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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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BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX >
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Salem Twp. -
WILLIAM KENNEDY was born in Union
township, Mercer county, Ohio, Jan. 8th, 1833. His father,
Samuel C. Barber, was born in 1804, near Honcoye Lake,
New York, and was a son of Captain Amos Barber, who was a
native of Massachusetts, and was of Irish descent. In the
early part of his life he removed to New York, and from thence
to Kentucky, in 1817, and died in Hardin county. He was
captain of a company in the War of 1812.
"The father of our subject was a lad of thirteen years
when the family moved to Kentucky, where he grew to manhood and
became a farmer. In the fall of 1828, he crossed the Ohio
river, and penetrated the wilderness as far northward as Mercer
county, where he entered land in Union township in section
twenty-seven where he resided until his death, in 1851, at the
age of forty-seven years. The Indians were numerous, at
that time, and provisions were scarce. Fortunately, for
the pioneers, wild game was abundant, affording subsistence to
the newcomers until a crop was raised the next year."
Mr. Austin Barber had but meager educational
advantages in his boyhood. He attended his first term of
school in an old log cabin having puncheon floor and was
furnished with slab seats. His schooling was limited to
two or three months in the winter. The remainder of the
year was spent in wielding the ax, and the cultivation of the
newly cleared land.
In 1854 Mr. Barber married Miss Eliza L.
Hamilton, daughter of the Hon. Justin Hamilton, of
Mercer county. Judge Hamilton was one of the
earliest pioneer farmers of Mercer county. He was a
surveyor, and surveyed a great part of this section of the
country.
"Our subject and his wife had eight children:
Ella who is deceased; Hannah, wife of C. W. Shimp,
a farmer of Salem township; Irena, deceased; Dora,
wife of J. H. Wright, a farmer of this township;
Abraham H., a farmer; Ina and Walter,
unmarried; and Arthur, a Presbyterian minister, stationed
at St. Marys.
Mr. Barber died at Spencerville, Ohio, in 1901.
Source: History of Western Ohio & Auglaize County - by
C. W. Williamson - Columbus, Ohio - Press of W. M. Linn & Sons -
1905 - Page 804 |
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St. Marys Twp. -
DR.
WASHINGTON G. KISHLER, of St. Mary's, who has recently
retired from an extensive and lucrative practice of more than
forty years' duration, has had a wide experience in his
profession, in which he has always maintained a high standing,
and his name is familiar in many a household in Auglaize county,
as the loved physician who is honored by the people to whose
ills he so long and tenderly ministered.
The Doctor comes of the sterling pioneer stock of Ohio,
and was born in Perry county, Oct. 8, 1824. His father,
George Kishler, was born in Mifflin county,
Pennsylvania, in 1798, and was a son of Frederick
Kishler, who was a farmer of that State and was of
Pennsylvania-German descent. In 1810 the latter removed
with his family to Ohio, and became one of the pioneers of Perry
county, where he died at the ripe old age of nearly ninety
years. He reared four sons and three daughters, all of
whom are dead. The father of our subject was the second
son of the family. He was reared to the life of a farmer,
and at the age of twenty-two married and settled in life, taking
a Miss Goodwin as his wife. She died at the birth
of our subject, and her husband was twice married afterward.
He had nine children by his third wife, of whom eight are
living. Three of his sons fought nobly for the Union
during the late war, and his son William gave up his life
for his country, at Stone River. He was a brave and
efficient soldier who bore a high reputation as a man, and
Kishler Post No. 83, St. Mary's, was named in his honor.
We may mention in this connection that our subject was very
desirous to enter the army when the war broke out, but the
people here protested so strongly that he gave up the idea, and
did his duty manfully in the home field.
The subject of this biography was cared for by an aunt
in early childhood until his father married a second time.
His educational advantages during his boyhood were limited to
about three months' attendance in a little country school that
was fully three miles from his home, and was held in a typical
log school house of pioneer times. At the age of thirteen,
he was sent to Zanesville, to the McIntyre High School, of which
he was a pupil the ensuing three years. After his return
home, he assisted his father in his store two years, and at the
age of eighteen began to prepare himself for the profession
which he was ambitious to enter, by reading medicine with Dr.
Mason, of New Lexington, a prominent and widely known
physician at that time, with whom he studied four years.
