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BIOGRAPHIES
Source:
Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio
Pub: New York & Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company
1903
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NORMAN L. MACLACHLAN
Source:
Centennial Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub:
New York & Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 -
Page 478 |
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WILLIAM MADSUSE
Source:
Centennial Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub:
New York & Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 -
Page 689 |
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CHARLES MALLEN
Source:
Centennial Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub:
New York & Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 -
Page 480 |
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JEROME M. MARTIN. Among the busiest, most energetic and
enterprising men of McComb, is the subject of this review, the senior member of
the hardware firm of Martin & Weinland. He was born at Commercial Point,
Pickaway County, Ohio, in 1854, and when only a year and a half old was deprived by
death of his mother, and at the age of six years was left an orphan by his
father’s death.
Mr. Martin remained in the place of
his nativity until twenty-one years of age and during that time acquired a good
common-school education, well fitting him for the practical and responsible
duties of life. In the winter months
he attended schools and in the summer seasons worked on a farm, thus providing
for his own support from an early age.
In the year 1875, with the capital which he had acquired through his own
exertions, he embarked in the grocery business at Napoleon,
Ohio, but after a year spent at that place he
sold his store and removed to Decatur, Illinois, where he opened a
restaurant. He conducted the new
enterprise for a year and then returned to Napoleon, where he followed the trade
of carpentering, which he learned there, also executing contracts for work of
that nature. He remained in Napoleon
until 1888, when he came to McComb and established his hardware store, having
one of the largest and best stocked stores in this line of commercial activity
in northern Ohio. The firm carries an extensive stock
in order to meet the constantly growing demands of its trade, and the business
is continually increasing, both in volume and importance.
In 1877, in
Napoleon, Mr. Martin was united in
marriage to Miss Clara J. Weaver, and
they now have a pleasant home and many friends in McComb.
Mr. Martin is a democrat in his
political views and has taken an active part in political affairs, serving as a
member of the city council of Napoleon.
He was also chief of the fire department, acting in that capacity for a
number of years in a most capable manner.
For six years, from 1893 until 1899, he served as treasurer of McComb,
and from the latter date until the present time he has been the treasurer of
Pleasant township, Hancock county.
In 1888 he was a member of the city council here, and is an officer whose
political record is above reproach, for he is true to every trust reposed in him
and is loyal and patriotic in the discharge of his duties. Fraternally he is connected with the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is an exemplary representative of the
organization. His attention,
however, is closely give to his business interests, which are now of an
extensive character, and in the control of which he is meeting with very
desirable success.
Source: Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub: New York &
Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
252
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CHARLES W. MASCHO
Source: Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub: New York &
Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
499 |
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ALBERT C. MATTHIAS
Source: Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub: New York &
Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
517 |
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MOSES McANELLY
Source: Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub: New York &
Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
115 |
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GEORGE McARTHUR
Source: Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub: New York &
Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
276 |
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WILLIAM H. McELWAINE
Source: Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub: New York &
Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
523 |
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MARTIN P. McGEE
Source: Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub: New York &
Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
446 |
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JOSEPH R. McLEOD
Source: Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub: New York &
Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
349 |
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LEMUEL McMANNESS
Source: Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub: New York &
Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
181 |
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JEFFERSON C. McRILL
Source: Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub: New York &
Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
296 |
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MRS. HARRIET H. MEASEL
Source: Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub: New York &
Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
192 |
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JOHN H. MELLOTT
Source: Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub: New York &
Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
463 |
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ARNOLD F. MERRIAM
was the
second lawyer to locate in Findlay. He was born in
Brandon, Vermont, December 17, 1811, and was there educated and
began the study of law. In early manhood he removed to
Zanesville, Ohio, where he completed his law studies and was
admitted to practice. He soon afterward started for Vinton
county, where he intended to locate, but during his journey met
Wilson Vance, who induced him to change his mind and come
to Findlay. He arrived here in the spring of 1835, and
entered into partnership with Edson Goit. In June,
1836, he was appointed prosecuting attorney, which office he
filled till April, 1837, when he resigned. On the 27th of
May, 1837, he married Miss Sarah A. Baldwin, sister of
Dr. William Baldwin, who bore him one son and two daughters.
In January, 1838, Mr. Merriam started the Hancock
Republican, the first Whig paper published in the county,
which he published about a year. He then removed to
Mansfield, Ohio, sold the press and subsequently went to
Kentucky, where he died in July, 1844. His widow returned
with her family to Findlay, and afterward married Judge
Robert Strother. The lady is now living here, the
venerable Mrs. S. A. Strother, whom everybody loves and
reveres. Though Mr. Merriam followed his
profession about four years in this county, he left Findlay at
such an early date that little is remembered of him by the older
citizens still living.
