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BIOGRAPHIES
 Source:
A Portrait and Biographical Record of Allen & Van Wert
Counties, Ohio
Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co.
1896
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ELIHU REED
Source: A Portrait and biographical record of Allen &
Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co.,
1896 - Page 428 |
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HORACE ADELBERT REEVE
Source: A Portrait and biographical record of Allen &
Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co.,
1896 - Page 429 |
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JOSEPH REIF
Source: A Portrait and biographical record of Allen &
Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co.,
1896 - Page 434 |
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HENRY REITER
Source: A Portrait and biographical record of Allen &
Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co.,
1896 - Page 435 |
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CAPT. WILLIAM B. RICHARDS
Source: A Portrait and biographical record of Allen &
Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co.,
1896 - Page 436 |
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WALTER J. RICHIE
Source: A Portrait and biographical record of Allen &
Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co.,
1896 - Page 437 |
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JOHN
G. RIDENOUR, a very prominent and popular farmer of Allen
county, and justice of the peace of Sugar Creek township, is of
Pennsylvania- Dutch origin. There is a tradition in the
family that long ago seven brothers emigrated from Germany, and
landed in the New England states. They later settled in
New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia, and from them have
descended the numerous families of Ridenours now to be
found in all parts of the United States.
The grandfather of the subject of this sketch was named
John. He was born in Germany, and married Miss
Christine Walters, a native of Germany, and to them were
born John, Henry, Peter, Michael, George, David, William,
Mary, Catherine, Christine, Sarah, Susan, Esther and Elizabeth.
The father these fourteen children was a farmer in
Washington county, Pa., and was a good, industrious citizen.
In religious belief he was a Lutheran, lived to an advanced age,
and died in Fairfield county, Ohio, where he settled in 1809,
becoming a man of considerable wealth.
George Ridenour, his fifth son, and the father
of the subject of this sketch, was born in Washington County,
Pa., Aug. 3, 1794. When he was a child he was taken
by his parents to Westmoreland county, that state, and when
eighteen years of age enlisted in the service of the government
of the United States in the war of 1812-15, serving under
Capt. Spangler and Gen. Hooker, on the lake frontier.
After the war was over he became a farmer, and in November,
1820, he married Miss Conrad, in Fairfield county, Ohio.
She was born July 3, 1802, in Maryland, near Hagerstown, and was
a daughter of John and Catherine (Adams) Conrad. To
George Ridenour and his wife there were born eleven
children, two of whom died in infancy, the others being as
follows: Catherine, Christine, Dorothea, John
G., Sophia, Isaac, Mary, William and Sarah.
Dorothea married and died afterward. Isaac died
a soldier in the Civil war.
GEORGE RIDENOUR settled on land
which he cultivated, and he also owned a saw-mill, which he ran
in Fairfield county, where he lived until 1829. He then
removed to Sugar Creek township, Allen county, and entered
eighty acres of land, then all in the woods. This land he
cleared and improved, and by industry and thrift he added other
acres until he owned 200 acres in all, upon which he made
important improvements, and made of it one of the best improved
farms of those days in the county. He had a good common
education in German and in English, was an unusually intelligent
man, was very handy with tools, understood the carpenter's
trade, and made many useful articles. Wooden mold boards,
plows, coffins, and many other things were the result of his
handiwork. He also had considerable skill as a surgeon,
and was accustomed to lance his patients and bleed them, as was
then the fashion for any ills. He had also a knowledge of
herbs, barks and roots, and administered them according to his
own judgment. He also acted the part of dentist,
extracting teeth with an old fashioned punch, knocking them out.
Afterward he used an instrument called the pelican. He was
well known among the early settlers and was of great use to them
as long as he lived.
When he removed to Allen county in November, 1829, he
made the journey by wagon and a four-horse team. There was
then no settlement at Lima, not a tree was cut, and the Indians
had a council house at Shawneetown. They however were
always friendly to those whom they could trust. The trail
followed bridle-paths through the woods, and i many places the
road had to be cut through the standing timber from Shawneetown
to where Mr. Jacobs now lives, his father being one of
the early settlers in the county. Mr. Ridenour was
also one of the first settlers, nearly the entire county being a
wilderness when he moved into it. At that time deer and
wolves were plentiful; they were visible around the cabin in the
day time, and the wolves could be heard at night, howling all
around. Mr. Ridenour's family then consisted of his
wife and five children, the youngest member of the family having
been born in Allen county. He and his wife were members of
the Lutheran church, he assisting to establish the Lutheran
church in Elida. The first church edifice of this
denomination was a frame structure, the second of brick.
Before the erection of the frame building, services were held in
the homes of the pioneers. Mr. Ridenour was a
popular man, and held the offices of deacon and elder in his
church. Politically he was a democrat, and was widely
known as an honorable man, and his house was headquarters for
the traveler and the prospective settler in search of land.
His hospitality was unbounded, and in the homely phrase, now so
seldom heard, his "latch string was always out." He died
on his homestead Feb. 25, 1879, and his wife died Jan. 11, 1892,
aged nearly ninety years. She was a woman of remarkable
constitution, and of many virtues.
John G. Ridenour, the subject of this sketch,
was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, Feb. 14, 1827, and was about
two years old when he was brought to Allen county by his
parents. He was reared among the pioneers in the old log
cabin, and thus became a pioneer himself. His education
was received in the log schoolhouse at Elida, then the best
school-house anywhere around. The school was supported by
subscription paid in by the patrons of the school.
David Ridenour, a distant relative of the subject, was one
of the early teachers there. John G. Ridenour
however, did not begin to attend this school until he was
fourteen years of age, and then he attended but two months in
the winter season, the rest of the year having to work upon the
farm. Notwithstanding all these disadvantages he himself
began teaching school when nineteen years of age, and received
$5 per month, finding himself, not even "boarding 'round."
He continued teaching for nine terms, one of which terms was in
Putnam County. His uncle, Hiram Stotts, was sheriff
of Allen county, and Mr. Ridenour acted as clerk for a
term of four years, attending school at Lima at the same time,
and it was there he acquired most of his early knowledge.
In politics Mr. Ridenour is a democrat and was
elected recorder of Allen county in 1857, being re-elected in
1861. He was deputy treasurer of the county for two years,
and was also employed in the auditor's office. In 1854 he
was engaged in mercantile business at Elida, and then removed to
the home farm, where he has since remained. In 1881 he was
elected justice of the peace, and has held this office ever
since. On his farm he is engaged in raising small fruits,
in which he is quite successful. In religion he is a
member of the Lutheran church. He stands high among the
people of his township, and is as popular as an official as he
is a man, his official career having made him well known to all
the citizens of the county. His life is co-extensive with
the history of the county, and his is one of the honored pioneer
families of this section of the country. Mr. Ridenour
is really a self educated and a self made man, and one of the
most popular officials Allen county has ever had, and has a wide
knowledge of affairs.
Source: A Portrait and biographical record of Allen &
Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co.,
1896 - Page 438 |
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PETER
RIDENOUR, a thrifty and respected farmer of Marion
township, Allen county, Ohio, springs from sturdy
Pennsylvania-Dutch stock, and is a son of Peter and Sarah
Catherine (Conrad) Ridenour. Peter Ridenour, the
subject of this memoir, was born in Elida, Allen county, Ohio,
in 1841, and was but two years of age when his father was taken
from him by death, and this misfortune necessarily resulted in
his receiving but a limited education. In his youthful
days, as he gained strength and experience, he devoted himself
to various kinds of labor, chiefly that of the farmer, and just
before his majority he enlisted, Aug. 8, 1861, at Gomer, Ohio,
in company E, Ninety-ninth Ohio volunteer infantry for three
years, or until the end of the war. He was honorably
discharged at Nashville, Tenn., July 2, 1865, having taken part
in the battle of Perryville, Ky., and in a battle that occurred
between Perryville and Nashville; was also at Stone river, was
at Snow Hill and Tullahoma, and in a dozen or more severe
skirmishes in the surrounding territory. At Chattanooga he
was struck by a piece of shell, which crippled his left him and
caused his confinement at hospital No. 2 for over a year, but
part of this time he was on detailed duty with the invalid corps
at Nashville. He was a good, brave and faithful soldier,
and was never missing from his post of duty, save when disabled
by his wound. July 5, 1865, three days after his discharge
from his military service, Mr. Ridenour married, at
Nashville, Tenn., Catherine Garvin, a native of Ireland,
born about 1844, a daughter of William and Bridget (Gibbons)
Garvin, and the eldest of five children born to her parents,
viz: Catherine, John, Michael, Margaret and Maria.
The father, William Garvin, was an industrious and hard
laborer, and came to America when Mrs. Ridenour was a
little girl, leaving his wife and children in the old country,
and dying in New Orleans, of cholera. Mrs. Garvin
reached America soon after her husband's death, bringing her
young family with her and supporting herself and children by
keeping boarders at Moscow, Tenn., where she died within a few
years after her arrival. On the death of her mother,
Mrs. Ridenour became a nurse in hospital No. 2, was
afterwards transferred to hospital No. 17, and performed her
merciful and tender duties as nurse three years, and while thus
devoting herself to the care of the sick and wounded, formed the
acquaintance of our subject, who in time became her husband.
Of course it would be but an attempt in vain to depict the
sights of horror witnessed in hospitals by Mr. Ridenour
and his wife, resulting from wounds, disease and casualties, but
which they treated with a care and humane tenderness peculiar to
themselves.
After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Ridenour came to
Allen county, Ohio, the birthplace of Mr. Ridenour, and
here the latter engaged in farming, making a good livelihood and
winning for himself and family the respect of all who knew them.
The family that have blessed Mr. and Mrs. Ridenour
consists of nine children, who are named in order of birth as
follows: William, Maria, Edward, Daniel, Matilda, Emma,
Hermie, Harry and Pearl, the last named of whom died
in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Ridenour are both members
of the United Brethren church and fully live up to the teachings
of the denomination in which they have placed their faith, and
never fail to aid it in a pecuniary point of view, when its
material necessities demand such aid. In politics, Mr.
Ridenour is a democrat; he votes as his conscience tells him
and fought as his conscience told him to fight. Of the
children born to Mr. and Mrs. Ridenour, William married
Anna Laman, is a farmer of Sugar Creek township and is
the father of two children; Maria is married to Oscar
Ludwig, a farmer of Marion township, and the mother of one
child, Edward is a farmer of Marion township, is married
to Matilda Cramer, and the whole family is well
circumstanced throughout the county, as they well deserved to
be.
Source: A Portrait and biographical record of Allen &
Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co.,
1896 - Page 441 |
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SAMUEL
O. RIDENOUR, one of the most experienced and skillful
farmers of Perry township, Allen County, Ohio, is a son of
Jacob and Catherine (Oats) Ridenour, was born in Allen
County, Sept. 11, 1832, and is remotely of German descent.
LEWIS RIDENOUR, great grandfather
of the subject of this biography, came from his native Germany
to America prior to the Revolutionary war, and during that
gallant struggle was a teamster in the patriot army. His
first settlement was a Virginia, but he later moved to
Westmoreland county, Pa., where he followed farming until 1803,
when he came to Ohio and settled in Perry county, bringing his
wife and children, the latter numbering ten, and comprising
seven sons and three daughters. The sons were named
Matthias, David, John, Jacob, Lewis, Isaac and Martin,
all of whom served in the war of 1812, entering the army as
volunteers from Perry county, Ohio. David, John and
Isaac subsequently came to Allen county and settled in
Perry township, but the other four brothers passed the remainder
of their lives in Perry county. Of the three brothers whom
came to Allen county, David never married, while the
other two were wedded and reared families; but this sketch will
be confined to John and his descendants.
JOHN RIDENOUR, the grandfather of
our subject, was born in Virginia in 1785, accompanied his
father to Pennsylvania and came with him to Ohio. In
March, 1831, having come to Allen county, he entered a half
section of and in section No. 5, Perry township, where he
cleared up a farm of considerable dimensions. He married
Miss Hannah Spahn, who was born in Hagerstown, Md., and
who came with her parents to Perry county, Ohio. To the
union of Mr. and Mrs. Ridenour were born the following
children: Jacob; John, who died in Perry township,
Allen county; Matthias, resides in Paulding county;
George, who also passed away in Perry township, Allen
county; Rebecca, deceased wife of Solomon
Wollet, and Amelia, also deceased. The death of
John Ridenour, the father of this family, occurred on his
farm in Perry township in 1874, and that of his wife took place
in July, 1879.
JACOB RIDENOUR, the eldest
son of John Ridenour, and the father of our
subject, was born in Perry county, Ohio, Jan. 14, 1809, learned
blacksmithing, and in 1831 came to Allen county and settled on
eighty acres of the land his father had entered in Perry
township and on which his son, Samuel O., our subject,
now lives. Here, in the latter part of 1832, he
established his blacksmith shop, and for many years carried on
the trade in connection with farming. He was a stanch
democrat in his politics and took a lively interest in public
affairs. He filled a number of township offices, including
that of trustee, and was an active, useful and public-spirited
citizen. He was a good Christian and was one of the
original members of Saint Paul's Evangelical Lutheran
congregation, aided liberally with his means toward the erection
of its church edifice, and was one of its early trustees.
The first wife of Jacob Ridenour was a daughter
of William Oats, of Perry county, Ohio; she died in 1836,
leaving three children, viz: Samuel O., the subject of
this sketch; Jacob, who was a member of company K, One
Hundred and Eighteenth Ohio volunteer infantry, and who died
from exposure while in the service; and Catherine, who
became the wife of Daniel Losh and died in August, 1860.
The second marriage of Mr. Ridenour was with Mrs.
Lovis Boyer, who bore the maiden name of Mechling,
and to this union six children have been born, named, in order
of birth, as follows: Rebecca, married in
William Verbryke; Phebe, wife of James K. Spear; Emma,
wife of J. G. Barr; Lovis, widow of Isaac Lehman
of Indiana; Knox P., of Dayton, Ohio; and John W.,
deceased. Jacob Ridenour, the honored father of
this family, was called from earth Nov. 9, 1879, and the mother
in 1872.
Samuel O. Ridenour, the gentlemen whose name
opens this biography, was reared from infancy to manhood on the
old family homestead in Perry township, Allen county, which has
never lost its charms for him and of which he has
purchased ninety acres, which, beside being arable land, contain
within their bounds several flowing oil wells. He has this
farm under a rare state of cultivation and keeps it in such a
condition that it is justly called a model farm.
Mr. Ridenour was a patriot in the days when
patriots were most in demand, and in 1864 enlisted in company A,
One Hundred and Eightieth Ohio volunteer infantry, was assigned
to the Twenty-third army corps, under Gen. Schofield, and
was present at the battle of Kingston, N. C., which was one of
the terminally deciding fights of the Civil war, and also took
part in numerous minor engagements or skirmishes, receiving an
honorable discharge at the end of nine months, on account of the
close of the war.
Samuel O. Ridenour has been twice married.
In 1870 he was united in matrimony with Miss Mary C. Sellers,
daughter of John Sellers. This lady died in 1875,
leaving two children - John F. and Hattie (wife of
Morgan L. Harrod). The second marriage of Mr.
Ridenour was with Miss Elizabeth Swinehart,
daughter of Samuel Swinehart, of Perry county, Ohio, and
this union has been crowned by the birth of two children -
Grover DeWitt and Samuel O., Jr. In politics Mr.
Ridenour is a reliable democrat, having always been
faithful to his party, under whose auspices he has served as
township trustee, clerk and treasurer. In religion he is a
Lutheran and a member of Saint Paul's Evangelical Lutheran
congregation, whose house of worship, it will be remembered, was
erected in the days of Jacob Ridenour, the father of our
subject, who contributed so freely toward its construction.
Samuel O. Ridenour is now recognized as one of the most
skillful agriculturists of Perry township, and socially he and
family are respected and welcomed to the homes of not only their
immediate neighbors, but to those of their neighbors living
miles away.
Source: A Portrait and biographical record of Allen &
Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co.,
1896 - Page 440 |
[portrait -Hon. Theo D. Robb][portrait - Hon. Thomas M. Robb,
deceased] |
HON. THEODORE D. ROBB
Source: A Portrait and biographical record of Allen &
Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co.,
1896 - Page 430 |
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DAVID J. ROBERTS
Source: A Portrait and biographical record of Allen &
Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co.,
1896 - Page 443 |
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JOSIAH B. ROBERTS
Source: A Portrait and biographical record of Allen &
Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co.,
1896 - Page 443 |
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WILLIAM W. ROBERTS
Source: A Portrait and biographical record of Allen &
Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co.,
1896 - Page 445 |
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JOHN W. ROBY
Source: A Portrait and biographical record of Allen &
Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co.,
1896 - Page 481 |
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HENRY L. ROMEY
Source: A Portrait and biographical record of Allen &
Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co.,
1896 - Page 446 |
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JULIUS ROSENTHAL
Source: A Portrait and biographical record of Allen &
Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co.,
1896 - Page 448 |
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JOSEPH ROTH
Source: A Portrait and biographical record of Allen &
Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co.,
1896 - Page 448 |
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PHILIP
ROUSH, a well-known farmer of
Bath township, Allen county, Ohio, is a native of the Keystone
state and was born in Juniata county in 1840 - a son of
HENRY and Elizabeth (Mohart) Roush.
Henry Roush, the father, was born in Dauphin county,
Pa., in 1803, on his father's farm, on which he remained until
his marriage, the union resulting in the birth of nine children,
as follows: George, John, Joseph, William, Henry,
Catherine (wife of Willis Copeland), Franklin, Philip
and Jacob. The mother of this family died in 1843,
and in 1844 Mr. Roush married Susan Winegardner,
of Juniata county, in the same state, who bore four children, as
follows: Theodore, Jane, Emma, and Ephraim.
About the year 1851, Henry Roush came to
Ohio and purchased a farm of 100 acres in Bath township, just
east of the land on which the county infirmary now stands.
This farm he cleared from the woods and improved in every
respect; and, although a practical blacksmith, gave but little
attention to his trade, preferring the life of a farmer, and so
closed it in 1881 on this Bath township farm, in the faith of
the Lutheran church, and in politics a democrat. He was a
man of much energy of character, was industrious and frugal, and
was held in high esteem by the community in which he had passed
the closing years of his useful life. Here, also, his wife
died in 1887.
Philip Roush the subject of this sketch, was but
eleven years of age when he came to Allen county with his
parents. Here he was reared until eighteen years old on
the home farm, learning in the meantime much of the carpenter's
trade. At the age named he went to Orion, Richland
county, Wis., where, for a short period, he clerked in the
brother's store; but he soon tired of western life and returned
to the home place in Bath township, Allen county, Ohio, where he
remained until the outbreak of the late rebellion, when he took
u0 arms in defense of the flag of the Union by enlisting in
company A, Twentieth Ohio volunteer infantry. On the
organization of his company he was elected corporal and later
on, for meritorious conduct in the field, was promoted sergeant.
He was in nearly all the battles fought in Virginia, in which
his regiment had any part, including Fair Oaks, Chapin's Farm,
Petersburg, Drury's Bluff, etc. and in all took a noble and
valiant part, reaping a reward through promotion, as has been
indicated a few lines above.
Mr. Roush was united in wedlock Jan. 1, 1866,
and Miss Nancy A. Mason, daughter of Jarvis and
Elizabeth (Hall) Mason, of Bath township, and the four
children born to the union all died in infancy, only one,
Jessie, the youngest, receiving a name. For a few
years Mr. Roush followed his trade of carpenter, but
preferred farm life and purchased forty-three acres in Bath
township, to which he has added twenty acres, on which he now
lives and which he has improved and cultivated until it is
readily recognized as a model. In politics Mr. Roush
is a republican, but seeks no office. He is a strictly
moral man, and has long been a member of the United Brethren
church, in which he has held the offices of trustee, treasurer
and Sunday-school superintendent. He is a public-spirited
citizen, and never is backward in his aid to matters that are
designed for the public good, and he enjoys the esteem of all
about him.
Source: A Portrait and biographical record of Allen &
Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co.,
1896 - Page 450 |
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DR. WILLIAM
ROUSH - Among the best known and most highly respected
citizens of Spencerville, Ohio, is Dr. William Roush, who
may be conspicuously mentioned. He has been a resident of
this place since October, 1893, and although his stay has been
comparatively short, has been sufficiently long to establish him
in his profession as a physician and surgeon, as well as to make
him many warm and ardent friends and admirers. He is a
native of Amanda township, Allen county, was born December 6,
1864, and is a son of Jacob M. and Elizabeth (Holtzapple)
Roush. The father died in April, 1894; the mother
still survives and resides in Amanda township. The doctor
was a farmer born and reared, and received his education in the
public schools and at Elida, with two terms at the Ada (Ohio)
normal. He lived on the farm until twenty-one years of
age, giving all possible time to his literary education.
He then taught school for four years, reading medicine, the last
year, with Dr. S. A. Hitchcock of Elida for preceptor,
afterward matriculating at the Cincinnati college of Medicine
and Surgery, graduating from there in March, 1891. He
first located in Elida, where he remained two years, when he
removed to Spencerville. His professional education has
fitted him for the general practitioner, being well equipped in
the various department of the healing art, and he has
established for himself a large and lucrative practice. He
is a valuable member of the Allen county Medical society, which
finds him a thoroughly live up-to-date doctor. In June of
1894 he was married to Miss Vada Wright, the accomplished
daughter of W. G. and Louisa Wright. Her birthplace
was Highland county, Ohio. Politically Dr. Roush is
a democrat and has unbounded faith in the future of the party.
In 1893 he was appointed to the pension board of examiners.
He is a member of the Odd Fellows' order of Spencerville, No.
311; also of the Daughters of Rebecca and Spencerville
encampment, No. 279, and is vice-grand subordinate. It is
superfluous to say that the doctor is an altogether very able
young man - just such as the world is depending upon for its
best future.
Source: A Portrait and biographical record of Allen &
Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co.,
1896 - Page 452 |
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MORRIS
RUMBAUGH, who was one of the oldest and most experienced
farmers of Bath township, Allen county, Ohio, was a native of
the Buckeye state and was born in Green county, county in 1817,
a son of GEORGE and Elizabeth (Briton) Rumbaugh.
WILLIAM RUMBAUGH,
great-grandfather of our subject, was born in Germany, came to
America when a young man, located in New Jersey, and was there
married. He served in the Revolutionary war, also had many
exciting adventures with the Indians, and died in Greene county,
Ohio, at an advanced age. His son, Jacob Rumbaugh,
was born in New Jersey, moved thence to Virginia, thence to
Greene county, Ohio, and in1835, came to Allen county and
settled on 200 acres of land in Bath township. His
marriage took place, in Virginia, to Barbara Wikel, who
bore nine children, viz.: George, William, David, Philip,
James, Daniel, and three girls who died in infancy unnamed.
Jacob Rumbaugh was a whig in politics. In his later
years he removed to Missouri, where his death took place, in the
faith of the Methodist church.
GEORGE RUMBAUGH, eldest son of
Jacob and Barbara (Wikel) Rumbaugh the father of our
subject, was born in Virginia, on the homestead, in 1790,
married Miss Elizabeth Biton, and came to Ohio when
twenty-five years of age, and for fifteen or sixteen years
engaged in farming in Greene county. In 1817 he came to
Allen county, and settled on 160 acres, the land now occupied by
the county infirmary. Here he resided for nearly twenty
years, when he removed to Iowa, where he ended his days a member
of the Methodist church.
Morris Rumbaugh, the subject proper of this
biographical notice came to Allen county with his parents and
rendered his father valuable service in clearing up the new
homestead in Bath township, and with him made his home until
nearly thirty-six years of age, when he purchased a farm of 100
acres in Bath township, much of which he cleared up and moved to
Wisconsin, but in the fall of the same year returned to Allen
county, Ohio, and purchased the farm of eighty acres in Bath
township, on which he resided until his death, July 18, 1895.
Mr. Rumbaugh was united in matrimony, in 1835,
with Miss Mary Hanson, a daughter of Benjamin Hanson
of Bath township, the union resulting in the birth of seven
children, in the following order: Lydia, wife of
William McClellan; Milton, deceased; Eliza
J., deceased wife of George Fungate; Henderson and
Holllis, deceased; Lambert, and Cyrus,
(deceased). In politics Mr. Rumbaugh was a
republican, but never sought public office, yet, as a matter of
duty, he felt it incumbent upon himself to fill the office of
constable in Bath township, for two years. A strict ember
of the Methodist church, his life had been such as to show his
fellow-en that he was sincere in his faith in its teachings.
A man of unimpeached honor and a man of generous impulses and
broad-minded views, he had few peers in the regard of his
fellow-citizens.
Source: A Portrait and biographical record of Allen &
Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co.,
1896 - Page 453 |
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HON. WILLIAM RUSLER
Source: A Portrait and biographical record of Allen &
Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co.,
1896 - Page 452 |
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DANIEL
RUSSELL, a well-known banker of Bluffton, and a gentleman
who has been largely interested in the other business interests
of the town, descends from an old Puritan family of New
Hampshire, of English extraction, and was born in Licking
County, Ohio, Nov. 24, 1821.
ELIJAH RUSSELL, father of our
subject, was born in New Hampshire, a son of a Revolutionary
patriot who also bore the name of Daniel. Elijah
was but seven years of age when he lost his father, and ever
afterward cared for himself. He learned cabinet-making at
Norfolk, Va., whither he had gone on a sailing vessel.
While yet a single man he came to Ohio, and in Granville,
Licking county, married Miss Elizabeth Wright, a native
of Shenandoah county, Va., and daughter of Alexander Wright,
who was a blacksmith by trade and who died in Illinois, the
father of nine children, viz: Alexander, John, Burgess,
Alvin, Elizabeth, Catherine, Thomas, Susan and Nancy.
After his marriage, Elijah Russell worked at his
trade in Granville for some years and then bought and cultivated
a farm near that town for some time, thence moved to Hebron,
Licking county, and in later life went to Ligonier, Ind., where
he died at the advanced age of eighty-seven years, in the faith
of the Baptist church, of which he had for a long time been a
deacon, leaving behind him, to mourn his loss, five children,
viz: Daniel, Mary S., Rachael, Burgess and John.
Daniel Russell passed his boyhood on his father's
farm in Licking county, about eight miles out of Newark, the
county-seat, and, besides farming, learned cabinet-making and
also gained a general knowledge of several other trades.
Feb. 11, 1844, he married Miss Fannie Townsend, who was
born in western New York, Jan. 23, 1822, was of Puritan stock,
and a daughter of Appleton and Roxey (Field) Townsend.
After marriage, Mr. Russell lived on the homestead until
November, 1851, when he brought his wife and two children to
Allen county, making the journey in a wagon, his wife, being
sick, lying on a bed. He purchased seventy acres of
woodland in Jackson township, on which was a log cabin, and this
land he cleared up and converted into a fine farm, and when he
moved from it, eighteen years later, he left behind, instead of
a rude log house in a wooded swamp, a fine frame dwelling in the
midst of fields of nodding grain and fruit bearing orchards.
In 1867, Mr. Russell engaged, in Bluffton, in the general
mercantile trade, in partnership with his brother-in-law, I.
M. Townsend, and this connection lasted six years, and for
the twenty years following Mr. Russell carried on a
prosperous trade on his sole account. In 1880, before
relinquishing his mercantile interests entirely, he and Mr.
Townsend being for three years in the lumber trade, Mr.
Russell embarked in banking, in which he has also prospered,
and now, besides other valuable real estate, owns the Commercial
block in Bluffton, a livery barn and three residence properties.
Mrs. FANNY RUSSELL departed this
life, Bluffton, Dec. 12, 1888, a member of the Disciples'
church, and the mother of two child - Mary A. and Orin
J. - and sincerely mourned by her family and a large circle
of friends. In 1889 Mr. Russell chose, for his
second helpmate, Mrs. Martha Cunningham, who had borne
the maiden name of Church.
In politics Mr. Russell has been a life long
republican and voted for John C. Fremont, the first
republican candidate for the presidency of the United States.
Although one of the founders of the republican party in Allen
county, Mr. Russell has taken no real or personal
interest in office holding, yet has been a member of the town
council of Bluffton. He is widely known throughout the
county, is still an active business man, and has always taken a
lively interest in the weal of the public. His integrity
stands unimpeached, and, a well preserved gentleman and an
honored citizen, he is a credit to the business and society
circles of Bluffton and Allen county.
Source: A Portrait and biographical record of Allen &
Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co.,
1896 - Page 454 |
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