BIOGRAPHIES

Source:
Commemorative Biographical Records of Northwestern Ohio
including the counties of Defiance, Henry, Williams & Fulton.
Published at Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1899.

* FARMER, Enoch * FARNSWORTH, Albert * FERGUSON, George * FIELD, James A. * FORLOW, Amos * FRAKER, Jacob Enoch Farmer Mary A. Farmer ENOCH FARMER.  Mr. Farmer, who is a banker and broker of Hicksville, occupies a conspicuous place among the typical self-made men who by ability, combined with enterprise and force of character, have become highly prosperous, and have risen to positions of usefulness and honor.      Our subject traces the Farmer genealogy back three generations to paternal English and maternal German ancestry.  The Farmer family that emigrated from England to this country settled in Surry county, North Carolina, at the head of the Yadkin river.  There one of their number, the great-grandfather of the gentleman whose name introduces this sketch, married a Miss Sugars, a member of a family that had also made that place their home on the arrival here from their native land, Germany.  Mr. Farmer and his wife spent the whole of their married life in that place, and there died.  They had a family, of which their son Nathan was the next descendant in the line under consideration.  Mr. Farmer was a planter and a resident of a slave State, yet he never owned human chattels.      Nathan Farmer was born in Surry county, North Carolina, and in his native State grew to manhood.  He served as a soldier of the Continental army during the Revolutionary war, and after the close of that struggle continued to reside in North Carolina for a number of years.  About the year 1813 he removed with his family to Ohio, following the trail of the noted pioneer, Daniel Boone, and purchased a farm near Dayton, Montgomery county, Ohio, on which he settled.  His sons then attended to the duties of the farm while he pursued his trade, that of a gunsmith, and making that his life business he followed it until he was quite aged.  He was an excellent mechanic in his line, and with a rifle of his make our subject has shot many a deer.  This pioneer couple had a family of six children, the names of five of whom were Enoch, Nathan, Catharine, Levi and Elizabeth; the name of the sixth child cannot be obtained.  All of these children lived to adult years.  The mother of the family died at the home in Ohio, and after her death the father went to Richmond, Indiana, and lived with a daughter, where he died when about eighty years of age.  They were honest, God-fearing people, and were members of the Society of Friends.      Enoch Farmer, son of Nathan, enlisted and served as a soldier in the Black Haw war, acting as a spy or scout and an express messenger to the army.  A thrilling adventure and hair-breadth escape which he experienced during this service not only shows what nerve and bravery were demanded for it, but also serves to make manifest the hardships and dangers through which our country passed in its transition from the savage wilds of the New World to the luxurious homes of today.  While encamped on Fix river, forty miles west of Chicago, then a grading post and fort, he had set out on an expedition to that fort, but after proceeding twenty-five miles discovered horses, and as they drew nearer, seeing they were saddled, he knew Indians were concealed somewhere in the grass.  After stopping to examine the priming of his gun and holster pistols, he retreated to the army with all possible speed, the Indians hastening in pursuit; but he succeeded in keeping in advance of his pursuers, and passed into the army lines in safety.  The gun he then used - a flint-lock - has been used by our subject on many a hunt; and the fact that it was made by the grandfather of the latter, the father of this soldier, gives it additional interest.      Nathan Farmer, Jr., the father of our subject, was born in Surry county, North Carolina, about 1796, consequently was about seventeen years of age when the family moved to Ohio.  He engaged in agricultural pursuits on his father's farm in Montgomery county, remaining there until 1829, during which time he was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Rodabaugh and taking his wife to the home place they remained there during their stay in Ohio; and it became the birthplace of their family of five children.  In 1829 they moved to a farm consisting of prairie land located in the western part of Indiana on the Wabash river, near Attica, Warren county.  That entire section was then virgin land.  This proved but a temporary home, however, as illness in the family, and family afflictions led Mr. Farmer to lose all interest in the new farm, and to sadly retrace his steps to the old home, having been called to mourn the loss of both his wife and mother.  His family then numbered four children, whose names were as follows:  Adam, Lydia, Levina, and Enoch.  He was afterward married in Ohio to Miss Sarah Westerfield and to this union six children were born.      In October, 1833, he removed his family to Williams county, Ohio, and settled on the southeast corner of Section I, on a tract of primeval forest land, and possessing the distinction of being the first settler of the new township his name was duly honored and made memorable by the name afterward given it - Farmer township; and this name it still bears.  