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PUTNAM COUNTY,
OHIO
History & Genealogy
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BIOGRAPHIES
Source:
History of Putnam County, Ohio,
by George D. Kinder,
Publ. B. F. Bowen & Co., Inc.,
Indianapolis, Indiana
1915
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BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX PAGE >
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[ PORTRAIT ] |
GEORGE HALKER
Source: History of Putnam County, Ohio, by
George D. Kinder, Publ. 1915 by B. F. Bowen & Co.,
Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana - Page 1344 |
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JOHN W. HALKER
Source: History of Putnam County, Ohio, by
George D. Kinder, Publ. 1915 by B. F. Bowen & Co.,
Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana - Page 416 |
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WILLIAM HENRY HANDY.
A distinguished citizen of Ottawa, Putnam county,
Ohio, a veteran of the Civil War and a former judge
of the common pleas court, William Henry Handy
is eminently entitled to representation in the
history of his county. He enlisted for service
in the Civil War, when he was only sixteen years of
age, and served until the Civil War, when he was
only sixteen years of age, and served until the fall
of 1865. Studying law, after the close of the
war, he was admitted to the bar in 1868, and has
been in continuous practice since that time.
He has been a resident of Ottawa since the spring of
1894, and has taken active part in the life of the
county seat of Putnam county since that time.
William Henry Handy, an attorney, of Ottawa, was
born on Jan. 29, 1847, in Pike township, Fulton
county, Ohio. HE is a son of Michael and
Mary A. (Bryan) Handy. Michael Handy
was born in Danby, Tompkins county, New York, in
December, 1812, and was a son of Michael Handy,
Sr., an old resident of the same county.
The name was originally spelled Hendee, and
two brothers with that name came form Wales during
the seventeenth century, one settling in Vermont and
the other in Virginia. William H. Handy
is a descendant of the Hendee who located in
Vermont.
Michael Handy, the father of William Handy,
was a school teacher in Canada, but during the
period of turmoil in that country was driven out and
went to Algonac, Michigan, where he was married on
Sept. 22, 1836, to Mary A. Bryan. She
too, had been a teacher in Canada, and had come to
Michigan, and she, likewise, was born in Tompkins
county, New York, where her husband was born.
In the winter of 1839-40, Michael Handy and
wife moved from Michigan to Fulton county, Ohio and
located on a farm. He taught school, farmed
and also cobbled shoes. He was a very
industrious man and taught school by day and pegged
shoes by night, and shook with the ague between
times. In addition to his teaching school,
shoemaking and farming, he also operated a
blacksmith shop, did some cabinet making, and at odd
times studied law, and it can be seen that he was a
man of great ministry and of no inconsiderable
intellectual ability. After Putnam county was
set off as a separate county in 1850 Michael
Handy, moved to Ottokee, the new county seat,
and followed the practice of law. He moved to
Wauseon, Ohio, in 1871, the new county seat of
Fulton county, and lived there the remainder of his
life. He served as prosecuting attorney of
Fulton county, and also as mayor of Wauseon.
He died on Mar. 6, 1885, his wife having passed away
on Apr. 1, 1880.
William Henry Handy was educated in the schools
of Fulton county, Ohio. When he was only
sixteen years of age, on June 16, 1863, Mr. Handy
enlisted in Company H, Eighty-sixth Regiment, Ohio
Volunteer Infantry, and was mustered in for the six
months' service. After serving in Kentucky,
Tennessee and Virginia, he was discharged on Feb.
10, 1864. He re-enlisted, Apr. 15, of the same
year, in Company H, Sixty-seventh Regiment, Ohio
Volunteer Infantry, and was in continuous service
until Sept. 10, 1865, when he was discharged as
sergeant. He served in the campaigns against
Petersburg and Richmond, and was at Appomattox when
Lee surrendered.
Immediately after the close of the war, Mr. Handy
returned home and began the study of law with his
father. He was admitted to the practice of
law, at Toledo, Ohio, in 1868, being twenty-one
years of age at the time. He took up the
practice of his profession with his father at
Ottokee, the county seat of Fulton county, Ohio, and
the father and son practiced together until the
first of January, 1875. At that time Mr.