Under the instruction of that learned man, our subject was well
fitted for the responsibilities of the life that lay before him,
when he opened an office at Kenton, in Hardin county, and took
up his calling in the month of June, 1845. The path before
him was not all strewn with roses, however, as he was soon
afflicted with chills, a disease he had never encountered among
the breezy hills of his native county, and he suffered
from them for some months.
In 1847 Dr. Kishler enlisted to take part in the
Mexican War, joining the reorganized Second Ohio Regiment, of
which he was made steward. He was subsequently taken sick,
and was transferred to the general hospital, in which he was
confined six months. He was discharged, and arrived home
in February, 1848, and in the month of May that year he came to
this county, and for a year was established at Wapakoneta.
Coming thence to St. Mary's, he made this home ever since, and
has practiced his profession in this and adjoining counties
until his retirement in March, 1892. When he came here,
St. Mary's was a small but lively village, being quite a
commercial and milling center on the new canal, and people came
here from the surrounding country for a distance of many miles
to mill, and the Doctor soon became widely known and very
popular, not only on account of his social qualities, but for
his success in contending with the prevailing diseases, which
were principally chills, bilious and intermittent fevers, etc.
He visited his patients on horseback for many yeas, often riding
long distances over rough roads or through forest paths, and
many a time he has seen deer and other wild animals not now
found in this part of the country. During his long
practice of forty-five years, he has had many varied
experiences, and has had to deal with many strange and difficult
cases. The young doctor of to-day can have no idea of what
the physicians of the past had to go through with in pioneer
times.
Our subject has been a member of the Northwestern Ohio
Medical Society for twenty-five years, has belonged to the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows since 1845, and to the Masonic
fraternity since 1848. Politically, he is a Democrat, but
not a politician, and never would accept an office.
Religiously, he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
and is a trustee thereof. He has been pension examiner for
St. Mary's and Auglaize county since 1862. The Doctor has
been fortunate in his investments, and is one of the wealthy men
of the county. He has four hundred and seventy acres of
valuable land in the county, all within four and one-half miles
of St. Mary's, and three hundred and seventy acres of it are in
the oil and gas region. There are now seven wells on his
land producing oil, from which he derives a handsome income, and
he is also interested in some additions to St. Mary's.
Dr. Kishler was married in 1852 to Miss
Louisa Horn, who is descended from an old Maryland family,
and was born near Hagerstown, that State. Her father
died when she was nine years old, and since she was fifteen she
has lived in Ohio, spending the first few years of her life here
at Sidney, in Shelby county. Her wedded life has been one
of felicity, and has been hallowed to them by three children -
Willis, who is married and is cashier in the Home Banking
Company Bank at St. Mary's; Harry, who is a farmer at St.
Mary's, and Belle Blanche, wife of Michael Donnelly,
also of St. Mary's.
(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 676 |
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Washington Twp. -
CONRAD KNATZ, a prominent farmer and noted
stock raiser of Washington township, was born in Germany, Aug.
11th, 1829. His father, George Knatz, who was a
farmer, died at the age of fifty-three years. His wife,
whose maiden name was Anna E. Ritz, survived him twenty
years. In accordance with the laws of the country, he had
served two years in the German army, which he left in order to
take care of his parents who were old. He had three
brothers who served seven years each.
Conrad Knatz was well educated, having attended
the common schools of his native country, until he was fourteen
years of age, and afterward attended a higher school for some
time. After leaving school, he became foreman on a large
farm, and retained that position three years, although young for
so responsible an office. He came into possession of a
farm from his father's estate, which he sold, and in the fall of
1853 sailed from Bremen, Germany, with his bride to found a new
home on American soil. After a voyage of nine weeks
and three days the young couple landed at New York, whence they
came directly to Ohio. He found employment on a farm for a
year, and then invested his money in eighty acres of his present
farm in section one, Washington township. His land was
heavily timbered, swampy, quite level, and most of it under
water. Wild game was plentiful, as the region was only
sparsely settled. Deer used to run with his cattle, being
so hold that Mr. Knatz often chased them out of his wheat
field.
After erecting a round log cabin and moving into it he
entered upon the arduous task of felling the forest and
preparing the soil for cultivation. From a state of nature
his farm gradually developed into one of the best in the
township. By his persevering energy and strict economy he
was able from time to time to add to his landed estate, until at
the present time he has an aggregate of three hundred and fifty
acres.
