BIOGRAPHIES
 Source:
Commemorative
Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio,
Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers &
Co. 1897
Andrew J. Manville, M.D. |
A. J. MANVILLE, 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 452 |
| |
WILLIAM MASON.
The handicap of early poverty does not prevent some
energetic natures from making a success in worldly affairs,
which is all the more creditable for the difficulties
overcome.
The subject of this review was born in Yorkshire,
England, Mar. 8, 1825, the son of James and Hannah
(Taylor) Mason, both of whom died in the old country.
His father was a day laborer, and, as our subject was the
youngest in a family of six sons and eight daughters, he had
to make his own way from the early age of eight years.
He worked for the first five years for five pounds, doing
such tasks as his youth permitted, but as he grew older his
services became more valuable. He never knew a home
until his marriage, in January, 1850, to Miss Jane Fenton,
who was also a native of Yorkshire, born about 1828.
He had no schooling whatever in his native country; but
since coming to America he has gained a practical education,
his shrewd brain making the most of every opportunity.
In March, 1850, Mr. Mason and his bride left
Hull on the “Rumswell,” and landed at New York after a
voyage of eighty-five days. Their destination
was Ohio, but they spent some months with Mr.
Mason's brother, Thomas, at South Bend, Wis.,
before locating upon a rented farm in Riley township,
Sandusky county. The forty pounds, which Mr. Mason
had when they left Hull, was by this time nearly exhausted,
and he worked as a laborer for two years at fifty cents a
day in ordinary times, and seventy-five cents in harvest.
He managed to buy a team of oxen, and forty acres of partly
improved land located in Scott township, Sandusky county.
After two years Mr. Mason sold this farm and
purchased forty acres in Section 1, Montgomery township,
where he now resides. The first house on the place was
a log shanty, 16x 20 feet, and it has taken many years of
hard work to bring the property into its present highly
improved condition. He has met with well deserved
success, and his possessions now include 126 acres of land
in Wood and Sandusky counties. In the dark days of the
Rebellion, he manifested his loyalty to the land of his
adoption, by enlisting in Company K, 144th O. V. I., and was
one of the twenty-nine survivors of that company.
Politically he is a steadfast Republican, but he is not a
seeker for political position.
On Feb. 7, 1889, his home was darkened by the “death
angel" when the beloved partner of his life passed from
earth. Her remains lie in the Bradner cemetery.
Six children survive her: Charles lives in Missouri;
Margaret married Samuel Wygant, of
Madison township, Sandusky county; James also resides
there; Hannah is the wife of Noble Holcomb,
of Rollersville, Ohio; Edward T. resides in Freedom
township; Mary is at home. Mindful of the
deprivations of his own early life, Mr. Mason
has given his children good educations, and two, Mary
and Hannah, have taught school.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical
Record of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1154 |
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A. R. MATHEWS.
Who has served as agent at Webb for the Pennsylvania
Railroad since his appointment, on Jan. 5, 1876, is
probably the oldest employee on the division, and his long
continued service certainly indicates his faithful discharge
of duty. He is a native of Ohio, born Ashland, County in
1836, and when five years of age was taken to what is now
Bryan, Williams County Ohio, by his parents, George and
Margaret Hamilton Matthews. The father was born
in Pennsylvania, and was married in Ashland County this
state, where he followed his trade of blacksmithing until
his removal to Bryan, in 1841. There he began the
cultivation and improvement of a farm, but was not long
permitted to enjoy his new home, as he died in the year
1844, leaving two children - our subject and his
brother George, who enlisted in Williams County in
1862, in Company D, 38th O. V. I., and veteranizing served
until the close of the war, during which he was twice
wounded. He still makes his home in Williams County. In 1847
the mother became the wife of Henry Caszett,
who by his first Union had four sons - Adam, who was
in the three-months service during the Civil War, and now
makes his home in Michigan; Franklin and Kerry,
also residents of the same state; and John, who died
in Williams County, Ohio. By her second union the mother of
our subject had two children - Andrew P. and
Deborah, both of Isabella County, Michigan. Her death
occurred on the old home in Williams County, in 1860.
In that county our subject was reared to manhood, and
the first school he attended was taught in the old log
courthouse of Bryan. On leaving home in 1854, he went to
Boscobel, Wisconsin, where he was employed in rafting lumber
down the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers, and during his
stay of seven years also went south. He returned to Williams
County in 1860, and the following year at Stryker, Ohio,
enlisted in the three-months call, serving with Company E,
14th O. V. I. He later re-enlisted for three years service,
this time becoming a member of Company E, 38th O. V. I., and
was mustered in at Camp Dennison. He participated in the
Battles of Phillips, Laurel Hill, Cary's Ford, Wild Cat,
Kentucky; Lyons Cross Roads, Nashville, Pittsburg Landing,
Corinth, Iuka, Tuscumbia, and then went on the march to
Louisville. Later he was in the engagements at
Milledgeville, Stone River, Chickamauga, Chancellorsville,
Missionary Ridge, Lookout Mountain, and at Chattanooga
became a veteran of the same company and regiment. He went
with Sherman on the celebrated march to the sea, was in the
Carolina campaign's, and took part in the grand review at
Washington, D. C., after which he received an honorable
discharge at Cleveland, Ohio, in June 1865, and returned to
his home in Williams County. For four years he had
faithfully followed the old flag on southern battlefields,
and enduring all the hardships and privations of army life,
but was ever found at his post of duty.
In 1865, in Defiance, Ohio, Mr. Anson R. Matthews
led to the marriage altar Miss Mary Hanna,
who is a native of that County, and four children have come
to bless their union - J. W., who is married, and is
a telegraph operator of Toledo, Ohio; Orlando R., who
is also married and is a telegraph operator for the Nickel
Plate Railroad at Bellevue, Ohio; Mrs. Fannie M. Hathaway,
of Pemberville, Ohio; and Mary "Mamie" C., wife of
Frank Berndt, of Troy Township, Wood County.
After his marriage, Mr. Matthews engaged in
farming in Williams County until 1871, at which time he
removed to Genoa, Ottawa County, Ohio, where he was in the
employ of the firm of Webb and Brown, in their
washboard manufactory. He was then sent by that firm to Webb
Station, Wood County, where he helped to construct to Mills,
and in connection with railroading, also kept boarders for
some three years, having as many as 44 mill hands as well as
transient boarders. In 1873 he came to Troy Township, where
he built a house on railroad land, it being the first
dwelling erected at Webb. His present fine residence was
erected in 1882. Besides his duties as station agent he is
also engaged in the cultivation and improvement of his farm. He bought 80 acres of heavily timbered land in Lake
Township, Wood County, which he at once began to clear and
develop, making it one of the best places in the locality.
In politics, Mr. Matthews is an ardent Republican,
and for 17 years served as postmaster at Webb, when he
resigned, and in 1895 the office was discontinued. He has
taken an active part in promoting the welfare of the
community, and always lends his aid for every worthy
enterprise.
Source: Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past and Present - Vol. II - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers and Co. 1897 - Page 619
Contributed By:
Bob Weaver
Research Notes - Military Info:
14th Ohio Volunteer Infantry -- Company E
Enlisted at Stryker, Ohio -- 23 April 1861
RE-Enlisted 38th Ohio Volunteer Infantry -- Company E
Mustered Out at: Cleveland, Ohio -- 13 August 1865
Ailments Endured: Scurvy, Rheumatism & Heart Disease
Civil War Research:
- Battle of Laurel Hill --- The first land battles of Civil
War took place in the Tygart Valley of present-day West
Virginia. The Civil War Battlefield of Laurel Hill, situated
in Belington, WV, saw decisive action in 1861. It was during
July 7-11 that the longest battle of the Tygart Valley
Campaign was waged in what was then known as Bealington,
Virginia.]
- The Battle of Camp Wildcat, also known as Wildcat Mountain
and Camp Wild Cat, was one of the early engagements of the
American Civil War. It occurred Oct. 21, 1861, in
northern Laurel County, Kentucky. The Battle of Camp Wildcat
is recognized as the first Union victory of the Civil War
- Battle of Nashville was a two-day battle in the
Franklin-Nashville Campaign that represented the end of
large-scale fighting in the Western Theater of the American
Civil War. It was fought at Nashville, Tennessee, on
Dec. 15-16, 1864, between the Confederate Army of
Tennessee under Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood and Federal forces
under Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas. Located: Davidson County,
Tennessee
- Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg
Landing - located near a small log church named Shiloh on
the Tennessee River, in Tennessee, the battle was fought
Apr. 6-7, 1862 -- Hardin County, Tennessee
- Battle of Iuka was fought on Sept. 19, 1862, in Iuka,
Mississippi, during the Civil War. In the opening battle of
the Iuka-Corinth Campaign. The town of Iuka was only four
years old when the Civil War began.
- Battle of Tuscumbia took place Oct. 26-27, 1863.
Tuscumbia was a major railroad hub for train traffic
throughout the South. -- Tuscumbia, Alabama |
Fred J. Matzinger |
FRED J. MATZINGER
Source: Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past and Present - Vol. II - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers and Co. 1897 - Page 1320 |
INSERT PORTRAIT
Howard H.. McClaren
& Mary A. McClaren |
HOWARD H. McCLAREN, 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 1184 |
| |
CHARLES W. McCOLLEY,
a leading hardware merchant at Tontogany, was born Dec. 16,
1857, in Washington township, where his grand parents
settled in the spring of 1839.
Capt. John McColley, his grandfather, a
Scotchman by birth, followed the ocean in early life, and
was captain of a packet plying between New York and
Savannah. He was a man of heroic mold, over six feet
in height, and possessed remarkable strength. He died
near Tontogany, at the age of eighty-four years. His
wife was a Miss Hart, a lady of English
descent, and for some years they lived at Derby, Conn.,
where R. L. McColley, our subject's father, was born
in 1834. He was only five years old when his parents
came to Wood county, and he was educated here, married here
to Miss Margaret Crom, a descendant of an old
Pennsylvania-Dutch family, and for many years he was engaged
in business here, farming and acting as local agent for
agricultural machinery, and other articles. He
en listed during the war in the hundred-day service, serving
in the 144th Regiment, O. V. I. He and his wife now
reside in Florida, where he is an extensive fruit grower.
In politics he is a Republican, and he belongs to the G. A.
R. Our subject was the younger of two children.
The other, Jennie, formerly Mrs. Louis
Kuder, died in September, 1894.
Charles W. McColley is a genuine “Wood county
boy," reared on one of her fertile farms, educated in her
schools, and he was married, in 1884, to one of her charming
daughters, Miss Susie Walters, who was
born in Weston township, in 1859. They have six
children now living: Eva, Fern, Hope,
Hazel, Herbert, and Ruth. A
younger son, John, died when one year old.
Mr. McColley lived at the old farm and sold
agricultural implements until eight years ago, when he moved
into the village. Three years later he established his
present prosperous business, dealing in hardware and all
sorts of farming tools and machinery. He is an earnest
worker in religious and philanthropic lines; is a Good
Templar; votes the Prohibition ticket; is an elder in the
Presbyterian Church, and the assistant superintendent in the
Sunday-school. He is also a member of the I. O. O. F.
and K. of P.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical
Record of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1074 |
| |
JOHN LEWIS McCOLLEY,
deceased, was for many years a prominent and influential
farmer of Washington township, and was one of the brave
soldiers who aided in the preservation of the Union.
His birth occurred in Derby, Conn., Dec. 16, 1821, and he
was a son of John and Betsy (Hart) McColley, the
former of whom was a native of Kinderhook, N. Y., and while
a resident of the East was the owner of an ocean vessel.
On coming to Ohio, in 1839, he bought an interest in a
vessel sailing on the lakes.
The literary education of our subject was obtained in
the schools of Connecticut, and on coming to Ohio, he
followed the lake as a mariner until 1861. Aug. 3,
1862, at Toledo, Ohio, he enlisted in the tooth O. V. I.,
and earned an honorable military record. At Limestone
Station, Tenn., Sept. 8, 1863, he was taken prisoner, and
was confined in Lynchburg, Belle Isle and Libby prisons; on
December 24, following, he was paroled at Belle Isle, and at
Cincinnati, May 19, 1864, he was transferred to the navy
department, serving on the U. S. Steamer "Vindicator."
On Jan. 11, 1865, he was sent to Pinckney Hospital, at
Memphis, Tenn., from which he was discharged the following
April on account of disability. He saw much hard
service, and was ever found at his post of duty. On
returning home Mr. McColley purchased forty acres of
rich land in Washington township, adjoining forty acres
owned by his wife, which he greatly improved, making it one
of the best farms of the locality. There he died Feb.
26, 1886, leaving a devoted family and many friends to mourn
their loss. His political support was given to the
Republican party, and for one year he served his
fellow-citizens as trustee. Before the war he held
membership with the I. O. O. F. Lodge at Perrysburg, Ohio.
He was affiliated with Walter A. Wood Post, G. A. R., at
Tontogany.
In Plain township, Jan. 23, 1848, Mr. McColley
married Miss Margaret Ann Kuder, who was born in
Tiffin, Ohio, July 17, 1826, and they became the parents of
three children: (1) Francis A., born in Washington
township, Oct. 30, 1848, died Jan. 22, 1869, at the age
of twenty years. (2) Carrie S., born in Perrysburg,
Jan. 21, 1854, now the wife of Patrick O. Carrol, of
Toledo, Ohio, by whom she has a daughter, Maggie,
born May 22, 1880. (3) Cornelia M., twin sister
of Carrie S., died Mar. 15, 1872, at the age of
eighteen years. The family attend the Presbyterian
Church, are widely and favorably known throughout Wood
county, and Mrs. McColley, during her residence here,
has made many warm friends.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical
Record of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 950 |
| |
ALEXANDER McCOMBS.
The representatives of the farming interests of Wood county
acknowledge this gentleman as one of the important factors
in bringing this section of the State to its present
enviable condition. He is a man of more than ordinary
business capacity, intelligent and well informed, and has
identified himself with the progress and best interests of
the people.
Mr. McCombs was born Oct. 15, 1834. in
Tuscarawas county, Ohio, a son of Archibald and Catherine
(Jeffers) McCombs, both natives of Pennsylvania, the
father born May 13. I799, in Washington county; the mother
born Feb. 14, 1802, in Susquehanna county. They were
married in Harrison county, Ohio, after which Mr.
