BIOGRAPHIES

Source:  
A Standard History of Allen County, Ohio
Vol. II
by Wm. Rusler - Publ.
1921

< CLICK HERE to RETURN to 1921 BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX >
< CLICK HERE to RETURN to LIST of BIOGRAPHICAL INDEXES >
 

	FRANKLIN P. SELLERS is a farmer and land owner of Perry Township long well and favorably known to the people of that community, where more than eighty years ago the family established itself and entered upon their duties and tasks as pioneer homemakers.      Mr. Sellers was born in section 30 of Perry Township July 27, 1866, a son of Joseph and Leah (Crumerine) Sellers.  His father was a native of Franklin County, Pennsylvania, son of Leonard and Eliza (Weinert) Sellers who leaving Pennsylvania came to Allen County in 1837, driving overland.  At that time Lima was a little hamlet of log houses.  Leah Crumerine was born in Perry County, Ohio, a daughter of Martin and Catherine (Broshes) Crumerine, also originally Pennsylvanians and early settlers in Allen County, Ohio.      Joseph Sellers after his marriage lived for a few years in Auglaize County, but then bought eighty acres of unimproved land in section 30 of Perry Township.  He was a very capable and industrious farmer and in subsequent years acquired the ownership of more than 500 acres, all in Perry Township except sixty-five acres in Shawnee Township.  Much of this land was improved by his labors and under his supervision, and some of it is still owned in the family.  Joseph Sellers was born Mar. 2, 1828, and died in August, 1892.  His wife died in 1895.  Their children were: Daniel and David, both living in Perry Township; Eliza, Mrs. George Beeler, of Perry Township; William also of Perry Township; Mary M., widow of George Mosier; and Franklin Pierce.      Franklin Pierce Sellers is the youngest of the family and has never married.  His life from birth has been spent on the old homestead, and many years ago he secured eighty acres, including the home place.  In 1906 he improved his farm with a fine concrete block house and continued to be actively identified with the cares and responsibilities of the farm until 1917, son which date he has rented out his fields.  Mr. Sellers acquired his early education in District School No. 9 near the home farm.  He is a member of the Lutheran Church, is a democrat in politics, and served one term as township trustee.      His home is capably looked after by his widowed sister, Mary M., who was married in May, 1883, to George Mosier.  Mrs. Mosier has two children, Tolbert, now at Lima, and Leah Viola, living with her mother.      William Sellers, brother of Franklin P, was born at the old home in Perry Township July 30, 1859.  He was first married in 1886 to Viola Haines, but his wife died at childbirth a year later.  He then lived in Perry Township with his father-in-law for a year or so, later bought twenty acres in section 31 and his father also deeded him eighty acres, all but twenty acres in timber.  Of this tract Mr. Sellers has cleared all but seventeen acres of timber, and now has a fine group of farm buildings and one of the good and productive farms of the township.  In 1920 he formed a partnership with his son as a manager of the farm.      In 1889 he married Daisy Ulry who was born in Perry Township, a daughter of Silas and Lillian (Munch) Ulry.  They have five children:  Victor Norman, of Lima; Grace, Mrs. Samuel Lowrey, of Shawnee Township; Harold, who is his father's partner on the farm; Doris W. and Lois, both at home. Source:  A Standard History of Allen County, Ohio - Vol. II - Publ. Chicago: Warner i.e. Warner, Beers & Co., 1921 - Page 201
	CHARLES C. SIFERD.  One of the leading business man and best known citizens of Lima is Charles C. Siferd, who is very successfully conducting an undertaking and embalming establishment at 726 South Main street.  He has succeeded in his chosen life work because he has been persistent and energetic and honorable in his dealings with the public, and he has therefore had the confidence and good will of all, which are indispensable factors if one succeeds in any line where the public has to be depended upon.      Charles C. Siferd was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio, on May 3, 1880, and is the son of David Adam and Elizabeth (Barlow) Siferd, the former a native of Virginia and the latter born and reared near Cridersville, Ohio.  Mr. Siferd's paternal grandfather was a native of Germany.  His maternal grandparents, James and Elizabeth (Mauk) Barlow, were natives of Pennsylvania, but became early settlers of Ohio, locating west of Cridersville.  James Barlow, were natives locating west of Cridersville.  James Barlow was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church and lived at Cridersville for about twenty years.  Later he moved to Wapakoneta, where he spent the remainder of his years, having retired from the active work of the ministry some time prior to his death.  David A. Siferd took up the business of contracting while still in young manhood, specializing in road building and well digging, but finally he ceased that line of the work and engaged in the undertaking business, which he followed up to the time of his death in 1916.  He is survived by his widow, who resides in Wapakoneta.  