Mr. Knatz was married in Germany to Miss Anna
E. Filling. After their arrival in America they became
the parents of four sons: George, Henry, John and
Ditmar The elder and two younger are engaged in
farming their father's farm, while Henry the second son,
is foreman in a large store in Milwaukee. Mr. Knatz
is living a retired life, and is at the present time (1905) a
resident of Wapakoneta.
Source: History of Western Ohio & Auglaize County - by
C. W. Williamson - Columbus, Ohio - Press of W. M. Linn & Sons -
1905 - Page 776 |
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JOHN
KOCH - See
L. D. KOCH
Source: History of Auglaize
County, Ohio - Vol. II - Pub. 1923 - Page 330 |
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L. D. KOCH, a former
member of the board of county commissioners for Auglaize county
and a substantial farmer and landowner of Pusheta township,
proprietor of a well improved farm, just north of the village of
Freyburg, was born on Nov. 22, 1862, and is a son of John and
Margaret (Frtz) Koch, both natives of Germany, the latter
born at Sundorf. She was sixteen years of age when she
came to this country with her parents who, with their six
children, landed at the port of New York and proceeded them here
and had sent back to them good word regarding the possibilities
awaiting settlers in this section of the state. Mr.
Fritz bought a tract of forty acres in Pusheta township, a
part of the place now owned by William Schlagel, and
there established his home and settled down to make a farm out
of his woodland tract. Ten or twelve years later he died
there and his widow long survived him. Of their six
children, Catherine, Eureka, Josephine, Margaret, Frederick
and David, all are now deceased save Josephine,
who is living in Cincinnati. The late
JOHN KOCH was born in Hesse-Darmstadt,
a grand duchy of Germany, and was twelve years of age when eh
came to this country with his parents, the family landing at the
port of New York after a voyage on a sail boat which required
ninety-seven days to make the passage. The family
proceeded thence to Cincinnati, where the father who was a
shoemaker, worked at his trade a year or more, and then came up
here with his family and settled on a farm in Pusheta township,
which then was included in Allen county, that having been before
the days of the organization of Auglaize county.
Grandfather Koch became the owner of 160 acres of land
there, a part of the place on which his grandson, L. D. Koch,
is now living, and there he and his wife spent their last days.
They were the parents of four children, three sons, George,
Louis and John, and a daughter, all now deceased, but
of their descendants in the third and fourth generation
hereabout there are a considerable number. John Koch
was a lad of about fourteen yeas of age when he came here with
his parents back in pioneer days and he grew to manhood on the
home place in the Freyburg neighborhood, there in the southwest
quarter of section 10 of Pusheta township. Upon his
father's death he bought the interest of the other heirs in the
east half of this quarter section and on that eighty spent the
remainder of his life, living to a gree old age, he being
eighty-four years of age at the time of his death, John Koch
was twice married and by his first wife had one son, Ludwig
Koch, who died at the age of sixty-eight. By his union
with Margaret Fritz, his second wife, he was the father
of five children, three of whom are still living, the subject of
this sketch having a brother, Fred Koch, of Ft. Wayne,
Ind., and a sister, Mrs. Minnie Heisler, also of Ft.
Wayne. Reared on the home farm north of Freyburg, L. D.
Koch received his schooling in the German Lutheran school
maintained by the congregation of that church, northwest of his
father's place, this school then being known as the Sammetinger
school, and from the days of his boyhood was devoted to the
affairs of the farm. He married not long after attaining
his majority and after his marriage established his home on the
home place, his mother having meanwhile died, and continued
farming for his father until the latter's death in 1891, when he
came into possession and has since resided there. In
addition to this well improved farm of eighty acres Mr. Koch
has another tract of twenty acres in Pusheta township, this
making him the owner of 100 acres. In 1912 he retired from
the active operations of the farm which are now carried on by
his son-in-law, Elmer Tueman, who makes his home on the
place and is doing well, raising quite a bit of live stock in
addition to his general farming. Mr. Koch is a
Democrat and has for years given his attention to local civic
affairs, having served for three terms (1913-15 and 1917-21) as
the member from his district on the board of county
commissioners. It was during his first term on the board
that the county was put to much expense on account of flood
damage caused by the unprecedented flood in the spring of 1913
and he thus was busied in bridge reconstruction during that
term. L. D. Koch has been twice married. In
January, 1884, he was united in marriage to Elizabeth Seitz,
who also was born and reared in Pusheta township, a daughter of
Otto and Barbara (Lee) Seitz, and to that union were born
two daughters, Edith, who married Elmer Tueman,
now operating the Koch home place, and has three
children, Harold, Lloyd and Franklin; and
Huldah, who married Harry Dobies, of Wapakoneta, and
has two children, Elvier and Betty. Mrs.