Source: Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub: New York &
Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
72 |
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W. M. METZLER
Source: Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub: New York &
Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
418 |
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HARVEY C. MILEY
Source: Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub: New York &
Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
51 |
Alexander Miller
Melissa Miller |
ALEXANDER MILLER.
The subject of this sketch, whose name is given
above, has achieved distinction in two departments
of industry, those of mechanic and farmer, and
in both lines he has long occupied a well recognized
position in the front rank. He worked in
Hancock county thirty-two years at the carpenter's
trade and gained the reputation of being the
foremost builder in the county, remarkable for the
neatness as well as the skill displayed in all his
work. As a farmer, too, he ranked well up to
the front in that long line of enterprising
agriculturists whose energy and resourcefulness have
made the Buckeye state so famous for its crops and
stock. Though his family connections have long
been identified with other parts of Ohio, Mr.
Miller is their only representative in
Hancock county, of which he has been a resident for
forty-five years.
His father, Isaac Miller, was born in Virginia
in 1814, but came to Ohio in early manhood and spent
the most of his subsequent life in the county of
Licking as a farmer. He was a successful
business man and accumulated considerable means
during his career. A member of the United
Brethren church, he lived an upright moral life, and
was esteemed both as a good husbandman and good
citizen. After locating in Ohio he married
Sarah Knepper, a native of Fairfield
county, where she was born in 1818, and this union
resulted in the birth of eleven children, of whom
nine grew to maturity and seven are still living. Alexander
Miller, one of the latter, was born on his
father's farm in Licking county, Ohio, May 10, 1838,
and remained there until the nineteenth year of his
age. In March, 1857, he came to Hancock
county, located in Blanchard township and followed
the carpenter's trade, in which he soon acquired
unusual proficiency. As his skill in this
branch of mechanics became known, he had no
difficulty in obtaining work, and this he turned off
so satisfactorily that for thirty-two years he was
kept busy in his chosen calling. In 1859
Mr. Miller purchased from Fountain N. Clymer
eighty acres of land in Blanchard township, which
was at the time wholly unimproved but which, with
forty more acres added in 1871, has been brought to
a high state of cultivation. After securing
his first real estate, Mr. Miller
divided his time between farming and carpentering,
and attended to each with such assiduity as to
obtain the best results. In fact, the Miller
farm and the Miller houses vied
with each other in neatness of appearance and
efficiency of workmanship, no job being turned out
by this master mechanic which was not able to
withstand the most rigid criticism. In 1887 he
sustained a severe loss by the destruction of his
barn and contents by fire, but this calamity was
soon repaired by his energy and undaunted
determination. In place of the original
buildings, newer and far finer ones were erected on
the old sites, and now it is admitted that none
superior are to be found in the township. All
the surroundings are neat and attractive and the
tasteful workmanship with all the modern
improvements gives evidence of a master mind and
hand behind the designs and construction.
Sept. 16, 1860, Mr. Miller was united in
marriage with Miss Melissa Wise, born
in Blanchard township in 1843 and whose family is
deserving of more than a passing mention. Her
grandfather, George Adam Wise, was a native
of France and served as a soldier under Napoleon
Bonaparte. He crossed the ocean in 1842,
accompanied by his wife Barbara and settled
in Hancock county, where both ended their days, he
in 1846 and she in 1854. Among their six
children was John Wise, father of
Mrs. Miller, who accompanied his parents
from Wheeling, West Virginia, where he was born, and
became a school teacher after settling in Ohio.
He also learned carpentering and Worked at that
trade in conjunction with farming, between the two
making a very comfortable living. Three of his
four children are living, including Mrs.
Miller, who is the only one of them residing in
Hancock county. The latter's mother died Mar. 4,
1886, and her father passed away Aug. 6, 1901, both
much esteemed by those w^ho had known them best.
Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Miller have had eight
children, of whom Mary E., born in 1861,
Martha J., born in 1863, and William H.,
born 1864, are deceased. Those living are
Carrie W., born in 1866; Rose B., born in
1868; Grove E., born in 1873; Vernon E., born
in 1880, and Merritt C., born in 1883.
Mr. Miller has never been an office seeker,
but at the request of his neighbors served three
years as assessor and one year as real estate
appraiser of the township, being elected by the
Republican party, to which he has always belonged.
Both himself and family are members of the United
Brethren church and in all the relations of life, as
neighbors, friends and citizens, perform their
duties as good Christians.
