BIOGRAPHIES
 Source:
Commemorative
Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio,
Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers &
Co. 1897
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EDWARD R. SAGE
Source:
Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record of Wood
County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers &
Co. 1897 - Page 504 |
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EDWIN R. SAGE, M. D.
Source:
Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record of Wood
County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers &
Co. 1897 - Page 500 |
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JAMES
S. SALSBERRY, who is numbered among "the boys in
blue" of the Civil war, and now follows farming in Milton
township, was born in Liberty township, Wood county, Nov.
28, 1838. Jonathan Salsberry, his father, a
miller by trade, was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, in May
1786. He learned his trade in Pennsylvania, and was
there married to Catherine Plott, a native of the
Keystone State. They afterward removed to Ohio,
locating on a tract of wild land in Liberty township, Wood
county, where they lived until 1864, when the father
purchased eighty acres of land in Milton township, and
continued its cultivation until his death in 1883. His
wife passed away several years previous.. Their
children were: Sibylina the wife of W. H. Cotton,
of Milton; Salinda Ann, wife of Jonathan L.
Wheaton, of Nebraska; Salathiel Edwin, of San
Antonio, Texas; Cinderella Phoebe, deceased wife of
Langdon C. Hubbard; Stanilaus Rudolph, late
farmer of Milton township (now deceased); Jame S.,
our subject; Sabina I., deceased wife of Edward
Remington; Samaria, wife of Thomas Hill,
of Milton township; Samaritan Mortimer, of Norwalk,
Huron Co., Ohio; and Salva, who died in infancy.
On the old family homestead our subject was reared.
While in Liberty township he acquired his education in the
old-fashioned log school house, with its fireplace and other
primitive furnishings. In July, 1862, he enlisted in
the Union army, becoming a member of Company B, 111th O. V.
I. Going to the front soon after, his command was
engaged in chasing Buell in Kentucky, and on Nov. 16,
1863, he was taken prisoner and sent to Atlanta, afterward
to Savannah, and thence to Richmond, where he remained until
released, Jan. 1, 1864. He then joined his regiment at Big
Shanty, Ga. He took part in the battle of Kenesaw
Mountain, the Atlanta campaign. also the siege of the city,
and was once wounded by a minie ball in the right knee.
He was discharged at Salisbury, N. C., and while at
Cleveland, Ohio, June 27, 1865, he was mustered out.
At once returning home, he resumed farming.
On Nov. 11, 1866, in Milton township, Mr.
Salsberry was married to Susan D. Castle, who was
born near Sandusky, Erie Co., Ohio, Aug. 31, 1847, and is a
daughter of Thomas Castle, a farmer, who was born in
Greene county, N. Y., in 1818. When a young man Mr.
Castle went to Wyoming county, Penn., where he wedded
Elizabeth Philo, who was born in that county,
Mar. 26, 1821. A year later they came to Ohio,
locating on a farm near Sandusky, and in 1855 they arrived
in Wood county, making their home in Milton township, where
Mr. Castle died July 26, 1892. His widow
is still living in Custar. Their children were:
Anna, deceased wife of Stanley O. Shaw; Malbon
W., who entered the army, and died at Graysville, Ga.;
Mrs. Salsberry; Isaac, deceased;
Sarah J., deceased wife of Barnett Older;
David H., who was drowned at the age of seventeen
months; Caroline, deceased wife of David
Bredbinner; John F., a farmer of Jackson
township; Alice C., wife of James Russell,
of Isabel county, Mich.; and Henrietta, who
died in infancy.
Upon their marriage, Mr. Salsberry and
his wife located in Milton township. A year later they
removed to Ironton, Mo., but after six months went to St.
Francis county, Mo., where Mr. Salsberry
purchased 100 acres of land, on which he lived for a year
and a half. He then returned to Wood county, and after
a short time took up his residence in Custar, where he
engaged in clerking for two years. He next rented land
for a few years, after which, in 1883, he purchased fifty
acres, twelve of which were cleared. In 1892 he
erected his present commodious and comfortable home, and in
1891 he built a large and substantial barn, which was
destroyed by fire, Aug. 26, 1895. To him and his wife
have been born three children: (1) Elmo Earle, born
Apr. 27, 1868, in Missouri; he was married, Oct. 19, 1891,
to Fannie E., daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Oliver
Fellers, farming people of Henry township, and to them
was born, Oct. 18, 1892, a daughter, named Pearl;
Elmo E. Salsberry is now teaching school in North
Baltimore. (2) Elda B. (also a school teacher),
born Nov. 5, 1871, in Milton township; he was married, Sept.
11, 1890, to Nora B., daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Winfield Barber, farming people of Milton township, and
to them have been born three children, their names and dates
of birth being as follows: James W., Feb. 25, 1892;
Opal M., Apr. 12, 1893; Malbon E., Feb. 5,
1894. (3) Roland was born Nov. 26, 1880, and,
is attending school in Custar. The parents are active
members of the Disciples Church, and in politics Mr.
Salsberry was a Democrat until the breaking out of
the Civil war, when he became a stanch Republican.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical
Record of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago:
J. H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 613 |
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ASHER SARGENT,
a resident of Liberty township; post office, Portage, Ohio
NO OTHER INFORMATION.Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1365 |
F. J. Schriber |
F. J. SCHRIBER
Source: Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past and Present - Vol. II - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers and Co. 1897 - Page 1312 |
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HENRY A. SCHROEDER,
a well-known agriculturist of Perrysburg township, residing
near Dowling, was born in Perrysburg township, Apr. 11,
I849. His parents, Herman and Angeline (Sielscott)
Schroeder, were natives of Germany, the father born in
Prussia, in 1818, the mother born in Hanover in 1831.
They were early settlers of Perrysburg township, where they
acquired a large tract of land. The father died in
1891, but the mother is still living at the old homestead,
which is now managed by our subject’s brother, John F.
Schroeder.
Henry A. Schroeder received his early education
in this district schools, and assisted his father on the
farm up to the age of twenty-seven, when he inherited 137
acres of land from his father, which he has since improved
and converted into a fine farm. He does a general
farming and dairy business, and is engaged, to some extent,
in stock raising. His industry and frugality, combined
with a sound business judgment, have made him successful in
every undertaking so far, and given him a high reputation in
business circles, while his genial nature makes him friends
throughout the community. In 1877 he married Miss
Eliza Hartman, a daughter of Philip and Clara Hartman,
a prominent citizen of Woodville, Ohio. She was born
Dec. 7, 1852, and died Mar. 5, 1891, leaving two children:
Edward H., born Sept. 10, 1882, and George P.,
born Jan. 14, 1886. On May 7, 1896, Mr.
Schroeder was married to Miss Carrie White, a
daughter of Henry R. and Mary White, prominent
citizens of Perrysburg township; she was born in Toledo,
Lucas county, Sept. 21, 1856. In politics Mr.
Schroeder is a Republican.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1173 |
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HERMAN H. SCHROEDER,
deceased, who was a pioneer agriculturist of Perrysburg
township, was born in Prussia, Germany, in 1818. In
1842 he came to America and settled in Wood county, where,
in Perrysburg township, he bought eighty acres of land,
which formed the nucleus for further acquisitions. So
successful was he, that at the time of his death, in 1891,
he owned 400 acres of the finest land in the county.
He was a leader in his community, and delighted in his later
days to tell the story of early times to the generation
which is reaping the reward of the labors of the pioneers.
In 1847 he was married to Miss Angeline
Sielscott, who was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1831.
Six children were born to them, named, respectively,
Henry A., John F., Louis, Louise, Frank and Sophia,
all of whom are yet living except Frank, who died at
the age of one year and four months. The widowed
mother is yet living on the home farm, in vigorous health
for one of her advanced years, and is tenderly cared for by
her son John.
JOHN F. SCHROEDER, the second in
the above named family, received his education in the
district schools. On entering business life he was for
a time engaged in business at Toledo, Ohio, and then
returned to the farm, where he assisted his father in his
declining years, and of which he has now entire charge.
Possessing great energy and much tact, he operates the
homestead by modern and progressive methods.
Politically, he is a Republican, and in religious faith he
is a member of the Lutheran Church.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1173 |
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JOHN J. SHINEW,
a resident of Center township, is well esteemed as a man of
industry and enterprise. He comes from the beautiful
land of the Alps, his birth having occurred in Switzerland,
Jan. 9, 1831. His father, Francis Shinew, was
also born in that country, brought his family to the New
World in 1834, making a location in Columbiana county, Ohio,
where he carried on agricultural pursuits for a time.
Later he removed to Portage township, Wood county, where he
took up eighty acres of land, which he operated until his
death in 1844. His wife long survived him, dying on
the old homestead in 1875.
Our subject received his education in the district
schools of Portage township, but as at that time they were
very primitive, his training in that respect was rather
limited. From early youth he worked upon his father's
farm, until the latter's death, when he was left to provide
for himself. He found employment on a farm where he
worked for eighteen cents per day during the summer months,
the winter season being spent in cutting wood at eighteen
centers per cord. He also engaged in fishing on the
lakes to some extent and worked at any thing by which he
could earn an honest dollar.
At the breaking out of the Civil war Mr. Shinew
enlisted in Company C, 144th O. V. I., under Col. Miller
and Capt. Ketcham. He was one of the 100-day
men, and during his service suffered much from exposure,
from the effects of which he has never fully recovered.
He remained at his post of duty until honorably discharged
in September, 1865. On his return home, Mr. Shinew
began the development of his farm of eight acres, which he
had previously purchased and has since added forty acres to
the original tract; so that he now has a good farm of 120
acres of some of the best land in his county. His
efforts upon his farm have been eminently successful, and he
has rapidly progressed toward an ample competency.
In October, 1850, Mr. Shinew married Susie
Phillips, daughter of Adam Phillips, a farmer of
Center township, and to them were born four children, three
of whom still survive, namely: Salina, wife of
Henry Drumheller, a farmer of Kansas; Lewis, a
farmer of Center township, who married Maggie Stacy,
and has six children; and William, a telegraph
operator in the West. The mother of these died in
1861, and in 1863, for his second wife, Mr. Shinew
married Catherine Dauterman, a daughter of J.
Dauterman, of Portage township. One child graces
this marriage: John D., a farmer, who married
Mary Zimmerman, by whom he has three children.
Mr. Shinew filled the office of trustee of
township three years. His industry in pursuit of his
own business, and his spotless private life, have placed him
in the highest estimation of the community in which he
lives. In his political affiliations he entirely
coincides with the doctrines and platforms of the Republican
party, and in the exercise of his elective franchise he
supports the candidates of that organization. In
religious faith he is a member of the United Brethren
Church.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical
Record of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1300 |
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THOMAS
SHINEW, one of the successful,
progressive farmers of Portage township, was born Oct. 2,
I851, in Montgomery township, and is the eldest son of
Dennis and Catherine (Gunder) Shinew.
Our subject was the son of poor parents, and he was
obliged to spend his younger days hard at work on the farm.
His schooling was greatly neglected, as he was able to
attend only a few weeks each winter. He served an
apprenticeship in farming under his father's instructions,
and remained on the home farm until he was twenty-one years
old, up to which time he had never had $2 at one time that
he could call his own. He started to work for his
uncle, receiving seventy-five cents a day. He earned
$9, with which he bought a pair of boots and a pair of
trousers.
On Apr. 3, 1876, he married, in Center township,
Miss Sarah Nelson, a native of Hancock county, and a
daughter of William Nelson. At this time Mr.
Shinew had saved $800 from his earnings, and with this
he rented land in Portage, and lived there until he bought
fifty-six acres in Section 3, of that township, from Noah
Helm, for which he went heavily in debt. Later he
sold this land and bought elsewhere. He took a
contract for ditching, and made considerable money.
About 1888 he moved to Section 8, Portage township, where he
now resides, buying land at different times, until at
present he has 247 acres. In 1891 he built one of the
finest barns in the township. To Mr. and Mrs.
Shinew have been born these children: Mary,
William, Dennis, George, Isaac, Lester, Verna, and
Thomas. All are living but Dennis.
Our subject is a stanch
supporter of the Democratic party, and has always been a
hard worker for its success. Although not an officer
seeker, he has been elected constable of Portage township.
He is well posted on all the political issues, and his
influence in this field has been keenly felt by both friend
and foe. He is an active and devout member of the
Christian Union, and belongs to the Clover Dale class.
As a farmer Mr. Shinew has probably few equals
in Portage township for thrift and industry. An
excellent manager and hard worker, his present position
among the foremost of Portage township’s farmers is secure.
Dennis Shinew, father of our subject, was
born in Canton Fribourg, Switzerland, about 1828. When
he was seven years old he was brought by his parents to the
United States, who located in Columbus, Ohio; about 1840
they came to Wood county, and Mr. Shinew
bought eighty acres of land in Section 12, in Portage
township. Here he erected a log house, with its stick
chimney and puncheon floor. He died after four years’
residence in Wood county. Mrs. Shinew
lived to be eighty years old. When sixteen years old
Dennis left home, and went to work for a farmer for
fifty cents a day. Jan. 8, 1850, he was married to
Miss Catherine Gunder, who was born in
Harrisburg, Penn., Sept. 16, 1834, and was a daughter of
Isaac Gunder. Mr. Dennis
Shinew bought land in Montgomery township, for which he
went in debt, and in March came to Section 9, Portage
township, and bought seventy-seven acres, on which he lives
at present. To him and his wife have been born these
children: Thomas, our subject; Isaac, a farmer
of Portage; George. also of Portage; Ellen,
now Mrs. James Nelson, of Wood county;
Eliza, who died in infancy; Susan, at home;
Matilda, who married George Neirnberger,
of Portage township; Frank D., living on a farm in
Portage. Mr. Shinew is a Democrat, but
is not an office seeker, and is not bound by party ties.
