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BIOGRAPHIES
Source:
History of Defiance County, Ohio
containing a History of the County; Its Townships,
Towns, Etc.;
Military Record; Portraits of Early Settlers and
Prominent Men; Farm Views; Personal
Reminiscences, Etc.
Published at Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co.
1883
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Defiance Twp. -
MRS. ELIZABETH OLIVER,
daughter of Capt. Lawrence Teats, was born at Adelphia,
Ross County, Mar. 23, 1825. Her grandfather,
Christopher Teats, was in the war of the Revolution.
Her maternal grandfather (Maj. Engle) also in the
Revolutionary war, was a native of Virginia, and came to this
State in 1806. Capt. Teats was in the war of 1812.
He was born in New Jersey in 1791, and was married to Miss
Elizabeth Engle, of Ross County, Ohio, in 1816, by whom he
had six children, five sons and one daughter, Elizabeth,
the subject of this sketch. He died at Adelphia, Ross
County, in 1834. Mrs. Teats removed from there
with her little family to Defiance, in 1840, and died in
Williams County, Sept/ 29, 1876. Our subject married
David L. Oliver, of Defiance, Dec. 27, 1840, whose father,
John Oliver, was one of the early settlers of this
county, coming from Piqua, Miami County, in 1822, and entering
the farm on which Job English now lives, in
Defiance Township, which he cleared up, and set out a fine
orchard. He moved from there on the farm now occupied by
C. Biede, which he mostly cleared up, and set out another
fine orchard. From there he moved into the town
(Defiance), on the lot now occupied by S. T. Sutphen.
Surrounding the fine brick residence of Mr. Sutphen
we find quite a number of fine apple trees which were set out
and grafted by Mr. Oliver with grafts brought by
him from Piqua on horseback, that being the only method of
travel in those early times. Wolves were plenty in those
days and for their scalps there was quite a bounty offered both
by the State and county, and the early settlers received quite a
revenue from them. At one time, Mr. Oliver
being from home for several days, Mrs. Oliver
visited a large pole wolf-trap erected by her husband and upon
her near approach was soon made aware of a captive by the
snarling, growling and snapping of teeth of a hungry wolf.
Mrs. Oliver, like many others of our pioneer
women, was too much accustomed to the nightly visits of the
wolves, which came in droves howling around their log-cabin
homes ,to be easily frightened at the sight of one of their
number, and especially when in so secure a prison. Mrs,
Oliver returned to her house and provided herself with a
good, sharp and substantial pitchfork and returned to the trap,
and by inserting the fork between the logs soon succeeded in
spearing the prisoner to death. Mr. Oliver
moved from Defiance in 1837 to Lucasville, Scioto County, at
which place he died in 1842. To David L. and
Elizabeth were born seven children, two sons who died in
infancy, and five daughters, viz. Katie E., who
married Frank G. Brown, a resident of Defiance; Carrie,
married James Thiebaud, of Vevay, Ind., where they
now reside; Eliza J., married Andrew Pontious,
of Defiance, now a resident of Cincinnati; Ella A.,
married Isaac T. Waterhouse, of St. Paul, Minn.;
Jessie J., the youngest, who remains at home with her
mother. Mr. Oliver was a carpenter by trade
and put up many of the early frame buildings of Defiance, among
them the Methodist, Lutheran, and Presbyterian Churches. He was
among the first to do cabinet work for his neighbors, and also
made coffins which were sent to different parts of the country
as per order (there being no undertakers here in those days),
and the friends would call and settle at a convenient season as
they came to town. Mrs. Oliver relates an
instance which occurred in her girlhood days, as related to her
by Mr. Oliver at her father's house, on one of his
visits while a young man. He said he had met on his way an
old acquaintance whose coffin he had made for his burial several
weeks before, which quite surprised the Teats family
until Mr. Oliver explained by saying the man had
informed him that he was alive and well and had no immediate
need of the coffin; a fact not known to Mr. Oliver
until informed by the gentleman himself, whom he supposed was
dead and buried. Mrs. Oliver recollects when
the pickets of Fort Winchester were standing on the grounds
where she now resides. Also relates a circumstance in
connection with the big apple tree now standing on the north
bank of the Maumee as related to her by Pierce Taylor
(deceased), one of the early settlers of Defiance, who stated
that he was acquainted with an old Indian chief " who said he
was born under said apple tree," and as near as Mrs.
Oliver can recollect dates, thinks the tree is at least 155
years old, but by whom planted, or how it came there is mere
conjecture. Mrs. Oliver and brother Jacob
kept house five weeks for one Mr. Fox, who lived
in the woods near where Charloe now is in Paulding
County, while he and his wife were gone away on a visit, and saw
none of her sex during that time, their nearest neighbors being
two miles distant, and the next five miles distant.
