  La  Fay- 
ette, and  on  account  of  disabilities  in- 
curred in  the  service  was  granted  pecu- 
niary aid  from  the  U.  S.  Government. 
His  occupation  was  that  of  a  farmer  in 
Orange  county,  N.  Y.  He  had  a  'family 
of  five  children:  Charit\',  Stephen,  Peter, 
Cociah  and  David.      Of  these — 

Charity  June  married  Adam  Sales,  and 
lived  in  Ithaca,  Tompkins  Co.,  N.  Y.,  in 
which  county  he  died.  They  had  five 
sons  and  one  daughter.  After  Mr.  Sales' 
death  Mrs.  Sales  moved  to  Unadilla, 
Mich.,  where  she  passed  away.  Their 
eldest  son,  Benjamin,  died  at  the  same 
place,  leaving  one  daughter. 

Stephen  June  married  a  Miss  Pew,  of 
New  York  City,  by  whom  he  had  one  son, 
James  Madison  June.  Stephen  June  was 
a  soldier  in  the  war  of  181 2,  and  was 
wounded  at  the  battle  of  Lundy's  Lane 
by  a  bullet  which  struck  him  at  one  side 
of  the  nose  and  passed  out  at  the  back  of 
his  neck,  on  account  of  which  he  was  con- 
sidered mortally  wounded.  He  was  being 
carried  off  the  field  by  an  Indian  to  be 
burned  on  a  pile  of  dead  bodies,  when  his 
struggles  to  free  himself  excited  the  sym- 
pathies of  a  British  officer,  James  Jim- 
merson,  who  shot  the  Indian,  and  released 
Mr.  June,  but  svas  himself  arrested  for 
firing  his  gun  during  a  truce,  when  both 
armies  were  caring  for  their  dead  and 
wounded  by  torch  light.  Mr.  June  re- 
covered from  his  wound,  and  lived  seven- 
teen \ears  after  the  battle,  but  never  met 
or  knew  his  benefactor.  The  Indian  who 
was  shot  was  of  the  tribe  of  Captain 
Brant,  after  whom  the  then  village  of 
Brantford.  Canada,  was  named.  The 
British  officer  afterward  received  a  pen- 
sion from  the  British  Government,  and 
was  sent  to  take  a  position  as  commis- 
sary, at  Fort  Maiden,  Canada.  It  was 
while  he  was  at  this  place  that  Mr.  David 
June,  of   Fremont,    Ohio,    met    him,    and 


COMyfEMORATirE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


713 


first  learned  that  he  was  the  man  who 
shot  the  Indian.  A  warm  friendship  at 
once  sprang  up  between  them,  which  con- 
tinued until  the  death  of  the  officer,  in 
1874. 

Peter  June,  born  in  1796,  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  followed  the  sea,  and  later 
served  as  a  pilot  in  New  York  harbor. 
He  was  a  cavalryman  under  Gen.  Brown 
in  the  war  of  181 2,  during  which  he  was 
wounded  by  a  saber  cut  at  the  hands  of 
a  member  of  the  Forty-second  Regiment, 
Scotch  Highlanders,  who  were  all  slaught- 
ered the  same  day.  Peter  June  was  mar- 
ried, at  Caldwell's  Landing,  on  the  Hud- 
son river,  to  a  lady  who  was  born  in  1 800, 
and  they  lived  for  a  time  at  New  York 
Cit}'.  Being  a  sea-faring  man  he  was  ab- 
sent from  his  fainilj'  much  of  his  time,  and 
his  wife  having  prevailed  upon  him  to 
abandon  the  sea,  he  decided  to  try  the 
western  lakes.  Moving  westward,  they 
lived  for  several  years  near  Cayuga  Lake, 
N.  Y. ,  in  1833  removing  to  Buffalo, 
where  he  shipped  as  mate  on  the  schooner 
"  Amaranth,"  and  came  with  his  family, 
on  the  first  day  of  June,  to  Sandusky 
City  (then  called  Portland),  Ohio.  Here 
the  family  lived  for  upward  of  seventeen 
years.  Mr.  June  sailed  on  the  lakes  until 
the  death  of  his  wife,  in  1835,  after  which 
he  confined  himself  to  ship-rigging  in  the 
vicinity  of  his  home.  In  1840  he  again 
married.  He  died  in  1851,  at  the  age 
of  fifty-si.\.  His  remains  and  those  of  his 
first  wife  have  been  removed  toOakwood 
cemetery,  Fremont,  Ohio.  The  children 
of  Peter  June  by  his  first  marriage  were: 
Daniel  L.,  born  in  18 18;  Martha,  born  in 
1820;  George,  born  December  26,  1822; 
David,  born  May  11,  1824,  sketch  of 
whom  follows;  two  who  died  in  childhood; 
Sales  A.,  born  August  2.  1828;  and  Mar- 
ietta, born  in  Januarj',  1S30.  The  sons 
at  different  times  all  became  residents  of 
Fren)ont,  Ohio. 

Cociah  June,  another  member  of  the 
family  of  Zebbard  June,  married  and  had 
a  family. 


David  June,  youngest  son  of  Zebbard 
June,  after  whom  David  June,  of  Fremont, 
Ohio,  was  named,  was  a  soldier  in  the 
war  of  1812,  having  entered  the  service 
at  the  age  of  fifteen,  at  the  request  of  his 
father,  and  serving  as  dispatch  boy.  He 
grew  to  manhood  in  the  vicinity  of  Peeks- 
kill,  N.  Y.,  and  married  Miss  Miami  Har- 
rington, at  Ithaca,  New  York. 


DAVID   JUNE,    machinist    and  en- 
gine builder,  of  Fremont,    Ohio, 
was  born  May  11,  1824,  at  Ithaca, 
N.   Y. ,    son   of   Peter  June,    who 
was  a  sailor  and  ship-rigger. 

In  1833  our  subject  came  with  his 
father's  family  to  Portland,  now  Sandus- 
ky, Ohio,  where  he  attended  school  a 
short  time,  at  intervals  when  he  could  be 
spared  from  work.  He  remained  with 
his  father  until  about  fourteen  years  of 
age,  when  he  entered  a  machine  shop  to 
learn  the  machinist  trade.  In  the  fall  of 
1838  he  was  cabin  boj'  on  the  old  steamer 
"Jack  Downing,"  on  the  Sandusky  river, 
which  was  his  first  experience  at  sailing. 
In  1839  he  was  cabin  boy  on  the  steamer 
"  St.  Clair"  until  she  was  laid  up  by  the 
Combination  Line,  after  which  he  went 
on  the  steamer  "Sandusky.  "  In  1840 he 
assisted  his  father  (who  was  a  contractor 
on  the  Sandusky  &  Mansfield  railroad) 
by  driving  a  team  at  plow  and  scraper,  in 
the  construction  of  the  road-bed  from 
Sandusky  to  Monroeville.  In  the  winter 
of  1840-41,  at  Sandusk}-,  he  attended  for 
a  short  time  a  school  taught  by  Mr. 
Hickox,  an  Episcopal  clergyman.  In 
May,  1841,  he  began  a  seven-years'  ap- 
prenticeship to  learn  the  trade  of  me- 
chanical engineering  with  a  firm  in  San- 
dusky, and  during  this  time  he  also 
worked  for  a  while  with  his  brother-in- 
law.  Charles  \\'aterous,  on  the  old  Ohio 
railroad,  which  was  to  pass  through  San- 
dusky county.  This  firm  was  doing  the 
general  repairs  through  the  counties  of 
Erie    and    Sandusky.      Mr.     June's  work 


714 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


was  to  look  after  pile-drivers  and  saw- 
mills. A  dissolution  of  partnership  of  the 
firm  to  which  he  had  been  bound  released 
him  from  his  apprenticeship,  and  in  April, 
1842,  he  went  to  Cleveland  and  found 
employment  in  the  Cuj'ahoga  Iron 
Works.  Here  he  remained  about  ten 
years,  during  that  time  filling  the  position 
of  engineer  on  steamers  of  the  Buffalo 
and  Chicago  Line  during  the  summer 
seasons,  and  working  in  the  shops  during 
the  winter  seasons.  During  a  part  of 
1843  he  was  second  engineer  on  the 
steamer  "St.  Clair"  and  the  rest  of  the 
year  on  the  "Commerce."  In  the  win- 
ter and  spring  of  1844  he  assisted  in 
building  the  engine  of  the  steamer  "  Em- 
pire," and  in  August  sailed  on  that 
steamer  as  second  engineer,  remaining  on 
that  vessel  until  June,  1847,  when  he 
went  on  the  "Boston."  In  the  summer 
of  1847  he  took  charge  of  the  steamer 
"  Detroit,"  until  she  was  sent  to  Chicago. 
In  the  following  winter  he  put  up  the  en- 
gine of  the  "  Monticello,"  at  Fairport, 
Ohio.  In  the  spring  of  1848  he  put  in  an 
engine  for  the  "Ohio,"  and  fixed  engines 
for  the  "  Republic"  in  the  fall.  He  was 
on  the  "Republic"  until  Jul}-,  1849, 
when  he  was  employed  to  fit  out  the 
steamer  "Globe, "at  Cleveland,  by  the 
American  and  Liverpool  Insurance  Com- 
pany, who  were  under  contract  to  furnish 
the  railroad  iron  from  England  for  the  C. 
C.  &  C.  railroad,  by  January  i,  1850. 
Their  vessels  from  Liverpool  could  not  pass 
up  the  Welland  canal,  and  the  iron  was  un- 
loaded on  the  banks.  Mr.  June  was  em- 
ployed to  deliver  the  iron  for  the  company 
at  Cleveland,  and  it  took  him  from  July  un- 
til December  22  to  do  it.  He  then  returned 
to  the  Cuyahoga  shops  to  work  for  the 
Lake  Superior  Line  of  steamers,  in  which 
employ  he  remained  for  a  period  of  about 
eight  years.  This  line  extended  from 
Cleveland  to  Sault  Ste.  Marie.  In  1851 
they  built  the  steamer  "Northerner,"  into 
which  Mr.  June  put  an  engine  and  ma- 
chinery;   this    was    the    first    steamboat 


built  for  the  Lake  Superior  trade.  In 
1853  they  built  the  steamer  "  North  Star," 
which  cost  $128,000.  Having  by  indus- 
try and  economy  laid  by  some  money, 
Mr.  June  in  1853  came  to  Fremont  to 
start  in  business.  He  and  a  Mr.  Curtis 
first  bought  out  the  plow  shop  of  F.  I. 
Norton,  and  began  to  fix  it  up  for  the 
building  and  repair  of  engines.  Six 
months  later  Mr.  Curtis  sold  out  to  Dan- 
iel L.  June,  and  the  June  brothers  contin- 
ued together  under  the  firm  name  of  June 
&  June  until  1S56,  when  L\man  Gilpin 
bought  out  D.  L.  June.  D.  June  and  L. 
Gilpin  remained  together  as  partners  un- 
til November,  1859,  at  which  time  D. 
June  became  sole  proprietor.  He  again 
took  Mr.  Curtis  into  partnership,  but 
seven  years  later  that  gentleman  re- 
tired, and  three  years  after  that  a  part- 
nership was  formed,  consisting  of  David 
June,  Robert  Brayton,  and  O.  S.  French, 
under  the  firm  name  of  D.  June  &  Co. 

The  completion  of  the  Toledo,  Nor- 
walk  &  Cleveland  railroad  in  1853  en- 
abled Mr.  June  to  bring  engines  from 
Cleveland  for  repair,  and  return  them  for 
the  Lake  Superior  Company  cheaper  than 
the  work  could  be  done  at  Cleveland,  and 
he  held  their  trade.  His  shops  also  re- 
ceived many  orders  for  work  from  the 
surrounding  country.  In  the  winter  of 
1855  he  rebuilt  the  "Manhattan,"  whose 
engines  were  brought  here  by  rail,  and  in 
the  winter  of  1S57  he  rebuilt  the  "North 
Star"  at  Fremont.  During  these  years 
Mr.  June  was  away  occasionally  on  Lake 
Superior  to  overhaul  steamers  and  make 
repairs.  In  1858,  at  the  urgent  solicita- 
tion of  the  Lake  Superior  Transportation 
Company,  he  left  his  business  at  Fre- 
mont, Ohio,  in  care  of  a  partner  lately 
taken  in,  and  went  to  Cleveland  to  take 
charge  of  all  the  company's  boats  and 
keep  them  in  running  order.  He  re- 
mained there  until  i860,  when  he  returned 
to  Fremont,  bought  out  his  partner,  and 
assumed  entire  control  of  the  business. 
He  had  quit  the  lakes  in  1858,  and  now 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOOBAPHICAL  RECORD. 


715 


remained  in  Fremont  permanently,  in 
1 86 1  commencing  the  erection  of  new 
worlvs,  which  were  completed  in  1877. 
After  several  changes  of  partners  he  asso- 
ciated himself  with  Robert  Brayton,  an 
old  and  skillful  machinist  with  whom  he 
had  worked  in  Cleveland,  and  who  re- 
mained nine  years  and  did  much  to  make 
their  ventures  successful.  Many  valuable 
improvements  in  the  building  of  engines 
were  made  by  this  enterprising  firm. 
The)'  were  the  inventors  of  a  self-acting 
spark  arrester  in  1875,  which  has  come 
into  general  use.  The  engines  built  by 
the  firm  have  a  high  reputation,  and  are 
being  shipped  all  o\er  the  country.  The 
firm  also  has  two  branch  concerns,  one  at 
Waco,  Te.xas,  which  does  a  business  of 
about  $150,000  a  year,  and  one  at  Coun- 
cil Bluffs,  Iowa,  which  does  an  annual 
business  of  about  $25,000.  They  had 
another  at  Austin.  Texas,  which  they 
recently  sold  to  A.  R.  Gossard.  These 
concerns  are  all  connected  with  and 
stocked  by  the  shops  at  Fremont,  Ohio, 
in  which  a  business  of  about  $200,000  a 
j-ear  is  done.  In  1869  Mr.  June  took 
O.  S.  French  as  a  partner,  and  the  firm 
name  became  D.  June  &  Co.,  by  which 
it  has  been  known  ever  since.  In  1886 
this  firm  divided  up  a  one-third  interest 
with  S.  A.  June  &  Son,  Martin  Holder- 
man  and  A.  M.  June.  In  1890  S.  A. 
June  and  Peter  June,  his  son,  surrendered 
their  stock  to  D.  June  &Co.,  since  which 
time  the  firm  has  consisted  of  D.  June, 
O.  S.  French,  M.  Holderman  and  A.  M. 
June. 

On  November  28,  1844,  David  June 
married,  at  Painesville,  Ohio,  Miss  Caro- 
line A.  Owen,  daughter  of  Joseph  and 
Anna  (Rantsford)  Owen,  born  in  Ontario 
county,  N.  Y.,  in  February,  1823.  They 
had  two  children:  Clarissa  A.,  who  died 
in  childhood;  and  Carrie  M.,  born  June 
12,  1857,  who  was  married  September 
10,  1884,  at  Fremont,  Ohio,  to  Martin 
Holderman,  who  is  now  a  partner  in  the 
firm   of  D.   June  iS:   Co.,  and  its  worthy 


secretarj'.  Mr.  Holderman  was  born  in 
Baden,  Germany,  August  10,  1852,  a  son 
of  Frederick  and  Barbara  (Adler)  Holder- 
man,  who  came  to  America  in  1856. 
Frederick  Holderman  was  a  baker  by 
trade,  and  had  preceded  his  family  to  this 
country  two  years,  coming  in  1854.  He 
died  at  Fremont,  Ohio,  in  i860,  and  his 
wife  in  1865.  Three  of  their  sons,  Will- 
iam, George  and  Frederick,  Jr.,  were 
veteran  soldiers  of  the  Civil  war,  1861  to 
1865.  The  children  of  Frederick  Holder- 
man,  Sr. ,  born  in  Germany,  were:  Fred- 
erick, Jr.,  born  in  1840;  George,  born 
February  22,  1842;  William,  born  Febru- 
ary 22,  1844;  Amelia,  who  died  in  child- 
hood; and  Martin,  born  August  10,  1852. 
The  children  of  Martin  and  Carrie  Holder- 
man  are:  June  Frederick,  born  December 
5,  1885;  and  Clara  Marie,  born  Decem- 
ber 12,  18S6. 


JOSEPH  H.  HAINES,  an  honored 
veteran  of  the  Civil  war,  now  an  es- 
teemed citizen  of  Elmore,  Ottawa 
county,  was  born  in  Trenton,  N.  J., 
December  17,  1844,  and  is  a  son  of  Willis 
Parker  and  Susan  (Brooks)  Haines.  The 
father  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  in  1809, 
and,  during  the  greater  part  of  his  life, 
sailed  the  ocean.  He  died  August  16, 
1853.  His  wife,  who  was  born  in  the 
same  State  in  1814,  died  July  11,  1895; 
to  them  were  born  seven  children,  all  3'et 
living — Edward,  Martha,  Samuel,  Joseph 
H.,  Lurania,  and  Sarah  and  Mary  P. 
(twins). 

\\'hen  our  subject  was  only  two  years 
of  age  his  parents  migrated  to  Huron 
county,  Ohio,  and  afterward  to  Ottawa 
county,  where  he  attended  the  district 
schools.  His  father  died  when  he  was 
nine  years  of  age,  leaving  seven  children 
to  be  cared  for  by  the  mother,  who,  by 
her  diligence  and  earnest  effort  reared 
her  family  to  become  honorable  men  and 
women  and  useful  members  of  society. 
Joseph  H.  began  earning  his  living  when 


716 


COMMEMORATIVE  BWORAPHWAL  RECORD. 


only  ten  years  of  age,  and  also  gave  a  part  of 
his  wages  to  his  mother  to  assist  her  in 
caring  for  the  younger  children. 

Mr.  Haines  was  employed  as  a  farm 
hand  until  after  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Civil  war,  when,  on  the  4th  of  August, 
he  responded  to  the  country's  call  for 
troops,  enlisting  in  Company  L,  Third 
Ohio  Cavalry.  His  first  battle  was  at 
Shiloh,  and  for  two  days  he  participated 
in  that  hotly-contested  struggle.  He  was 
afterward  in  the  battles  of  Chickamauga, 
Missionarj-  Ridge,  Stone  River  and  others. 
He  was  twice  taken  prisoner,  but  made 
his  escape  on  the  field  of  battle  before 
being  removed  to  Southern  prisons.  For 
more  than  four  years  he  faithfully  fol- 
lowed the  old  flag,  and  valiantly  aided  in 
the  defense  of  the  Union,  making  an  hon- 
orable war  record  of  which  he  may  well 
be  proud.  When  the  South  had  laid 
down  its  arms,  and  peace  was  once  more 
restored,  he  was  discharged  August  17, 
1865,  and  returned  home.  The  following 
3'ear  he  started  westward  and  spent  si.\ 
years  on  the  plains  of  Colorado,  Texas, 
Utah  and  other  western  States  and  Ter- 
ritories, engaged  in  driving  cattle.  The 
company  with  which  he  was  associated 
was  many  times  attacked  by  Indians,  and 
some  of  the  number  were  killed.  On  one 
occasion  Mr.  Haines  was  struck  by  an 
arrow,  but  after  a  time  recovered  from 
the  wound.  The  life  was  often  one  of 
excitement,  danger  and  hardship.  After 
six  years  had  passed  he  returned  to  El- 
more, and  has  since  lived  in  that  locality. 

On  March  10,  1872,  was  celebrated  the 
marriage  of  our  subject  and  Miss  Jennie 
Chapman,  of  Elmore.  She  was  born 
October  16,  1853,  in  Pickaway  county, 
Ohio,  where  she  remained  until  nine  years 
of  age,  when  her  family  removed  to  Oak 
Harbor,  Ottawa  county,  coming  a  year 
later  to  Elmore,  where  she  has  since 
lived.  Her  father,  James  R.  Chapman, 
was  born  in  New  York,  in  1817,  and  her 
mother,  whose  maiden  name  was  Mary 
Hardin,  was  born  in  1829.     They  had  ten 


children:  William,  Alanzo,  Ira,  Lizzie, 
Jennie,  Sarah,  Ella,  F"annie,  Ann  and 
Nancy;  those  still  living  are  William,  Liz- 
zie, Jennie,  Sarah,  Ella  and  Fannie. 
The  paternal  grandfather  of  Mrs.  Haines 
went  to  sea  when  her  father  was  onlj- 
six  months  old,  and  was  never  heard 
from  again.  His  wife  was  born  about 
1793.  The  maternal  grandfather,  Will- 
iam Hardin,  and  his  wife  were  both  born 
in  1799,  and  both  died  in  1885. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Haines  have  seven  chil- 
dren: Nellie,  born  December  23,  1872, 
died  September  11,  1873;  Edw.^rd  P., 
born  June  3,  1875,  completed  the  course 
of  study  in  Elmore  High  School  in  1892, 
and,  when  thirteen  j-ears  of  age,  began 
the  study  of  pharmacy  with  Mr.  Penfield, 
a  druggist  of  Elmore,  by  whom  he  is  em- 
ployed most  of  the  time,  proving  a  very 
efficient  clerk;  Clarence  B.,  born  August  15 
1877,  died  August  10,  1878;  George  A., 
born  January  23,  1879,  is  attending  the 
high  school  of  Elmore;  Maud,  born  March 
30,  1882,  and  Alice,  born  April  i,  1884, 
are  still  in  school,  and  are  also  studying 
instrumental  music;  and  Glena  L. ,  born 
June  19,  1893,  died  April  11,  1895.  Mr. 
Haines  is  now  engaged  in  the  painting 
business  in  Elmore,  enjoying  a  good  trade, 
and  has  the  confidence  and  support  of 
many  patrons,  and  all  with  whom  he  has 
come  in  contact. 


ISAAC  F.  STROHL,  farmer,  of  Ball- 
ville  township,  Sanduskj'  county,  was 
born  June  27,  1848,  near  his  present 
place  of  residence,  about  three  miles 
southeast  of  Fremont.  He  spent  his  child- 
hood and  \outh  on  the  farm  of  his  ma- 
ternal grandfather,  John  Batzole,  and  at- 
tended the  district  school  at  the  corner  of 
said  farm,  chiefly  in  the  winter  seasons, 
when  work  was  not  too  pressing. 

At  the  age  of  eighteen  years  he  entered 
upon  life  for  himself,  but  retained  his  resi- 
dence at  the  old  homestead.  During  the 
seasons  of  grain  threshing,  which  formerly 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


in 


lasted  much  lon,q:er  than  at  present,  he 
operated  an  old-fashioned  horse-power 
threshing  machine  for  about  fourteen 
years,  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  neigh- 
bors. He  was  the  first  man  in  his  vicinity 
to  buy  and  use  a  steam  engine  for  the 
threshing  of  grain,  and  he  made  $1,200 
in  ninety  days  with  his  first  engine.  In 
the  year  1877  he  bought  the  homestead 
where  he  now  resides,  to  which  he  has 
made  additions.  He  is  progressive  and 
enterprising,  and  keeps  abreast  of  the 
times  in  the  use  of  improved  farm  imple- 
ments. He  is  a  member  of  the  United 
Brethren  Church;  a  Democrat  in  politics, 
and  has  held  the  oiBce  ot  township  trustee 
several  terms,  and  been  an  active  member 
of  the  board  of  education. 

Isaac  F.  Strohl  was  married,  Septem- 
ber 14,  1875,  to  Miss  Hannah  M.  Worst, 
who  was  born  in  Sandusky  county,  August 
10,  1852,  and  they  had  children  as  fol- 
lows: Cletus  P.,  Myrle  D.,  Edna  L., 
Bessie  and  \'innie. 


ANSON  ELDRIDGE,  a  prominent 
farmer  of  Ballville  township,  San- 
dusky county,  was  one  of  those 
marked  characters  in  the  early 
history  of  this  country  to  which  the  trite 
appellation,  "diamonds  in  the  rough," 
might  be  aptly  applied.  He  was  a  short, 
thick-set,  stoutly  built  man,  of  Irish  de- 
scent. He  was  of  a  sanguine,  nervous  tem- 
perament, having  blue  eyes,  sandy  hair 
and  a  florid  comple.\ion;  he  possessed  a 
large  fund  of  ready  wit  and  genuine  good 
humor,  and  his  face  was  usually  radiant 
with  hope  and  good  cheer.  Under  his 
rough  exterior  lurked  not  only  an  iron 
will  and  nerves  of  steel,  but  a  kind  and 
sympathetic  disposition  which  led  him 
often  to  sacrifice  his  own  interests  for 
those  of  his  friends.  He  often  acted 
the  part  of  a  Good  Samaritan  among  his 
neighbors  in  cases  of  sickness,  or  of  mis- 
haps to  their  live  stock.  He  was  the 
first  man    in  his   neighborhood  to   use  a 


horse-power  mowing  machine,  and  he 
relieved  the  tired  arms  and  lame  backs  of 
many  a  hardy  pioneer  who  mowed  with  a 
scythe.  The  merry  rattle  of  his  "Buck- 
eye Mower  "  astonished  the  meadow  larks, 
and  cheered  the  whole  community  as  its 
echoes  resounded  from  the  neighboring 
forests. 

Mr.  Eldridge  came  from  the  vicinity 
of  Massillon,  Stark  Co.,  Ohio,  about  the 
year  1835,  and  settled  in  Riley  township, 
Sandusky  county.  Here  he  married  a 
Miss  Fronizer,  by  whom  he  had  one  son, 
who  died  at  the  age  of  si.xteen  years. 
Mrs.  Eldridge  died  in  1840,  and  about  the 
year  1842  Mr.  Eldridge  married  Mrs. 
Nancy  Beaghler  (//cc-  Bolin),  relict  of 
Henry  Beaghler,  one  of  the  earliest  pio- 
neers of  Ballville  township,  who  lived 
near  an  old  Indian  trail  leading  from  the 
Indian  village  north  of  Green  Spring  to 
Lower  Sandusky.  Mrs.  Eldridge  died 
August  I,  1869.  A  few  years  later  Mr. 
Eldridge  married  a  Mrs.  Brookhart,  relict 
of  a  minister  of  the  United  Brethren 
Church,  with  whom  he  lived  several  years 
in  Mercer  county,  Ohio,  and  then  quietly 
passed  awa\-  from  the  scenes  of  earth. 
His  memory  is  kindly  cherished  by  his 
many  former  friends  and  their  children  in 
Ballville  township.  He  had  for  many 
years  been  a  member  of  the  United  Breth- 
ren Church. 


JOHN  BATZOLE,  one  of  the  pioneers 
of  Sandusky  county,  was  born  in 
Frederick  county.  Maryland,  Feb- 
ruary 28,  1 80 1.  His  father's  name 
was  John,  that  of  his  mother  being 
Christina.  His  early  life  was  spent  on  a 
farm  where  he  acquired  habits  of  in- 
dustrj-  and  economy,  and  learned  the  rud- 
iments of  a  common-school  education. 
On  September  25,  1824,  he  married 
Miss  Sarah  Ernsperger,  and  moved  soon 
after  to  Wayne  county,  Ohio.  They  lo- 
cated twelve  miles  west  of  Wooster,  where 


718 


COyiy[EMORATTTE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


he  spent  eight  years  in  hard   work  clear- 
ing up  a  farm. 

Here  were  born  to  them:  John  Jacob, 
Februarj-  8.  1826;  Lucretia  Catharine, 
March  18,  1828;  Marj"  Jane,  April  8. 
1830;  Maria,  February  9,  1832;  andhere 
Mr.  Batzole  and  his  wife  became  mem- 
bers of  the  Reformed  Church.  In  the 
spring  of  1834  the  family  removed  to 
Ballville  township,  Sandusky  county, 
Ohio,  upon  a  farm  of  eight\'  acres  of  land 
which  Mr.  Batzole  had  previously  bought, 
to  which  forty  acres  more  were  added 
later.  This  was  their  family  home  for 
about  fifty  years.  Their  children  born 
here  were:  Christopher,  September  27, 
1834;  Sarah  Ann,  February  22,  1838; 
Susan  Martha,  October  26,  1840;  Will- 
iam Henr>-,  May  23,  1843:  and  two 
others  that  died  in  infancy.  John  Jacob 
died  February  25,  1829;  Mar\-  Jane, 
March  i,  1831;  Lucretia  C,  wife  of  Sam- 
uel Strohl,  September  8,  1861 ;  and  Maria, 
wife  of  John  Strohl,  May  19,  1864.  Mrs. 
John  Batzole  died  at  her  home  March  2, 
1878,  at  the  age  of  seventy-four.  John 
Batzole  died  at  the  home  of  his  daughter, 
Mrs.  Martha  Michaels,  December  24,  ( 
1887,  aged  nearly  eighty-seven  years.  ' 

Mr.  Batzole  was  a  friend  of  education 
and  furnished  land,  labor  and  material  for 
the  erection  of  the  first  log  cabin  school- 
house  in  his  neighborhood,  which  was 
also  used  as  a  place  of  religious  worship 
for  many  years,  chieiiy  by  the  pioneer 
ministers  of  the  United  Brethren  Church. 


JOSEPH  RUH,  a  prominent  and  high- 
ly-respected resident  of  Put  in  Bay 
Island,  Ottawa  county,  who,  for  the  I 
past  thirty-si.\  years,  has  been  e.\ten- 
sively  engaged  in  the  culture  of  the  grape 
vine,  is  well  and  favorably  known  through- 
out Ottawa  and  adjoining  counties.  He 
was  born  in  Baden,  Germany,  January 
27,  1830,  and  is  a  son  of  John  and  Marv 
(Ackerly;  Ruh. 

Joseph  Ruh  was  reared  to  manhood 


and  educated  in  the  Fatherland,  where  in 
early  life  he  worked  at  agricultural  pur- 
suits, and  afterward  engaged  in  the  butch- 
ering business.  In  1852  he  embarked  for 
America,  crossed  the  Atlantic,  and  came 
to  Ohio,  settling  first  in  Sandusky,  Erie 
county.  About  a  year  later  he  removed 
to  Plaster  Bed,  Ottawa  county,  in  1S54 
went  toGallipolis,  Gallia  Co.,  Ohio,  where 
he  resided  about  a  year,  in  1855  removing 
to  Kelley"s  Island,  and  in  1856  to  Put  in 
Bay  Island.  In  1857  he  went  to  Isle  St. 
George  (North  Bass  ,  returned  the  same 
year  to  Put  in  Bay  Island,  and  has  been 
a  continuous  resident  there  ever  since, 
closeh'  identified  with  the  growing  inter- 
ests of  the  Island. 

At  Port  Clinton,  Ottawa  county,  on 
January  7,  1859,  Joseph  Ruh  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Catherine  Sullivan, 
daughter  of  Michael  and  Nancy  (Becker) 
Sullivan,  and  five  children  have  been  born 
to  them,  their  names  and  dates  of  birth 
being  as  follows:  Rosella,  Februan,-  2, 
1862;  Nancy,  August  18.  1864:  Mary.  July 
18,  1866:  Elizabeth,  June  i,  1868;  and 
Charles  E.,  January  13,  1870.  The 
mother  passed  away  February  11.  1891. 
In  politics  Mr.  Ruh  is  a  stanch  Republi- 
can, and  in  religious  affiliation  his  family 
are  identified  with  St.  Paul's  Episcopal 
Church. 


He.  MYLANDER.  the  popular 
hardware  merchant  of  Oak  Har- 
bor. Salem  township,  Ottawa 
county,  and  a  prominent  and  pro- 
gressive citizen,  was  born  in  Oak  Harbor, 
May  22,  i860,  the  oldest  son  of  H.  H. 
Mylander,  also  a  resident  of  that  enter- 
prising town. 

Our  subject  received  his  preliminary 
education  in  the  public  schools  of  his  na- 
tive place,  and  was  employed  in  his 
father's  store  up  to  1879,  in  which  year 
he  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  at 
Rocky  Ridge,  Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio.  In 
18S0  he  disposed  of  this  business,  and  re- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


719 


turned  to  the  place  of  his  nativit}',  of 
which  he  has  since  been  a  constant  resi- 
dent. Mr.  Mylander  was  united  in  mar- 
riage, at  Oak  Harbor,  June  i,  1880,  with 
Miss  Marion  A.  Young,  who  was  born 
March  17,  1861,  daughter  of  George  and 
Emma  J.  Young,  of  Carroll  township, 
Ottawa  county,  and  to  this  union  came 
si.\  children,  as  follows:  Pearl,  Georgia, 
Francis,  Marguerite,  Robert,  who  died 
February  17,   1892,  and  Howard. 

Politically,  Mr.  Mylander  is  a  stanch 
supporter  of  the  Democratic  party,  and 
for  two  years  he  very  acceptably  filled  the 
position  of  corporation  treasurer.  Socially 
he  is  a  member  of  Oak  Harbor  Lodge 
No.  495,  F.  &  A.  M..  Fremont  Chapter 
No.  64,  R.  A.  M.,  and  Fremont  Council. 
But  few  men  have  taken  more  interest  in 
the  welfare  of  the  county,  and  none  com- 
mand more  completelj'  the  respect  and 
confidence  of  the  community  at  large 
than  does  Mr.  M}lander.  The  family  are 
members  of  the  M.  E.  Church. 


was 
and 
He 


CGERNHARD,  the  courteous  and 
genial  landlord  of  the  well-known 
popular  •'  Island  House,"  Port 
Clinton,  Ottawa  county,  is  a  na- 
tive of  Germany,  born  November  16, 
1851,  in  Hessen-Cassel. 

Matthias  Gernhard,  his  father, 
born,  in  1810,  in  the  same  Duchy, 
learned  the  trade  of  carpenter, 
served  in  the  German  army,  not  only  the 
full  time  but  also  e.xtra  time,  in  order  to 
become  fully  qualified  to  receive  a  cap- 
taincy; but  on  account  of  his  name  being 
entered  "  Liphart,"  on  the  roll,  bj'  mis- 
take, he  lost  his  promotion,  and  in  conse- 
quence at  once  left  the  army.  He  after- 
ward followed  his  trade  in  Germany  till 
1856,  in  which  year,  as  will  presently  be 
related,  he  emigrated  to  America.  He 
was  twice  married,  each  time  in  the 
"Fatherland."  on  first  occasion  to  Miss 
Ifland,  by  whom  he  had  three  daughters: 
Catherine    Elizabeth,  Martha  and  Cath- 


erine; for  his  second  wife  he  wedded  Miss 
Anna  Catherine  Brentzell  (who  was  born 
in  1826),  by  whom  he  had  three  sons: 
our  subject,  George,  and  one  that  died  in 
infancy.  In  1856,  Mr.  Gernhard,  ac- 
companied by  all  his  family  except  the 
two  eldest  daughters(who  came  to  America 
later,  one  before  the  Civil  war  and  the 
other  after  that  event),  emigrated  to  the 
United  States,  the  voyage  being  made  in 
a  sailing  vessel,  which,  becoming  infected 
with  yellow  fever,  was  quarantined  at 
Staten  Island,  New  York  harbor.  Here 
Mrs.  Gernhard,  her  infant  son  (born  on 
the  ocean)  and  Catherine  (the  youngest 
of  Mr.  Gernhard's  three  daughters)  died. 
The  two  sons,  our  subject  and  George 
where  placed  in  a  New  York  hospital, 
where  George  died  of  neglect.  In  New  Jer- 
sey Mr.  Gernhard,  the  father,  secured  em- 
ployment, and  there  remained  about  a  year 
with  his  now  onl}'  son,  our  subject,  when 
they  came  to  Ohio,  making  their  home 
at  Brownhelm.  Vermillion  and  Birming- 
ham respectively,  sojourning  about  twelve 
months  in  each  place.  While  living  in 
Birmingham,  in  1859.  our  subject,  then 
a  boy  of  eight  summers,  was  adopted  by 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Joseph  Blanke,  who  after- 
ward, fall  of  i860,  in  company  with 
Matthias  Gernhard,  moved  to  near  Ellis- 
ton,  Ottawa  county,  settling  on  a  farm  in 
Benton  township.  After  the  death  of 
Mr.  Blanke,  which  occurred  not  long 
afterward,  his  widow  received  her  dower, 
and  went  to  live  with  friends  in  Elyria, 
where  she  died  a  few  years  later. 

Matthias  Gernhard  followed  agricul- 
tural pursuits  in  Benton  township  until 
1862,  in  which  year  he  enlisted  in  Com- 
pany E,  Seventy-second  Regiment.  O.  V.  I. , 
Col.  R.  P.  Buckland.  and  served  in  the 
army  fourteen  months  when  he  was  dis- 
charged on  account  of  disabilities  con- 
tracted while  in  the  service.  Returning 
to  Benton  township  he  resumed  work  on 
the  farm,  where  he  passed  the  rest  of  his 
days,  dying  June  27,   1890. 

C.    Gernhard,   the    subject  proper  of 


720 


COMMEMORATIVE    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


this  sketch,  grew  to  manhood  on  his 
foster-father's  farm,  where  he  worked  hard 
in  the  lumber  woods  chopping  cordwood, 
spHtting  rails,  making  railroad  ties  and 
saw-logs,  and  clearing  up  the  farm,  attend- 
ing country  school  onl)'  a  few  weeks  during 
the  winter  season.  At  the  age  of  eight- 
een he  was  given  his  freedom  bj-  his- 
foster-parents,  and,  in  1869,  commencing 
on  his  own  account,  he  opened  out  a  saloon 
business  at  EUiston,  Ottawa  county,  which 
he  continued  until  1882,  when  he  was 
elected  sheriff  of  Ottawa  county,  which 
office  he  held  four  years.  During  the 
last  six  months  of  his  term  he  built  the 
•'  Island  House,"  at  a  cost  of  $16,000, 
and  after  his  terni  expired  opened  up  the 
hotel  of  which  he  has  been  proprietor  since 
1887.  Socially  he  is  a  member  of  the 
I.  O.  O.  F.  and  K.  O.  T.  M.,  and  is  com- 
mander of  the  Sons  of  Veterans  at  Port 
Clinton. 

On  November  16,  1S71,  Mr.  Gernhard 
married  Miss  Augusta  Wilke,  who  was 
born  June  17,  1854,  in  Prussia,  daugh- 
ter of  Gottlieb  and  Hannah  Louisa  (Arndtj 
Wilke;  she  came  to  America  about  the 
year  1862.  Six  children  were  born  to 
this  union,  their  names  and  dates  of  birth 
being  as  follows:  Clara,  August  17,  1872; 
Elizabeth,  December  8,  1873;  Catherine, 
February  1  5,  1S76:  William,  May  i,  1879; 
Frank,  Maj' 9,  1881;  Edward,  November 
19,  1884,  all  born  in  Ottawa  county, 
Ohio.  Of  these,  Clara  was  married  De- 
cember 20,  1892,  to  William  Sowders, 
member  of  a  mercantile  firm  in  Louisville, 
Ky.  (they  have  one  child,  Harold,  born 
October  2,  1893);  Elizabeth  was  married 
September  12,  1893,  to  \\'illiam  Gordon, 
attorney  at  law,  Oak  Harbor.  Ohio,  a  son 
of  Washington  Gordon,  ex-county  treas- 
urer of  Ottawa  county;  Catherine  died  in 
childhood;  William,  Frank  and  Edward 
are  li\ing  at  the  •'  Island  House  "  with 
their  parents,  and  attend  the  public  schools. 
The  entire  family  are  identified  with  the 
German  Reformed  Church,  and  are  held 
in  the  highest  respect  in  the  communitj'. 


ANDREW  SNIDER.  This  pio- 
neer farmer,  and  veteran  of  the 
Civil  war  of  1861-65,  ^^'^s  born 
in  the  Empire  State,  September 
16,  1830,  and  is  a  son  of  Andrew  and 
Margaret  (Londestine)  Snider,  both  of 
whom  were  natives  of  Pennsylvania. 
While  a  mere  boy.  Andrew  was  put  to 
work  making  spools  for  his  father  and 
mother,  who  were  weavers  by  trade  and 
operated  three  looms.  The  little  lad  was 
kept  almost  constantly'  busy,  and  conse- 
quently his  opportunities  for  gaining  an 
education  were  very  limited.  When  he 
was  still  quite  Noung  his  parents  removed 
to  Ohio  and  settled  in  Medina  county, 
where  his  father  farmed  and  also  followed 
his  trade  of  a  weaver,  at  which  our  sub- 
ject assisted  until  he  was  twent3'-one 
years  old. 

On  attaining  his  majority  our  subject 
left  home  and  obtained  work  in  the  hoop 
yards,  in  said  county,  remaining  in  that 
occupation  for  three  years.  He  then  re- 
turned home  and  removed  with  his  fa- 
ther's family  to  Clay  township,  Ottawa 
county,  where  his  father,  in  1857,  bought 
eighty  acres  of  land.  This  was  in  the 
midst  of  the  woods,  with  no  improve- 
ments, and  no  road  or  schoolhouse 
within  a  mile  of  the  place.  Here  the 
young  man  worked,  in  company  with  his 
brother,  without  pay  or  profit  to  himself 
until  the  land  was  cleared,  and  a  log 
cabin  and  other  necessary  structures 
built.  He  then  returned  to  Medina  coun- 
t}'  and  learned  the  trade  of  a  carpenter 
and  joiner,  afterward  coming  back  to 
Clay  township,  where  he  found  plenty  of 
employment  in  this  line.  Many  of  the 
houses  he  then  built  are  still  standing. 
Mr.  Snyder  continued  working  at  his 
trade  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil 
war,  in  1861,  when  he  went  to  Elmore 
and  enlisted  in  Company  I,  Twenty-first 
Ohio  \'olunteers.  in  which  regiment  he 
served  for  over  three  years,  under  the 
command  of  Gen.  James  Nichols.  He 
took  part  in    the    battle    of  Stone  River, 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


721 


after  which  he  was  put,  with  others  of 
his  cornpaii}',  to  buildin;,'  bridf^es.  While 
at  this  work  he  was  so  unfortunate  as  to 
severely  injure  his  leg,  and  the  surgeon 
ordered  his  discharge  at  Nashville,  Tenn. , 
much  to  the  sorrow  of  our  subject,  as  he 
felt  that  his  country  still  needed  his  serv- 
ices. After  his  discharge  Mr.  Snider  re- 
turned home  and  resumed  his  work  as  a 
carpenter  for  two  years,  at  the  end  of 
which  time  he  was  obliged  to  discontinue 
it,  on  account  of  his  injured  limb.  He 
was  married  at  Genoa,  and  removed  to 
Michigan,  locating  at  Palmer,  where  he 
did  farm  work  for  seven  j'ears,  and  after- 
ward was  similiarl}'  employed  at  Hast- 
ings, that  State,  for  two  years.  At  this 
time  he  returned  to  Palmer,  at  the  request 
of  his  former  employer,  with  whom  he 
worked  for  another  three  years,  when  he 
came  back  to  Ohio,  and  settled  down  on 
the  old  homestead,  where  he  has  remained 
ever  since,  with  the  exception  of  five 
months  spent  in  the  Soldiers'  Home,  at 
Dayton. 

The  wife  of  our  subject,  to  whom  he 
was  married  February  i,  1865,  was,  in 
her  maidenhood,  Elizabeth  Bufenton,  and 
was  born  in  Elmore,  this  State,  May  16, 
1846.  Her  father,  George  Bufenton,  mar- 
ried Mary  Rose,  and  they  were  the  par- 
ents of  ten  children.  The  father  died  in 
1885,  the  mother  in  May,  1895.  Eliza- 
beth was  married  in  i860,  at  Woodville, 
Sandusky  county,  to  Samuel  Kemp,  and 
to  them  one  child  was  born,  March  30, 
1 86 1,  who  died  in  January,  1892,  leaving 
a  family  of  three  children.  Mr.  Kemp 
died  from  disease  contracted  in  camp  in 
1 86 1,  and  in  1862  Mrs.  Kemp  married 
Elisha  Harrington,  of  Michigan,  who  was 
killed  in  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness. 
One  child  was  born  to  this  marriage, 
Rosie,  wife  of  Martin  Croley,  of  Toledo. 
In  1865,  the  widow  became  the  wife  of 
Mr.  Snider,  as  has  been  stated.  The 
union  of  our  subject  and  his  wife  has  been 
blessed  with  four  children,  as  follows: 
Manda  E.,  born  March  20,  1866,  in  Michi- 


gan, is  the  wife  of  Eli  Edenburger,  a 
a  farmer  of  Wood  county  (they  have  foui 
children);  Martha,  born  February  13, 
1868,  married  Ernest  Stoyker,  of  Genoa, 
and  has  four  children;  Andrew  B.,  a 
farmer,  born  March  12,  1870,  married 
Minnie,  daughter  of  Walter  Downing,  a 
farmer  of  Clay  township;  Abigail,  born 
May  2,  1872,  is  the  wife  of  Augustus  Farr, 
an  engineer  at  Coleman,  Michigan. 

Mr.  Snider  is  a  good  Ivepublican  and 
a  member  of  Gen.  Elliott  Wyman  Post, 
G.  A.  R.  He  and  his  wife  are  devout 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  and,  while  not  possessed  of  a 
great  amount  of  this  world's  goods,  are 
contented  and  happy  in  the  consciousness 
of  well-spent  lives,  and  looking  forward 
to  a  brighter  hereafter. 


JAMES  TITUS,    one   of    the  earliest 
settlers    of     Kelley's    Island,     Ohio, 
was  born    in  New  York  State,  April 
15,   1832,  and  is  a  son  of  John  and 
Mehitabel  (Chappie)  Titus,  who  were  of 
English   and    Scotch    ancestry,    respect- 
ively. 

John  Titus  was  born  in  New  York 
State,  November  12,  1782,  son  of  Silas 
and  Sarah  (Runnells)  Titus.  In  May, 
18 10,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Mehitabel  Chappie,  who  was  born  in  New 
York  State,  and  they  had  a  family  of  nine 
children,  of  whom  seven  are  now  living, 
namely:  Zipporah,  wife  of  Joseph  Lin- 
coln, residing  on  Kelley's  Island;  Justice, 
residing  on  Kelley's  Island;  Nancy  C, 
widow  of  Edmund  Ward,  of  Kelley's 
Island;  Lydia,  widow  of  Sylvester  S. 
Dewelle,  residing  on  Kelley's  Island; 
Sabria,  widow  of  James  Hamilton,  of 
Kelley's  Island;  Jared,  residing  on  Kelley's 
Island;  and  James.  John  Titus  removed, 
in  1835,  to  Ottawa  county,  Ohio,  and  in 
1836  to  Kelley's  Island,  where  he  was  en- 
gaged in  grape  growing.  He  died  June 
23,  1858,  his  wife,  Mehitabel,  surviving 
him  until  August  19,   1880. 


722 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


When  a  mere  child  James  Titus  came 
to  Ohio  with  his  parents,  who  located  in 
Ottawa  county,  and  after  residing  there 
about  a  year  removed  to  Kelley's  Island, 
where  he  has  since  always  lived.  He  re- 
ceived a  limited  education  here,  has  been 
engaged  in  fishing  and  farming,  and  for 
five  years  has  been  night  watchman  for 
the  Kelley's  Island  Line  Transportation 
Company.  On  June  22,  1852,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Angeline  Pickard, 
a  sister  of  the  late  George  Pickard,  of 
Ottawa  county,  and  they  had  three  chil- 
dren, one  of  whom  still  survives,  Evaline, 
Mrs.  Till,  now  residing  in  Cleveland. 
Mrs.  Titus  passed  away  March  7,  1855, 
and  on  April  I2,  1862,  at  Port  Clinton, 
Ottawa  county,  James  Titus  was  again 
married,  this  time  to  Julia  Condon,  and 
they  have  had  one  child,  Louis  C,  who 
was  born  July  22,  1863,  and  resides  on 
Kelley's  Island.  Mrs.  Titus  is  a  daughter 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Patrick  Condon,  of  Ot- 
tawa, Ottawa  county.  In  his  political 
views  Mr.  Titus  is  a  Republican;  he  is 
not  connected  with  any  church,  though 
his  parents  were  Baptists.  He  has  earned 
success  by  his  enterprise  and  well-estab- 
lished reputation  for  integrity,  enjoys  a 
very  wide  acquaintance  throughout  the 
county,  and  has  hosts  of  friends. 

Edmund  Ward,  who  married  \ancy 
C.  Titus,  daughter  of  John  Titus,  was 
born  in  Esse.x  county,  X.  Y. ,  June  16, 
18 12,  son  of  Reuben  and  Mary  D.  (La- 
vine)  Ward,  who  were  from  Vermont  and 
Canada,  respectively.  He  was  reared  to 
manhood  and  educated  in  New  York 
State,  and  in  1844  came  to  Kelley's 
Island,  Erie  Co.,  Ohio,  where  he  was  a 
constant  resident  for  the  remainder  of 
his  life,  engaging  in  farming  and  grape 
growing.  On  September  10,  1835,  '" 
Rose  Valley,  Wayne  Co.,  N.  Y.,  Edmund 
Ward  was  united  in  marriage  with  Nancy 
C.  Titus,  who  was  born  November  20, 
181  7,  and  they  had  eight  children,  name- 
ly: Melissa,  born  June  6,  1838,  wife  of 
Frederick  P.  Waite,  residing  at  Highland 


Lake,  Weld  Co.,  Colo.;  John,  born  July 
21,  1840,  who  died  in  April,  1863,  from 
the  effects  of  illness  contracted  in  the  army 
while  serving  in  the  defense  of  his  coun- 
try; Emily,  born  September  9,  1842, 
who  is  the  widow  of  Rev.  Martin  K.  Hol- 
brook,  residing  in  Berlin,  Germany; 
Uriah,  born  February  27,  1845,  formerly 
State  Senator;  Hettie  E.,  born  February 
27,  1847;  Mary  L. ,  born  January  19, 
1849,  wife  of  Henry  I.  Worden,  residing 
in  Pittsburg,  Van  Buren  Co.,  Iowa;  and 
Edward,  born  January  8,  1853,  and  Adal- 
bert A.,  born  March  13,  1855,  both  re- 
siding on  Kelley's  Island.  Edmund  Ward 
died  in  March,   1892. 


ON.    AUGUSTUS    F.    FRESE. 


This   gentleman,    who  for   eight- 


u 

I  I  een  years  has  been  the  popular 
postmaster  at  Graytown,  Benton 
township,  is  a  citizen  whose  public  spirit 
and  influence  are  felt  and  appreciated 
throughout  Ottawa  county,  where  he  has 
spent  the  greater  part  of  his  active  life. 

He  is  of  German  descent,  his  parents, 
Henry  and  Louisa  (Heilbranj  Frese,  hav- 
ing been  born  in  Germany  in  181 3  and 
1815  respectively.  They  came  to  Ameri- 
ca about  1838,  settling  in  Woodville  town- 
ship, Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  where  Mr. 
Frese  died  in  1853.  After  remaining  a 
w^dow  for  six  years  Mrs.  Frese  married 
Mr.  K.  Berleman,  by  whom  she  had  one 
son.  Si.\  years  after  their  marriage  they 
removed  to  Toledo,  where  Mrs.  (Frese) 
Berleman  died  April  6,  1893.  To  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Henry  Frese  were  born  seven 
children:  Two  in  Germany — Henry  and 
Louis;  five  in  America — Charlotte,  Mary, 
Augustus  F. ,  Charles  F.  and  Louisa,  all 
of  whom  are  still  living,  and  all  residents 
of  Ohio  except  Henry,  who  lives  in  Min- 
nesota. 

Augustus  F.  Frese  was  born  Decem- 
ber 24,  1846,  in  Sandusky  county,  Ohio, 
living  there  until  1859,  in  which  year  he 
moved  with  his  parents  to  Toledo,    w  here 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPEICAL  RECORD. 


723 


he  lived  until  1866.  At  the  age  of  nine- 
teen Mr.  Frese  began  life  for  himself; 
that  he  has  made  a  success  may  be  judged 
from  the  fact  that  he  is  now  one  of  the 
leading  business  men  of  Ottawa  county- 
In  1866  he  entered  the  store  of  C.  H. 
Damschroder  &  Co.,  of  Elmore,  Ohio, 
as  clerk,  continuing  with  them  three 
years,  when  he  returned  to  Toledo,  and 
for  two  years  had  charge  of  the  boot  and 
shoe  store  of  Eversman  &  Co.  From  To- 
ledo Mr.  Frese  went  to  High  Forest, 
Minn.,  where  he  spent  one  year  in  out- 
of-door  work,  mainly  for  the  benefit  of  his 
health,  which  had  been  somewhat  im- 
paired by  long  continued  confinement  in- 
doors. At  the  close  of  his  year  of  outing 
he  returned  to  Ohio,  and  again  began 
clerking  .for  C.  H.  Damschroder  &  Co., 
of  Elmore,  remaining  in  this  position  un- 
til 1876,  when  he  came  to  Graytown  and 
settled  in  business  for  himself  in  partner- 
ship with  Mr.  Ames,  under  the  firm  name 
of  Ames  &  Frese.  In  1881  Mr.  Frese 
purchased  his  partner's  interest  and  be- 
came sole  owner  of  the  business,  continu- 
ing as  such  for  one  year,  when,  in  1882, 
he  was  elected  to  the  Legislature  of  Ohio 
from  Ottawa  county,  being  the  first  Re- 
publican representative  from  that  county. 
At  this  time  his  brother,  Charles  F.  became 
a  partner  in  the  business,  and  the  firm  has 
since  been  known  as  C.  F.  Frese  &  Co. 

In  1882,  while  in  the  Legislature,  Mr. 
Frese  drafted  a  bill  providing  for  the  con- 
struction of  free  trunpikes  in  Ottawa 
county.  The  bill  met  with  some  opposi- 
tion in  the  House,  but  Mr.  Frese  vigor- 
ously defended  his  ideas,  and  had  the  sat- 
isfaction of  seeing  his  bill  become  a  law 
in  1S83.  The  bill  provides  as  follows: 
"  In  case  any  township  in  Ottawa  county 
desires  to  turnpike  a  certain  road,  the  tax- 
payers in  said  township  shall  make  such 
request  known  by  petition.  A  five-mill  tax 
shall  then  be  levied  for  the  construction 
of  such  road."  The  very  excellent  roads 
on  the  eastern  and  western  ends  of  Ot- 
tawa county  are  a  result  of  the   applica- 


tion of  the  Frese  bill.  In  addition  to  Mr. 
Frese's  labors  as  a  State  officer  he  has  for 
many  years  been  clerk  of  Benton  town- 
ship, and  for  eighteen  years  has  held  the 
position  of  postmaster  in  Graytown,  dis- 
charging all  the  duties  connected  with  his 
various  incumbencies  in  a  manner  which 
speaks  highly  for  his  ability  and  trust- 
worthiness. Politically  he  is  a  Repub- 
lican, and  an  earnest  worker  for  the  suc- 
cess of  his  party. 

In  1885  Mr.  Frese  was  married  to  Miss 
Lena  Beck,  who  was  born  September  24, 
1856,  in  Port  Clinton,  in  the  public 
schools  of  which  place  she  received  a 
liberal  education,  and  also  made  a  spe- 
cialty of  music,  under  the  private  instruc- 
tion of  Prof.  Bonn,  of  Sandusky,  Ohio. 
For  two  years  she  was  bookkeeper  for 
the  Singer  Sewing  Machine  Co.,  one  year 
in  Detroit  and  one  in  Toledo,  and  since 
her  marriage  to  Mr.  Frese  she  has  ren- 
dered him  great  assistance  in  his  exten- 
sive business  affairs.  To  their  union 
have  been  born  four  children,  two  of 
whom  are  now  living:  Florence  H.,  born 
August  24,  1888,  and  James  B.,  born 
October  22,  1890,  at  Gra}town,  Benton 
township,  Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio. 

Mrs.  Frese  is  the  only  child  of  Sam- 
uel and  Catherine  (Kunzman)  Beck,  the 
former  of  whom  was  born  April  5,  1S32, 
in  Baden,  Germany.  At  the  age  of  eight- 
een he  came  to  America,  settling  at 
Port  Clinton,  Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio,  where 
he  was  engaged  in  business  until  the 
breaking  out  of  the  Rebellion.  In  1862 
he  enlisted  in  the  Union  army,  in  which 
he  served  for  three  years,  and  he  is  now 
at  the  Soldiers'  Home  in  Sandusky,  Ohio. 
His  father,  Heinrich  Beck,  was  born  in 
Baden,  Germany,  in  1805,  and  his  mother 
was  born  in  Germany  in  1S04;  their  oc- 
cupation was  hotel-keeping  and  wine- 
making.  Mrs.  Frese's  ancestry  on  the 
maternal  side  is  as  follows:  Her  mother, 
Catherine  (Kunzman)  Beck,  was  born  in 
Germany  April  28,  1834,  and  came  to 
America  when   about    eighteen  years  of 


r24 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


age.  The  voyage  consumed  thirty-two 
days,  during  which  time  the  boat  took 
fire  and  all  came  nearly  being  lost,  some 
even  jumping  overboard  lest  they  should 
be  burned  to  death;  Miss  Kunzman,  how- 
ever, remained  on  board,  and  finally  land- 
ed safely  in  America.  She  settled  in  San- 
dusky, Erie  Co.,  Ohio,  and  after  remaining 
there  nearly  three  years  with  her  brother 
went  to  Port  Clinton,  where,  in  1854,  she 
was  married  to  Mr.  Beck.  A  woman  of 
remarkable  industry  and  enterprise,  she 
supported  herself  during  her  husband's 
absence  in  the  army  by  taking  boarders, 
and  about  si.\  years  ago  she  furnished, 
opened  and  for  sometime  was  proprietor 
of  the  "  Lake  House,"  at  Port  Clinton. 
She  is  still  living  and  is  in  good  health. 
Her  parents,  Christopher  and  Barbara 
(Ahrheit)  Kunzman,  were  born  in  Ger- 
many in  1 806  and  1808  respectively.  Her 
grandfather,  the  great-grandfather  of 
Mrs.  Frese,  Christian  Kunzman,  was  born 
in  Germany  in  1772;  his  wife,  Doratha 
(Jordon)  Kunzman,  the  great-grandmoth- 
er of  Mrs.  Frese,  was  born  in  Germany  in 
1768.  Christian  Kunzman  was  supply 
agent  for  the  cavalry  in  the  arm}'  of  King 
William  I,  for  some  forty-two  years,  and 
on  his  death  the  King  sent  the  royal 
hearse,  drawn  by  si.\  white  horses,  and 
accompanied  by  the  German  Military 
band,  to  his  funeral,  which  was  the  grand- 
est ever  given  a  private  German  citizen. 
Mrs.  Frese's  great-grandfather,  Zacharia 
Ahrheit,  was  born  in  Germany  in  1762; 
he  served  under  Napoleon  the  Great  in 
the  Russian  war,  in  which  he  received  a 
severe  wound  on  the  skull,  inconsequence 
of  which  a  portion  of  the  skull  was  re- 
moved and  a  silver  piece  inserted  instead. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Frese  have  a  pleasant 
home  in  Graytown,  noted  for  its  hospital- 
ity, and  they  are  appreciated  and  highly 
esteemed  by  all  who  know  them  for  their 
business,  social  and  intellectual  worth. 
Mr.  Frese  is  largely  interested  in  farms 
and  fruit  growing,  especially  plums,  hav- 
ing altogether  2,000  trees  set  out. 


EZRA  HALL,  of  the  firm  of  Ezra 
Hall  &  Son,  proprietors  of  a  whole- 
sale and  retail  green-house,  at 
Clyde,  Sandusky  county,  was  born 
September  23,  1829,  in  \'ermont,  on  the 
New  York  State  line,  and  is  a  son  of  Dan- 
iel and  Clarissa  (Loose)  Hall.  The  fa- 
ther was  born  in  New  York  State,  of  an 
old  Massachusetts  familj-,  and  came  west 
in  the  winter  of  1854-55,  locating  in 
Montcalm  county,  Mich.,  near  Greenville, 
where  his  death  occurred  when  he  was 
aged  eighty  years.  He  was  of  Scotch- 
Irish  ancestry,  and  an  old  Jacksonian 
Democrat.  His  wife,  who  was  also  born 
in  New  York  State,  died  in  Michigan,  at 
the  age  of  seventy-five  years.  Two  sis- 
ters of  our  subject  are  yet  living — Mahit- 
able,  wife  of  R.  Caldwell,  of  Warren 
county,  N.  Y. ;  and  Harriet,  wife  of  David 
Brice,  living  in  Clinton,  Michigan. 

The  childhood  of  Ezra  Hall  was  passed 
in  the  various  localities  in  which  his  par- 
ents resided,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty 
years  he  began  railroading,  first  being  em- 
ployed as  a  common  workman  on  a  road 
ten  miles  from  Saratoga  Springs,  N.  Y., 
after  which  he  was  engaged  at  Rutland, 
Vt.  From  there  he  went  to  Boston, 
Mass.,  and  later  to  New  York  Cit}',  where 
he  worked  on  the  Eagle  Bridge  across  the 
Hudson  river,  assisting  in  laying  the  track. 
He  applied  himself  diligently  to  his  labors, 
and  won  the  confidence  of  his  employers, 
so  that  he  was  at  that  time  given  charge 
of  a  gang  of  men.  He  received  a  pro- 
position to  go  to  the  Isthmus  of  Darien  as 
overseer  on  railroad  construction,  which 
he  accepted,  and  with  fourteen  men  pro- 
ceeded to  that  place,  but  at  the  end  of 
three  weeks  only  seven  were  alive,  some 
having  been  killed  by  the  natives,  while 
others  died  of  fever.  The  chances  of  life 
being  so  small,  Mr.  Hall  resolved  to  re- 
turn home,  though  in  doing  so  he  would 
have  to  give  up  a  large  salary,  and  his 
companions  who  were  still  alive  followed 
his  e.xample. 

On  returning  to  Rutland,  Vt.,  our  sub- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


725 


ject  remained  there  until  1S52,  when  he 
came  west,  being;  emplo\ed  by  the  C.  C, 
C.  &  I.  Railroad  Companj'  to  take  charge 
of  laj'ing  the  track,  and  on  September  6, 
1852,  he  put  in  the  first  switch  ever  laid 
in  Grafton,  Lorain  Co.,  Ohio.  During 
the  war  he  entered  the  eniplo\'ment  of  the 
United  States  Government,  laying  track 
in  Indiana,  Illinois,  Iowa,  Missouri,  Ten- 
nessee, Indian  Territory  and  Texas,  after 
which  he  was  similarly  employed  at  Car- 
son, Kans.,  where  he  also  ran  a  train. 
P"ew  men  still  living  are  so  familiar  with 
the  privations,  incidents,  and  history  of 
})ioneer  railroad  life  in  various  parts  of  the 
United  States,  or  have  had  as  broad  an  ex- 
perience as  Mr.  Hall.  The  last  railroad 
work  on  which  he  was  engaged  was  the 
Lake  Erie  &  Western  road  from  Lima  to 
St.  Mary's,  Ohio. 

Mr.  Hall  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Nancy  McMillen,  a  native  of  Zanes- 
ville,  Ohio,  born  May  14,  1S33.  She 
was  a  faithful  wife,  and  her  death,  which 
occurred  April  14,  18S2,  was  severely 
felt  by  (Hir  subject.  Two  children  came 
to  bless  their  union,  the  eldest  of  whom, 
William  E.,  born  May  18,  1857,  is  now 
in  partnership  with  his  father  in  the  green- 
house business;  he  marrietl  Miss  Eva 
Stark,  and  to  them  have  been  born  four 
children — Ezra  Eugene,  John  B.,  Emil 
M.  and  Llojd  Taylor. 

The  firm  of  Ezra  Hall  &  Son  were  the 
pioneers  in  the  small  fruit  business  in  that 
portion  of  Sandusky  county.  They  first 
began  to  grow  and  ship  to  the  city  mar- 
kets strawberries,  raspberries,  together 
with  other  small  fruits,  and  winter  let- 
tuce. About  thirteen  years  ago  they 
started  their  first  green-house,  and  to-day 
are  the  only  wholesale  fiower  dealers  be- 
tween Cle\eland  and  Toledo,  Ohio.  They 
have  telephone  connections  with  all  local 
towns  and  business  points,  and  ship  flowers 
as  far  as  Chicago.  They  make  a  specialty 
of  a  species  of  pink,  and  do  a  considera- 
ble business  in  funeral  decorations.  They 
have  a    large   and   constantly   increasing 


patronage,  and  have  been  very  successful 
in  this  undertaking.  As  businessmen,  the 
firm  ranks  high  and  receive  the  respect 
and  confidence  of  all  with  whom  they 
come  in  contact. 


I  AMS  BROTHERS.  This  popular  firm, 
proprietors  of  the  Metropolitan  liv- 
ery stables,  at  Gibsonburg,  Sandusky 

county,  consists  of  Russell,  Frank 
and  Jesse  lams.  It  is  always  pleasant  to 
record  the  history  of  a  family  in  which  a 
number  of  brothers,  having  passed  their 
boyhood  happily  together,  arrive  at  man- 
hood with  the  same  fraternal  feelings 
and  unite  together  in  business  pursuits, 
and  side  by  side  fight  the  battle  of  life. 
Their  histories  up  to  date  are  very  simi- 
lar. The}'  are  all  natives  of  Sandusky 
county,  born  in  Washington  township. 

Frank  lams  was  born  March  17,  1855. 
His  marriage  to  Miss  Emma  Saam  took 
place  in  1879.  and  they  have  one  child, 
Alice.  Russell  lams  was  born  February 
18,  1859,  and  was  married  February  5, 
1880,  to  Miss  Ellen  Lowe;  they  have  one 
child,  Myrtie.  Jesse  lams,  born  January 
15,  1 86 1,  married  Sevilla  Ernst,  and 
they  have  one  child,  J.  Franklin.  As  has 
been  said,  the  earlier  careers  of  these 
thrifty  and  "hustling"  brothers  run  in 
similar  channels.  All  three  grew  up  on 
the  home  farm,  and  each  received  his 
education  in  the  common  schools,  but 
being  endowed  with  the  sterling  qualities 
of  integrity  and  perseverance,  supple- 
mented with  habits  of  industry  from  boy- 
hood, they  have  had  the  good  fortune  to 
see  every  enterprise  in  which  they  have 
been  engaged  crowned  with  success.  On 
leaving  the  farm  Messrs.  lams  engaged 
in  the  livery  business  under  the  firm  name 
of  lams  Brothers,  and  are  recognized  as 
leaders  in  the  business  circles  of  Gibson- 
burg. They  are  stanch  Republicans,  and 
are  ever  ready  to  assist  in  anything  which 
has  for  its  object  the  welfare  of  the  com- 
munity. 


726 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


The  parents  of  the  lams  Brothers, 
Jasper  and  Mary  Ann  (Mooneyj  lams, 
were  both  born  in  Pennsylvania,  and 
came  to  Ohio  when  quite  young.  They 
grew  up  and  were  married  in  Washington 
township,  Sandusky  county,  where  the 
father  carried  on  farming,  and  died  there 
when  about  seventy-one  years  old.  He 
was  a  Republican,  and  served  as  a  one- 
hundred-days  man  during  the  Civil  war. 
The  mother,  now  seventy-two  years  old 
resides  in  Gibsonburg.  Besides  the  three 
sons  mentioned  their  family  comprised 
the  following  children:  Harriet,  who  mar- 
ried William  Fought,  and  lives  in  Gibson- 
burg; Elizabeth,  wife  of  Frank  Fought, 
residing  in  Fremont;  John,  a  farmer  in 
Madison  township;  Mary,  deceased  wife 
of  John  Barman;  Minerva,  who  married 
AmosHarley;  Sarah,  who  married  George 
Naas;  Marcella,  who  married  George 
Williamson,  and  Eltie,  who  married  John 
Valance. 


FRED  MICHAEL  (deceased)  was  a 
wagonniaker  by  trade,    and    fol- 
lowed the  occupation  of  farming 
in    Madison    township,    Sandusky 
county.      He  was  born  in  Hanover,  Ger- 
many, in  1817,  and  was  one  of  the  early 
settlers  of  Madison  township. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-two  Mr.  Michael 
started  out  alone  for  America.  Coming 
to  Ohio,  he  located  in  Lower  Sandusky, 
now  Fremont,  Sandusky  county,  where  he 
went  to  work  at  his  trade  of  wagon  maker 
in  partnership  with  Ambrose  Ochs.  After 
being  thus  engaged  for  some  time  he  sold 
out  his  interest  and  moved  to  Hessville, 
Washington  township,  Sandusky  county, 
where  he  remained  about  two  years,  going 
from  there  to  Madison  township,  same 
county,  where  he  followed  his  trade  five 
years,  and  then  located  on  a  tract  of  land 
near  Gibsonburg,  in  Madison  township, 
where  he  had  his  home  the  remainder  of 
his  days. 

In   1845   Fred  Michael  was  united  in 


marriage  with  Sophia  Hass,  and  they  had 
five  children,  as  follows:  Mary  died  in 
1869.  John  married  Mary  Driftmyer,  by 
whom  he  has  had  two  children;  he  is  a 
farmer  in  Michigan.  Le\ina  died  young. 
Fred,  who  is  unmarried,  works  in  the  oil 
fields  near  Gibsonburg.  Joseph  was  born 
May  6,  1856,  on  the  old  homestead  in 
Madison  township.  When  Mr.  Michael 
moved  into  the  township  there  were  very 
few  families  here.  At  the  time  of  his 
death  he  had  120  acres  of  valuable  land. 
He  passed  away  in  February,  1890,  at 
the  age  of  seventy-three  years  and  some 
months. 

Joseph  Michael,  son  of  Fred  and 
Sophia  (Hass)  Michael,  attended  school 
where  the  city  of  Gibsonburg  now  stands, 
at  a  time  when  there  were  only  three  or 
four  buildings  there.  When  a  child  he 
had  a  paralytic  stroke,  since  which  time 
he  has  had  only  partial  use  of  his  right 
side.  He  has  always  had  to  work  hard, 
and  since  his  father's  death  has  had  charge 
of  the  farm.  In  1889  the  farm  was  leased 
to  a  Mr.  Gilbert,  and  eight  oil  wells  were 
put  down,  all  of  which  have  a  fairly  good 
flow.  Mr.  Michael  is  well  liked,  and 
popular  in  the  community,  and  has  de- 
clined to  accept  several  offices  which  have 
been  offered  to  him.  Politically,  he  is  a 
Democrat. 


HON.  JACOB  DECIDER  (deceased) 
was  born  January  15,  1809,  in 
Union  county,  Penn.  His  par- 
ents, John  and  Julia  Ann  (Royer) 
Decker,  moved  to  Wayne  county,  Ohio, 
in  the  spring  of  18 16,  remaining  there 
fourteen  years,  and  finally,  in  1830,  settled 
in  Thompson  township,  Seneca  county. 
John  Decker,  who  was  a  farmer  and 
blacksmith,  died  January  3.  1854,  and  his 
widow  June  27,  1875,  in  the  eighty-sev- 
enth year  of  her  age.  They  were  mem- 
bers of  the  German  M.  E.  Church.  Their 
children  were  Jacob,  John,  Samuel,  Adam, 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


727 


David,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Heater,  Mrs.  Sarah 
Burgner  and  Mrs.  Catharine  Harpster. 

Jacob  Decker's  boyhood  was  spent 
amid  the  scenes  of  early  pioneer  life  in 
Wayne  and  Seneca  counties,  and,  while 
his  school  days  were  limited  to  three 
months,  his  active,  energetic  and  perse- 
vering nature  enabled  him  by  home  stud\' 
to  lay  the  foundation  of  a  practical  edu- 
cation which  stood  him,  well  in  hand  in 
after  years.  Amid  his  rude  environments 
his  observation  was  quickened,  his  reason 
trained,  his  judgment  developed,  and  a 
habit  of  self-mastery  attained  which  made 
him  the  man  he  became  in  later  years. 
In  182S  Mr.  Decker  began  to  learn  the 
carpenter's  trade,  at  which  he  worked 
about  three  years.  He  then  located  in 
Section  21,  Thompson  township,  Seneca 
county,  where  he  purchased  eighty  acres 
of  heavily-timbered  government  land  at 
$1.25  per  acre,  on  which  he  erected  a 
hewed-log  house.  Returning  to  Wayne 
county,  he  married  Miss  Susan  Billman, 
with  whom  he  returned  to  his  new  home 
in  the  wilderness.  Their  union  was 
blessed  with  si.x  children:  Barbara  (Mrs. 
Joseph  Sherck),  of  Bellevue;  John,  living 
in  Arkansas;  David,  of  Atchison,  Kans. ; 
Amos  and  Milton,  of  Thompson  town- 
ship; and  Jefferson,  who  died  in  infancy. 
Amos  Decker  represented  Seneca  county 
in  the  Ohio  Legislature  two  terms,  during 
the  sessions  of    1880-81-S2-83. 

After  a  residence  of  forty  busy  years 
on  his  farm,  Jacob  Decker  retired,  in 
1 87 1,  to  his  late  residence  at  Bellevue, 
Ohio.  He  had  been  successful  in  worldly 
affairs,  acquiring  900  acres  of  land,  most 
of  which  he  divided  among  his  children. 
Mrs.  Decker  died  March  27,  1872,  and 
Mr.  Decker  was  married  on  May  23,  1877, 
to  Mrs.  Sarah  Gardener,  who  was  born 
in  1829,  in  Berks  county,  Penn.,  daugh- 
ter of  David  and  Lydia  (Fisher)  Slanker, 
who  settled  in  Wayne  county  in  1832. 
Her  first  husband  was  Joseph  Gardener, 
who  died  P'ebruary  15,  1856.  They  had 
two  sons:     Charles  D.,  living  in  Orrville, 

46 


Ohio,  who  married  Miss  Mary  Hower,  of 
Akron,  Ohio;  and  William  H.,  of  Belle- 
vue, who  married  Alice  I\ern. 

Mr.  Decker  was  a  lifelong,  earnest 
Democrat,  and  took  an  active  part  in 
public  affairs.  He  served  his  township  in 
nearly  all  the  civil  offices,  including  that 
of  justice  of  the  peace.  He  also  took  a 
deep  interest  in  the  educational  affairs  of 
the  community.  He  held  the  office  of 
county  commissioner  two  terms,  and  was 
twice  called  upon  to  represent  Seneca 
county  in  the  Ohio  Legislature — in  1849 
and  the  session  following,  the  last  under 
the  old  constitution  and  the  first  under 
the  new.  His  opposing  candidate  for  the 
second  term  was  Gen.  William  H.  Gib- 
son. Mr.  Decker  was  well  informed  in 
the  history  and  politics  of  his  country. 
He  was  a  ready  debater  on  the  questions 
of  the  times,  a  man  of  wonderful  will 
power  and  force  of  convictions.  The  last 
fifteen  years  of  his  life  were  spent  in  the 
quiet  and  retirement  of  his  home,  and 
were  comparatively  uneventful,  owing  to 
his  advanced  jears. 

While  residing  in  Seneca  county,  Mr. 
Decker  was  for  twenty  years  a  member  of 
the  Methodist  Protestant  Church;  but  on 
his  removal  to  Bellevue  he  became  a 
member  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  and  was 
faithful  in  attendance  so  long  as  his  health 
permitted.  He  died  at  his  home,  Novem- 
ber 7,  1894,  in  the  eighty-sixth  year  of 
his  age,  and  was  laid  to  rest  in  the  family 
burial  lot,  which  he  had  graced  with  a 
fine  marble  monument,  in  Bellevue  Ceme- 
tery. Mrs.  Decker  retains  the  family 
homestead.  Amos  and  Milton  Decker 
are  joint  executors  of  their  father's  estate. 


WILLIAM  P.    NAYLOR,    one    of 
the    most    prosperous  and   pro- 
gressive agriculturists  of  Madi- 
son township,  Sandusky  county, 
was  born  April  24,  1839,  in  Medina  coun- 
ty, Ohio,    son  of  Samuel    and    Elizabeth 
(Uhler)  Naylor. 


728 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOOBAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Samuel  Naj'lor,  father  of  our  subject, 
was  born  in  what  was  then  known  as 
Little  York,  Penn.,  a  son  of  Jacob  Nay- 
lor,  who  was  a  farmer  and  distiller. 
Samuel  was  reared  on  a  farm,  and  when 
a  young  man  followed  teaming,  hauling 
whiskey  from  his  father's  and  other  dis- 
tilleries to  Baltimore,  Md.,  where  was 
found  the  best  market  for  that  commod- 
ity. In  those  days  it  took  si.x  horses  to 
haul  thirty  barrels  of  whiskey.  Samuel 
was  married  in  Cumberland  county  to 
Elizabeth  Uhler,  a  native  of  that  county, 
born  of  German  ancestry,  and  after  mar- 
riage the  young  couple  located  on  a  small 
farm  in  Cumberland  county,  which  he 
rented.  In  Pennsjlvania  children  as  fol- 
lows came  to  them:  Mary,  born  Decem- 
ber 6,  1820,  now  the  widow  of  Amos 
Fritz,  residing  at  Medina,  Ohio;  Samuel, 
born  February  27,  1823,  a  farmer  of  Lo- 
rain county;  Benjamin  K.,  born  Feb- 
ruary 25,  1825,  a  farmer  and  black- 
smith, now  of  Lucas  county,  Ohio; 
Jacob,  born  September  7,  1826,  a  farmer 
of  Medina  county,  Ohio;  and  Ann  Eliza, 
born  September  20,  1829.  In  the  fall  of 
1829  the  family  came  to  Ohio  over  the 
Alleghany  Mountians  in  a  covered  two- 
horse  wagon,  bringing  with  them  consider- 
able household  effects,  including  their 
bedding,  which  they  found  of  the  greatest 
use  during  their  two-weeks'  wearisome 
journey.  Mr.  Naylor,  the  father,  had 
previously  visited  Ohio,  and  in  Guilford 
township,  Medina  county,  had  selected 
land  then  looked  after  by  Judge  Heman 
Ely,  of  Elyria,  Lorain  county.  On  the 
occasion  of  that  visit  Mr.  Naylor  had 
hired  a  man  to  build  a  log  house  for  the 
convenience  of  the  family  when  they 
should  arrive,  but  they  found  it  in  such 
an  unfinished  state  that  they  had  to  rent 
another  cabin  in  the  neighborhood,  where- 
in to  pass  the  winter.  In  the  meantime 
their  own  was  made  habitable,  and  the 
following  spring  they  moved  into  it. 
While  the  family  were  en  route  one  child, 
named  Ann  Eliza,    was   born   September 


20,  1829,  at  Lancaster,  Penn.,  which  in- 
teresting event  delayed  them  three  days. 
In  Medina  count}-  the  family  was  further 
increased  by  the  following  children:  Re- 
becca, born  December  18,  1831,  now 
Mrs.  W.  W.  Hutchisson,  of  Sandusky 
county,  Ohio;  Sarah  J.,  born  December 
24,  1833,  deceased:  John,  born  February 
10,  1838,  who  died  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
one;  William  P.,  born  April  24,  1839, 
our  subject;  and  Henry  F.,  born  July  9, 
1842,  of  Sandusky  county.  On  this  farm 
in  Medina  county  the  mother  of  these 
children  passed  from  earth,  and  the  father 
then  moved  into  the  village  of  Seville, 
same  count}',  having  purchased  in  that 
vicinity  a  farm  of  thirty  acres,  and  also  a 
residence  in  the  village. 

In  Guilford  township  Mr.  Naylor  mar- 
ried, for  his  second  wife,  Migs  Harriet 
Sheldon,  and  one  child  was  born  to  this 
union  August  19,  1856,  Harriet,  now 
Mrs.  James  Ross,  who  is  at  the  frontier 
teaching  Indians.  Samuel  Naylor  died 
at  the  age  of  seventy-three,  and  lies  buried 
in  the  Lutheran  cemetery,  Guilford  town- 
ship Politically  he  was  originally  a 
Whig,  and  after  the  formation  of  the 
party  was  a  stanch  Republican.  He  had 
traveled  all  through  the  Southern  States, 
and,  from  observations  he  made  during 
his  visit,  predicted  the  Civil  war  many  years 
before  it  broke  out.  Of  his  family  Samuel 
Naylor,  who  is  one  of  the  most  extensive 
landholders  and  wealthiest  farmers  of 
Penfield  township,  Lorain  Co.,  Ohio,  was 
born  February  27,  1823,  in  Carlisle,  Cum- 
berland Co.,  Penn.  He  was  married  in 
August,  1845,  to  Miss  Barbara  Long,  and 
some  time  later  they  settled  on  a  farm  in 
Litchfield  township,  Medina  Co.,  Ohio, 
at  the  end  of  three  or  four  years  moving 
to  Penfield  township,  Lorain  county, 
where  he  bought  a  piece  of  wild  land. 
They  had  a  familj'  of  children  as  follows: 
Jacob,  who  enlisted  in  the  Civil  war  before 
he  was  seventeen  years  old,  and  died  at 
Camp  Dennison,  while  in  the  service; 
Henry,  who  died  young;  Elizabeth,  wife 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


729 


I 


of  Stewart  Long;  Rebecca,  deceased  wife 
of  Andrew  Sigourney;  Harriet  A.;  Lanj- 
E.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  seven  years; 
Emma,  wife  of  \\'illiam  Bradstock;  Mary, 
deceased  when  seventeen  years  old;  Har- 
vey G.,  a  farmer;  and  Dora,  wife  of  Will- 
iam Hower.  The  mother  of  these  died 
January  7,  1874,  and  for  his  second  wife 
Samuel  Naylor  married  Miss  Nancy  E. 
Yocom,  who  died  in  1882   without   issue. 

William  P.  Naylor,  the  subject  proper 
of  this  memoir,  received  his  education  at 
the  common  schools  of  Guilford  town- 
ship, Medina  county,  and  worked  on  his 
father's  farm  until  he  reached  the  age  of 
seventeen  years,  when  he  hired  out  as  a 
day  laborer  by  the  month  until  he  was 
twenty-one,  at  which  time  he  came  to 
Madison  township,  Sandusky  county,  and 
here  continued  in  similar  employment  un- 
til the  breaking  out  of  the  war  of  the  Re- 
bellion. He  then  voluntarily  proceeded 
to  Fremont  and  enlisted  in  Company  C, 
Seventy-second  O.  V.  I.,  under  Col.  R. 
P.  Buckland  and  Capt.  Samuel  A.  J. 
Snider,  which  regiment  was  sent  to  Camp 
Chase,  thence  to  Pittsburg  Landing,  par- 
ticipating in  the  battle  fought  at  that 
place  April  6  and  7,  1862.  Here  our  sub- 
ject was  so  severely  wounded  in  the  leg 
that  he  had  to  be  sent  to  the  hospital  at 
Covington,  Ky. ,  whence,  after  conval- 
escing, he  returned  home  to  his  father's 
farm,  and  there  spent  the  succeeding  six 
months.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  re- 
ceived orders  from  his  regiment  to  report 
at  headquarters.  Camp  Chase,  whither 
he  at  once  proceeded,  and  from  there  was 
sent  to  Camp  Dennison,  where  he  re- 
mained until  receiving  his  discharge  on 
account  of  disability,    November  5,  1862. 

Returning  to  Medina  county,  Mr.  Nay- 
lor passed  a  year  at  his  father's  home, 
and  then  once  more  came  to  Madison 
township,  Sandusky  county,  where  he 
rented  a  farm  which  he  worked  on  shares 
with  his  brother-in-law  for  a  year.  In 
1865  he  secured  a  farm  of  his  own,  eighty 
acres  in  extent,    which,    with  the  excep- 


tion of  a  space  where  stood  a  log  cabin, 
was  covered  with  timber.  Into  this  rude 
dwelling  he  and  his  wife  removed,  the 
walls  of  which  were  bare  and  unplastered, 
the  furniture  being  of  the  same  primitive 
character;  in  the  provision  line  they  had 
sufficient  flour  to  last  them  a  year,  and 
they  also  had  a  couple  of  cows  and  some 
poultry.  But,  better  than  all,  they  were 
possessed  of  stout  hearts  and  willing 
hands,  and  the  one  cheering  the  other 
they  resolutely  set  to  work  to  clear  the 
land,  after  much  labor  succeeding  in  get- 
ting a  couple  of  acres  under  cultivation, 
which  they  sowed  to  wheat,  yielding  at 
the  harvesting  twenty  bushels.  This  they 
took  to  mill  to  be  ground,  the  grist  giving 
them  enough  flour  for  another  jear,  and 
in  this  way  they  managed  to  exist  and 
rear  their  family  of  children.  After  fif- 
teen years  passed  in  reducing  this  eighty- 
acre  tract  to  cultivation,  Mr.  Naylor 
purchased  an  additional  forty  acres  of 
timber-covered  land,  which  in  course  of 
time  he  also  succeeded  in  clearing,  and 
bringing  to  a  high  state  of  fertility.  In 
1886  he  erected  a  fine  dwelling,  second 
to  none  in  the  township,  and  built  com- 
modious barns  and  outhouses,  planted  an 
orchard,  put  up  substantial  fences,  laid 
tiles,  and  in  many  other  ways  improved 
the  property,  till  it  became  one  of  the 
most  complete  farmsteads  in  the  county — 
a  practical  illustrati<5n  of  what  can  be  ac- 
complished by  industry  and  enterprise. 

On  August  7,  1865,  Mr.  Naylor  was 
married  in  Madison  township,  to  Miss 
Elizabeth  J.  McCreary,  daughter  of  James 
McCreary,  a  prominent  farmer  of  that 
localit}',  and  five  children  were  the  result 
of  that  union,  as  follows:  Mildred  R. , 
born  April  7,  1866,  married  to  William 
Plantz,  a  farmer  in  Scott  township,  San- 
dusky county;  Winnie  E. ,  born  Js^ovem- 
ber  6,  1867,  died  July  13,  18S0;  Arthur, 
born  July  3,  1870;  Phinneous  M. ,  born 
August  31,  1872,  working  on  his  father's 
farm;  and  John  A.,  born  April  28,  1875, 
died  September  2,  1875.     The  mother  of 


730 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


these    was    called    from  earth  August  6,   j  render  him  all  the  assistance  in  her  power. 

With  this  noble   encouragement   he  con- 


1879,  and  December  31,  1882,  Mr.  Nay- 
lor  married  Miss  Catherine  Slates,  daugh- 
ter of  Joseph  and  Elizabeth  (Fleck) 
Slates,  a  sketch  of  whom  follows.  By 
this  marriage  there  is  no  issue. 

In  religious  faith  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Xaylor 
and  family  are  adherents  of  the  Church  of 
the  Disciples,  attending  service  at  Gib- 
sonburg.  In  his  political  preferences  he 
is  a  stanch  Republican,  has  never  sought 
office,  and  has  never  accepted  an}',  as  he 
finds  that  his  own  affairs  too  closely  oc- 
cupy his  time.  He  was  school  director 
of  his  district  nine  years,  and  has  always 
taken  a  deep  interest  in  educational  mat- 
ters, in  fact  in  everything  tending  to  the 
improvement  and  advancement,  social  or 
otherwise,  of  the  community  in  which  he 
lives. 