He is a member of the German Baptist Church. He is a
self-made man, and one whose success has been won by hard
work. In 1877 he built one of the most substantial
brick residences in the township, which has often been a
rendezvous for travelers, who would make it a point to go
there for meals and lodgings, with which they were always
accommodated. Mr. Shinew has retired
from active life, and is at present enjoying the fruits of
his early labors.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1058 |
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SAMUEL
SHOOK, a worthy and honored representative of the
early pioneers of Wood county, is a true type of the
energetic, hardy, and courageous men who actively assisted
in the development of this region. Deer and other wild
game had not yet fled before the advancing steps of
civilization, and most of the land was still in its
primitive condition. In the transformation that has
taken place, he has born an important part, and is now
numbered among the prominent farming of Troy township,
residing at Stony Ridge.
Born in Franklin county, Penn., in 1831, our subject is
a son of John and Sarah (Koon) Shook, also natives of
that county where the father carried on farming. In
1855 they came to Troy township, Wood county, where the
father died about 1868, and his excellent wife in 1873.
Their family consisted of these children: Joseph, who
arrived in Troy township about 1850, was a merchant of Stony
Ridge, where he died in 1892; Mrs. Ann Stoner
died in that township in 1880; Catharine is the
deceased wife of James McCutchen, Sr.; Mrs. Polly
File has also passed away; Samuel is next in
order of birth; Martin is a merchant of Stony Ridge;
John, a resident of Lake township, Wood county,
enlisted in Troy township during the Civil War, and served
until its clothes; and Mrs. Fannie Newcomb makes her
home in Seneca county, Ohio.
Our subject received the benefits of a common-school
education in his native county, and was otherwise fitted for
the battle of life. In 1848 he left Pennsylvania for
Mansfield, Richland Co., Ohio, where he remained for a year,
at the expiration of which time he located in Stony Ridge,
Wood county. For about ten years he was there engaged
at his trades of plastering and brick laying, and from 1872
until 1882 conducted the "Empire House." He then erected a
two-story brick store building, where for some eleven years
he carried on the grocery business, but now devotes his
entire time and attention to the cultivation and improvement
of his fine farm in Troy township.
At Sylvania, Mich., in 1850, Mr. Shook married
Miss Clarissa Smith, a native of Perrysburg, Wood
county, and a daughter of Joshua and Huldah (Alger) Smith,
the former born in Kingston, R. I., Oct. 19, 1789, but
reared in New York, and the latter born June 17, 1792, at
Albany, N. Y., where they were married Oct. 29, 1812.
About February, 1817, the parents removed to Bellefontaine,
Ohio, where they resided until coming to Perrysburg in 1830.
In connection with the manufacture of brick, the father also
followed farming in Wood county, and in 1835 became one of
the first settlers of Stony Ridge, where he died Aug. 16,
1858. There his wife also spent her last days, dying
in January, 1879. In their family were seven children:
Lucy, now Mrs. Julius Blum, of Perrysburg,
Ohio; Maria, who died in New York, Feb. 10, 1817,
when a young girl; John Lee, who died of cholera at
Stony Ridge, in 1854; Joshua V., who makes his home
in Stony Ridge; Jacob, who died at Lemoyne, Wood
county, Jan. 1, 1865; Elizabeth, who became the wife
of DeWitt Van Camp, and died at Stony Ridge in 1885;
and Clarissa, wife of our subject. Two children
blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Shook: Amos C.,
who wedded Frances Marsh, by whom he has four
children - Agnes, Jennie, Ruby, and Lee,
and resides at Stony Ridge; and Emeline, wife of
Noah Bean, of Stony Ridge, by whom she has three
children - George C., Della and Ethel.
Though not an active politician, Mr. Shook
votes with the Democratic party as his sentiments and
beliefs dictate, and has served two years both as trustee
and assessor of his township, and as postmaster of Stony
Ridge. He and his estimable wife4 are members in good
standing of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and are greatly
esteemed in their community, as representing the best type
of its moral and social element.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J. H.
Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1322 |
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SAMUEL SHROYER,
one of the worthy pioneers of Wood County, was born in
Crawford County, Ohio, July 5 1838, and is a son of
Philip and Salinda (Fiddler) Shroyer, the former a
native of Pike Township, Stark County, Ohio, and the latter
of Pennsylvania. The paternal grandfather, Leonard
Shroyer, was also born in the Keystone State. After
their marriage in Stark County, the parents removed to
Crawford County, Ohio, but later returned to the former
county. It was in 1848 that they arrived in Wood County,
where the father purchased 100 acres of cheap land in
Montgomery Township; but, after two years residence, learned
of an $800 mortgage against the place, which caused him to
sell, thus losing two years labor. His next property
consisted of eighty acres in Portage Township, and, on
disposing of that tract, he bought forty acres in Section 3
of the same township, where he lived for many years. His
last days, however, were spent in the Village of Portage,
where he died Dec. 23 1892, at the age of seventy eight
years. His widow still resides at that place. In religious
belief they were both Dunkards, and he was a supporter of
the Republican party.
Our subject is the oldest in their family of eleven
children, the others being: Martha, now Mrs Frank
Bordner, of Portage; Eliza, who married Resin
Mercer, and died in Bowling Green, Ohio; Mary,
wife of William Philo, of Portage; Levi,
a grocery merchant of Columbia, South Carolina; Sarah,
now Mrs Caleb Mercer, of Portage Township;
Joseph, of Center Township, Wood County; Lavina, who
became the wife of Gustavus Cox, and died in
Bowling Green; Riley, of Portage; and Della,
of Bowling Green, formerly Mrs Stacy.
Being the eldest son, Samuel Shroyer was
called upon to assist in the support of the family, so that
he had a poor chance for securing an education in his youth.
He endured all the hardships and privations of frontier
life, their bread being mostly of corn, and their meat wild
game, the father often killing a deer before breakfast. On
account of the rude machinery of those days, farming was not
an easy task, especially in an undeveloped country. Mr.
Shroyer remained upon the home farm until his
marriage, in 1861, which was celebrated in Portage Township,
Miss Catherine Scott becoming his wife.
She was born in that township Nov. 2 1842, and is a
daughter of James and Cynthia
(Johnson) Scott, the former a native of Ashland County,
and a farmer by occupation.
While peacefully pursuing the vocation of an agriculturist,
the dark cloud of war, which had for sometime lowered over
our beloved country, broke upon our people. Patriotic men
from all the walks of life thronged to the front in response
to the call of the general government to defend our national
life. Fired by a spirit of patriotism, Mr Shroyer enlisted
Aug. 6 1862, at Portage, in Company A, 100th Ohio
Volunteer Infantry, under Capt John A Shannon. From their
camp at Toledo, Ohio, the troops went to Covington,
Kentucky. In their first engagement at Limestone Station,
Tennessee, our subject was captured by Stonewall Jackson's
men, taken to Richmond, and confined in prison for eight
months, after which he was sent to the parole camp at
Columbus, Ohio. For five weeks he visited home, and then
rejoined his regiment near Kenesaw Mountain, which he found
in line of battle. Remaining with his command until mustered
out at Greensboro, North Carolina, he was discharged at
Cleveland, Ohio, July 1 1865, with an honorable record. On
his return home, with the savings from his soldier's pay,
and with the few dollars his wife had, Mr Shroyer purchased
ten acres of land in Section 3, Portage Township, where he
erected a house. To that tract he later added twelve acres,
all of which he cleared, ditched and improved. In 1882 he
sold our at a good price, and purchase seventy acres in
Section 10, where he now lives. His good barn was built in
1889, and in 1893 he erected his pleasant dwelling.
To Mr. and Mrs Shroyer have been born eleven
children, namely: Della, now Mrs John Underwood,
of Center Township, Wood County; Ida, wife of
Thomas Eggleston, of Portage Township; Amanda,
wife of Henry Lein, of Portage; Olen, a
farmer of Portage Township; Alva, who resides in the
Village of Portage; Burley, at home; John, of
Portage Township; Earl, who died in infancy; and
Arthur, Jessie and Oliver, all at home.
Mr. Shroyer takes a great interest in the success
of the Republican party, with which he casts his ballot, and
is a member of Wiley Post, GAR, of Bowling Green. Pioneers
line Mr. Shroyer endured many trials in those
early days. Privations, hardships, lack of old friends and
conveniences, could only be tolerated by faith in the 'good
time coming'.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical
Record of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago:
J. H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1199
Civil War Research Notes:
Battle of Limestone Station --- On Sept. 8, 1863,
after two hours of fighting, the 100th Ohio Volunteer
Infantry surrendered to a larger Confederate force led by
Gen. Alfred E. 'Stonewall' Jackson. Limestone, Tennessee.
Samuel Shroyer was probably held at one of the
following prisoner-of-war facilities:
Belle Isle, Richmond, Virginia --- Belle Isle Prison -- This
was a small island at the west end of the City, in the James
River, that served as a prison for Union soldiers during the
Civil War - Richmond, Virginia. Belle Isle was one of the
biggest Union prisoner-of-war camps.
Libby Prison, Richmond, Virginia --- Libby Prison was
in the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, it housed
Union prisoners of war
Castle Thunder, Richmond, Virginia --- Castle Thunder
in Richmond, Virginia, was one of the few Confederate
prisons that held not only male prisoners of war but women
as well
The only 'camp' in Columbus during this time of the war
was: Camp Chase.
Camp Chase, Columbus, Ohio --- Camp Chase was a military
staging, training and prison camp in Columbus, Ohio, during
the American Civil War. Created on farmland outside of
Columbus, Ohio, Camp Chase began as a training facility
preparing Ohio volunteers for the battlefronts of the Civil
War. As Union victories led to increased numbers of
Confederate prisoners, Camp Chase expanded operations to
include the incarceration of thousands of Confederate
enlisted men. More than 2,000 Confederate soldiers died at
the camp, victims of malnutrition, exposure, and disease. In
addition to the many rows of peaked white marble headstones,
two memorials commemorate the men who died at the camp.
Contributed By:
Bob Weaver |
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A. A. SIMMONS,
a well-known liquor dealer of Prairie Depot, was born in Elk
county, Penn., Jan. 3, 1842, and came to Prairie Depot
in 1875. He is the son of Anthony and Eliza
(Gross) Simmons.
Anthony Simmons was a minister in the Lutheran,
and, later, in the Christian Church. He was reared
between Albany and Schenectady. When our subject was
fifteen years old, Mr. Simmons moved to
Berlinville, Erie Co., Ohio, where he preached the Gospel.
He was blind for five years, on account of a cataract, but
an operation restored his eyesight. To him and his
wife these children were born: Ann, who is the wife
of Nathan Vining, of Berlinville; Lorania,
now Mrs. John Allen, of Horton, Kans.;
Thomas, a carpenter in Adrian, Mich.; Moriah,
the wife of L. W. Drake, of Elyria; A. A., our
subject; and Jane, now Mrs. Schræder,
of Jamestown, N. Y. In politics Mr. Simmons was
originally a Democrat, but, later, became a Republican,
although he only took a voting interest in such matters.
He died in Berlinville at the age of sixty-five years, and
his wife in Toledo, aged seventy-five. Both are buried
in Berlinville.
Our subject attended the common schools, and lived at
home until a young man. When only fifteen years old he
was obliged to go to work, as his father had but limited
means. Mr. Simmons first bought a small farm in
Erie county, for which he was obliged to go in debt.
It was at this time that his father was stricken with
blindness, and dependent upon for support, and he supplied
him with a home, and by industry succeeded in paying for the
little farm, supporting his parents until their death.
At the age of twenty-two he was married in Erie county to
Miss Mary Roberts, a native of that county, and a
daughter of John Roberts, a farmer. In April,
1861, Mr. Simmons enlisted at Huron for three months'
service in Company E, 7th O. V. I., under Capt. Sprague.
After serving his term, without leaving the State, he was
discharged at Camp Dennison and returned to Erie county.
n the fall of 1861 he enlisted under Capt. Shipman,
in Company C, 55th O. V. I., which went into camp at Camp
McClellan, Norwalk, Huron county, and then proceeded to
Grafton, W. Va., where their first fight was a skirmish at
Moorefield. Mr. Simmons continued with his
regiment, and fought all through the battles of the
Shenandoah Valley, Cross Keys, and the second battle of Bull
Run. After the latter fight he was stationed at
brigade headquarters most of the time, serving as forage
master, and in this capacity was with Sherman on his
march to Atlanta and the sea. He was present at the
Grand Review at Washington, D. C., was mustered out at
Louisville, Ky., and n July 20, 1865, was finally discharged
at Cleveland, Ohio. He was never wounded, and was only
in the hospital during his first enlistment, when he had the
measles.