Source: Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub: New York &
Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
264 |
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FRANCIS
M. MILLER.
During his residence of less than seven years in
Findlay the subject of this sketch has become
popular in connection with the city's varied
activities, social, political and commercial.
He has made the "Oak Pharmacy" a well known
establishment and both by business tact and uniform
courtesy in his intercourse has acquired a good
patronage along with many friends and well-wishers.
He thoroughly understands the technique of his
calling, which is that of a pharmacist, and keeps
well informed as to all improvements and new
discoveries in that line of business. His
family originated in Pennsylvania, whence his
grandparents came in the first half of the
nineteenth century, and settled in Monroe county,
Ohio. With them came a son named Jacob,
who was born in Pennsylvania in 1822, and was but a
youth when the removal to the west took place.
Jacob Miller grew up in his new Ohio
home, married, raised a family and went to his final
rest in Beallsville in 1883. His surviving
children, five in number, are thus named in order of
birth: Emmet M.; Ophelia, wife of Isaac
Hartline; Francis M.; John B. and Clara.
Francis M. Miller, third of the above enumerated
family, was born at Beallsville, Monroe county,
Ohio, in 1868, and was reared and educated in his
native place. From an early age his tastes and
inclinations were towards the druggist's profession,
and after growing up he lost no time in securing an
opportunity to qualify himself for this useful
calling. Shortly after reaching his majority
he entered the College of Pharmacy at Ada, Ohio, and
remained at that excellent institution until his
graduation in 1894. Thus equipped with a
modern education in his chosen vocation, he went
with little delay to Lima, Ohio, where he purchased
a drug store and opened for business. Not
liking the location, he determined to transfer his
scene of operations to Findlay, where, in 1895, he
established the ''Oak Pharmacy,'' and from that time
on he has had charge of this store, which has grown
in popularity as it increased its patronage.
Mr. Miller is quite conspicuous in
Knights of Pythias circles, and takes much interest
in the affairs of the order. He is a member of
Lodge No. 400 at Findlay, captain of the Uniformed
Rank and has held all the chairs in his lodge.
Politically his affiliations are with the Republican
party, though not especially active in the
campaigns, and he holds membership in the Church of
Christ. As a young man of good manners as well
as good morals, Mr. Miller has
commended himself to all with whom he has come in
contact, and enjoys general esteem both in the
social and business world.
Source: Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub: New York &
Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
39 |
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LEVI MILLER.
Sixty years a resident of Orange township, Hancock
county, there are not many who can boast to have
lived here for a longer period. And when
Levi Miller first arrived at the age when his
boyish eyes would roam around him and take note of
the strange scenes that greeted him on every side,
he became acquainted with an entirely different
environment than that which now lies before him as
he goes down the other side of the slope of life.
The log house which figured as the birth place and
home of boyhood for many who have wrought and are
now passing away is one of the curiosities and
reminders to the American of to-day of the
transformations and progress of time; and as young
Levi stood in the doorway of his log home, he
probably never dreamed, notwithstanding all the air
castles which youth can construct of flimsy nothing,
of the changes which would make this inland state
almost the center of the great world of commerce and
industry which was moving westward.
His father, William Miller, who was born in
Mahoning county, Ohio, came to Hancock county about
1840 and located in Orange township, on the farm
which is now owned by Edward Battles.
His occupation throughout his life was that of
farming, but he died at the comparatively early age
of forty years. He had married a native
daughter of Vermont, Roxanna Patch,
who lived to be seventy-eight years old and became
the mother of five sons and four daughters.
The third child and second son of these was Levi,
and his birth was announced in that little house of
hewn logs in Orange township on June 20, 1842.
Until he was twenty years of age his life was not
unusual, but was sufficiently varied by his work on
the farm and by his attendance in the winter at the
old school house. But the Civil war came on
and afforded all the interest that may have been
lacking from his earlier career. He enlisted
in 1862 in Company D, Ninety-ninth Ohio Volunteer
Infantry, and carried a musket in the ranks for
twenty-seven months, at the close of which period he
received his discharge on account of disability.
He participated in the battle of Chickamauga and
other engagements, but escaped without a wound; but
he was taken sick and compelled to lie in the
hospitals at Louisville, Kentucky, and Nashville,
Tennessee, never recovering sufficiently to do
active service.
Returning from the war, Mr. Miller at first
worked out by the month on the farms of the
neighborhood, but he was married a few years later
and then decided to take up a permanent location.