Joseph  Slates,  father  of  Mrs.  William 
P.  Naylor,  was  born  Februarj-  16,  1812, 
in  Carroll  county,  Md.,  son  of  John  and 
Catherine  (Keselringj  Slates,  both  also 
natives  of  Maryland.  W^hen  Joseph  was 
a  twelve-year-old  lad  the  famih"  removed 
to  Pennsylvania,  where  on  the  home  farm 
he  worked  during  the  summers,  his  win- 
ter months  being  passed  at  the  schools  of 
the  neighborhood,  he  paying  for  his  edu- 
cation out  of  money  earned  during  the 
busy  seasons  on  the  farm,  and  he  re- 
mained in  Pennsylvania,  working  in  the 
capacity  of  farm  laborer,  until  1854, 
when  he  came  to  Sandusky  county,  Ohio, 
in  Jackson  township,  renting  a  farm 
which  he  operated  three  years.  He  then 
removed  to  W^ashington  township,  same 
county,  also  renting  a  farm  there  four 
jears,  and  later  buying  eighty  acres  of 
land  in  Madison  township,  part  of  which 
was  improved,  although  there  was  an 
overplus  of  water,  and  there  were  as  yet 
no  roads.  Here,  in  a  rude  hut,  they  made 
their  new  home,  but  Mr.  Slates  became 
so  disgusted  at  the  prospects  that  he  was 
about  to  give  up  farming  altogether,  when 
his  heroic  wife  assured  him  of  her  will- 
ingness to  remain  where  they  were,  and 


eluded  to  remain,  and  he  and  his  faithful 
life  partner  set  to  work  with  earnest  en- 
deavor, soon  having  nearly  all  of  eighty 
acres  cleared,  whereon  they  erected  a 
comfortable  home  surrounded  by  substan- 
tial barns  and  outhouses.  In  the  course 
of  time  Mr.  Slates  added  by  purchase 
other  eighty  acres,  thirty  of  which  he 
brought  under  cultivation;  then  sold  this 
eighty-acre  tract,  retaining  the  first  one, 
which  he  rents,  as  he  is  now  living  re- 
tired, passing  his  declining  years  with  his 
daughter  and  son-in-law,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
W.  P.  Naylor.  Notwithstanding  his  years 
he  is  still  active,  and  is  a  very  interesting 
conversationalist. 

In  1832  Joseph  Slates  was  married  in 
Huntingdon  county,  Penn.,  to  Miss  Eliza- 
abeth  Fleck,  and  a  brief  record  of  their 
children  is  as  follows:  William,  born 
August  3,  1837,  who  is  a  farmer  of  Indi- 
ana, is  married  and  has  a  family;  Cath- 
erine, born  August  6,  1839,  Mrs.  Naylor; 
Elizabeth,  born  April  6,  1842,  wife  of 
Jacob  Snider,  a  farmer  of  Washington 
township,  Sandusk)'  county  (they  have 
two  children);  Liddie  A.,  born  April  5, 
1844,  who  died  in  1886,  leaving  four  chil- 
dren (she  first  married  John  Lance,  a 
farmer  of  Madison  township,  who  was  in 
1870  burned  to  death  at  Gibsonburg,  his 
death  being  caused  by  the  explosion  of  a 
can  of  coal  oil;  she  subsequently  married 
Ira  Krotzer,  of  Woodville  township); 
Jacob,  born  April  7,  1S46,  a  prominent 
farmer  of  Michigan,  who  is  married  and 
has  seven  children;  Rebecca,  born  April 
13,  1 848,.  who  married  Samuel  Garns,  a 
farmer  of  Williams  county,  and  died  June 
6,  1895;  Mar}-  Jane,  born  September  8, 
1 85 1,  wife  of  Watts  Allen,  a  farmer  of 
Isabella  county,  Mich,  (they  have  four 
children);  Lucinda,  born  October  19, 
1853,  wife  of  David  Klutz,  a  farmer  of 
Eaton  Rapids,  Mich,  (they  have  two  chil- 
dren); and  Ellen,  born  July  20,  1858, wife 
of  Frank  Klutz,  an  oil    man  (they   have 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


731 


one  child).  The  mother  of  these  was 
called  to  her  long  home  in  1878,  leaving 
a  sorrowing  husband  and  sons  and  daugh- 
ters to  mourn  the  departure  of  a  loving 
and  affectionate  wife  and  mother.  She 
was  an  estimable  lady,  affable  and  kind, 
and  ever  ready  to  sacrifice  the  smallest  or 
the  greatest  pleasure  for  her  husband  and 
family.  Mr.  Slates,  during  his  active  life, 
took  a  deep  interest  in  educational  affairs, 
and  for  several  years  was  school  director, 
also  clerk  of  the  board,  and  he  was  elected 
township  trustee  on  the  Democratic  ticket, 
of  which  party  he  has  ever  been  a  stanch 
adherent,  his  first  vote  being  cast  for  Gen. 
Jackson.  In  religious  faith  he  is  an  ad- 
herent of  the  Lutheran  Church. 


PETER  DOELL,  retired  farmer, 
Ballville  township,  Sandusky  coun- 
t}',  was  born  in  Hessen,  Germany, 
April  20,  1819,  a  son  of  Henry 
and  Clara  (Cobbler)  Doell,  natives  of  Hes- 
sen. Her  parents  were  Adam  and  Ann 
Cobbler,  the  father  a  blacksmith  by  trade, 
and  they  both  died  in  Germany.  Our 
subject  was  one  of  four  children,  viz. : 
Adam  Doell,  a  wagon  maker,  who  mar- 
ried Catharine  Sheffel;  Catharine,  wife 
of  George  Fath,  a  weaver  and  farmer, 
who  had  three  children,  and  died  in  Ger- 
many; Mary,  wife  of  Peter  List,  a  weaver 
and  farmer,  who  had  two  children,  and 
died  in  Germany;   and  our  subject. 

Peter  Doell  landed  in  America  Au- 
gust 2.  1838,  came  to  Ohio,  and  settled  in 
Ballville  township,  Sandusky  count}'. 
Here  he  worked  out  b)'  the  month  among 
the  farmers  for  about  three  years,  and 
saved  his  earnings.  On  August  29,  1841, 
he  married  Miss  Margaret  Resch,  who 
was  born  November  2,  18 16,  daughter  of 
Lewis  Resch,  a  native  of  Germany.  He 
continued  working  by  the  month  two 
years  after  his  marriage,  then  bought  a 
farm  of  forty  acres  for  $210.  Having 
cleared  nearly  twenty  acres  of  it,  and 
lived  on  same  twenty  years,  he  sold  it  to 


his  son  George;  then  for  $1,800  bought 
the  forty-nine  acres  where  he  now  lives. 
The  children  of  Peter  and  Margaret 
Doell  were  twelve  in  number,  four  of 
whom  survive:  (i)  Mary,  born  October 
6,  1842,  married  April  30,  1873,  by  Rev. 
H.  Lang,  of  Fremont,  Ohio,  to  C.  L. 
Rearick,  who  was  born  April  29,  1833,  a 
farmer  and  Democrat,  son  of  John  and 
Elizabeth  Rearick,  natives  of  Pennsyl- 
vania (their  children  were — Minnie  May, 
born  May  25,  1874;  Arthur,  born  Janu- 
ary, 1S78;  and  Burdett,  born  December 
29,  1880);  (2)  George  Doell,  born  Janu- 
ary 26,  1843,  farmer.  Democrat,  mem- 
ber of  the  Lutheran  Church,  who  mar- 
ried Miss  Mary  Parks;  (3)  Catharine, 
born  March,  1845,  wife  of  Jacob  Groff, 
farmer.  Democrat,  living  in  Jackson 
township,  whose  children  are — Emma, 
Nettie,  Ida,  and  Hattie;  (4)  Jeseph,  born 
January,  1847,  a  Democrat  and  member 
of  the  M.  E.  Church,  who  married  Miss 
Mary  Aguge,  of  Fremont.  Ohio.  Mrs. 
Margaret  Doell  died  July  17,  1892,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-six  years,  since  which  time 
Mr.  Doell  has  rented  his  farm  to  others, 
and  lives  with  his  daughter  on  the  old 
homestead.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  poli- 
tics, and  a  man  highly  esteemed  bj'  his 
neighbors. 


WILLIAM  LORENZO  STIER- 
WALT,  M.  D.,  one  of  the  most 
successful  and  prosperous  med- 
ical practitioners  in  northwest- 
ern Ohio,  now  located  at  the  flourishing 
little  village  of  Lindsey,  Sandusky  county, 
was  born  in  Sandusky  township,  about 
two  miles  east  of  Lindsey,  April  30,  1859, 
son  of  Moses  and  Elizabeth  (Lay)  Stier- 
walt. 

Moses  Stierwalt,  the  father,  was  a 
farmer  by  occupation,  and  a  native  of 
Allentown,  Ohio,  and  in  an  early  day  he 
came  with  his  father,  Henry  Stierwalt, 
to  Sandusky  county,  where  he  has  ever 
since  remained,  he  and  the  mother  now  liv- 


732 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


ing  in  Rice  township.  William  L.  re- 
mained at  the  home  of  his  parents,  work- 
ing on  the  farm  and  receiving  a  common- 
school  education,  until  he  was  fifteen 
years  old.  He  was  a  lad  of  keen  percep- 
tions, and  early  in  life  he  became  fitted  to 
teach  a  district  school.  For  twelve  years 
he  successfully  taught  in  country  schools, 
and  in  1881  he  was  appointed  superin- 
tendent of  the  Lindsey  High  School. 
There  he  remained  two  years,  and,  in  or- 
der to  more  thoroughly  fit  himself  for  the 
work  of  education,  he  went  to  the  Ohio 
Normal  Universitj',  at  Ada,  and  took  a 
scientific  and  pharmaceutical  course.  He 
became  so  deeplj'  engrossed  in  the  sub- 
ject that  the  whole  current  of  his  life  was 
diverted  to  a  new  aim.  He  concluded  to 
take  up  the  profession  of  medicine. 

After  his  marriage,  March  28,  1883, 
to  Ida  E.  Hineline,  daughter  of  Theodore 
and  Hannah  (Rafferty)  Hineline,  farming 
people  of  Sandusky  count)',  he  returned 
to  Ada  and  completed  his  studies.  Going 
to  Toledo,  he  remained  there  three  years, 
taking  a  thorough  course  in  medical  science 
and  surgery,  and  then,  in  1888,  returning 
to  Lindsey,  he  engaged  in  practice  in  part- 
nership with  Dr.  Woland,  with  whom  he 
continued  until  July  i.  Dr.  Woland 
then  retired,  and  Dr.  Steirwalt  has  since 
built  up  one  of  the  largest  and  most  suc- 
cessful practices  in  Ohio.  He  now  owns 
eighty  acres  of  choice  farming  land  in 
Washington  township,  besides  property 
in  Lindsey.  As  a  diversion  from  his 
professional  work  he  is  greatl}'  interested 
in  the  breeding  of  fine  horses,  and  is  sec- 
retary of  the  Lindsey  Coach  Horse  As- 
sociation. He  owns  a  one-fourth  interest 
in  the  coach  horse  Marschall,  purchased 
at  the  World's  Fair  for  $2,500.  Dr. 
Stierwalt  was,  in  1890,  elected  city  coun- 
cilman, en  the  Democratic  ticket,  by  a 
majorit\-  of  forty-four,  when  the  town- 
ship was  conceded  to  be  Republican.  No 
happier  home  can  be  found  than  that  of 
Dr.  Stierwalt,  graced  as  it  is  by  an  af- 
fectionate   and    devoted    wife,  and    two 


bright  children — Howard  L. ,  born  No- 
vember 12,  1888,  and  Mildred  M.,  born 
May  31,  1894. 


c 


A.  KELLOGG,  a  prosperous  re- 
tired farmer  of  Woodville  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  was  born 
in  Wood  county,  Ohio,  April  30, 
1845,  son  of  Elijah  and  Mary  W.  (Ballard) 
Kellogg,  and  grandson  of  itlijah  Kellogg, 
Sr.  The  latter  was  a  native  of  the  Green 
Mountain  State,  and  at  the  early  age  of 
eight  years  migrated  to  Canada  with  his 
parents,  who  settled  there  upon  a  new 
piece  of  land.  The  boy  grew  up  in  Can- 
ada, and  married  Lavinia  Hall,  who  died 
October  i,  1819.  For  his  second  wife 
Elijah  Kellogg,  Sr.,  married  Maria  Wells, 
by  whom  he  had  six  children.  She  died 
in  Illinois  in  January,  1882. 

Elijah  Kellogg.  Jr.,  a  child  by  the  first 
marriage,  was  born  September  16,  1S19. 
When  a  young  man  he  came  to  Ohio, 
and  on  October  8,  1842,  in  Wood  county, 
he  married  Miss  Mar)-  ^^^  Ballard,  who 
was  born  September  3,  1819,  in  Georgia, 
Franklin  Co.,  \'t.  A  brief  sketch  of  the 
six  children  of  Elijah  and  Mary  W.  Kel- 
logg is  as  follows:  (i)  Thomas  H.,  born 
July  29,  1843,  enlisted  in  the  fall  of  1861 
in  Company  I,  Sixty-eighth  O.  V.  I.,  and 
re-enlisted  for  three  years;  while  in  the 
service  he  contracted  a  cold  at  \'icksburg, 
which  became  severe  and  developed  into 
consumption,  and  he  was  discharged  for 
disability.  He  died  at  \'icksburg,  Miss., 
October  4,  1S64,  and  his  remains  were 
brought  north  and  interred  in  Woodville 
cemetery.  (2)  C.  A.  is  the  subject  proper 
of  this  sketch.  (3)  Theresa  was  born 
October  8,  1847.  (4)  Flora  L. ,  born 
February  16,  1850,  was  married  June  21, 
1883,  to  Harry  E.  Hudson,  a  farmer  of 
Coldwater,  Iowa;  they  have  four  children: 
Burney  V.,  born  May  8,  18S3;  Oscar, 
born  December  5,  1884;  Terrence  E., 
born  December  26.  18S6,  died  August  27, 
1887,  and  Lepha  H.,  born  November  18, 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


783 


1888.  (5)  Mary  Lavina  was  born  Au- 
gust 6,  1851.  (6)  Charles  S.,  a  physi- 
cian of  large  practice  at  Austin,  111.,  born 
September  23,  1858,  was  married  Decem- 
ber 20,  1884,  to  Alice  Pauline  Riley,  who 
was  born  October  24,  1859.  They  have 
three  children,  Marie,  born  January  i, 
1886;  Erma,  born  June  6,  1890,  and 
Chester,  born  September  21,   1892. 

Our  subject,  C.  A.  Kellogg,  at  the 
age  of  seventeen  enlisted  at  Woodville  in 
Company  I,  Sixty-eighth  O.  V.  I. ;  at 
Memphis,  Tenn.,  he  was  taken  sick  with 
rheumatism  and  lay  in  the  hospital  for 
five  months,  after  which  he  was  dis- 
charged for  disability.  Mr.  Kellogg  has 
ever  since  suffered  acutely  from  the  dis- 
ease thus  contracted.  It  was  in  1 847  that 
our  subject  was  brought  to  Woodville 
township,  Sandusky  county,  by  his  fa- 
ther, Elijah  Kellogg,  who  first  purchased 
sixt}--four  acres  of  land,  later  seventy-two 
acres,  and  later  still  160  acres.  He  also 
bought  1 60  acres  of  land  located  in  Wood 
county.  In  May,  1892,  he  leased  this  land 
to  the  Standard  Oil  Company,  who  put 
down  nine  wells,  most  of  which  proved 
good  producers.  C.  A.  Kellogg  in  the  year 
1890  retired  from  active  business  life. 
He  has  leased  the  old  homestead,  for  the 
infirmities  consequent  upon  his  military 
service  have  made  it  impossible  for  him 
to  longer  attend  to  the  farm  work. 


HENRY  PARK,  a  well-known  and 
popular  pioneer  farmer  of  Wood- 
ville township,  Sandusky  county, 
was  born  in  Hanover,  Germany, 
December  15,  1823.  His  parents,  John 
and  Mary  (Westerfeldtj  Park,  were  born 
in  1788  and  1796  respectively.  Of  their 
eight  children  five  died  young.  Freder- 
ick, Henry  and  John  grew  to  maturity  and 
married.  F'rederick  was  born  in  181 5, 
and  in  Germany  married  Charlotte  Ticka- 
meyer,  by  whom  he  had  five  children,  as 
follows:  Mary,  wife  of  Charles  Brown,  of 
Toledo;  Angeline,  wife  of  George  Dietz, 


and  mother  of  five  children  (they  are 
residents  of  Michigan);  Prederick,  a 
farmer  and  painter,  of  Wood  county, 
Ohio;  Eliza,  wife  of  Henry  David,  a 
farmer  of  Wood  county  (she  is  the  mother 
of  six  children);  and  Henry,  a  Wood 
county  farmer,  who  married  Lottie  Brown, 
and  has  two  children.  John  was  born  in 
1829,  and  married  Katie  Yaunsmeyer, 
who  bore  him  two  children:  Harry,  who 
is  married  to  Lydia  Heiser,  and  has  two 
children;  and  Nellie,  wife  of  William 
Dipp,  a  miller  by  trade,  who  also  has  two 
children. 

In  1844  our  subject,  then  twenty-one 
years  of  age,  came  with  his  parents  to 
America  in  the  German  sailing  vessel 
"  Louisa,"  which  was  thirty-three  days  on 
the  water.  After  remaining  a  short  time 
in  New  York  the  family  came  to  Ohio, 
and  in  Woodville  township,  Sandusky 
county,  the  father  purchased  fifty-two 
acres  of  land,  paying  for  the  same  $400. 
Henry  remained  with  his  parents  until 
their  decease  in  1866,  and  for  his  care 
and  attention  to  them  in  their  old  age  the 
father  had  given  him  a  deed  for  the  place 
which  he  had  helped  to  clear.  On  March 
6,  1847,  Mr.  Park  married  Mary  Bor- 
cherdling,  born  December  15,  1822,  by 
whom  he  had  two  children:  Caroline, 
who  was  born  December  14,  1847,  and 
married  Henry  Ernsthouse,  by  whom  she 
had  eight  children;  and  Eliza,  who  was 
born  May  30,  1850,  and  married  Henry 
Hartman,  of  Lucas  county,  by  whom  she 
has  five  children.  The  mother  died  No- 
vember 10,  1853,  and  Mr.  Park  subse- 
quently married  Louisa  Miller,  who  was 
born  in  Hanover,  Germany,  January  6, 
1835,  and  when  two  years  old  came  with 
her  parents  to  America.  This  union  was 
blessed  with  eleven  children,  as  follows: 
John,  born  December  3,  1855,  married 
Louisa  Havercourse,  and  became  the 
father  of  six  children;  he  is  a  farmer  of 
Wood  county.  Henry,  born  November 
27,  1856,  died  March  4,  1859.  John, 
born  October  3,  1859,  is  living  at  home. 


734 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Mary  and  Sophia  (twins),  born  September 
II,  1858,  died  young.  William,  of  To- 
ledo, born  July  31,  1864,  married  Anna 
Havercourse.  Mary,  born  May  2,  1862, 
died  December  18,  1884.  Katherine, 
born  August  21,  1866,  married  Frank 
Afterheader,  of  Toledo,  and  they  have 
one  child,  Mabel.  August,  born  Decem- 
ber 3,  1868,  lives  in  Toledo.  Emma, 
born  June  10,  1871,  is  at  home.  Fred- 
erick, born  November  5,  1873,  is  also 
living  with  his  parents. 

Mr.  Fark  in  1891  leased  his  land  to 
the  Ohio  Oil  Company,  which  put  down 
five  producing  wells.  He  also  leased 
land  to  M.  Harris,  who  put  down  two 
wells.  Our  subject  is  one  of  the  pioneers 
of  the  township.  When  his  parents  first 
came  here  the  family  had  onlj'  one  ox, 
but  fortunately  a  neighbor  had  another, 
and  by  borrowing  and  lending  alternately 
each  had  a  team.  The  pioneers  were 
obliged  to  travel  eighteen  miles  to  mill. 
Wages  were  low,  and  Mr.  Fark  worked 
for  five  dollars  per  month,  and  accepted 
part  of  his  wages  in  trade  at  the  store. 
He  has  been  honored  with  various  local 
offices  during  the  past  thirty  years.  He 
contributes  liberally  to  the  Lutheran 
Church,  and  is  one  of  the  most  substan- 
tial and  prosperous  citizens  of  the  town- 
ship. 


JAMES  WASHINGTON  LONG  (de- 
ceased) ranked  among  the  leading 
and  valued  citizens  of  Ottawa  coun- 
county.  He  was  born  in  Pickaway 
ty,  Ohio,  August  22,  1824,  and  died 
at  his  home  three  miles  from  Elmore, 
May  22,  1890,  respected  by  all  who  knew 
him.  He  was  a  son  of  Ma.xwell  and 
Elizabeth  (Reynolds)  Long,  the  former  of 
whom  was  born  about  1797,  and  became 
one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  the  Buck- 
eye State. 

Amid  the  wild  scenes  of  frontier  life 
James  Long  was  reared,  and  after  arriv- 
ing at  manhood's  estate  he  married   So- 


phronia  Thompson,  of  Harris  township, 
Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio.  To  this  union  came 
four  children — Philander,  who  was  born 
April  4,  1845;  Diana  Elizabeth,  born 
January   5,    1847;   Ma.xwell,    born   March 

19,  1849;  and  Harvey,  born  March  3, 
1850.  Of  these  two  are  deceased — -Max- 
well, who  died  April  19,  1849,  and  Har- 
vey, who  passed  away  March  12,  18S9. 
The  mother  of  this  family  died  November 

20,  1851.  On  April  12,  1854,  Mr.  Long 
was  again  married,  his  second  union  being 
with  Mary  Wainwright,  of  Harris  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county.  They  became  the 
parents  of  nine  children — Ellen  H.,  born 
February  16,  1855;  Napoleon,  born  Sep- 
tember 6,  1857,  died  April  15,  1877; 
Cora  M.,  born  May  19,  1859;  Frank  E., 
born  February  28,  i860,  died  Nfay  22, 
1880;  Dora  E.,  born  May  28,  1862,  died 
January  17,  1889;  Thaddeus  J.,  born 
June  18,  1866;  Lulu  M.,  born  June 
19,  1869,  died  November  4,  1889;  Ed- 
gar, born  January  21,  1872,  died  on 
the  1 6th  of  May  following;  and  one  who 
died  in  infancy  in  1874. 

James  W.  Long  came  to  Ottawa  coun- 
ty when  it  was  almost  an  unbroken  wilder- 
ness and  settling  in  the  midst  of  the 
forest  cleared  and  developed  a  farm  three 
miles  from  the  village  of  Elmore,  making 
for  himself  and  family  a  pleasant  home 
on  the  south  bank  of  the  Portage  river. 
From  the  days  of  his  earliest  residence 
here  he  was  prominently  identified  with 
the  development  and  progress  of  this 
region.  He  had  charge  of  the  erection 
of  the  bridge  over  the  Portage  river  at 
Elmore,  and  was  for  two  terms  a  trustee 
of  Harris  township,  while  for  several 
terms  he  served  in  the  position  of  justice 
of  the  peace.  As  county  commissioner 
of  Ottawa  county  he  was  for  some  years 
prominently  identified  with  the  work  of 
public  improvement,  and  was  always  in- 
terested in  everything  pertaining  to  the 
general  welfare.  Various  business  enter- 
prises occupied  his  time  and  attention. 
In  his  earlier  years  he  was  engaged  in  the 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


735 


manufacture  of  staves  in  connection  with 
a  firm  in  Cleveland.  He  was  also  em- 
ploj'ed  as  overseer  of  a  gang  of  men  on 
the  construction  of  the  Lake  Shore  rail- 
road through  northern  Ohio,  but  he  de- 
voted the  best  ten  or  fifteen  years  of  his 
life  to  agricultural  pursuits,  carrying  on 
that  business  with  the  same  progressive- 
ness  and  enterprise  that  characterized  all 
his  dealings.  His  life  was  ever  a  busy  and 
useful  one.  indolence  and  idleness  being 
utterly  foreign  to  his  nature.  His  politi- 
cal support  in  his  younger  years  was  given 
to  the  NN'hig  party,  but  he  afterward  join- 
ed the  ranks  of  the  Democrats.  He  was 
a  fluent  speaker,  fond  of  debate  and  could 
hold  his  own  in  argument  against  many 
able  speakers.  He  had  a  clear,  compre- 
hensive mind,  and  could  present  his  side 
of  the  question  with  force,  at  the  same 
time  never  losing  sight  of  the  most 
assailable  places  in  an  opponent's  argu- 
ment. He  was  laid  to  rest  in  the  Guss 
Cemeter}',  near  Elmore,  and  the  commu- 
nity mourned  the  loss  of  one  who  had 
been  an  important  factor  in  Ottawa  coun- 
t}'s  history. 

Mks.  Diana  E.  Binklev.  the  daughter 
of  James  W.  and  Sophronia  (Thompson) 
Long,  was  born  January  5,  1847,  and 
completed  her  education  at  St.  Johns, 
Mich.,  after  which  she  was  for  several 
years  successfulh'  engaged  in  teaching. 
On  October  7,  1869,  she  became  the 
wife  of  Amos  Binkley,  of  Fremont,  Ohio, 
who  was  born  June  30,  1847,  in  that  city, 
and  there  obtained  his  education.  His 
father,  Samuel  Binkley,  was  born  in  Oc- 
tober, 1822,  and  married  Christiana  Al- 
bert, who  was  born  September  i,  1823, 
and  died  April  10,  1869.  His  paternal 
grandparents  were  John  and  Mary  (Fisher) 
Binkley,  the  latter  born  in  Northumber- 
land county,  Penn.,  October  15,  1802. 
Their  marriage  was  celebrated  in  1S19, 
and  they  became  the  parents  of  fourteen 
children,  six  sons  and  eight  daughters, 
nine  of  whom  were  living  at  the  time  of 
the  mother's  death,  which  occurred  April 


25,  1895,  when  she  had  reached  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  almost  ninety-three  years. 
She  left  ninety-eight  grandchildren,  two 
hundred  aud  thirty  great-grandchildren, 
and  twenty-five  great-great-grandchildren, 
making  a  total  of  three  hundred  and  fifty- 
three  descendants  living,  probably  more 
than  any  other  woman  in  the  county. 
She  was  buried  in  Muskallonge  Cemetery, 
near  her  father  and  mother,  while  her 
husband  was  buried  in  Allen  county, 
where  he  died. 

Shortly  after  their  marriage  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Binkley  removed  to  Benton  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county,  where  thej'  lived  for 
twelve  jears.  The  succeeding  eight  years 
were  passed  at  Rocky  Ridge,  and  they 
then  returned  to  her  father's  old  farm, 
where  they  now  live.  They  have  four 
children — Althie  May,  born  July  26, 
1870,  who  was  married  May  18,  1888,  to 
Gilbert  Gee,  of  Rocky  Ridge,  by  whom 
she  has  two  children,  Diana  and  Lula; 
Alma  Maud,  born  August  28,  1874,  who 
died  in  infancy;  Leno  a  Louisa,  born 
March  4,  1876,  who  was  married  April  18, 
1894,  to  Oscar  Hess,  and  has  one  child, 
Willella;  and  Willella  Zula,  born  June  2, 
1883.  The  family  is  one  of  prominence 
in  the  community,  being  both  widely  and 
favorably  known. 


AMOS  FOUGHT  is  a  prominent 
merchant  and  grain  buyer  of  Oak 
Harbor,  Ottawa  county,  one  of 
the  early  settlers  of  the  com- 
munity, and  one  of  the  successful  business 
men,  who  by  his  energy  and  enterprise 
has  added  largely  to  the  prosperity  of  the 
city  with  which  he  is  connected. 

He  was  born  in  Perry  county,  Ohio, 
June  26,  1839,  and  is  a  son  of  Paul  and 
Mary  (Hedrick)  Fought,  who  were  early 
settlers  of  Sandusky  county,  locating  there 
about  1844.  The  father  is  now  living  a 
retired  life  in  Lindsey,  where  the  mother 
passed  away  in  1864.  Ten  children  were 
born  to  them,  seven  of   whom  are  living, 


736 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


namely:  Amos,  of  this  sketch;  Eli,  a 
prominent  farmer  of  Washington  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county;  Eliza,  wife  of 
Allen  Anspach,  a  leading  manufacturer  of 
Oak  Harbor;  Jeremiah;  Sarah,  wife  of 
Jacob  Cunningham;  Mary,  wife  of  Amos 
Notestein;  Lucy,  wife  of  Joseph  Blocher; 
and  Alice,  wife  of  Joseph  Brennamen, 
postmaster  of  Lindsej'.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  those  whose  business  is  definitely 
mentioned,  all  are  successful  agriculturists 
of  Washington  township,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, as  was  also  Israel,  who  is  deceased. 
After  the  death  of  his  first  wife,  Paul 
Fought  was  twice  married,  and  by  the 
second  union  were  three  children — John 
Wesley  and  Otto,  prosperous  fanners  of 
Washington  township;  and  Ella,  who  re- 
sides with  her  father. 

When  Amos  Fought  was  only  four 
years  of  age  he  removed  with  his  parents 
to  what  was  then  called  the  "Black 
Swamp,"  in  Sandusky  county.  There  he 
resided  until  twenty-three  years  of  age, 
acquiring  his  education  in  the  old  log 
schoolhouse  of  the  district,  and  afterward 
working  upon  the  homestead  farm.  In 
1862  he  began  farming  on  his  own  account 
in  that  county,  and  in  1866  came  to  Oak 
Harbor,  where  he  has  made  his  home 
continuously  since,  being  extensively  and 
successfully  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits 
and  in  grain  buying. 

Mr.  Fought  was  married  in  Fremont, 
Ohio,  on  March  26,  1863,  to  Miss  Eliza 
Auter,  who  was  born  April  13,  1840;  her 
parents,  Christian  and  Mary  (Sieden- 
thalerj  Auter,  were  also  early  settlers  of 
Sandusky  county,  having  located  there  in 
1S36.  This  marriage  has  been  blessed 
with  fi\e  children,  namely:  Cora,  born 
November  18,  1865,  who  is  now  the  wife 
of  George  Deal,  a  resident  of  Oak  Har- 
bor; John  O.,  who  was  born  November 
17,  1S69,  and  is  living  in  Oak  Harbor; 
Chester  L. ,  -who  was  born  December  13, 
1 87 1,  and  is  now  attending  Western  Re- 
serve Medical  College,  Cleveland,  Ohio; 
Rozelia  E.,  born  November  5,  1876;  and 


Edna  Gertrude,  born  March  22,  1880. 
The  famil3-  attend  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church.  Mr.  Fought  has  filled  the 
offices  of  clerk  and  trustee  of  Salem  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county,  has  been  treasurer 
of  Oak  Harbor,  and  is  now  serving  as  a 
member  of  the  council  and  clerk  of  the 
school  board.  He  is  master  of  Oak  Har- 
bor Lodge  No  495,  F.  &  A.  M.,  at  pres- 
ent filling  that  honorable  position  for  the 
third  term.  His  political  affiliations  are 
with  the  Democratic  party.  Our  subject 
is  much  respected  in  the  community  for 
his  moral  worth,  while  his  name  is  asso- 
ciated with  all  enterprises  undertaken  for 
the  advancement  of  the  county's  interest. 
He  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  popular 
and  valued  citizens  of  Ottawa  count}',  and 
is  a  solid,  progressive  business  man, 
whose  character  is  above  reproach,  and 
whose  success  in  life  is  the  reward  of  his 
own  efforts. 


PATRICK  C.  CULLENEN,  a  re- 
tired farmer  of  Oak  Harbor,  Ot- 
tawa county,  was  born  July  3, 
1817,  on  board  his  father's  ship, 
the  "Titus,"  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  within 
twelve  miles  of  the  coast  of  Portugal, 
and  is  a  son  of  Capt.  John  and  Marj- 
(Connors)  Cullenen,  both  of  whom  were 
natives  of  County  Clare,  Ireland.  The 
father  was  a  sea  captain  during  the  greater 
part  of  his  life,  and  died  at  the  home  of 
his  mother,  in  the  county  of  his  nativity, 
from  injuries  received  onboard  his  vessel, 
while  making  a  voyage  from  the  East 
Indies  to  London,  England.  His  wife 
also  died  in  County  Clare. 

After  the  death  of  his  father  Patrick 
Cullenen,  then  but  two  years  old,  was 
adopted  by  his  grandparents,  and  he  re- 
mained with  them  until  eleven  years  of 
age,  at  which  time  he  went  to  sea  with 
his  uncle  James,  and  the  following  five 
years  remained  on  board  ship  with  him. 
In  1832  they  arrived  in  Montreal,  where 
his  uncle  sold  his  ship.     Our  subject,  con- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


737 


eluding  to  remain  on  shore,  for  the  fol- 
lowing three  years  continued  to  reside  in 
the  Province  of  Quebec,  where  he  was 
employed  at  farm  labor  and  teaming.  In 
September,  1836,  he  removed  to  Buffalo, 
and  was  engaged  on  board  the  steamer 
"Saratoga,"  then  running  on  Lake  Erie, 
being  thus  employed  some  three  years. 
At  the  expiration  of  this  time  he  went  to 
Sandusky,  Ohio,  where  he  resided  until 
1854,  conducting  a  butchering  business. 
On  November  19,  1854,  he  removed  to 
Ottawa  county,  locating  in  Salem  town- 
ship, where  he  engaged  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  lumber  and  staves.  Subsequently 
he  turned  his  attention  to  farming,  which 
was  his  business  until  his  retirement  to 
private  life.  On  August  7,  1864,  he  pur- 
chased the  first  vessel  ever  owned  by  an 
Oak  Harbor  resident,  and  the  first  of  any 
size  to  enter  the  harbor.  This  vessel  he 
ran  some  fourteen  years,  at  the  same  time 
conducting  his  farm.  In  November,  1861, 
he  came  to  Oak  Harbor,  where  he  has 
since  made  his  home.  He  has  led  a  busy 
and  useful  life,  and  now,  in  his  declining 
days,  is  enjoying  the  rest  which  he  has 
truly  earned  and  fully  deserves. 

Mr.  Cullenen  has  been  twice  married, 
first  time  on  October  20,  1847,  in  the 
town  of  Peterborough,  Ontario,  to  Eliza- 
beth Metcalf,  a  native  of  the  city  of  Lon- 
don. They  became  the  parents  of  children, 
as  follows:  John,  the  eldest,  was  born 
in  1848,  died  at  Lexington,  Ky.,  January 
II,  1863,  from  typhoid  pneumonia,  con- 
tracted while  acting  as  nurse  in  a  hospital 
during  his  service  in  Company  G,  one 
Hundredth  O.  V.  I.,  in  which  he  enlisted 
August  7,  1862;  his  remains  were  interred 
in  a  cemetery  at  Lexington.  Eliza  is  the 
wife  of  Alex  Gillespie,  a  resident  of  Car- 
roll township,  Ottawa  county.  Mary  Ann 
became  the  wife  of  James  Herold.  Will- 
iam is  now  living  in  Carroll  township. 
Margaret  is  deceased.  James  is  living  in 
Oak  Harbor.  Two  died  in  infancy.  The 
mother  of  this  family  was  called  from 
earth    August    14,  1879.      Mr.  Cullenen's 


second  marriage  was  solemnized  in  Salem 
township,  Ottawa  county,  January  5, 
1 886,  with  Mrs.  Eliza  Adams,  who  was 
the  widow  of  Isaac  Adams,  of  Oak  Har- 
bor, and  was  a  most  estimable  lady.  She 
was  born  May  9,  18 16,  daughter  of  John 
and  Catherine  March,  and  died  July  6, 
1895,  at  the  age  of  about  eighty  years, 
her  remains  now  resting  in  Oak  Harbor 
cemetery. 

Mr.  Cullenen  is  a  man  of  sterling  in- 
tegrity, noted  for  his  straightforward  busi- 
ness methods,  and  is  a  highly  esteemed 
and  respected  member  of  the  community. 
His  success  in  life  demonstrates  what  can 
be  accomplished  in  this  free  land  of  ours 
through  enterprise,  energy  and  persever- 
ance, and  to-day  he  is  the  possessor  of  a 
comfortable  competence  as  the  reward  of 
his  own  labors.  He  now  resides  in  his 
Oak  Harbor  home,  purchased  for  himself 
and  wife  wherein  to  pass  their  declining 
years  in  comfort  and  peace. 


GEORGE  WOODWARD,  M.  D. 
(deceasedj,  who  at  time  of  his 
death  was  the  oldest  and  most 
widely  known  physician  not  only 
in  Ottawa  but  also  in  adjoining  counties, 
was  born  in  Logan  county,  Ohio,  May 
24,  1840,  and  was  a  son  of  Jonathan  and 
Sarah  Woodward.  The  former  was  a 
descendant  of  one  of  four  Woodward 
brothers  who  came  from  England  to 
America  in  1804.  He  was  born  in  Ches- 
ter county,  Penn.,  and  his  wife  was  born 
in  the  State  of  Delaware,  where  her 
father,  who  was  the  owner  of  the  famous 
Brandywine  Springs,  kept  hotel.  In 
their  family  were  five  children,  but  only 
one  is  now  living — Charles,  a  miller,  who 
resides  in  Lima,  Ohio. 

The  Doctor  spent  his  early  life  in  Lo- 
gan county,  and  first  attended  the  schools 
of  Bellefontaine,  after  which  he  entered 
college  at  Kenneth  Square,  Penn.,  where 
he  completed  the  classical  course.  He 
then  determined  to  take  up  the   study  of 


738 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


medicine,  making  its  practice  his  life  work, 
and  entered  the  Ohio  Medical  College, 
Cincinnati,  from  which  institution  he  was 
graduated  with  the  class  of  1870.  Im- 
mediately thereafter  he  began  practice, 
locating  in  Castalia,  Ohio,  where  he  re- 
mained for  more  than  a  year.  In  1872 
he  removed  to  Oak  Harbor,  where  he 
successfully  continued  the  practice  of  his 
profession  until  within  a  short  time  of  his 
death.  He  was  a  skilled  physician,  and 
the  liberal  patronage  which  he  received 
was  proof  positive  of  his  abilitv. 

The  Doctor  was  married  in  Auglaize 
county,  Ohio,  September  30,  1863,  to 
Samantha  Pepple,  a  native  of  that  county, 
who  was  born  in  May,  1S44,  daughter  of 
Maurice  K.  and  Sarah  (Richards)  Pepple. 
The\-  became  the  parents  of  five  children 
—  Sarah  R. ,  who  was  born  July  13,  1864, 
and  is  the  wife  of  Elmore  E.  Gill,  a  resi- 
dent of  Port  Clinton,  Ohio;  Charles  J., 
born  October  9,  1867,  a  prominent  stock 
farmer  of  Auglaize  county;  Horace  S. , 
who  was  born  March  27,  1871,  and  is  a 
medical  practitioner  of  Oak  Harbor; 
Olive,  born  September  7,  1874;  and 
George,  who  was  born  April  5,  1876,  and 
died  July  23,  1880.  Dr.  Woodward  be- 
longed to  the  Ohio  Medical  Association, 
and  the  Ottawa  County  Medical  Associa- 
tion, and  his  ability  was  everywhere  recog- 
nized by  the  public  and  his  professional 
brethren.  He  was  very  successful  in  his 
chosen  calling,  vv'inning  a  high  and  well 
deserved  reputation  and  building  up  an 
e.xtensive  practice,  and  he  held  the  office  of 
coroner  for  over  fifteen  years.  Sociall)" 
he  was  a  valued  member  of  the  Odd  Fel- 
lows society  at  Rocky  Ridge.  He  passed 
away  in  1893,  and  the  county  lost  one  of 
its  best  citizens,  the  profession  an  emi- 
nent member  and  his  family  a  devoted 
husband  and  father. 

Dr.  Horace  \\'oodward,  who  seems 
destined  to  occupy  the  place  which  his 
honored  father  filled,  was  born  in  Logan 
county,  Ohio,  and  when  only  a  year  old 
was  brought  by  his  parents  to  Oak  Har- 


bor, where  he  has  resided  continuously 
since.  He  received  his  elementary  edu- 
cation in  the  public  and  high  schools  of 
that  place,  and  commenced  his  profes- 
sional studies  b}'  attending  Ohio  Medical 
College,  Cincinnati,  where  he  remained 
for  two  years;  he  then  entered  the  Ken- 
tucky School  of  Medicine  at  Louisville, 
Ky.,  where  he  was  graduated  with  the 
class  of  1893.  He  is  still  among  the 
noble  army  of  Benedicts.  Since  his 
graduation  he  has  been  established  in 
business  in  Oak  Harbor,  and  his  ability, 
both  natural  and  acquired,  has  given  him 
high  rank  in  the  profession  and  will  bring 
him  still  greater  success  in  the  future. 
He  is  a  young  man  of  worth,  and  is  very 
popular  in  the  community. 


LW.  KASTRUP,  a  member  of  the 
firm  of  Jacobs,  Kastrup  &  Kirk, 
the  leading  merchants  of  Lakeside, 
Ottawa  county,  was  born  Septem- 
ber 20,  1863,  in  the  Province  of  Nalland, 
Sweden,  a  son  of  Axel  W.  and  Char- 
lotte (Buchwald)  Kastrup.  The  parents 
were  both  natives  of  Copenhagen,  Den- 
mark; the  mother  died  in  Sweden  in  1865. 
but  the  father  still  makes  his  home  in  his 
native  land,  where  he  is  a  prominent 
merchant. 

The  primary  education  of  our  subject 
was  received  in  his  home  in  Denmark  un- 
der the  instruction  of  a  private  teacher, 
and  he  also  spent  five  3ears  in  the  Soro 
Academy  at  Soro,  Denmark.  After  com- 
pleting his  education  he  served  a  three- 
years'  apprenticeship  to  the  mercantile 
business,  and  then  for  one  year  was  em- 
ployed as  a  salesman  in  the  same  estab- 
lishment, receiving  a  salar}'.  In  1884  Mr. 
Kastrup  left  his  native  land  for  the  New 
World,  and  after  reaching  New  York  pro- 
ceeded direct  to  Chicago,  where  he  resid- 
ed for  a  short  time.  On  leaving  that  city 
he  went  to  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  but  during 
the  summer  of  1884  came  to  Lakeside, 
where  for  two  vears  and  a  half  he  was  en- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


739 


gaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  with  Joab 
Kelly.  In  1886  he  removed  to  Echo, 
Minn.,  remaining  there  until  spring  of 
1889,  when  he  returned  to  Lakeside  and 
engaged  in  business  with  Bernard  Jacobs, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Jacobs  &  Kastrup. 
They  carried  on  operations  under  that 
style  until  March  i,  1895,  when  Arthur 
E.  Kirk  was  admitted  to  parnership,  and 
they  assumed  their  present  title.  The 
firm  does  a  successful  and  lucrative  busi- 
ness, and  they  well  deserve  the  liberal  pat- 
ronage that  is  accorded  them. 

Mr.  Kastrup  has  been  twice  married, 
first  time  in  February,  1887,  at  Redwood 
Falls,  Minn.,  to  Miss  Edirh  Pettibone,  a 
daughter  of  William  and  Caroline  (Hen- 
derson) Pettibone,  the  former  of  whom  is 
now  deceased,  and  the  latter  a  resident 
of  Lakeside.  Mrs.  Kastrup  departed  this 
life  April  i,  1889,  leaving  an  infant  daugh- 
terwho  still  survives — Esther,  born  March 
24,  1889.  On  May  2,  i8gi,  at  Lakeside, 
Mr.  Kastrup  wedded  Miss  Lena  Ermich, 
a  daughter  of  Frederick  Ermich,  of  Dan- 
bury  township,  Ottawa  county,  and  by 
this  union  there  are  two  children — Mar- 
guerite, born  May  5,  1892;  and  Harold, 
born  November  5,  1893.  Socially  Mr. 
Kastrup  is  identified  with  the  Knights  of 
Pythias,  belonging  to  Peninsular  Lodge 
No.  607.  and  Lakeside  Tent  No.  81, 
Knights  of  the  Maccabees.  Politically, 
he  uses  his  right  of  franchise  in  support 
of  the  men  and  measures  of  the  Republi- 
can party,  while  religiously  the  family  at- 
tend the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
He  and  his  wife  are  valuable  members  of 
society,  their  intelligence  and  pleasant 
and  courteous  manners  making  them  wel- 
come guests  wherever  they  visit. 


WILLIAM    W.    RYMERS,    a    re- 
tired merchant  and  banker,  who 
is  one  of  the  early  pioneers  of 
Harris  township,  Ottawa  county, 
as  well  as  one  of  the  most  highly  esteemed 
and  prominent  citizens  of  Elmore,  is  a 


son  of  Frederick  and  Catherine  "William- 
son; Rymers.  He  was  born  in  Mt.  Pleas- 
ant, Westmoreland  Co.,  Penn.,  Septem- 
ber 10,  1S28,  and  when  a  child  of  four 
years  was  brought  by  his  parents  to  Stark 
county,  Ohio,  where  he  attended  the  dis- 
trict schools  until  sixteen  years  of  age. 
He  then  pursued  his  studies  in  the  public 
and  high  schools  of  Randolph,  Portage  Co. , 
Ohio,  and  on  completing  his  education 
learned  the  trade  of  plasterer  and  brick 
layer,  teaching  school  during  the  winter 
months.  Later  he  engaged  in  stock  rais- 
ing and  farming  in  Erie  township,  Ottawa 
county. 

On  September  16.  1861,  Mr.  Rymers 
enlisted  in  the  Forty-first  O.  \.  I.,  was 
subsequently  elected  first  lieutenant  of 
Company  I,  and  was  promoted  to  the  rank 
of  captain  March  i,  1862.  During  that 
year  he  was  stricken  with  typhoid  fever, 
and  in  consequence  was  honorably  dis- 
charged and  conveyed  to  Port  Clinton, 
Ohio,  where  his  wife  had  removed  during 
his  absence.  Under  her  tender  and  care- 
ful nursing  he  was  at  length  restored  to 
health,  and  on  becoming  convalescent  re- 
turned to  his  farm,  which  he  sold  the  fol- 
lowing year,  removing  to  Elmore,  where 
he  engaged  in  the  hardware  business. 
In  the  fail  of  1864  he  was  appointed  lieu- 
tenant-colonel of  the  One  Hundred  and 
Seventy-seventh  O.  V.  I.,  but  owing  to  his 
pressing  business  duties  was  unable  to 
accept.  Selling  out  in  1871,  he  took  up 
his  residence  in  Le  Mars,  Iowa,  where 
for  five  years  he  was  engaged  in  the  real- 
estate  and  banking  business.  In  1876  he 
returned  to  Elmore,  and  purchasing  his 
former  store  continued  to  conduct  it  until 
1882,  when  he  once  more  sold  out,  and 
has  since  practically  lived  a  retired  life. 

Mr.  Rymers  was  married  in  Randolph, 
Portage  Co,  Ohio,  October  22,  1851,  to 
Isabel  Essig,  daughter  of  John  and  Esther 
(Spangler)  Essig.  She  was  born  in  Stark 
county,  Ohio,  June  12,  1830,  and  died 
in  Elmore,  February  18,  1895.  To  their 
happy    union     came    three    daughters — 


740 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Melissa,  born  September  2,  1852,  who  is 
the  wife  of  E.  Seifried;  Clara,  born  De- 
cember II,  1854,  who  died  November  2, 
1872;  and  Alice,  born  October  22,  1856, 
who  died  September  11,  1857.  Socially 
Mr.  Rymers  is  a  member  of  Elmore 
Lodge  No.  462,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  a  char- 
ter member  of  the  Encampment;  he  was 
formerly  a  member  of  Portage  Lodge 
No.  365,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  he  belongs  to 
Robert  H.  Caldwell  Post  No.  439,  G.  A.  R. 
Previous  to  the  war  he  afifiliated  with  the 
Democratic  party,  but  since  that  time  he 
has  been  a  strong  Republican.  For  many 
years  he  has  been  a  consistent  and  faith- 
ful member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  He  is  a  man  of  fine,  as  well  as 
forcible  intellectual  qualities,  an  extensive 
reader  and  deep  thinker,  of  a  remarkably 
practical  cast  of  mind,  and  yet  possessing 
a  temperament  quick  to  notice  the  beau- 
tics  in  his  suroundings.  Of  conser\ative 
but  firm  judgment,  he  is  perfectly  reliable 
in  all  transactions,  and  is  an  able  business 
man.  He  is  eminently  public  spirited  and 
takes  an  active  interest  in  all  enterprises 
for  the  benefit  of  his  community.  In 
manner  he  is  social  and  friendly,  and 
possesses  qualities  that  readily  win  ad- 
miration and  respect  from  his  political 
compeers,  as  well  as  from  private  com- 
panions and  acquaintances. 

Mr.  Rymers' parents  were  both  natives 
of  Chambersburg,  Penn.,  the  father  born 
May  24,  1790,  and  the  mother  October 
12,  1790.  They  were  married  in  the 
Keystone  State,  and  in  1832  removed  to 
Stark  county,  Ohio,  where  Frederick  Ry- 
mers engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  for 
four  years,  removing  thence  in  1836  to 
Randolph,  Portage  county.  After  about 
four  years'  residence  there  he  came  to 
Ottawa  county,  in  1S41,  locating  in  Erie 
township,  where  his  death  occurred  in 
August,  1 844,  while  his  wife  survived  until 
September,  1864.  Their  family  num- 
.  bered  eleven  children,  a  brief  record  of 
whom  is  as  follows:  Rebecca,  born  Sep- 
tember   14,     18 13,    became    the    wife  of 


William  A.  Essig,  of  Harris  township, 
Ottawa  county,  and  died  September  19, 
1893.  Henry,  born  October  15,  181 5, 
died  in  1834.  Harriet,  born  January  12, 
1 81 7,  became  the  wife  of  Taylor  Britten, 
and  died  in  1838.  Susan,  born  Septem- 
ber 18,  1818,  is  the  widow  of  Michael 
Baker,  and  resides  in  Wood  county,  Ohio. 
Ann,  born  December  15,  1820,  is  the 
wife  of  Adam  Moos,  of  Rootstown,  Port- 
age county.  Frederick,  born  December 
6,  1822,  is  a  farmer  of  Erie  township, 
Ottawa  county.  Eunice,  born  May  22, 
1825,  is  the  wife  of  R.  T.  Kirk,  who  is 
living  near  Port  Clinton.  William  W.  is 
the  next  in  order  of  birth.  John  T., 
born  November  10,  1830,  is  living  in  La- 
carne,  Ottawa  county.  Margaret  was 
born  January  25,  1834.  Henry  W., 
born  December  22,  1839,  resides  near 
Elmore. 


FRANCIS  RUTER,  one  of  the  old- 
est pioneers,  and  also  one  of  the 
most  prominent  and  prosperous 
agriculturists  of  Allen  township, 
Ottawa  county,  was  born  at  Rordcn,  Ger- 
many, June  28,  1828,  and  was  a  son  of 
William  C.  Ruter,  a  native  of  the  same 
city. 

Our  subject  was  educated  in  the  excel- 
lent public  schools  of  his  birthplace,  and 
learned  the  trade  of  a  miller  with  his  fa- 
ther, who  at  that  time  owned  and  operated 
several  mills  in  Rorden.  Here  he  lived 
until  eighteen  years  of  age,  when  he  start- 
ed out  for  himself,  going  to  Bremen,  where 
he  found  employment  at  his  trade,  and 
there  remained  for  ten  years.  In  Ger- 
many, he  was  married  in  June,  1855,  to 
MaryE. ,  daughter  of  Frederick  and  Mar- 
cie  (Bunte)  Sheperman,  of  Hanover,  Ger- 
many, and  a  few  months  afterward  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Ruter  came  to  the  United  States, 
locating  in  Woodville,  Sandusky  Co., 
Ohio,  where  for  several  years  he  operated 
a  gristmill  for  Mr.  John  Elican.  By  the 
expiration  of  this  time  he  had  saved  enough 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


741 


money  to  purchase  a  tract  of  woodland 
in  Clay  (now  Allen)  township.  Here  he 
began  life  in  earnest.  Clearing  a  little 
spot  in  the  wilderness,  he  built  a  log  cabin, 
to  which  he  brought  his  family,  and  with 
the  help  of  his  brave  wife  toiled  day 
and  night  for  years  to  bring  the  land 
under  cultivation,  and  make  it  what  it  now 
is,  one  of  the  best  and  most  highly  improv- 
ed farms  in  the  township.  In  the  mean- 
time Mr.  Ruter  had  quite  an  unfortunate 
experience;  about  nine  months  after  he 
had  settled  in  his  cabin  home,  which  was 
during  the  Civil  war,  he  was  drafted  into 
the  army  and  assigned  to  the  Thirty-sec- 
ond Ohio  Infantry,  in  which  he  served 
nine  months.  When  peace  was  declared 
he  returned  home  quite  ill,  suffering  from 
an  old  trouble  contracted  in  Germany, 
only  to  find  his  wife  and  children  had  left 
the  cabin  and  gone  to  the  home  of  his  wife's 
father  in  Ottawa  county,  as  •^hey  were 
unable  to  endure  the  loneliness  cf  the  iso- 
lated life  in  the  woods.  Here,  under  the 
loving  care  of  his  wife,  Mr.  Ruter  recover- 
ed his  health,  and  then  returning  to  his 
farm  again  took  up  the  daily  toil  by  which 
alone  the  tiller  of  the  soil  can  accomplish 
the  end  desired.  As  his  means  increased 
he  put  necessary  improvements  on  the 
place,  building  a  comfortable  dwelling, 
barns,  etc.,  and  making  a  comfortable 
and  pleasant  home,  in  which  he  is  passing 
his  later  years  in  the  consciousness  of  a 
life  well-spent. 

To  our  subject  and  his  good  wife  nine 
children  were  born,  five  of  whom  are  now 
living,  and  a  brief  record  of  them  is  as 
follows:  Livesia  was  born  June  22,  1858, 
at  Woodville,  Sandusky  county,  and  be- 
came the  wife  of  John  Labue,  a  tinner, 
in  Toledo;  she  has  three  children — Cora, 
born  in  1882;  Jessie,  born  in  1S86;  and 
Walter.  Marj,  born  December  25,  1861, 
in  Woodville,  Sandusky  county,  was  mar- 
ried in  1 88 1  to  John  Klett,  a  farmer  of 
Allen  township,  Ottawa  county;  her  chil- 
dren were  born  as  follows:  William,  No- 
vember   19,  1882;    Frances,  October   16, 


1884;  Clara,  November  7,  1887;  Bertia, 
March  8,  iSSg';  and  Frederick,  November 
24,  1893.  John  was  born  June  22,  1863, 
in  Alien  township,  and  was  married  April 
20,  1889,  to  Calamina  Martin;  they  have 
three  children — Annie,  born  April  25, 
1890;  Cora,  born  May  27,  1892;  and 
Otto,  born  November  11,  1894.  John 
Ruter  lives  on  the  homestead  with  his 
parents.  Sophia  Ruter  was  born  in  Allen 
township  June  4.  1867,  and  married  Gus- 
tav  Shoschin,  a  farmer  of  that  township; 
they  have  four  children — William,  Eddie, 
Otto  and  Frances.  William  Ruter  was 
born  May  6,  1872,  and  was  educated  in 
the  district  schools  of  Allen  township;  he 
is  unmarried  and  resides  with  his  parents. 
Of  the  children  who  are  deceased  Lydia, 
born  in  July,  1856,  was  married  to  Spen- 
cer Stewart,  of  Toledo,  and  became  the 
mother  of  four  children;  she  died  in  1888 
in  Toledo.  Mena,  born  June  5,  1865, 
died  in  1872.  Frederick,  born  in  May, 
1869,  died  in  1873.  Henry  died  in  in- 
fancy. Frederick  Sheperman,  the  father 
of  Mrs.  Francis  Ruter,  was  born  in  Han- 
over, Germany,  where  he  was  educated 
and  married.  In  1856  he  emigrated  with 
his  family  to  this  country,  and  settled  in 
Ottawa  county,  where  he  farmed  for  a 
number  of  years.  His  family  consisted 
of  the  following  named  children:  Mary, 
the  wife  of  our  subject;  Gerald,  who  died 
May  29, 1 892 ;  Lucia,  widow  of  Christopher 
Molkinburg,  of  Sandusky  county;  Ange- 
lina, wife  of  William  Schlaren,  of  Toledo; 
and  Henry,  who  is  married  and  resides 
in  Toledo.  Peter  Martin,  the  father  of 
Mrs.  John  Ruter,  was  born  in  Denmark, 
where  he  was  married  to  Calamina  Peter- 
son. In  1888  he  came  with  his  family  to 
this  country,  settling  in  Ottawa  county, 
this  State,  where  he  still  resides  and  car- 
ries on  farming.  The  names  of  his  chil- 
dren are  Christopher  (married),  Cala- 
mina (wife  of  John  Ruter;,  Morris,  Peter, 
Nora,  Annie,  Selina,  Ida  and  Annie. 

Mr.  Ruter  is  a  man  of  energy,  and  still 
actively  interested  in  all  projects  for  the 


742 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


welfare  and  improvement  of  the  commun- 
ity of  which  he  has  so  long  been  an  hon- 
ored member.  He  is  a  stanch  Democrat 
and  every  ready  to  work  for  the  good  of 
his  party.  He  and  his  family  are  faithful 
attendants  of  the  Lutheran  Church  at 
Genoa,  Clay  township. 


IRA  STERNS,  business  manager  at 
Wiliiston,  Ottawa  county,  for  the 
Dewey  Stave  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, of  Toledo,  was  born  in  Carle- 
ton  county,  near  the  city  of  Ottawa,  the 
capital  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada.  His 
parents  were  Ira  and  Mar}'  (Brown) 
Sterns,  the  former  of  whom  was  born  at 
the  same  place  as  his  son,  of  Scotch  de- 
scent, while  the  mother  was  a  native  of 
Scotland. 

To  this  worthy  couple  nine  children 
were  born,  of  whom  seven  are  now  liv- 
ing, as  follows:  William,  a  farmer,  who 
is  married  and  lives  on  the  old  home- 
stead; Margaret,  widow  of  William  Cold- 
rey,  living  in  Canada;  Laura,  wife  of 
Samuel  Nickelson,  a  blacksmith,  in  Ot- 
tawa, Canada;  Ellen,  wife  of  Ale.xander 
Kane,  a  farmer;  Ira,  oursubject;  Jennie, 
wife  of  Thomas  Anderson,  a  carriage 
builder,  at  Ottawa,  Canada;  and  David 
C,  a  farmer,  living  in  North  Dakota. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born 
January  ii,  1850,  and  attended  the 
schools  of  his  native  place,  obtaining  a 
good  education.  He  left  school  when 
sixteen  years  of  age  and  spent  three 
years  in  the  employ  of  his  brother-in-law, 
Samuel  Nickelson,  learning  the  black- 
smith trade.  At  the  expiration  of  this 
time,  in  1869,  he  came  to  Ohio,  and  en- 
tered the  employ  of  John  Welles,  manu- 
facturer, at  Martin.  Clay  township, 
Ottawa  county.  After  spending  several 
years  there  he  worked  for  C.  H.  Sawyer, 
lime  manufacturer  at  Clay  Center,  for 
some  years.  Subsequently  he  was  en- 
gaged by  the  company  for  whom  he  is 
now  manager  at  W'illiston  as  a  mechani- 


cal engineer,  having  charge  of  the  ma- 
chinery and  engines  of  the  factory  for 
fifteen  years.  His  long  and  faithful  serv- 
ices were  rewarded  when,  in  1891,  he 
was  promoted  to  the  responsible  position 
of  business  manager,  the  duties  of  which 
he  has  filled  with  honor  to  himself  and 
satisfaction  to  his  employers,  and  he  has 
also  succeeded  in  gaining  the  good  will 
and  esteem  of  those  under  him. 

Mr.  Sterns  was  married  in  Toledo, 
October  24,  1871,  to  Miss  Maria  Peart, 
of  Stark  county,  this  State,  and  six 
children  have  blessed  their  union,  viz. : 
Frederick,  born  October  5,  1872,  was 
educated  in  the  schools  of  Wiliiston  and 
is  an  engineer,  operating  the  engines  and 
machinery  in  the  factory  of  which  his 
father  is  the  manager;  Annie,  born  March 
18,1874,  was  married  to  Jacob  Hartman, 
a  carpenter  and  joiner,  who  is  at  present 
emploj'ed  in  the  factor}';  Nellie,  born 
August  18,  1877,  is  at  home;  Laura,  born 
June  2,  1885,  is  attending  school  in  Wili- 
iston; Harley,  born  November  5,  1880, 
died  March  17,  1881;  and  Ray,  born 
November  6,  1890,  died  June  2,  1891. 

Mrs.  Maria  (Peart)  Sterns,  the  wife 
of  our  subject,  was  born  October  25, 
1849,  daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Mary 
(Streets)  Peart.  Her  father  was  a  native 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  when  a  young  man 
came  to  Stark  county,  Ohio,  where  he 
was  married.  He  was  a  contractor  and 
builder,  and  was  for  a  time  located  at 
Martin,  Ottawa  county,  where  he  built  a 
number  of  houses,  removing  thence  to 
Clay  Center,  where  he  died  June  6,  1886. 
His  wife  is  sti^  living,  and  makes  her 
home  with  her  son  at  Clay  Center.  Eight 
children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Peart,  in  Stark  county,  as  follows:  Man- 
ford,  who  is  married  and  lives  in  Toledo; 
Sylvester,  who  is  the  manager  of  Mr. 
Pearce's  lime  factory  at  Clay  Center; 
Jones,  who  is  married  and  is  employed  in 
Bailey's  mill,  Wiliiston;  Charles  Jerome, 
who  is  married  and  works  in  Dewey's  mill, 
Wiliiston;  Annie,    Mrs.    Edwin   Watson, 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


743 


who  died  in  February,  1875,  leaving  two 
children;  Clark,  who  is  married  and  works 
in  the  lime  kilns;  Leroy,  who  is  married 
and  works  in  the  mills  at  Williston;  and 
Mary,  wife  of  our  subject.  Mr.  Ira 
Sterns  has  held  the  office  of  constable 
for  the  township  of  Allen  for  the  past  five 
years,  and  was  recently  re-elected  for  an- 
other term.  Socially,  he  is  a  member  of 
Genoa  Lodge,  No.  5B4,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and 
in  his  political  views  is  a  Republican.  The 
family  attend  the  services  of  the  Meth- 
odist Church.  They  are  held  in  high 
esteem  in  the  community. 


JOHN  LUTZ  (deceased)  was  one  of 
the  pioneer  settlers  of  Middle  Bass 
Island,  Ottawa  county,  and  a  prom- 
inent and  progressive  citizen,  taking 
an  active  part  in  such  matters  as  would 
promote  the  advancement  of  the  interests 
of  his  community.  He  was  a  son  of 
Christopher  and  Margaret  (Snyder)  Lutz, 
and  was  born  August  15,  1827,  near  Can- 
ton, Ohio,  where  he  was  educated  and 
reared  to  manhood. 

In  1851,  when  it  was  still  in  its  wild 
and  uncultivated  state,  John  Lutz  settled 
on  Middle  Bass  Island,  where  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  he  followed  fishing  and  farm- 
ing for  a  livelihood,  and  in  later  years  de- 
voted his  attention  more  particularly  to 
the  culture  of  grapes,  his  extensive  vine- 
yards bespeaking  good  judgment  and  in- 
dustry on  his  part.  On  July  3,  i860, 
John  Lutz  was  united  in  marriage,  at 
Sandusky,  Erie  county,  with  Victoria 
Delauria,  daughter  of  Charles  and  Flor- 
ence (Lisperans)  Delauria,  and  seven 
children  have  graced  this  union,  viz. : 
Albert,  born  February  24,  1862,  Julia 
A.,  born  November  7,  1863;  Charles  B., 
born  May  18,  1866;  Miles  B.,  born  Feb- 
ruary 27,  1870;  Arthur  J.,  born  August 
15,  1873;  Sarah  M.,  born  November  12, 
1877;  and  Frank  F.,  born  December  14, 
1879. 

Mr.  Lutz  was  a  perfect  type  of  man- 
47 


hood,  possessing  unusual  physical  powers 
and  endurance,  and  being  endowed  with 
mental  vigor  no  less  remarkable.  Often 
he  went  beyond  the  requirements  of  the 
Golden  Rule,  and  throughout  his  well- 
spent  life  was  constautly  doing  for  others 
more  than  he  would  have  asked  others 
to  do  for  him  under  similar  circumstances. 
In  those  early  pioneer  days,  when  the 
struggle  for  existence  was  so  hard  and 
the  opportunities  for  lending  a  helping 
hand  were  so  numerous,  he  often  taxed 
his  physical  powers  to  their  utmost  in  as- 
sisting his  neighbors  and  friends,  and 
would  not  hesitate  to  give  his  last  dollar 
in  cases  of  urgent  need.  He  was  active 
and  indefatigable  in  every  good  work,  and 
contributed  his  full  share  toward  laying 
broad  and  deep  the  foundations  of  moral- 
ity and  good  society  that  have  given  Mid- 
dle Bass  its  honorable  history.  He  passed 
away,  honored  by  all  who  knew  him,  and 
to  his  life  work  and  to  the  example  of 
pioneers  such  as  John  Lutz  Middle  Bass 
Island  owes  a  lasting  debt  of  gratitude. 

Albert  Lutz,  eldest  son  of  John 
Lutz,  resides  on  Middle  Bass  Island, 
close  to  the  homestead  farm  where  he 
was  born  and  reared  to  manhood.  He  is 
one  of  the  young,  progressive  men  of  the 
Island,  and  is  extensively  engaged  in 
grape  growing.  On  December  9,  1894, 
he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Etta 
Pelton,  who  was  born  in  Syracuse,  N. 
Y. ,  daughter  of  David  and  Ann  Pel- 
ton.  In  politics  Albert  Lutz  is  a  Re- 
publican. He  is  a  man  of  broad  views, 
keen,  quick  perceptions,  sterling  integrity 
and  a  spotless  reputation,  qualities  that 
have  gained  for  him  the  confidence  and 
respect  of  all  who  know  him. 


PHINLEY  L.  CUNNINGHAM,  M. 
D. ,  of  Graytown,  Benton  township, 
Ottawa  county,  a  son   of  Andrew 
and   Jane  (Brewer)   Cunningham, 
was  born  in   Fulton    county,    Ohio,  May 
24,   1865. 


744 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


Andrew  Cunningham  was  born  Sep- 
tember lo,  1821,  in  Pennsj'lvania,  and  in 
1840,  at  Oxford,  Butler  Co.,  Ohio,  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Jane  Brewer, 
who  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  May  23, 
1824.  They  had  ten  children,  eight  of 
whom  are  now  living.  Dr.  P.  L.  Cunning- 
ham being  the  youngest  in  the  family. 
Three  of  the  sons  are  physicians,  one  an 
attorney  at  law,  one  a  locomotive  en- 
gineer on  the  Ann  Arbor  road,  one  a  con- 
ductor on  the  Lake  Shore  &  Michigan 
Southern  road,  one  a  teacher  of  twenty 
j'ears  standing,  and  one  daughter  has 
been  a  teacher  of  music  for  twenty  years. 
The  father  and  mother  now  living  in  their 
home  in  Fulton  county,  Ohio,  have  great 
reason  to  be  proud  of  the  attainments  of 
their  children,  who  are  all  self-educated, 
their  parents  having  been  unable  to  as- 
sist them  in  their  efforts  for  success. 

Dr.  P.  L.  Cunningham  spent  his  boy- 
hood days  at  Wauseon,  Fulton  Co., 
Ohio,  and  there  attended  the  public 
schools,  from  which  he  graduated  in  the 
scientific  course  in  1882.  After  graduat- 
ing he  went  at  once  to  Cleveland  to  ac- 
cept a  clerkship  in  the  firm  of  Broker  & 
Co.,  and  filled  the  position  for  si.x  months, 
engaging  for  the  remainder  of  the  year  in 
the  store  of  McLyman  &  Co.,  and  for 
three  months  was  connected  with  the 
brass  works  of  Lorain  county,  Ohio.  He 
then  went  to  Knox  county,  began  reading 
medicine  with  Dr.  Robert  Putnian,  and 
remained  with  him  for  four  years.  Mean- 
while, in  1885,  he  began  a  course  of 
medical  lectures  in  the  Western  Reserve 
University,  where  he  attended  two  years, 
and  then  spent  one  year  in  the  University 
of  Wooster,  Cleveland,  Ohio,  from  which 
he  was  graduated  in  1888  with  the  degree 
of  M.  D. 

Immediately  after  graduating  Dr. 
Cunningham  located  as  a  physician  in 
Fulton  county,  Ohio,  where  he  took  the 
general  practice  of  his  brother  until  1892. 
Durmg  all  this  time  he  fully  realized  that 
the  road  to  success  lay    along  the  line  of 


specialism.  Thus  far  he  had  been  a  self- 
made  man,  and  had  put  himself  through 
his  medical  course.  Xow,  determining 
to  push  his  studies  further,  and  in  special 
lines,  he  made  all  necessary  arrange- 
ments, and  in  the  fall  of  1892  left  for 
Edinburgh,  Scotland,  to  pursue  special 
work.  He  entered  the  old  University  of 
Edinburgh,  and  remained  there  about 
nine  months,  taking  a  post-graduate 
course,  after  which  he  went  to  London, 
England,  and  entered  St.  Thomas  Hos- 
pital, where  he  remained  six  months,  do- 
ing medical  and  surgical  work.  He  then 
returned  to  Ohio,  and  settling  in  Graytown 
continued  for  a  time  in  general  practice 
here  as  a  physician  and  surgeon,  and  then 
took  up  his  specialties  of  the  eye  and  ear, 
in  which  he  is  now  engaged.  Dr.  Cun- 
ningham spends  about  one-half  of  his 
time  in  his  private  office  at  Graytown, 
where  he  is  busy  continuouslj',  and  the 
remainder  on  the  road.  He  is  a  personal 
friend  of  and  in  many  ways  a  co-worker 
with  Dr.  Joseph  Schneider,  the  great  oc- 
ulist and  aurist  of  Milwaukee,  Wis.  Dr. 
Cunningham  visits  all  the  leading  cities  in 
Wisconsin  and  Iowa,  where  he  has  a  very 
extensive  clientele.  His  surgical  work 
on  the  eye  in  Ohio  is  mainly  performed 
in  Cleveland,  where  access  may  be  had  to 
first-class  hospitals;  he  has  performed 
many  difficult  operations,  and  success  has 
attended  his  efforts  in  his  chosen  profes- 
sion. He  is  also  a  contributor  to  different 
medical  journals,  among  which  are  the  In- 
ternational Medical  Journal,  the  New 
York  Journal,  Cincinnati  Clinic,  Journal 
of  Surgery,  Medical  World,  Medical  Bul- 
letin and  Physicians'  Report. 

On  January  i,  1893,  Dr.  Phinley  L. 
Cunningham  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  May  Stepp,  of  Seward,  Fulton  Co., 
Ohio.  They  have  no  children,  and  are 
living  in  a  pleasant  home  in  Graytown. 
Mrs.  Cunningham  received  her  education 
in  the  public  schools  of  her  native  town. 
Her  parents,  Frederick  and  Martha  Anna 
E.  (Ottgen)   Stepp,   came  to  this  country 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPEICAL  RECORD. 


745 


from  Germany,  her  mother  in  1855,  and 
her  father  in  1865,  were  married  Decem- 
ber I,  1866,  and  had  three  children,  one 
son  and  two  daughters.  Mrs.  Cunnings- 
ham's  sister  is  with  her  at  Graytown,  and 
her  brother  is  clerking  in  Toledo.  Her 
grand-parents  were  born  in  Germany  in 
1795,  and  died  in  1852  and  1854  respect- 
ively. 


CP.  ENGEL,  who  is  a  retired 
grape  grower,  and  the  oldest  living 
settler  on  Put  in  Bay  Island,  Ot- 
tawa county,  was  born  October 
5,  1S14,  in  Saxony,  Germany,  where  he 
was  educated  and  reared  to  manhood. 

Our  subject  learned  the  trade  of  shoe- 
making  in  his  native  country.  In  1840 
he  came  to  America,  on  July  27  of  that 
year,  landing  at  Baltimore,  Md.,  whence 
he  shortl}-  afterward  proceeded  to  Pitts- 
burg, Penn.,  and  after  a  brief  residence 
in  that  city  removed  to  Sandusk)-,  Erie 
Co.,  Ohio,  where  he  resided  and  followed 
his  occupation  of  shoemaking  for  twenty- 
seven  years.  In  Sandusky,  Erie  county, 
on  January  3,  1843,  Christian  Engel  was 
united  in  marriage  with  May  N.  Beylen, 
who  was  born  in  Switzerland  August  8, 
1 8 19,  and  they  have  had  eight  children, 
of  whom  si.x  are  living,  namely:  John, 
born  January  15,  1845;  Christian  P.,  born 
December  10,  1846;  Louis;  Charles; 
Emma,  widow  of  Henry  Pfeiffer,  and 
Hugo.  Two  of  the  sons,  John  and 
Christian  P.,  were  attached  to  the  Seven- 
ty-second O.  V.  I.,  and  served  all  through 
the  war  of  the  Rebellion.  Louis  also 
served  in  the  United  States  army  for 
three  years.  May  N.  Beylen,  now  Mrs. 
Engel,  came  to  America,  in  1832,  with 
her  parents.  Nicholas  and  Mary  Ann 
(Eagan)  Beylen. 

In  1868  Mr.  Engel  removed  to  Put  in 
Bay  Island,  of  which  he  has  ever  since 
been  a  resident,  and  where  he  engaged 
extensive!}'  in  the  culture  of  grapes.  He 
was  for  two  years  overseer  of    Sandusky 


Cemetery,  and  also  served  as  councilor 
of  Sandusky  City  for  one  term.  In  his 
political  views  he  is  a  stanch  Republican. 
On  December  11,  1889,  C.  P.  Engel 
was  united  in  marriage,  in  Sandusky,  with 
Bina  Federsen,  who  was  born  in  Ger- 
many March  31,  1869,  and  they  have  had 
one  son,  Herbert,  who  was  born  Febru- 
ary 22,  1 89 1.  The  parents  of  Mrs.  Chris- 
tian P.  Engel,  Christian  and  Mary  Feder- 
sen, were  born  in  Germany  and  are  now 
residents  of  Kellev's  Island,  Erie  Co., 
Ohio. 


AM.  GROVER  (deceased)  was  a 
native  of  the  Empire  State,  his 
birth  having  occurred  September 
8,  1822,  in  Livingston  county. 
There  he  resided  until  1834,  acquiring 
his  education  in  the  public  schools,  and 
during  his  early  youth  he  learned  the  trade 
of  a  ship  carpenter.  In  1834  he  came  to 
Ohio,  living  in  Sandusky  county,  near 
Cl}de,  and  while  there  located  he  fre- 
quently worked  at  his  trade  on  Catawba 
Island,  but  not  for  a  number  of  years 
later — in  1858 — did  he  take  up  his  resi- 
dence here.  He  became  one  of  its  valued 
citizens,  and  devoted  his  whole  time  and 
attention  to  the  cultivation  of  fruit,  rank- 
ing among  the  most  prominent  fruit  grow- 
ers of  the  day.  He  was  an  energetic  and 
enterprising  man,  one  whose  careful  man- 
agement of  his  business  interest  and  his 
honorable  dealing  won  him  a  well  merited 
success. 

While  residing  in  Sandusky  county, 
Mr.  Grover  was  united  in  marriage,  on 
December  24,  1847,  with  Miss  Lavina 
Davis,  a  daughter  of  Daniel  D.  and  Sarah 
(Prentiss)  Davis.  Five  children  graced 
this  union,  of  whom  four  are  living:  Thoret 
was  drowned  while  skating  on  the  lake, 
December  24,  1874.  Those  who  still 
survive  are  Archie  N.,  who  was  born  No- 
vember 4,  i860;  Emma  T. ,  born  June  4, 
1865;  Ada  B.,  born  June  2,  1867;  and 
Herbert  D.,  born  July  6,  1873.     Mr.  Gro- 


746 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQRAPEICAL  RECORD. 


ver  was  interested  in  the  welfare  of  the 
community,  and  gave  his  support  to  all 
worthy  objects  which  were  calculated  to 
advance  the  general  welfare.  His  busi- 
ness engrossed  much  of  his  attention,  and 
he  met  with  very  fair  success  in  his  un- 
dertakings. His  excellencies  of  character 
won  him  the  high  regard  of  those  with 
whom  he  was  brought  in  contact,  and  his 
departure  was  deeply  mourned.  Since 
the  death  of  her  husband  and  eldest  son, 
the  duties  pertaining  to  the  farm  and  or- 
chard have  been  ably  carried  on  by  Mrs. 
Grover  and  her  eldest  surviving  son, 
Archie  N.  Grover,  a  young  man  of  more 
than  ordinary  business  tact  and  enterprise, 
who  is  one  day  destined  to  rank  among 
the  most  prominent  and  influential  resi- 
dents of  Catawba  Island.  The  members 
of  the  family  hold  an  enviable  position  in 
social  circles.  Their  home  is  noted  for 
its  hospitalit}',  and  the}'  have  gained  for 
themselves  a  circle  of  warm  friends  in  the 
communitv. 


JOHN  J.  GEIGER.  It  is  men  of  like 
character  to  John  J.  Geiger  who 
build  up  a  city.  He  is  pushing,  en- 
terprising and  aggressive,  and  sees 
in  the  prosperity  of  the  community  in 
which  he  lives  his  own  prosperity.  Of 
whatever  heundertakes  he  makes  a  success, 
because,  first,  his  judgment  prevents  him 
from  espousing  a  business  that  has  no 
possibilities,  and  secondly,  his  native 
energy  is  sufficient  to  carry  his  enterprise 
to  a  successful  issue. 

Mr.  Geiger  was  born  in  Huron  county, 
Ohio,  April  14,  1849,  son  of  John  and 
Catherine  (Grabner)  Geiger.  The  father 
was  born  in  Baden,  Germany,  May  12, 
1 8 19,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  emi- 
grated to  America.  For  several  years  he 
worked  by  the  month  at  Milan,  Erie  Co., 
Ohio,  and  during  that  time  he  learned  to 
burn  brick.  Then,  starting  a  yard  of  his 
own  at  Milan,  he  made  brick  on  an  ex- 
tensive scale,  the  building  material  of  the 


large  schoolhouse  in  Norwalk  being  of  his 
manufacture.  Several  years  later  he 
farmed  a  place  between  Milan  and  Nor- 
walk for  one  season,  then  traded  his  prop- 
erty for  a  farm  in  Sherman  township, 
Huron  county,  which  he  occupied  for 
about  sixteen  years,  and  where  all  his 
children  were  born.  Finally  selling  out, 
he  moved  to  Peru  township,  where  he 
lived  twenty-six  j'ears.  In  1891  he  re- 
moved to  Fremont,  his  present  home. 
Mr.  Geiger  in  religious  faith  is  a  Roman 
Catholic.  His  children  are  as  follows: 
John  J.,  subject  of  this  sketch;  Lawrence, 
a  farmer  of  Brown  township,  Huron 
county;  Mary,  wife  of  Alvin  Smith,  for 
seventeen  years  a  resident  of  Peru  town- 
ship, and  now  of  Fremont;  Frank,  a 
farmer,  of  Peru  township,  Huron  county; 
Mathias,  a  farmer  of  Sandusky  county; 
one  child  who  died  in  infancy. 

John  J.  Geiger,  the  eldest  child,  grew 
up  on  the  farm  and  received  a  fair  educa- 
tion. At  the  age  of  twenty-two  he  started 
out  in  the  world  for  himself.  He  worked 
out  for  two  seasons  by  the  month.  His 
marriage  to  Miss  Mary  Wilhelm  occurred 
in. 1 873,  and  for  two  years  he  operated 
his  father's  farm.  Then  purchasing  a  farm 
of  149  acres,  in  Riley  township,  Sandusky 
county,  he  there  engaged  extensively  in 
general  farming  and  was  very  successful. 
Each  year  he  raised  from  1,000  to  1,500 
bushels  of  wheat,  and  both  for  the  neat- 
ness with  which  his  work  was  done  and 
for  the  accruing  financial  profits  he  was 
considered  one  of  the  best  farmers  in  the 
county.  In  1881  he  moved  to  Clyde, 
where  he  has  since  resided.  He  has  been 
engaged  in  many  real-estate  operations  on 
.his  own  account,  and  has  been  uniforml}' 
successful.  At  present  he  owns  some 
good  property  in  the  city,  and  his  business 
is  now  one  of  the  most  extensive  in  Clyde. 
In  connection  with  a  mercantile  business 
he  is  handling  several  patent  rights,  one 
of  which  is  a  "checkbook;"  but  his  main 
patent,  and  one,  perhaps,  in  which  the 
city  is  chiefly  interested,  is  a  fastening  for 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


747 


steel  roofing.  It  overcomes  the  chief  ob- 
jection to  the  use  of  steel  for  roofing,  the 
contraction  and  expansion  from  changes  in 
temperature.  The  improvement  has  been 
introduced  in  Clyde,  and  has  satisfactorily 
withstood  the  test  of  time.  The  work  is 
now  being  introduced  in  many  neighbor- 
ing cities,  and  one  of  tbe  possibilities  for 
Clyde  in  the  near  future  is  the  formation 
of  a  stock  company  for  the  manufacture 
of  the  roofing  in  that  city. 

The  family  of  Mr.  Geiger  consists  of 
five  children:  Annie,  Edward,  Alfred, 
John  and  Mamie.  He  owns  an  excellent 
home  on  one  of  the  best  streets  of  Clyde. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  and  in  re- 
ligious belief  a  Catholic.  He  is  justly 
regarded  as  one  of  Clyde's  best  business 
men. 


JM.  JONES.  This  well-known  citi- 
zen of  Gibsonburg,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, is  of  Welsh  descent,  and  pos- 
sesses many  of  the  traits  of  that  vig- 
orous, level-headed  people. 

His  parents  were  Benjamin  and  Han- 
nah (Morris)  Jones,  and  of  his  father's  fam- 
ily the  following  record  is  given:  Benja- 
min Jones  was  born  March  9,  1823,  in 
Caermarthen,  Wales,  and  was  the  son  of 
James  Jones,  who  was  born  in  1796. 
James  Jones  married  Hannah  Davies, 
who  died  in  Wales,  and,  when  his  son 
Benjamin  was  eighteen  or  nineteen  years 
old,  he  left  his  native  country  and  came  to 
America,  settling  in  Morrow  county,  this 
State.  After  he  remained  here  for  about 
eight  years  he  removed  to  Wisfconsin, 
driving  the  entire  distance  with  a  yoke  of 
three-year-old  steers,  and  locating  in  Iowa 
county,  their  post  office  being  Dodgeville. 
Here  the  father  died  at  the  good  old  age 
of  eighty-two  years.  He  was  a  con- 
sistent member  of  the  Baptist  Church. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  Jones  were  the  par- 
ents of  four  children:  James,  who  was 
born  April  i,  18  17,  came  to  America  and 
settled  in  Delaware  county,   this    State, 


where  he  married  Miss  Williams,  and 
where  he  still  resides.  Daniel,  born  Au- 
gust 6,  1820,  is  a  tailor  by  trade,  and 
lives  in  Wales.  Benjamin  was  the  father 
of  our  subject.  John  was  born  October 
29,  1 81 5,  and  when  a  young  man  left 
home  and  never  returned,  no  direct  news 
from  him  ever  reaching  his  family,  and 
his  fate  is  uncertain. 

Benjamin  Jones  settled  in  Morrow 
county,  Ohio,  where  he  lived  for  six  or 
seven  years,  and  then  removed  to  Dela- 
ware county,  whence,  after  a  residence 
of  four  years,  he  came  to  Sandusky  coun- 
ty and  took  up  land  where  the  famous 
"gusher,"  the  Kirkbrideoil  well,  is  located. 
About  nine  years  ago  he  returned  to  Mor- 
row county,  where  he  now  resides.  The 
mother  of  our  subject  was  born  in  Mor- 
row county  October  7,  1815,  and  died 
October  13,  1882.  Their  family  com- 
prised six  children,  of  whom  the  follow- 
ing record  is  given:  Morris  D.  died  June 
22,  1874,  at  the  age  of  thirty  years  and 
twenty-six  days;  J.  M.  is  our  subject; 
Sarah  A.,  born  February  27,  1848,  is  the 
wife  of  A.  B.  McCreer}',  and  lives  in  Wood 
county,  this  State;  Eliza  A.,  born  May 
12,  1850,  married  James  Smith  and,  died 
July  1 8,  1 878;  Joseph  Fuller,  born  May 
18,  1853,  died  March  J.  1862;  Margaret, 
born  September  14,  1855,  is  the  wife  of 
Charles  Chambers,  and  lives  in  Genoa, 
this  State. 

Our  subject  grew  to  manhood  on  his 
father's  farm  in  Sandusky  county,  and 
varied  his  work  in  the  fields  with  at- 
tendance at  the  district  schools.  During 
the  Civil  war  he  enlisted  with  the  one- 
hundred-days'  men,  in  Company  H,  One 
Hundred  and  Sixty-ninth  Regiment,  Ohio 
State  Militia,  and  was  sent  to  Maryland 
and  Virginia  to  guard  the  Capitol  at  Wash- 
ington. When  his  time  expired  he  re- 
turned home  and  took  up  the  trade  of 
carpenter,  at  which  he  worked  for  a  num- 
ber of  years.  He  then  engaged  in  farm- 
ing in  Scott  (now  Madison)  township, 
leaving  this  to  take  charge   of   a   hotel  at 


748 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Bradner.  Subsequently  returning  to  the 
farm  he  remained  there  until  four  years 
ago,  when  he  came  to  Gibsonburg.  and 
since  that  time  he  has  been  engaged  in 
buying  and  selling  stock,  building  houses 
and  in  the  insurance  business.  In  ad- 
dition to  these  occupations  he  is  carrying 
on  a  grocery. 

Mr.  Jones  was  married,  September 
25,  1870,  to  Miss  Mary  A.  Price,  who  is 
a  native  of  Merthyr-Tydvil,  Wales,  born 
March  2,  1850.  Her  parents  were 
Thomas  and  Ann  (Evans)  Price,  the  for- 
mer of  whom  was  born  September  20, 
1823,  in  Gwinther,  Breconshire,  South 
Wales,  his  death  taking  place  in  Wood 
county,  Ohio,  September  iS,  1886,  the 
latter  was  born  August  29, 1827,  and  is  still 
living  at  her  home  in  \\'ood  county.  They 
came  to  America  at  an  earlj-  day  and  set- 
tled in  Morrow  county.  Mrs.  Jones  was 
their  only  child.  Her  paternal  grand- 
father, Thomas  Price,  Sr. ,  was  born  in 
Wales,  Angust  29,  1797,  and  died  April 
14,   1 88 1,  in  Wood  county,  Ohio. 