On its organization he was made one of its trustees, in which capacity he served many years.  He remained on that farm until he had cleared forty acres of it, when he sold it and removed to a farm comprising eighty acres in the southeastern part of Section 19, and eighty acres in the southwestern part of Section 20, in the same township.  This tract was heavily timbered like the other, and with the help of his sons he cleared and improved it.  After his removal there a stroke of apoplexy rendered him unable to continue the management of his affairs, consequently the care of the farm devolved upon our subject, as he was the eldest son at home; and his was the strong arm that accomplished the greater part of the heavy labor of clearing the forest wilds.  Later the father's health improved, and in the winter of 1853-54 he became a pioneer of Howard county, Iowa; then after a residence there of a few years he went to Appanoose county, in the same State; but after remaining there about a year he returned to Howard county, where he staid six months, and then left Iowa and took up pioneer life in Minnesota, making his home in Brown county sixteen miles west of New Ulm.  He spent the last year of his life with two of his children.  His death occurred in 1872 at his home in Brown county, and he was buried at Iberia, in that county.  Thus during the years of his earthly pilgrimage he had passed from the home of his birth, in a mild and temperate clime, to the northern part of the country - a section extremely cold - and there was laid to rest.      A pioneer in five States, he was a man who throughout his robust manhood was well fitted to endure the hardships to which such a life subjected him.  Of rugged strength, of iron and steady nerve, he wielded the rifle with dexterity and precision; in fact, was a sure rifle shot, and as he took pleasure in the hunt and, furthermore, found it a lucrative employment, he made it one of his chief occupations, frequently hunting in the interest of his neighbors while they took his place in his farm work.  He killed thousands of deer, and whatever the product of the chase - whether coon, beaver, deer or wolf - the hide of the animal was always his portion.  When he was about fifty years of age he united with the Disciple Church, and in the faith of that Church he died.      Adam Farmer, the eldest son of Nathan Farmer, Jr., and Elizabeth Rodabaugh, was killed by lightning, the sad event occurring on the 28th of August, 1896, when he was but forty rods from home, riding horseback on the public road.  The bolt struck him just back of his ear, and tearing the saddle in its course passed through the horse, killing both horse and rider instantly.      Enoch Farmer, the second son of Nathan Farmer, Jr., and Elizabeth Rodabaugh, was born near Dayton, Montgomery county, Ohio, Apr. 29, 1828.  His mother's death occurred when he was but two and one-half years old; he then lived with his maternal grandfather, Adam Rodabaugh, near Dayton, until he was eleven years of age, and there attended school.  On May 11, 1839, he joined his father in Williams county, and remained with him until he was twenty-one years of age, assisting in the clearing of the farm as he grew to manhood years.  On attaining his majority he still continued on the farm, but began working for himself, receiving ten dollars per month from his father for one year, and he then rented the home farm for three years.  On May 11, 1851, he was united in marriage with Miss Mary Mary E. Deardorff, and Nov. 18, 1853, they removed from the old homestead to a farm of one hundred and sixty acres of unbroken timber land Mr. Farmer had purchased in that township, it being the southwest quarter of Section 30.  The backwoods life of that early day was attended with inevitable hardships.  The extensive growth of timber kept the ground too wet, their first dwelling was a log cabin, and life there was in no way to be compared with the life of our present modern civilization and culture; but resolute energy and unfailing ambition prompted the arm of this rugged pioneer to his daily toil, and the little cabin home held out its own attractions as each evening it invited to rest and repose.      The felling of the reigning monarchs of the forest and the clearing of the thick virgin growth of underbrush progressed until the owner of this tract had eighty-five acres of it cleared and put under a state of perfect cultivation.  Though not a hunter in the sense his father was, deer to the number of twenty fell by his hand.  By selling thirty acres of his farm for two hundred dollars, he freed imself from the debt incurred in its purchase for eight hundred dollars, and success and prosperity attending his labors he subsequently erected modern buildings.  At the present time (1898) the place, which is still owned by Mr. Farmer, contained two residences and good out-buildings, the only building that stands as a reminder of primitive days being an old log stable.  He preserves as a relic gourd that has been in the family for two hundred years or more, handed down from one generation to another.  It is supposed to have grown in North Carolina.  It holds about a pint and a half, and was used as a receptacle for powder many years by his father, to whom it was  gift from his father.  