After the war Mr. Simmons returned to Erie
county, and bought a hotel, the "Berlinville House, "
for which he went in debt $1,300, which he subsequently
paid. He was eight years in the hotel business, and
then sold out and moved to Prairie Depot, where he was
acquainted. He bought out a liquor store, which he
conducted for six years, and then converted it into a drug
and grocery store, taking J. W. Graham as a partner,
to whom he sold out after a co-partnership of two and a half
years. Mr. Simmons retired for several years,
and then bought staves and ship timber in Ohio. In January,
1894, he again engaged in the liquor business, with John
Fuher as a partner, buying him out Jan. 1, 1896.
He also purchased the building, and is now sole owner.
One child has been born to our subject and his wife, Cora
M., who is now Mrs. Eugene West, of Prairie
Depot. Mrs. Simmons died in 1879, and
was buried in Berlinville. Our subject is a Republican
in political sentiment, and a stanch member of the party.
He has been a member of the city council in Prairie Depot,
and while in Berlinville was elected justice of the peace.
but declined to accept the office. He joined the
Masons at East Townsend, Ohio. He is a self made man,
a well-to-do citizen, and a kind hearted and benevolent man.
He owns sixteen and a half acres in the corporation of
Prairie Depot, out of which he has platted an addition to
the town, has a good home, and is one of the respected
residents of the place.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1124 |
|
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CHARLES SIMMONS,
a prominent farmer of Weston, was born in London, England,
Nov. 11, 1848. He is a son of Reuben and Mary
(Philpot) Simmons, who were married Jan. 20, 1845, and
to whom two children were born: Henry, who died when
five years old, and our subject.
Reuben Simmons followed the occupation of
a tanner in England, and in 1850 emigrated to America,
locating in Huron county, where, however, he remained but a
short time, after which he moved to Wood county and settled
in Weston, bought forty acres of land, improved it and
remained there until his death, which occurred Oct. 19,
1865. His wife died June 1, 1891.
Our subject was educated in Weston township, and grew
to manhood on his father’s farm. His father dying when
he was seventeen years old, he operated the homestead and
supported his mother until her decease. He has added
twenty acres to the land bought by his father, which he has
greatly improved, bringing it to a fine state of
cultivation. He annually raises a large crop of grain,
fruit and vegetables. Mr. Simmons was
married in Washington township, Apr. 18, 1877, to Miss
Mary I. Creps, who was born in that township June 26,
1851. She is the daughter of Joseph A. and Eliza (Coffinberry)
Creps, the former of whom was a native of Pennsylvania,
and a veteran of the Civil war. He is now deceased.
His wife, a native of Mansfield, Ohio, survives him, and
lives with our subject. To Mr. and
Mrs. Simmons have been born three children,
namely: Katie E., Jan. 16, 1878; George A.,
Aug. 4, 1882; Rosseta J., Aug. 26, 1886. Mr.
Simmons is a Republican in politics, and served as
supervisor for two terms. He is an industrious,
progressive citizen, and enjoys the respect and esteem of
all who come in contact with him.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1063 |
|
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EDWIN H. SIMMONS,
an enterprising farmer of Perrysburg, is a native of Huron
county, where he was born Nov. 2, 1855. He came to
Wood county when eight years old, and went to school at
Thompson's school house, in District No. 3. He
remained at home on the farm until 1883, and then went to
Dakota and Wisconsin for a while to view the western
country, subsequently returning to Wood county.
On Jan. 25, 1888, Mr. Simmons was married
to Miss Mary Hundley, whose birth took place in
Perrysburg, Sept. 22, 1865. Two children have been
born to them, Alma, and Ray. After his
marriage our subject settled down in Perrysburg, having
bought forty acres of land, on which, in 1887, he built a
substantial house. In politics he was a Democrat, and
was elected trustee of Perrysburg township last spring, by
the largest majority (180) ever given to the candidate for
that office in that township. He is a member of Fort
Meigs Lodge, I. O. O. F. , at Perrysburg, and has been given
the position of agent for the Lime City Farmers Mutual Fire
Association. He is up to date in all matters
pertaining to his business, and the Association has secured
a valuable man in Mr. Simmons. He is energetic
and progressive, and has numerous friends both in a business
way and personally.
Robert Simmons, the father of our
subject, was born in Cambridgeshire, England, May 10, 1832.
In 1852 he was united in marriage with Miss Sarah
Jane Van Sickle, who was born in
Delaware county, Ohio, Feb. 27, 1836. They came to
Wood county in 1863, and Mr. Simmons bought a
farm in Perrysburg township, then full of timber, and he had
to clear a space large enough to build a house upon.
Later he increased his property, and became an extensive
land owner. Mr. and Mrs. Simmons are both
living, and reside in the town of Perrysburg. This
couple had four children, namely: Edwin, our
subject; Ira C., born June 18, 1860; Adelbert,
born Mar. 18, 1864; Florence May, born Dec. 29, 1866.
All are married except, Florence.
Mrs. Simmons is a descendant of the Holland
about the year 1638, and came to America when a young man.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 453 |
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ALFRED SIMON
is a prominent representative of the
family of that name in Wood county, and is one of Bloom
township's progressive farmer citizens. He was born in
Jackson township, Mahoning Co., Ohio, Jan. 8, 1837, and is a
son of Reinhart and Maria (Brougher) Simon. His
paternal grandfather, Adam Simon, was one of the six
sons born to the first marriage of Michael Simon,
the founder of the family in the Buckey State.
The father of our subject was born in Boardman
township, Mahoning county, Jan. 13, 1811, and on Nov. 13,
1834, he wedded Miss Drougher, also a native
of Mahoning county, born May 28, 1817, daughter of Daniel
Brougher. Five children blessed this union -
Lorinda, born Oct. 8, 1835, is the widow of James
Hamilton, of Bloomdale; Alfred is next in
order of birth; Daniel, born Dec. 18, 1838, enlisted
Aug. 15, 1861. in Company H, 49th O. V. I., and died at
Nashville, Sept. 5, 1862; Rebecca, born in September,
1840, is the wife of Rev. Whistler, a
Methodist Episcopal minister of Denver, Colo.; and Lucy
Ann, born June 13, 1843, died Sept. 19, 1855. In
September, 1854, Reinhart Simon brought his
family and household goods in two covered wagons to Wood
county, driving the entire distance. He bought 160
acres of land in Section 15, Bloom township, and made his
temporary home with his brother Cornelius. He
was at first forced to buy supplies, as there was not land
enough cleared to raise crops sufficient for the family’s
use; but he soon converted the place into an arable tract,
and his first crop of corn from fifteen acres amounted to
1,500 bushels in the ear. From that time prosperity
attended his efforts, the greatest trouble experienced by
the family being sickness from fever and ague. Mr.
Simon reached the ripe old age of seventy-three
years, while his wife passed away at the age of sixty four,
and they were laid to rest in Bloom Chapel cemetery.
They were active workers in the Lutheran church, and in
politics he was formerly a Whig, and on its organization
joined the Republican party; for six years he served as
treasurer of Bloom township.
During his boyhood Alfred Simon attended
the subscription schools, but the greater part of his
education has been obtained since leaving school, being
acquired through reading and observation. He was
seventeen years of age at the time the family came to Wood
county, and remained upon the home farm until his marriage,
with the exception of one summer, when he worked by the
month. About l858, he bought an eighty-acre tract of
school land in Section 16, securing the same from his
father, to whom he paid interest until the land became
productive, when he paid off the principle. His land
lay just across the road from the old homestead, where he
often worked during the day, while be cleared and improved
his own place in the evening. He believes in using the
latest methods and machinery in his agricultural pursuits,
and now has seventy-eighty and three-quarters acres
of the best developed land in Bloom township.
At Portage, Wood county, Mr. Simon was
united in marriage, Oct. 20, 1859, with Silvina Milliron,
who was born in Westmoreland county, Penn., in 1841, a
daughter of Jacob Milliron. Five
children were born of this union - Olive, wife of
Robert Wiers, of Liberty township, Wood county;
Emma I., wife of J. Repass, of Bowling Green, Ohio;
Laura E., wife of George Vick, a machinist of
Detroit, Mich.; William G., of Toledo, Ohio; and
Carrie M., wife of Sanford Lea, of Liberty
township. The mother, who was a faithful member of the
United Brethern Church, died Dec. 13, 1872, and was
buried in Bloom Chapel Cemetery. On July 18, 1876, in
Perry township, Mr. Simon was again married,
his second union being with
Harriet M.
Baily, who was born June 6, 1844, and is a daughter
of Jacob and
Elizabeth (Simon) Bailey. They have become the
parents of one son - Myron O., born Aug. 20, 1881.
During the Civil war Mr. Simon became a member
of the Ohio National Guards, and enlisted in the United
States service in May, 1864, as a member of Company E, 144th
O. V. I. e did guard duty at Wilmington, Del., and at
the end of his one-hundred-days’ service was honorably
discharged and returned home. His support has always
been given to the Republican party, and he served for two
years as trustee of his township, but has never been an
office seeker, having steadily refused political honors.
He and his estimable wife enjoy the friendship and society
of the best people of the community, and are consistent
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, belonging to the
Bloom Chapel congregation.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 827 |
Elias Simon |
ELIAS SIMON
(deceased), who in his lifetime was one of the most highly
respected citizens within the limits of Bloom township, is a
fit representative of the honored family of that name.
He was a son of Henry and Catherine (Stemple) Simon,
the former of whom was born June 7, 1796, the latter on July
10, 1798; they were married Oct. 5, 1822, and died May 15,
1872, and Apr. 2, 1836, respectively.
Mr. Simon was born Aug. 12, 1827, in Mahoning
county, Ohio, where he attended and excellent German school.
When he was but a few months over seventeen years old his
parents moved to Wood county, accompanied by five of their
children - Jonas, Carolus, Elias, Abigail and
Joshua. They drove through the woods with three
wagons, bringing their household goods. Our subject's
father had met with financial reverses in Mahoning county,
and he made a new start in life upon a tract of eighty acres
of timber land on what is now known as the North Ridge road.
A rude log house, which he had built previously, furnished a
shelter for the newcomers; and their first meal was cooked
by the side of a brush heap. Our subject did many a
hard day's work in clearing and breaking the soil of this
farm, but he also found some time to at tend an English
school on the old Leathers farm, where
Cornelius Simon, a cousin, was the first teacher.
At the age of twenty-one he began to work on his own
account, chopping and clearing for one year, and then
working in a sawmill as a laborer. His savings were
invested in 120 acres of land, his brother's estate, near
Bairdstown, bought from the heirs, and its purchase left him
nearly $1,000 in debt.
On Aug. 2, 1855, Mr. Simon was married to
Miss Margaret Frankforder, a native of
Spring field, Mahoning Co., Ohio, born Mar. 15, 1837,
daughter of Andrew and Elizabeth (Kugler) Frankforder,
who came to Wood county in 1852, and located on a farm in
Weston township. They were both natives of Ohio, the
father born May 11, 1805, in Springfield township, Mahoning
county, the mother born Aug. 11, 1804. They were
married Aug. 27, 1826; the former died Aug. 19, 189l, at
Roca, Neb., the latter having passed away Jan. 2, 1857, in
Weston township, Wood Co., Ohio. The young couple
began housekeeping upon the farm which became their
permanent home. Mr. Simon continued to
work in the sawmill and carried on his farm, at the same
time hiring some of the work done. In 1864 he enlisted
in Company E, 144th O. V. I., and was sent to Wilmington,
Del., where he was on-guard duty until Aug. 22, 1864, when
he was discharged at Columbus.
In 1868 he built a sawmill upon his farm, and,
notwithstanding many predictions of failure, his energy and
thorough knowledge of the business enabled him to make a
success of it, and in three years he had paid off every
obligation. He has been noted for his knowledge of
milling machinery, often repairing for others. In 1889
he gave up his mill to his sons, Jackson and
Delton, who conducted it for some time. There are
two oil wells upon the place, producing about fifteen
barrels per day, and on this farm was drilled the second gas
well in the township. Mr. Simon's right
wrist had been strained by over work in lifting, and he
afterward lived a semi retired life, finding much pleasure
in reading. He possessed strong intellectual powers,
which should have been developed in youth. In 1878 he
built one of the most substantial brick houses in the
township, and his old home gives evidence not only of his
worldly prosperity, but of his intellectual aspirations and
artistic tastes. His wife had but limited educational
facilities in her youth, but with ready adaptation she has
availed herself of later opportunities at home, as her
duties would permit. They have had five children:
Mary E., born Dec. 11, 1856, died Feb. 6, 1857;
Jackson, born Mar. 16, 1858, now resides in Hancock
county; Delton, born Oct. 7, 1860, is farming the
homestead and conducting the mill; Maud, born Nov. 3,
1865, married Frank Elston, of Garrett, Ind., a
Baltimore & Ohio railroad engineer, Chicago division; and
Tressie, born Aug. 9, 1875, now a successful music
teacher, is at home.