McCombs bought a fifty-acre lot in Tuscarawas county,
near New Philadelphia, all in timber, whither he removed,
and which he cleared and put into good shape. To him
and his wife were born eleven children, as follows: (1)
John, who was a member of the 144th O. V. I. during the
Civil war, and died in a Rebel prison at Salisbury, N. C.;
was married, and had a family of eight children; at the time
of his enlistment he was a prominent farmer of Washington
township, Wood county. (2) Sarah Jane,
widow of Charles Patterson, has three children—Henry,
Jacob and Percy—and resides near Scotch Ridge
with a son. (3) William, a farmer of Mecosta
county, Mich., also served in the war of the Rebellion as a
member of the 51st O. V. I. (4) Jacob was a
member of the 21st 0. V. I., and died at Nashville from the
effects of hard service. (6) Martha is the wife
of Wesley Cochran, a farmer of Ann Arbor,
Mich., by whom she has two children— William and
Agnes. (7) Catherine, who makes her home in
Whiteside county, Kans., is the widow of Henry
Grooves, and has five children— John, Lewis, Alex.,
Thomas and Sadie. (8) Margaret died
at the age of twenty-two years. (9) Mary died
at the age of ten. (10) Charles died in
infancy. (11) Alexander, the subject of this
sketch, completes the number. The entire family grew
to manhood and womanhood on the Tuscarawas county farm,
except our subject, who was thirteen years old when his
parents moved, in the fall of 1847, to Wood county, Ohio, in
the spring of 1848 buying a home in Washington township,
where they lived some years—the children in the meantime,
one by one, leaving the parental roof, some for homes of
their own, others, as already related, crossing the dark
river to the Unknown. When they became old and feeble,
the parents were persuaded by their son, Alexander,
to move, in the spring of 1874, to his home in Washington
township, and there they died, the father on Apr. 18, 1874,
the mother on June 22, 1885. They were members of the
United Brethren Church, and in politics Mr. McCombs
was a stalwart Democrat.
Alexander McCombs began his education in
the schools of Tuscarawas county, and continued his studies
for a short time after coming to Wood county with his
parents; but his school training was rather limited.
On July 24, 1862, he enlisted at Tontogany, in Company G,
First Ohio Light Artillery, under Capt. Alex. Marshall
and Col. Barnett, and was mustered in at Toledo.
From there the troops proceeded to Nashville, Tenn., after
which they participated in the battles of Stone River,
Chickamauga, Franklin, Mission Ridge and Lookout Mountain,
besides numerous small engagements. While in winter
quarters at Chattanooga, Mr. McCombs was cooking some meat
about ten feet from his tent, when a shell was thrown down
from the mountain above, and exploded in the tent, totally
destroying every thing, yet he was uninjured! Though
in many hotly contested battles, he was never wounded.
At the battle of Franklin, two pieces of his battery were
sent out on the pike to cover the retreat of the Union army,
and, while marching into Franklin, Hood had his forces
massed so solidly on a high knoll, that three out of the
four men at the gun on which our subject served were killed,
he alone surviving. They held the Confederates at bay
as long as they could; but it became so hot the captain
ordered them to limber to the rear, and get inside the line
of works. Mr. McCombs had not time to
put up equipments, but carried sponge-bucket in one hand and
sponge-staff in the other, and, while marching in, quite a
number of Hood's men followed them in side the
breastworks. It was a hard fight while they were at
it; "but,” Mr. McCombs says, " the ‘_Johnnies’
used us much better at Franklin than they did at
Stone River, where, on the third day's fight, they killed
about half of our horses and took four of our guns. It was a
terrible slaughter, and after the conflict was over they
went to Nashville and drew new guns and horses.” Mr.
McCombs and his "bunk-mate," H. G. Mercer,
grew up together in boyhood, and served together throughout
the war. Mercer was Mr. McCombs’ partner
when his tent was blown up at the foot of Lookout Mountain,
as related above. On the close of hostilities our
subject was discharged at Nashville, Tenn., June 13, 1865,
and returned home, having, made for himself an honorable war
record, of which he may be justly proud.
Mr. McCombs then gave his attention to
agricultural pursuits, operating a rented farm for seven
years, when he purchased forty acres of land, which had been
entered by his uncle from the government at seventy-five
cents per acre, since which time it has never passed out of
the family. Nineteen acres had already been improved,
but he has since drained the tract, using 16,000 tile,
erected a fine house at a cost of $1,100, built fences, and
set out a fine orchard upon his land, the place being now a
credit to the enterprise and industry of the proprietor.
On Feb. 11, 1868, he married Catherine Crom, a
daughter of John Crom, a prominent farmer of
Washington township, and five children blessed their union:
G. E., who died at the age of fourteen months; L.
A., a farmer of Washington township, who married
Martha Daniels, by whom he has two sons—George
and Harold; Chester, a farmer, at home; W.
H., who is still under the parental roof; and H. A.,
who died at the age of three years. The unwavering
support of Mr. McCombs is given the Republican party,
whose principles he stanchly advocates, and has held several
offices in his township, being trustee for seven years, and
for many years he was school director and a member of the
board of education. His religious belief is that of
the United Brethren Church, while socially he is connected
with Walter A. Wood Post, G. A. R., at Tontogany. In
the summer of 1895 he attended the grand encampment at
Louisville, Kentucky.
Source: Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past and Present - Vol. II - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers and Co. 1897 - Page 780 |
| |
JAMES
A. McCRORY, a well known, leading citizen of Cygnet,
and a representative of one of the pioneer families of Wood
County, was born in Liberty Township, Feb. 17, 1861. His
father James McCrory, was a native of
Pennsylvania, and came to Wood County, with his father,
Samuel McCrory, locating in Henry Township, where
he was reared to manhood. Here for his second wife, he
wedded Mary Ann Mercer, and they became the parents
of the following children who grew to adult age: William
P, Samuel J, Jennie, our subject (James A), Mary A.,
Horace A., and Albert O. The mother is now a
widow, her husband having died in October, 1885. By both
marriages Mr. McCrory became the father of 14
children. Through most of his life he followed farming; but
for a time was engaged in merchandising in the Village of
Portage. He was 5 feet, 8 inches in height, heavy set, but
rheumatism seized him in later years, and he died at the age
of 57, his remains being interred in Mercer Cemetery,
Liberty Township. In politics he was a Democrat, and besides
other positions he held the Office of Justice of the Peace,
was well read on legal matters, though entirely a self
educated man, had a good knowledge of the Scriptures, and
could argue a question very ably. For the last 3 years of
his life he was a total abstainer, though he had always been
used to drinking, his father having been a tavern keeper,
and always kept liquor in his home.
Our subject attended the District Schools of Liberty
Township, and remained under the parental roof until 17
years of age, when he began teaming, and he also operated
rented land for a time. Later, he was employed as a Barber
in McComb, Bowling Green and Jerry City, Ohio; but
when the oil boom struck Wood County, he again took up
teaming, removing to Cygney in June 1889. He owned several
teams and hired many more, and continued operations along
that line until 1890, when he began the livery business, in
connection with which he also carried on a barber shop for a
short time; but in June 1891, a fire destroyed his barn, on
which there was no insurance. On Mar. 10, 1894, he was
again burned out, but the following summer he built his
present barn, 50x100 feet, and a shed, 16x50 feet, the
largest establishments of the kind in the County. His well
conducted livery business has grown to extensive
proportions, and he also handles buggies and harness. On
Jan. 31, 1886, in Portage, he married Miss Mary C.
Myers, a native of Henry Township, and daughter of
Abraham Myers, a farmer. 2 children blessed this
union: Maud F and Claude O.
Mr. McCrory takes an active part in
political affairs, voting with the Democratic Party, but has
always declined office, with the exception of 3 years when
he served as Deputy Marshall. He is a charter member of
Knights of Pythias Lodge No 384, of Cygnet, and was
connected with the Grange during its existence. Public
spirited to a great degree, he takes a commendable interest
in everything tending to the advancement and welfare of his
town and county, being foremost in the support of any
improvements.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Research Note: Samuel’s wife: Hannah
Pennypacker James 1st wife: Nancy Sechelor
–> 1 child: Hannah
James 2nd wife: Mary Ann Mercer (as
noted above) Horace A. = Horace Allen
The internet indicates that James McCrory is
actually buried in Bethel Cemetery NOT Mercer as indicated
in the article above. Mary Ann Mercer is also buried
in Bethel Cemetery.
Source: Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past and Present - Vol. II - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers and Co. 1897 - Page 1334
Contributed By:
Bob Weaver |
 |
LEWIS
W. McCRORY. There is in the character
of this gentleman some of the qualities of the Scotch-Irish
ancestry from which he is descended – the thoroughness and
unfaltering purpose of the former, and the adaptability to
circumstances of the latter. His fellow townsmen recognize
him as a gentleman of sterling worth; for his life has ever
been an honorable one. He was born in the town of Wooster,
Wayne County, Ohio, Nov. 5, 1835, and is a son of
Samuel and Hannah (Pennypacker) McCrory. His father was
born in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, May 7, 1795, and was
reared as a farmer boy. Subsequently he removed to Wayne
County, Ohio, locating on a farm near Wooster, where he
resided for 12 years. On Oct. 6, 1836, he came to Wood
County, and purchased 80 acres of wild land in Henry
Township, on which he erected a small log house. His death
occurred in 1866, that of his wife on July 3, 1845. Their
children were: John, who was born Nov. 20, 1819,
served as a soldier in Company H, 21st O. V. I. (Ohio
Volunteer Infantry), and died Feb. 6, 1873; Mary,
who was born Mar. 19, 1820, became the wife of Reason
Whitacre, and died in Bloom Township; James,
born Mar. 13, 1823, died in Liberty Township; Elizabeth,
born May 15, 1825, became the wife of Isaac
Whitacre, and died in Bloom Township; Jacob, born
Mar. 14, 1827, died at the age of 4 years; Hannah,
born Mar. 7, 1829, married John Otterbach,
and died in Liberty Township; Samuel, born Apr. 12,
1831, died on the old homestead in Henry Township; Daniel,
born Feb. 17, 1833; Lewis W., our subject, comes
next; and Libby Ann, born Dec. 26, 1827,
became the wife of Jefferson Shinebarger, and
died in Liberty Township. The mother of this family having
passed away, the father married Eliza Shaffer,
and they had 4 children: Eliza Jane, born
Jan. 13, 1847, died in Henry Township; Philander;
born Nov. 20, 1848, a merchant of East Toledo, Ohio;
Lucinda, born July 19, 1853, died in girlhood; Nancy,
born in 1850, now the wife of Frederick Sheron,
of Portage Township. The mother of these died Dec. 18,
1859.
Lewis W. McCrory was only a
year old when his parents removed to Wood County. He was
educated in the district schools near his home, and in the
usual manner of farm lads was reared to manhood. He was
married in Portage Township, Feb. 10, 1856, to
Caroline Lucy Groton, a native of Bloom Township, whose
parents came from Rhode Island to Wood County at an early
day. They began their domestic life on a farm of 20 acres of
wild land in Liberty Township, and Mr. McCrory
continued its cultivation until June 9, 1862, when he
enlisted at Portage in Company A, 100th O. V. I. (Ohio
Volunteer Infantry). Soon after the regiment went to the
front, and was assigned to the army of the Cumberland.
He participated in the important battles of the campaign of
that year, and Sept. 8 1863, at the battle of Limestone
Station, was captured by the enemy and conveyed to
Lynchburg, whence he was afterward first taken to Libby
Prison, then to Belle Isle, lastly to Castle Thunder; he was
at the last two on two different occasions, and Mar. 13
1864, was conveyed to Andersonville, where he remained until
Mar. 27, 1865; until April 24, he was at Vicksburg, and on
April 27, he was put on board the “Sultana”. When the vessel
was within 7 miles of Memphis the boilers exploded, and
1,700 men lost their lives. Mr. McCrory clung to the
wreck for hours, but it finally took fire and he was obliged
to let go his hold. He was also in the water 9 hours before
he reached shore, and narrowly escaped drowning. At length
he was taken to Memphis in a boat, from there to Cairo,
Illinois, on the steamer “Silver Spring”, and was discharged
at Columbus, Ohio, May 21, 1865.
In the meantime the news of the terrible disaster had
spread northward, and Mrs. McCrory was told
that her husband was dead. When he appeared before her alive
and well, the shock was too great for her, and caused her
death 7 days later. Their children were, Melissa,
born Dec. 10, 1856, now the wife of George
Gorton, of Providence, Rhode Island; Silas
Augustus, who was born Oct. 13, 1858, and resides in
Portage; Frances Imogene, born Sept. 6, 1860,
wife of William George, of Liberty Township,
and Lewis La Fayette, born Aug. 5, 1862, now in
North Baltimore, Ohio. Mr. McCrory was again
married, this time on Mar. 11, 1866 to Julia A Taylor, who
was born Nov. 7, 1840, in Ashland County, Ohio,
a daughter of David and Eliza (Myers) Taylor. They
have always lived on their present farm, Mr.
McCrory having in the fall of 1865 sold his first
purchase and bought 80 acres in Section 25, Liberty
Township. They have 4 children: Florence May,
born Jan. 20, 1867, wife of E. C. Marvin, of
Liberty Township; Mary Gertrude, born
Sept. 30, 1868, died Nov. 10, 1883; Tryphena,
born Dec. 25 1870, died Jan. 27, 1874; Delia May,
born Feb. 4, 1874, now the wife of Albert
Roberts, of Liberty Township.
In his business interests, Mr. McCrory
has prospered, and is known as a man of unquestioned
integrity and honorable dealing, his success being well
merited. He has greatly improved his place, and has
recently erected upon it a handsome residence, wherein
hospitality reigns supreme. In politics he is a stanch
Prohibitionist, and in religious faith he is an active
member of the Disciples Church, in which he is serving as
deacon. Since the fall of 1874 he has also been a member of
Whitney Lodge No 589, I. O. O. F. of Portage.
Source 2: Commemorative Historical and Biographical
Record of Wood County, Ohio, Past and Present - Vol. II -
Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers and Co. 1897 - Page 512
----------------------------
THE FOLLOWING WAS RE-PUBLISHED FROM: THE OHIO GENEALOGICAL
SOCIETY – THE REPORT – SPRING 1984 – VOLUME XXIV, NUMBER 1 –
PAGE 28
SURVIVOR SKETCHES. In addition to the lists provide in ‘The
Report’ excerpts, a few survivor sketches are included with
one for that same Wood
Countian, Lewis W McCrory.
McCRORY, L W – (Pg 243) Born: 5 Nov 1835, Wayne County, Ohio
E-9 June 1862 Portage, Ohio -- Company A, 100th Ohio
Volunteer Infantry C-8 Sept 1863 Limestone Station, Eastern
Tennessee
Prisoner: Lynchburg, Belle Isle, Libby, Andersonville -- In
all a total of 22 months One year and 7 days were at
Andersonville.
Occupation: Farming
Post Office: Mungen, Ohio
Additional Info: John Cornwell of my company & regiment swam
together. He gave up and drowned. On the trip from
Andersonville, Georgia to Columbus, Ohio – wrecked 6 times
on the cars and once on a steamboat.
All
Contributed By:
Bob Weaver |
| |
S. J. McCRORY, a retired farmer, and a highly
respected resident of Bowling Green, was born in Liberty
Township, Jan. 17, 1851, and is the son of James and
Mary Ann (Mercer) McCrory.