To  our  subject  and  his  wife  have 
come  two  children:  Eliza  M.,  born  April 
27,  1 87 1,  and  Price,  born  August  8,  1888. 
Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jones  have  been  for- 
tunate in  coming  into  possession  of  some 
of  the  finest  oil-producing  property  'in 
the  State,  from  which  they  derive  hand- 
some incomes,  the  Kirkbride  well  being 
one  of  the  most  wonderful  in  the  coun- 
try. Mr.  Jones  is  a  man  of  excellent 
judgment  and  business  ability,  as  is 
evinced  by  the  numerous  enterprises  which 
he  is  carrying  on  with  uniform  success. 
Politically  he  is  in  sympathy  with  the 
Republican  party,  and  socially  he  belongs 
to  the  I.  O.  O.  F.,  G.  A.  R.,  and  P.  O. 
S.  of  A. 


AG.  RUXXEIv,  a  wide-awake  and 
enterprising  fruit  agriculturist  of 
Carroll  township,  Ottawa  count}-, 
has  b)'  his  natural  good  judgment 
and  indomitable  energy  arisen  to  a  promi- 


nent position  in  the  community,  where  he 
and  his  family  are  held  in  the  highest 
esteem.  He  is  a  native  of  the  Buckeye 
State,  born  June  9,  1843,  in  Margaretta 
township,  Erie  county.  His  parents, 
Michael  and  Elizabeth  Runner,  were  both 
natives  of  Maryland,  and  located  in  Erie 
county  among  the  pioneers  of  1830, 
where  they  were  honored  and  revered 
residents  for  manj-  years,  the  father  dy- 
ing in  1846,  and  the  mother  in  1867.  By 
their  union  eleven  children  were  born, 
five  of  whom  still  survive,  as  follows: 
Caroline,  widow  of  Paul  Leidorf,  of 
\'enice,  Erie  Co.,  Ohio;  Isaac,  residing 
on  the  homestead  farm;  John,  who  also 
makes  his  home  in  Erie  county;  Rebecca, 
wife  of  Richard  Axton,  of  Venice;  and 
A.  G.,  the  subject  of  this  biographical 
sketch. 

The  educational  privileges  of  A.  G. 
Runner  were  such  as  the  district  schools 
afforded,  and  at  a  verj-  early  date  in  his 
life's  history  he  was  instructed  in  the 
duties  pertaining  to  a  farmer's  life.  He 
has  followed  that  occupation  from  his 
early  boyhood  days,  and  for  some  few 
3'ears  was  also  engaged  in  fishing  on  the 
lakes.  In  1861  his  patriotism  prompted 
him  to  enlist  in  Company  H,  Fiftj'-tifth 
O.  \'.  I.,  in  which  regiment  he  served 
one  year,  being  taken  prisoner  at  the  bat- 
tle of  Franklin  on  April  5,  1862,  and  de- 
tained as  a  prisoner  of  war  by  the  Con- 
federates until  July  3  of  the  same  year. 
Upon  being  paroled  Mr.  Runner  again 
enlisted,  becoming  a  member  of  Company 
M,  First  Ohio  Heavy  Artillery,  and  re- 
mained with  that  branch  of  the  service 
until  the  close  of  the  war,  being  mustered 
out  and  honorabh-  discharged  at  Camp 
Dennison,  Ohio,  August  25,  1865,  after 
four  years  of  faithful  and  valiant  service 
in  behalf  of  his  country.  On  his  return 
to  Margaretta  township,  Erie  county,  he 
resumed  farming  in  that  section,  continu- 
ing there  until  1882,  when  he  removed  to 
Carroll  township,  Ottawa  county,  and 
has  since   been  ranked  among    its    most 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


749 


prominent  citizens  and  leading  agricultur- 
ists. 

At  Port  Clinton,  Ottawa  count)-,  on 
April  12,  1870,  Mr.  Runner  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Sarah  Elizabeth 
Sonocrant,  who  was  born  in  Presque  Isle, 
Lucas  Co.,  Ohio,  August  26.  1847,  ^"d 
is  a  daughter  of  John  and  Matilda  (Mom- 
meney)  Sonocrant.  Four  children  have 
come  to  bless  this  union:  George  A., 
born  November  16,  1S71,  and  Raymond 
G.,  born  November  i,  1874  (graduate  of 
Oak  Harbor  High  School),  are  engaged 
in  teaching  school  in  Carroll  township; 
Matilda  E.,  born  May  14,  1877,  is  a 
graduate  of  the  Oak  Harbor  High  School 
and  is  now  a  teacher;  and  Karl  M.,  born 
January  13,  1883,  died  August  9,  1885. 
In  his  political  views  Mr.  Runner  is  a 
stanch  Republican,  and,  although  not  a 
politician  in  the  sense  of  office  seeking,  he 
has  been  honored  with  man}'  positions  of 
trust  b\'  his  fellow  townsmen,  all  of  which 
he  has  efficiently  and  satisfactorily  filled. 
His  genuine  social  and  moral  worth  gives 
him  a  high  place  in  the  regard  of  all  with 
whom  he  comes  in  contact. 


JACOB  H.  TRUAX.  The  story  of 
this  man,  one  of  the  oldest  pioneers 
and  a  well-known  farmer  of  Clay 
township,  Ottawa  county,  is  full  of 
interest,  as  showing  the  grit  and  endur- 
ance of  one  who,  without  early  advan- 
tages, fought  his  way  through  toil  and 
hardship  to  a  successful  and  honorable 
station  in  life. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in 
Bedford  county,  Penn. ,  April  i,  1823. 
His  parents,  Stilwell  and  Sarah  (Hart) 
Truax,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  the 
Keystone  State,  came  to  Ohio  when  Jacob 
was  a  lad  of  ten  years,  and  settled  in 
Wood  county,  where  the)-  bought  eighty 
acres  of  land,  which  was  covered  with  a 
dense  forest.  Here  the  father  built  a  log 
cabin,   and   with  the  help  of    Jacob  and 


another  son  commenced  to  clear  away  the 
timber,  till  the  fields,  planted  an  orchard 
of  various  kinds  of  fruit,  four  acres  in  ex- 
tent, and,  as  his  means  increased,  erected 
a  commodious  dwelling  house,  with  all 
necessary  barns  and  other  buildings.  To 
him  and  his  wife  came  seven  children, 
namely:  Abner,  born  and  educated  in 
Bedford  county,  Penn.,  w-as  a  hotel  clerk 
in  Sandusky  county,  this  State,  where  he 
died.  Jacob  H.  is  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  John  was  born  in  Pennsylvania, 
and  became  a  farmer,  following  that  oc- 
cupation seven  years,  and  then  going 
into  the  manufacture  of  hoops,  in  which 
he  is  at  present  engaged,  at  Genoa;  he 
married  and  had  two  children,  one  of 
whom  is  deceased.  Marj',  Mrs.  John 
Sivalls,  is  a  resident  of  Woodville.  Louis, 
born  in  Pennsylvania,  is  farming  in  Ne- 
braska. Stilwell,  born  in  Wood  county, 
this  State,  is  also  farming  in  Nebraska; 
he  is  married  and  has  two  children.  One 
child  died  in  infancy.  The  mother  of 
this  family  died  in  Wood  county  in  1835. 
The  father  married  again,  his  second  wife 
being  Rachel,  widow  of  Eben  Baldwin, 
but  no  children  were  born  of  this  mar- 
riage. The  father  died  at  the  old  home- 
stead in  Wood  county  in  1867,  his  second 
wife  surviving  him  for  thirteen  years,  and 
passing  away  in  1S80.  He  was  an  honest, 
hard-working  man,  and  toiled  late  and 
early  to  provide  a  home  for  his  family. 
He  was  well  and  favorably  known 
throughout  the  county,  and  commanded 
the  respect  and  esteem  of  all  who  had 
dealings  with  him. 

Jacob  H.  Truax,  our  subject,  was  de- 
prived of  all  educational  advantages  in 
his  youth,  schools  in  those  days  being  few 
and  far  between,  and  none  being  ac- 
cessible in  the  new  country  where  he 
spent  his  boyhood  days.  Early  in  life  he 
contracted  a  most  painful  disease,  known 
as  "  white  swelling,"  from  the  effects  of 
exposure  in  the  water,  and  for  many 
jears  his  sufferings  from  it  were  extreme, 
the  bones  of  the  leg  coming  away  through 


750 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


the  flesh.  In  spite  of  all  this  torture,  he 
worked  side  bj'  side  with  his  father  in  the 
timber  and  in  the  fields,  and  for  eight 
years  endured  the  terrible  pain  and  hard 
labor  together.  His  health  then  began 
gradually  to  improve,  and  on  reaching  his 
majority  he  was  able  to  leave  the  old 
homestead  and  start  in  life  for  himself, 
taking  contracts  for  cutting  logs  and 
clearing  off  timber  for  other  parties.  He 
continued  at  this  work  until  twenty-five 
3'ears  of  age,  during  which  time  he  en- 
deavored to  make  up  his  deficiencies  in 
book  knowledge  by  diligently  employing 
the  winter  months  and  every  available 
moment  in  attending  school  and  studying 
at  home. 

After  giving  up  his  work  at  log  cut- 
ting, our  subject  was  on  the  canal  for 
three  years  as  steersman,  and  then  went 
to  Sandusky  county,  where  he  purchased 
ninety  acres  of  timber  land.  On  this  he 
built  a  log  cabin  and  began  industriously 
to  turn  the  wilderness  into  fertile  fields. 
As  fast  as  the  timber  was  cleared  away 
he  planted  corn,  wheat  and  potatoes,  by 
which  he  supported  his  famil}'.  In  the 
course  of  time  the  log  cabin  gave  way  to 
a  well-built  dwelling,  and  orchards  of  fine 
fruit  took  the  place  of  the  forest  trees. 
Mr.  Truax  remained  on  this  farm  for 
twenty  years,  when  he  sold  out,  in  1873, 
and  came  to  Clay  township.  Here  he 
bought  100  acres  of  improved  land,  where 
he  has  since  made  his  home.  He  has 
made  many  improvements,  replanting  the 
orchard,  and  making  of  it  a  valuable  pro- 
perty. In  his  comfortable  and  conveni- 
ent home  he  is  resting  from  the  toils  of 
his  early  life — the  days  when  deer,  wolves 
and  Indians  were  his  nearest  neighbors, 
and  when  the  hunter  could  find  plenty  of 
sport  close  at  hand. 

Mr.  Truax  was  married  in  Wood  coun- 
ty to  Catherine  Truax,  daughter  of  Na- 
thaniel Truax  (no  relative),  who  was  a 
farmer,  and  afterward  a  hotelkeeper  in 
Wood  county.  To  our  subject  and  his 
wife  came  nine  children,  as  follows:  John, 


born  August  26,  185  i,  in  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, married  Elizabeth  Wagner  and  resides 
at  Gibsonburg,  that  county,  where  he 
follows  the  occupation  of  drayman.  Will- 
iam, born  in  Sandusky  county  in  1853, 
married  Mary  Lafarerr,  and  they  have 
one  child;  he  is  a  cooper,  residing  at 
Genoa.  Emeline  S.,  born  in  Sandusky 
county  in  1855,  married  Charles  Prey,  an 
engineer  at  Genoa ;  they  have  one 
child.  Lewis,  born  in  Sandusky  county, 
June  17,  1857,  was  married  Februarj'  14, 
1 878,  to  Miss  Billings,  daughter  of  George 
Billings,  a  farmer,  and  three  children  have 
been  born  to  them — Amy,  in  1879,  in 
Clay  township,  Ottawa  county,  who  is 
living  at  home;  Elida,  born  July  1 5,  1882; 
and  Roy,  born  June  9,  1892;  Lewis  Truax 
has  been  elected  supervisor  of  Clay  town- 
ship, and  is  farming  on  the  homestead 
with  his  father.  Sarah  O.,  born  in  San- 
dusky county,  in  1859,  married  Adolph 
Trimer;  both  are  deceased.  Mary  E., 
born  in  Sandusky,  in  1862,  is  the  wife  of 
William  Snider,  a  professor  of  music,  and 
they  live  at  Fort  Wayne,  Ind. ;  they  have 
two  children.  Deo,  born  in  Sandusky 
county  in  1866,  died  when  seven  years 
old.  Milo,  born  in  Sandusky  county  in 
1868,  is  a  farmer  in  that  county;  he  is  un- 
married. Another  child  died  in  infancy, 
unnamed. 

The  wife  of  our  subject  died  in  San- 
dusky county,  January  9,  1S75,  of  dropsy. 
She  was  a  loving  and  faithful  wife  and 
mother,  and  is  still  deeply  mourned  by 
her  husband  and  family.  Mr.  Truax  held 
the  office  of  school  director  for  nine 
terms  in  Sandusky  county,  and  has  served 
in  that  position  one  term  in  Clay  town- 
ship. Socially  he  is  a  member  of  Clay 
Lodge  No.  584,  I.  O.  O.  F. ,  at  Genoa; 
he  and  his  sons  belong  to  the  Democratic 
party.  The  family  attend  the  Church 
of  the  Disciples  at  Genoa.  Mr.  Truax 
is  now  seventy-three  years  old,  but  is 
hale  and  hearty,  and  seemingh'  as  active 
as  ever,  going  about  his  farm  as  readily  as 
he  did  twenty  years  ago. 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


751 


HENRY  WITTY,  one  of  the  enter- 
prising young  farmers  of  Ottawa 
county  and  one  of  her  native  sons, 
was  born  in  Cla}-  township,  on  the 
farm   which  he  now  owns,  November  2, 
185S. 

His  father,  John  Witty,  was  born  in 
Germany  in  1830,  and  during  his  boyhood 
came  to  America,  locating  in  Ottawa 
county,  Ohio,  on  the  farm  now  owned  by 
our  subject.  It  was  then  in  its  primitive 
condition,  but  he  cleared  and  improved 
it,  con\erting  it  into  one  of  the  fine  homes 
in  this  section  of  the  State.  He  married 
Elizabeth  Hammond,  who  was  born  in 
Marion  county,  Ohio,  in  1S26,  and  they 
became  the  parents  of  six  children,  as  fol- 
lows: Catherine,  Angelina,  Ella,  Jennie, 
Henry  and  Michael.  Catherine  and  An- 
geline  are  now  deceased;  Ella  is  the  wife 
of  Anthony  Shantan,  of  Rocky  Ridge, 
Ohio.  The  paternal  grandfather,  Henry 
Witty,  was  born  about  1797,  was  a  farmer 
by  occupation,  and  was  one  of  the  honored 
pioneers  of  Ottawa  county.  His  wife, 
Elizabeth,  was  born  about  1804,  and  died 
July  14,  1893.  They  had  three  children — 
John,  Margaret  and  jNIartin.  The  father 
of  our  subject  died  in  November,   i8go. 

Henr\-  \\'itty  acquired  his  education  in 
the  public  schools.  On  December  17, 
1886,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Delia  Rhodes,  of  Elmore,  and  the}'  began 
their  domestic'  life  upon  the  old  home 
place,  which  comprises  170  acres  of  highly 
cultivated  land.  Thirty  acres  are  planted 
annually  in  wheat,  fifteen  to  hay,  thirty- 
five  to  corn  and  twenty  to  oats.  The  soil 
is  highly  productive,  and  the  abundant 
harvests  garnered  indicate  the  careful  la- 
bor and  supervision  of  the  owner,  who  is 
justly  numbered  among  the  practical  and 
progressive  farmers  of  the  community. 
Mrs.  Witty  has  been  a  faithful  companion 
and  helpmeet  to  her  husband.  She  was 
born  in  Richland  county,  Ohio,  May  15, 
1866,  and  is  a  daughter  of  Jerry  Rhodes, 
who  was  born  in  England,  in  1822,  and 
served    throughout    the    Civil    war.      He 


married  Susan  Ealand,  who  was  born  in 
the  same  country  in  1831,  and  they 
crossed  the  Atlantic  on  the  same  vessel, 
first  meeting  in  mid-ocean.  The  acquaint- 
ance thus  formed  terminated  in  their  mar- 
riage soon  after  their  arrival  in  this  coun- 
try, and  they  became  the  parents  of  six 
children,  of  whom  Emma,  Louis,  Clara, 
Irene  and  Delia  are  all  living;  the  eldest 
child,  Libby,  is  deceased. 

When  only  four  years  of  age,  Mrs. 
Witty  was  brought  by  her  parents  to  El- 
more, where  she  obtained  her  literary 
education.  Like  her  husband,  she  is  a  be- 
liever in  modern  progression  and  modern 
methods,  and  their  friends  throughout  the 
community  are  many.  They  have  one 
child,  Bessie  May,  who  was  born  March 
6,  1887,  and  to  whom  they  intend  to  give 
every  educational  advantage.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  W^itty  hold  membership  with  the 
United  Brethren  Church  of  Elmore.  In 
politics  Mr.  Witty  is  a  Republican,  and 
earnestly  advocating  the  principles  of  that 
party,  he  is  one  of  its  able  and  stanch 
supporters.  He  is  a  worth}'  representa- 
tive of  the  agricultural  interests  of  Ottawa 
county. 


M 


ATHIAS  ESKER  is  one  of  the 
worthy  German  citizens  of  San- 
dusky county,  Ohio.  He  was 
born  in  the  Fatherland  Febru- 
ary 34,  1824,  son  of  Fred  and  Mary 
(Bruch)  Esker,  farming  people,  who 
spent  their  entire  lives  in  Germany. 
Their  family  numbered  seven  children, 
namely:  Joe,  deceased;  Fred,  Jane, 
Jacob,  George,  and  Franciscus,  who  are 
living  in  Germany;  and  Mathias. 

Our  subject  was  reared  and  educated 
in  his  native  land,  and  was  a  young 
man  of  twenty-three  years  when  he  bade 
adieu  to  home  and  friends  and  crossed 
the  Atlantic  to  America.  The  voyage 
was  made  in  a  sailing  vessel  and  the  trip 
consumed  sixty-five  days;  but  at  length 
anchor  was  dropped  in  the  harbor  of  New 


752 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


York,  and  Mr.  Esker  landed  on  American 
soil.  He  first  made  his  way  to  the  city 
of  Sandusky,  Ohio,  where  he  remained 
for  about  five  years  working  by  the  day. 
He  then  removed  to  Norwalk,  Ohio,  and 
secured  a  position  in  a  planing  mill, 
where  he  continued  for  fourteen  years,  a 
trusted  and  faithful  employe.  At  the  end 
of  that  time  he  became  a  resident  of 
Washington  township,  Sandusky  county, 
and  here  he  invested  his  hard-earned  sav- 
ings in  sixty  acres  of  land,  his  present  farm. 

Mr.  Esker  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Mary  Seen,  daughter  of  Khune  Seen, 
and  they  have  had  seven  children:  Fred, 
born  February  22,  1852,  married  Rose 
Paul,  by  whom  he  has  seven  children  (he 
resides  in  Norwalk);  Carrie  was  born  May 
24,  1853;  Frances,  born  December  16, 
1855,  is  the  wife  of  George  Gaver,  a  res- 
ident of  Ohio;  Mary  E. ,  born  May  7, 
1858,  is  the  deceased  wife  of  John  Mink; 
Cornelius, born  February  20,  i860, wedded 
Mary  Bach;  Mary,  born  June  13, 1862, died 
at  the  age  of  seventeen  years;  and  William 
O.,  born  December  2,  1865,  married  Ella 
Kosch.  The  mother  of  this  family  was 
called  to  her   final  rest  October  8,  1893. 

Mr.  Esker  is  a  member  of  the  Ger- 
man Catholic  Church.  Politically  he  is  a 
Democrat,  and  has  served  as  school  di- 
rector and  road  supervisor,  but  the 
greater  part  of  his  time  and  attention  is 
given  to  his  business  interests.  The  work 
of  clearing  his  farm  was  all  done  by  him- 
self, and  the  buildings  upon  it  stand  as 
monuments  to  his  thrift  and  enterprise. 
The  well-tilled  fields  and  neat  appear- 
ance of  the  place  indicate  his  careful  su- 
per\ision,  and  he  may  well  be  numbered 
among  the  substantial  farmers  and  self- 
made  men  of  Sandusky  county. 


He  is  a  son  of  William  and  Ann  J.  (Whit- 
more)  Rulof,  and  was  adopted  in  his  early 
youth  by  his  mother's  father,  John  Whit- 
more,  who  was  a  prominent  citizen  of 
Tovvnsend  township,  and  he  has  since 
borne  his  grandfather's  name,  Whitmore. 
Mr.  Rulof  died,  and  his  widow,  Ann  J., 
mother  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  mar- 
ried Mr.  Derlin. 

John  P.  Whitmore  lived  with  his 
grandfather  Whitmore  from  the  time  of 
his  adoption  until  he  was  married.  On 
January  i,  1879,  Mr.  Whitmore  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Isabel  Dunham,  who 
was  born  in  Townsend  township,  Decem- 
ber 2,  i860,  and  there  have  been  born  to 
them  five  children,  as  follows:  Ira  D., 
November  26,  1881;  John  D.,  June  12, 
1883;  Walter  D.,  September  21,  1885; 
Franklin  E.,  born  August  5,  1887,  and 
died  July  24,  1894;  and  Annabel,  born 
February  22,  1894.  Mrs.  Whitmore  is 
a  daughter  of  Ira  and  Rebecca  (Golden) 
Dunham.  Ira  Dunham,  who  was  a  prom- 
inent farmer,  died  on  September  6,  1863, 
at  the  age  of  forty-one;  and  his  estimable 
wife,  who  survived  him  little  more  than 
two  years,  passed  away  September  12, 
1865.  The  Goldens  came  from  Pennsyl- 
vania many  years  since,  and  there  are 
now  many  of  the  family  in  Townsend. 

Mr.  Whitmore  takes  no  very  special 
interest  in  politics  further  than  to  cast  his 
ballot,  which  is  usually  Democratic.  He 
is  engaged  in  farming  his  one  hundred 
and  thirty  acres  of  fruitful  land. 


JOHN  P.  WHITMORE  is  a  success- 
ful   and    prosperous    farmer,    and  a 
well-known    resident    of   Townsend 
township,  Sandusky  county,  in  which 
township  he  was  born  December  25,  i860. 


ISAAC  STROHL,  farmer,  Ballville 
township,  Sandusky  county,  was  born 
in  Perry  county,  Ohio,  November  18, 
1825,  a  son  of  Peter  and  Sarah  (Over- 
myer)  Strohl,  who  were  natives  of  Penn- 
sylvania. They  were  farmers  by  oc- 
cupation, and  members  of  the  Lutheran 
Church.  Peter  Strohl  was  born  June  22, 
1798,  and  died  in  Fremont  after  his  re- 
tirement from  the  farm.  His  wife  was 
born  in   Northampton  count}',   Penn.,   in 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


753 


1804,  a  daughter  of  Jacob  Overmyer, 
whose  children  were:  Barbara,  Margaret, 
Catharine,  Mary,  Maria,  Sarah,  Peter, 
Jacob  and  George. 

The  children  of  Peter  and  Sarah 
Strohl  were:  Elizabeth,  born  in  1822, 
died  in  childhood;  Isaac,  our  subject; 
Margaret,  born  in  1828,  who  in  1847 
married  Enos  Osborn,  a  farmer  of  Ball- 
ville  township  (now  deceased),  who  had 
six  children,  one  of  whom,  James  M., 
was  for  a  number  of  years  editor  and 
proprietor  of  the  Democratic  Messenger, 
at  Fremont.  Ohio,  and  is  at  present  editor 
of  the  Dayto7ta  Messcng-cr,  at  Daytona, 
Fla. ;  Maria,  born  in  1831,  who  died  at 
the  age  of  eighteen,  in  Ballville  township; 
Catherine,  born  May  5,  1834,  who  was 
married  December  6,  i860,  to  Dr.  \V.  V. 
B.  y\mes,  of  Fremont,  sketch  of  whom 
appears  elsewhere. 

Isaac  Strohl  lived  with  parents  on 
their  farm  in  Ballville  township  until  his 
thirty-fifth  year.  In  the  winter  of  1848 
he  enlisted  as  a  soldier  in  the  Mexican 
war,  and  was  at  the  City  of  Mexico  when 
it  was  taken  by  the  U.  S.  troops.  In 
1849  he  went  to  New  Orleans  and  engaged 
as  a  foreman  on  a  steamer  plying  between 
that  city  and  St.  Louis,  in  which  capacity 
he  served  about  one  year,  after  which  he 
returned  home.  He  succeeded  his  father 
on  the  home  farm.  He  is  a  life-long 
Democrat,  and  has  held  various  offices  of 
honor  and  trust.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
M.  E.  Church,  and  is  a  Knight  Templar. 
On  January  12,  i860,  he  married  Miss 
Elida  Grover,  who  is  one  of  seven  chil- 
dren— Elida,  Maria,  George,  William  B., 
Philip,  Sylvester  and  Mary. 


EDGAR  KARSHNER  one    of    the 
popular  and  well-to-do  citizens  of 
Riley  township,  Sandusky  county, 
was  born  August  4,  1 864,  and  is  a 
son  of  Daniel  and  Lydia  Karshner,  and  a 
grandson  of  John  Karshner. 

John  Karshner  was  born  in  Pennsyl- 


time,     and   the 

worked     hard, 

and  wrought  out  a  home 


vania,  and  married  Christine  Drum. 
They  had  three  children  namely:  Magda- 
lena,  married  to  George  Broomley,  who 
lives  in  Indiana,  and  died  in  1890;  Sarah, 
married  to  Z.  Woodford,  who  is  a  farmer 
in  northern  Ohio,  and  they  have  had 
eight  children;  and  Daniel,  the  father  of 
Edgar  Karshner,  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
John  Karshner  and  his  wife  lived  in  Penn- 
sylvania for  several  years  after  their  mar- 
riage, then  moved  to  Tarlton,  Pickaway 
Co.,  Ohio,  and  from  there  to  Riley  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  where  he  settled 
and  bought  480  acres  of  land.  Indians 
were  numerous  at  that 
country  was  new.  He 
cleared  the  land, 

from  the  wilderness.  He  was  a  Whig  m 
politics,  and  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
Church. 

Daniel  Karshner  was  born  September 
9,  1822,  in  Tarlton,  Pickaway  county. 
He  was  reared  at  home,  had  a  common 
school  education,  and  worked  for  his  fa- 
ther on  the  old  homestead  until  he  was 
married.  He  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Lydia  Robinson,  who  was  born  January 
I,  1830,  and  they  had  a  family  of  nine 
children,  as  follows:  John  F.  born  June  2, 
1848;  Charles  D.,  November  22,  1851; 
Albert  L.,  August  27,  1853;  Clara  A., 
November  26,  1856;  Ellen  A.,  February 
4,  1858;  Sarah  L.,  August  15,  i860;  An- 
nie E.,  July  16,  1863;  Edgar  W.,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch;  and  Willis  C,  born 
March  27,  1868.  Daniel  Karshner  has 
held  various  offices,  such  as  school  direc- 
tor and  supervisor.  He  is  a  Republican 
in  politics,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Lu- 
theran Church. 

Edgar  Karshner  recei%'ed  a  common- 
school  education,  and  worked  on  the  farm 
for  his  father  until  his  twenty-first  year. 
On  December  16,  1888,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Mary  Bartis,  and  three 
children  have  been  born  to  them,  namely: 
Mabel  E.  (born  September  20,  1889), 
Clara  E.,  and  Charles.  Mr.  Karshner  in- 
herited 113  acres  of  valuable  land  three 


754 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


miles  east  of  Fremont,  Sandusky  county, 
and  in  1890  he  built  a  handsome  residence 
which  cost  him  $1,250.00.  He  carries  on 
general  farming,  and  gives  special  atten- 
tion to  fruit  and  to  fine  horses  and  cattle. 
He  is  a  stanch  Republican,  and  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Lutheran  Church. 


Republican,  and  in  religious  affiliation  a 
member  of  the  United  Brethren  Church. 
He  is  well  liked  in  the  community  where 
he  has  had  his  home  so  many  years. 


JACOB  SAMPSEL,  an   honored   citi- 
zen of  Madison  township,  Sandusky 
county,  was  born  in  Beaver  county, 
Penn.,  in   1836,   son  of  Joseph  and 
Mary  M.    (Beckley)  Sampsel,  who  came 
from  Pennsylvania   to  Ohio  when   he  was 
a  mere  boy. 

Joseph  Sampsel  was  a  hatter,  and  fol- 
lowed this  occupation  up  to  the  time  of 
his  removal  to  the  "Buckeye  State." 
When  he  arrived  here  he  rented  a  forty- 
acre  tract  of  land  in  the  vicinity  of  New 
Lisbon,  Columbiana  county,  and  in  prox- 
imity to  the  farm  occupied  by  his  father, 
who  had  located  there  a  fewj-ears  before. 
After  retaining  this  land  for  a  short  time, 
he  sold  it,  and  bought  a  piece  of  five 
acres,  on  which  he  lived  a  few  \'ears. 
Selling  this  he  came  to  Sandusky  county, 
where  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his 
days,  his  wife  surviving  him  only  a  few 
years. 

Jacob  Sampsel  remained  on  his  father's 
farm  until  the  age  of  eighteen,  receiving 
a  common-school  education,  and  after 
leaving  home  worked  at  odd  jobs.  On 
March  10,  1859,  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Louisa  Long,  whose  parents 
were  of  Pennsylvania  ancestry,  and  they 
have  had  a  family  of  seven  children,  as 
follows:  John  F.  is  a  farmer  in  Perry 
county,  Ohio;  Samuel  is  a  mason  in 
Clyde,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio;  Jeremiah 
works  in  the  oil  districts  in  Sandusky 
county;  John  is  similarU'  employed;  Ella 
married  William  Cross:  Mary  married 
Frank  Adeline,  a  farmer  in  Wood  county, 
Ohio;  and  Cora  married  Frank  Cary,  a 
farmer  in  Wood  county.  Mr.  Sampsel 
has  several  oil  wells.      In  politics  he  is  a 


JOHN   MEEKER,  one  of  the  highly- 
esteemed  farmer  citizens  of  Carroll 
township,  Ottawa  county,    is  a  na- 
tive of  same,  his  birth  having  occurred 
in  Carroll  township,  November  27,   1838, 
and  he  is  a  son  of  John  and  Nancy  (Lind- 
sley)  Meeker. 

The  father  of  our  subject,  who  was 
born  December  27,  1802,  was  united  in 
marriage  April  23,  1835,  in  Essex  county, 
N.  J.,  with  Miss  Lindsley,  who  was  born 
in  Morris  county,  that  State,  January  20, 
1 8 14.  In  1837  they  located  in  Carroll 
township,  Ottawa  county,  where  they  re- 
mained honored  residents  the  remainder 
of  their  days,  the  father  dying  December 
31,  1848,  and  the  mother  December  16, 
1 878.  To  their  union  came  five  children — 
Sarah  Jane,  born  July  11,  1836,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Ira  P.  Russell;  John,  subject 
of  this  sketch;  Smith  M.,  born  January 
I,  1 84 1,  who  is  a  resident  of  Carroll 
township;  Amy,  born  June  8,  1S43,  who 
died  September  9,  1874;  and  Gilbreath, 
born  February  27,  1844,  who  died  Jan- 
uary 24,   1845. 

Our  subject  was  reared  to  farm  life, 
and  received  a  limited  education  in  the 
old  log  schoolhouse  of  the  district,  and  he 
has  a  vivid  recollection  of  this  institution, 
with  its  puncheon  seats  and  the  hickory 
rod  wielded  by  the  stern-visaged  school- 
master. After  completing  his  school  days, 
which  certainly  had  not  been  numerous 
enough  to  keep  him  away  from  the  farm 
to  any  great  extent,  he  settled  down  to  a 
practical  farmer's  life,  and  in  that  honor- 
able occupation  he  has  spent  his  useful 
life.  On  November  27,  1872,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Sophronia 
Ogden,  daughter  of  Jeptha  Lindsley  and 
Margaret  (Covers)  Ogden.  Mr.  Meeker 
and  his   amiable  wife   attend   the  United 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


too 


Brethren  Church,  and  are  honored  and 
respected  in  the  community  for  their  ster- 
ling worth  and  generous  hospitalit\'.  In 
poHtics  he  is  identified  with  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  and  is  a  strong  believer  in 
its  principles.  One  great  fact  is  apparent 
in  the  historj-  of  Mr.  Meeker,  and  that  is 
that  his  success  and  prosperity  have  been 
accomplished  by  hard,  earnest  labor,  good 
management  and  care,  which  qualities  are 
numbered  among  his  chief  characteristics. 
In  addition  to  general  agriculture,  he  en- 
gages in  fruit-growing,  and  his  well-stocked 
farm  and  neat  and  attractive  surroundings 
bespeak  industry  and  thrift,  and  in  all 
his  dealings  he  is  the  soul  of  honor. 

Ira  p.  Russell,  brother-in-law  of 
Mr.  Meeker,  is  a  prominent  agriculturist 
of  Carroll  township.  He  was  born  in 
Chautauqua  county,  N.  Y.,  October  15, 
1835,  and  is  a  son  of  William  Peckhain 
and  Sarah  Ann  (Webster;  Russell,  both  of 
whom  were  natives  of  the  Empire  State, 
the  father  born  in  W^a\ne  county,  Febru- 
ary 9.  1 8 10,  and  the  mother  in  Caze- 
novia,  Madison  county.  May  22,  181 5. 
They  removed  to  Ohio  in  1837,  locating 
in  Kno.x  county  and  there  remaining  until 
the  fall  of  1840,  when  they  came  to  Port- 
age township,  Ottawa  county.  Here 
they  resided  for  five  years,  in  September, 
1845,  returning  to  New  York;  but  in 
April,  1847,  they  again  came  to  Ottawa 
county,  this  time  locating  in  Erie  town- 
ship, where  the  mother  died  May  11, 
1849.  In  their  family  were  two  children 
— Ira  P.,  and  Charity  Ann,  who  was 
born  March  17,  1838,  and  died  in  De- 
cember of  the  same  year.  After  the 
death  of  his  first  wife,  Mr.  Russell  was 
again  married,  and  subsequently  removed 
to  Carroll  township,  where  he  resided  un- 
til October,  1880,  going  thence  to  Sugar 
Ridge,  Wood  Co. ,  Ohio,  where  his  death 
occurred  June  15,  1885. 

The  advantages  afforded  Ira  P.  Rus- 
sell for  securing  an  education  were  very 
meagre.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  years 
he  left  home,  going  to  Chautauqua,  N.  Y. , 


where  he  spent  three  years  in  master- 
ing the  mason  and  brickia3er's  trades, 
at  which  he  worked  in  various  cities  of 
the  Union  until  1857.  In  that  year  he 
located  in  Carroll  township,  where  he  has 
since  carried  on  agriculture  with  e.xcellent 
success  with  the  exception  of  four  years 
spent  in  Clay  township,  Ottawa  county. 
On  March  19,  1857,  in  Carroll  township, 
Mr.  Russell  wedded  Sarah  Jane  Meeker, 
who  was  born  in  Butler  county,  Ohio, 
July  II,  1836.  and  they  have  become  the 
parents  of  two  daughters.  Nancy  Eliza- 
beth Ann,  born  in  February,  1859,  was 
married  March  25,  1877,  to  Albert  H. 
Conkey,  who  died  on  the  13th  of  Septem- 
ber following;  on  August  25,  1891,  she 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Charles  H. 
Veler,  and  to  their  union  has  come  one 
daughter — Lillie  A. ,  born  January  30, 
1892.  The  second  daughter  of  Mr.  Rus- 
sell, Amy  Corena  Josephine,  was  born 
May  14,  1870,  and  was  married  March  17, 
1890,  to  Charles  H.  Veler;  she  passed 
away  March  19,  1891. 

Since  attaining  his  majority  Mr.  Rus- 
sell has  been  a  stanch  supporter  of  the 
Democratic  party,  but  he  is  in  no  sense 
an  office  seeker,  and,  though  many  times 
solicited  to  accept  positions  of  trust  in 
both  county  and  township  affairs  he  has 
always  felt  that  his  time  could  be  best 
spent  in  attending  to  the  duties  of  his 
home  and  farm.  He  is  possessed  of  a 
most  retentive  memory,  recalling  with 
wonderful  accuracy  details  and  dates  of 
incidents  which  occurred  during  his  life- 
time from  his  earliest  da\'s,  thus  permit- 
ting him  to  live  over  again  the  happy  days 
of  his  past  life.  Socially,  he  is  liberal, 
frank  and  genial,  and  in  business  matters  is 
scfupulously  honorable  in  all  transactions. 


s 


Perry 


AMUEL  COVERS,  a  prominent 
and  successful  farmer,  and  the 
oldest  living  settler  in  Carrol  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county,  was  born  in 

county,    Ohio,    August    14,    1827. 


r56 


commemoratTve  biographical  record. 


His  parents,  Adam  and  Elizabeth  (Shoop) 
Covers,  were  both  natives  of  Westmore- 
land county,  Penn.,  of  German  ancestry, 
the  former  born  in  1790,  and  the  latter 
in  1794.  In  1834  they  located  in  Carroll 
township.  Ottawa  county  (which  was  then 
a  part  of  Sandusky  county),  and  there 
made  a  permanent  home,  the  father  dy- 
ing in  1842,  and  the  mother,  who  long 
survived  him,  passing  away  in  1880.  Of 
their  family  of  eight  children,  four  are 
still  living — Susan,  widow  of  F.  B.  Whip- 
ple, residing  in  Carroll  township;  Sarah, 
wife  of  Jackson  Shasteen.  living  in  Defi- 
ance county,  Ohio;  Samuel;  and  Louisa, 
wife  of  George  W.  Green,  of  Carroll 
township. 

Our  subject  was  only  seven  years  old 
when  he  came  with  his  parents  to  Carroll 
township,  where  he  was  reared  in  the 
usual  manner  of  farmer  boys,  and  his 
limited  education  was  obtained  in  the 
primitive  log  schoolhouse  of  those  early 
days.  Since  his  earliest  boyhood  he  has 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits,  and  has 
made  a  success  of  his  chosen  calling. 
On  December  14,  1849,  in  Carroll  town- 
ship, Mr.  Covers  married  Betsj'  Ann  Gor- 
don, a  daughter  of  Andrew  and  Rachel 
(Meeker)  Gordon,  who  were  natives  cf 
I3utler  county,  Ohio,  where  Mrs.  Covers 
was  born  October  10,  1827.  This  union 
was  blessed  with  ten  children,  of  whom 
John,  born  August  16,  1850,  makes  his 
home  in  Carroll  township;  Louisa,  born 
September  10,  1852,  married  William 
Fizer,  and  died  November  11,  1891; 
Maria,  born  November  4,  1854,  became 
the  wife  of  Hiram  Frost,  and  was  drowned 
in  the  Tusany  river  by  the  capsizing  of  a 
boat;  Adam,  born  November  16,  1859, 
lives  on  the  old  homestead;  Susan  was 
born  August  30,  1864;  Sarah  was  born 
December  13,  1866;  and  Samuel  was 
born  February  13,  1868.  The  mother  of 
this  family  passed  away  on  August  6, 
1 89 1.  They  attend  the  United  Brethren 
Church.  In  his  political  views.  Mr.  Cov- 
ers is  a  stalwart  Republican;  for  the  past 


fifteen  years  he  has  been  constable  in  the 
township,  and  for  two  terms  was  town- 
ship trustee.  Socially  he  is  a  member  of 
the  Grange. 


JOHN  BOWLAND,  mayor  of  Genoa, 
Ottawa  county,  and  postmaster  at 
that  place,  is  a  man  whose  life 
record  is  proof  that  a  person's  en- 
vironments do  not  necessarily  limit  his 
possibilities,  and  that  the  working  out  of 
his  future,  for  good  or  evil,  lies  in  the 
hands  of  any  young  man  who  possesses 
brains  and  strength  of  character  enough 
to  make  up  his  mind  what  he  will  be,  and 
to  bend  all  his  energies  to  that  end. 

Mr.  Bowland  was  born  in  Harris 
township,  Ottawa  county,  August  3,  1851, 
and  was  the  son  of  John  and  Diana  (Par- 
rott)  Bowland,  who  were  also  natives  of 
Ohio.  His  father  died  a  month  before  our 
subject  was  born,  leaving  the  mother  with 
her  family  of  little  ones  dependent  on  her 
for  support.  When  the  Civil  war  broke 
out  in  1861  her  three  eldest  boys  enlisted, 
serving  throughout  the  struggle,  and  the 
younger  children  were  obliged  to  do 
what  they  could  to  earn  their  daily  bread. 
The  mother  had  in  the  meantime  re- 
moved from  Harris  township  to  Clay 
township,  and  here  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  began  work  on  a  farm  at  the  early 
age  of  fifteen  years.  His  education  was 
necessarily  very  limited,  but  his  quick  in- 
tellect gathered  up  and  put  to  use  what 
book  learning  he  had  acquired,  and  con- 
stantly absorbed  whatever  could  be 
gained  from  reading  and  observation. 
Until  the  death  of  his  beloved  mother, 
which  took  place  April  17,  1875,  he 
proved  a  faithful,  devoted  son,  working 
cheerfully  and  untiringlj',  and,  with  his 
brothers,  ministering  to  her  every  want. 
After  spending  a  number  of  years 
upon  the  farm,  Mr.  Bowland  went  into 
partnership  with  his  brother  Thomas  in 
the  manufacture  of  hoops,  carrying  on  this 
business  both  at  Martin,  Ottawa  county, 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


r57 


and  in  Henry  county.  He  also  was  in 
the  same  business  by  himself  for  several 
years  and  up  to  1890.  Mr.  Rowland  was 
married  August  25,  1875,  to  Miss  Mary 
Eyre,  daughter  of  George  and  Sarah 
Eyre,  who  now  reside  in  Genoa,  and  of 
this  union  three  children  have  been  born: 
ErrettG.,  March  18,  1877;  Bertha  M., 
March  16,  1883;  and  Waiter,  September 
19,  1889.  The  eldest  son  of  this  inter- 
esting family  attended  the  public  schools 
of  Genoa,  and  also  attended  the  High 
School  at  Columbus.  This  was  followed 
by  three  terms  in  the  High  School  of 
Genoa,  from  which  he  was  graduated 
with  honor  June  4,  1895.  He  is  a  young 
man  of  fine  intellect  and  a  worthy  son  of 
his  father,  whose  assistant  he  is  in  the 
post  office.  The  family  attend  the  Chris- 
tian Church. 

The  early  struggles  of  Mr.  Rowland 
taught  him  lessons  of  perseverance,  fru- 
gality and  industry,  which  have  borne 
fruit  in  the  success  that  has  attended  his 
career.  His  genial  disposition  and  sym- 
pathy with  his  fellow  men  have  rendered 
him  exceedingly  popular  with  all  classes, 
.  and  they  have  showed  their  appreciation 
of  his  sterling  worth  by  bestowing  on  him 
numerous  responsible  offices,  all  of  which 
he  has  filled  with  dignity  and  to  the  sat- 
isfaction of  the  public.  In  1877  he  was 
elected  constable  of  Clay  township  on 
the  Democratic  ticket,  holding  the  posi- 
tion two  years.  In  1881  he  was  ap- 
pointed assessor  for  the  township,  the 
term  being  one  year,  and  both  in  1883 
and  1884  was  re-elected  by  a  large  vote. 
In  1887  he  was  elected  city  councilman 
for  a  term  of  two  years  and  polled  a  large 
and  popular  vote.  Mr.  Rowland  was 
elected  assessor  for  the  third  time  in  1889. 
For  a  term  of  two  years  he  filled  the  office 
of  guard  of  the  Penitentiarj-  at  Colum- 
bus, this  State,  remaining  in  that  city  for 
two  years.  At  the  end  of  this  time 
he  returned  to  Genoa  and  was  elected 
mayor  of  the  village  by  acclamation,  his 
popularity  being  so  great   that  opposition 


was  useless.  He  was  re-elected  in  the 
spring  of  1895,  and  is  filling  the  office 
with  great  ability.  On  June  20,  1893, 
he  received  the  appointment  of  postmas- 
ter at  Genoa,  and  merits  the  high  com- 
mendations he  has  received  for  the  man- 
ner in  which  he  discharges  the  duties  of 
that  responsible  position.  On  May  6, 
1895,  Mr.  Rowland  received  his  com- 
mission from  the  Governor  of  Ohio  as 
notary  public  for  Ottawa  county,  and  in 
addition  to  his  numerous  public  duties  he 
is  carrying  on  a  real-estate  and  insurance 
business.  He  is  a  member  of  Clay  Lodge, 
No.  584.  I.  O.  O.  F.,  at  Genoa. 

With  all  his  energies  devoted  to  the 
important  trusts  held  by  him,  Mr.  Row- 
land still  finds  time  to  interest  himself 
in  anything  which  will  promote  the  wel- 
fare of  his  town  and  county,  and  lends  a 
helping  hand  wherever  needed.  He  has 
won  the  respect  and  esteem  of  his  fellow 
men  by  his  integrity  of  character  and  his 
spirit  of  enterprise,  and  is  well  deserving 
of  all  the  honors  received  at  their  hands. 


LF.  GAHN,  M.  D.,  who  is  suc- 
cessfully and  extensively  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  medicine  in  El- 
more, Ottawa  county,  and  who  is 
prominently  identified  with  the  interests 
of  the  town,  was  born  January  15,  1849, 
in  Columbus,  Ohio,  and  is  a  son  of  Rev. 
C.  and  Margaret  (Artz)  Gahn. 

Rev.  C.  Gahn  was  born  in  Prussia, 
in  1 818,  and  spent  fifty-seven  years  of 
his  life  in  the  ministry,  becoming  promi- 
nent in  the  M.  E  Church.  He  held 
some  of  the  best  appointments  in  the 
State  of  Ohio,  was  located  in  Cincinnati 
for  six  years,  was  presiding  elder  of  the 
Cincinnati  district  for  four  years,  and 
then  again  served  as  pastor  in  that  city 
for  a  number  of  years.  He  then  retired 
to  his  farm  in  Sandusky  county,  where 
he  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-five.  His 
wife  was  also  born  in  Prussia,  and  their 
marriage    was   celebrated  in    1836.      To 


758 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


them  were  born  six  children,  five  of  whom 
are  hving.  The  ancestors  of  the  family 
were  originally  Scotch,  and  lived  on  the 
Isle  of  Man. 

The  Doctor  accompanied  his  parents 
on  their  various  removals  during  his  child- 
hood, and  completed  his  literary  educa- 
tion in  Cincinnati.  In  I  8/ I  he  began  the 
study  of  medicine  in  the  University  of 
Michigan,  where  he  remained  one  year, 
thence  going  to  the  Medical  College  of 
Cincinnati,  from  which  he  graduated  in 
1873.  On  completing  his  studies  he  lo- 
cated in  Elmore,  Ohio,  where  he  has 
lived  for  the  past  twenty-one  years,  one 
of  its  most  honored  and  esteemed  resi- 
dents. The  doctor  was  for  two  j'ears 
mayor  of  the  town,  was  president  of  the 
board  of  education  for  three  years,  and 
a  member  of  the  village  council  for  two 
years,  and  has  always  been  prominent 
and  active  in  support  of  all  interests  that 
are  calculated  to  advance  the  general 
welfare.  In  his  political  views  he  is  a 
Republican;  in  religious  faith  he  is  an 
adherent  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  The  Doctor  has  met  with  excel- 
lent success  in  his  profession,  and  for 
several  years  has  given  special  attention  to 
chronic  diseases,  having  a  very  extensive 
office  practice.  He  spends  Monday  of 
each  week  in  his  office  at  Elmore,  and 
the  remainder  of  the  time  in  his  office  at 
No.  625  Adams  street,  Toledo,  where  he 
has  a  very  large  patronage. 

The  Doctor  married  Miss  Ettie  Knight, 
who  was  born  in  Port  Clinton,  Ohio,  in 
1848,  and  who,  for  several  jears  prior 
to  her  marriage,  successfully  engaged  in 
teaching  in  Elmore.  Three  children  have 
come  to  them — Grace,  born  November 
26,  1876;  Harry,  born  April  26,  1881; 
and  Lloyd,  born  August  27,  1883.  The 
daughter  graduated  from  the  Elmore  high 
school  in  1893,  and  is  now  one  of  the 
promising  teachers  of  Ottawa  county, 
having  taught  in  Harris  township  for  two 
\ears  with  marked  success.  The  other 
children  are  now  pursuing  their  studies  in 


the  Elmore  public  schools.  The  family 
is  one  widely  and  favorable  known  in  the 
county,  and  the  Doctor  and  his  wife  have 
a  wide  circle  of  warm  friends. 


FRED  TEBBE  was  born  in  Han- 
over. Germany,  April  6,  1830, 
and  is  a  son  of  John  Henry  and 
Inseline  (Garager)  Tebbe.  The 
father  worked  as  a  laborer  in  his  native 
land,  and  in  October,  1844,  emigrated  to 
America,  hoping  to  better  his  financial 
condition.  He  came  direct  to  Sandusky 
county,  Ohio,  and  secured  a  position  as  a 
farm  hand  in  Washington  township,  in 
which  capacity  he  was  employed  until 
February  29,  1848,  when  he  was  taken 
ill,  and  the  sickness  terminated  his  life. 
His  first  wife  died  in  Germany  in  1831, 
after  which  he  married  a  lad}-  of  the  same 
name,  who  accompanied  him  to  America, 
and  died  in  Sandusky  county  during  the 
Civil  war.  There  was  one  child  by  this 
union,  William,  who  is  living  in  Stony 
Ridge,  Wood  Co.,  Ohio.  The  children 
of  the  first  marriage  were  Fred,  our  sub- 
ject, and  Mary,  who  became  the  wife  of 
John  Winkey,  and  died  in  Toledo,  Ohio. 
The  gentleman  whose  name  begins 
this  sketch  was  a  youth  of  fourteen  years 
when  he  came  to  America.  During  the 
first  ten  months  of  his  residence  in  Ohio 
he  was  employed  in  Wood  county  as  a 
farm  hand,  by  the  month.  He  then  re- 
moved to  York  township,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, where  he  worked  seventeen  years  by 
the  month.  He  was  industrious  and  lived 
frugally,  and  with  his  savings  during  that 
period  he  was  enabled  to  purchase  sixty- 
nine  acres  of  timber  land  in  Washington 
township,  Sandusky  county,  of  which  all 
is  cleared  with  the  exception  of  fifteen 
acres. 

Mr.  Tebbe  was  married  November 
29,  i860,  to  Miss  Mary  Strausmeyer,  who 
was  born  August  2,  1S38,  a  daughter  of 
Henry  and  Lizzie  (Bushesj  Strausmeyer, 
who  were  also   natives  of  Germany.      To 


COMMEMORATIVE  BTOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


759 


this  marriage  have  come  eight  children — 
L,\zzie,  born  September  1 8, 1 86 1 ,  deceased 
in  infancy;  Eliza,  born  April  22,  1863,  is 
the  wife  of  Fred  Moratcs,  and  with  their 
two  children  they  reside  in  Madison  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county;  Mary  L.  was  born 
February  28,  1865;  Caroline,  born  April 
5,  1868,  is  the  wife  of  Henry  Stein,  a 
farmer  of  Wood  county,  Ohio,  by  whom 
she  has  two  children;  Isabella,  born  April 
2,  1 87 1,  Sophia,  born  October  28,  1873, 
Casper  H.,  born  February  20,  1877,  and 
Ernest,  born  April  12,  1880,  are  still  at 
home.  Mr.  Tebbe  is  a  supporter  of  the 
Democratic  party,  and  a  member  of  the 
Lutheran  Church. 


JOSEPH  SHERCK,  who  for  four 
years,  or  from  April,  1S82,  to  April, 
1886,  served  as  mayor  of  Bellevue, 
was  born  November  10,  1828,  in 
Mifflin  county,    Pennsylvania. 

John  and  Magdalena  (Kreider)  Sherck, 
parents  of  our  subject,  moved  from  Penn- 
sylvania to  Seneca  county,  Ohio,  locating 
in  Thompson  township  October  i,  1834. 
In  1868  the  family  migrated  to  Michigan, 
locating  in  St.  Joseph  county,  where  Mrs. 
Magdalena  Sherck  died  in  1882.  The 
father  also  died  there  about  the  year  1889. 
They  reared  a  family  of  twelve  children 
(our  subject  being  the  second),  of  whom 
five  are  yet  living. 

Joseph  Sherck  received  a  primary  edu- 
cation in  the  district  school  of  Thompson 
township,  and  afterward  worked  on  the 
home  farm,  where  he  grew  to  manhood. 
On  August  19,  1 85 1,  he  married  Barbara 
A.  Decker,  the  eldest  child  of  Jacob  and 
Susanna  (Billman)  Decker,  the  former  of 
whom  was  the  son  of  John  and  Julia  Ann 
(Royer)  Decker,  who  cf.me  in  18 16  from 
Union  count}-,  Penn.,  to  Wayne  county, 
Ohio,  and  thence,  in  1830,  to  Seneca 
county,  where  Mrs.  Sherck  was  born.  To 
her  marriage  with  Joseph  Sherck  came 
two  children,  namely:  Marj'  A.,  Mrs. 
Sherck    Miller,    of    Seneca   county,   and 

48 


Charles  M. ,  who  is  now  working  with  his 
father,  as  grain  dealer  at  Bellevue.  From 
the  time  of  his  marriage  until  1873  Mr. 
Sherck  worked  on  the  farm,  and  in  1860 
purchased  the  160  acres  in  the  center  of 
Thompson  township,  Seneca  county, 
known  as  the  Sherck  homestead.  While 
on  this  farm  he  was  elected  justice  of  the 
peace,  and  served  in  that  position  for  nine 
years.  In  1873  he  moved  to  Bellevue, 
Sandusky  county,  and  established  a  saddle 
and  harness  house,  which  he  conducted 
until  1884,  when  he  engaged  in  the  grain 
trade.  To  day  he  operates  the  large  ele- 
vator at  Bellevue,  and  carries  on  a  most 
extensive  business  in  grain,  seed,  coal, 
plaster,  salt,  water-lime,  etc. 

Mr.  Sherck  can  trace  his  ancestry  back 
300  years,  and  for  a  century  or  more  can 
claim  this  country  as  the  family  home. 
Prominent  in  Masonic  work,  he  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Lodge,  (Chapter  and  Council  at 
Bellevue,  and  of  the  Commandery,  K.  T. , 
at  Norwalk,  Ohio.  In  religious  affairs  he 
affiliates  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  An  active,  enterprising  business 
man,  one  who  has  taken  a  full  ])art  in  the 
development  of  Bellevue,  he  enjoys,  as 
he  merits,  the  confidence  of  the  com- 
munity. 


STERLING  C.  LEONARD. 
Among  the  young  men  whose 
steady-going  industry  and  solid 
worth  have  contributed  materially 
to  the  prosperity  of  northern  Ohio,  and 
to  their  own  advancement  toward  a  com- 
petence, is  S.  C.  Leonard,  of  Riley  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county.  He  was  born 
March  31,  1866.  and  is  a  son  of  Joseph 
and  Elizabeth  (Clark)  Leonard,  the  former 
of  whom  was  born  in  New  Jersey,  Octo- 
ber 2,   1833. 

Joseph  Leonard  was  for  some  years 
in  the  employ  of  different  railroads  in  llli- 
inois  and  Te.xas.  On  March  r6,  1865,  in 
Illinois,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Elizabeth  Clark,  who  was  born   in   Penn- 


700 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQRAPHICAL  REGORB. 


sylvania,  January  i6,  1836,  and  their 
children  were:  SterHng  C. ,  the  subject  of 
these  hnes;  and  Joseph  W.,  born  August 
27,  1867,  and  Frederick,  born  November 
I  a,  1873,  both  of  whom  died  young. 
After  his  marriage  Mr.  Leonard  lived  in 
Illinois  for  a  period  of  about  eight  years, 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  April  25, 
1874.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  Mrs.  Joseph  Leonard 
■was  the  daughter  of  Joseph  R.  Clark, 
who  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  January 
27,  1806,  and  on  March  24,  1833,  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Emily  Welsh, 
who  was  born  October  2,  18 12.  They 
lived  in  Pennsylvania,  and  had  a  family  of 
twelve  children,  as  follows:  William,  born 
March  13.  1834,  married  Sarah  Bell,  by 
whom  he  has  five  children,  and  they  live 
in  Riley  township,  Sandusky  county; 
Elizabeth  is  the  mother  of  our  subject; 
Joseph  and  Rebecca  (twins),  born  July  16, 
1837,  died  young;  Leander;  Joseph,  born 
December  25,  1841,  died  May  6,  1850; 
Mary,  born  April  18,  1844,  married  Henry 
Heberling,  and  has  had  four  children  (they 
live  in  Scott  township,  Sandusky  county); 
Amelia,  born  January  4,  1846,  married 
Charles  Ralph,  by  which  union  there 
have  been  seven  children;  Lucretia,born  in 
July,  1 847. died  young;  Sarah, born  Novem- 
ber 9,  1849;  James,  born  November  2, 
185  I,  lives  in  Montana;  and  Clara,  born 
August  31,  1855.  Joseph  R.  Clark  was 
county  commissioner  eight  years,  and  jus- 
tice of  the  peace  for  eighteen  years. 

After  her  husband's  death  Mrs.  Joseph 
Leonard  moved  to  Pennsylvania,  where 
she  was  united  in  marriage  with  Nathan 
Cleaver,  a  Quaker,  and  they  lived  in 
Pennsylvania  until  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred June  25,  1887.  The  widow  then 
came  to  Sandusky  county,  Ohio,  and 
bought  forty  acres  of  land  in  Riley  town- 
ship, which  she  now  rents  to  her  son, 
our  subject,  who  works  this  farm  in  ad- 
dition to  his  own.  and  has  just  com- 
pleted the  erection  of  a  fine  grain  barn 
and     carriage     house     on     same.        She 


makes    her  home  in    Fremont,  Sandusky 
county. 

S.  C.  Leonard  worked  for  his  mother 
until  his  twenty-si.xth  year,  and  then 
bought  ninety-six  acres  of  land  in  Riley 
township,  which  cost  him  five  thousand 
dollars.  The  farm  was  in  very  poor  con- 
dition, being  badly  run  down  both  as  to 
soil  and  fencing,  and  he  at  once  set  to 
work  to  put  things  in  good  working  or- 
der— an  arduous  task,  indeed,  but  one  in 
which  he  has  succeeded  well,  his  farm  be- 
ing now  one  of  the  most  productive  and 
valuable  in  the  county.  Among  the  other 
numerous  improvements  he  has  made  is 
the  tiling  of  the  land,  which  makes  it 
first-class  for  cropping,  and  he  now  raises 
fine  crops;  he  is  putting  in  new  fences, 
and,  like  the  thorough-going,  up-to-date 
farmer  which  he  is,  is  leaving  nothing  un- 
done which  will  enhance  the  value  or  im- 
prove the  appearance  of  the  place.  With 
such  a  good  start  Mr.  Leonard  certainly 
has  a  bright  future  before  him,  though  his 
evident  efficiency  and  business  ability 
alone  would  be  an  assurance  of  success. 
He  is  genial  and  sociable  in  disposition, 
and  is  well-liked  and  highly  esteemed  by 
all  who  know  him.  In  politics  he  is  a 
Democrat. 


BM.  REED,  of  Green  Spring,  now 
infirmary  director  of  Sandusky 
county,  for  many  years  justice  of 
the  peace,  and  the  frequent  recipi- 
ent of  electoral  favors  from  his  appreciat- 
ive fellow  citizens,  was  born  in  Cumber- 
land county,  Penn.,  September  27,  1830, 
son  of  John  and  Mary  E.  (Manley)  Reed. 
John  Reed  was  born  in  Berks  county, 
Penn.,  September  4,  1805.  His  father, 
John  Reed,  Sr. ,  was  a  stone  mason  by 
trade  and  a  farmer  by  occupation,  the  son 
of  an  emigrant  from  Germany  during  the 
last  century.  John  Reed,  Jr.,  was  a  plas- 
terer by  trade.  In  1832  he  came  to  Ohio, 
settling  at  Huron,  Erie  county,  where  his 
wife  and  family  joined  him  four  years  later. 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


761 


In  1838  he  removed  to  New  Haven,  Hu- 
ron county,  where  he  lived  until  his  death, 
December  31,  1882.  In  Ohio  his  principal 
occupation  was  farming.  In  politics  he 
was  an  ardent  Whig  and  Republican  suc- 
cessively. His  wife  Mary  E.  (Manley), 
was  born  September  18,  1807,  and  died 
at  New  Haven  May  i,  18S4.  John  and 
Mary  E.  Keed  had  three  children:  B.  M., 
subject  of  this  sketch;  Margaret  E.,  born 
May  8,  1841,  who  married  William  Hugh, 
of  New  Haven,  and  died  there  in  i8gi, 
leaving  three  children  —  Frank,  May  E.  and 
John;  and  Sanmel  P.,  born  May  19,  1848, 
a  farmer  at  New  Haven. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  in  his  early 
boyhood  attended  the  schools  at  Huron, 
but  from  the  age  of  eight  to  fifteen  he  was 
without  educational  advantages  at  New 
Haven.  He  then  attended  one  year  at 
Plymouth,  and  the  following  year,  1846, 
his  father  and  several  neighbors  built  a 
log  schoolhouse  and  hired  a  teacher.  B. 
M.  Reed  remained  at  home  until  the  age 
of  twenty-two,  in  the  meantime  learning 
the  plasterer's  trade.  He  went  to  Attica, 
Seneca  county,  in  1852,  and  followed  his 
trade  there  for  three  years.  Farming  for 
a  season  in  Bloom  township,  near  Bloom- 
ville,  he  followed  his  trade  for  a  time  in 
Tiflin,  and  in  December,  1857,  came  to 
Green  Spring,  working  at  his  trade  at  fre- 
quent intervals.  In  i860,  while  working 
in  a  mill,  he  lost  his  arm  by  a  circular  saw 
accident.  Though  unfitted  io  himself 
enter  the  military  service  of  his  country, 
he  was  filled  with  the  war  spirit,  and  did 
great  good  in  arousing  patriotic  sentiment 
and  procuring  enlistments.  He  returned 
to  sawmilling,  crippled  as  he  was,  at  Green 
Spring,  and  in  Branch  county,  Mich. ;  then 
followed  painting  at  Green  Spring  until 
there  elected  justice  of  the  peace,  in  1881. 
Mr.  Reed  is  now  holding  his  fourth  com- 
mission in  that  judicial  capacity,  and  his 
third  commission  as  notary.  He  was 
elected  mayor  of  Green  Spring,  and  served 
four  terms — eight  years — in  that  magiste- 
rial office.      He  has  served  three  years  as 


township  trustee,  and  in  1894  was  re- 
elected to  that  position.  In  1893  he  was 
elected  infirmary  director  for  Sandusky 
county,  assuming  the  duties  of  the  office 
January  i,  1894.  In  politics  Mr.  Reed  is 
a  Republican. 

In  June,  1858,  he  was  married  to  Me- 
lissa M.  Vail,  born  in  Tompkins  county, 
N.  Y.,  September  26,  1839.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Reed  nine  children  have  been  born, 
as  follows:  Addie  M.,  born  November  3, 
1859,  wife  of  Fred  Rail,  of  Green  Spring; 
Mary  E.,  born  June  17,  1861,  wife  of  P. 
W.  Hess,  of  Clyde;  Alice,  born  March  13, 
1863,  wife  of  N.  E.  Dennis,  and  mother 
of  two  children — Lena  and  Arthur  N. ; 
Edward  W.,  born  November  4,  1865, 
now  employed  at  the  Insane  Asylum,  To- 
ledo; Lela  M.,  born  December  11,  1867, 
died  March  26,  1868;  Steward  F.,  born 
October  19.  1869,  employed  at  the  Insane 
Asylum,  Toledo;  John  R.,  born  April  30, 
1872,  cigar  manufacturer.  Green  Spring; 
Nellie  H.,  born  October  8,  1875;  Eddie 
Lee,  born  July  6,  1878,  died  November 
9,   1879- 


JACOB  LEJEUNE,  an  old  resident 
and  prosperous  farmer  of  Riley  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  was  born  in 
Alsace,  Germany,  March  29,  1837. 
and  is  a  son  of  Michael  and  Anna  (Nye) 
Lejeune,  who  were  from  Germany,  and 
were  born  in  1801  and  1813,  respectively. 
Michael  Lejeune  was  a  soldier  in  the 
old  country  for  seven  years.  He  came  to 
America  in  1852,  bought  forty  acres  of 
land  in  Riley  township,  and  lived  here  the 
remainder  of  his  days.  In  politics  he  was 
a  stanch  Democrat.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Lejeune  were  members  of  the  Catholic 
Church.  His  death  occurred  in  1855,  and 
that  of  his  wife  in  1878.  They  had  a 
family  of  five  children,  as  follows:  Stephen, 
born  in  1830,  died  in  1836;  Peter,  born 
in  1835;  Lena,  born  in  1839,  married 
Ellis  Young,  and  they  have  had  thirteen 
children  (they  live  in  Sandusky  City,  Erie 


762 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Co.,  Ohio);  Anna,  was  born  in  1841, 
married  Peter  Bautersall,  a  farmer  of 
Ballville  township,  Sandusky  county,  and 
they  have  four  children;  and  John,  born 
in  1843,  died  in  1879. 

Jacob  Lejeune  had  a  good  German 
and  French  education,  was  early  trained 
to  habits  of  economy  and  industry,  and 
spent  much  of  the  time  in  his  younger 
days  working  out  by  the  month.  On 
June  30,  1S60,  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Caroline  Weber.  In  i  S62  he  went 
to  Fremont,  Ohio,  and  was  there  vari- 
ously employed  for  seven  years.  Going 
from  there  to  Riley  township,  he  bought 
forty  acres  of  farm  land,  on  which,  with 
his  wife,  he  made  his  home,  adding  then 
another  forty  acres.  Their  children  were 
as  follows:  Michael,  born  September  27, 
1862,  married  Caroline  Weltine,  and  they 
have  had  four  children  (they  live  in 
Riley  township);  John,  born  October  4, 
1 864,  married  Elizabeth  Weltine,  and  have 
had  one  child  (they  live  in  Green  Creek 
township);  Anna,  born  January  5,  1867, 
married  John  Schock,  a  farmer,  of  Fre- 
mont, Sandusky  county,  and  they  have 
had  four  children;  Lena,  born  June  17, 
1869,  married  George  Hammer,  and  they 
have  had  one  child  (they  live  in  Riley 
township);  Jacob,  born  September  23, 
1876;  Eva,  Jjorn  February  18,  1879;  Lud- 
wig,  born  September  23,  1883;  George, 
born  February  8,  1886;  Katie,  born  Ue- 
cember  4,  1888,  died  in  infancy;  Joseph, 
deceased  in  infancy ;  and. Tony  and  Frankie 
who  both  died  young. 

Mr.  Lejeune  is  a  Democrat  in  politics, 
was  roadmaster  for  six  years,  and  school 
director  for  six  years.  In  religious  affilia- 
tion he  is  a  member  of  the  Catholic 
Church. 


WILLIAM   F.  LOCKW^OOD,   ex- 
judge  of  the  court   of  common 
pleas,    who    resides    on    Put    in 
Bay  Island,   Ottawa  county,   is 
one  of  the  most  influential  residents  of 


this  community.  He  was  born  in  South 
Norwalk,  Fairfield   Co.,    Conn.,    April    i, 

1822,    and  is  a  son  of   and 

Sarah  (Daskam)  Lockwood,  who  were 
also  natives  of  Connecticut.  There  the 
father  died,  in  Fairfield  county,  and  the 
mother's  death  occurred  in  Toledo,  Ohio, 
in  1873. 

The  Judge  received  a  common-school 
education  in  his  native  county,  and  when 
fifteen  years  of  age  went  to  New  York 
City,  where  he  became  a  clerk  in  a  whole- 
sale grocery  store,  filling  that  position  for 
a  period  of  three  years.  He  has  since 
been  dependent  upon  his  own  efforts,  and 
the  success  of  his  life  is  due  entirely  to 
his  resources.  In  1840  became  to  Ohio, 
and  the  following  year  settled  in  Elyria, 
Lorain  county,  where  he  became  a  law 
student,  in  the  office  of  Hamlin  &  Bliss. 
In  1842  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
Medina,  Ohio,  and  at  once  commenced 
the  practice  of  his  chosen  profession  as  a 
partner  of  his  old  preceptors  in  Elyria. 
During  the  same  year  he  was  a  candidate 
on  the  W^hig  ticket  for  the  office  of  prose- 
cuting attorney,  but  was  defeated  by  H. 
A.  Lenney,  the  Democratic  candidate. 
In  1844,  however,  he  was  elected  to  that 
office,  which  he  capably  filled  for  four 
years,  being  re-elected  in  1846.      In  1852 


he  was  a 


delegate 


from  his  congressional 


district  to  the  Whig  National  Convention, 
which  met  in  Baltimore,  Md.,  and  nom- 
inated Winfield  Scott  as  a  candidate  for 
the  Presidency.  The  same  year  he  was 
the  candidate  of  his  party  for  Congress, 
but  the  Democratic  nominee,  Harvey 
Johnson,  of  Ashland  county,  won  the 
election.  His  abilities,  however,  were 
recognized  in  1854  by  his  election  to  the 
office  of  probate  judge  of  Lorain  county, 
to  succeed  Philemon  Bliss.  In  1856  he 
was  a  candidate  before  the  Republican 
convention  for  the  nomination  for  judge 
of  the  court  of  common  pleas,  but  Judge 
Carpenter  of  Akron  became  the  nominee. 
By  reason  of  impaired  health  Mr.  Lock- 
wood  resigned  his  office  of  probate  judge, 


COMMEJaORATIVE  BIOQBAPHWAL  RECORD. 


7C3 


and  in  the  spring  of  1857  removed  with 
his  family  to  Nebraska,  locating  in  Omaha, 
where  he  resided  for  two  years.  On  the 
expiration  of  that  period  he  went  to  Da- 
kota City,  where  he  made  his  home  until 
his  return  to  Ohio  in  1867.  Mr.  Lock- 
wood  was  one  of  the  federal  judges  for 
the  Third  District  in  the  Territory  of  Ne- 
braska, receiving  his  appointment  from 
President  Lincoln,  and  serving  from 
April,  1 86 1,  until  its  admission  as  a  State 
into  the  Union  in  1867,  when  he  was 
nominated  by  President  Johnson  as 
United  States  District  Judge  for  the  dis- 
trict of  Nebraska;  the  nomination,  how- 
ever, was  not  confirmed  by  the  Senate. 
In  1867  Judge  Lockwood  was  appointed 
State  Judge  by  President  Johnson,  and 
served  eight  years.  He  was  the  Demo- 
cratic candidate  for  Congress  in  the 
Toledo  district  in  1870,  but  was  unsuc- 
cessful in  the  contest,  for  the  Republicans 
were  in  the  majority  there.  In  1878  he 
was  recommended  by  the  bar  of  Lucas 
county  for  the  office  of  common  pleas 
judge,  and  his  personal  popularity  and 
superior  ability  was  attested  by  his  ratifi- 
cation by  both  the  Republican  and  Demo- 
cratic Conventions.  He  was  subsequently 
elected  and  honorably  filled  the  position 
for  five  years.  While  engaged  in  the 
private  practice  of  his  profession  he  had  a 
large  clientage.  He  is  a  man  of  su- 
perior legal  attainments  and  more  than 
ordinary  mental  ability,  as  the  large 
number  of  important  positions  he  has 
so  creditably  filled  well  attest.  There 
is  little  need  of  comment  on  such  a  rec- 
ord as  his,  as  it  speaks  for  itself.  It  is 
a  record  of  which  he  may  well  be  proud, 
for  while  his  ability  excites  the  admira- 
tion, his  fidelity  to  duty  commands  the 
respect  of  all,  and  he  enjoys  the  esteem 
of  all  who  know  him.  In  both  social  and 
public  life  he  is  held  in  high  regard,  and 
deservedly  occupies  an  exalted  position. 
During  the  past  thirty  years  the  Judge  has 
made  his  home  at  his  beautiful  residence 
plose  to  the  shore   of  Lake  Erie,  on  Put 


in  Bay  Island,  where  he  spends  the  sum- 
mer months,  and  during  the  past  four 
years  he  has  wintered  in  Toledo. 

Judge  Lockwood  was  married  in  Ely- 
ria,  Ohio,  December  25,  1848,  to  Miss 
Mary  A.  Nichols,  a  daughter  of  Reuben 
and  Asenath  Nichols.  They  have  four 
children — Mary  Frances,  born  November 
25,  1849,  who  is  the  wife  of  T.  H.  B. 
Davis,  president  of  the  Middleton  Silver 
Plate  Company,  and  a  resident  of  San- 
dusky City,  Ohio;  Edith,  born  March  17, 
1856,  who  is  the  wife  of  Maj.  D.  W. 
Lockwood,  of  the  United  States  Engineer 
Corps;  Clara  E.,  born  October  25,  1858, 
wife  of  George  Hoyt  Pomeroy,  a  resident 
of  Cleveland,  Ohio;  and  Maud  A.,  born 
July  28,    1868,  died  April  i,   1870. 

Reuben  Nichols,  the  father  of  Mrs. 
Lockwood,  was  born  in  Londonderry, 
N.  H.,  in  1787,  and  in  181 1  married  Miss 
Asenath  Center,  of  the  same  town.  His 
parents  were  Jacob  and  Sallie  Nichols, 
natives  of  Massachusetts,  who  had  a  family 
of  twelve  children,  seven  sons  and  five 
daughters,  of  whom  Reuben  was  the 
youngest.  All  lived  to  be  from  eighty- 
four  to  ninety-six  years  of  age,  except  one 
who  died  in  early  life  from  the  effects  of 
an  injury.  In  October,  1827,  Reuben 
Nichols  left  New  Hampshire  with  his  fam- 
ily, and  started  for  the  wilds  of  the  West 
to  seek  a  home.  On  reaching  Pike  Hol- 
low, Allegany  Co. ,  N.  Y. ,  the  family  made 
a  halt,  while  the  father  proceeded  to 
Lorain  county,  Ohio,  on  horseback,  and 
secured  a  farm  six  miles  south  of  Elyria. 
He  then  returned  to  his  family,  and  they 
reached  the  new  home  March  28,  1828. 
They  first  located  at  Butternut  Ridge, 
then  a  scarcely  broken  wilderness,  where 
they  remained  for  nearly  two  years,  and 
in  1830  went  to  Elyria,  where  Mr.  Nich- 
ols purchased  the  old  "Eagle  Hotel."  In 
1832  he  began  the  erection  of  the  "Man- 
sion House,"  which  he  conducted  until 
selling  out  in  1839.  At  that  time  it  was 
one  of  the  finest  hotels  west  of  Buffalo, 
N.  Y.     On  disposing  of  that  property  h§ 


7(M 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


removed  his  family  to  Oberlin,  Ohio,  in 
order  to  better  educate  his  children.  In 
1842  he  returned  to  Elyria,  where  he 
spent  his  remaining  days,  passing  to  his 
rest  in  1871,  at  the  age  of  eighty-four,  an 
honest,  upright  and  just  man.  He  was  a 
life-long  Democrat.  His  wife  died  in  No- 
vember,   1870. 


FRANK  R.  LONG,  an  enterprising 
young  farmer  of  Ottawa  county, 
was  born  in  Harris  township  June 
II,  1874,  and  is  a  son  of  John 
Wesley  and  Caroline  (Guernsey)  Long. 
John  W.  Long  was  born  in  Harking 
Hills,  Logan  Co.,  Ohio,  September  8, 
1828,  and  on  coming  to  Ottawa  county 
located  on  a  farm  in  Section  8,  Harris 
township,  where  he  lived  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  April  4,  1892.  He  here 
cleared  and  improved  a  farm,  erected 
good  buildings  upon  it  and  made  a  com- 
fortable home  for  himself  and  family.  In 
1852,  he  married  Caroline  Guernsey,  of 
Benton  township,  Ottawa  county,  and 
they  became  the  parents  of  four  children 
— Arthur  Leroy,  born  February  26,  1855; 
Irving  C,  born  September  4,  1857;  Julia 
Agnes,  born  January  25,  1871 ;  and  Frank, 
K.,  subject  of  this  sketch.  Irving  and 
Frank  are  the  only  ones  now  living,  and 
the  former  resides  in  Paw  Paw,  Mich., 
where  he  is  engaged  in  painting  and  pa- 
per hanging.  He  is  married  and  has 
three  children.  Arthur  died  October  26, 
1856,  and  Julia  A.  passed  away  March 
31,  1872.  The  children  and  father  were 
laid  to  rest  in  the  old  cemetery  of  Elmore. 
Mrs.  Long  was  born  January  8, 
1836,  in  Lorain  county,  Ohio,  where 
she  spent  her  girlhood  days  and  ob- 
tained her  education.  At  the  age  of 
fifteen  she  came  with  her  parents  to  Ben- 
ton township,  Ottawa  county,  and  for 
some  years  prior  to  her  marriage  was 
there  successfully  engaged  in  teaching 
school.  She  is  now  living  on  the  old 
home  place  with  her  soq. 


The  paternal  grandfather  of  our  sub- 
ject, William  Long,  was  born  August  15, 
1797,  of  Irish  descent,  and  died  in  1884. 
He  married  Margaret  Smith,  who  was 
born  February  22,  1803,  and  died  Au- 
gust 7,  1887.  The  maternal  grandfather, 
David  Guernsey,  was  born  in  New  York 
July  4,  1810,  and  at  the  age  of  fourteen 
came  to  Ohio,  where  for  many  years  he 
followed  his  trade  of  carpentering.  He 
is  now  living  in  Illinois  at  the  advanced 
age  of  eighty-five  years,  and  his  wife, 
Achsah  (Cross),  has  reached  the  age  of 
eighty-one,  having  been  born  March  17, 
1 8 14.  Her  parents  were  Elisha  and 
Susan  Cross,  the  former  of  whom  was 
born  in  Vermont  in  1781,  and  died  in 
1 85 1,  while  the  latter  was  born  in  1778, 
and  died  February  22,   1848. 

We  now  take  up  the  personal  history 
of  Frank  R.  Long,  who  is  one  of  the 
progressive  farmers  of  his  native  county. 
He  was  educated  in  the  district  schools 
and  in  Elmore,  and  completed  his  edu- 
cation in  1 89 1,  since  which  he  has  had 
charge  of  the  old  home  farm,  which 
is  pleasantly  and  conveniently  located  a 
mile  and  a  half  from  Elmore.  He  is  a 
young  man  of  good  business  and  e.xecu- 
tive  ability,  and  his  genuine  worth  has 
won  him  a  host  of  warm  friends  who 
esteem  him  highly.  His  political  support 
is  given  to  the  men  and  measures  of  the 
Democratic  party. 


JOHN  SMITH  is  one  of  the  worthy 
citizens  that  the  Emerald  Isle  has 
furnished  to  Ottawa  county.  He 
was  born  in  County  Monaghan,  in 
1832,  and  is  a  son  of  Patrick  and  Alice 
Smith,  who,  emigrating  to  America, 
landed  in  New  York  on  June  27,  1850. 
In  November  of  the  same  year  they  re- 
moved to  Ohio,  locating  in  Marble  Head, 
where  they  spent  about  a  year,  and  then 
took  up  their  residence  about  two  miles 
west  in  Danbury  township,  Ottawa 
county,  where  the  father  was  engaged  in 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


7G5 


agricultural  pursuits  for  many  years.  He 
passed  away  in  April,  187S,  preceded  to 
the  grave  by  his  wife,  who  died  about 
1866. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  acquired  a 
common-school  education  in  his  native 
land,  and  also  attended  school  at  Marble 
Head.  His  first  independent  effort  in 
life  was  work  in  a  quarry  at  Marble  Head 
and  on  Kelley's  Island,  and  in  this  way, 
through  industry  and  economy,  he  pur- 
chased his  present  farm  with  the  money 
obtained  at  his  previous  labor.  Since  his 
settlement  here  he  has  carried  on  agri- 
cultural pursuits,  and  is  now  extensively 
engaged  in  fruit  growing,  raising  fine  va- 
rieties of  all  kinds  of  fruits  adapted  to 
this  climate.  He  successfully  manages 
his  business  interests,  and  his  enterprise 
and  perseverance  have  brought  him  a 
handsome  competence  which  he  well  de- 
serves. 

Mr.  Smith  was  married  in  Sandusky 
City,  November  27,  1857,  to  Miss  Ann 
Rielly,  a  daughter  of  Edward  and  Alice 
(Burns)  Rielly,  both  of  whom  were  na- 
tives of  Ireland.  The  father  died  in  the 
land  of  his  nativity,  and  the  mother,  who 
is  still  surviving  at  the  age  of  eightj-- 
three  years,  makes  her  home  with  her 
brother  Patrick,  in  Danbury  township, 
Ottawa  county.  Mrs.  Smith  was  born 
July  20,  1835,  in  County  Monaghan, 
Ireland.  The  union  of  our  subject  and 
wife  has  been  blessed  with  eight  children 
— Mary  E.,  born  July  18,  185S,  who  is 
the  wife  of  George  Julian,  a  resident  of 
Fremont,  Ohio;  Edward,  born  Februarj' 
2,  i860,  who  makes  his  home  in  Lake- 
side, Ohio;  Thomas,  born  April  25,  1S62, 
who  is  living  in  North  Dakota;  John  G., 
born  July  6,  1864,  who  died  February  18, 
1892;  Alice  J.,  born  January  12,  1867, 
who  is  the  wife  of  George  Bope,  a 
resident  of  North  Dakota;  Francis  H., 
born  July  6,  1869,  who  is  located  in 
North  Dakota;  Hugh  P.,  born  August  16, 
1872,  who  lives  at  home;  and  Rose  A., 
born  July  10,  1877.      Mr.  Smith  affiliates 


with  the  Democratic  party,  and  has  sev- 
eral times  filled  the  office  of  township 
trustee,  discharging  his  duties  in  a  cred- 
itable and  acceptable  manner.  He  is  a 
progressive  and  loyal  citizen,  actively  in- 
terested in  whatever  pertains  to  the  welfare 
of  the  communitj',  and  is  an  honored 
resident  of  Danbury  township,  one  who 
justly  merits  the  high  regard  in  which  he 
is  held. 


SAMUEL  BURKETT  is  a  worthy 
representative  of  one  of  the  hon- 
ored pioneer  families  of  the  Buck- 
eye State.  He  was  born  in  San- 
dusky county,  on  his  father's  farm  in 
Washington  township,  January  11,  i860, 
and  is  a  son  of  Edward  and  Catherine 
(Ockes)  Burkett,  the  former  a  native  of 
Perry  county,  Ohio,  and  the  latter  of 
Pennsylvania.  Grandfather  Burkett  was 
one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Perry  county, 
and  secured  a  tract  of  government  land, 
upon  which  he  carried  on  farming.  Upon 
his  death,  his  widow  and  her  son, 
Edward,  then  a  child  of  ten  years,  came 
to  Sandusky  county,  locating  near  Hess- 
ville.  Subsequently  he  removed  to  Madi- 
son township,  where  he  purchased  forty- 
nine  acres  of  timber  land,  the  greater  part 
of  which  he  succeeded  in  placing  under 
cultivation  before  his  death.  He  was 
familiar  with  all  the  experiences  and  hard- 
ships of  pioneer  life,  and  always  bore  his 
part  in  the  upbuilding  and  development  of 
the  locality  with  which  his  lot  was  cast. 
His  death  occurred  April  21,  1884,  and 
his  wife,  who  survived  him  several  years, 
passed  away  July  7,  1891,  and  was  laid  to 
rest  in  Washington  township. 

Samuel  Burkett  was  one  of  a  family 
of  twelve  children,  and  was  born  and 
reared  on  the  farm  which  is  still  his  home. 
He  received  a  good  common-school  edu- 
cation, and  early  became  familiar  with 
the  duties  of  farm  life,  giving  his  father 
the  benefit  of  his  services  until  after  he 
had   attained  his  majority.     \\'hen  quite 


im 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


young  he  was  obliged  to  shoulder  an  axe 
and  help  to  clear  away  the  timber  and 
prepare  the  fields  for  cultivation. 

On  December  25,  18S8,  Mr.  Burkett 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Edith 
Kuntz,  a  daughter  of  David  and  Eva 
(Clapper)  Kuntz,  who  were  natives  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  had  a  family  of  twelve 
children,  namely:  Charles,  Henry,  Frank, 
Edith,  Emma,  Jacob,  Evangeline,  David, 
Daniel,  Cleveland,  Winfield,  and  one  who 
died  in  infancy.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burkett 
have  but  one  child  —  William,  who  was 
born  December  i,  i<S89,  in  Madison  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county.  They  are  well- 
known  people  of  the  community,  and  have 
the  warm  regard  of  many  friends.  Mr. 
Burkett  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  has 
held  the  office  of  road  supervisor.  His 
land  is  now  leased  to  the  Ohio  Oil  Com- 
pany, and  on  it  are  three  good  wells, 
which  net  him  a  monthly  income  of  $35. 


CHRISTIAN  LOSLI.  Among  the 
successful  young  farmers  of  San- 
dusky county  who  have  here  spent 
their  entire  lives  is  the  gentleman 
whose  name  introduces  this  record.  Our 
subject  was  born  in  Washington  township, 
Sandusky  county,  July  13,  i866,  and  is 
a  son  of  Christian  and  Anna  (Weber) 
Losli,  both  of  whom  were  born  in  Switz- 
erland, and,  in  1854,  sailed  for  the  New 
World,  landing  in  New  York  City.  For 
about  two  weeks  they  remained  in  the 
Eastern  metropolis,  and  then  came  direct 
to  Sandusky  county,  Ohio,  where  they  are 
still  living.  They  located  upon  forty 
acres  of  land,  upon  which  their  son  Chris- 
tian now  resides.  At  the  time  it  came 
into  the  father's  possession  it  was  covered 
by  a  dense  forest,  but  soon  the  sound  of 
tlie  woodman's  axe  was  heard,  and  one  by 
one  the  sturdy  trees  fell  under  his  ringing 
blows,  and  the  land  was  plowed  and 
planted,  until  to-day,  with  the  exception 
pf  five  acres,   it   is  all   under  cultivation, 


and  the  hard  labor  of  former  years  is  now 
requited  by  good  harvests.  The  parents 
are  living  with  their  son  Christian  in  the 
enjoyment  of  good  health,  the  father  hav- 
ing reached  the  advanced  age  of  seventy- 
eight  years,  while  the  mother  has  passed 
the  sixty-sixth  milestone  on  life's  journey. 
They  are  both  members  of  the  Evangel- 
ical Church,  and  since  becoming  an  Ameri- 
can citizen,  Mr.  Losli  has  been  a  sup- 
porter of  the  Democratic  party. 

