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Source:
History of Auglaize Co., Ohio -
Vol. II of 2 Volumes
Edited by William J. McMurray
Wapakoneta, Ohio
Historical Publishing Company
Indianapolis
1923
BIOGRAPHIES
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1923
BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX >
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EMANUEL KANTNER,
one of the well-known veteran farmers and landowners of Pusheta
township and the proprietor of a well-improved farm lying west
of Quaker Run, about two miles southeast of Wapakoneta, where he
has lived for many years, was born in that township and is thus
a member of one of the pioneer families in that part of the
county. Mr. Kantner was born on Dec. 26, 1848, the
year in which Auglaize county was organized, and is a son of
George and Lena (Oswold) Kantner, natives of Pennsylvania,
who had come to this region with their respective parents in
pioneer days and were here married. George Kantner
became a substantial farmer of Pusheta township, the owner of
240 acres in the neighborhood of where his son, Emanuel,
now lives, and there spent his last days, his widow long
surviving him. He and his wife were the parents of nine
children, of whom three are still living, the subject of this
sketch having two brothers, John and Isaac Kantner.
Reared on the home farm in Pusheta township, Emanuel Kantner
grew u thoroughly familiar with conditions which faced the
pioneers of that section. He received his schooling in the
old Keller school (district No. 5), in the southwest corner of
section 3, and from the days of his boyhood was well trained in
the ways of the arm. When he was about thirty years of age
he and his widowed mother moved to Wapakoneta, where he became
engaged in teaming, and there he remained until a short time
after his marriage, when he and his brother, the late Samuel
Kantner, bought the "eighty" on which Emanuel
Kantner is now living, and the latter has ever since made
his home there. The brothers farmed this place together
for eight years, and then Emanuel Kantner bought his
brother's interest in the farm and has since been farming it
alone. He long ago replaced the old log house and stable
which stood on the place when he went there by substantial
buildings, a comfortable dwelling house and ample farm
buildings, and has a well-equipped farm plant there on rural
mail route No. 5 out of Wapakoneta. Mr.
Kantner and his wife are members of the German Lutheran
church at Wapakoneta and are Republicans. Emanuel
Kantner has been twice married. In 1881 he was
united in marriage to Minnie Strome, and to that union
one child was born, a daughter, Isabella who married
Elmer Smeltzy, now living in Detroit, and has one child, a
son, Elmer, Jr. By a former marriage to Charles
Ziegler, Mrs. Isabella Smeltzy had two children, Elzena
and Koneta (deceased). Some time after the death of
his first wife, Mr. Kantner, on Apr. 16, 1891,
married Ida Ziegler, of Wapakoneta, and to this union three sons
have been born, Louis, CHRISTIAN and Carl,
the two latter of whom are at home carrying on the affairs of
the farm in their father's behalf. Louis Kantner,
who also is farming in Pusheta township, married Ida
Dearinger and has four children, Verdean, Leona, Helen
and Roy. Mrs. Ida Kantner was born at Wapakoneta
and was reared there, a pupil in the old Third Ward (Williamson)
school building the year that now historic building was opened
for attendance. She is a daughter of Christian and
Rosena (Schragle) Ziegler, natives of Germany, who had come
to this country with their respective parents in the days of
their youth, the vessel on which the Zieglers sailed
having taken eighty days to make the passage, and the vessel on
which the Schragles sailed forty days. The two
families located in Pennsylvania, where Christian Ziegler
became a cooper. After his marriage he came with his wife
to Ohio and located at Wapakoneta, where he became established
in his trade. He and his wife had six children, four of
whom are still living, Mrs. Kantner having three sisters,
Anna, Louise and Matilda.
Source: History of Auglaize
County, Ohio - Vol. II - Pub. 1923 - Page 362 |
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FREDRICK KANTNER,
a well known bachelor farmer of Pusheta township, living on the
old Kantner place west of Quaker Run, about midway
between Wapakoneta and Freyburg, was born on that place and has
lived there all his life, a period of fifty-five years and more.