They were the parents of the following children:  James, deceased; D. A., of Wapakoneta; Eliza, the wife of Charles C. Hossellman of Lima; Lulu, the wife of William Osborn of Illinois; Cora C., deceased; Charles C., the subject of this sketch; Willis S. and Edward A. both of Lima.      Charles C. Siferd was reared under the parental roof and attended the public schools until thirteen yeas of age.  He then went to work for his brother in the undertaking business on his own account.  At the end of that period he sold out there and on Feb. 10, 1914, came to Lima and opened an office for undertaking and embalming.  AS a funeral director Mr. Siferd possesses those qualities which are especially desirable and necessary in that work, and he has by his thoughtful consideration and courtesy won many friends since becoming identified with this community.      In September, 1901, Mr. Siferd was married to Hattie H. Jacobs, who was born in Wapakoneta, the daughter of Otto W. and Antoinette (Traueze) Jacobs, who were natives of Germany.  To Mr. and Mrs. Siferd have been born two children:  Theodore W. and Lucile C., both of whom are at home.  Mr. Siferd and family are members of the Grace Methodist Episcopal Church of which Mr. Siferd is a member of the Board of Stewards.  Politically he is an earnest supporter of the democratic party, while fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of the Golden Eagle.  He is a member of the Ohio Embalmers Association, the Ohio Funeral Directors Association and the Indiana Embalming Association.  Because of his generous disposition and kindly nature he has won and retains the good will and esteem of all who know him. Source:  A Standard History of Allen County, Ohio - Vol. II - Publ. Chicago: Warner i.e. Warner, Beers & Co., 1921 - Page 180
	ALBERT FREDERICK SMITH, general superintendent of the Lima Cord, Sole and Heel Company, has spent practically all his active career in some branch of the rubber industry, having grown up in the great rubber city of Akron, where he lived for many years, until coming to Lima.      Mr. Smith was born at Akron Nov. 21, 1881, son of Frederick S. and Alice (Kintz) Smith.  His grandfather, Sebastian, who spelled the family name Schmitz, came from Germany when a young man, having previously been a coal mine inspector in the Government service in Germany.  After coming to this country he conducted a general store and tavern at Massillon, Ohio.  Of his six children Frederick S. was the second in age, and for many years has been a leading building contractor of Akron, where both he and his wife are still living.      Albert F. Smith, the oldest son of four sons and two daughters, was educated in the parochial schools of Akron to the age of thirteen.  He then went to work with his father and acquired a varied knowledge of the building trades, but at the age of seventeen turned from a prospective career as a building contractor to go to work as a laborer in the mechanical rubber department of the B. F. Goodrich Rubber Company.  At the end of three months he was put in charge of the mechanical department, being promoted to manager, and for seventeen years was connected with the Goodrich Company.  Following that for five years he was in charge of the Mechanical Rubber Goods Department of the Firestone Tire & Rubber Company, and left that to come to Lima and serve as the chief technical expert to the Lima Cord, Sole and Heel Company.  This is one of Lima's leading industries, the company being incorporated for two hundred thousand dollars, and the output is a line of fabric soles and rubber heels.  Mr. Smith is also a stockholder and director in the company and is a stockholder in the Firestone Tire & Rubber Company of Akron and the Mason Tire & Rubber Company of Kent, Ohio.  He has also acquired some real estate interests.      In 1903 Mr. Smith married Ada C. Gardner, daughter of Henry and Katherine (Whitman) Gardner, of Doylestown, Ohio.  They have two children, Blanche Katherine born in 1906, and Bertha Cecelia born in 1910.  Mr. Smith is an independent voter, is a member of St. Rose Catholic Church and is affiliated with the Akron Lodge of Catholic Knights of Ohio.  He is also one of the leading members of the Lima Chamber of Commerce. Source:  A Standard History of Allen County, Ohio - Vol. II - Publ. Chicago: Warner i.e. Warner, Beers & Co., 1921 - Page 117
	ANNA SMITH - See Jacob Henry Smith Source:  A Standard History of Allen County, Ohio - Vol. II - Publ. Chicago: Warner i.e. Warner, Beers & Co., 1921 - Page 164
	C. HENRY SMITH, president of the Citizens National Bank of Bluffton, and secretary and teacher of history of Bluffton, and a man who is also taking considerable interest, in a constructive way, in the civic affairs of his community.  He was born in Woodford county, Illinois, June 8, 1875, a son of John and Magdalene (Shertz) Smith.  John Smith was born in Illinois in 1843, and his wife was born in the same state in 1844.  On both sides the grandparents were natives of Alsace-Lorraine, France, from whence they came to the United States in the early part of the nineteenth century and settled in central Illinois, where they became farming people.      Following their marriage, John Smith and his wife located on a farm in Woodford county, and there spent the remainder of their useful lives.  They were consistent members of the Mennonite Church.  They had eight children, five of whom survive in 1920, namely:  Joseph D., who is a farmer of central Illinois; Samuel E., who lives in Kansas; John C., who is a resident of central Illinois; Emma, who is the wife of B. J. Schertz, lives in Illinois; and C. Henry, whose name heads this review.      