JOHN GABEL, a successful farmer and substantial citizen of Rice township, Sandusky county, was born May 28, 1853, and is a son of John M. and Mary (Wyce) Gabel, who were born in Germany in 1812 and in 1822, respectively.
     John M. Gabel, father of the subject of this sketch, before his marriage worked for his father, Jacob Gabel, on the farm in Germany, and at the age of eighteen came with him to this country, settling in Buffalo, N. Y. He lived there about four years, then moved to Jackson township, Sandusky Co., Ohio, where he bought forty acres of land; later purchased 190 acres more, and there lived until about 1873. He then moved to Fremont, Sandusky county, and resided there with his daughter until his death. He worked hard for all his money. When he first came to this country he was a good Democrat and a Catholic. John M. Gabel died in 1874, his wife preceding him to the grave in 1870. They were the parents of seven children, six of whom were as follows: (1) Jacob died at the age of six; (2) Katie at the age of five, and (3) Laney at the age of one year; (4) Magdalena married Henry Hodes, who died in 1887 (they lived in Fremont, and had three children—Celia, Henry and Joseph); (5) John M. married Mary Richards, who died in 1880, after which he married Anna Miller, and they live in Fremont; (6) Elizabeth married Mr. Dolnick, by whom she had ten children—Michael, born April 28, 1870; Mary, born in 1871; Rosie; Elizabeth, who died at the age of three years; Allie, Celia, Edith, Urbin, Clara and Teresa; (7) John Gabel was united in marriage on June 29, 1873, in Jackson township, Sandusky county, with Celia Dorr (who was born January 6, 1855), and lived there until 1880, when he sold out and moved to Rice township, in the same county, and bought fifty-three acres, paying one hundred dollars an acre for it. Their children were as follows: Edward, born August 10, 1876, and died January 9, 1879; Ida M. was born November 13, 1877; Allie C, March 4, 1879; Sylvester P., June 5, 1880; Horbert M., June 19, 1881; Charles D., October 9, 1883; Julie L., May 20, 1884; Urbin, March 31, 1887; Corneila C, born June 22, 1890, and died September 28, 1893; and Corlette G., born November 6, 1894. In 1874, when John Gabel's father died, he left him eighty acres of land in Jackson township, Sandusky county. Mr. Gabel is engaged in general farming. He is much respected, is well and favorably known in the community in which he lives, has been constable of Rice township for five years, school director four years and supervisor seven years.
Source: Commemorative Biographical Record of the counties of SANDUSKY & OTTAWA, OHIO - Publ. J. B. Beers & Co. 1896 - Page 195

Source: Commemorative Biographical Record of the counties of SANDUSKY & OTTAWA, OHIO - Publ. J. B. Beers & Co. 1896 - Page 442

MORITZ A. GESSNER, a prosperous farmer of Riley township, Sandusky county, was born July 24, 1863, a son of Dr. Louis and Elizabeth Gessner, old residents of northern Ohio.
     Dr. Louis Gessner was born in Germany April 6, 1804, studied medicine, graduated in Switzerland, and practiced in Germany.  Coming to this country, he first engaged in the practice of his profession in Buffalo, N. Y., coming to Fremont, Ohio, in 1838.  On July 8, 1858, Dr. Gessner was united in marriage with Elizabeth Lhair, who was born in Germany Mar. 17, 1825, and they had four children, as follows:  Ida,  born Oct. 8, 1859, married William Nichols, and they live in Sandusky county; Laura, born Feb. 24, 1861, married Louis Balsixer and they had seven children (she died Mar. 9, 1890, and was buried in Ballville township); Moritz A. is the subject of this sketch; and Minnie born Sept. 10, 1867, married Charles Marks (they have had three children, and live in Riley township).  In 1861 Dr. Gessner discontinued the practice of medicine, and moved to Riley township, where in 1838 he had bought 160 acres of land, giving five dollars an acre for it.  Here he made his home the remainder of his life.
     Moritz N. Gessner received a common-school education, and worked for his father until the death of the latter, who left him eighty acres of land.  On January 13, 1886, in his twenty-third year, our subject was united in marriage with Christina Baker, who was born Nov. 2, 1866, and they have had two children - Louis F., born Mar. 24, 1887, and Gertie S., born Oct. 16, 1888.  Mr. Gessner is a member of Fort Stephenson Lodge No. 225, A. F. & A. M.  In religious connection he is a member of the Lutheran Church; in politics he is a stanch Democrat, and on Apr. 1, 1895, was elected trustee of Riley township.
Source: Commemorative Biographical Record of the counties of SANDUSKY & OTTAWA, OHIO - Publ. J. B. Beers & Co. 1896 - Page 442

