OHIO GENEALOGY EXPRESS - Seneca Co., Ohio

	WILLIAM MERGENTHALER. For almost a third of a centry William Mergenthaler has been identified with the industrial interests of the city of Fostoria, being well known as a carriage manufacturer. Seneca county numbers him among her native sons, his birth having occurred in Loudon township, on a farm located five miles south of this city, in the year 1850. His father, Godfrey Mergenthaler, was one of four brothers who settled in Seneca county at an early period in its development and bore a very active part in the work of improvement and progress. The other three brothers were Jacob, John and Gottlieb. All four came to Seneca county with their father and each took up land from the government and inaugurated the work of developing the same into fertile and productive farms. They were natives of Wittenberg, Germany, and on crossing the Atlantic to the new world made their way direct to Ohio. The father of our subject was twice married, his first union having been with Miss Heiserman, who likewise was a native of Germany, and they became the parents of two sons and one daughter,—Jacob and Melcher, who are well known citizens of Fostoria; and Mary, who is the wife of Philip Deywalt, and resides near Bascom, Hopewell township. After the death of his first wife, Godfrey Mergenthaler was united in marriage to Miss Magdalena Hilghay, who was born in Germany, and of this union five children were born,—Catherine, Henry, William, Caroline and Magdalena,— all of whom are living with the exception of Henry, who died at the age of twenty-six years. William Mergenthaler, the immediate subject of this review, passed the days of his boyhood and youth upon the old homestead farm, early becoming familiar with all the duties that fall to the lot of the agriculturist, while to the public-school system of the place and period he is indebted for the educational privileges which he enjoyed. Since the year 1869 he has been identified with the manufacturing interests of Fostoria, having in that year here established a carriage manufactory, which he has since conducted with success. He purchased land on East Tiffin street, where his shop and brick block are now located. He sells his products throughout the state of Ohio and also ships to Indiana and Pennsylvania. He manufactures a full line of wagons and buggies and has recently inaugurated the manufacturing of automobiles. His plant is thoroughly equipped with the latest improved machinery for the facile carrying on of the business, and the excellence of his products, noted for their durability as well as style and workmanship, has secured to Mr. Mergenthaler a patronage which is steadily increasing and which has made him one of the prosperous business men of the attractive city where he maintains his home. Mr. Mergenthaler exercises his franchise in support of the principles and policies of the Democratic party, but has never been an aspirant for office, his time being fully occupied by his business affairs, in which be is meeting with signal success. All that he possesses be has gained through his own efforts and unfaltering energy and enterprise. Ever alert to adopt new methods which commend themselves to his judgment as tending to improve or facilitate Ins business, he has steadily advanced along the highway which leads to definite success, and he is accounted one of the prominent and prosperous business men of Fostoria, where he commands unequivocal confidence and esteem. In 1872 Mr. Mergenthaler was married to Miss Mary Zennet, of Findlay, Hancock county, and they became the parents of four children, namely: Lulu, who died at the age of twenty years; Harry M., who is now associated with his father in business and who is one of the popular and progressive young business men of Fostoria, being a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and still residing at the parental home: Laura, who is the wife of Delmo Eberhardt, of Fostoria, and has one child, Florence E.; and Nellie, the youngest of the children, remains at the home of her parents. Source: A Centennial Biographical History of Seneca County, Ohio - Publ. by Lewis Publishing Company - 1902 - Page 728
	GEORGE W. MEYERS. He whose life now comes under review must be distinctively regarded as one of the representative citizens of Seneca county,—one whose prominence in the annals noting the progress of agriculture in this favored section of the Buckeye commonwealth is similar to the position occupied, in the earlier stages of development and reclamation, by his honored father, who was one of the intelligent and enterprising pioneers of the county, where he lent his assistance in causing the towering forests to give place to the grain fields whose soil has for years been furrowed and refurrowed by the plowshare. Mr. Meyers was born on the parental homestead in Bloom township, Seneca county, Ohio, on the 27th of May, 1835, being the son of Jacob and Maria (Warren) Meyers, of whose nine children the four surviving are as follows: Mary F., the wife of Henry Meyers, of Attica; George W., of this review; William T., who is engaged in the insurance business in the city of Toledo; and Frederick, a resident of Denver, Colorado. The father of our subject was born in Switzerland in the year 1797, and there he was reared and educated, learning