James McCrory was born in Wayne County,
Ohio, in 1821, and when a boy came with his parents (Samuel
McCrory and Hannah Pennypacker)
to Wood County. He followed farming the greater part of his
life, although he was engaged for a short period in
merchandising in Portage. He was a Democrat and a member of
the Christian Church. He died Oct. 19, 1885. Mr.
McCrory was first married to Miss Nancy
Sechelor, who died after the birth of 1 child,
Hannah, now the wife of William Robinson,
of Liberty Township.
The mother of our subject was born in Columbiana
County, Ohio, the daughter of George and Jane
(Montgomery) Mercer, and is still living at her old home
in Liberty Township. By her marriage with Mr.
McCrory she became the mother of 13 children, of whom 7
grew to maturity: William Paul, deceased; Samuel
J., the subject of this sketch; Jennie, wife of
J. Ferguson, living in Wood County; James
A., living at Cygnet, this County; Mary Ann,
residing with her mother; Horace, living in Milton
Township; and Albert, who makes his home with his mother.
Samuel J. McCrory was reared upon a farm
in his native Township, and is a model type of the man who,
with limited advantages in the way of schooling or of money,
has, by persistent application, acquired a knowledge of
books as well as of men, and who today is well posted on
current literature and matters of general interest. After
his marriage, Mr. McCrory settled upon a farm
in Liberty Township, and devoted himself to the cultivation
and improvement of his land with an energy which soon
produced the desired effect. He has become recognized as a
farmer of more than ordinary intelligence and progressive
ideas. In 1890, Mr. McCrory retired from
active business, and since that time, has made his home in
Bowling Green, where he is looked upon as one of its valued
citizens.
Mr. McCrory was married to Miss
Rachel Milbourn, whose birth took place in Bloom
Township, Feb. 16 1854. 3 children have been born to
them: Bertha, who died when 2 years and 9 months old;
Alda, born May 27, 1884, and Charles, born
Feb. 17, 1887. Out subject is in sympathy with the
principles of the Prohibition Party, but in local elections
care more for the qualifications of the candidate than for
mere Party considerations, and votes accordingly. He is a
consistent member of the Christian Church, and is liberal to
all worthy causes. Fraternally, he belongs to the I. O. O.
F., and
in all relations of life, bears his part as an honest man, a
good neighbor and worthy citizen.
Source: Commemorative Historical and Biographical
Record of Wood County, Ohio, Past and Present - Vol. II -
Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers and Co. 1897 - Page 1363
Contributed By:
Bob Weaver |
| |
JOHN McKENZIE
is a
prominent business man of Lakeside, Ottawa County,
proprietor of livery and transfer stables. Being well known
in this community, we feel assured that the record of his
life will prove of interest to many of our readers and
gladly give it a place in this volume. He was born in
Paisley, Scotland, July 12, 1841, and is a son of Neil
and Mary McKenzie, both of whom were natives of the
Highlands of Scotland. When he was only three weeks old his
mother died, and while still a young child he went with his
father and aunt, and two brothers of the latter, to Canada.
They located in Hamilton, Ontario, where our subject
received a common school education. His father died leaving
him an orphan when he was only seven years of age.
On the completion of his school life, John McKenzie
drove a stage for about five years, and afterward engaged in
agricultural pursuits. In 1865 he removed to Ohio, settling
near Norwalk, in Huron County, where he carried on farming,
and worked in a sawmill for about three years, then spent a
similar period in fishing in Lake Erie, at Huron. In 1871 he
came to Lakeside, Ohio, where he has since resided, and for
twenty two consecutive years he has held the position of
dock master. He has also had extensive business relations,
and has been a prominent official. On Nov. 6, 1894, he
was elected county commissioner on the Republican ticket,
and has also filled the office of school director in Danbury
Township, Ottawa County, for several years.
On Jan. 7, 1871, Mr. McKenzie was united in
marriage with Miss Martha, daughter of Bishop and
Permelia Knapp, natives of the Empire State, who settled
in Huron County, Ohio, at an early day in its history. They
located first in Bronson Township, where they reside for
many years, and then removed to Milan, going thence to
Norwalk. The father died about 1866, the mother in October
1873.
Mr. and Mrs. McKenzie have four children:
Fenie was the first child born in Lakeside, the natal
day being Feb. 23, 1874; the others are Daniel B.,
born Nov. 17, 1875; Margery Aiken, born Aug. 17, 1879; and John H., born
Apr. 24 1883. The family
attend the Methodist Episcopal Church. In his political
views, Mr. McKenzie is a Republican, and, socially,
is connected with Peninsular Lodge, No 607, K. of P. He is
recognized as one of the representative and progressive men
of Ottawa County, his character is above reproach, and he
and his family are highly esteemed residents of Lakeside.
Source: Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past and Present - Vol. II - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers and Co. 1897 - Page 579
Contributed By:
Bob Weaver |
| |
JOHN McMASTERS, a popular,
intelligent and esteemed citizen of Milton Township, traces
his ancestry back to one of the earliest families of New
York. His parents were Levi and Charity Ellen (Newberry)
McMasters, the former born in Cayuga County, New York,
in 1800. The were married in Chautauqua County, that State,
and in 1825 removed with their family to Huron County, Ohio,
carrying on farming for a number of years in Greenfield
Township. He afterward removed to Richmond Township, of the
same county, where he purchased 100 acres of land that he
afterward traded for a farm in Greenfield Township. When he
had lived on the last place for seven years, he sold it and
rented another farm. His death occurred in March 1851, and
his wife passed away in 1872, at the home of her daughter,
Mrs. John Jones, of Weston Township. In the family
there were the following children: John; Caroline,
born June 12, 1829, now the wife of Joseph Horn, of
Paulding County, Ohio; Adeline, born Jan. 26,
1831, now the wife of John Jones, of Weston
Township; Emeline, born June 28, 1838, died at the
age of three years; Myron, born July 10 1833, a
resident of Louisville, Kentucky; Levi, of Tuscola
County, Michigan, born Jan. 28, 1835; Sidney, born Aug. 10, 1839; Charles, of Huron County, born
Sept. 14, 1841; Dexter, of Lucas County, born Dec. 20
1842; Emeline, born Aug. 21, 1843, wife of
Horton Taylor, of California; Mark, born
Dec. 8, 1855, now of Jefferson County, Kansas; Deal,
born July 31, 1847, wife of Peter Bliss, of
Jefferson County, Kansas.
Our subject was born in Chautauqua County, New York,
Sept. 20, 1827. His educational privileges were limited,
for there were none but subscription schools in the
neighborhood. His school days were over at the age of
fifteen, and he then turned his attention to farm work, was
also employed for one year in a sawmill owned by his uncle,
Hiram McMasters, and drove a team in connection with
a gristmill for a year. Subsequently he worked as a farm
hand for $12 per month, and the next season received $13.
Saving his wages, he then purchased a small farm of thirty
three acres in Greenfield Township, making a home for his
mother and the younger children of the family. For ten years
he lived on that place.
Mr. McMasters was married in Greenfield
Township, Jan. 20, 1858, to Elizabeth Jane
Grieves, who was born in Bergen County, New Jersey,
Oct. 2, 1829, and came to Huron County with her parents
at the age of six years. Her father and mother, Thomas
and Elizabeth (Stewart) Grieves, spent their remaining
days in Huron County. They had seven children who died in
one summer, and the others are Thomas, also now
deceased; and David, of Greenfield Township, Huron
County. To Mr. and Mrs. McMasters have
been born the following named - John D., who was born
Mar. 12, 1859, and has always aided in the work of the home
farm; Della, who was born Mar. 29, 1863, and died at
the age of three years; Myrtie, born May 16 1870; and
Laura, born Feb. 27, 1875.
In November 1860, Mr. McMasters removed to Wood
County, and purchased forty acres of land on which stood a
log house. The following spring he brought his family to the
new home, and for twenty years they lived in a log cabin,
which was then replaced by the present capacious and
substantial dwelling. He had only $300 and a team of horses
when he came to the county, but has become the possessor of
a comfortable competence, and in connection with his son
owns 147 acres of land, all under a high state of
cultivation.
In his political views, Mr. McMasters and his
son are both Republicans, and he has served as Township
Trustee for two years, Assessor for one term, and School
Director for many years. He is deeply interested in whatever
tends to advance the welfare of his adopted county, and well
deserves representation in its history.
Source: Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past and Present - Vol. II - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers and Co. 1897 - Page 1010
Contributed By:
Bob Weaver
Research Notes:
The Historical Biography mis-spelled John's last name:
McMasterS - they forgot the S at the end of his name!! When
looking at other historical documents the S is there EXCEPT
for this Biography. I have added the S to the above
Biography for simplicity and clarity.
John's Parents:
Charity Ellen Newbury
Birth: Oct. 16, 1804 --- Shrewsbury, Monmouth County, New
Jersey
Death: Sep. 8, 1880 --- Weston, Wood County, Ohio
Burial: Steuben Cemetery. Steuben. Huron County, Ohio
Levi McMasters
Birth: Jun. 12, 1800 --- Cayuga County, New York
Death: Mar. 14, 1851 --- Huron County, Ohio
Burial: Steuben Cemetery. Steuben. Huron County, Ohio |
|
|
A. FULTON M.
MERCER, still a resident of Liberty
township, was born there Aug. 1, 1859, son of Charles and
Jane (Mominee) Mercer, of Bowling Green. To the
public schools of his home neighborhood he is indebted for
his education. He left school on attaining his
majority, and began farming in his own interest on a tract
of 137 acres of land in Liberty township. He is a
wide-awake and enterprising farmer, follows progressive
methods, and is always found on the side of advancement.
In 1888, on the removal of his father to Bowling Green, he
took up his abode on the old homestead, which he has since
purchased, and here owns 100 acres, together with a farm of
240 acres in Jackson township. Over his business
career there falls no shadow of wrong, for every business
transaction conducted by him has been one of fair dealing,
and he has the confidence and support of many friends.
On Feb. 26, 1879, Mr. Mercer was married
to Miss Frances C. Frisbie, a native of Wood county,
and a most estimable lady. Their union has been
blessed with four children - Clayton, who died at the
age of ten years; and Elmer, Blanche and
Leonard, all at home. In his political views Mr.
Mercer has always been a Republican, and he has
served ten years as school director, being a warm champion
of the cause of education. He is also an active member
of the Christian Church of Rudolph, and does all in his
power to promote its interests. Popular and esteemed,
his friends are many, and he is well liked by all who know
him.
Source: Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past and Present - Vol. II - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers and Co. 1897 - Page 1192 |
|
|
ABRAHAM MERCER,
whose well spent life has won him the regard of all, is
numbered among the progressive, enterprising citizens who
give a hearty endorsement and active support to all
enterprises calculated to prove of public benefit. He was
born in Columbiana County, Ohio, July 8, 1820, and is a son
of William and Charity (Pettit) Mercer. The father
was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and at various
times followed the trades of cooper, miller, and mason. In
his native county he married Miss Pettit, who was
there born July 7, 1781. After several years they removed to
a farm on the banks of the Susquehanna River, and later went
to Columbiana County, where Mr. Mercer carried on
farming to some extent, but mostly followed the mason's
trade. In the fall of 1834 he brought his family to Wood
County, and secured 160 acres of land in Liberty Township,
on which he erected a log house, 16x20 feet. Two years later
he built a frame residence, and there made his home until
his death. His widow afterward returned to Pennsylvania; but
while visiting in Columbiana County, she died at the home of
her son, Daniel, Feb. 9, 1855. The children of
this marriage were: Martha (deceased) was the wife of
Andrew Pettit; George, who died in Liberty
Township, at the age of eighty seven; William, who
died in Portage Township, at the age of forty three; Mary
Ann, who became the wife of Enos Monehan, and
died in Pennsylvania; Daniel, who died near
Georgetown, Columbiana County; Beulah (deceased) was
the wife of William Pike, of Iowa; Caleb, of
Bowling Green, Ohio; Charity (deceased); Lucretia
(deceased) was the wife of Henry Groves, of Liberty
Township; Abraham; Elesana, who died at the age of
two years; and Charles, who lives in Bowling Green.
Our subject received somewhat limited educational
privileges for the nearest school house was three miles
distant; but through reading, experience, and observation he
has become a well informed man. To farm work he devoted his
energies until his marriage, which was celebrated in Liberty
Township, Jan. 8, 1840, Miss Harriet Elizabeth
Rice becoming his wife. Born in Cattaraugus County, New
York, Apr. 13, 1820, she was a daughter of Calvin and
Electa (Allen) Rice, natives of the Empire State, and
with her parents came to Wood County in 1835, her father and
mother both dying in Liberty Township.
In 1846 Mr. Mercer removed with his family to
the farm which his father first purchased, taking eighty
acres. He cleared the place, erected a good residence, and
there carried on agricultural pursuits until about Jan. 1887, when he disposed of that property and removed to
another farm. His wife died Jan. 31, 1887, and the old
home was therefore broken up. Of their marriage were born
seven children: Charity Electa, wife of Alex
Lashuay, of Bowling Green; James C., of Denver,
Wood County; Charlie Allen, of Liberty
Township; Porterfield, of Liberty Township; William
Marion, of Liberty Township; Clinton B., of Mount
Pleasant, Isabella County, Michigan; and Harriet
Isadore, wife of Francis McIntire, of Liberty
Township. For a year after the death of his wife, Mr.
Mercer lived with his son-in-law, and then wedded
Mrs. Mary A. Bacon, widow of Warren H. Bacon. In
politics he is a stalwart Prohibitionist, and served as
township treasurer for one year, while for many years he has
been clerk of the school board, and a director. He holds
membership with the Disciples Church, and his life has been
well spent. He is numbered among Wood County's honored
pioneers, has witnessed much of its growth and upbuilding,
and is a public spirited, progressive citizen.
Source: Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past and Present - Vol. II - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers and Co. 1897 - Page 1327
Contributed By:
Bob Weaver |
|
|
BERLIE W. MERCER.
The same enterprising spirit which has led to the rapid
development of the West causes this gentleman to be numbered
among the progressive citizens of Wood county. He was
born in Liberty township, Apr. 7, 1865, and is a son of
Pierce and Mary E. (Robinson) Mercer. The father
was brought to Wood county during his early childhood, and
was twice married, the mother of our subject being his
second wife. They began their domestic life on the
place which is now owned by James Grange, and
the mother is still living on a part of the old farm, where
the father died in 1883, respected by all who knew him.
The children of their family are Berlie W.; James
F., of Henry county, who died at midnight Sept. 18,
1896, and was buried in Bethel cemetery (he left a widow to
mourn his loss); Nancy Elizabeth, a music
teacher, living at home; Charlotte L., wife of E.
A. Stratton, of Bradner, Ohio; and Stella M., at
home. After the father's death the mother married
Bernard O'Brien, who is now also deceased, and by this
marriage was born a daughter, Anna B.
The early educational privileges enjoyed by our subject
were afforded by the common schools, and were supplemented
by a two-years’ course in the Normal School of Ada, Ohio.
