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Welcome to
CRAWFORD COUNTY,  OHIO
History & Genealogy

Source:
A Centennial
Biographical History
of
Crawford County, Ohio

- ILLUSTRATED -
"A people that take no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote generations."
- MACAULAY
Publ. Chicago:
The Lewis Publishing Company
1902

  JOHN GORDON.  The farming interests of Bucyrus township are in the hands of capable agriculturists, and one of these, who has shown a thorough understanding of the principles of modern farming, is John Gordon, a native of South Wales, born there, in county of Glamorgan, on March 3, 1849, being the only representative of his family in America.  The parents of Mr. Gordon  were Thomas and Catherine (Morris) Gordon, and they reared a family of seven children:  Mary, Thomas, Eliza, John, Ann, Richard and George, Ann and Richard having passed away.  Both parents have also passed out of life, while the others of the family still reside in the old home in South Wales.
     John Gordon was reared on his father's farm and received a common-school education, remaining at home until he attained his majority, although he had long cherished a desire to see the country across the Atlantic.  On the 20th day of May, 1870, he set sail for America, landing at Quebec, Canada, from which  point he took a train to Toronto, a schoolmate living in that city.  Later he made his way to Trumbull county, Ohio, where he secured lucrative employment on a dairy farm, and remained there for three years, in the employ of Noble Thompson.  During the year 1874 he worked in the Pennsylvania oil regions, and then another year for Mr. Thompson, leaving him when Mr. Thompson sold his farm, but later again returned to this kind employer when he resided in Painesville.
     It was during his association with Mr. Thompson that he had the good fortune of meeting the lady who later became his wife.  She was the amiable daughter of Henry Flock, a prominent farmer of Bucyrus township, a visitor in the home of Mr. Thompson.  The marriage of Mr. Gordon to Miss Callie F. Flock took place February 24, 1875, following which was their removal to Crawford county, where the home has ever since remained.  For two years, Mr. Gordon remained with his father-in-law and then bought land in Todd township, where he owns one hundred and sixty-eight acres of land.  In 1888 Mr. Gordon returned to the farm of his father-in-law, where he now resides, the former, who lives retired, enjoying the care of his children and grandchildren.  The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Gordon were: Florence, Luella, Henry, Elva, Alice and Letty, of whom Luella, Henry and Alice survive. Mr. Gordon enjoys the respect and esteem of the neighborhood in the highest degree, and is known as one of the most intelligent and progressive farmers of the township. 
     Henry Flock, the father of Mrs. Gordon, is the eldest son of Stephen and Catherine Flock, and was born in the Rhine province of Bavaria, Germany, December 14, 1815, and there was thoroughly educated.  While still a youth he went to work in order to contribute to the support of the family, but then wages were very low and many days he worked for twenty cents a day.  In the locality of his home wood was scarce and it was necessary for him to haul fuel, or fagots, a distance of almost ten miles, on a wheelbarrow; consequently the stoves were seldom very hot.  The law did not permit the peasants to cut green timber, and their way of obtaining fuel was to break off the dead limbs, it frequently being necessary for them to climb the trees in order to secure these branches.  Upon one occasion young Henry became so benumbed with the cold, while in a tree, that he almost fell to the ground, and this, with other severe trials, led him to a determination to try his fortune in America.
     When he became of military age he was too short to enter the service, and the officials put him back one year, expecting him to grow, but he failed and the officials put him back one year, expecting him to grow, but he failed to do so, and thus was rejected altogether.  Although his inclinations were toward matrimony, circumstances were not promising, in Bavaria, and in 1839 he put into practice his resolve to leave the fatherland.  Settling in Bucyrus, Ohio, he worked in a hotel for Abraham Hahn, remaining with him three years, receiving for his services seven dollars and fifty cents per month, and during this period, although sick for six months, he managed to save one hundred and fifty-eight dollars.  Of this amount he sent forty-five dollars to Germany to pay the passage of Miss Catherine Slicker to America.  Some two years later she reached the United States, and upon her arrival in Bucyrus she and Mr. Flock were married.
     After severing his business connection with Mr. Hahn, Mr. Flock worked for three years for other parties, keeping continually busy, finally entering the employ of Dr. Willis Merriman, where he remained as a faithful clerk for seven years.  In March, 1853, he removed to Wyandot and formed a partnership with James H. Reinicker in the mercantile business, and later Mr. Flock bought his partner's interest and continued the business until 1870, when he transferred it to his son.  While residing in Wyandot, Mr. Flock served the village as postmaster for seven years, and while a clerk for Dr. Merriman he was made treasurer of Bucyrus corporation, possessing the esteem and confidence of his fellow citizens.  In 1870 he located on his present farm.
     The first marriage to Mr. Flock was on September 22, 1842, to Catherine Slicker, born January 20, 1820, in Bavaria, who emigrated to America with the family of Peter Geiger.  These children were born of this marriage: Mary, who married William Welsh; Daniel; Kate, who married Peter Bair; Louisa, who married John B. Welsh; Caroline, who married John Gordon.  The mother died October 11, 1862, and the second marriage of Mr. Flock was on November 6, 1864, to Mary Jane Clark, who was a teacher in the schools of Bucyrus for several years.  Her death occurred January 25, 1875.  On October 11, 1877, occurred his marriage to Lena Hooker, who also passed away, his last wife having been Mary Stoll, who died in 1901.
     When but thirteen years pf age, Mr. Flock united with the Evangelical church, in Germany.  When he settled in Bucyrus, he joined the German Lutheran church, and later in life the English Lutheran church.
Source: A Centennial Biographical History of Crawford County, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: 1902 - Page 602