the trade of shoemaker. About the year 1821 he emigrated to America and made his way to Philadelphia, where he worked at his trade until he had accumulated sufficient money to enable him to return to his native land for his parents, thus showing how deep was his filial devotion and how sterling his character. On his return to the United States he was accompanied not only by his venerable parents, but also by his two brothers, Henry and David. From Philadelphia they started for Ohio, but while en route the parents became ill, compelling them to stop in Meadville, Pennsylvania, where both died about two years later. Jacob Meyers and his brother David then came to Seneca county, locating in Bloom township, where Jacob purchased a small tract of land, to which he added by entering claim to adjoining tracts, and finally became the owner of one hundred and eighty acres, while his brother David accumulated two hundred. They also filed entry on an eighty-acre tract for their brother Henry, who had remained in Philadelphia, where he was employed as an instructor in the blind institute, there remaining about eighteen years, and having been the first to teach to the blind the art of making brooms and brushes. His health finally became impaired and he then came to Seneca county and settled on his farm, so that the three brothers were numbered among the pioneers of this section. The father of our subject died in 1861, and his wife, whom he married in Philadelphia, passed away four years later. He was a Democrat in his earlier years of residence here, but was an ardent supporter of the Union cause as the Civil war drew on, and cast his vote in support of Abraham Lincoln for the presidency. He and his wife were devoted members of the Reformed church, and their lives were ever in harmony with the sincere faith which they professed. George W. Meyers was reared on the old homestead farm, in Bloom township, receiving the basis of a good practical education in the schools of the neighborhood, the supplementation having come by reading, personal application and association with the practical affairs of life. Upon attaining maturity his father gave him employment by the month, and he thus continued to be concerned in the management and improvement of the homestead until the death of his father, and thereafter until the farm was sold by the heirs and the estate settled up, in 1870. Upon thus dividing the estate our subject invested his funds in his present farm, in Venice township, the same comprising one hundred and sixteen acres, and here he has since maintained his home, having been signally prospered in his efforts and having made the best of improvements on the place. In 1900 he purchased an adjoining farm of sixty acres, but he anticipates removing to the town of Attica in the near future and practically retiring from the active duties and labors of the industry through which he has attained success. This will prove the consistent reward of his many years of toil and endeavor. In politics he is a stalwart Republican, and in religion his faith is that of the Universalist church. Feb. 28, 1867, Mr. Meyers was united in marriage to Miss Mary Meyers, who was born in this county, the daughter of Rudolph and Magdalena Meyers, who1 also were born in Switzerland, the two families, however, being not of the same lineal descent. Mr. and Mrs. Meyers have no children. Source: A Centennial Biographical History of Seneca County, Ohio - Publ. by Lewis Publishing Company - 1902 - Page 203
	PAUL MILLER. We now come to a consideration of the more salient points in the life history of one of the representative business men of Seneca county, one who stands forward as a native son of the county and a member of a sterling pioneer family. His name has ever been synonymous with upright manhood and good citizenship; he has given his influence and means to the betterment of society, to schools and church, to the support of good government and to the industries which have had important bearing on the advancement of the prosperity and material upbuilding of the county. Mr. Miller was born in Venice township this county, on the 5th of May, 1840, being the son of John M. and Frederica (Writer) Miller, who became the parents of ten children, namely: John M., David T., Lewis, Elias, Christian C., Paul, Aaron and Moses (both deceased), Solomon, and Hannah, who is the widow of Mr. Gruner. John M. Miller was born in Germany, on the 15th of June, 1801, and was there educated, learning the weaver's trade. He was there married, and in 1832 emigrated tot America, locating in Medina county, Ohio, where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits for a period of four years. In 1836 he came to Seneca county and purchased a quarter section of heavily timbered land, in Venice township, having to cut a way through the forest to reach his place. Here he built a primitive log cabin, and he cleared the farm and brought it under a fine state of productivity, while the success which had attended his efforts was attested by the fact that prior to his death he had accumulated about five hundred acres of good land in this county. He was a zealous member of the Lutheran church, and held various local offices of trust and responsibility. His first wife died in 1850, and he subsequently married Miss Catherine Kalb, who