Subsequently he engaged in teaching for two years in this
county, and he has always been a warm friend of education
and improvement. He entered upon his business career
as a farm hand. With the money he acquired through his
own exertions, and a small inheritance from his father, he
at length purchased a farm of forty acres in Section 21,
Liberty township. He was engaged at work four years
with the Ohio Oil Co., and now has upon his place five
producing oil wells. He also owns a ninety-acre farm
in Henry township, which he purchased in 1891, and the two
proper ties yield him a good income.
On Nov. 12, 1884, in Bowling Green, Mr.
Mercer was united in marriage with Libby M. Seymour,
who was born in Franklin county, Ohio, Sept. 13, 1867,
daughter of Martin S. and Caroline Seymour.
They have one son, Leonard V., who was born Apr. 11,
1887. In 1890 Mr. Mercer was visiting
through the West with George B. Harris. In 1894
he went to Cincinnati and entered upon a four-years‘ course
of study in the Eclectic Medical Institute, as a preparation
for the practice of medicine, and, the same enterprise which
has won him success in his business career thus far, will
undoubtedly make him an able physician. In politics he
is a Democrat, and has served as township clerk four years.
His religious connection is with the Disciples Church at
Rudolph, of which he has been a member since he was thirteen
years old.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical
Record of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago:
J. H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page
853 |
|
|
CHARLES MERCER,
a wealthy retired agriculturist of Bowling Green, was born
in Columbiana county, Ohio, Apr. 22, 1826, but has been for
over sixty years a resident of Wood county, where his
parents were among the pioneers.
His father, William Mercer, was born in
Lancaster county, Penn., May 13, 1775. On the 8th of
November, 1798, he married Miss Charity
Pettit, a native of Lancaster county, born June 17,
1781. Her parents, Daniel and Martha
Pettit, both lived to a good old age, the former dying
in 1831 at the age of eighty-seven, the latter in 1827, aged
seventy-six. For many years after their marriage they
lived on a farm in Columbiana county, Ohio, but Sept. 20,
1834, they settled in Wood county upon a tract of wild land
purchased from the government, which has since been
developed into a fine farm. They were prominent
members of the Christian Church, to which all their
descendants adhere. The father died Mar. 2, 1839, the
mother Feb. 2, 1855.
Our subject was the youngest of thirteen children, of
whom three are still living. The names with dates of
birth and death are as follows: Martha, Sept. 20,
1799, 1830 (married Andrew Pettit); Mary
Ann, May 4, 1801, 1875 (married Enos
Monehan); George, Apr. 27, 1803, Sept. 1, 1890;
William, Aug. 13, 1805, 1849; John, Sept. 9,
1807, Mar. 4, 1890; Daniel, Oct. 10, 1809, August,
1885; Beulah, Nov. 27, 1811, April, 1887
(married William Pike); Caleb, born Mar. 24,
1814, lives in Bowling Green; Charity, Apr. 3, 1816,
1875 (married Samuel Taylor); Lucretia,
May 12, 1818, Dec. 17, 1847 (married Henry Groves);
Abraham, July 8, 1820, lives at Rudolph, Ohio;
Ellis Ann, born Apr. 24, 1822, died at the age of
two years; Charles, the youngest, is our subject.
Beulah left a great many descendants in the vicinity
of DesMoines, Iowa, and Charity left a large family
in Lawrence county, Penn., and to the north of Enon Valley.
Our subject was but eight years old when he came to
this county, and his education was obtained in the public
school at Portage. He remained at the old homestead
until 1888, when he retired from active work and came to
Bowling Green to live. He was married in 1855 to
Miss Jane Mominee, who was born in Lucas
county, Feb. 28, 1840, the daughter of Anthony and
Angeline (De Mars) Mominee.
Of the six children of Charles Mercer and
wife, three are living. (1) Lenora, born Aug. 3,
1856, died Jan. 6, 1865. (2) Hiram, born Dec.
31, 1857, died Jan. 23, 1867. (3) Abram F.,
born Aug. 1, 1855, lives at the old homestead. He was
married Feb. 26, 1879, to Miss Frances C. Frisbie,
who was born in Wood county, Nov. 10, 1859. They have
had four children - Clayton, Elmer, Blanche
and Leonard, of whom, the eldest died aged ten years.
(4) Hamilton, born Oct. 22, 1860, died Jan. 7, 1861.
(5) D., born Mar. 27, 1863, lives upon a part of the
old farm. He votes the Prohibition ticket, while his
father and brother are ardent Republicans. He was
married Apr. 6, 1884, to Miss Rebecca Aller,
a native of Geauga county, born May 5, 1863, and has three
children - Lorenzo, Ina, and Hazel.
(6) Alnetta, born May 6, 1870, was married Jan. 2,
1891, to H. J. Rudolph, and lives in Rudolph, Ohio.
Mr. Mercer united with the Christian Church at
the age of eighteen, and has been an active worker in its
interests throughout his manhood.
Mrs. Mercer’s grandfather, Louis
Mominee, was born in 1740, in Quebec, Canada.
In 1859, immediately after Montcalm’s defeat, he came
thence to what was at that time the Territory of Michigan,
settling in Monroe county, near Monroe. In 1761 he
married Leahr Preedom, and twenty-two children
were born to them, of whom Anthony Mominee,
Mrs. Mercer's father, was the twentieth. He
was born Jan. 15, 1785, in Monroe county, Mich., and died
July 5, 1854. He served throughout the war of 1812,
and during that struggle was taken prisoner by the Indians.
On Feb. 17, 1817, he married Margaret Duso,
and by her had two children. On June 4, 1821, he
wedded Angeline De Mars, who was born
Oct. 11, 1800, and ten children blessed their union, seven
of whom are yet living. The only son, Peter,
enlisted in 1864, in Company A, 130th O. V. I., and served
sixty days in the summer of that year. He is now a
resident of East Toledo, Ohio. Of the six daughters,
Angeline Ducat, Margaret and Matilda
McCullock, reside in East Toledo; Mary Edom,
in Barry, Ill.; Elizabeth Ducat, and Jane,
the wife of our subject, live in Bowling Green.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical
Record of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago:
J. H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page
605 |
|
|
CHARLES A. MERCER
is a native of Liberty township, and a son of Abraham and
Harriet (Rice) Mercer. His father learned the shoe
maker’s trade in early life, and followed it to some extent,
but his attention was mainly given to agricultural pursuits.
He was born in Columbia county, Penn., and since his
marriage has resided in Liberty township, now living a
retired life in Rudolph. His first wife died about
1883, and he has since wedded Mary A. McCrory.
Of the first union were born the following named: Charity,
James, Charles A., Porterfield,
William Marion, Clinton and Isadore.
Mr. Mercer acquired his education in the
common schools, and remained in his father's home until his
marriage, with the exception of one year spent in the army.
He enlisted in 1864, in Company C, 11th O. V. I., and
immediately went to the front, where he participated in the
Atlanta campaign, and the battles of Goldsboro and
Fayetteville. When the war was over he was honorably
discharged in Washington in June, 1865, and returned to his
home.
In the fall of 1868, in Liberty township, was
celebrated the marriage of Mr. Mercer and
Miss Ann Stevens. They located on
the farm which is now their home, Mr. Mercer
having previously purchased forty acres of land and erected
thereon a good residence. He has upon this place five
oil-producing wells, and, in addition to this property, he
owns as fine a farm of 100 acres as there is in Jackson
township. To Mr. and Mrs.
Mercer have been born five children, namely: Abraham
A., Carl, Bessie, Leon and Lloyd.
Mr. Mercer started in life a poor boy, but has
resolutely worked his way upward until he is now numbered
among the substantial farmers of the community. He is
serving as school director, and has filled that position for
several terms, the cause of education finding in him a warm
friend.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical
Record of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago:
J. H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page
758 |
Daniel Mercer |
DANIEL MERCER
(Deceased), who in his life time was one of the most
prominent of the pioneer citizens of Bowling Green, better
known as “Uncle Dan” throughout his wide
circle of acquaintances, was born Aug. 3, 1826, in
Columbiana county, Ohio, where his ancestors were among the
earliest settlers. He was of mixed German, English and
Irish blood, and manifested the best qualities of each
strain.
His father, William Mercer, was born in
Columbiana county, and was there married to Miss Margaret
Ikirt, a native of Pennsylvania. They came to
Portage township, Wood county, in 1836, and settled in the
woods where they made their first dwelling out of brush
supported by a couple of trees. Our subject was ten
years old at that time, and can well recall the howling of
the wolves around them, and his fear lest they should break
through the frail shelter. A log cabin was built
later, and the land prepared for crops, the father seeking
work after the seed was planted, in order to supply his
family with food. He died at the early age of
forty-three, and his wife at thirty-seven, the lives of both
having been shortened by the privations and exertions of
pioneer life. Of their fifteen children, twelve grew
to maturity, our subject being the eldest: Elizanna
married Josiah Milburn; Elizabeth
married W. Johnson; Pierce was a farmer in
Liberty township; Mary Ann married
Cornelius Simons; Harriet married
George Babcock; one son, Bielby, lived in
Indiana; Margaret and Martha (twins), the
former was Mrs. Robert Johnson, and the
latter is now Mrs. Frederick Amos, of
Portage township; Rufus is a farmer in Henry county;
Euphemia married Russell Chilcote, of
Perry township, and Caroline married John
Boozer, of Bloom township. None of this large
family are now living except Daniel and the four
younger children.
Uncle Dan’s early educational advantages
were limited, but he made the most of them, and at the age
of seventeen gained an insight into the principles of
arithmetic in seventeen days. He was twice married,
first time at the age of twenty to Miss Susan Roberts,
who died Aug. 22, 1865. Ten children were born to this
union. (1) Emeline, married Sheldon Welton
(now deceased), formerly of Liberty township; they had
twelve children - Emmett, who married and has one
child; Norton; Lillie, who married and has one
child; Della; Daniel; Myrtle, who
married George Brubaker, and has one child, and
John, Edna, Ruth, Clayton, Anna
and Clarence, the six last being still at home,
except Ruth, who is deceased. (2) Delascos
lives in Liberty township; he married Louisa Donsey,
and has five living children - Lucy, married to
James White, and has one child; Eddie, a
student at Bethany (W. Va.) College; Clarence,
Tillie and Abraham G.; two others died in early
life. (3) Apalinda first married Samuel
Whitaker (now deceased), and had two children -
Thomas E. and Ella E. - both attending Bethany
College; she afterward wedded John Knight and
had two children, one of whom, Deyo, is living.
(4) Alcenus is a farmer in Liberty township; he
married Ella Ducat, and has four children -
Rosa, Libbie, Normia and Lloyd.
(5) Elmira married Robert Place, of
Liberty township, and has two living children Alfred,
a student at Bethany College, and Alta. (6)
Eugene married Jerusha Bay, and has three
children - Mable, Virnie and Edith.
(7) Ruth married Robert Marbel, of
Bowling Green, and has one son - Leonidas. (8)
Cyrenus married Alice Dubbs, and has
one son - Ira. (9) Flora and (10)
Florence (twins) are married, Flora to Milton
Tellers, of Plain township, and Florence to
Clarence Griner.
Mr. Mercer was married the second time,
June 24, 1866, to Mrs. Lucy A. Aller, who was born in
Genesee county, N. Y, July 23, 1828, daughter of Asahel
and Lucy (Johnson) Martin. By her former marriage
with Zacheus Aller she had nine children, of
whom seven are living: (1) Margaret, married to
Porterfield Mercer, and has five children -
Frank, Ethel, Manley, Marian and
Emma. (2) Nelson (now deceased), married to
Julia Lowe (now deceased), and had three
children - Millie, Leory and Porterfield.
(3) Zerelza, married to James Miller,
and has four children— - Ernest, Grace.
Royal and True. (4) Elliott, married
to Cora Hunt, and has three children -
Ernest, Bertha and Lucy. (5)
Henry, married to Addie Swartz, and has
two children Elmer and Blanche. (6) Amos,
not married. (7) Rebecca, married to Dowling
Mercer, and has three children - Lorenzo,
Ina and Hazel. By his second marriage “Uncle
Dan" had two sons: (1) Leonidas, pastor of the
Christian Church at Ravenna, Ohio; was educated at Bethany
(W. Va.) College and Chicago University, and ordained in
1891; he is married to Jessie Green, of
Alliance, Ohio. (2) Robert, a farmer near Bowling
Green; he completed his education in Hiram College, Ohio,
and is married to Miss Millie DeLano;
like his father, he is an ardent Prohibitionist. All
of these nineteen children have been reared together by our
subject, and all are members of the Church. He lately
gave each of them $2,000, making $4,000 in all to each, he
having previously given $2,000 to each one.
About two years after his second marriage Mr.
Mercer bought a farm of 400 acres in Liberty township,
where oil was afterward discovered, and at the time of his
decease he had an income from sixty-five wells. In
1889 he re tired to Bowling Green, there to spend his
declining years, and he employed his time devising new ways
to do good with his money. He was a liberal patron of
the Christian Church, of which he had been a member some
fifty-three years, and an elder for thirty years. He
took the lead in the financial affairs of the Bowling Green
society, and made large donations in other places, helping
to build more than twenty churches. He also gave
generously to Bethany College, Hiram College and other
educational institutions, and was extremely liberal to
Churches, regardless of creed. Politically, he was
formerly a Democrat, but in later years was a
Prohibitionist, taking an active interest in all temperance
work. Daniel Mercer, the subject of this
sketch, died Sept. 23, 1896, and was buried in the cemetery
at Rudolph.
Source: Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past and Present - Vol. II - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers and Co. 1897 - Page 480 |
Delascus Mercer |
DELASCUS MERCER,
who for forty-five years has witnessed the development and
upbuilding of Wood county, was born Oct. 11, 1849, in
Portage township, and is one of the family of ten children
born to Daniel and Susan (Roberts) Mercer. He
was reared on a farm and educated in the district schools of
Portage and Liberty townships. During his boyhood days
he assisted in the cultivation of the old home place, and
continued under the parental roof until after he had
attained his majority.
On Mar. 21, 1870, in Liberty township, Mr. Mercer
married Miss Louisa Dongey, the Rev. Wilcot,
pastor of the Disciples Church, officiating. She was
born in Wood county, Oct. 18, 1849, and is a daughter of
Peter F. and Catherine (Doran) Dongey, natives of
France, who were married on board the vessel which brought
them to America. They located in Liberty township,
Wood county, where the father died in September, 1889.
The mother is now a resident of Bowling Green. They
had a family of eight children: Fred, who died at the
age of twenty-two; Julia, wife of H. W. Sterling,
of Bowling Green; Mrs. Mercer; Henry,
of Bowling Green; Susan, wife of William M. Mercer,
of Liberty township; Charles, who died in infancy;
George, of Bowling Green, and Charles, of Weston.