C. Henry Smith was reared on his father's farm in Woodford county, and attended the district schools, the Metamora, Illinois, High School, and the Illinois State Normal School at Normal, Illinois, being graduated from the latter institution.  He then became a student of the University of Illinois and was graduated therefrom with the degree of Bachelor of Arts and he then took a course at the University of Chicago, and was graduated from it with the degrees of Master of Arts and of Doctor of Philosophy.  While taking these extended courses Mr. Smith was engaged in teaching in the public schools of Illinois, Elkhart Institute and Goshen College, and then became an instructor of history in the Manual Training High School at Indianapolis, Indiana.  In 1913 Bluffton College was fortunate enough to secure him as secretary and instructor in history, and he has remained with this institution ever since.  Doctor Smith is an authority on historical subjects, and maintains membership in the American Historical Society and the American Sociological Society.      In December, 1908, Mr. Smith was united in marriage with Laura L. Ioder, a daughter of William and Frances (Stauffer) Ioder, farmers and stockraisers.  Mrs. Smith is a graduate of Knox College and a lady of great intellectual attainments.  Doctor and Mrs. Smith have no children.  They are active members of the Mennonite Church.      When the Citizens National Bank was organized in 1920 Doctor Smith was made its first president, and he is also president of the First National Bank of Pendora, Ohio.  The officers of the Citizens National Bank are: C. Henry Smith, president; Herman Locher, vice president; Elmer Romey, cashier; and E. M. Hostellter, assistant cashier.  The directors of the bank are:  C. Henry Smith, Herman Locher, Henry Zehrebach, D. D. Flick, Noah Basinger, Casper Herman and Adam S. Steier.  Doctor Smith is a Democrat, and has served as a member of the Bluffton City Council.  In addition to the other organizations with which he is connected he belongs to the American Economic Association, the Ohio Historical Association and the Greek Letter college fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa.      Doctor Smith knows how to awaken an interest in history as do few instructors, putting life into the dry facts and arousing an interest on the part of his pupils which cannot help but be inspiring.  The part he is taking in the financial and civic affairs of Bluffton is of a high character and entitles him to the confidence and gratitude of his associates, and few men in his locality are held in as high regard as he. Source:  A Standard History of Allen County, Ohio - Vol. II - Publ. Chicago: Warner i.e. Warner, Beers & Co., 1921 - Page 35
	FRANK S. SMITH, M. D.  Recognizing the fact that more effective service can be rendered if special attention is given some certain disease or diseases, some of the most successful medical men of the country have concentrated upon those maladies in which they are the most interested, and in this way have been able to acquire special skill and experience in their treatment and prevention.  One of these eminent pecialists is Dr. Frank S. Smith of Lima, who has made a particular study of surgery and diseases of women.      Doctor Smith was born at Rushsylvania, Logan county, Ohio, on Mar. 13, 1874, a son of Jeremiah W. and Eliza Jane (Sieg) Smith, natives of Delaware county, Ohio, and Ridgeway, Hardin county, Ohio, respectively.  The paternal grandfather, Henry Smith was born in New York, and the maternal grandfather, Jonathan Sieg, was born in Pennsylvania, and both became early settlers of Ohio.  His son, Jeremiah W. Smith, was a physician, and established himself in the practice of his profession at Marysville, Ohio.  During the war between the North and the South he served as a soldier in the One Hundred and Thirteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was assistant regimental surgeon.  Later on in life he retired to his farm in Delaware county, Ohio, and there he died in 1892, but hi widow survives him and makes her home with Doctor Smith, her only child.      After attending the common schools of his native county Dr. Smith was graduated from the Marysville High School, and then entered the Wesleyan Ohio University at Delaware, and still later studied medicine at Starling Medical College at Columbus, Ohio, from which he was graduated in 1897.  Doctor Smith has had a somewhat varied experience, and practiced at West Union and Willard, Ohio, prior to coming to Lima, and for two years was the physician at the Ohio Hospital for Epileptics.  Dr. Smith has offices in the Citizens Building at Lima, and has built up a large practice in his specialties.      On Mar. 22, 1913, Doctor Smith was united in marriage with Blanche Moch, born at Gallipolis, Ohio, a daughter of Abraham and Amelia (Blatt) Moch.  Doctor and Mrs. Smith have two children, Blanche Josephine and Amelia Ann.  In politics he is a Democrat, and he served as pension examiner and health officer of Huron county, Ohio.  Fraternally he belongs to Lima Lodge No. 54, B. P. O. E.; Willard Aerie No. 550, F. O. E.; Junior Order United American Mechanics of Lima, and the J. O. N. A. M. of Lima.  Doctor Smith maintains professional connections with the Allen County Medical Society and the Ohio State Medical Society.  The fundamental gauge of any man's character is his standing among his associates, and judged by his Doctor Smith measures up to the highest standards of his profession.  Like the majority of medical men, he is essentially a humanitarian and has always been willing to put his shoulder to the wheel of progress no matter at what cost to himself.  The breadth of his sympathies is only limited by the limitations of human endurance, and he is recognized as a friend of his patients as well as an efficient healer. Source:  A Standard History of Allen County, Ohio - Vol. II - Publ. Chicago: Warner i.e. Warner, Beers & Co., 1921 - Page 115