In  taking  up  the  personal  history  of 
Christian  Losli,  Jr. ,  we  present  to  our  read- 
ers the  life  record  of  one  who  is  both 
widely  and  favorably  known  in  this  local- 
ity— a  native  son  of  the  county,  and  one 
that  the  community  numbers  among  its 
valued  citizens.  Hiseducational  privileges 
were  limited,  but  he  made  the  most  of  his 
opportunities,  and  by  experience  and  ob- 
servation in  later  years  he  has  become  a 
well-informed  man.  He  possesses  good 
business  ability,  industry  and  energy  are 
numbered  among  his  chief  characteristics, 
and  he  is  a  wide-awake  and  progressive 
man.  Since  old  enough  he  has  managed 
the  home  farm,  and  yet  devotes  his  ener- 
gies to  its  further  cultivation  and  improve- 
ment. 

On  March  20,  1886,  Mr.  Losli  was 
joined  in  wedlock  with  Miss  Louisa  Sea- 
bert,  a  native  of  Germany,  who  came  to 
America  with  her  mother  when  a  child  of 
four  summers,  her  father  having  died  in 
his  native  land.  Two  children  now 
brighten  the  home  of  this  worthy  couple, 
and  are  the  delight  of  parents  and  grand- 
parents. They  are  F"reddie,  born  March 
18,  i887;and  Emma,  born  June  18,  1S90. 
Mr.  Losli  is  a  member  of  the  Evangelical 
Church.  Politically  he  follows  in  the 
footsteps  of  his  father,  voting  the  straight 
Democratic  ticket,  and  has  been  honored 
with  the  offices  of  road  supervisor  and 
school  director.  He  is  a  loyal  citizen,  de- 
voted to  the  best  interests  of  the  commun- 
ity in  which  he  makes  his  home,  and  he 
well  deserves  representation  in  this  vol- 
ume. 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


767 


JAMES  BAKER,  a  prominent  and 
successful  agriculturist  of  Green 
Creek  township,  Sandusky  county, 
was  there  born  August  28,  1840,  and 
is  a  son  of  Samuel  and  Elizabeth  (Cleve- 
land) Baker,  both  of  whom  came  to  this 
county  during  childhood,  and  were  mar- 
ried in  Green  Creek  township.  The  fa- 
ther, whose  birth  occurred  in  Seneca 
Flats,  N.  Y. ,  in  1803,  was  a  son  of  Sam- 
uel Baker,  with  whom  he  came  to  this 
county,  where  they  are  numbered  among 
the  pioneer  settlers.  The  mother  of  our 
subject  was  born  in  Seneca  Flats  in  1803, 
and  by  her  parents  was  brought  to  San- 
dusky, where  she  made  her  home  until 
her  death  which  occurred  March  13,  1889, 
when  she  was  aged  eighty-five  years,  four 
months  and  four  days.  She  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Mormon  Church.  Mr.  Baker 
departed  this  life  April  3,  1880,  at  the  age 
of  seventy-seven  years,  four  months  and 
twenty-two  days.  In  their  family  were 
eight  children  who  grew  to  maturity — four 
sons  and  four  daughters — namely:  Samuel 
(deceased),  who  was  a  farmer  of  Green 
Creek  township,  Sandusky  county;  Clark 
C,  who  also  died  in  that  township;  Keziah, 
who  was  the  wife  of  William  Hoel,  and 
died  in  Green  Creek  township  (she  had 
been  twice  married,  her  second  husband 
being  Edwin  Gittins);  Sarah  Ann,  who 
became  the  wife  of  Solomon  Knauss,  who 
died  in  1865  (she  lives  in  Coldwater, 
Mich.);  Napoleon,  who  passed  away  in 
Green  Creek  township  (he  was  twice  mar- 
ried, and  left  a  widow  and  children);  Abi- 
gail, who  was  the  wife  of  Franklin  Short, 
died  in  1S64,  leaving  one  child;  James  is 
the  next  in  order  of  birth;  and  Jemima, 
wife  of  Norman  Ellsworth,  of  Clyde.  One 
child  died  in  infancy. 

In  Green  Creek  township,  Sandusky 
county,  James  Baker  passed  the  davs  of 
his  boyhood  and  youth  under  the  parental 
roof,  and  was  able  to  attend  the  common 
schools  of  the  neighborhood,  where  he 
acfjiiired  a  good  education.  On  attain- 
ing man's  estate  he  was  united  in  mar- 


riage August  17,  1868,  with  Miss  Alice 
Hayes,  who  was  born  on  Christmas  Day, 
1842,  in  Ballville  township,  Sandusky 
county,  Ohio.  Unto  this  worthy  couple 
have  been  born  eight  children,  one  of 
whom — Samuel — died  in  childhood;  those 
living  are  Ella,  born  January  27,  1871, 
became  the  wife  of  Elmer  Hughes  April 
II,  1889,  and  they  have  two  children 
— Alice  and  Lloyd;  Mr.  Hughes  was  born 
in  Green  Creek  township,  September  3, 
1866,  and  in  that  township  still  resides; 
in  politics  he  is  a  Republican.  Joseph, 
the  next  of  the  family,  was  born  February 
17,  1873.  The  others  are:  Elizabeth, 
born  March  27,  1875;  Ellsworth,  born 
December  16,  1877;  James,  born  January 
7,  1879;  Anne,  born  January  30,  1881; 
and  Clarence,  born  January  3,   1883. 

Mr.  Baker  is  the  owner  of  a  good 
farm  of  eight}'  acres  in  Green  Creek  town- 
ship, where  he  is  engaged  in  general  farm- 
ing, raising  all  kinds  of  produce,  including 
melons.  He  has  the  place  brought  under 
an  excellent  state  of  cultivation,  improved 
with  all  modern  conveniences  and  access- 
ories, and  he  is  accounted  one  of  the  lead- 
ing farmers  of  the  community.  He  has 
always  taken  a  prominent  part  in  educa- 
tional matters,  and  has  given  his  children 
good  school  privileges.  He  is  a  worthy 
representative  of  one  of  the  prominent 
families  of  the  county,  where  he  has  many 
warm  friends.  His  political  affiliations 
are  with  the  Democratic  party. 


HENRY  BOWLUS.  The  great  an- 
cestor from  whom  are  descended 
the  Bowlus  families  of  Sandusky 
county,  Ohio,  was  a  native  of 
Germany,  who  came  to  America  in  the 
Colonial  period,  about  1735,  and  settled 
in  the  Middlctown  valley,  Frederick 
county,  Md.  He  had  four  sons — Jacob, 
George,  Valentine  and  Nicholas — the 
youngest  being  then  but  five  years  of  age. 
Nicholas  Bowlus  was  reared  on  a  farm 
in  Frederick  county,  Md.,  where  he  be- 


768 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPUICAL  RECORD. 


came  the  head  of  a  family  of  eight  chil- 
dren— Jacob,  John,  Henry,  Nicholas,  Jr., 
Mrs.  Beckabach,  Mrs.  Floyd,  Mrs.  Haller 
and  Mrs.  Christ.  Of  these,  Jacob,  a 
distinguished  pioneer  minister  of  the 
United  Brethren  Church,  and  Henry,  a 
farmer,  came  to  Ohio,  about  the  year 
1828,  and  settled  in  Sandusky  township, 
Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio.  The  children  of 
Rev.  Jacob  Bowlus  were:  Jacob,  David, 
Mar\',  Elizabeth,  Margaret  and  Susannah, 
all  of  whom  became  heads  of  families  in 
Sandusky  county.  Henry  Bowlus  located 
on  a  farm  of  320  acres,  which  was  then 
an  unbroken  forest,  and  helped  clear 
up  the  far-famed  "Black  Swamp."  He 
had  a  family  of  six  children,  namely:  (l) 
Magdalene,  wife  of  Daniel  Young,  who 
lived  and  died  in  Maryland.  (2)  Adam, 
who  married  Elizabeth  Krohn,  and  re- 
mained in  Maryland.  (3)  Sophia,  wife  of 
Jacob  Thomas;  she  died  in  1895,  at  the 
age  of  eighty-eight  years.  They  had  nine 
children — John  H.,  Richard,  Joseph,  Liz- 
zie, Maggie,  Amanda,  Charles,  Alice, 
Anna;  of  these,  the  eldest,  John  H. 
Thomas,  a  millionaire,  was  the  competi- 
tor of  Calvin  S.  Brice,  for  U.  S.  Senator, 
in  1893.  (4)  Henry  Bowlus,  our  subject, 
comes  next.  (5)  Nicholas,  who  married 
Margaret  Donnell,  and  lived  in  Madison 
township,  where  he  died  in  1S93.  (6) 
Mahala,  wife  of  Jesse  Dorcas,  living  at 
Lisbon,  Iowa. 

Henry  Bowlus,  our  subject,  one  of 
the  early  pioneers  of  Sandusky  county, 
was  born  in  Maryland,  September  27, 
1 8 10.  On  November  20,  1833,  he  married 
Miss  Catharine  Keller,  of  Lancaster,  Ohio, 
who  was  born  February  14,  181  i,  and 
died  October  20,  184S;  their  children 
were — Hanson  R. ,  Mahala,  Martha,  Cath- 
arine, Elizabeth,  and  Caroline.  These  all 
became  heads  of  families  in  Sandusky 
county.  On  September  27,  1849,  our 
subject  married  Mrs.  Rebecca  C.  Bow- 
lus (//cV  \\'illiamson),  of  Maryland,  born 
July  4,  1824,  and  died  January  28,  1891; 
their  children  were — Warren,  Anna,  Henry 


F. ,  and  Robert,  all  of  whom  became 
heads  of  families  and  live  in  their  native 
county. 

Henry  Bowlus,  our  subject,  has  lived 
to  see  a  mighty  change  in  the  valley  of 
the  Sandusky.  When  he  first  came  here 
there  were  more  Indians  than  white  peo- 
ple. The  Wyandots  and  Tawas  lived  here, 
and  used  to  assemble  in  great  numbers 
every  year  when  they  went  to  Maiden  to 
draw  their  annuity  from  the  United  States 
government.  There  was  no  end  of  squirrels 
and  other  wild  game.  Mr.  Bowlus  fol- 
lowed farming  and  stock  raising.  He  still 
owns  160  acres  of  land  on  Muskallonge 
creek,  two  and  a  half  miles  west  of  Fre- 
mont. About  the  year  1868,  in  company 
with  his  son,  Hanson  R.,  he  operated  a 
sawmill,  furniture  shop  and  planing-mill, 
about  sixteen  years  at  Fremont.  In  poli- 
tics he  was  first  a  Whig,  then  an  Aboli- 
tionist, and  later  a  Republican.  Before 
the  Civil  war  he  kept  a  station  of  the 
"Under-ground  railroad,"  and  assisted 
runaway  slaves  from  the  Southern  States 
to  escape  to  Canada.  He  has  for  many 
years  been  a  member  of  the  M.  P.  Church, 
at  Fremont.  Though  now  (1896)  past 
eighty-five  years  of  age,  he  enjoys  life 
among  his  children  and  grandchildren, 
with  a  mind  still  acti\e  and  a  memory  un- 
dimmed. 


AMBROSE    MEYER,'""'one' '^of  "the 
steady-going,  industrious,  and  sub- 
stantial citizens  of  Riley  township, 
Sandusky   county,  is   a  native   of 
the  same,  born   December    16,   1859,  and 
is  a  son  of  Jacob  and  Jane  (Ziegler)  Meyer, 
who  were  born  in  Alsace,  Germany. 

Jacob  Meyer  came  with  his  wife  to 
America  in  1838,  and  located  in  Seneca 
county,  Ohio.  In  1849  with  money  he  had 
saved  during  a  period  of  ten  years  in  this 
country  he  bought  a  farm  of  eighty  acres 
in  Riley  township.  In  1889  they  removed 
to  Fremont,  Sandusky  county,  and  are 
now  living  there  retired  after  a  life  of  dil- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGBAPIIICAL  RECORD. 


709 


ifjent  and  self  denying  industry,  both  at 
the  age  of  seventy-five  years.  They  had 
a  family  of  five  children,  as  follows:  Louise 
married  Andrew  Renielspacher,  a  farmer 
in  Ballville  township,  Sandusky  county, 
and  they  have  had  twelve  children;  Jane 
married  Sebastian  Wallby,  and  they  live 
in  Millersville,  Ohio  (they  have  a  family 
of  thirteen  children);  Joseph  is  a  farmer 
.in  Riley  township;  Mary  lives  in  Fremont, 
Sandusky  county,  Ohio;  and  Ambrose  is 
the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

Ambrose  Meyer  had  only  a  common- 
school  education,  but  was  reared  to  hab- 
its of  diligence  and  economy.  On  Janu- 
ary 23,  i<SS8,  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Anna  Koch,  and  three  children  have 
been  born  to  them,  namely:  Laurence, 
Januarj-  6,  1889;  Josephine,  June  20, 
1892;  and  Walter,  August  28,  1893.  Mrs. 
Mej'er's  parents,  Valentine  and  Barbara 
(Riffer)  Koch,  had  a  family  of  eight  chil- 
dren, namely:  Mary,  Lorenz,  Jane,  An- 
drew, Tracy,  Louise,  George  and  Anna 
(Mrs.  Meyer).  Mr.  Meyer  now  works 
and  practically  owns  the  farm  where  his 
parents  reside.  In  politics  he  is  a  Demo- 
crat, and  in  religious  affiliation  he  is  a 
Catholic. 


JOSEPH  HENRY  is  numbered 
among  the  native  sons  of  Sandusky 
county,  his  birth  having  occurred  on 
the  old  Henry  homestead  in  Rice 
township,  near  the  village  of  Kingsway, 
March  16,1851.  He  is  a  worthy  represent- 
ative of  an  honored  pioneer  family.  His 
father.  Christian  Henry, was  for  forty-eight 
years  a  well-known  and  respected  resident 
of  Rice  township,  and  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
six  years  departed  this  life,  his  remains 
being  interred  in  the  cemetery  at  Lind- 
sey.  His  wife  bore  the  maiden  name  of 
Maggie  Strawkcr,  and  by  their  marriage 
they  became  the  parents  of  ten  children: 
Maggie,  born  in  1842;  Fred,  born  in 
1844;  Joseph,  subject  of  this  sketch;  Al- 
bert,  who  is    living  in  Nebraska;  Chris- 


tian; Nelson;  Mary,  wife  of  John  Fokom; 
Sarah,  wife  of  John  Ovcrmyer;  Emma, 
wife  of  Dr.  Keller;  and  Ettie,  who  is  liv- 
ing in  Lindsey,  Ohio. 

No  event  of  special  importance  occur- 
red during  the  boyhood  and  youth  of  our 
subject,  who  was  reared  upon  the  old 
home  farm.  In  his  earlier  years  he  at- 
tended the  district  schools  of  the  neigh- 
borhood through  the  winter  seasons,  and 
worked  upon  the  farm  during  the  sum- 
mers. On  arriving  at  years  of  maturity 
he  was  married  July  6,  1872,  the  lady  of 
his  choice  being  Miss  Mary  Artz,  who 
was  born  June  9,  1852,  in  Rice  town- 
ship, and  has  passed  her  entire  life  in 
Sandusky  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Henry 
now  have  a  family  of  si.\  children — five 
sons  and  one  daughter — in  the  order  of 
their  birth  born  as  follows:  Mary  A., 
July  6,  1874;  John,  November  15,  1876; 
Joseph  F. ,  March  i,  1881;  Simon  H., 
January   22,    1885;   and  Albert,  July    18, 

1893. 

Upon  the  death  of  his  father,  Joseph 
Henry  purchased  the  old  home  farm  of 
the  other  heirs,  and  is  now  the  owner  of 
140  acres  of  rich  and  arable  land,  which 
he  has  placed  under  a  high  state  of  culti- 
vation. He  has  there  a  model  farm, 
upon  which  in  1888  he  erected  a  new 
barn.  He  makes  a  specialty  of  the  rais- 
ing of  fine  horses  and  cattle,  and  has 
some  fine  stock  upon  the  place.  He 
possesses  good  business  ability,  and  his 
well-directed  efforts  merit  the  success 
which  has  come  to  him.  His  political 
support  is  given  to  the  Democracy,  and 
he  attends  the  Catholic  Church. 


HIRAM   RANSOM,   a   retired  stock 
breeder  and  agriculturist,  and  one 
of  the  most  popular  representative 
men    of    Erie  township,    Ottawa 
county,  was  born  in  Riley  township,  San- 
dusky Co.,  Ohio,    October  31,   1S27,  and 
is  a  son  of  Hiram  and  Sarah  (Stull)  Ran- 


770 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPmCAL  RECORD. 


som,  who  were   born    in    Sandusky,  Erie 
county,  and  in  Pennsylvania,  respectively. 

The  grandparents  and  parents  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  were  pioneer  set- 
tlers of  Riley  township,  Sandusky  county, 
his  grandfather  Stull  being  the  first  set- 
tler in  the  east  half  of  Riley  township. 
The  parents  had  two  children,  of  whom 
one  died  in  infancy,  and  Hiram,  of  whom 
we  now  write,  is  the  only  surviving  mem- 
ber of  the  family.  His  mother  died  when 
he  was  only  two  years  old.  In  1844  his 
father  was  married  again,  this  time  to 
Emeline  Lindsley,  but  there  were  no 
children  by  that  union.  He  passed  away 
in  Riley  township  May  11,  1856,  after  a 
useful  and  well -spent  life.  He  had  re- 
sided in  that  township  for  over  forty 
years,  and  was  identified  with  its  early 
days,  with  trials  and  hardships,  as  well 
as  all  movements  tending  to  its  advance- 
ment and  welfare. 

Hiram  I-iansom,  whose  name  intro- 
duces this  sketch,  was  reared  a  farmer's 
boy,  and  received  such  limited  educational 
advantages  as  the  old  log  schoolhouses  of 
his  boyhood  days  afforded.  He  has  been 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  all  his 
life,  and  was  a  resident  of  Sandusky  coun- 
ty until  1861.  On  January  i,  1852,  in 
Riley  township,  he  married  Nancy  Jane 
Parks,  who  was  born  in  Mifflinburg,  Penn., 
August  18,  1830,  daughter  of  James  and 
Mary  (Boyer)  Parks,  the  former  of  whom 
was  at  one  time  sheriff  of  Sandusky 
county,  and  also  a  representative  of  the 
county  in  the  I^egislature.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Ransom  had  three  children,  as  follows: 
Burton,  born  September  17,  1854,  is  a 
marine  engineer,  and  now  resides  in  To- 
ledo; he  was  united  in  marriage,  Septem- 
ber 17,  1877,  with  Grace  D.  Poole,  of 
Fulton  county,  Ohio,  and  they  have  had 
two  children — Parks,  who  died  in  infancy, 
and  Maude,  living.  Clara,  born  Decem- 
ber 6,  1857,  was  married,  on  January  6, 
1880,  to  William  D.  Van  Rensselaer,  son 
of  Peter  S.  and  Mary  J.  (Depew)  V'an- 
J^ensselaer,   of  Erie   township,  and    they 


have  had  two  children — Hiram  Saunders 
and  Hazel  Pearl,  both  of  whom  are  living 
with  their  parents  in  Fulton  county. 
Mary,  born  August  11,  1862,  was  married 
October  i,  1884,  to  J.  R.  McRitchie,  son 
of  David  R.  and  Lucy  (Lattimore)  Mc- 
Ritchie, of  Bay  township,  Ottawa  county, 
and  they  have  had  five  children,  namely: 
Ada,  Burton,  Harry,  Earl  and  Lucy  Jane. 
On  August  13,  1895,  the  mother  of  this 
family  died,  at  their  home  in  Lacarne, 
Ottawa  count}',  after  a  prolonged  illness. 
She  was  buried  in  Lacarp  cemetery,  Erie 
township. 

In  1 86 1  Mr.  Ransom  removed  to  Ful- 
ton county,  Ohio,  where  he  remained  for 
ten  years,  and  in  1871,  settled  in  Erie 
township,  Ottawa  county,  where  he  has 
since  resided.  He  has  taken  an  active 
part  in  mattets  connected  with  the  growth 
and  welfare  of  the  township  and  county; 
for  six  years  he  served  faithfully  as  county 
commissioner,  has  been  a  justice  of  the 
peace  for  nine  years,  and  has  efficiently 
filled  various  township  offices.  Mr.  Ran- 
som and  his  family  attend  the  United 
Brethren  Church.  In  politics  he  is  a 
stanch  Democrat.  His  kindness  of  heart 
and  unselfish  generosity  are  proverbial 
wherever  he  is  known,  none  appeal  to 
him  in  vain  for  aid  in  a  worthy  cause, 
and,  by  his  courtesy,  ability,  unquestioned 
integrity  and  high  character,  he  has  gained 
the  confidence  of  the  citizens  of  his  town- 
ship and  county,  who  hold  him  and  his 
family  in  high  esteem. 


JOSHUA  E.  CURTICE,  agricultur- 
ist and  lumber  manufacturer,  who 
is  widely  known,  not  only  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Allen  township,  Ot- 
tawa county,  but  throughout  this  section 
of  the  State,  has  played  a  prominent 
part  in  building  up  great  industries  and 
promoting  the  advancement  of  the  coun- 
try. A  short  sketch  of  his  busy  and  use- 
ful life  will  prove  interesting  to  the  readers 
of  this  volume. 


COMMEMORATIVE  BTOORAPSTCAL  RECORD. 


771 


Mr.  Curtice  was  born  in  Cayuga  coun- 
ty, N.  Y. ,  in  1832,  son  of  Joel  and  Annie 
(Freeman)  Curtice,  who  were  also  born 
in  the  above-named  county  and  State,  of 
Mnglish  descent,  the  father  being  the  son 
of  Hosea  Curtice,  of  New  York.  In 
May,  1833,  when  our  subject  was  quite 
young,  his  parents  removed  to  Ohio  and 
settled  in  Lagrange  township,  Lorain 
county,  where  they  remained  five  years. 
There  he  obtained  a  fair  education  in  the 
public  schools,  and  on  arriving  at  man- 
hood found  employment  as  construction 
boss  on  what  is  now  known  as  the  "  Big 
Four  "  railroad.  He  spent  several  years 
in  the  employ  of  this  company,  and  then 
worked  as  section  boss  for  the  Lake 
Shore  &  Michigan  Southern  Railway 
Company  for  about  fifteen  years.  At  the 
end  of  this  time  he  was  employed  by  the 
Atlantic  &  Great  Western  Railway  Com- 
pany on  construction  work,  remaining 
with  them  for  upward  of  two  years  at 
Springfield,  Ohio.  During  these  years, 
by  industry  and  frugality,  Mr.  Curtice  had 
managed  to  save  enough  money  to  buy  a 
farm,  and  coming  to  Allen  (then  Clay) 
township,  Ottawa  county,  he  purchased 
160  acres  of  timber  land,  very  soon  after 
setting  to  work  to  clear  it.  He  employed 
eighty  men  to  cut  the  timber,  which  was 
then  made  into  railroad  ties  and  fuel, 
built  a  saw  and  planing  mill,  in  which  he 
made  boards,  etc.,  and  besides  using  the 
timber  off  his  own  land  he  purchased 
large  quantities  on  surrounding  tracts  and 
carried  on  an  extensive  business  there  in 
lumber  for  eighteen  years.  He  then  re- 
moved his  mill  five  miles  farther  north, 
and  bought  500  acres  of  land,  from  the 
timber  on  which  he  made  staves,  lath, 
etc.  Here  he  established  the  prosperous 
and  growing  town  of  Curtice,  in  which  a 
number  of  factories  are  now  in  operation, 
and  also  built  a  sawmill  in  Lucas  count}'. 
After  remaining  in  Curtice  for  a  year  or 
two.  our  subject  removed  to  Martin,  also 
in  Ottawa  county,  where  he  built  a  saw- 
mill   and    a  stave   factory,    and   also   en- 


gaged in  general  merchandising,  at  the 
same  time  cultivating  his  large  tract  of 
land.  In  1S92  he  removed  to  Coleman 
township.  Midland  Co.,  Mich.,  and  there 
erected  saw  and  planing  mills,  and  a  stave 
and  barrel-heading  factory.  With  all 
these  enterprises  on  hand  he  also  carries 
on  general  merchandising,  and  gives  em- 
ployment to  a  large  number  of  men.  A 
few  miles  from  Coleman  Mr.  Curtice 
built  other  mills  and  founded  another 
town,  named  after  himself,  which  is 
equally  prosperous  with  its  sister  town, 
in  this  State,  and  he  has  done  much  to  aid 
its  progress.  He  was  the  means  of  hav- 
ing a  schoolhouse  built,  in  which  religious 
services  are  held  every  Sabbath,  and  a 
post  office,  also  called  Curtice,  established 
and  carries  on  a  large  general  merchan- 
dise store,  in  which  his  son  is  a  partner. 
Mr.  Curtice  makes  his  residence  chiefly  in 
Midland  county,  Mich.,  in  order  to  look 
after  his  extensive  business  enterprises 
there,  while  his  wife  remains  in  Allen 
township,  Ottawa  county,  in  this  State, 
in  charge  of  their  interests  in  that  com- 
munity. 

Our  subject  was  married  May  28, 
1851,  to  Mary  E.,  daughter  of  James  K. 
and  Sarah  E.  (Loomis)  Pelton,  and  to 
them  have  come  two  children:  Alice  M., 
born  at  Painesville.  Ohio,  May  6,  1852, 
died  September  8,  of  the  same  year. 
James  E.  Curtice,  the  only  living  child  of 
our  subject,  was  born  September  18, 
1854,  and  after  attending  the  public 
schools  of  Allen  township,  and  high 
school  at  Genoa  for  two  years,  went  to 
school  at  Tiffin,  Ohio,  for  six  months; 
he  then  entered  a  college  in  the  State  of 
New  York,  pursuing  his  studies  there  for 
a  year  and  a  half,  and  graduating  with 
honor  in  1877.  Not  having  any  desire  to 
follow  a  profession  he  took  an  interest  in 
his  father's  numerous  enterprises,  and  to- 
day is  managing  partner  of  the  branch  of 
the  business  at  Coleman.  Mich.  He  was 
clerk  of  the  schoolboard  in  Allen  town- 
ship for  a  number  of   years  jirior  to   his 


7T2 


COMMEMORATTVE  BIOORAPHTCAL  RECORD. 


removal  to  Michij^an.  and  is  a  member  of 
Genoa  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.  James  E. 
Curtice  was  married  January  14,  1878,  to 
Lizzie,  daughter  of  George  D.  Littlejohn, 
of  Baltimore,  Ohio,  and  two  children 
came  to  them:  Eugene,  born  March  11, 
1879,  died  December  22,  1881;  Ethel, 
born  September  13,  18S5,  is  residing  at 
present  with  her  grandmother,  Mrs. 
Curtice,  in  Allen  township,  and  is  attend- 
ing school  at  Toledo.  The  mother  of 
these  children  died  October  20,  1887,  and 
Mr.  Curtice  was  married  the  second  time, 
in  1892,  at  Toledo,  to  Miss  Bella  Green; 
one  child  has  blessed  this  marriage,  Lu- 
cile,  born  August  22,   1894. 

Dr.  James  K.  Pelton,  father  of  the 
wife  of  our  subject,  was  born  in  Water- 
town,  N.  Y. ,  in  I  8 10,  son  of  James  Pel- 
ton,  of  Watcrtown.  He  attended  the 
common  school  and  also  took  a  college 
course.  After  farming  for  a  while  he 
went  to  New  York  and  studied  medicine, 
and  he  practiced  that  profession  for  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  century  in  Lagrange, 
for  ten  years  at  Toledo,  and  for  five  years 
at  Columbus  Grove,  Putnam  Co.,  this 
State.  He  was  married,  March  11,  1834, 
to  Sarah,  daughter  of  Ru.ssell  Loomis,  by 
whom  he  had  si.x  children,  viz.:  Mary  E., 
born  May  11,  1835,  wife  of  our  subject; 
James,  born  in  1838,  at  Lagrange,  who 
was  a  manufacturer  there,  and  died  Oc- 
tober 22,  1893  (he  married  and  became 
the  father  of  six  children);  Lucy,  born 
August  31,  1841,  married  John  Ryan,  of 
New  York,  who  died  in  1877,  and  she 
married  for  her  second  husband  Mr.  W. 
N.  Albcrtson,  of  Toledo;  David  C,  born 
in  Lagrange  March  11,  1844,  married 
Maggie  Sadler  (he  is  proprietor  of  a  hotel 
at  Trombley,  Wood  Co.,  this  State); 
Richard  F. ,  born  September  6,  1846.  is 
a  manufacturer  at  McComb,  this  State 
(he  is  married  and  the  father  of  three 
children);  Erastus  L. ,  born  April  9,  1849, 
is  farming  at  Frnitport,  Mich,  (he  is  mar- 
ried and  has  two  children).  Dr.  Pelton, 
the    father   of   this    family,    died  at   La- 


grange. February  9.  1886,  his  wife  de- 
parting this  life  four  \ears  previousiy. 
Joshua  E.  Curtice,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  a  trustee  of  Clay  township 
for  a  number  of  years.  Socially  he  is  a 
member  of  the  Good  Templars  Lodge  and 
of  Genoa  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.  In  his 
political  views  he  is  a  Republican ;  his  wife 
is  a  member  of  the  Evangelical  Church. 
They  are  highly  esteemed,  and  are  popular 
with  all  classes  in  the  community. 


IH.  ELLSWORTH.  This  gentleman 
has  for  some  years  been  prominently 
identified   with  educational    interests 

in  this  section  of  Ohio,  and  he  is  also 
known,  in  Benton  township  and  vicinity, 
as  an  energetic  business  man,  one  who, 
though  yet  young,  is  making  an  enviable 
record  for  himself  and  winning  his  way  to 
a  place  among  the  best  men  of  Ottawa 
county. 

He  is  a  son  of  Elijah  D.  and  Nancy 
J.  (Overmyer)  Ellsworth,  the  former  of 
whom  was  born  in  Sandusky  City  Febru- 
ary 24,  1836,  and  when  seven  years  old 
came  with  his  parents  to  Sandusky  county, 
where  they  settled  and  cleared  up  a  fine 
farm.  At  that  time — 1843 — the  county 
was  a  forest-covered  wilderness,  and  the 
Ellsworths  were  among  the  early  pioneers. 
Grandfather  Ellsworth  was  born  in  New 
York  about  1787,  and  served  in  the  war 
of  1812,  during  which  he  was  held  pris- 
oner on  Lake  Erie.  He  died  in  1861. 
Elijah  D.  l-'llsworth  first  wedded  Miss  La- 
Roe,  of  Sandusk}'  county,  who  died  in 
1862,  only  a  year  after  her  marriage. 
Shortly  after  this  Mr.  Ellsworth  inherited 
a  large  landed  property  from  his  father's 
estate,  near  Clyde.  In  1864  he  was  again 
married,  and  his  children  by  this  union  were 
Eugene  E.,  born  February  5,  1865;  Irving 
H.,  born  February  25,  1866;  and  Ettie 
A.,  born  February  20,  1872,  all  living  in 
Ohio.  In  1893  Elijah  D.  Ellsworth  went 
to  California,  where  he  now  owns  160 
acres   of    land.      Our   subject's  maternal 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHWAL  RECORD. 


773 


grandfather,  Jacob  Overmyer,  was  born 
in  Pennsylvania  in  1806,  and  came  to  Ohio 
in  1854,  settling  in  Sandusky  county, 
where  he  cleared  up  a  farm  from  the  for- 
est; his  wife  was  a  Miss  Hammel,  of 
Uniontown,  Penn.,  born  about  1805.  The 
great-grandfather,  Jacob  Overmyer,  Sr. , 
was  born  in  1756  in  Philadelphia. 

1.  H.  Ellsworth  was  born  February 
25,  1866,  near  Tontogany,  Wood  Co., 
Ohio,  where  he  spent  his  boyhood  days. 
His  early  education  was  obtained  in  the 
country  schools  and  at  Tontogany,  the 
schools  of  which  place  he  attended  for  a 
time.  Some  years  afterward  he  took  a 
normal  course  in  Toledo,  which  her  com- 
pleted in  1S93.  In  1885,  at  the  age  of 
nineteen,  he  began  his  career  as  a  school 
teacher  in  the  public  schools  of  Wood 
onnty,  where  he  taught  for  four  years. 
Unlike  many  young  men  engaged  in  teach- 
ing he  did  not  waste  his  summer  vaca- 
tions, but  employed  himself  during  the 
time  in  selling  carriages  and  harness,  de- 
riving from  that  business  a  snug  income. 
In  the  spring  of  1889  his  health  failed, 
and  he  accepted  a  position  as  traveling 
salesman  for  a  wholesale  saddlery  hard- 
ware company  of  Cleveland,  traveling 
more  or  less  until  September,  i  894,  when 
he  was  sufficiently  improved  in  health  to 
again  return  to  his  chosen  profession. 
Meanwhile,  in  1890,  he  came  to  Ottawa 
county,  and  settling  in  Rocky  Ridge  en- 
gaged in  the  carriage  and  harness  busi- 
ness, in  which  he  continued  four  years. 
During  two  years  of  this  time  he  engaged 
as  teacher  in  the  public  schools  of  Rocky 
Ridge,  the  second  year  as  principal  of 
the  high  school.  In  1894  he  took  charge 
of  the  public  school  at  Limestone,  where 
he  still  lives.  About  three  years  ago  Mr. 
Ellsworth  and  a  Mr.  Olsen  formed  the  Ells- 
worth &01senCo.,  of  Oak  Harbor,  Otta- 
wa Co.,  Ohio,  for  the  handling  of  harness 
and  carriages,  and  the  business  having 
proved  a  very  successful  one  Mr.  Ellsworth 
contemplates  giving  his  entire  time  to  it 
and  retiring  from  his  profession.  During  the 


summerof  1S94  he  handled  different  makes 
of  bicycles  for  the  Columbia  C.irriage  & 
Bicycle  Co.,  of  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin. 

On  September  25,  1889,  Mr.  Ells- 
worth was  married  to  Miss  Anna  J. 
Mawer,  of  Tontogany,  Ohio,  and  this 
union  has  been  blessed  with  one  child, 
Irvin  C,  born  December 2 5,  1890.  Mrs. 
Ellsworth  was  born  October  27,  1868, 
on  a  farm  near  Tontogany,  Wood  Co. , 
Ohio.  Her  early  education  was  received 
in  the  district  schools  near  her  home,  and 
she  then  attended  the  public  schools  of 
Waterville  for  a  time.  On  completing 
her  studies  at  Waterville  she  returned 
home,  where  she  remained  until  her  mar- 
riage. Her  father  is  a  native  of  Canada, 
born  in  Quebec  in  1833;  her  mother  was 
born  in  1843  in  New  York  State.  Im- 
mediately after  their  marriage  they  moved 
onto  a  tract  of  new  land  in  Ottawa  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  then  a  forest,  where  they  clear- 
ed up  a  fine  home  of  140  acres — one  of 
the  fine  farm  homes  of  Ottawa  county — 
on  which  they  now  live.  They  became 
the  parents  of  four  children,  as  follows: 
Vinton  J., born  May  24,  i867;Anna  J.,  born 
October  27,  1868;  George  Clifford,  born 
October  18,  1871,  and  Elbert  C,  born 
December  8,  1879.  In  1861  Mrs.  Ells- 
worth's father  entered  the  army,  becoming 
first  lieutenant,  and  was  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  captain,  seiving  as  such  until  the 
war  closed,  mainly  in  Kentucky.  At  the 
battle  of  Guntown  he  was  taken  prisoner, 
and  was  held  for  fifteen  months.  Mrs. 
Ellsworth's  maternal  grandparents  were 
born  in  18 17  in  New  York  State,  and  the 
grandfather  died  in  1890.  the  grantlmothcr 
in  1891.  In  their  family  were  four  chil- 
dren, two  of  whom  are  living,  Mrs.  Ells- 
worth's mother  and  William  Bott. 


JOHN  WILLIAM  HURDELBRINK 
was  born    in    Woodville    township, 
Sandusky   county,    in    1841,   son   o 
Arnion    Henry  and    Elizabeth   (Wil- 
ner)     Hurdelbrink,    both    of  whom  were 


774 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


born  in  Hanover,  Germany,  in  1811.  the 
former  in  No\einbvr  of  tliatyear. 

The  parents  of  our  subject  had  three 
children,  as  follows:  Henry,  who  lives  in 
Toledo,  Ohio,  married  Angelina  Stieger, 
by  whom  he  had  eight  children;  she  died 
April  2,  1887.  Mary  married  Louis  Linke, 
a  farmer  of  Woodville  township,  and 
they  had  eight  children.  John  W.  is  the 
subject  of  this  sketch.  In  1840  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Hurdelbrink  came  to  America,  land- 
ing in  New  \'ork,  where  they  remained 
but  a  short  time.  They  then  moved  to 
Wood  county,  Ohio,  and  after  about  two 
months  bought  twenty-five  acres  of  land, 
the  greater  part  of  which  they  cleared, 
and  put  up  a  log  cabin  and  other  buildings. 
After  living  there  over  nine  years  they 
sold  this  place,  and  moved  to  what  is  now 
the  old  family  homestead,  where  Mr. 
Hurdelbrink  passed  the  remainder  of  his 
days.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  had 
1 60  acres  of  valuable  land,  of  which  he  had 
cleared  about  eighty  acres  himself. 

On  November  i,  1867,  John  W.  Hur- 
delbrink was  united  in  marriage  with 
Louisa  Coleman,  who  was  born  March 
19,  1850,  in  Hanover,  Germany,  and 
seven  children  were  born  to  them,  namely: 
Minnie,  born  July  25,  1868,  married  John 
Stine,  a  farmer  of  Woodville  township, 
by  whom  she  had  three  children — Ella, 
Lizzie  and  Etta;  H.,  born  July  17,  1870, 
was  married  to  L.  Cole,  and  they  had 
one  child  (they  live  in  Gibsonburg,  San- 
dusky Co.,  Ohio);  August,  born  Decem- 
ber 25,  I  87-,  is  single  and  lives  at  home; 
Louis,  born  February  17,  1875;  Charles, 
born  March  2,  1880;  George,  born  March 
18,  1884;  and  Augusta,  born  September 
25,  1885.  Mrs.  J.  W.  Hurdelbrink's 
brother  William  and  sister  Lizzie  live  in 
Ottawa  county,  Ohio.  Their  father  died 
September  12,    1868. 

John  W.  Hurdelbrink  always  remained 
at  home,  and  on  the  death  of  his  father 
the  estate  was  divided.  In  1885  he 
bought  eighty  acres  of  land,  partly  cleared, 
which  cost  him  $3,200,  and  here  he  car- 


ries on  general  farming.  He  is  a  Demo- 
crat in  politics,  and  in  religious  connec- 
tion i.s  an  active  member  of  the  Lutheran 
Church  in  Woodville,   Sandusky  county. 


AARON  BECKER  was  born  in 
Germany,  June  5,  1834,  son  of 
Christopher  and  Maria  (Bushman) 
Becker,  who  were  also  natives  of 
Germany,  and  came  to  America  in  1841, 
settling  in  W'ashington  township,  San- 
dusky Co. ,  Ohio.  Here  the  father  rented 
a  farm  of  forty  acres,  on  which  he  lived 
for  one  year,  then  removing  to  Madison 
township,  same  county,  where  he  pur-' 
chased  eighty-six  acres  of  rough  timber 
land.  He  at  once  began  clearing  up  the 
place,  and  acre  by  acre  it  was  put  under 
the  plow  until  the  once  wild  land  was 
transformed  into  rich  and  fertile  fields. 
Good  buildings  were  erected,  and  the 
home  of  Christopher  Becker  became  one 
of  the  finest  farms  of  the  neighborhood. 
His  life  was  well  spent,  and  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  1886,  was  mourned  by 
many  friends.  His  wife  passed  away  in 
1884,  and  they  were  laid  to  rest  in  the 
cemetery  in  Madison  township.  In  their 
family  were  seven  children,  as  follows: 
Florence,  Mary,  Casper,  Aaron,  Fred, 
Martin  and  Henry  While  in  his  native 
land  Mr.  Becker  had  served  for  three 
years  in  the  German  army. 

Aaron  Becker  was  only  seven  years  of 
age  when  he  came  with  his  parents  to  the 
United  States.  As  soon  as  old  enough  he 
began  to  earn  his  living  by  work  as  a  farm 
hand,  but  continued  to  make  his  home 
with  his  parents  until  his  twenty-fourth 
birthday,  when  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Jane  Hcisen.  the  wedding  being  cel- 
ebrated June  5,  1858.  He  then  removed 
with  his  bride  to  Washington  township, 
where  he  purchased  thirty  acres  of  land, 
the  greater  part  of  which  was  covered 
with  timber.  He  worked  early  and  late 
in  order  to  clear  this  for  cultivation,  and 
when  he  had  greatly  improved  it  sold  at 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPEICAL  RECORD. 


7T5 


a  p^ood  profit.  Then  investing  his  money 
in  1 20  acres,  for  whicli  he  paid  $40  per 
acre,  he  began  the  cultivation  of  the  farm 
which  has  since  been  his  home.  The 
place  has  doubled  in  value,  owing  to  the 
care  and  labor  he  has  bestowed  upon  it. 
He  has  erected  new  barns,  made  other 
excellent  improvements,  and  now  has  a 
model  nineteenth-centurj'  farm,  an  ideal 
country  home,  the  neat  and  thrifty  ap- 
pearance of  which  indicates  his  care  and 
supervision. 

To  Nfr.  and  Mrs.  I^eckcr  have  been 
born  children  as  follows:  Mary,  wife  of 
William  Myerholtz,  a  farmer  residing  in 
Woodville  township,  Sandusky  county 
(they  have  seven  children);  Jacob,  an  ag- 
riculturist residing  in  Washington  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county;  Lizzie,  wife  of 
William  Amsted,  a  farmer  residing  in 
Michigan,  by  whom  she  has  two  children; 
John;  Sophia,  wife  of  Neal  Wilson,  a  resi- 
dent farmer  of  Michigan,  by  whom  she  has 
one  child;  Phccbe,  wife  of  Frank  Schock,  a 
farmer  of  Washington  township,  who  has 
one  child;  William,  at  home;  George; 
Christina,  wife  of  John  Yeasting,  of 
Woodville,  and  the  mother  of  one  child; 
Emma  and  Louis,  at  home;  and  Ellen  who 
died  in  18S2. 

Mr.  Becker  votes  with  the  Demo- 
crats, and  for  two  jears  has  served  as 
road  supervisor,  but  has  never  been  a  pol- 
itician in  the  sense  of  office  seeking,  pre- 
ferring to  give  his  time  and  attention  to 
his  business  interests.  He  holds  member- 
ship with  the  Lutheran  Church.  A  man 
of  good  business  ability,  of  sound  judg- 
ment, enterprising  and  progressive,  he 
has  through  his  own  efforts  worked  his 
way  upward  to  a  position  of  affluence, 
and  may  truly  be  called  a  self-made  man. 


EORGE   MILLER    has   been  an 


eye   witness  of    the   greater  part 


r 

X^    I    of  the  development  of  Scott  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county.      He  has 
seen  the  forest  trees  fall  before  the  wood- 
49 


man's  axe,  and  in  their  place  spring  up 
fine  fields  of  golden  grain.  The  oil  indus- 
try has  also  been  largely  developed,  and 
the  work  of  progress  and  improvement 
along  various  lines  has  been  carried  for- 
ward until  the  county  to-day  ranks  among 
the  best  in  the  State. 

George  Miller,  who  is  numbered  among 
the  representative  citizens  of  Scott  town- 
ship, was  born  in  Stark  county,  Ohio, 
October  5,  1820,  and  is  a  son  of  Peter 
and  Eleanor  (Stoaks)  Miller,  pioneers  of 
Sandusky  county.  His  maternal  grand- 
father was  born  about  1750  and  died  in 
1826,  the  grandmother,  who  was  born 
about  the  same  time,  passing  away  a  few 
years  previous.  The  father  of  our  sub- 
ject was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  born 
in  1783.  He  was  numbered  among  the 
early  settlers  of  Hancock  county,  Ohio, 
and  his  death  occurred  in  185S,  that  of 
his  wife  in  i  840.  They  were  parents  of 
seven  children:  Jacob,  Elizabeth,  Cath- 
erine, Peter,  Mary,  George  and  John,  of 
whom  George  (subject  of  this  sketch), 
Mary  and  Catherine  are  the  only  ones 
now  living. 

When  our  subject  came  to  Scott  town- 
ship, Sandusky  count)-,  no  roads  had  been 
made  or  fences  built.  He  followed  a 
trail  which  led  him  near  his  farm  and 
than  carried  his  household  goods  on  his 
back  to  the  log  cabin  in  which  he  and  his 
wife,  who  is  still  living,  began  life  in  the 
west.  He  cleared  forty  acres  of  land, 
erected  good  buildings  upon  his  farm, 
and  as  the  years  have  passed  acquired  a 
competence  which  now  places  him  in 
comfortable  circumstances. 

Mr.  Miller  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Lavina  Bates,  of  Scott  township, 
whose  father  was  born  in  Stark  count\', 
Ohio,  about  1785,  and  her  mother,  Mrs. 
Hannah  Bates,  in  1793.  They  had  eleven 
children,  six  of  whom  are  living.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Miller  have  three  children,  the 
eldest  of  whom,  Susan,  died  about  1881; 
she  married  John  Thompson,  by  whom 
she  had  two  children,  and  after  his  death 


776 


COMMEMORATTVE  BIOGRAPmCAL  RECORD. 


she  became  the  wife  of  Jesse  Miller. 
Adam,  the  second  of  the  family,  was  born 
October  19,  1844,  and  on  February  3, 
1 866,  wedded  Miss  Catherine  Miller, 
daughter  of  William  and  Harriet  (Stine) 
Miller;  her  father  was  born  August  26, 
1820,  on  the  old  Gettysburg  battleground, 
was  a  minister  of  the  United  Brethren 
Church,  and  died  in  Kansas,  January  23, 
1880;  her  mother,  who  was  born  Decem- 
ber 29,  1819,  died  January  23,  1895. 
Adam  Miller  enlisted  in  Company  G, 
One  Hundred  and  Forty-fourth  Ohio  V. 
I.,  in  1864,  and  served  until  the  close  of 
the  war.  He  is  now  for  the  third  term 
serving  as  trustee  of  the  township;  in  his 
political  views  he  is  a  Democrat,  and  he 
is  numbered  among  the  highly-respected 
citizens  of  Sandusky  county.  To  him 
and  his  wife  have  come  two  children — 
Emma,  born  October  3,  1868,  now  the 
wife  of  Thomas  Earl,  of  Scott  township, 
and  Maggie,  who  was  born  November  17, 
1870,  and  is  the  wife  of  Fred  Hummcll, 
by  whom  she  has  three  children. 

Mr.  George  Miller  has  passed  the  age 
usually  allotted  to  man.  His  life  has 
been  a  busy  and  useful  as  well  as  a  long 
one,  and  all  who  know  him  have  for  him 
the  highest  regard. 


RiaiREN   KELLER,    a  substantial 
farmer   of    Riley    township,    San- 
dusky county,    was   born    Decem- 
ber  13,    1838,    and    is    a    son    of 
Joseph  and   Lydia    (Owner)    Keller,  who 
were  born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1806  and  in 
1800,  respectively. 

Joseph  Keller  was  united  in  marriage 
with  L.jdia  Owner  in  Pennsylvania,  and 
was  the  proprietor  of  a  saw-mill  there 
which  he  operated  until  1835,  when  he 
moved  west,  settling  in  Sandusky  county, 
Ohio,  and  buying  eighty  acres  of  land  in 
Sandusky  township.  There  were  born  to 
them  eleven  children,  as  follows:  Eliza- 
beth, who  died  young;  Philip  married 
Susan   Olmslead,    they    have    had    three 


children,  and  live  in  Michigan;  John  mar- 
ried Phcebe  Bashier,  they  have  had  three 
children,  and  live  in  Illinois;  Peter  died 
young;  Julia  married  Jacob  Shannon,  they 
have  had  five  children,  and  live  in  To- 
ledo, Ohio;  Zerechia  died  young;  Elida 
married  Martin  Siegler,  they  have  had 
two  children,  and  live  in  Sandusky  coun- 
ty; Joseph  and  Susan  died  young; 
Reuben  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  and 
Henry  married  Miss  Wolcott,  they  have 
had  three  children,  and  live  in  Toledo, 
Ohio. 

Reuben  Keller  was  early  trained  to 
habits  of  perseverance  and  industry,  re- 
ceived a  common-school  education,  and 
worked  for  his  father  until  he  was  twenty 
years  of  age.  He  was  drafted  into  the 
Southern  army  in  1863,  and  served  two 
years,  ran  away  at  Vicksburg  and  returned 
home.  In  1866  Mr.  Keller  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Miss  Bauman,  and  they 
had  one  child,  Clarence,  born  in  1867. 
Mrs.  Keller  died  the  same  year.  In  1871 
Mr.  Keller  for  his  second  wife  married 
Sarah  Cherry,  after  which  he  settled  in 
Riley  township,  bought  eighty-two  acres 
of  land  and  engaged  in  general  farming. 
They  have  had  si.\  children,  as  follows: 
William  (born  November  22,  1870), 
Emma  L.  (deceased  in  infancy),  John, 
Nellie  C,  Nettie  L. ,  and  Jennie. 

Mr.  Keller  is  a  Democrat  in  politics, 
and  has  been  honored  with  public  office, 
having  been  school  director  for  three 
years,  and  supcr\isor  three  years.  In 
religious  affiliation  he  attends  the  Luther- 
eran  Church. 


GEORGE  T.  DANA,  farmer.  Green 
Creek  township,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, was  born  in  Genesee  county, 
N.Y.,  December  4, 1 S29.    He  was 
a  son  of  Daniel  H.  and  Philinda  (Tiffany) 
Dana. 

Daniel  H.  Dana  was  a  native  of  Ver- 
mont, and  early  in  life  he  moved  to  New 
York  State,  where  he  was  engaged  in  the 


COMMEMOHATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


777 


lumber  business.  In  1S32  he  niacieatrip 
west,  looking  up  lumlicr  and  other  inter- 
ests, in  his  travels  discovering  what  is 
known  as  Green  Spring,  and  on  account 
of  the  favorable  location,  he  determined 
to  make  it  his  home.  He  took  up  land, 
and  owned  a  large  tract  now  occupied  by 
the  village  of  Green  Spring  and  vicinity. 
He  cut  the  first  road  near  Green  Spring, 
put  up  the  first  log  house  in  the  place, 
engaged  in  mercantile  business,  and  built 
up  a  large  trade.  He  owned  three  stores 
at  different  points,  the  main  one  being 
located  at  Green  Spring.  He  was  an 
Old-line  Whig  in  politics,  and  a  sturdy 
pioneer.  He  was  born  in  1797,  and  died 
in  1 88 1.  He  was  a  man  of  remarkable 
physical  strength  and  endurance.  He  was 
an  uncle  to  Charles  A.  Dana,  the  far- 
famed  editor  of  the  New  York  Sun.  His 
father  was  a  soldier  in  the  I^evolutionary 
war,  and  was  at  one  time  minister  to 
Spain. 

Our  subject  is  one  of  six  children: 
Marian,  single,  living  at  Green  Spring; 
George  T. ;  Sarah,  who  died  young;  Jane, 
maiden  lad)',  living  at  Green  Spring;  and 
Harry  and  Franklin,  who  both  died  young. 
Mr.  Dana  is  highly-esteemed  and  regarded 
for  his  intelligence  and  business  ability. 
He  was  a  child  when  he  came  with  his 
parents  into  the  forests  of  Ohio,  grew  up 
to  manhood  at  Green  Spring,  and  received 
meagre  educational  advantages.  Being 
the  only  son  he  engaged  in  business  pur- 
suits at  an  early  age,  and  became  discip- 
lined in  a  variety  of  occupations.  He  mar- 
ried on  November  23,  1868,  Miss  Sophia 
Abels,  who  was  born  in  Easton,  Penn., 
December  7,  1846.  Their  children  are: 
(i)  Philinda,  a  popular  and  bright  young 
lady  of  that  vicinity,  who  graduated  from 
the  Fremont  public  schools,  and  has  been 
a  teacher  in  the  same  for  the  past  four 
years;  she  is  regarded  not  only  as  an  es- 
timable woman  in  society,  but  as  one  of 
the  most  successful  teachers;  she  is  a 
member  of  the  teachers'  reading  circle. 
(2)  Grace  Tiffany,    wife    of  Scott  Stahl, 


an  attorne\'  at  law,  of  Port  Clinton,  Ohio. 
(3)  Maud,  living  at  home,  and  (4)  Marian, 
born  August  10,  1876,  died  July  27,  1877. 
Since  the  early  days  in  this  region 
Mr.  Dana  engaged  in  stock  buying  for  a 
number  of  years,  and,  in  this  capacity, 
was  located  at  Bellevue  for  three  years. 
He  next  managed  the  grain  warehouse  of 
Mr.  Woodward,  at  Clyde,  for  one  year. 
From  1862  to  1S76  he  was  engaged  in 
the  lumber  business  in  Fremont  and  vicin- 
ity with  N.  C.  West.  They  had  several 
sawmills,  and  did  an  extensive  business 
in  the  way  of  buying  up  timber  land  and 
sawing  and  shipping  lumber,  operating  in 
Ohio,  Indiana  and  Michigan.  On  account 
of  failing  health,  Mr.  Dana  finally  with- 
drew from  this  lousiness,  and  located  on 
his  farm  in  Green  Creek  township,  where 
he  still  resides.  In  politics  Mr.  Dana  was 
originally  an  ardent  Whig,  and  since  the 
organization  of  the  party  has  been  an  un- 
compromising Republican.  His  family 
are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
while  the  ladies  are  members  of  the  I'or- 
eign  Missionary  Society. 


CYRUS  IIINELINE  is  one  of  the 
native  sons  of  Sandusky  county, 
his  birth  having  occurred  July  3, 
186S,  on  the  old  home  farm  of 
his  father,  Theo.  Hineline.  The  latter 
was  born  October  26,  i83r,  in  Pcnns}')- 
vania,  where  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Hannah  Rafferty,  who  was  born  Jul)- 
24,   1832. 

In  1853  they  came  to  Ohio,  locating 
in  Rice  township,  Sandusky  county,  where 
Theo.  Hineline  purchased  136  acres  of 
land,  for  which  he  paid  $3,010.  He  was 
a  generous  man,  deeply  interested  in  the 
welfare  of  the  community,  and  gave  land 
on  which  was  erected  a  schoolhouse,  and 
also  a  tract  for  cemetery  purposes.  In 
1892  he  erected  a  new  residence,  and  still 
makes  his  home  upon  a  farm  where  he 
first  located,  and  where  he  is  successfully 
engaged    in     agricultural    pursuits.       He 


7T8 


eOMMSMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


makes  a  specialty  of  raising  wheat,  and 
has  a  yield  averaging  about  eight  hundred 
bushels  each  year.  He  is  an  enterprising 
and  progressive  fanner,  and  his  well- 
directed  efforts  have  brought  to  him  mer- 
ited success.  During  the  Civil  war  he 
was  drafted  into  the  service,  but  being  in 
ill  health,  and  in  consequence  unable  to 
go,  he  sent  a  substitute.  He  was  a  poor 
man  when  he  came  to  Ohio,  and  in  his 
earlier  years,  in  connection  with  farming, 
he  followed  plastering  and  brick  laying. 
He  worked  hard  to  secure  a  start,  and  his 
life  has,  indeed,  been  a  busy  and  useful 
one,  characterized  by  honorable  dealings 
in  all  transactions.  He  served  as  con- 
stable for  two  terms,  was  township  trustee 
for  nine  years,  and  was  school  director 
for  the  long  period  of  twenty  years.  He 
was  also  elected  justice  of  the  peace,  but 
after  serving  for  a  short  time  resigned. 
He  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  most 
prominent  and  influential  farmers  of  the 
neighborhood. 

In  the  Hineline  family  were  four  chil- 
dren: (i)  Maggie  E.,  born  November 
24,  1854,  is  the  wife  of  Henry  M.  Hetrick, 
and  they  have  four  children — Lottie,  born 
December  i,  1880;  Clarence,  born  March 
4,  1883;  Gertrude  I.,  born  in  1887;  and 
Oscar  T. ,  born  in  1889.  (2)  Mary  E., 
born  January  30,  i860,  died  in  childhood, 
and  was  buried  in  Fremont,  Ohio.  (3) 
Ida  E.,  born  March  19,  1865,  is  the  wife 
of  Dr.  W.  L.  Stierwalt,  and  they  have 
two  children — Hannah  E.,  born  in  1888; 
and  Mildred  M.,  born  May  3,  1894.  (4) 
Cyrus,  subject  of  this  sketch.  The  father 
of  this  family  also  has  three  brothers  who 
are  yet  living:  Henry,  born  January  4, 
1827,  married  Sarah  Blocker,  and  they 
had  a  son,  Morgan,  now  deceased;  Ru- 
dolph, born  May  10,  1830,  married  Anna 
Nulf.  and  had  three  children  —  Elrin, 
Freeman,  and  one  that  died  in  infancy; 
and  Carlie  P.,  born  July  15,  1835,  mar- 
ried Catherine  Reed,  and  had  three  chil- 
dren— Henry,  who  died  in  childhood, 
Frank  and  Mary. 


Cyrus  Hineline,  whose  name  opens 
this  record,  spent  the  days  of  his  boyhood 
and  youth  upon  his  father's  farm,  attended 
the  district  schools  of  the  neighborhood, 
and  to  his  father  gave  the  benefit  of  his 
services  until  his  marriage.  He  wedded 
Miss  Sarah  Garn,  who  was  born  in  Rice 
township,  Sandusky  county,  in  1869,  and 
their  union  has  been  blessed  with  two 
children — Oliver,  born  June  12,  1888; 
and  Rudolph  R.,  born  April  7,  1892. 
Mr.  Hineline  has  always  followed  the  pur- 
suit to  which  he  was  reared.  At  the  time 
of  his  marriage  he  purchased  half  of  the 
old  home  place,  and  built  thereon  a  good 
residence.  He  now  carries  on  general 
farming  and  raises  mixed  stock.  His 
business  is  well  conducted,  and  the  neat 
and  thrifty  appearance  of  his  place  indi- 
cates his  careful  supervision.  He  takes 
no  active  part  in  public  affairs,  aside  from 
faithfully  performing  his  duties  of  citizen- 
ship, giving  his  political  support  to  the 
Democracy.  In  religious  belief  he  is  a 
Catholic. 


PHILO  S.  PEARCE.  Among  the 
representative  and  honored  citi- 
zens of  Catawba  Island  township, 
Ottawa  county,  none  stands  high- 
er than  does  the  subject  of  this  record. 
He  is  a  New  Englander  by  birth,  having 
first  seen  the  light  in  New  Fairfield,  Fair- 
field Co.,  Conn.,  and  is  a  son  of  Ambrose 
and  Evaline  (Barnum)  Pearce. 

Ambrose  Pearce  was  born  in  New 
York  City,  October  20,  1805,  and  was  a 
son  of  David  Pearce,  whom  he  accom- 
panied to  Connecticut  when  about  twelve 
years  of  age.  There  he  followed  farm- 
ing in  New  Fairfield  township,  Fairfield 
county,  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
at  his  home  June  22,  1879.  His  wife  was 
a  native  of  that  township,  born  January 
14,  1808,  and  they  became  the  parents  of 
seven  children,  only  four  of  whom  are 
still  living:  Harriet  Ann,  born  April  26, 
1828,  is  the  wife  of  Eli  Jennings;   David, 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQRAPHICAL  REVORD. 


779 


born  May  2 1,  1832,  died  October  8,  1867; 
Ira,  born  December  13,  1835;  George  N., 
born  December  17,  1838;  and  Philo  S., 
our  subject.  The  family  is  of  English 
ancestry. 

In  the  usual  manner  of  farmer  boys 
Philo  S.  Pearce  passed  the  days  of  his 
boyhood  and  youth,  during  which  time  he 
attended  the  district  schools  of  his  native 
township  and  county,  and,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  four  years  spent  in  the  Union 
army  during  the  late  Rebellion,  he  has 
followed  farming  throughout  his  entire 
life.  In  September,  1861,  Mr.  Pearce 
enlisted  in  Company  A,  Eleventh  Con- 
necticut V.  I.,  and  served  until  Decem- 
ber, 1865,  during  \\hich  time  he  partici- 
pated in  eighteen  engagements,  among 
which  was  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run, 
Antietam,  Petersburg,  New  Richmond, 
Wilderness,  Roanoke  Island,  Newbern, 
N.  C.CoId  Harbor,  Va., South  Mountain, 
Fredericksburg,  and  Gettysburg.  He  was 
mustered  out  December  21,  1865,  and 
finally  discharged  at  Hartford,  Conn.,  a 
few  days  later.  He  then  returned  to  Dan- 
bury,  Fairfield  Co.,  Conn.,  where  he  re- 
mained for  about  eighteen  months,  at 
the  end  of  which  time  he  went  to  New 
York,  locating  in  Allegany  county,  and 
was  there  engaged  in  the  mercantile  bus- 
iness until  1875.  In  March  of  that  year 
he  sold  out  and  came  to  Catawba  Island 
township,  Ottawa  county,  where  he  has 
since  made  his  home. 

Here  Mr.  Pearce  was  married  October 
27,  1869,  the  lady  of  his  choice  being 
Miss  Ora  L.  Barnum,  who  was  born  on 
Catawba  Island  September  5,  1849,  and 
is  a  daughter  of  John  and  Jane  (Rams- 
dell)  Barnum,  who  were  among  the  very 
earliest  settlers  of  Danbury  township, 
Ottawa  county,  having  come  here  when 
it  was  a  part  of  Sandusky  county.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Pearce  became  the  parents  of 
five  children,  of  whom  one  died  in  infancy. 
Those  living  are  Thaddeus  B.,  who  was 
born  September  6,  1870,  and  resides  in 
Bay   township,    Ottawa    county;    Arthur 


D.,  who  was  born  October  2,  1873,  and 
is  still  under  the  parental  roof;  Lena  J., 
who  was  born  December  3,  1882;  and 
Ambrose,  who  was  born  January  19,  1886. 

John  Barnum,  the  father  of  Mrs. 
Pearce,  was  born  at  New  Fairfield,  Fair- 
field Co.,  Conn.,  May  31,  1822,  and 
was  a  son  of  Eben  and  Rebecca  (Meade) 
Barnum,  also  natives  of  the  Nutmeg 
State.  He  became  one  of  the  first  set- 
tlers of  Catawba  Island,  then  known  as 
Van  Rensselaer  township,  in  1843.  and 
was  one  of  its  prosperous  farmers  for 
forty -two  years,  until  his  death  occurred, 
March  21,  1885.  In  Danbury  township, 
Ottawa  county,  in  January,  1847,  he  mar- 
ried Jane  Ramsdell,  a  daughter  of  Jacob 
and  Sallie  Ramsdell,  and  a  member  of  a 
pioneer  family  of  the  county.  They  had 
two  children — Jacob,  born  October  12, 
1847;  and  Ora  L.,  the  wife  of  our  subject. 
Mrs.  Barnum  died  on  Catawba  Island, 
May  6,   1872. 

Mr.  Pearce  is  one  of  the  most  highly 
esteemed  residents  of  Ottawa  county, 
and  by  energy  and  perseverance  has  accu- 
mulated a  fair  share  of  this  world's  goods. 
His  orchards  are  among  the  best  culti- 
vated and  most  productive,  and  by  his 
sterling  ability  and  amiable  disposition  he 
has  won  for  himse'.f  a  host  of  friends. 


WILLIAM  A.  GREGG  is  a  native 
of  New  Hampshire,  born  in 
Hillsboro  county,  August  11, 
1825,  and  is  a  son  of  William 
and  Sophia  (Weston)  Gregg.  His  pater- 
nal grandfather  was  born  about  1765, 
reared  a  family  of  four  children,  and 
passed  away  in  1830.  The  maternal 
grandfather  was  born  in  1750,  and  died 
in  1825,  while  his  wife,  who  was  born 
about  1757,  was  called  to  the  home  be- 
yond in  1832,  both  reaching  an  advanced 
age.  The  father  of  our  subject  was  born 
in  1794,  the  mother  in  1800,  and  in  their 
family  were  five  children.  He  was  a 
drover  by  occupation. 


780 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Our  subject  spent  the  first  thirteen 
years  of  his  life  in  his  native  place,  and 
then  removed  to  the  southern  part  of  New 
Hampshire,  where  he  remained  until  the 
discovery  of  gold  in  California  in  1849. 
With  the  hope  of  securing  a  fortune  on 
the  Pacific  slope  he  made  his  way  to  the 
Golden  State,  and  embarked  in  mining, 
which  he  followed  with  success  for  eight- 
een months.  Then,  tiring  of  the  wild 
life  of  that  far  western  country,  he  re- 
turned to  the  old  Granite  State,  and 
learned  the  machinist's  trade,  which  he 
followed  for  some  time. 

In  1 85  I  Mr.  Gregg  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Miss  Nancy  J.  Foster,  of  Ver- 
mont, and  with  his  wife  he  came  to  Ohio, 
locating  in  Scott  township,  Sandusky 
county,  which  was  then  a  comparatively 
new  region,  in  which  the  work  of  progress 
and  development  had  not  long  since  begun. 
One  child  came  to  bless  their  home, 
Frank,  who  was  born  in  1S52,  and  is  now 
married  and  living  in  Indiana.  In  May, 
of  that  year,  the  mother  died,  and  in 
1854  Mr.  Gregg  was  again  married,  his 
second  union  being  with  Miss  Harriet 
Henline,  of  Freeport,  Ohio.  Nine  chil- 
dren were  born  of  this  union — Charles 
E. ,  who  is  a  resident  of  Pennsylvania; 
Elsie,  wife  of  D.  Peterson,  of  Bradner, 
Ohio;  Hattie,  wife  of  T.  Lake,  of  Peinber- 
villc,  Ohio;  Sadie,  deceased;  William, 
who  married  Kate  Ashbrook,  of  Bradner, 
Ohio;  Lettie,  wife  of  L.  Keller;  Schuyler, 
who  is  engaged  in  the  oil  business;  Grace, 
and  Roscoe,  at  home.  The  mother  of 
this  family  was  called  to  her  final  rest  in 
June,  1884,  and  the  daughter.  Miss  Grace, 
is  now  keeping  house  for  her  father. 

In  February,  1864,  Mr.  Gregg  re- 
sponded to  the  country's  call  for  troops, 
and  continued  in  the  service  until  the 
cessation  of  hostilities.  He  participated 
in  the  battles  of  Selina  and  Columbus, 
and  has  ever  been  a  true  and  loyal  Amer- 
ican citizen,  whether  in  times  of  peace  or 
war.  On  his  return  he  resumed  farming, 
and  to-day  is   the  owner  of  a   valuable 


property  which  is  under  a  very  high  state 
of  cultivation,  and  yields  him  a  handsome 
income  as  the  result  of  his  arduous  toil  in 
earlier  days. 


AWEHRLE,    the  most    extensive 
grape  grower,  and  the  proprietor 
of  oije  of  the  largest  wineries  in 
Ohio,  as  well  as  the  oldest  settler 
on  Middle    Bass   Island,    Ottawa   county, 
was  born  in   Baden,  Germanv,  December 
8,   1831. 

The  parents  of  our  subject,  Andrew 
and  Mar}'  (Mueller)  Wehrle,  were  born 
and  died  in  German}-.  They  had  a  fam- 
ily of  seven  children,  three  of  whom  are 
living,  namely:  Andrew,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  who  is  the  only  one  of  the 
family  who  came  to  America,  and  Rosa 
and  Monica,  who  still  reside  in  their  native 
land.  Andrew  Wehrle  was  reared  to  man- 
hood on  his  father's  farm,  received  his 
education  at  the  public  schools  in  the 
neighborhood  of  his  early  home,  and  in 
1852  came  to  America.  On  reaching  New 
York  he  at  once  proceeded  to  Sandusky, 
Erie  Co.,  Ohio,  where  he  resided  for 
about  two  years,  and  in  1854  removed  to 
Middle  Bass,  engaging  in  farming  and 
fishing. 

In  Jul}-,  1854,  at  Sandusky,  Erie 
county,  Andrew  Wehrle  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Miss  Mary  Mueller,  who  was 
born  in  Baden,  Germany,  in  November, 
1832,  and  they  have  had  four  children 
(three  of  whom  are  now  living),  as  fol- 
lows: Andrew,  born  March  9,  1855,  now 
a  wholesale  coal  dealer  in  Sandusky,  Erie 
county;  Louisa,  born  October  2,  1856, 
wife  of  George  W.  Reibling,  residing  in 
Detroit,  Mich. ;  Charles,  who  died  in  in- 
fancy; and  Herman,  born  December  19, 
1858,  who  is  a  partner  in  his  father's 
business. 

In  1859.^.  Wehrle.  Joseph  Mueller, 
William  Rheburg  and  George  R.  Cald- 
well purchased  all  of  Middle  Bass  Island 
and  planted  it  in  grapes.      In   1865    Mr. 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQIiAPUWAL  RECORD. 


781 


Wehrle  built  a  winery  and  engaged  in 
wine  making,  in  1871  building  the  large 
and  commodious  premises  to  which  he 
has  been  making  additions  year  by  year, 
until  now  his  winery  has  reached  a  capac- 
ity of  five  hundred  thousand  gallons,  and 
ranks  among  the  largest  in  Ohio.  Be- 
sides this  he  has  a  large  and  spacious  hall 
which  is  liberally  patronized  during  the 
summer  months  by  pleasure  parties  from 
all  portions  of  this  and  adjoining  States. 
His  residence,  situated  on  a  slight  emi- 
nence, and  fronting  on  the  lake,  is  one  of 
the  handsomest  and  most  imposing  in  Ot- 
tawa county;  the  grounds  are  tastefully 
laid  out  in  lawns  and  flower  gardens,  and 
all  the  surroundings  betoken  culture  and 
refinement.  Mr.  Wehrle  became  a  citi- 
zen of  the  United  States  October  16, 
1857,  and  in  his  political  views  is  a  Re- 
publican. For  twenty-nine  years  he  has 
held  the  position  of  postmaster,  having 
been  appointed  October  21,  1S66,  and 
having  served  efficiently  ever  since,  and 
for  twelve  years  he  also  held  the  ofifice  of 
township  trustee. 

In  addition  to  his  grape-growing  inter- 
ests Mr.  Wehrle  is  identified  with  several 
concerns.  He  is  president  of  the  San- 
dusky and  Island  Steamboat  Company,  a 
large  stockholder  in  the  steamer  "Ar- 
row," manager  and  part  owner  of  the 
steamer  "American  Eagle,"  and  owns  ex- 
tensive wharf  and  warehouse  premises.  He 
stands  prominent  among  the  enterprising 
and  most  prosperous  business  men  of  Ot- 
tawa county,  and  has  been  so  intimately 
connected  with  all  enterprises,  not  only 
of  Middle  Bass  Island,  but  of  the  county 
general!}',  that  his  name  is  closely  iden- 
tified with  it;  in  fact  very  little  has  been 
planned  or  projected  by  the  community 
without  his  counsel  and  aid.  He  is  a  man 
of  remarkable  vitality  and  strong  and  ro- 
bust constitution.  With  willing  heart  and 
hands  he  has  made  a  success  of  life,  and 
accumulated  a  snug  fortune,  and  his  many 
sterling  qualities  have  won  and  retained 
{or  him  the  respect  and  esteem    of  his 


neighbors  and    large   circle  of  acquaint- 
ances. 

Herman  Wehkle,  youngest  son  of  A. 
and  Marj'  Wehrle,  and  a  partner  in  his 
father's  business,  was  born  December  19, 
1858,  and  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  of  Middle  Bass  Island,  Ottawa 
county,  and  in  the  Buckeye  Business  Col- 
lege, Sandusky,  Erie  count}'.  Since  com- 
pleting his  education  he  has  been  con- 
nected with  his  father's  business,  and  in 
18SS  was  admitted  as  a  partner.  On  June 
6, 1892,  in  St  Louis,  Mo.,  Herman  Wehrle 
married  Katherine  M.  Rauer,  who  was 
born  in  St.  Louis  June  27,  i860,  daughter 
of  Jacob  and  Kunigunde  Rauer,  who  were 
both  born  in  Germany.  No  children  have 
been  born  to  this  marriage.  In  political 
affiliation  Mr.  Wehrle,  like  his  father,  is  a 
Republican. 


ROBERT  RICHARDSON.  Among 
those  who  devote  their  time  and 
energies  to  farming  and  fruitgrow- 
ing in  Portage  township,  Ottawa 
county,  and  have  attained  success  in  their 
undertakings,  is  this  gentleman.  He  was 
born  in  Bay  township,  that  county,  No- 
vember 2,  1844,  and  is  a  son  of  Robert 
and  Mary  (McRitchie)  Richardson,  who 
were  natives  of  Dundee,  Scotland,  the 
father  born  May  12,  1803,  the  mother 
August  10,  1803.  They  were  married 
near  Dundee,  Scotland,  and  became  the 
parents  of  five  sons  and  one  daughter: 
Jane,  born  in  Scotland,  in  August,  1832, 
married  Samuel  Farsht,  who  was  killed 
in  the  Civil  war;  she  is  now  living  in 
Toledo,  Ohio.  David  and  Robert,  twin 
brothers,  were  born  March  11,  1835,  at 
New  Tyne,  Scotland;  the  latter  died  in 
infancy,  while  the  former  resides  in  Port- 
age township,  Ottawa  county.  George, 
born  in  Paterson,  N.  J.,  about  183S,  died 
in  childhood.  William,  born  in  Nyack, 
N.  Y. ,  about  1840,  died  at  the  age  of 
three  years.  Robert  is  the  subject  proper 
of  this  sketch. 


782 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


In  September,  1834,  Mi.  Richardson 
crossed  the  Atlanlic  to  America,  and  in 
August,  1836,  was  joined  by  his  wife  and 
their  two  children.  They  continued  to 
reside  in  New  York  until  i  840,  the  father 
working  at  his  trade,  that  of  stone 
mason.  The  family,  on  coming  west, 
located  in  Bay  township,  Ottawa  Co., 
Ohio,  where  Mr.  Richardson  engaged  in 
agricultural  pursuits  for  about  six  years, 
also  working  at  his  trade  at  intervals,  and 
erer-ting  th.c  hrst  stone  house  ever  built 
in  Portage  tovvn;-hip,  for  CcjI.  Lockwood, 
of  Plasterbed.  This  house  is  still  in  a 
good  state  of  repair,  and  is  now  occupied 
by  the  Colonel's  son,  J.  W.  In  the  spring 
of  1847  Mr.  Richardson  purchased  180 
acres  of  land  in  Portage  township,  where 
he  erected  the  first  log  house  built  between 
Lake  Erie  and  Sandusky  Bay,  making  it 
his  home  up  to  the  time  of  his  death 
February  28,  1855.  His  faithful  and  de- 
voted wife,  who  survived  him  twelve 
years,  passed  away  March  31,  1867. 
They  were  among  the  early  settlers  of 
the  township,  and  endured  many  of  the 
trials  and  hardships  incident  to  pioneer 
life. 

When  in  his  fourth  year,  Robert  Rich- 
ardson was  brought  b)'  his  parents  to 
Portage  township,  Ottawa  county,  where 
he  has  resided  continuously  for  the  past 
forty-eight  years.  He  received  his  educa- 
tion in  the  common  schools  of  Port  Clin- 
ton, and  with  the  e.xception  of  three 
years  spent  in  sea-faring  life  on  the  lakes, 
he  has  been  continuouslj'  engaged  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits.  On  January  3,  1864, 
Mr  Richardson  responded  to  the  coun- 
try's call  for  troops,  joining  the  "boys  in 
blue"  of  Company  G,  One  Hundredth 
O.  V.  I.,  and  with  his  regiment  partici- 
pated in  all  the  battles  of  the  Atlanta 
campaign,  as  well  as  the  engagements  of 
Franklin  and  Nashville,  Tenn.  The  reg- 
iment was  afterward  taken  on  transports 
to  Fort  Anderson,  N.  C. ,  proceeded 
thence  to  Wilmington,  and  on  to  Golds- 
boro,  where  they  joined  Sherman's  army, 


continuing  their  march  to  Raleigh,  N.  C. , 
where  the  campaign  virtually  ended.  At 
Greensborough,  N.  C,  Mr.  Richardson 
and  received  a    final 


II,  186^,  after  which 


was   mustered  out 

discharge  on   July 

he  returned   to  his  home  and  once  more 

resumed  farming. 

In  Fremont,  on  November  18,  1869, 
was  celebrated  the  marriage  of  our  sub- 
ject and  Miss  Harriet  E.  Magruder, 
daughter  of  James  H.  and  Elizabeth 
(Hollingshcad)  Magruder,  and  a  native  of 
Port  Clinton,  born  July  i  i,  1847.  Three 
children  grace  this  union — James  Frank- 
lin, born  October  6,  1870;  Charles  B. , 
who  was  born  February  15,  1872,  and 
died  August  27,  1874;  and  Clara  May, 
born  June  19,  1875.  Mr.  Richardson 
was  reared  in  the  faith  of  the  Presbyter- 
ian Church,  while  his  wife  attends  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church. 

Our  subject  has  filled  the  office  of  in- 
firmary director  for  six  years,  and  was 
township  trustee  for  twelve  years,  dis- 
charging his  duties  with  a  promptness  and 
fidelity  that  w^on  him  high  commendation. 
His  political  support  is  given  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  and  socially  he  is  connected 
with  George  A.  McRitchie  Post,  No.  524, 
G.  A.  R.,  of  which  he  served  for  two 
years  as  commander.  He  is  one  of  the 
progressive  and  successful  farmers  and 
fruit  growers  of  the  township,  giving  his 
attention  largely  to  the  cultivation  of 
peaches  and  grapes,  and  his  comfortable 
surroundings  bespeak  thrift  and  industry. 
As  a  friend  and  neighbor  he  is  held  in 
the  highest  esteem  throughout  the  com- 
munity in  which  he  resides. 


DAVID  RICHARDSON,  eldest  son 
of  Robert  and  Mary  (McRitchie) 
Richardson,  was  born  in  New 
Tyne,  Scotland,  March  11,  1835, 
and  came  to  America  with  his  mother  in 
1837.  Five  years  later  his  parents  re- 
moved to  Bav  township,  Ottawa  county, 
and  in  the  district  schools  of    the  neigh- 


COMMEMORATIVK  BIOORAPUWAL  RECORD. 


783 


borhood  he  acquired  his  education,  tak- 
ing advantage  of  such  Hmited  opportuni- 
ties as  were  then  afforded.  As  soon  as 
old  enough  to  follow  the  plow  he  began 
work  in  the  fields,  and  his  entire  life  has 
been  devoted  to  agricultural  pursuits. 
Since  1847  he  has  been  a  continuous  res- 
ident of  Portage  township,  and  he  is  still 
living  on  the  old  homestead  farm  which 
his  father  secured  nearly  fift\-  years  ago. 
He  has  his  land  all  under  a  high  state  of 
cultivation,  and  to-day  ranks  among  the 
most  popular  and  prominent  farmers  of 
the  township,  highly  respected  by  all  who 
know  him  for  his  integrity  and  straight- 
forward dealing. 

Mr.  I^ichardson  was  married,  in  Fre- 
mont, Ohio,  December  16,  1862,  to  Miss 
Paulina  Adelman,  who  was  born  in  Ger- 
many, May  8,  1843,  daughter  of  Chris- 
tian and  Catherine  (Moos)  Adelman,  na- 
tives of  Germany,  who  became  residents 
of  Fremont.  The  father  passed  away 
March  12,  1892,  on  the  eighty-fifth  anni- 
versary of  his  birth,  and  the  mother  died 
in  August,  1864.  By  this  marriage  there 
are  five  children — Emma  J.,  born  De- 
cembers, 1863,  who  is  now  the  wife  of 
Edward  J.  Fall,  a  resident  of  Port  Clin- 
ton; Mary  J.,  born  September  14,  1865, 
wife  of  Edward  Wedekind,  of  Port  Clin- 
ton; John  R.,  born  April  2,  1867;  William 
A.,  born  February  17,  1869;  and  Anna 
E.,  born  October  6,  1871,  the  last  named 
three  still  living  with  their  parents.  The 
family  attend  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  and  are  widely  and  favorably 
known  throughout  the  community.  Mr. 
Richardson  is  a  member  of  the  Port  Clin- 
ton Lodge  No.  627,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  in 
his  political  views  is  a  Democrat. 


AUGUST    HEILEMAN,   a   son  of 
Gottlieb    and     Henriette   (Black) 
Heileman,  was  born  in  Germany, 
August    29,     1839.      His    parents 
were  also  natives  of  the   same  country, 


and  the  father  followed  the  blacksmith's 
trade. 

Our  subject  spent  the  first  fifteen  years 
of  his  life  in  the  land  of  his  birth,  and  in 
July,  1854,  sailed  wilh  his  mother  for 
America.  Upon  their  arrival  here  they 
received  word  that  the  father  and  husband 
had  died.  They  did  not  return,  however, 
but  at  Quebec,  where  they  had  landed, 
took  a  canal  boat  for  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  and 
thence  came  by  steamer  to  Sandusky, 
Ohio,  and  on  to  Fremont.  There  our 
subject  secured  work  as  a  farm  hand  and 
the  mother  as  a  domestic.  A  few  years 
later  she  was  married  to  Solomon  Bow- 
man, an  agriculturist,  residing  in  Wash- 
ington township,  Sandusky  county.  In 
i860  August  Heileman  began  working  for 
Mr.  Bowman,  with  whom  he  remained 
until  the  latter's  death.  From  the  guar- 
dian in  charge  of  the  property  he  then 
rented  the  farm,  comprising  154  acres, 
and  in  1869  purchased  two  of  the  quit 
claim  deeds.  In  1S71  he  purchased  the 
other  one,  and  thus  came  into  possession 
of  one  of  the  best  farms  in  Sandusky 
county.  He  has  since  devoted  his  time 
and  attention  exclusively  to  agricultural 
pursuits,  and  is  recognized  as  one  of  the 
leading  farmers  of  the  community,  for 
his  fields  are  well  tilled,  the  place  im- 
proved with  good  buildings,  and  every- 
thing kept  in  good  repair. 

During  the  Civil  war  Mr.  Heileman 
was  drafted  and  on  September  24,  1864, 
joined  the  Thirty-third  Ohio  Infantry, 
which  went  first  to  Columbus,  thence  to 
Kentucky,  and  on  to  Kingston.  In  the 
battle  of  Bentonville,  N.  C,  he  was 
wounded,  a  rifle  ball  striking  hirr.  between 
the  eyes.  He  was  taken  to  the  hospital 
in  Newark,  N.  J.,  and  on  his  partial  re- 
covery was  sent  home  on  a  furlough. 
While  here  the  war  ended,  and  on  July 
29,  1865,  he  received  an  honorable  dis- 
charge. 

Mr.  Heileman  was  united  in  marriage, 
February  19,  18 — ,  in  Fremont,  with 
Miss  Mary  Elizabeth  Bowman,  a  daughter 


784 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPmCAL  RECORD. 


of  his  stepfather,  and  by  their  union  they 
have  become  the  parents  of  ten  children, 
namely:  Henry  A.,  born  June  lo,  18 — , 
who  died  April  22,  1868;  Louisa,  wife  of 
Theodore  Kerns,  a  farmer  of  Ottawa 
county,  Ohio;  Simon,  born  January  18, 
1 87 1,  who  died  November  27,  1873;  John 
B. ,  born  July  22,  1873,  who  died  Novem- 
ber 27,  following;  Charles,  born  Septem- 
ber 8,  1874;  Clara,  born  in  February, 
1S77,  wife  of  William  Foreman,  a  farmer 
of  Ottawa  count)';  Eiiuna  K.,  born  April 
19,  1879;  William,  born  August  22,  1881; 
Hattie  L.,  born  December  10,  1883;  and 
August  C,  deceased. 

Mr.  Heilcman  is  a  member  of  the 
German  Lutheran  Church.  He  came  to 
this  country  a  poor  boy  of  fifteen  years, 
and  was  from  that  time  dependent  upon 
his  own  resources  for  a  living.  He  worked 
long  and  earnestly  before  he  was  able  to 
secure  a  farm,  and  his  life  has  ever  been 
a  busy  and  useful  one.  Thus,  through 
his  own  enterprise  and  energy,  he  has 
gained  a  comfortable  competence,  and 
to-day  is  numbered  among  the  substan- 
tial agriculturists  of  Washington  town- 
ship. 


JOHN    H.    FRY,    retired   farmer,    of 
Ballville  township,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, was  born   February  28,  18 10,  in 
the    Province    of   Westphalia,   Ger- 
.  many,    a  son    of    L.    H.    and    Mary    E. 
(Schulte)  Fry. 

L.  H.  Fry  was  also  a  native  of  West- 
phalia, born  in  1770,  and  was  a  cabinet 
maker  by  trade,  following  farming  as  well. 
He  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-four  years. 
The  mother  of  our  subject  lived  in  Ger- 
many all  her  days,  dying  there  at  the  age 
of  seventy- three.  His  paternal  grand- 
father, L.  H.  Fry,  Sr. ,  a  farmer  by 
vocation,  died  at  the  age  of  eigty- 
four;  the  maternal  grandfather,  John 
H.  Schulte  died  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
five.  All  were  members  of  the  Reformed 
Church.       Our  subject    was  one  of  five 


children:  Lambert  H.,  who  died  in  Ger- 
many; ^faryE.,  who  died  when  thirteen 
years  old;  John  H.,  whose  name  opens 
this  sketch;  Henry,  who  lives  in  Ballville 
township;  and  Elizabeth,  wife  of  L.  C. 
Speller,  of  Ballville  township. 

Our  subject  learned  the  trade  of  a 
cabinet  maker  in  Germany.  When  twenty- 
five  years  of  age  he  came  to  America, 
landing  in  New  York  July  4,  1835,  and 
went  at  once  to  Ohio.  He  came  up  the 
Sandusky  river  on  the  old  steamer  "Jack 
Downing,"  of  pioneer  fame,  and  locating 
in  the  village  of  Ballville,  Sandusky  coun- 
t}',  worked  at  his  trade  there  for  about 
si.x  years.  In  1839  he  bought  106  acres 
of  land  about  three  and  a  half  miles  from 
Lower  Sandusky,  and  engaged  in  agricul- 
tural pursuits,  living  on  his  farm  for  more 
than  twenty  years,  and  doing  all  his  own 
farming.  At  one  time  he  was  the  owner 
of  as  much  as  240  acres,  the  greater  part 
of  which  he  has  willed  away. 