Handy and Frank H. Hurd started the
Democratic Expositor, and operated this
newspaper until March, 1877, when it was sold to
J. C. Balmeier. Mr. Handy at once
returned to the practice of law at Wauseon, to which
place his father had moved, upon the change of the
county seat of Fulton county. He was in the
continuous practice of his profession, in Wauseon,
until Feb. 10, 1885, when he assumed the duties of
common pleas judge, to which office he had been
appointed by Governor Hoadly. He filled
this office by appointment and election, until May
10, 1894, a period of more than nine years, during
which time he gave satisfactory service to the
citizens of the three counties which composed his
jurisdiction. At that time Putnam, Fulton and
Henry counties combined in one judicial
district. At the expiration of his term of
office, in the spring of 1894, Mr. Handy
moved to Ottawa, where he has since resided.
He resumed the practice of his profession in
partnership with A. S. Ogan, and the firm
continued together until in December, 1899. At
that time Mr. Underferth became the partner
of Mr. Handy.
Mr. Handy was married on Oct. 16, 1869, to
Isabelle J. Van Arsdale, who was born at
Marseilles, Wyandot county, Ohio, and is a daughter
of John and Marietta (Norton) Van Arsdale.
Her parents moved to Ottokee about 1867, where she
was living at the time of her marriage. Mr.
Handy and his wife are the parents of three
children, Harry L., Clive C. and May B.
Harry married Maude Snyder, and is a
locomotive engineer. Clive C. is an
attorney in the legal department of the Lake Shore &
Michigan Southern Railway Company, at Cleveland.
He married Herma Orth, of
Wauseon, and has one son, William O. May B.
is a stenographer, and makes her home in Ottawa with
her parents.
Mr. Handy has long
been a leading factor in Democratic politics, but he
has never held any other position than that of judge
of the common pleas court. He is a Free and
Accepted Mason and has attained the Royal and Select
Masters degree. He is a genial citizen, fond
of a good joke, and well known, not only throughout
Putnam county, but throughout this section of the
state.
Source: History of Putnam County, Ohio, by
George D. Kinder, Publ. 1915 by B. F. Bowen & Co.,
Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana - Page 290 |
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SHELBY HARRIS.
In the respect that is accorded to men who have
bought their own way to success through unfavorable
circumstances, we find an unconscious recognition of
the intrinsic worth of character which cannot only
endure so rough a test, but gain new strength
through difficulties. The gentleman to whom
the biographer now calls the reader's attention, was
not favored by inherited wealth or the assistance of
influential friends, but, in spite of this, by
perseverance and wise economy, he has attained a
comfortable station in life and has made his
influence for good felt in this community where he
long maintained his home. Because of his
honorable career, it is eminently fitting that he
should be accorded a place in the pages of this
volume.
Shelby Harris was born on Dec. 14, 1858,
in Jennings township, Putnam county, Ohio. He
is the son of John and Mary (Huffman)
Harris, both of whom were natives of
Connecticut, who came to Ohio in pioneer times and
settled near Cincinnati. Later, they moved to
Putnam county, and settled in Jennings township.
Seven children were born to them: William H.,
Marcus and Mary E., all deceased;
George, who lives at Findlay; Daniel, who
lives at Muncie, Indiana; Shelby, the subject
of this sketch, and Lavina, the wife of
George Evans, of Marion, this state.
The father of these children, John Harris,
died .in i860, and his wife was married, a second
time, to Moses Radcliff. To this
union, three children were born: M. O.;
Minerva, the wife of Henry Sterns;
and Granvil, who lives near Mandville, Ohio.
Moses Radcliff was a carpenter
by trade and was killed about twenty years ago by a
saw-mill explosion in Montana. The mother died
in 1909.
Shelby Harris received his education in
the district schools of Jennings township and
performed the usual labor which falls to the lot of
the average boy who lives in an agricultural
township.
On Apr. 4, 1881, Shelby Harris was
married to Anna Stearns, the daughter
of John and Elizabeth (Cronshiner) Stearns,
both of whom were natives of Germany, and who came
to the United States when they were young.
They were married in Ohio and to this union, eleven
children were born, five of whom died in infancy.
Those who survived were: Mary, who lives in
Leipsic; Anna, the wife of Mr.
Harris; Godfrey, who lives in Jackson
township; Henry and Philip, both of
whom also live in Jackson township; and Frances,
the wife of James Claypool, of
Monterey township. Mrs. John
Stearns died in December, 1914, and John
Stearns is still living, being eighty-four
years old.