J. H. Smith	JACOB HENRY SMITH was for many years a worker in the oil fields of the Lima district.  About fifteen years ago he bought a farm in Perry township, but death overtook him before he was able to realize his plans for its improvement.  Mrs. Smith as his successor in the ownership of the farm has proved a very capable manager, and with the assistance of her children has made the place notable as a scene of well ordered industry and one of the fine country homes of Perry township.      The late Mr. Smith was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, June 6, 1862, a son of William and Barbara (Conrad) Smith.  He was educated in the common schools, and after his marriage located at St. Mary's, where he was employed as a pumper in the oil fields.  Two and a half years later he moved to Elida, Ohio, and six months after that bought some property in Lima.  He continued his occupation as an oil pumper until 1905, when he traded his city real estate for a seventy-acre farm in section 30 of Perry township.  After that he gave all his time to the cultivation of his land, but died Nov. 8, 1909.      In addition to operating the farm with systematic thoroughness Mr. Smith had added its value by many improvements, including the rebuilding of the barn, the building of silos, and other farm buildings.  In 1917 she had a modern frame residence erected, with cement milk house and garage, and with these facilities she and her children at home have a very reliable and comfortable income.  The late Mr. Smith was a Republican voter, and Mrs. Smith was Anna Kruse.  She was born at Elida Ohio, and she and her husband were married Jan. 20, 1891.  Her parents, Henry and Doretta (Bowman) Kruse, were natives of Germany, but came to the United States separately and when about twenty years of age.  Henry Kruse was born in Prussia, Germany, July 24, 1833, and crossed the ocean on a sailing ship, being on the sea for eight weeks.  Her mother was born in Hanover, Germany, Nov. 24, 1833, and came to this country with her father, who was looking for a home for his family.  Henry Kruse and wife were married at Urbana, Ohio, and in 1865, after a journey by wagon, settled in German township of Allen county.  Mr. Smith's mother died Sept. 16, 1915, and her father, May 3, 1907.  Mrs. Smith has five children.  Paul, the oldest, Source:  A Standard History of Allen County, Ohio - Vol. II - Publ. Chicago: Warner i.e. Warner, Beers & Co., 1921 - Page 164
	JOSEPHINE C. SMITH - See O. Warren Smith Source:  A Standard History of Allen County, Ohio - Vol. II - Publ. Chicago: Warner i.e. Warner, Beers & Co., 1921 - Page 255
O. Warren Smith	O. WARREN SMITH.  It has been the pleasure of MRS. JOSEPHINE CUNNINGHAM SMITH of Lima to enroll her late husband, O. Warren Smith, in the annals of the community.  He was born Mar. 8, 1832, in Marion County, and met with an accidental death Oct. 26, 1908, in Lima.  He was a son of John and Elizabeth (McNeil) Smith.  The father came from Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, in 1828, traveling overland to Marion County, and about the same time the mother came with her parents, Samuel and Anna (Martin) McNeil, from the same community.  The grandmother, Anna Martin, was captured by the Indians when she was a small child, and she was a prisoner in New York for several years.  She was finally identified by a scar on her forehead and returned to her own relatives  She was born in 1810, and that long ago there were many white children captured by the Indians.      O. Warren Smith was educated at Hiram College and as a young man studied law with Judge Van Fleet of Marion, Ohio.  In 1867 he came to Lima and engaged in practice before the bar of Allen County.  It was his life work, and he was eminent in his profession.  Mr. Smith voted with the democratic party.  HE was a member of the Congregational Church and was for many years a deacon.  On June 23, 1874, he married Josephine Cunningham.  She was born July 27, 1844, and is a daughter of John and Emeline Street (Holloway) Cunningham.  She has always lived in Lima.  The father came from Washington County, Pennsylvania, and the mother from North Adams, Massachusetts.  The grandparents, Archibald and Margaret (Vosbinder) Cunningham, were natives of Washington County, Pennsylvania.  He was born there in 1774, and in 1821 traveled overland to Wayne County, Ohio, dying soon after his arrival.      John Cunningham came to Lima in 1831 from Wayne County.  For a number of years he was a school teacher in Allen County.  For many years he owned and operated a pottery, and he was a successful business man.  He was liberal with his money, giving to the needy and always contributing to community benevolences.  