BIOGRAPHIES
* Source:
Portrait & Biographical Record
of
City of Toledo and Lucas and Wood Counties, Ohio.
Chicago: Chapman Publishing Company
1895
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ROMAIN A. TAYLOR
has been engaged
in farming for many years on the old homestead where his birth
occurred, and which is situated on section 7, Spencer Township,
Lucas County. He comes from an old and honored pioneer family
of this section, and inherited the industrious and energetic
qualities which belonged to his ancestors.
The father of our subject, William Taylor, was born
Jan. 9, 1810, near Williamsport, Lycoming County, Pa. He
married a lady of the same county, Mary Coarson by
name, and to them were born six daughters and two sons, those beside
Romain A. being: Robert W., who was a
farmer of Fulton County, and died in 1881; Eliza, Mrs.
William R. Cole, whose death occurred in June 1873;
Harriet, who died in 1877, being then the wife of
James C. Vaughn; Mary J., wife of
M. T. Cole, a farmer of Palmyra, Mich.; Theresa,
Mrs. Harrison Farner, of Toledo; Lucretia,
wife of P. O. Van Fleet, of Palmyra, Mich.; and
Ada, who married Edward Wall, and lives on part of
the old homestead.
In 1834
William Taylor removed with his family to Lucas County, and
took up one hundred and sixty acres on section 6, Spencer Township.
He subsequently bought forty acres on the northeast quarter of the
same section, and about 1845 bought a farm of two hundred and sixty
acres on section 7, one hundred acres of the latter being afterward
purchased by Jonas Matzinger. Mr. Taylor
erected two sawmills and engaged in lumbering extensively. For
many years he was County Commissioner of this county, having been
elected on the Republican ticket, and from 1860 to 1872 was Township
Treasurer.
The subject of this sketch
was born Aug. 10, 1855, in Spencer Township, and received a common
school education. Going to Toledo in his early manhood, he was
interested in railroading for about four years, his father at that
time owning a large share of the stock of the Narrow Gauge (now
Clover Leaf) Railroad.
Feb. 3, 1883,
Romain A. Taylor and Amanda,
daughter of Anthony and Mary (Lord) Van Akin, of
Richfield, were united in marriage, and to them were born three
children, the eldest of whom, Clyde, died at the
age of four years and five months; Flossie, born in
January, 1888; and Hazel, born Oct. 21, 1891, are
bright and promising children. Mr. Taylor is
affiliated with the Republican party, and socially is a member of
Swanton Lodge No. 555, F. & A. M.
Source: Portrait &
Biographical Record of City of Toledo and Lucas and Wood Counties,
Ohio. Chicago: Chapman Publishing Company, 1895 ~ Page
250 |
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EDWIN THOMAS,
one of the old settlers of Washington Township, has experienced the
vicissitudes which fall to the lot of the frontiersman, and can
relate many intertaining stories of the early days in Ohio. He
well remembers Toledo as a village consisting of a few log
cabins, and when not even a store had been established there,
Monroe, Mich., being the trading-point of this vicinity. He has held
a number of offices in the community where he has dwelt for over
sixty years, among them being Constable, Township Assessor and
School Director, in which latter position he served for eighteen
years, which is practical evidence of his interest in the cause of
education.
Levi Thomas, the father of Edwin, was
born in Virginia, and was of English extraction. Through out
life he followed agricultural pursuits, and in the War of 1812 he
offered his services in the ranks. On reaching man’s estate he
married Hannah Graham, by whom he had the following children:
Hiram, Lara, Edwin, Caroline, Leonard and Sarah (twins),
Octavia and Lois (twins) and Hannah.
Edwin Thomas was born in Cuyahoga County, Ohio,
Aug. 8, 1818, and was reared on a farm. When twenty-two years of age
he went forth to fight his own battles, and began by renting land
for about four years, after which he purchased forty acres in Monroe
County, Mich. In 1847 he purchased a part of his father’s
homestead in this county and engaged in its cultivation for three
years. Later he bought the remainder of the home farm.
Jan. 3, 1840, Mr. Thomas married Hannah
Gunn, who died in 1846. Their two sons, Lewis L.
and Wallace W., are both deceased, the former having died in
infancy, and the latter at the age of twenty-seven years. May
16,1847, Mr. Thomas married Maria Worden,
who was born May 13, 1825, in New York State. Her parents,
Jasper and Anna (Baker) Worden, were natives of Vermont and
Connecticut, respectively, and were of English descent. In
1835 they emigrated westward by the Lakes to Michigan.
Edwin Thomas was a lad of but eleven years when
with his parents he came to this county, in the winter of 1829.
They settled on eighty acres of Government land on section 15,
Washington Township, paying $1.25 per acre. The father erected
a block house, and before many years had passed had transformed his
land into a thrifty and well cultivated farm. He was a member
of the Disciples Church, and was revered and esteemed by all who
knew him. His death occurred in 1836, and he was placed to
rest in the Toledo Cemetery. Like his son, our subject, he was
a supporter of the Whig party. The latter has of late years
given his allegiance to the Republican organization. In
religious belief Mrs. Thomas is a Methodist.
Source: Portrait &
Biographical Record of City of Toledo and Lucas and Wood Counties,
Ohio. Chicago: Chapman Publishing Company, 1895 ~ Page 362 |
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ERNEST TORGLER, a well known
resident of Washington Township, Lucas County, was born in Germany,
but has lived in the United States since he was twelve years of age,
and, with the exception of the time when he was fighting the battles
of his adopted country, has lived since 1852 on the farm that he now
owns, which is located on section 8.