Mr. Kantner was born on May 27, 1867, and is a son of
WILLIAM and
Parmelia (Schuler) KANTNER,
the latter of whom was born in Licking county, this state, and
was about ten years of age when she came to this county with her
parents, the Schuler family settling in Pusheta township,
where she grew to womanhood and was married. The late
WILLIAM KANTNER,
a veteran of the Civil war, was born in Pusheta township, in the
neighborhood of where his last days were spent, his parents,
GEORGE and Leah (Oswalt)
KANTNER, having
been among the pioneers of that section of county, the
Kantners having entered their land there in section 3 of
Pusheta township in 1832, the year in which the Indians left
this country. William Kantner grew up to the life
of the pioneer farm and was living there when the Civil war
broke out. On Oct. 15, 1864, he enlisted his services in
behalf of the cause of the Union adn went to the font with
Company I of the 33d regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with
which command he served until his honorable discharge on July
12, 1865, the war then being over. Upon the completion of
his military service, Mr. Kantner returned to the home
farm, and following his marriage not long afterward established
himself on the farm where his son, Fredrick, is now
living, and there spent the remainder of his life, an energetic
and successful farmer. He died on that place on Dec. 22,
1906, and his widow survived him for nearly fifteen years, her
death occurring on Dec. 16, 1921. They were the parents of
two children, the subject of this sketch having a sister,
Libbie, who on July 12, 1921, was married to Joseph
Goedde, who was born and reared in St. Louis, Mo.
Fredrick Kantner was reared on the old home farm and
received his schooling in the old Kelly school house (district
No. 5), in the southwest corner of section 3. From the
days of his boyhood he was attentive to the affairs of the farm,
and as he gre to manhood he remained on the home place, farming
with his father, and since the latter's death has been in
charge, carrying on in his mother's behalf until her death, and
now representing also his sister's interest in the place, both
co-operating in the management of the farm, which is well
improved and profitably cultivated, the family having a very
pleasant home on rural mail route No. 5 out of Wapakoneta.
Mr. Kantner and his sister are members of the English
Lutheran church at Wapakoneta and are Republicans. It is
narrated that when George Kantner, the pioneer, and his
family settled there in section 3 of Pusheta township, on lands
that had been occupied by followers of the Indian chief,
Pusheta, there still were several of the old Indian cabins
standing on the place, and that in these were several barrels of
maple sugar that had been made by the aboriginals and which was
in a good state of preservation. George Kantner
was but forty-five years of age when he died, leaving his wife
and nine children. His widow remained on the farm and kept
her family together, remaining there until in old age, when she
moved to Wapakoneta, where her last days were spent.
Source: History of Auglaize
County, Ohio - Vol. II - Pub. 1923 - Page 354 |
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JAMES KELLY - See
NEHEMIAH
SPRAGUE
Source: History of Auglaize County, Ohio - Vol. II -
Pub. 1923 - Page 582 |
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JOSEPH KINSTLE,
proprietor of a farm on rural mail route No. 1 out of St. Johns
in Clay township, was born in Clay township on July 1, 1874, and
is a son of Wendeln and Catherine (Leininger) Kinstle
both of whom also were born in that township. The late
Wendeln Kinstle was a son of Severin and Susanna Kinstle
natives of Germany, the former born on Oct. 22, 1821, and the
latter Aug. 11, 1820. They were married in their native
country and then, in the '40s of the past century, came to
America and proceeded on out into western Ohio and settled on a
farm of forty acres in Clay township, this county.
Severin Kinstle, the pioneer, did well at his farming and
became the owner of a considerable tract of land in Clay
township. There he and his wife spent their last days, the
former dying on Dec. 5, 1908, and the latter on Sept. 24, 1899.
It was on that pioneer farm that Wendeln Kinstle was born
and reared. After his marriage he settled down to farming
and became the owner of 300 acres of land in Clay and Pusheta
townships. He and his wife were members of St. John's
Catholic church at Freyburg and their children were reared in
that faith. There were ten of these children, all of whom
are living save one, who died in infancy, the subject of this
sketch having four sisters, Susanna, Mary, Caroline and
Theresa, and four brothers, Edward, George, Lawrence
and Carl Kinstle. Reared on the home farm in Clay
township, John Kinstle received his schooling in the
neighborhood school there (district No. 8) and in the parochial
school at Freyburg. After his marriage he began farming on
his own account as a renter. Seven years later he bought
forty acres of his present farm in Clay township and has since
added to that until now he is the owner of 200 acres.