Shelby Harris followed farming and teaming for a
number of years. He owns a greenhouse and has
been in the floral business for the past fifteen
years, except for the past few years, when he has
given up the hothouse work and is now engaged in
general truck and fruit gardening. Mr.
Harris owns a small farm, a well-improved,
modern house and other good buildings. He is a
man who is highly respected in this community, and
has a comfortable income.
Shelby Harris is a Democrat, has served as
township trustee of Jennings township for four
years, and as president of the school board for the
the past eight years. He has also been
treasurer of the Ft. Jennings Mutual Telephone
Company and the Ft. Jennings Cemetery Association,
since 1908. Mrs. Harris was
reared a Lutheran, but after her marriage, became a
member of the United Brethren church at Pleasant
Valley. Later, because there was no United
Brethren church in the community where Mr. and
Mrs. Harris lived, both have become members of
the Lutheran church.
Mr. and Mrs. Shelby Harris and family are well
known in Jennings township and are popular among all
classes of people. They are highly respected
citizens and earnestly devoted to the welfare of
their family and to their neighbors.
Source: History of Putnam County, Ohio,
by George D. Kinder, Publ. 1915 by B. F. Bowen & Co., Inc.,
Indianapolis, Indiana - Page 1308 |
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BENJAMIN F. HART
Source: History of Nemaha County, Kansas by
Ralph Tennal - Illustrated - Publ. Standard
Publishing Company, Lawrence, Kansas - 1916 - Page
374 |
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JOHN M. HEC
Source: History of Putnam County, Ohio, by
George D. Kinder, Publ. 1915 by B. F. Bowen & Co.,
Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana - Page 944 |
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THEODORE HECKMAN
Source: History of Putnam County, Ohio, by
George D. Kinder, Publ. 1915 by B. F. Bowen & Co.,
Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana - Page 464 |
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FRANK B. HERMILLER
Source: History of Putnam County, Ohio, by
George D. Kinder, Publ. 1915 by B. F. Bowen & Co.,
Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana - Page 960 |
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FRED A. HERMILLER
Source: History of Putnam County, Ohio, by
George D. Kinder, Publ. 1915 by B. F. Bowen & Co.,
Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana - Page 896 |
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HENRY JOSEPH HERMILLER
Source: History of Putnam County, Ohio, by
George D. Kinder, Publ. 1915 by B. F. Bowen & Co.,
Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana - Page 1136 |
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LOUIS HERMILLER
Source: History of Putnam County, Ohio, by
George D. Kinder, Publ. 1915 by B. F. Bowen & Co.,
Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana - Page 912 |
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JOHN
HENRY HOFFMAN. The earliest
representatives of the Hoffman family
in America came from the village of Glandorf, in the
Province of Hanover, Germany, and settled near
Glandorf, Putnam county, about one year after the
arrival of Father Horstman and his
colony, who founded Glandorf, Putnam county.
They were the paternal grandparents of John
Henry Hoffman, the immediate subject
of this biographical review, who is a farmer in
Jackson township and owns eighty acres of land in
section 12. Mr. Hoffman has not
lived upon this farm continuously during his
marriage, but a part of the time occupied the old
Hoffman homestead. For many years
Mr. Hoffman was a vocalist in the St.
John's Catholic church choir at Glandorf. He
now sings in the choir of St. Michael's church at
Kalida. The paternal grandparents of John
Henry Hoffman were the first Hoffmans
to settle in this county. They had only two
children, Ferdinand, deceased, and William F.,
the father of John Henry.
John Henry Hoffman was born in Glandorf, Putnam
county, Ohio, on Dec. 8, 1867. His parents
were William Frederick and Clara (Schroeder)
Hoffman. Mr. Hoffman's
maternal grandparents came from Germany and settled
near Glandorf, in Greensburg township. Among
their children were Henry, Carl and
Clara. William Frederick
Hoffman attended school at Glandorf in his early
youth and lived on his father's farm. He
learned the carpenter trade and worked at it at
Glandorf. Later he became a school teacher and
was an accomplished musician and was organist at St.
John's church at Glandorf for many years. He
was also organist at St. Paul. Ottawa and at
St. Mary's church at Leipsic. He established a
dry goods store and general mercantile business at
Glandorf and divided his attention between business
and farming. He owned about eighty acres of
land. His teaching experience covered a period
of about twenty-five years. William
Frederick and Clara Hoffman had
the following children: John, deceased;
Mary, William, Theresa, Amelia,
who died when two years old; Frank, John
Henry, Anna, who died in 1908, and
Charles. William Frederick
Hoffman died on Apr. 29, 1915, on the old
home place with his son Charles.