Our subject and his wife began housekeeping on a
twenty-acre farm in Liberty township which constitutes a
part of their present homestead. Mr. Mercer
now owns 329 acres of valuable land, all under a high state
of cultivation, and in 1890 he replaced the old log cabin
home with a large substantial frame residence. There
are numerous oil wells on his land, on some of which he
receives a one-sixth royalty. Eight children have
blessed the union of our subject and his wife, namely:
Lewis Henry, who died in infancy; Lucy C.,
wife of T. J. White, of Mercer county, Penn., who is
now preparing for the ministry in Bethany College,
West Virginia; Edward H., a pupil in the Angola
(Ind.) Academy; Clarence Elmer, Matilda J. and
Abraham Garfield, at home; Alda
Edith, who died at the age of eight months; and
Daniel Floyd, at home. In politics Mr.
Mercer is a stalwart Prohibitionist. He has
never been an office-seeker, but has, how ever, served as
school director for a number of years. Socially he is
a member of the Knights of the Maccabees at Rudolph.
He and his wife are earnest supporters of the Disciples
Church, and faithfully devoted to the cause of the Master.
Source: Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past and Present - Vol. II - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers and Co. 1897 - Page 1052 |
Geo. E. Mercer |
GEORGE E. MERCER,
one of the most enterprising and successful business men of
Bowling Green, and who has acquired a reputation for good
judgment, skill and “push," which many older men might envy,
is a native of Wood county, born Mar. 18, 1862, on a farm in
Liberty township.
Caleb Mercer, grandfather of our subject,
was born Mar. 14, 1814, in Columbiana county, Ohio, a son of
William Mercer, a native of Westmoreland
county, Penn. The latter was married, in Columbiana
county, to Charity Petit, who was also of
Pennsylvania birth, and twelve children were born to them -
six sons: George William, John.
Daniel, Caleb, Abraham and Charles
- and six daughters: Martha, Mary Ann,
Beula, Charity, Lucretia and Elizann.
The father of these, who was by occupation a stone mason and
farmer, in 1834 moved to Wood county, and entered land in
Liberty township, where he passed the rest of his days,
dying in 1838; his wife departed this life some years later
in Columbiana county, while on a visit. In religious
faith they were Quakers, and in his political associations
Mr. Mercer was an Old-line Whig.
Caleb Mercer, son of William,
assisted his father on the farm till he was twenty-one years
old, and then worked out for one year at one hundred dollars
per annum, with which sum, together with a similar amount
given him by his father, he entered 160 acres of wild land
in Portage township. Here he lived a couple of years,
at the end of which time he sold this land and bought a
240-acre farm in Liberty township, which was also wild land,
a road having to be cut through the woods in order to reach
it. This property he improved and made a fine farm of,
and twenty-one years later he moved to Delaware county,
where, in Delaware township, he for three years conducted a
grocery business, which he sold out at a profit. Proceeding
now to Iowa, he, in that State, bought 320 acres of
partly-improved land, where he made his home some twelve
years, or until the death of his wife, in January, 1882,
when he returned to Wood county, remarried, and settled in
Bowling Green, where he has since resided.
His first marriage was in 1836, with Eliza
Groves, who was born in 1816, in Pickaway county, Ohio,
and by her he had seven children, as follows: Henry
G., of Bowling Green; William H., of Nebraska;
Matilda, deceased; Thomas and Enis F.,
both of South Dakota; and Charles and Louis,
both deceased. For his second wife, Caleb
Mercer married, on June 27, 1882, Mrs. Elvira
Newton, who was born in 1832, in Knox county, Ohio, a
daughter of John and Sarah (Sellers) Clutter, the
father a native of Pennsylvania, the mother of Ohio.
In religious faith Caleb Mercer is a member of
the Disciples Church, in politics he is a Republican, and in
his younger days he held prominent township offices.
Henry G. Mercer, eldest son of Caleb and
Eliza (Groves) Mercer, was born in Liberty township,
Wood county, Ohio, Dec. 29, 1837, and remained at home,
assisting in the farm work, until he was about twenty-one
years old, when his father presented him with a horse, and
he hired out as a farm hand, so continuing up to his
marriage. At that time his father gave him forty acres
of wild land (a part of the home farm), which was all in the
woods, and there Henry built a log house, wherein he and his
young wife commenced the battle of life together. This
40 acre tract he improved, then, in course of time, he
bought land adjoining, which he also cultivated. In
1888 he came to Bowling Green and rented the “American
House," which he conducted some nine months, when he
commenced contracting, in association with his son George
E., for two years constructing stone roads.
Impaired health, however, compelled him to abandon this line
of business, and, selling his farm (some eighteen months
after coming to Bowling Green), he, in October, 1895,
embarked in his present prosperous grocery business in that
city.
In August, 1861, Henry G. Mercer enlisted in
Company G, 1st Ohio Light Artillery, attached to the army of
the Cumberland, wherein he served three years, during which
service he participated in the battles of Stone River,
Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, Lookout Mountain, Franklin and
Nashville, besides many skirmishes. He proved a
faithful and valiant soldier, and was never absent from his
command a single day, although at one time he suffered
severely from the sting of a scorpion, which came near
proving fatal to him.
On Jan. 16, 1861, Henry G. Mercer was united in
marriage with Miss Ruth Murphy, of
Indiana, born in March, 1843, in Hamilton county, Ohio,
daughter of George G. and Sarah (Jones) Murphy,
natives of Virginia. To this union were born two
children: One son, George E., the subject proper of
this review; and one daughter, Amber F., who died at
the age of fifteen years. Like his father, in politics
and Church relationship. Henry G. is a
Republican, and member of the Disciples Church.
George E. Mercer, whose name introduces this
sketch, for several years attended the district schools of
the neighborhood of his birth place, later studying at the
Weston High School, at the Normal School at Valparaiso,
Ind., two terms, and at the Wesleyan College of Delaware,
Ohio, three years. In the district schools of Wood
county he taught three terms, then went west, and spent a
year in Denver, Colo., and vicinity. He traveled
extensively in the mountains, and one hunting expedition,
which was especially memorable, lasted for thirty days.
Returning to the old homestead, he was engaged in farming
two years, and then opened a butcher shop in Weston; but
this proving uncongenial, he came to Bowling Green, and went
into partnership in the contracting business with his
father, Henry G. Mercer, and uncle, a wealthy
contract or, under the firm name of Murphy &
Mercer. Among their first enterprises were the
paving of Main street, the construction of five miles of
stone road at Toledo, Ohio, in the direction of Genoa, and
four miles of stone road from Bowling Green northward.
Mr. Mercer owns a fine limestone quarry just
north of the city, and a few years ago he opened a
stone-cutting establishment, to which he has given much time
and attention, learning the business himself in all its
details. This has proved to be a lucrative venture.
He has lately added dealing in ice and coal to his various
interests, and enjoys a good trade.
On Feb. 28, 1885, Mr. Mercer was married to
Miss Carrie L. Powers, who is also a native of Wood
county, born Mar. 28, 1859, and they have one child,
George Graham, born Feb. 17, 1886. Mr.
Mercer is a Republican, takes an active and
influential part in political work, and in the spring of
1895, was elected a member of the city council. The
family of Mercers are widely and favorably known
throughout the county, and enjoy the unqualified esteem and
regard of all. Mrs. Mercer is a daughter
of James and Mary (Downing) Powers, the former of
whom, a native of Ireland, came to America about the year
1811, he being then some eleven years old. In 1834 he
married, in New York, Mary Downing, a native of Yates
county, N. Y., born Feb. 8, 1816, and in 1854 they came to
Ohio, settling in Milton township, Wood county. Here
Mr. Powers bought a farm on which he and his
wife passed the rest of their days, the father dying Aug.
30, 1878, the mother on Jan. 16, 1896. They were the
parents of eight children, as follows: Mary of
Denver, Colo., who married Col. John McDesmo,
now deceased; Helen M. (Mrs. C. W. McDonald),
now deceased; Andrew, who was a soldier in the Civil
war, and died at Bowling Green, Ky., in 1863; James
F., living in Toledo, Ohio; George A., a resident
of Montana; Carrie L., Mrs. George E. Mercer;
and John and Leslie, who both died young.
Mr. and Mrs. Powers were consistent members of the
Baptist Church, in politics he always supported the
Democratic party, and by occupation he was a life-long and
successful agriculturist.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical
Record of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago:
J. H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page
1200 |
|
|
HORACE MERCER
is one of the enterprising and progressive
agriculturists of Liberty township, and a well-spent life
has won for him the confidence and high regard of many
friends. He was born in Liberty township, Oct. 18,
1841, and is a son of George and Jane (Montgomery) Mercer,
natives of Pennsylvania. The father was a lifelong
farmer, and was married in his native State, where he
operated a tract of land for some years. He is
numbered among the pioneers of Wood county, where he secured
sixty eight acres of wild land, building thereon a log
cabin, and turning his attention to the development of a
farm. His wife died in 1854, after which he was
married to Elizabeth Moore. She passed
away, and he subsequently wedded Mary Brown.
His death occurred in 1890. The children of the first
union were David, who died in Liberty township;
Mary Ann, widow of James McCrory,
and a resident of Liberty; Mrs. Isabel Wolf,
who died in Pennsylvania; William, of Portage
township; John, of Waterville, Ohio; George,
of Liberty township; Reason and Daniel, who
died in Liberty township; Samuel, of Bowling Green;
Horace; Caleb, of Liberty township; and
Jane, wife of Peter Durey.
Our subject received his education in the common
schools, and early became familiar with the labors of the
home farm. Prompted by a spirit of patriotism,
he enlisted in his country’s service Aug. 13, 1862, as a
member of Company D, 111th O. V. I., and with his command
went almost immediately to the front. He
participated in many important engagements, went through the
entire Atlanta campaign, and was honorably discharged July
17, 1865, at Salisbury, N. C. At Cleveland,
Ohio, he was mustered out and returned home with the
consciousness of having faithfully defended his country in
her hour of peril.
On the 3d of July, 1862, Mr. Mercer was
united in marriage with Phoebe A. Whitacre, a
native of Bloom township, and a daughter of Reason
and Mary (McCrory) Whitacre.
They located on their present farm, Mr. Mercer
having inherited eighty acres from his father. He has
built a good residence here and made many excellent
improvements, and now has one of the most desirable farms of
the community. The home has been blessed with nine
children - Milton; Samuel A., a farmer of
Liberty township; Mary, wife of Frank Cook,
of Jackson township; Daniel D.; Clarence;
Rose, wife of Fred Whitaker, of Liberty
township; Jefferson; Frank; and George.
Mr. and Mrs. Mercer belong to the Disciples
Church; in politics he is a stalwart Republican, and is
serving as township trustee. Extensive reading has
made him a well-informed man, and in all the relations of
life he has been found true and faithful to his duty,
manifesting the same loyalty which characterized his career
as a soldier.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical
Record of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago:
J. H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page
1289 |
|
|
JOHN MERCER,
whose well-cultivated farm indicates his industrious and
energetic nature, was born Apr. 4, 1831, in Columbiana
county, Ohio, and is a son of George Mercer, a native
of Pennsylvania, who came to Wood county, in 1833, locating
in Liberty township, where his remaining days were passed.
Our subject was therefore only two years of age when he
became a resident of this county. Upon his father's
farm he spent the days of his boyhood and youth, early
becoming familiar with the labors of the fields. He
remained under the parental roof until he had attained his
majority, when he began learning the carpenter’s trade,
which he followed for three years. With the capital he
acquired through his own efforts, he then purchased 100
acres of land in Liberty township, and with characteristic
energy began its development and improvement. This
work he continued until 1885, when he removed to his present
farm in Middleton township. He here owns sixty acres
of rich and valuable land, and a fine residence and good
barns add to its attractive appearance, and make it a very
desirable property. All this he has acquired through
his own efforts, and he may well be proud of his well
merited success.
On Apr. 13, 1858, Mr. Mercer was united
in marriage, in Middleton township, with Amanda
Creps, a native of Perrysburg, Ohio, born Nov. 26, 1833,
and a daughter of David and Rosanna (All) Creps.
They became the parents of nine children, namely: Emma A.,
born Feb. 15, 1859, wife of Henry E. Morris;
Shebner A., born May 19, 1862, a farmer of Liberty
township; Owen, born June 3, 1865, a farmer of
Jackson township; Leonard S., born Aug. 21, 1871,
operating the old homestead; Milla, born Nov. 6,
1875; Walter, who was born Sept. 20, 1860, and died
Feb. 28, 1864; Clara A., who was born May 29, 1867,
and died in January, 1873; and two who died in infancy.
Mr. Mercer has several times been called
to public office by his fellow townsmen, who recognize his
worth and ability. He has served as trustee for six
years, was school director for ten years, and a member of
the township board of education for eight years. He
belongs to the Disciples Church, and gives his political
support to the Republican party. In all the relations
of life he has been found true and faithful to the trust
reposed in him, and his friends throughout the community are
many.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical
Record of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago:
J. H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page
674 |
|
|
WILLIAM MARION MERCER
is a well-known representative of one of the old established
families of Wood county - his parents, Abraham and
Harriet (Rice) Mercer, having located here at an early
day. He was born in Liberty township, June 15, 1852,
and, as soon as he had arrived at a suitable age, entered
the district schools of the neighborhood, where he acquired
an unusually good English education, for the time, his
natural abilities leading him to make the most of every
opportunity offered him. He was reared in the usual
manner of farm lads, and aided his father in the cultivation
of the old homestead until he went to a home of his own.
At the time of his marriage his father gave him forty acres
of land his present property - and he now has seven oil
wells upon the place, producing four hundred barrels per
day, from which he derives the excellent income of about $50
per day. In 1872 he erected thereon a good residence,
and now has a pleasant home and a valuable property.
In 1872, in Liberty township, was celebrated the
marriage of Mr. Mercer and Miss Susan E. Donzy, who
was born in Liberty township Dec. 6, 1853, a daughter of
Peter Frederick and Catherine E. Donzy. Their
union has been blessed with a family of four children, one
of whom died in infancy. The others are Dana
Otto, Clement Artus and Benjamin
Elwood. The parents are members of the Disciples
Church, of Rudolph, and take an active part in its work and
upbuilding. Mr. Mercer is a very
important factor in public affairs, gives a hearty support
to all interests calculated to benefit the community at
large, and has served as school clerk and school director
for three years. He is an industrious, energetic
worker, a man of rare judgment and good sense, and to-day
stands among the leading farmers of Liberty township.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical
Record of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago:
J. H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page
1250 |
|
|
R. E. MILBOURN,
DDS, North Baltimore has a number of ambitious young men
whose desire to succeed in the world, and make a name for
themselves, is most creditable. Among these may be mentioned
the subject of this sketch, Dr. R. E. Milbourn, whose
birth took place in Bloom Township, Dec. 8, 1864. He is
the son of Mandeville and Rebecca (Whitacre) Milbourn.