Mr. Kinstle is a Democrat and he and his family are
affiliated with St. John's Catholic church at Freyburg.
On Jan. 1, 1898, Joseph Kinstle was united in marriage to
Barbara Meier and to this union nine children have been
born, Edwin, Otto, Raymond, Clarence, Harold, Leonard, Viola,
Laurette and Marie. Mrs. Barbara Kinstle
was born in Pusheta township on Apr. 24, 1875, and received her
schooling in the Weimert school and in the schools at Freyburg.
She is a daughter of William and Henrietta (Beaver) Meier
both of whom were born in this county, the former in Pusheta
township and the latter in Clay township. William Meier
was the owner of a farm of 100 acres.
Source: History of Auglaize County, Ohio - Vol. II -
Pub. 1923 - Page 662 |
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CHARLES
W. KOCH, formerly and for years engaged in
the saloon business at St. Mary's, and now proprietor of a soft
drink establishment and delicatessen there, one of hte best
known men in that city, as a native of Buckeye and has been a
resident of this state all his life, a resident of Auglaize
county most of the time since the days of his boyhood, and of
St. Marys for many years. Mr. Koch was born in the
village of Bettsville, in Seneca county, Jan. 29, 1873, and is a
son of
John M. and Mary (Miller) Koch, both of whom were of
European birth, the former born in Limbach, Prussia, and the
latter in Aunsbach, Bavaria. She was but four year of age
when she came to this country with her parents, her family
settling in the Fremont neighborhood in this state. The
late John M. Koch, a veteran of the Civil war, whose last
days were spent at St. Marys, grew to manhood in his native
Prussia, learning there the shoemaker's trade, and was
twenty-four years of age when he came to this country. He
proceeded on out into Ohio and located in the neighborhood of
Fremont, where he opened a shoe shop. About a year later
the Civil war broke out and he lost little time in enlisting his
services in behalf of the cause of the Union, entering the
service on June 8, 1861, and going to the front with the 8th
regiment of the Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which gallant
command he served until he received his honorable discharge.
Though this regiment is said to have suffered more losses than
any other Ohio regiment and was in many a hard-fought battle,
the fortunes of war favored Mr. Koch and he came through
without injury. Upon the completion of his military
service, Mr. Koch returned to Fremont and not long
afterward was married there. He continued to make his home
at that place until about 1870, when he moved to Bettsville,
where he remained until 1881, when he came with his family to
this county and located at Wapakoneta. His wife died there
on Jan. 8, 1889, and he continued to make his home there until
in 1902, when he moved to St. Marys, and in the home of his son,
Charles, spent the remainder of his life, his death
occurring there on June 19, 1910. His body was taken to
Wapakoneta for interment. To John M. Koch and wife
were born nine children, four of whom are still living, the
subject of this sketch having three brothers, Alert M., Louis
H. and Frank J. Koch. Charles W. Koch was about
eight eight years of age when his parents moved to Wapakoneta,
and he completed his schooling in the schools of that city.
When little more than a boy he went to Sidney and found
employment there, shining shoes and doing such work as a boy of
that age could do, and after awhile became assistant to the
bartender in a saloon in that city, thus learning the trade in
which he afterward became very proficient. After spending
three years at Sidney, he went to Cincinnati, and was there
engaged as a bartender for five years, at the end of which time
he returned to Auglaize county and located at St. Marys, where
he ever since has made his home. For something more than
three years after locating at St. Marys, Mr. Koch was
employed there as a bartender, and then he formed a partnership
and George Collins and for nearly fourteen years was
engaged with the latter in the saloon business. This
partnership was dissolved in 1913, and Mr. Koch then
became engaged in business on his own account, opening a saloon
in the room he still occupies in the Diehl block, on West
Spring street. When the liquor business was put out in
commission following the promulgation of the Eighteenth
amendment to the Federal constitution in 1920, Mr. Koch
converted his place into a soft drink establishment and
delicatessen, and has since continued in business, doing well in
his new line. Mr. Koch is a Democrat, and he and
his family are members of Holy Rosary Catholic church at St.
