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Source:
History of Western Ohio & Auglaize County
with
Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of
Pioneer and Prominent Public Men
by C. W. Williamson
Columbus, Ohio
Press of W. M. Linn & Sons
1905
BIOGRAPHIES
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Duchouquet Twp. -
JUDGE
LEVI HAMAKER was born in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania,
June 6th, 1813, and died Sept. 22d, 1885. The first
eighteen years of his life were spent on his father's farm.
At the end of his eighteenth year he left the farm to learn the
milling trade, and afterward settled in Dayton, Ohio. In
1839 he moved to Chambersburg, a village north of Dayton, where
he taught several terms of school. In 1840 he married
Miss Susan Randall of Butler township,
Montgomery county, Ohio. Of this union there were born one
son and two daughters. He was a candidate for auditor of
Montgomery county in 1850, when C. L. Valandingham was a
candidate for the Legislature from the same county. At the
election both were defeated. The next year Mr.
Hamaker moved to St. Marys this county, where he
taught school and became deputy collector on the canal. In
1866 he was elected probate judge, in which office he served
twelve years. At the April election in 1880 he was elected
justice of the peace for Duchouquet township and also mayor of
Wapakoneta. Judge Hamaker was a man of affable
manners and he had the faculty of pleasing the people. His
long tenure in office is an evidence of his popularity with the
people.
In the latter part of June 1885 he
was stricken with paralysis, of which he died, in September.
* Source: History of Western Ohio & Auglaize County
- by C. W. Williamson - Columbus, Ohio - Press of W. M. Linn &
Sons - 1905 - Page 631 |
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St. Marys Twp. -
JOHN HAWTHORN was born in Ireland in 1790, and came to
the United States in 1811, locating first in Pennsylvania, where
he engaged in farming until 1824, when he moved to St. Marys and
engaged in boating between St. Marys and Fort Wayne. He
continued in this business for a number of years when he purchased
a farm near St. Marys, on which he resided until his death, which
occurred in Jan. 1877. When he settled in St. Marys, the
county surrounding the place was an unbroken wilderness, filled
and wild animals of many varieties, and the savage Shawnee
Indians.
Boating on the St. Marys
river afforded the only means at that time of accumulating money.
The consequence was, that nearly all of the first settlers were
boatmen.
Mr. Hawthorn
raised a family of ten children of whom Mrs. William
Barington is
the only survivor.
Source: History of Western Ohio &
Auglaize County - by C. W. Williamson - Columbus, Ohio -
Press of W. M. Linn & Sons - 1905 - Page 668 |
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St. Marys Twp. -
HENRY
M. HELM was born in Virginia in 1798. He married
Angelina Spanklin in 1819, and after residing in
Kentucky and southern Ohio, came to St. Mary's in the spring of
1827. He was elected justice of the peace in 1831, and
received his commission from Duncan McArthur.
He was commissioned captain of militia by Allen Trimble
in 1828. He was a carpenter by trade, and possessed great
genius. At that time Dayton was the nearest milling point,
but Mr. Helm one day went to the river, and
finding two very hard stones, took them home, dressed them, and
constructed a handmill, which served the purposes of himself and
neighbors. His family consisted of three children.
Mrs. Helm died in 1827, and Mr. Helm, Mar. 15th,
1875. (From Sutton's History of Auglaize County.)
Source: History of Western Ohio & Auglaize County - by C.
W. Williamson - Columbus, Ohio - Press of W. M. Linn & Sons - 1905
- Page 672 |
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Jackson Twp. -
FRANK HERKENHOFF, the subject of this
sketch, was born in Hanover, Germany, and in his youth learned
the trade of a baker, which he followed after reaching man's
estate. In 1832, he decided to emigrate to America, and
with his family crossed the ocean during that year. He
settled in this section in Auglaize county, and intended to
follow his trade here, but died before his business was started.
The mother afterward married again, and died in 1892, when
eighty years of age. By the first union she became the
mother of two children, both sons, our subject being the only
one now living. Six children were born to the second
union, three of whom are now living.
The educational advantages of Mr. Herkenhoff
were limited to a few months in the common schools each year,
and when eighteen years of age he began learning the trade of a
cooper in Minster. After continuing this one year, he went
to Cincinnati, worked there for six months, and then returned to
Minster, where he clerked for two years. Subsequently, he
spent a short time at Tippecanoe City, and then again went to
Cincinnati, where he remained until the spring of 1861.
From there he came to Minster, where he managed a cooper shop
for his stepfather until 1864, when he purchased the shop.
In 1865, he bought machinery (having, previous to that time,
made barrels by hand), and conducted an extensive business until
the fall of 1890,when he sold out. About the same time, he
purchased an interest in the Minster Star Brewing Company.
He is now stockholder, director and president of the Citizens'
Bank of Minster, and is one of the most substantial and wealthy
men of the place, every enterprise he has ever undertaken having
prospered under his superior management. He is also the
owner of considerable town property, and has aided in various
ways the progress of Minster. During the years he was in
the cooperage business, he gave employment to many hands and had
a steady contract to furnish Armour & Co., of Chicago, with
barrels.
