BIOGRAPHIES
Source:
Biographical Memoirs
of
Wyandot County, Ohio
To Which is Appended
A Comprehensive Compendium of National Biography - Memoirs
of Eminent Men and Women in the United States,
Whose Deeds of Valor or Works of Merit
Have Made Their Names Imperishable.
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ILLUSTRATED
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Embellished with Portraits of Many National Characters and
Well Know Residents of Wyandot County, Ohio
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Published
Logansport, Ind.
B. F. Bowen, Publisher.
1902
Please Note: The Portraits in
this copy of the Volume are in poor condition.
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JOHN SHERMAN
- Statesman, politician, cabinet officer and senator, the name of
the gentleman who heads this sketch is almost a household word
throughout this country. Identified with some of the most
important measures adopted by our Government since the close of the
Civil war, he may well be called one of the leading men of his day.
John Sherman was born at Lancaster, Fairfield
county, Ohio, May 10th, 1823, the son of Charles R. Sherman,
an eminent lawyer and judge of the supreme court of Ohio and who
died in 1829. The subject of this article received an academic
education and was admitted to the bar in 1844. In the Whig
conventions of 1844 and 1848 he sat as a delegate. He was a
member of the National house of representatives, from 1855 to 1861.
In 1860 he was re-elected to the same position but was chosen United
States senator before he took his seat in the lower house. He
was re-elected senator in 1866 and 1872 and was long chairman of the
committee on finance and on agriculture. He took a prominent
part in debates on finance and on the conduct of the war, and was
one of the authors of the reconstruction measures in 1866 and 1867,
and was appointed secretary of the treasury Mar. 7th, 1877.
Mr. Sherman was re-elected United States senator
from Ohio January 18th, 1881, and again in 1886 and 1892, during
which time he was regarded as one of the most prominent leaders of
the Republican party, both in the senate and in the country.
He was several times the favorite of his state for the nomination
for president.
On the formation of his cabinet in March, 1897,
President McKinley tendered the position of secretary of state
to Mr. Sherman, which was accepted.
Source: Biographical Memoirs of
Wyandot Co., Ohio - Published 1902 - Page 86 |
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WILLIAM TECUMSEH
SHERMAN was one of the greatest generals that
the world has ever produced and won immortal fame by that strategic
and famous "march to the sea," in the war of the Rebellion. He
was born Feb. 8, 1820, at Lancaster, Ohio, and was reared in the
family of the Hon. Thomas Ewing, as his father died when he
was but nine years of age. He entered West Point in 1836, was
graduated from the same in 1840, and appointed a second lieutenant
in the Third Artillery. He passed through the various grades
of the service and at the outbreak of the Civil war was appointed
colonel of the Thirteenth Regular Infantry. A full history of
General Sherman’s conspicuous services would be to repeat
a history of the army. He commanded a division at Shiloh, and
was instrumental in the winning of that battle, and was also present
at the siege of Vicksburg. On July 4, 1863, he was appointed
brigadier-general of the regular army, and shared with Hooker
the victory of Missionary Ridge. He was commander of the
Department of the Tennessee from October 27th until the appointment
of General Grant as lieutenant-general, by whom he was
appointed to the command of the Department of the Mississippi, which
he assumed in March, 1864. He at once began organizing the
army and enlarging his communications preparatory to his march upon
Atlanta, which he started the same time of the beginning of the
Richmond campaign by Grant. He started on May 6, and
was opposed by Johnston, who had fifty thousand men, but by
consummate generalship, he captured Atlanta, on September 2, after
several months of hard fighting and a severe loss of men.
General Sherman started on his famous march to the sea
Nov. 15, 1864, and by December 10 he was before Savannah, which he
took on December 23. This campaign is a monument to the genius
of General Sherman as he only lost 567 men from
Atlanta to the sea. After resting his army he moved northward
and occupied the following places: Columbia, Cheraw, Fayetteville,
Ayersboro, Bentonville, Goldsboro, Raleigh, and April 18, he
accepted the surrender of Johnston’s army on a basis of
agreement that was not received by the Government with favor, but
finally accorded Johnston the same terms as Lee was
given by General Grant. He was present at the
grand review at Washington, and after the close of the war was
appointed to the command of the military division of the
Mississippi; later was appointed lieutenant-general, and assigned to
the military division of the Missouri. When General Grant
was elected president Sherman became general, Mar. 4, 1869,
and succeeded to the command of the army. His death occurred
Feb. 14, 1891, at Washington.
