BIOGRAPHIES Source:
History of Hancock County, Ohio
Publ: Chicago - Warner, Beers & Co.
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1886 -
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Marion Twp. -
S. W. FINK, farmer and proprietor of
saw-mill, was born in Luzerne County, Penn., in 1849; son of
Elias Fink, also a native of Pennsylvania. Our subject
came to Ohio in 1876, and settled in Marion Township, this
county. In 1879 he erected a saw mill, which he has since
carried on. He was united in marriage, in1880, with
Caroline, daughter of Charles Halloway of Findlay
Township, this county; this union has been blessed with one
child, Charles Glenville. Mr. Fink has built a
comfortable house near his mill. He is an enterprising,
wide-awake young man, and a good citizen.
Source: History of Hancock County, Ohio - Publ: Chicago -
Warner, Beers & Co., 1886 - Page 802 |
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Findlay Twp. -
FRANCIS W. FIRMAN, M. D., Findlay, was
born in Richfield, Summit Co., Ohio, July 15, 1842, and is a
descendant of pioneers of that name in Massachusetts, who came
to our shores in 1630, in the fleet with Gov. Winthrop,
and followed literary and mercantile pursuits. He is a
descendant of Solomon De Firmin, who followed the
fortunes of William the Conqueror from Normandy, and
settled at Ipswich, England, in the eleventh century. His
descendants number among them leading ecclesiastics and preserve
the original crest and shield with the motto Firmus in
Christo (Steadfast in Christ). The first records in
this country show Giles, John, Josiah,
Robert and Thomas Firmin, of whom Giles
practiced medicine and preached the gospel, and died in
Ridgewell, England, in 1697; John settled in Watertown,
Mass., and Thomas, who was a merchant, settled in
Haverhill, Mass., and removed to Salisbury, Mass., in
1652. Josiah Firmin came to Boston in 1640,
and lived with Gov. Winthrop; Robert
settled in Newton, Long Island, in 1645. The subject of
this sketch comes in all probability from John of
Watertown, Mass. His father was Francis B., born in
1809, son of John, born in 1773, and he of John,
born in 1713, at Somers, Conn., where his father lived.
Here there occurs a break in the genealogy, but cotemporaneous
genealogy of its different branches traces the ancestry to
John Firmin, of Watertown. Dr. Francis W.
Firmin, a son of Francis B. and Mary (Chapin) Firmin,
received a good education in Wilbraham, Mass. (whither his
parents had removed), and at Oberlin, Ohio, in 1862-63. In 1862
he came to Ohio and engaged in the study of medicine with his
uncle, Dr. Lorenzo Firmin, and in 1867 he graduated from
the Cleveland Medical College. He located in Findlay, this
county, and has been in very creditable professional work here
since. He married here in 1869, Mary L. D. ,
daughter of the Rev. John A. Meeks, a pioneer minister of
the Presbyterian Church. They have four sons and one daughter:
Alfred Scott, John Meeks, Clara H. , Frank B. and Carl
Giles. Dr. Firmin was made a Mason in 1868 and is a
member of Findlay Lodge, Chapter and Council, and of Shawnee
Commandery, at Lima, Ohio; is also a worthy Odd Fellow and a
member of the Patriarchs Militant. The Doctor is a member
of the American Medical Association, the Ohio State Medical
Association, and of the Northwestern Ohio Medical Association,
and has been United States Examining Surgeon for pensions since
1872. During the late war of the Rebellion, July 15, 1863,
he enlisted in Company E, One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Ohio
Volunteer Infantry, and after doing service for eight months,
was honorably discharged. He is a member of Stoker Post G.
A. R. Dr. Firmin has always held himself aloof from
public office, but has served with credit in the councils of the
city. He holds high rank in his profession; is a
liberal contributor to all measures tending to the development
of the social and industrial life of this locality, and is a
public-spirited citizen. In politics he is a Republican.
Source: History of Hancock County, Ohio - Publ: Chicago - Warner, Beers & Co., 1886
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Findlay Twp. -
DR. LORENZO FIRMAN, retired physician,
Findlay, was born Mar. 31, 1808, in South Wilbraham, Mass., son
of John Firmin. Our subject when a lad
learned the trade of shoe-making with his father in South
Wilbraham (now Hampden), Mass., with which he was connected in
the East till 1834, when he came West to Richfield, Summit Co.,
Ohio, and entered into partnership with Dr. Secretary
Rawson, in a tannery, which he continued in until 1841,
when he sold out to O. M. Oviatt, of Richfield. In
1841 he came to Findlay, Ohio, read medicine with Dr. Bass
Rawson and graduated in the profession. He practiced
at Benton, this county, till 1847, when he returned to Findlay,
where he has been favorably known since. He was married
June 28, 1838, to Clara H., daughter of Dr. Secretary
Rawson. They have no children. Dr. Firmin
has always been a public-spirited and liberal man. He is a
clever financier and has accumulated a handsome competence.
He and his lady are worthy members of society, esteemed by all
who know them.
Source: History of Hancock County, Ohio - Publ: Chicago - Warner, Beers & Co., 1886
- Page 746 |
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Washington Twp. -
JOHN FISHER,
physician and surgeon, Arcadia, was born in Columbiana County,
Ohio, Mar. 28, 1811, the second of eleven children born to
Peter and Catharine (Shepler) Fisher, natives of Lancaster
County, Penn., former of whom was a soldier in the war of 1812.
Peter Fisher's father, Adam Fisher, lived to be
one hundred and sixteen years old, as did also his wife; the old
people were remarkably agile and youthful in their movements in
their advanced age, the old gentleman readily walking several
miles with no uncomfortable results. Our subject left his
native county at the age of fourteen years, coming to Carroll
County, Ohio, and is the year 1833 to this county. Dr.
Fisher's early life was spent at the blacksmith trade,
learning in connection therewith the edge tool and general
gunsmithing business. With John Miller he
established the first foundry in Fostoria, Ohio, and built the
first engine in this section of the State, and during the years
engaged in this direction, he studied medicine, ore, at that
time, for his own gratification; but he gradually drifted into a
more vigorous study and subsequent practice. He read
mainly with Dr. Elias Brien, of this county, a physician
of the Thompsonian school, and began an extensive practice under
this teaching, but soon afterward took up the eclectic system
under which he has since practiced with increased success.
Dr. Fisher married Miss Rachel Heckerthorn,
daughter of Christian Heckerthorn, of Carroll County,
Ohio, and by this union he has four children, three of whom are
living: Eliza, Peter and Joseph; the two
latter served in the Twenty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in
the late civil war.
Source: History of Hancock County, Ohio - Publ: Chicago - Warner, Beers & Co., 1886 - Page 876 |
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Washington Twp.
NICHOLAS FOX,
farmer, P. O. Arcadia, was born in this county July 10, 1847,
son of William and Catharine (Males) Fox, the former a
native of Pennsylvania. William Fox enlisted in the
war of 1812, but did no active service; he removed to Fairfield
County, Ohio, and afterward to Seneca County, and finally to
Hancock County about 1827, and here lived until his death,
engaged in farming. Nicholas Fox has always resided
in this county, and has at present a farm of 160 acres of land
in a high state of cultivation. He married, Dec.
31, 1868, Miss Mary Gilmer, daughter of John Gilmer,
an old resident of this county; four of their eight children are
now living: Edward, John E., Mollie and William;
those deceased are Myrtie, Rosa, Nettie and Minnie.
Mr. Fox is a member of the I. O. O. F., Arcadia Lodge,
No. 595. He is one of the substantial and progressive
farmers of Washington Township, this county. In politics
he is a Democrat.
Source: History of Hancock County, Ohio - Publ: Chicago - Warner, Beers & Co., 1886 - Page 877 |
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Cass Twp. -
A. J. FRANKS,
farmer, P. O. Bairdstown, Wood County, was born October 3, 1851,
in Cass Township, this county, son of John and Elizabeth
(Fast) Franks. John Franks, the father
of our subject, is one of the oldest pioneers in Cass Township,
and one of the largest land owners in this county. Our
subject was united in marriage, May 24, 1873, with
Olive Enswinger, of Wayne County, Ohio, and their
union has been blessed with four children: Sarah E.,
John H., Nellie M. and Lucy P. G.
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Source: History of Hancock County, Ohio - Publ:
Chicago - Warner, Beers & Co., 1886 - Page 698 |
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JOHN FRANKS,
farmer, P. O. North Baltimore, was born Apr. 20, 1786, in
Fayette County, Penn., son of John and Rachel (Huffman)
Franks, natives of Pennsylvania, who came to Ohio in a very
early day, being among the pioneers of Wayne County, Ohio.
Our subject is the only survivor of his father's family, and was
himself a soldier in the war of 1812; he was in Hull's
army at the time of that General's surrender, and made his
escape from the British in company with some others of that
command. He now owns a piece of land on which Hull's
army encamped. Our subject helped raise Gen.
Bell's house at Wooster, and also assisted in building Fort
Ball. He was a poor man when he married his first wife,
Sarah Musgrove. They came to this county in
1832 and had to cut their way from Tiffin to the farm on which
they settled. Mr. Franks did most of the hauling
from Sandusky to this county in an early day with an ox team,
wading through swampy lands to reach the mill. The
children by his first wife are Elizabeth, Peter,
Jasper, Nancy, Catherine, Rachel,
Sarah and Henry, all married and living near their
father. His second wife, nee Elizabeth
Fast, had five children: George, Isabella, Andrew J.,
John F. and Mary P. Mr. Franks came to
this county an uneducated and a poor man, but wonderful
perseverance and endurance have given him success in life, and
he now owns about 2,600 acres of land on which he has located
his children.
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Source: History of Hancock County, Ohio - Publ:
Chicago - Warner, Beers & Co., 1886 - Page 697 |
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Allen
Twp. -
DANIEL FRICK, farmer, P. O. Van Buren, was
born May 3, 1828, in Westmoreland County, Penn. His
parents, Daniel and Catharine (Miller) Frick, were also
natives of the same place, the former a farmer and blacksmith.
Daniel Frick, Sr., had a brother, George, who
served in the war of 1812. Their father, George Frick,
a German by birth, died of scarlet-fever in New Orleans, where
he, in company with a man named Hannah, had taken a
flat-boat loaded with flour. The father of our subject was
twice married. His first wife (the mother of our subject)
bore him nine children: Mary, John, George, Lucinda, Daniel,
Delilah, David, Jacob and Abraham, all of whom are
still living. His second wife also bore him nine children,
of whom six are still living: Catherine, Jane, Jeremiah,
Isaiah, Luther and Joseph. David, of the first
family, and Isaiah, of the second family, served in the late war
of the Rebellion. Daniel Frick, Sr., came to this
county in the spring of 1855, and died the following fall.
The subject of this sketch came to this county in 1856, and
engaged in the mercantile trade. He was, however, a miller
by occupation, and, in 1861, he purchased a flouring-mill (which
is still standing in Van Buren, unused) and operated it for
several years. In 1871 he bought a farm of 160 acres of
land, north of Van Buren, which he still owns, and on which he
resided until last spring, when he moved to Van Buren, having
purchased a store-building and residence combined. Mr.
Frick was long been a member of the I. O. O. F., belonging
at present to Haywood Lodge, No. 333. In politics he is a
Republican. He was united in marriage, Nov. 6, 1861, with
Esther Dinsmore, a daughter of John Dinsmore, a
farmer of Westmoreland County, Penn., and two children have been
born to this union, both now deceased.
Source: History of Hancock County, Ohio - Publ: Chicago -
Warner, Beers & Co.,
1886 - Page 652 |
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