Marys. He is a member of the local council of the Knights
of Columbus, is a charter member of Auglaize Aerie No. 767 of
the Fraternal Order of Eagles of that city, and is also
affiliated with the local lodge of the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks at Wapakoneta. On Sept. 13, 1899, Charles
W. Koch was united in marriage of Susie Kinstle, who
was born in Clay township, this county, a daughter of
Sylvester and Anna (Krabach) Kinstle, and to this union six
children have been born, Charles F., Edith E., Louise A.,
John F., George and James, the two latter of whom are
attending the Catholic parochial school. Louise A.
and John F. Koch are attending high school, the former a
member of the class of 1923, and the latter of the class of
1925. Edith E. Koch was graduated from the St.
Marys high school in 1920, and supplemented this by a business
course in the Littleford Commercial College at Cincinnati.
Following his graduation from the parochial school at St. Marys,
Charles F. Koch entered St. Joseph's College at
Rensselaer, Ind., and after a four years' course there was
graduated. Meantime he had been giving attention to his
art studies, and upon leaving St. Joseph's College entered Eden
Park Art Institute at Cincinnati. After a year there, he
entered the Academy of Fine Arts at Chicago, at the same time
entering for a night course in the Art Institute, and in 1922
was graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts. He is
employed in art work at Chicago and is still pursuing his
studies in the Art Institute in that city.
Source: History of Auglaize
County, Ohio - Vol. II - Pub. 1923 - Page 182 |
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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 that place and has lived
there all his life. Mr. Koch was born on Nov. 22,
1862, and is a son of John and Margaret (Fritz) 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 thence immediately to Ohio to join old
country friends who had preceded 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.
Then or twelve years later he died there and his widow long
survived him. Of their six children, Catherine, Eureka,
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 he 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 years 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 green 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
the 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 Sametinger 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 letter's death in
1891, whom 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 in 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 Auglaize County, Ohio - Vol.
II - Pub. 1923 - Page 329 |
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JOHN A. KUENZEL,
secretary of the Kuenzel Mills Company of New Bremen, was born
at New Bremen on May 30, 1865, and is a son of John A. and
Wilhelmina (Mohrman) Kuenzel, natives of Germany, who early
became established at New Bremen, and who in their generation
were recognized as among the most useful and influential members
of that community. The late John A. Kuenzel, one of
the founders of the woolen mills at New Bremen and former
postmaster of that place, was sixteen years of age when he came
to this country from Germany and located at Louisville,
Ky. He had had some training as a shoemaker in his home
land, and upon taking up his residence at Louisville began
working there as a shoemaker. Not long afterward he came
up into Ohio and settled at New Bremen, where he had kinsfolk,
and opened a shoe shop. That was in the days when
custom-made boots and shoes were much more commonly worn than
now, and it was not long until the excellent character of the
output of his shop had attracted a good trade. The
activities attendant on the operation of the canal then were at
their height and New Bremen was a busy place. Mr.
Kuenzel married here and "settled down." He did well
in his business and presently was made postmaster of the town.
After awhile it became apparent that New Bremen offered an
excellent site for the erection of a woolen mill, and Mr.
Kuenzel became one of the founders of the mill which still
bears his name, and with which he continued connected until his
death. It was during the time of his active connection
with this important industrial enterprise that a merger was
effected with the flouring mill, and since that time the woolen
mill and the flour mill, there along the canal in the center of
the town, have been operated under the one management.
When the woolen mill was organized, in 1868, it was operated
under the firm name of Finke, Bakhaus & Kuenzel, and so
continued until the time of the incorporation of the company, in
1899, under the name of the Bakhaus-Kuenzel Company.
Since the time of the company's reorganization, on Jan. 7, 1914,
the business of this dual industry has been carried on under the
firm style of the Kuenzel Mills Company, Godfrey
Kuenzel, elder son of John A. Kuenzel being the
president of the company and giving his particular attention to
the details of the flouring mill, even as his brother, E. C.