Elias Simon, the subject of this sketch,
died at ten minutes past eleven in the forenoon of Sept. 21,
1896, of apoplexy, and was laid to rest Sept. 24, in Bloom
Chapel cemetery, Bloom township. He, as is also his
widow, was a leading member of the Liberal U. B. Church of
Bairdstown, in which he held every office, and was the
principal financial supporter. When the new church was
being erected he loaned a large sum of money, and afterward
cancelled the debt. Mr. Simon was no
office-seeker, but took a keen interest in public affairs,
and was in early years a Republican, but in later years
voted with the Prohibition party.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 680 |
|
|
ISRAEL SIMON,
a worthy representative of one of the leading and prominent
families of Wood county, carries on agricultural pursuits in
Bloom township. His great-grandfather, John
Adam Simon, was born in Switzerland, and became
the founder of the family in the New World, where he arrived
about 1735, when still a young man. He determined to
make a home in this country, and to stand in defense of his
God-given rights - life, liberty and the pursuits of
happiness. Later he married and located in the eastern
part of the Colony of Maryland. During the
Narragansett Indian war his house with all its contents was
consumed by the flames, but, with one exception, the family
escaped by flight, though with scant attire. Andrew,
a boy of seven years, being some distance from the house, in
a sugar camp, was captured, and at the hands of the savages
suffered many cruelties, and it was seven years before he
was able to return to the family. The father passed
his last days in Washington county, Penn., where he died at
nearly the age of one hundred years, and he was buried in an
old German cemetery near his home. He was a brave,
fearless man, of invincible integrity, charitable and
friendly to all. In the family were ten children, five
sons and five daughters, the sons being named respectively:
Michael, Nicholas, Andrew, Adam and Jacob.
The eldest of these, Michael Simon, was
born in Maryland in 1741, and was the founder of the family
in the Buckeye State, buying 640 acres of land in Mahoning
county, in the year 1800, from Henry Boardman,
who then owned the entire township of Boardman, at that time
in Trumbull county. Two years later Mr.
Simon removed to his purchase; one of his four sons,
Adam, had previously located there. He departed
this life in 1839, when nearly ninety-nine years of age,
leaving 464 descendants, sixteen being of the fourth
generation. He was married three times. By his
first wife he became the father of twelve children -
Michael, Peter, Andrew, Adam,
George, Jacob, Mrs. Barbara
Gedaker, Mrs. Elizabeth Kistner,
Mrs. Margaret Kistner, Mrs. Ann
Mary Macherman, Mrs. Esther
Hewitt and Mrs. Mary C. Phister. By his
second wife he had one child, who died at the age of one
year. His third union was with Gertrude
Smith, and to them were born two sons - Abraham
and Henry.
The last named was the father of our subject. He
was born in Washington county, Penn., June 7, 1796, and in
Allegany county, Md.. on Sept. 11, 1821, wedded Catherine
Stemple, whose birth occurred in Preston county, Va.,
July 10, 1798. In their family were the following
children: Israel, subject of this sketch, was born
Oct. 5, 1822; Jonas, born Jan. 16, 1824, died in
Hancock county, Ohio, Apr. 5, 1854; Mary, born Nov.
20, 1825, first be came the wife of Isaac Bunnell,
but is now Mrs. Joseph Beck, of
Bairdstown, Ohio; Elias is next in order of birth;
Abigail, born July 17, 1830, married Henry
Carrell, of Wood county; Joshua, born Feb. 17,
1833, died in McComb, Ohio, May 16, 1890; Carolus,
born July 18, 1835, died Jan. 20, 1863, from a wound
received while a member of Company H, 49th O. V. I., during
the Civil war. The mother of these children died Apr.
2, 1836, after a long illness, and was laid to rest in
Boardman township, Mahoning county. She was a faithful
member of the Lutheran Church. She had come to Ohio
with her husband on horseback, bringing with her a set of
dishes which had been given her. The father was again
married in Mahoning county, Mar. 11, 1842, the lady of his
choice being Elizabeth Miner, and they became
the parents of seven children, namely: Catherine, who
died in Wood county of membranous croup while young;
George, who was killed during the Civil war; David,
who died in Eaton county Mich.; Gideon and Armenta,
who died while young; Henry, who makes his home in
Eaton county, Mich.; and Maria, now Mrs.
Gidner, of the same county. The first land owned
by Henry Simon was a tract of 100 acres in
Mahoning county, for which he paid $400, and to its
cultivation he devoted his time until November, 1844, when
he came to Bloom township, Wood county, here making his home
until 1870, when here moved to Eaton county, Mich.
There he died May 15, 1872, and at the same place his widow
passed away in 1894. His first vote was cast for the
Whig party, and he later became a stanch Republican.
Being the eldest son, Israel Simon was
early called upon to assist in the labors of the home farm,
so that his early education was limited; but after starting
out in life for himself he at tended both English and German
schools. For two years previous to attaining his
majority he had worked for others; but his father received
his wages, and, at the age of twenty-one, he learned the
shoemaker's trade under John Baird, with whom
he remained for two years, then coming to Wood county, where
his parents had moved in the meantime. In the fall of
1846 his father built him a shop on the home farm.
In Bloom township, on July 4, 1850, was celebrated the
marriage of Mr. Simon and Miss Susan Nusbaum,
who was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, June 9, 1826, a
daughter of John Nusbaum, who came to Bloom township
at an early day, after first locating in Seneca county.
Ten children graced this union: Theodore, who died at
the age of eighteen months; Catherine, now Mrs.
John B. Wilson, of Bowling Green, Ohio; Laura,
now Mrs. John Rotz, of McComb, Hancock Co., Ohio;
Lewis, who, in the fall of 1890, married Lizzie Lantz,
of Preston county, W. Va., who died Sept. 20, 1892; Lydia,
at home; Martha, who is the widow of J. D. Munn,
and is now engaged in school teaching; Mary, wife of
Virgil James, of McComb; Winfield S.,
who died May 7, 1866: Della, now Mrs. H. Reese,
of Crestline, Ohio; and Ida, who follows school
teaching.
On coming to Wood county, Mr. Simon's property
consisted only of $30, an axe and a scythe, and, in
connection with work at his trade, he also engaged in
clearing land and chopping wood. In this way he and
his brother Jonas secured the capital with which to
purchase 160 acres in Section 32, Bloom township, to which
they later added eighty acres, and on this tract our subject
first began housekeeping in a rude log cabin 18x26 feet,
standing a short distance north of where his present home is
located. The land was all heavily timbered, not a tree
having been cut with the exception of coon and bee trees.
After working hard all day in the open air, Mr.
Simon would make shoes in the evenings, in order to get
a start in life, and the first rocking chair which the
family owned, was earned by Mrs. Simon raking
wheat at twenty five cents per day. In 1890 they
removed to McComb, but after two years returned to the farm,
where they still continue to reside. It comprises
ninety-seven acres of good land, and the improvements found
thereon stand as monuments to the thrift and industry of the
owner.
Owing to his arduous toil in former days, Mr.
Simon has not enjoyed very good health for some years,
although he was once a robust, active man.
Politically, he usually supports the Republican party,
though he is not bound by party ties in township and county
matters, preferring to vote for the man who he thinks will
best fill the position. He was trustee of his township
for seven years, assessor one term, and has held various
school offices, discharging his duties with promptness and
fidelity. Religiously both he and his wife are
faithful members of the Disciples Church.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 981 |
|
|
LEVI SIMON (2d),
an enterprising and prosperous agriculturist of Bloom
township and a veteran of the Civil war, was born Apr. 16,
1836, in Auburn township, Crawford county, Ohio.
His parents, Andrew and Leah (Crist) Simon, were
married in 1830 in Mahoning county, and settled upon a farm
in Crawford county, then a new region. They had
thirteen children of whom eleven grew to maturity, and ten
are still living. In 1851 the family came to Bloom
township, where the father bought forty acres near Bloom
Center, covered with heavy timber, and they experienced all
the trials of frontier life; a small log house afforded them
their only shelter for some time. Both parents lived
beyond the "three score years and ten," the mother dying
when seventy-two, and the father when seventy-six years of
age, and they were both laid to their final rest in Weaver
cemetery.
Levi Simon was the fourth child and second son of
this worthy pioneer couple. He attended the district
schools of his day; but his time was mainly spent in farm
work, either at home or for others, his wages being given to
his parents until he was twenty-one. He then began to
work for himself, and for some time he was employed in a
sawmill near Grand Rapids, Ohio. In August, 1861, he
enlisted, at Fostoria, in Company H, 49th O. V. I., under
Capt. Hays. After going into camp at Tiffin
and Camp Dennison, this famous regiment of fighters was sent
to the front. Mr. Simon's first
engagement was at Shiloh, and then followed Corinth,
Lawrenceburg, Stone River, Liberty Gap, Chickamauga, Mission
Ridge, Rocky Face, Resaca, Cassville and Pickett's Mills.
In this last engagement he was wounded in the right hip and
left leg, and he also received a scalp wound. He was
with his regiment continuously (except for one-half day,
when, on the surgeon's advice, he rode on the train-instead
of marching) until February, 1864, when he came home on a
veteran furlough. Shortly after returning to his
regiment he was wounded, as just related, at the battle of
Pickett's Mills, at 4 P. M. on May 27, 1864, and was taken
prisoner. He lay in the hospital at Andersonville
prison until Nov. 20, 1864, when he was paroled, and sent to
Savannah and then to Annapolis. In December he came
home; but in March, 1865, he rejoined his company at
Huntsville, Ala. After the surrender of Lee
part of the regiment was sent into Texas, and Mr.
Simon remained in the service until Aug. 27, 1865, when
he was discharged at Nashville, Tenn. He enlisted asa
hardy, robust young man, and the change in his appearance
and health was marked on his return. During his
furlough, in 1864, he had purchased fifty acres of land in
Section 30, Bloom township, paying $50 down, that being all
the money he had. He settled upon this little farm
after the war, his sisters Elizabeth, Amelia
and Araminta keeping house for him for several years
in an old fashioned log cabin, with the chimney on the
outside, the house in which Mr. and Mrs. Simon began
their married life.
On Apr. 18, 1872, our subject was married at Napoleon
to Miss Mary A. Nyswander, a native of Pleasant
township, Fairfield Co., Ohio, born Jan. 26, 1839. Her
parents, Christian and Elizabeth (Daring) Nyswander,
were both natives of Switzerland, and had come to America
with their respective families, her father when thirteen,
her mother when four years of age. They were married
in January, 1834, and in 1846 came to Wood county, locating
in the wilderness in Milton township, where they cleared and
improved a farm. Mrs. Simon is a woman of great
mental ability and high ideas, and, in spite of the
unfavorable circumstances of her early life, she succeeded
in obtaining a good education. The district schools
furnished her elementary instruction, and, when she had
learned all that they could teach her, she attended the
select school at Millgrove taught by Alfred Kelley,
that grand old pioneer teacher to whom many of the leading
educators of this region owed their best opportunities.
He has helped many a struggling scholar, furnishing books,
if needed, and waiting for his tuition fees until they could
be earned by teaching. Mrs. Simon taught
for twenty-six terms in Wood and Henry counties, her wages
for the first term being $26. for the three months, and she
has taught for $2. per week.
After their marriage, Mr. Simon and his
wife began housekeeping in the old log cabin, but eighteen
months later they moved into a new house, which has since
been enlarged and beautified. They have had four
children: Herma E. (who is proud of being born in the
old log cabin above mentioned), Reuben E. and
Jennie E., all at home, and Charles E., who died
in infancy.
Mr. Simon
has prospered, adding to his possessions until he now owns
250 acres of land, of which 200 acres are under cultivation.
He is industrious, frugal, honest and far-sighted, and his
success is principally due to these admirable traits in his
constitution. In politics he is a Republican, but in
local matters he is not bound by partisan ties. Mrs.
Simon has been a member of the Lutheran Church since
fourteen years of age.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1033 |
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INSERT PHOTO HERE |
LEVI SIMON,
one of the leading pioneers of Bloom township, is the oldest
living member of a family which has given to that township
more good, substantial citizens than any other, barring
none. They have been farmers, officials and supporters
of Churches from its early history, and the very name is
synonymous with good citizenship.
The first American ancestor of this family was
Johann Adam Simon, our subject's great-grand father, who
left Switzerland in 1735, when a young man, and after a
stormy voyage of three months set foot upon American soil.
He located first in the eastern part of the colony of
Maryland, but his last years were spent in Washington
county, Penn., where he died when nearly one hundred years
of age. His love of civil liberty, and his invincible
integrity during the Colonial period, and the Revolutionary
war, subjected him to heavy losses and privations, but his
un daunted spirit sustained him through all, and in the end
triumphed. He was the father of ten children: Michael,
Nicholas, Andrew, Adam, Jacob,
Mrs. Stahl, Mrs. Belz, Mrs.
Deutzer, Mrs. Right and Mrs.
Stark, all of whom reared large families. The
first eighteen years of his married life were prosperous;
but on the breaking out of the Narragansett war the Indians
burned his house and its contents, the occupants having
barely time to escape with what clothing they wore at the
time. Michael, the eldest, escaped, though he
was shot at several times. Andrew, then a lad
of seven years, was working in a sugar camp some distance
from the house with said Michael, and was captured.
He suffered many cruelties, even being scalped; but after
seven months he was exchanged and returned to his father,
and our subject remembers seeing his denuded head.
Michael Simon, our subject's grandfather,
was born Feb. 2, 1741. In 1800 he came to Trumbull
county, Ohio, and bought nearly 1,200 acres of wild land of
Henry Boardman, who at that time owned the
entire township. In 1802 he moved to his new property,
his son Adam having settled upon it previously, and made
some improvements. Michael Simon was
married three times, and by his first marriage had twelve
children: Michael, Jr., Peter, Andrew,
Adam, George, Jacob, Barbara,
Elizabeth, Margaret, Ann Mary,
Esther and Mary C. His second wife, a
Miss Althans, died within a year, her child dying
also. By his third marriage, to Mrs. Dice,
he had two sons, Abram and Henry. At his
death, which occurred in 1839, his descendants numbered 485,
sixteen of whom were in the fourth generation.