died in 1880, there having been no children born of their union. The father of our subject passed away in 1885, at the venerable age of eighty-four years and honored as one of the sterling pioneers of the county. Paul Miller, the immediate subject of this sketch, was reared on the old homestead and acquired his early educational discipline in the public schools. He thereafter learned the carpenter trade, and in January, 1864, he enlisted in the Union army as a mechanic, working at his trade in St. Louis, thence being sent to Nashville and later to Johnsonville, Tennessee, where his command remained until driven out by the Confederate forces, when they returned to Nashville, where Mr. Miller received his honorable discharge, in the spring of 1865. He then returned home, and for a time was located in Lykens township, Crawford county, whence he removed to Tiffin, Seneca county, where be purchased a sawmill, which he operated four years, and then removed to Swanders Station, Shelby county, where he remained four years, at the expiration of which time he came to Bloomiville, where he has since maintained his home and where he has conducted an important business in the way of milling, lumbering, contracting and building and farming, being one of the active and progressive business men of the county and having shown a marked capacity for affairs of wide scope and importance. He has owned seven different sawmills, and also is at the present time owner of a well equipped sash and door factory in Bloomville. He is a stanch Democrat in politics and served for four years in the office of justice of the peace, while for more than a decade he was a member of the town council of Bloomville. His religious faith is that of the Reformed church, of which his wife also is a member. In 1863 Mr. Miller was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Marshall, who was born in Venice township, this county, the daughter of Jacob Marshall, who was born in Germany, whence he came to America, becoming one of the pioneer farmers of Seneca county, Ohio, where he owned several hundred acres of land at the time of his death. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have had eight children, namely: John B., of Bowling Green, Ohio; Elizabeth A., the wife of E. D. Swanders, of Bowling Green; Emma C., the wife of C. F. Sponseller, of Cleveland; Benjamin F., Harry N. and Charles B., who are at the parental home; Ilona, who is deceased; and Iva Pearl, who is at home. Source: A Centennial Biographical History of Seneca County, Ohio - Publ. by Lewis Publishing Company - 1902 - Page 736
	ROBERT MILLER. As the honored president of the City National Bank, of Tiffin, and one of the representative business men of the Buckeye state, where he has long had to do with affairs of marked scope and importance in connection with industrial activities, it is incumbent that specific mention be made of Mr. Miller in a work of this nature, not alone by reason, of the prominent position which he maintains, but also with an ulterior view to the incentive which the record of his honorable and useful career may afford to those who- in time may come to peruse these pages. Mr. Miller conies of stanch old English stock and is himself a native of Cambridgeshire, England, where he was horn on the 15th of April, 1835. He was but six years of age at the time when his father, William Miller, emigrated to America, locating in Medina, Ohio, where for twelve years he was engaged in the tailoring business, having learned the trade in his native land. At the expiration of the period noted he removed to a new farm near Portage, in Wood county, the village of Mungen being later founded in the vicinity of his home. The subject of his review was nineteen years of age at the time when the family removed to the Wood county farm, and he assisted in the work of reclaiming and cultivating the land, where his father continued to reside for a period of about twenty-three years, when he removed to Kansas, where his youngest son had settled, and there he died at the age of seventy-four years. The mother of our subject died when he was eight years of age, her maiden name having been Elizabeth Turner, and thereafter the eldest daughter presided over the household. He was the fourth m a family of eight children, of whom six are still living, he being the only representative of the family in Seneca county. Three years after locating in Wood county he disposed of his interest in the old homestead to his brothers and was thereafter employed for some time by the month. In June, 1860, at the age of twenty-five years, he was united in marriage to Miss Ruth Mercer, who was born in Wood county, being the daughter of John Mercer, one of the influential citizens of that section. Prior to his marriage Mr. Miller had secured a tract of land in Wood county, a portion of the same being prairie, and for a time he devoted his attention to the improvement and cultivation of the same, the while making his home in the residence of his wife’s parents. He finally took charge of the Mercer farm, as Mr. Mercer's advanced age led him to practically retire from active business. Mr. Miller had continued to buy additional land and had given special attention to the feeding and shipping of live stock, his energy and discrimination being so directed as to