BIOGRAPHIES
 Source:
Commemorative
Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio,
Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers &
Co. 1897
|
|
EVERHARD GERKINS,
who devotes his time and energies to agricultural pursuits,
in Perrysburg township, was born June 24, 1826, in Germany,
and is a son of Clamor and Gertrude (Bruning) Gerkins,
natives of Schledehausen, Prussia, and farming people of
that country. They had six children, of whom our
subject is the eldest; the others being John, who was
born Sept. 16, 1833, and is a farmer of Prussia; Annie
Elizabeth, who was born in 1835, and died Apr. 3,
1860; Annie Marie, who was born Oct. 13, 1837,
and is now in Prussia; Clara, who was born Sept. 29,
1840, and died in America in 1872; and Herman, who
was born in 1844, and is now living in Prussia.
Our subject acquired his education in his native land,
and came to the United States in 1853, reaching Toledo,
Ohio, on Oct. 6. The following spring he began
farming, which pursuit he followed two years, when he came
to his present home, a valuable and well-improved property
of one hundred acres. He has placed this under a high
state of cultivation, and has added all the accessories of a
model farm.
On Apr. 10, 1849, Mr. Gerkins married Miss
Anna Maria Schwake, who was born July 15, 1825.
They have nine children: Kathrina, who was born June
2, 1850, and is now deceased; William, who was born
1852, died 1853; Melissa, who was born in 1853, died
in infancy; Sophia, who was born Feb. 28, 1854, and
is the wife of Philip Ziss, of Wood county;
Elizabeth, who died at the age of three yeas; Henry,
who was born June 2, 1859, and was killed by a runaway team
Oct. 2, 1888; Anna, who was born Dec. 4, 1861, and is
the wife of Albert Limmer, of Wood county; Amelia,
born Feb. 2, 1864, now at home; and Carrie, who was
born Sept. 22, 1866, the wife of Theodore Minneker,
of Toledo, Ohio. The parents have been consistent
members of the German Reformed Church, of Toledo, since
1866, and for twenty yeas our subject has served as elder.
Since becoming an American citizen he has given his
political support to the Democracy, and has been an advocate
of all measures calculated to prove of public benefit, or to
promote the general welfare.
Source: Commemorative Historical &
Biographical Record of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present -
Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1188 |
Enos Goldner |
ENOS GOLDNER
Source: Commemorative Historical &
Biographical Record of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present -
Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 936 |
Adam Graham |
ADAM GRAHAM. The
subject of this sketch was born in Wayne (now Ashland)
county, Jan. 6, 1830, and is the son of William and
Elizabeth (Lafter) Graham.
The father of our subject moved to Portage township, in
1836, settled in Section 36, having entered land there some
time before, and began to make improvements on the place,
which consisted of 160 acres. There he died, aged over
seventy-two years; his wife passed away at the age of
seventy years. Their children were as follows:
Elizabeth, who married Harry Adams, and died
in Bloom township; Mary, who became the wife of
Bernard Soule, and lives in Fostoria; Sarah (now
Mrs. Jacob Bair) of Montgomery township; Caroline
who married L. Soule, and died in Bloom township;
Adam, our subject; and William a resident of
Minnesota.
Our subject, who was fourteen years old before he went
to school and was reared a farmer's boy, and was thirty
years old before he ever had an overcoat. His first
land was forty acres in Perry township, which his father had
given him when he reached his twenty-first birthday.
He went to work on his land, and later bought twenty acres
in Section 32, which had a small log house on it, and where
he removed to when he was married, which event occurred when
he was twenty-five years of age, the lady of his choice
being Miss Mary J. Lee, of Bloom township, a daughter
of George J. and Hannah (Wollam) Lee. After his
marriage our subject never left Montgomery township,
although he lived at various places within its limits.