He was later promoter and contractor, and was an active man in the Lima business community of his time.  Mr. Cunningham was a Presbyterian and very active in church work in the community.  Mr. Cunningham died Apr. 22, 1881, and he died Mar. 10, two years later.  In the Cunningham ancestry, Archibald was a son of James, and James was a son of John who in turn was a son of James Cunningham who came from Scotland in 1737 to Philadelphia.  In 1789 the Cunninghams migrated from Pennsylvania to Washington County, Pennsylvania, and in 1821 to Wayne County, Ohio, and since 1831 there have been Cunninghams in Lima and Allen County.      Mrs. Smith's mother, Emeline Street Holloway Cunningham, was a daughter of Dr. George and Louis (Street) Holloway, and her grandmother, Lois Street Holloway was a daughter of Jesse and Lois (Cook) Street, the father of Revolutionary war soldier and a Minute Man at the battle of Lexington and a descendant of Nicholas Street, who came to America from England in 1630.  The Cunninghams have no difficulty in establishing their eligibility to membership in the Revolutionary patriotic societies.  Mrs. Smith is a member of the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.      The children born to Mr. and Mrs. O. W. Smith are: Ethelwyn, with her mother in the family homestead on Lakewood avenue, Lima; Helen is the wife of Albert L. Gibbs of Jacksonville, Florida, and they have a daughter, Marion Josephine.  Marion is the wife of Paul Leche of New Orleans, Louisiana, and they have two children, Marion Jeanne and Paul Warren.  Lenore is a teacher and lives at the family home.  In her young womanhood Mrs. Smith was a teacher in Lima and Bellefontaine, and served as principal in Bellefontaine.  She is active in the social life of Lima, having been a member of the Woman's Club since 1886, and she has frequently served as its president.  She is a member of the Woman's Musical Club, and an active worker in the Presbyterian Church, and for many years has been a Sunday school teacher there. Source:  A Standard History of Allen County, Ohio - Vol. II - Publ. Chicago: Warner i.e. Warner, Beers & Co., 1921 - Page 255
	RICHARD E. SMITH has had some share in the industrial work of Allen County, though the greater part of his years have been spent at farming.  He is a dairyman and stock farmer and owner of one of the best improved places in Perry Township, his home being on rural route No. 6 out of Lima.      Mr. Smith was born in American Township of Allen County, Nov. 4, 1864, son of William B. and Barbara (Conrad) Smith.  His parents were natives of Fairfield County, Ohio.  His maternal grandfather, George Conrad, was a native of Pennsylvania.  From Fairfield County William B. Smith and wife moved to Allen County and bought more than 300 acres of land in what was then German, now American Township.  He had barely started the improvement of the farm when his death occurred on July 2, 1864, several months before the birth of his son Richard E.  The widowed mother afterward married Samuel Baumgardner, who died five or six years later, and she continued to live on the old homestead farm until her death at the very advanced age of ninety-five, in March, 1920.  Richard E. Smith was the youngest of a number of children.  Isabel, the oldest, is Mrs. Wesley Reed, of Bucklin, Ohio; Taylor lives at Lima; Harrison is deceased; George is a resident of Cleveland; Mary, widow of  Jackson Keller, is a resident of Muskegon, Michigan; Martin lives at Lima; William had his home in American Township; Ellen is Mrs. Gilbert Shook, of Muncie, Indiana; and Jacob is deceased, his widow living in Perry Township.      Richard E. Smith grew up in his mother's home, was educated in the district schools, and was married at the age of twenty-six, on May 20, 1890, to Elizabeth Alexander.  She was born at Allentown in Allen County, a daughter of James and Lydia (Crimeau) Alexander.  Her grandparents, Adam and Elizabeth (Housel) Alexander, were natives of Connecticut, while her maternal grandparents were John and Nancy (Docerty) Crimeau.      After his marriage Mr. Smith continued to live on the home farm and managed it for his mother two years.  He then went to Lima and found a place in the steel works of that city, and for some time was foreman of a crane crew.  He was with the steel works fifteen months, until the plant was shut down on account of fire.  Mr. Smith then went into the oil fields around St. Mary's, and had a varied assignment of duties at nearly everything connected with the oil industry for about seven years.  In the meantime he had bought twenty acres in Amanda Township, and on leaving St. Mary's moved to that farm, where he resided three yeas.  Leaving Allen County, he bought seventy acres in Wilshire Township of Van Wert County, and was busily engaged in farming there for several years.  Mr. Smith lost his wife while in Van Wert County on May 30, 1905.  In 1906 he returned to Allen County and bought ninety-five acres in section 32 of Perry Township.  He has added to the residence, built a complete new equipment of barns and other farm buildings, and has made many improvements to increase the efficiency and value of the place.  Ninety acres are under cultivation and five acres still constitute a wood lot.  This is the Elm Row Farm, and is devoted to general farming, the raising of Holstein cattle for dairy purposes, registered Duroc Jersey hogs and White Leghorn chickens.      