make his success cumulative in order. In May, 1894, Mr. Miller took up his residence in Tiffin, where he engaged in the banking business under the firm name of Miller & Son, his son, Thomas A., becoming cashier of the institution, which was capitalized for fifty thousand dollars. Later the capital stock was increased to' one hundred thousand dollars and the institution was incorporated under the national banking laws, Mr. Miller becoming president at the time of organization and having ever since been in tenure of this office. He has shown distinctive financial talent in directing the affairs of the City National Bank, which is one of the sound and conservative financial institutions of the state, transacting a general banking business and also maintaining a department for savings. The directors are all Seneca county men and are known as substantial and honored citizens, the directorate including at the present time, in addition to the president, the following named gentlemen: Charles Seitz, Lewis Sells, Shelby Myers, George Shroff and Grattan Baker. Mr. Miller has other important capitalistic interests, owning one thousand acres of land in the oil district of the state and having received, handsome dividend's from the operations on the same, which have now been conducted for nearly five years. In politics Mr. Miller has even given a stanch allegiance to the Republican party, and while he served for seven years as trustee of Portage township, Wood county, he has had no predilection for official preferment and has otherwise refused public office. During his entire mature life he has held membership in the Church of Christ, in whose cause he has maintained a lively interest. The beautiful family home, in Melmore street, is one of the most attractive in the city, having spacious and finely ornamented grounds, while the residence is large and of modern and effective architectural design. Mrs. Miller has been particularly generous in the support of the Church of Christ, taking an active part in its work and contributing to the same with exceptional liberality. She early took a deep concern in the welfare of the church in Tiffin, and it was almost entirely through her financial aid that the present beautiful church edifice was erected. Her father had founded, and to a large extent maintained, a church of this denomination in Wood county, and she felt that she could not make a more grateful use of the proceeds of his estate than to devote the same to the enlargement and sustenance of church work. The church in Tiffin was erected at a cost of twenty-eight thousand dollars, and this amount was almost wholly contributed by Mrs. Miller, from her father’s estate, while her annual contribution to the church has been one thousand dollars, so that her devotion can not be doubted, while her benefactions have gained to her the grateful recognition of the local organization, as well as the church at large. She still continues to take an active part in all divisions of the church work, the support of its collateral benevolences, etc., and is prominent in the social life of her home city, the home being a center of refined hospitality. In conclusion we enter a brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Miller; Thomas Abram is associated with his father in banking farming and the oil business, and is at present cashier of the City National Bank; Mattie is the wife of William Cook, assistant cashier in the Western State Bank, in the city of Chicago; Pearl is the wife of Dallas Osborn, who is engaged in the ranching business at Las Vegas, New Mexico; Daniel, who died at the age of twenty-nine years, operated for a time the stave factory at Mermill, Wood county, the village having been named in honor of Messrs. Mercer and Miller, who made the principal improvements at the founding of the village, and later he was associated with his father in the oil business until his death, which was a grievous blow to his devoted parents, as he was a young man of noble character, commanding unqualified respect and confidence. Source: A Centennial Biographical History of Seneca County, Ohio - Publ. by Lewis Publishing Company - 1902 - Page 125
	THE MYERS BROTHERS. In a publication which purports to touch upon the history of the men and forces whose contribution to the development and material prosperity of Seneca county has been of distinctive scope and importance, it is but consistent that more than passing attention be accorded to the Myers Brothers, publishers of the Seneca Advertiser and the Tiffin Daily Advertiser. They have been of marked service to their city, county and state through various avenues of usefulness, and the papers with whose publication they have been long and intimately identified have wielded a wide and beneficent influence in the local field, while the enterprise involved is one which can not be considered as other than a potent factor in connection with the industrial activities of this favored section of the Buckeye1 commonwealth. We are thus gratified in being able to here enter individual sketches of the careers of these honored citizens and representative business men of the city of Tiffin. JOHN M. MYERS, who has the editorial direction of the weekly and daily editions of the Advertiser, is a native of Maryland, having been born in the town of Clearspring, Washington