BIOGRAPHIES
Source:
History of Van Wert, Ohio
and Representative Citizens
Edited & Compiled by Thaddeus S. Gilliland, Van Wert, Ohio
Published by Richmond & Arnold: Chicago, Illinois
1906
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SOLOMON B. FACKLER,
one of the representative agriculturists of Union township, the
owner of a fine farm of 100 acres in section 17, was born in
Richland County, Ohio, July 12, 1847, and is a son of Henry
H. and Nancy (Bear) Fackler.
The parents of Mr. Fackler
remained in Richland County until 1869, when they removed to
Bloom township, Wood County, Ohio. Their children were:
Jacob, who died young; Solomon B., of this sketch;
Emanuel, who died aged 40 years: Martin, deceased;
Mary Elizabeth, wife of John Ketzenbarger;
Leah, who died at the age of 10 years; Sarah Ann,
deceased, formerly wife of Adam Fry, also
deceased; and Alice, wife of William Young, of
Union township. The Fackler family comes of German
ancestry and Revolutionary stock. Our subject's
great-grandfather, Wendel Fackler, with his two
brothers. George and Adam, emigrated to
America, settled in Pennsylvania; all three served in the
Patriot army, during the Revolutionary War. and all held
official positions. The father of Solomon B. Falker
was born in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, June 23, 1823.
In Richland County, Ohio, on Sept. 7, 1843, he married Nancy
Bear, who was born Mar. 14, 1819, and died Jan. 23, 1897.
In 1889 Mr. Fackler came to Van Wert County and
purchased a farm of 240 acres in section 21, Union township,
where he still lives.
Solomon B. Fackler has been a resident of Union
township for the past 17 years, although he came here as a
visitor in the early '60's, remaining, at that time, until 1864.
In 1889 he purchased his present farm, which was then only
partially improved, and he has since placed it under excellent
cultivation, engaging in a general line of farming. The
family home is one of comfort, and all the improvements are of a
substantial character.
In 1867 Solomon B. Fackler was married to
Sarah C. Daup, who was born in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania,
Sept .14, 1846, and in 1856 accompanied her parents to Ohio.
She is a daughter of William and Katherine (Artz) Daup,
of Pennsylvania Dutch extraction; both of her parents died in
Richland County, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Fackler have
had six children, as follows Loren D., of
Michigan; Nancy Katherine (Fulton),
deceased; Clarence, of Union township; Jennie A. (Mrs.
Delbert Staley), of Union township; Henry, of Union
township; and Elnora, who died young. Politically
Mr. Fackler is identified with the Democratic
party.
History of Van Wert County, Ohio - Publ. by Richmond &
Arnold - Chicago, Illinois - Publ. 1906 - Page 660 |
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J. HARVEY FOSTER,
township trustee and representative farmer of Washington
township, who resides on his well-improved farm of 44 acres,
situated in section 18, was born Feb. 14, 1867, on the farm now
occupied by his mother and directly across the road from his
present home, which was at one time a part of the old home farm.
He is the only son of Simon and Susan (Fisher) Foster.
Simon Foster was born in Perry County, Ohio, Dec. 2,
1828, and was a son of George Foster.
Rev. William Forster, as the name was once spelled,
great-grandfather of J. Harvey Foster, was the first
member of the Foster family to settle in America.
When but 15 years of age he came to this country, and later was
ordained a minister of the Lutheran Church, and preached for man
years in Virginia and Ohio. He entered 2,000 acres of land
in Perry County, Ohio, and was a very wealthy man at the time of
his death. He left 160 acres of land in Perry County to
each of his 12 children.
George Foster, grandfather of J. Harvey
Foster, was born in 1779 in Pennsylvania, and came to Ohio
with his parents when still a small boy. He was married in
Perry County, Ohio, to Christina Bean, also a native of
Pennsylvania, and had a family of 10 children, of whom Simon
was the seventh.
Simon Foster, father of our subject, was born in
Perry County, Ohio, Dec. 2, 1828. He was one of the
pioneer farmers of Van Wert County, where he located in 1848,
after purchasing a farm in York and Ridge townships. He
also bought 215 acres in Ottawa County. He was married in
Lima, Ohio, June 12, 1856, to Susan Fisher, a native of
Pennsylvania, and a pioneer of Highland County, Ohio.
Simon Foster inherited 215 acres of timberland in Ottawa
County from his father. This he sold, and in 1853 bought
at $12 per acre the farm of 160 acres, now occupied by his
widow, which was all timberland with the exception of 40 acres.
Mr. and Mrs. Simon Foster had six children, of whom J.
Harvey Foster was the only son, the five daughters being as
follows: Alice (Veach), of Washington township;
Ellen (Manship), of Middlepoint; Agnes (Morgan),
of Scott, Paulding County; Emma (Ridenour), of Van Wert.