Jacob Simon, our subject's father, was
born in January, I783, the youngest child of his father's
first marriage. His education was self-acquired,
without teachers or even books, except the Bible; but he
became a man of notable intelligence, and he taught school
successfully for many years. At first a Whig, he later
became a Republican. He married Elizabeth
Stemple, a native of Preston county, Va., born in I788,
the eldest daughter of David Stemple, whose
wife was a Miss Rinehart. Nine children
were born of this union: David, who married Miss
Gamber, and died in Mahoning county, at the age of
fifty nine; Lydia, the wife of Eli Ruppert.
who died in Allen county, Ind.; Delilah, Mrs.
George Wormley, who died in Mahoning county at
the age of sixty; Levi, our subject; Stilling,
who first married Miss Fox, and for his second
wife wedded Miss Gentholtz, who survives him,
residing at their former home in Bloom township; Gideon,
who married Leah D. Pfister, and died in Bloom
township when seventy-five years old; Salome, the
widow of Moses Webber, of Mahoning county;
Selinde (Mrs. John Shaffer), of Allen county,
Ind.; and Jesse, a farmer of Mahoning county, who
married Elizabeth Williamson. The father
of this family died in Mahoning county, in 1858, aged
seventy-four years, the mother in 1875 aged eighty-seven.
Levi Simon, the subject of this sketch,
was born Jan. 21, 1817. He was remarkably precocious,
but the schools of his day and locality were poor, and,
except for forty-three days of better instruction at
Ellsworth, he is practically self-taught. It is to be
regretted that his richly endowed mind did not receive the
highest possible development, as he has accomplished such
unusual mental feats with so little help. The rapid
and seemingly easy manner in which he solved the most
difficult mathematical problems was widely noted at an early
age, and he has never yet found one which he could not
solve. His contributions in prose and poetry to
various newspapers have been read with interest, and display
ability equal to that of many professional writers.
Although he has been an industrious and painstaking farmer
throughout his mature years, he could always find time to
read the Bible, and his equal as a student of that book of
books can seldom be found. He can quote any passage at
will; in the expounding of abstruse texts, many preachers
have found him a valuable aid to their own studies, and he
has himself de livered many sermons. He was reared a
Lutheran, but on moving to Wood county, where no Church of
that denomination existed, he joined the Methodists.
As he was not encouraged to express his honest convictions
when called upon to speak, he, therefore, severed his
relations with them and attended the Disciples Church, in
which he was a preacher for four years. His start in life
was obtained by teaching school at $13 per month, and
clearing land at meager wages.
On Apr. 18, 1844, Mr. Simon was married
in Trumbull (now Mahoning) county, to Miss Mary A.
Pfister, a lady of German descent, and a native of
Youngstown, born Oct. 29, 1822, daughter of Jacob and
Margaret (Hewitt) Pfister. They had ten children
whose names with dates of birth are as follows: Myconius
N., Mar. 3, 1845; Rubellus J., Aug. 9, 1846, (a
leading physician and surgeon at Pemberville); Damiette,
Dec. 18, 1847 (she married Frank Ledyard, of
Bloom township, and died Aug. 23, 1884); Jerusha,
Oct. 10, 1850 (she died Nov. 10, 1872); Belenia, Aug.
6, 1852 (she married D. A. Deal, and died Nov. 11,
1884); Poliander, July 22, 1856 (a remarkable child,
and at the time of his death, Aug. 30, 1863, was
intellectually equal to many of double his years);
Montibello and Mettilene (twins), Mar. 28, 1859
(the former now a farmer and dairyman of Bloom township; the
latter died Sept. 4, 1863); Phoebe E., June
11, 1861 (an unusually gifted child, possessing mental
development far beyond her age at her death, Dec. 30, 1877);
and Elma O., Feb. 19, 1863 (now Mrs. Jacob Fischer,
of Helena, Montana).
For a short time after his marriage Mr. Simon
followed farming in Mahoning county, but in April, 1846, he
came to Wood county with his wife and one son, traveling by
wagon and spending seven days en route. In 1839 he had
bought forty acres of timberland in Bloom township, and here
he built a log cabin and lived in primitive style. He taught
school for one term in the owning now ninety acres of
excellent land, and has been a generous supporter of all
philanthropic and religious enterprises. Although he
is not a member of any sect, he has contributed toward the
building of every church in Bloomdale and vicinity.
Despite his advanced age he is as active as most persons
twenty years younger, and his mental faculties show no sign
of impairment. He sympathized in early years with the Whig
party, and since has been a Republican, but he is not
slavishly bound by party ties. At different times he has
taken an active share in local affairs, and he served as
township clerk at a time when the records of that office had
become very much complicated, requiring great skill and
labor to adjust them. His wife died Feb. 15, 1889,
after nearly a half century of happy wedded life, and her
mortal remains rest in the family burial lot in Bloom Chapel
cemetery.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 664 |
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M. B. SIMON,
a leading farmer and stock raiser, and one of the most
popular citizens of Bloom township, was born in Wood county
Mar. 28, 1859, and is a son of Levi and Mary A. (Pfister)
Simon. His early education was begun in Hopewell
School, and among his first teachers was Miss Libby
Fisher. He later entered Fostoria Academy, where
for three years he pursued his studies, taking up Latin and
German as well as the more common branches; he was a member
of the male quartet there. Later he taught in District
No. 1, Bloom township, being the first teacher in the
present brick schoolhouse.
On Sept. 14, 1887, in Washington township, Hancock Co.,
Ohio, Mr. Simon was united in marriage with Miss
Florence Ringer, a native of that township, born Nov. 1,
1864, and they have become the parents of three children -
Eva Blanch, born Oct. 3, 1888; Amy Mettalene,
born Sept. 28, 1890; and Edwin De Witt, born July 21,
1894. After his marriage Mr. Simon located upon
his present farm, only five acres of which at that time were
under cultivation. In April, 1892, he began the dairy
bus iness in Bloomdale, being the first to establish an
industry of that kind in that thriving village, and has
since given considerable attention to the same.
He has also dealt in bee supplies, being well versed in bee
culture, and thoroughly conversant with the business.
In addition to general farming, he is an extensive stock
raiser, breeding chester white hogs, which he has shipped to
various States, and has some fine registered Holstein cattle
upon his place.
Mr. Simon possesses a fine tenor voice, well
cultivated, and has taught vocal music to some extent.
He and his wife are members of the United Brethren Church,
in which he serves as chorister, and is a member of the
board of trustees, and he is a devout, earnest Christian;
seldom do you find a man as conscientious, thoroughly
upright and honest, and whose integrity is above question.
He is a student of more than ordinary ability, and as a
musician ranks high, many of the pieces used in the United
Brethren song books being of his composition, both the music
and words. His political support is given to the
Republican party.
The parents of Mrs. Simon, George and Rachel
(Scherer) Ringer, were both natives of Stark county,
Ohio, the former born Jan. 2, 1819, and the latter Aug. 25,
1826. In that county they were reared and married,
moving to Hancock county, Ohio, in 1849. Mr. Ringer's
father had given him 160 acres of land, valued at $300,
still in its primitive condition, to which he later added
another 160 acre tract; he after ward bought his son
James forty acres. On his farm in Hancock county
he lived until December, 1892, when he removed to Arcadia,
Ohio, there dying on May 6, 1894, and his remains were
interred in the cemetery at that place. In religious
faith he was a Methodist, while in politics he was connected
with the Republican party for many years, but later became a
Prohibitionist. His wife still makes her home in
Arcadia. Mrs. Simon is the youngest in
their family of eight children - three sons and five
daughters. Her primary education, received in the
district schools, was supplemented by a three-years’ course
at Fostoria Academy, where she prepared herself for
teaching, which profession she followed for several terms in
Wood and Hancock counties, having charge of a Bloomdale
school for two terms. Her brothers and sisters were as
follows: Carlesta, wife of Samuel Myers,
of Melmore, Seneca Co., Ohio; Elizabeth, who married
Josiah Kimmel, and removed to Kansas, dying in
Neosha county, that State; Frances, who died in Stark
county, in infancy; Catherine, now Mrs. A. C.
Powell, of Findlay, Ohio, who is a deaf mute, her
infirmity having been caused by sickness in childhood;
James, a farmer of Washington township, Hancock county;
Benjamin, who died at the age of two years; and
Franklin, who was a mercantile clerk, and died in Lyon
county, Kansas.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1209 |
Mary A. Simon
R. J. Simon |
RUBELLUS J. SIMON,
M. D., the leading and scholarly
physician of Pemberville, was born on a farm in Bloom
township, Wood Co., Ohio, Aug. 9, 1846, being the next to
the eldest son of Levi Simon,
whose biography appears elsewhere in this volume.
Our subject is one of ten children, whose names with
dates of birth are as follows: Myconius N.,
Mar. 3, 1845; Rubellus J. (the subject of this
sketch); Damiette, Dec. 18, 1847 (she married
Frank Ledyard, of Bloom township, and died Aug. 23,
1884); Jerusha, Oct. 10, 1850)she died Nov. 10,
1872); Belenia, Aug. 6, 1852 (she married D. A.
Deal, and died Nov. 11, 1884); Poliander, July
22, 1856 (a remarkable child, and at the time of his death
Aug. 30, 1863, was intellectually equal to many of double
his years); Montibello and Mettilene (twins)
Mar. 28, 1859 (the former now a farmer and dairyman of Bloom
township; the latter died Sept. 4, 1863); Phoebe E.,
June 11, 1861 ( an unusually gifted child, possessing mental
development far beyond her age at her death, Dec. 30, 1877);
and Elma O. Feb. 19, 1863 (now Mrs. Jacob Fischer,
of Helena, Montana).
The boyhood years of our subject were spent at his
father's farm. His early education was obtained under
the direction of his parents, both of whom had been
teachers, and were well fitted to train him for a life of
usefulness and honor. At sixteen he entered the Poland
Union Seminary, becoming a student in that institution the
same year that Gov. McKinley completed his studies
there. After nine months in the seminary, he received
a teacher's certificate, and entered that profession,
teaching the Mackey school, in Bloom township. For
several terms he taught there and in other districts, then
entered the Findlay High School, where he continued his
studies for eight months. Later he taught in the
grammar school in the same institution for three terms,
after which he entered Oberlin College, expecting to fit
himself more thoroughly for the profession of a teacher.
Two years were spent in study at Oberlin College, but
meantime his ambition changed. Noticing that most of
those who devoted their lives to teaching remained poor, and
having a desire to gain possession of some of this world's
goods by honest exertion, he determined to abandon the
profession upon which he had entered. However, he
taught a few terms afterward, and in that way gained the
means with which to prosecute his medical studies.
Under Dr. S. B. Emerson, of Eagleville, he began to
read medicine, then took a course of lectures at the
Eclectic Medical College, of Cincinnati, after which he
continued to study and practice with Dr. Emerson for
a year and a half. Later he took another course of
lectures at the same college, graduating May 13, 1873.
In August of the same year he opened an office at
Pemberville, and commenced the practice of his chosen
profession.
On Mar. 4, 1874, Dr. Simon was married to
Mary A., daughter of Henry Mohr, of
Eagleville. At that time he was in debt $600.00, but
success came to him quickly, and at the end of a year he was
out of debt and owned a house, and lot. From that time
to this he has had a large practice, and has acquired a
splendid competence. In addition to professional
duties, he has done an extensive business in fire insurance,
and is medical examiner for two of the leading life
insurance companies of the United States - the New York Life
and the Mutual Life of New York. He is the owner of
180 acres of fine land in the oil regions, which alone
represent a small fortune. His home is a beautiful
one, and he also owns other property.
Formerly Dr. Simon was identified with the M. E.
Church, but there being no Church of that denomination in
Pemberville at the time he settled there, he became
interested in the Presbyterian faith, assisted in the
organization of the Church here, and was for eight years its
only elder. He has served in that office up to the
present time, and has always been one of the most active
workers, not only in the Church, but also in the
Sunday-school, of which he was formerly superintendent.
For six years he has been a member of the board of
education, during which time the new school building was
erected. During his service of four yeas as a member
of the city council, the new city hall was built. In
fact, he has been one of the most influential residents of
the place, and has been prominent in social, professional
and business circles. He is a great lover of fine
horses, and is proud of having a team that will not "take
dust" from any other team in Wood county.
Dr. and Mrs. Simon have had four children, two
of whom died in infancy, and one, Ina, when three
months old. The only one living is Nina O., a
bright and attractive child, now, fall of 1896, about four
yeas old. In politics, the Doctor is a strong
Republican, which is also the political faith of ninety-five
per cent. of the entire Simon family, now
numbering seven or eight hundred members.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 604 |
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SOLOMON SIMON
(deceased) Among the pioneer settlers
of Bloom township, this gentleman proved himself especially
worthy of notice in a work of this kind. He was one of
the early men to locate within its borders, and, being
possessed of a rare amount of energy, proved a most valued
member of the young and rapidly growing community. His
early home was in Boardman township, Mahoning Co., Ohio,
where his birth took place Nov. 5, 1820. Abraham
Simon, (father of our subject), and his brother
Henry, were the two children born of the third marriage
of Michael Simon, the founder of this numerous
family in Mahoning county, from where the Wood county
contingent has descended.