His present home is on 360 acres of land in Section 32,
where he has resided since the spring of 1889. To him
and his wife have been born the following children:
Sarah A. (now Mrs. George Stearns) of Seneca
county; Mary E., who married John Adams of
Bloom township; Charlotte E., who became the wife of
J. W. Fry, and died in Portage township; Clorinda
married Francis Dicken of Seneca county; Orrin
is a farmer, of Montgomery township; Charles lives at
home; Adam W. follows farming in Montgomery township.
Mr. Graham has 160 acres in Henry county, making
a total of 520 acres, and of this he has cleared over 200.
Few men in Wood county have done as much to improve their
section as has our subject. He is a Democrat, but no
office-seeker, although he has served in several minor
offices in his district. He is a highly respected
citizen, and, despite the years of hard labor he has passed
through, may yet be found actively engaged in farm work.
To just such efforts of the old pioneers is it that Wood
county owes her position as foremost in the ranks of Ohio's
best counties.
Source: Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past and Present - Vol. II - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers and Co. 1897 - Page 876 |
| |
JAMES A. GRAHAM is
pleasantly located upon a farm of 100 acres, in Section 22,
Montgomery township, and the home with its surroundings
displays the supervision of an intelligent farmer and
capable business man, who has proved a useful member of
society, and deserves the esteem and confidence of the
people around him.
His father, John Graham, was a native of
Ireland, born Aug. 9, 1808, six miles from Belfast and when
thirteen years of age was brought by his parents, Thomas
Graham and wife, to America, the family first locating
at Pittsburg, Penn. They later made their home in
Marion county, a mile and a half east of the county seat,
where both parents died. In that county, on Nov. 13,
1831, John Graham married Melita Anderson who
was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, May 12, 1811, of Irish
and English parentage. Mr. Graham continued to
live in Marion county until the fall of 1836, when he
removed to Montgomery township, Wood county, and there built
his cabin upon a little knoll, the site of the present home
of our subject, it being the only dry spot upon the place at
that time. He purchased 200 acres of wild land, on
which he made his home until his death, which occurred Jan.
4, 1854; he was laid to rest in the graham cemetery, upon
his farm. He was a man of more than ordinary ability,
naturally very intelligent, and had obtained a fair
education for those days. He became a local preacher
in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was one of the
founders of the Church of that denomination at Prairie
Depot. Possessing excellent judgment and sound common
sense, he was looked up to and consulted on various
questions. His political support was first given to
the Whig party, and later he became a strong Abolitionist,
always a friend of the negro. Although he died at the
comparatively early age of forty-five, he left a comfortable
competence, having been a good manager and shrewd dealer,
and at that time had 320 acres, of which eighty belonged to
his wife. After his death she resided upon the home
farm, until 1872, when she removed to Prairie Depot, living
there until 1890, after which she made her home with her
children, until called from this life, on Apr. 14, 1894.
She was an earnest Christian woman, a devout member of the
Methodist Episcopal Church. Our subject is the fifth,
in order of birth, in the family of seven children, who are
as follows: John W. born Setp. 28, 1832, is a
resident of Prairie Depot; William B. born Feb. 18,
1834, died in 1856; Thomas A., born Apr. 18, 1837,
lives in Montgomery township; Mary A., born Jan. 4,
1840, is the wife of E. Young, of Illinois; James
A. was born on the farm on which he now resides, May 8,
1843; Russell N., born Feb. 5, 1848, makes his home
in Montgomery township; an Melita A. C., born Jan. 8,
1852, is the wife of G. W. Hedge, of the same
township.
The early life of James A. Graham was spent upon
the home farm and in attending the district schools.
The first school which he attended was held in his father's
house, as there was no school building in the district, his
teacher being Phoebe Vosburg. He heartily
endorses the improvements made in the educational
institutions of to-day, and was for fourteen years an
efficient member of the school board of Prairie Depot.