He is not ashamed to recall that he and his wife
made their first home in a rather rude log house on
the farm which he still owns. But time and his
diligence soon rewarded him, and he has put up a
good home, barns and all necessary farm buildings
and devoted his eighty acres of land to general
farming and stock raising. His farm is not
only productive in the ordinary products of the soil
but has five oil wells which furnish fuel for all
time.
The first marriage of Mr. Miller, which
we have mentioned, was in 1870, to Mary
Miller, who was born in Ohio and came to Hancock
county when a child. This lady passed away
after she had been his faithful companion for a
number of years and had become the mother of three
children. One of these died in infancy, while
Newton was killed by the cars at Findlay; the
remaining son, John, is a resident of
Bluffton, Ohio. Mr. Miller married his
present wife in 1893; her name was Jane
Reddick, the widow of Lemuel Reddick.
Mr. Miller has not neglected the other
phases of life's interests, and is a member of the
Grand Army post at Bluffton and remains a firm
adherent of the Republican party. His long
residence in the county has identified him with many
of the public matters, and he is one of the well
known citizens who help and are helped by the common
welfare of the community.
Source: Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub: New York &
Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
273 |
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WILLIAM B. MILLER. Industry is a leading characteristic
of the German people, and this fact probably accounts in a measures at least for
the unrelenting activity that has marked the life of
William B. Miller and those who went before him.
Hard work and rigid economy made of the father a comparatively wealthy man, and
despite the heavy expense of raising a large family,
Martin Miller was able to give his
son William eighty acres as a start
in business.
Christopher Miller came to this
country from Germany
in 1805, settling in Lancaster county,
Pennsylvania.
Martin, the son, was but eight
years old when he landed, remained there until 1816, when at the age of nineteen
he moved to Fairfield
county, this state. Here his son William was born, Feb. 11, 1825,
and here the family resided until the death of the parents,
Martin dying in 1877, and his wife, who was Catherine Baker, in 1884. She was a native of Sunberry, Pennsylvania,
and was seven years younger than her husband, having been born in 1804. They were members of the Reformed
church and Mr. Miller was a
Republican in politics. They had
seventeen children; thirteen grew to maturity, seven are still living, and of
this number two reside in this county.
At the age of
twenty-two, in 1847, William Miller
removed to Hancock county, and three years later added by purchase one hundred
acres to the eighty he had received as a gift from his father. Some of this land was not in the best
state of cultivation and Mr. Miller
set about at once to improve it. He
subsequently sold twenty acres to a neighbor.
On Mar. 24, 1845,
he was united in marriage to Miss Jane,
daughter of William and Susan S. Martin. She bore him thirteen children, of
whom eight are living. She was a
native of Ohio, born in Fairfield
county June 18, 1823, and is now deceased.
For his second wife he married
Mrs. Helen E. Flack.
Mr. Miller
lives very near the southeastern limits of
Findlay, on one hundred and sixty acres of valuable
farming land, and is very intimately associated with the political and religious
life of the town. He is one of the
strong men in the Republican party, has held the office of township treasurer
and has also been one of the trustees of
Marion
township. He was justice of the
peace for some time and in 1879 was nominated by his party as member of the
state legislature. It was in the
same year that Governor Foster was
defeated by a vote of three hundred and ninety-seven, and
Mr. Miller was beaten by a majority of two hundred and ninety-five votes. A comparison of these numbers will
indicate the degree of Mr. Miller’s
popularity. As superintendent of the
Sunday-school and class leader of the United
Brethren church,
Mr. Miller has put a personality into
his work, the influence of which is very wide-reaching in its effects.
Mr. Miller and his family belong to this church and in Findlay he is counted as one of this county’s most
popular, progressive and representative men.
Source: Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub: New York &
Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
247
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PARLEE MITCHELL
Source: Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub: New York &
Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
552 |
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THOMAS M. MITCHELL
Source: Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub: New York &
Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
352 |
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DR. WILLIAM R. MOFFETT.
This an age of progress, and America is the exponent of the
spirit of the age. Perhaps no greater advancement has been
made along professional lines than in dentistry. New
methods have been introduced, and the profession has largely
attained perfection. Fully in touch with the advancement
which has been made, Dr. William R. Moffett stands as a
leading representative of the dental fraternity in Hancock
county, residing and doing business in Arcadia, the town of his
birth. Dr. Moffett here first saw the light on Jan.
3, 1871. He is the son of William and Sarah (Chambers)
Moffett, both of whom are natives of the Emerald Isle.