Source: Biographical Memoirs of
Wyandot Co., Ohio - Published 1902 - Page 30 |
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EDMUND KIRBY SMITH,
one of the distinguished leaders upon the side of the south in the
late Civil war, was born at St. Augustine, Florida, in 1824.
After receiving the usual education he was appointed to the United
States Military Academy at West Point, from which he graduated in
1845 and entered the army as second lieutenant of infantry.
During the Mexican war he was made first lieutenant and captain for
gallant conduct at Cerro Gordo and Contreras. From 1849 to
1852 he was assistant professor of mathematics at West Point.
He was transferred to the Second cavalry with the rank of captain in
1855, served on the frontier, and was wounded in a fight with
Comanche Indians in Texas, May 13, 1859. In January, 1861, he
became major of his regiment, but resigned April 9th to follow the
fortunes of the southern cause. He was appointed
brigadier-general in the Confederate army and served in Virginia.
At the battle of Bull Run, July 2f, 1861, he arrived on the field
late in the day, but was soon disabled by a wound. He was made
major-general in 1862, and being transferred to East Tennessee, was
given command of that department. Under General
Braxton Bragg he led the advance in the invasion of
Kentucky and defeated the Union forces at Richmond, Kentucky, Aug/
30, 1862, and advanced to Frankfort. Promoted to the rank of
lieutenant-general, he was engaged at the battle of Perryville,
October 10, and in the battle of Murfreesboro, Dec. 31, 1862, and
Jan. 3, 1863. He was soon made general, the highest rank in
the service, and in command of the trans-Mississippi department
opposed General N. P. Banks in the famous Red River
expedition, taking part in the battle of Jenkins Ferry, Apr. 30,
1864, and other engagements of that eventful campaign. He was
the last to surrender the forces under his command, which he did May
26, 1865. After the close of the war he located in Tennessee,
where he died Mar. 28, 1 893.
Source: Biographical Memoirs of
Wyandot Co., Ohio - Published 1902 - Page 114 |
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JACOB SMITH.
When old age approaches it is quite the usual thing for a person to
look back over his life to find out whether the world is any better
for his having lived. It must be a gloomy retrospect, indeed,
when no good can be found upon, such an examination. On the
contrary what a delightful satisfaction it must be to any one to
know that his life has been an example of excellence for the
guidance of youth and for the congratulation of age. How sweet
it must be when death overtakes a person to be able to say. "I
have lived an honest life and done my duty.” How many old
persons who read these lines can truthfully hold up their heads and
declare that the world is better for their having lived? It is
a pleasure to chronicle the events in the career of a man who has
the highest respect of all his acquaintances, such as the subject of
this sketch. Jacob Smith, of Pitt township.
He was born in Licking county, Ohio, near Linville, on the 8th of
November, 1820. and is the son of Jacob and Elizabeth ( Macklin)
Smith, who were the parents of seven children. Of this
family, three are dead. Two of the sons, John and
Aaron, are residents of Pitt township. When Jacob
was a small boy his father moved from Licking county to Perry
county, and there the former grew to man's estate, working during
the summers on the farm and attending the district school during the
winters. Upon attaining manhood he was married to Miss
Phebe Foucht, Dec. 25, 1843, who bore him the following family:
Samuel, deceased: Sarah, the wife of Jacob
Bender, of Pitt township; Elizabeth, the wife of John
Swartz, of Antrim township; Amanda, the wife of
Abraham Swartz, of Nevada; Fianna, now at home;
Matilda, deceased; Eliza, deceased. Mrs.
Smith was born Apr. 22, 1821, in Perry county, Ohio, and
remained in that county until attaining womanhood. Her
grandparents were natives of Switzerland, and her parents were
Jacob and Eve (Dashurn) Foucht. There were eleven children
in this family, of whom Mrs. Smith and two brothers,
Samuel and Isaac, are the only survivors. Mrs.
Smith was educated in the common schools and can read and
speak the German language. She has seen and killed many deer
in this locality. When the subject of this notice was yet a
young man he came from Perry county to Wyandot county and purchased
eighty acres of government land in Pitt township where he now lives.
This tract was then covered with heavy timber, which had to be
cleared away before crops could either be planted or grown. He
erected a small log cabin, about eighteen bv twenty feet in size,
containing but one room, and in this rough structure he domiciled
his family and began to make a clearing in the deep woods.
Year by year the circle of cleared land increased and the fields of
grain and the lush meadows took the place where for centuries had
waved the mighty oak or the towering hickory. The farm was
eventually increased to one hundred and twenty acres, of which one
hundred are cleared and under cultivation. But the acres now
stretching out so clear and smiling represent many years of the
hardest toil. But the home secured and the lives reared thereon are
worth the labor they cost to the commonwealth. Mr.