It is still perfectly sound.      While living in that township Mr. Farmer carried on a loan and brokerage business a number of years, in connection with his rural pursuits.  In 1889, needing rest, he rented his farm and moved to Hicksville, and here continued in the loan and brokerage business.  He was one of the incorporators of the Farmers and Merchants Bank, which was merged into the First National Bank of Hicksville, and he has been one of the stockholders and directors of the latter since its inauguration in 1884.  At the present time he is one of the largest stockholders, and still makes loans and buys notes on his own account.      Mrs. Farmer died Feb. 16, 1875, leaving four children, namely: Edom, who died when nearly twelve years of age; Hattie I. (Mrs. Charles Walden), residing at Walton, Kansas; Nora E. (Mrs. George Shepard), residing at Hicksville; and Howard W., who married Miss Effie Overhalt; he was a thoroughly competent dentist, the prospects for his future in that direction being very promising, but he died of hip disease Nov. 26, 1895.  In 1876 Mr. Farmer was again married in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Mrs. Mary A. Wanamaker (nee Acker), a daughter of George Acker  The home of Mr. and Mrs. Farmer is a pleasant modern residence located on lots 201-2 High street, on which lots Mr. Farmer has built two fine barns and made other improvements.  An active and energetic man throughout the whole of his life, beginning his business career when twenty-one years of age by felling the forest trees with an axe for which he had gone in debt, such success has crowned these intervening years of labor that he is now one of the wealthiest men in his section, having amassed a fortune of seventy-five thousand dollars, consisting of four farms, four properties in the village, bank stock, notes, mortgages, etc.; and thus is prepared to pass his advancing and declining years in luxurious rest.  In politics he is a member of the Democratic party, and during his residence in Farmer township served as a member of the school board and supervisor besides rendering other official services.      Mrs. Farmer's parents, George and Christina (Snyder) Acker, were both born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania.  They were married in that State, and had a family of five children:  Jerry, Henry, John, Mary A. and Susan.  The mother of these died in 1828, and in 1833 Mr. Acker wedded Catherine Delp, of Pennsylvania, by whom he had eleven children: George D., Christian, Daniel, Andrew, Sarah, Savilla, Margaret, Thomas, Ellen, William and Warren.  The father, who was a lifelong carpenter by trade, passed from earth Oct. 9, 1868; his widow, now eighty-three years old, is still living in Fostoria, Ohio.  Benjamin Snyder, Mrs. Farmer's grandfather, was born in Pennsylvania, whence he moved to Stark county, Ohio, where he died in 1864 at the age of seventy-one years.  The great-grandfather, Jacob Acker, came to this country in the ship "Loyal Judith," London, which landed Sept. 25, 1732.  He afterward married a Miss Hiesler, and settled in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania.  They had six children, all sons.  Henry, the younger son (Mrs. Farmer's paternal grandfather), served as a soldier in the war of 1812.  He married Miss Mary Kuhns, who died at the age of eighty-nine years.      MRS. FARMER was born Sept. 15, 1826, in Mahoning county, Ohio where she lived till her marriage in 1847 to William Wanamaker (a relative of John Wanamaker, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), and she and her husband took up their residence in Trumbull county, Ohio, later, in 1867, moving to Williams county, Ohio, where Mr. Wanamaker died the same year.  They had no children.  Mrs. Farmer had five brothers in the war of the Rebellion, of whom John was killed in battle before Atlanta July 22, 1864, and George D., who now lives in Fostoria, Ohio, was wounded and taken prisoner in the battle of Winchester, Virginia, June 15, 1863.  Mrs. Farmer is a member of the Disciple Church. Source:  Commemorative Biographical Records of Northwestern Ohio including the counties of Defiance, Henry, Williams & Fulton.  Published at Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1899. ~ Page  242     NOTE:  There are portraits of Mary A. and Enoch Farmer in this volume however they are not very clear.  If you want clear copies, you will need to contact a library in Defiance or one of the counties covered in this volume. ~ Sharon Wick   ALBERT FARNSWORTH.  Wherever there is pioneer work to be done, men of energy and ability are required. In wresting the land of Defiance county from its native wilderness; in fitting it for the habitation of men; in developing the natural resources of the community in which they live, few, if any, have contributed more largely than has Mr. Farnsworth, who now resides in Section 20, Hicksville township, and it is meet and proper that for the arduous and important labor he has performed he should receive due reward.      