JASON GIBBS, one of the most substantial and well-to-do citizen of Riley township, Sandusky county, was born Aug. 31, 1825, and is a son of Jonas and Rachel (Daniel) Gibbs.
     JONAS GIBBS was born in 1762; he was married, in Vermont, to Rachel Daniels, who was born in 1794, and in 1808 they located at the mouth of Pipe creek, in Huron county, Ohio, bought 300 acres of land, and lived there twelve years.  They then removed to Riley township, Sandusky county, here purchasing a thousand acres of land, and two years later five hundred acres more.  Here they passed the remainder of their lives, Mr. Gibbs dying in 1834, Mrs. Gibbs in 1848.  They had seven children, a brief records of whom is as follows: Isaac died at the early age of eighteen, unmarried.  Cynthia married Joseph H. Curtis, by whom she had three children, and they lived in Riley township; subsequently she married William Pierson, by whom she had eight children.  Boa married Mr. Dean, and they had eight children; they lived in Riley township.  Jonas married Rosina Linsey, and they had two children; he died in 1852, she in 1876.  Jeremiah married Jane Conrad, and they lived in Riley township.  Jason is the subject of these lines.  Luther married Emma Buskirk, and they had four children; they lived in Riley township.  Rachel married Lewis Barkheimer, and to their union had come one child; they there also residents of Riley township.
     After his father's death, Jason Gibbs remained with his mother on the farm until his twenty-first year.  On March 28, 1846, he was united in marriage with Elizabeth Conrad, who was born in Sandusky county, where she has always lived, daughter of John and Sarah (Tuttle) Conrad, who ere the parents of eleven children.  John Conrad was born in Ohio in 1795, and died in Sandusky county, February 3, 1869; his wife died June 11, 1883, aged eighty-four years, nine months, sixteen days.  Mrs. Gibbs' paternal grandmother was born in 1784; her maternal grandfather, Van Rensselaer Tuttle, was born in 1772.  After this marriage Mr. and Mrs. Gibbs moved to Riley township, where he bought a thousand acres of land.  They became the parents of four children, as follows:  Albert married Amelia Wright and they have two children - Charles and Burton P. - one of whom, Charles, died young.  Luther married Almira Beebe, and they have had ten children; they live in Riley township.  Burton married Jane Beebe, and they also live in Riley township; they have had two children - Charles A. and William J.  John married Laura Botsford, and they have had six children; they make their home in Riley township.
     Mr. Gibbs has been very successful in his dealings, and is well liked.  He cleared 300 acres of his land himself, which took him nearly five years, and has been engaged in general farming, the raising of fine hogs, and for several years has also operated in general farming, the raising of fine hogs, and for several years has also operated two sawmills.  Besides his property here he has 847 acres of valuable land in Tennessee, on which his oldest son reside.  In 1893 Mr. Gibbs retired.  He attends the Lutheran Church, is a Republican in politics, and has been honored with public office, having been supervisor for twenty years.  One of Mr. Gibbs' uncles, Luther, was killed at Huron, Ohio, by the falling of a block from a ship's mast; another, Jerry, was killed by Indians at Sandusky (the night before his murder he dreamed that the Indians came to his home and killed him).
Source: Commemorative Biographical Record of the counties of SANDUSKY & OTTAWA, OHIO - Publ. J. B. Beers & Co. 1896 - Page 229