Elizabeth Koch died in January, 1888, and on Feb. 3, 1890,
Mr. Koch married Elizabeth Burner, who was born in
the neighboring county of Logan, a daughter of Frederick and
Barbara (Beck) Burner, and who died on Mar. 24, 1920, and is
buried in beautiful Greenlawn cemetery at Wapakoneta.
Mr. Koch is a member of the local lodge of the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks at Wapakoneta and of the lodge of
the Loyal Order of Moose at that place. The Koch home
is pleasantly situated on rural mail route No. 5 out of
Wapakoneta.
Source: History of Western Ohio &
Auglaize County - by C. W. Williamson - Columbus, Ohio -
Press of W. M. Linn & Sons - 1905 - Page 329 |
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St. Marys Twp. -
FRANK
KOEHL, one of the most widely known business men in
Auglaize county, was born Jan. 30, 1830, in the province of
Alsace Germany. He attended the schools of his native
country until he was fourteen years of age, when he was
apprenticed for two years to a boot and shoemaker. At the
expiration of his apprenticeship he left home and sailed for the
United States. After a voyage of nearly two months, he
landed at New Orleans. Here he pursued his trade for four
months, when he went to Cincinnati, where he worked as a
journeyman until 1851.
He left his home in Alsace in limited circumstances,
but by dint of industry and economy he had, at the end of four
years, accumulated six hundred dollars. In 1851 he moved
to St. Mary's, and two years later established himself in the
grocery business, in which he was more than ordinarily
prosperous for a period of fifty years. He always gave a
cordial support to measures tending to the advancement of the
town and county.
In 1882 he was appointed county treasurer to fill the
unexpired term of defaulting Treasurer Meyers, but declined to
serve. He was elected Mayor of St. Mary's for two years,
and served as member of the City Council for six years. He
also served as township trustee for six years.
During the fifty years that he was engaged in business,
he accumulated a large amount of property, and was identified
with nearly all the public enterprises of St. Mary's.
In 1851 Mr. Koehl was married to Catharine Smith,
who died in 1862. In 1863 he was married to Louisa
Schroeder. Of these marriages nine children were born:
Frank, Emma, Catharine, Louis, Maggie, George (deceased),
Louisa (deceased), Carl and Pearl.
Mr. Koehl died June 7, 1901
Source 1: History of Western Ohio & Auglaize County -
by C. W. Williamson - Columbus, Ohio - Press of W. M. Linn &
Sons - 1905 - Page 684 |
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Wayne Twp. -
DR. R. I. KREBS, of Waynesfield, was born
in Littletown, Pennsylvania, June 24, 1832. His parents,
Isaac and Esther Krebs, were natives of Virginia.
After marriage the parents settled in Pennsylvania, where they
resided until 1846, when they moved to Winchester, Virginia.
Here they passed the closing scenes of their lives; the mother
dying in 1861, and the father in 1884.
Mr. Krebs began the study of medicine under the
tutorship of Dr. Hugh H. McGuire, father of the renowned
Hunter McGuire. In 1852 he entered the University
of Pennsylvania, and was graduated from that institution the
following year. He commenced the practice of his
profession at Mount Jackson, but soon afterward moved to
Westminster, Ohio, where he practiced until 1858. In that
year he moved to Waynesfield, Ohio, where he acquired a large
and lucrative practice. In 1885 he retired from practice
and was succeeded by W. S. Turner. After retiring
from practice Dr. Krebs moved to his farm, located
north of Waynesfield, where he resided until 1897, when he
erected for himself an elegant residence in Waynesfield, in
which he resided until his death.
Dr. Krebs was married to Miss Lucina Myers
a native of Licking county, Ohio. Of this union three
children were born: Laura L., wife of . H.
Manchester, of Goshen township; Jennie J., wife of
Ira Harrod of Wayne township, and Francis G. Krebs.
Having a high appreciation of learning, he gave each of his
children a liberal education.
Dr. Krebs was a consistent member of the Methodist
Protestant Church of Waynesfield from 1858 until his death,
which occurred Jan. 19, 1900.