J. Harvey Foster was reared and educated in
Washington township, and on May 21, 1890, was married to Ella
Downing, who was born in Delaware County, Ohio, and is a
daughter of Eli and Martha (Miller) Downing, the former a
native of Delaware County, Ohio, and a son of William Downing.
Politically Mr. Foster is a Democrat, and he was
elected trustee of the western section of Washington township in
1902 by that party. He is responsible for many of the
improvements made in this section of the township. He cut
the road running north of Middlepoint and also made changes in
an old road that formerly cut through many of the farms on an
angle. Mr. and Mrs. Foster are members of the
Lutheran Church of Middlepoint.
History of Van Wert County, Ohio - Publ. by Richmond &
Arnold - Chicago, Illinois - Publ. 1906 - Page 713 |
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WILLIAM FOSTER,
familiarly known as Squire Foster all over
Washington township, has served continuously as a justice of the
peace for 32 years, and is one of the leading citizens of
Middlepoint. He was born Dec. 12, 1841, in Thorn township,
Perry County, Ohio, being a son of George and Nancy (Martin)
Foster.
The paternal grandfather of Mr. Foster
was William Foster, whose grandfather was born in
Prussia, Germany. About 1800 our subject's grandfather,
William Foster, moved from Pennsylvania to Ohio,
where he acquired government land in Perry County. In 1849
the father of our subject came to Van Wert County and settled in
the midst of a forest in York township. He was a man of
enterprise and industry, and it is probable that pioneer
hardships shortened his life, as he died in 1851, leaving his
farm uncleared and a family of five children dependent upon his
widow. For several years the mother struggled bravely to
keep her flock together. In 1853 she married again, and
our subject did not accompany his step-father, John
Clendenning, to the latter's home in the vicinity of Convoy.
William Foster, who was 12 years old at this
time, was received into the home of Samuel Foster, of
Middlepoint, who was a cousin of his father. Here he
remained until he enlisted on Aug. 8, 1862, for service in the
Civil War, as a member of Company A, 99th Reg., Ohio Vol. Inf.
He remained with this regiment until it was consolidated with
the 50th Regiment, Ohio Vol. Inf., on Jan. 1, 1864, serving in
the new organization until his honorable discharge at Salisbury,
North Carolina, June 26, 1865. During this long period,
although exposed to every danger, privation and hardships in
which his company took part, participating in 23 engagements.
He was one of the half-dozen members of the command who were
never sick, wounded, or taken prisoner by the enemy. His
war record discloses that he was never absent from his company
for one single day. Mr. Foster's service placed him
under a number of the most noted commanders of the war, notably,
Rosecrans, Buell, Sherman and Grant. He was
mustered out at Camp Dennison, near Cincinnati.
After the war Mr. Foster returned to Middlepoint
and learned the carpenter's trade, or rather continued working
at it, as he had previously had some experience. He has
always enjoyed work in this line and still, on occasion, in
spite of his many public honors and official duties, engages
with old-time enthusiasm, and practical skill in particular
pieces of carpentry. In 1877 he engaged also in
undertaking, and continued this line in connection with his
trade, until 1902, when he sold out to E. F. Gamble.
'Squire Foster has always been a pronounced
Democrat. In the spring of 1874 he was elected on the
Democratic ticket, justice of the peace, and has served
continuously ever since, undoubtedly being in this respect the
oldest office-holder in Van Wert county. He has had much
to do with the progress and substantial improvements of
Middlepoint, being its first mayor, to which office he was
re-elected on numerous occasions. His standing as a
citizen is of the highest. He owns 50 acres of fine
farming land in section 36, Ridge township, and also has several
valuable houses and lots in Middlepoint, which he keeps in such
a good state of improvement that his rentals constitute a good
income.
On Dec. 20, 1866, Mr. Foster was married to
Sarah E. Henderson, who is a daughter of John and Anna
Henderson, of Pleasant township. They hae four
children, namely: Emma, born Feb. 11, 1868, who married
E. A. Temple, of Bluffton, Ohio, and has two children -
Eunah and Beulah Marie; James Monroe, born
July 9, 1871, who married May Askins and resides in Lima;
Mary V., who married N. A. Tingley of Rockford,
Mercer County, Ohio, and has four children - Earl DeWitt,
Bernice Sophia, Lena Elizabeth and Ilo Lucile; and
Luther J., born July 28, 1877, who married Agnes Morris,
of Middlepoint, lives at Fort Wayne, and has two children -
Ionena and William Homer.
Mr. and Mrs. Foster are members of the Evangelical
Lutherap Church at Middlepoint, in which he is one of the
deacons. He is a valued member of Zeller-Hamilton Post, No
260, G. A. R., and belongs to the Masonic and Odd Fellow bodies.
History of Van Wert County, Ohio - Publ. by Richmond &
Arnold - Chicago, Illinois - Publ. 1906 - Page 603 |
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