As a farmer boy he used to ride a horse on the barn floor to
thresh the grain. He remained a member of the parental
household until his marriage, which important event in his
life was celebrated at Maumee, Ohio. Dec. 31, 1867,
Miss Margaret Hoffman becoming his wife. She was
born near Cardington, Morrow Co., Ohio, May 25, 1847,
daughter of James and Mary (Halfhill) Hoffman, the
former a native of Pennsylvania, and the latter of Wayne
county, Ohio. Her parents came to Wood county in 1855,
but later went to Lucas county, this State, where they died.
She was the eldest daughter and second child in their family
of five children, and after completing her education taught
two terms of school in Montgomery township, when only
seventeen years of age. To our subject and his wife
have come three children - J. Frank, who was born
July 24, 1873, and was admitted to the Ohio bar in March,
1896, at the age of twenty-two; William A. born Aug.
18, 1878; and Carrie A. born Dec. 29, 1883.
For one year after his marriage Mr. Graham
rented land in Section 16, Montgomery township, and then
returned to the home farm, where he now lives. Five
acres had been sold, but he purchased this, and now has 100
acres of rich and valuable land. He has always devoted
his time and attention to agricultural pursuits, and has
been very successful in his chosen calling. His
first Presidential vote was cast for Lincoln when
that gentleman ran for his second term, and later he was a
Democrat until the fall of 1880, since which time he has
been a stalwart Prohibitionist. Though one office
seeker, he has served in minor township offices.
Socially, he is connected with the Odd Fellows Lodge, No.
646, at Prairie Depot; Crystal Encampment, of the same
Order, and both he and his wife belong to the Rebekah Lodge
at Prairie Depot. Religiously they are consistent
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he
serves as recording steward, and she belongs to the Woman's
Foreign Missionary Society. The family is one of
prominence in the community, its members being intelligent
and well-read, and they hold an enviable position in social
circles.
Source: Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past and Present - Vol. II - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers and Co. 1897 - Page 1132 |
| |
ORRIN GRAHAM,
one of Montgomery township's most prosperous young farmers,
was there born in Section 32, Oct. 14, 1867. His
education was acquired in the common schools of the southern
part of his native township, and in the northern part of
Perry township. When quite young he became familiar
with agricultural pursuits, and as his father ranked among
the most successful farmers of the community, his
instruction was invaluable to our subject. He remained
under the parental roof until he had attained his majority,
and then began working for others.
At the age of twenty-two years, Mr. Graham
married Miss Alpha Baird, of Perry township, a
daughter of David Baird, and to them have been born a
daughter - Edna. The young couple began their
domestic life upon a farm in Section 32, Montgomery
township, from which they later removed to Section 5, Perry
township; but in 1893 came to their present home in Section
31, Montgomery township. Mr. Graham owns 120
acres of excellent farming land in Perry township, which
accumulation for one of his age is quite out of the
ordinary. He is industrious and enterprising, in fact
few men of his years have performed the labor he has done,
and still does. Health is all that is necessary for
him to rank in a short time among the leading and extensive
farmers of his township. He is straight-forward and
honorable in all his dealings, gaining the confidence of
those with whom he comes in contact. He takes
considerable interest in political affairs, always giving
his earnest support to the Democratic party.
Source: Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record of
Wood County, Ohio, Past and Present - Vol. II - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers and Co. 1897 - Page 1307 |
INSERT PORTRAIT
99 |
J. M. GRAU, M. D.
Source: Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past and Present - Vol. II - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers and Co. 1897 - Page 1256 |
| |
SIDNEY
GREELEY, an honored resident of this county, is now
carrying on agricultural pursuits in Jackson Township, where
he owns a valuable farm of eighty acres, whose many
improvements stand as monuments to his thrift and
enterprise. A native of Lorain County, Ohio, he was born
February 16, 1848, and is a son of Abel Greeley,
who was born in Weston, Vermont, and when twenty one years
of age removed to Ohio. He located in Carlisle Township,
Lorain County, where he married Amanda Sweet,
and carried on farming until after the death of his wife in
1885. The following year he sold his farm, and has since
lived with his children, being now with a son in Michigan.