Both the Milbourn and Whitacre
families are pioneers of Wood County, Reason
Whitacre, our subjects grand father, being one of the
oldest residents in point of time.
Dr. Milbourn was married, Sept. 12, 1895,
to Miss Sylvia Wight, who was born Jan. 19, 1863,
in Lake Township, Wood County, Ohio. In politics he is a
Republican. In religious connection he is a member of the
Christian Church.
Source: Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past and Present - Vol. II - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers and Co. 1897 - Page 821
Contributed By:
Bob Weaver |
|
|
A.
B. MILLER. The subject of this
sketch stands second to none among the prominent citizens of
Jerry City. The place of his nativity is Upper Paxton
township, Dauphin Co., Penn., where he was born Mar. 30,
1816; he was christened Amos, but later for convenience took the
initial B, and is now known as A. B. Miller.
His parents, Daniel and Magdalene (Kanaga) Miller,
were of Swiss extraction, their ancestors having come from
Switzerland many generations ago, locating in Lancaster
county, Penn., during its pioneer days. Our subject
was nineteen years of age when the family left the Keystone
State, making the long journey, by way of Pittsburg, to
Scipio township, Seneca county, where the father had
previously purchased 182 acres of land and erected a cabin.
He and his wife came in a carriage, while our subject drove
a one-horse wagon containing bedding and provisions, and his
brother Simon drove a four-horse team hitched to a
covered wagon. It was two years after the parents left
their home in Pennsylvania before they located in Seneca
county, as they had stopped at Mrs. Miller's fathers
farm in Stark county, Ohio, there making a temporary home
while the father looked up a suitbale location.
His death occurred in Seneca county at the age of
sixty-eight years and nine months, while his wife had
reached the very advanced age of ninety-three years and
three months, at the time of her death. She was a
woman of the greatest vitality, always active up to the time
of her death. In the family were five children, namely:
Simon, who died in Seneca county when nearly eighty
years of age; Elizabeth, who
became the wife of George Shaffner, and died
when past the age of sixty years; A. B., of this
sketch; Fannie, who died in Pennsylvania at the age
of thirteen; and John K., of Seneca county.
The early education of our subject was such as the
subscription schools of Pennsylvania afforded at that early
day, when manual labor was considered of more importance
than literary studies. His boyhood and youth were
passed on his father's farm, and one of the first important
steps toward the establishment of a home of his own, was his
marriage which took place in Bucyrus, Ohio, Feb. 23, 1841,
his bride being Miss Nancy Shaffner,
who was born in Dauphin county, Penn., Sept. 21, 1822.
She was the next to the youngest in the family of nine
children, three sons and six daughters, born to Martin
and Sarah (Flischer) Shaffner. While a
resident of Pennsylvania, her father followed tanning; but
on locating in Crawford county, Ohio, in 1828, he took up
farming, which he followed until his death at the age of
eighty-four. The mother of Mrs. Miller died in
1824, after which Mr. Shafiner was three times
married, and became the father of twenty-one children, one
of whom died in infancy, but the others all lived to adult
age, the youngest dying at the age of nineteen.
The union of our subject and his wife has been blessed
by the advent of twelve children, namely: William H.,
who served for three years during the Civil war as a member
of Company H, 101st O. V. I., and is now living in Portage
township, Wood county; Isaiah S., a resident
of the same township; John W., a merchant of West
Millgrove, Ohio; Mary M., wife of John
Johnston, Jr., of Portage township; Sarah E.,
wife of John Reese, of Bloom township;
Martha J., now Mrs. Levi Butturf,
of Crawford county, Ohio; Amanda, who died at the age
of six years; Annie M., who became the wife of
John Todd, and died in Portage township; Amos
A., who died in infancy; Nannie, who died at the
age of eighteen years, was the wife of Cyrus Johnston;
Ida A., widow of Henry Brown, of Jerry City,
Ohio; and a son who died in infancy. The family is one
of prominence, and its members have become useful and
respected citizens.
Mr. and Mrs. Miller began housekeeping on an
eighty-acre farm in Seneca county, partially cleared, where
they made their home until Feb., 1864, when they came to
Section 10, Portage township, Wood county, buying 160 acres
of land. There they continued to reside until Mar. 4, 1880,
since which time they have found a pleasant home in Jerry
City, though they still own fifty-eight acres in Section 32,
Portage township. For over fifty-five years they have
traveled life's journey together, strengthening each other
during the trials and vicissitudes of life, but are now
resting after their labors, surrounded by a loving family
and many warm friends. Both are earnest Christians,
being members of the Radical United Brethren Church.
For many years Mr. Miller was a Republican,
but now supports the Prohibition 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 615 |
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J. B. MILLER, a
real-estate dealer of Bowling Green, was born in Knox
county, Ohio, Aug. 18, 1855, where he attended school and
worked on a farm until eighteen years old, when he learned
the plasterer's trade, at which he worked in Knox county for
five or six years, then going to Ashland county for a period
of six years, and thence to Bowling Green, where he arrived
in 1888. Here he worked at his trade, made contracts
for plastering, and assisted in building many of the public
and private houses in the city. He continued in this
line of business until March, 1894, when he entered the
real-estate business, and was employed by Mr. Rudulph.
He possesses property in Bowling Green, and has bought and
sold a great deal since he has resided here.
Mr. Miller was married in 1886, to Miss Ella
Brown, who was born in 1857, in Knox county, and died
Oct. 11, 1891. Two children were born of this union,
Mary M., and one who died in infancy. Mr.
Miller is a Republican in politics, and socially is a
member of the I. O. O. F. and of the Methodist Church.
The paternal great-grandfather, John Miller came
from Ireland to America and settled in Pennsylvania.
He was employed in the Custom House at Philadelphia for some
time. His son Jonathan our subject's
grandfather, was born in Pennsylvania, and was a farmer by
occupation. He settled for a time in Columbiana
county, when our subjects father was three or four years
old, moving from there to Knox county, where he died.
His wife died in Carroll county, Ohio. They had four
children: Charles, Hiram, John, and
Jonathan. John, the father of our subject,
was born in Montgomery county, Penn. He was married in
Knox county, Ohio, to Sarah Burtnette. who was
born in Coshocton county, Ohio, in 1825, and is still living
with our subject in Bowling Green. She was formerly an
English Lutheran in her religious belief, but is now a
member of the Methodist Church. To Mr. and Mrs.
Miller were born five children, as follows:
Cinderella, who married John Beam, and
lives in Bucyrus, Ohio; J. B., our subject; Alice,
who married Henry Garns, and lives in Wooster,
Ohio; Myra J. is single, and lives with our subject;
and a child, who died in infancy. Mr. Miller is
one of the energetic citizens of Bowling Green, and
possesses the respect and esteem of all who come in contact
with him.
Source: Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record of
Wood County, Ohio, Past and Present - Vol. II - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers and Co. 1897 - Page 1262 |
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JACOB MILLER,
a farmer of good standing in Lake township, successful as a
tiller of the soil, and one who has been prominently
identified with local affairs, is the proprietor of a good
farm in Section 1. He was also one of the valiant
defenders of the Union during the Civil war. His birth
occurred in Baden, Germany, in February, 1825, where his
parents, Michael and Louisa (Burkler) Miller, were
also born, lived and died, the former passing away in 1836,
and the latter in 1844. In their family of seven
children, two became residents of Ohio - George, who
located in Sandusky county, and died there in 1894; and
Jacob, the subject of this sketch.
Jacob Miller was reared in Baden, where
he received excellent school privileges, also for two years
attending a seminary at Carlsruhe, and after completing his
education he taught in his native land until 1849, when the
revolution broke out, and he served in the army of the
revolutionists for a time. In the fall of that year,
however, he went to Switzerland, and the same year embarked
on a sailing vessel at Havre, France, for the United States,
which he reached after a voyage of eight, weeks. On
landing at New York, he went direct to Philadelphia, whence
he proceeded to Pittsburg, Penn., where he was employed for
a time in a brewery. It was in 1851 that Mr.
Miller came to the Buckeye State, first locating in
Fremont, Sandusky county, where he remained until 1856, when
he went to Toledo, and was there for a year. He then
resided in Lucas county until Jan. 1, 1861, when he erected
a house upon his farm in Lake township, this county, where
two years previous he had purchased eighty acres of
timberland, and has since made that place his home, devoting
his time to its care and cultivation, with the exception of
when he was in the Union army. At Toledo, he enlisted
Feb. 21, 1865, in Company B, 189th O. V. I., for one year,
or until the close of the war, and was mustered into service
at Camp Chase, Ohio. He was stationed at Huntsville,
Ala., and later at Bellefonte, where he did garrison duty
until the close of hostilities, when he was honorably
discharged at Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 25, 1865, after which
he returned home.
Mr. Miller was single on coming to Ohio,
but in Sandusky county, in 1853, he was united in marriage
with Miss Catherine Korbler, a native
of Fredericktown, Md., daughter of George and
Catherine Korbler, who was born in Darmstadt,
Germany, but removed to Maryland as early as 1825.
Coming to Ohio, they located first in Seneca county, and in
the early '40s became residents of Sandusky county, where
the father died in 1863, and the wife in 1891. Mr.
Miller has been called upon to mourn the loss of his
wife, who died on the home farm in October, 1892. They
were the parents of four children: (1) Franklin
married Laura Scott, by whom he has three
children—Eva, Harry and Clarence.
He makes his home in -Findlay, Ohio, and is line man on the
T. O. & C. railroad. (2) Mrs. Mary Taylor,
of Ottawa county, has ‘three children—Stella,
Charley and Milton. (3) Tena is the
wife of George Ayres, of Toledo, and they have
two children—Raymond and Edith. (4)
Albert was married April, 1892, to Miss Maud
Siglar, a native of Genoa, Ottawa county, and a
daughter of Charles M. and Mary (Cheney) Siglar, the
former born in Geneva, N. Y., and the latter in Macedonia,
Ohio. At Genoa, this State, her father enlisted, in
1863, in the 14th O. V. I., under Gen. Sherman,
and served until the close of the war, and he had previously
been a member of a New York regiment before his removal to
the Buckeye State. He still makes his home at Genoa.
In politics, Mr. Miller is identified
with the Democratic party, and for two terms served as
trustee of Lake township, while, socially, he is a member of
George Douglas Post, G. A. R., at Millbury. He has
identified himself with the welfare of the county since his
arrival here, and has made many friends among the
intelligent and hospitable people of Lake township.
Source: Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record of
Wood County, Ohio, Past and Present - Vol. II - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers and Co. 1897 - Page 1096 |
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JAMES
MILLER, a retired agriculturist,
residing in Bowling Green, was born in Cambridge shire,
England, July 12, 1838. When he was about four years
old, his father came to America with his family, and after a
voyage of six weeks landed at New York, from there going to
Cleveland, subsequently to Medina, Ohio, and finally settled
in Wood county, Apr. 15, 1854.
The father of our subject, William Miller,
was born in Soham, Cambridgeshire, England, Sept. 13, 1801,
and was married in 1828 to Elizabeth Turner,
whose birth took place Dec. 11, 1802, in Reading, Berkshire,
England, William Miller was a tailor by
occupation, and after coming to this country worked at his
trade in the various places in which he lived, owning a shop
in Medina. After coming to Wood county he purchased a
farm in Liberty township, on which his family resided while
he carried on his occupation, working for some years for
Austin VanBlarcum, of Portage. He afterward
went to Kansas with one of his sons, and died at Clifton,
that State, June 28, 1877, his wife having passed away many
years previous, her death taking place Mar. 28, 1848.
Mr. Miller, Sr. was a man of fine proportions
and weighed 180 pounds. He was an intelligent, active
man, a great reader and well-informed. He and his wife
were devoted members of the Episcopal Church, and were
consistent Christian people. In politics he was a
Republican, and was a loyal citizen of his adopted country.
To him and his estimable wife the following children were
born: Sarah married Charles Waters, now
deceased, and lives in Medina, Ohio; Henry, died when
fourteen years old; Ann married Isaac
Waters, and they now reside in Kansas; Robert is
a banker in Tiffin, Ohio; William died Feb. 16, 1887,
in his fifty-third year; James is our subject;
Thomas is a farmer in Clifton, Washington Co., Kans;
Eliza is the wife of Arbor Tebbit, of
Medina, Ohio; the ninth child died in infancy.
James Miller grew up on his father's farm
in Liberty township, and obtained a good education in the
district school of Liberty township. He was first
married Aug. 14, 1861, to Miss Mary Parmenter,
who was born at Portage, Ohio, Dec 7, 1841, and died Mar.
23, 1876, leaving three children: Henry, born Apr.
14, 1864, died Oct. 26, of the following year; John
Sherman, born Sept. 3, 1865, married Mrs.
Johnson, and lives in Bowling Green; Clara E.,
born Oct. 21, 1872, died Apr. 1, 1892. Mr.
Miller was again married Apr. 15, 1877, his bride being
Miss Zerelza C. Aller, who was born June 20, 1854, in
Geauga county, Ohio. Of this union four children have
been born, namely: Ernest Wm., born Mar. 28,
1878, is attending school in Bowling Green; Grace E.,
born Oct. 22, 1879, and Royal J., born June 20, 1885,
also in school; and True E., born Jan. 30, 1888.
Mr. Miller owns a good farm of eighty
acres which is in the oil belt, and has some wells upon it;
he is now living retired from active business, but takes an
interest in the growth and welfare of his town and county,
and is always ready to do his share to assist in public
enterprises. With his estimable wife he is a member of
the Disciples Church, to which Mrs. Miller has
belonged since thirteen years of age. He was at one
time a Republican, but of late years has affiliated with the
Prohibition party, and uses his influence in the promotion
of temperance principles. He has many warm friends in
Bowling Green and vicinity. Mrs. Miller
is a daughter of Zacheus and Lucy Ann (Martin) Aller,
both of whom were born near Syracuse, N. Y., of which place
their parents were early settlers, and where they were
married. In 1861 they removed to Wood county, settling
in Liberty township, where the father died in 1863, when
fifty-one years of age. The mother subsequently
married Daniel Mercer (whose sketch will be
found on another page of this work), and is residing in
Bowling Green; Daniel Mercer died Sept. 23,
1896, leaving a widow and seventeen children.
Source: Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past and Present - Vol. II - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers and Co. 1897 - Page 706 |
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JOHN
W. MILLER. In the latter part of
the eighteenth century Christopher
Miller, a native of Germany, sailed with his wife and
two children for America. After a long and tedious
voyage of nine months they arrived at New York. Delay
after delay had occurred, and crew and passengers were on
the verge of starvation. At length the vessel reached
New York harbor, and Mr. Miller, with his family,
proceeded to Allegany county, Md., where he spent his
remaining days. Two of his sons were soldiers of the
war of 1812. The father of our subject, Andrew
Miller, was born in Allegany county, on Dec. 1, 1805.