Smith has devoted his time and attention to the rearing of extra
grades of stock. He is hearty and sound despite his many
years, and it is yet a common thing to see him in the field, sowing
the grain, as he did sixty-five years ago. His life has been
one of steady industry and straight-forward conduct, and he has the
respect and confidence of all who have the pleasure of calling him
friend. He is a Democrat and a member of the Reformed church,
having joined the latter at the age of seventeen years. He has
been school director, and has occupied other positions requiring
sound judgment and honest conduct. Our subject and wife are
held in high regard by their many friends, and honestly merit their
regard. They have in their possession, and hold as a sacred
relic, an old parchment deed for eighty acres of land, dated Nov. 5,
1846, and bearing the signature of President James K. Polk.
Source: Biographical Memoirs of
Wyandot Co., Ohio - Published 1902 - Page 495 |
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WILLIAM F SMITH.
Among the natives of Pennsylvania who thought to better their
condition by a removal to Ohio, is the subject of this sketch.
He is of Germanic descent, one that is famous for the frugality,
industry and the honesty of its members. Although his birth
occurred in Bedford county, Penn., in 1833, the parents were Germans
and came to America at an early period. Their names were
Adam and Elizabeth (Wehm) Smith and they reared three sons and
five daughters: Caroline; Margaret; Henrietta; Ellen; Sophia
wife of William Ryber, of Kirby; George L.; William
F.; and Reuben, of whom but three are living, viz.:
Ellen, Sophia, and the subject of this sketch.
Reuben died while in the service of his country during the
Rebellion. He enlisted and was sent to the front was a
participant in many engagements, marches and skirmishes, and finally
gave up his life in the bloody battle of Winchester.
When the subject of this biography was six months old,
his parents removed from Pennsylvania to Richland county, Ohio; they
continued to reside there until 1851, when they changed their
residence to Mifflin township, Wyandot county, and settled on the
farm where Mr. Fox now resides. Here, in 1854,
the father died, whereupon William F. took charge of the
farm.
The family lived in the township of Mifflin until 1869.
when they removed to Bucyrus, where William F. engaged in the
manufacture of brick, continuing the same with success for two
years. He then removed to Marseilles and was given the
contract to make the brick for the public school building, which
work engaged his attention for some months. Following this, he
boughta farm of four hundred and eighty acres in Marseilles
township, upon which he resided for a period of eight years, when he
bought another farm in Mifflin township, and here he has continued
to live to the present time. He now owns one hundred and
eighteen acres of unusually fertile land and carries on general
farming, besides raising considerable stock for the markets.
As a farm manager, he is more than ordinarily successful.
On Dec. 26, 1854. Mr. Smith was united in
marriage with Miss Elizabeth Stevens, who is a native
of Fairfield county, Ohio. To them have been born the
following family: Josiah J., a teacher, living at Marseilles;
George W., a real-estate dealer of Patterson, Ohio; John
A., a farmer of Sycamore township; Reuben E., who is
engaged in farming in Ashland county; William V.,
formerly a teacher in the public schools of Cleveland, but now
engaged in the oil industry; Eleanora May, wife of Ambrose
Baldwin, of Salt Rock township, Marion county. The
different members of the family are highly respected in their
respective communities. Mr. Smith served his
township as trustee for two terms, with credit to himself and
satisfaction to his constituents. In politics he is a member
of the Democratic party. Himself and wife have been members of
the Methodist Episcopal church for over forty years. They are
strong supporters of the common schools, of churches, and of all
worthy movements to improve the community in which they live.
Source: Biographical Memoirs of
Wyandot Co., Ohio - Published 1902 - Page 454 |
J. J. Stoll |
JOHN JACOB STOLL.
John J. Stoll, proprietor of the Stoll Casket Works at
Upper Sandusky, and one of the prominent and well-to-do citizens of
Wyandot county, has had a career to which it is a pleasure for the
biographer to refer. The sturdy German element in our national
commonwealth has been one of the most important in furthering the
substantial and normal development of this country, for it is an
element signally appreciative of practical values and also of a
higher intellectuality which transcribes all provincial confines.
Well may any person take pride in tracing his lineage to such a
source.
John J. Stoll is one who claims the Fatherland
as the place of his nativity, and in his life he has displayed the
strongest and best trails of character of the German nation.