In politics he is an unswerving Democrat. The family
numbered the following named members: Charles, of
Milton Center, Ohio, who died June 8, 1896; Julius,
who was killed in the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee, during
the Civil War; Russell, who died in the hospital at
Memphis, Tennessee, while in the Union Army; Emily,
wife of Ben Campbell, of San Francisco,
California; Albert, who died in infancy; Horace,
who died at the age of eighteen; Alva, who works in
the steel plant in Lorain County; Ira, a farmer of
Kalamazoo County, Michigan; Elbert, a carpenter in
Lorain County, who died Dec. 6, 1895; D. Abel, a
farmer of Michigan; and Frank, of Holgate, Ohio.
Mr. Greeley, of this sketch, acquired a district
school education in his native county, and to his father
gave the benefit of his services on the home farm until his
seventeenth year. Our subject, worked as a farm hand for
about two years, and then removed to Michigan, where he was
employed in the lumber woods for two years. On the
expiration of that period, he came to Wood County, and
purchased forty acres of land in Milton Township, entirely
destitute of improvements, but he continued its development
until 1874, when he sold that property. In the spring of
1875, he purchased his present farm of eighty acres in
Jackson Township, and has made upon it many excellent
improvements, including the erection of a comfortable home
and substantial barns. The fields are well tilled, and
indicate the careful supervision of the owner, and at the
same time yield to him a golden tribute.
Mr. Greeley was married in Milton Center, Ohio,
Sept. 9, 1874, to Cynthia Keiffer, who was
born Apr. 27, 1849, in Hocking County, Ohio. They have one
child, Melvin. In politics, our subject is a stalwart
Republican, and capably served for two years as township
trustee. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity, at Custar, Ohio; the Masonic fraternity at Grand Rapids, Ohio;
the Odd Fellows Lodge at Milton Center; and the Grand Army
Post at Custar. His public and private life are alike above
reproach, and Wood County numbers him among its valued
citizens.
Source: Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past and Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers and Co. 1897 - Page 882
Contributed by
Bob Weaver
Civil War Research Note:
Battle of Franklin was fought on November 30, 1864, at
Franklin, Tennessee, as part of the Franklin-Nashville
Campaign of the American Civil War. |
| |
GEORGE GREEN,
deceased. As a representative of the intelligent and
hardy pioneers who opened up Plain township for settlement,
and have since taken a conspicuous part in developing it, we
are pleased to place in this volume a brief sketch of the
life of the gentleman whose name introduces this review.
Mr. Green was born at Wigan, near London,
England, Mar. 28, 1846, and when quite young came to America
with his parents, William and Sarah (Brown) Green,
both natives of the same isle. On emigrating to this
country in 1846, the father came direct to Ohio, locating in
Cleveland, where he remained four months working at his
trade of a butcher, after which he came to Wood county, and
bought eighty acres of unimproved land in Plain township.
Indians still lived in the neighborhood, wolves and deer
were to be seen, and wild game of all kinds furnished many a
meal for the family. They were among the first
settlers of Plain township, and their first home was a rude
log hut. The father continued to work at his trade,
and as his sons grew up they helped him in the management
and care of the farm. He and our subject also
constructed some of the roads and ditches of the township.
There were seven children in the family, all of whom grew to
years of maturity, namely: Mary, deceased wife of
John Moore; Ellen, a resident of Weston;
Richard, deceased; Sarah, wife of Amos
Dewese; Isaac, deceased; Jane, wife of
Thomas Woodesly, of Canada; and George.
The parents have both departed this life, the father dying
in 1851, and the mother in 1846.
As our subject was reared in a pioneer settlement, he
received his education in the primitive school house,
characteristic of the times and place. As soon as he
was old enough, he was obliged to share in the labors of
developing the farm from the wilderness. This early
training in agricultural labors doubtless made the young lad
sturdy, self-reliant, and capable beyond his years, and
prepared him for a life of independence. By dint of,
hard labor, perseverance and wise management, he had at the
time of his death a farm which, in its neat appearance, with
its ample farm buildings, unsurpassed productiveness, and
all the other essentials of a good farm, compares favorably
with others in the neighborhood. Thus his thrift,
frugality and industry was rewarded by a substantial home,
and an assured income which gave him the means of procuring
all the comforts of life for himself and family. His
wife, who was to him an excellent counselor and help meet,
shared with him the respect and esteem of the entire
community.