Mr. Farnsworth was born Mar. 14, 1830, in Boston, Massachusetts, a son of Oliver and Edna (King) Farnsworth, natives of Vermont. About 1833 the family removed to New York City, where they lived for three years; then came to Stark county, Ohio, and here the father worked at his trade of carpenter and joiner for four years. In the fall of 1840 he brought the family to Defiance county, and located in Milford township, where he continued to make his home until called to his final rest Dec. 24, 1882, at the age of eighty-six and one-half years. His wife, surviving him about six years, died August 14, 1888, aged seventy-eight. Thus passed away two of Defiance county's honored pioneers and highly respected citizens.      Of their eleven children two died in infancy and nine reached years of maturity, namely: Jane A., wife of Royal L. Taylor; Albert, the subject of this sketch; Frank; Ellen, wife of Clement Hulbert; Eliza, wife of J. B. Martin; Mary, wife of Sumner Johnson; Nathan E.; Lucy, wife of William Jackson; and Edna, wife of S. Myheoffer.      Albert Farnsworth was ten years of age at the time of the arrival of the family in Defiance county, and he early became familiar with the arduous task of converting the wild land into highly-cultivated fields, and with other pioneer work. Upon the home farm in Milford township he con-tined to reside until his marriage, and during his youth learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed in connection with farming until 1896. He began his domestic life in Milford township, where he made his home until 1883, when he removed to his present farm in Hicksville township, which is pleasantly situated just outside the village of Hicksville, and consists of seventy-seven acres of well-improved and highly-cultivated land.      On Aug. 30, 1854, in Milford township, Mr. Farnsworth was united in marriage with Miss Eliza A. Martin, a native of Vermont, and a daughter of Reuben and Thankful (Bolton) Martin, who in 1853 removed from Portage county, Ohio, to Milford township, Defiance county. Five children were born of this union, namely: Newell A.; Emma, wife of Frank Place; Warren A.; Effie, wife of F. A. Warner; Charles A. The mother of these children departed this life Dec. 4, 1895. In Hicksville township, on Oct. 8, 1896, Mr. Farnsworth was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Catherine (Tracht) Hilbert, a daughter of Peter Tracht, and widow of Isaac Hilbert.      During the Civil war, Mr. Farnsworth manifested his patriotism by enlisting in August, 1862, in Company F, One Hundred and Eleventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, for three years, and was made a non-commissioned officer.  After one year's service he was placed on detached duty in the Engineer Corps.  He participated in the battle of Murfreesboro, in the siege of Knoxville2 as well as in several skirmishes, and when his term of service had expired he was honorably discharged. His experience was a remarkable one, he having been providentially saved from guerilla bullets and rope while serving as recruiting officer in East Tennessee, in the organization of colored troops; also in a successful rescuing of three comrades from a watery grave, taking them from a wreck in a frail skiff in Holston river while it was at high water mark and covered with rapidly floating ice.      While living in Milford township, he held the offices of township trustee and clerk, but has never cared for political honors.  For forty-eight years he has been a worthy member of the United Brethren Church, having during that time served as class leader and superintendent of the Sunday-school for ten successive years, and he still continues to take quite an active part in all Church work.      As an honored pioneer and highly respected citizen of Defiance county, he is deserving of prominent mention in a work of this character, whose duty it is to perpetuate the names of the representative and prominent citizens of this section of the State. Source:  Commemorative Biographical Records of Northwestern Ohio including the counties of Defiance, Henry, Williams & Fulton.  Published at Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1899. ~ Page 289   GEORGE FERGUSON. Mr. Ferguson, who is chairman of the board of education of Richland township, Defiance county, where he is now successfully engaged in farming, has led a life of honest toil. Throughout his career of continued and far reaching usefulness his duties have been performed with the greatest care, and business interests have been so managed as to win for him the confidence of the public and the prosperity which should always attend honorable effort.      Born in Albany, New York, September 17, 1837, Mr. Ferguson is a son of William and Julia (Allen) Ferguson, the former a native of New York, the latter of Canada. On coming to Ohio in the spring of 1850, they located in the city of Defiance, where the father engaged in mercantile business for several years, both spending their last days there. They were the parents of six children, our subject being second in the order of birth. He accom­panied them on their removal to Defiance, and assisted his father in business until seventeen years of age, when he went to Doniphan, Kansas, engaging in mercantile pursuits there for three years. On disposing of his business, he went to Pike's Peak, Colorado, where he followed farming for three years, and at the end of that period returned to Defiance.      