JOSEPH DEGROFT (deceased), who was one of the prominent and progressive agriculturists of Madison township, Sandusky county, and one of its early settlers, was born in Cumberland county, Penn., Nov. 25, 1814, and was a son of Joseph Degroft, a native of the same county, who died when our subject was only a year old.
     Our subject received but a limited education in the schools of his native town, and worked at different kinds of employment from the early age of twelve years until he reached manhood.  He received at first only forty cents per day for his labor, and continued working in this way until 1850, when with his family he came to Ohio, locating in Madison township, where he purchased eighty acres of land, all covered with timber.  His first work here was to build a house, and he erected a log cabin upon the site from which he cut away the trees in order to make room for the building.  He began life in true pioneer style here, and from the wilderness developed a highly-cultivated farm.  He first planted corn and wheat, and continued the work of improvement with the aid of his sons until he became the owner of one of the most valuable farming properties in this section of the county.  Often before the roads were constructed he had to carry on his back to Pemberville a sack of corn and wheat which he had ground into grist in order that the family might have food.  He also traveled through the woods and over the muddy roads to Fremont - a distance of twenty miles - leading his horse, and there did his milling and marketing.  He would then not reach his home until after midnight; but the pioneer days with their hardships passed, the log cabin was replaced by a substantial frame residence, barns were erected and the work of improvement carried forward until he became the owner of a model farm and the possessor of a handsome competence.
     Mr. Degroft was married on New Year's Day, 1849, in Cumberland county, Penn., to MARY CHAMBERS, and of the ten children born to them, seven are still living: (1) Mathew, born Mar. 7, 1840, in Cumberland county, was educated in the public schools of his locality, and here follows farming; he is married and has six children. (2) John, born Nov. 5, 1841, in Cumberland county, was educated in Madison township, Sandusky county, and with his family resides on a farm in Michigan.  (3) Joseph, born June 5, 1845, in Pennsylvania, is a contractor and builder, and resides on the homestead with his mother.  (4) Shannon, born Oct. 14, 1847, in Cumberland county, Penn., is married and has three children; he followed agricultural pursuits in Madison township, Sandusky County. (5) Thomas born November 25, 1850 in Madison township,   was for some years engaged in the practice of medicine, but is now in the railroad business in California.  (6) Catherine, born May 4, 1855, in Madison township, is the wife of Charles Sohnley, of Toledo.  (7) Lewis is an honored citizen of Sandusky county.  Alfred and Charles both died in infancy, and one girl also died in infancy.
     The mother of this family was born in Cumberland county, Penn., Sept. 17, 1822, and is a daughter of Thomas Chambers, a blacksmith, of the Keystone State.  In 1850 she came with her husband to Sandusky county, and shared with him the trials and hardships of pioneer life in the woods of Madison township.  She also assisted him in every way to make a home for the family, often aiding him in cutting down the trees, and in planting crops, going to the field at three o'clock in the morning.  Her devotion to her family entitles her to the greatest credit.  She is now over seventy-three years of age, and looking back over the past recalls many interesting incidents of pioneer life in Ohio.  She still transacts her business and attends to the duties of her house for leasing her land for oil prospecting purposes.
     Mr. Degroft was trustee of his township for several years, and was for a long period school director, taking a deep interest in the cause of education and everything calculated to benefit the county.  After a long illness of sixteen months he passed peacefully away, Apr. 27, 1892, and a faithful wife and loving children mourned the loss of a kind father and devoted husband.  He was ever ready to extend a helping hand to the poor and needy, and considered no sacrifice too great that would enhance the happiness of his family, to whom he left an untarnished name.  His widow still resides on the old home place, where she is enjoying the reward of earnest toil.
Source: Commemorative Biographical Record of the counties of SANDUSKY & OTTAWA, OHIO - Publ. J. B. Beers & Co. 1896 - Page 413

BYRON R. DUDROW, a resident of Fremont, Sandusky county, is a native of Ohio, born Mar. 1, 1855, in Adams township, near Green Spring, Seneca county, and is a son of David W. and Mary J. (Rule) Dudrow, the former of whom was born Oct. 25, 1825, in Frederick county, Md., a son of David and Elizabeth (Hines) Dudrow, also natives of Maryland, born in German ancestry.