The father was born in County Down, July 1, 1837. The
parents are married in their native isle and emigrated to this
country to 1866, remaining a short time in Philadelphia, after
which they removed to Arcadia, where Mr. Moffett engaged
in the mercantile business for a short period. He then
entered the drug business, which he successfully carried on for
a period of twenty years. He was a man of superior
intelligence and education, and made a marked impression on
those with whom he came in touch. He was a ready writer of
both prose and poetry, and an interesting and fluent speaker.
He served Arcadia in the capacity of postmaster for a number of
years, and served the township in holding with credit some of
its offices. In religious faith he was a strict
Presbyterian, in which organization he was an elder. His
death occurred Jul. 2, 1899, an event which spread gloom over
the entire community, for it was the loss of a good citizen.
The wife still survives, and of five children, namely: George
H., William R., David E., Mary and Margaret B.
The mother of Dr. Moffett was a sister of Dr. John
Chambers, deceased, a noted clergyman of Indianapolis,
Indiana. He was also a professor in the Indiana Medical
College and a surgeon of note. The Chambers family
were of Scotch-English descent.
Dr. Moffett passed the days of his boyhood and
youth in the village of his birth, where he received an
excellent education, graduating with honor from the high school.
In 1893 he was given a license as a practicing dentist, and
immediately opened an office at Ottawa, Ohio, where his work
proved so satisfactory that his patronage became very extensive.
He remained at Ottawa until 1900, at which time he returned to
his native place, where he is now practicing. Dr.
Moffett uses the very latest methods of dentistry in his
office, and his work is done to the entire satisfaction of his
numerous and still growing patronage. In connection with
his dental practice Mr. Moffett also dips somewhat into
agriculture, having purchased a farm of seventy acres near
Arcadia. In 1891 Dr. Moffett was united in marriage
to Miss Nora Moffitt. Miss Moffitt was the daughter
of John J. and Edith Moffitt, and was born in Blanchard
township, Feb. 17, 1873. To this felicitous marriage there
have been born two lovely daughters, Jessie Aldine, born
Jan. 27, 1893, and Edith Pauline, born Jun. 2, 1895.
Dr. and Mrs. Moffett are popular members of
society in Hancock county, where their circle of friends is
extensive, and the regard in which they are held in uniform.
Source: Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub: New York &
Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
245 |
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JOHN MONTGOMERY.
This gentleman, who is at present a retired farmer
living at Bluffton, Ohio, is a worthy member of an
interesting family, whose history carries us back to
the most exciting times of the pioneer period.
John Montgomery, the young Irishman
whose emigration led to the founding of this family
in America, came over in the eighteenth century, at
a time sufficiently early to enable him to take part
in the Revolutionary war as a soldier under
Washington. He made his way to southwestern
Pennsylvania, where his descendants lived during the
time when there was almost constant conflict between
the white and red men in the frontier regions
bordering the Ohio river. William
Montgomery, son of the Irish emigrant and
Revolutionary patriot, was born in Washington
county, Pennsylvania, but found his way at an early
age to the nearby county of Columbiana, just across
the river in Ohio. There he married Sarah,
daughter of William Fonts, also from
Pennsylvania, engaged in farming and followed that
occupation until his death, at the age of
eighty-seven years, his wife living to celebrate her
eighty-third birthday. This pioneer couple had
twelve children, five sons and seven daughters, all
of whom grew to maturity. John
Montgomery, the venerable farmer whose biography
is the main object of this writing, was the fourth
child and eldest son in the family above mentioned.
He was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, Feb. 1,
1824, and remained on the farm in his native hills
until a year or two after reaching his majority.
In 1847 he came to Hancock county and took up his
residence in a log cabin situated on unimproved land
in Orange township. Mr. Montgomery
was young and robust, was not afraid of work and
thus the task before him did not seem so appalling
as it does to a modern "tenderfoot." He set
resolutely to the business before him, which was to
convert a lot of heavily-wooded and partly submerged
land into a farm fit for cultivation. This, of
course, involved an immense amount of labor and no
end of worry, as they say in the country, but by
patience and unflagging industry Mr.
Montgomery eventually accomplished his object.
The result is now before any one who visits that
section in the shape of a well cleared, well fenced
and well ordered farm of the modern Ohio type, with
its neat residence, commodious outbuildings and all
other essentials of up-to-date agriculture.
After continuing in the business over sixty years
Mr. Montgomery decided that he had done
his share and was entitled to a rest. In 1891
he turned the farm over to his sons and located at
Bluffton, where he lived retired from all active
business and free from worrying pursuits of every
kind. No one of his means did more than Mr.
Montgomery to build up and civilize Orange
township, and his long life there was made useful in
many ways, not only to himself and family, but to
the public.