By the Secretary of War, he was soon afterward appointed paymaster in the United States Army, and for nine years most creditably filled that position, being seven years in the volunteer service, and two in the regular army. After resigning that important post, he engaged in the stock business in Indian Territory for two years, and then returned to Defiance, Ohio, where he was variously employed until locating upon his present farm in 1884, since which time he has devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits with most gratifying results. His farm, which is pleasantly situated in South Richland precinct, comprises eighty acres of highly-cultivated and well-improved land.      On April 6, 1864, in Washington, D. C, Mr. Ferguson was united in marriage with Miss Adelaide Luce, a native of Ashtabula county, Ohio, by whom he has three children still living, namely: Charles F., Mary and Roy; they lost three, who died when quite young. The parents are both earnest and consistent members of the Presbyterian Church, and in the social circles of their community occupy an enviable position. In his political affiliations, Mr. Ferguson is an ardent Republican, and is an earnest advocate of its principles. In 1893 he was elected a member of the board of education, and since 1894 has efficiently served as its chairman. His career has ever been such as to warrant the trust and confidence reposed in him by his fellow citizens, and his devotion to the public good is unquestioned, arising from a sincere interest in the welfare of those around him. Source:  Commemorative Biographical Records of Northwestern Ohio including the counties of Defiance, Henry, Williams & Fulton.  Published at Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1899. ~ Page 565   JAMES A. FIELD.  This well-known agriculturist is pleasantly situated in Section 19, Washington twp., Defiance county, where he owns one of the many fine farms for which that locality is justly noted.  He was born in Mayfield township Cuyahoga county, Ohio, June 16, 1848, but since two years old ahs made his home in Defiance county.  His father, Albert Field, was born in Vermont, May 11, 1816, and when a young man went to Newport, Rhode Island, where he was married Sept. 4, 1842, to Miss Ann Elizabeth Whittington, who was born in Providence, that State, Feb. 19, 1817.  At an early day they emigrated to Cuyahoga county, Ohio, in 1850 coming to Defiance county and locating in Section 25, Farmer township, where they continued to make their home until called from this life, the mother dying Apr. 2, 1879, the father on Sept. 2, 1880.  Of their five children, James, Eugene (1) and George are all deceased, leaving only James A., of this sketch, and Eugene (2),  now living.      In Defiance county the subject of this sketch was reared and educated in much the usual manner of farmer boys of his day, assisting his father in the work of the home farm in Farmer township until 1876, when he purchased his present farm in Washington township, to the cultivation and improvement of which he has since devoted his energies with most gratifying results.  The place comprises 101 1-3 acres of fertile and productive land, and as he is a thorough and skillful farmer, it yields to him abundant harvests for the care and labor bestowed upon it.      On Nov. 19, 1873, Mr. Field was united in marriage with Miss Annie Pask, who was born in Richland county, Ohio, June 15, 1845, a daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Pask, both natives of Lincolnshire, England, who died at the home of our subject.  Mr. Field is a true and consistent Christian gentleman, a worthy member of the Church of God, take an active part in all Church work, and for five years has been superintendent of the Sunday-school.  Mrs. Field is a member of the German Reformed Church. Source:  Commemorative Biographical Records of Northwestern Ohio including the counties of Defiance, Henry, Williams & Fulton.  Published at Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1899. ~ Page 529   AMOS FORLOW.       This age is not wholly utilitarian.  On all sides we see some earnest souls laboring devotedly to bring about a recognition of some higher principle in the life than selfish greed, and stimulating in the hearts of others a desire for spiritual progress.  The friends of Amos Forlow will see in his years of faithful work in all forms of religious endeavor a source of present good to the community, and long after he has entered into his final rest his influence will continue in everlasting circles.      Mr. Forlow, who is a prosperous farmer residing in Section I, Hicksville township, Defiance county, was born August 21, 1833, near Hamilton, Butler county, Ohio, a son of Benjamin and Catherine (Emrick) Forlow, the former born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, April 1, 1810, the latter in Ohio, in 1812.  In 1843 the family moved from Butler county to Defiance county (then a part of Williams county), and located in Section 36, Milford township.  The mother died in 1876, but the father is still living at the advanced age of eighty-eight years.      The subject of this sketch is the eldest in their family of fourteen children, and was about ten years of age when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Defiance county, being reared to manhood upon his father's farm in Milford township.  