Mr. Smith has both children and grandchildren, most of whom live in Allen County:  Terry, a resident of Lima, married Florence Kitterman and has three children, Lester, Ralph and Floyd; Violet Chloe, her father's housekeeper, is the wife of Roy Penthtel and has a son, Melvin Gail; Lelia Grace is wife of Walter Fritz, of Perry Township, and has four children, Matilda, Violet, Geraldine and Walter; Belva lives with her sister Leila Grace, and has one daughter, Vivian Vondale; Berline, of Lima, married Claudice Young.  Mr. Smith is a member of the United Brethren Church at Elida, is an independent voter and has filled all the chairs in Tent No. 190 of the Knights of the Maccabees at St. Mary's. Source:  A Standard History of Allen County, Ohio - Vol. II - Publ. Chicago: Warner i.e. Warner, Beers & Co., 1921 - Page 250
	WILLIAM ALFRED SMITH.  The record of Mr. Smith is that of a man who by his own unaided efforts worked his way from a modest beginning to a position of affluence and influence in the business world.  His life has been of unceasing industry and perseverance, and the systematic and honorable methods which he has followed have won for him the unbounded confidence of his fellow citizens of Lima and Allen county.      William Alfred Smith, the successful and well-known sheet-metal contractor of Lima, was born in Rensselaer county, New York, in 1855, and is the son of Alfred Allen and Abigail (Higgins) Smith, and through both paternal and maternal lines he is descended from sterling old English stock, the father having been born at Birmingham and the mother in London.  Previous to their marriage they emigrated to the United States, the father coming alone and Mrs. Smith with her parents.  Location was made in New York state, where the father followed his trade, that of a metal worker at Rensselaer and Watervliet.  When William Alfred was about one eyar old the family moved to Bloomington, Illinois, where they remained a short time, or until the panic of 1857 swept over the country, when they returned to New York state, locating first at Union village, but two year later again locating in Watervliet.  In that city the son William attended public and private schools until sixteen years of age, when under his father's directions he learned the trade of a sheet metal worker, being so employed there for three years.  Then for about six months he was employed in a law office, after which he worked in various parts of the country and at different occupations as a journeyman metal worker, a lake sailor, a woodman, farmer, as a section hand on the Texas Western Railroad, and as a gardener at Houston and Galveston, Texas, after which he again followed his trade for four years.  In 1881 Mr. Smith came to Lima and entered the employ of J. R. Hughes as a sheet metal worker, remaining with him as an employe seven years.  He then bought the business from Mr. Hughes, whose business was an old established one, and Mr. Smith has since that time been continuously engaged in that business here.  His first location was in the Union Block on the Public Square, whence he moved to No. 113 East Spring street two years later.  Having outgrown that location he next established himself at Main and Spring streets, where he remained three years.  Then for four years he was located in the Linneman Block, and the following five years he was in the Metzger Block on South Main street, at the end of that time moving to his present location, Nos. 134-136-138 South Central Avenue.  He is well equipped to handle any kind of a contract in his line and he has done the metal work on many of the largest buildings in this community, including the Central High School Building, the Lima Gas Office, the Thayer Flats and other similar buildings.  He is prepared to manufacture metal articles of all kinds and keeps a large force of men continually busy both in the shop and outside.  Mr. Smith has earned a high reputation because of his sound business methods, promptness, reliability and courtesy being the elements which has rewarded his efforts since identifying himself with the business interests of this community.      In 1881 Mr. Smith was married to Sarah E. Napier, the daughter of William and Sarah (Huff) Napier, of near Lima.  Mr. Napier of whom extended mention is made on other pages in this volume, was one of the pioneers of Allen county.      Politically, Mr. Smith is an independent Republican; fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Pythias, while his religious member Church.  The beginning of Mr. Smith's career was characterized by hard work, and conscientious endeavor, and he owes his rise solely ot his own honest efforts.  He is essentially public enterprises, and because of his business success and his high personal character he enjoys the general confidence and esteem of the  community. Source:  A Standard History of Allen County, Ohio - Vol. II - Publ. Chicago: Warner i.e. Warner, Beers & Co., 1921 - Page 48