Feb. 18, 1847, Mr. Montgomery was married
in his native county to Eleanor McClain,
who had come there from Greene county, Pennsylvania,
where she was born Nov. 12, 1827. She was the
daughter of a Pennsylvania farmer named David
McClain, who married Rebecca West and
later removed to Ohio, where they reared a family of
ten children, consisting of three sons and seven
daughters. Mrs. Montgomery, the third
child and second daughter, when nine years old was
brought from Pennsylvania by her parents to Wyandot
county, Ohio, and spent all of her subsequent life
in different parts of the state. By her
marriage to Mr. Montgomery she became
the mother of seven children, but of these only
three are now living: Rebecca, wife of
William Kinnel, is a resident of
Bluffton; Jesse S. and F. Marion are
farmers in Orange township; Eliza, William
and Alice, the first, second and seventh
born, respectively, are deceased. Mr.
Montgomery, as previously stated, retired
from business some years ago and left the farm in
charge of his sons. During his active career
he held various township offices, including those of
trustee, treasurer and assessor, and for a long
period was one of the principal men in reclamation
of the land comprising Orange township and in
building up that portion of Hancock county.
Source: Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub: New York &
Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
109 |
| |
JOHN T. MONTGOMERY.
The subject of this sketch, though now a prosperous
producer and dealer in oil, a factor in a Missouri
lumber enterprise, and otherwise identified with the
industrial development of Findlay, has not reached
his present position without the usual "ups and
downs" that generally accompany human endeavor.
He had few advantages in early life and put in many
hard licks as a blacksmith before fortune smiled
upon him and enabled him to live without the
drudgery of daily toil. He is of Irish origin,
his father, William Montgomery, having been
born in the historic land of Erin in 1820, whence he
emigrated to the new world and after a struggle
ended his days in Canada in 1894. It was in
the last mentioned country that his son, J. T.
Montgomery, first saw the light of day, his
birth having occurred there in 1853. He was
reared at Renfrew, the place of his nativity, but in
1877 made his way to the Pennsylvania oil fields.
But being of a speculative turn of mind and
realizing that blacksmithing was a rather slow way
to make much advancement, Mr. Montgomery
secured an interest in some oil wells in Allegany
county, New York. After obtaining this
foretaste, and realizing the immense possibilities
of this great industry, he transferred the scene of
his operations to Ohio, locating at Findlay in 1887.
Immediately thereafter he entered upon his career as
a producer and contractor in oil, and has achieved
conspicuous success in this fascinating line of
investment. He is now senior member of the
firm of Montgomery & Stitt, which owns
wells in Hancock, Wood, Mercer, Sandusky and Lucas
counties, Ohio. In addition to these
interests, Mr. Montgomery is a member
of the Findlay Lumber Company, consisting of two
persons besides himself, which has acquired a lot of
timber land in Missouri and is operating a sawmill
thereon.
In September, 1893, Mr. Montgomery
married Anna M. George, who died leaving a
daughter named Hortensia. In 1897 he
took a second wife in the person of Miss Lida M.
Shoultz, of Findlay, Ohio, by whom he has two
children, John William and Irene.
Mr. Montgomery is a member of the
First Methodist Episcopal church, independent in
politics and a Mason. He is recognized among
his associates as a man of strong force of character
and remarkably good judgment in business matters.
Though not a large man, his physical development is
like that of an athlete, full of nervous energy and
with a muscular strength which suggests his early
training at the anvil as the prime cause. He
lives in a handsome house at Findlay, where all
friends who call are entertained with cordial
welcome and genuine Irish joviality.
Source: Centennial Biographical History of Hancock
Co., Ohio - Pub: New York & Chicago by The Lewis
Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
43 |
| |
WILLIAM MONTGOMERY.
The ancestry of the family of this name, which for
more than half a century has been identified with
the agricultural development of Orange and Van Buren
townships, is given in the sketch of John
Montgomery, which appears on another page of
this volume. It is there told how they
descended from an Irish emigrant who fought in the
Revolutionary war and left descendants in western
Pennsylvania, who later settled in eastern Ohio.