Abraham Simon was born in Washington
county, Penn., whence at the age of seven years he was
brought to Ohio, and always followed farming as a vocation,
living upon one place from 1802 until his death. At
North Lima, Columbiana Co., Ohio, he wedded Catherine
Crouse, a daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Wilderson)
Crouse, who were the parents of eight sons and three
daughters, who grew to maturity. To Mr. and Mrs.
Simon were born the following children: Solomon,
of whom we write; Elizabeth, wife of Jacob
Bailey; John, of Boardman township, Mahoning
county; Michael, who lives on the old homestead in
that township; Harriet, who married, first, Peter
Monasmith (who died at Philadelphia, Penn., on his
way home from the army), and later became the wife of
George Cover; Martha, now Mrs. George
Harnickle, of Mahoning county; Jacob, of
Youngstown township, that county; Delilah, wife of
Ralph Agnew, of Mahoning county; and Joshua, of
Jackson township, Mahoning county. The father, who was
formerly a Whig and later a Republican in politics, lived to
be over seventy-eight years of age, while his wife was
eighty-seven at the time of her death, and they were both
buried in Boardman township.
Being the eldest son, Solomon Simon was
early obliged to assist in the work of the home farm, and
never attended an English school an hour in his life, though
he received some instruction in German. He was married
in Boardman township, Mahoning county, on Christmas Day,
1842, the lady of his choice being Miss Catherine Gress,
who was born in Northampton county, Penn., Dec. 18, 1822,
and is a daughter of George and Elizabeth (Philman) Gress.
When she was ten years old she was brought to the Buckeye
State by her parents, who located near Lisbon, but later
went to Springfield township, Mahoning county, where the
father died. The mother later removed to Boardman
township, where Mrs. Simon was married.
She also had very meager school privileges. Five
children graced the union of our subject and his wife:
Demer S., who was a soldier in the Union army, and died
in Boardman township after his return from the war; J. L.,
a farmer of Bloom township, Wood county; Elnora,
widow of Amos Phillips, of Jerry City, Ohio;
Annie, now Mrs. Corvin Nestlerode,
of Portage township, Wood county; and Reuben, of
Oregon.
At the time of his marriage, Mr. Simon had no
property; but his mother had come into pos session of 100
acres of land in Bloom township, Wood county, which had
belonged to her father. This she had the latter deed
to our subject, provided he would improve the same.
There fore, the spring of 1844, with his wife and oldest
child, he started for this county in a covered wagon, being
also accompanied by the family of Levi Simon.
Our subject had been here several times previous, and in the
fall of 1843 had sowed some wheat and built a rude log
cabin, with no doors or windows, a quilt being hung up to
keep out the wolves, while a fire was never built in the
house from spring until fall, the cooking all being done by
a large log outside. They were the first family to
locate in Section 3, and they experienced all the
difficulties and trials of life on the frontier, it
requiring three or four days to go to mill at Perrysburg.
On that farm Mr. Simon continued to reside
until the latter part of the Civil war, when he removed to
Jerry City, there owning a half-interest in a sawmill with
Anthony Frederick. Two years later,
however, he sold out and purchased 120 acres of land in
Section 9, Bloom township, to which the latter added twelve
acres. It continued to be his place of abode until the
spring of 1892, when he removed to Jerry City, though still
owning ninety two acres of that farm. He died Feb. 9,
1896.
Mr. Simon cast his first Presidential vote for
William H. Harrison, the Whig candidate; but being a
strong abolitionist he joined the Republican party on its
formation, and with it continued to affiliate. For
several years he held the offices of trustee, supervisor and
school director, and by his fellow citizens was always held
in the highest respect.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1239 |
B. F. Simons |
BENJAMIN F. SIMONS,
one of West Mill grove's leading citizens and merchants, was
born near Arcadia, Hancock Co., Ohio, Mar. 15, 1846, and is
a son of William and Mary (Bair) Simons.
Our subject was reared beneath the parental roof, on a
farm, and attended the district schools of the neighborhood,
in which he acquired his education. He was early
initiated into the mysteries of hard work attendant upon a
life devoted to agriculture, and remained upon the farm
until his enlistment in the Union service during the
Rebellion. On May 16, 1863, he became a member of
Company C, 86th O. V. I., with which he served eight months.
and on March i9, i864, joined Company E, 49th O. V. I. On
May 27, 1864, he was wounded at the battle of Pickett’s
Mills (where his brother, Lieut. Silas Simons, was
killed), and for three months was confined to hospital.
At Chattanooga he re joined the regiment; but November 25,
1864, at the battle of Columbia, Tenn., he received a gun
shot wound in the left thigh, so that on the 3d of June,
following, he was discharged on a surgeon’s certificate of
disability.
On returning home Mr. Simons worked for his
father for awhile, after which he went to Fostoria, Ohio,
being employed by C. Johnson, a lumber dealer.
Later he farmed one year, and then engaged work as a
teamster on the construction of a railroad. He was
also employed on the Baltimore & Ohio railroad when it was
being built near Bloomdale, Ohio. The first property
he owned was twenty-four acres of the home farm in Seneca
county, on which he built a log house, and began the
operation of the land. Later he traded this for
property in Risingsun, Ohio, which he afterward disposed of,
becoming owner of real estate in West Millgrove. There
he opened a small store, his stock consisting of drugs and
groceries; but from that beginning has grown his present
business, and he now enjoys a liberal patronage. His
goods are first-class in every particular, and, by his
courteous treatment of customers, well merits a fine trade.
At Fostoria. Ohio, in 1865, Mr. Simons was
united in marriage with Miss Mary Vosburg, a native
of Montgomery township, Wood county, and a daughter of
Theodore Vosburg. In politics our subject is a
steadfast Republican; while a resident of Seneca county he
served as constable of his township, which office he also
filled for over six years in Perry township, and has been
corporation treasurer and marshal of West Mill grove.
He is a charter member of Conley Post, G. A. R., of the
latter place. In disposition he is genial and social,
is a public-spirited and enterprising citizen, and a
business man of more than ordinary ability. He is a
lover of horses, and has owned some very fine, well-bred
animals.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1096 |
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WILLIAM SIMONS
(deceased), who, after the labors of a long and useful life,
passed his later years in ease and retirement in the village
of West Millgrove, this county, was born in Genesee county,
N. Y., Jan. 31, 1814; and was one in a family of eight
children, four sons and four daughters, born to Hezekiah and
Elizabeth (Weed) Simons. The father, who was a native
of Massachusetts, was a farmer by occupation, and died in
Genesee county, N. Y., being killed by a falling limb while
chopping down a tree.
The educational advantages of our subject were very
limited, and at the age of eleven years he left home,
starting to make his own way in the world as a farm hand.
When not yet twenty years of age he was married in his
native county to Mary Bair, and with his wife
came to Ohio in the early part of the “30s," locating in
Jackson township, Seneca county. He had been cheated
out of $130 due him for labor by an unprincipled man, and on
coming to this State had little more than the horse and
wagon with which he made the trip. They left all their
household goods, with the exception of a feather bed, in New
York, and later he sent for them, but they were lost on
route. With a capital of twelve shillings our subject
began life in the Buckeye State. For a short time he
made a temporary home with his brother-in-law, Samuel
Bair, who had preceded him to this State, and later
went in debt for forty acres of timber land, on which he
built a cabin of round logs, which was his first home since
he left the parental roof when only eleven years old.
On account of the water, it was difficult to raise anything,
and their first crops were corn and potatoes. Our
subject struggled along, each year bettering his condition
until he had paid for his land. Later he traded this
for a better tract, and bought eighty acres in addition, for
which he went in debt. On selling out after some
years, he removed to Washington township, Hancock county,
where he bought 100 acres. He met with an accident,
however, breaking his shoulder by falling out of a wagon,
which disabled him, and, as he had gone into debt for his
land, he was afraid he could not pay for it, and so disposed
of the property. He then came to Perry township, Wood
county, where, in 1849, he purchased the fine farm of 166
acres owned by him at the time of his death.
His first wife died Dec. 20, 1860, and was laid to rest
in the cemetery at Fostoria. She was a Christian
woman, and died happy. To them had been born the
following children: Silas, the eldest son, enlisted
Aug. 12, 1861, in Company E, 49th O. V. I., and was killed
at Pickett's Mills, Ga., May 27, 1864, while serving as
first lieutenant of Company H, in the same regiment, to
which company he was transferred June 18, 1863,'being at
that time made second lieutenant. On the 10th of
March, 1864, he was promoted to first lieutenant, and died
as a gallant and brave officer. Elizabeth, the
second child, is the wife of John Nobles, of
Fostoria. Benjamin F. is a merchant of West
Millgrove. Nancy is now Mrs. A. D. Stewart,
of Toledo, Ohio. Martha died at the age of
nineteen years. Sarah is the wife of William
Robbins, of Jackson township, Seneca county.
Amos died in Putnam county, Ohio, in 1894. For his
second wife Mr. Simons wedded Martha J. Faylor,
a native of Stark county, Ohio, and a daughter of John
and Sarah (Pitchard) Faylor. Five children graced
that union, only one of whom grew to maturity - Nellie M.
The mother died Oct. 2, 1894, and was buried at Fostoria.
In her youth she united with the Presbyterian Church, but
some ten years later became identified with the Methodist
Church, of which she remained a consistent member until her
death, which was a happy one. Her funeral was preached
by Rev. Andrew Hayes. Our subject
later married her sister, Mrs. Margaret
McClelland, widow of A. McClelland, by whom she
had four children: Clarence, who died at the age of
four years; Arthur, a resident of Hillsdale county,
Mich; and Ada and Ida, twins, the former now
Mrs. Ulysses Jenkins, and the latter
now Mrs. D. A. Tanner, both of Hills dale county,
Michigan.
In March, I879, Mr. Simons removed to West
Millgrove. For a short time when young he voted the
Democratic ticket, but later supported the Republican party,
and for nine successive years was school director. For
over forty years he had been a faithful member of the
Methodist Church, to which his widow also belongs. He
was among the self-made men of the county, having
accumulated all that he possessed by his own energy and
thrift, and was also one of its most highly respected
citizens. His death occurred Apr. 6, 1896, and from
the obituary notice the following is extracted: William
Simons, aged eighty-two years, two months and
twenty-five days, died at his home in this place, of
pneumonia, on the 6th inst., after a brief illness.
Deceased was a retired farmer, well respected, one of the
foremost members of the M. E. Church, and a good citizen.
We laid the remains away to rest in the Fostoria cemetery
till the general reunion."
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1223 |
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A. E. SMITH, carriage manufacturer and dealer,
is a native of New York State, born Mar. 25, 1850, at
Newburg. He resided in that town until twenty-six
years old, learning and working at the trade of wagon-maker,
which he followed in Newburg some four or five years.
He then went to Hornellsville, N. Y., and various other
places throughout the State, and, coming west, worked at
Cleveland, whence he came to Tontogany in July, 1875.
Mr. Smith remained he went to Van Wert, Ohio,
staying there about two years. On Mar. 1, 1878, he
came to Weston, and engaged in business for himself, succeeding in building up a very substantial trade, and he has
an extensive stock of carriages, wagons and harness.
Our subject was married in Grand Rapids, Ohio, Apr.
19, 1877, to Miss Emma Yost, a daughter of Peter Yost. They
have no children. Mr. Smith has two brothers:
William P.,
an engineer in Weston, and Charles A., a salesman in our
subject's factory. All the three brothers are Democrats in
politics.
Eli Smith, the father, was a farmer, who came from New
York State in 1880, and settled in Ohio. Politically he was
a Democrat. He was married on Jan. 18, 1848, to Miss
Hannah E. Fergueson, of Newburg, Orange Co., New York.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 804 |
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CHARLES W. SMITH,
one of the energetic and progressive farmers of Montgomery
township, resides upon the well-improved farm which he owns
in Section 18. There he has spent his entire life, his
birth having occurred on the place Nov. 2, 1855, and since
old enough he has devoted his attention to its improvement
and cultivation with most excellent results. He is
honored and respected by the entire community, which looks
upon him as one of its most wide awake farmers and model
citizens.
Thomas Smith, the father of our subject,
was born Mar. 11, 1823, in East Union township, Wayne Co.,
Ohio, and was the eldest son and third child of Charles
and Elizabeth (Witherspoon) Smith, who had located in
that county about 1818. Charles was the son of
Thomas Smith, who was born in Maryland, in
which State the family had been founded in America, but he
spent most of his life in Pennsylvania, where his death
occurred. It was in April, 1834, that the grandfather
of our subject arrived in Montgomery township, Wood county,
where he built a cabin in Section 8, but most of his land
was in the northwest quarter of Section 17. He brought
with him three of his children - Sarah, Thomas
and Samuel, and after his home was prepared, returned
and brought the remainder of the family, in June following.
Later he built a log house upon his land in Section 17,
where he died at the age of fifty-eight years, having at
that time 160 acres, and leaving his widow and family
comfortably provided for. He was a man of ordinary
build, but was never robust on ac count of an accident in
early life. He was one of the representative pioneers
of the township, and a stalwart Democrat it politics.