county, on the 13th of September, 1838, the son of Michael and Anna E. (Wagner) Myers, the ancestors of both having been of stanch German stock, and the original American representatives having located in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, in the colonial epoch of our national history. In the year 1856 Michael Myers, in company with his wife and their four sons and two daughters, came from Maryland to Seneca county, Ohio, and here the parents passed the remainder of their lives, the father having been a contractor and builder by vocation. He was a man of sterling character and became one of the highly esteemed citizens of this county, making his home in Tiffin, where he died in the year 1891, at the age of eighty-one years. His wife passed away in 1876, aged sixty-four years. John M. Myers had received his early educational discipline in the public schools of Maryland, and there also he had initiated his identification with the “art preservative of all arts,’’ by serving an apprenticeship at the printer’s trade. In February, i860, he became a compositor in the office of the Seneca Advertiser, and three years later, in January, 1863, we find him installed as editor and publisher of this pioneer newspaper of Tiffin. In 1867 he became associated with his brother, E. Shelby, in the purchasing of a half interest in the enterprise, and in 1878 the third brother, E. Bruce Myers, became a partner also. The brothers continued to be thus associated in the conducting of the business until April, 1884, when they disposed of a two-thirds interest to L. A. Brunner and J. W, Geiger. During their connection with the Advertiser the Myers brothers had developed the undertaking in all of its departments, and had one of the best equipped newspaper offices in the state, while their energy and well directed efforts have insured a large and profitable business. In 1888, after the death of Mr. Brunner, the Myers brothers repurchased the plant and business of the Advertiser, the daily edition of which had been established two- years previously. About 1890 they erected their present building, the entire plant being simultaneously enlarged and otherwise improved, while at the present time the equipment throughout is of the most modern and metropolitan type, including the latest designs in power presses and involving the operation of the linotype typesetting machine, of which one has been installed. The demands of the business are such, however, that at the time of this writing (May, 1902) the brothers have in course of erection an addition to their building, and through this the floor space and accommodations will be doubled. The building as' thus remodeled will he forty by ninety feet in lateral dimensions, and two stories and a basement in height. The plant includes a well equipped bindery for pamphlet work, and the job department has the best of facilities for turning out all classes of work in the highest form of the printer's art and on short notice. New presses have been installed and the investment in the plant now reaches an aggregate of many thousand dollars. All machinery is operated by electric motors, each machine having its own individual motor. In connection with the publication of the papers a corps of twenty-two capable workmen is retained. The brothers of whom we write have been associated in various other enterprises which have conserved the normal advancement and material prosperity of the city and county, and John M. has always been considered the head of the firm, whose policies have been regulated with marked discrimination and ability, the brothers being duly conservative and counseling together on all matters of importance. A fair view of public questions, clearly presented, will do more to form the general opinion of any community than any other one agency, and the Myers brothers have been potent factors in shaping pubic opinion, both in the matter of politics and in all pertaining to the well-being of the community, of whose interests they have made the papers able exponents. Their influence has been exerted in support of the principles and policies of the Democratic party, but they have neither sought nor desired official preferment for themselves. In 1879 they became associated with four other citizens of Tiffin in the purchase of the Ohio Stove Works, this partnership obtaining until January, 1882, while in 1893 the works of the concern were removed from Tiffin to a point in Illinois. In January, 1882, the original partnership was abrogated by the organization of a stock company, which was duly incorporated, and of the same Mr. Myers has been secretary and treasurer from the time of organization. He is associated with his brothers in the operation of an extensive cattle ranch in New Mexico. In the year 1871 was solemnized the marriage of John M. Myers to Miss Lurena A. Frees, daughter of Wesley B. Frees, of Tiffin. E. SHELBY MYERS was born in Clearspring, Washington county, Maryland, on the 18th of December, 1840, and is now actively associated with his brothers in their business enterprises, being also a stockholder in and a member of the directorate of the Citizens' National Bank, in Tiffin. In 1870 he was united in marriage to Miss Sarah E. Haas, daughter of John R. Haas, one of the founders of the Tiffin Agricultural Works. E. BRUCE