Mrs. William F. Hoffman died on Feb. 6, 1898.
Her remains were interred at Glandorf, as was also
those of her husband. William F Hoffman
was a member of the Ohio General Assembly for two
terms, having been nominated and elected on the
Democratic ticket. He served for many years as
justice of the peace at Glandorf.
John Henry Hoffman was educated in
Glandorf, and in early youth worked on his father's
farm, where he also worked at the carpenter trade.
Mr. Hoffman was married on June 12,
1895, to Elizabeth Hertzog, the
daughter of Barney and Mary (Wilkins)
Hertzog. After his marriage Mr.
Hoffman remained one year on the home farm
and then removed to his present eighty acres in
section 12 of Jackson township, land that he had
bought previous to his marriage. He lived on
the eighty-acre farm for two years and then returned
to the home farm, where he lived for three years, at
the end of which time Mr. Hoffman
again returned to his farm in Jackson township.
He erected the buildings which are now standing on
the farm and improved the place generally. He
cleared forty acres of the land and has thoroughly
drained it. John H. and Elizabeth (Hertzog)
Hoffman have had five children, Hugo,
born on Mar. 29, 1897; Clara, Jan. 30, 1899;
Louisa, Sept. 4, 1901; Alma, Sept. 13,
1904, and Alwin, Sept. 9, 1908. All of
these children are attending St. Michael's parochial
school at Kalida.
Bernard Hertzog father of Mrs.
Hoffman, was born in Germany, and his wife was
born in Dayton, Ohio. He came to this country
and settled in Dayton and was there married
to Mary Wilkins, the daughter of
Henry and Agnes (Siefker)
Wilkins, who lived near Dayton. Four
children were born to this marriage, two of whom,
John and Clemens, are deceased. The
other two are Elizabeth, the wife of Mr.
Hoffman, and Frank. Mrs.
Hertzog died on Apr. 19, 1879, and after her
death Mr. Hertzog was remarried to
Mary Smith and had two children by this
marriage, Herman and Anna. Mr.
Hertzog died on Oct. 23, 1914. Of the
Hertzog children by the second marriage
Frank married and lives in Sycamore,
Illinois. Herman married Mary
Timmer and lives in Dayton, Ohio. Anna
married Carl Zink and lives in Dayton
also.
John Henry Hoffman and family are
members of St. Michael's Catholic church at Kalida,
where Mr. Hoffman is a prominent
member of the church choir. Mr.
Hoffman is a Democrat in politics and served on
the school board of Jackson township. He is
well known and highly respected in this community.
His wife and family are greatly admired and this
family may well be counted among the best families
of Putnam county.
Source: History of Putnam County, Ohio, by
George D. Kinder, Publ. 1915 by B. F. Bowen & Co.,
Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana - Page 796 |
Herman Holtkamp |
HERMAN HOLTKAMP.
There are few public officials, of the federal
class, in Putnam county who are better known or more
deservedly popular in the community in which they
reside than the genial postmaster at Kalida, to a
brief sketch of whose interesting career the
biographer, with pleasure, calls the attention of
the reader at this point. Though of foreign
birth and a resident of this county a matter of less
than three decades. Postmaster Holtkamp
has so thoroughly absorbed the spirit of American
institutions and has so completely familiarized
himself with American manners and customs that there
is no more thorough American than he, nor none more
sincerely devoted to the welfare of his adopted
country. One of the best known merchants in the
county, he for years having been engaged in the
hardware business at Kalida, Mr. Holtkamp
also has the interests of the county at large very
deeply at heart, and none is more prompt in
furthering any movement having the commonwealth's
best development in view than is he. Not only
that, but his fine musical education and taste make
him popular in those circles which contribute in
largest measure to the cultural development of the
communal life, and he, therefore, may properly be
looked upon as one of the most valuable citizens of
this county. No review of the history of this
section would be complete without proper mention of
his services and activities since coming to this
county, and it is with pleasure that the biographer
presents here a brief and modest sketch of the
career of this excellent citizen.