The parents of our subject of Ernest and Augusta (Ranfeldt)
Torgler. Their daughter Emily became the wife of
Robert Winters, since deceased, and Elizabeth, who has
passed from this life, was formerly the wife of Valentine Brown.
Ernest Torgler, Sr., was a painter and artist in the
Fatherland, but after coming to America, settled on a farm and
devoted himself to agricultural pursuits. The place which is
now owned by our subject was the old homestead, but it was then
unimproved, and the price which he paid for it was only $8 an acre.
His death occurred Forest Cemetery. He was a stanch Republican,
politically, as it is his son.
Ernest Torgler of this sketch was born March 29,
1840, and received his early education in the schools of Germany.
He was married Oct. 5, 1868, to Augusta Schacker, by whom he
has had eleven children, three of whom died in infancy. The
others are Ernest R., a bookkeeper; Lewis G.;
Augusta; Carl, a student at Davis College; Edith; Walter;
Arthur; and Herbert, who is also deceased.
August 22, 1862, Mr. Torgler enlisted as a
private in at Columbus. He is the proud possessor of a flag
that was presented to the Thirty-seventh Regiment by the ladies of
Toledo on starting away for the front in 1861. This flag was
presented by the ladies of Toledo to the regiment, and by the other
members was tendered as a mark of respect and good-will to Mr.
Torgler, who had carried it for a year in the war. His
first engagement was at the siege of Vicksburg, and soon after the
surrender of that place with his regiment he went into camp, and
while there was promoted to the rank of Corporal. After
participating in the battle of Jackson, he marched across the
country from Memphis to Chattanooga. At the battle of Mission
Ridge he was a color-bearer, and after that important engagement was
sent to Knoxville, whence he went on the Atlanta Campaign,
afterwards going with Sherman on his march to the sea. As
proof of the gallant part he took while in the army, it may be
mentioned that by an act of Congress he was presented with a badge
of honor for meritorious service at the battle of Ezra Chapel,
July 28, 1864. He was honorably discharged from the service in
October, 1865. Since the war he has been a member of the Grand
Army of the Republic.
Source: Portrait &
Biographical Record of City of Toledo and Lucas and Wood Counties,
Ohio. Chicago: Chapman Publishing Company, 1895 ~ Page
422 |
Doria Tracy |
DORIA
TRACY, a retired capitalist and prominent citizen of Toledo,
has made his abode here for about thirty years, and has witnessed
much of the growth of this enterprising city. Soon after his
arrival he began dealing in real estate, and carried to success
nearly every one of his numerous ventures. He has built eight
business blocks in Toledo, and among others erected the Tracy
Block, on Madison Street, and the Aldine Hotel, on the corner of
Ontario and Madison Streets. He still has in his possession
valuable business property on Summit Street, which he leases to
responsible tenants. He is a notable example of what may be
accomplished in this fair land by men of intelligence, upright
principles and industrious qualities. He began at the bottom
and gradually worked his way upward until he is today a very wealthy
man.
The ancestors of Doria Tracy were among the
earliest settlers of New England. On the paternal side his
progenitors settled in the United States as early as 1640, and
members of the family were true and loyal patriots during her
different struggles for liberty. The grandfather and father of
our subject both bore the Christian name of Simeon. The
latter, who was born in Berkshire County, Mass., was an
agriculturist and a mechanic as well, and helped to build some of
the first machinery for the manufacture of broadcloth. His
wife, whose name before marriage was Lucy Reed was also a
native of Berkshire County, and was one of the thirteen children.
By her marriage, she became the mother of seven children, all of
whom survived to maturity, but our subject is now the only survivor
of the family.
Doria Tracy was born in Berkshire County, May
18, 1808, and was next to the youngest of his parents' children.
On leaving the common schools he entered the home academy, where he
pursued his studies for two years. Until he was eighteen years
of age he remained on the old homestead, his time being employed in
agricultural duties. Later he learned the spinner's and
weaver's trade, at which he worked for about five years. He
next embarked in merchandising in the town of his birth, but
eventually sold out and drifted west to New York State. There
he engaged in operating a farm from 1844 until 1850. While on
the farm he built a plaster-mill, and about 1850 built a sawmill in
Allegany County, N. Y., on the Genesee Valley and Canal, and there
engaged in lumbering. He found a ready sale for all the
shingles, staves and lumber that could be manufactured in the mill,
its products being shipped to Rochester, Troy and New York City.
Subsequently he built another sawmill for pine lumber, and had a
prosperous business until the plant was burned down. After
this misfortune he built another mill, which he operated until the
close of 1866, when, as previously stated, he came to this city, in
1867, and has since been interested in real-estate affairs.
In this twenty-fourth year Mr. Tracy married
Lucretia K. Hatch, who died in 1836, leaving one son, Henry,
a well known and enterprising business man of this place. The
second marriage of Mr. Tracy was with Miss Almaria Nichols
She died in 1879, leaving a daughter and two sons, Frank E.,
William N., and Catharine, wife of J. G. Lamson.
Though now in his eighty-seventh year, Mr. Tracy
is still active and very energetic and has not yet relegated to
others the management of his estates and still extensive business
interests. Since the foundation of the Republican party he has
been one of its truest supporters, and never fails to cast his
ballot in favor of its nominees. He enjoys the respect and
esteem of all who know him, whether in a public or private capacity.
Source: Portrait &
Biographical Record of City of Toledo and Lucas and Wood Counties,
Ohio. Chicago: Chapman Publishing Company, 1895 ~ Page 303 |
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