	DANIEL OSCAR SNIDER.  About the time he was old enough to vote Daniel Oscar Snider left the home farm in Allen County and found employment in the oil fields of the Lima district, but much the greater portion of his mature life has been spent in the service of the Ohio Electric Railroad Company, with which he has had repeated advancement in technical responsibilities, and for a number of years past has been chief engineer of the company at Lima.      Mr. Snider was born in Auglaize Township of Allen County, near the Town of Harrod, Apr. 10, 1872, a son of Amos and Elizabeth J. Snider.  The grandfather, George Snider, came from Germany when twelve years of age with his parents, and grew up on a farm in Perry County, Ohio.  In the three generations of the Snider family that have lived in Ohio most of them have been farmers.  The Sniders came to Allen County when the country was practically covered with dense woods, and as a family they did their share of the strenuous labor of clearing away the timber and developing farms.  Amos Snider was the second in a family of nine children, and the only one of that generation now living is George Snider in this county.  Amos Snider spent most of his life on the home farm in Jackson township, but his death occurred in Lima July 28, 1916.  His widow is still living.      Daniel Oscar Snider is the sixth of nine children, all of whom are still living with the exception of the oldest son, who died Sept. 20, 1920.  As a boy Daniel acquired his education in the Baker schoolhouse, two miles from the home farm walking back and forth every day during the winter terms.  In summer his time was given to the work of the fields, and after he was nineteen he worked altogether on the farm until 1893, when he came to Lima and during the next four years worked as a teamster in the oil fields.  Leaving that work he became a lineman for the Lineman for the Lima Light Company, and after two and a half years was advanced to oiler, serving in that capacity six years, and at the time the new power house was built at Lima by the Ohio Electric Railroad Company in 1900 he was given duties as engineer, a post for which he had splendid qualifications, and is one of the veterans in the service of the corporation.  Since 1917 he has been hief engineer, and had the supervision of thirty men in his department, but the force now numbers twenty-five men.      In 1894 Mr. Snider married Bertie Norris, a daughter of George Norris, of Harrod, Allen county.  They have two children, a son and daughter.  Norris Amos, who was born in 1895, is oil tester at the Solar Refinery.  He married Beryl Verbright, of Lima, and has two children, Ruth Eleanor and Richard.  Gladys Snider became the wife of Harlin Prosser, general foreman of the Lima Sheet Metal Works, who died Mar. 28,1921.  They had one child, Donald. Source:  A Standard History of Allen County, Ohio - Vol. II - Publ. Chicago: Warner i.e. Warner, Beers & Co., 1921 - Page 314
	GEORGE L. SNIDER has lived to fourscore years, and these long years have been accompanied by substantial achievement.  As a resident of Allen County for half a century he is widely known and esteemed.      Mr. Snider though retired from the burdens of agriculture is still living in his home in Perry Township, on rural route No. 5 out of Lima.  He was born in Perry County, Ohio, May 9, 1840, son of George N. and Rhoda (Schofield) Snider.  Daniel Snider, his grandfather, moved his family out of Pennsylvania with wagon and team and settled in Perry County, Ohio, in 1805.  George N. Snider was born in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, in 1800, and grew up in the pioneer seciton of Perry County.  HIs wife was born in Maryland, and her parents, Elijah and Mrs. (Farmer) Schofield, natives of that state, also came across country at an early date to Perry County.  George N. Snider after his marriage settled on a farm in Perry County, but in 1875 sold out and joined some of his children in Allen County.  George L. Snider was the youngest of ten children and is the only survivor.      He acquired his education in the common schools of Perry County and on feb. 8, 1862, at the age of twenty-two married Delila Roberts.  She was born in Muskingum County, Ohio, a daughter of John and Catherine (Horn) Roberts.  Her parents were natives either of Maryland or of Virginia.  After his marriage Mr. Snider lived with his father about three years, then moved to the farm of his wife's father, and four years later sold forty acres he owned in that section of Ohio and moved to Allen County.  His first home in this county was in Jackson Township, where he bought 100 acres, partly improved.  He had most of the land in cultivation before he sold the farm to his father.  He then bought 100 acres in Auglaize Township and as his prosperity justified he added more land until at one time he had 212 acres in Auglaize Township and as his prosperity justified he added more land until at one time he had 212 acres.  Subsequently he sold out portions of this, and in August, 1920, he sold the remainder, 120 acres, and thus relieved of the cares and responsibilities of property management, he lives with his son George in Perry Township.  He is an active member and deacon of the Church of the Brethren and a republican voter.      Mr. and Mrs. Snider had a large family of children; Amanda, Mrs. Monroe Thayer, of Lima; Solomon, who died in February, 1920, leaving a widow in Jackson Township; Mary, deceased; Rhoda, Mrs. Isaac Mowrey of Jackson Township; George A., of Perry Township; Della, Mrs. Solomon Lehmer, of Los Angeles, California; Malinda, Mrs. Ira Buck, of Franklin Grove, Illinois; Jesse, who lives in California; Elizabeth, Mrs. Robert Clark, of Mount Morris, Illinois; and Whitney, who was the eighth in order of birth, died at the age of sixteen years. Source:  A Standard History of Allen County, Ohio - Vol. II - Publ. Chicago: Warner i.e. Warner, Beers & Co., 1921 - Page 295