JAMES B. GORMLY

JAMES B. GORMLY

Source: A Centennial Biographical History of Crawford County, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: 1902 - Page 134

  ISAAC C. GUINTHER.  The world instinctively pays deference to the man whose success has been worthily achieved, who has acquired high reputation along the line toward which his energies have been directed and whose social prominence is not less the result of an irreproachable life than of recognized natural gifts.  It is a pleasing indulgence to write the biography of a man of this character.  The country has produced many brilliant men, who in military or civil life have won prominence and honor; most of our noblest and best men are self-made, and Mr. Guinther is a representative of this class, for his life has been devoted to labors where wealth or influence availed little or naught, the measure of success depending upon the mentality, intellectual acquirements and broad culture of the individual.  Mr. Guinther has left the imprint of his individuality on each place in which, for any length of time, he has resided, and has opened to many the portals of knowledge, wherein memory's casket may he filled with the choicest gems, - the only treasures which we may safely call our own.  As an educator Professor Guinther is widely known and is now occupying the responsible position of city superintendent of the schools of Galion.  Familiarity through the medium of books and study with the most gifted minds of every nation and of every clime has well qualified him for the incumbency.  He has served in this capacity since 1896, during which period the schools have made marked progress.
     Professor Guinther is numbered among the native sons of Crawford county, his birth having occurred in Wheatstone township, Dec. 25, 1856, and his parents being Jacob and Catherine (Schallenmiller) Guinther.  His father was a native of Germany, born in Wurtemberg, near Stuttgart, in 1814, but when fourteen years of age he came to the new world, taking up his abode in Philadelphia, where he remained until he had attained his majority.  He then came to Ohio, acting as clerk for William Miller in one of the first hotels in Bucyrus.  Subsequently he located upon a farm in Tully township, Marion county.  A few years afterward he took up his abode in Whetstone township, Crawford county, a location joining the one in Tully township, where he spent his remaining days, his death occurring in 1884, when he was about seventy years of age.  His wife represents one of the pioneer families of Pennsylvania, her people having located in the Keystone state prior to the war of the Revolution.  From Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, representatives of the name came to Ohio, and Mrs. Guinther was one of the first settlers on the plains south of Bucyrus.  She is still living at the old homestead in Whetstone township, south of New Winchester, at the age of eighty years.  Her children were as follows:  Mrs. Mary Ulmer, who is living in Whetstone township; George J., a resident of the old homestead in Tully township, Marion county; Sophia, at home; Catherine, the wife of S. Rexroth, of Polk township, Crawford county; Isaac C., of this review; Charlotta, wife of S. Stump, of Whetstone township; and J. F., who is living on the old homestead in Whetstone township.  Jacob Guinther was, as is still his surviving widow, well known for honesty and integrity, and for devotion to the welfare of the family, and held in the highest esteem by all.
     Professor Guinther, who forms the immediate subject of this review, pursued his preliminary education in the public schools of Whetstone township and later entered the Northwestern Ohio Normal University, at Ada, where he pursued the scientific and classical courses, being graduated in 1883, with the degree of bachelor of science and master of arts.  He determined to devote his life to educational work, and some time before his graduation he began teaching, his first school being at New Winchester, in Whetstone township, taking charge thereof in the year 1876.  For several years his time was devoted to teaching and to study.  After graduation he continued teaching having been employed at Nevada, Galena, and Utica, all in Ohio.  Throughout his teaching he has never been obliged to change positions, but did so as better fields opened up for his service.  In 18i91 he accepted a position as teacher in the grammar grades at Galion, since which time he has been identified with the schools of this place.  In 1892 he became principal of the high school, and for four years served in that capacity, and was then, in 1896, chosen to the position of superintendent of the Galion schools.  In this position he has direction and supervision of all the pupils of the public schools, and at present thirty-two teachers.  There are four school buildings in the city.  The high school course now covers four years and is most thorough and efficient, as is the work done in the grades.  Professor Guinther is continually studying, striving to improve the school work and introduce new methods, as they seem of practical value and benefit, and his own interest in the work is an inspiration and aid to the teachers.