William Montgomery, above mentioned,
is a brother of John and was the eighth of
the twelve children born to William and Sarah
(Fonts) Montgomery after their settlement in
Columbiana county in the early part of the last
century. His birth occurred on his father's
pioneer farm in the hills of eastern Ohio, Apr. 17,
1833, and he remained in that section until he had
reached his majority. As his brothers had
migrated to Hancock some years before, he naturally
followed in their wake, hoping for better
opportunities than were afforded in his native
locality. In 1854 he arrived in Hancock
county, and for a short time worked on his brother
Albert's farm in Orange township, and
continued to work as a farm laborer for different
parties during the next two years. A family by
the name of Brannan had come from Trumbull
county, Ohio, and taken up land in Orange township,
and among their children was a daughter named
Elizabeth. She was a child at the time of
her arrival, and was reared and educated in her new
home in Hancock county. In 1855 William
Montgomery and Elizabeth
Brannan were united in marriage, and lived
together as man and wife for nearly forty years in
utmost affection and harmony. For a while
after marriage the young couple lived in Orange
township, but in 1860 Mr. Montgomery
bought land in section 36, Van Buren township, to
which they soon removed and commenced the difficult
task of clearing. It was situated in the
woods, was wholly unimproved and to any one not
possessed of the pioneer spirit would have presented
anything but a pleasing prospect. Mr.
Montgomery, however, soon had a log house
thrown up and a stable built of the same rude
materials, and securing a few needed animals he set
manfully to work to carve for himself a home out of
this wilderness. The way was long and the road
was hard, but he finally arrived, as men of the
right kind of "grit" in those days generally did.
Any one who visits section 36 in Van Buren township
may see at a glance the magical changes that have
been effected by Mr. Montgomery's
industry, determination and dogged perseverance.
The log cabin has long since given place to a
comfortable brick residence; the former wildwood has
been transformed into smiling meadows or bounteous
grain fields; what was once marsh or swamp, under
the modern system of tiling and ditching, has been
converted into dry land suitable for cultivation.
On this farm Mr. Montgomery has been living
for forty-seven years, and though he has experienced
all the ups and downs incident to agricultural
pursuits he has done well on the whole and has a
comfortable competence to smooth the decline of
life. His good wife, who was a member of the
Disciples church and always an exemplary Christian,
closed her earthly career on Aug. 1, 1894. Of
their seven children two died in infancy, but the
other five grew to maturity and are now doing well
in their different spheres of life. Dr.
Wesley Montgomery, the eldest son, is practicing
medicine with success at Ada, in Hardin county,
Ohio; Clara, the eldest daughter, married
James E. Pore and is living with her husband on
Logan avenue in Findlay; John, the second son
and third child, pastor of the First Presbyterian
church of Findlay; W. L., the fourth, resides
on the old home farm; and Frank, the
youngest, a resident of Ada, is mail clerk on the
Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad. Mr.
Montgomery is respected by all, not only as one of
the county's pioneer farmers, but because in all the
relations of life, both as a neighbor and citizen,
he has done his full duty in assisting to build up
the community. Mr. Montgomery was a
Democrat until 1896, when he voted the Republican
ticket.
Source: Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub: New York &
Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
74 |
| |
JOHN M. MOORHEAD
Source: Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub: New York &
Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
174 |
| |
NELSON MORRISON
Source: Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub: New York &
Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
594 |
| |
PHILEMON B. MORRISON
Source: Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub: New York &
Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
451 |
| |
ROBERT B. MOTHERWELL
Source: Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub: New York &
Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
228 |
| |
EDWIN R. MOYER - See
M. M. MOYER
Source: Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub: New York &
Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
253 |
| |
M. M. MOYER.
Edwin R. Moyer, the son of poor
Pennsylvania
parents, was inured to hardships in youth, and as he grew up learned the trade
of shoemaking, which he pursued some years as a means of livelihood. After his marriage to
Lucinda Grinawalt he obtained possession of a small piece of land, whose cultivation, in
connection with his work on the beach, enabled him with difficulty to support
his growing family. Thinking to
better his fortunes by a movement to the west, he came about 1866 to Hancock
county, where he bought eighty acres of land in Union township. This place, however, being found
unsuitable on account of size and other reasons, he disposed of it to buy a
tract double its size, on which he established his family as comfortably as
possible. From that time on he
abandoned his shoemaker’s tools, and by devoting his whole attention to the farm
obtained a success beyond his most sanguine expectations. In fact the quondam shoemaker proved
to be an excellent agriculturist and soon became noted for the abundance as well
as quality of his crops, while his stock was among the finest and fattest in the
land. As
Edwin’s circumstances improved his family kept pace with the increased income, and in time
Mr. and Mrs. Moyer found their
household enlivened by the presence of twelve lusty children. The boys as they grew up all proved
to be sober and industrious, and were of great assistance to their father in
carrying on his farming operations.