	GEORGE W. STRAYER.  Some of the most important interests of agriculture and stock industry of Allen County have been concentrated in the Strayer family for a long period of years.  Living on land originally acquired by his father, George W. Strayer has for many years been one of the men of enterprise in the agricultural section of Amanda Township.  His home in six miles northeast of Spencerville.      He was born in the same township, near Zion Church, July 4, 1860, son of Samuel K. and Sarah A. (Elliker) Strayer.  His father was born in Pennsylvania in September, 1820, while his mother was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, in 1830.  After their marriage they settled on the land where George W. Strayer now lives, and in course of time Samuel Strayer now lives, and in course of time Samuel Strayer owned 164 acres, well improved, and from this soil he gained his prosperity and provided for his family.  He was a democrat in politics, and his wife was a faithful member of the Christian Union Church at Hartford.  In their family were seven children: Mary E., widow of Joshua McGath, of Delphos, Ohio; Lydia A., wife of Frank F. Miller, of Amanda Township; Isabel, wife of Samuel F. Ditto, of Marion Township; George W.; Adaline, widow of George Busset, of Delphos; Clara A., wife of Levi Roush, a Amanda Township; and Samuel S., a farmer in Amanda Township.      George W. Strayer grew up on the old farm in Amanda Township, acquired his education in the local schools, and lived at home until he reached his majority.  He then began renting a farm, and on July 5, 1884, married Mattie E. Haverstick, who was born in Amanda Township Feb. 7, 1860.  For over thirty-five years Mr. Strayer has been a practical farmer, and largely from his own earnings has paid for and developed the farm of 100 acres he owns.  He is a stockholder in the Farmers Union Elevator at Spencerville, and has associated himself with all progressive movements in his community.  He is a democrat, and with his family is a member of the Methodist Church.  There are three children: Samuel F.; Jennie, wife of Ira Miller, of Spencerville; and Nile M., at home.      Samuel F. Strayer has already achieved a place of consequence in his community, both as a practical and business-like farmer and as the present treasurer of Amanda Township.  He was born in Marion Township of Allen County Apr. 21, 1885, and was educated in the district schools and the Lima Business College.  Since leaving school he has been associated with his father in the farm and owns twenty acres in his own right.  He is a member of the Methodist Church and is affiliated with Deep Cut Lodge No. 311 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Source:  A Standard History of Allen County, Ohio - Vol. II - Publ. Chicago: Warner i.e. Warner, Beers & Co., 1921 - Page 263
	SAMUEL STRAYER.  Though born in another Ohio county, Samuel Strayer has spent practically all his life in Allen County, and for the greater part of half a century has devoted his efforts consecutively and with a rising degree of prosperity to the vocation of farming.  He has one of the complete and well systematized farms of Amanda Township, located six miles southwest of Elida on rural route No. 2.      He was born in Fairfield County May 2, 1852, and was about four moths old when his parents, in August, 1852 moved to Allen County.  Nicholas and Elizabeth (Layman) Strayer were born in Pennsylvania but were married in Fairfield County, Ohio.  On coming to Allen County they settled in the woods of Amanda Township.  There first home was a cabin built in a small clearing.  Nicholas Strayer was well fitted for pioneer duties and gradually the acres of his cultivated fields expanded and long before his death he had one of the good farms and was rated as one of the prosperous men of the community.  He and his wife were very active in church relations and in politics he was a democrat.  In the family were seven children: Catherine, wife of David Baxter; Samuel; avid a farmer living near Elida; Rebecca, deceased; John, an Amanda Township farmer; William, also of Amanda Township; and Della, widow of George Clark, living at Fort Worth, Texas.      Samuel Strayer while growing to manhood on the old farm in Amanda Township attended the common schools and worked in the fields as his strength permitted.  At the age of twenty-one he began selling sewing machines, but followed that occupation only about a year.      Apr. 15, 1875, he married Emeline Miller, who was born in Amanda Township, and died in 1892.  She was the mother of Mr. Strayer's six children, named Charles, Jennie, Guy, James, Roy and Lester.  The son Roy did his duty as a soldier in the World war, went overseas, and is now living at Lima.  Mr. Strayer on Nov. 11, 1893, married Emma A. Miller, a cousin of his first wife.  She is an active member of the Methodist Church and in politics he is a democrat.      Mr. Strayer's farm comprises ninety-four acres, and he has it well stocked with good grades of cattle, hogs and other animals.  He is also a stockholder in the Peoples Bank of Delphos, Ohio. Source:  A Standard History of Allen County, Ohio - Vol. II - Publ. Chicago: Warner i.e. Warner, Beers & Co., 1921 - Page 273

NOTES: