Source: Portrait and Biographical Record of Auglaize, Logan and Shelby Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: Chapman Bros. 1892 - Page 506

Source: Portrait and Biographical Record of Auglaize, Logan and Shelby Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: Chapman Bros. 1892 - Page 562

WILLIAM J. HASTING.    Among those who have contributed to make Auglaize County one of the richiest and best developed farming regions in the State is Mr. Hasting, who forms the subject of this biographical review.  Duchouquet Township counts him as one of it most prosperous farmers, and his estate, which is located on sections 5 and 7, is comparable in all points with the best in the vicinity.
     The parents of our subject, Robert and Isabella (McClintock) Hasting, were natives of Ireland, whence they came to America as early ass 1834.  They made their home for three years in New Brunswick, at the end of which time they came to Miami County, this State, and located on a wild farm ten miles east of Piqua.  There they continued to reside until 1850, when the father came to this township and located upon section 6, where he cleared and improved a valuable farm and made his home until his decease, which occurred in 1859; his good wife, who survived him many years, died in 1889.  The mother, in later life, joined the Lutheran Church, but previously had been connected with the Methodist Episcopal denomination, of which body her husband was also a member.  He of whom we write was the eldest in a family of eight children, all of whom are living with one exception.  He was born May 2, 1834, in the Emerald Isle, and was an infant of three weeks when his parents emigrated to the New World.  He made the best of his limited advantages for obtaining an education, and fitting himself for a teacher., taught his first school in 1855 in this county.  The lady to whom Mr. Hasting ws married Dec. 29, 1857, was Elizabeth, daughter of George Shappell.  She is a native of this State, having been born in Fairfield, Nov. 3, 1833.
     After his marriage, Mr. Hasting located on section 5, Duchouquet Township, when it was in a perfectly wild state.  He erected on his estate a small frame house, and continued to reside there until 1873, which was the date of his removal to his present farm.  Six years ago, Mr. Hasting erected a comfortable residence which cost $1,500, and a view of which is elsewhere shown.  He has further improved his farm by building thereon a large barn and all the necessary structures needed for carrying on a first-class estate.  His property includes two hundred and seventy acres, most of which are under excellent cultivation, and in addition to farming, he receives a royalty on ten oil wells, which are located on his farm.  The first well on his farm, which was also the first well in the township, was bored in January, 1887.
     Ten children have been born to our subject and his wife eight of whom are living:  Alfred, who married Nora Archer, has two children; Edith, Mrs. Amos Nefford, is the mother of one child; the other members of the family bear the respective names of John, Anabel, William, Albert and Albin (twins) and Emma F.  Mr. Hasting is an active member of the Christian Church, in which denomination he is Trustee and Deacon, and has held the office of Secretary of the Board.  He has always been greatly interested in the Sunday-school and has served in the capacity of Superintendent for some time.  In his political relations, he votes the straight Democratic ticket, and is one of the truest adherents of that party in the township.
     Mr. Hasting is truly a self-made man, having received no assistance whatever in starting out for himself, and during the years which he has been a resident of Auglaize County has rendered invaluable aid in reclaiming a portion of it from the wilderness.  He cleared one hundred acres of his estate himself and has done a great deal of that kind of work for other parties.  Mr. Hasting made quite an extended visit to the West, but returned to his old home fully satisfied that he lives in one of the best States in the Union.  He is not only one of the most substantial citizens in his township, but is a man who is held in universal respect for his true manliness and upright bearing in all the relations that he sustains toward others.
Source: Portrait and Biographical Record of Auglaize, Logan and Shelby Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: Chapman Bros. 1892 - Page 443

JOHN J. HAUSS, who is perhaps the largest dealer in drugs, books, wall paper, paints, etc., in this part of Ohio, is one of the shrewdest, as well as most popular and successful, young business men in Auglaize County, and has risen from the tow path to a position of prominence and wealth, although he is only thirty-six years old.  He is a native of St. Mary's, his present place of residence and business, being born in this city Sept. 10, 1856.  His father, Frederick Hauss, was born in Baden, Germany, nearly seventy years ago, and came to America when a young man.  He landed at New York, came thence to Ohio, and was at St. Mary's during the cholera epidemic in 1849.  He went from here to New Orleans.  He was originally a rope-maker in the old country, but he engaged in the cooper's trade, with which he was familiar, in the Crescent City.  Returning to St. Mary's after a year's sojourn in New Orleans, he carried on coopering at this point a few years.  He then embarked in mercantile pursuits, and built up a large trade, which he conducted several years, becoming one of the leading merchants and citizens of St. Mary's.  For the past twenty years, he has been living five miles north of the city, where he is still engaged in business, and also farms to some extent.  While he lived in Germany, he was in the German army under Gen. Seigle  Both he and his good wife are members in high standing of the German Evangelical Church.  The latter is also of German birth, and her maiden name was Elizabeth Kaeirim.  She is the mother of eight children, of whom six are living, our subject being the eldest.
     Our subject was educated in the public schools, and at the age of fourteen he left home to begin the struggle of life in earnest, obtaining work on the tow path of the Miami and Erie Canal.  A year later, he was promoted to a position on a store boat, where he became familiar with one form of mercantile business.  He remained in that place two years, and was paid $35 a month.  Oct. 14, 1872, he entered the drug store of W. H. Dolls to learn the details of the drug business, and he was with him for thirteen years, rising to be his chief clerk, and becoming a very competent druggist.  In 1884, he established a business of his own at St. Mary's purchasing a small drug store in partnership with Robert B. Gordon, Jr.  They did business together under the firm name of Hauss & Gordon for three years.  In 1887, Mr. Hauss bought Mr. Gordon's interest in the concern, and has since conducted it himself.  He has greatly increased his business, enlarging his accommodations to keep pace with his rapidly growing trade, and he now has a fine two-story brick building, in which he occupies a double storeroom, which is elegantly fitted up, its appointments being equal to the fine establishments of the kind in the larger cities, and he carries a heavy stock of the articles enumerated in the beginning of this sketch. It is said that he is probably doing the largest business in his line in the county.  He is a large property-holder, having extensive real-estate interests in the city, including six houses and lots and a large number of building lots favorably located in the city, beside his business block, and he has money well invested in other directions.  He is also somewhat of a farmer, having recently purchased a valuable farm, and is placing thereon a fine set of farm buildings.
     No name stands higher in financial circles than our subject's.  He entered upon his career with no capital, and that he is today, at no late period in life, a wealthy man, he owes not only to his devotion to his business and to his far-sighted business policy, but to the honorable principles that leave guided him in every transaction however small, prompting him to deal with the utmost fairness with all, with no tendency to be grasping or over-reaching, and causing him to deal with the utmost fairness with all, with no tendency to be grasping or over-reaching, and causing him to make it a point to pay cash for everything that he buys, so that he does not owe a dollar to any man.  His ability and genial disposition have brought him to the front in local politics and in the public and social life of the city.  He is an advocate of the Democratic party, and has been a member of the City Council and Clerk of St. Mary's Township.  He belongs to the Masonic lodge, Knight Templars, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and to the Encampment.  Both he and his wife belong to the German Evangelical Church.
     Mr. Hauss was married June 30, 1887, to Miss Bertha F. Freyman, who presides with true grace over their attractive home.  Mrs. Hauss is a native of Wapakoneta, and a daughter of Frederick Freyman, a farmer of this county, and a Pennsylvanian by birth.
Source: Portrait and Biographical Record of Auglaize, Logan and Shelby Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: Chapman Bros. 1892 - Pages 124

Source: Portrait and Biographical Record of Auglaize, Logan and Shelby Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: Chapman Bros. 1892 - Page 308

Source: Portrait and Biographical Record of Auglaize, Logan and Shelby Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: Chapman Bros. 1892 - Page 503

Source: Portrait and Biographical Record of Auglaize, Logan and Shelby Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: Chapman Bros. 1892 - Page 499

Source: Portrait and Biographical Record of Auglaize, Logan and Shelby Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: Chapman Bros. 1892 - Page 349