Mr.  Fry  was  married  to  Miss  Julia  \\'. 
Miller,  who  was  born  in  Lycoming  county, 
Penn.,  June  15,  1815,  and  died  May  9, 
1892,  without  issue.  Our  subject  is  a 
Republican  in  politics,  and,  in  religious 
connection,  a  member  of  the  Reformed 
Church.  He  is  a  typical,  old-style  gen- 
tleman, a  good  citizen  and  a  kind  neigh- 
bor. He  could  not  speak  a  word  of  En- 
glish when  he  caiiie  here,  but  he  patiently 
contended  against  difficulties,  and  has 
made  his  life  a  grand  success. 


WILLIAM  GERWIN,   a   substan- 
tial farmer  of  Woodville  town- 
ship,     Sandusky    county,     was 
born     in     Hanover,     Germany, 
March  14,  1839,  son  of  Louis  and  Sophia 
(Hunton)  Gerwin. 

Louis  Gerwin,  who  was  a  wagon- 
maker  by  occupation,  came  to  America  in 
1853.  He  located  in  Woodville  town- 
ship, Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  and  bought 
seventy-two  acres  of  timber  land,  the 
greater  part  of  which,  with  the  help  of  his 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPniCAL  RECORD. 


785 


children,  he  succeeded  in  clearing.  He 
died  in  May,  1861,  and  his  wife  who  sur- 
vived him,  died  in  June,  1877,  at  the 
age  of  over  sevent3'-seven  years.  They 
were  the  parents  of  six  children,  viz. : 
Dora  married  Casper  Anthonsen,  and  they 
have  had  seven  children;  they  live  in  Ot- 
tawa county.  Henry  died  at  the  age  of 
si.xty  years.  Sophia  married  Henry 
Schumbcrg,  a  carpenter,  and  they  live  in 
Toledo,  Ohio.  Fred  lives  in  Toledo. 
William  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
Harmon  is  a  farmer  in  Madison  township. 
Lake  Co.,  Ohio. 

William  Gerwin  received  his  educa- 
tion in  the  Fatherland,  and  was  fourteen 
years  of  age  when  he  came  to  America. 
During  his  early  life  he  remained  under 
tiie  parental  roof,  and  on  April  28,  1866, 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Elizabeth 
Falling,  daughter  of  Henrj-  and  Elizabeth 
(Cook)  Falling.  Ten  children  have 
blessed  their  union,  as  follows:  Sophia, 
born  November  27,  1865,  married  Will- 
iam Schmitt,  and  they  live  in  Gibsonburg, 
Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio;  Henry  L. ,  born 
February  21,  1867,  died  March  5,  1867; 
Ludwig  H.,  born  March  29,  1868,  lives 
in  \\'oodville  township;  Henry  G.,  born 
January  6,  1870,  lives  in  Ottawa  county; 
Maria  Louisa  was  born  January  14,  1872; 
Herman,  September  20,  1873;  Louisa  M., 
March  14,  1875;  William  Henry,  August 
'■  ^^77'^  Johanna  F. ,  January  14,  1879; 
and  Fred,  October  3,  1881.  Mr.  Ger- 
win has  seven  good  oil  wells  on  his  place. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  and  in  re 
ligious  affiliation  a  Lutheran. 


WILLIAM  ZIMMERMAN,  widely 
known  as  one  of  the  substantial 
and  progressive  farmers  of  Green 
Creek  township,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, is  a  son  of  John  and  Rebecca  (Fisher) 
Zimmerman,     and     was    born    in     Stark 
county,  Ohio,  March  23,   1825. 

John  Zimmerman's    father    came    to 
Pennsylvania    from    Germany    with    his 


parents  when  but  two  years  old.  The 
family  located  on  a  farm,  and  by  indus- 
try and  frugality  succeeded  in  accumulat- 
ing a  sufficiency  of  this  world's  goods. 
John  Zimmerman  and  his  wife  were 
born  in  Pennsylvania — in  i  800  and  1802, 
respectively.  They  were  married  in  1821, 
and  in  the  following  year  came  to  Ohio, 
settling  in  Stark  county.  A  farm  was 
purchased,  and  the  work  of  clearing  away 
the  primitive  forest  was  begun  and  con- 
tinued among  many  hardships,  as  any 
pioneer  can  tell.  Here  life's  battles  were 
fought  and  won,  till,  after  about  thirteen 
years,  the  family  found  a  new  home  in  the 
wilderness  where  now  are  seen  the  fruit- 
ful farms  of  Seneca  county.  In  1847  a 
new  location  was  sought,  and  the  farm 
which  William  Zimmerman  now  occupies 
was  purchased.  Here,  in  1850,  Mrs. 
Rebecca  Zimmerman  passed  away.  John 
Zimmerman  continued  to  live  here  for 
several  j'ears,  and  then  returned  to  Seneca 
county,  where  he  died  in  1878. 

On  July  5,  1847,  William  Zimmer- 
man was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Elizabeth  Brownell,  who  was  born  in 
New  York  State,  .\pril  20,  1830.  The 
following  children  were  born  to  them: 
(i)  Charles  W. ,  a  boilermaker  by  voca- 
tion, lives  in  Dayton,  Ohio,  and  his  chil- 
dren are — William,  Carrie,  Eddie  and 
one  whose  name  is  not  given.  (2)  John 
F.,  a  photographer,  formerly  had  a 
studio  at  Clyde,  Green  Creek  township, 
is  at  present  at  home  working  at  his  pro- 
fession and  helping  his  father;  his  chil- 
dren are — Mary  E. ,  William  H.,  Carroll, 
and  Charles  L.  (3)  Electa  A.,  wife  of 
Harvey  Gray,  of  Green  Creek  township, 
has  six  children — Fannie,  Jesse,  Flora, 
George,  Charles  and  Elijah.  (4)  James 
A.,  a  boiler  maker  at  Dayton,  Montgom- 
ery county,  has  children — Fay  and  Mary 
E.  (5)  Elijah  H.,  for  several  years  a 
barber  and  bandmaster  in  Green  Spring 
township,  later  went  west,  but  returned 
and  went  to  Canada,  where  he  died 
in  1890. 


780 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


William  Zimmerman  did  not  serve  in 
the  Civil  war,  but  two  of  his  brothers — 
Benjamin  and  Franklin — did.  Although 
Mr.  Zimmerman  has  espoused  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Democratic  party,  and  affili- 
ated with  that  political  organization,  he 
has  no  scruples  against  voting  for  the  best 
man  even  though  his  name  is  found  on 
another  ticket. 


GEORGE    FETTERMAN,   farmer 
of     Rice     township,      Sandusky 
county,  was  born  in  that   town- 
ship,   March   28,    1843,  and  is  a 
son  of    John  and  Catherine  (Daniel)  Fet- 
terman,  who  were  born  and  married    in 
Pennsylvania. 

John  Fetterman  was  born  in  1809, 
married  Catherine  Daniel,  and  they  came 
to  Ohio  in  i860,  settling  in  Rice  town- 
ship, where  he  bought  forty  acres  of  land. 
Mr.  Fetterman  died  March  18,  1S92,  his 
wife  April  30,  1892,  and  they  were  both 
buried  in  Sandusky  township.  They 
were  the  parents  of  eleven  children,  as 
follows:  Lima  married  Michael  ^^^  Wal- 
ter, and  they  had  seven  children  (they 
live  in  Indiana);  Mary  married  William 
Overmeier,  and  they  had  one  child,  Ellen, 
who  married  John  Hess,  a  farmer  of  San- 
dusky county,  Ohio,  by  whom  she  had 
four  children;  Daniel  died  in  1892,  and 
was  buried  in  Henry  county;  Amanda 
was  born  in  1834,  and  lives  in  Lindsey, 
Washington  township,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty; Sarah  married  John  Taking,  and 
they  have  five  children,  of  whom  Isadore 
lives  at  home,  Monroe  lives  in  Wood 
county,  Ohio,  and  Emma,  Alice  and  Ida 
live  at  home;  John,  who  is  a  farmer, 
married  a  Miss  Prince,  and  lives  in  Mich- 
igan; Solomon,  who  is  single,  lives 
in  Oak  Harbor,  Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio; 
George  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch; 
Jacob  died  September  7,  1889,  and  was 
buried  in  Sandusky  county;  Romanzas 
married  Amanda  King,  and  they  had  four 
children;  and    a  son,  whose   name   is  not 


given,  a  farmer  by  occupation  in  San- 
dusky county,  married  Catherine  Artz, 
and  they  had  four  children. 

In  1850,  George  Fetterman  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Elizabeth  Fought,  in 
Rice  township,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio, 
and  purchased  180  acres  of  land,  where 
he  now  lives.  They  have  three  children, 
as  follows:  Ernest,  who  is  a  farmer  in 
Rice  township,  married  to  Almeda  King; 
Frank,  also  a  farmer  in  Rice  township, 
married  to  Mary  Benter;  and  Westky, 
living  at  home.  Mr.  Fetterman  was  con- 
stable in  Rice  township  for  two  years, 
was  engaged  in  railroading  on  the  Wabash 
for  about  two  years,  and  was  then  mar- 
ried and  went  to  farming.  He  is  a  Dem- 
ocrat in  politics,  and  a  Catholic  in  re- 
ligion. 


WA.  COLLIER,  owner  of  one 
(jf  the  finest  fruit  farms  in  Ben- 
ton township,  Ottawa  county,  is 
a  native  of  Ohio,  born  February 
18,  1849,  in  Licking  county,  and  is  a  son 
of  Aaron  and  Catherina  (Grove)  Collier. 

Aaron  Collier  was  born  March  21, 
1822,  in  England.  He  enlisted  in  the 
British  army,  but  deserted  because  he 
could  not  eat  the  hard  tack  furnished  the 
soldiers,  and  coming  to  America  com- 
menced peddling  pills,  in  which  he  en- 
gaged on  his  journey  from  New  York  to 
Licking  county,  Ohio,  walking  all  the  way, 
and  going  from  house  to  house.  On  ar- 
riving in  Ohio,  he  learned  the  trade  of 
blacksmith  from  Stephen  Grove,  father 
of  the  lady  he  afterward  married,  and 
he  followed  same  some  twelve  3  ears.  On 
June  12,  1847,  he  was  married  in  Ohio  to 
Miss  Catherina  Grove,  and  they  had  a 
family  of  ten  children,  nine  of  whom  are 
living.  Mrs.  Collier  was  born  November 
20,  1829,  in  Virginia,  daughter  of  Stephen 
Grove,  who  was  born  in  1782  in  German)', 
came  to  America  in  his  youth,  and  served 
in  the  war  of  18 12.  As  above  intimated, 
he   was  a   blacksmith   by  trade,  and  fol- 


COMMEMORATTVE  BIOORAPHWAL  RECORD. 


787 


lowed  this  occupation  for  many  years  on 
a  slave  plantation.  His  wife  was  born  in 
I  80 1  in  America,  and  died  in  1856. 

W.  A.  Collier  lived  in  his  native  county 
until  he  was  nine  years  of  age.  His  pa- 
rents then  removed  to  Wood  coimt\',  Ohio, 
where  they  resided  eight  months,  at  the 
end  of  that  time  taking  up  their  residence 
in  Ballville,  Sandusky  county,  where  they 
lived  four  years.  From  that  place  they 
removed  to  Riley  township,  Sandusky 
county,  and  there  remained  three  years. 
So  far  as  attending  school  was  concerned, 
^fr.  Collier's  education  was  completed 
when  he  was  ten  years  of  age.  His  father 
died  in  1865,  and  the  then  sixteen-year- 
old  lad  was  obliged  to  work  out,  and 
also  on  the  home  farm,  in  order  to 
assist  his  mother  in  caring  for  the  family  of 
ten  children.  For  ten  years  he  faithfully 
rendered  all  the  assistance  in  his  power, 
until  his  younger  brothers  and  sisters  were 
able  to  care  for  themselves. 

At  the  age  of  about  twenty-seven  our 
subject  started  out  in  life  for  himself, 
embarking  in  the  sawmill  business,  in 
which  he  continued  until  the  spring  of  1875, 
when  he  turned  his  attention  to  agricul- 
ture. After  engaging  in  farm  work  two 
years  he  resumed  sawmilling,  in  partner- 
ship with  John  Woodcott,  at  Hickory  Isl- 
and, Erie  Co.,  Ohio,  remaining  there 
about  one  and  a  half  years,  and  then 
came  to  Benton  township,  Ottawa  Co., 
Ohio,  settling  on  fractional  Section  30, 
where  he  purchased  a  farm  of  ninety 
acres,  all  covered  with  timber  and  en- 
tirely unimproved.  On  his  first  coming 
to  the  farm  he  lived  in  an  old  trapper's 
shanty  until  he  could  build  a  more  com- 
fortable home,  the  upright  to  the  house 
in  which  they  now  live.  Having  made  a 
comfortable  abode  Mr.  Collier  commenced 
getting  out  stave  bolts,  saw  logs,  etc.  In 
the  fall  of  1880  he  put  up  a  sawmill  across 
from  his  house  for  John  Stang,  of  Lorain 
county,  Ohio,  who  owned  a  large  tract  of 
land  in  that  section,  and  operated  it  for 
that  gentleman  some  three   years,  during 


which  time  he  disposed  of  much  of  the 
tiiiiber  on  his  farm.  Iveturning  now  to 
his  farm,  he  removed  the  rest  of  the  tim- 
ber, blew  out  the  stumps,  and  put  up  good 
buildings  and  fenced  the  farm  neatly,  also 
thoroughly  underdraining  the  greater  part 
of  it.  In  addition  to  all  these  improve- 
ments he  put  out  600  pear  trees,  200 
quince  trees,  1,800  gooseberry  bushes, 
500  grape  vines,  and  100  apple  trees,  all 
of  which  are  now  producing  nicely,  and 
Mr.  Collier  has  one  of  the  finest  fruit 
farms  in  Benton  township,  if  not  in  the 
entire  count}'. 

On  April  iS,  1877,  Mr.  Collier  was 
married  to  Miss  Louisa  Robinson,  who 
was  born  February  10,  1849,  in  Erie 
county,  Ohio,  where  she  received  her 
education.  She  is  the  only  child  of  Har- 
rison and  Elizabeth  (Austin)  Bowles, 
Pennsylvanians  by  birth,  the  former  born 
in  1824,  of  Irish  descent,  the  latter  in 
1830.  They  were  married  in  1848,  and 
the  father  died  in  1849,  the  mother  sur- 
viving until  1883.  Mrs.  Collier's  mater- 
nal grandfather  was  born  about  1798,  in 
'Vermont,  of  Scotch  descent,  and  died  De- 
cember 27,  i860;  he  served  in  the  Mexi- 
can war.  The  maternal  grandmother  was 
born  February  25,  1802,  and  died  July  7, 
1892.  They  were  married  October  26, 
1829,  and  their  union  was  blessed  with 
four  children — two  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters— all  of  whom  are  now  deceased.  The 
family  made  the  journey  from  Pennsyl- 
vania to  Knox  county,  Ohio,  with  a  team, 
and  settled  in  Sandusky  about  18 16, 
when  it  was  a  mere  village.  At  the  age 
of  fourteen  Mrs.  Collier  went  to  Sandusky 
county,  where  she  lived  up  to  the  time  of 
her  marriage. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  A.  Collier 
have  come  five  children,  their  names  and 
dates  of  birth  being  as  follows:  George 
Aaron,  June  4,  1878;  John  William,  Jan- 
uary 6,  1882;  Lester  Arthur,  November 
19.  1884;  Harrison  O'Neill,  September  8, 
1 888;  and  Foster,  June  25,  1892  (he  died 
February  5,  1893,  and  is  buried  in  Ellistou 


788 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOOBAPUICAL   RECORD. 


cemetery).  Politically,  Mr.  Collier  sup- 
ports the  Republican  party;  socially  he  is 
a  member  of  Graytown  Lodge  No.  599, 
I.  O.  O.  F. 


WILLI.\M  PECK  is  numbered 
among  the  successful  agricultur- 
ists who  have  transformed  tracts 
of  wild  land  into  rich  and  pro- 
ductive fields.  Where  once  stood  the 
forests  is  now  seen  the  waving  grain,  giv- 
ing evidence  of  abundant  harvests.  Mr. 
Peck  is  a  wide-awake  and  progressive 
man,  and  is  a  worthy  representative  of 
the  agricultural  interests  of  Sandusky 
county.  He  was  born  in  Scott  township, 
that  county,  March  14,  1841,  and  is  a 
son  of  William  and  Luna  (Cole)  Peck, 
who  were  pioneer  settlers  of  Ohio.  The 
grandfather  of  our  subject,  and  his  parents, 
who  were  natives  of  Holland,  emigrated 
from  that  country  to  America  in  an  early 
day,  locating  in  Connecticut,  where  the 
father  of  our  subject  was  born  March  29, 
1800.  He  followed  farming  through  the 
summer  months,  and  in  the  winter  en- 
gaged in  teaching.  In  1840  he  left  his 
native  State,  and  with  his  family  came 
westward,  taking  up  his  residence  in  Scott 
township.  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  where  he 
spent  his  remaining  years.  He  passed 
away  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-nine. 
His  wife  was  of  German  lineage,  her 
jiarents  having  emigrated  from  the  Father- 
land to  the  New  World.  She  was  born 
in  Albany,  N.  Y.,  in  1810,  and  passed 
away  in  July,  1888.  The  subject  of  this 
review  is  the  youngest  of  four  children, 
the  others  being  Nelson,  a  resident  of 
Madison  township,  Sandusky  county; 
Catherine,  who  became  the  wife  of  George 
Spayde,  and  died,  leaving  two  children; 
and  Jason  L. ,  a  resident  farmer  of 
Kansas. 

William  Peck  spent  his  early  boy- 
hood days  on  the  home  farm,  continuing 
to  give  his  father  the  benefit  of  his  serv- 
ices until  twenty-two  years  of  age,  when 


he  began  farming  in  his  own  interest.  For 
five  years  he  cultivated  a  tract  of  land  in 
Madison  township,  and  during  that  time 
was  married.  On  July  4,  1869,  he 
wedded  Arinena  Fairbank,  of  Madison 
township,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  who  was 
born  September  3,  1851,  a  daughter  of 
Josiah  and  Sovina  (Bowman)  Fairbank, 
residents  of  Washington  township,  San- 
dusky county.  Her  father  is  a  carpenter 
by  trade. 

After  his  marriage  Mr.  Peck  removed 
with  his  bride  to  Wood  county,  where  he 
remained  for  two  years  engaged  in  farm- 
ing. Subsequently  he  rented  a  tract  of 
land  in  the  northern  part  of  Scott  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  which  he  cultiva- 
ted for  three  jears,  when  he  again  changed 
his  residence,  locating  upon  a  farm  that 
adjoins  his  present  home.  There  he 
lived  for  four  years,  and  then  purchaseti 
160  acres  that  has  since  }iclded  a  golden 
tribute  in  return  for  the  care  and  labor 
he  has  bestowed  upon  it.  At  the  time 
of  his  purchase  much  of  the  land  was 
under  water,  and  could  be  used  for  boat- 
ing in  the  summer  and  for  skating  in  the 
winter;  but  by  persistent  effort  Mr.  Peck 
has  tiled  and  thoroughl}'  drained  the 
place,  which  he  now  has  under  a  high 
state  of  cultivation.  He  has  also  given 
considerale  attention  to  the  buying  and 
selling  of  stock,  being  especially  inter- 
ested in  raising  sheep  and  cattle,  and  this 
branch  of  his  business jields  to  him  good 
returns.  Well-kept  buildings  add  to  the 
value  and  attractive  appearance  of  the 
place,  and  to-day  Mr.  Peck  is  the  owner 
of  one  of  the  finest  homes  in  Scott  town- 
ship. His  sympathy  is  with  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  and  whenever  possible  he 
aids  that  party,  but  has  never  sought  or 
desired  official  preferment. 

P'ive  children  grace  the  union  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Peck — Charles  William,  who 
was  born  September  21,  1870,  and  is 
now  engaged  in  the  oil  business;  Vinnie, 
who  was  born  November  6,  1873,  and  is 
the  wife    of  Frank    G.    Kecnan,   who    is 


OOMMEMOUAT  WE  BTOORAPniCAL  RECORD. 


T89 


interested  in  the  oil  business  in  Scott 
fownsliip  (she  has  one  child,  Bernice); 
Ida,  who  was  born  January -2,  1879,  and 
is  now  studying  music;  Mattie,  born  Feb- 
ruary 5,  1884;  and  Goldie,  born  Decem- 
ber 8,    1887. 


JESSE  B.  VANTIXE.  Although  for 
many  years  the  flowers  have  bloomed 
and  faded  over  the  grave  of  this  well- 
known  pioneer  and  agriculturist  of 
Clay  township,  Ottawa  county,  his  mem- 
ory is  still  fresh  in  the  hearts  of  his  fam- 
ily and  of  those  who  knew  his  sterling 
worth,  and  appreciated  the  work  he  had 
done  in  the  improvement  and  progress  of 
the  community  in  which  at  an  early  day 
he  made  his  home. 

Mr.  Vantine  was  a  native  of  the  Em- 
pire State,  born  in  Cayuga  county,  De- 
cember 5,  1 82 1.  His  school  days  were 
over  at  a  tender  age,  and  he  commenced 
to  do  farm  work,  at  which  he  continued  sev- 
eral years,  and  also  for  a  number  of  years 
worked  upon  the  canals.  In  185  i  he  came  to 
Ohio,  and  purchased  eighty  acres  of  wood- 
land in  Clay  township,  Ottawa  county. 
Wc  of  the  present  day  cannot  realize  what 
this  meant.  It  meant  living  in  a  rudely- 
constructed  log  cabin,  without  a  single 
comfort  or  convenience,  surrounded  by 
dense  forests,  where  the  howl  of  the  wolf 
and  the  hoot  of  the  owl  were  nightly 
heard;  where  the  timid  deer  and  the  skulk- 
ing Indian  threaded  their  way  through  the 
underbrush,  and  where  roads,  neighbors, 
and  post  offices  were  things  unknown. 
Here  the  }oung  pioneer  built  himself  a 
cabin,  and  while  clearing  his  land  de- 
pended upon  his  trusty  rifle  for  his  subsist- 
ence. But  one  day,  on  returning  from 
hunting,  nothing  remained  but  the  ruins 
of  his  rude  home,  which  with  its  contents 
had  been  burned.  He  was  not  discour- 
aged, however;  another  cabin  was  con- 
structed, and  then,  realizing  more  than 
ever  the  truth  of  the  pro\erb  that  "it  is 
not  good  for  man   to  be  alone,"    he  re- 


turned to  the  East,  and  on  October  16, 
1 85  I,  was  m.irried  in  Cayuga  couniy,  N. 
Y. ,  to  Almira  Kodgers,  daughter  of  Joshua 
and  Jerusia  (McKee)  Kodgers.  With  his 
young  bride  Mr.  Vantine  once  more  took 
up  his  abode  in  the  wilderness,  and  to- 
gether they  worked  with  willing  hands  to 
make  for  themselves  a  comfortable  home. 
It  is  hard  to  conceive  of  the  trials  and 
hardships  endured  by  the  young  wife  so 
far  from  the  accustomed  comforts  of  the 
East,  with  no  companions  to  share  her 
solitude  and  recall  pleasant  associations; 
yet  these  sacrifices  were  cheerfully  made 
for  the  sake  of  the  husband  whose  inspira- 
tion she  was,  and  to  whom  she  was  not 
only  a  helpinir  hand,  but  a  constant  en- 
couragement and  sustainer.  In  time 
children  came  to  fill  their  humble  home 
with  laughter  and  song  and  make  the  days 
less  lonely,  and  as  the  years  rolled  on 
the  forests  disappeared  and  broad  fields  of 
waving  grain,  fine  orchards  and  a  hand- 
some dwelling,  took  their  place.  The 
log  cabin,  the  scene  of  so  much  sacrifice 
and  yet  of  so  much  true  happiness,  is  gone 
forever,  but  the  lessons  there  learned 
have  borne  their  fruit  in  the  busy  useful 
\\\cs  of  its  occupants. 

The  children  of  these  worthy  pioneers, 
all  of  whom  were  born  and  educated  in 
Clay  township,  were  five  in  number,  and 
a  brief  record  of  them  is  as  follows:  (i) 
Ellie  J.,  born  Septeinber  3,  1852,  was  the 
first  white  child  "born  in  that  part  of  Clay 
township;  she  was  married  in  1871  to 
George  White,  a  manufacturer  of  lime  in 
Genoa,  and  they  have  five  children — 
Mary,  Bertha,  Otto,  Henry  and  Almira. 
(2)  James  B.,  born  April  16,  1854,  is  a 
lime  worker  at  Marblehcad,  Ottawa  coun- 
ty; he  was  married  in  October,  1884,  at 
Genoa,  to  Miss  Carrie  Walker,  and  they 
have  two  children,  Elsie  and  Ray.  (3) 
Maryetta,  born  April  10,  i860,  is  the  wife 
of  Taylor  Hofman,  a  farmer  in  Clay  town- 
ship; they  have  two  children.  Pearl  and 
Jay.  (4)  J.  Frank,  who  was  bcrn  Ajiril 
24,1871,  followed  the  occupationof  a  farm- 


790 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


er  for  a  number  of  years,  and  is  now  in 
Toledo;  he  \\as  married  at  Mnrtin,  in 
1 891,  to  Henrietta,  daughter  of  John  Bee- 
dee,  a  farmer  of  Clay  township,  and  they 
have  one  child,  Nettie  May,  born  Octo- 
ber 13,  1892.  (5)  Charles  F.  Vantine, 
the  youngest,  is  living  at  home. 

John  Beedee,  the  father  of  Mrs.  J. 
Frank  Vantine,  died  in  1879,  from  the 
effects  of  an  accident,  his  leg  having  been 
broken  by  a  falling  tree.  His  wife  died 
December  g,  1891.  Their  family  com- 
prised five  children,  of  whom  the  following 
record  is  given:  John  Beedee  is  married 
and  works  in  a  mill;  Martin  Freeborn 
lives  in  Lorain  county,  and  works  in  the 
bending  shops  (he  has  one  child);  Loren 
is  a  cooper,  living  at  Clay  Center  (he  is 
married  and  has  four  children);  Mary  is 
the  wife  of  Mr.  Downing,  who  is  a  con- 
ductor on  the  Lake  Shore  &  Michigan 
Southern  railwaj'  at  Toledo  (they  have 
one  child);  Henrietta  is  the  wife  of  J. 
Frank  Vantine. 

During  his  busy  life  Jesse  B.  Vantine 
was  very  popular  and  highly  respected  by 
his  fellow  citizens.  He  was  a  stanch 
Democrat,  and  was  for  a  number  of  years 
a  trustee  of  the  township,  and  was  a 
commissioner  when  the  town  was  first 
formed.  He  was  also  school  director  for 
several  years,  and  served  for  some  years 
as  a  constable.  He  died  March  27,  1893, 
of  consumption,  contracted  during  the 
hardships  of  his  early  life.  He  was  a 
faithful  and  devoted  husband  and  father, 
and  will  never  be  forgotten  by  his  family, 
who  owe  so  much  to  his  precepts  and  ex- 
ample. His  wife  survives  him  and  makes 
her  home  on  the  old  farm. 


WILLIAM  AMES,  son  of  Decker- 
man  C.  and    Rebecca   (Purdue) 
Ames,  was  born  on  his  father's 
farm    in    Harris    township,    Ot- 
tawa county,  November  13,   1843. 

The  father  of  our  subject  followed  ag- 
ricultural pursuits  all  his  life,  coming  to 


Ohio  during  his  bojhood.  His  father 
purchas'.d  land  of  the  government,  and  1  e 
continued  to  operate  a  portion  of  that 
property  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
in  1885.  He  was  buried  in  the  Guss 
Cemetery  at  Elmore,  and  many  friends 
mourned  his  decease.  In  1841  he  had 
married  Miss  Purdue,  who  was  born  in 
1822,  and  their  family  consisted  of  six 
children — William,  Alfred,  Silas,  Sarah, 
Nancy  Ann  and  Mary  Ellen,  of  whom 
Nancy  Ann  was  drowned  in  Portage  river, 
near  Elmore,  while  bathing;  Alfred  is  also 
deceased;  and  Mary  Ellen  is  now  Mrs. 
Drake,  of  Michigan.  The  maternal  grand- 
father of  our  subject,  James  Purdue,  was 
born  in  1787,  and  was  a  farmer  and  great 
hunter;  his  wife  was  born  in  1790,  and 
they  had  a  family  of  ten  children.  The 
paternal  grandmother  was  born  in  1781, 
and  her  children  were  eight  in  number. 

William  Ames  spent  his  boyhood  days 
on  the  old  homestead,  attended  the  dis- 
trict schools  of  the  neighborhood,  and  at 
the  early  age  of  nine  years  began  working 
with  a  team,  plowing,  harrowing  and 
doing  other  work  on  the  farm.  When  the 
call  for  75,000  men  was  issued  by  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  he  eagerly  and  quickly  re- 
sponded, anxious  to  aid  in  the  defense  of 
the  Union,  but  on  account  of  his  youth 
his  father  would  not  let  him  enlist.  A 
second  time  he  offered  his  services,  and  a 
second  time  his  father  prevented  him  from 
becoming  one  of  the  boys  in  blue,  but 
finally,  in  1863,  he  became  a  member  of 
Company  G,  One  Hundreth  Regiment, 
Ohio  Sharpshooters,  with  whom  he  served 
until  the  end  of  the  war.  He  took  part  in 
the  battles  of  the  Wilderness,  which  contin- 
ued for  seven  days,  Cold  Harbor,  Wel- 
den  Railroad,  and  assisted  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  Petersburg,  where  four  thousand 
were  killed  in  a  half  hour,  aiding  in  mak- 
ing the  three-mile  tunnel  under  the  city. 
He  served  in  the  army  of  the  Potomac 
under  Gen.  Grant,  and  witnessed  the 
grand  review  of  the  victorious  troops  in 
the  Capitol  City.      He  was  also  in  Ford's 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


roi 


Theatre  at  the  time  of  President  Lin- 
coln's assassination,  and  saw  Booth  jump 
upon  the  stage  after  firing  the  fatal  shot 
which  ended  the  life  of  one  of  the  most 
honored  and  distinguished  men  this 
country  has  produced. 

Upon  the  close  of  the  war  Mr.  Ames 
returned  home,  and  on  August  14,  1865, 
he  was  married  in  Elmore  to  Miss  Emma 
J.  Essig,  of  Stark  county,  Ohio,  who  was 
born  March  10,  1S38,  in  that  county, 
where  she  lived  until  her  marriage.  She 
obtained  her  education  in  the  public 
schools,  and  then  engaged  in  teaching  in 
Portage  county,  and  for  one  term  in  Ot- 
tawa county.  Her  father,  John  Essig, 
a  mason  by  trade,  was  born  June  3,  1784, 
and  died  September  30,  1854.  His  wife, 
who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Esther 
Spangle,  was  born  May  4,  1792,  and 
died  September  23,  1877.  Twelve  chil- 
dren bless  their  marriage.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Ames  have  always  resided  in  Elmore, 
where  they  have  a  pleasant  home  and 
many  friends.  Their  only  child.  Birdie, 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools  here, 
and  for  two  years  was  a  successful  teacher 
of  Ottawa  county.  In  1888  she  became 
the  wife  of  John  Schling,  and  they  now 
reside  in  Oak  Harbor.  William  Ames 
is  engaged  in  the  raising  of  horses,  and  is 
well-known  in  Ottawa  county,  where  he 
has  spent  his  entire  life,  as  a  straight- 
forward business  man.  He  has  the  warm 
regard  of  all  with  whom  he  has  been 
brought  in  contact. 


V.ALENTIN  MILIUS,  a  retired 
harness  dealer,  of  Hessville,  San- 
dusky county,  was  born  in  Nord- 
heim,  Germany,  November  29, 
1827,  and  is  a  son  of  Francis  and  Johan- 
na (Fox)  Milius,  who  spent  their  entire 
lives  in  that  country.  The  father  was  a 
farmer  and  teamster,  and  died  a  few 
months  after  his  son,  \'alentin,  sailed  for 
America.  Our  subject  is  the  eldest  in  his 
parent's  family,  and  of  the  others,  Eliza- 

50 


bcth  is  the  wife  of  Adam  Vance,  a  basket 
maker  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  has  five 
children;  Katie  is  the  widow  of  Adam 
Bellow,  and  a  resident  of  Cincinnati; 
Jacob  is  engaged  in  basket  making  in  that 
city;  and  Delia  is  the  wife  of  Charles 
Gait,  living  in  Newport,  Kentucky. 

Mr.  Milius  was  reared  under  the  pa- 
rental roof,  and  his  educational  privi- 
leges were  those  affordefl  by  the  common 
schools.  He  remained  in  the  Fatherland 
until  twenty-five  years  of  age,  when  in 
1852  he  bade  adieu  to  family  and  friends, 
embarking  on  an  ocean  vessel  for  the  New 
World.  Landing  safely  on  the  shores  of 
this  country,  he  proceeded  at  once  to 
Fremont,  Ohio,  where  he  began  work  with 
a  Mr.  Greddler  in  the  harness  business, 
continuing  with  that  gentleman  for  sev- 
eral months.  Going  then  to  Cincinnati, 
Ohio,  he  worked  in  that  city  for  two 
years,  after  which  he  spent  six  months  in 
Cleveland.  His  ne.xt  place  of  residence 
was  Canton,  Ohio,  where  he  remained 
for  four  years,  and  in  1859  he  came  to 
Hessville,  Sandusky  county,  where  he 
embarked  in  business  for  himself  as  a 
harness  maker.  He  was  a  good  work- 
man, and  this  fact  soon  becoming  known 
to  the  public  he  received  a  liberal  patron- 
age, which  steadily  increased  and  brought 
him  a  good  income.  For  thirty-four 
years  he  followed  the  business  in  Hess- 
ville, and  then,  his  health  failing  him,  he 
was  obliged  to  retire  from   active    life  in 

1893- 

Mr.  Milius  was  united   in  marriage,  in 

1856,  with  Miss  Catherine  Klaser.  who 
was  one  of  a  family  of  five  daugiiters, 
namely:  Margaret,  wife  of  Fred  Nichols; 
Josephine;  Catherine  (Mrs.  Milius);  Mary, 
wife  of  Jacob  Frick;  and  Ph(ebe.  wife  of 
John  Bowler.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Milius 
have  been  born  five  children.  The  eld- 
est, Julius  C,  was  born  in  Canton,  Ohio, 
July  3,  1857;  John,  born  in  that  city,  Feb- 
ruary 18,  I  859,  was  brought  by  his  parents 
to  Hessville  during  his  infancy,  and  there 
received  the  educational  privileges  of  the 


792 


COMMEMORATTVE  BWORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


district  schools;  at  the  age  of  twenty-five 
he  left  home,  and  was  employed  in  vari- 
ous ways  until  1891,  when  he  established 
a  general  store  in  Hessville,  and  on  April 
17,  of  the  same  year,  was  appointed  post- 
master there;  he  was  married  Novem- 
ber 18,  1886,  to  Miss  Cora  Artz,  and  they 
have  two  children — Goldie,  born  March 
16,  1888;  and  Ruth,  born  February  11, 
1890;  John  Milius  is  a  Democrat  in  his 
political  views,  and  is  a  member  of  the 
Reformed  Church.  Harmon,  the  next  of 
the  family,  was  born  September  16, 
1 86 1,  and  is  a  farmer  of  Hessville.  Louis, 
born  February  16,  1864,  died  in  infancy; 
Edward,  born  September  10,  1867,  is  en- 
gaged in  blacksmithing  in   Chicago. 

Valentin  Milius  has  led  a  life  of  activity, 
and  as  the  result  of  his  energy  and  enter- 
prise is  now  the  possessor  of  a  comforta- 
ble competence,  which  enables  him  to 
live  retired.  He  owns  a  farm  comprising 
forty  acres  of  valuable  land,  and  in  addi- 
tion has  thirteen  town  lots  in  Hessville. 
By  his  ballot  he  supports  the  Democratic 
party,  and  in  religious  belief  he  is  a 
Lutheran.  His  hope  of  bettering  his 
financial  condition  by  emigrating  to 
America  has  been  realized,  and  now  he 
is  numbered  among  the  substantial  and 
valued  citizens  of  his  locality. 


CASPAR  MULLER,  a  farmer,  of 
Ballville  township,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty is  a  native  of  North  Germany, 
born  January  18,  1841. 
John  P.  Muller,  father  of  our  subject, 
was  born  in  June,  1801.  He  sold  his 
farm  of  twenty-five  acres  in  Germany, 
and  in  1854  emigrated  to  America.  Af- 
ter an  ocean  voyage  of  seven  weeks  he 
landed  in  New  York,  where  he  remained 
but  a  short  time,  then  came  to  Ohio  and 
settled  in  Ballville  township  where  he 
bought  fifty  acres  of  land  and  followed 
farming  pursuits  about  thirty-five  years. 
His  death  occurred  in  1889,  and  his  wife 
died  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven  j'ears. 


They  had  a  family  of  six  children:  Cas- 
par; Mary,  born  May  29,  1844,  unmar- 
ried; Susan,  born  December  29,  1846,  is 
the  wife  of  Fred  Weldon,  a  farmer  and 
resident  of  Seneca  county,  Ohio  (politic- 
ally he  is  a  Democrat,  and  in  religious 
belief  a  Catholicj;  Catharine,  born  Febru- 
ary, 1848,  became  the  wife  of  George 
Buchman,  a  farmer  and  resident  of  Wash- 
ington township,  in  politics  a  Democrat, 
and  in  religious  belief  a  Catholic;  John  P. 
(a  farmer),  born  January  18,  1849,  mar- 
ried Mary  Foos  (in  politics  he  is  a  Demo- 
crat, and  in  religious  belief  a  Roman  Cath- 
olic); Annie,  born  April  9,  1852,  married 
C.  Schneider,  a  farmer,  and  they  have 
a  family  of  children  as  follows — Frank, 
Susan,  Albert,  Robert,  Sarah,  Edward 
and  Hannah  (politically  Mr.  Schneider  is 
a  Democrat,  and  in  religion  is  a  Catholic). 
Caspar  Muller  remained  with  his  par- 
ents until  he  was  twenty-three  years  old. 
He  then  went  to  Pittsburg  and  worked 
eight  years  as  a  coal  miner,  saving  $800. 
On  returning  he  worked  two  years  on  a 
farm  for  Peter  Kirsch,  and  also  for  other 
parties,  and  later  he  worked  his  father's 
farm  five  years.  Mr.  Muller  then  bought 
forty  acres  from  N.  Buchman  for  $3,000, 
and  kept  it  three  years,  sold  it  to  his 
brother,  and  bought  the  place  he  now 
occupies,  paying  for  same  $3,850.  He  is 
highly  respected  by  all  who  know  him. 
In  politics  he  affiliates  with  the  Democratic 
party,  and  in  religion  he  is  a  Roman 
Catholic. 


JOSEPH  WOLF,    the  popular  treas- 
urer of  Sandusky   county,    was  born 
in    Baden,     Germany,     March     18, 
1852,  a  son  of  Bernhard  and  Regina 
(Wottle)  Wolf. 

The  parents  who  were  also  natives  of 
Baden,  came  tO'America  in  1865,  locating 
in  Sandusky  City,  Ohio,  where  they  re- 
mained one  year,  then  removing  to  Fre- 
mont, where  they  made  their  permanent 
residence.      The    father   of   our   subject. 


COMMEMOIiATIVE  BIOQRAPnWAL  RECORD. 


79S 


born  in  1819,  died  May  30,  1892;  the 
mother,  born  in  1828,  is  still  living  at 
their  residence  in  I'reniont.  Six  children 
were  born  to  them,  five  of  whom  are  liv- 
ing, at  Fremont. 

Joseph  Wolf  attended  school  one  year 
at  Sandusky  City,  while  living  with  his 
parents,  and  soon  after  coming  to  Fre- 
mont, in  1865,  entered  a  newspaper  office 
and  learned  the  business  of  compositor  so 
thoroughl}'  that  he  finally  had  the  me- 
chanical work  of  the  paper  under  his 
charge.  He  subsequently  engaged  in  the 
barber  business,  and  finally  embarked  in 
the  retail  liquor  trade,  in  which  he  re- 
mained until  elected  to  the  office  of  coun- 
ty treasurer,  in  September,  1S92.  He 
was  re-elected  to  the  office  in  1894.  He 
has  served  as  a  member  of  the  Fremont 
city  council  two  terms,  and  was  for  two 
years  president  of  that  honorable  body. 
He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  a  straight- 
forward progressive  citizen,  a  member  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  and  socially, 
of  the  Catholic  Knights  of  America.  Mr. 
Wolf  married  Miss  Catharine  Moore,  and 
they  have  six  children:  Frank,  Carl, 
Mary,  Urban,  Catharine  and  Barnhard. 


ADOLPH  H.ALBEISEN.  Riley 
township,  Sandusky  county,  in- 
cludes among  its  successful  citi- 
zens a  number  of  industrious  and 
prosperous  farmers,  one  of  whom  is  Mr. 
Halbeisen.  He  was  born  August  12, 
1845,  'ind  is  a  son  of  Nicholas  and  Caro- 
line Halbeisen. 

Nicholas  Halbeisen  was  born  in  Ger- 
many August  12,  1802,  and  was  there 
united  in  marriage  with  Caroline  Geshie, 
who  was  born  April  8,  1814,  also  in  the 
Fatherland.  They  came  to  America  in 
1844,  and  located  in  Ohio,  in  Riley  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county.  Here  for  ten  dol- 
lars an  acre  they  bought  land  which  at 
the  present  time  is  valued  at  one  hundred 
dollars  an  acre.  They  had  the  following 
children:  Barney    married   Millie  House, 


and  they  have  had  five  children;  they  live 
in  Ballville  township,  Sandusky  county. 
Caroline  married  Casper  IIousi%  by  whom 
she  had  four  children;  she  died  in  1871, 
and  was  buried  in  Ballville  township. 
Lewis  is  a  farmer  in  Michigan.  Adolph 
is  the  subject  proper  of  this  sketch.  Au- 
gust, who  is  a  farmer,  married  Ellen 
McDonald,  and  they  live  in  Michigan. 
Lucy  comes  next.  Amelia  married  Michael 
Bundschner,  a  farmer  in  Sandusky  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  and  they  have 
had  five  children.  Nicholas  Halbeisen 
died  November   12,   1861. 

Adolph  Halbeisen  was  reared  to  habits 
of  industry  and  economy,  and  received  a 
common-school  education.  He  remained 
at  home  on  the  farm  until  the  death  of 
his  father,  then  had  the  management, 
and  saved  his  money.  On  November  12, 
1 880,  Adolph  Halbeisen  was  miited  in  mar- 
riage with  Helen  Beansack,  and  they  have 
had  eight  children,  their  names  and  dates 
of  birth  being  as  follows:  Clara,  January 
26,  1882;  Caroline,  April  10,  1883;  Jo- 
seph, April  II,  1885;  Arnold,  July  7, 
1886;  Henry,  May  23,  1888;  Frank,  May 
23,  1889;  Augusta,  December  10,  1890, 
and  Ellen,  September  8,  i8gi.  Mr.  Hal- 
beisen bought  seventy-two  acres  of  land 
at  $1  lo.oo  per  acre,  as  a  homestead.  He 
has  held  the  office  of  school  director  for 
three  years.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat, 
and  in  religious  affiliation  a  Catholic. 


WILLIAM  GORDON  is  a  worthy 
representative  of  one  of  the 
prominent  families  of  Ottawa 
county.  He  is  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  law  in  Port  Clinton,  where  he 
now  resides,  and  is  serving  as  prosecuting 
attorney  for  Ottawa  county.  He  is  a  de- 
servedly popular  man,  and  a  rising  mem- 
ber of  the  bar. 

Mr.  Gordon  was  born  in  the  county 
which  is  still  his  home,  having  first 
opened  his  eyes  to  the  light  of  dav  in 
Salem  township,    near  Oak   Harbor,  De- 


794 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


cember  i  5,  1862,  his  parents  being  Wash- 
ington and  Margaret  (Rymers)  Gordon. 
His  elementary  education  was  obtained 
in  the  public  schools  of  Oak  Harbor,  and 
he  also  attended  the  business  college  of 
Toledo,  Ohio,  graduating  from  that  in- 
stitution May  7,  1880.  He  then  returned 
to  his  home,  and  during  the  following 
seven  years  was  employed  as  a  book- 
keeper by  his  father,  also  teaching  school 
during  the  winter  months  in  the  townships 
of  Carroll  and  Erie,  Ottawa  county.  In 
1886  his  father  was  elected  county  treas- 
urer, and  on  entering  upon  the  duties 
pertaining  to  that  office,  in  September, 
1887.  his  son  William  became  his  deputy 
and  efficiently  served  in  that  capacity  un- 
til September,  1891.  Meanwhile  he  de- 
voted his  leisure  time  to  the  stud}'  of  law, 
preparatory  to  entering  the  legal  pro- 
fession. 

On  October  i,  1891,  William  Gordon 
became  a  student  in  the  Law  Department 
of  the  University  of  Michigan,  at  Ann 
Arbor,  and  after  completing  the  prescribed 
course  was  graduated  at  that  institution 
with  the  class  of  June,  1893,  receiving 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws.  Return- 
ing at  once  to  Oak  Harbor,  he  has  here 
since  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  chosen 
profession,  and  through  his  ability  and 
popularity  he  succeeded  in  building  up  a 
large  and  rapidly  increasing  patronage. 
The  people  of  Ottawa  county  attested 
their  appreciation  of  his  worth  by  electing 
him,  on  November  6,  1894,  to  the  honor- 
able and  responsible  position  of  prosecut- 
ing attorney,  he  being  the  only  county 
official  elected  on  the  Democratic  ticket 
in  Ottawa  county.  He  is  an  earnest  and 
able  advocate,  and  thorough  preparation 
of  cases  is  manifest  in  the  ease  with 
which  he  meets  an  opponent  and  the  suc- 
cess which  attends  his  efforts.  He  was 
admitted  to  practice  before  the  supreme 
court  of  Ohio,  June  8,   1893. 

Mr.  Gordon  is  a  member  of  Oak  Har- 
bor Lodge,  No.  495,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and 
Fremont  Chapter,  No.  64,   K.  A.  M.   He 


is  also  a  member  of  the  board  of  school 
examiners  of  Ottawa  county,  and  is  deep- 
ly interested  in  the  cause  of  education, 
and  all  that  pertains  to  the  welfare  of  the 
community.  His  political  support  has 
always  been  given  to  the  Democratic 
party,  and  b}'  voice  as  well  as  ballot  he 
advocates  its  principles.  In  both  public 
and  private  life  he  is  an  exemplary  citi- 
zen, holding  an  enviable  position  in  the 
esteem  and  regard  of  the  community  in 
which  he  resides.  In  September,  1893, 
Mr.  Gordon  was  united  in  marriage  in 
Port  Clinton,  with  Miss  Elizabeth,  daugh- 
ter of  Conrad  Gernhard,  proprietor  of  the 
"Island  House,"  a  leading  hotel  of  Port 
Clinton.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gordon 
attend  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
Mr.  Gordon  has  spent  his  entire  life  in 
Ottawa  county,  and  his  genial  and  pleas- 
ant manner  and  genuine  worth  have  made 
him  very  popular  with  a  large  circle  of 
friends. 


LOUIS  NICKEL,  a  successful  farmer 
and  honored  citizen  of  Rice  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  is  a  native 
of  same,  having  been   born   April 
12,  1850,  and  is  a  son  of   Fred  and  Mag- 
gie  (Glaser)    Nickel,   who    were    born  in 
Hessen,  Germany. 

Fred  Nickel  was  foreman  on  a  farm  in 
Germany,  saved  his  money,  and  at  the 
age  of  twenty-two  came  to  the  United 
States,  settling  in  Rice  township,  San- 
dusky county,  Ohio,  where  he  worked  out 
one  year.  He  was  then  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Maggie  Glaser  (who  was  born 
July  I,  1827);  bought  forty  acres  of  tim- 
ber land,  and  later  si.xty-seven  more.  In 
1 863  he  built  a  new  house  and  barn.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Nickel  became  the  parents  of 
ten  children,  as  follows:  Mena,  born  May 
10,  1848;  Louis  is  the  subject  of  this 
sketch;  Julius  C. ,  born  December  20, 
1852,  married  Katie  Keiser,  and  they  had 
four  children  (she  died  March  9,  1891, 
after  which  he  married  Rosie  Niskey,  and 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGBAPHIUAL  liECORD. 


roG 


thej'  live  in  Rice  township);  John  H., 
born  July  2,  1854,  married  Li/^ie  Hoot, 
by  whom  he  had  four  children,  and  died 
April  4,  1888;  William  P.,  born  Novem- 
ber 6,  1856,  married  Ida  Gessner,  and 
they  live  in  Ballville  township,  Sandusky 
county;  Charles,  born  May  8,  1857,  died 
younfj;  Georjje,  born  September  14,  1862, 
died  September  30,  1875;  May  L. ,  born 
November  4,  1864;  Amelia  M.,  married 
John  Klein,  and  they  had  six  children; 
and  Katie,  born  March  21,  1870,  died 
October  i,  1875. 

Louis  Nickel  received  a  common- 
school  education,  remained  at  home  until 
his  twenty-fifth  year,  and  then  bought  a 
thresher,  which  he  ran  several  seasons.  In 
1876  he  bought  fifty-nine  acres  of  land, 
for  which  he  paid  $110  an  acre.  On 
May  18,  1876,  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Caroline -Smith,  who  was  born  Sep- 
tember 5,  1857,  and  they  have  six  chil- 
dren, as  follows:  Eliza  H.,  born  May  29, 
1877;  Frank  E.,  November  18,  1880; 
Edwin  E. ,  December  26,  1 88 1 ;  Reuben  F. , 
August  9.  1885;  Warren,  July  18,  1888; 
and  Ruth  J.,  October  8,  1892.  In  1892 
Mr.  Nickel  built  a  new  house,  which  cost 
$2,100,  and  in  1886  built  a  barn  which 
cost  $1,300.  He  has  a  fine  herd  of  Dur- 
ham cattle.  Mr.  Nickel  is  a  Democrat  in 
politics,  and  attends  the  Lutheran  Church. 
He  has  held  several  public  offices,  was 
trustee  eight  years,  school  director  three 
years,  supervisor  four  3'ears,  and  constable 
three  years. 


JOHN    GOATE,  who   is  carrying  on 
agricultural  pursuits  in  Scott  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  was  born  in 
Cambridge,    England,    October    16. 
i860,  and  is  a  son  of  Robert   and   Eliza 
(Lee)  Goate. 

The  father  of  our  subject  was  born  in 
Cambridge,  December  25,  1839,  and  in 
1866  came  to  America,  locating  in  the 
State  of  New  York,  where  he  still  resides, 
engaged  in    general    farming.      His    wife 


was  born  in  England  in  1837,  and  they 
are  the  parents  of  six  children,  namely — 
John;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  F.  Lord;  Smith; 
Emma;  William,  who  married  Jennie 
Blodgett  (she  is  a  member  of  the  famous 
Blodgett  family  of  the  Empire  State, 
numbering  four  hundred  living  members, 
who  were  present  at  the  last  re-union  of 
the  family,  which  traces  its  ancestry  back 
to  the  time  of  Columbus);  and  Annie,  who 
married  William  Lee.  The  paternal 
grandfather  of  our  subject.  John  Goate, 
was  born  in  England  in  1805,  and  was 
killed  near  Cambridge  City,  while  rescuing 
ten  intoxicated  men,  who  were  upon  the 
railroad  track  just  as  the  limited  express 
passed  by.  He  succeeded  in  saving  the 
lives  of  the  others,  but  lost  his  own  in  the 
heroic  action.  His  widow  is  now  living 
in  New  York,  at  the  advanced  age  of 
eighty-nine  years,  and  four  of  her  five 
children  yet  survive.  The  great-grand- 
father, Robert  Goate,  was  born  in  Eng- 
land in  1753,  and  died  at  the  advanced 
age  of  one  hundred  and  twelve  years. 
Great-grandfather  Smith  was  born  in 
1759,  and  died  at  the  age  of  one  hundred 
and  eight  years.  It  will  thus  be  seen 
that  our  subject  comes  from  a  family 
noted  for  longevity.  His  maternal  grand- 
parents, Henry  Lee  and  wife,  were  also 
born  in  England,  and  are  now  living  in 
New  York.  They  had  a  family  of  eight 
children,  all  of  whom  are  living.  An 
uncle  of  our  subject.  Dr.  Henry  Lee,  was 
for  many  years  principal  at  Cambridge 
College,  and  a  very  scholarly  gentleman. 
John  Goate  was  a  lad  of  six  summers 
when  he  accompanied  his  parents  on  their 
emigration  to  the  New  World.  He  lived 
in  New  York  until  he  had  attained  his 
majority,  and  has  since  been  a  resident  of 
Sandusky  county.  In  1883  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Alice  Bowser,  of 
Helena,  Ohio,  who  was  born  in  Scott 
township,  Sandusky  county.  July  7,1864, 
daughter  of  Frederick  Bowser,  and  com- 
pleted her  education  in  the  schools  of 
Clyde,     For  six  years  after  their  marriage 


796 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPIIICAL  RECORD. 


Mr.  and  Mrs.  Goate  resided  in  Helena, 
and  then  the  city  property  was  exchanged 
for  a  part  of  the  old  Bowser  farm,  to  the 
cultivation  and  improvement  of  which  our 
subject  has  since  devoted  his  energies. 
He  now  has  an  excellent  home,  pleasantly 
situated  a  few  miles  from  Gibsonburg, 
and  is  numbered  among  the  leading  fann- 
ers of  the  community. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Goate  came  two 
children — Ethel,  who  was  born  Septem- 
ber 15,  1S86,  and  died  at  the  age  of 
eleven  months;  and  Violet,  born  Septem- 
ber 15,  1887.  The  mother  died  on  the 
28th  of  December,  following,  and  in  1888 
Mr.  Goate  wedded  Miss  Maggie  Bowser, 
a  sister  of  his  first  wife.  They  have  three 
children — Glenn,  born  in  1890;  and 
Eleanor  and  Laurel,  born  August  11, 
1893.  Mr.  Goate  is  a  practical  and  pro- 
gressive farmer,  a  wide-awake  and  enter- 
prising man,  and  Sandusky  county  num- 
bers him  among  her  representative  young 
farmers. 


FREDERICK  MYLANDER  is  one 
of  the  sturdy,  substantial  farmers 
of  Salem  township,  Ottawa  coun- 
ty, who  have  endured  the  trials 
and  hardships  incident  to  a  pioneer  life, 
and  been  instrumental  in  converting  what 
was  at  one  time  a  vast  unbroken  wilder- 
ness into  well-cultivated,  productive  farms; 
and  under  whose  strong  arm  the  noble 
giants  of  the  forest  have  given  place  to 
beautiful  fields  of  waving  grain,  and  the 
old  log  houses  of  a  quarter  of  a  century 
ago  to  homes  of  comfort  and  architectur- 
al beauty. 

He  was  born  in  Prussia,  Germany, 
August  23,  1823,  to  Henry  C.  and  Eliza- 
beth (Kclling)  Mj'lander,  and  received  his 
preliminary  education  in  the  schools  of  his 
native  land,  during  his  early  life  being 
trained  to  the  duties  of  the  farm.  In 
1846  he  emigrated  to  America,  locating 
first  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  where  he  re- 
mained until  1853,  in  which  year  he  pur- 


chased some  eighty-two  acres  of  land  in 
Salem  township,  Ottawa  county,  upon 
which  he  erected  a  log  house,  and  set  to 
work  clearing  a  portion  of  the  land  for  his 
crops;  and,  being  a  young  man  of  great 
energy  and  determination,  he  made  great 
progress  in  this  work.  At  the  end  of 
four  years  Mr.  Mylander  returned  to 
Cleveland,  where  he  remained  some  five 
years,  at  the  expiration  of  that  time  once 
more  taking  up  his  residence  in  Salem 
township,  Ottawa  county,  of  which  he  has 
since  been  a  constant  resident.  By  a  life 
of  hard,  honest  labor  our  subject  has 
added  considerably  to  his  worldly  posses- 
sions, and  is  now  the  owner  of  one  of  the 
most  attractive  and  productive  farms  in 
the  county. 

Mr,  Mylander  has  been  thrice  mar- 
ried, the  first  time  to  Miss  Anna  Maria 
Frieze,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  to  which 
union  were  born  eight  children,  only  three 
of  whom  are  now  living,  viz. :  Henry, 
John  Frederick,  Jr.,  and  August,  all  re- 
siding in  Salem  township.  Our  subject's 
second  wife  was  Mrs.  Anna  Marie  Sum- 
menmeyer,  widow  of  Fred  Summenmeyer, 
and  in  1877  he  was  again  united  in 
marriage,  this  time  with  Mrs.  Anna  Marie 
Tousing,  to  which  union  one  child,  Louis 
T.,  was  born  August  3,  1878.  The 
family  are  strict  adherents  to  the  Luther- 
an Church,  taking  an  active  interest  in 
all  church  work,  and  socially  they  enjoy, 
to  the  fullest  extent,  the  respect  and 
esteem  of  the  community. 

John  Frederick  Mylander,  a  son  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  in 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  December  31,  1862,  and 
came  with  his  parents  to  Salem  township, 
Ottawa  county,  when  but  one  year  old. 
His  primary  education  was  received  in  the 
district  schools  of  the  township,  and  until 
reaching  manhood  he  remained  at  home 
assisting  his  father  in  the  care  of  the  farm. 
In  1893  Mr.  Mylander  left  the  paternal 
abode,  going  to  Kansas,  where  he  re- 
mained about  fifteen  months.  Then  re- 
turning to  Salem  township  he  engaged  in 


COMMEMORATIVE  BTOORAPRICAL  RECORD. 


ro7 


agricultural  pursuits  for  a  number  of  years. 
Later  he  spent  three  years  in  Toledo, 
Ohio,  in  which  city  he  worked  as  a  car- 
penter; but  always  having  a  preference 
for  the  place  where  he  had  spent  his  boy- 
hood days,  he  again  returned  to  Salem 
township  in  1894,  and  has  since  been  en- 
gaged in  agricultural  pursuits.  Our  subject 
has  inherited  all  his  father's  good  qualities, 
and  as  a  consequence  is  a  man  of  indom- 
itable perseverance  and  of  upright  char- 
acter. On  March  12,  1891,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Elizabeth 
Miller,  a  daughter  of  Ferdinand  and  Mary 
Miller,  and  to  this  union  have  come  two 
children:  Gertrude  L.,  born  May  7, 
1892.  who  died  July  28,  1892;  and  Les- 
ter K.,  born  December  16,   1893. 


GEORGE  F.  WILT,    farmer,    and 
late  proprietor  of  the  "  Germania 
House,"  of  Fremont,  was  born  in 
York    township,    Sandusky   Co., 
Ohio,  June  28,    1844,  a  son  of  Harrison 
and  Hannah  (Good)  Wilt. 

Harrison  Wilt  was  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  came  to  Ohio  when  a  boy,  in 
company  with  his  maternal  grandfather, 
John  Hunn,  who  located  in  Seneca  coun- 
ty, near  Flat  Rock,  on  what  was  then 
called  the  Oak  Openings,  and  followed 
farming.  Mr.  Wilt  afterward  bought  a 
valuable  farm  in  Sandusky  county,  on  the 
line  of  the  Kilburn  road,  near  Bellevue, 
where  he  devoted  himself  chiefly  to  grain 
farming,  and  making  substantial  improve- 
ments in  the  erection  of  stone  buildings. 
His  death  occurred  at  his  home  in  1876. 
His  wife  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in 
1 82 1,  came  to  Seneca  county  at  the  age 
of  ten  years,  and  grew  to  womanhood  in 
the  vicinity  of  Flat  Rock.  Her  death 
occurred  June  27,  1893.  Both  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Reformed  Church  in  Thompson 
township,  Seneca  county. 

George  F.  Wilt  was  the  eldest  of  a 
family  of  eight  children,  and  grew  to  man- 
hood on  his  father's  farm.     After  receiv- 


ing an  ordinary  common-school  education, 
he  spent  one  year  at  Heidelberg  College, 
Tiffin,  Ohio.  He  continued  to  follow 
farming,  with  the  exception  of  one  year, 
previous  .to  the  age  of  twenty-four,  when 
he  engaged  in  the  sale  of  farm  implements 
in  the  State  of  Michigan.  Returning  to 
Ohio,  he  settled  on  a  farm  near  Bellevue, 
where  he  followed  agricultural  pursuits, 
and  continued  the  sale  of  farming  imple- 
ments for  about  twenty  years.  He  then 
sold  his  farm  in  York  and  bought  another 
in  Jackson  township,  near  Millersville, 
where  he  remained  until  1892,  the  year 
of  his  removal  to  Fremont.  He  still  re- 
tains possession  of  his  choice  farm  of  156 
acres,  lying  in  the  oil  and  gas  region. 
Mr.  Wilt  has  always  been  a  stanch  Demo- 
crat in  politics,  and  has  held  various 
offices  of  honor  and  trust  in  his  com- 
munity. He  served  as  clerk  of  York 
township  three  terms,  and  as  commis- 
sioner of  Sandusky  county  two  terms,  his 
last  term  expiring  in  January,  1892.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Reformed  Church,  of 
the  Knights  of  Honor,  and  of  the  Knights 
of  the  (iolden  Cross. 

In  1868  he  married  Miss  Armena 
Smith,  who  was  born  in  York  township  in 
1848,  daughter  of  Frederick  Smith,  of 
that  township,  and  the  children  born  to 
this  union  are:  Aletta  L. ,  wife  of  Rev. 
Irwin  Beaver,  of  the  Reformed  Church, 
at  Marion,  Franklin  Co.,  Penn. ;  William 
H.,  a  school  teacher,  of  Fremont,  Ohio; 
Luella,  a  medical  student,  of  Toledo, 
Ohio;  Emma  Belle,  attending  the  Fre- 
mont schools;  and  Georgie  p-lorence,  liv- 
ing at  home. 


BYRON  HARTSHORN  was  one  of 
the  prominent  stock  dealers,  fruit 
growers  and  agriculturists  of  Ot- 
tawa county,  and  in  his  death  the 
community  lost  one  of  its  valued  citizens. 
Our  subject  was  born  January  i,  1829, 
at  Plasterbed,  Danbury   township,    a  son 
of  Wyatt  and  Jane  (Kelly)  Hartshorn.  He 


798 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPniCAL  RECORD. 


received  his  elementary  education  in  the 
schools  of  the  community,  and  also  pur- 
sued his  studies  in  Sandusky  City.  From 
early  life  he  enyaj^ed  in  stock  buj'ing  and 
in  butchering,  and  also  followed  fishing 
to  some  extent.  Later  he  formed  a  part- 
nership with  Milo  demons  in  the  quarry- 
ing business,  ;it  Marble  Head,  and  con- 
tinued in  that  line  for  a  number  of  years. 
He  possessed  good  business  ability,  was 
enterprising  and  progressive,  made  the 
most  of  his  ojiportunities,  and  by  his  well 
directed  efforts  achieved  a  fair  success. 

On  July  28,  1853,  in  Portage  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county,  was  celebrated  the 
marriage  of  Mr.  Hartshorn  and  Miss  Mary 
Dwelle.  who  was  born  in  Portage  town- 
ship, near  Plasterbed,  December  16,  1S28, 
a  daughter  of  Elijah  and  Clarissa  (Wood- 
ford) Dwelle,  the  former  a  native  of  Massa- 
chusetts, and  the  latter  of  New  York. 
They  located  in  Portage  township  at  a 
very  early  day  in  the  history  of  the  county, 
and  there  spent  the  remainder  of  their 
lives.  To  our  subject  and  wife  have  come 
nine  children,  of  whom  Clarissa,  born 
May  27,  1854,  died  August  16,  1856; 
Wyatt,  born  June  7,  1857,  died  February 
7,  1861;  Alta,  born  September  3,  1859, 
is  now  the  wife  of  M.  E.  Hettrick,  a 
resident  of  Lakeside,  Ohio;  Lydia,  born 
June  25,  1862,  is  the  wife  of  William 
Hocke,  a  resident  of  Sandusky  City, 
Ohio;  George  B.,  born  December  5,  1864, 
makes  his  home  in  Lakeside;  Everett, 
born  November  18,  1867,  is  at  home; 
and  Nellie  was  born  October  27,   1870. 

The  Hartshorn  family  were  among  the 
earliest  settlers  of  Danbury  township,  Ot- 
tawa county,  and  during  his  entire  life 
our  subject  was  one  of  its  most  prominent 
and  progressive  citizens.  He  was  public- 
spirited  and  enterprising,  and  readily  en- 
dorsed any  project  calculated  to  stimulate 
the  development  and  prosperity  of  his  na- 
tive township  and  county.  He  was  gen- 
erous and  affable  in  manner,  his  sympa- 
thies expressing  themselves  in  kindness  to 
friends  and  family.      He  was    a   man  of 


broad  charity  and  noble  impulses,  and 
when  called  to  his  final  rest,  December  12, 
1894,  he  left  to  his  family  the  priceless 
heritage  of  a  good  name.  At  the  old 
home  place  resides  his  faithful  wife  and 
her  children,  Everett  and  Nellie,  and  all 
their  surroundings  bespeak  taste  and  cul- 
ture. 


HENKV  BURGGKAF.  In  a  work 
devoted  to  the  representative 
citizens  and  early  settlers  of  Otta- 
wa county  none  are  more  deserv- 
ing of  mention  in  this  volume  than  the 
gentleman  whose  name  begins  this  review, 
and  who  is  one  of  the  wide-awake  and 
progressive  fruit-growers  on  Put  in  Bay 
Island. 

Mr.  Burggraf  was  born  on  Kelley's 
Island,  Erie  Co.,  Ohio,  June  2,  1859,  and 
is  a  son  of  Mathias  and  Anna  Marie 
(Schmidt)  Burggraf.  He  was  only  a  little 
more  than  a  month  old  when  his  parents 
removed  to  the  Island,  and  here  he  has 
resided  continuously  since.  Its  public 
schools  afforded  him  his  educational 
privileges,  and  from  his  boyhood  days  he 
has  been  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits. 
He  was  early  introduced  to  the  labors  of 
the  farm,  and  has  led  a  busy  and  useful 
life,  until  to-day  he  is  ranked  among  the 
leading  fruit  growers  and  wine  makers  on 
the  Island.  On  November  22,  1887, 
Mr.  Burggraf  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Anna  Marie  Miller,  who  was 
born  on  Middle  Bass  Island,  February  10, 
1862,  and  is  a  daughter  of  Joseph  and 
Helena  (Rehberg)  Miller.  Three  children 
grace  their  union — Carl  H.,  born  Decem- 
ber 4,  1888;  Frederick  A.,  born  Novem- 
ber 28,  1890;  and  Ruth  Helena,  born 
May  19,   1894. 

It  is  interesting  in  this  connection  to 
note  something  of  the  family  to  which 
our  subject  belongs.  His  father,  Mathias 
Burggraf,  retired  fruit  raiser  and  wine 
manufacturer,  is  now  living  on  Put  in  Bay 
Island.      He  was  born  June  2,    1825,    in 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


799 


the  town  of  Wolfenweiler,  Baden,  Ger- 
many, and  is  a  son  of  Mathias  and  Anna 
Marie  (Kuechlin)  Biirj^f,'raf,  both  of  whom 
were  natives  of  Gcriiiany,  where  the 
father  died  in  1847,  and  the  mother  in 
1 876.  Their  son  was  reared  and  edu- 
cated in  the  land  of  his  nativity,  and  there 
carried  on  af^ricultural  pursuits  and  g;rape 
growing  until  twenty-seven  years  of  age. 
He  then  determined  to  try  his  fortune  in 
America,  crossed  the  Atlantic  in  1852, 
and  for  thirty-five  years  has  made  his 
home  on  the  Island,  which  is  still  his 
place  of  residence.  He  was  married  in 
Baden,  Germany,  June  2,  1847,  to  Anna 
Marie  Schmidt,  whose  birth  occurred 
there  June  20,  1820.  To  this  union 
came  five  children,  namely:  Caroline, 
born  in  Baden,  May  18,  1848,  who  is  now 
the  wife  of  Frederick  Bretz,  living  on 
Middle  Bass  Island;  Mathias,  born  April 
2,  1850;  Frederick  W.,  born  in  Huron 
township,  Erie  county,  November  20, 
1856;  Henry,  born  on  Kelley's  Island, 
June  2,  1859;  Anna  Marie,  who  was  born 
February  14,  1863,  and  died  September 
1,   1870. 

When  Mr.  Bruggraf  came  to  this 
country  he  left  his  family  in  Germany 
until  he  could  make  preparations  to  bring 
them  to  America.  In  1853  he  took  up 
his  residence  in  Sandusky.  Erie  Co. ,  Ohio, 
where  he  was  joined  by  his  wife  and  two 
children.  The  followingyear  he  removed 
to  Huron  county,  where  he  was  engaged 
in  agricultural  pursuits  until  the  spring  of 
1856.  During  the  succeeding  three  years 
he  was  employed  in  the  stone  quarries  on 
Kelley's  Island,  and  in  July,  1859,  he 
took  up  his  residence  on  Put  in  Bay 
Island.  It  was  thus  he  got  a  start  in 
life,  and  by  earnest  labor,  perseverance 
and  good  management  he  acquired  a 
handsome  competency,  which  now  en- 
ables him  to  live  retired.  His  wife  died 
January  1 1,  1893,  and  her  departure  was 
deeply  mourned  by  many  friends  as  well 
as  her  immediate  family.  The  Burggraf 
family  is  one   of  prominence  in  the  com- 


munity, widely  and  favorably  known,  and 
well  deserve  mention  in  this  volume. 

When  excavating  for  the  cellar  of  his 
residence,  Mr.  Burggraf  dug  into  what  he 
supposed  was  a  burial  place  of  the  Indians 
many  hundred  of  years  ago,  and  unearthed 
the  skeletons  of  some  extraordinarily 
large  (supposed)  warriors  which  were  in  a 
fair  state  of  preservation.  Curiosity 
seekers  have  carried  away  most  of  the  re- 
mains, but  Mr.  Burggraf  still  has  in  his 
possession  some  very  interesting  relics. 


FREDERICK  W.  ROOSE.  a  prom- 
inent and  progressive  citizen,  and 
a  leading  merchant  of  Salem  town- 
ship, is  a  native  of  Ottawa  coun- 
ty, having  first  seen  the  light  in  Salem 
township,  about  two  miles  from  Oak  Har- 
bor, in  January,  1855.  He  is  a  son  of 
Charles  and  Maria  Roose. 

Our  subject's  preliminary  education 
was  received  in  the  public  schools  of  Ot- 
tawa county,  and  his  early  life  was  spent 
assisting  his  father  in  the  care  of  the  farm. 
On  attaining  manhood  he  engaged  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits  for  three  years  in  Carroll 
township;  but,  not  liking  the  work  in 
connection  with  the  farm,  he  decided  to 
sever  his  connection  with  it  and  to  devote 
his  time  and  talents  to  a  mercantile  life. 
Consequently,  in  1882,  hereturned  to  Sa- 
lem township,  and  embarked  in  a  general 
merchandise  business,  which  he  still  con- 
tinues to  carry  on.  Being  a  man  of  great 
energy  and  indomitable  perseverance,  and 
having  given  faithful  attention  to  his  busi- 
ness, Mr.  Roose  has  been  very  successful, 
and  is  now  in  most  comfortable  circum- 
stances. 

Our  subject  was  united  in  marriage  in 
Salem  township,  in  1879,  with  Miss  Lena 
Seemann,  a  daughter  of  Henry  and  Eliza- 
beth Seemann,  both  natives  of  Germany, 
who  emigrated  to  America  at  an  early 
date,  and  for  many  years  were  honored 
and  respected  residents  of  Salem  town- 
ship.      The    father    still    survives;     the 


800 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPmCAL  RECORD. 


mother  died  some  years  ago.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Roose  have  no  family.  Politically 
Mr.  Roose  is  a  stanch  Democrat,  and  has 
ever  taken  an  active  interest  in  public  af- 
fairs. The  family  are  members  of  the 
Lutheran  Church,  and  enjoy  the  respect 
and  confidence  of  the  entire  community  in 
which  they  reside. 


M 


ATHIAS  BURGGRAF,  Jr.,  an 
enterprising  and  energetic  fruit 
raiser  and  wine  maker,  living  on 
Put  in  Bay  Island,  Ottawa 
county,  is  a  native  of  Baden,  Germany, 
born  April  2,  185 1,  and  is  a  son  of 
Mathias  and  Ann  Marie  (Schmidt)  Burg- 
graf,  who  were  also  natives  of  that  coun- 
try. The  father  is  still  living  and  resides 
on  Putin  Bay  Island;  the  mother  passed 
avvaj' January  11,   1893. 

In  early  life  our  subject  obtained  a 
hmited  education  in  the  district  schools, 
but  subsequently  availed  himself  of  the 
advantages  of  a  select  school,  and  through 
study,  observation  and  experience  has  be- 
come a  well-informed  man.  He  was  only 
two  and  a  half  years  old  when  he  came  to 
America  with  his  parents,  and  at  the  age 
of  eight  years  he  became  a  resident  of 
Put  in  Bay  Island,  where  he  has  since 
made  his  home.  Here  he  grew  to  man- 
hood, and  to-day  he  is  one  of  the  most  in- 
fhiential  and  prosperous  men  of  the  lo- 
calitj'.  When  his  school  life  was  ended 
he  gave  his  time  and  energies  to  work 
upon  the  home  farm,  where  he  continued 
until  he  had  attained  his  majority.  In 
1874,  with  the  capital  he  had  acquired 
through  industry  and  prudence,  he  pur- 
chased the  good  farm  upon  which  he  now 
resides,  and  here  he  devotes  his  labors  to 
the  cultivation  of  fruit,  in  which  work  he 
is  quite  successful. 

Mr.  Burggraf  was  married,  in  Sandusky 
City,  Erie  Co.,  Ohio,  November  16, 
1876,  to  Miss  Louisa  Sherer,  a  daughter 
of  George  Jacob  and  Louisa  (Wagoner) 
Sherer,   both  of   whom    were  natives  of 


Bavaria,  Germany.  The  father  died 
March  9,  1886;  the  mother  is  still  living 
and  resides  in  Sandusky  City.  It  was 
there  that  Mrs.  Burggraf  was  born,  on 
March  4,  1858.  Our  subject  and  his  wife 
have  one  son,  George  J.,  who  was  born 
in  Put  in  Bay,  December  7,  1878.  They 
also  have  adopted  a  little  niece  (a  daugh- 
ter of  Mrs.  Burggraf's  brother),  Louisa 
Sherer,  who  was  born  in  Sandusk\'  City, 
July  5,  18S2.  Her  father  died  May  3, 
1890,  and  her  mother's  death  occurred 
May  20,   1894. 

Our  subject  has  efficiently  served  as 
school  director  in  Put  in  Bay  township 
for  twenty-one  consecutive  years,  and  has 
done  much  toward  perfecting  the  school 
system  on  the  Island.  He  has  also  been 
a  member  of  the  township  board  for  sev- 
eral terms,  and  in  office,  as  well  as  in  all 
the  other  relations  of  life,  he  is  true  to 
every  trust  reposed  in  him.  His  char- 
acter is  above  reproach.  By  his  ballot 
he  supports  the  men  and  measures  of  the 
Democratic  party.  He  and  his  wife  at- 
tend the  Reformed  Episcopal  Church. 
Mr.  Burggraf  is  one  of  the  progressive 
young  men  of  the  township,  enterprising, 
prudent  and  industrious,  and  is  ever  ready 
to  lend  a  helping  hand  to  all  matters  cal- 
culated to  benefit  the  community  and  ad- 
vance the  best  interests  of  the  township. 
His  surroundings  indicate  taste  and  good 
judgment,  and   are  a  credit  to  the  owner. 


LORENZ  MILLER  (deceased)  was 
a  son  of  Lorenz  Verena  Miller,  and 
was  born  September  11,  1S31, 
at  Schopfheim,  Weisenthal,  Ba- 
den, Germany.  In  his  native  land  he  ac- 
quired his  education,  grew  to  manhood, 
and  learned  the  trade  of  a  watchmaker. 
On  attaining  his  majority  he  sailed  across 
the  briny  deep  to  the  New  World,  and  two 
years  later,  in  1854,  located  on  Put  in 
Bay  Island,  Ottawa  county,  where  he  re- 
sided until  life's  labors  were  ended.  He 
was  extensively  engaged  in  the  cultivation 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGBAPHICAL  RECORD. 


801 


of  a  fine  vineyard,  and  his  business  ability 
and  sound  judgment  won  him  a  creditable 
success. 

Mr.  Miller  was  married  May  26,  1S60, 
to  Henrietta  Foy,  a  daughter  of  Henry 
and  Henrietta  (Myer)  Foy,  who  were  na- 
tives of  Germany.  There  the  mother 
died  during  the  infancy  of  her  daughter, 
and  the  father  afterward  married  Dorothy 
M)'er,  a  sister  of  his  first  wife.  In  1854 
the  family  came  to  America  and  the  fol- 
lowing year  settled  on  Put  in  l^ay  Island, 
where  Mr.  Foy  died  December  9,  1859, 
his  wife  surviving  him  until  August  15, 
1879.  By  his  first  marriage  there  were 
two  children,  Henrietta,  Mrs.  Miller,  and 
one  who  died  in  infancy.  By  the  second 
marriage  there  were  si.x  children,  of  whom 
five  are  still  living,  namely:  Marie,  wife 
of  Jackson  Fullington,  chief  of  police  of 
Santa  Barbara,  Cal. ;  August  C. ,  who  re- 
sides at  Put  in  Bay,  and  is  chief  officer  on 
the  steamer  "  Arrow;"  Louis  T.,  who  re- 
sides at  the  same  place;  Anna,  wife  of 
August  Renderly,  who  is  living  on  North 
Bass  Island;  and  Henry,  a  resident  of  De- 
troit, Michigan. 

Mrs.  Miller  was  born  in  Braunschweig, 
German}-,  June  30,  1842,  and  came  with 
her  parents  to  America.  Since  1855  she 
has  lived  on  the  Island,  and  is  now  resid- 
ing at  the  beautiful  home  which  was  left 
her  by  her  husband.  Their  union  was 
blessed  with  four  sons,  as  follows:  George 
Frederick,  born  May  2,  1861;  Frank  Jo- 
seph, born  September  i,  1862;  Henry 
Theodore,  born  October  11,  1873;  and 
Lorenz,  born  October  26,  1875.  The  last 
two  are  still  on  the  old  home  farm.  The 
father  of  this  family  passed  peacefully  away 
at  his  home,  February  26,  1875,  after  a 
twenty-one-years'  residence  on  Put  in  Bay 
Island.  He  was,  however,  cut  off  in  the 
prime  of  life,  when  it  seemed  that  he  had 
much  yet  to  live  for.  His  whole  career 
was  a  practical  commentary  on  the  noble 
virtues  of  an  upright  man.  He  commenced 
his  course  at  the  bottom  round  of  the  lad- 
der, and  by  honesty  and  industry  worked 


his  way  upward  and  acquired  a  handsome 
fortune.  Although  it  was  his  desire  to 
gain  wealth  for  himself  and  family,  there 
was  nothing  sordid  in  his  nature  and  he 
followed  the  golden  rule,  doing  unto  others 
as  he  would  have  them  do  to  him.  No 
one  could  say  that  he  acquired  his  fortune 
through  unfair  means.  His  honesty  and 
liberality  were  among  his  most  marked 
characteristics,  and  no  man  seeking  to  rise 
by  his  own  endeavors  ever  asked  assistance 
of  Mr.  Miller  in  vain,  while  many  a  one 
has  received  aid  without  even  soliciting  it 
and  owes  his  success  in  life  to  Mr.  Miller's 
helping  hand.  In  his  death  the  commu- 
nity lost  one  of  its  most  prominent  and 
progressive  men,  his  wife  a  loving  and  de- 
voted husband,  and  his  children  a  kind 
and  indulgent  father. 


ALEXANDER  McDONALD  (de- 
ceased) was  one  of  the  early  set- 
tlers of  Portage  township,  Otta- 
wa county,  and  many  years  of  his 
well-spent  life  were  passed  in  that  locality, 
where  he  was  numbered  among  the  suc- 
cessful agriculturists.  He  endured  all  the 
trials  and  hardships  of  pioneer  life,  and 
was  actively  interested  in  all  that  per- 
tained to  the  welfare  of  the  community. 
A  native  of  Banffshire,  Scotland,  he  was 
the  only  child  born  to  Louis  and  Janet 
McDonald.  His  childhood  days  were 
passed  upon  a  farm,  and  he  acquired  his 
education  in  the  common  schools  of  the 
home  neighborhood. 

In  1832  Mr.  McDonald  sailed  for  the 
New  World,  embarking  on  the  20th  of 
July  from  Greenock,  on  the  ship  "Roger 
Stewart,"  which  reached  Quebec  forty- 
five  days  later.  He  was  not  accompanied 
by  his  wife,  who  remained  in  Scotland 
two  years  longer,  she  sailing  from 
Greenock  on  the  vessel  "Frances,"  Au- 
gust 24,  1834,  and  arriving  at  New  York 
after  a  voyage  of  forty-one  days.  She 
was  met  by  Mr.  McDonald  in  Buffalo,  N. 
Y. ,  and   together  they  proceeded  to   the 


802 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPniCAL  RECORD. 


home  which  he  had  prepared  in  Sandusky 
county,  Ohio.  In  1836  they  removed  to 
Plasterbed,  Portage  township,  Ottawa 
county,  where  he  spent  his  remaining 
days.  On  October  14,  1827,  Mr.  Mc- 
Donald had  married,  in  Bani^shire,  Scot- 
land, Miss  Marjory  McDonall,  who  was 
born  in  Perthshire,  Scotland,  and  was  a 
daughter  of  Ronald  and  Margaret  (Car- 
michael)McDonall.  She  became  the  moth- 
er of  nine  children — Ronald,  born  January 
8,  1829,  who  is  deceased;  Janet,  born  Jan- 
uary 15,  1830,  who  became  the  wife  of 
Caleb  Cooper  in  1846,  and  died  at  their 
home  in  Portage  township;  Lewis,  born 
October  14,  1835,  who  resides  in  Sandu.sky 
City,  Ohio;  Charles,  born  June  i,  1838,  re- 
siding at  Plasterbed;  Margaret,  born  July 
4,  1840,  who  is  the  widow  of  Aaron  Gow, 
a  resident  of  New  Jersey;  Elizabeth,  born 
June  20,  1843,  who  died  February  14, 
1844;  Annie,  who  was  born  June  9,  1845, 
and  died  March  25,  1855;  John,  born  April 
16,  1848,  living  at  Marblehcad,  Ohio; 
and  James,  born  April  15,  1851,  who  is 
living  in  Portage  township.  The  father 
of  this  family  passed  away  February  14, 
1 89 1.  His  faithful  and  devoted  wife, 
with  whom  he  had  traveled  life's  pathway 
for  sixty-three  years,  survives  him,  and  has 
now  reached  an  advanced  age.  He  was 
one  of  the  valued  and  representative  pio- 
neers of  this  locality,  and  a  well-spent  life 
won  him  the  esteem  of  all. 

James  McDonald,  the  youngest  child 
of  the  family,  acquired  his  education  in 
the  district  schools  near  home,  and  since 
early  boyhood  has  been  engaged  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits  in  Portage  township. 
On  July  3,  1886,  he  was  married,  in  Mon- 
roe county,  Mich.,  to  Miss  Elsie  Watson, 
a  daughter  of  Peter  and  Isabel  (McDon- 
ald) Watson,  who  still  reside  in  Banffshire, 
Scotland,  where  their  daughter  was  born 
February  14,  1854.  Four  children  grace 
the  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McDonald — 
Alexander,  born  June  11,  1887;  Lucy, 
born  April  19,  1889,  died  March  1,  1891; 
Cecelia,    born    January     15,    1891;    and 


Ronald,  born  March  31,  1893.  In  his 
political  views  James  McDonald  is  a  Dem- 
ocrat. He  was  reared  in  the  faith  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  while  his  wife 
was  reared  in  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
He  is  a  wide-awake,  progressive  agricul- 
turist, an  honorable,  upright  man,  and  is 
highly  esteemed  by  his  friends  and  neigh- 
bors. 


JOSEPH  MILLER  (deceased)  was, 
during  his  busy  lifetime,  one  of  the 
prominent  and  successful  grape- 
growers  of  Middle  Bass  Island,  Ot- 
tawa county,  and  was  one  of  the  four 
original  purchasers  of  that  Island.  He 
was  born  March  23,  1823,  in  Baden,  Ger- 
many, son  of  Joseph  and  Anna  Marie 
(Locherer)  Miller,  who  were  also  born  in 
the  Fatherland,  where  they  died. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared 
to  manhood  and  educated  in  the  Father- 
land, where  from  early  life  he  was  en- 
gaged in  grape  growing,  an  industry  fol- 
lowed by  his  father  and  grandfather  be- 
fore him.  In  1854  he  came  to  America, 
settling  in  Erie  county,  Ohio,  where  he 
resided  three  years,  and  in  1857  removed 
to  Middle  Bass  Island,  of  which  he  was 
a  continuous  resident  from  that  time  for 
the    remainder  of  his   life.      On  Ma}'  14, 

1 86 1,  in  Sandusky,  Erie  county,  Joseph 
Millerwas  united  in  marriage  with  Helena 
Rehberg,  who  was  born  at  Plau,  in  Meck- 
lenburg-Schwerin,  Germany,  April  8, 
1843,  daughter  of  John  and  Christina 
(Bohndorff)  Rehberg,  and  their  children 
are  as  follows:      Anna,  born  February  10, 

1862,  is  the  wife  of  Henry  Burggraf; 
they  have  three  children — Carl,  born  De- 
cember 4,  1888;  Arnold,  born  November 
28,  1890;  and  Ruth,  born  May  19,  1894. 
Mary,  born  March  30,  1864,  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Ferdinand  Sloat  on  Sep- 
tember 4,  1888;  they  have  had  two  sons 
— Gregor  J.,  born  June  11,  1889;  and 
Frank  Clyde,  born  July  25,  1892;  they 
reside  in  Sandusky.    Eliza,  born  Septem- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHTCAL  RECORD. 


S03 


ber  4,  1868,  was  married  to  Charles 
I5rct;:,  N(jvember  12,  1890,  and  they  have 
had  two  sons — Sherman  Carl,  born 
August  25,  1891;  and  Leslie  Joseph,  born 
December  25,  1893.  Nellie  J.,  born 
January  i,  1877,  and  Herman  Joseph, 
born  July  30,   1878. 

