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BIOGRAPHIES
A Standard History
of
Erie County, Ohio
An Authentic Narrative of the Past, with Particular
Attention
to the Modern Era in the Commercial, Industrial,
Civic and Social Development. A Chronicle of the People, with Family
Lineage and Memoirs.
By
HEWSON L. PEEKE
Assisted by the Board of Advisory Editors
Volume I.
ILLUSTRATED
The Lewis Publishing Company
Chicago and New York
1916
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DANIEL D.
WHITE.
There are in every community men of great force of
character who by reason of their capacity for leadership
become recognized as foremost citizens and bear a most
important part in public affairs. Such has been
the creditable position in the Castalia community of
Daniel D. White, who for many years was a
progressive farmer in Groton Township, has frequently
been honored with those positions which denote community
esteem and for the past ten years has been cashier of
the Castalia Banking Company. He was one of the
principals on the organization of that solid financial
institution in September, 1905, and has since been a
director and cashier.
Mr. White is one of the citizens of Erie County
who represent the old colonial stock of New England.
He is a direct descendant of Elder John White,
who came from England in 1632 and and in September of
that year arrived in Massachusetts, where his name can
be found identified with church and other activities so
as to stamp him a leader in the early history of that
colony. Daniel D. White was born in Groton
Township of Erie County, May 17, 1861. His parents
were Ebenezer and Ellen (Jones) White.
His father was born in Massachusetts and his mother in
New York State. The White family was
established in Erie County by Grandfather Capt. John
White who gained his title by service in the state
militia. He was one of the pioneer settlers in
Groton Township and for several years the family lived
in one of the typical log cabin homes of that period.
Ebenezer White was about thirteen years of age
when he accompanied the family from Massachusetts to
Erie County and in this new country he grew up to useful
and honorable manhood. For six years he served as
a commissioner, and held that office at the time the
present Erie County courthouse was constructed. He
was a republican in politics, and spent all his active
career as a farmer in Groton Township. He also
served as a trustee of that township and justice of the
peace, and was well known throughout the county.
His death occurred in 1885. Of his children three
are still living: Lizzie S., widow of W.
O. Zabst, late of Bellevue, Ohio, where she now
resides, Harriet J., wife of J. J. Neill,
of Margaretta Township; and Daniel D.
The only surviving son,
Daniel D. White grew up in Groton Township and his
education came partly from the district schools and
partly from the schools of Castalia. More than
thirty years ago he began his active and independent
career as a farmer in his native township, and that was
his chief enterprise up to 1905, since which time he has
been identified with the affairs of the Castalia Banking
Company, as one of the officers and directors. At
various times Mr. White has performed his share
of public duties. For six years he was a member of
the Board of Control of the Ohio Agricultural Experiment
Station at Wooster, having been appointed by Gov.
George K. Nash and reappointed by Gov. Myron T.
Herrick. He is affiliated with Perseverance
Lodge, F. & A. M., at Sandusky, with Spring Tent No. 80
of the Knights of the Maccabees at Castalia, and has
been particularly prominent in the Patrons of Husbandry,
having membership in Margaretta Grange No. 488, which he
served as member three years, and for two years was
master of Erie County Pomona Grange. At
Sacramento, California, in 1888, he was given the
seventh degree in the National Grange. Mr.
White still owns a valuable and well improved farm
of 140 acres in Groton township. His part has
always been that of a progressive and substantial
citizen and his reputation rests upon solid achievement.
On Oct. 28, 1885, he married Dora Chase,
daughter of the late Henry Chase, a former
resident of Margaretta Township, and of New England
stock. Mr. and Mrs. White have one of the
attractive homes of Castalia and both are popular
members of social circles.
Source: The Standard History of Erie County, Ohio
- Published 1916 - Page 724 |
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HON. LEWIS F.
WHITE. A member
of the Ohio State Senate from the Thirtieth Senatorial
District, comprising the counties of Erie, Huron, Ottawa
and Sandusky, Senator White has proved himself
not only a representative but also a leader in the
public life of those counties and in the state at large.
Reared on a farm, with business experience connecting
him with the important fishing industry along the lake
shore, he possesses an unusual range of qualifications
which put him in close touch with the people whom he so
ably represents.