Kuenzel, secretary of the company, gives his technical
attention to the operation of the woolen mill. When the
woolen mill was started it was operated simply as a neighborhood
custom mill, its product being confined to satinets, flannels,
jeans, yarn and batting, but as its operations expanded it began
to develop outside trade and has long given special attention to
the manufacture of blankets and blanket cloth, the only woolen
mill known that specializes in the latter line, its celebrated "Kuneta"
blanket cloth being in wide demand. Its "New Bremen" band
of blankets also are in wide demand and it turns out no fewer
than 30,000 pairs of these annually. There are forty-seven
persons employed in the woolen mill, and eight in the flour
mill. This latter mill has a capacity of ninety barrels a
day and specializes in its widely known brand of "Gold Lace"
flour. E. C. Kuenzel, secretary of the operating
company in charge of these mills, was reared at New Bremen,
where he received his schooling. Upon leaving school he
went to the neighboring town of St. Marys, where for two
years he was engaged in clerking in a grocery store. He
then went West and presently located at Syracuse, Neb., where he
remained for eleven years, at the end of which time he moved to
Chicago, where he made his home for ten years, or until the
death of his father, when he returned to New Bremen, it becoming
necessary for him to assume his father's interest in the mills
there, and he since has given his undivided attention to the
promotion of these extensive milling interests. Mr.
Kuenzel is a Republican and has served the public as a
member of the New Bremen town council. He and his wife are
members of the Zion Reformed church, in the faith of which
church their children have been reared, and he is a Freemason of
high degree, a member of the blue lodge at St. Marys, and of the
Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of the Valley of Dayton (Northern
Masonic jurisdiction). He also is a member of the local
lodge of the Knights of Pythias at New Bremen. In 1893
E. C. Kuenzel was united in marriage to Myra
Hunter of Kansas City, Mo., and to this union five children
have been born, namely: Hunter Kuenzel, who was graduated
from the New Bremen high school and is now an automotive
engineer in the employ of the Premier Motor Corporation, at
Indianapolis; Myra W., who is now a student in Ohio State
University; Harriet H., a school teacher, who is now a
student at Heidelberg University, at Tiffin; Alvis L.,
who was graduated from the New Bremen high school in 1922 and is
now attending the state normal school at Bowling Green, and
David E., who is attending high school. Hunter
Kuenzel is a veteran of the World war with an overseas
record, having rendered service as a private in the coast
artillery with the American Expeditionary Force in France.
Source: History of Auglaize County, Ohio - Vol. II -
Pub. 1923 - Page 398 |
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Herman H. Kuhlman |
HERMAN H. KUHLMAN,
veteran merchant and banker of New Knoxville, president of the
board of education of that village, for thirty years treasurer
of Washington township and in other ways interested in the
general civil and commercial life of that community, one of the
best known business men in Auglaize county, is a European by
birth, but has been a resident of this country and of Auglaize
county since he was fifteen years of age, a period of almost
fifty years, and has done well his part in the development of
the community in which he has made his home ever since he came
here as a lad in the days that still were regarded as pioneer
days in this county. Mr. Kuhlman was born on Dec.
1, 1857, in the town of Vehrte, in the principality of
Osnalbruck, occupying the western part of the Prussian province
of Hanover and embracing also the duchy of Arensberg-Meppen,
ceded to Hanover in 1803, and is a son of
WILLIAM and Elizabeth (Ruesse)
Kuhlman the latter of whom died there
in 1867. He was fifteen years of age when in 1873 he came
to this country with his father, WILLIAM
KUHLMAN the family proceeding immediately
on out into Ohio and locating at New Knoxville, in this county,
whither Herman's two elder brothers, George and
Henry Kuhlman, had preceded them and effected a
location some time before. William Kuhlman
was a bricklayer by trade and an artisan in woodworking
handicraftmanship, a skilled carver of wooden shoes, which
latter vocation he followed during the winters, when bricklaying
was impracticable. Upon establishing his home at New
Knoxville, he continued these vocations, for at that time there
still was a considerable demand thereabout for wooden shoes, and
he spent the remainder of his life there, his death occurring in
1893. He and his wife were the parents of seven children,
all of whom are living save two sons, William Jr. and
Christian, and one daughter, Louise, the subject of
this sketch now having one sister, Elizabeth, and two
brothers, George and Henry Kuhlman. As all
these children grew to maturity and had families of their own,
the Kuhlman connection in the present generation is a
considerable one. As noted above, Herman H. Kuhlman
was not yet sixteen years of age when he came to Auglaize county
in 1873. He had received excellent schooling in his native
land, and after coming here lost little time in settling down
into the manners and customs of the land in which his folks had
elected to make their home and which he was quite well content
to adopt. His first labor upon coming here was as a farm
hand, working on a farm in the New Knoxville neighborhood for
$60 a year. For five years he continued working in the
fields and woods, interspersing this employment during the
winters as a clerk in one of the village stores, and then, when
twenty-one years of age, was married. After his marriage
Mr. Kuhlman took his place in the general store of his
mother-in-law, Mrs. C. S. Luterbein, at Nw Knoxville, and
not long afterward was made a partner in that enterprise.