MAJ. CHARLES HIPP, Postmaster at St. Mary's, and a highly respected citizen of Auglaize County, is a veteran of two wars, and his fine military record reflects credit on the soldiery of his adopted country, for which he did and suffered much when rebellion threatened disunion and dishonor.
     Our subject was born in Prussia, Jan. 20, 1830, a son of Frederick C. Hipp, who was for several years an officer in the Prussian army, and took part in the war waged against Napoleon, which resulted in the defeat of the great French commander at Waterloo.  After leaving the army, Frederick C. Hipp became a merchant, and in 1844 emigrated with his family to America.  He first settled near Parkersburg, Va., where he had bought land before leaving the Old Country.  He only lived there a short time, and then removed with his family to Marietta, Ohio.  He subsequently came to St. Mary's, and here his earthly pilgrimage was brought to a close in 1872, at a ripe old age.  His wife died in 1880, at a venerable age.  Three of their eight children are still living.
     He of whom this sketch is written is the fourth child of the family.  His early education was conducted in the excellent schools of Neuwied in his native Prussia, which he attended until he was fourteen years old, and after coming to this country he had the advantage of a year's schooling at Prof. Maxwell's academy at Marietta.  After that, he was a clerk in a grocery store for a year, and then in 1846 he went to Cincinnati with a view to learning the cigar -maker's trade.  He abandoned that in 1847, to enlist at the second call for troops to serve in the Mexican War, joining Company I, Fourth Ohio Infantry, which was commanded by Col. C. H. Brough, brother of the late Governor of the State..  He was in the battles at National Bridge, Huamantla, Pueblo, Tlascala, and in other engagements, serving with his regiment until the war closed, and he was discharged in June, 1848.
     On his return from Mexico, Maj. Hipp resumed his former employment as clerk, and was engaged in a grocery at Hamilton the ensuing three years.  In 1852, he went to Central America to join his brother William, who had opened a plantation on the San Juan River at the mouth of the Sevapiqui, then, and still, known as Hipp's Point, and there Walker's filibusters afterward had quite a fight with forces from Costa Rica, defeating them.  Later, he went to Castillo Rapids, where he engaged in the hotel business two years.  From there he went to San Juan Del Sur, on the Pacific Coast, and kept an hotel there for over a year, entertaining travelers on their way across the Isthmus to or from the gold fields of California.  During his residence at that point, he was elected Captain of a company of Home Guards, composed of foreigners living in the town, and organized for their own protection.  A revolution had broken out in Nicaragua, and the forces occupying Castillo sided with the revolutionists.  They were surprised by the Government troops, and all but a few, who escaped, were killed.  Mr. Hipp also acted as Vice-Consul for the United States in San Juan Del Sur, and in 1855 found himself once more in Ohio.  He purchased a stave mill at St. Mary's, which he refitted with machinery for the manufacture of flooring and all kinds of finished wood material. 
     When the war broke out, our subject's martial spirit, which had descended to him from his forefathers and had before found expression on Mexican battlefields, was again aroused, and as soon as he could settle his affairs, he, in one week, raised a company of soldiers to help defend the Stars and Stripes.  He entered the service Aug. 20, 1861; was commissioned Captain of Company C, Thirty-seventh Ohio Infantry, September 7; Major, June 5, 1862; remustered in the same rank June 14, 1865; mustered out August 7, the same year, at Little Rock, Ark., and honorably discharged with his regiment August 21, at Cleveland, Ohio.  Among the numerous engagements in which he fought were those at Cotton Hill, Logan C. H., Princeton and Charleston, Va., and participated in the assault on Vicksburg, having command of the regiment during the siege.  The regiment then marched to Chattanooga, and crossed the Tennessee River on pontoon bridges to Missionary Ridge, where the assault took place Nov. 25, 1863.  Again moving Southward on the Atlanta Campaign, took part in the battles of Resaca, Dallas, New Hope Church, Kenesaw Mountain and Ezra Church, where he was twice wounded, and had the left arm amputated.
     After the war Maj. Hipp returned to St. Mary's and for a few years devoted himself to mercantile pursuits.  In 1866, he was appointed Postmaster, but he was removed five months later by President Johnson.  He was re-appointed to the same position by President Grant in 1869, and for sixteen years served most efficiently.  During Cleveland's administration, he took a vacation, but was again made Postmaster by President Harrison in 1889, and is still the incumbent of the office.  He gives complete satisfaction to the people of St. Mary's, who regard him as the right man in the right place, as he is thoroughly conversant with the routine of the office, manages its affairs in a business-like way, and is always urbane and courteous in his intercourse with all with whom he comes in contact. In him the Republican party has one of its most stanch adherents, and he is an important figure in local politics, and has been a delegate to county, district and State conventions.  He was
Mayor of St. Mary's two years, and he gave the city a good administration, making permanent improvements by establishing grades for streets and the natural gas plant for the town.  He is prominent, socially, as a member of Kishler Post No. 83,G. A. R., of the Loyal Legion, and of the Army of the Tennessee. The Major was married in 1853 to Miss Mary Miller, a resident of Hamilton, and they have established a very pleasant home, over which his wife presides with tact and ability.
Source: Portrait and Biographical Record of Auglaize, Logan and Shelby Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: Chapman Bros. 1892 - Page 560

Source: Portrait and Biographical Record of Auglaize, Logan and Shelby Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: Chapman Bros. 1892 - Page 187

Source: Portrait and Biographical Record of Auglaize, Logan and Shelby Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: Chapman Bros. 1892 - Page 391

Source: Portrait and Biographical Record of Auglaize, Logan and Shelby Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: Chapman Bros. 1892 - Page 533

Source: Portrait and Biographical Record of Auglaize, Logan and Shelby Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: Chapman Bros. 1892 - Page 192

Source: Portrait and Biographical Record of Auglaize, Logan and Shelby Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: Chapman Bros. 1892 - Page 523

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