Senator White was elected as representative to
the Seventy-eighth General Assembly of Ohio from
Sandusky County at the age of twenty-five years and
re-elected to the Seventy-ninth General Assembly by an
increased majority. His home is in Sandusky County
in Townsend Township, in which locality he was born Oct.
9, 1882. His parents were Charles W. and
Catherine (Wahl) White, his father a native of
Prussia and his mother of Baden, Germany. Both
parents are now deceased. Charles W. White
came to America in 1849 and located in Sandusky County
and was one of the capable early settlers and farmers in
Townsend Township, where he lived until his death in
1896. His position as a citizen is indicated by
the fact that for several times he served as a director
of the Infirmary of Sandusky County, and for a number of
years held the office of justice of the peace in
Townsend Township.
Lewis F. White grew to manhood in his native
township, was educated in the public schools, and
studied law under the then prosecuting attorney of
Sandusky County, Michael W. Hunt. For some
time he was also a student in the Ohio Northern
University at Ada. By his early career he knows
the life of the farmer and has a keen appreciation of
the needs of the rural community. For several
years he has been engaged in farming and the fishing
industry, and the people of his district recognize in
him not only an able political leader but also as a man
whose substantial accomplishment in a business way
entitle him to confidence. Senator White
married Mabel M. Mahan, who was born in Clyde,
Ohio, a daughter of James Mahan.
Senator White is a democrat, and for a number of
years has been a leader in that party. He is
affiliated with the Knights of the Maccabees at
Whitmore, Tent No. 222; with Camp No. 4477 of the Modern
Woodmen of America at Vickery; with Aerie No. 712 of the
Fraternal Order of Eagles at Fremont. His
legislative experience began with the seventy-eighth
session of the Ohio General Assembly, and he was in the
lower house four years, being a member of both the
seventy-eighth and seventy-ninth assemblies.
Previously he had for four years been a member of the
Democratic Central Committee from Townsend Township, and
for three years of this time was chairman of the
Sandusky County Central Committee.
During the Seventy-eighth Assembly he did an important
work in securing the passage of several laws regulating
the fishing industry on Lake Erie, and during the same
session procured some important reforms in the hunting
and game laws of the state. In that assembly he
was a member of the following committees: Fish culture
and game; Institute of the Blind; ditches and drains;
military affairs. In the seventy-ninth session he
was chairman of the fish culture and game committee and
a member of the committees on Federal relations,
soldiers and sailors homes and agriculture. In the
seventy-eighth session he had the distinction of being
the youngest legislator. Credit is given him for
all the important changes made in the fish and game laws
during the Seventy-ninth Assembly. It was his
creditable work in the first session that led to his
re-election to the House of Representatives by a
substantial and increased majority.
Since taking his seat in the Senate in the Eighty-first
General Assembly, Mr. White has been chairman of
the drainage and irrigation committee, regarded as one
of the most important committees because of the schedule
of proposed legislation for flood protection in the
state. He has been a member of the committees on
agriculture, fish culture and game, county affairs,
claims, Soldiers and Sailors Orphans Home, and labor.
During this session he secured the appropriation for the
erection of a memorial to commemorate the services of
George Burton Meek, who was the first American to
give up his life for his country during the
Spanish-American war. On Aug. 14, 1915, Senator
White was appointed by Governor Willis of
Ohio to serve as a member of the Ohio Building
Commission and at the organization of the commission was
elected its vice president.
Substantial has has been his achievements so far, a
great many people in the Thirtieth Senatorial District
believe that Senator White's career has only
begun, and that he shows qualities which will eventually
lead him to great prominence both in the state and
perhaps in the nation.
Source: The Standard History of Erie County, Ohio
- Published 1916 - Page 913 |
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STEPHEN H.
WHITE. The
character of a man can usually be gauged by the general
opinion of his fellow men, and the extent to which they
are willing to entrust him with the safe-guarding of
their individual or general interests. Hence, men
holding important offices are usually men of some force
and stability of character, in whose ability and honesty
the people have confidence. Among such is
Stephen H. White, trustee of Margaretta Township,
Erie County, Ohio, who was elected to his present office
in November, 1913, took up its duties in the following
January, and has served capably up to the present time.
Mr. White is a native of this township, having
been born on the farm on which he now resides, May 22,
1862. He is, therefore, now in the prime of life,
in full possession of all his powers and faculties.
He is a son of John White, an early settler in
Margaretta Township and for many years one of its
prominent citizens, who died Mar. 23, 1883.
John White was a man of force and character and was
one of that brave army of men who, in the darkest days
of our country's history left home and friends and
risked their lives to save the Union from dismemberment.
Serving three years as a soldier in the Northern armies,
he took part in numerous battles, and at one time was a
prisoner in the hands of the Confederates. He
belonged to the Masons and to the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, and was at all times an upright man and a
dependable citizen. In politics he was a
republican. His wife, whose maiden name was
Mary L. Rogers, and who still survives him, being
now in her eightieth year, was born in Margaretta
Township, this county, a daughter of Stephen H.
Rogers, who in his day was a well known
agriculturist and lime burner, and a reliable and
respected citizen. Her mother is said to have been
the first white child born in this township, and they
were both, husband and wife, among the very early
settlers here. John and Mary L. White had
two children: Sophia E., now the wife of D. N.
Williams, of Milan, Ohio, and Stephen H., who
was named after his maternal grandfather.
Stephen H. White was reared to man's estate in
his native township, in his boyhood attending its public
schools. His education was subsequently continued
at the Western Reserve Normal School, at Milan, Ohio,
which he attended for about three winter terms.
His industrial activities since early youth have been
connected with farming, and he is now th e owner of a
good farm of sixty-five acres, well supplied with
substantial buildings, including a commodious residence,
the whole property being kept in excellent condition.
Mr. White is both an industrious and a
progressive citizen. For several years he served
as a member of the board of education of Margaretta
Township, and has always taken a keen interest in the
condition and efficiency of the public schools. In
fact, any practical measure for the welfare of the
community, whether moral or material, meets with his
hearty sympathy and support. He belongs to the
Sons of Veterans and in politics is a republican.
Dec. 16, 1885, Stephen H. White was united in
marriage with Nettie P. Jones, a daughter of
Henry C. Jones (now deceased) of Margaretta
Township, this county. Of their union there has
been one child, a daughter, Leonora E., who is
now the wife of Albert H. Prout, of Margaretta
Township, and has one son, a. Howard Prout.
Source: The Standard History of Erie County, Ohio
- Published 1916 - Page 747 |
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HENRY WILL.
Born in the township of his present residence and on the
farm which he now occupies and cultivates, and which his
father took up in a totally wild and unbroken condition
many years ago. Henry Will is one of the
citizens of Erie County who can take special pride in
the direct contribution made by himself and other
members of the family to the improvement of this section
of Northern Ohio. The land which his father first
saw as a landscape of dense woods, has since been
reduced by occupancy and tillage to a tract of
agricultural land hardly surpassed and tillage to a
tract of agricultural land hardly surpassed in Vermilion
Township. Thus what one generation won from the
wilderness the next has continued to improve and make
still better.
The parents of Henry
Will were Nicholas and Catherine (Reifer) Will,
who were natives of Kurhessen, Germany, and came in 1848
with one child to America. From Baltimore they
went west and arrived in Erie County very poor though
possessed of the characteristic German industry and
thrift. For about ten years Nicholas Will
worked for others, either at monthly wages or as a
renter, and it was the hardest kind of struggle which
finally gave him the modest capital which he invested in
his first purchase of land in Vermilion Township.
It was while the family lived in the Village of Huron in
Erie County that Henry Will was born Mar.
25, 1850. When he was nine years of age, in 1859,
his father took the family to his newly purchased land
in Vermilion Township. This land was on the Lake
State Road and in the midst of the heavy woods.
Henry Will recalls some of the incidents and scenes
of his boyhood spent in a log cabin home, when all the
country around was a region of dense forest. In
time he himself wielded an axe and helped to clear off
this land. Gradually the large trees were cut
down, part of them were worked up into lumber and others
were gathered together by the logging bees which were so
familiar a part of the industrial and social life of
that time, and these great heaps of logs and brush were
burned in order that the land might be cleared for
cultivation. It was on this land that the Will
family got its first real start in the world.
After many years of struggle and privation Prosperity
began to smile upon them, and Nicholas Will was
able to see his efforts and sacrifices rewarded.
He finally increased his holdings to 164 acres, most of
it improved and cultivated, and worth many times what he
gave for it. He also built a good home and barns,
and there he and his good wife spent their declining
years in peace and comfort. Nicholas Will
died May 7, 1890, at the age of seventy-one years six
months, and his wife passed away in 1908, at the age of
eighty-five. In the early years of their residence
on this old homestead they not only cultivated the usual
crops but also raised much stock, particularly sheep,
which found pasturage in the woods. The wool clip
was largely utilized by the industry and perseverance of
the good housewife and housemother, who would rise at
four o'clock in the morning in order to take up her
spinning. The yarn which she spun from the sheep
wool was worked up into various articles of clothing
which the children wore at home and in school. She
would knit the yarn into socks and mittens, and in the
long winter evenings her needles were never quiet until
bedtime.
It is also recalled as a fact of local history that the
first church in Vermilion Township, a Congregational
Church, was built on the Will farm, which is the
geographical center of the township. The first
edifice was a hewed log building, and within its walls
were gathered together people who came from miles
around. Even the location of that old church has
been forgotten by most people now living in Vermilion
Township.
Of the old homestead which his father established and
in the clearing and cultivation of which Henry Will
bore his own boyhood part, he now owns nearly
seventy-nine acres. In his individual career he
has been very successful as a farmer and now has all his
land cultivated except a woodland tract of eight acres.
He grows all kinds of grain, fruit, and large quantities
of grapes. He also keeps live stock in numbers
proportionate to the size of his farm, including work
horses, cattle and hogs.
In Vermilion Township Mr. Henry Will married
Miss Annie Schroder. She was born in Brownhelm
Township of Lorain County June 3, 1870, but was reared
and educated in Vermilion Township, where her parents
established their home when she was a child. Her
grandfather was Dr. Charles Schroder, a native of
Kurhessen, Germany, who came to America a great many
years ago and was a well educated and highly successful
German physician and surgeon. He served as a
surgeon in the Union army during the Civil war from 1861
to 1865. He had come to America with his wife and
family during the '40s and lived first in Cleveland and
later in Lorain County, but he died in Vermilion
Township when eighty-three years of age, while his widow
survived until she attained the maximum age of
ninety-four. Mrs. Will's parents were
Gus and Elizabeth (Miller) Schroder, the former a
native of Germany and the latter of Brownhelm Township
of Lorain County. For over thirty years the
Schroder family have lived in Vermilion Township.
Mrs. Will's father was seventy-five years of age
in December, 1915, and her mother was sixty-five in
November of the same year. Both are members of the
Reformed Church. Mr. and Mrs. Will are
likewise Reformed Church people and in politics he is a
democrat.
Source: The Standard History of Erie County, Ohio
- Published 1916 - Page 1093 |
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JOHN WILL.
There is no citizen of Vermilion Township who more
thoroughly enjoys the esteem and respect of his fellow
citizens than John Will. A German by birth,
he has lived in America and in Erie County since
infancy. Though a very young man at the time, he
saw some active service in the Civil war. His
business career has identified him with farming, and he
owns and occupies one of the best homesteads to be found
in Vermilion Township. His house is one of
attractive exterior and all the comforts and
conveniences which make life worth living. His
individual prosperity has not been accomplished without
benefit to the community in which he has lived so long.
He was born in Kurhessen, Germany, Feb. 10, 1846, a son
of Nicholas and Catherine (Reifer) Will.
His mother was a daughter of Nicholas Reifer.
All of them were born in Kurhessen. While the
family lived in Germany two sons were born to them,
John and a younger child, who died soon after the
family came to America... In 1848 the little
household took passage on an American sailing vessel and
came from Bremen to Baltimore, spending eight weeks on
the voyage. From Baltimore they proceeded west by
way of canals and rivers as far as Sandusky, and then
walked across country to the home of Henry Reifer,
an uncle of Catherine Reifer Will. When
Nicholas came prepared to do hard
work, and he soon found plenty of employment. He
worked on different farms and for several years was an
employe of John Anderson, father of James
Anderson, a well known citizen along the lake shore
of Erie County. As he became better acquainted and
people became familiar with his capacity for good
intelligent work, he took a more independent course and
rented a farm, and then three yeas later in 1858 he made
his first purchase in Vermilion Township. In the
spring of 1859 he moved his family to the land which he
had bought, and there he worked industriously for many
years in improving and in increasing his holdings.
His death occurred there May 7, 1890, when seventy-one
years six months of age. His widow passed away in
1908, being at that time eighty-five years old.
They and their children were confirmed in the German
Reformed Church. After the family came to Erie
County two other children were born, Henry and
Eliza. Eliza died after her marriage to
Peter Kuhl, leaving three children: Anna and
Charles, both now deceased; and Alice,
wife of Mr. Schotz of Huron.
John Will has lived in
Vermilion Townships since he was thirteen years of age.
He gained his early schooling in Erie County and grew up
to a discipline of hard work, regular habits, and honest
intentions. He was found farming both a congenial
and profitable vocation, and since the death of his
mother in the fall of 1908 has owned a beautiful old
homestead, comprising ninety-eight acres. Nearly
all of his land is under cultivation and for years he
has produced fine crops of all the staple varieties.
His farm buildings are of the bets. His nine room
house is thoroughly modern, has steam heat in all the
rooms, is furnished with bathroom and many other
comforts and conveniences.
In Vermilion Township
Mr. Will married Miss Alice Neiding.
She was born in this township Oct. 1, 1858, and received
her education in this county. Her parents,
John and Magdalena (Hilcher) Neiding, were botn
natives of Germany and came from the same part of the
fatherland as the Will family. They
emigrated to the United States in 1850, spending
thirteen weeks on a sailing vessel. They soon
afterwards located near the Village of Vermilion, and
improved a good farm there, but the parents finally
retired to live in Vermilion Village, where her father
died Jan. 30, 1907, at the age of eighty years, and her
mother on Aug. 9, 1903, aged seventy-seven.
Besides Mrs. Will the other children in the
Neiding family are: Adam Neiding
who married Emma F. Brown of Vermilion Village,
and they are the parents of three sons and one daughter,
one of the sons, Otis H., being deceased;
Burton is married, John Allen lives at home,
and Frank E. and Emma are also at home in
Cleveland. Henry Neiding is a commercial
traveler living in Vermilion, and by his marriage to
Mattie Bourne of Kentucky has two children, Mae
and James, the former now married. John
is a carpenter in the Village of Vermilion and first
married Katie Fey, who died leaving Bertha,
Charles, George and Neiding is in the meat
market business at Vermilion, and by his marriage to
Mary Fey, who is now deceased, he has a daughter
Hattie. Kate Neiding is the wife of Robert
Patterson of Cleveland, and they have a daughter
May. Christina died after her marriage
to the late Dr. Frank E. Engelbry, and
there is a son by that marriage named Rowland.
Mr. and Mrs. Will have one son, Fred Peter,
who was born Dec. 6, 1884. He graduated from the
Vermilion High School, and since reached reaching his
majority has lived at home and is doing a large part of
the work and management connected with the farm
operations. Mr. and Mrs. Will and their son
are members of the German Reformed Church, and the
father and son are republicans in politics. It was
on Sept. 19, 1864, that Mr. Will enlisted in
Company B of the 176th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and
remained with that command until he received his
honorable discharge on June 15, 1865, at Nashville,
Tennessee. The war was nearly closed when he went
to the front, and it was not his luck to take part in
any pitched battle. For many years now he has been
an active member of Vermilion Post of the Grand Army of
the Republic, and has filled several of its offices and
is very popular among his old army conrads.
Source: The Standard
History of Erie County, Ohio - Published 1916 - Page
1092 |
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CAPT. JOHN M. WILLSON.
Erie County had no finer character among its old
settlers than the late Capt. John M. Willson,
whose last years were spent in quiet retirement at the
beautiful home overlooking Lake Erie near Huron in
section 3 of Berlin Township, where Mrs. Willson
is still living at the venerable age of past fourscore.
For half a century Captain and Mrs. Willson had
lived together as man and wife, and they fully deserved
the wealth of affection and esteem that surrounded them
both in early and later years.
John M. Willson was born at Whitestown, Oneida
County, New York, July 4, 1825, and lived to be a few
weeks beyond seventy-six years of age. He was of
an old American family, of Scotch or English origin.
His grandfather was Charles Willson, probably a
native of Massachusetts. The father of Lucious
Willson, who was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and
when a young man located in Oneida County, New York.
Lucius Willson married Betsey Bateman, a
native fo New York State. Betsey Bateman
was a daughter of Frederick B. and Catherine (Brewer)
Bateman, who were natives of Holland and came when
young to America, locating in Erie County, New York,
where they married and spent the rest of their lives on
a farm near Henpeck, what is now, probably called
Sandusky, New York. The Batemans were
a long lived family. Frederick Bateman had
a special fondness for his granddaughter, Mrs. John
Willson, and when one hundred and eight years of age
as a mark of his affection for Mrs. Willson he
walked three miles each way in order to have a
photograph taken for her. This photograph shows
him as a remarkably well preserved man in spite of more
than a century of life. He lived three years
beyond the time of this photograph and passed away at
the age of one hundred and eleven. His wife was
also a centenarian. Mrs. Wilson has a
photograph of this venerable woman when she was nearly a
hundred, and her death occurred at the age of one
hundred and eight. Frederick Bateman served
as a soldier in the war of the Revolution, and after he
was a hundred years of age was granted a pension for his
services. Two years after the election of
General Grant to the presidency in 1868,
Frederick Bateman was invited to become a guest of
the President at Washington, and he was preparing to
make this trip at the expense of the Government when he
died.
In 1833, after his marriage, Lucius Willson and
wife came from Western New York to Ohio, locating at the
Village of Vermilion in Erie County. IN the
following year Lucius Willson died, while
still in the prime of life. His widow subsequently
removed to Clinton, Michigan, to live with her daughter
by marriage, Mrs. D. H. Willson, and died there
when seventy years of age. She and her husband
were both Baptists.
The death of the father left the mother and her seven
small children in straitened circumstances. The
late Captain Willson was at that time nine years
old, and the children were all "put out" with different
families in the neighborhood. John found a place
with a kindly and substantial Lake Erie farmer, Isaac
Fowler, who took the pains to erect a log house
on his land for the boy and his mother, and both lived
there for a number of years. Captain
Willson was regarded as one of the Fowler
family, and the Fowler children called him
Brother John even up to the day of his death.
He early gained the respect of people at home and in the
neighborhood by his faithfulness to duty and diligence,
but at the age of seventeen, like most boys, determined
to make his own way in the world independently. As
he has always lived within sight of the blue waters of
Lake Erie, he was drawn to the vocation of sailor, and
first shipped on the schooner William
Woodbridge, commanded by Capt. James
Monroe, and old salt originally from Nantucket.
He sailed with this master for two seasons, following
which he was in the employ of a Vermilion firm, and next
with Stevens & Ryan of Milan. He was
on the schooner Plymouth from 1848 to 1852 with Capt.
A. A. Kirby.
The Plymouth was sunk in a collision with the passenger
steamer Northern Indiana, being struck amidships and
sinking in five minutes in the lake off Cleveland.
Luckily all on board were taken to the steamer Northern
Indiana, including Captain Willson's
wife and baby. Captain Willson
while sailing the Great Lakes rose from galley boy to
master, and saw much of his service on the lake before
the waters had been charted. He was known as a
trusty sailor, and one of his captains said when
Captain Willson died: "John was
a good man, one to be trusted in all kinds of weather,
and as good a sailor as ever walked the deck of a
vessel." For a number of years Captain
Willson was engaged in the fitting out of schooners.
He fitted out the Live Oak and the Cape Horn of Huron,
the Hawley of Milan, the John Weden of
Toledo and many others. In 1858 he retired from
his business to the quiet of home life at his wife's
beautiful place overlooking Lake Erie. During his
absence on the lakes he had left the farm management to
Jacob Sarr, a boy of sixteen, who lived in
Captain Willson's family for more than
nine years, and is now one of the substantial citizens
of Northern Ohio. It would be difficult to imagine
a more beautiful and interesting place than the home in
which Captain Willson spent his last years
and still occupied by Mrs. Willson.
It is a beautiful tract of thirty-six acres, lying along
the shore of Lake Erie, and a portion of the old
Stephen Meeker homestead.
On Jan. 27, 1851, Captain Willson married
Roseanna M. Wright. Mr. Willson was
born at the old home in Berlin Township on the shore of
Lake Erie Feb. 18, 1833, grew up there and spent all of
her wonderfully active and interesting life near the
lake and close to the scenes of her birth. Though
now eighty-two years of age, she still has a wonderfully
accurate memory, and is almost unexcelled as an
authority on local history. On the clear panorama
of her mind are impressed the events of more than sixty
years, and she has a fluent expression for all that is
important and essential in the life of this community
during that time. Everyone in Berlin Township
knows and loves "Aunt Roseanna," as she is
affectionately known, and aside from the experiences and
activities of her lifetime her best distinction is this
love and respect which she has so fully merited.
Mrs. Willson represents one of the finest old
families located in Northern Ohio during the pioneer
times. Her parents were Norman L. and Maria G.
(Meeker) Wright. Her father was born in
Watertown, New York, June 4, 1807, and her mother was
born in Reading, Connecticut, June 28, 1811. They
were married in Ohio Mar. 28, 1829, at Huron, Erie Co.,
and not farm from the shores of Lake Erie, where they
spent the rest of their lives. Norman L. Wright
was a clerk and for a number of years was connected with
the transportation business on the Great Lakes. He
died in Berlin Township Oct. 10, 1846, and his widow
survived until May 26, 1893. Norman L. Wright
was a son of Freedom and Jerusha Wright of New
York State, where they lived and died as substantial
farming people. Freedom Wright was born
June 22, 1748, and died Aug. 10, 1825, while his wife
was born June 12, 1765, and died when in advanced years.
Both were members of the Baptist Church.
Maria G. Meeker, the mother of Mrs. Willson,
was a daughter of Stephen and Polly (Platt) Meeker.
The record of Stephen Meeker has a most
appropriate place in any history of Northern Ohio,
particularly Erie County. He was born in Vermont
Jan. 28, 1781, while his wife was born Oct. 24, 1778.
They were married in Redding, Connecticut, in 1800, and
in the following year left Connecticut and by means came
by ox teams journeyed as far west as Buffalo, New York,
and then came by sailing vessel to Huron, in Erie
County, being of the same class of Connecticut people
who colonized the Western Reserve and laid the
foundations of civilization which have ever since given
character to this section of Northern Ohio. When
they arrived at Huron they found hardly a hamlet, and
all the country back from the lake shores was a
wilderness filled with Indians and wild animals.
Stephen Meeker located a place at Florence in
Erie County. Ohio had been a state only a few
years, then great bulk of population in the new state
being in the south along the Ohio River Valley, while
only a fringe of settlements marked the lake shore.
After one year in Erie County Stephen Meeker
returned to Connecticut, and brought back to Ohio on
horseback $700 in gold. With this money he bought
700 acres of land at $1.00 per acre, fronting on the
lake shore for two miles and extending back about 200
rods. A permanent settlement was made on this land
in 1813, and there not far from where Mrs. Willson
now lives, Stephen Meeker built his first
habitation, a log cabin, with all the primitive
furniture and equipment that went with frontier life.
In one of the logs of the cabin wall holes were bored,
pins were inserted, and slats laid across, thus making
the bedstead. This was only a sample of all the
crude furniture with which they did their housekeeping
for several years. It was not long until the
Indians became troublesome, largely through the
incentive of British Government, and while Stephen
Meeker remained behind to fight and hold his own, he
sent his wife and daughter back forty miles to the
settlement at Rocky River. Stephen
Meeker was a blacksmith and gunsmith and soon after
planting his home near Lake Erie set up a smithy.
In the following year the War of 1812 began between
Great Britain and the United States. The Meeker
shop was visited by Gen. William H. Harrison
during his memorable campaign against the British
and Indians. The general was in a great hurry when
he arrived at Mr. Meeker's place and
offered the latter $16.00 if the blacksmith could shoe
his horse in fifteen minutes. Mr. Meeker
accepted the office with hesitation, and won the reward.