MYERS, who is business manager of the Seneca Advertiser and the Daily Advertiser, is likewise a native of Clearspring, Maryland, where he was born on the 1st of February, 1851. He has practically passed his entire life in Seneca county, having been a lad of five years at the time when the family removed to this section from Maryland. In 1879 he was united in marriage to Miss Ella M. Cunningham, daughter of George W. Cunningham, a well-known miller and grain dealer of Tiffin. Mr. and Mrs. Myers have two daughters, — Bessie and Marie. LEON B. MYERS, who is foreman of the news office of the Advertiser, both weekly and daily, was born in Maryland, in 1855, and was thus an infant in arms at the time his parents made the long trip from his native state to become pioneers of Seneca county, where he was reared and educated. In 1880 he was married to Miss Rebecca McDonald, daughter of Major McDonald, of Bucyrus, this state, and they have two daughters. In conclusion, it certainly will not be malapropos to enter a brief resume of the history of the newspaper business which the Myers brothers have developed to an enterprise of so great importance. On the 4th of August, 1832, the Seneca Patriot was founded by J. H. Brown, the primitive hand press utilized having been one which was brought across the mountains about the year 1800, by James Colerick, and in 1816 it was in use at Mount Vernon, Ohio. The hebdomadal Patriot became defunct, and in 1834 Alonzo Rawson published in Tiffin the Independent Chronicle and the Seneca Advertiser. On the 6th of May, 1842, John G. Breslin appeared as publisher of the Seneca Advertiser, having purchased the office of the VanBurenite, which had developed from the earlier paper. In 1854 this well-known and honored citizen was elected to the office of state treasurer, and in the following year W. W. Armstrong assumed editorial charge of the Advertiser, of which he became sole proprietor in 1857. He, too, was called to distinguished public office, having served as secretary of state in 1862-3. John M. Myers and Lewis Beilharz leased the office at this time and the former became sole lessee in 1864, since which time the history of the enterprise has already been a matter of record in this article. It may be further stated, however, that the Seneca Advertiser is issued on Thursday of each week, in the form of a six-column quarto, and that the Daily Advertiser, a seven-column folio, is issued each evening except Sunday, and is to be considered as unmistakably one of the brightest, cleanest and most attractive dailies issued in any of the smaller cities of the state. Source: A Centennial Biographical History of Seneca County, Ohio - Publ. by Lewis Publishing Company - 1902 - Page 42
	BENJAMIN F. MYERS. Benjamin F. Myers, who during life was one of the esteemed teachers and prominent men of Tiffin, Ohio, was a descendant of one of the German pioneers of this state, his grandfather, Conrad Myers, coming hither from Pennsylvania, and settling in Mahoning county in 1796. Conrad Myers, the son of Conrad, married Leah Rauch, who was born in Pennsylvania, and in 1845 removed to Seneca county, settling on a farm in Jackson township. They had a family of five sons and four daughters, one of the sons being the subject of this biography. Benjamin F. Myers was born May 2, 1833, in Mahoning county, Ohio. His early education was acquired in the primitive district schools, and as early as the age of sixteen years he began teaching, a profession which he followed for upward of thirty-seven years with signal success. Ambitious and energetic, he soon found a way to become a student in Heidelberg University, at Tiffin, where he entered the scientific department, becoming one of the most ambitious and determined students in his class. After leaving college he immediately resumed teaching, first in the district schools, but, as bis ability became known, rising to the principalship of one of the most important schools in the city of Tiffin. For twenty years Mr. Myers was assistant superintendent of the city schools, and he became favorably known in all educational work, both in the city and county. For a period of thirty-seven years Mr. Myers was a leading educator, his scholarly attainments giving him prominence in higher educational circles, while his pleasing personality and thorough comprehension of the trend of educational life made his services of incalculable value. Particularly was he known as a member of the board of county school examiners, a position which he filled with credit for twenty years. Aside from his educational work, which was unusually beneficial, Mr. Myers was prominent in other lines. In 1885 he was elected, as the candidate of the Democratic party, to the office of county treasurer, his record for ability and personal integrity giving him a very large majority ahead of his ticket. He efficiently served the county in this responsible position during two terms, and was one of the most faithful officials that Seneca county ever had. He was also interested in several commercial enterprises and was one of the organizers and stockholders in the Tiffin Savings Bank, being its vice-president from its organization until his death. Mr. Myers was married, in 1856, to Miss Leah A. Faulk, of Columbiana county, Ohio, and to this union was born one