On Apr. 10, 1872, Mr. Green had married
Miss Harriet Challen, who was born Nov. 19, 1849, and
is a daughter of
William
Challen. They had seven children, whose
names and dates of birth are as follows: William W.,
Jan. 9, 1873; Jessie, July 29, 1875; Alva,
June 29, 1877; Maude, May 2, 1879; Stanley,
Feb. 9, 1881; Herman, Dec. 23, 1883; and Floyd,
Mar. 19, 1887. The oldest daughter, Jessie, is
now the wife of Horton Conklin, and the oldest
sons are now looking after the cultivation of the old
homestead. The father passed away on the 26th of July,
1894, beloved by all who knew him.
Source: Commemorative Historical &
Biographical Record of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 646 |
9
W. G. Groh, Wife &
Daughter Alma |
W. G. GROH
Source: Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past and Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers and Co. 1897 - Page 1304 |
| |
DANIEL
GUYER, a veteran of the Civil War, and a valued
citizen of this county, was born in Pennsylvania, August 14
1829, and is a son of Gabriel and Elizabeth (Long) Guyer,
also natives of the Keystone State. The father was a miller
by trade, and followed that business in Pennsylvania until
1832, when he came with his family to Wood County, making
the journey with ox teams, and camping along the roadside by
night. He purchased forty acres of land in Weston Township,
built a log house with a bark roof and floor, and at once
began to clear and cultivate the land. His death occurred
here in 1865, and his wife passed away three years later.
They had a family of nine children: Gabriel, who was
a soldier in the 111th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and died in
1866; Susan, widow of George Adelman;
Joseph, who served in the 144th Ohio Volunteer
Infantry, and died in 1873; Polly, now deceased, who was the
wife of Levi Bartell, and after his death
became Mrs. Frankfurter; Daniel; John and Emanuel,
both of Weston; and Washington, who is living in East
Toledo.
Our subject was a child of two years when he came with
his parents to Wood County, and was educated in the district
schools of Weston Township. When about twenty years of age
he learned the trade of carpentering, which he followed
until after the breaking out of the war. He purchased 160
acres of land in Weston Township, which he sold in 1861. The
following year he offered his services to the government as
a defender of the Union, and joined Company I, 144th Ohio
Volunteer Infantry, with which he continued until after the
cessation of hostilities. He was a faithful defender of the
old flag and the cause it represented, and returned home
with an honorable war record.
In 1865 Mr. Guyer resumed farming, purchasing
eighty acres of land in Milton Township, on which he built a
log cabin. The work of improvement was at once begun, and
has been steadily carried forward. He tiled and fenced the
place, planted an orchard, and in 1885 erected a large
dwelling. In the spring of 1892 he exchanged this property
for his present farm of 120 acres in Section 6, Milton
Township, and in 1893 erected his residence.
Mr. Guyer was married in
September 1859, to Miss Emma Older, and
to them have been born six children: Della, now the
wife of John McGill, of Milton Township; Cora,
wife of Emory Burson, of Milton Township;
Edward, who wedded Mary Baumgardner, and
resides at the old homestead; Albert, who wedded
Mary Beaverson, and lives in Milton Township;
Pearl, wife of D.C. Wolf; and Maud, wife of
Thomas Pugh, of Weston, Ohio. Mr. Guyer has always
been a warm friend of the cause of education, and while
serving on the school board has been effective in its
promotion. He belongs to the Evangelical Church, and in his
political view, is a Republican.
Source: Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past and Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers and Co. 1897 - Page 1225
Contributed by
Bob Weaver |
NOTES:
|