When about twenty years of age he left the parental roof, and started out to make his own way in the world, working for others as a farm hand for the first three years.  He then purchased forty-acres of land in Section 1, Hicksville township, to which he has since added, his farm now comprising eighty acres of fine land, under excellent cultivation and improved with good and substantial buildings.      On November 19, 1856, Mr. Forlow was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Myers, who was born in Pennsylvania, Oct. 10, 1833, a daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Myers.  The children born of this union are as follows:  Frank L., who is now an attorney of Webb City, Missouri; Alice E., wife of W. H. Getrost; Adelia, wife of Rev. J. W. Lilly, of Hicksville, Defiance county; Edward A.; Amanda, wife of Charles E. Hilbert; Cora B.; and George, who died in infancy.      During the dark days of the Rebellion, Mr. Forlow enlisted in August, 1862, in Company F, One Hundred and Eleventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served until the close of the war, participating in the battle of Resaca, and the siege of Atlanta, the Atlanta campaign and the march through the Carolinas.  He is now an honored member of I. Doniphan Post, No. 52, G. A. R.  He also had three brothers - John B., William and George - who aided their country in her successful efforts to preserve the Union.      Politically, Mr. Forlow is an ardent Republican, and formerly took quite an active and prominent part in local politics, serving as assessor of Hicksville township in 1866, 1867 and 1868.  He and his wife are leading and influential members of the United Brethren Church, of Hicksville, and have always taken an active part in its work.  For twenty-one years he served as superintendent of the Sunday-school, has been a delegate to the State and world's Sunday-school conventions, and has filled the office of secretary of the Quarterly Conference of the Hicksville Circuit.  In connection with his Church work he has done all within his power to advance the cause of temperance in his community.  Being one of the first settlers of Defiance county, he has taken an active interest in the Maumee Pioneer Association, of which he is now the honored president, after having served for twenty-one years as its secretary.  Those who know hi best are numbered among his warmest friends, and no citizen of Defiance county is held in higher respect or esteem than Amos Forlow. Source:  Commemorative Biographical Records of Northwestern Ohio including the counties of Defiance, Henry, Williams & Fulton.  Published at Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1899. ~ Page 569   JACOB FRAKER.  The late Jacob Fraker was for almost forty years prominently identified with the agricultural interests of Defiance county, and was numbered among the leading citizens of Mark Township.       Mr. Fraker came from across the sea, his birth having occurred in 1827 in Germany, where he grew to manhood and married Miss Mary Sutter, who was born in the same country about 1830.  In 1854 they bade farewell to friends and native land and sailed for America.  Soon after their arrival in teh United States they came to Defiance county, Ohio, and took up their residence in Section 13, Mark township, where Mr. Fraker died Apr. 10, 1891; his widow is still living.  He developed and improved a fine farm of two hundred acres, and to agricultural pursuits devoted his energies throughout life except a short term of eight years.  In 1875 Mr. Fraker and family moved to Franklin County, Tennessee, and owned a farm of four hundred acres there.  Leaving it to his two sons, Henry and Samuel, he in 1883 moved back on his old homestead in Ohio, where he remained until his death.  An influential and public-spirited citizen, he took a deep and commendable interest in public affairs and gave his support to all measures which he believed were calculated to advance the moral, intellectual or material welfare of his community.  He was also a prominent member of the German Reformed Church and took an active part in all church work.  In his death the community realized that it had lost a valued and useful citizen.      To Mr. and Mrs. Fraker were born eight children, namely: Frederick, Henry, Samuel, Mary (wife of Jacob Kaser), Louisa (wife of Houston Hanna), Jacob, John and one son who died in infancy.      Of these children, Jacob Fraker, Jr., was born in Mark township, Aug. 31, 1866, and has spent almost his entire life on the old homestead although from the age of nine years until seventeen he lived with his parents in Tennessee.  In the common schools he acquired a good practical education, and under the able direction of his father became a thorough and systematic farmer.  Since the latter's death he has taken charge of a part of the home farm, which he successfully operates.  He was married in Mark township Jan. 16, 1896, to Miss Ella Dickey, a native of Henry Co., Ohio, and a daughter of Moses W. Dickey, late of Mark Township, Defiance Co., Ohio.  Source:  Commemorative Biographical Records of Northwestern Ohio including the counties of Defiance, Henry, Williams & Fulton.  Published at Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1899. ~ Page  51

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