He was born in Wittenburg, Germany, on the 25th day of May, 1827,
the son of John and Doratha (Seller) Stoll, both also natives
of that country. In 1832, when our subject was but five years
old, his parents emigrated to America, and made their home in New
York city. Here the father worked at anything he could find to
do. He died there at the age of fifty-six years, while his
wife lived to the advanced age of eighty-five years. They had
brought with them on their emigration to America a family of eight
children, of whom our subject was the youngest and is the only
survivor.
When John J. Stoll was about eleven years of age
he, with his brother, came to Bucyrus, Ohio. They made the
trip from New York city to Bucyrus, by boat up the Hudson river to
Albany, thence by canal to Buffalo, and there took a steamer for
Sandusky City, and from that place walked to Bucyrus, a distance of
forty-seven miles. Here he obtained a limited education.
The family were in very straitened circumstances, and while he was
yet young it was necessary for him to work in order to assist in the
support of his mother. When he was fourteen years old he went
to work for Joseph Harwell, who held the office of
land receiver at Bucyrus, doing chores, etc., for which he received
four dollars per month. In 1840 he accompanied that gentleman
on his removal to Wooster, Ohio, and remained there with him a year.
He then returned to Bucyrus and for about a year was employed by
Dr. Andrew Hetick to look after his horse and do
other like work. Then for a year he worked in a hotel, but
wishing to place himself in a more lucrative and independent
position he determined to learn a trade. He served an
apprenticeship of three and a half years at the carpenter's trade,
doing also some cabinet work and making coffins. For this
labor he received the sum of fifty dollars and his clothing.
About this time, in 1846, his brother moved to Upper Sandusky and
with him our subject finished his apprenticeship. He then
worked one year at the carpenter's trade in New York city, but
returning to the Buckeye state he worked for two years in Sandusky
City for Adam Bauer. Then going to Bucyrus, he
formed a partnership with his brother as carpenters and contractors,
a large share of their attention being given to the moving of
buildings. In their business the brothers were very
successful, giving constant employment to eight or ten men. In
1859 he and his brother, in partnership with Aaron Keller,
erected a planing mill at Bucyrus, which they conducted verv
successfully. Early in the beginning of the Rebellion Mr.
Keller enlisted in the service and was killed at the battle
of Stone River. Our subject and his brother then purchased the
interest in the planing mill owned by him and conducted the business
themselves until 1868. They then took in Charles
Roehr and John Shealey as partners, and in the same year
our subject came to Upper Sandusky and started a planing-mill here
also. They continued to run both plants, he having charge of
the one here and his brother the one at Bucyrus. In 1882 our
subject disposed of his interests in the business at Bucyrus. and in
1886 sold his interest in the business in Upper Sandusky. In
1808 he made Upper Sandusky his place of residence. From 1886
to 1895 Mr. Stoll was not engaged in any business,
being troubled a great deal with rheumatism. However, in 1895,
he bought the property now known as the Stoll Casket Works,
and through his energy and keen discrimination has made a decided
success of the enterprise. In addition to this he has other
valuable property, owning two store rooms in Bucyrus, considerable
resident and business property in Upper Sandusky, and several tine
farms. He has succeeded in accumulating a fair share of this
world’s goods and his holdings are estimated to he worth over
seventy-five thousand dollars.
In Bucyrus, Ohio, John J. Stoll was united in
marriage with Miss Elizabeth Riecher, who was a native of the
Keystone state, but was brought to Ohio when hut nine wears of age.
The fruits of this union were eight children, but four of them died
in childhood. Those who attained maturity were: Elizabeth
Amelia, the wife of Phillip Gottfried, of Upper
Sandusky; Martha became the wife of John B. McConnell,
and after his death married Robert Kerr and now
resides, in Upper Sandusky; Ida is the wife of Rev. J. W.
Byers, of Upper Sandusky, while Cora, the widow of
Frank Stutz, is living with her parents.
In politics our subject has always endorsed the
policies and principles of the Democratic party, but the honors or
emoluments of office have never had any attraction for him, though
he served one term as a member of the city council and made a highly
creditable record in that body. Socially he belongs to the
Knights of Honor and the Royal Arcanum, while religiously he is a
member of the Lutheran church. His time is almost entirely
given to his business interests and the excellent condition of
everything with which he is connected indicates his care and
supervision. He is both practical and progressive in his
methods and to his energy and perseverance is attributed the
gratifying success which has attended his efforts. Fidelity is
one of his chief characteristics, such fidelity as is manliest in
his devotion to. his family and friends, and in his faithful
discharge of all the duties of life, and it has won him warm regard
wherever known.
Source: Biographical Memoirs of
Wyandot Co., Ohio - Published 1902 - Page 290 |
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