Mrs. Smith lived to be nearly ninety years of
age, and at her death was buried by the side of her husband
in West Millgrove cemetery. All of her children were
living at that time, and attended her funeral. They
are as follows: Sarah, widow of William A. Pryor,
of Prairie Depot, Wood county; Nancy, widow of
Hosea Henry, of Perry township, this county;
Thomas, father of our subject; Samuel, of
Montgomery township; Charles, of Milton township,
Wood county; and Elizabeth, wife of David
Lusk, of Prairie Depot.
Thomas Smith was quite small when he
accompanied his parents to this county, where, during his
youth, he experienced all the trials and difficulties of
pioneer life. Schools had not yet been established,
and his education was therefore quite meager. He
remained at home until his marriage, in Montgomery township,
Feb. 24, 1847, to Miss Jane McGill, who
was a native of Scotland, born near Glasgow, June 9, 1823.
When ten years old she came with her father, John
McGill, to the United States. where the parents died of
cholera soon afterward, at Tiffin, Ohio. She then made
her home with a Mr. McDowell, of Carey, Ohio,
until fourteen years of age, when she came to Montgomery
township, making her home here with her sister Mary,
wife of Thomas Adams, until her marriage.
The parents of our subject began housekeeping upon the
same farm where he now resides, in a small log house that
stood just north of his present home. There they lived
until called from this life, the mother dying Aug. 18, 1874,
and the father Mar. 29, 1892. Their remains were
interred at West Millgrove, Ohio. Their family
comprised the following children: Mary, the wife of
Daniel Hile, of Montgomery township; Charles W.,
subject of this sketch; Ellen, now Mrs. W. G.
Lawhead, of Portage township, Wood county; and Ida,
wife of Stephen Morgan, of Montgomery
township. In his political views the father was a
Republican, and he was an up right, honorable man, one who
had the respect of all who knew him.
The district schools afforded our subject his
educational advantages. Being the only son he early
became familiar with the duties that fall to the lot of an
agriculturist, and his entire life has been passed upon the
old family homestead, which he purchased of the other heirs.
On Mar. 30, 1879, in Montgomery township, was celebrated the
marriage of and Miss Edna Hastings, a native of
that township, and a daughter of Robert Hastings.
She passed away Aug. 30, 1880, and was laid to rest in the
cemetery at West Millgrove. In politics Mr. Smith
is a Republican, with no aspirations for office. He is
largely interested in any movement that is for the
improvement of the township and county, or that will elevate
or benefit the people among whom he lives.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 871 |
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DAVID SMITH
is an industrious, energetic man, and all that he has in
life he owes to his own efforts. Dependent upon his
own resources from an early age, he has made the best of his
opportunities, and now, as the reward of his labor, has a
comfortable home. Mr. Smith is a native
of Pennsylvania, his birth having occurred in Perry county,
Apr. 4, 1836. His father, Jacob Smith,
was born in the Keystone State, July 8, 1797, and was a
farmer by occupation. In Perry county he was married,
Apr. 1, 1820, to Anna Snyder, who was there
born, June 27, 1798. They located on a farm of fifty
acres, in Perry county, and in 1837 came, by team, to Ohio,
the father purchasing an eighty-acre tract of timber land in
Jackson township, Crawford county. He built a
hewed-log cabin, and continued the development of his land.
His wife died Sept. 9, 1838, and on July 12, 1840, he
married Miss Ruth Shorts, who died in
August, 1852. Mr. Smith remained on the
home farm until 1864, when he sold out, and removed to Wood
county. Here, in Jackson township, with his daughter,
he purchased one hundred acres of land, and there lived
until his death, on July 5, 1883. To our subject’s
parents were born ten children: Susanna, who was born
Oct. 20, 1822, and died Sept. 21, 1882; Elizabeth,
who was born Dec. 25, 1823, and died in childhood; John,
who was born Mar. 13, 1825, and died in childhood; Joseph,
who was born Feb. 9, 1827, and was never heard from after he
left home in early manhood; Maria, who was born May
25, 1828, and is the wife of Jerry Schwartz,
of Morrow county, Ohio; Caroline, who was born June
14, 1830, and is the widow of Frank Rentz, of
Bowling Green, Ohio; Catherine, born Dec. 30, 1831,
widow of Henry Parr, of Crawford county;
Jonas, who was born Aug. 9, 1833, and died in childhood;
David, who was born Apr. 4, 1836; John
Jacob, who was born in September, 1838, and died in
early life. The children born of Jacob
Smith's second marriage are Samuel, born July 16,
1841, a carpenter of North Baltimore, Ohio; Anna
Eliza, born Nov. 6, 1842, wife of Otha Castle,
of Gallia, Ohio; Sarah, born May 2, 1844, wife or
John Speaker, of Toledo, Ohio; and Amanda
Ruth, who was born Oct. 9, 1846, became the wife of
Peter Ockerman, and died Feb. 22, 1878.
Our subject was only a year old when brought by his
parents to Ohio. He did not attend school until
fifteen years of age; but, largely through his own efforts
obtained a practical education, and is now well informed.
He is a capable carpenter, having learned the trade himself,
and until twenty-seven years of age aided in the work of the
home farm. He was married July 21, 1863, and on the
31st of August, 1864, brought his little family to Wood
county, purchasing eighty acres of timber land in Henry
township. He has since ditched, fenced and improved
this place, and in the midst of the well-tilled fields now
stands a large and substantial residence and good barns.
The first home, however, was a log cabin, which was replaced
by a more modern structure in 1888.
Mr. Smith first married Hannah
Magner, who died on the homestead farm May 8, 1879, at
the age of forty-one. They had the following named
children - Ortha Elma, born July 10, 1864,
wife of William Henning, of Henry township;
Charles Wesley, born Mar. 22, 1866; Clara
Belle, born June 16, 1868; Minerva Ellen,
born Oct. 22, 1870, now the wife of Albert Phoenix,
of Bowling Green; Albert A., who was born Oct. 15,
1872, and died Feb. 12, 1874; Bertha I., born June 2,
1875; and Lettie Cyria, born Jan. 4, 1879.
For his second wife, Mr. Smith married Leah
Ronk, the wedding taking place in Crawford county,
Sept. 21, 1880. The lady was born Nov. 23, 1835, in
Dauphin county, Penn., and is a daughter of Jacob and
Rebecca Ronk. Her mother is still living.
Her father died when she was fourteen years of age.
Mr. Smith has always followed
carpentering in connection with farming, and is not only the
architect and builder of his home, but has made almost all
of the furniture. He still has in use the cook stove
which his father used throughout his life, and a water pail
which his father purchased in 1820. In the United
Brethren Church, of which Church all his children, save one
(who belongs to the Disciples Church) are members, he is an
active worker, and has been a reader of the Telescope,
the Church paper, for forty-eight years, while he has read
the Bible completely through seven times. His life has
been an honorable, up right one, and all who know him esteem
him highly for his genuine worth.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 889 |
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EDSON K. SMITH,
one of the most extensive agriculturists of Henry township,
is also one of the youngest to achieve prominence in that
line of work, and his management of the 400 acres which he
has under cultivation would do credit to a man of fifty
years of experience. He was born in Eagle township,
Hancock Co., Ohio, July 21, 1865, the only son of Jacob
B. and Eliza J. (Helms) Smith. His education was
begun in the district schools near his home, and he
supplemented this rudimentary instruction by a course in the
Normal School at Ada, Ohio, and in 1887 enjoyed still better
advantages in Findlay College. From an earnest student
he became a successful teacher, as is evident from the fact
that for twenty-one months he was employed in the same
school where he received his own elementary training.
All who are familiar with the profession will recognize the
difficulties which he must have overcome in the place.
where his pupils were among his own immediate acquaintances;
success, there, being a test of personal worth as well as of
ability as a teacher. He afterward taught successfully
in Wood county for some time.
On Sept. 30, 1888, Mr. Smith married
Miss Adda L. Hartman, who was born in Crawford county,
Ohio, Jan. 8, 1868. Her parents, J. N. and Mary E.
Hartman, removed later to Allen township, Hancock
county, and she was educated in the Van Buren High School.
The young couple began their married life at the Smith
homestead, where they remained five years. Mar. 22,
1893, they came to Wood county and took up their abode upon
a tract of eighty acres which they had previously purchased
in Section 17, Henry township. Since Apr. 1, 1895,
Mr. Smith has rented the farm of 320 acres
belonging to the Fellers estate, and operates
the two properties with marked ability. In politics
Mr. Smith is a Democrat, and in religious faith
he and his wife adhere to the doctrines of the
Predestinarian Baptists, but they are not members of any
Church.
The late Jacob B. Smith, our subject's father,
was born Oct. 21, 1841, in Adams township, Seneca Co., Ohio.
He was a man of remark able intellect, and, from 1871, was a
preacher in the Baptist Church, although he was indebted to
no man for a livelihood, working in early years as a
blacksmith, carpenter and farmer. He left a good
estate in Hancock county, and in his will his son was
appointed executor. Politically he supported the Democratic
party, and in various township offices he proved his
efficiency and trust worthiness. On Aug. 10, 1864, he
married his first wife, our subject’s mother, who departed
this life July 9, 1873, leaving three children, Edson K.,
the eldest; Laura I., now Mrs. F. M. Hartman;
and Nellie I., who died Apr. 10, 1881. On Dec.
13, 1874, the father married a second wife, Miss
Evaline Barnd, and of this union five children
were born, of whom, two, Mary O. and Elva
J., are the only survivors. They reside with their
widowed mother in Hancock county. The father's death
occurred under circumstances of peculiar sadness. He
had been in Cleveland to undergo treatment for fibroid
tumors, and an operation had been performed upon them, and
while on his way home, May 29, 1896, he took inflammation of
the brain, and died at Fremont, Ohio, among entire
strangers.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 933 |
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FRED M. SMITH,
one of the most progressive and scientific of our
agricultural workers, is a leading citizen of Montgomery
township, and a veteran of the Civil War.
Patriotism flows in his blood as a heritage from a hero
of the Revolutionary war, his grand father, Conrad
Smith, a native of New York, having served eight years
on special duty. He was at Valley Forge during the
historic winter, and carried to his grave two bullets, one
British and the other Indian. The Government gave him
160 acres of land in western Pennsylvania, but his last
years were spent in Portage county, Ohio, where he died at
the age of fifty-five. He reared a large family, among
whom was a son Michael, our subject's father, who was
born in Pennsylvania Feb. 22, 1800, and was only a child
when his parents moved to eastern Ohio. As may be
supposed his educational opportunities there were not of the
best. He was married in eastern Ohio to Miss
Elizabeth Hemminger, who was born in Pennsylvania
Nov. 19, 1809, daughter of Andrew and
Elizabeth (Yunkman) Hemminger. In
the latter part of the “thirties " Michael Smith
came to Wood county, where he entered forty acres in Section
5, Montgomery township, the last entry in the section.
The land was in its wild state, and he built a log house and
lived through the usual experiences of a pioneer farmer.
He was small of stature, but was robust and free from ills,
and when sixty-five years old walked to Prairie Depot to
vote; he was a Democrat, and never failed to support his
convictions, but he was not an office seeker. He and
his wife were members of the Lutheran Church. His
death occurred Apr. 15, 1869, and she survived him until May
27, 1880, their mortal remains being consigned to earth near
Bradner, Ohio. They had six children, of whom
Conrad enlisted in Company A, 100th O. V. I., and died
at Andersonville in May, 1854; Moses resides in
Portage township; Ann married Clark
Flaugher, and died in Bloom township; Fred M. is
the subject of this sketch; Aaron is a resident of
Portage township.
Mr. Smith was born at the old farm Dec.
4, 1844, and during his lifetime that locality has undergone
a wonderful transformation. The old log school house,
known as the “Hill School house," was the first that he
attended, and his own inferior opportunities have made him
desire better advantages for the children of this day.
His time was spent at home assisting upon the farm until
Nov. 19, 1861, when he enlisted in Company C, 72nd O. V. I.,
under Capt. Snyder. His first battle was
at Shiloh, and he took part in all the engagements of his
regiment until he was captured, at Guntown, Miss., June 12,
1864; he was sent to various prisons - Mobile, Andersonville
where be contracted gangrene, and Milan, Ga. - and in the
latter part of November was paroled at Savannah. In
December he returned home on furlough, and was discharged
Feb. 14, 1865, from further service. He was wounded at
Vicksburg, and lost sight of his left eye. After his
return home he worked for his father as his health
permitted, and after the death of his parents he bought the
interests of the other heirs, and now owns, the original
homestead. In all, he has 100 acres in Montgomery and
Freedom townships, and as a farmer he is noted for his good
business qualities and systematic management, while his
neatness and love of order are shown in every part of his
estate. He is gifted with fine mechanical ability, and
has worked at various trades, including that of painting,
and he also clerked for one year at Pemberville, Ohio.
On Mar. 2, 1880, Mr. Smith was married in
Montgomery township to Miss Eliza Adams, a native of
Sandusky county, Ohio, who was born Jan. 22, 1864, the
daughter of William and Christina (Smith) Adams.
Four children brightened their comfortable home - Chester
F., born Nov. 20, 1880; Elsie E., June 9, 1882;
Chauncey A., Jan. 11, 1887; and Archie F.,
Jan. 19, 1892. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are not
Church members, but they contribute to the support of
different denominations, and take a generous interest in all
progressive movements. Possessing a keen and active
intellect, and a good memory, Mr. Smith has
made himself familiar with much good literature, and is
well-informed upon the questions of the day. While in
Andersonville prison he voted for Abraham Lincoln,
and has ever since been a Republican of the stanchest sort,
but, he has always declined any overtures looking to
official position. He is an active member of the I. O.