Indians were frequent callers, it being in the fall of the year
and their hunting season, although they were friendly. Her
husband, David L. Oliver, was born in Marietta, Ohio,
June 7, 1813, and died at Defiance, Ohio, May 13,1856, aged
about forty-three years. Mrs. Oliver married for
her second husband, Simon P. Moon, who was born Oct. 28,
1815 near Winchester, Va. ,who for about twenty-five year-s
preceding his coming to Defiance was a resident of New Orleans,
and was quite an extensive dealer in hay and grain. Their
present place of residence is very pleasantly situated on the
banks of the Auglaize near the place where stood Fort
Winchester, and within a stone's throw of where once stood the
old fort, Defiance.
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio - Published at
Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 251 |
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Mark Twp. -
SAMUEL ONSTOTT was born Sept. 4, 1823, in
Washington county, Penn. His father was a Pennsylvanian by
birth. His mother a native of New Jersey. His father
died in Wayne County, Ohio, to which place he had moved from
Washington County, Penn., when Samuel was a small boy.
Here the latter grew up to the age of sixteen, when he came to
Richland County, Ohio, where he married Miss Sarah
Reed, by
whom he had thirteen children, viz., John J., William
Wallace, Amanda M., Elizabeth A., Jacob B., Nancy E., Francis
J., Susan B., Sarah M., Adoniram J. , Lewis M. , Harriet M.
and Saretta M. Three of this number are dead—John
J., Susan E. and Lewis
M. His mother died in Indiana in 1881, aged about
ninety-seven years. Mr. Onstott moved into
Mark Township and settled on Section 33, where he has lived ever
since June 6, 1850. He came from Crawford County, Ohio,
with Mr. Thomas Pope, and they had to cut the road from
the river road, a distance of three-fourths of a mile, to their
several places of abode. He was one of the number who
organized the township, and was elected Justice of the Peace and
also Trustee at said organization. His wife, died Sept.
18, 1881, aged about fifty-eight years. |
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Milford Twp. -
MERRILL OTIS. Jesse Otis,
father of Merrill, was born in Vermont; Charlotte
Davey, his mother, was born in Maryland. Merrill,
their second son, was born Mar. 4, 1820, in Wayne County, Ohio.
He lived with his parents until twenty-one years of age,
receiving a common school education. On Mar. 4, 1841, he
was married to Margaret Saltzman, daughter of
George and Mary (Cook) Saltzman.
Some time during the same year, they moved to Stark County,
Ohio, where they remained until 1843, then returning to Wayne
County. In 1847, he made himself a permanent home on a
quarter-section of land in the then wilds of Milford Township.
Here he still resides, carrying on his farm, and also an
agricultural store in Hicksville. Two years of this
time—1867 and 1808—he lived in Bryan, Ohio, for the purpose of
educating his children. Merrill Otis has
served four years as County Commissioner, one year by
appointment and three by election. The names of the
children are as follows: William D. was born Dec. 14,
1841, in Stark County, Ohio. He served three years in the
civil war, after which he entered college, graduating in the
classical course from Dennison University, Granville, Ohio.
Then entered the Medical College at Cleveland, graduating from
there in 1873. The same year, he was married to Miss
Hattie Howe, of Granville, and is now a practicing
physician in Hicksville. George K., born Mar. 11,
1844, in Wayne County, Ohio. He also entered the army with
his brother, but health failing, he was obliged to return home
after serving his country ten months. He took a commercial
course at Cleveland. In 1867, he was married to Miss
Sarah Hilburt. Nov. 27, 1882, she died,
leaving two children. He is now engaged in the real estate
and agricultural business in Hicksviille. Eliza
B., born Dec. 14, 1846, in Wayne County. Was educated
at Bryan, Ohio, and taught six years in the public schools of
Hicksville. Jesse, born Aug. 17, 1849, in Defiance
County. He lived at home, working with his father on the
farm until ] 874, when he was suddenly stricken with pneumonia,
and after a few days' severe illness, died, Mar. 17. Mary O.,
born June 24, 1853. She has received a liberal education
at Oberlin, Ohio, paying special attention to music, Amanda J.
was born Feb. 21, 1855 . Received her education at Oberlin,
Ohio. She was married to Mr. R. F. Kerr, of
Hicksville. Salathial, born Dec. 12, 1857; died
when seven weeks old. Tryphena M., born Apr. 26,
1859. With the exception of one year, when she was from
home attending school, she received her education at Hicksville.
Ida O., born May 4, 1863, was educated at the public
schools of Hicksville, Ohio. With the exception of Mrs.
Kerr, the girls are all at home.
Source: History of Defiance County, Ohio - Published at
Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co. - 1883 - Page 333 |
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