In time they all married and without exception have done well, being found in
honorable positions in the various walks of life and respected as useful
citizens. The father, after doing
his full duty during a long and blameless life, passed away in 1888, and four
years later his good wife, Lucinda,
was laid by his side in the family burying ground.
M. M. Moyer, one of the sons of this
worthy couple, was born in Lehigh county,
Pennsylvania, in July, 1862, and hence
was only about four years old when his parents settled in Hancock county. He had no aspirations aside from
farming, and having learned the details of this business under his father’s
tutelage adopted it as his regular calling as soon as he approached manhood. When his mother died, in 1890, he
bought the interest of the other heirs in half of the homestead, and now owns
eighty acres of his father’s original purchase.
This tract he has been cultivating for twelve years with such skill and
industry as to be ranked as one of the most promising of the younger generation
of farmers, while his genial character and kind disposition have gained him the
good will of all his neighbors. He
attends closely to business, manages his farm with judgment and his operations
have yielded him a steady and increasing income.
In the same year that he effected the purchase of his place he led to the
altar Miss Alice, the accomplished
daughter of Dr. F. C. Steingraver,
and this union, which proved in every way happy and congenial, resulted in the
birth of three bright children, whose names are
Frederick E., Helen M. and
Myron D.
Mr. and Mrs. Moyer are members of the Methodist Protestant church, in
which he holds the position of trustee and steward. The success of
Mr. Moyer, taken in connection with
the standing obtained by his numerous brothers and sisters, shows that the
emigration of the Pennsylvania shoemaker made a valuable addition to the stanch
citizenship of Hancock county.
Source: Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub: New York &
Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
253
|
| |
URIAH B. MOYER.
Edwin R. Moyer, the son of poor Pennsylvania
parents, was inured to hardships in youth, and as he
grew up learned the trade of shoemaking, which he
pursued some years as a means of livelihood.
After her marriage to Lucinda Grinawalt he
obtained possession of a small piece of land, whose
cultivation, in connection with his work on the
bench, enabled him with difficulty to support his
growing family. Thinking to better his
fortunes by a movement to the west, he came about
1866 to Hancock county, where he bought eighty acres
of land in Union township. This place,
however, being found unsuitable on account of size
and other reasons, he disposed of it to buy a tract
double its size, on which he established his family
as comfortably as possible. From that time on
he abandoned his shoemaker's tools, and by devoting
his whole attention to the farm obtained a success
beyond his most sanguine expectations. In fact
the quondam shoemaker proved to be an excellent
agriculturist and soon became noted for the
abundance as well as quality of his crops, while his
stock was among the finest and fattest in the land.
As Edwin's circumstances improved his family
kept pace with the increased income, and in time
Mr. and Mrs. Moyer found their household
enlivened by the presence of twelve lusty children.
The boys as they grew up all proved to be sober and
industrious, and were of great assistance to their
father in carrying on his farming operations.
In time they all married and without exception have
done well, being found in honorable positions in the
various walks of life and respected as useful
citizens. The father, after doing his full
duty during a long and blameless life, passed away
in 1888, and four years later his good wife,
Lucinda, was laid by his side in the family
burying ground.
M. M. Moyer, one of the sons of this worthy
couple, was born in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, in
July, 1862, and hence was only about four years old
when his parents settled in Hancock county. He
had no aspirations aside from farming, and having
learned the details of this business under his
father's tutelage adopted it as his regular calling
as soon as he approached manhood. When his
mother died, in 1890, he bought the interest of the
other heirs in half of the homestead, and now owns
eighty acres of his father's original purchase.
This tract he has been cultivating for twelve years
with such skill and industry as to be ranked as one
of the most promising of the younger generation of
farmers, while his genial character and kind
disposition have gained him the good will of all his
neighbors. He attends closely to business,
manages his farm with judgment and his operations
have yielded him a steady and increasing income.
In the same year that he effected the purchase of
his place he led to the altar Miss Alice,
the accomplished daughter of Dr. F. C.
Steingraver, and this union, which proved in
every way happy and congenial, resulted in the birth
of three bright children, whose names are
Frederick E., Helen M. and Myron D. Mr.
and Mrs. Moyer are members of the Methodist
Protestant church, in which he holds the position of
trustee and steward. The success of Mr.
Moyer, taken in connection with the standing
obtained by his numerous brothers and sisters, shows
that the emigration of the Pennsylvania shoemaker
made a valuable addition to the stanch citizenship
of Hancock county.
Source: Centennial
Biographical History of Hancock Co., Ohio - Pub: New York &
Chicago by The Lewis Publishing Company - 1903 - Page
308 |
|