He was a man of limited education, and was reared on a farm,
while throughout his business career he carried on
agricultural pursuits. He married Miss Charlotte
Duckworth, also a native of Allegany county, born Apr.
8, 1812. In 1865 the father removed with his family to
Delaware county, Ohio, locating on a farm of 105 acres in
Trenton township, where he spent his remaining days.
His death occurred Apr. 30, 1894, and his wife passed away,
May 1, 1887.
Mr. and Mrs. Miller were the parents of twelve
children, namely: Louise, who became the wife
of Joseph Deremer and after his death married
Monroe Cockrell, her death occurring in Delaware county;
Uriah who died in Delaware county, at the age of
forty-five; Harriet Ann wife of Henry Dash, of
Maryland; Almira, wife of James Loor of
Delaware county; Henry H., who is carrying on
agricultural pursuits in Delaware county; Lloyd W. a
farmer of Union county, Ohio; Sarah, who became the
wife of Emery Leak, and died in Delaware county;
Altha wife of Jefferson Miles, of Delaware
county; Mary, who is living in the same county;
John W., of this review; Zeltha wife of
Franklin DeWolf, of Delaware county; and Rebecca,
who died at the age of three years.
Our subject was a child of twelve years when he
accompanied his parents to delaware county. He began
his education in an old log school house in his native
county, and completed it in the district schools of this
State. During vacations and after school hours he
aided in the cultivation and improvement of the farm, and
continued to give his father the benefit of his services
until his marriage.
On Feb. 16, 1881, Mr. Miller was joined in
wedlock with Miss Tina Tripier, the wedding ceremony
being performed in Trenton township, Delaware county.
The lady was born in Licking county, Ohio, Oct. 13, 1857,
and is a daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Payne) Tripier.
Mr. and Mrs. Miller came to Wood county, and the
former purchased forty acres of land in Section 25, Jackson
township, continuing its cultivation and improvement for
five years, when he sold and purchased his present farm
comprising eighty acres. He has made this one of the
valuable and desirable properties in Wood county, has
erected a pleasant and substantial residence, built barns
and outbuildings, and fenced, tiled and ditched the entire
place. The neat and thrifty appearance of the farm
indicates his careful supervision, and the place is a
monument to his thrift and enterprise. Mr. an Mrs.
Miller have had two children: Sperna, born
July 12, 1883; and Blynn T., born May 15,
1895, died Aug. 30, 1895.
Source: Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past and Present - Vol. II - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers and Co. 1897 - Page 711
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HENRY MITTER,
Germany has sent many substantial citizens to this country,
and a number of them, settling in farming communities, have
become well-to-do men, their native thrift and industry
causing them to succeed where others would fail. Our subject
was born in the Fatherland Jan. 30 1828, in Baden, son of
Andrew Mitter, who was a farmer in fair
circumstances, and had a family of seven children, as
follows: Henry, whose name introduces this sketch;
Andrew, a millwright, of Holgate, Ohio; Lena
(widow of John Armbruster), also of Holgate; Rosa
(Mrs. Jacob Armbruster), of Bryan, Ohio; Joseph,
of Fremont, Ohio; Mary, Mrs. Fred
Brenner, of Ottawa County, Ohio; and Fred, who
enlisted in the 72nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry, served his
term of service, received an honorable discharge, and
boarded a boat to return home, after which nothing was ever
heard of him. Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Mitter came
to America at the same time our subject emigrated, settling
in Sandusky County, Ohio, where they died.
Our Subject received a good education in his native
language, but he has acquired all his knowledge of English
by practical experience. His father being a farmer, he was
reared to agricultural pursuits, but after his younger
brothers became old enough to help at home he commenced to
work in a distillery, continuing at that work for four years
in Germany. When twenty five years of age he was married, in
his native country, to Miss Rosa Baysinger,
and two children were born to them there: Rosa, now
the wife of Samuel Lifler, of Napoleon, Ohio,
and Robert, a farmer of Sandusky County, Ohio. In May
1859, the family sailed from Bremen, Germany, and after a
voyage of thirty four days, landed in this country, coming
directly from Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio, where friends
of theirs were living. A tract of land, comprising eighty
acres, was purchased, for which they paid $1800, although
only a small potato patch of four acres had been cleared,
and the rest was still new. In the fall of 1882, our subject
came to Six Points, Wood County, where he has since resided,
for the last couple of years living retired from active
labor. In his early life he was a very robust man, and he
worked hard, but he never kept any comforts from his family
to accumulate money or property. Since their arrival in this
country children have been added to the family circle as
follows: Charles F., who resides at home; Emma
(now Mrs. John C. Michael), of Portage Township;
George, at home; Mary E; and Andrew, at
home. There were others who died young. Mr. and Mrs.
Mitter are members of the Lutheran Church and are highly
respected in the community. Mr. Mitter is a Democrat
in politics.
Source: Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past and Present - Vol. II - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers and Co. 1897 - Page 1334
Contributed By:
Bob Weaver |
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MILES
MONTGOMERY was born Apr. 15, 1844, in Portage
township, Hancock Co., Ohio. His father, George
Montgomery, was a native of Wayne county, Ohio, and with
his grandfather removed to Hancock county, where he was
reared on a farm. He there wedded Mary Chase, a
native of New York, and after her death married Dorothy
Culp, by whom he had three children - Angeline,
of Hancock county; Rachel, wife of Samuel
Snively, of Nebraska; and Henry Wellington,
a postal clerk on the Baltimore & Ohio railroad. The
parents of our subject had the following named
children - Miles; Jane, wife of Martin Ensley,
of Hancock county; Ben S., an oil man of Findlay,
Ohio; Mrs. Elsie M. Archer, of Hancock county;
David, a farmer of Hancock county; Susan Irene,
wife of William Hicks, of Indiana; Mary S.,
wife of Henry Ferrall; Martha S., twin
sister of Mary, and the wife of Philip Baucher,
of Indiana; and George C., a farmer of Hancock
county. The father, who was born Oct. 11, 1823, died
Oct. 5, 1895. His grandfather, Michael Helmica,
was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. The mother, who was
born Apr. 30, 1826, died Nov. 30, 1861.
Mr. Montgomery, of this review, was
reared on a farm, and educated in the district schools.
At the age of fifteen he began work in a gristmill, where he
was employed for two years. - On Mar. 16, 1862, at Lima,
Ohio, he enlisted in Company H, 57th O. V. I., and going to
the front, participated in all the engagements from Lookout
Mountain to the coast. At Atlanta he was‘ captured, but
escaped almost immediately thereafter, and was twice
captured on the march to the sea. He was twice
slightly wounded, and was honorably discharged at Little
Rock, Ark., July 8, 1865.
For a year after his return, Mr. Montgomery
followed farming, and then began work in a sawmill, with
which business he was connected until 1891, when he was
forced to abandon that work on account of ill health.
He operated a mill in Liberty township, Wood county, for
twenty-four years, when it was destroyed by fire. He
then removed to Stewartville, Hancock county, and in July,
1885, he took up his residence in Denver, Ohio. Two years
later he established a grocery store in Denver, which he has
since conducted, and now has a good business and comfortable
home.
In Hancock county, Sept. 29, 1865, Mr.
Montgomery married Arabel Jane Culp,
who was born Sept. 2, 1848, in McComb, Hancock county, one of
the two children of Samuel and Susan Jane (Todd) Culp.
Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery have four children -
Amanda E., wife of Grant Smith, of North
Baltimore; Mary J., wife of W. H. Cook; Nellie V.,
wife of W. H. Ingram; and Bertie
Arthur. In politics. Mr. Montgomery
is an unfaltering Republican, and has served as school
director for six years. Socially he is connected with
the Grand Army Post at North Baltimore.
Source: Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record of
Wood County, Ohio, Past and Present - Vol. II - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers and Co. 1897 - Page 1094 |
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RUFUS B. MOORE,
attorney at law, formerly the junior member of the
well-known firm of Parker & Moore, Bowling
Green, was born Mar. 30, 1860, in Hancock county, Ohio, and
is a son of Levi and Margaret (Line) Moore. His
father was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, in 1824, and his
mother in the same county in 1826. They were married
Dec. 1, 1844, and celebrated their golden wedding in 1894,
on their farm in Wood county. Mr. Moore, Sr.,
was reared upon a farm in the north part of Fairfield at
Lythopolis, teaching for one year before his marriage. and
for the same length of time after ward. He then
entered the ministry of the United Brethren Church, becoming
an itinerant, and was presiding elder of Sandusky Conference
for a number of years. He was also for a time
financial agent of Otterbein University, at Westerville,
Ohio. In pursuit of his calling he made his home at various
places, among them being Fostoria, Galion, Green Springs,
Westerville, Elmore, and Bowling Green, retiring from active
work about two years ago.
Five children were born to the parents of our subject:
Melissa, who married A. H. Berry, and died at
Galion in 1880; Alida, who is at home with her
parents; Flora E., who is a graduate of Otterbein
University, married the Rev. P. B. Lee, and
lives at White Cloud, Kans.; Rufus B.; and Cara A.,
who after teaching in the high schools of Hicksville and
Fostoria, is now a stenographer in her brother's law office.
The subject of this sketch was graduated from the high
school at Galion, Ohio, in 1878, with the highest honors of
his class, and also with the same grade from Otterbein
University, in 1883, where he took a full classical course.
His father being in moderate circumstances, Mr.
Moore paid nearly all his school expenses by teaching
during the vacations, and during part of the school terms.
After finishing his college course, he taught for one year
in the grammar school at Bowling Green, then going to Cowley
county, Kans., where he was superintendent of schools and
high-school teacher at Burden for two years. During
the summer vacation of 1885, he went out on the western
prairies about fifty miles from any railroad, and into a new
country, built himself a sod house, and took up a claim of
160 acres from the government, which he duly proved up, and
for which he received a deed. In 1886 he returned to Bowling
Green and studied law with R. S. Parker, being
admitted to the bar in June, 1888, and immediately after
formed a partnership with that gentleman under the firm name
of Parker & Moore. This partnership was
continued until Jan. 1, 1895, when Mr. Moore
opened an office, and has since been doing business for
himself. In the spring of 1887 he was elected township
clerk, and has been re-elected at the end of each term ever
since. In the spring of 1892 he was elected city
solicitor of Bowling Green, and is now serving his third
term in that office, having been re-elected in 1894 and
1896. He is a young man of more than ordinary
intelligence and business ability, and in the important
positions he has held has gained the confidence and esteem
of the entire community. He is popular with all
classes of society, and has a brilliant future before him.
Mr. Moore was married Jan. 1, 1889, to
Miss May Rudolph, youngest daughter of J. R. and Mary
Rudolph, who was born in Wood county, May 5, 1864, and
died Feb. 19, 1896. They have three children:
Murton R., Donald R., and Harold B.
In politics Mr. Moore is a Republican, and
fraternally belongs to the K. of P. and I. O. O. F. He
is a member of the United Brethren Church of Bowling Green,
and does his share in supporting all public and
philanthropic enterprises.
The paternal grandfather of our subject, Levi Moore,
was born near Hagerstown, Md., in 1779, and came to Ohio in
1799. He married Miss Sarah Bright, and his sister Debbie
became the wife of Major Bright, whose descendants are
numerous in Hancock county. Levi Moore settled near the
present site of the city of Columbus; removing from there to
the northern part of Fairfield county. he took up land which
is still in possession of the family. He died in 1858,
and his wife in 1861. The Moore family is of
English descent.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical
Record of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 543 |
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SAMUEL MOREHOUSE
belongs to one of the pioneer families of Wood county, and
was born in Milton township, Aug. 7, 1857. His father,
Savenus Morehouse, was born in Paulding
county, Ohio, but the grandfather was a native of
Pennsylvania; the former married Cynthia Fuller,
and they became parents of the following named children -
Leonard, a
leading farmer of Milton township; Mary, wife of
George Brant, of Toledo, Ohio; Silas, of
Milton township; S. Jane, wife of John
Finney, of Jackson township; Samuel, a farmer of
Milton township; Rosina, wife of Wert
Williams, of Jackson township; Anna, who died at
the age of four years; and Ira, who died while
serving in the Union army as a member of Company I, 68th O.
V. I. The father, who was born July 1, 1816, died Apr.
11, 1895, and the mother, who was born Apr. 6, 1820, died
Feb. 22, 1894.
Our subject was reared on the old home farm, and at the
age of eighteen started out to make his own living, being
employed as a farm hand at $1 per day. In 1876 he
began farming with his brother Leonard, and the
business relations between them still exist. He is a
man of excellent business ability, enterprising and
industrious, and the neat and thrifty appearance of his land
indicates his careful supervision.
Mr. Morehouse was married in Milton
township, Aug. 4, 1887, to Miss Annie
Penterburg, a native of this locality. born Dec. 17,
1869. The children that grace this union are:
Nellie May, born Mar. 26, 1889; Pearl, born Jan.
29, 1891; Earl Wayne, born Jan. 7, 1893; and
Hazel, born Dec. 29, 1894. Mr.
Morehouse is a Republican in politics, and is deeply
interested in the growth and success of his party.
Socially, he is connected with the Odd Fellows Lodge of
Milton Center.
It will be interesting in this connection to note
something more of the brother with which Mr.
Morehouse is in business. Leonard Morehouse
is also a native of Milton township, his birth having
occurred Dec. 18, 1846. He is indebted to the common
schools for his educational privileges; at the age of
fourteen years he began to earn his own living by working as
a farm hand, a pursuit which he followed until twenty-eight
years of age. During the war he manifested his loyalty
to the government by enlisting in Com pany I, 144th O. V.
I., and continuing in the service until honorably discharged
in September, 1864. On his return he resumed work as a
farm hand, being thus employed until 1875, when he purchased
forty acres of his present farm. Now, in connection
with his brother, he owns and operates 120 acres, and the
two gentlemen are numbered among the leading agriculturists
of the. community. His political support is also given
the Republican party. Socially he is a member of the
I. O. O. F., and the G. A. R. Post at Weston.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical
Record of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1086 |
Andrew J. Munn |
ANDREW JACKSON
MUNN, president o the Exchange Banking Company of
Weston, and a leading oil producer of this region, was born
in Center Township, Wood County, Ohio, Jan. 4, 1842.
William Munn, father of our subject, was
a native of County Down, Ireland, born in 1800, and when a
young man came to Wood County, where with the exception of a
few years passed in Macoupin County, Illinois, he passed the
remainder of his life. He had two brothers, who also came to
this country, and one of whom went west, the other settling
in New York and acquiring a fortune. William Munn
kept an Inn on the old Munn Farm in Center
Township until his death in 1852, and his house was a
favorite resort for the pioneers, who reveled in old songs
and stories, and for the local politicians among whom he was
a leader. He married Miss Nancy Boosinger,
a native of Portage County, Ohio, and had two daughters, who
died early in youth, and seven sons, as follows: Robert,
deceased; George F., living in Portage; David,
murdered in Texas on a sheep ranch; James, who died
in Bowling Green; Andrew Jackson, our subject;
Matthew, who lives at the old homestead, and
William a resident of Bowling Green.
