W. J. OCHS, Treasurer of Hardin County, at the time of his election had the distinction of being the youngest county official in the state of Ohio. Elected to his present position in the year 1890, and re-elected at the expiration of his first term, lie has discharged its duties in a manner highly satisfactory to the people.  Having served as Deputy for a number of years prior to his election as County Treasurer, he was well qualified by experience and thorough knowledge of the position to become the head of the department.  He is a young man of unusual energy and ability, and is one of the local leaders of the Democratic party.
     The Ochs family originated in Germany, where William, our subject’s father, was born in Kurhessen, June 13, 1823, and whence he came to America in 1852, accompanied by his wife, Margaret Alt, likewise a native of the Fatherland.  He learned the trade of a miller, and in carrying on this business he became well-to-do.  For ten years he was thus engaged in Kenton, and later established and operated a mill at Marseilles.  His sojourn in the latter place, however, was short.  From there he returned to Kenton, and has since been identified with the milling interests of this city. The family are members of the Evangelical Church.
     Mrs. Margaret Ochs departed this life in 1892, greatly mourned by a large circle of friends in this locality, where she had lived for so many years.  Her family consisted of five sons and four daughters, of whom six are now living. Theodore is a partner in the Kenton Creamery in this city.  The birth of our subject occurred in Marseilles, Wyandot County, Ohio, Oct. 7, 1865.  He was two years old at the time his parents returned to Kenton after a short residence in Marseilles.  His education was acquired in the schools of this city and here his entire life has been passed with the exception of the time mentioned above.  On completing the studies of the common schools he went to Cincinnati, where he took a course in Nelson’s Commercial College, and later he attended a college in Newark, N. J.
     In 1883 Mr. Ochs became bookkeeper for the Kenton Milling Company, with whom he remained until 18S6.  He then resigned the position to accept the appointment of Deputy County Treasurer, in which capacity he continued until his election to the office he now fills.  In January, 1895, he bought the Main Street Mill, which he now carries on alone, and to which he expects to devote his entire time and attention on the expiration of his term of office.
     Jan. 7, 1891, Mr. Ochs was united in marriage, by Rev. Father A. S. Siebenfoercher, to Miss Catherine T., daughter of Patrick and Mary Dugan, the former of whom is a prosperous business man of Kenton.  They are the parents of a son and a daughter: Arline Marie, born Jan. 17, 1892; and Allen D., Aug. 25, 1894.  In social affairs Mr. Ochs is an Odd Fellow, and is also prominently connected with the Knights of Pythias.
†Source:  Portrait & Biographical Records of Marion & Hardin Counties, Ohio - 1895 - Page 339

WILLIAM OHLER, one of the successful farmers of Hardin County, and the owner of a valuable estate on section 29, Roundhead Township, was born in Richland County, Ohio, June 17, 1831.  His parents, John and Hannah Ohler, natives of Pennsylvania, came to Ohio in 1830 and settled in Richland County, where the father worked at the trade of cabinet-making for six years in Monroe Township.  In 1837 he removed to Allen County, and, purchasing forty acres of unimproved land, gave his attention to its cultivation until his death, ten years later.  His widow is still living.  Politically he was a Democrat, a loyal supporter of his party’s platform throughout life.  In religious faith he was a Lutheran.
     The parental family consisted of nine children, one of whom died in infancy. The others are as follows: Elizabeth, deceased; William, of this sketch; Andrew, who married Laura Mitz, and lives in Auglaize County, this state; Arbana, wife of Milton Tam, also of Auglaize County; Elizabeth; John, who was killed by a falling tree in 1877; Margaret; and Isaiah, who is married and lives on a farm in Auglaize County.
     June 11, 1855, William Ohler and Miss Martha E. Lusk were united in marriage.  Mrs. Ohler was born in October, 1835, and is one of five children comprising the family of Benjamin and Anna Lusk, natives of Virginia.  Nine children were born to bless their union, of whom the two eldest, John and Lafayette, are deceased; James Oswell is a prominent attorney of Lima, Ohio; Anna is the wife of W. J. Zimmerman, a farmer of Roundhead Township; Marion married May Davidson, and lives upon a farm in Marion Township; Elizabeth is the wife of Edward McClund, of Roundhead Township; William married Emma Jones, and cultivates a farm in this township; Ida, who for three terms was a student in the Normal University at Ada, Ohio, is an accomplished young lady, and has taught school for three years, meeting with success in that profession; and Floyd, the youngest of the family, resides with his parents.