The  brothers  and  sisters  of  Mrs. 
Miller  were  as  follows:  William,  who  re- 
sides on  the  Island;  John,  who  passed  all 
his  life  there,  dying  Mays,  1*^88;  Mary, 
wife  of  Albany  Kubagh,  of  Sandusky; 
and  Helena  (Mrs.  Miller).  Mr.  John  Reh- 
berg  was  again  married,  taking,  for  his 
second  wife,  Mary  Prool,  who  was  born 
in  Mecklenburg,  Germany,  March  4, 
1813,  and  they  had  children,  as  follows: 
Frederick,  who  lives  in  Sandusky;  Henry, 
born  October  4,  1854,  who  was  united  in 
marriage  x^pril  9,  1876,  on  Middle  Bass 
Island,  with  Mina  Kapphengst,  who  was 
born  in  Mecklenburg,  May  7,  1853,  and 
they  have  had  one  child — Clara,  born 
February  22,  1889.  Henry  commenced 
in  the  hotel  business  in  Middle  Bass,  in 
1890;  and  Louis,  who  was  born  February 
9,   1858,  and  died  December  11,   1882. 

Mr.  Miller  passed  away  June  24,  18S4. 
In  his  political  views  he  was  a  Democrat. 
He  was  repeatedly  called  to  offices  of  re- 
sponsibility and  trust  in  his  township, 
which  he  filled  with  fidelity  and  acknowl- 
edged ability,  and  the  memory  of  his 
noble  character  will  long  be  cherished. 
His  widow,  who  is  regarded  highly  in  the 
community  and  admired  for  her  many 
virtues,  is  now  residing  on  the  homestead. 


RUSSEL  ELLITHORPE,  one  of 
the  well-known  and  enterprising 
farmers  and  fruit  growers  of  Ca- 
tawba Island  township,  Ottawa 
county,  is  a  representative  of  one  of  the 
honored  early  families  of  the  county,  and 
his  brothers,  George  and  Cyrus,  are  also 
extensive  fruit  growers  of  the  vicinity. 
The  latter  was  the  first  white  child  born 
on   Kelley's  Island,   where  our   subject's 


birth  occurred  September  22,  1834.  and 
he  is  a  son  of  Hunrv  and  Elizabeth  (Neal) 
EUithorpe. 

When  about  two  years  of  age  Russel 
EUithorpe  went  with  his  parents  to  Dan- 
bury  township,  Ottawa  county,  but  in 
1840  located  in  Catawba  Island  township. 
His  advantages  for  securing  an  education 
were  quite  limited,  he  onlv  being  able  to  at- 
tend school  during  the  winter  seasons,  as 
his  services  were  required  in  assisting  in 
the  cultivation  and  improvement  of  the 
farm  during  the  summer  months,  and  the 
schools  of  that  early  day  were  not  as 
good  as  they  are  at  present.  Besides  his 
farming  interests,  for  twenty  years  he  en- 
gaged in  fishing  on  Lake  Erie  during  the 
spring  and  fall,  but  of  late  years  his  chief 
occupatitm  has  been  that  of  fruit  grow- 
ing, his  time  being  mostly  taken  up  in  the 
cultivation  of  his  extensive  and  productive 
orchards.  For  over  forty-seven  years  he 
has  been  a  constant  resident  of  Catawba 
Island,  during  which  time  he  has  achieved 
an  enviable  reputation  for  honesty  and  fair 
dealing,  and  his  pleasant,  genial  tempera- 
ment has  made  him  hosts  of  friends. 

At  Fremont,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio, 
November  lO,  1856,  Mr.  EUithorpe  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Almeda  Tilliton, 
a  daughter  of  Obdic  and  Lydia  (Wonnell) 
Tilliton,  the  former  of  whom  was  a  native 
of  New  York  State,  and  the  latter  of 
Maryland;  they  became  early  .settlers  of 
Danbury  township,  Ottawa  county.  Two 
children  were  born  to  our  subject  and  his 
worthy  wife,  one  of  whom  still  survives, 
namely:  James,  born  March  10,  1857. 
Eugene  died  at  the  age  of  two  years,  four 
months.  For  ten  years  Mr.  EUithorpe 
had  served  in  the  capacity  of  trustee  of 
Catawba  Island  township,  and  is  an  act- 
ive worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  Repub- 
lican party,  which  he  always  supports  by 
his  ballot.  Socially  he  belongs  to  Ca- 
tawba Island  Lodge  No.  2783,  Knights  of 
Honor.  He  and  his  brothers  are  among 
the  few  remaining  pioneers  of  Catawba 
Island  who  have  been  spared  to  see  the 


804 


COMMEMORATIVE  BWORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


primitive  forestb  and  log  cabins  give  way 
to  the  prociii';ti\e  orchards  and  beautiful 
homes  that  now  adorn  this  picturesque 
section  of  Ottawa  county. 

James  Ellithorpe,  the  only  surviving 
child  of  our  subject,  is  one  of  the  ambi- 
tious ancj  energetic  agriculturists  who  are 
doing  much  to  still  further  improve  the 
great  fruit-growing  interests  of  Catawba 
Island,  and  ranks  among  the  prominent 
and  respected  citizens  of  the  community. 
His  boyhood  days  were  spent  upon  the 
homestead  farm,  and  he  now  lives  near 
the  home  of  his  father.  He  was  married 
in  Michigan  October  8,  1886,  to  Miss 
Lydia  Burns,  and  four  children  blessed 
this  union — Leavitt,  born  July  12,  1887, 
who  died  February  6,  1888;  Vernon  R.. 
born  October  30,  1890;  Ettie  M.,  born 
January  28,  1893;  and  Eola  A.,  born  July 
21,  1894.  Mrs.  Ellithorpe  was  born  in 
Wood  county,  Ohio,  April  30,  1858,  and 
is  a  daughter  of  Andrew  and  Rosena 
Burns,  who  were  early  residents  of  Port 
Clinton,  Ottawa  county,  and  passed  away 
when  their  daughter  was  but  a  child. 


gust 


HENRY      BORDT.      Among     the 
younger   members  of    the  sturdy 
farming  population  of  Riley  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  is  Henry 
Bordt,  who  was  born  in  Sandusky  county, 
Ohio,  October   18,  1873,  and  is  the  son 
of  August  and  Mina  Bordt. 

August  Bordt  was  born  in  Germany, 
February  18,  1843.  In  1 866  he  was  united 
in  marriage,  in  the  Fatherland,  with  Mina 
Mikewilt,  who  was  born  March  3,  1841, 
in  Germany.  In  1872  they  came  to 
Ainerica,  locating  in  Townsend  township, 
Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  where  they  lived 
some  seven  years.  They  have  had  two 
children,  namely:  Carrie,  who  was  born 
October  25,  1869,  married  Christian 
Olmes.and  has  had  three  children — Alma, 
Otto,  and  Laura  (they  live  in  Riley  town- 
ship); and  Henry,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.      From  Townsend  township  Au- 


Bordt  moved  to  Rile\'  township, 
where  he  bought  forty  acres  of  land,  and 
in  1885  he  built  a  new  house  and  barn. 

Henry  Bordt  was  reared  in  Townsend 
township,  always  lived  at  home  and  re- 
ceived a  common-school  education.  He 
was  early  inducted  into  the  pleasant  paths 
of  industry,  frugality  and  virtue,  and  in 
1890  he  bought  forty  acres  of  land  ad- 
joining his  fathers's  farm.  He  attends 
the  Lutheran  Church,  and  is  a  Democrat 
in  politics. 


B 


r.  ROGERS  a  well-known  shoe- 
maker of  Clyde,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, where  he  is  now  serving  as 
justice  of  the  peace,  was  born  in 
the  town  of  Lyons,  Wayne  Co.,  N.  Y. , 
August  3,  1830,  and  is  a  son  of  Joel  and 
Betsy  (Ellis)  Rogers.  His  father's  birth 
occurred  in  Phelps,  N.  Y.,  near  Bulltown 
Springs,  and  by  occupation  was  a  farmer, 
also  carrying  on  carpentering  and  joining. 
In  1830  he  came  to  Ohio,  it  requiring 
three  weeks  to  make  the  trip  from  Buffalo, 
N.  Y.,to  Huron. Ohio, by  water.  He  located 
at  Hartland,  Huron  Co.,  Ohio,  twelve 
miles  east  of  Norwalk,  where  he  engaged 
in  farming  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
in  1854,  when  he  was  aged  sixty-one 
years.  In  politics  he  was  a  supporter  of 
the  Democratic  party.  The  mother  of 
our  subject,  who  was  born  in  1798  in  New 
Canaan,  Conn.,  died  on  the  4th  of  July, 
1888.  She  had  a  sister  who  died  a  year 
later  at  the  remarkable  age  of  103  years 
and  one  week.  At  the  age  of  ninety- 
nine  years  she  did  the  cooking  for  a  re- 
union, and  our  subject  has  a  piece  of 
poetry  she  recited  when  a  centenarian. 

The  paternal  grandfather  was  a  shoe- 
maker of  New  York.  .He  wedded  Mary 
Kuntz,  a  native  of  Germany,  and  he 
served  through  the  Revolutionary  war 
under  Gen.  Washington.  One  of  his  sons 
was  the  father  of  Randolph  Rogers,  the 
famous  sculptor.  He  died  in  Rome,  leav- 
ing a  son  and  daughter,  who  are  both  at- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BWORAPITTCAL  RECORD. 


805 


tendinpf  collefje  at  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.  The 
R()f,'crs  family  is  of  Enj^tish  descent,  the 
great-grandfather  of  our  subject  having 
come  from  England  to  the  New  World. 
The  maternal  great-grandfather  was  also 
a  native  of  England,  and  the  grandfather, 
who  was  a  great  jumper  and  athlete,  and 
was  a  soldier  during  the  struggle  for  inde- 
pendence. 

In  Hartland,  Huron  Co.,  Ohio,  B.  F. 
Rogers,  subject  of  this  sketch,  spent  his 
boyhood  days,  attending  the  public 
schools.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  years 
he  began  learning  the  shoemaker's  trade 
with  his  uncle,  A.  G.  Ellis,  at  Fitchville, 
Huron  county,  where  he  remained  for 
nine  years.  He  then  for  one  year  had  a 
shop  of  his  own  in  Wakeman,  that  coun- 
ty, but  at  the  expiration  of  that  time  again 
worked  for  his  uncle,  with  whom  he  re- 
mained for  a  year,  but  the  following  win- 
ter was  employed  at  his  trade  in  Clarks- 
field,  Huron  county.  He  then  entered  a 
drug  store,  and  for  one  year  studied  medi- 
cines and  drugs,  after  which  he  went  to 
Michigan,  where  he  continued  his  studies 
with  the  brother  of  the  professor  of  sur- 
gery in  the  Homeopathic  College  of 
Cleveland,  Ohio.  He  was  there  pre- 
pared to  enter  college,  but,  becoming  tired 
of  the  profession,  he  returned  to  Clarks- 
field,  resuming  work  at  his  trade. 

In  that  place  Mr.  Rogers  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Myra  Buck,  who 
was  reared  in  Xorwalk,  Ohio,  and  to 
them  were  born  four  children:  Emma, 
who  married  Alfred  Barber,  of  Norwalk, 
and  has  one  child — Florence;  Belle,  wife 
of  E.  M.  Keller,  of  Pomona,  Cal. ;  Hattie, 
the  widow  of  I.  Boone,  is  a  resident  of 
California,  and  has  two  children — Effel 
and  John  B. ;  Grant  C.  died  in  1877,  at 
the  age  of  eleven  years.  In  1876  the 
mother  of  these  children  passed  to  her 
final  rest,  and  September  i,  1877,  Mr. 
Rogers  wedded  Miss  Belinda  Malcom,  of 
Ruggles,  Ashland  Co. ,  Ohio.  Her  father 
is  a  native  of  Aberdeen,  Scotland.  By 
her    marriage    she    has  three    children — 


Malcom,  Lillie  and  Archie.  After  his 
fir.-t  marriage  Mr.  Rogers  removed  to 
Norwalk,  Ohio,  where  he  worked  at  his 
trade  during  the  Civil  war,  but  later  be- 
came a  resident  of  New  London,  Huron 
Co.,  Ohio.  In  1869  he  located  in  Clyde, 
where  he  deals  in  shoes,  and  is  also  en- 
gaged in  their  manufacture.  He  does 
general  repairing,  and  all  the  work  which 
he  turns  out  is  of  first-class  order. 

For  the  last  five  years  Mr.  Rogers 
has  served  as  justice  of  the  peace,  and 
during  the  entire  time  has  never  had  a 
case  reversed  in  common  pleas  court.  In 
politics  he  is  deeply  in  sympathy  with  the 
Republican  party.  He  has  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Masonic  fraternity  since  No- 
vember 16,  1855,  and  is  now  a  Royal  Arch 
Mason,  while  he  has  been  connected  with 
the  I.  O.  O.  F.  since  February  16,  1870. 
He  is  liberal  in  his  religious  views,  and  is 
a  member  of  the  Universalist  Church. 
Mr.  Rogers  is  practically  a  self-made 
man,  well  endowed  mentally,  and  by  his 
own  physical  exertions  has  made  his  life 
a  success. 


JANSTED,  one  of  the  prosperous 
representative  farmer  citizens  of 
Washington  township,  Sandusky  Co. , 
Ohio,  is  a  native  of  same,  born  March 
15,  1855. 

His  parents,  John  and  Mary  (Upp) 
Ansted,  were  of  Pennsylvania  birth,  from 
which  State  they  migrated  to  Ohio,  set- 
tling on  a  farm  in  Sandusky  county,  where 
the  father  died  when  their  son  Jacob  was 
fourteen  years  old.  The  latter  had  then 
to  assist  in  the  support  of  his  widowed 
mother  on  their  eighty-acre  farm,  and 
when  he  came  of  age  he  purchased  forty 
acres  from  her,  in  the  cultivation  of  which 
he  has  since  devoted  his  care  and  atten- 
tion. His  mother  for  her  second  husband 
married  Absalom  Dank,  a  native  of  Ger- 
many, and  they  are  living  on  the  remain- 
ing forty  acres  of  the  original  eighty-acre 
farm  in  Washington  township. 


806 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Mr.  Ansted  is  still  sinj^le,  is  a  Demo- 
crat in  politics,  in  reli,!?ious  faith  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Lutheran  Church,  and  enjoj-s 
the  respect  and  esteem  of  the  community 
in  which  he  lives. 


JOHN     BENDER,     who    owns    and 
operates    a    fine    farm    in    Sandusky 
township,     Sandusky    county,     was 
born  in  Rice  township,  that  county, 
March    29,     i  S46,    a    son    of   Daniel  and 
Elizabeth   (Druckmiller)  Bender. 

Daniel  Bender  came  from  Perry  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  and  settled  in  Rice  township, 
Sandusky  count}',  in  1844,  where  our 
subject  was  born,  and  when  the  latter 
was  one  year  old  the  mother  died.  Daniel 
Bender  for  his  second  wife  married  Miss 
Caroline  Honeywell.  The  family  after- 
ward removed  to  Branch  county,  Mich., 
settling  near  Coldwater,  where  the  father 
died  at  the  age  of  fifty-seven.  On  account 
of  the  early  death  of  his  mother,  John 
Bender,  being  then  an  infant  of  one  year, 
was  placed,  for  rearing,  in  the  hands  of 
Peter  Albert  and  wife,  who  were  cousins 
of  his  father.  Here  he  received  loving 
care  and  grew  up  to  manhood,  attending 
the  district  schools  at  intervals,  and  he 
remained  with  his  foster  parents  until 
eighteen  years  of  age,  when  he  went  to 
work  on  a  farm  by  the  month.  He  saved 
his  money,  and  a  few  years  later  married 
Miss  Caroline  Riser  (a  sister  of  Christian 
Riser),  a  native  of  Germany,  born  June 
6,  184S.  They  settled  on  land  Mr.  Ben- 
der now  owns,  commencing  in  a  small 
way;  but  success  smiled  upon  their  efforts 
and  they  were  soon  able  to  purchase 
more  land.  Mr.  Bender  is  now  recognized 
as  one  of  the  leading,  successful  agricul- 
turists of  the  township,  owning  279  acres 
of  land  as  good  as  any  other  in  the  State. 
In  December,  1894,  he  sank  an  oil  well  on 
his  farm,  and  the  company  to  which  he 
belongs  have  put  down  three  wells,  all  of 
which  are  producing  and  promise  to  be 
fairly  successful  ventures.      He   and  his 


wife  have  nine  children:  Christian,  who 
married  Rebecca  Enqler;  Saloma  E. , 
wife  of  Frank  Stine(they  have  one  child); 
Charles;  Ella,  now  Mrs.  John  Mairer; 
Lavina,  who  was  married  July  3,  1894,  to 
Frank  Fetterman;  Emma;  Frank,  and 
Wesley. 

Mr.  Bender  started  in  life  with  no  en- 
dowment save  a  strong  pair  of  hands  and 
his  own  good  judgment;  to-day  he  is  in- 
dependent. Much  of  the  land  he  now 
owns  cost  him  $100  per  acre.  He  is  an 
unofficious,  unassuming  man  to  meet,  but 
his  worth  as  a  neighbor,  friend  and  citizen 
is  well  appreciated  in  the  community.  In 
1889  he  was  elected  township  treasurer, 
and  has  held  that  office  by  re-election  to 
the  present  time.  Politically  he  is  a 
Democrat. 


WILLIAM    CANTY.     Among  the 
Inisiness    men    of     Gibsonburg, 
Sandusky     county,     who     have 
made   a  reputation  for  straight 
dealing   and   honest   work,  will   be   found 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  is  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  boiler  shops  in  that  city. 

Mr.  Canty  is  a  native  of  Illinois,  hav- 
ing been  born  at  Pana,  that  State,  June 
8,  1862.  He  is  the  son  of  Thomas  and 
Julia  (Fogerty)  Canty,  the  father  being 
born  in  County  Limerick,  the  mother  in 
County  Kerry,  Ireland.  Both  emigrated 
to  America  when  young,  and  settled  in 
Pana,  111.,  where  they,  married.  The 
father  died  in  that  city  when  tifty-eight 
3'ears  of  age,  and  the  mother,  who  sur- 
vives him,  makes  her  home  in  Tiffin,  this 
State.  This  worthy  couple  were  devoted 
members  of  the  Catholic  Church,  as  are 
their  children  of  whom  the  following 
record  is  given:  John  is  the  owner  of  a 
boiler  shop  in  Tiffin,  Ohio;  Thomas,  who 
makes  his  home  in  Chicago,  111.,  is  a 
traveling  agent  for  the  Hartford  Life  In- 
surance Company;  William,  our  subject, 
comes  ne.\t;   Edward,  a   machinist,    lives 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


807 


in  Chicago;  James  is  a  foreman  in  the  Big 
Four  shops  at  Milttui,  IlHnois. 

WiUiani  Canty  grew  up  to  manhood 
at  his  home  in  Pana,  III.,  and  when  nine- 
teen years  old  went  to  Maryville,  Mo., 
where  he  worked  as  an  engine  wiper  for 
si.x  months.  He  then  moved  to  Tiffin, 
this  State,  and  learned  the  trade  of  a 
boiler  maker  with  his  brother.  He  was 
then  for  si.\  months  fireman  on  the  Wa- 
bash railway.  Returning  to  Tiffin,  he 
worked  in  the  boiler  shop  for  a  year  when 
he  again  went  to  Pana  and  worked  at  his 
trade  for  five  months.  Alternating  be- 
tween this  ]->lace  and  Tiffin  for  some  time, 
he  fired  on  the  Ohio  &  Mississippi  Valley 
railroad  one  year,  and  worked  in  the 
boiler  shops  in  Tififin  for  three  years,  when 
he  was  married,  in  two  years  thereafter, 
August,  1890,  moving  to  Gibsonburg. 
Here  he  opened  up  a  boiler  shop  with  a 
partner,  but  in  April,  1893,  purchased 
the  whole  concern  and  is  now  carrying  it 
on  himself.  He  iias  established  a  good 
business  and  a  reputation  for  industry 
and  honesty,  and  has  the  confidence  of 
the  community  as  a  skilled  workman. 

Mrs.  Canty,  who  before  her  marri- 
age was  Miss  Agnes  Cathcart,  was  born  in 
Tiffin,  December  2  I,  1863.  Mr.  Cantv  is 
a  member  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  of 
the  Catholic  Knights  of  St.  John,  at  Tif- 
fin; in  politics  he  is  a  Democrat.  He  is 
a  fine  specimen  of  physical  manhood, 
strong  and  muscular,  and  will  probably 
live  to  a  good  old  age  as  his  maternal 
grandparents  both  lived  to  be  over  one 
hundred  years  old. 


CD.  WHITE.  M.  D.,  physician 
and  surgeon,  Fremont,  Sandusky 
county,  is  a  native  of  Ohio,  hav- 
ing been  born  in  Bellaire,  Bel- 
mont county,  December  11,  1839,  a  son 
of  R.  B.,  and  ?:iiza  A.  (Ray)  White,  both 
of  whom  were  of  Irish  descent.  The  father, 
who  was  also  a  physician  of  prominence, 
practiced  in    Monroe  (of  which  county  he 

51 


was  a  pioneer),  Washington  and  Noble 
counties,  Ohio,  and  died  in  the  latter 
county  in  1878.  The  mother,  who  came 
to  Ohio  from  Lancaster  county,  Penn.,  is 
still  living,  and  makes  her  home  in  West 
Virginia. 

The  subject  proper  of  this  review  was 
reared  in  eastern  Ohio,  receiving  his  edu- 
cation in  the  public  schools  of  Monroe 
and  Noble  counties.  In  August,  1861, 
he  enlisted  in  Noble  county,  Ohio,  for 
three  years'  service,  in  Company  K, 
Twentieth  O.  V.  I.,  was  ihustered  in  at 
Columbus,  Ohio,  and  assigned  to  the 
army  of  West  Virginia.  He  participated 
in  some  important  battles,  among  which 
may  be  mentioned  those  of  Carnifax 
Ferr}',  Seconal  Bull  Run,  South  Moun- 
tain, Antietam,  Haines'  Bluff,  Jackson 
and  siege  of  Vicksburg,  at  which  latter  he 
received  a  severe  scalp  wound.  After  an 
honorable  discharge  at  Columbus,  Ohio, 
our  subject  returned  to  his  home  in  Noble 
county.  In  1865  he  re-entered  military 
service,  and  held  the  rank  of  second 
lieutenant  of  Company  E,  One  Hundred 
and  Ninety-fourth,  O.  V.  I.,  until  the 
close  of  the  war,  receiving  a  final  honor- 
able discharge  in  Jime,  1865,  and  again 
returning  home,  after  which  he  was  en- 
gaged for  some  time,  along  with  his 
brother,  in  a  general  mercantile  business 
at  Flint  Mills,  Washington  Co.,  Ohio. 

Later  he  began  the  study  of  medicine 
under  the  preceptorship  of  Dr.  Henshaw.of 
Ellenboro,  W.  Va. ,  and  after  taking  a  course 
of  clinics  in  the  Cincinnati  General  Hospit- 
al, he,  in  1 873, entered  the  Eclectic  Medical 
Institute  of  that  city  and  attended  a  course 
of  lectures.  After  practicing  at  a  distance 
for  a  time,  he  returned  to  Cincinnati  in 
1878,  took  a  full  course  at  the  Eclectic 
Medical  Institute,  graduating  with  honor. 
The  Doctor  has  practiced  medicine  in 
Pleasant  Valley  (W.  Va.),  Clayville  (Va.) 
and  Salineville  fColumbiaua  Co.,  Ohio), 
at  which  latter  place  he  was  associated 
with  Dr.  Sutzer,  and  thence  came  to  the 
Western     Reserve.      He    also    practiced 


808 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


three  years  in  Ringgold  county,  Iowa,  in 
the  city  of  Fremont  since  1880,  and  al- 
together has  built  up  an  enviable  reputa- 
tion in  his  4Drofession,  in  which  he  has 
shown  a  commendable  interest.  He 
studied  and  practiced  under  a  general 
allopathic  practitioner,  three  years.  Dr. 
White  holds  and  has  held  various  posi- 
tions of  honor  and  trust  in  the  commu- 
nity. He  is  a  member  of  the  Sandusky 
County  Board  of  Pension  E.xaminers, 
medical  examiner  for  the  National  Union, 
and  surgeon  for  the  Union  Veterans 
Union;  is  one  of  the  commissioners  for 
visiting  the  charitable  institutions  of  the 
county.  He  is  a  member  of  the  National 
Union,  of  the  State  Eclectic  Society,  and 
holds  certificates  from  the  National  Eclec- 
tic Society  and  from  the  Iowa  Eclectic 
Society,  also  from  the  Hospital  of  Clinics, 
Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

Dr.  White  was  married  in  Wood  coun- 
ty, W.  Va.,  in  1871,  to  Miss  Elizabeth 
Ullum,  and  their  children  are:  John,  a 
plumber,  who  is  married  and  has  two 
children;  Eliza  Ellen,  wife  of  Philip 
Lowry,  of  Huron  county,  Ohio  (they 
have  one  child);  Willie  Delilah,  wife  of 
James  Powers,  East  Prairie,  Mo. ;  and 
Thomas,  who  at  present  is  attending  Fre- 
mont High  School.  Mrs.  White  died  at 
Mt.  Ayr,  Iowa,  December  30,  1885,  and 
in  1888  Dr.  White  married,  at  Fremont, 
Ohio,  Miss  Hortense  Ickes,  daughter  of 
Samuel  and  Elizabeth  Ickes,  the  former 
of  whom  is  deceased,  the  latter  residing 
on  the  old  homestead  north  of  Fremont. 
Mrs.  White  was  elected  National  Presi- 
dent of  the  Women's  Veteran  Relief 
Union.  The  Doctor,  in  his  political  pref- 
erences, is  a  Democrat,  and  he  is  held  in 
the  highest  esteem  and  regard. 


ADAM  MAURER,    proprietor  of  a 
livery  and  feed  stable  at  Helena, 
Sandusky  county,   where  he  also 
conducts  a  thriving  teaming  and 
draying  business,  is  a  native  of  that  coun- 


ty, born  September  ig,  1858,  in  Wash- 
ington township. 

Up  to  the  year  188S  our  subject  con- 
tinued to  reside  with  his  parents,  James 
and  Marie  Maurer,  and  then,  his  mother 
having  sold  the  farm  of  120  acres  in 
Washington  township,  which  had  been 
left  her  at  the  death  of  her  husband,  she 
and  her  son  Adam  moved  into  the  town 
of  Helena,  same  county,  where  Mr. 
Maurer  established  his  present  business. 
He  is  also  to  some  extent  interested  in  oil 
wells,  and  by  diligence  and  close  atten- 
tion to  business  has  succeeded  in  securing 
a  wide  patronage  for  his  livery,  etc.  Mrs. 
Marie  Maurer,  -mother  of  the  subject 
proper  of  these  lines,  was  born  in  Ger- 
many of  well-to-do  and  respectable  farm- 
ing people,  who  came  to  the  United 
States  several  years  ago. 

In  his  political  preferences  our  sub- 
ject is  a  stanch  Democrat,  but  is  no  office 
seeker,  preferring  to  devote  all  his  time 
to  his  business.  He  is  a  man  of  good 
standing  in  the  community,  and  although 
popular  and  well-liked  is  still  living  in  a 
state  of  "  single  blessedness." 


BENJAMIN  EPLER.   Among  those 
steady-going,    hard-working    men 
who  are  pillars  of  strength  in  the 
community    in    which    they    live, 
and,  by  their  lives,  set  before  the  young 
examples   of   temperance,    industrj-,    fru- 
gality, virtue  and  faith,  is  Mr.  Epler. 

Benjamin  Epler,  Sr. ,  father  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  married  Barbara 
Smith.  They  were  both  born  in  Penn- 
sylvania, and  lived  and  died  there,  leaving 
two  children  to  mourn  them,  namely: 
Henry,  whe  married  Emma  Fought,  by 
whom  he  has  one  child,  and  is  a  farmer 
in  Pennsylvania,  and  Benjamin,  Jr.,  who 
was  born  July  3,  1839.  Our  subject  was 
united  in  marriage  October  11,  1851,  with 
Elizabeth  Unger,  who  was  born  in  Penn- 
sylvania December  21,  1828,  and  they 
have  had  seven    children,    of    whom    we 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPniCAL  RECORD. 


809 


have  the  following  record:  Rosie  married 
Joseph  Slates,  a  farmer  in  Michigan; 
they  had  six  children.  George  is  a  farm- 
er in  Michigan;  he  married  Frances 
Callahan,  and  they  have  had  three 
children.  Sally  married  David  Witzler, 
and  has  had  three  children;  they 
live  in  Helena,  Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio. 
Samuel,  who  lives  in  Michigan,  married 
Etta  Ring,  by  whom  he  has  had  two 
children.  John  married  Hannah  Ickes, 
and  they  have  had  one  child.  Henry  died 
at  the  age  of  nineteen  years.  Katie  is 
unmarried  and  lives  at  home.  Mrs.  Ep- 
ler's  parents,  Samuel  and  Elizabeth 
(Schneider)  Unger,  were  farming  people, 
and  lived  in  Pennsylvania. 

Mr.  Epler  came  to  Ohio  in  the  early 
times,  and  bought  eighty  acres  of  timber 
land,  in  Madison  township,  Sandusky 
county,  all  but  ten  acres  of  which  he  has 
cleared.  He  has  worked  hard,  early  and 
late,  and  has  to-day  a  beautiful  home 
wherein  to  pass  his  later  days.  He  is  a 
strong  Republican,  and  in  religious  con- 
nection is  a  charter  member  of  the  United 
Brethren  Church  at  Helena. 


JOHN  ANDREWS,  farmer,  was  born 
in  Ballville  township,  Sandusky  Co., 
Ohio,  March  12,  1839,  a  son  of 
Jacob  and  Elizabeth  (Indes)  Andrews. 
Jacob  Andrews  was  born  in  1801,  and  his 
wife  in  1807,  in  France;  and  she  died  May 
15,  1892.  They  had  five  children:  (i) 
Joseph  Andrews,  born  in  1837,  a  farmer 
of  Millersville,  Ohio,  who  married  Anna 
Young,  and  has  a  family  of  seven  chil- 
dren; (2)  John  Andrews,  our  subject;  (3) 
Mary  Andrews,  born  in  1841,  wife  of 
Lewis  Baumgardner,  a  farmer,  of  Michi- 
gan, whose  children  are  Frank,  John  and 
Mary;  (4)  Jacob,  born  in  1845,  married 
to  Mary  Rilley,  whose  children  are  Ula- 
liah,  Georgiana,  Claude  and  James;  (5) 
David,  born  March  11,  1843,  married  in 
1868  to  Julia  Scanlan,  who  was  born 
March  7,  1850,  and  their  children  are  — 


Peter,  born  September  11,  1870;  Julia, 
born  June  7,  1874;  Stella,  born  February 
25,  1880;  Mary,  born  January  23,  1882; 
John  L. ,  born  May  2,  1884;  and  I^oretta, 
born  September  11,   1891. 

Our  subject  remained  at  home  with 
his  parents  until  his  twenty-fifth  year. 
He  then  rented  some  land  of  his  father 
and  farmed  on  shares.  Subsequently  he 
bought  ninety-two  acres  of  his  father,  on 
which  he  now  resides.  He  is  no  office 
seeker,  but  has  held  several  offices  in  his 
township.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  Civil 
war,  having  er.listed  in  Comiiany  A,  One 
Hundred  and  Eleventh  Regiment, O.V.  I., 
at  Toledo,  Ohio,  whence  he  proceeded  to 
Louisville  and  Frankfort,  Ky.,  and  spent 
the  winter  at  Bowling  Green.  In  the 
spring  of  1863  he  marched  through  Ken- 
tucky, back  and  forth,  was  taken  sick, 
and  lay  for  a  time  at  No.  7,  Louisville 
Hospital.  After  convalescence  he  was 
transferred  to  the  Seventeenth  Regiment, 
Veteran  Reserve  Corps,  and  helped  guard 
Rebel  prisoners  at  Indianapolis,  Iiid., 
until  discharged.  He  was  married  August 
20,  18  --,  to  Miss  Mary  Scanlan,  who  was 
born  December  25,  1837,  and  they  had 
seven  children:  (i)  Mary,  born  June  7. 
1 862 ;  (2)  David,  born  February  1 8, 1 865.  a 
mason  by  trade;  (3)  Elizabeth,  born  June 
27,  1867,  wife  of  Rufus  Kellcy,  whose 
children  are — Anna  Marie,  born  Septem- 
ber 18,  1889,  and  John,  born  in  1891;  (4) 
John,  born  September  12,  1869,  a  stone 
mason;  (5)  Frank,  born  June  12,  1872; 
(6)  George  E.,  born  April  23,  1878;  (7) 
Edward  V.,  born  March  16,  1880;  the 
last  four  named  are  living  with  their 
parents. 

A  record  of  the  family  of  children,  of 
which  Mrs.  Mary  Andrews  is  a  member, 
is  as  follows:  John  married,  and  has  a 
family  of  eight  children;  Thomas  died  in 
childhood;  Mary  is  Mrs.  Andrews;  John 
was  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  war.  member  of 
Company  A,  One  Hundred  and  Eleventh 
Regiment,  O.  \'.  I.,  and  died  in  1S93; 
Jeremiah;   Edward  married  Julia   Leary, 


810 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


and  has  eight  children  (he  served  five 
years  in  the  Civil  war,  and  later  was  a 
merchant  at  Toledo,  Ohio;  he  died  Feb- 
ruary i8,  1886);  Julia,  born  June  7,  1852, 
is  the  wife  of  David  Andrews;  Michael, 
born  in  1854,  married  Mary  Camele, 
whose  children  are — Nora,  William,  Mich- 
ael and  Nellie;  David,  born  May  9,  1857, 
is  a  police  officer  in  Fremont,  Ohio,  mar- 
ried Margaret  Donahue,  and  their  chil- 
dren are — Edward,  Mary,  John  and  Frank. 


M 


L.  HUSS.  To  this  enterpris- 
ing farmer  of  Green  Creek  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  is  due 
largely  the  growth  of  the  small- 
fruit  industry  in  his  locality.  Mr.  Huss 
lives  on  the  ridge  in  the  township,  and 
was  one  of  its  first  men  to  engage  in  grow- 
ing and  shipping  small  fruits  on  a  large 
scale.  He  has  made  fruit-growing  his 
chief  business  for  many  years. 

Mr.  Huss  was  born  in  Green  Creek 
township,  March  31,1 848,  son  of  Christian 
and  Catherine  (Rathbun)  Huss.  Christian 
Huss  was  born  on  Cat  Island,  on  the  Sus- 
quehanna river,  Penn.,  February  21, 
I  81  5.  In  1824  he  came  to  Ohio  with  his 
parents,  Noah  and  Mary  (Burkholder) 
Huss,  who  settled  on  what  is  now  known 
as  the  Kernahan  farm,  in  Green  Creek 
township,  lived  to  an  advanced  age,  and 
left  a  large  family,  consisting  of  John, 
Noah,  Christian,  Elijah,  Jacob,  Ellen 
(wife  of  David  Hawk),  Barbara  E.  (wife 
of  S.  S.  Rathbun),  Jane  (who  first  mar- 
ried a  Mr.  Bernent,  and  afterward  wedded 
Oliver  Mclntire;  she  lived  on  the  old 
Huss  farm),  Ann  (who  married  George 
Hutchins),  and  Martha  (who  married  a 
Mr.  Campbell,  and  moved  to  Iowa). 
Christian  married  Catherine  Rathbun,  who 
was  born  in  Ontario  county,  N.  Y.,  in 
1818,  and  had  twelve  children,  as  follows: 
Chaplin,  of  Green  Creek  township;  Eliza, 
wife  of  John  Morrison,  of  Ballville  town- 
ship; Shannon,  who  died  young;  Noah 
B. ;  Darius,  who  died  at  the  age  of  four- 


teen years;  Burr,  of  Ballville  township; 
Maurice  L. ,  of  Green  Creek  township; 
Jane,  who  married  a  Mr.  Gleeson,  by 
whom  she  had  two  children,  and  after- 
ward married  Dr.  McMillen,  of  Steuben 
county,  Ind. ;  Oliver  P.,  of  Steuben  coun- 
ty, Ind. ;  Barbara,  wife  of  Chauncey 
Young,  of  Steuben  county,  Ind. ;  Chris- 
tian E.,  on  the  old  homestead  in  Green 
Creek  township;  and  Saxton.  Christian 
Huss,  the  father,  died  February  22,  1864, 
aged  forty-nine  years.  His  faithful  and 
devoted  wife  survived  until  August,  1893. 
Maurice  L.  Huss,  subject  of  this 
sketch,  attended  the  Dawley  school,  in 
Ballville  township,  a  joint  district,  and  on 
the  old  homestead  he  learned  the  practi- 
cal value  and  lesson  of  perseverance  and 
industry.  He  was  married,  in  1871,  at 
the  age  of  twenty-three  \ears,  to  Miss 
Henrietta  Storer,  born  in  Brooklj-n  vil- 
lage, October  21,  1851,  daughter  of 
Samuel  Storer,  a  prominent  farmer  of 
Green  Creek  township.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Huss  have  been  born  two  children — Ruth 
and  Dwight.  Mr.  Huss  is  regarded  gen- 
erally as  one  of  the  leadiiig  men  of  the 
township,  and  is  essentially  a  progressive, 
active  citizen.  He  has  for  twenty-two 
years  been  a  prominent  member  of  the 
I.  O.  O.  F. ,  and  is  a  charter  member  of 
Clyde  Grand  Encampment.  He  was  elect- 
ed trustee  of  the  township  in  1893,  and  is 
now  serving  in  that  capacity. 


LS.  McGORMLEY,  contractor  and 
builder,  Fremont,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, is  a  native  of  Ballville  town- 
ship, Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  born 
May  4,  1850,  son  of  George  and  Lucy  J. 
(Hampsher)  McGormlej'. 

George  McGormley  was  born  in  Perry 
county,  Ohio,  in  1826,  came  to  Sandusky 
county,  when  he  was  three  years  old, 
and  here  remained  the  rest  of  his  life, 
dying  in  1886.  He  was  a  Democrat,  and 
a  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church.  His 
father,    William    McGormley,    who    was 


VOMMEMORATIVE  BIOQRAVUIVAL  RECORD. 


811 


born  in  Perry  county,  Ohio,  of  Scotch 
ancestry,  lived  in  Sandusky  county  from 
1829  to  1872,  when  he  moved  to  near 
Lansing,  Mich.,  and  there  died  at  the 
age  of  eighty-five.  Our  subject's  mother 
was  born  in  Sparta,  near  Rochester, 
N.  Y. ,  November  3,  1828,  and  is  still  living 
in  Ballville  township.  The  children  of 
George  and  Lucy  McGormley  were:  Su- 
san, wife  of  George  Cole,  of  Ballville 
township;  Louis  S.,  our  subject;  George 
F.,  a  civil  engineer,  of  Toledo,  Ohio; 
Anna,  wife  of  Andrew  Miller,  subject's 
partner  in  business;  and  Charles  A.,  a 
farmer,  on  the  old  homestead. 

Our  subject  grew  to  manhood  in  Ball- 
ville township,  where  he  attended  good 
country  schools,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty 
began  to  learn  the  trade  of  carpenter 
with  Matt  Earney.  In  1873  he  married 
Miss  Martha  Harris,  of  Green  Creek 
township,  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
Church,  and  located  in  Ballville,  San- 
dusky county,  where  he  worked  at  his 
trade.  He  was  in  the  employ  of  A.  Fos- 
ter, builder,  about  eight  years.  In  1882-83 
Mr.  McGormley  became  a  contractor 
and  builder  on  his  own  account,  and  has 
followed  that  vocation  most  of  the  time 
since;  he  built  the  residence  of  Dr.  R. 
H.  Rice,  and  several  other  fine  structures. 
In  April,  1893,  he  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  city  council  on  the  Democratic 
ticket.  He  is  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F., 
Subordinate  Lodge  and  Encampment, 
and  of  the  daughters  of  Rebekah;  also  of 
Canton,  Uniformed  Rank,  K.  of  P.  His 
children  were:  Chester,  who  died  in  1893, 
aged  twenty;  Edith,  a  graduate  of  the 
high  school,  1893;  and  Lucy  Jane,  at 
home. 


WILLIAM  BLECKNER,   a  popu- 
lar,   representative  citizen,   and 
postmaster  at  Oak  Harbor,  Ot- 
tawa county,  was  born  Febru- 
ary 14,  1853,  at  Fremont,  Sandusky  Co., 


Ohio,  to  Adam  and  Christina  (Lenhardt) 
Bleckner. 

His  early  education  was  received  in 
the  public  schools  of  his  native  town, 
and  when  but  twelve  years  of  age  he  en- 
gaged in  agricultural  pursuits,  which  he 
continued  to  follow  in  Sandusky  county 
for  eight  years.  In  1873  he  entered  the 
employ,  as  clerk,  of  J.  Ai.\ter&  Co.,  lead- 
ing druggists  of  that  county,  at  the  expir- 
ation of  three  years  (in  1876)  purchasing 
the  business,  and  from  that  date  until 
1886 — when  he  admitted  his  brother 
Charles  as  a  partner — he  conducted  same 
on  his  own  account;  in  1885  he  established 
a  branch  store  at  Rocky  Ridge,  Ohio,  and 
four  years  later  he  established  another 
branch  store  at  Port  Clinton.  In  1891 
Bleckner  disposed  of  his  interest  in  the 
business,  his  brother  becoming  sole  pro- 
prietor, and  during  the  years  1892-93  he 
was  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits,  hav- 
ing a  large  and  extensive  trade;  but  in 
the  latter  year  he  met  with  a  serious  loss, 
his  large  store  and  entire  stock  being 
totally  destroyed  by  fire.  He  was  then 
extensively  engaged  in  the  manufacture 
of  bricks  and  tiles  for  three  years.  In 
1893  our  subject,  having  proved  himself 
a  man  of  high  standing  and  of  more  than 
ordinary  ability,  received  (in  recognition 
of  the  valuable  services  rendered  by  him 
to  the  community  in  which  he  resides) 
the  appointment  of  postmaster  at  Oak 
Harbor,  which  incumbency  he  continues 
to  hold,  in  an  efficient  manner  and  to 
the  satisfaction  of  all.  Mr.  Bleckner 
is  a  director  of  and  one  of  the  largest 
stockholders  in  the  Oak  Harbor  Na- 
tural Gas  Co.,  and  also  a  stockholder 
in  the  Savings  Bank  at  Lorain,  Ohio; 
he  is  largely  interested  in  timber  lands 
in  the  State,  and  in  real-estate  in  Lo- 
rain county,  and  the  characteristic  zeal 
with  which  he  discharges  the  numer- 
ous arduous  duties  in  connection  with 
these,  as  well  as  other  enterprises,  de- 
notes him  to  be  a  man  of  consummate 
energy,    and    has    won    for  him    the   re- 


812 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


spect  and  confidence  of  the  entire    com 
munity. 

In  1884  Mr.  Bleckncr  was  married  to 
Miss  Elva  Gordon,  who  was  born  in  Oak 
Harbor,  January  31,  1865,  a  daughter  of 
Washington  and  Maggie  (Rymers)  Gor- 
don, and  this  union  has  been  blessed 
with  three  children,  viz. :  Donna,  Lillian 
and  Margaret  C.,  all  of  whom  survive. 
Mr.  Blcckner  in  his  social  affiliations  is  a 
member  of  Oak  Harbor  Lodge  No.  495, 
F".  &  A.  M. ;  Fremont  Chapter  No. 
64,  K.  A.  M.,  and  Toledo  Com mandery 
No.  27. 


M 


ICHAEL  BOWE  is  one  of  the 
enterprising  and  thorough  busi- 
ness men  of  Scott  township, 
Sandusky  county,  and  he  is  a 
brother  of  Jacob,  Henry,  David  and 
George  Bowe. 

Mr.  Bowe  was  born  January  28,  1845, 
in  Scott  township,  Sandusky  county,  on 
his  father's  old  farm  on  the  "pike."  On 
January  6,  1866,  he  was  married,  at 
Freeport,  to  Miss  Rachel  Bordner,  daugh- 
ter of  Michael  ar^d  I^eah  (Buchtel)  Bord- 
ner, and  the  joung  couple  resided  on  the 
old  home  farm  for  one  year,  after  which 
they  lived  two  years  in  Wood  county,  and 
then,  until  1876,  made  their  home  on 
Section  16,  Scott  township.  In  1876 
they  moved  to  Section  30,  there  purchas- 
ing 160  acres  of  land  which  they  have 
cleared  and  put  under  the  finest  cultiva- 
tion; they  also  have  erected  fine  build- 
ings, and  their  residence  would  be  an 
ornament  to  any  city  in  the  county.  It 
is  of  modern  architecture,  with  slate  roof 
and  finishings  to  correspond.  A  few  years 
afterward  Mr.  Bowe  added  to  this  pur- 
chase another  forty  acres  in  Section  29, 
which  he  has  also  cleared  and  put  in  fine 
condition.  Later  he  added  another  eighty 
acres,  making  an  excellent  farm  of  280 
acres.  Mr.  Bowe  deals  in  all  kind  of 
stock,  as  a  rule  fattening  and  selling  about 
1 50  sheep    and    eighty    hogs  yearly,  be- 


sides buying  and  shipping  stock  in  large 
quantities. 

On  January  28,  1891,  Mr.  Bowe 
launched  his  financial  boat  into  the  oil 
sea  of  Scott  township,  Sandusky  county. 
At  first  he  struck  a  "sand  bar,"  or,  as 
the  oilers  call  it,  a  "dry  hole."  Not 
discouraged,  however,  he  continued  his 
work  and  went  into  Wood  county,  Ohio, 
W'here  he  leased  forty  acres  of  land,  and 
finished  his  first  well  February  29,  1892. 
Formerly  he  had  a  partner,  but  he  bought 
his  interest,  and  now  owns  and  operates 
the  field  himself.  Mr.  Bowe  has,  at  this 
writing,  eight  wells  in  operation,  which 
at  first  produced  100  barrels  each  per 
day,  and  now  produce  eight  barrels  each 
daily,  or  si,\ty-four  barrels  in  all,  worth 
eighty  cents  per  barrel — making  an  income 
of  over  $50  per  day.  The  e.xpense  of  oper- 
ating is  small,  there  being  only  one  man 
in  charge  of  all  the  wells.  He  also  has  a 
lease  in  Sandusky  county  of  thirty-five 
acres,  on  which  two  wells  have  been  made 
and  two  more  are  to  be  drilled.  Mr. 
Bowe  is  a  thorough  business  man,  and  like 
all  his  brothers  is  a  highly  esteemed  citi- 
zen.     Politically  he  is  a  Democrat. 

George  Bowe,  Sr. ,  the  father  of  our 
subject,  was  born  in  1802  in  France,  and 
came  to  America  in  1832,  settling  in  New 
York  State,  near  Buffalo,  where  he  re- 
mained three  years;  thence  he  came  to 
Ohio,  where,  in  Scott  township,  San- 
dusky county,  he  entered  210  acres  of 
land,  one-half  for  his  sister  and  the  bal- 
ance for  himself.  In  the  winter  of 
1834-35  he  married  Catherine  Wegstcin, 
who  was  born  in  Baden,  Germany,  daugh- 
ter of  Michael  Wegstein.  To  them  were 
born  ten  children,  three  of  whom  died 
in  infancy,  and  the  others  are  George, 
Jacob,  Frederick,  Henry,  Michael  J., 
David  and  Mary  C.  Fred  and  Mary 
died  some  time  ago;  the  others  are  yet 
living.  Mr.  Bowe  was  an  old  pioneer  of 
Scott  township.  He  at  one  time  owned 
over  600  acres  of  land,  which  he  divided 
among  his  children,  thus  giving  each    a 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRArUWAL  liEVOUD. 


813 


start  in  life,  from  which  they  have  stead- 
ily advanced,  and  become  well-to-do  men, 
highly  respected  by  all  who  know  them. 
He  died  June  3,  1872,  and  his  wife,  the 
mother  of  our  subject,  died  July  9,  1891, 
and  was  buried  in  Bradner  cemetery. 

The  maternal  grandfather,  Michael 
Wegstein,  was  born  about  1779,  in  Baden, 
Germany,  where  he  was  married.  In 
1S32  he  started  for  America,  and  during 
the  voyage  his  wife  died  and  was  buried 
in  mid-ocean.  In  his  family  were  six 
children,  of  whom  only  two  are  living, 
George  and  Mrs.  Jacob  Faler,  of  Fremont. 
One  son,  Capt.  Michael  Wegstein,  of 
Company  H,  Seventy-second  O.  V.  I., 
was  killed  in  the  battle  of  Shiloh.  Sarah, 
Mrs.  Dipman,died  in  Fremont  about  i860. 
Mary  A.  Grund,  of  Fremont,  died  Octo- 
ber 3,   1892. 

Mrs.  Rachel  Bowe,  wife  of  Michael 
Bowe,  is  a  sister  of  Mrs.  George  Bowe. 
She  was  born  August  9,  1846,  in  Mont- 
gomery township.  Wood  county,  remain- 
ing with  her  parents  until  her  marriage, 
which  has  been  blessed  with  eight  chil- 
dren: Frank  E.,born  March  10,  1867,  who 
now  resides  in  California;  Alfred  G.,  born 
January  9,  1869,  who  died  April  23,  1880; 
Michael  B.,  born  June  14,  1871;  Henry 
J.,  born  December  16,  1873;  Lewis  D., 
born  May  5,  1875;  Lillie,  born  April  28, 
1877;  Jessie,  born  March  12,  1879,  and 
Harry,  born  July  19,   1886. 

As  already  stated,  Mrs.  Bowe  is  a 
daughter  of  Michael  and  Leah  (Buchtel) 
Bordncr,  the  former  of  whom  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania  February  28,  18 12,  the 
latter  born  about  1815.  They  were  mar- 
ried December  11,  1834.  To  their  mar- 
riage came  eight  children:  Henry,  born 
September  9,  1836;  Mary,  born  October 
II,  1838;  Lucy,  born  January  25,  1841, 
died  September  24,  1894;  Calvin,  born 
April  30,  1843,  died  July  28,  1862;  Rachel, 
A.,  born  August  9,  1846;  Ellen,  born, 
September  14,  1848;  Alfred,  born  Jan- 
uary 28,  1851;  Sarah,  born  November  24, 
1855,  fiveof  whom  are  now  living.     Henry 


and  Calvin  died  in  the  army  during  the 
Civil  war.  The  mother  of  these  died  in 
1859  and  was  buried  in  Bradner  cemetery. 
In  1862  Mr.  Bordiier  married  for  his  sec- 
ond wife  Polly  Yohe,  of  Indiana,  who 
died  in  1881.  The  paternal  grandfather 
of  Mrs.  Bowe  was  Peter  Bordner,  who 
was  born  in  Pennsylvania  about  the  year 
1776;  his  wife,  Catherine  Cotherman,  was 
born  in  1770.  They  had  nine  children, 
Michael  Bordner  being  the  only  one  now 
living.  His  father  died  in  18 16  and  his 
mother  in  1866.  Mrs.  Bowe's  maternal 
grandfather,  Henry  Buchtel,  was  born  in 
1790  and  died  in  I  875  ;  his  wife,  Eii;jabeth 
Ayers,  was  a  year  younger  than  her  hus- 
band, and  died  in  1850.  They  had  fifteen 
children,  two  sons  and  thirteen  daughters. 


FRANKLIN  STOKES,  one  of  the 
successful  farmers  of  Riley  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  was  born 
June  4,  1864,  and  is  a  son  of 
Jacob  and  Sarah  (Steffir)  Stokes,  who 
were  married  in  Riley  township,  and  lived 
there  for  a  short  time.  Soon  after  their 
marriage  Jacob  Stokes,  with  his  wife, 
moved  to  Rice  township,  Sandusky  coun- 
ty, and  bought  eighty  acres  of  land. 
Later  he  moved  back  to  Riley  township, 
and  in  the  year  1875  bought  ninety-seven 
acres  there.  They  had  si.x  children,  as 
follows:  John  married  Jennie  Axton, 
and  they  have  had  six  children  (they  live 
in  Riley  township);  Samantha  married 
James  Gilbert,  and  they  have  had  four 
children  (they  live  in  Clyde,  Ohio);  An- 
drew married  Josephine  Bonman,  and 
they  have  had  four  children  (they  live  in 
Riley  township);  Ella  married  D.  Griggs, 
and  they  have  had  four  children  (they 
live  near  Clyde,  Ohio);  Franklin  is  the 
subject  of  this  sketch;  and  Elmer  married 
Hannah  HufTley,  and  they  have  had  two 
children  (they  live  in  Riley  township). 

Our  subject  was  reared  to  habits  of  in- 
dustry and  economy,  and  worked  for  his 
father  until  he   was   married.     On  Sep- 


814 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


tember  4,  1886,  in  Clj'de,  Sandusky  Co., 
Ohio,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Clara  Smith,  and  they  then  settled  in  Riley 
township.  They  have  one  child,  Crelo, 
who  was  born  March  28,  1891.  Mr. 
Stokes  has  thus  made  his  beginning  in  life 
on  the  solid  basis  of  general  farming,  not 
venturing  his  labor  on  one  product  alone, 
or  in  any  one  exclusive  department  of 
farming.  So  if  one  undertaking  fails 
tlirough  adverse  causes,  if  the  market  is 
overstocked  with  any  one  product  or  falls 
below  a  profit-giving  figure,  then  some 
other  way  may  pay  well  and  keep  up  the 
receipts  to  a  living  standard.  Politically, 
Mr.  Stokes  is  a  Democrat. 


JOHN  A.  KING,  one  of  the  prosper- 
ous farmers  of  Green  Creek  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  was  born  in 
Union  county,  Penn.,  July  3,  1837, 
the  son  of  John  and  Margaret  (I)crman) 
King.  His  great-grandfather  was  an  emi- 
grant from  England,  who  settled  in 
Juniata  county,  Penn.,  where  his  son 
James  was  born,  married,  and  lived  many 
years,  afterward  removing  to  Union 
county. 

John  King,  his  son,  the  father  of  John 
A.,  was  born  in  Juniata  county.  He 
lived  for  a  time  in  Snyder  county,  then 
moved  to  Union  county,  where  he  mar- 
ried Mrs.  Margaret  Tibbins,  ncc  Derman, 
and  where  he  worked  in  the  mines  and 
on  the  farm  until  his  death.  In  religious 
faith  he  was  a  member  of  the  M.  E. 
Church,  and  in  politics  a  Democrat. 
The  five  children  of  John  and  Margaret 
King  were  as  follows:  Joseph  and  An- 
drew (twins),  the  former  a  blacksmith  at 
Bellevue,  Ohio,  the  latter  a  resident  of 
Center  county,  Penn. ;  James,  who  served 
four  years  in  a  Pennsylvania  regiment 
during  the  war,  and  was  killed  in  a  steam 
sawmill  accident  in  Pennsylvania;  John 
A.,  subject  of  this  sketch;  Hannah  M., 
now    Mrs.    Aaron    Waller,    of    Bellevue. 


Her  first  husband,  a  Mr.  Myers,  was 
killed  in  the  Civil  war.  Both  the  parents 
of  these  five  children  had  been  previously 
married.  By  his  first  marriage  John 
King  had  two  children:  Amos,  who 
served  in  the  army  during  the  Civil  war 
and  died  about  two  years  ago,  and 
Emma,  now  Mrs.  Stittler,  of  Clinton 
county,  Penn.  By  her  first  husband 
Mrs.  King  had  five  children:  Samuel, 
John,  Levi,  William  and  Eliza.  Her 
father  had  been  a  soldier  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary war. 

The  boyhood  of  John  A.  King  was 
spent  in  Union  countj',  Penn.,  where  he 
attended  the  district  schools.  He  learned 
the  blacksmith  trade,  and  in  1859  came 
to  Ohio,  settling  in  Bellevue,  where  for 
nearly  twenty  years  he  worked  steadily 
at  his  trade.  About  1879  Mr.  King 
came  to  a  farm  in  York  tojvnship,  San- 
dusky count}'.  He  engaged  successfully 
in  agricultural  pursuits  for  five  j'ears,  and 
during  this  time  he  also  traveled.  For 
several  years  he  went  on  the  road,  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  State,  as  a  salesman 
of  farming  implements  and  washing  ma- 
chines, for  Mr.  Ranford,  of  Norwalk,  and 
Mr.  Southland,  of  Clyde.  He  then 
commenced  business  for  himself,  selling 
brackets,  stationery.etc,  traveling  through 
to  Van  Buren  count}',  Mich.  He  was 
there  for  a  part  of  two  seasons,  and  was 
quite  successful.  Mr.  King  then  moved 
from  his  farm  of  eighty  acres,  which  he 
still  owns,  to  a  seven-acre  tract  at  Clyde, 
where  he  now  lives.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  A.  P.  A.,  and  his  party  affiliations 
are  not  strong;  in  exercising  the  ballot 
he  is  quite  independent,  and  at  present 
rather  favors  a  third  party  movement. 
Mr.  King  married  Miss  Mary  .\nn  Diment, 
a  native  of  England,  and  has  three  chil- 
dren: Louisa,  wife  of  Allen  G.  Winnil; 
Hannah  M.,  wife  of  James  Vickery,  of 
York  township,  and  Minnie.  Mr.  King 
is  a  prosperous  citizen  of  Sandusky,  his 
success  being  due  solely  to  his  own  en- 
ergy and  business  ability. 


COMMHMOHATIVK  BlOOUAl'IIlUAh  UKCOKD. 


S15 


JOHN    G.     FISHER,    a    substantial 
fanner  of  Riley  township,  Sandusky 
county,  was  born  in  Austria  Septem- 
ber 15,  1849,  and  is  a  son  of   Nick 
and  Anna  (Geigcr)  Fisher,  who  were  both 
also  born  in  Austria. 

Nicholas  Fisher  was  born  September 
28,  1816;  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Anna  Geij;er  in  1840;  came  to  this  coun- 
try in  1853,  and  settled  in  Washington 
township, Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  and  bought 
a  farm.  They  had  nine  children,  namely: 
Rosie,  Sophia,  May,  Catherine,  Barbara, 
Anna.  Ilattie,  Gebhardt  and  John  G. 

Jdhii  G.  Fisher  had  a  common-school 
education,  and  for   some  time  before  his 
marriage    was    living    in    Fremont,    San- 
dusky county,  where  he  had  a  house  and 
lot,  and  worked  by  the  day.      Selling  the 
house  and  lot  in  Fremont,  he  was  united 
in  marriage,  October  26,  1876,  with  Vic- 
toria Borer,  who  was  born  June  4,  1856. 
They  had  a  family  of  seven  children,  their 
names  and  dates  of  birth  being  as  follows 
George  F. ,  December  30,  1877;  Mary  I. 
February  20,  1879,  died  March  23,  1888 
Joseph,    July    26,     1880;    Elizabeth    M. 
April  18,  1 88^3;  Frank  D.,  August  2,  1885 
Herman,    October   3,   1888;    and  Albert 
October  7,  1892.     After  his  marriage  Mr 
Fisher  moved  to  Green  Creek  township 
Sandusky  county,    and    bought   fifty-four 
acres  of  land.      Selling  this,  he  moved  to 
Riley  township,  and  bought  104  acres,  for 
which   he    paid    $4,600.00,  and   in    1890 
built  a  new  house.      He  carries  on  general 
farming,  and  makes  a  specialty  of  raising 
fine  horses.      He   is  a   Democrat  in  poli- 
tics, and   has   been   honored  with  public 
office,    having    been    school    director    for 
five  years.      In  religious  affiliation  he  is  a 
Catholic. 


M 


RS.    MARY  ARNOLD,   a  most 
estimable  lady,  now  residing  in 
Washington   township,  Sandus- 
ky county,  was  one  of  a  family  of 
eight  children  born  to  William  and  Marie 


(Hoke)  Hay.  The  parents  were  both 
born  in  Adams  county,  Pcnn.,  the  father 
May  30,  18 1 9,  and  the  mother  January 
29,  1822.  In  the  year  1863  they  settled 
in  Ohio,  taking  up  their  residence  in 
Wayne  county,  where  they  spent  their 
remaining  days. 

Mrs.  Arnold  was  reared  in  her  parents' 
home,  becoming  familiar  with  the  duties 
of  the  household  under  the  careful  in- 
struction and  guidance  of  her  mother.  Af- 
ter she  had  arrived  at  years  of  maturity 
she  gave  her  hand  in  marriage  to  Peter  Ar- 
nold, son  of  Joseph  and  Susanna  (Fleck- 
ner)  Arnold,  who  were  natives  of  the  Key- 
stone State  and  came  to  Ohio  in  1814, 
casting  in  their  lot  with  the  early  settlers 
of  Wayne  county.  Their  family  numbered 
eleven  children,  seven  sons  and  four 
daughters,  but  only  three  of  the  number 
are  living  at  the  time  of  this  writ- 
ing (1895). 

Peter  Arnold  was  reared  ujjon  his 
father's  farm  anti  started  out  in  life  for 
himself  by  working  as  a  farm  hand,  being 
thus  employed  until  his  marriage.  In 
1863  he  left  his  old  home  and  removed  to 
Sandusky  county,  locating  in  Washington 
township,  where  he  purchased  the  forty 
acres  of  land  upon  which  his  widow  now 
resides.  With  characteristic  energy  he 
began  its  development,  and  soon  it  was 
all  placed  under  the  plow,  and  made  to 
yield  to  him  a  golden  tribute  in  return  for 
the  care  and  cultivation  he  bestowed 
upon  it.  He  made  good  improvements 
and  all  was  neat  and  thrifty  in  appear- 
ance, and  the  owner  was  recognized  as 
one  of  the  leading  agriculturists  of  the 
community. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Arnold  was 
a  Democrat,  but  had  no  time  nor  inclina- 
tion for  public  office.  In  religi<^us  belief 
he  was  a  Methodist,  and  his  life  was  in 
harmony  with  his  professions.  His  death 
occurred  June  30,  1889,  and  all  who 
knew  him  mourned  his  departure,  for  he 
was  a  good  citizen,  a  faithful  fricntl  and 
a  devoted  husband  and  father.      Mrs.  Ar- 


81G 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPUWAL  RECORD. 


nold  still  resides  upon  the  old  home  place, 
which  was  left  her  by  her  husband,  and  is  a 
lady  held  in  high  regard  by  a  large  circle 
of  friends  and  acquaintances.  She  has 
reared  a  large  family  of  children,  but 
only  one,  Viola,  is  now  at  home  with  her. 


JOHN  BINKLEY.  farmer,  Jackson 
township,  Sandusky  county,  was  born 
December  23,  1835,  «!  son  of  John 
Binkley,  Sen.,  a  farmer  from  Penn- 
sylvania, who  moved  in  pioneer  days  to 
Perry  county,  Ohio,  bought  160  acres  of 
land  and  lived  there  until  his  death  from 
apoplexy,  in  1878.  Our  subject's  mother 
was  Mary  (Fisher)  Binkley,  born  October 
15,  1800,  and  her  children  were:  (i) 
Michael,  born  in  April,  18 19,  who  mar- 
ried Anna  Albert,  and  had  four  children. 
(2)  Melanction  T. ,  who  married  George 
Bixicr,  and  had  one  child  that  died  in 
childhood.  (3)  Charles,  who  married 
Annie  Pressler,  and  whose  children  were 
Nettie,  Clarence,  Mary,  Jennie,  Annie, 
Irving,  Carl,  and  an  infant.  Charles 
Binkley  was  a  soldier  of  the  Civil  war  in 
Company  K,  One  Hundredth  Regiment, 
O.  V.  I.,  served  three  years,  was  in  the 
battles  of  Limestone  Station,  Atlanta, 
etc.,  was  wounded  in  the  right  leg  and 
laid  up  for  si.\  months,  unfit  for  duty,  was 
in  Libby  prison  a  short  time,  and  after 
his  release  returned  to  Fremont.  He  is 
a  farmer,  a  Republican  and  a  member  of 
the  U.  B.  Church.  (4)  Tena,  married 
George  Bi.xler  (a  soldier  of  the  Civil  war, 
a  Republican  and  a  member  of  the  Re- 
formed Church),  by  whom  she  had  five 
children;  she  died  in  1889.  (5)  Mary 
Ann  married  John  Surbate  (a  merchant  of 
Clyde,  Ohio,  a  Republican  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Reformed  Church),  by  whom 
she  had  three  children;  she  died  in  1884. 
(6)  Samuel,  born  October  18,  1821,  who 
married  Tena  Albert,  whose  children  are 
— Ramanas,  Amos,  Mary  and  Tena.  (7) 
Lydia,  wife  of  Daniel  Albert,  born  July  8, 
1824,  who  had  twelve  children — George 


(who  married  Sarah  Coe),  Stella,  Jeffer- 
son, Lillie,  James,  Claydie,  Jennie  and 
five  that  are  dead.  (8)  Link,  who  mar- 
ried Hannah  Reed,  and  whose  children 
were — Ida,  Tillie,  Susie,  Alice,  Isadore, 
Emma,  Francis,  and  four  that  are  dead. 
(9)  Peter,  who  married  Jane  Rider,  and 
had  a  family  of  twelve  children.  (10) 
Mary,  who  married  J.  Grut,  and  had  nine 
children,  (i  i)  Annie,  wife  of  Peter  Bink- 
ley, who  had  eight  children,  two  of  whom 
are  dead.  (12)  Charles,  who  married 
Kate  Macklin,  and  was  blessed  with  five 
children.  (13)  Ellen,  who  married  Mich- 
ael Binkley,  and  had  eight  children.  Mar- 
garete,  who  married  L.  Carr,  and  whose 
first  two  children — Commodore  and  Amor- 
etta — were  twins,  and  the  others  being 
Mary,  William,  John,  Caroline,  Adelina, 
and  Elmer,  who  was  killed  in  a  railroad 
accident  in  1876.  Matilda,  married  Solo- 
mon Bauman,  whose  children  are — John, 
Katie,  Betsey,  and  Lydia;  Mrs.  Bauman 
died  in  1869,  and  Mr.  Bauman  in  1871. 
Christian  married  Lavina  Kessler,  lives 
near  Holt,  Mich.,  and  has  six  children. 
Aaron  married  Mar}-  Henscl,  who  died 
leaving  five  children,  after  which  he  mar- 
ried Alice  Potter,  by  whom  he  had  six 
children,  living  in  Ottawa  county,  Ohio. 
Hannah  married  Martin  Staincr,  and 
their  children  are— Edward,  John,  Levi, 
Cora  and  Ellen;  he  died  in  the  army,  of 
fever,  and  was  buried  near  Washington, 
D.  C.  Sarah,  who  married  John  Downie, 
a  soldier  of  the  Civil  war,  who  died  at 
Washington,  D.  C. ;  they  had  five  chil- 
daen;  she  died  in  1865.  Holly,  who  mar- 
ried Lewis  Hawk,  a  soldier  of  the  Civil 
war,  who  died  in  Washington,  D.  C,  in 
1865,  leaving  three  children — Charlie, 
Sherman  and  Fred;  Mrs.  Hawk  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Reformed  Church,  and  lives 
near  Fremont,  Ohio. 

Our  subject,  John  Binkley,  was  mar- 
ried at  Fremont,  December  23,  1887,  to 
Miss  Christena  Hensel,  the  Rev.  Heller 
performing  the  marriage  service.  She 
was  born  September   17,  1841,  and   died 


COMMKMOliATIVE  BIOQRAl'UWAL  RECORD. 


817 


Aiifjust  20,  18 — ,  leaving  eight  children, 
vi;;. :  (1)  Jane  S.,  born  March  14,  1859, 
and  died  at  the  age  of  three  years.  (2) 
May  A.,  born  Februarj-  25,  1862,  wife  of 
John  Barnes,  railroad  agent  (they  have 
one  child,  Lulu).  (3)  James  A.,  born 
April  20,  1S65,  who  married  Sarah  Car- 
ter, whose  children  were — Grace,  that 
died,  and  Fred,  who  is  clerk  in  a  store  at 
\\'or.stville,  Paulding  county.  (4)  Effie 
I.,  born  June  28,  1867,  wife  of  William 
Carter,  married  June  6,  1888.  (5)  Ella 
A.,  born  July  25,  1869,  wife  of  John 
Warren,  married  in  the  spring  of  1894. 
(6j  Clara  A.,  born  November  8,  1872,  wife 
of  J.  Hardin,  married  in  1892.  (7) 
Vcnia  M.,born  November  15,  1878,  who 
attended  school  in  Cleveland  (Ohioj  and 
Peoria  (111.).  (8)  John  S.,  born  May  19, 
1 88 1.  On  June  6,  1886,  John  Binkley 
married  his  second  wife,  Mrs.  Barbara 
Dost;  she  had  two  children — Willie,  born 
April  8,  1878,  died  April  2,  1888;  and 
Maud,  born  May  19,  1880. 

Our  subject  has  an  honorable  war 
record.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war, 
in  1 86 1,  he  enlisted  in  Company  K,  One 
Hundredth  Regiment,  O.  \.  I.,  and  went 
with  his  command  from  Toledo  to  Cin- 
cinnati, crossed  the  Ohio  river,  met  the 
enemy,  routed  them,  marched  to  Cum- 
berland Gap,  drove  them  to  Knoxvillc  and 
took  possession  of  the  town.  After  they 
besieged  the  place  the  enemy  made  an 
attack  on  one  of  their  best  forts.  After 
the  battle  the  enemy  lay  dead  and  wound- 
ed three  deep.  The}'  retreated  toward 
Virginia,  and  the  same  night  snow  fell  to 
the  depth  of  three  inches,  and  their  men 
being  barefooted  were  obliged  to  remain 
in  camp,  and  there  were  about  1,500  cap- 
tured. After  lying  in  eamp  until  April  i, 
1863,  they  started  for  the  Georgia  cam- 
paign. After  Atlanta  was  taken  Gen. 
Sherman  divided  his  troops,  a  part  going 
on  to  the  sea  and  the  rest  remaining  to 
protect  his  rear.  The  enemy  finding  they 
could  do  nothing  with  Serman's  main 
army,   attacked    the    forces   in   the  rear. 


After  long  and  hard  fighting  with  doubtful 
results,  the  Union  forces  received  rein- 
forcements from  Gen.  Thomas  at  Nash- 
ville, and  the  tide  of  victory  turned  on  the 
side  of  the  Union.  After  peace  was  de- 
clared our  subject  returned  to  his  wife 
and  children  in  Sandusky  county,  and  re- 
sumed farming.  Himself  and  family  are 
members  of  the  U.  B.  Church. 


PETER  BAKER.  The  German 
Fatherland  has  furnished  thous- 
ands of  immigrants  to  America, 
whose  habits  of  industry,  economy 
and  thrift  have  made  them  model  farmers 
and  mechanics,  and  level-headed  citizens. 
Generally,  they  are  not  afraid  of  hard 
work,  plain  food  or  coarse  clothing,  and 
usually  make  an  honest  living,  pay  their 
debts  if  they  make  any,  and  lay  up  some- 
thing for  a  rainy  day.  As  such  an  one 
we  present  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

Peter  Baker,  farmer,  Ballville  town- 
ship, was  born  in  Germany,  May  6,  1853, 
a  son  of  Peter,  Sr. ,  and  Christena  (Mat- 
tie)  Baker,  whose  children  were:  Chris- 
tian, who  married  Minnie  Brinkman,  and 
had  two  children;  Peter,  our  subject;  and 
Christina,  wife  of  Martin  Gcssner,  a  farm- 
er, of  I^iley  township  (they  have  two  chil- 
dren). The  father  of  our  subject  was  a 
soldier  in  Germany  for  seven  years,  and 
a  police  officer  some  fourteen  years.  He 
emigrated  to  America,  and  settled  in 
Seneca  county,  Ohio,  where  he  bought 
forty  acres  of  land,  and  lived  there  until 
his  death. 

Our  subject,  having  remained  with  his 
parents  until  his  twenty-third  year,  and 
saved  his  earnings,  married  Miss  Lucy 
Miller,  of  Riley  township,  and  entered 
upon  life  on  his  own  account.  Mrs.  Mil- 
ler was  born  August  18,  1858.  The 
names  and  dates  of  birth  of  their  children 
are  Charles  P.,  July  16,  1879;  Clara  E., 
May  31,  1 881;  George  C,  March  26, 
1884;  Anna  M.,  June  18,  1886;  and 
William  L.,  September   12,  1891.      Our 


818 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


subject  earned  his  money  when  a  young 
man  by  working  by  the  day.  After  mar- 
riage he  rented  a  farm  for  two  years  on 
shares.  In  1881  he  bought  forty  acres  of 
land  for  $4,000,  and  in  1893  built  a  new 
barn  at  a  cost  of  $500.  He  follows  gene- 
ral farming,  and  raises  some  fine  Jersey 
cattle.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and 
a  member  of  the  Lutheran  Church.  Mr. 
Baker  takes  an  active  interest  in  educa- 
tional matters  in  his  neighborhood. 


H1:NRY  H.  ALMROTH.  postmas- 
ter and  proprietor  of  general  store 
at  Elliston,  is  one  of  the  best 
known  young  men  of  Benton 
township  and  vicinity,  and  is  recognized 
by  his  wide  circle  of  acquaintances 
throughout  Ottawa  county  as  a  most  able 
and  progressive  business  man,  and  a  val- 
uable citizen. 

He  is  a  native  of  Benton  township, 
born  September  28,  1865,  on  a  farm  near 
Elliston,  son  of  Peter  and  Anna  (Kurth) 
Almroth,  who  were  among  the  earliest 
pioneers  of  the  township.  Peter  Almroth 
was  born  in  Germany,  in  1831,  served 
three  years  in  the  army  of  his  native 
land,  and  about  i860  came  to  this  coun- 
try, sojourning  temporarily  in  Lorain 
county,  Ohio,  where  he  remained  about 
one  year.  He  then  came  to  Benton  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county,  at  a  time  when  the 
entire  region  was  a  wilderness,  not  even 
a  road  crossing  the  township.  He  settled 
near  what  is  now  Elliston,  where  he  still 
lives,  and  bought  forty  acres  of  land,  his 
wife  paying  down  one  dollar  to  bind  the 
bargain,  the  dollar  being  a  silver  pocket 
piece  she  had  brought  all  the  way  from 
New  York.  By  hard  labor  they  paid  for 
their  land,  also  purchasing  an  additional 
one  hundred  acres,  besides  which  they 
built  a  fine  house  and  barns,  together  with 
the  other  necessary  outbuildings.  The 
farm  is  now  considered  one  of  the  finest 
in  Benton  township,  and  its  appearance 
and  fertility  speak  volumes  for  those  who, 


by  their  economy  and  hard  labor,  brought 
it  to  this  state  by  their  own  hands.  To 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Almroth  were  born  eleven 
children — eight  sons  and  three  daughters 
— si.x  sons  and  two  daughters  still  living 
and  residing  in  Ohio.  Mrs.  Almroth  died 
June   19,  1895. 

Henry  H.  Almroth  spent  his  boyhood 
days  on  his  father's  farm,  and  received  a 
liberal  education  in  the  public  schools  of 
Trowbridge,  completing  the  course  at  the 
age  of  fourteen.  Commencing  life  for  him- 
self, he  now  engaged  as  clerk  in  the  gen- 
eral store  of  Magee  &  Paffenbach,  of 
Elmore,  Ohio,  where  he  remained  four 
months.  After  two  months  of  illness  he 
again  took  up  clerking,  this  time  with  G. 
F.  Otten,  at  Elliston,  with  whom  he  con- 
tinued seven  years,  without  the  loss  of 
even  a  day.  Mr.  Almroth  then  spent  one 
summer  at  home  on  his  father's  farm, 
where  he  fully  recuperated  his  somewhat 
impaired  health,  aft-erward  entering  the 
store  of  Mr.  O'Neil,  of  Trowbridge, 
Ohia,  for  whom  he  clerked  one  year.  In 
February,  1887,  Mr.  Almroth  and  George 
Stick  opened  a  general  store  at  Elliston, 
conducting  same  in  partnership  for  eight 
years,  when  Mr.  Almroth  purchased  his 
partner's  interest,  and  is  now  sole  owner 
of  the  large  and  growing  business.  In 
addition  to  his  mercantile  business  Mr. 
Almroth  is  a  dealer  in  all  kinds  of  grain  — 
the  only  one  in  the  vicinity — buying  at 
Elliston,  Graytown,  Trowbridge,  and 
Limestone.  A  stock  company  has  just 
been  formed  at  Elliston  for  the  purpose 
of  drilling  for  oil  and  natural  gas,  Mr. 
Almroth  being  a  charter  member  of  the 
company,  and  also  its  secretary.  That 
his  business  ability  is  appreciated  by  his 
townsmen  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  they 
have  elected  him  to  the  office  of  township 
clerk  for  the  fourth  successive  term;  he 
has  also  been  postmaster  at  Elliston  for 
si.x  years,  the  only  Democratic  postmaster 
in  Ottawa  county  who  continued  in  office 
through  Harrison's  administration.  Mr. 
Almroth  is  now  enlarging  his  store  to  ac- 


COMMEMORA  7  IVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


819 


cominodate  his  trade  in  farm  machinerv, 
ill  which  branch  he  docs  a  Nourishing 
business.  In  fact,  he  is  one  of  those 
men  who  succeed  in  everytliing  they  un- 
dertake, but  there  is  no  mystery  sur- 
roundiiif;  his  success,  as  it  has  been  ac- 
comphshed  solely  by  the  exercise  of  his 
own  ability,  energy  and  unceasing  activity. 
On  March  20,  1890,  Mr.  Almroth  was 
married  to  Miss  Myra  Kirk  Baldwin,  of 
Elmore,  Ohio,  and  they  immediately  set- 
tled in  Elliston,  where  they  have  a  fine 
well-kept  home,  and  very  pleasant  sur- 
roundings. To  their  marriage  have  come 
two  children:  Ruth  Ann,  born  May  10, 
1892,  and  Thomas  Kirk,  born  December 
8,  1893.  Mrs.  Almroth  was  born  De- 
cember 2,  1867,  at  Elmore,  Ohio,  where 
she  received  a  liberal  education  in  the 
public  schools,  at  the  age  of  sixteen  tak- 
ing up  the  profession  of  teaching,  which 
she  followed  for  six  years.  She  is  the 
youngest  of  five  children — two  sons  and 
three  daughters — born  to  Thomas  and 
Sarah  (Kirk)  Baldwin,  of  Elmore,  the 
former  of  whom  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  Ohio,  June  17,  1832;  the  mother 
was  born  in  Maryland  June  7,  1832. 
They  were  married  March  16,  1854,  and 
the  greater  part  of  their  lives  has  been 
spent  in  Elmore,  where  they  yet  make 
their  home.  Mrs.  Henry  H.  Almroth  is 
a  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church  of  El- 
more, and  Mr.  Almroth,  in  religious  con- 
nection, is  a  member  of  the  Evangelical 
Church  of  Elliston.  Socially  he  is  a  K. 
of  P.,  and  in  political  faith  is  a  stanch 
Democrat. 


GW.  NEFF,  who  is  engaged  in 
farming  in  Washington  township, 
Sandusky  county,  is  numbered 
among  the  native  sons  of  that 
locality,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  San- 
dusky county,  April  21,  i860.  His  father 
was  born  November  13,  1813,  and  his 
mother  in  1830.  They  had  a  family  of 
four  children — Ellen,  wife  of  I.  Edwards, 


who  has  one  son,  William,  now  a  farmer 
in  Sandusky  township,  Sandusky  county; 
L.  W. ,  who  for  eighteen  years  has  been 
successfully  engaged  in  teaching  in  Ball- 
ville  and  Washington  townships  (he  is  a 
Democrat);  and  Mellisse,  born  in  1855, 
who  is  the  wife  of  C.  C.  Ludwig,  a  farm- 
er of  Allen  county,  Ohio,  by  whom  she 
has  four  children  (her  husband  is  a  sup- 
porter of  the  Democratic  party). 

Upon  the  home  farm  Mr.  Neff  spent 
the  days  of  his  boyhood  and  youth,  no 
event  of  special  importance  occurring  dur- 
ing that  period.  The  public  schools  of 
the  neighborhood  afforded  him  his  edu- 
cational privileges,  and  he  early  became 
familiar  with  the  duties  of  farm  life.  As 
a  companion  and  helpmeet  on  life's  jour- 
ney he  chose  Miss  Louisa  Lautz,  who  was 
born  August  8,  1 860,  and  is  the  daughter  of 
Simon  Lautz,  a  well-known  and  respected 
farmer  residing  in  Washington  township. 
Four  children  grace  the  union  of  our  sub- 
ject and  his  estimable  wife — Lottie,  Met- 
tle, Maud  and  Elmer — and  the  family 
circle  yet  remains  unbroken.  The  Neff 
household  is  the  abode  of  hospitality,  and 
its  members  occupy  an  enviable  position 
in  social  circles.  Our  subject  remained 
upon  the  old  home  farm  up  to  the  time 
of  his  marriage,  when  he  purchased  forty 
acres  of  land,  his  present  farm,  and  his 
care  and  labor  have  transformed  this  into 
a  richly  cultivated  tract.  He  is  enterpris- 
ing and  progressive,  and  upon  his  place 
are  seen  many  modern  improvements. 

Mr.  Neff  attended  Normal  school, 
and  in  addition  to  agricultural  pursuits  he 
has  been  engaged  in  school  teaching  for  a 
number  of  years.  In  1892  he  was  elected 
to  the  office  of  assessor  upon  the  Demo- 
cratic ticket,  and  filled  that  position  for 
two  years,  discharging  his  duties  with 
promptness  and  fidelity.  He  takes  an 
active  and  commendable  interest  in  every- 
thing pertaining  to  the  welfare  of  the 
community,  and  his  support  is  given  to  all 
worthy  enterprises  that  are  calculateil  to 
advance  the  general   welfare.      He  holds 


820 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOORAPniCAL   RECORD. 


membership  with  the  Lutheran  Church, 
and  tl:ose  who  know  him  have  for  him 
the  highest  regard. 


JOHN   A.    NEIDECKER,    proprietor 
of  an  extensive   furniture  establish- 
ment, and  funeral  director.  Port  Clin- 
ton,   Ottawa    county,    was    born  in 
Chicago,    111.,    May    25,    1859,   a   son  of 
Peter  and  Anna  A.  (Struve)  Neidecker. 

Grandfather  Neidecker  was  born  in 
Germany  in  1776,  and  died  in  1882;  his 
wife  was  born  in  1806,  and  died  Decem- 
ber 28,  1880.  Peter  Neidecker,  father  of 
our  subject,  was  born  in  Baden,  Germany, 
March  21,  1834,  and  at  the  age  of  four- 
teen accompanied  his  parents  to  the 
United  States,  they  settling  in  Erie  town- 
ship, Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio,  where  they 
passed  the  rest  of  their  honored  lives  in 
agricultural  pursuits.  Their  son,  Peter, 
received  a  portion  of  his  education  in  the 
Fatherland,  and  after  coming  to  Ottawa 
county  attended  the  common  schools  for 
a  time.  Removing  to  Chicago,  111.,  he 
there  made  his  home  till  1865,  in  w'hich 
year  he  returned  to  Ohio,  taking  up  his 
home  in  Port  Clinton,  where  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  he  engaged  in  a  coopering 
business,  which  he  conducted  in  that  vil- 
lage until  1872,  when  he  opened  out  an 
undertaking  and  furniture  establishment. 
In  this  line  he  continued  until  1876,  when 
he  retired  from  active  life.  In  the  city 
of  Chicago,  September  25,  1856,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Anna  A. 
Struve,  and  children  as  follows  were  born 
to  them:  Minnie,  wife  of  George  Smith, 
of  Cleveland;  George  William,  who  for 
si.x  years  was  a  printer,  and  is  now  a  phy- 
sician in  Brooklyn;  Frank,  who  when 
fourteen  years  of  age  commenced  in  the 
drug  business  at  Port  Clinton,  Ohio,  and 
is  now  a  resident  of  Cleveland;  Caroline, 
at  home;  and  John  A.,  subject  of  sketch. 
The  father  of  this  family  is  deceased;  the 
mother  is  living  in  Port  Clinton  with   her 


daughter   Caroline  and   two  little  grand- 
daughters— children  of  our  subject. 

John  A.  Neidecker  received  his  educa- 
tional training  at  the  schools  of  Port 
Clinton,  learned  the  furniture  and  under- 
taking business  with  his  father,  and  suc- 
ceeded to  the  same  at  the  latter's  death. 
For  a  time  he  was  in  the  recorder's  and 
probate  judge's  office,  and  in  1876  he  was 
appointed  probate  judge,  filling  that  posi- 
tion eight  months.  He  is  a  man  of  at- 
tractive appearance,  well  adapted  for  the 
management  of  his  lucrative  and  widely- 
expanding  business,  and  enjoys  an  envi- 
able popularity. 


SCOTT  STAHL,  junior  member  of 
the  well-known  firm  of  Finefrock 
&  Stahl,  attorneys  at  law,  Port 
Clinton,  Ottawa  county,  is  a  na- 
tive of  Ohio,  born  at  Marion,  Marion 
county,  December  23,  1866,  a  son  of 
Benjamin  F.  and  Elizabeth  (Finefrock) 
Stahl. 

Our  subject  received  his  elementary 
education  at  the  common  schools  of  his 
native  place,  remaining  there  until  he  had 
reached  his  fourteenth  year,  at  which 
time  the  family  removed  to  a  farm,  where 
he  learned  the  rural  lessons  of  industry 
and  perseverance  that  are  ever  the  ac- 
companiments of  a  successful  career.  At 
the  country  school  in  the  neighborhood 
of  his  father's  farm  he  continued  his 
studies,  after  which  he  taught  school  at 
Prospect,  Ohio,  preliminary  to  his  legal 
studies.  He  began  reading  law  in  the 
office  of  his  uncle,  Judge  T.  P.  Finefrock, 
of  Fremont,  Ohio,  and  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  December  3,  1891,  after  which  he 
located  in  Port  Clinton,  where  he  has 
built  up  an  enviable  practice,  and  is  held 
in  high  esteem  by  his  colleagues.  He  is 
a  young  man  of  liberal  views,  taking  a 
lively  interest  in  public  affairs.  A  stanch 
Democrat  in  his  political  predilections,  he 
was,  but  ten  weeks  after  locating  in  Port 
Clinton,  elected  to  the  office  of  city  so- 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPmCAL  RECORD. 


821 


licitor;  was  re-elected  at  the  close  of  the 
term  without  opposition,  and  is  at  pres- 
ent filling  the  incumbency  with  eminent 
ability. 