Upon Mrs. Luterbein's death, in 1893, he took over the
interest of his deceased partner in the store and has since
continued to operate the same as sole proprietor. In 1881,
about three years after Mr. Kuhlman became identified
with the operation of this store, Mrs. Luterbein built
what is the original section of the building now occupied as the
Kuhlman store, and in 1891 and addition was built
constituting the present store building, which covers floor
space 40 by 70 feet. The Kuhlman store is a general
store, handling pretty much everything in the way of merchandise
required in that trade area, including dry goods, notions, house
furnishings, boots and shoes and the like, and has a reputation
founded upon many years of successful operation. In 1910
Mr. Kuhlman, in association with his eldest son,
HENRY H. W. KUHLMAN,
established the Peoples Savings Bank of New Knoxville, with
the son as cashier of the bank, and the two have since been
carrying on a successful banking business there. This is a
private bank, the two Kuhlmans being sole owners, and now
shows capital, surplus and undivided profits in excess of
$24,000, with deposits aggregating more than $35,000. In
the spring of 1922 the present well-equipped and modern
two-story brick building occupied by this bank was erected, and
the patrons of this bank now have as convenient banking
accommodations as those of any bank in the country. The
senior Kuhlman, head of this bank, is also a member of
the Home Banking Company of St. Marys. Mr. Kuhlman
is an ardent Republican, for years one of the leaders of that
party in this part of the county, and since 1892 has been
serving the people of Washington township as township treasurer,
a period of continuous public service that likely enough is not
exceeded by that of any other public official in the county.
He also is president of the local board of education at New
Knoxville, and in other ways has ever done his part in local
civic activities. He and his family are members of the
German Reformed church at New Knoxville, and for thirty-five
years he has been a teacher in the Sunday school of that church,
and for thirty years has been treasurer of the congregation, a
record of continuous church service that also likely enough is
not exceeded in the county. Herman H. Kohlman has
been twice married. In February, 1879, he was united in
marriage to Emma Luterbein, a daughter of Henry
Luterbein and wife, and to this union were born nine
children, Henry, Alvina, Ida, Meta, Reinhart, Selma, Clara,
Arminta and Leroy. The mother of these children
died in 1906, and in June, 1909, Mr. Kuhlman married
Emma Fennemann, daughter of William H. Fennemann, and
to this latter union three children have been born, Mildred,
Laurence and Norman. Henry H. W. Kuhlman the
eldest of Mr. Kuhlman's sons and cashier of the Peoples
Savings Bank of New Knoxville, was born on Aug. 21, 1881, and
his schooling was completed in the St. Marys high school and at
Ohio Northern University at Ada. Like his father, he takes
a proper interest in local civic affairs, is now serving as
mayor of New Knoxville, and has rendered public service as clerk
of the village. On June 6, 1911, he was united in marriage
to Olga Finke, of New Bremen, and to this union
one child has been born, a son, Robert. Mr. Kuhlman's
eldest daughter, Alvina, married Herman Holl and
has two children, Ruth and Marie. Ida Kuhlman
married W. H. Wellman. Selma Kuhlman married
Julius Eversman, and REINHART KUHLMAN,
who is now a teacher in the St. Marys high school, married
Dorothy Kuhlman and has one child, a daughter,
Melba Louise. Prof. Reinhart Kuhlman is a veteran
of the World war with an overseas record and a record of
twenty-one months in the army during the time of this country's
participation in the great war.
Source: History of Auglaize
County, Ohio - Vol. II - Pub. 1923 - Page 240 |
NOTES:
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