     From an early age our subject was obliged not only to support himself, but also to assist in the maintenance of the family, whom his father’s death had left in poor circumstances.  For a time he rented land in Union Township, Auglaize County, remaining there about eight years.  On coming to Hardin County, he leased a farm, operating rented land in Roundhead Township for a period of thirteen years.  In the spring of 1863 he bought one hundred and twenty-one acres on section 29, and here he resided until April, 1895, at which time he removed to Kenton, where he owns a large, handsome residence on Franklin Street.  At the time he purchased his farm there was an old house on the place, which, aside from a few acres which had been cleared of timber, was the only improvement it bore.  He moved his family into the house, and at once began the task of cultivating the land.  Success rewarded his efforts from the first, and somewhat later he was enabled to add forty- eight acres to his original tract, making a total acreage of one hundred and sixty-nine.  Of this tract, one hundred and fifty-five acres were placed under cultivation, and the larger part of the land had been tiled, thus increasing its value.  In addition to general farm work, he also paid some attention to stock-raising and had upon his place a number of fine horses and cattle.
     In his religious belief Mr. Ohler is actively identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church.  He is a Democrat in politics, and may always be depended upon to support part}’ candidates and principles.  His education was exceedingly limited.  The nearest school was three miles from his father’s farm, and he was obliged to walk the entire distance.  The building itself was a primitive affair, constructed of logs and furnished with hewed-log benches; light was admitted through holes in the walls, over which greased paper had been placed.  Though his advantages were few, yet he has achieved more than ordinary success, and is now the owner of as fine a farm as may be seen for miles around.
†Source:  Portrait & Biographical Records of Marion & Hardin Counties, Ohio - 1895 - Page 286

ELMER OSBUN is engaged in general farming in Pleasant Township, Hardin County, two miles east of Kenton.  He has been a resident of this county since he was eight years of age, and has always taken great interest in all things pertaining to its development and general welfare.  He is one of Ohio's native sons, his birth having occurred six miles northeast of Mansfield, Richland County, Feb . 19, 1841.
     The father of our subject, Nathaniel O. Osbun, was born in Harrison County, Ohio, July 25, 1812, and was about two years old when his father, in whose honor he had been named, moved to Richland County.  There he received such education as fell to his lot until he was eighteen years of age, much of his time being devoted to farm work.  He continued to live with his father until twenty-two years of age, when, Apr. 13, 1834, he married Mrs. Jane Hartman, nee Mahon. In 1849 he removed from Richland County, where he had been engaged in farming, to this county. He purchased eighty acres on section 35, Pleasant Township, and engaged in the cultivation of the tract until his death, which occurred Feb. 6, 1891.  He was a man of strong constitution, and rarely suffered from any form of sickness until a few years prior to his death, which resulted from a stroke of paralysis.  He was an old-line Jacksonian Democrat.  He did not seek public office, and served as Road Supervisor several terms against his will.  For years he was a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.  He was the youngest in a family of four sons and four daughters born to Nathaniel and Annie (Emmons) Osbun, the former of whom was a native of Harrison County, Ohio.
     The mother of our subject was a daughter of James and Amelia (Hitchcock) Mahon, who were born in 1783 and 1785, respectively, and who, it is thought, w^ere married in Steubenville, Jefferson County, Ohio, about 1804.  Mr. Mahon died about 1820, and his wife about 1836.  Mrs. Osbun was the fourth of their seven children.  Her maternal grandmother lived to be one hundred and one years of age, and the last year of her life was able to spin, a dozen “cuts.” of yarn a day. 
    Elmer Osbun is the fifth of ten children, and of the others we mention the following: Johanna, deceased, first married James Hartman, who died five months afterward of typhoid fever; by her second husband, Nathaniel Osbun, a nephew of our subject’s father, she reared a large family.  The second in the family died in infancy, unnamed; Amelia married William Dodds, of Belle Center, Logan County, Ohio; Annie died in her twenty-second year, unmarried; Sarah is the wife of James Kipp, a farmer of Logan County; Isabel is the wife of James Baker, who is engaged in farming seven miles west of Kenton; Albert is deceased; Nathaniel died at the age of two years; and Margaret is the wife of Samuel McGaughey, who is clerking in Kenton.  A sister of Mrs. Osbun, Margaret Parrel, is still living and is now seventy-six years old.  Her husband was drowned in the Ohio River on his return to the army after a furlough.  Two of Mrs. Osbun’s nephews were killed while serving in defense of the Union.  For over sixty years she has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
     Elmer Osbun, of this sketch, comes from a patriotic family on both sides of the house.  His paternal great-grandfather and the latter’s brothers were soldiers in the War of the Revolution. In his political faith our subject is a supporter of the Democracy.
†Source:  Portrait & Biographical Records of Marion & Hardin Counties, Ohio - 1895 - Page 481