On  September  8,  1892,  Mr.  Stahl  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Grace  Dana, 
daughter  of  George  Dana,  one  of  the  sub- 
stantial citizens  of  Green  Creek  township, 
Sandusky  Co.,  Ohio,  and  one  child,  Kate 
E.,  has  blessed  their  union.  In  his  fra- 
ternal affiliations  Mr.  Stahl  is  a  member 
in  good  standing  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 


JOHN  KIRSCH,  who  owns  and  oper- 
ates a  good  farm  of  185  acres  in 
Washington  township,  Sandusky 
county,  is  a  native  of  Germany,  born 
June  13,  1835,  and  a  son  of  Nicholas  and 
Emma  (Vogel)  Kirsch.  The  father  was 
born  November  6,  1806,  and  by  occupa- 
tion was  a  farmer,  following  that  pursuit 
throughout  the  greater  part  of  his  life. 
In  1853  he  left  his  native  land,  and  with 
his  family  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  America, 
locating  in  the  Buckeye  State,  where  he 
and  his  wife  spent  their  remaining  days, 
her  death  occurring  in  1885,  his  in  1886. 
They  left  two  children,  Philip  and  John, 
the  former  of  whom  married  Anna  Ripper 
and  reared  a  family  of  seven  children 
upon  his  Ohio  farm;  they  are  as  follows: 
John;  Ralph;  Daniel,  who  married  Theresa 
Hatten,  by  whom  he  had  nine  children, 
and  follows  farming  in  Oregon;  Mary, 
widow  of  John  Hobbart,  who  died  leaving 
a  family  of  six  children;  Peter,  who  died 
in  childhood  in  Germany;  Jacob;  and 
Emma,  wife  of  John  Conrad,  who  is  liv- 
ing in  Wisconsin. 

John  Kirsch  was  reared  in  his  parent's 
home,  and  at  the  age  of  eighteen  came 
with  them  to  America,  since  which  time 
he  has  resided  continuously  in  Ohio. 
\\^hen  twenty  years  of  age  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Lena  Hobbart,  and 
to  their  union  were  born  si.x  children,  as 
follows:  John,  Peter,  Tillie  fnow  the 
wife  of  William  Usher,  by  whom  she  has  one 


child).  Josh,  Mary  (who  died  in  October, 
1869J,  and  Clay.  0;i  May  8,  1875.  the 
wife  and  mother  was  called  to  her  final 
rest,  and  her  death  was  deeply  mourned 
thoroughout  the  communitj-.  For  his 
second  wife  Mr.  Kirsch  chose  Mary  Hass, 
who  died  May  18,  1879.  For  his  third 
wife  he  married  Elizabeth  Nickles,  and 
by  this  union  were  born  six  children,  five 
of  whom  are  still  living,  namely:  Mary, 
Kittie,  Robbie,  Frankie  and  Nichols. 
One  child,  Frankie,  died  October  28, 
1893,  and  the  mother  passed  away  Febru- 
ary 8,  of  the  same  year.  • 

Mr.  Kirsch  came  to  Washington  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county,  in  1861,  and  a 
few  years  later  purchased  eighty  acres  of 
his  present  farm,  to  which  he  has  added 
from  time  to  time.  His  second  purchase 
made  him  the  possessor  of  one  hundred 
acres,  and  in  1883  he  extended  the  bound- 
aries of  his  farm  by  becoming  the  owner 
of  an  additional  tract  of  eighty-five  acres. 
He  thoroughly  understands  farming  in  all 
its  details,  his  land  is  highly  cultivated, 
and  his  place  is  well  improved  with  good 
buildings,  while  the  owner  ranks  among 
the  leading  agriculturists  of  the  commu- 
nity, with  which  he  has  now  been  identi- 
fied for  a  third  of  a  century.  He  exer- 
cises his  right  of  franchise  in  support  of 
the  Democratic  party,  and  in  religious 
belief  is  a  Catholic. 


his 


FS.  HELLER,  M.  D.,  a  successful 
medical  practitioner  of  Oak  Har- 
bor, Ottawa  county,  is  numbered 
among  the  native  sons  of  Ohio, 
th  having  occurred  in  Fremont, 
Sandusky  county,  November  29,  1863. 

Dr.  Heller  is  a  son  of  George  B.  and 
Rhoda  (Smith)  Heller,  the  former  of  whom 
was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  and  was  of 
German  ancestry,  while  the  latter  was 
born  in  Sandusky  county,  Ohio,  and  was 
of  Scotch  and  English  lineage.  For  many 
years  they  were  honored  residents  of  Port 
Clinton,  this    State,  and  the  father  effi- 


822 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


ciently  filled  the  office  of  auditor  of  Otta- 
wa county  for  six  3  ears.  Upon  his  retire- 
ment to  private  life  he  engaged  in  the 
boot  and  shoe  business  in  that  place  until 
1883,  when  he  removed  to  Oak  Harbor, 
and  embarked  in  the  lumber  business. 
He  and  his  estimable  wife  are  still  resi- 
dents of  this  place  and  are  popular  and 
highly  esteemed  members  of  the  commu- 
nity. Their  union  was  blessed  with  a 
family  of  four  children,  three  of  whom 
are  now  living,  namely:  Roland  F. ,  F. 
S.  and  Rufus  S. 

The  Doctor  obtained  his  primary  edu- 
cation in  the  public  schools  of  Port  Clin- 
ton, and  completed  his  literary  education 
by  a  collegiate  course  in  the  Ohio  Wes- 
leyan  College,  Delaware,  Ohio.  Wishing 
to  take  up  the  study  of  medicine  and 
make  its  practice  his  life  work  he  began 
reading  with  Dr.  M.  A.  Hughes,  of  Port 
Clinton,  with  whom  he  continued  for  a 
year,  and  in  1885  entered  the  Medical 
Department  of  the  University  of  Michi- 
gan at  Ann  Arbor,  where  he  took  a  three- 
years'  course,  graduating  in  the  class  of 
I  888.  On  leaving  that  school  he  at  once 
began  the  practice  of  his  chosen  calling, 
establishing  an  office  in  Oak  Harbor, 
where  he  has  remained  continuously  since. 
P'rom  the  beginning  he  has  enjoyed  a 
large  clientele,  and  now  has  a  very  exten- 
sive and  lucrative  practice,  which  attests 
his  skill  and  ability. 

In  Oak  Harbor,  in  November,  1892, 
was  celebrated  the  marriage  of  Dr.  Hel- 
ler and  Miss  E.  Gertrude  Metzger,  daugh- 
ter of  John  C.  and  Emma  Metzger.  One 
child  graces  their  union,  Louis  Welling- 
ton, who  was  born  Octobor  17,  1893. 
The  Doctor  and  his  wife  attend  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  are 
most  highly  esteemed  residents  of  Oak 
Harbor,  occupying  an  enviable  position  in 
social  circles.  Our  subject  is  a  member 
of  the  Northwestern  Medical  Society,  and 
the  Ohio  State  Medical  Society,  and  is 
also  a  member  of  and  medical  examiner 
for  Oak  Harbor  Lodge  No.  516,  K.  of  P., 


and  Oak  Harbor  I^odge  No.  226,  K.  O. 
T.  M.  He  also  belongs  to  Alpha  Chapter, 
Nu  Sigma  Nu  Fraternity,  of  Ann  Arbor, 
Mich.  In  his  political  views  he  is  a  stanch 
supporter  of  the  Democratic  party.  He 
is  a  deep  student  professionally,  keeping 
thoroughly  informed  on  everything  con- 
nected with  the  science  of  medicine,  and 
his  ability  is  acknowledged  both  by  the 
public  and  the  medical  fraternity. 


CONRAD  ALMROTH,  one  of  the 
popular  young  men  of  Benton 
township,  Ottawa  county,  and  one 
of  the  most  energetic  and  prosper- 
ous farmers  here,  is  the  son  of  Peter  and 
Anna  (Kurth)  Almroth,  and  was  born  Sep- 
tember 17,  1S70,  on  the  farm  where  he 
now  lives  in  Benton  township.  His  par- 
ents were  among  the  earliest  settlers  in 
Benton  township,  coming  here  when  it 
was  a  wilderness,  and,  by  hard  work  and 
the  assistance  of  faithful  children,  made 
one  of  the  finest  farms  in  the  county. 

Conrad  Almroth  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  of  Iilliston,  Benton  town- 
ship, and  completed  his  course  of  studies 
in  1886,  after  which  he  worked  on  the 
farm  for  his  father  until  1894,  since  which 
time  he  has  had  complete  charge  of  it. 
He  owns  the  stock  and  machinery,  and, 
with  the  assistance  of  one  man,  employed 
by  the  month,  works  about  180  acres  of 
land,  comprising  the  homestead.  Mr. 
Almroth  attends  strictly  to  business;  his 
farm  is  kept  in  fine  condition,  fences  in 
good  repair,  land  well  tilled,  and  all  the 
surroundings  give  evidence  of  a  skillful 
and  industrious  farmer.  His  yearlj'  out- 
put of  grain  averages:  Wheat,  sixtj' acres; 
oats,  twenty;  corn,  thirty;  and  hay  (cut), 
twenty-five  acres.  In  addition  to  the 
regular  work  of  the  farm,  Mr.  Almroth  is 
engaged  in  the  stock  business,  dealing  in 
cattle,  sheep,  and  hogs,  which  he  sells  to 
local  dealers.  Unlike  his  brothers,  Con- 
rad Almroth  has  not  yet  taken  unto  him- 
self a  wife.      His  sisters  Mary  (born  Feb- 


COMMEMORATIVE  JBIOORAPEICAL  RECORD. 


823 


ruary  4,  1876)  and  Kate  (born  June  5, 
1878)  are  at  home,  attending  to  the  house- 
work, while  he  manages  the  work  on  the 
farm. 

The  entire  family  are  musicians,  and 
are  well  known  and  in  demand  through- 
out the  vicinity  on  all  social  occasions. 
Conrad  Almroth  is  assistant  leader  of  the 
Elliston  Cornet  Band,  in  which  he  plays 
the  B-Hat  cornet.  He  has  a  tenor  voice, 
his  brother  Henry  sings  second  tenor, 
John  first  bass  and  George  second  bass. 
The  sisters  are  also  musicians,  and  there 
is  a  fine  quartet  in  the  family,  with  Mary 
for  soprano,  Kate  alto,  Conrad  tenor  and 
John  bass.  They  are  all  born  musicians, 
and  none  of  them  have  neglected  their 
talents  in  this  direction. 


DR.  L.  B.  MYERS,  retired  drug- 
gist, Fremont,  Sandusky  county, 
was  born  in  Lancaster  count}', 
Penn.,  July  4,  1825,  a  son  of 
David  and  Mary  N.  (Shively)  Myers,  who 
were  natives  of  Lancaster  county.  His 
mother's  father  came  from  Switzerland 
about  the  time  of  the  Reformation,  and 
his  paternal  grandfather  was  born  in  Lan- 
caster county,  of  German  descent.  Da- 
vid Myers,  father  of  our  subject,  was  a 
dealer  in  general  merchandise,  in  Lancas- 
ter, for  a  number  of  years,  after  which  he 
sold  out  and  moved  upon  a  farm  near 
Lewisburg,  in  Buffalo  Valley,  Union  Co. , 
Penn.  Here  he  followed  farming  until 
1828,  when  he  was  injured  by  the  kicking 
of  a  vicious  horse.  He  was  born  January 
16,  1788,  and  died  January  30,  1833. 
He  married  Mary  Ann  Shively,  who  was 
born  March  17.  1799,  and  died  Novem- 
ber 17,  1869.  Their  children  were:  Na- 
than, born  November  29,  18 16,  died  in 
1892;  Alpheus,  born  April  23,  1818,  died 
in  1887;  Matilda  (Fredericks),  born  Sep- 
tember 18,  1819;  Elizabeth,  born  May 
26,  1 82 1,  died  May  13,  1S45;  Abraham. 
born  September  27,  1822,  died  March  7, 
1848;  Susannah  (Brown),  born  February 

52 


26,  1824,  died  February  11,  1846;  Lewis 
B.,  born  July  4,  1825;  Ann  S.  (Spotts), 
born  February  17,  1827,  died  April  9, 
1862;  David,  Jr.,  born  March  20,  1830; 
Sarah  |.  (Dursham,  and  later  McSwartz), 
born  September  17,  1831,  died  1886; 
Henry  A.,  born  January  28,  1833,  died 
1886.  Of  the  si.\  sons,  four  were  physi- 
cians and  two  were  merchants.  One  son- 
in-law  was  a  physician.  All  grew  to  ma- 
turity, and  nearly  all  became  heads  of 
families.  Only  two  are  now  living:  Da- 
vid, at  Lewisburg,  Penn.;  and  Lewis  B., 
at  Fremont,  Ohio. 

Dr.  L.  B.  Myers,  our  subject,  spent 
his  childhood  in  Union  county,  Penn., 
and  his  mother  died  when  he  was  three 
years  old.  He  attended  school  a  few 
years  in  Lewisburg,  Penn.,  and  at  the 
age  of  fifteen  went  to  Fairfield  county, 
Ohio,  where  from  the  home  of  his  uncle, 
Adam  Sheafer,  he  attended  the  Williams 
Academy.  I^eturning  to  Pennsylvania, 
he  remained  there  to  teach  school  until 
he  was  eighteen  when  he  returned  to 
Ohio.  In  course  of  time  he  began  the  study 
medicine  at  Logansport,  Ind.,  in  company 
with  his  brother,  Abraham,  in  the  office 
of  his  brother  Dr.  Alpheus  Myers,  where 
he  studied  about  two  years.  On  the  re- 
moval of  Alpheus  to  Clarion,  Penn.,  his 
two  medical  students  followed  him  to 
continue  their  studies.  Abraham  soon 
after  died,  and  our  subject  narrowly 
escaped  death  from  typhoid  fever.  Having 
finished  his  medical  reading,  and  taught 
school  a  few  terms  among  the  Mennon- 
ites  where  he  acquired  a  practical  knowl- 
edge of  the  German  language,  he  went  to 
Union  county,  and  thence  to  Cincinnati, 
where  after  two  years  of  hard  study  he 
graduated  from  the  Eclectic  Medical  Col- 
lege. Here  he  attended  lectures  on  Homeo- 
pathy, and  later  read  extensively  standard 
works  on  the  Old-school  practice.  Return- 
ing to  Union  county  Penn.,  he  engaged  in 
the  practice  of  medicine,  and  the  preva- 
lence at  that  time  of  a  fatal  epidemic,  dys- 
entery, which  baffled  the  skill  of  the  home 


824 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGHAPHICAL  RECORD. 


physicians  gave  him  an  opportunity  to 
prove  his  superior  skill  in  the  treatment 
of  that  foe  of  childood.  He  had  such  re- 
markably good  success  that  his  reputa- 
tion was  firmly  established  in  a  few  short 
months.  Two  jears  later  he  was  induced 
by  his  brother  Alpheus  to  settle  in  Lo- 
gansport,  Ind.,  where  he  practiced  two 
years  with  good  success.  Intending  to 
remove  to  Pennsylvania,  he  got  as  far  as 
Massillon,  Ohio,  where  he  stopped  to 
visit,  and  remained  to  practice  about  five 
years  with  the  best  success  of  his  life.  In 
i860  he  removed  to  Elmore,  Ohio,  where 
he  engaged  in  the  drug  business.  During 
the  Civil  war  he  practiced  medicine  in 
the  country  around  Elmore.  About  the 
year  1S71  he  removed  to  Fremont,  Ohio, 
where  he  engaged  first  in  the  grocerj'  and 
later  in  the  drug  business.  He  bought 
out  the  drug  store  of  C.  F.  Reiff,  now 
owned  by  his  son.  He  took  in  his  son, 
Kell}',  first  as  assistant,  then  as  partner, 
and  later  sold  out  entirely  to  him,  and 
his  son  Jias  continued  the  business  ever 
since.  After  leaving  the  drug  business 
Dr.  Myers  gave  more  attention  to  the 
manufacture  of  rubber  goods,  by  the 
Myers  Manufacturing  Co.,  which  he  had 
previously  established,  and  of  which  he 
was  chief  proprietor  and  patentee.  In 
1S89  Dr.  Myers  suffered  from  a  stroke  of 
paralysis  which  rendered  him,  physically, 
unable  to  attend  to  business.  His  son 
Costa  R.  then  took  charge  of  the  busi- 
ness, and  has  conducted  it  ever  since  with 
good  success,  and  has  now  a  half  interest 
in  the  concern.  Dr.  Myers  and  wife  are 
members  of  the  Christian,  or  Disciple. 
Church  at  Elmore,  Ohio.  He  has  been 
a  Democrat  and  a  Republican  in  politics, 
and,  sociall)-,  he  is  a  member  of  the 
I.  O.  O.  F. 

The  children  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  L.  B. 
Myers  were:  Kelly  N.,  born  October  2, 
1855,  who  married  Lillie  B.  Ferguson 
F"ebruary  17,  1881;  David  Hammond, 
born  March  23,  1857,  deceased  in  in- 
fancy;   Laura    Ellen,    born    October    20, 


1859;  Lewis  Oscar,  born  December  30, 
1861;  Mary  Ann,  born  February  22, 
1865;  and  Costa  Rica,  born  June  27, 
1869,  a  sketch  of  whom  follows. 


CR.  MYERS,  one  of  the  proprie- 
tors of  the  Myers  Manufacturing 
Co.,  Fremont,  Sandusky  county, 
was  born  at  Elmore,  Ottawa  Co. , 
Ohio.  June  27,  1869,  a  son  of  Dr.  L.  B. 
and  Catharine  (Kelly)  Mj'ers. 

Dr.  L.  B.  Myers  was  born  in  Lancas- 
ter county,  Penn.,  and  was  reared  at 
Lewisburg,  Penn. ,  where  he  received  a 
literary  education  and  became  a  student 
of  medicine,  graduating  from  a  medical 
college  at  Philadelphia  (Penn.)  and  Cin- 
cinnati (Ohio).  After  practicing  at  Mas- 
sillon (Ohio),  Logansport  (Ind.),  and 
Lewisburg  (Penn.),  he  located,  about  the 
year  i860,  at  Elmore,  Ohio.  He  was  an 
eminent  practitioner  in  his  time,  but,  hav- 
ing an  especially  strong  inventive  mind,  he 
turned  ^is  attention  to  the  patenting  of 
articles  of  various  kinds.  .About  the  year 
1 87 1  he  located  in  Fremont,  where  he 
engaged  in  the  grocery  and  later  in  the 
drug  business,  after  having  bought  out 
the  firm  of  Curst  &  Thayer.  His  son.  Kelly 
N.  Myers,  was  associated  with  him,  first 
as  assistant,  and  then,  in  1882,  as  part- 
ner, and  together  the}-  built  up  a  success- 
ful trade.  In  the  spring  of  1887  the  Doc- 
tor sold  out  entirely  to  his  son  Kelly,  who 
has  conducted  the  drug  store  during  the 
past  eight  years. 

After  retiring  from  the  drug  store,  Dr. 
Myers  founded  and  established  the  Myers 
Manufacturing  Co.,  at  Fremont,  Ohio. 
He  was  the  first  man  to  get  out  a  patent 
rubber  tip  on  lead  pencils,  the  right  of 
which  he  sold  for  a  handsome  sum,  and 
he  also  invented  and  manufactured  a  pat- 
ent automatic  pencil,  a  patent  sling-shot, 
and  other  articles  which  have  been  sold 
all  over  the  country.  He  has  received 
patents   on  si.xteen   different  articles,  and 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


825 


his  mind  is  still  active  in  the  line  of  in- 
vention. 

In  1889  Dr.  Myers  suffered  a  stroke 
of  paralysis,  which  rendered  him  physi- 
cally unable  to  attend  to  business.  From 
that  time  his  son,  Costa  R. ,  was  manager, 
and  his  son,  L.  O.,  traveling  salesman, 
until  January  12,  1895,  when  they  be- 
came sole  proprietors  of  the  Myers  Manu- 
facturing Co.,  C.  R.  Myers  being  president 
and  treasurer,  and  L.  O.  Myers  secretary 
and  managing  salesman.  The  Doctor  and 
his  venerable  wife  are  members  of  the 
Disciple  Church,  at  Elmore,  Ohio.  In 
politics  he  has  been  both  a  Democrat  and 
a  Republican.  Socially  he  is  a  member 
of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  His  ancestry  was 
Pennsylvania-Dutch,  those  of  his  wife  being 
Irish  and  German.  Their  children  were: 
Kelly  N.,  born  October  2,  1855;  Dnvid 
H.,  born  March  23,  1857,  deceased  in  in- 
fancy; Laura  E.,  born  October  20,  1859; 
Lewis  Oscar,  born  December  30,  1S61; 
Mary  Ann,  born  February  22,  1865;  and 
Costa  R.,  our  subject,  born  June  27,  1869. 

C.  R.  Myers  received  his  education  in 
the  Fremont  public  schools,  and  in  the 
Eastern  States.  At  an  early  age  he 
learned  the  details  of  novelt}'  manufactur- 
ing, and  when  his  father  retired,  in  1889, 
he  succeeded  him  as  manager,  and  in 
1 895  as  proprietor.  The  concern  has  been 
established  for  more  than  fifteen  years,  and 
is  widely  known  for  its  production  of  im- 
proved rubber  goods  and  novelty  sundries. 
These  goods  are  handled  by  the  chief 
wholesale  and  retail  houses  of  the  United 
States,  and  are  sold  in  all  parts  of  the 
world.  Three  men  are  kept  on  the  road 
constantly;  the  business  amounted  to 
$75,000  last  year,  and  will  perhaps  run 
up  to  $200,000  during  the  current  fiscal 
year.  Our  subject  is  an  unassuming  man, 
one  who  attends  strictly  to  business, 
thoroughly  understanding  what  he  is 
about,  and  he  is  recognized  as  one  of  the 
pre-eminently  successful  business  men  of 
Fremont.  He  is  non-partisan  in  politics, 
but  of  Democratic  proclivities. 


Mr.  Myers  was  married  to  Miss  Mary 
Kennedy,  of  Sandusky  City,  Ohio,  and 
they  are  now  occupying  their  lovely  resi- 
dence at  the  corner  of  Washington  street 
and  McPherson  avenue.  The  house,  which 
is  a  noticeable  improvement  in  that  part 
of  the  town,  is  a  handsome  residence,  one 
of  the  finest  in  the  city,  constructed  with 
all  modern  conveniences,  and  the  interior 
finishings  and  furnishings  are  exquisite  in 
design  and  appointment. 


STEPHEN  J.  RYAN,  a  prosperous 
and    popular    merchant   tailor,    of 
Fremont,   Sandusky  county,   was 
born      December    25,      1857,     in 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  a  son  of  Patrick  H.  and 
Julia  (Peters)  Ryan. 

Patrick  H.  Ryan  was  born  in  Cashel, 
County  Tipperary,  Ireland,  in  181 1.  came 
to  America  in  1836,  and  located  in  New 
York  City,  where  he  followed  the  trade  of 
merchant  tailor,  to  which  he  had  served  an 
apprenticeship  of  seven  years  in  Dublin, 
Ireland.  He  worked  first  as  a  journey- 
man in  this  country,  later  going  into  busi- 
ness for  his  own  account.  In  1854  he 
came  to  Cleveland,  and  located  there 
permanently,  dying  in  1887.  He  was  a 
Roman  Catholic  in  religion,  and  a  Demo- 
crat in  politics.  His  wife,  Julia,  was  born 
in  the  same  part  of  Ireland,  in  1831,  and 
is  still  living  in  Cleveland.  Her  father, 
Stephen  Peters,  a  tailor  by  trade,  married 
Miss  Johanna  McGuire,  in  Tluirles,  Ire- 
land, where  each  had  been  born  and 
reared.  Stephen  Peters  was  an  only  son, 
and  it  is  not  known  whether  he  had  any 
sisters.  Johanna  McGuire  was  an  only 
daughter,  and  had  seven  brothers.  The 
mother  of  our  subject  was  one  of  three 
sons  and  four  daughters:  John,  Stephen, 
Patrick,  Bridget,  Julia,  Ellen  and  Johanna, 
Johanna  and  Bridget  being  now  deceased. 
Our  subject's  mother  came  to  New  York 
City  in  1848,  and  was  married  in  1850,  in 
St.    Vincent    De    Paul's    Church,     Canal 


826 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Street.  Her  sister  Ellen  was  married  in 
St.  James'  Church,  New  York  City,  to 
John  Walker.  Our  subject  is  one  of  five 
children:  William,  who  died  in  1872; 
Mary  Ann,  deceased  in  childhood;  John 
F. ,  a  merchant  tailor  in  San  Diego,  Cal., 
whither  he  had  gone  in  i<S8o;  Stephen  J.; 
and  Anna,  wife  of  Patrick  McGrath,  of 
Cleveland,  Ohio. 

Our  subject  grew  up  in  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  where  he  attended  St.  John's  Cathe- 
dral school,  and  received  a  good  English 
education.  In  the  fall  of  1869  he  left 
school,  and  served  at  the  trade  of  mer- 
chant tailor  with  his  father  until  1877, 
when  he  commenced  work  on  the  bench. 
Proceeding  to  New  York,  he  there  took  a 
course  in  the  art  of  cutting,  remaining 
there  two  and  a  half  years;  then  returned 
to  Cleveland,  from  which  city  he  went  to 
California  in  1884.  He  worked  on  the 
bench  in  San  Francisco  until  November 
2,  same  year,  when  he  returned  to  Ohio, 
and  located  in  Fremont  city,  as  a  cutter 
for  Dryfoos,  Bach  &  Co. ,  with  them  con- 
tinuing until  the  spring  of  1892,  at  which 
time  he  opened  his  present  business.  His 
excellent  work  and  honesty  in  dealing 
with  the  public  have  secured  for  him  a 
large  and  growing  trade.  As  a  cutter  and 
fitter  he  has  but  few  equals,  certainly  no 
superiors,  and  in  all  that  pertains  to  style 
in  clothing  he  is  always  up  with  the  times. 

S.  J.  Ryan  was  married  November  27, 
1879,  to  Miss  Catherine  Mayes,  who  was 
born  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  in  September, 
1 861,  and  their  children  were  William 
H.,  born  August  28,  1884,  died  Novem- 
ber 21,  1886;  Vincent  Earl,  born  in  1886; 
and  Marguerite,  born  August  17,  1889 — 
a  bright  and  intelligent  family.  Mr.  Ryan 
is  now  a  leading  Knight  of  the  B.  P.  O.  E. , 
No.  169,  F"reniont,  Ohio,  has  passed  all 
the  chairs,  and  is  a  charter  member  of 
the  Lodge,  which  was  instituted  in  1890. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  National  Union, 
and  has  passed  all  the  chairs  in  that 
order;  is  a  member  of  the  Christian 
Mutual  Benefit   Association,    and  of  the 


Emerald  Beneficial  Association,  and  is 
also  identified  with  the  Fremont  Cycling 
and  Athletic  Club.  He  is  a  Roman  Cath- 
olic in  religion,  a  member  of  St.  Ann's 
Church,  and  a  highly  respected  citizen. 


GEORGE  PICKARD.who  for  many 
years  was  one  of  the  most  promi- 
nent and  progressive  agricultu- 
rists of  Carroll  township,  Ottawa 
county,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Sterling, 
Cayuga  Co.,  N.  Y. ,  September  12,  1826. 
He  was  a  son  of  Frederick  and  Mary 
(McGregor)  Pickard,  the  former  of  whom 
was  a  native  of  Yorkshire,  England,  and 
the  latter  of  Ireland.  In  1835  they  came 
to  Ohio,  locating  in  Maumee,  whence  af- 
ter a  residence  of  three  years  they  removed 
to  what  is  now  Carroll  township,  Ottawa 
county,  here  purchasing  the  land  on  which 
our  subject  now  resides,  and  which  at  that 
time  was  covered  with  a  dense  forest. 
There  the  father  carried  on  farming  until 
his  death,  in  June,  1861,  and  the  mother, 
who  survived  him  for  several  years,  passed 
away  December  16,  1878.  They  were 
the  parents  of  eleven  children,  five  of 
whom  are  still  living — Susan,  wife  of 
William  Sherbrook,  of  Ba\-  township, 
Ottawa  county;  Sarah,  wife  of  Augustus 
Titus,  of  Carroll  township;  Mary,  wife  of 
Austin  Ellsworth,  of  Henry  county,  Ohio; 
Martha,  wife  of  Orson  Barrs,  of  Bureau 
county.  111. ;  and  Jane,  wife  of  Gideon 
Baker,  of  Michigan. 

George  Pickard  attended  the  old  time 
log  schoolhouse  of  the  district  in  Carroll 
township,  having  gone  there  with  his  par- 
ents when  only  twelve  years  of  age,  and 
has  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  since 
his  early  youth.  As  the  country  was 
new  and  undeveloped  at  that  time,  it 
was  no  easy  matter  to  place  his  land  un- 
der the  high  state  of  cultivation  we  now 
find  it.  On  February  16,  1849,  in  Port- 
age township,  Ottawa  county,  was  cele- 
brated the  marriage  of  Mr.  Pickard  and 
Miss  Abi  Moore,  a  daughter  of  Nathaniel 


COMMEMORATIVE!  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


827 


B.  and  Fidelia  (Dweilie)  Moore,  who  were 
natives  of  New  York  and  Massachusetts, 
respectively,  and  became  early  pioneers 
of  Ottawa  county.  To  this  union  came 
eight  children,  namely:  Sarah  Fidelia, 
born  August  13,  1850,  wife  of  Theodore 
Snyder,  of  Erie  township,  Ottawa  coun- 
ty; Olive  Angeline,  who  died  November 
12,  1884;  Nathaniel,  deceased;  Orrison; 
Jeanette,  who  resides  in  Ohio;  William, 
who  lives  in  Lorain  county,  Ohio;  Mary, 
wife  of  Samuel  Bigelow,  of  Oak  Harbor, 
Ottawa  county;  and  Gertrude,  who  died 
in  infancy.  The  mother  of  this  famdy 
was  called  to  her  final  rest  in  May,  1868. 
On  December  24,  1870,  Mr.  Pickard  was 
again  niarried,  this  time  to  Melinda  War- 
ner, and  to  this  union  came  one  daughter 
— Maggie  Glen,  born  F"ebruary  6,  1S72, 
who  is  now  the  wife  of  William  Beier, 
whom  she  wedded  on  January  9,  1888. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Beier  have  four  sons — El- 
mer, born  October  22,  1888;  Oscar,  born 
October  9,  1889;  Hughie  A.,  born  May 
15,  1892;  and  George  Clifford,  born  July 
26,  1894. 

Mr.  Pickard  ever  took  an  active  in- 
terest in  political  affairs;  he  used  his  right 
of  franchise  in  support  of  the  Democratic 
party,  and  held  several  township  offices, 
for  three  years  serving  as  infirmary  di- 
rector. On  May  22,  1895,  he  passed 
from  earth,  deeply  mourned  by  all  who 
knew  him.  The  family  attend  the  Bap- 
tist Church. 


JAMES  S.    DUNCAN,  proprietor  of  a 
tiourishing  general    store    at    Lime- 
stone, and  also  extensively  engaged 
in  the  lime   business,    is  a  native  of 
Ohio,    born    July    9.    1858,    in    Jackson, 
Jackson  county. 

His  parents,  James  and  Amy  (Verner) 
Duncan,  were  both  born  in  Armstrong 
county,  Penn.,  the  father  in  1827,  the 
mother  in  1835.  They  were  married  in 
1 85 1,  and  are  now  living  at  Povvellsville, 
Scioto  Co.,  Ohio,    where  the  father   is  a 


contractor  and  builder.  To  them  were 
born  eight  children,  five  of  whom  are  now 
living,  three  sons  and  two  daughters;  the 
sons  are  all  married,  but  the  daughters 
are  still  with  their  parents. 

James  S.  Duncan  spent  his  boyhood 
days  at  Povvellsville,  Scioto  Co.,  Ohio, 
there  attending  the  public  schools,  from 
which  he  graduated  in  1877.  At  the  age 
of  nineteen,  immediately  after  graduating, 
he  and  his  brother  formed  a  supply  com- 
pany for  forwarding  lime  to  Means,  Kyle 
&  Co.,  in  which  business  they  continued 
for  about  five  years,  when  it  was  suddenly 
brought  to  a  close  by  the  death  of  his 
brother,  he  being  accidentally  killed  while 
handling  limestone.  Mr.  Duncan  then 
went  to  Marion,  Ohio,  as  superintendent 
of  the  lime  works  for  John  D.  Owens  & 
Son,  with  whom  he  remained  four  years, 
thence  coming  to  Limestone,  Benton 
township,  Ottawa  county-,  where  for  two 
years  he  had  the  superintendcncy  of  a 
similar  business  for  Swayne  &  Lawrence. 
He  then  entered  upon  a  contract  to  fur- 
nish lime  to  the  Genoa  and  Rocky  Ridge 
Lime  Co. ,  of  Toledo,  Ohio,  being  thus 
engaged  for  four  years. 

In  the  meantime,  in  1889,  Mr.  Dun- 
can opened  a  general  store  at  Limestone, 
of  which  branch  of  his  business  his  wife 
had  charge  for  a  time,  but  finally  it  was 
put  into  the  hands  of  a  clerk,  Mr.  Dun- 
can of  course  having  the  general  man- 
agement and  oversight  of  the  business. 
The  Limestone  post  office  is  located  in  the 
store,  and  for  several  years  he  has  held 
the  position  of  postmaster.  In  1892  Mr. 
Duncan  went  into  partnership  with  L.  W. 
Buzzard,  erecting  a  large  lime  plant 
which  they  operated  together  until  1894, 
at  which  time  they  erected  a  plant  at 
VVilliston,  Ottawa  county,  for  manufac- 
turing lime,  crushing  stone  and  furnishing 
building  stone.  These  two  plants  they 
now  keep  in  constant  operation,  his  part- 
ner having  the  oversight  of  the  new  one, 
while  Mr.  Duncan  himself  looks  after  the 
business  at  Limestone.      The  partners  are 


828 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOOIiAPmCAL  RECORD. 


both  members  of  the  Ohio  Lime  Co.,  of 
Toledo,  Ohio.  Mr.  Duncan  is  a  de- 
servedly successful  man,  and  has  reached 
his  present  position  by  his  own  energy' 
and  untiring  activity. 

On  June  15,  1881,  Mr.  Duncan  was 
married  to  Miss  Alice  M.  Worthington, 
of  fronton,  Ohio,  and  three  children  have 
blessed  their  union,  all  of  whom  are  liv- 
ing: Royer  E.,  born  June  15,  1882; 
Cleveland,  born  December  13,  1886,  and 
Clara  E.,  born  December  14,  1888.  Mrs. 
Duncan  was  born  in  I-Centucky  Septem- 
ber 5,  1856,  and  when  a  small  girl  re- 
moved with  her  father's  people  to  Powells- 
ville,  Ohio,  where  she  attended  school, 
graduating  in  1 864.  She  has  also  given 
some  attention  to  music,  and  has  given 
all  her  children  instructions  in  the  prin- 
ciples of  that  art,  especially  instrumental 
music.  Her  father,  Findley  ^^'orthiIlg- 
ton,  was  killed  in  the  war  of  the  Rebel- 
lion, and  her  mother  died  some  seventeen 
years  ago. 


L 


OUIS  SCHIELE,  proprietor  of 
free  museum,  and  hotel-keeper,  is 
a  prominent  and  successful  busi- 
ness man  of  Put  in  Bay,  Ottawa 
county.  He  was  born  in  Toledo,  Ohio, 
July  2,  1856,  and  when  ten  years  old 
came  with  his  parents  to  Put  in  Bay 
Island,  of  which  he  has  been  a  continu- 
ous resident  for  nearly  thirty  years.  He 
has  been  closely  identified  with  the  growth 
and  prosperity  of  the  village,  and,  by  his 
genial  manner  and  good  business  qualifi- 
cations, has  won  the  esteem  of  all  who 
know  him. 

Mr.  Schiele  received  his  education  in 
the  public  schools  of  the  Island.  In  early 
life  he  engaged  in  the  butchering  business, 
and  followed  this  occupation  for  about  six 
years.  He  then  entered  the  grape-grow- 
ing industry,  in  which  he  continged  a  few 
years,  and  in  1881  commenced  in  his 
present  business.  In  1886  Mr.  Schiele 
purchased   the   Odd   Fellows  Block,    the 


finest  business  block  on  Put  in  Bay 
Island.  On  June  15,  1880,  on  the  Island, 
Louis  Schiele  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Anna  Vandorm,  and  four  children  have 
been  born  to  them,  as  follows:  Andrew 
M.,  July  2,  t88i;  Otto,  August  10,  1883; 
Roland,  September  7,  1887;  and  Ada  M., 
November  14,  1891.  Mrs.  Schiele  is  the 
daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mark  \'andorm. 
Our  subject  has  efficiently  served  as  a 
councillor  and  constable  of  the  village, 
and  in  his  political  views  is  Democratic. 
Socially  he  is  a  member  of  Commodore 
Perry  Lodge  No.  730,  I.  O.  O.  F. ,  of 
Western  Reserve  Lodge  No.  128.  K.  of 
P.,  and  of  Garfield  Division  No.  273, 
U.  R.  K.  P. 


J\\'.  MUGGY  is  a  representative  citi- 
zen of  Catawba  Island,  Ottawa 
county,  and  like  many  who  reside 
in  this  region  devotes  his  time  and 
energies  to  fruit  growing,  in  which  enter- 
prise he  has  been  verj'  successful.  He 
manages  his  affairs  in  a  systematic,  meth- 
odical manner,  is  straightforward  and 
honorable  in  all  dealings,  and  his  labors 
have  brought  him  a  comfortable  compe- 
tence. 

Mr.  Muggy  is  one  of  the  sons  of  the 
Empire  State.  He  was  born  in  Brooklyn, 
N.  Y.,  June  10,  1852,  and  is  of  German 
and  Irish  lineage,  his  parents  being  John 
C.  and  Ellen  (McMahan)  Muggy,  the  for- 
mer of  whom  was  born  July  20,  18 17,  in 
Hamburg,  Germany,  and  the  latter  in 
Dublin,  Ireland.  In  1837  John  C.  Muggy 
ciossed  the  -Xtlantic  to  the  New  World, 
locating  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. ,  where  for 
fifteen  years  he  engaged  in  the  grocery 
business.  In  1852  he  brought  his  family 
to  the  Buckeye  State,  and  became  a  resi- 
dent of  Danbury  township,  Ottawa  county, 
where  he  turned  his  attention  to  agricul- 
tural pursuits,  living  on  what  is  known  as 
the  Harrison  Wolcote  farm.  In  1858  he 
removed  to  Catawba  Island,  where  he 
engaged   in  farming  for  some  years,  and 


VOMMEMORATIVE  BTOGRAPmCAL  RECORD. 


829 


then  began  fruit  growing.  He  was  mar- 
ried, in  Brooklyn,  to  Miss  Ellen,  daugh- 
ter of  Daniel  McMahan,  and  they  became 
the  parents  of  nine  children,  five  of  whom 
are  still  living,  namely:  Christopher,  a 
successful  fruit  grower  of  Catawba  Island; 
Daniel,  who  carries  on  the  same  business; 
Margaret  Ann,  wife  of  Calvin  Brown;  J. 
W.,  whose  name  opens  this  sketch;  and 
Jane,  wife  of  Louis  Demaj-,  of  Sandusky 
City,  Ohio.  Those  who  have  departed 
this  life  are  Henry,  Martin,  John  and 
George  Henry. 

During  his  infancy  our  subject  was 
brought  by  his  parents  to  the  West.  He 
was  reared  to  manhood  under  the  par- 
ental roof,  becoming  familiar  with  all  the 
duties  that  fall  to  the  agriculturist.  His 
educational  privileges  were  those  afforded 
by  the  common  schools.  He  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Matilda  Rebecca 
Miller,  a  daughter  of  Claus  and  Katherine 
(Buck)  Miller,  at  whose  home  in  Dan- 
bury  township,  Ottawa  county,  the  wed- 
ding was  celebrated.  Their  union  has 
been  blessed  with  one  child — Florence 
Estella,  born  September  20,  1889.  Mr. 
Muggy  is  a  member  of  Port  Clinton  Lodge 
No.  341,  F.  &  A.  M.  He  is  a  social, 
genial  gentleman,  and  has  many  friends 
throughout  the  community.  He  is  de- 
voted to  the  best  interests  of  the  county, 
and  belongs  to  that  class  of  honorable 
men  who  do  their  duty  to  themselves, 
their  neighbors  and  their  country. 


FJ.  WEIS  is  a  native  of  Germany, 
born  July  5,  1846,  and  his  par- 
ents, Fred  and  Barbara  (Millen- 
dor)  Weis,  were  also  born  in  that 
country,  the  father  in  18 18,  and  the 
mother  in  181  5. 

In  185  I,  the  family  came  to  America, 
landing  in  New  York,  where  they  spent  a 
few  days  ere  continuing  their  journey 
across  the  country.  Their  destination 
was  the  city  of  Sandusky,  Ohio,  and  when 
they  had  arrived  there  the  father  purchased 


a  house  and  lot,  continuing  to  make  his 
residence  in  that  town  until  1854,  when  he 
sold  and  removed  to  Wood  county,  Ohio. 
Purchasing  a  twenty-acre  tract  of  timber 
land,  he  began  to  clear  and  improve  it, 
and  when  the  work  was  accomplished, 
after  a  space  of  about  three  years,  he 
again  sold,  removing  to  Washington  town- 
ship, Sandusky  county.  His  ne.xt  pur- 
chase made  him  the  possessor  of  a  forty- 
acre  tract,  which  became  the  nucleus  of 
his  present  excellent  farm,  to  which  he 
has  since  added  138  acres,  and  placed 
nearly  the  entire  amount  under  a  high 
state  of  cultivation.  Both  he  and  his  wife 
are  still  living,  but  only  two  of  their  six 
children  survive.  Eliza,  born  in  1842, 
became  the  wife  of  J.  Garver,  and  died 
in  1892,  leaving  a  family  of  four  children. 
Andrew,  born  in  1844,  married  Katie 
Schultz,  by  whom  he  had  nine  children; 
is  a  farmer  of  Ottawa  county,  Ohio.  Fred 
is  the  next  in  order  of  birth.  The  other 
three  died  in  infancy — Rosy,  born  in  1848, 
Christina,  born  in  1852,  and  Rudolph, 
born  in  1855. 

Fred  J.  Weis  has  always  lived  with 
his  parents.  He  acquired  a  good  English 
education,  and  his  physical  training  was 
not  neglected,  for  he  early  began  to  aid 
in  the  labors  of  the  home  farm,  and  was 
soon  familiar  with  the  arduous  task  of  de- 
veloping new  land.  After  reaching  man- 
hood he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Emma  Beck,  a  daughter  of  a  well-known 
farmer  of  Sandusky  county,  and  their 
union  was  blessed  with  two  children — 
Caroline  E.,  who  was  born  September  24, 
1874,  and  is  now  the  wife  of  William 
Lohr,  by  whom  she  has  a  daughter,  El- 
len; and  Edward  F. ,  born  November  22, 
1876.  In  1876  the  wife  and  mother  was 
called  to  the  home  beyond,  and  her  re- 
mains were  interred  in  Elmore  Cemetery, 
Ottawa  county.  On  July  11,  1878,  Mr. 
Weis  was  joined  in  wedlock  with  Mar- 
garet Upp.  • 

Mr.  Weis  is  the  owner  of  a  well-de- 
veloped farm  of  sixty  acres,    upon  which 


830 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


he  has  erected  a  comfortable  residence, 
that  stands  in  the  midst  of  well-tilled 
fields.  There  are  other  good  improve- 
ments upon  the  place,  and,  neat  and 
thrifty  in  appearance,  this  farm  is  ac- 
counted one  of  the  valuable  properties  in 
Washington  township.  Like  his  father, 
Mr.  Weis  is  a  supporter  of  the  men  and 
measures  of  the  Democracy,  and  has 
served  as  supervisor  and  school  director, 
discharging  his  duties  in  a  prompt  and 
able  manner  that  has  won  him  the  com- 
mendation of  all  concerned. 


JOHN  P.  ANSPACH.  In  past  ages 
the  history  of  a  country  was  a  rec- 
ord of  wars  and  conquests;  to-day  it 
is  the  record  of  commercial  activity, 
the  story  of  business  enterprises  and  those 
who  successfully  conduct  them.  Mr. 
Anspach  is  a  leader  in  the  field  of  activity 
in  Oak  Harbor,  where  he  is  senior  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  Anspach  Brothers, 
manufacturers  of  lumber  and  coopers' 
stock. 

Mr.  Anspach  was  born  in  Perry  coun- 
t}',  Ohio,  December  24,  1841,  and  there 
acquired  a  portion  of  his  education,  com- 
pleting it,  however,  in  the  public  schools 
of  Crawford  county.  111.,  whither  he  went 
with  his  parents.  The  family  is  of  Penn- 
sylvania-German origin,  the  great-grand- 
father and  the  grandfather  of  our  subject 
having  both  been  born  in  the  Keystone 
State.  David  Anspach,  father  of  John 
P.,  was  a  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Over- 
meyer)  Anspach.  and  was  born  in  Perry 
county.  Ohio,  in  October,  18 16.  He  grew 
to  manhood  in  that  county,  and  his  early 
life  was  spent  in  agricultural  pursuits.  In 
1 85 1  he  removed  with  his  family  to  Craw- 
ford county.  111.,  where  he  carried  on 
farming  for  about  five  years,  and  then  in 
1856  cast  in  his  lot  with  the  early  settlers 
of  Sandusky  county,  Ohio.  There  he 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  lumber  lor 
some  five  years,  and  about  1879  he  came 


to  Oak  Harbor,  where  for  a  time  he  lived 
practically  retired.  For  the  past  six  years 
he  has  been  an  honored  resident  of  Edger- 
ton,  Ind.  He  was  married  in  his  native 
county  to  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Henry 
and  Elizabeth  Fisher,  natives  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  by  their  union  were  born  nine 
children,  five  of  whom  are  living,  namely: 
John  P.;  Allen;  Matilda,  wife  of  Michael 
Latting,  a  prominent  farmer  of  Sandusky 
county;  George  \V.,  who  is  living  in  Ed- 
gerton,  Ind.;  and  Rosanna,  wife  of  John 
H.  Murphv,  of  Louisiana.  The  mother 
departed  this  life  in  1861,  and  for  his 
second  wife  Mr.  Anspach  married  Mrs. 
Marj'  Conachen,  widow  of  Peter  Cona- 
chen,  of  Sandusky  county.  The  children 
of  this  marriage  are  as  follows:  William, 
who  is  a  resident  of  Detroit,  Mich. ; 
Hosea,  of  Edgerton,  Ind. ;  Bertha,  wife 
of  Henry  Hydlebrech;  and  Lloyd,  also  of 
Edgerton,  Ind.  The  oldest  member  of 
the  family,  Henry  Anspach,  served  in  the 
Seventy-second  O.  V.  I.,  during  the  Civil 
war,  and  died  in  the  hospital,  of  typhoid 
fever,  his  remains  being  interred  in  Mis- 
sissippi. 

From  Illinois  Mr.  Anspach  returned  with 
his  parents  to  Sandusky  county,  Ohio,  and 
worked  in  his  father's  mill  until  i860. 
His  father  having  sold  out  his  lumber 
manufacturing  business,  our  subject  work- 
ed for  a  short  time  in  Fremont,  thence 
going  to  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.  where  he  re- 
sided until  1864.  Returning  then  to 
Sandusky  county,  he  purchased,  in  con- 
nection with  his  brother  Allen,  the  saw- 
mill which  had  been  previously  operated 
by  his  father,  and  under  the  firm  name 
of  Anspach  Bros,  they  continued  the  bus- 
iness therefor  four  years.  In  i  868  they 
transferred  their  business  to  Oak  Harbor, 
where  they  engaged  extensively  and  suc- 
cessfully in  the  manufacture  of  lumber 
and  cooperage  stock.  Their  mill  was 
burned  September  i,  1895. 

On  September  15,  1868,  John  P. 
Anspach  was  married  in  Sandusky  county 
to  Miss  Emilv   Henricks,    who  was  born 


COMMEMORATIVE  BWORAPnWAL  RECORD. 


831 


in  Sandusky  county,   February  lo,   1851, 


daughter  of  Noah  and  Elizabeth  (Reed) 
Heiiricks,  natives  of  Perry  county,  Ohio; 
they  became  early  settlers  of  Sandusky 
county,  and  are  still  living  within  its 
borders,  being  honored  and  respected^'' 
citizens  of  Lindsej'.  The  union  of  our 
subject  and  his  wife  has  been  blessed  with 
five  children,  but  only  two  are  now  living 
— William  and  Rorland.  John  P.  An- 
spach  was  one  of  the  first  councilmen 
elected  after  the  incorporation  of  Oak 
Harbor  as  a  town,  and  efficiently  filled 
that  office  for  several  years.  His  polit- 
ical support  is  given  to  the  Democratic 
party,  and  socially  he  is  connected  with 
Oak  Harbor  Lodge  No.  495,  F.  &  A.  M. 
The  members  of  the  Anspach  family  were 
formerly  connected  with  the  Lutheran 
Church,  but  at  present  the  majority  are 
members  of  the  ^fethodist  Church.  John 
P.  Anspach  is  a  thoroughgoing  business 
man,  one  of  the  most  enterprising  citi- 
zens of  Oak  Harbor,  and  is  popular  in 
both  commercial  and  social  circles. 

Allen  Anspach,  who  is  connected  with 
his  brother  in  business,  is  the  second  of 
the  family,  and  was  born  in  Perry  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  in  October,  1843.  He  got  his 
education  in  the  public  schools  near  his 
boyhood  home,  and  since  early  life  he  has 
been  interested  in  the  business  which  now 
claims  his  time  and  energies,  and  with 
which  he  became  familiar  when  his  father 
was  a  lumber  dealer.  He  was  married 
in  Sandusky  county  to  Miss  Eliza  Fought, 
a  daughter  of  Amos  and  Mary  (Hedrick) 
Fougfit,  and  seven  children  blessed  this 
union,  only  three  of  whom  are  now  living 
— Perry,  Elmer  and  Clara. 

In  i86t  Allen  Anspach  manifested  his 
loyalty  to  the  Union  cause  by  joining  the 
boys  in  blue  of  Company  C,  Seventy-sec- 
ond O.  V.  L,  but  after  serving  in  the 
army  for  nearly  a  year  was  discharged  on 
account  of  physical  disability  and  returned 
to  Sandusky  count}-.  Progressive  and 
public -spirited,  he  is  devoted  to  all  mat- 
ters   pertaining  to    the  general   welfare, 


and  his  career  has  ever  been  that  of  an 
honorable  and  just  man,  whether  in  bus- 
iness, military  or  private  life. 


FRANK  J.   TUTTLE.    attorney  at 
law  and   notary  public,  Fremont, 
Sandusky    county,    was    born    in 
Green  Creek  township,  Sandusky 
Co.,  Ohio,  April    5,  1852,    son    of  Julius 
and  Eliza  H.  (Hamlin)  Tuttle. 

Julius  Tuttle  was  born  in  1819,  in 
Livingston  county,  N.  Y. ,  and  about  1831 
came  with  his  father,  Wolcott  Tuttle, 
from  that  place  to  Green  Creek  township, 
where  amid  the  scenes  of  pioneer  life  he 
grew  up  on  a  farm,  married,  and  in  his 
later  years  removed  to  Clyde,  where  his 
death  occurred  in  1881.  He  was  a  Dem- 
ocrat in  early  life,  later  a  I'lepublican.- 
His  wife,  who  survived  him,  died  at  the 
family  home  in  Clyde,  in  1888.  They 
had  two  children:  Freeman  G. ,  who 
lives  at  Clyde,  Ohio,  and  Frank  J.,  our 
subject.  These  brothers  have  a  half  sis- 
ter at  Clyde,  Mrs.  Eliza  H.  (Ramsey) 
York. 

Frank  J.  Tuttle  was  reared  in  Green 
Creek  township,  and  attended  the  Clyde 
union  schools.  In  1868  he  left  home  to 
engage  in  the  commission  business  in 
Cleveland,  but  returning  to  Ch'de  he  read 
law  for  several  years,  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  before  the  Supreme  Court  at 
Columbus,  Ohio,  December  3,  1878. 
While  living  at  Clyde  he  served  as  town- 
ship clerk,  resigning  that  office  to  take  a 
position  for  several  years  on  the  road.  In 
1884  he  returned  to  Clyde  for  the  prac- 
tice of  law.  and  did  business  in  Huron 
and  Sandusky  counties,  in  1886  removing 
to  Fremont,  where  he  has  since  continued 
in  the  practice  of  his  profession,  making 
the  handling  of  patents  a  specialty.  So- 
cially Mr.  Tuttle  is  a  member  of  Mc- 
Pherson  Lodge  No.  637,  I.  O.  O.  F. ,  in 
which  he  holds  the  position  of  noble  grand. 
He  was  married,  December  30,  1880, 
to  Miss  Frances  E. ,  daughter  of  Edward 


832 


COMMEMORATTVE  BIOGRAPEIVAL  RECORD. 


Loudensleger,  ex-postmaster  of  Fremont, 
and  their  children  are  Howard  R. ,  Flor- 
ence E.  and  Robert  F. ,  all  living  at 
home.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Tuttle  are  mem- 
bers of  the  M.  E.  Church,  at  Fremont. 


JOSHUA  N.  PERMAR,  D.  D.  S.,  the 
only  resident  dentist  of  Elmore,  Ot- 
tawa county,  and  one    of  the    most 
highly    respected    citizens    of    that 
place,  was  born  in  Jefferson  county,  Ohio, 
near  Stcubenville,  August  i,   1830. 

Dr.  Permar  is  a  son  of  John  and  Mar- 
garet (Shaw)  Permar,  the  former  of  whom 
was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  of  French 
ancestry,  and  the  latter  in  Ohio,  of  Ger- 
man lineage.  The  father  located  in  Jef- 
ferson count}',  Ohio,  at  an  early  date,  and 
became  e.xtensively  engaged  in  agricultur- 
al pursuits.  His  death  occurred  in  1845, 
and  his  faithful  and  devoted  wife  passed 
from  this  earth  in  1868.  Our  subject 
worked  upon  the  old  homestead  farm  un- 
til he  had  reached  the  age  of  sixteen 
years,  during  which  time  he  received  his 
education  in  the  old  log  schoolhouse  of 
the  district,  with  its  puncheon  floor  and 
primitive  benches.  He  then  commenced 
to  learn  the  trade  of  marble  cutting,  at 
which  he  worked  for  several  years  as  an 
apprentice  and  journeyman,  and  later  en- 
gaged in  business  for  himself  in  Stcuben- 
ville, continuing  there  three  years.  In 
1853  he  removed  to  Minerva,  Stark  Co., 
Ohio,  where  he  carried  on  the  marble- 
cutting  business  for  ten  years. 

In  1 863  Dr.  Permar  enlisted  for  serv- 
ice in  the  Union  army,  becoming  a 
member  of  Company  D,  One  Hundred 
and  Sixty-second  O.  V.  I.,  as  a  one- 
hundred-day  man,  and  served  for  four 
months.  After  being  mustered  out  at 
Columbus,  Ohio,  he  returned  to  Stark 
county,  but  owing  to  poor  health  was 
obliged  to  close  up  his  business.  He  then 
began  the  study  of  dentistry,  and  later, 
on  removing  to  Medina  county,  Ohio, 
there  engaged  in  practice  six  years.      In 


March,  1873,  he  became  a  resident  of 
Elmore,  where  he  has  since  been  con- 
tinuously engaged  in  the  practice  of  his 
profession,  and  has  met  with  excellent 
success. 

At  Steubenville,  Ohio,  October  28, 
1856,  Dr.  Permar  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Nancy  Hall,  daughter  of 
Thomas  and  Nancy  Hall,  and  to  their 
union  was  born  one  child,  Monroe,  who 
died  in  infancy.  They  now  have  an 
adopted  daughter,  Minnie  Rossiter,  who 
is  a  teacher  in  the  public  schools  of  Har- 
ris township,  Ottawa  count}'.  Socially, 
the  Doctor  belongs  to  the  Knights  of 
Pythias,  being  a  member  of  Elmore 
Lodge,  No.  162,  and  he  is  also  connected 
with  Robert  H.  Caldwell  Post,  G.  A.  R. 
In  his  political  views  he  is  a  stanch  Re- 
publican, while,  in  religious  matters,  both 
he  and  his  wife  are  consistent  and  faith- 
ful members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  They  have  many  friends  in  the 
community  where  they  have  so  long  re- 
sided, and  are  held  in  the  highest  esteem 
by  all  who  know  them. 


SOLOMON  RINEBOLT,  a  pros- 
perous farmer  of  Jackson  town- 
ship, Sandusk}'  county,  was  born 
in  Perry  county,  Ohio,  February 
28,  1824.  He  is  the  eldest  son  of  Abra- 
ham and  Susan  (Hampsher)  Rineboit, 
natives  of  Penns3'lvania,  who  had  a  family 
of  children  as  follows:  (i)  Solomon,  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch.  (2)  Lydia,  wife  of 
Paul  Kline,  whose  children  are — John, 
Levi,  Noah  and  Mary.  (3)  John,  who 
married  Rebecca  Harley,  by  whom  he 
had  a  son,  Jacob,  now  living  at  Kendall- 
ville,  Ind. ;  after  her  death  he  married 
Amanda  Seltzer,  and  had  children  as  fol- 
lows— Abraham,  Mar}-,  John,  Mahala, 
three  sons  that  died  in  childhood,  William 
Franklin  (who  died  at  the  age  of  eleven), 
Lafayette  (who  married  Anna  Fink,  and 
has  one  son — Russell),  and  Delia  (who 
married  Birchard    Henrv,    and    has  two 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPUICAL  RECORD. 


833 


children — Larry  and  Glenn).  (4)  Cath- 
arine, wife  of  Qeorge  Engler,  living  in 
Indiana.  (5)  Mary,  who  wedded  George 
Bubb,  and  has  four  children.  (6)  Lovina, 
wife  of  David  Harley,  who  had  children 
as  follows — Frank,  Levi,  Emma  and 
Ada. 

Solomon  Rinebolt,  subject  of  this 
memoir,  grew  up  to  the  toilsome  labors 
of  farm  life  in  a  new  country,  and  devel- 
oped into  a  thrifty,  successful  worker  and 
a  good  citizen.  His  sandy  hair,  ruddy 
face,  piercing  eyes,  almost  hidden  under 
heavy  ej'ebrows,  friendly  countenance  and 
genial  good  nature,  have  long  distin- 
guished him  among  the  old-time  "  Black 
Swampers."  With  a  keen  eye  for  bar- 
gains in  real  estate,  he  purchased  farm 
after  farm  in  his  vicinity,  until  he  was 
able  to  give  each  of  his  children  a  farm, 
and  reserve  an  eighty-acre  lot  for  himself. 
He  has  always  been  a  Democrat  in  poli- 
tics, and  he  and  his  wife  are  members  of 
the  Methodisl  Episcopal  Church. 

In  1848.  when  twenty-four  years  of 
age,  Solomon  Rinebolt  married  Miss 
Sarah  Elizabeth  Seltzer,  who  was  born 
April  25,  1828,  in  Lancaster  county, 
Penn.,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Elizabeth 
(Miller)  Seltzer.  The  result  of  their 
union  were  children  as  follows:  (i)  Susan 
E.,  born  October  23,  1849,  died  June  30, 
1886;  she  became  the  wife  of  Frank  N'ent- 
ling,  who  had  one  son,  James,  now  living 
at  Fort  Clinton,  Ohio.  (2)  Noah,  born 
Mtirch  12,  185  I,  who  married  Emma  My- 
ers, by  whom  he  had  one  son,  Frederick, 
who  died  in  childhood,  and  two  daughters, 
Viola  and  Lizzie;  after  the  wife's  death 
in  1888,  he  wedded  Helen  Dunlap,  by 
whom  he  had  a  daughter.  Fern,  living  at 
home.  (3)  Harriet,  born  September  10, 
1852,  became  the  wife  of  David  Winchell; 
their  daughter,  Myra,  married  Frank 
Wagoner,  and  has  two  daughters — Stella 
and  Hazel.  (4)  Adam,  born  December 
16,  1853,  married  Kate  Rigler,  and  had 
three  children — Arthur,  Bertha  and  Es- 
tella.      (5)   Mary    R. ,    born    October  25, 


1855,  married  Wesley  Hart  man,  and  had 
two  children — Alice,  who  wedded  a  Mr. 
Campbell,  and  Vernie,  living  at  home; 
after  a  legal  separation  from  her  husband, 
Mrs.  Mary  R.  Hartman  married  David 
Day,  by  whom  she  has  one  son — Otto. 
(6)  Sarah  Ellen,  born  August  10,  1858, 
married  Frank  Chaney,  and  had  four 
children — Pearl,  May,  Augusta,  and 
Arthur.  (7)  Ora  Alice,  born  June  7, 
1865,  married  Frank  Ickes,  and  they 
have  two  children — Alpha  and  Grace. 

Mrs.  Sarah  E.  Rinebolt  is  a  lineal 
descendant  of  Michael  Seltzer,  who  ac- 
cording to  a  famil}'  tradition  starved  to 
death  in  a  church  building  during  the 
Revolutionary  war.  He  had  three  sons — 
Abraham,  John  and  Michael.  Abraham 
Seltzer  lived  in  southeastern  Pennsylva- 
nia, where  he  married  Miss  Catharine, 
daughter  of  Philip  Faust,  and  had  chil- 
dren as  follows:  Joseph,  Polly,  Eliza- 
beth, Michael,  Catharine,  Rebecca,  and 
Nathaniel.  Joseph  Seltzer  moved  to 
Sandusky  county  in  pioneer  days,  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  Miller,  who  was  born  in 
1809,  and  had  children  as  follows:  Sarah 
Elizabeth  (wife  of  Solomon  Rinebolt), 
Joseph,  Amanda  (wife  of  John  Rinebolt), 
Nathan,  Catharine,  Henry,  Susannah 
(wife  of  Frank  Edwards),  Mary  (wife  of 
L.  Donnels),  Ella,  Emma,  and  Abraham. 
The  descendants  of  these  families  are 
scattered  over  various  parts  of  the  United 
States. 


J  EREMI.AH  SULLIVAN,  Jr.,  farm- 
er, of  Ballville  township,  Sandusky 
county,  was  born  January  25,  1852, 
near  the  place  of  his  present  resi- 
dence. His  father,  Jeremiah  Sullivan, 
Sr. ,  was  a  native  of  the  parish  of  Eve 
Lary,  County  Cork,  Ireland,  born  in  1791, 
and  came  to  America  about  the  year 
1825.  He  landed  in  New  York  City, 
thence  proceeded  to  Chester  and  Lancas- 
ter counties,  Penn.,  where  he  spent  five 
years  in  the  management  of  a  public  high- 


884 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


way,  and  in  assisting  farmers  during  the 
harvesting  of  their  crops. 

About  the  year  1830  he  came  to 
Sandusky  county,  Ohio,  and  entered  219 
acres  of  government  land,  in  Ballville 
township,  at  $1.25  per  acre,  a  part  of 
which  he  retained  as  a  permanent  home- 
stead. At  forty  3ears  of  age  he  married 
Miss  Joanna  King,  at  Tiffin,  Ohio,  and 
they  soon  after  settled  on  their  farm 
where  he  continued  to  reside  during  the 
remainder  of  his  Hfe.  Mrs.  SulHvan  was 
born  in  County  Kerry,  Ireland,  and  in  1841 
emigrated  to  America  in  company  with  a 
sister  and  two  brothers,  coining  to  Tiffin, 
Ohio,  by  way  of  Sandusky  City.  Her 
present  residence  is  Fremont,  Ohio. 
Their  children  were  as  follows  :  Mar- 
garet, born  in  1842,  died  at  the  age  of 
thirteen  years;  Mary,  born  January  12, 
1844,  married  J.  W.  Moore,  of  Fremont, 
and  died  October  27,  1885,  leaving  one 
son,  William,  born  April  25,  1874; 
Florence,  a  farmer  of  Sandusky  township, 
born  April  11,  1845,  who,  October  16, 
1 88 1,  married  Miss  Mary  Ouilter,  daugh- 
ter of  Daniel  and  Ellen  (Leonard)  Ouilter 
(they  had  children,  as  follows:  Nellie  O., 
Florence  J.,  Marie  C,  Bessie  M.,  and 
John  Edwin);  Timothy,  born  in  1846,  was 
a  soldier  in  the  Civil  war,  serving  in  Com- 
pany F,  Seventy-second  Regiment,  O.  V. 
I.,  died  October  26,  T873,  and  was  buried 
in  St.  Ann's  Catholic  Church  cemetery; 
Delia,  born  in  1848,  went  to  California  in 
1869,  where  she  married  a  Mr.  Kelle\',  a 
merchant  at  San  Francisco;  Hannah,  born 
in  1850,  is  unmarried,  and  lives  at  San 
Francisco;  Ellen,  born  1851,  died  in  1864. 
Jeremiah,  Jr.,  our  subject,  comes  ne.xt; 
Johanna,  born  in  1853,  married  T.  L. 
House,  editor  and  publisher  of  several 
papers  on  the  Pacific  coast,  among  which 
was  the  Sierra  Madrc  Vista,  at  San 
Francisco,  Cal.  (he  is  now  connected 
with  the  United  States  Mint  in  that  city); 
John,  born  in  1854,  a  farmer  and  con- 
tractor, married  Margaret  Carroll,  and 
died  May  19,  1886,  leaving  a  daughter, 


Florence;  Philip,  a  contractor,  was  born 
in  February,  1856,  and  resides  at  Fre- 
mont; Margaret,  born  in  1857,  is  unmar- 
ried, and  lives  at  Fremont;  Lizzie,  born 
in  1859,  is  the  wife  of  Michael  Fitz- 
maurice,  a  machinist  in  the  Ohio  Central 
railroad  shops,  at  Bucyrus,  Ohio. 

Our  subject  remained  with  his  parents 
on  the  home  farm  until  his  twentj'-first 
year,  after  which  he  served  a  few  j-ears 
at  carpenter  work,  and  later  followed 
county  contracting  and  jobbing.  In  1891 
he  returned  to  farming  on  the  old  home- 
stead, where  he  still  resides.  He  has 
held  various  official  positions.  On  May 
2,  1876,  he  married  Miss  Ellen  Norris, 
daughter  of  John  and  Margaret  Norris,  of 
Ottawa  county,  Ohio,  and  the  result  of 
their  union  were  children  as  follows : 
John,  who  died  in  childhood;  Margaret, 
who  died  of  dipthheria  at  the  age  of  two 
years;  James,  born  March  24,  1 881;  John 
v.,  born  January  28,  1883;  Francis  J., 
born  April  15,  1885;  George  William, 
born  November  3,  1888;  and  Mary  E. , 
born  September  17,  1892. 


RUSS    J.    CHRISTY.       Prominent 
among   the  few  citizens    of    Fre- 
mont,   Sandusky    county,    whose 
names  have  become    "familiar  as 
household  words,"  not  only  in  every  State 
of  the  Union  but  in  foreign   lands,  is  the 
subject  of  this  sketch. 

Born  and  reared  in  the  village  of  Clyde, 
in  this  garden  spot  of  northern  Ohio,  noted 
for  its  fine,  choice  and  large  shipments  of 
fruits  and  vegetables,  and  honored  as  the 
last  resting  place  of  Gen.  McPherson,  who 
was  highest  in  rank  of  any  general  that 
ever  was  killed  in  any  battle  and  in  any 
war  of  the  United  States,  our  subject  early 
caught  the  spirit  of  his  environments  and 
sought  to  improve  his  opportunities  by  di- 
recting his  mental  activities  in  the  line  of 
machinery  and  invention.  Having  demom- 
strated  the  utility  of  several  articles  of 
cutlery  of  his  own  invention  and  manu- 


COMMEMORATrVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


835 


facture  by  actual  use  in  thousands  of 
homes,  he  extended  his  facilities  for  their 
production  in  our  midst  by  the  erection  of 
an  extensive  brick  block,  which  is  an  or- 
nament to  the  city,  keeps  capital  at  home, 
and  gfives  employment  to  hundreds  of 
hands.  His  fellow  citizens  may  well  re- 
gard him  as  a  public  benefactor. 

Russ  J.  Christy,  president  of  the 
Christy  Knife  Company,  Fremont,  Ohio, 
and  patentee  of  the  Christy  knife,  was 
born  February  lO,  icS62,  son  of  John  and 
Elizabeth  (Ramsey)  Christy.  John  Christy 
was  born  in  Onondaga  county,  N.  Y. ,  and 
at  an  early  day  located  at  Clyde,  Ohio, 
where  he  still  resides,  being  now  about 
sixt)'-eight  years  of  age.  He  is  a  carpen- 
ter bj'  trade.  His  wife,  who  is  a  native  of 
Ohio,  is  now  about  sixty-five.  After  fin- 
ishing a  course  of  study  and  graduating 
from  Clyde  public  schools,  our  subject,  in 
1879,  went  to  West  Salem,  Ohio,  where 
he  served  as  an  apprentice  to  learn  the 
trade  of  machinist.  After  this  he  spent 
some  years  in  perfecting  his  trade  in  the 
machine  shops  of  Massillon  (Ohio),  Indi- 
anapolis (Ind.),  Philadelphia  (Penn.)  and 
Sandusky  City  (Ohio).  In  1884  he  came 
to  Fremont,  Ohio,  to  work  in  a  machine 
shop,  as  tool  maker,  and  it  was  while  here 
that  he  conceived  of  and  had  patented  the 
now  famous  Christy  knife.  Being  then 
without  sufficient  means  to  push  its  manu- 
facture on  a  large  scale,  he  commenced  in 
a  small  way,  and  kept  on  perfecting  his 
methods.  After  he  had  by  his  own  energy 
demonstrated  the  value  of  his  knife,  capi- 
tal flowed  to  him,  so  that  he  was  enabled 
to  enlarge  his  operations.  A  company 
was  formed.  Dr.  R.  H.  Rice  and  Mr.  L. 
H.  Cress  uniting  with  Mr.  Christy,  and 
the  manufactory  placed  in  a  part  of  the 
Tromer  Extract  of  Malt  Works;  Dr.  Rice 
has  sold  his  interests,  and  a  new  building 
has  been  erected  by  the  remaining  mem- 
bers of  the  firm.  The  first  knives  were 
made  in  1888.  Mr.  Christy  had  then  but 
one  man  to  assist  him,  as  he  did  most  of 
the  work  himself.      He  now  employs  i  50 


hands  per  day,  and  the  capacity  of  the 
shop  is  7, 500  knives  daily.  The  trade 
for  the  knives  has  been  extended  not  only 
to  every  State  in  the  Union,  but  to  every 
country  on  the  globe.  His  patents  on 
knife  and  improvements  are  dated  "No- 
vember, 1889,"  "October,  1891,"  "No- 
vember 21,  1893."  The  last  patent  is  on 
the  latest  article  of  the  kind  made,  "The 
Improved  Bread  Sheer." 

Mr.  Christy  is  a  man  of  genial  disposi- 
tion and  kindly  manner.  His  employes 
all  seem  to  be  his  personal  friends,  and 
take  a  special  interest  in  his  business. 
None  of  them  were  discharged  during  the 
hard  times  of  1894.  Mr.  Christy  was 
married,  at  Fremont,  Ohio,  to  Miss 
Amelia  Myers,  andtheirchildren  are:  Fay, 
Arthur,  Lamor  and  Clyde  K. 


AH.  JACKSON,  merchant  and 
manufacturer,  Fremont,  Sandusky 
county,  was  born  in  Delaware 
county,  N.  Y.,  May  10,  1847. 
His  parents  were  George  W.  and  Rox- 
anna  (Ripley)  Jackson,  the  father  a  na- 
tive of  New  York,  the  mother  of  Massa- 
chusetts, both  of  whom  are  now  residing 
at  Ypsilanti,  Mich.,  in  the  eightieth  year 
of  their  age.  Their  children  were:  Ma- 
rian, Herbert  L. ,  Ellen  and  A.  H.,  all  of 
whom  except  the  last  named  now  reside 
in  Wayne  county,  Michigan. 

Our  subject  grew  up  on  a  farmer  in 
Delaware  count}',  N.  Y. ,  where  he  attend- 
ed school  until  he  was  about  seventeen 
years  of  age.  He  then  started  west  in 
search  of  employment,  and  after  having 
spent  nearly  all  of  his  hard  earned  money 
in  trying  to  get  a  position,  resolved  to  go 
into  a  business  venture  on  his  own  ac- 
count by  the  purchase  of  a  lot  of  notions 
for  $17.50,  and  selling  them  out  on  the 
street.  Having  succeeded  in  disposing  of 
them  at  a  profit  he  kept  on  in  that  line 
until  he  had  gained  enough  to  buy  a  horse 
and  wagon  with  which  to  start  out  into 
the  country  towns  with  an  outfit  of  goods. 


836 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


He  kept  on  increasing  his  stock  and  his 
wagons  until  he  had  several  of  the  finest 
outfits  for  selling  goods  in  America.  With 
these  wagons  and  livery,  which  were  gaudy 
as  the  carriage  of  an  Indian  prince,  and 
drawn  by  four  fine  horses,  he  traveled 
over  the  States  of  Kansas,  Iowa,  Illinois, 
Indiana,  Michigan,  New  York,  Pennsyl- 
vania, Ohio,  and  the  New  England  States, 
and  sold  more  goods  upon  the  street  than 
any  other  ten  men  then  living.  Indeed, 
he  was  the  father  of  the  idea  of  street- 
selling  on  a  large  scale.  In  the  latter 
part  of  his  career  as  street-salesman  he 
sold  all  kinds  of  goods  and  wares,  both  by 
lot  and  by  the  single  article,  and  the 
magnitude  of  his  sales  may  be  imagined 
from  the  fact  that  in  one  town  his  sales 
for  five  evenings  amounted  to  $1,750. 

In  1872  Mr.  Jackson  made  his  home 
and  his  headquarters  at  Fremont,  Ohio. 
About  the  year  1884  he  quit  traveling 
and  settled  down  in  a  store  in  the  retail 
dry-goods  business.  Not  long  after  this 
he  got  out  a  patent  on  a  new  bustle  which 
he  commenced  to  manufacture  at  first  in 
a  small  way,  and  later  very  extensively 
until  those  articles  went  out  of  style, 
when  he  began  the  manufacture  of  ladies' 
underwear,  which  has  steadily  increased 
until  now  ( 1 894)  he  gives  employment  to 
about  two  hundred  people  in  his  well- 
equipped  factory.  He  keeps  three  sales- 
men constantly  on  the  road,  and  sells  to 
jobbers  and  to  large  retail  dealers  all 
over  the  United  States.  He  has  the 
strongest  trade  in  the  Western  States. 
He  manufactures  his  own  paste-board 
boxes  for  the  shipment  of  his  goods. 
His  factory  is  located  in  the  center  of 
Fremont,  and  comprises  two  rooms  of  40 
x8o  feet  each,  and  two  other  rooms  35  x 
45  feet. 

Mr.  Jackson  is  a  Republican  in  poli- 
tics, and  though  not  a  politician  is  justly 
regarded  as  one  of  the  most  enterprising 
and  stirring  citizens  of  Fremont,  being 
known  as  the  "hustler"  of  the  city.  He 
built  two   large  brick   business  blocks  on 


South  Front  street,  one  on  the  West 
side,  known  as  the  Jackson  &  Tschumy 
block,  and  one  on  the  East  side,  which 
is  occupied  by  his  factory.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  several  societies — the  National 
Union,  the  Red  Cross,  the  Royal  Ar- 
canum and  the  F.  &  A.  M.  He  married 
Miss  Mary  Sharp,  of  Fremont,  Ohio,  and 
has  three  daughters — Lulu,  Nellie  and 
Edith. 


JOHN  FLORO,  a  retired  farmer  and 
probably  the  oldest  living  resident  of 
Erie  township,  Ottawa  county,  was 
born  in  Hamilton  count}',  Ohio,  Oc- 
tober 7,  1810.  He  is  a  son  of  David  and 
Anna  (Leonard)  Floro,  the  former  of 
whom  was  a  native  of  Kentucky,  and  the 
latter  of  Virginia,  and  in  whose  family 
were  twelve  children,  of  whom  five  are 
yet  living,  namely:  John  E. ,  subject  of 
this  sketch;  Joseph,  who  is  residing  in 
Carroll  township,  Ottawa  county;  David, 
whose  home  is  in  Oak  Harbor,  Ohio; 
Jesse,  a  resident  of  Oklahoma;  and  Lu- 
cilla,  wife  of  Abraham  Stouts,  a  resident 
of  Benton  township,  Ottawa  county. 

W'hen  our  subject  was  only  three 
years  of  aee  his  parents  removed  to  Clark 
county,  Ohio,  where  he  was  reared  to 
manhood,  and  received  such  limited  ed- 
ucational privileges  as  were  afforded  the 
children  of  those  early  days  in  the  old  log 
schoolhouse  with  its  slab  seats  and  other 
primitive  furniture.  In  1832  he  took  up 
his  residence  in  Erie  township,  Ottawa 
county,  and  for  sixt3'-three  years  has  been 
one  of  its  honored  and  valued  citizens; 
to-day  he  is  one  of  the  few  remaining 
pioneers  of  the  county  who  have  been 
spared  to  see  the  primeval  forest  trans- 
formed into  cultivated  farms  with  their 
fields  of  waving  grain,  while  substantial 
and  imposing  residences  have  taken  the 
place  of  the  rude  log  cabins. 

Mr.  Floro  has  been  twice  married. 
In  April,  1843,  in  Erie  township,  he 
wedded    Miss    Lydia    Deer,   daughter   of 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


837 


Lyman  and  Melinda  Deer,  who  were  na- 
tives of  New  York,  and  early  settlers  of 
Erie  township,  Ottawa  county.  By  this 
union  were  born  twelve  children,  and 
seven  still  survive,  a  brief  record  of  them 
being  as  follows:  Anna,  born  August  1 8, 
1844,  is  now  the  wife  of  Daniel  Sinclair, 
of  Carroll  township,  Ottawa  county; 
David,  who  was  born  January  18,  1846, 
is  residing  in  Carroll  township;  Ezekiel, 
who  was  born  December  10,  1847,  is  a 
resident  farmer  of  Benton  township,  Ot- 
tawa county;  Isaac  M.,  born  Aprir28, 
1848,  makes  his  home  in  Erie  township; 
Jacob,  born  August  28,  1857,  is  located 
in  Lacarne;  Esther  Ann,  born  January 
I,  1859,  is  the  wife  of  Henry  Fink,  a 
farmer  of  Carroll  township;  John  E., 
born  February  15,  1S61,  is  living  on  the 
old  home  farm  with  his  father.  The 
mother  of  this  family  passed  away  March 
4,  1864,  and  on  November  3,  1864,  Mr. 
Floro  was  united  in  marriage  with  Eliza- 
beth Williams,  whose  parents  were  resi- 
dents of  Carroll  township,  Ottawa  coun- 
ty. Two  children  came  to  the  second 
marriage,  one  now  living — Frances,  born 
October  15,  1865. 

Mr.  Floro  efficiently  filled  the  office 
of  justice  of  the  peace  for  three  years, 
and  has  been  called  to  other  positions  of 
public  trust  in  the  township,  although  he 
has  never  been  an  office  seeker.  Through- 
out his  entire  life  he  has  adhered  to  the 
principles  of  the  Democratic  part\',  and 
is  one  of  its  stalwart  supporters.  He  has 
always  been  highly  esteemed  for  his  sterl- 
ing worth  and  strict  integrity,  and  his  is 
an  honored  old  age,  in  which  he  is  sur- 
rounded b\'  man\'  friends  who  respect  him 
in  the  highest  degree. 

Jacob  Floro,  son  of  this  honored 
pioneer,  was  born  August  28,  1857,  and 
was  educated  in  the  district  schools  of 
Erie  township,  where  his  entire  life  has 
been  passed.  He  is  numbered  among 
the  leading  farmers  of  his  locality,  and 
possesses  business  ability  of  a  high  order. 
In  politics  he  is  a  stalwart  Democrat,  and 


he  is  a  member  of  the  Grange.  His 
family  attend  the  United  Brethren  Church. 
On  July  29,  1882,  he  was  married  at  Lo- 
cust Point,  Ohio,  to  Julia  Finken,  who 
was  born  in  Carroll  township,  Ottawa 
county,  January  22,  1861,  and  is  a  daugh- 
ter of  Henry  and  Mary  (Bauman)  Finken. 
They  have  two  children — Milton  H., 
born  August  20,  1884;  and  Perinthia 
Mabel,  born  April  22,   1894. 

John  E.  Floro,  the  youngest  son  in 
the  family,  was  born  on  the  old  home 
farm,  February  15,  1861,  and  through 
his  youth  attended  the  district  schools  of 
the  neighborhood,  also  aiding  in  the 
labors  of  the  farm.  He  early  became 
familiar  with  agricultural  life  in  its  various 
departments,  and  now  in  his  father's  de- 
clining years  he  manages  and  operates 
the  old  homestead;  thus  relieving  his 
father  of  all  business  care.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  Carroll  township,  Ottawa  county, 
November  19,  1885,  to  Mary  Ann  Bal- 
lard, who  was  born  February  27,  1867.  a 
daughter  of  James  and  Mary  M.  (Perrey) 
Ballard.  They  now  have  had  three  chil- 
dren— Pearl  May,  born  January  29,  1886; 
Estella,  born  April  8,  1891;  and  Harvey 
D.,  born  February  25,  1893.  John  E. 
Floro  has  served  as  supervisor  of  his 
township  for  four  years,  and  in  his  polit- 
ical faith  is  a  Democrat.  A  wide-awake 
and  progressive  young  man,  he  is  devoted 
to  the  best  interests  of  the  community, 
and  is  a  representative  farmer  and  popu- 
lar citizen,  both  widely  and  favorablj' 
known  in  Ottawa  county. 


FRANK  O'FARRELL,    member  of 
the  firm    of   McSheehy  &  O'Far- 
rell,    attorneys   at  law,  Fremont, 
Sandusky  county,  was  born  in  San- 
dusky City,  Erie  Co. ,  Ohio,  May  24,  1856, 
a  son   of   James    and   Bridget  (Conway) 
O'Farrell. 

James  O'Farrell  was  born  in  County 
Tyrone,  Ireland,  in  1824,  and  died  in 
1872.      Bridget  (Conway),  his  wife,   was 


838 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOQRAPniCAL  RECORD. 


was  also  born  in  Tyrone,  Ireland,  and 
died  in  1881.  Jaines  O'Farrell  came  to 
America  in  1840  and  located  in  Phila- 
delphia, where  he  was  married  in  1851. 
ImmediateU'  after  marriage  the  young 
couple  migrated  to  Sandusky  City,  Ohio, 
where  Mr.  O'Farrell  engaged  in  farming. 
In  1859  they  removed  to  Scott  township, 
where  their  deaths  occurred  at  the  dates 
above  named.  James  O'Farrell  had  a 
brother,  Patrick,  who  died  in  Providence, 
Rhode  Island,  and  he  has  four  sisters 
there,  three  of  whom  are  maiden  ladies. 
The  mother  of  Frank  O'Farrell  has  two 
brothers,  Michael  and  James,  who  left 
Philadelphia  and  were  thought  to  have 
gone  south;  but  as  the  rest  of  the  family 
removed  to  Ohio  they  were  unable  after- 
ward to  find  any  post  office  address  of 
each  other.  The  mother  of  our  subject 
has  a  sister  who  married  Michael  Con- 
nelly, and  they  live  in  Scott  township, 
Sandusky  Co,  Ohio. 

Frank  O'Farrell  is  one  of  six  children, 
as  follows:  _(i)  Mary  A.,  wife  of  Martin 
Murphy.  (2)  John,  who  lives  in  Fre- 
mont, Ohio.  (3)  Our  subject.  (4)  Rev. 
Thomas,  who  died  in  Baltimore,  Md. , 
three  months  before  the  date  set  for  his 
ordination  as  a  Catholic  priest;  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Order  of  Josephites,  who 
devote  their  lives  to  the  education  and 
elevation  of  the  negroes  in  the  South. 
(5)  Elizabeth,  who  married  Maurice 
Cummings,  and  is  now  deceased.  (6) 
Patrick  Henry,  single.  Our  subject  grew 
to  manhood  in  Sandusky  county,  and  at- 
tended the  district  schools.  In  1872  he 
entered  the  North-Western  Ohio  Normal 
School  at  Republic,  Ohio,  and  taught 
his  first  term  of  school  in  Montgomery 
county,  that  winter.  After  this  he  worked 
his  way  up,  alternating  between  teaching 
school  and  attending  college.  He  taught 
in  all  eight  terms,  and  having  acquired  a 
high  degree  of  mental  discipline,  he  spent 
his  spare  time  during  the  latter  period  of 
teaching,  in  reading  law,  under  the  tutor- 
ship of  Hon.   J.   L.    Greene  &  Son,  Fre- 


mont, Ohio.  He  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1S81,  and  for  the  first  two  or  three 
years  practiced  by  himself,  in  Fremont. 
He  then  entered  into  partnership  with 
Hon,  J.  T.  Carver,  and  subsequently 
with  Hon.  Thomas  McSheehy,  of  Fre- 
mont. Mr.  O'Farrell  is  a  well-known 
and  popular  attorney,  and  has  built  up  a 
lucrative  practice.  He  served  for  seven 
years  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  county 
school  examiners,  and  has  been  actively 
identified  with  the  best  interests  of  the 
Democratic  party  in  Sandusky  county, 
for  which  he  has  served  as  delegate  to 
various  congressional  and  other  conven- 
tions. He  is,  as  were  all  his  people,  an 
ardent  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church.  He  is  a  member  of  the  C.  M. 
B.  A.,  and  was  State  delegate  from  Ohio 
to  that  Association,  at  their  Supreme 
Council  in  October,  1894. 

Mr.  O'Farrell  married  Miss  Catharine 
O'Connor,  who  was  born  in  Sanduskj' 
county,  Ohio,  May  23,  1859,  a  daughter 
of  Bryan  O'Connor,  a  well-known  farmer 
of  the  county.  Their  children  are  James 
A.,  Bryan  Francis,  Henry  Vincent,  Ed- 
ward and  Thomas. 


WILLIAM     E.     WORM  AN,     the 
obliging  and  efficient  postmas- 
ter at  Vickery,  Townsend  town- 
ship,    Sandusky     county,     was 
born   in    Riley    township,   same    county, 
September  27,     1864,    and    is   a    son    of 
Conrad  and  Rosanna  Worman. 