     DANIEL W. DUDROW settled in Seneca county, Ohio, in 1845, becoming the owner of a large farm there, which he conducted up to the time of his decease, prospering himself and assisting others to prosper, his life presenting a striking example of industry, integrity and unselfishness.  On January 8, 1853, he was married to Miss Mary J. Rule, who was born in Seneca county, Ohio, daughter of Daniel and Jane (Grosscost) Rule, to which union were born eight children, four of whom died in infancy, and three sons and one daughter are yet living to wit:  Byron R., in Fremont, Ohio; William and Fred, in Adams township, Seneca county, engaged in farming and stockraising; and Jennie, with her mother on the old homestead.  On May 16, 1888, the father, Daniel W. Dudrow, met with a fatal accident, being instantly killed by the kick of a horse.
     DANIEL RULE, grandfather of Byron R. Dudrow, was born Oct. 28, 1801, on the banks fo the Susquehanna river, in Perry county, Penn., was of Teutonic descent, and spoke the German language fluently, while his wife, Jane (Grosscost), was of Scotch-Irish lineage.  In the fall of 1824 he moved to Seneca county, Ohio, at which time the Seneca In the fall of 1824 he moved to Seneca county, Ohio, at which time the Seneca Indians lived on the Seneca Reservation, and he became well acquainted with many of them some of whom were Redmen of note in their day, including the famous warrior chief Small Cloud Spicer, who at that time was a resident of the Sandusky Valley.  Samuel Rule, brother of Daniel, owned and improved a large farm in Menard county, Ill., dying there Nov. 7, 1884, while George, a half-brother of Daniel, was one of the pioneers of Sandusky county, Ohio.  Daniel Rule’s grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, serving under Gen. Washington, and participated in the siege of Yorktown; after the surrender of Cornwallis he returned to his home in southern Pennsylvania, and there succumbed to an abscess which had formed in his side.
     Byron R. Dudrow, the subject proper of these lines, received his elementary education at the district schools of the neighborhood of his place of birth, which was supplemented with a course of study at the Union schools of Tiffin and Clyde, Ohio.  This for a few years occupied his winter days, his summers being passed for the most part in assisting on his father’s farm in Adams township.  In the autumn of 1872 he entered the Preparatory Department of Baldwin University, Berea, Ohio, remaining there continuously until June, 1877, returning home only for his vacations.  By close application and hard study he gained one year upon his class, and did not require to attend college during the session of 1877-78; but in the latter year he returned to Berea, and on June 6^th graduated from Baldwin in the classical course, receiving the degree of B. A.  On June 9, 1881, the degree of M. A. was conferred upon him.
     On June 18, 1877, Mr. Dudrow commenced the study of law in the office of Basil Meek, at Clyde, Ohio, and was admitted to the bar by the District Court, Apr. 26, 1879.  He did not, however, at once enter into active practice, but served as deputy clerk of courts of Sandusky county from the time of his admission to the bar until Apr. 26, 1880, at which time he commenced the practice of the law.  He has been engaged in the trial of some prominent cases, and with success.  One of the most important trials in which he has engaged was the defense of Mrs. Lizzie Aldridge, who was charged with the murder of her husband, John Aldridge, the trial taking place at Hastings, Neb., in June, 1889.  Mrs. Aldridge was acquitted, and of Mr. Dudrow’s efforts in this case the Hastings (Neb.) Republican said:  “Mr. Dudrow, of Fremont, Ohio, was an earnest and pleasing talker; every word and action had power and weight that exerted an influence upon the jurors.”  The Adams county (Neb.) Democrat, also speaking of his able argument at the same trial, said:  “Of Mr. Dudrow, of Fremont, Ohio, it may be said that during the trial he won the good opinion and admiration of our people by his manly, eloquent and logical argument to the jury, and by the able manner in which he conducted the part of the case assigned to him.”  From 1883 till 1888 Mr. Dudrow practiced law in partnership with H. R. Finefrock, and since 1891 he has been associated with his father-in-law, Basil Meek, and John W. Worst.
     On Nov. 21, 1878, Mr. Dudrow was united in marriage at Clyde, Ohio, with Miss Mary E. Meek, daughter of Basil Meek, and who for several years had been a teacher in the Clyde public schools.  In his political predilections our subject is a Democrat, and has three times been elected to the office of city solicitor of Fremont, his services in that capacity covering a period of six years.  Besides his residence on Birchard avenue, Fremont, he owns a 300  acre farm in Townsend township, and he is considered one of Sandusky county’s most useful, progressive citizens.
Source: Commemorative Biographical Record of the counties of SANDUSKY & OTTAWA, OHIO - Publ. J. B. Beers & Co. 1896 - Page 146