H. G. GIBBONS is a leading real-estate dealer of Clyde, Sandusky county, and is a native of New York State, born July 27, 1842, at Lisbon, St. Lawrence county.
     On his father's side he is descended from old English stock, while on his mother's he claims Scotch descent. His paternal grandparents in an early day emigrated from their native land, England, to Upper Canada (now Province of Ontario), where, in the then village of Renfrew, they passed the rest of their lives. Their children were: James, William, George, Joseph, Thomas and Mary, of whom James was a ship captain on the lakes many years; William and George were extensive lumber and timber merchants; Thomas was the father of our subject, and will be more fully spoken of presently; Mary married Philip Thompson, all of whom made their home in the vicinity of Renfrew, Canada.
     Thomas Gibbons was born at Renfrew, Canada, in 1810, whence he moved to New York State, making a permanent settlement there. For many years he was clerk of the court at Canton, St. Lawrence county, and enjoyed a wide popularity. He owned a large farm, and at one period of his life was a steamboat clerk on the river St. Lawrence, at another time conducting a mercantile business. He was married at Canton, N. Y., to Isabella Thompson, who was born in Scotland in 1810, and when an eight year old girl came to America with her parents, who settled in St. Lawrence county, N. Y., where they followed agricultural pursuits. To Thomas Gibbons and his wife were born eleven children, a brief record of whom is as follows: (1) William was a veteran in the war of the Rebellion, and was made prisoner at the battle of Spottsylvania Court House, where he was wounded; he died recently in St. Lawrence county, N. Y. (2) James was a clerk in Ogdensburg, N. Y., for about fifteen years, and subsequently followed the trade of jeweler. (3) Jonathan was a wholesale merchant at Flackville, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y. (4) Isaac ran a mail stage for many years at Ogden, N. Y., and is now a wholesale merchant at Hermon, N. Y. (5) Mary Jane married Eli Vandelinder, and they live at DeKalb Junction, N. Y. (6) Agnes married Samuel Baxter, a farmer and dairyman of DeKalb, N. Y. (7) H. G. is the subject proper of this sketch. (8) Marcelia married Joseph Lawrence, and they are residents of New York State. (9) Susannah married Thomas McConkey, and they moved to Toronto, Canada, where they died. (10) George is a wholesale and retail merchant at DeKalb Junction, N. Y., where he is a leading politician. (11) Helen married Albert Lawrence, a furniture dealer of DeKalb Junction, N. Y. The parents of this numerous family died, the father in 1860, the mother in 1874.
     H. G. Gibbons received a liberal education at the public schools of the vicinity of his place of birth, subsequently attending college at Canton, N. Y., after which he went to Canada and there taught school some seven years. Returning to New York State, he did not long tarry there, having concluded to try his fortune in the then Far West. After a brief residence in Chicago, however, he "drifted" from there to New Orleans, whence after a stay of some three months he returned north, and in 1863 took up his temporary abode in Cleveland, Ohio. From there he once more proceeded to New York State, thence a second time to Canada, where he again took up the profession of school-teacher. At the end of about a year he returned to the United States, and in Riley township, Sandusky Co., Ohio, made a more permanent settlement. Here for twenty years he taught school, becoming a representative "dominie," a veritable reproduction of the school-master Oliver Goldsmith had in his mind's eye when he penned the lines:
     A man severe he was, and stern to view; I knew him well, as every truant knew; "Well had the boding- tremblers learned to trace the day's disasters in his morning face.
     After this extensive and honorable professional career Mr. Gibbons retired from the field of pedagogy to engage in other pursuits, among which may be mentioned the selling of farm machinery among the agricultural classes, more recently taking up the real-estate business, in which latter occupation he is at present extensively engaged in the city of Clyde.
     Mr. Gibbons has been twice married first time in 1869 to Miss Sarah Van Buskirk, who was born in Riley township, Sandusky Co., Ohio, and who passed away two years after marriage, leaving one child, Justin R., born February 11, 1868, died April 16, 1888. For his second wife Mr. Gibbons was married in 1871 to Miss Sarah Hawk, who was born in Green Creek township, Sandusky Co., Ohio, November 1, 1848, and the record of the children born to this union is as follows: (1) Maude M., born March 14, 1874, is one of the most estimable young ladies of Clyde, and is at present assisting her father in his real-estate business; (2) Mabel L., born December 28, 1882; (3) Harry G., born October 21, 1886; (4) Clyde, born April 13, 1890, died December 8, 1890. Mr. Gibbons is a man of impulsive yet sympathetic temperament, scourging all that is wrong with unrelenting lash, and cleaving to what is right with fierce tenacity. To his enemies he is generous, though antagonistic; to his friends he is faithful and sincere. In his political preferences he is an ardent Dem­ocrat, and he enjoys the esteem and respect of a wide circle of friends.
Source: Commemorative Biographical Record of the counties of SANDUSKY & OTTAWA, OHIO - Publ. J. B. Beers & Co. 1896 - Page 180

CAPTAIN W. E. GILLETT, township and corporation clerk, and ex-officio clerk of the school board of Green Creek township, Sandusky county, is one of the leading citizens of Clyde.  His birth occurred in Groton township, Erie Co., Ohio, on the 4th of September, 1860, and he is a son of William and Elizabeth (Hearson) Gillett, both natives of Lincolnshire, England, where the father was born in 1833, and the mother in 1835.  The father is a son of John Gillett, with whom he came to America when quite small, locating near Sandusky, Erie Co., Ohio, where he grew to manhood.  His parents both died in  Sandusky county, where for about ten years William Gillett conducted a shoe store, but he now makes his home in Bellevue, Ohio.
     In this vicinity the Captain spent the days of his boyhood and youth, no event of special importance occurring during that period.  His education was completed in the high school of Clyde, and on the farm he assisted in the labors of the fields.  At the age of twenty-one he became a drug clerk, and later entered a grocery store.  For about eight years he was with his father in the shoe business, being a member of the firm of Gillett & Sons.  Since that time he has mostly filled official positions, being secretary of the water-works, and, while holding the office of township and corporation clerk, was also connected with the electric light plant.
     Eleven years ago Capt. Gillett joined the McPherson Guards as a private, was later promoted to sergeant and then to first sergeant, afterward to lieutenant, and finally to captain of his company, which position he now fills.  He has had charge of his company during the recent strikes in the coal mines, and on several other occasions where they were called to aid civil authorities.
     Capt. Gillett was united in marriage with Miss Ida Day, of Sandusky, Ohio, and to them has been born a daughter, Edna.  The Captain is one of the most popular men in Clyde, and is spoken of as a probable man for future honors in Sandusky county.  He is enterprising, energetic and progressive, and takes a deep interest in everything pertaining to the welfare of the community, where he is so widely and favorably known.  In politics he is a Republican, and is a stalwart supporter of its men and measures.  Socially he belongs to the royal Arcanum.
Source: Commemorative Biographical Record of the counties of SANDUSKY & OTTAWA, OHIO - Publ. J. B. Beers & Co. 1896 - Page 464