Source: History of Western Ohio & Auglaize County - by
C. W. Williamson - Columbus, Ohio - Press of W. M. Linn & Sons -
1905 - Page 746 |
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German Twp. -
Mr. H. F. KUENNING
was born in Amt Deipholtz, in the former kingdom of Hanover,
and emigrated with his parents to this country in 1835, landing
in New York in the month of July. From there he went to
Buffalo and Cincinnati remaining at the places but a short time,
and from the latter city went to Louisville, Kentucky, where for
one year he made his home with a sister. In the fall of
1836 he came to New Bremen, his parents having previously moved
to the pioneer village. In 1846 he married Miss C. W.
L. Dammeyer. Of this union five children were born, of
whom only three survive. In 1863, his wife died. A
year later he married Miss Maria W. Lanfersieck. Of
this marriage three sons and five daughters were born.
Mr. Kuenning participated in the vigorous
measures taken by the citizens of New Bremen to prevent the
landing of the Randolph negroes in 1848, and carried a gun in
the memorable squabble. He served on picket duty for two
days to prevent the landing of the immigrants.
"Mr. Kuenning was a farmer by occupation and was
actively engaged in this business until May, 1896, when he
turned the management of his farm over to his son. He was
connected with the Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company, of which
he was president from 1872 to 1898. In politics he was a
Democrat, serving his party in the capacity of School Director,
township trustee and assessor, filling each office with honor
and credit. In religious circle he also took an active
part, being a conspicuous figure in St. Paul's congregation,
where he filled every office from deacon to president." He
died July 25, 1904.
Source: History of Western Ohio & Auglaize County -
by C. W. Williamson - Columbus, Ohio - Press of W. M. Linn &
Sons - 1905 - Page 826 |
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German Twp. -
C. H. KUENNING, a brother of the preceding
was born in Germany, Oct. 24th, 1831, and emigrated to this
country with his parents at the age of four years, and settled
with them on the farm north of town, owned in after years by his
brother H. F. Kuenning. Here he was employed until
he was nineteen years of age, when he entered the service of
Charles Boesel. Four years later he and George
Peter Maurer bought the business of Mr. Boesel and
conducted the same for four years. At the end of that time
he bought out his partner and again entered into partnership
with Mr. Boesel, under the firm name of Boesel &
Kuenning. In 1900, after having been engaged in active
business pursuits over to his two sons.
"On the 1st of September, 1853, he married Miss
Maria Clara Shulte. This union was blessed with seven
daughters and two sons, of which two daughters died in infancy
and one, Mr. J. H. Pohlman died in Tippecanoe City in
1900. Never was Mr. Kuenning happier than when he
was surrounded by his children and grandchildren, and for that
reason family reunions at the Kuenning home were of
frequent occurrence."
Mr. Kuenning died Feb. 18th, 1904.
Source: History of Western Ohio & Auglaize County -
by C. W. Williamson - Columbus, Ohio - Press of W. M. Linn &
Sons - 1905 - Page 827 |
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German Twp. -
J. C.
KUENZEL was born in Marklenthen, Bavaria, September 5th,
1823, where he spent the first fifteen years of his life,
attending school, and receiving there from a thorough knowledge
of those branches of study necessary in the laying of a sure
foundation, upon which to build a permanent structure in after
life. When not in school, he was kept busily engaged in
honest, useful labor, thus, in early youth becoming possessed of
two predominant characteristics, which were plainly observable
by all with whom he came in contact throughout the whole of a
successful business career, viz., an absorbing love of reading,
often into the small hours of the night. He emigrated to
America in 1838, landing with his father and family in New
Orleans, from whence they came direct to New Bremen, Auglaize
county. Having learned the tanner's trade in the old
country, he engaged in the same business with his father in New
Bremen. He was successful in business, and in 1870 sold
his property to Mr. August Boesel.
Mr. Kuenzel was married in 1839, to Miss Maria
Wunderlich, by whom he had thirteen children, five of whom
survive. He was always closely allied with all interests
for public improvements of the town, having for their real
object the general good. He was for many years a member of
the Board of Education. At the time of his death, Sept.,
1879, he was engaged in the manufacture of flour and woolen
goods, in which business he was succeeded by his son.
(From Sutton's Hist. of Auglaize County)
Source 1: History of Western Ohio & Auglaize County - by
C. W. Williamson - Columbus, Ohio - Press of W. M. Linn & Sons -
1905 - Page 825 |
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