son, Claude Eugene, who is still living with his mother. He married Miss Nellie C. Pindar. Mrs. Myers is still a resident of Tiffin, occupying a stately brick residence on Clinton avenue, this beautiful place having been occupied and owned by them at the time of her husband's decease, July 20, 1896. It is located in a choice residence section of the city and is a valuable part of the estate which Mr. Myers had accumulated. He was a man of excellent business ability and was successful in his enterprises. He was an active member and liberal supporter of the First Reformed church, as is also his widow, and here he was sincerely mourned. In the church and in the social life of the community Mrs. Myers is known for her interest in good works. As a man of the strictest business integrity Benjamin F. Myers will always be remembered by the public; as a careful and conscientious teacher many will long testify to his efficiency; while his genial, generous disposition and kind and sympathetic nature endeared him to all who knew him and surrounded him with many loyal friends. In the death of Mr. Myers this city and Seneca county lost an esteemed citizen; the youth, whose characters are shaping for life’s activities, lost an earnest and sympathizing instructor; the church was deprived of a conscientious Christian and benevolent worker; and the family mourned a loving husband and father. Source: A Centennial Biographical History of Seneca County, Ohio - Publ. by Lewis Publishing Company - 1902 - Page 592
	DAVID MYERS. Among the well known and highly respected citizens and prosperous farmers of Seneca county is David Myers, who as a practical agriculturist has few superiors in this township. The Myers family originated in Switzerland, from which country have come many of the hardy pioneers who have made the wilderness, in which they first settled in their new homes on this side of the Atlantic, blossom into productiveness and return wealth to their descendants. Among those who tired of the religious persecutions in his own country was David Myers, a native of Switzerland, who settled, in its early days of occupancy, in Bloom township, choosing this location on account of its evident fertility and advantageous situation. David Myers, the father of our subject, married Elizabeth Woolerd, and they became the parents of a family of nine children,—four sons and five daughters. Five of the family still survive. The first purchase of land made by David Myers was forty acres, which he entered from the government, his frugality and industry enabling him to add to his possessions until at the time of his death he owned an estate, in one tract, comprising one hundred and ninety-four acres. Mr. Myers was a hard-working man all his life, but his years extended to seventy-four, all of which had been usefully employed, his death occurring in 1881. The beloved mother of our subject survived until 1890, her death taking place at the age of seventy-four years. Both parents were beloved in the home and respected in the neighborhood. Their lives were circumscribed by the limits of this community, where they left to their children and neighbors records of quiet and worthy lives. David Myers, who is the subject of this biography, was born on the old farm in Bloom township, the scene of his parents’ early struggles. He received an excellent common-school education and has applied all his energies to the development of this farm. In connection with his father he cleared the additional purchases as they were made, and in his father’s declining years he assumed full management. With Mr. Myers farming is not simply an occupation, his experience and knowledge have enabled him to enjoy it as a science. Nature has concealed few secrets from him; he thoroughly understands every branch of the business, the properties of the soil and its adaptation to the various vegetable growths, the horticultural possibilities of his land, and the economical raising and feeding of stock. He improvements which Mr. Myers has been continually engaged in making on his farm are substantial and of a permanent character, and render it both comfortable and attractive. As a general farmer his methods are considered excellent, his one hundred and ninety-four acres yielding crops which testify to his close attention to business as well as to the fertility of this part of Seneca county. As a citizen David Myers enjoys the esteem and confidence of his fellow citizens, many of whom have known him from his infancy. He has never taken any active part in political life, his home interests and employments proving more attractive. In the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, however, he has taken a deep interest, and he is one of the valued members of the lodge in Bloomville. In the peaceful following of his vocation Mr. Myers has won the respect of all who know him, and also the solid comfort which is the just reward of duties faithfully performed. Source: A Centennial Biographical History of Seneca County, Ohio - Publ. by Lewis Publishing Company - 1902 - Page 586

CLICK HERE to Return to SENECA COUNTY, OHIO	CLICK HERE to Return to OHIO GENEALOGY EXPRESS
FREE GENEALOGY RESEARCH is My MISSION GENEALOGY EXPRESS This Webpage has been created by Sharon Wick exclusively for Genealogy Express ©2008 Submitters retain all copyrights