From Mrs. Meeker General
Harrison bought butter and other supplies for his
staff, and paid her $1.00 a pound for the butter.
while not an eye witness to Perry's victory on
Lake Erie, Stephen Meeker could hear the
guns, and like all his neighbors suspended business to
await the news of the outcome. It was a critical
time in the lives of many people along the shore of Lake
Erie. It the British fleet triumphed, it
would mean the immediate abandonment of all the
settlements, since the inhabitants would be captured or
killed, and all were accordingly very jubilant when the
news came that Perry had fought and vanquished
the enemy. In spite of all these vicissitudes
resulting from war and turbulence from the lack of
mills, markets and settled institutions, Stephen
Meeker gradually worked his way into prosperity,
cleared off some of the woods from the land, and became
a grower of grain, using the flour to replace the early
continuous diet of fish and wild meat. He was
thrifty and progressive, and in 1821 erected a
substantial brick house, the first in the county.
He was also more or less active in politics, and some
years before his death was elected to the office of
probate judge in Erie County. Stephen Meeker
and wife were strict Presbyterians of the blue stocking
type, but after coming to Ohio joined the Baptist
Church.
Mrs. Willson is the only living child of her
father's family, and is one of the few living
descendants of her grandfather Meeker. All
her life she has been a member of the Baptist Church and
for many years sang in the choir. To her and
Captain Willson was born only one child, John H.,
who died when twenty months old. Mrs. Willson
has many interesting things in her beautiful home
hear Huron, and probably no place in Erie County has
more attractive memories and associations. She
still keeps the baby dress which her mother made for her
in 1832, and which was her garment after she came into
world. She also has the silver spoons which her
grandfather made than a century ago.
Source: The Standard History of Erie County,
Ohio - Published 1916 - Page 486 |
| |
ELIJAH C.
WITTER.
Among the ordinary avocations of mankind there are few
more responsible positions than that of mail carrier.
He it is who often bears the news of life or death, joy
or sorrow, whose coming is eagerly awaited in every
home, and upon whose care and promptitude great issues
often depend. In selecting men for this position
the Government exercises the greatest care, choosing
none but after a strict examination in which the
applicant must show a high degree of intelligence,
special knowledge of all things pertaining to his
calling, which are more numerous than many people
suppose, and furnish the strictest references as to his
honesty and moral character. In choosing Elijah
C. Witter, of Castalia, Uncle Sam made
no mistake, as all the people residing on Rural Route
No. 2, connected with the Castalia office, will gladly
testify. Mr. Witter was born in Margaretta
Township, Erie County, Ohio, Jan. 17, 1867, and is,
therefore, now but little past the prime of life.
His parents were James B. and Arena (Campbell) Witter,
the father a native of Canandaigua County, New York, the
mother of Erie County, Ohio. The paternal
grandfather, Joshua Witter who resided in
Canandaigna, was of New England Antecedents and was
descended from early English ancestors. At the age
of twenty-seven years James B. Witter, after
residing up to that time in his native state, came to
Erie County, Ohio, settling in Margaretta Township,
where he engaged in agriculture. A republican in
politics, he took an active part in local affairs and
became a prominent and popular citizen, serving for a
time as township trustee. His death, which took
place in October, 1898, was much regretted.
Elijah C. Witter was
reared to man's estate in Margaretta Township, this
county, and was educated in its public schools and in
the high schools at Castalia and Milan. For a
number of years he followed his father's vocation,
having a good farm of 115 acres, located mainly in
Margaretta Township, which he tilled successfully.
Appointed rural letter carrier in November, 1905, he
assumed the duties of that office, which he has since
performed in a highly satisfactory manner. An
active citizen, interested in the affairs of the
township, he numbers his friends by the score. In
politics he is independent, while his fraternal
affiliations are with Spring Tent No. 8, K. O. T. M., of
Castalia, and Margaretta Grange No. 488.
On Jan. 23, 1890, Mr. Witter was united in
marriage with Miss Maggie Prentice, who was born
in Margaretta Township, Erie County, Ohio, a daughter of
N. E. Prentice, now of Payne, Ohio. He and
his wife are the parents of four daughters, Mable E.,
Nettie, Margaret and Sarah. Mr.
Witter is a consistent member of the Congregational
Church of Castalia.
Source: The Standard History of Erie County, Ohio
- Published 1916 - Page 732 |
NOTES:
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