A. J. Munn received his early education in the
public schools of this country. On June 20, 1862, he entered
the 100th O. V. I. for three years of during the war, and
was assigned to the 23rd Army Corps, Central Division.
Immediately after the Battle of Knoxville, he was taken
prisoner and sent to Lynchburg, Virginia, being retained
there for three weeks, and in Belle Isle for six months. He
and his companions escaped through a tunnel, but were
captured while cutting loose a canoe. Mr. Munn was
beaten over the head with a revolver, all were compelled to
crawl back through the tunnel, and as each man's head
emerged it was struck with a spade. While suffering and
death reigned supreme in the prison, the captives were
aggravated by a gang of thieves among their own numbers, who
stole all articles of value which they could secure, and
traded them to the Rebels. This gang, Mr. Munn,
assisted in breaking up. Shortly after this was done, he and
others were removed to the Pemberton Building, and later to Andersonville, where they arrived
Mar. 15, 1864, an attempt
to escape from a box car while en route failing, partly
because of the breaking of a saw. Mr. Munn and
John Cain of the Pennsylvania Calvary, Kilpatrick's
Division, escaped soon afterward and traveled all night, but
at daybreak, while passing a gristmill, they were seen and
pursued by the entire neighborhood assisted by bloodhounds.
Fortunately the latter followed the winding trail, and did
not come up to them until they were in custody of men who
fed them and sent them back to the prison in a buggy. T he
next escape was accomplished while assigned to carrying out
the dead bodies from the prison. Twenty four who made the
attempt were recaptured, and after a night around a
campfire, were taken before the notorious Capt. Wirtz. He ordered all valuables to be taken from them; but as luck
would have it the man who did the searching had an honest
and sympathetic heart, and in Mr. Munn's case he
reported that he found only two dollars, and retaining the
rest, he afterward expended it for food and other supplies
for him. The prisoners were then formed in line and
questioned as to their mode of escape, which the refused to
reveal. They were threatened with 150 lashes each if they
did not reconsider the decision, but while they were
debating the matter a dispatch arrived telling how they had
escaped. They were then ordered to march to a pile of thirty
two pound iron balls, each man picking up one and carrying
it to the blacksmith's shop, where it was attached to his
ankle by a chain. This done, they were started on a run for
the prison, the chains cutting deeper into their flesh at
every step; but after they were out of Capt. Wirtz's
sight they were permitted to take sticks, and by tying
strings to end of stick and in link next ball, carried the
balls before them as they walked. They were compelled to
hobble up to quarters every morning for inspection, but in a
few days Mr. Munn managed to make an open link and
detached his weight, replacing it when called to quarters. He finally managed to file the band off, and was ready for
another escape. Ten dollars secured him a place on the
detail which brought in wood, and while out, his plan was
favored by a terrific rain storm which made the guards
return in haste to shelter.
Our subject had kept well in the rear, and giving his
wood to his companions he ran to an outside building where a
friend, Turner Winn, was detailed to cook. On his advice
Mr. Munn secreted himself in a marsh near by to wait for
a supply of food, but, although he remained immersed in the
water for several hours, he missed his friend and was
obliged to start hungry on his journey through the inky
darkness and pouring rain. He walked all that night, only to
find himself at dawn close to the prison walls, having
traveled in a circle. His dismay can hardly be imagined, but
he had no time to brood over his mistake, and starting south
he met, four miles out, a Negro who secreted him and brought
him food. That evening our hero started across the fields in
a northwesterly direction in a cold, drizzling rain, which
chilled him to the heart. Almost despairing, he made several
attempts to find shelter and rest in lonely houses, but
found each one occupied by sleepers whom he feared to
arouse. Just as he was about to throw himself upon the
ground and abandon all hope, he heard hogs squealing, and
finding their pen he kicked them out of their warm nest and
dropped down into it himself, losing consciousness the
moment he fell. On wakening, he found the sunshine beaming
upon him, and a white haired Negro calling the hogs to feed.
When Mr. Munn rose up poor old "Father Buckhorn"
stood speechless with astonishment until he learned that the
stranger was a "Yankee Soldier". "Lord bress you", he said,
"I thought it was a new Christ come to earth". He was the
overseer of the plantation, and taking Mr. Munn out into an
oat field he made him a bed of straw, and soon the colored
women supplied him with an abundance of food. The news that
"Father Buckhorn" had found a "Yankee" in the
hog bed spread far and wide among the Negroes, and made that
poor old slave the hero of the hour. From all directions the
darkies crowded in to look upon the visitor, and they
alternately laughed and cried as they made him repeat again
and again the story of his adventures and the progress of
the war. Their joy of seeing one of their long hoped for
deliverers was pathetic, and such expressions as "God bress
de Yankee generation; deys done come at last", were
frequent. A Confederate uniform was found for him, and at
night a haversack full of food was provided; but he was too
weak to carry it, and a darkey offered to carry it, as he
was going twenty miles north to see his wife. Hope and
strength returning, Mr. Munn walked on through
several nights without special incident, resting during the
day, but when his food was gone he was again in perplexity.
Shouts from a darkey meeting led him safely to a place where
a friendly colored man cared for him, hiding him in a barn
and giving him a new supply of food. Warned against going
north, where the Rebel forces were concentrated, he took a
new direction, and met carrying fortunes, swimming rivers,
walking miles in the bed of a small stream in order to leave
no trace for the hounds to follow, and at times subsisting
on huckleberries when no colored ally could be found. At one
point the Negroes warned him against following the road
further, as two neighbors kept bloodhounds who would know
that he was a Yankee in spite of all precautions. He tried
it, however, on a dark night, mounted on a mule, but the
hounds at the first house made such an outcry that he dared
not go on. He had many others narrow escapes, his gray suit
serving him well on several occasions. Once, when desperate
for food, he entered a house and told the lady who met him
that he was a Confederate soldier; but after some
conversation learned that she was a Unionist, and then
confessed his own identity. Her husband had gone away rather
than fight against the North, and as both were suspected,
she was afraid to do much to help him. In a few hours a
Rebel neighbor came in, but so good account did Mr. Munn
give of himself that he departed satisfied, and the lady
expressed amazement that even a Yankee should be able to
invent such a story while he was telling it. When night came
she sent him to a Union man nearby, who was at first chary
of his confidence; but he and his son finally accepted him
as "genuine", and kept him up until a late hour telling them
the news of the war, accurate intelligence seldom reaching
the rural communities. He slept that night in a corn crib,
as they were in fear of the Rebels, and the next morning
while eating his "corn pone" he was told that the Unionists
had taken Rome, Georgia, sixty miles away, and had a post at
Cross Plains, only fifteen miles from his stopping place. On
reaching Cross Plains he found this incorrect. He was well
treated there, however, by the Negroes, dining in the yard
of a stanch Rebel, and passed the pickets safely. He tried
to keep to the mountains in order to avoid the relays and
stations on the road to Rome; but having been told by a
Negro how to pass them safely, he tried to follow the road,
but was pursued by a detachment from the next post. After
swimming a creek and running a long distance, he fell down
exhausted in an oat field, where he lay all night, listening
to sounds of battle, by which he decided that the Rebels
were retreating. The next morning, Monday, July 4, 1864, he
made his was to the Union outposts. But his troubles were
not yet over. The most vexatious incident of all his tedious
wanderings came through his very accurate "make up" as a
Confederate. He was arrested and placed in the guard house
with other prisoners, and with difficulty obtained an
interview with the Colonel in command, who finally became
convinced of his loyalty, and offered him a position on his
staff. This was declined as Mr. Munn wished to rejoin
his company, which he succeeded in doing a few weeks later,
at Atlanta. With the regiment he remained until mustered out
in September 1865.
On returning home he engaged in the grocery business at
Ottawa, later moving to a farm near Portage and establishing
a grocery in that village, where he also served four years
as postmaster. In June 1883, he went to Cleveland and
entered the commission business; but in 1884 came to Weston
and opened a store for general merchandise, which he
conducted eight years, and of which he made a success.
Following the arts of peace as energetically as he did those
of war, he has been a leading factor in many enterprises. He
was the chief organizer of the Exchange Banking Company of
Weston, and has been its president from the start. With
others, he engaged in oil producing, and now has an interest
in twenty productive wells, and others in process of
development, and holds a number of promising leases besides.
When Mr. Munn was seventeen years old he received
$500 from his mother as his share of the paternal estate,
and on this capital founded the prosperity he now enjoys. He
bought eighty acres of wild land in Portage Township, and
has ever since dealt largely in real estate in Wood and
Henry Counties.
In 1866 Mr. Munn married Miss Louise J.
Turner, of Portage, who was born in 1844. They have
three children: Arthur, assistant cashier of the
Exchange Banking Co; Maude L., who married J. V.
Baldwin, of Weston, and has one son, Andrew Edward;
and Jessie M., the wife of Ambrose C. Vedder,
of St Augustine, Florida, they have one son, Munn C. A.
Vedder. Mr. Munn erected his pleasant home in 1892, one
of the finest in the county. He is quite a traveler, and
recently spent six months in St. Augustine, Florida, where
he has a cottage. Socially he is a member of the F. & A. M.
and the G. A. R. He was brought up a Democrat, but
during the Civil War changed his political opinions, and is
now a member of the Republican 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 608
Contributed By:
Bob Weaver
Civil War Research Notes:
+ Knoxville Campaign was a series of American Civil War
battles and maneuvers in East Tennessee during the fall of
1863 designed to secure control of the city of Knoxville and
with it the railroad that linked the Confederacy east and
west - Knoxville, Tennessee
- Andersonville Prison, also known as Camp Sumter, is the
most well-known and notorious of all the Civil War prisons,
north and south -- Union prisoners of war were kept here -
Andersonville, Georgia
- Captain Henry Wirz was the commandant of Andersonville
Prison and the only Confederate soldier convicted and
executed for war crimes during the Civil War |
A. B. Murphy |
ARTHUR B. MURPHY
Source: Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past and Present - Vol. II - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers and Co. 1897 - Page 468 |
|
|
ERASTUS
MUSSER, one of the successful educators of Wood
County, was born in Section 25, Portage Township, Apr. 28,
1849, and is a son of Samuel Musser, a native
of Columbiana County, Ohio. His paternal grandfather,
Michael Musser, became one of the prominent
pioneers of Portage Township, where he died in 1852, and his
remains were interred at Millgrove.
Samuel Musser, the father of our subject
was reared and educated in the manner of most farmer lads,
and after his marriage, located on the farm where he still
resides. In the spring of 1836 he came to Portage Township,
and here married Miss Hulda Tefft, a
daughter of Ezekiel Tefft, a native of Rhode
Island, and they became the parents of five children:
Erastus, subject of this sketch; William, of
Portage Township; Mercy, now Mrs. James
Waugh, of Webster Township, Wood County; Ezekiel,
a mason and farmer of southwestern Kansas; and Albert, who
died while young. In 1856 Mrs. Musser passed
away and was buried in Millgrove Cemetery. For his second
wife, Mr. Musser wedded Abbie Mader,
who was born in Richland County, Ohio, May 27, 1836, and to
them were born five children, namely: Rosetta, who
died in childhood; David W., of Portage
Township; Hulda J., wife of William Dicken,
of Montgomery Township, Wood County; Charley, at home; and
one daughter who died in infancy. The father died Jan. 6,
1896, at the age of eighty four years, and is interred in
the cemetery at Millgrove. He thoroughly represented the
pioneers of the community, as he aided in its development
and contributed generously to promote its prosperity. By the
aid of his sons he transformed his wild uncultivated land
into a highly improved farm. In him the Democratic Party had
one of its most earnest supporter.
The school days of Erastus Musser were
mostly passed in District No. 7, Portage Township, his first
teacher being Marilla Lamson, and there he
acquired a good education. Being reared on a frontier farm,
he soon became familiar with the arduous tasks incident to
such a life, and received a thorough training as an
agriculturalist. Since the age of twenty three, however, he
has engaged in teaching, being employed in Portage, Bloom
and Montgomery Townships, Wood County, and has proved
himself a capable and reliable instructor. He has taught
every winter, and missed but few summer terms. A man of
genuine worth, and more than ordinary intellectual
attainments, he enjoys the respect and confidence of all
with whom he comes in contact. He is identified with the
Democratic Party, and on that ticket was elected assessor of
Portage Township for two years.
Source: Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past and Present - Vol. II - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers and Co. 1897 - Page 617
Contributed By:
Bob Weaver
Research Note:
Obit for Samuel Musser - Father of Erastus Musser
Sentinel [The Wood County Herald, Jan 17, 1896]
Samuel Musser -- One of Wood county's pioneers has fallen by
the relentless hand of death. Samuel Musser was born in
Columbiana County, Ohio, Jan. 4, 1812. Died Jan. 4, 1896,
aged 84 years and 2 days. He came to Wood county in 1836,
and settled near Six Points, this county then being a vast,
wilderness, but by untiring energy and economy he secured
for himself and family a good home. He was married twice;
his first wife Mrs. Hulda Teffts, to whom was born five
children, four of whom are still living. His second wife
Abbie Mader to whom was born five children, three still
living. He had six brothers two of whom are living, six
sisters, one still living, so out out of a family of 12,
only three are left. As a father he was kind and
affectionate, as a neighbor, unexcelled, ever obliging and
accommodating, as a citizen, he done his part faithfully. He
will be greatly missed in the neighborhood, but by none so
much at the family. Funeral services were held at Mr. Zion
church near his home, where a large concourse of citizens
paid their respects to the deceased on the 9th inst. His
remains were taken to Millgrove and interred in the cemetery
there.
Obit for Ezekiel Tefft - Father of Hulda
Musser (Wife of:
Samuel Musser)
The Weekly Perrysburg Journal. Perrysburg, Wood County,
Ohio. Feb 21, 1868, p. 3.
DIED: At his residence, on Front-street in Perrysburg, of
dropsy, Ezekiel Tefft, aged 69 years.
The deceased was a native of Rhode Island, but during the
past twenty five years has resided in Wood County, and the
most of that time in Perrysburg. He was naturally of a
strong and robust constitution, but about two years since he
took cold, which assumed the chronic form of dropsy. Ever
hopeful, he cheerfully combatted disease, that fell
destroyer, and when Death came, he peacefully answered the
summons whilst sitting in his chair. Mr. Tefft had been a
member of the M. E. Church for many years; his religious
profession was not in outward display; it partook of hopeful
confidence and childlike simplicity. He was ever ready to
oblige, or to do any kind act for his neighbors or friends. The law of kindness seemed to be the rule of his life. By
his decease, the pang of sorrow will touch many hearts
beside those of his family. But why should we mourn his
departure? It is but slightly in
advance of Our own. With him, mortality is swallowed up of
life.
His bereaved widow and children have the tender sympathies
of their numerous friends in this, their great trouble. |
NOTES:
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