     In 1885 occurred the marriage of Professor Guinther and Miss Mary M. Rexroth, a daughter of John and Anna (Reimhern) Rexroth, who came from Germany to this country in 1840 or '41, and are now deceased.  The marriage of our subject and his wife has been blessed with five children, namely: Paul Emerson, a youth of fourteen, who is now in the high school; Fred Ernest, Robert I. and Lawrence Oliver, aged, respectively, twelve, ten and seven years; and Mildred Lucile, the only daughter, now a little maiden of four summers.
     In his political affiliations the Professor is a Democrat, but has no time for active political work.  He holds membership in the Presbyterian church and is deeply interested in its growth and progress.  He is a man of broad, scholarly attainments, who has had marked influence upon the intellectual development of the city and whose labors have been of incalculable and of far-reaching benefit.
Source: A Centennial Biographical History of Crawford County, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: 1902 - Page 386
  JOHN GUISS.   Research j into the early history of Crawford county indicates the fact that the Guiss family was founded here in early pioneer days and that they became identified with agricultural interests, thus aiding in the work of reclaiming wild land for purposes of civilization. Our subject is numbered among the native sons of the county, his birth having occurred in Cranberry township, on the farm which Jacob Sheets and wife now own. His father, Abraham Guiss, was a native of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and was a son of Jacob Guiss. Both removed from the Keystone state to Columbiana county, Ohio, at a very early day, locating near New Lisbon, and in 1836 they came with their respective families to Crawford county. The journey was made with ox-teams and they were twenty-one days upon the way. In addition to their household effects and other personal property they brought with them .three geese, one of which is still living and is now in possession of our subject. The grandfather entered nearly one thousand acres of government land and took up his abode where Jacob Myres resides. He was the father of twelve children, namely: John, George, Abraham, Christian, Henry, Anne, Susan, Catherine, Martha and others whose names are not remembered. The grandfather, Jacob Guiss, or real name Guissinger, wandered from home when quite young, and on going to school the "inger" was omitted by the teacher and thus only Guiss remains.
     The Guiss family lived in true pioneer style and endured the usual hardships and trials which fall to the lot of settlers upon the frontier. Amid such surroundings our subject was reared, and upon the old homestead he remained until twenty-one years of age. At the age of nineteen he began teaching in the district school, having thirty-five scholars, of whom thirty-one were relatives. He remained in charge of that school for two years. and for a similar period had charge of the New Washington school, after which he was engaged in photographic work in Plymouth, Ohio, for two years. Subsequently he spent one year as a bookkeeper in Cleveland, and then returning to Plymouth, he clerked in a general store for two years. The succeeding year was spent as a salesman in Shelby, Ohio, after which he bought an interest in a store in West Liberty, carrying on business at that place for two years. He was next owner of a half interest in a store in Sulphur Springs, where he carried on mercantile pursuits for fourteen years, meeting with good success in his undertakings. On the expiration of that period he removed to the farm tip on which he now lives and which has been his home continuously since 1880. He is engaged in general farming, having eighty acres of rich land, which he has placed under a high state of cultivation.
     On the 19th of November, 1863, Mr. Guiss was united in marriage to Miss Susan Fry, and unto them have been born six children: William H., a practicing physician residing in Tiro, Ohio.: Mellville, who makes his home in Cedartown, Georgia, where he is serving as treasurer and secretary of the Alabama & Georgia Iron Company; Ethie, who is engaged in school-teaching and makes her home with her parents; Charles A., who was also engaged in teaching school, but is now taking a course at the Ohio State University; Warren G., who is the principal of the Chatfield schools: and Maude R., who is attending the Heidelburg School of Oratory. The children have been provided with good educational privileges, all but one being graduates of the Washington high school.
     Mr. Guiss has frequently been called to public office by his fellow townsmen, who, recognizing his worth and ability, have chosen him for public honors. For nine years he served as justice of the peace and discharged his duties with strict fairness and impartiality. He was also township clerk of Liberty township, was assessor, notary public for six years, and for ten years was assistant postmaster at Sulphur Springs. In politics he is a stalwart Democrat, and in every position in which he has served he has discharged his duties in a most able and energetic manner, winning the commendation of all concerned. In religious faith he is a Lutheran. He was a charter member of the Knights of Pythias lodge at New Washington, has filled all the chairs and is now a past chancellor. His life exemplifies the beneficent spirit of the fraternity. He is widely and favorably known and is held in the highest regard where he is best known.
Source: A Centennial Biographical History of Crawford County, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: 1902 - Page 804

 

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