OHIO GENEALOGY EXPRESS - Marion Co., Ohio

Source:
The History of Marion County, Ohio
Containing
A History of the County; Its Townships, Towns, Churches, Schools, etc.:
General and Local Statistics; Military Record; Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men;
History of Ohio; Miscellaneous Matters, Etc., Etc.
Illustrated
Publ. Chicago; Leggett, Conaway & Co. -
1883

	Prospect Twp. - WILLIAM KIRTS, farmer, was born in Prospect Township, Mar. 5, 1827; his parents' names were Michael and Elizabeth (Simpson) Kirts, natives of Pennsylvania, near the Maryland State line. They were of Scotch and German parentage; are both now deceased and buried in the Otterbein graveyard in Prospect Township. They came to Marion County in 1826, locating near Prospect Village, and subsequently bought the farm now owned and occupied by William B. Thomas and cleared it up. The buildings on this farm were erected by them. They had ten children—Mary Ann; George; Henry, deceased; Julia Ann, deceased; William; Daniel, deceased; David and Jane (twins), Matilda and Isaac. Himself and wife are members of the United Brethren Church and were much respected. William Kirts, the subject of this sketch, lived with his father until twenty-one years of age, when he went to Upper Sandusky and worked at making rails and gathering cranberries for two years. During that time he made 28,000 rails and helped to clear 100 acres of land. He then came home and farmed his father's place for three or four years, when he bought106 acres of land, at $6 an acre, where he now resides. The land was then covered by a dense forest. He immediately made a clearing and erected a log cabin; the same year (1853) he was married to Ruth Ann Williams, adaughter of John Williams, one of the early settlers of the county. They moved into the log cabin Feb. 27, 1854. He has since added to the home farm, so that it now consists of 230 acres, of which 190 acres are cleared. He has 110 acres in Union County, fifty of which are cleared. The old log cabin has b^en superseded by a fine frame residence, surrounded by convenient barns and out-buildings, with a tine well of water. This last was very expensive to obtain, as Mr. Kirts dug seventeen different wells before securing a good one; and, as he says, among all of his improvements it has cost as much as any one of them. He has assisted in rolling logs at thirty-one places in one spring. Mr. Kirts is one of the self made men of the county; he acquired all his home farm by hard work and industry, though afterward he received a legacy of $2,500 and forty acres of land from his father's estate. Mr. and Mrs. Kirts have the following children: Mary Ellen, Albin D., Elizabeth Sivonia, John Michael, Silas Spencer, Eva, Ada Thalia, Thomas Edwin. Mary Ellen, who married Frank Butts, lives with her husband on her father's farm in Union County. Elizabeth married Samuel Johnson, and lives on the home farm; Eva Florence married Fuller Johnson; the rest of the children are living with their parents. Source: The History of Marion Co., Ohio - Published Chicago: Leggett, Conaway & Co. - 1883 - Page 928
	Prospect Twp. - EMMANUEL KNACHEL Source: The History of Marion Co., Ohio - Published Chicago: Leggett, Conaway & Co. - 1883 - Page 929
	Montgomery Twp. - JAMES W. KNAPP, of the firm of J. W. & M. S. Knapp, La Rue, Ohio, was born in Logan Co., Ohio, Oct. 14, 1833, the youngest son of Benjamin and Sarah (Sutton) Knapp. He came with his parents to Marion County about 1838, settling one mile west of La Rue. He remained with his parents until his twenty-fifty year, obtaining a fair education, when he engaged in various occupations. He enlisted in the late war, Aug. 6, 1862, in Company E, Ninety-sixth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, participating in the following battles: Chickasaw Bayou, Arkansas Post, Vicksburg (including its surrender), Jackson, Carrion Crow and Sabine Cross Roads. At this place, he received a severe wound, and was carried a prisoner to the hospital at Mansfield, La., where he lay ten weeks; partially recovering, he receiving a parole. He then went to New Orleans, and was given a furlough. His honorable discharge dates Camp Denison, Ohio, Dec. 16, 1864. Since the war, he has given his attention to business of various kinds; but in 1873 he engaged in the mercantile trade. His labors have been attended with such prosperity that during 1882-83 he erected a fair brick store, in which he is conducting an extensive business. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., the F. & A. M., the G. A. R. and the Presbyterian Church. He is an active temperance man, and an enthusiastic Republican. Source: The History of Marion Co., Ohio - Published Chicago: Leggett, Conaway & Co. - 1883 - Page 841
	Richland Twp. - ADAM KLINGEL was born Apr. 11, 1844, a native of Richland Twp, and the son of Lucas Klingel and Doratha (Harsch) Klingel. He came from Germany about 1825, settling in this southwestern part of the township. They were owners in time of nearly 200 acres there; he cleared about seventy-five acres. In his early days, he was both a tailor and shoemaker; his death occurred in 1872, aged fifty-nine years. The mother still survives, aged sixty-eight years. Our subject received a common school education, and in 1864, enlisted in Company K, Seventy-fourth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry; his principal engagements were at Decatur, Ala., battle of the Cedars, Overall's Creek and Kingston, N. C.; he served mostly under Gen. Schofield. For two weeks he was confined at Fortress Rosecrans in the hospital. He continued until the close of the war, being honorably discharged in July, 1865. Apr. 25, 1867, he married Miss Mary E. Firstenbeger, daughter of Frederick Firstenberger. Six children have been born to this union - William H., Charles W., John F., J. Wallace, Henrietta L. and Emma M. He rented his farm a number of years, but purchased it in 1876. It consists of 100 acres, valued at $80 per acre; he paid $6,500. Our subject has been Treasurer of the township for four years. The family belong to this German Reformed Church. Source: The History of Marion Co., Ohio - Published Chicago: Leggett, Conaway & Co. - 1883 - Page 958
	Bowling Green Twp. - JACOB KOLB Source: The History of Marion Co., Ohio - Published Chicago: Leggett, Conaway & Co. - 1883 - Page 682
	Richland Twp. - WILLIAM C. KRAMER is one of the stirring, leading men of Richland Township. His birth took place the 30th of September, 1837, in Germany; his parents, Christian and Christina Kramer, emigrated to America in 1849, settling in Richland Township. They bought first forty acres, but added later sixty-one acres more. They reared but two children - our subject, and Charles C., who was an engineer, was killed near Bellefontaine, upon the Quincy curve. These parents are still living, aged eighty-three and eighty years respectively. Our subject's education was commenced in the German schools, but he finished it in our common schools. He was married to Miss Elizabeth Linius, daughter of William Linius, of Galion, Ohio, Mar. 9, 1869. Seven children have been born to them. The names of the living are William H. and Ida (twins), John C., Mary A., Henry A. and Augusta D. He purchased his present home in 1872, then containing forty acres; he now owns 120 acres, well-fenced and drained and with good buildings. Mr. R. has fine stock; his work horses are the Norman and English draught, and he owns a registered English draught horse; his merino sheep are the best in the township. During the war, Mr. K. was in the Quartermaster department of the Government, working at Nashville, Tenn. He and family are members of the M. E. Church. Source: The History of Marion Co., Ohio - Published Chicago: Leggett, Conaway & Co. - 1883 - Page 958

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