In the year 1864, Mary Gausepohl, a native of
Minster, Ohio, became the wife of Mr. Herkenhoff.
Her parents were originally from Germany and were among the
early settlers of Auglaize county, but are now deceased.
Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Herkenhoff,
namely: Charles, now in the grocery business in
Minster and a wide-awake young businessman; Josephene
wife of Dr. C. L. Dine; Carrie, wife of Fred
Kramer, a hardware merchant of Minster; Francis, Alice
and Anna (deceased) Tony and Dilla.
The political affiliations of Mr. Herkenhoff are with the
Democratic party, and, although he has never sought an office of
any kind, he has been called upon to fill various positions of
trust. He has served as Township Trustee for six years,
was a member of the Council two terms, and did efficient work on
the School Board for twelve years. Both he and his wife
are members of the Catholic Church. They give a hearty,
cheerful, helping hand to all religious, educational and
benevolent efforts and enterprises in the community, and are
classed among the prominent citizens.
Source: History of Western Ohio & Auglaize
County - by C. W. Williamson - Columbus, Ohio - Press of
W. M. Linn & Sons - 1905 - Page 841 |
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St. Marys Twp. -
MAJOR CHARLES HIPP, born in Prussia, Jan.
20, 1830, is a son of Frederick C. Hipp, who for several
years was 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, Virginia, where he had bought land before
leaving the Old Country. After living there a short time,
he removed to Marietta, Ohio. He subsequently came to St.
Mary's, and here his earthly pilgrimage was brought to a close
in 1872. His wife died in 1880. Three of their eight
children are still living.
Major Hipp 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 the return to Mexico, Major Hipp resumed his
former employment as clerk, and was engaged in a grocery at
Hamilton the three years ensuing. 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
where 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 a 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.
Major 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; re-enlisted in the same rank June 14, 1865;
mustered out August 7, the same year, at Little Rock, Arkansas,
and honorably discharged with his regiment Aug. 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 bridge 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 Major Hipp returned to St. Mary's,
and for a few years devoted himself to mercantile pursuits.
In 1866 he was appointed postmaster, but was removed five months
later by President Johnson. He was reappointed 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 held
the office during the time that Harrison occupied the
Presidential chair.
In Major Hipp 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 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. (From Portrait and
Biographical Record.)
Source: History of Western Ohio & Auglaize County - by C.
W. Williamson - Columbus, Ohio - Press of W. M. Linn & Sons - 1905
- Page 689 |
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Duchouquet Twp. -
DR. GEORGE W. HOLBROOK was a
native of Palmyra, Ontario County, New York. He was born
September 12th, 1808, and died ____. At the age of eighteen
he left home to study medicine and surgery in the office of Dr.
William Robinson of Palmyra. After completing the usual
two years course of reading under Dr. Robinson, he spent
two years more in the medical department of the University of New
York, where he received a medical degree. In the autumn of
1832 he came to Ohio, and located at Lockbourne, Franklin county,
where he practiced his profession for two years, when he moved to
Wapakoneta in the summer of 1834. Here he continued the
practice of his profession until 1854, when he retired from
practice. He was succeeded by Dr. John H. Nichols,
who afterward became one of the leading physicians of the county.
Dr. Holbrook originated and drafted a map of Auglaize
county in 1846, which he submitted to Alexander Van Horn,
Robert J. Skinner and others. Van Horn pronounced
the project "visionary," but added, "there is no telling what this
Yankee doctor may accomplish." The doctor did accomplish
much, and the erection of the county may, perhaps, be considered
the most important achievement of his life. He attended the
sessions of the Ohio Legislature while the bill for the erection
of the county was under consideration. In the session of
1846 the bill passed the House, but failed in the Senate; it also
failed at the next session, but Feb. 13, 1848, the bill passed
both houses, and Auglaize county was enrolled with the other
counties of the state. The same Legislature gave him a
hearty indorsement by electing him to the office of Associate
Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, which office he retained until
the office was superseded by that of the Probate Court under the
new Constitution.
The Doctor worked hard to secure the Pennsylvania
Railroad, and it was even engrossed, to pass through Kenton,
Wapakoneta and St. Mary's, and thence toward Chicago; but the
citizens of St. Mary's opposed the road; it was thus defeated, and
running north of the county, passed through Lima. He also
labored diligently and contributed largely of his means to secure
the other agents, they raised $75,000 toward the construction of
the road.
Dr. Holbrook served as Representative from
Auglaize county in the State Legislature from 1881 to 1885.
He was elected township clerk of Duchouquet township in 1835, and
treasurer of the township in 1842.
Notwithstanding his personal peculiarities, the Doctor
was always willing to contribute his time and money to prosecute
any worthy public enterprise. Dr. Holbrook died June
1, 1890.
* Source: History of Western Ohio & Auglaize County
- by C. W. Williamson - Columbus, Ohio - Press of W. M. Linn &
Sons - 1905 - Page 631 |
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