Conrad  Worman  was  born  March  26, 
181 5,  in  the  State  of  Ohio,  of  Penn.syl- 
vania  parentage.  He  first  married  Miss 
Timmanus,  by  whom  he  had  two  chil- 
dren, one  of  whom  is  Mrs.  Catherine 
McCreery,  of  Riley  township.  Mr.  Wor- 
man, for  his  second  wife,  was  married  in 
1850  to  Miss  Rosanna  Daniels,  born 
June  II,  1831,  and  of  the  children  of 
this  marriage — David,  who  now  resides 
at  Amsden,  Seneca  Co.,  Ohio,  is  the  eld- 
est;   the  others  being:   Flora  (deceased); 


/ 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


839 


three  who  died  in  infancy;  Mary,  now 
Mrs.  Dr.  H.  E.  Deemer.  of  Castalia, 
Erie  Co. ,  Ohio;  Irvin,  deceased;  William 
E. ,  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Eugene, 
deceased;  A.  C,  of  Riley  township;  and 
and  Alvina,  now  Mrs.  Thomas  Graves, 
of  Vickery.  The  parents  of  Mr.  Wor- 
nian's  second  wife  came  from  New  York 
State.  Conrad  Worman  was  a  frugal, 
hard-working  agriculturist,  and  his  wife  a 
helpmate  worthy  of  the  praise  so  freely 
bestowed  upon  her.  Mr.  Worman  ended 
his  labors  here  in  March,  1892,  and  his 
wife  followed  him  to  the  grave  on  Sep- 
tember I,  of  the  succeeding  year. 

William  E.  Worman,  our  subject,  at- 
tended the  common  school    until  man- 
hood, then   taught    two  terms   of  school, 
after  which  he   began   farming,  which  he 
continued  until   1890,      He  then  came  to 
Vickery  and  opened  a  general  mercantile 
store.      In  November.  1893,    he  was  ap- 
pointed postmaster,   by  President  Cleve- 
land,   vice    Chaunccy  Daniels.      He    now 
has  a  flourishing  trade,  besides   attending 
to  Uncle  Sam's  postal  matters.      On  Oc- 
tober  14,   1885,  Mr.  W^orman  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Nettie  May  Mosier,  who 
was   born    February    14,    1866,    in    Riley 
township,  and  they  have  three  children, 
namely:  Howard  Lee,  born  October   14, 
1886;  Alfred  Conrad,  April  6,  1890;  and 
Flossie    Dell,    February  14,   1894.      Mrs. 
W.    E.    Worman's   mother,    Mrs.    Lottie 
M.  Mosier,  resides  with  her  daughter  and 
son-in-law,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Worman.      She 
was  born   in    Riley   township,  November 
22.   1835,  and  is  a  daughter  of  Jacob  and 
Susan   (Story)   Stull.      In    1855   she   was 
married  to  Jonathan   Roberts,  of   Huron 
county,  Ohio,  and   they  have  one  child, 
Hiram,    now     living     in     Vickery.      Mr. 
Roberts    died  in    1858   from   injuries   re- 
ceived by  a  tree  falling  on  him.      In  1861 
she  married  James  W^atson,  of  New  York, 
who  was   killed   before  Atlanta  in  1864. 
Their  children  were  Clara   Louise,  Con- 
rad and   a   boy  who  died.      In    1865    the 
widow  was  married  to  Nelson  S.  Mosier, 
53 


of  Michigan,  and  their  children  were: 
Nettie  M.  (Mrs.  Worman),  three  who 
died  in  infancy,  and  Minnie  \.  (Mrs.  John 
Smart,  of  Vickery). 


HENRY  WONNELL,  one  of  the 
enterprising  and  successful  farm- 
ers and  fruit  growers  of  Portage 
township,  Ottawa  county,  was 
born  September  3,  1832,  in  the  township 
which  is  still  his  home,  and  is  a  son  of 
Parker  and  Leah  (Pusey)  Wonnell,  both 
of  whom  were  natives  of  Maryland.  Mi- 
grating westward  to  Ohio,  they  took  up 
their  residence  in  Portage  township,  Ot- 
tawa county,  in  1822,  at  which  time  this 
region  was  a  vast  wilderness.  They  con- 
tinued to  reside  in  the  township  in  which 
they  located  until  called  to  the  home  be- 
yond, and  were  highly  respected  people. 
Both  are  now  deceased,  the  mother  pass- 
ing away  in  February,  1895.  They  were 
the  parents  of  a  family  of  si.\  children, 
of  whom  four  are  still  living,  namely: 
Benjamin  F.,  who  is  residing  in  Portage 
township,  Ottawa  county;  Henry,  subject 
of  this  sketch;  Thomas  who  is  living  in 
Lakeside,  Danbury  township, same  county; 
and  Nancy,  wife  of  Herman  Ingiebeck. 

In  presenting  to  our  readers  the  life 
record  of  Henry  Wonnel  we  feel  assured 
that  it  will  prove  of  interest  to  many,  for 
he  has  a  wide  circle  of  friends  and  ac- 
quaintaces  in  his  locality.  Amid  the 
wild  scenes  of  the  frontier  he  was  reared 
to  manhood,  his  education  was  obtained 
in  the  district  schools,  and  his  occupation 
since  boyhood  has  been  fishing  and  farm- 
ing. During  the  past  twelve  years  he  has 
carried  on  fruit  growing  in  connection 
with  agricultural  pursuits,  and  this  branch 
of  his  business  has  proved  a  profitable 
one.  He  raises  fine  varieties  of  fruits 
adapted  to  this  climate,  and  his  place  is 
neat  and  thrifty  in  appearance,  indicating 
his  careful  supervision.  Mr.  Wonnell's 
labors  wore  interrupted  in  October,  1862. 
I  when   he   was  drafted  for  service  in    the 


840 


COMMEMORATIVE   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


United  States  army,  but  on  reaching 
Cleveland  he  procured  a  substitute  and 
returned  to  his  home.  In  1863  he  enlisted 
in  the  one-hundred-days  service,  but  again 
procured  a  substitute. 

On  December  24,  1859,  Mr.  Wonnell 
was  united  in  marriage  on  Catawba  Island, 
with  Miss  Clarissa  Barss,  a  daughter  of 
G.  H.  and  Betsy  (Turner)  Barss.  Her 
father  is  still  living  and  resides  on  Ca- 
tawba Island,  but  her  mother  is  now 
deceased.  Mrs.  Wonnell  was  born  in 
Fulton  county,  N.Y.,  in  September,  1837, 
and  died  August  19.  1S94.  She  was  the 
mother  oi  three  children — Edgar  G. ,  who 
was  born  October  7,  i860,  and  resides  in 
Portage  county;  Otis  H.,  who  was  born 
March  24,  1862,  and  is  living  in  Portage 
township,  Ottawa  county;  and  Etta,  born 
September  10,  1867.  Mr.  Wonnell  is  a 
valued  member  of  several  fraternal  or- 
ganizations, being  connected  with  O.  H: 
Perry  Lodge  No.  341,  F.  &  A.  M. ;  Port 
Clinton  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F. ;  the  Knights 
of  Honor;  and  the  Sons  of  Malta.  In 
his  political  views  he  is  a  Republican, 
and  the  family  attends  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  A  wide-awake,  pro- 
gressive citizen,  he  manifests  a  commend- 
able interest  in  all  matters  pertaining  to 
the  weltare  of  the  county,  and  holds  a 
high  position  in  the  esteem  of  his  fellow 
citizens.  He  is  numbered  among  the  hon- 
ored pioneers  of  the  county,  and  for  over 
sixty  years  he  has  witnessed  its  growth 
and  development,  and  aided  in  its  progress 
and  advancement. 


WILLIAM  SCHROEDER,  a  pros- 
perous    farmer    of     Woodville 
township,  Sandusky  county,  was 
born     in     Hanover,     Germany, 
April  6,  1832,  son   of   Charles   and  Julia 
(Glaisecik)  Schroeder. 

Charles  Schroeder  was  a  shoemaker 
by  trade.  He  came  to  America  in  1842, 
and  located  in  Woodville  township,  San- 
dusky Co. ,  Ohio,  where  both   he  and   his 


wife  died.  \\'illiam  Schroeder  attended 
a  German  school  for  a  short  time,  then 
worked  out  for  six  years,  after  which  he 
learned  the  carpenter's  trade  and  followed 
same  for  five  years.  On  February  28, 
1857,  William  Schroeder  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Mary  Hurrelbrink,  who 
was  born  in  Woodville  township,  Sandus- 
ky county,  November  22,  1839,  and  they 
have  had  ten  children,  as  follows:  Carl, 
born  January  16,  1858,  died  March  6, 
1858;  Caroline,  born  March  21,  1859, 
married,  and  died  in  1890  leaving  three 
children;  Sophia  S.,  born  November  17, 
1867,  married  Henry  Creger,  of  Wood- 
ville township;  Ricca,  born  February  27, 
1864,  married  John  Bodelhein,  and  they 
live  in  Wood  county;  Henry  A.,  born  Oc- 
tober 13,  1866,  lives  in  Woodville  town- 
ship; Frederick  H.,  born  January  12, 
1859,  died  January  28,  1869;  Lucy,  born 
March  8,  1870,  married  Joseph  Over- 
meyer,  of  Wood  county;  Louis  J.,  born 
No\ember  22,  1873;  John  Henry,  born 
October  5,  1875,  and  Herman  J.,  born 
July  16,   1877. 

Mr.  Schroeder  has  261  acres  of  very 
valuable  land,  situated  in  the  oil  district, 
on  which  he  has  twenty-one  oil  wells,  the 
entire  number  giving  a  good  yield.  He  is 
a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  has  been 
school  director  and  road  supervisor  for 
several  years.  He  attends  the  Lutheran 
Church. 


G 


EORGE  J.  HUFFORD.  In  the 
history  of  Sandusky  county  this 
gentleman  well  deserves  mention, 
for  he  is  one  of  the  leading  and 
influential  citizens  of  Washington  town- 
ship, and  is  one  of  the  native  sons  of  the 
locality.  His  birth  occurred  in  Sandusky 
township,  Sandusky  county,  March  29, 
1844.  His  parents,  James  and  Harriet 
Hufford,  came  to  Ohio  from  Pennsylvania, 
and  cast  in  their  lot  with  the  pioneer 
settlers  of  Sandusky  county,  at  a  day 
when  settlements  were  widely  scattered^ 


COMMEMORATIVE  BWORAPHWAL  RECORD. 


841 


and  much  of  the  land  was  still  in  its 
primitive  condition,  and  when  the  work 
of  progress  and  civili;iation  seemed  scarce- 
ly beg^un.  They  both  lived  to  a  ripe  old 
age  and  reared  a  large  family  of  children, 
most  of  whom  still  reside  in  this  section  of 
the  State. 

No  event  of  special  importance  oc- 
curred during  the  boyhood  and  youth  of 
George  Hufford,  he  spending  his  time  in 
the  usual  manner  of  farmer  lads,  attend- 
ing the  district  schools  through  the  winter 
season  and  working  in  the  fields  during 
the  summer  months.  Thus  he  early  be- 
came familiar  with  all  the  duties  that  fall 
to  the  lot  of  the  agriculturist,  and  when 
he  began  business  for  himself  his  experi- 
ence was  such  as  to  make  his  career  a 
successful  one.  He  gave  the  benefit  of 
his  services  to  his  father  until  twenty- 
three  years  of  age,  when  he  came 
to  Washington  township,  where  he 
has  since  made  his  home,  successfully 
engaged  in  farming.  About  the  time  of 
his  marriage  he  purchased  his  land,  and 
his  time  and  energies  have  since  been  de- 
voted to  its  cultivation.  The  fields  are 
now  well  tilled,  and  he  has  added  to  the 
place  many  improvements,  which  stand  as 
a  monument  to  his  thrift  and  enterprise. 

Mr.  Ifufford  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Sophia  Nickles,  daughter  of 
Peter  Nickles,  and  their  home  has  been 
blessed  with  two  children,  a  son  and  a 
daughter:  John  Franklin,  born  Decem- 
ber 31,  1 871;  and  Rosa  Belle,  born  Oc- 
tober 8,  1874.  Both  are  still  at  home. 
The  Hufford  household  is  noted  for  its 
hospitality,  and  the  members  of  the  family 
have  many  warm  friends  throughout  the 
community,  holding  a  high  position  in  the 
social  circles  in  which  they  move.  Our 
subject  is  a  member  of  the  Evangelical 
Church,  and  his  political  sympathies  are 
with  the  principles  advocated  by  the  Peo- 
ple's party.  Such  is  the  life  record  of 
one  of  Sandusky  county's  native  sons,  and 
though  it  is  not  tilled  with  events  of  an 
exciting  natnre,  it  cannot  fail  to  be  of  in- 


terest, as  is  the  history  of  every  man  who 
does  his  duty  to  his  country,  himself  and 
his  fellow  men. 


M 


HEUMAN,  who  during  his  act- 
ive business  career  has  become 
well  known  in  Rocky  Ridge, 
Ottawa  county,  as  one  of  its 
progressive  and  esteemed  citizens,  was 
born  August  5,  1866,  in  New  Orleans, 
La.  ,<  of  German  descent.  David  Heu- 
man,  his  father,  was  born  in  Germany, 
October  21,  1833,  and  in  1857  came  to 
this  country,  settling  at  New  Orleans,  La., 
where  he  married  Selina  Kraemer,  who 
was  born  in  that  city  in  1 844.  They  lived 
there  until  1S72,  when  they  moved  to 
Jackson,  Mich. ,  thence  removing  to  Rocky 
Ridge,  Ottawa  Co.,  Ohio,  where  Mr. 
Heunian  now  has  charge  of  his  son's  busi- 
ness. Mr.  Heuman's  grandparents  were 
born  in  Prussia  in  1800. 

Our  subject  lived  in  the  South  until 
his  seventh  year,  when  he  moved  with  his 
parents  to  Jackson,  Mich.  Here  he  lived 
for  nine  years,  attending  the  public  sshools 
of  the  city,  in  which  he  obtained  a  liberal 
education.  Leaving  Jackson  in  1882  he 
came  to  Rocky  Ridge  and  entered  the 
store  of  Smith  Bros.,  of  Jackson,  of 
which  his  father  was  the  manager.  He 
continued  as  clerk  until  1889,  when 
he  bought  out  the  entire  business  of 
the  Smith  Bros.,  manufacturers  of  lime 
and  charcoal,  which  he  now  owns  and 
operates.  In  1890  Mr.  Heuman  opened 
the  first  livery  stable  in  the  place,  with 
a  full  line  of  first-class  rigs,  and  the 
establishment  would  do  credit  to  a  town 
of  much  larger  proportions.  In  March, 
1893,  he  sold  out  his  store  to  L.  A. 
Beatty,  in  order  to  take  the  position 
of  traveling  salesman  with  the  Ohio 
Lime  Company,  of  Toledo,  of  which  he 
himself  is  a  member.  The  home  busi- 
ness he  leaves  in  charge  of  his  father. 
The  people  of  Rocky  Ridge  have  shown 
their  high  appreciation  of  Mr.  Heuman's 


842 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


ability  as  a  business  man  by  electing  him 
to  various  official  positions:  He  was  con- 
stable in  Benton  township  for  seven  years, 
village  marshal  six  years,  and  street  com- 
missioner six  years,  holding  all  these  po- 
sitions at  the  same  time;  for  some  time  he 
was  clerk  of  the  board  of  education  of 
Rocky  Ridge,  and  is  now  clerk  of  the 
board  of  health  of  the  village.  At  the  last 
village  election  he  was  also  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  village  council.  Mr.  Heuman 
is  a  member  of  the  following  fraternities: 
I.  O.  O.  F.,  Daughters  of  Rebekah  (to 
which  his  wife  also  belongs)  Knights  of 
Pythias  and  K.  O.  T.  M.,  at  present 
holding  the  position  of  district  deputy 
grand  master  of  Ottawa  county  in  the  I.  O. 
O.  F.  Politically  Mr.  Heuman  has  always 
been  a  Democrat.  He  takes  a  great  in- 
terest in  base  ball. 

On  October  23,  1889,  Mr.  Heuman 
was  married  to  Miss  Fanny  Weiger,  of 
Jackson,  Mich.  He  had  a  fine  home 
erected  and  nicely  furnished,  to  which  to 
bring  his  bride,  and  they  took  up  their 
residence  therein  immediately  after  their 
marriage.  To  their  union  has  come  one 
child,  Leon  Russell,  born  November  25, 
1893.  Mrs.  Fannie  (Weiger)  Heuman 
was  born  at  Treves,  Prussia,  March  26, 
1867,  and  when  a  child  came  to  America 
with  her  parents,  who  settled  in  Jackson, 
Mich. ,  where  she  lived  until  her  marriage, 
attending  the  public  schools  and  obtaining 
a  liberal  education.  For  five  years  pre- 
vious to  her  marriage  she  was  clerk  for 
Ivlrs.  M.  Freeman,  of  Jackson,  in  the  mil- 
linery business,  where  she  also  learned  the 
trade,  and  for  three  years  she  was  also 
clerk  for  the  dry-goods  firm  of  Toumey 
Bros.,  of  Jackson.  On  settling  in  Rocky 
Ridge  Mrs.  Heuman  very  soon  entered 
into  the  millinery  business,  in  which  she 
still  continues.  It  may  truly  be  said  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Heuman,  "  They  are  busi- 
ness," for  both  are  possessed  of  remarka- 
ble business  ability,  which  they  have  never 
allowed  to  lessen  for  want  of  exercise. 
Mrs.   Heuman's  parents,  Moses  and  Kat- 


rina  Weiger,  were  born  in  Germany,  the 
father  March  29,  1837,  the  mother  Janu- 
ary 4,  1840.  They  are  now  living  in  Jack- 
son, Mich.,  where  he  is  engaged  in  the 
jewelry  business. 


ADAM  HUMBURG  is  one  of  the 
worthy  citizens  that  the  Father- 
land has  furnished  to  Sandusky 
county.  He  was  born  in  Hessen, 
Germany,  on  September  3,  1856,  and  is 
a  son  of  John  and  Martha  (Hoopfelt) 
Humburg,  who  were  natives  of  the  same 
countr}'.  They  were  the  parents  of  the 
following  named  children:  Eliza,  de- 
ceased wife  of  Mr.  Killen,  a  farmer  of 
Oklahoma;  Adam,  whose  name  introduces 
this  sketch;  John,  who  is  engaged  in 
farming  in  Oklahoma;  Marie,  wife  of  J. 
Brewnor,  who  is  living  in  Hanover,  Ger- 
many; Lizzie,  wife  of  H.  Weaver,  of  Ok- 
lahoma; and  August.  The  parents  re- 
mained in  their  native  land  until  1886, 
when  they  bade  adieu  to  home  and 
friends  and  crossed  the  ocean  to  the  New 
World,  locating  in  Oklahoma.  Thej'  are 
still  living,  now  well  advanced  in  years, 
the  father  having  been  born  June  6, 
1820,  while  the  mother's  birth  occurred 
in  the  j-ear   1828. 

Adam  Humburg  spent  the  first  seven- 
teen years  of  his  life  in  the  land  of  his 
nativity,  and  its  public  schools  afforded 
him  his  educational  privileges.  He  then 
determined  to  come  to  America,  and 
setting  sail  he  landed  on  August  7,  1873, 
at  Castle  Garden.  His  destination  was 
Ohio,  whither  he  immediately  made  his 
way,  and  since  that  time  his  home  has 
been  in  Sandusky  county.  He  had  no 
capital  with  which  to  purchase  property, 
and  in  consequence  secured  a  position 
with  others,  working  for  a  few  years  on 
the  farm  of  Henry  Rowell,  for  a  small 
salary.  He  then  entered  the  employ  of 
John  Artz,  with  whom  he  remained  for 
nine  years,  a  trusted  and  faithful  employe. 
The  succeeding   three  years    of    his    life 


C0MMEM0BA7  IVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


843 


were  spent  in  the  service  of  George  King 
and  Mr.  Kiser,  in  the  capacity  of  field 
hand.  On  the  expiration  of  that  period 
he  paid  a  three-months'  visit  to  his  native 
land. 

Upon  his  return  from  Germany  Mr. 
Humburg  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Eliza  Kiser,  daughter  of  one  of  the 
wealthiest  farmers  of  the  county,  and 
their  union  has  been  blessed  with  a  fam- 
ily of  seven  children,  all  of  whom  are 
still  under  the  parental  roof,  namely: 
Martha,  Willie,  Emma,  Clara,  Franklin, 
Chester  and  Lucy.  Mr.  Humburg  is  an 
ardent  member  of  the  Reformed  Church, 
and  does  all  in  his  power  to  promote  its 
growth  and  upbuilding.  In  his  political 
views  he  is  a  Democrat,  but  has  no  time 
for  office-seeking,  preferring  to  give  his 
entire  attention  to  his  business  interests. 
He  is  a  wide-awake  and  enterprising  man, 
and  has  achieved  success  by  earnest  effort. 


FRRD    EMCH.    a   well-known    and 
popular     citizen     of     Woodville 
township,    Sandusky  county,  was 
born    in    Switzerland    September 
17,  183 1,  and  is  a  son  of  Urs  and  Eliza- 
beth (Baumgartner)  Emch. 

Urs  and  Elizabeth  (Baumgartner) 
Emch  were  the  parents  of  ten  children, 
as  follows:  Anna  lived  in  Switzerland  and 
died  there;  Benjamin  died  in  May,  1884; 
Elizabeth  married  Ben  Messer,  and  they 
had  three  children  (she  lived  and  died  in 
Switzerland);  John,  a  farmer  in  Wood 
county,  Ohio,  married  Mary  Weiss,  and 
they  had  thirteen  children  (he  died  in 
1876);  Nicholas,  a  farmer  of  Woodville 
township,  sketch  of  whom  will  be  found 
at  page  319;  Urs,  Jr.,  who  lives  in 
Woodville  township,  married  Annie 
Eisch,  and  they  had  six  children;  two 
children  died  in  infancy;  and  Fred  is  the 
subject  of  this  sketch.  Urs  Emch,  the 
father,  died  in  Switzerland  in  1835,  at  the 
age  of  forty-five  years.  In  1845  his 
widow  came  to  America  with  her  children, 


and  they  remained  a  short  time  in  Buffa- 
lo. Then,  in  June,  1845,  they  came  to 
Ohio,  and  located  in  Woodville  township, 
Sandusky  county,  being  among  the  first 
settlers  in  what  at  that  time  was  called 
the  "Black  Swamp."  They  bought 
land,  commenced  to  clear  it  and  put  up 
buildings,  and  the  first  year,  after  hard 
work,  they  managed  to  put  in  fifteen 
acres  of  wheat.  There  was  a  good  deal 
of  sickness  at  that  time,  and  one  of  the 
children  died  of  dropsy  the  same  season. 
The  mother  died  in  1854,  at  the  age  of 
sixty-one. 

At  the  age  of  sixteen  Fred  Emch 
started  out  in  life  for  himself,  first  going 
to  Toledo,  Ohio,  where  he  worked  in  a 
wholesale  store  about  one  year.  In  1850 
he  went  to  Tiffin,  Seneca  Co. ,  Ohio,  where 
he  learned  the  gunsmith's  trade,  following 
that  for  about  three  years.  In  1858  he 
moved  back  to  Woodville  township,  San- 
dusky county,  and  went  into  business  for 
himself,  and  he  has  made  his  home  here 
ever  since.  On  September  11,  1861,  he 
enlisted  in  Company  G,  Thirty-seventh 
O.  V.  I.,  serving  as  teamster.  They 
went  to  West  Virginia,  where  he  remained 
seventeen  months,  and  was  in  several 
battles,  and  later  was  in  Kentucky,  for 
about  three  weeks,  when  he  was  mustered 
out  and  returned  to  Woodville. 

On  March  17,  1853,  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Margaret  Hoffman,  and 
they  had  two  children,  namely:  Melinda, 
who  was  born  December  17,  1853,  mar- 
ried Joseph  McKinley,  and  had  two  chil- 
dren; and  Amelia,  born  October  5,  1859, 
who  died  at  the  age  of  five  years.  Mrs. 
Emch  died  at  the  age  of  thirty -one  years, 
and  was  buried  in  Woodville  cemetery. 
For  his  second  wife  Mr.  Emch  married 
Christina  Redert,  who  was  born  April  28, 
1843,  and  four  children  have  come  to 
them,  namely:  Mary,  who  died  in  infancy; 
Dora,  born  February  16,  1865,  who 
married  Aaron  Unger,  a  butcher  of  Wood- 
ville township,  Sandusky  county,  and  had 
three  children;  Etta,  born  July  2,    1871; 


844 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


and  Fred,  Jr.,  born  February  22,  1877. 
Mr.  Emch  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  was 
constable  for  twelve  years,  assessor  three 
years,  and  marshal  two  years. 


ALBERT   B.    ORTH,   one   of   the 
hustling    young   business    men   of 
Port    Clinton,      Ottawa    county, 
where  he  conducts  a  leading  con- 
fectionery business,    is    a  native  of   that 
city,  born  December  29,  i860. 

Frank  Orth,  his  father,  was  the 
youngest  of  six  brothers  who  emigrated 
from  German}'  to  the  United  States,  set- 
tling in  Detroit,  Mich.,  where  they  organ- 
ized a  musical  band  known  as  the  "Orth 
Brothers'  Band."  John  Orth,  Sr. ,  one 
of  these  brothers,  recently  died  at  De- 
troit, aged  eighty-seven  years.  Frank 
Orth  married  Miss  Mary  Wagoner,  and 
removed  to  Port  Clinton,  about  the  year 
1850,  where,  being  by  trade  a  shoemaker 
and  harness  maker  he  worked  for  several 
years  for  Joseph  Sylvester.  His  children 
were  :  Frances,  John,  Louis  and  Albert 
B.,  of  whom  Frances  married  Samuel 
Wisner,  a  carpenter  at  Port  Clinton,  and 
they  have  one  son  living.  John  is  a  hard- 
ware merchant  in  Port  Clinton,  Ohio. 
Louis,  a  tinner  by  trade,  married  Carrie 
Andrews,  a  daughter  of  Peter  Andrews,  a 
pioneer  of  Ottawa  county,  Ohio;  her 
father,  who  had  served  in  the  war  of  the 
Rebellion,  died  some  itime  afterward  at 
Port  Clinton,  where  the  widowed  mother 
is  yet  living. 

The  subject  proper  of  this  sketch  at- 
tended school  at  Port  Clinton  until  he 
was  thirteen  years  old,  when  he  began  to 
learn  the  baker's  trade  with  W.  S. 
F"laiighter,  for  whom  he  worked  thirteen 
years,  at  the  end  of  which  time,  on  ac- 
count of  ill  health,  he  was  obliged  to 
quit.  Two  years  later  he  bought  out  E. 
I.  Root,  and  opened  up  a  confectionery 
and  ice-cream  trade,  wholesale  and  retail, 
in  which  he  has  since  continued,  a  period 
of  about  eight  years.      On  September  1 1, 


1882,  Mr.  Orth  married  Miss  Cora  Holl- 
inshead,  daughter  of  Robert  Hollinshead, 
formerly  a  fish  dealer,  of  the  firm  of  R. 
Bell  &  Co.,  Port  Clinton,  Ohio,  later  a 
resident  of  Toledo,  and  now  living  in 
Iowa,  whose  children  were  :  Cora,  Harry 
C,  Lester,  Clara,  May  and  Eva;  of  whom, 
Harry  C.  is  a  fish  merchant  in  Port  Clin- 
ton; Lester,  single,  is  with  his  brother 
Harry  in  the  fish  business;  Clara  married 
John  Robecker,  butcher,  in  the  employ  of 
Kelley  &  Wanger,  of  Port  Clinton;  Eva 
married  Matthew  Hilsenbeck,  engineer  on 
the  Lake  Shore  and  Michigan  Southern 
railroad,  living  at  Toledo,  Ohio.  Albert 
and  Cora  Orth  have  no  children  of  their 
own,  but  have  adopted  one  little  girl, 
named  Bessie  Merrill. 


JAMES  P.  VICKERY,  farmer  and 
school  teacher,  York  township,  San- 
dusky county,  was  born  March  24, 
1864,  in  Groton  township,  Erie  Co., 
Ohio,  a  son  of  John  and  Jane  (Parker) 
Vickery,  who  both  came  from  England. 
Our  subject  came  with  his  parents  to 
Sandusky  county,  where  he  grew  up  on  a 
farm,  attended  country  schools  and  laid 
the  foundations  for  success  in  life.  At 
the  age  of  seventeen  he  began  teaching 
country  schools  during  the  winter  seasons, 
in  which  he  has  continued  during  the 
past  eleven  years.  His  first  term  was  in 
Seneca  county,  then  two  terms  in  Michi- 
gan, and  the  rest  in  Sandusky  county.  He 
now  resides  npon  and  works  the  homestead 
farm  of  his  father,  comprising  120  acres, 
in  York  township.  He  is  a  progressive, 
aspiring,  energetic  farmer,  and  takes  a 
lively  interest  in  the  Young  People's  So- 
ciety meetings  at  the  Mt.  Carmel  U.  B. 
Church,  not  far  from  his  home.  He  is 
a  Republican  in  politics,  but  no  partisan. 
On  April  2,  1890,  he  married  Miss  H. 
May  King,  of  Clyde,  Ohio,  daughter  of 
John  and  Mary  (Diment)  King,  and  born 
in  Bellevue,  Ohio,  October  5,  1866.  Her 
parents  were   married    in    1861,  lived    in 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOOIiAPmCAL  RECORD. 


845 


Bellevue  until  1877,  then  removed  to  a 
farm  in  York  township,  thence  in  18S2, 
to  Clyde,  Ohio,  where  they  have  since 
resided.  Mr.  King  is  a  blacksmith  by 
trade.  Their  children  were:  Matilda, 
born  in  1862,  died  in  infancy;  Louise, 
born  September  22,  1864,  married  A.  G. 
Winnie,  editor  of  the  Ottawa  County  Re- 
publican, of  Port  Clinton,  Ohio;  H.  May, 
wife  of  our  subject;  Minnie  Estelle,  born 
January  30,  1876,  now  a  senior  in  the 
Clyde  High  School. 

Mrs.  H.  May  \'ickery  attended  school 
at  Bellevue  until  she  reached  the  A  Gram- 
mar grade,  then  five  years  at  Birdseye 
Corners,  then  as  far  as  the  senior  class 
in  the  Clyde  High  School,  and  later  two 
terms  at  the  Green  Spring  Academy.  She 
has  taught  country  schools—  one  term  in 
Erie  county,  two  terms  in  Michigan,  and 
ten  terms  in  Sandusky  county.  Her 
present  farm  home  is  a  welcome  resort 
for  the  young  people  of  her  neighbor- 
hood. 


JOSIAH   HAGUE,  formerly  a  school 
teacher,    and    now  engaged    in   fruit 
culture    and     gardening,     Fremont, 
Sandusky  county,  was  born  in  Wayne 
county,    Ohio,    March  5,    1847,  a   son  of 
Christian  and    Mary   Magdalene   (Smith) 
Hague. 

Christian  Hague  was  born  in  1803,  in 
Wittenberg,  Germany,  where  his  father 
died,  and  the  lad  then  came  with  his 
mother  to  America.  She  and  he  located 
in  Wayne  county,  Ohio,  and  there  the 
mother  died.  Our  subject's  father  now 
lives  in  Burgoon,  Sandusky  county.  The 
maternal  grandparents  died  in  Wayne 
county;  they  were  Lutherans.  The  father 
was  one  of  ten  children,  and  he  was  the 
only  son  who  came  to  America;  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Reformed  Church.  Josiah 
Hague  was  one  of  ten  children,  as  fol- 
lows: Joseph,  farmer,  in  Michigan;  Sam- 
uel, who  joined  the  Seventy-second  Regi- 
ment, O.  V.    L,  and    was    killed  on  the 


way  home,  after  service  in  the  war  of  the 
Rebellion;  David,  who  was  a  soldier  during 
the  Civil  war,  was  wounded  in  Virginia,  and 
died  at  the  age  of  twenty-three,  after  the 
war;  our  subject  comes  next;  Andrew  J., 
who  died  one  year  since;  Catharine,  who 
married  Lorenzo  Abbott;  William,  who 
died  young;  Franklin;  Daniel,  who  died 
when  seven  years  old;  and  May,  wife  of 
Joseph  Doell. 

Our  subject  grew  up  in  Sandusky 
county,  on  a  farm,  attended  school  in 
Jackson  and  Ballville  townships,  and  in 
Adrian,  Mich.,  one  term,  then  at  Heidel- 
berg College,  Tiffin,  Ohio,  two  years.  He 
taught  country  school  in  Sandusky  and 
Seneca  counties  twenty-six  years.  He 
married  Miss  Antoinette  Worst,  who  was 
born  in  Sandusky  county,  April  22,  1858, 
and  they  have  three  children:  Hannah 
G.,  W'illiam  H.,  and  Orella. 

Josiah  Hague  enlisted  in  1864  in  Com- 
pany C,  One  Hundred  and  Eighty-fourth 
Regiment,  O.  V.  L,  and  served  in  south- 
ern Tennessee,  Alabama  and  Georgia. 
When  the  war  closed  he  returned  home. 
He  taught  his  last  term  of  school  in  1893, 
and  has  been  in  the  gardening  and  fruit- 
culture  business  eight  years.  He  operates 
about  thirty  acres  of  ground.  He  is  above 
the  average  man  in  intelligence,  a  Repub- 
lican in  politics,  and  takes  a  broad  view 
of  all  political  affairs. 


PKOF.  W.  V.  SMITH.  This  well- 
known  gentleman,  who  for  a  time 
was  superintendent  of  the  public 
schools  of  Port  Clinton,  Ottawa 
county,  was  born  in  Wyandot  county, 
Ohio,  March  20,  1863.  He  is  the  son  of 
W.  F.  and  Elizabeth  (Stevens)  Smith, 
both  natives  of  Ohio,  the  former  born  in 
Richland  county,  of  German  parentage, 
and  the  latter  in  Fairfield.  Mrs.  Smith's 
parents  came  from  the  East,  the  father 
from  New  England,  the  mother  from  Vir- 
ginia. The  maternal  grandmother  before 
her  marriage  was  Miss  Sarah  Morgan,  and 


846 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPEICAL  RECORD. 


was  descended  from  good  old  Revolution- 
ary stock,  Gen.  Morgan,  who  was  famous 
during  that  war,  being  her  uncle.  W.  F. 
Smith  has  always  followed  agricultural 
pursuits.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  attended 
the  country  schools  in  boyhood  days,  and 
later,  in  1887,  graduated  at  Ada  (Ohio) 
Normal  University.  Previous  to  this  he 
taught  in  country  schools,  but  after  that 
he  was  emploj'ed  in  graded  schools.  He 
taught  at  Rawson,  Hancock  count}',  for 
two  years,  and  was  for  three  j'ears  super- 
intendent of  schools  at  Caledonia.  For 
one  year  he  was  at  Genoa,  and  in  1893 
moved  to  Port  Clinton,  Ottawa  county, 
where  he  held  the  position  of  superintend- 
ent. Mr.  Smith  has  a  high-school  life 
certificate,  which  was  granted  him  by  the 
State  Board  of  E.xaminers  in  1890.  In 
1894  he  was  employed  to  take  charge  of 
the  Lakeside  Summer  School  of  Methods, 
Science,  Language  and  Literature,  which 
is  held  during  July  and  a  part  of  August 
at  Lakeside,  on  Lake  Erie,  not  far  from 
Toledo.  It  is  an  ideal  summer  resort,  the 
village  containing  a  population  of  about  two 
thousand  inhabitants,  and  having  all  the 
advantages  of  city  life,  such  as  electric 
lights,  water- works,  storesof  ail  kinds, etc., 
with  an  abundance  of  beautiful  lawns  and 
shade  trees.  It  is  within  sight  of  Kelley's 
Island  and  Put  in  Bay,  and  excursion  par- 
ties to  these  historic  places  are  numerous. 
The  school  was  established  for  teachers 
and  students  who  may  wish  to  carry  on 
their  work  during  a  part  of  their  vacation, 
and  the  best  of  teachers,  lectures,  nnisic 
and  amusements  are  provided.  Rest,  rec- 
reation and  study  are  combined,  and  the 
life-giving  lake  breezes  lone  up  the  sys- 
tem so  that  the  tired  workers  go  back  to 
their  toil  in  the  school-room  refreshed 
both  mentally  and  physically.  Prof.  Smith 
was  most  successful  as  manager  of  this 
delightful  school,  he  being  acknowledged 
as  one  of  the  most  advanced  educational 
workers  in  Ohio,  and  a  man  of  great  e.\- 


ecutive  ability.  The  Professor  is  now 
(December,  1895)  manager  of  the  ''Cen- 
tral Magazine,"  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

Our  subject  was  married,  in  Wyandot 
county,  Ohio,  to  Miss  Dora  Staller,  who 
was  a  teacher  in  that  count}'.  In  politics 
he  is  a  Democrat,  and  in  religious  faith  he 
is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  Sociall}'  he  affiliates  with  the 
I.  O.  O.  F. 


WILLIAM  SHERBROOK,  retired 
farmer,  is  numbered  among  the 
early  settlers  cf  Bay  township, 
Ottawa  county,  having  been 
identified  with  its  history  from  an  early 
day.  He  was  born  in  Devonshire,  Eng- 
land, near  Exeter,  August  19,  18 16,  and 
is  a  son  of  John  and  Nancy  (Nichols) 
Sherbrook,  natives  of  the  same  locality. 
The  father  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  the 
United  States  in  1820,  and  for  four  years 
engaged  in  surveying  in  what  is  now  Ot- 
tawa and  Sandusky  counties,  Ohio,  assist- 
ing in  the  first  surveys  made  in  these 
counties.  About  1828  he  returned  to 
England  for  his  family,  and  the  same  year 
brought  them  to  America.  Six  weeks 
were  spent  upon  the  water,  during  which 
experience  they  encountered  several  severe 
storms,  but  at  length  reached  Mirimachi, 
New  Brunswick,  where  they  remained 
until  the  fall  of  the  same  year,  when  they 
removed  to  Quebec,  where  the  father 
worked  on  a  farm  for  three  years.  About 
1832  Mr.  Sherbrook  took  his  family  to 
Toronto,  Canada,  and  near  there  pur- 
chased a  farm  which  he  operated  some 
nine  years.  In  1841  he  again  came  to 
Ohio,  locating  in  what  is  now  Bay  town- 
ship, Ottawa  county,  but  was  then  a  part 
of  Sandusky  county,  and  an  almost  un- 
broken wilderness,  the  home  of  Indians 
and  the  haunt  of  wild  beasts.  Here  the 
parents  spent  their  remaining  days. 

Our  subject  was  a  child  of  some  five 
summers  when  the  family  came  to  this 
country.  He  went  through  all  the  trials  and 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPEICAL  RECORD. 


847 


hardships  experienced  by  frontier  settlers, 
and  in  the  school  of  experience  learned 
the  lessons  which  have  made  him  a  well- 
informed  man,  for  his  educational  privi- 
\eges  were  extremely  limited.  Throughout 
his  active  business  career  he  carried  on 
general  farming,  and  untiring  industry, 
frugality  and  perseverance  in  course  of 
time  brought  to  him  a  handsome  compe- 
tence which  now  enables  him  to  live  re- 
tired, enjoying  the  rest  which  he  has  truly 
earned  and  richly  deserves. 

Mr.  Shcrbrook  was  married  in  Bay 
township,  Ottawa  county,  May  6,  1841, 
to  Susan  Pickard,  who  was  born  in  Que- 
bec, Canada,  and  is  a  daughter  of  Freder- 
ick and  Mary  (MacGregor)  Pickard.  Ten 
children  were  born  to  them,  as  follows: 
John,  on  February  25,  1843,  now  a 
prominent  farmer  of  Richfield  township, 
Henry  Co.,  Ohio;  Joseph,  November  5, 
1845,  died  December  3,  1873;  James, 
August  2,  1847,  now  residing  in  Bay  town- 
ship; Jesse,  November  25,  1849,  also  in 
Bay  township;  Mary  J.,  August  28,  1851, 
died  July  28,  1854;  George,  June  26,  1853, 
died  February  28,  1869;  Edwin,  April  17, 
1855,  died  December  27,  1873;  Minerva, 
May  15,  1856,  died  May  i,  1859;  Harvey, 
May  29,  1858,  died  June  24,  1881;  and 
Reuben,  June  27,  i860,  died  in  St.  Clair, 
Kans. ,  September  26,  1886.  In  politics, 
Mr.  Sherbrook  is  a  stanch  Republican, 
and  he  attends  the  United  Brethren 
Church.  His  long  residence  has  made 
him  known  to  a  wide  circle  of  acquaint- 
ances, and  he  has  many  warm  friends. 


JOHN  STONE,  a  very  prominent  and 
progressive  fruit  grower  of  Catawba 
Island,  was  born  March  5,  1821, 
about  fourteen  miles  from  Simcoe, 
in  the  Province  of  Ontario,  Canada,  and 
is  a  son  of  John  and  Leah  (Manuel)  Stone, 
the  former  a  native  of  Ontario,  the  latter 
of  Nova  Scotia. 

When  our  subject  was  a  child  of  six 
years   his   father  removed  to  Cleveland, 


Ohio,  where  he  remained  about  six  years, 
and  then  returned  to  Canada.  Seven 
years  later  he  took  up  his  residence  at 
Vermilion,  Ohio.  During  the  greater 
part  of  his  early  life  he  was  engaged  in 
sailing  on  the  lakes,  and  he  placed  the 
first  stones  of  the  Cleveland  pier  in  posi- 
tion. Subsequently  he  abandoned  that 
pursuit  and  took  up  agriculture,  which  he 
followed  at  Port  Huron  until  called  to  his 
final  rest.  His  wife  died  in  Canada  about 
1 870,  at  a  very  advanced  age.  They  had 
a  family  of  six  children,  three  of  whom 
are  yet  living:  Amelia,  widow  of  the  late 
John  McDonald,  a  resident  of  St.  Will- 
iams, Ontario;  John,  subject  of  this 
sketch;  and  George,  a  captain  and  vessel 
owner,  member  of  the  firm  of  Bradley, 
Cobb  &  Co. 

John  Stone  accompanied  his  parents 
on  their  various  removals  during  his  boy- 
hood, and  when  yet  a  mere  lad  went  with 
his  father  on  the  lakes.  In  later  years  he 
followed  sailing,  engaging  in  that  pursuit 
until  1844,  when  he  came  to  Ottawa 
county,  Ohio.  For  one  year  he  lived  in 
Marblehead,  where  he  worked  at  the 
carpenter's  trade,  and  while  there  residing 
was  married  March  5,  1845,  to  Mary  E. 
Hanson.  In  the  fall  of  that  year  he  re- 
visited Canada,  but  in  June,  1846,  again 
came  to  Ohio,  locating  this  time  at  Plast- 
erbed,  where  he  worked  as  a  ship  carpen- 
ter for  two  years.  In  1848  he  removed 
to  Port  Clinton,  where  he  made  his  home 
for  about  eight  years,  and  during  that 
period  served  as  deputy  sheriff  some  four 
years.  The  remainder  of  the  time  he 
was  engaged  in  threshing  and  fishing. 
Previous  to  his  permanent  location  in  Put 
in  Bay  Mr.  Stone  rented  land,  with  fish- 
ing privileges,  on  which  he  built  a  shanty 
and  began  his  work,  driving  his  stakes 
with  a  maul.  He  finally  purchased  a  sail- 
boat in  which  he  carried  his  fish  to  San- 
dusky. In  1857  he  made  a  permanent 
location  and  continued  to  follow  his 
chosen  pursuit  on  Lake  Erie  until  1892. 
In  March  of  that  year,   he  abandoned  all 


848 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


other  work,  and  has  since  devoted  his  at- 
tention exclusively  to  fruit  growing. 

Mr.  Stone  has  filled  the  office  of  coun- 
ty commissioner  for  some  years,  and  was 
justice  of  the  peace  six  years.  He  is  a 
member  of  Oliver  H.  Perry  Lodge,  No. 
347,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  in  his  political 
views  is  a  Democrat.  His  long  residence 
in  the  locality  where  his  home  is  has  made 
him  widely  known,  and  his  genuine  worth 
has  won  hnn  high  regard. 


M 


YI^ON  E.  CLEMONS,  one  of 
the  highly-esteemed  citizens  of 
Danbury  township,  Ottawa 
county,  where  he  is  successfully 
engaged  in  fruit  growing,  was  born  Feb- 
ruary 25,  1838,  and  is  a  son  of  Alexander 
and  Almira  Angeline  (Hollister)  demons. 
The  district  schools  of  the  neighborhood 
afforded  him  his  educational  privileges, 
and  on  leaving  the  school-room  he  en- 
gaged in  the  business  of  fishing  on  the 
lakes,  which  he  successfully  followed  until 
1862,  in  which  year  an  irrepressible  desire 
to  serve  his  country  caused  his  enlistment 
on  the  I  3th  of  August. 

He  became  a  member  of  Company  G, 
One  Hundred  and  Twenty-third  O.  V.  I., 
and,  with  his  regiment,  participated  in 
many  engagements,  including  the  battles 
of  Winchester,  Newmarket,  Piedmont, 
Lynchburg,   Snicker's   Ferry,    Berryville, 


Opequon,  Fisher's  Hill,  Cedar  Creek, 
Petersburg,  High  Bridge  and  Appomattox, 
all  in  Virginia.  He  was  wounded  at 
the  battle  of  Thatcher  Run,  and  remained 
in  the  hospital  for  some  little  time.  He 
was  also  captured  by  the  Rebels  at  the 
battle  of  Winchester,  in  1862,  and  after 
about  thirty-two  days  spent  in  Libby 
prison  was  paroled.  He  then  rejoined 
his  regiment,  and  was  mustered  out  at 
Columbus,  June  12,  1865,  at  which  time 
he  was  in  the  hospital.  He  was  a  faith- 
ful soldier,  always  loyally  found  at  his 
post  of  duty.  On  becoming  convalescent 
he  returned  to  Marblehead,  and  for  some 
years  carried  on  the  dual  occupation  of 
fishing  and  farming,  but  for  the  past  seven 
years  he  has  devoted  his  entire  attention 
to  farming  and  fruit  growing. 

Mr.  demons  was  married  in  Dan- 
bury  township,  Ottawa  county,  December 
16,  1868,  to  Rena  E.  Fox,  who  was 
there  born,  June  6,  1844,  a  daughter  of 
James  S.  and  Anna  (James)  Fox,  both 
natives  of  Ontario,  Canada.  In  1844 
they  located  in  Danbury  township,  where 
they  spent  their  remaining  days,  the 
father  passing  away  February  11.  1884, 
the  mother  June  11,  1888.  Mr.  demons 
has  efficiently  filled  several  positions  of 
trust  in  his  township,  and  is  at  present 
acting  as  a  councilman  in  the  corporation. 
In  his  political  views  he  is  an  unswerving 
Republican,  and  he  and  his  wife  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 


\ 


INDKX. 


PAGE. 

Ahrens,  Carsten 708 

Ahrens,  Henry 708 

Ahrens,  John 708 

Aigler,  Amos 469 

Aiyler,   Isaac 469 

Aldrich,  Hon.  George  F..   294 

Aleshire,  W.J 463 

Alexander,  David 371 

Allen,  S.  D.,  M.  D 688 

Allyn,  Charles  L 402 

Allvn,  Frederick  A 401 

Allyn,  Mrs.  Sarah 401 

Ahnroth,  Conrad 822 

Almroth,  Henry  H 818 

Alniroth,   Peter   818 

Althoff,  William  H 369 

Ames.  David 701 

Ames,  Darlin  L 355 

Ames,  Joel  L 355 

Ames,  Lysander  L, 702 

Ames,  W.  V.  B.,  M.  D. . . .     26 

Ames,  William 790 

Anderson,  G.  A 634 

Anderson,  Henry 634 

Andrews,  John 809 

Anspach,  Allen 831 

Anspach,John  P 830 

Ansted,  J 80S 

Arnold,  Mrs.  Mary 815 

Arnold,  Peter 815 

Babcock,  Elisha 143 

Babcock,   Merlin 142 

Babcock,  Reuben  M 590 

Bailey,  George  W 478 

Baile V,  Lorenzo  S 478 

Bailey,  Mrs.  Mary  E 478 

Baker,  Charles  E.,  M.  D.  363 

Baker,  James 767 

Baker,  Peter 817 

Baker,  Samuel 767 

Baker,  William  J 637 

Baldwin   F'amily 436 

Baldwin,  Nelson  T 436 

Ball,  Miss  Eveline 650 

Ball,  Lysander  C 649 

Barnes,  Richard 612 


TACZ. 

Barnes,  Sag-ishmael 692 

Barnum,  John 779 

Barre,  Paul  de  la,  M.  D.  .   379 

Bartson,   John 283 

Baskey,  Frederick  G 287 

Batzole,  John 717 

Bauman,  John    F 431 

Baumann,  J.  &  Son 257 

Baumann,  Albert  V 144 

Baumann,  Jacob 144 

Baumann,   Jacob,  Jr 258 

Baumann,  Jacob,  Sr 257 

Bearss,  Gideon  H 676 

Bearss,  Hart 675 

Beaugrand  Family 42 

Beauprand,  Peter,  M.  D.     42 

Beclistein,  Andrew 586 

Beck,  Samuel 723 

Becker,  Aaron 774 

Becker,  Christopher 774 

Beebe,  Bela  B 670 

Beebe,  George  A 576 

Beebe,  Willis 577 

Behrman,  Henrj- 580 

Beier,  Frederick 535 

Beier,  Otto 535 

Beier,  Peter  J 201 

Beier,  William 827 

Bell,  Abraham 495 

Bell,  R 495 

Bemis,  Daniel 177 

Bemis.  J.  D.,  M.  D 85 

Bender,  John 806 

Betts  Family 199 

Betts,  Mrs.  Lavinia  D  . . .   199 

Betts,  Peter 6% 

Betts,  Richard  E 198 

Bickford,  George 595 

Billings,    O-scar 496 

Binklej-,  Mrs.  Diana  E. . .  735 

Biiikley,   John 816 

Birchard,  Sardis 55 

Bittinger,  D.  H 454 

Blank,  Abraham 155 

Blank,   Amos 202 

Blank,  William 202 


PAGE. 

Bleckner,  Charles 50] 

Bleckner,  William 811 

Bleher,  John  C 587 

Bloom,  George  J 172 

Bloom,  John   506 

Bolte,  Fred 497 

Boop,  Joseph  E 443 

Boor,  Samuel 212 

Bordner,  Michael 210 

Bordt.  Henry 804 

Bork,  Frederick 318 

Boschen,  Claus  H      518 

Boschen,  John 518 

Bowe.  David  W 484 

Bowe,  George 210 

Bowe,  George,  Sr 238 

Bowe,  Henry 642 

Bowe,  Jacob 238 

Bowe.  Michael 812 

Bowland,  John 756 

Bowland,  Thomas 561 

Bowlus,  Clarence  L   441 

Bowlus,  Henry 767 

Bowlus,  Warren  A 314 

Bowser,  George  F 526 

Bradford,  Warren  J 304 

Brady,  J.  H 402 

Brady,  Philip 152 

Bredbeck,  August 703 

Bredbeck,  Henry 664 

Bretz,  Caroline S8S 

Bretz,  Frederick 585 

Brinkman,  Henry 250 

Brinkman,  John 251 

Brown,  Daniel 393 

Brown,  Frank 577 

Brown,  Dr.  Franklin 273 

Brown,  Le  Roy  N 273 

Brown,  Mrs.  Melissa  I.    .  394 

Brown,  Theodore 186 

Brubaker,  Homer 183 

Brugger,  John  G 315 

Brunthaver.  Adam 420 

Brunthaver.  Orrin  James  422 

Brunthaver,  Peter 421 

Buchman,  G.   F 317 


850 


COMMEMOBATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


PAGE. 

Biichnian,  Joseph  M 360 

Buck,  Claus 368 

Biickland,  Georg-e 11 

Biickland. Judge  Horaces     30 

Buckland,  Gen.  U.  P 7 

Buddeiihagen,  Carl    402 

Bumg-ardner,  William...  288 

Bunte,  Herman 69S 

Burggraf,  Henry 798 

Burggraf,  Matliias,  Jr. .  .  800 

Burgner,  Jacob 4.55 

Burgner,  Peter 456 

Burgoon  Family 38 

Burgoon,  Major  I.  H  . .  . .  40 

Burgoon.  Peter 39 

Burkett,  Samuel 765 

Burman,  George  A 200 

Caldwell,  William 29 

Caldwell,  William,  M.  D.  29 

Campbell.  James 125 

Campbell,  Dr.  D.  P 242 

Camper,  Fred  W 540 

Canty,  William 806 

Castle,  A.  J 224 

Chri.sty,  Ru.ss  J 834 

Clapper,  Jacob  C 510 

Clark,  Jo.seph  R 358 

Clark,  Mrs.  Joseph  R. . .  .  359 

Clark,  William 37S 

Clark,  William  W 359 

Clauss,  J.  H 151 

Cleaver,  Mrs.  Elizabeth..  359 

demons,  Albert  A 640 

demons,  Alexander 86 

demons  Family 364 

demons,  Hubbard  M 364 

demons,  Joseph 281 

demons,  Mrs.  Joseph 281 

Clemmons,  Myron  E 848 

demons,  William  A 86 

Cleveland,  dark  R 308 

Cleveland,  George  D 122 

Cleveland,  James 123 

Clink,  Charles 203 

Clink,  Jacob 279 

Clink,  Reuben 343 

Cole,  Capt.  John  L 681 

Cole,  Sardis  B 682 

Collier,  W.  A 786 

Cook,  Frederick 629 

Cooper,  Ranald  L 519 

Cooper,  William  A 517 

Couche,  Alphonse 404 

Couclie,  Mrs.  Antonie....  405 

Covers,  Samuel 755 

Cramer,  Jacob 213 

Creager,  Dr.  Frank   103 

Croll,  Henry 514 

Culbort,  Elijah 88 

Cullcnen,  Patrick  C 736 

Cunningham,  P.  L.,  M.D.  743 

Curtice.  Joshua  E 770 

Curtice,  Mrs.  Mary  E 771 

Curtiss,   Fred 116 

Dam.schroder,  Christ 671 

Damschroder,  C.  H 671 


P.\GE. 

Dana,  Daniel  H 776 

Dana,  George  T 776 

Decker,  Edward 387 

Decker,  Hon.  Jacob 726 

Deel,  George 503 

Degroft,  Joseph 413 

Degrof t,  Lewis 341 

Degroft,  Mrs.  Mary 413 

Dennis  Family 685 

Dennis,  Net  E 686 

Dewey,  Thomas  P 479 

Deyo,  Hiram  P 208 

Deyo,  Dr.  John  P 208 

Dick,  Lorenzo 20 

Dickinson,  Abner  J 461 

Dickinson,  Louis  A   461 

Dierker,  Henrv 645 

Dillon,  Mrs.  Charles  M...     11 
Dirlam,  Capt,  Charles  L.  467 

Dirlam,  Orrin 205 

Dodge,  Mrs.  Mary  1 408 

Dodge,   Nathan 408 

Doell,  Peter 731 

Dohn,  Frederick 264 

Dohn,  Frederick  W 262 

Dohn.  Mrs.  Mary  E 263 

Doll,  John 61 

Doll,  Samuel 61 

Dolph,  Aaron 536 

Dolph,  Addison  R 400 

Dolph,  Mrs.  Lovina 536 

Donaldson,  George 199 

Doncyson  Family 13 

Doncy.son,  Oscar  J 12 

Donnels,  Gilbreth  S 278 

Donnels,  James 278 

Donnels,  John  L 278 

Dorr,  Henry 275 

Dorr,  Henry  S 242 

Dorr,   Philip 241 

Driftmeyer.  William ISO 

Dubrie,  Gabriel 653 

Dudrow,  Byron  R 146 

Duncan,  James  S 827 

Dunham,  Hon.   Almon...   310- 

Dutcher,  Ira  S 500 

Dwight.  Wilson 108 

Dvmond,  John 219 

Edgerton,  H.  G.,  D.  D.  S.     99 

Eldridge,  Anson 717 

Elkington,  John,  Sr 516 

Ellithorpe,  Cyrus 695 

EUithorpe,  George 430 

Ellithorpe,  Russel 803 

Ellsworth,  Elijah  D 772 

Ellsworth.  I.  H 772 

Ellsworth,  Norman  E 240 

Elwell.  Harlev  HoUister.  365 

Elwell,  Willia'm  G 669 

Emch.  Benedict 243 

Emch,  Fred  843 

Emch,  Nicholas 319 

Emch,  Solomon 444 

Engel,  C.  P 745 

Englebeck,   Herman  W.  .  641 
Epler,  Benjamin 808 


PAGE. 

Ernsthausen,  William 624 

Ervin,  N.  B.,  M.  D 254 

Esker,  Mathias 751 

Everett,  Hon.  Homer 3?S 

Everett,  Mrs.  Minerva  E.     29 

Fabing,   Frederick 163 

Faler,  Jonathan 353 

Fall,  Edwin  H   613 

Faller,  Fred  N 551 

Fangboner,  John 251 

Fark,  Henry 733 

Fans,  J.  H 378 

Feilbach,   Andrew 700 

Feilbach,  Philip 700 

Fenn,   Amos 476 

Fenn,  A.   A 476 

Ferguson,  Alice  B 51 

Ferguson,  A.  R.,  M.  D...     51 

Ferris.  A.  L 513 

Ferris,  James 512 

Fetterly,  David 531 

Fetterly.  Stephen 531 

Fetterman,   George 786 

Fetterman,  John 786 

Fisher,  John  C 286 

Fisher.  John  G 815 

Fitterer,  Theophilus 312 

Fleckner,  August 593 

Floro,  Isaac  M 665 

Floro,  John 836 

Floro,   John  E 837 

Flumerfelt,  Cornelius. .. .  374 

Flumerfelt,  Daniel  V 374 

Flumerfelt, Mrs.  Melinda.  375 

Foncannon,  Joseph 432 

Foos,  Casper 580 

Forgerson,  Grant 153 

Forgrave,  Robert  A 157 

Foster,  Samuel 216 

Fouche,  Byron  A. 98 

Fought,  Amos 735 

Fought,  Paul 735 

Fought,   Samuel 474 

Fought,  Mrs.  Susan 474 

Fox,  Nicholas 666 

Frabish.  Mrs.  Hester 124 

Frabish,  John 124 

Franck,  Ernst 521 

French,  A.  B 161 

Frese,  Hon.  Augustus  F.  722 

Frese,  Charles  F 511 

Frev.  George 356 

Fro'nizer,  Fred  R 101 

Fry.  Henry 460 

Fry,  John  H 784 

Fry,  William  H 450 

Fuller,  Tavlor 65 

Fuller,  William 65 

Gabel,  Jacob 104 

Gabel,  John 195 

Gabel,  John  M 195 

Gahn,  L.  F.,  M.  D 757 

Gallant,  George  W 563 

Garn,  Daniel  1 228 

Garn,  David.  Jr 107 

Garn,  Judge  John  1 51 


INDEX. 


851 


PAGE. 

Gasser,  John 387 

Gasser,  Mrs.  Mary  L 388 

Geiger,  John 139 

Geiger,  John  J 746 

Gerber  Family 322 

German,  Henry 447 

Gernhard,  C 719 

Gernhard,  Matthias 719 

Gerwin,  Louis 784 

Gerwin,  William 784 

Gerwin,  Herman  H   265 

Gerwin,  J.  F 334 

Gessner,  Moritz  A 442 

Gibbons,  H.  G 180 

Gibb.s,  Jason 229 

Gibbs,  Jonas 229 

Gill,  Samuel  R 564 

Gillard,    Mrs.     Clara    H., 

M.  D 655 

Gillard,  David,  M.  D 654 

Gillett,  Captain  W.  E 464 

Gnepper,  Francis 492 

Goate,  John 795 

Gordon,  David 102 

Gordon  Family. . .     102 

Gordon,  Washing-ton  ....     78 

Gordon,  William 793 

Goslin,  George 385 

Gossard,  Alviu  P 305 

Gossard,  W.  H.  K 359 

Gottron,  John  F 141 

Grant,  George  W 366 

Graves,  Charles  H 625 

Gregg,  William  A 779 

Grover,  Archie  N 746 

Grover,  A.  M 745 

Grover,  Enos 490 

Grover,  Enos  J 292 

Grover  Family 489 

Grover,  Trunian 292 

Hadden,  Nathaniel  Amos  498 

Hagel,  Louis 462 

Hagel,  Richard 462 

Hague,  Josiah 845 

Haines,  Edward  P 716 

Haines,  Joseph  H 715 

Halbeisen,  Adolph 793 

Halbeisen,  Nicholas 793 

Hale,  A.J 143 

Hall,  Ezra 724 

Hall,  William  E 725 

Hammond,  Henry 601 

Harlan,  George  0 289 

Harmon,  Jacob   635 

Harnden,  Cyrus  L.,  M.  D.  491 

Harrison,   Henrj*  F SOS 

Harrison,  Orlin  W 481 

Harrison,  William  M 431 

Hartman,  John  H 678 

Hartman,  Rudolph 678 

Hartshorn,  Mrs.  A.  J 127 

Hartshorn,  Byron 797 

Hartshorn,  Fletcher 126 

Hartshorn.  Mrs.  Mary...  798 

Ha.selbach,  Charles 435 

Havens,  Birchard 353 


PACH. 

Havens,  Frank  R 348 

Havens,  Henry 120 

Havens,  William  J 119 

Hawk,  Alva  J 347 

Hawk  Family 222 

Hawk,  J.  Marion 222 

Hayes,  Mrs.  Lucy  Webb.     64 
Hayes, Gen. Rutherford  B.     62 

Heileman,   August 783 

Heim,  Frank 54 

Heim,  J.  R 411 

Heim,  William  B 69 

Heller,  F.  S.,  M.  D 821 

Heller,  George  B 821 

Hellwig,  Augustus 672 

Hellwig,  Dr.  Henry  J 601 

Hellwig,  Justis 672 

Heminger,  Ernst 595 

Henricks,  Rev.  Noah  ....   256 

Henry,  Joseph 769 

Hensel,  James  D 298 

Heter  Family 433 

Heter,  John 433 

Hetrick,  Benjamin   F....   708 

Hetrick,  Daniel 709 

Heuman,  M 841 

Hiett,  George 249 

High,  George  M 559 

Higley,  Hezekiah 188 

Higley,  Orson 187 

Hille,  John  F 311 

Hineline,  Cyrus 777 

Hineline,   Theo 777 

Hineline,  William  H 266 

Hintz,  Christian 232 

I     Hintz  Familv 230 

Hintz,    William 232 

Hock,   Daniel 345 

Hogg,  Thomas 187 

Holbrook,  William  A 545 

Holder,  Charles  F 698 

Holder,  Christian 699 

Holderman,  Martin 715 

HoUinshead,   Harry   C...   380 

Holtkamp,  Daniel  W 645 

Holtkamp,    Frederick....   644 

Hoover,  Joseph 268 

Hornung,   A 326 

Hornung.  Jacob   326 

House,  H.  G 332 

Houts,  Charles  H 410 

Houts,   John 410 

Houtz,  John 361 

Houtz,  Mrs.  Mary  J 271 

Houtz.   Zacharias 270 

Huiford,  Cornelius 493 

Hufford  Familv 206 

Hufford,  George  J 840 

Hufford,  James 207 

HutTord,  Simon 493 

HuiTord,  William  T 207 

Hughes,  Henry 217 

Humberger,  Peter 218 

Huinberger,  Solomon....  217 

Hamburg,  Adam 842 

Hummel,  William 333 


PAGE. 
Hurdelbrink,  John  W. . . .   773 

Hurlbut,  Charles 209 

Huss,  Christian 810 

Huss,  M.    L 810 

Hutchinson,  Charles  B. . .   204 

Hutchinson  Family 204 

lams  Brothers 725 

lams,  Jasper 726 

Ickes.  William  H.  H 337 

Ingraham,  Charles 520 

Ingraham,  Isaac  W 566 

Inman,  Frank  M 483 

Inman,  James 305 

Inman,  William 663 

Jackson,  A.  H 835 

Jackson,  B.  F 652 

Jackson,  George 314 

Jaeger,  Gustavus 540 

Jameson,  David 397 

Jameson,  Mrs.  David. . . .  398 

Jeschke,  Edward 228 

Johnson,  Alfred  C 606 

Johnson,  A.  P 282 

Johnson,  Charles  D 542 

Jones,  Benjamin 747 

Jones,  David  B 271 

Jones,  J.  M 747 

Jones,  Samuel  F 188 

Jordan,  Christopher 657 

Jordan,  Fredrick 656 

Jordan,  Joseph 226 

Joseph,  Charles  F 264 

June,  David 713 

June  Family 712 

June,  George 138 

June,  Sales  A 137 

Justice,  Judge  James. ...     27 

Kahler,  Henry 509 

Karshner,   Edgar   753 

Karshner,  John 753 

Kastrup,  L.    W 738 

Keating,  C.  S Ill 

Keeler,  Isaac  M 98 

Keightley,  George  W....  508 

Keller,  Joseph 776 

Keller,  Reuben 776 

Kellogg,  C.  A 732 

Kelly,  Joab 557 

Kelly,  Hon.  John 69 

Kelly,  Judge  Malcolm.. . .     73 

Kelly,   Hon.  William 70 

Kemmerling,  A.  B 157 

Kenan,  Charles  Delbert..  291 
Kenan,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  .  .   175 

Kenan,  George  W 174 

Kenan.  Peter 291 

Kenan,    William 291 

Kernahan,  Ambrose 182 

Kerns,  Rev.  Daniel 158 

Kerns,  Mrs.  Julia  Ann,. .    159 

Kessler,    William 554 

Kilgus,  Henry 285 

Kindle,  Joseph 100 

King,  G.  W.  (Ballville)...   194 

King,  G.  W.  (Rice) 297 

King,  Jacob  Monroe 352 


852 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


PAGE. 

King-,  John  A 814 

King,  Peter 297 

Kintr.  William 658 

Kingham,  Joseph,  M.  D.  .   391 
Kir.sting,  Simon  Henrj'..  558 

Kirkbride,  Thomas  E 406 

Kirsch.John 821 

Kiser,  Christian 261 

Kleinhans,  John 523 

Kleinhans,  Peter  R 660 

Kleinhans,  William 660 

Kline,   Henry 280 

Klink,  A.  J 279 

Klink,  Caleb 279 

Klink,  Kev.  Charles  M. . .   176 

Klink,   Jacob 279 

Kolb,  L :..  351 

Kopp,  John 306 

Kraemer,  Adolphus 386 

Kraenier,  James  H 386 

Kreilick,  Adam 530 

Kreilick,  Daniel 529 

Krohn.  Paul 429 

Kuesthardt,  Samuel 403 

Kuhlman,  John  Henry. .  .   239 

Kuhn,  John 190 

Lachmiller,  William  H...  610 
Lamberson,  Sharon  C. .. .     42 

Lambert,  William  E 437 

Lammers,  Henry 502 

Lammers,  Mrs.  Mary  L. .   503 
Lane,  Rev.  Samuel  T....  379 

Lattimore,  Elijah 677 

Lattimore,  John 677 

Laudv.  Henry 707 

Laudy.  Henry,  Jr 707 

Laun'dy,  Capt.  William  J.   118 

LaVitrne,  Eli 622 

Lay,  John 44 

Lav,  William  E 44 

LeFever,  John 320 

LeTever,  Col.  William  C.  319 

Lehrman,  George  J 337 

Lejeune,  Jacob 761 

Lejeune,  Michael 761 

Lemmon,  Judge  John  M.  ()07 

Leonard,  Sterling  C 759 

Levisee,  Aaron 66 

Levisee,  A.  B 94 

Levisee,  John  L 113 

Lickert,  Peter 591 

Lindsley,  Elihu 573 

Linke,  Louis 255 

Livingstine,  Charles 283 

Livingstine,  Jacob 283 

Lockwood,  Mrs.  Edith...  763 

Lockwood,  Edward  J 72 

Lockwood,  John  Wickliffe  398 

Lockwood,  Col.  S.  K 398 

Lockwood,  Judge  Wm  F..  762 

Long,  David 697 

Long,  Frank  R 764 

Long,  George  W 393 

Long,  James  W 734 

Long,  John  W 764 

Long,  Louis 698 


PAGE. 

Long,  Mrs.  Mary  L 393 

Long,  Rev.  Michael 53 

Long,  Rev.  N.  S 54 

Lonz,  Peter  F 397 

Losli,  Christian 766 

Loudensleger,  Daniel. .. .     22 
Loudensleger.  Edward. ..     22 

Love,  D.  B 693 

Love,  E.  G 390 

Love,  Rev.  Nathaniel,  B. 

C.  D.D 389 

Loveland,  John  B 140 

Loveland,  J.  Elmer 141 

Loveland,  N.  E 141 

Lowe,  Daniel  M 636 

Luckey  Family 711 

Luckey ,  John 543 

Luckey,  O.  L 543 

Lullman,  Henry  H 369 

Lullman,  Miss  Regina  R.  369 
Lutes  lor  Lutz),  Albert.. .  743 

Lutz,  John 743 

McCartney,  Cyrus  H 357 

McDonald,  Alexander 801 

McDonald,  James 802 

McGormley,  George..    ..   810 

McGormley,  L.  S 810 

McGrady,  D.  H 348 

McKenzic,  John 579 

McRitchic,  David 684 

McRitchie,  James  H 684 

Magee,  John  H 548 

Magruder,  James  H 547 

Magruder,  Samuel  A...  547 

Malcolm,  Alexander 160 

Malcolm,  John 160 

Mallernee,  Oliver  M 302 

Mallory,  George 570 

Martin,  Edwin 297 

Martin,  Franklin  H 660 

Martin,  George 296 

Martin,  John  C 660 

Ma.son,  N.  B 190 

Maurer,  Adam   808 

Maurer.  William 485 

Meek,  Basil 14 

Meek.  John    14 

Meek,  R.  B.,  M.  D 16 

Meeker,  John 754 

Meilander,  Casper  H 653 

Mellish,  John  W 288 

Messersmith,  Edward  G..  376 

Messersmith,  Henry 377 

Metcalf ,  Frank  M .' 170 

Metzger,  A.  E.,  M.  D.  C.  312 

Metzger,  Jacob  G 1% 

Metzger,   Samuel 1% 

Meyer,  Ambrose 768 

Meyer,  George  F 372 

Meyer,  Jacob 768 

Meyer, Joachim 442 

Miarer,  Philipp 298 

Michael,  Fred 726 

Michael,  Joseph 726 

Michaels,  Philip 487 

Milius,  Valentin 791 


PAGE. 

Miller,  Anson  H 25 

Miller,  Claus 573 

Miller,  Conrad 600 

Miller,  Ferdinand  L 626 

Miller,  George 775 

Miller,  Henry 206 

Miller,  Henry  W 320 

Miller,  Henry  J 370 

Miller,  Isaac 458 

Miller,  John  H 367 

Miller,  Mrs.  John  H 368 

Miller,  Joseph 802 

Miller,  Mrs.  Joseph   ....     802 

Miller,  Mrs.  Lorenz 801 

Miller,  Lorenz 800 

Miller,  Lyman  F 320 

Miller,  Samuel 538 

Miller,  William 370 

Miller,  William  G 572 

Miller,  Capt.  Wilson  S.  .  .  438 

Miner,  C.  A 425 

Minier,  John 709 

Minier,  Samuel 640 

Mitchell,  John 594 

Mohn,  John  B 344 

Molitor,  Casper 486 

Momeny,  George  0 451 

Momeny,  Joseph 451 

Mook,  Henry 192 

Moore,  Charles  T 426 

Moore,  Mrs.  E.  B 461 

Moore,  Immer  C 399- 

Moore,  Mrs.  Immer  C.  . . .  400 

Moore,  James 426 

Moore,  Capt.  Le  Roy 427 

Moore,  Manville 428 

Moore,  Robert  B 399 

Morrison.  Roderick 670 

Mugg,  Elder  John 415 

Mugg,  William  A 415 

Muggy,  Daniel 617 

Muggy,  George  E 618 

Muggy,  John  C 617 

Muggy,  J.  W 828 

Muller,  Caspar 792 

Myerholts,  George 612 

Myerholts,  Henrv 619 

Myerholts,  John  E 619 

Myers,  Aaron 346 

Myers,  C.  R 824 

Myers,  Dr.  L.  B 823 

Myers,  Samuel 346 

Mylander,  Frederick  ....   7% 

My  lander,  John  F 796 

Mylander,  Henry  0 635 

Mylander,  H.  C 718 

Mylander,  Herman  H. . .  .   381 
Myrose,  Mrs.  Angeline..   428 

Myrose,  Louis 428 

Naylor,  Henry  F 313 

Naylor,  Samuel 728 

Naylor,  William  P 727 

Neff,  G.  W 819 

Neidecker,  John  A 820 

Neidecker,  Peter 820 

Nellis,  Mrs.  Mariar  E 566- 


INDEX. 


858 


PAGK. 

PAGE. 

PAGE. 

Newman,  Joliu 

549 

Putman.  Michael.  Jr. .  . . 

662 

Rymers,  William  W 

.  739 

Nichols.  Reuben 

763 

Rademacher,  Charles  H. 

494 

Saddoris,  Albert  W 

586 

Nickel,  Fred 

794 

Rademacher,  Henry.,.. 

494 

Saddoris,   James  W 

.  702 

Nickel     Louis 

794 

Raether,  Rev.  Paul. 

488 

Sampsel,  Jacob 

Sarapsel,  Joshua  D 

754 

Nickles,John  G 

351 

Raffertv,  (iuv  P 

452 

477 

Nickles,  Peter 

350 
350 

Rama^e,  James 

115 
769 

Sandvvisch,  F.  W 

Sandwisch,  R.  W 

329 

Nickles,  Mrs.  Sarah 

Ransom,  Hiram 

96 

Nieiiian,  Henry  W 

553 

Rathbun,  Saxton  Squire 

67 

Sanford,  Carmi  G 

.  679 

Nieset,  John  Henry 

338 

Rawson,    Major     Eugene 

Sanford,  Zachariah 

679 

Nissen,   Nicolai 

705 

Allen 

84 

Sauerwein,  William  John  599 

Noble,  William 

504 

Rawson,  Joseph  L 

82 

Schiele,  Andrew 

408 

Nofrfrle,  Joseph 

233 

Rawson,   Dr.  L.  Q 

82 

Schiele,  Andrew,  Jr. .  . . 

409 

Nuhfer,  Captain  Andrew 

91 

Rearick,  George  L, 

340 

Schiele,    Louis 

828 

Nuhfer,  Anthony  C 

301 

Reed,  B.  M 

760 

Schmidt,    August 

405 

O'Brien,  Rev.  Patrick.. 

60 

Reed,  Enibra  T 

110 

Schneider,    Leonhard... 

193 

O'Calla^han,  Francis  M 

668 

Reed,  Hon.  Solomon   W. 

110 

Schneider,  Sylvia 

697 

O'Farrell,  Frank 

837 

Reef,  Jacob 

267 

Schoch,  William 

440 

Oberst,  Conrad 

131 

Reeves,   EH 

130 

Schroeder,  Henry 

180 

Oberst,  John 

131 

Rehberg,  John  H 

403 

Schroeder.  William 

840 

Oberst,  Michael,  Jr 

327 

Rehberg,  Mrs.  John  H. . 

403 

Schwane,  William 

550 

Oberst,  Michael,  Sr 

327 

Rehberg,  William 

470 

Schwartz,  Edward 

444 

Og^den,  Jectha 

643 

Reinbolt,  M.  J 

195 

Schwarz,  Christian 

301 

Og-den,  Jeptha  L 

643 

Reynolds,  George 

109 

Scrymger,  Alexander.  . . 

665 

Orth,  Albert  B 

844 

Rice,  George  H 

394 

Seager,    Frank  E 

101 

Orth,  John 

537 

Rice,  James  M.,  M.  D. . . 

20 

Seelcy,  (Jeorge  L 

507 

Otten,  Capt.  B.  S   

97 

Rice,  John  B..  M.  D 

18 

Seiple,  Martin 

422 

Overniver.  Amos  A 

570 

Rice,  Robert  H.,  M.  D... 

19 

Setliman,  Carsten  H. . . . 

667 

Ovennver.  John  H 

569 

Rice,  Robert  S.,  M.  D... 

17 

Sethmau,  Henry 

667 

Palmer,  James,  M.  D. . . 

630 

Rice,  William  A 

20 

Shaenfeld,   Henry  P 

533 

Patterson,  Reuben 

650 

Richards,  Albert  E 

475 

Shaenfeld,   P.  A 

533 

Payne,  Charles  E 

539 

Richards,  George 

252 

Shale,    Valentine 

339 

Pearce,  Philo  S   

778 
742 
788 
581 

Richards,  William  L, 

Richardson,  David 

Richardson.  Robert 

Rideout,  John  G 

299 
782 
781 
460 

Shannon,  Captain  O.  L. . 

Sheldon,  William  B 

Sheperman,  Frederick.  . . 
Sherbrook,  William 

145 

Peart.  Benjamin.    . . . 

551 

Peck,   William    

741 

Peirce,  Elliott  F 

846 

Pelton,  Dr.  James  K 

772 

Rife  Family 

473 

Sherck,   Joseph 

759 

Perniar,  J.  N.,  D.  D.  S... 

832 

Rife,  Robert  L 

472 

Sherrard,  D.  A.  C 

134 

Peters.  Adolph 

335 

Rimmelspacher,  George. . 

258 

Sherrard.Mrs.NarcissaT 

136 

Peterson,  Julius  M 

569 

Rinebolt,  Solomon 

832 

Sherrard  Family 

134- 

Peterson,  Peter 

569 

Robinson. Laurel  E.,M.D 

80 

Sherrard,  Robert  W 

136 

Pettibone,  Albert 

527 

Rogers,  B.  F 

804 

Sherwood,  Norman  C... 

76 

Pettibone,  Geo.  A 

527 

Roose,  Charles 

534 

Sherwood,  William  D 

74 

Pfeifer,  Andrew 

227 

Roose,  Ernst 

588 

Siegrist,  Emma 

397 

Pfeifer   Family 

555 

Roose,  Frederick  W 

799 

Siegrist,  John 

3% 

Pfeifer  John  H 

555 
522 

Roose   William 

589 

Sivalls,  John  T 

Slackford,  Capt.  Wm.  J.. 
Slackford,  Mrs.  W.  J  . . . . 

466 

Phile,   Henry  E 

Root,  Eben 

414 

557 

Phillips,  Wilbert 

277 

Rosen  berger,  James 

683 

557 

826 
826 

48 
48 

Slates,  Joseph 

Slessman,  George 

730 

Pickard,  George 

Ross,  Prof.  W.  W 

21 

Pickard,  Jacob  S 

604 

Rudes,  George  M 

383 

Sliger,  Joseph 

602 

Pierson,  Alfred 

632 

Rudiforth,  Michael 

703 

Smart,  Aaron 

179 

'     -rson,  Nathan 

631 

Rudy, John  F 

574 

Smith,  Daniel 

603 

i      •  son,  Nathan  F 

689 

Ruh,  Carl 

396 

Smith,   David 

296 

P.  M  1  ;    an,  William  W 

156 

Rnh,  Mrs.  Christina 

3% 

Smith,  Dominick 

218 

I'ort'  r.  Leander  S.,  M.  D  S52 

Ruh,  Joseph 

718 

Smith,  Frank  H 

424 

Po,"tcr  Theodore  S 

706 

Ruh,  Miss  Marie  L 

396 

Smith,  Frederick 

173 

P,,  i-ter,  Wheeler 

552 

Rule,  Daniel 

147 

Smith,  George  B 

178 

P,.         V.--    ..     

646 

Runner,  A.  G 

748 

Smith,  Hugh 

568 

;■     ,;    ,         -.'f  R    

646 

248 

Ru.ssell,  David  R 

Russell,  Edward  H 

108 
165 

Smith,  John(DanburyTp) 
Smith,  John 

764 

599 

246 
246 

Russell    Henry  S 

165 
755 

Smith,  John  C 

Smith,  J.  C 

179 

i  ...in_  I .                           ''  A. . 

Russell,  Ira  P 

259 

,./4 

Ruter,  Francis 

740 
633 

Smith.  Patrick 

Smith,  Washington  D  . . . 

764 

Pratt,  K 

Ryan,  Edward  P 

605 

Prior,  V 

145 

Ryan,  Laurence  D 

633 

Smith,  Prof.  W.  V 

845 

Putiiian. 

2 

Ryan,  Stephen  J 

825     1 

Snider,  Andrew 

720- 

854 


COMMEMORATIVE  BIOORAPHICAL  RECORD. 


PAGE. 

Snider.  Phillip  R 691 

Snider,  Theodore  L 691 

Snyder,  Jatnes 185 

Snyder,  John 184 

Sonocrant,  Richard  B 448 

Sparks.  Randall 479 

Spieldenner.    Peter 79 

Spohn.  Jonathan 276 

Spohn,  L.  W.  W 620 

Sprangf,  Wendel 151 

Sprout.  Samuel 189 

Stahl,  Scott 820 

Stang-,  John 614 

Stang-,  John  J   617 

Starr  &  Tunnington 165 

Starr,  H.  J 166 

Stearns,  Ira 742 

Stevenson,  Dr.  Matthew  471 
Stevenson,  Richard  Boyd  471 

Stewart,  Jacob  S   627 

Stieflf.  M.  R 237 

Stierwalt.  Moses 731 

Stierwalt.  W.  L.,  M.  D  . .  731 
Stillwell,  Thomas,  M.  D.     34 

Stokes,  Franklin 813 

Stone,  Edward 621 

Stone,  John 847 

Storer,  Samuel 468 

Stout.  Joseph  A 440 

Streeter,  Christopher. . . .   134 

Strohl,  Isaac  F 716 

Strohl,  Isaac 752 

Stull,  Jacob,  Sr 412 

StuU  Brothers 411 

Sullivan,  Jeremiah,  Jr. .  .  833 

Sylvester,  Joseph  W   544 

Taulker,  Harmon  Henry .   340 

Tavlor,  Caleb 106 

Taylor,  Enoch 107 

Taylor,  S.  B.,  M.  D 81 

Taylor,  Zacharv 175 

Teachout,  Silas'  M 220 

Tebbe,  Fred 758 

Teetzell,  John  K.,  M.  D.  .  598 

Terrill.  Stephen  D 464 

Terry,  S.  M 417 

Thierwechter.AbrahamD  688 
Thierwechter,  Emery. .. .  687 
Thierwechter,  Michael  D.  686 
Thotnas,  O.  H.,  M.  D....  547 
Thompson,  Leraan  M. . . .  565 

Thorp,  James  B 524 

Thraves,  Georg-e 168 

Thraves  Family 168 

Thraves,  Levi  H 690 

Thraves,  Mark 166 

Thraves,  Thomas 307 

Thraves,  William 168 

Tinnev,  Alfred  W 118 

Tinnev,  Darwin  S 295 

Tinne'y,  Edwin  C 129 


P.\GE. 

Tinnev.  Jackson 117 

Tinnev.  Mrs.  Sarah 118 

Titus,  James 721 

Toeppe,  Joseph  G 579 

Truax,  Jacob  H 749 

Truax,  Lewis 750 

True,  Edwin  Marvin 588 

True,  George  A 576 

True,  Oliver  J 575 

Tschumy,  Charles  R 638 

Tschumv,  Frederick 638 

Tucker  Family 214 

Tucker,  Mrs.  Miranda  . . .  215 

Tucker,  Nelson  R 214 

Tunnington,  F.  M 166 

Tuttle,  Frank  J 831 

Tuttle,  Julius 831 

Valiquette,  Barney 628 

Valiquette,  James 628 

Van  Doren,  Orion 293 

Van  Epps,  H.  A 148 

Vantine,  Frank 789 

Vantine,  Jesse  B 789 

Vickerv,  John 236 

Vickerv,  James  P 844 

Vig-ne.'EHLa 622 

Vog'el.  Christian 529 

Vogel,  John  P 52S 

Vog-t,  William 354 

Vroman,  Phillip 573 

Wagg-oner,  George  H. . . .  328 

Waggoner,  Samuel   328 

Walters,  George 225 

Walters,  Louis 225 

Ward,  Amos 46 

Ward,  Lewis  W 46 

Watson,  Gavin 409 

Watson,  William 410 

Weatherwax,  Lawrence  .  659 
Weatherwax,  Mrs.  Nancy  659 

Wedekind,  Edward 693 

Wehrle,  A 780 

Wehrle,  Mrs.  E 406 

Wehrle,  Herman 781 

Weickert,  Carl 316 

Weis,  Fred 829 

Weis,  F.J 829 

Welch,  Charles  H 300 

Welker,  Frank 239 

Weller,  John... 133 

Weller,  M.  D 132 

Welles,  John 582 

Wendler,  John 290 

Wendt.   Herman 566 

Wendt.  John  H 565 

Wengerd,  Rev.  Emanuel.  154 

Wheeler,  Charles 647 

Wheeler,  John  L 647 

White,  C.  B.,  M.  D 807 

Whitehead,  Joseph 269 


PAGE. 

Whitehead,  T.  C 704 

Whitehead,  William  H. .  .  357 

Whittaker,  Casper 699 

Whitmore,  John  P 752 

Whittemore,  F.  J.,  M.  D.  114 

Wiglar.d,  John  H 439 

Willey,  Eleazar 331 

Willey,  Richard 331 

Williams.  Enos  E 596 

Williams,  Eugene 597 

Wilson,  Jas.  W.,  M,  D. . .  32 

Wilt,  George  F 797 

Wilt.  Harrison 797 

Winchell.  David  J 349 

Winnie,  A.  G 378 

Winstone,   William  G....  4.53 

Winter,  Henry  A 253 

Wires,  George  W 362 

Wires,  Olive 363 

Witte,  Alfred  G 674 

Witty,  Henry 751 

Wittv,John 751 

Wolcotte   Family 558 

Wolf,Bernhard 792 

Wolf,   Joseph 792 

Wolfe,  Conrad 322 

Wolfe,  Daniel  M 324 

Wolfe,    Levi 76 

Wolfe,  Michael 76 

Wonnell,  Henrv 839 

Wonnell,  Mrs.  Mary  S  . . .  572 

Wonnell,  William 571 

Wood,  Amos    E 711 

Wood,  De Wilton 710 

Wood,  Samuel  T 446 

Woodford,   William 197 

Woodward,  George,  M.  D.  737 

Woodward.  Mrs.  George.  738 

Woodward,  Horace,  M.  D.  738 

Worman,   William  E 838 

Worst,  John    W 652 

Wott,  Henry   L 334 

Wright,  Lewis  K 169 

Wright,  Solomon  S 121 

Wright,   \V.  R 122 

Wriglev   Brothers 99 

Yaecke'r,  Rev.  Ernest  W.  603 

Yates,  Dr.  Porter 453 

Yeagle,  J.  M 21' 

Yetter.  Samuel  J ? 

York,  Charles  I 

Young,  Anton 

Young,  George 

Young,  John .  •>j.6 

Zimmerman,  Go'                .  !82 

Zimmerman,  J  J7  + 

Zimmerman,  ^^  :    :aiii,  ..  7,J;5 
Zimmerraani     Hon.  Joi. .-    ''? 

Zipfel,  All-  I- 

Zora,  Ph;i  •.  li ,-.<•..., 


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