Herman Holtkamp was born in the Province
of Westphalia, Germany. December 4, 1856, the
only son of Everhard and Gertrude
(Asholt) Holtkamp, farming- people,
whose lives were spent on their farm near the town
of Vorhelm, in Westphalia, and to whom also were
born two daughters, Christine and Anna,
the former of whom is dead and the latter of whom
still lives in Germany, the parents both being dead.
Herman Holtkamp
received his early education under the admirable
scholastic system of his native province and early
in life was apprenticed to a wood carver, asquiring
a most skillful proficiency in this difficult and
important trade. For a time after completing his
apprenticeship he followed this trade in Germany,
and then decided to seek an extension of his
fortunes on this side of the Atlantic. With that end
in view, he came to America in 1887, landing at New
York, from whence he came direct to Putnam county,
locating in the town of Kalida, where he has ever
since made his home. Upon arriving at Kalida
he opened a wagon and wood-working shop, which he
operated for twenty-two years, becoming in that time
one of the best known and most successful artisans
of that class in the county. At the end of
that time he formed a partnership with James
Tennison, the two buying the hardware store
of Fanger & Recker, in Kalida.
Later Mr. Tennison sold his interest in this
store to John W. Fortman, since which time
the house has been doing business under the firm
style of Holtkamp &
Fortman, and has been quite successful, doing
a general and quite extensive business in hardware,
farming implements, etc., also taking contracts for
tin work, roofing and the like. In addition to
his extensive business interests Mr.
Holtkamp is deeply concerned in matters of
public improvement and is regarded as one of the
leaders in all movements having to do with the best
development of the interests of his home community.
For three years he served, most acceptably, as
township treasurer of Union township' and for a like
period of service was clerk of the school board, in
which latter capacity his deep interest in
educational and cultural matters proved of large
value to the community.
Herman Holtkamp was united in marriage in
1890 to Mary Siefker, the daughter of
Henry and Elizabeth (Tenwalde)
Siefker, a prominent family in Union township.
Mrs. Holtkamp is one of a family of
seven children, the others being Henry,
John, Elizabeth, Anna, Joseph
and Catherine of whom Henry,
Elizabeth and Anna are now deceased
To the union of Herman and Mary (Siefker)
Holtkamp nine children have been born, as
follow: Henry (deceased), born on August 8,
1891; Edward, born on December 7, 1892;
Henry, born on February 7, 1894; Pauline,
born on December 18, 1895; Emma (deceased),
born on October 4, 1897; Clara, born on
August 18, 1900; Louise (deceased), born on
May 15, 1902; Irene, born on September 23,
1904, and Alice, born on March 29, 1906.
Mr. and Mrs. Holtkamp are members of St.
Michael's Catholic church at Kalida and are
earnestly devoted to the sacred interests of that
parish, in the various beneficences of which they
are active participants. For twenty-seven years
Mr. Holtkamp has served as organist and
choir director in St. Michael's church, his service
in this connection ever having proved acceptable to
the parish, in which there is no more popular member
than he.
In public affairs Mr. Holtkamp always has
taken a deep interest and has given to the politics
of the county a degree of intelligent attention
which has lent much weight to his counsels in the
deliberations of the party managers. He was
appointed postmaster at Kalida in June, 19 14, by
the President, entering upon the duties of this
important office in the next month, and is g'iving
the public most excellent service through that
office. He has a splendid reputation
throughout that part of the county and is very
properly regarded as one of the leading men of
affairs.
Source: History of Putnam County, Ohio, by
George D. Kinder, Publ. 1915 by B. F. Bowen & Co.,
Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana - Page 736 |
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CHARLES FRANCIS HOLTZHAUER
Source: History of Putnam County, Ohio, by
George D. Kinder, Publ. 1915 by B. F. Bowen & Co.,
Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana - Page 303 |
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[ PORTRAIT ] |
THEODORE HORSTMAN
Source: History of Putnam County, Ohio, by
George D. Kinder, Publ. 1915 by B. F. Bowen & Co.,
Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana - Page 1208 |
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LEVI HUMMON Source: History of Putnam
County, Ohio, by George D. Kinder, Publ. 1915 by B.
F. Bowen & Co., Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana - Page
352 |
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AARON
HUYSMAN Source: History of Putnam County,
Ohio, by George D. Kinder, Publ. 1915 by B. F. Bowen
& Co., Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana - Page 1216 |
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