O. F.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 912 |
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G. W. SMITH,
a well-known farmer of Plain township,Wood county, comes of
good old Revolutionary stock, his great-grandfathers on both
sides of the family having fought and died in the struggle
of the colonies for liberty, the one being killed at the
battle of Brandywine, and the other at the battle of
Trenton.
The parents of our subject were George and Mary (Wirts)
Smith, the former being born in Pennsylvania in 1791,
and dying in Summit county, Ohio, in 1854. The mother
was a native of New Jersey, born in 1795, and died in Summit
county in 1874. They were members of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, and the father followed farming as an
occupation. He was a Democrat, and a loyal citizen.
The parental family comprised seven children, namely:
Malinda, who married Joseph Hall, and died in
Kanas; J. J., a physician, who resided at Akron,
Ohio, and practiced there many years, but died Dec. 7, 1884;
J. B., who was assistant surgeon in the 14th O. V.
I., and died at Nashville, Tenn.; Hannah, who married
W. C. Smith and died at Rock Island, Ill.; Thomas,
who was killed accidentally in Missouri; G. W., the
subject of this sketch; and Margaret, the wife of
L. M. Newton, residing in Kansas.
G. W. Smith was born in Summit county, Ohio,
Sept. 26, 1826, was educated in Akron, Ohio, under the
superintendence of Gen. Leggett, and lived at
home until twenty-one years old, when he went to California.
There he was taken ill with typhoid fever, and, after thirty
days unconsciousness, had but partly recovered from that
terrible disease, when dread cholera broke out, and he was
seized with that. He fortunately escaped with his
life, and, strange to say, for twenty-eight years afterward
did not have a day's illness. In the spring of 1853
Mr. Smith took passage for Australia, reaching
there in July, and for three years was engaged in mining in
that country. He then decided to return home, and came
by way of England, landing at Bristol, and stopping at
London and many of the principal cities in Europe, and,
being, in all, two hundred and eleven days, and traveling
about 25,000 miles on the water before he reached the United
States. He says, these were the happiest days of his
life.
Mr. Smith finally settled in Wood county, Ohio,
and in 1857 was married to Miss Matilda Eaton, who
was born in Ashland county, Ohio, Aug. 10, 1829. Of
this union three children have been born: Era G.,
born June 24, 1866, is the wife of J. W. Le Galley,
and has two children, Harry and Marguerite;
Carl L., born Mar. 11, 1868, was married Feb. 6, 1895,
to Miss Gertrude Hopkins, of Brownhelm
township, Lorain Co., Ohio, who was born Jan. 20, 1871 (he
was educated at the High School in Bowling Green, and at Ada
Normal School, and at present is assessor of Plaintown
ship); Lulu E., born Mar. 3, 1874, is at home with
her parents.
Mr. Smith is engaged in general farming
and stock raising, and is a man of good business ability and
of progressive ideas. He is a Democrat in politics,
and is highly esteemed as a loyal citizen and good neighbor,
who wants justice to all and special privileges to none.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 655 |
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GEORGE W. SMITH,
a farmer of Plain town ship, was born in Monroeville, Huron
Co., Ohio, Dec. 9, 1847. Daniel, the father of
our subject, was born in New York, and while still young
came west, and located at Monroeville, where he bought 160
acres of land, which he built upon and improved. He
was united in marriage with Miss Fanny
Phillips, and five children were born of this union,
namely: Hannah, the wife of Philip Kitchen,
of Plain township; Judson D., a farmer of Middleton
township; Phoebe, who married D. D. Johnston,
of Toledo; George, the subject of this sketch; and
one who died in infancy. In 1851, Mr. Smith
went to California, and never returned. Mrs.
Smith was married again, this time to R. Winton,
and four children were born to them: Millie, wife of
Calvin Fox; Josiah, of Toledo; Eli, a
farmer living in Plain township; and one who died in
infancy. Mrs. Winton, formerly Mrs.
Smith, died in 1882.
The subject of this sketch was educated in Norwalk,
Huron county, and remained on the old homestead until 1871,
when he bought eighty acres of land in Plain township, on
which he built a house, barn, etc., and making all necessary
improvements. In 1871 he was married to Miss
Anna Mears, a daughter of William Mears,
of Plain township, and six children were born to them.
Daniel W., born Nov. 25, 1873, at tended the high school
of Bowling Green, and works on the homestead; Phoebe,
born Mar. 8, 1875, married George Wilson, a
blacksmith; Frank, born May 25, 1876, attends school
at Haskins; Florence and Helen, twins, born
June 3, 1878 - Helen died in infancy, and Florence
is attending school at Union Hill; Ralph, born Apr.
2, 1893. Mr. Smith was school director
and supervisor for six years. He is a Republican in
politics, and is a member of the Baptist Church, the I. O.
O. F., Roché-de-Boeuf Lodge No. 530, of Haskins, and of the
Rebekah Lodge No. 387.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 858 |
|
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GEORGE W. SMITH,
having spent his entire life in this county, faithfully
performing his duties of citizenship, well deserves
representation in this history. He was born in Weston
township, Dec. 5, 1856. The grandfather was a native of
Germany, and the name was originally spelled Schmitt. When a
young man he crossed the Atlantic, and was married in this
country. Asa Smith, father of our
subject, was born in West Virginia, in 1814, and in his
early manhood left that State for Wood county, Ohio,
becoming one of the pioneer settlers of Weston township.
Here he married Nancy McKee, who was of Irish
line age. They located on a farm of eighty acres which
he had secured, and there the mother died in 1857. Some
years later the father wedded Mariette Ellsworth,
a native of Wood county, by whom he had seven children.
The children of the first marriage were John, who
died at the age of forty-five; Melissa, wife of
Solon Davis; Ann, wife of John
Bortel, of Milton township; Warren, a member of
Company F, 86th O. V. I., who died at Cumberland Gap, Ky.,
during the war, and was buried by his father, who went South
in order to perform that last office; Celia, wife of
Benjamin Bortel, of Weston township; and
Emma, wife of William Haight, of Ironton,
Ohio. The children of the second marriage are
Deborah, wife of Silas Barton, of Weston
town ship; Lucinda, wife of Henry Webb,
of Toledo; Minnie, wife of R. S. Jenkins, of
Weston town ship; Ida, wife of Daniel Doyle,
of Toledo; Hattie, wife of Ralph Poland,
of Weston; Asa, of Weston; and Nettie, at
home.
Mr. Smith, of this sketch, received
meager educational privileges, attending school only through
the winter season, for during the summer months his services
were needed on the home farm. At the age of sixteen he
began working by the day as a farm hand, and since that time
has been dependent upon his own resources for a livelihood.
By his marriage, which occurred in Weston township, Oct. 20,
1881, he secured, as a companion and helpmeet on life's
journey, Miss Wilda Dewese, who was
born in Weston township, Nov. 27, 1861, a daughter of
Jesse and Ellen Dewese. They have two sons -
Clarence, born in October, 1882, and Roy, born
Nov. 7, 1888.
At the time of his marriage, Mr. Smith
located upon his present farm of 100 acres, which was given
him by his maternal grandmother when he was fifteen years of
age. In 1884 he replaced the log cabin by a more
modern residence. He carries on general farming, and
now has a well improved place. He is industrious and
energetic, and his finely-developed farm is evidence of his
careful supervision. His political support is given to
the Republican party, but his entire attention is devoted to
agricultural interests.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1054 |
George W. Smith |
GEORGE W. SMITH,
a leading and prosperous farmer residing in Section 28, Troy
township, has witnessed almost the entire development of
this region, as he was born in that township in 1837, and
has always made his home there. His father, Daniel
Smith, was a native of the eastern part of
Pennsylvania, where he was reared to manhood, and, on going
to the western part of the State, there wedded Mary
Mixter, by whom he had seven children, who in order
of birth were as follows: Eliza died in Troy
township, in 1891; John makes his home there, now at
the age of seventy-four years; Aaron is married, and
lives in Webster township, Wood county; and Mrs.
Sarah Chamberlain, Mrs. Catherine
Chamberlain, Mrs. Amanda Dennis
and George W., are all of Troy township. In
Pennsylvania the father owned a small farm of twenty acres,
which he operated in connection with work at the black
smith's trade; but in 1834 he came to Ohio and located in
Troy township, Wood county, on a tract of government land.
To clearing and improving his place he then devoted his time
and attention, until his death, in 1848. His wife, who
survived him several years, also died in Troy township, on
the old homestead, in 1863.
George W. Smith obtained such an education as
the district schools of Troy township afforded at that early
date, and was reared on the home farm. Agriculture has
been his life work, and he now owns a highly cultivated
tract of 160 acres, which yield to him a ready return for
the care and labor expended upon it. He is entirely in
dependent of party lines in politics, his only criterion in
such matters being whether any measure is for the benefit of
the county in which he lives, or calculated to elevate
society at large.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1104 |
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H. E. SMITH.
The joys of youth have been so often dwelt upon in prose and
verse, that the later years of life are looked upon by the
average person as necessary less happy than those of
childhood; those who realize the ripe spiritual
development and peaceful outlook of one who has learned
life's lessons, and is waiting for the promotion which is
sure to follow, would not exchange the latter state for the
first. And when wealth has added its possibilities for
wide usefulness in various fields, there are but few in deed
who would hesitate to pronounce the maturer life as likely
to furnish fuller, more constant, and more rational
enjoyment, than the happiest Childhood knows.
The subject of our sketch, a well-known retired
agriculturist of Risingsun, was born in Orange county, N.
Y., Mar. 7, 1824. His father, Timothy Smith,
was also a native of that county, and for some years was a
farmer there. He married Miss Catherine
Tier, who was born in New York City, and moved to
Orange county, with her parents when she was eleven years
old. In 1831 Timothy Smith came to Ohio
with his family by canal and lake, and entered 200 acres of
land-in Big Spring township, Seneca county, at the site of
the present village of Alvada. The land office was at
that time located at Bucyrus. He made many
improvements, and at the time of his death, when he was aged
seventy years, he had a fine farm. His wife lived to
be over eighty-six years old. They had thirteen
children, of whom eleven lived to adult age: Eliza,
who married William Boucher, and died at
Powell's Creek, Ohio; William, a resident of Alvada,
Ohio; John, who lives in Defiance county, and has
been twice married; Almira Russell; H. E.,
our subject; Elizabeth, Mrs. Samuel Fry, of
Fostoria; Catherine, who married William
Bates, and lives near Tiffin; George, of Arcadia,
Ohio; Clarissa, who married Michael Fry, and
died in Fostoria; Franklin, a resident of South Bend,
Ind.; Francis, who lives in Fostoria; and a daughter
who lives in Defiance county.
Mr. Smith was only seven years old when his
parents came to this State, and his youth was spent in the
hard toil of a pioneer farmer's life. As the older
boys left home his father needed his help, and he sacrified
his education rather than see his parents suffer. He
never at tended school, not even to learn his "A B Cs," but
as he fully realized the value of the opportunities of which
he was deprived, he studied alone, often sitting up at night
in front of the big fireplace with his books. As the
years passed on, and he might perhaps have gone to school
occasionally, the humiliation of beginning in a class with
small children prevented him from making the trial, so that
his knowledge is entirely self-acquired. At twenty-two
he left home to make his own way, his worldly possessions
being limited to a suit of clothes worth about $10; but he
had, however, a capital of ambition, energy and common-sense
which served him well.
When twenty-three years of age he married his first
wife, Miss Lydia Fry, and their only son, Hiram,
grew to manhood, entered the army during the Civil war, and
was captured by the enemy, and so nearly starved, that when
he was released, and food given him, his enfeebled system
failed to rally, and he expired. His mother died in
Seneca county, and two years later, Mr. Smith married
Miss Anor Bates, who was born in Stark county, Ohio,
July 24, 1830, the daughter of Andrew and Anor (Homan)
Bates. Five children were born to this union:
Oliver, a farmer in Montgomery township; Cinderella,
the wife of Rev. Tobias Koogle, of Findlay, Ohio;
twins, Emma E. (now Mrs. Lee Garns, of
Sandusky county), and Sarah A. (Mrs. Peter Ushel,
of Risingsun); and William, who lives in Scott
township, Sandusky county. Mrs. Smith has been
a great help to her husband in the battle of life, as he is
the first to acknowledge.
The first land that Mr. Smith ever owned was
forty acres in Big Spring township, Seneca county, and later
he bought eighty acres in Scott township, Sandusky county,
which he sold, to buy 112 acres in the same township, where
he lived until his removal to Risingsun, in the fall of
1881. He has retired from active business, but takes
an active and generous interest in every worthy public
movement, and he and his wife be long to the Radical U. B.
Church, in which he has held many offices. As a
contributor he has been very liberal, giving over $1,100 to
one Church. It would be difficult to find a more
devout Christian and concientious man, and he is held
in high esteem by all who know him. He has never been
a politician or office seeker, and, although formerly a
Democrat, now votes for the “Christian Party.”
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 834 |
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ISAAC SMITH, a
prominent farmer of Webster Township, was born Feb. 27,
1831, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Abraham Smith,
his father, was a native of the same state, born in 1806. He
was married in 1826 to Miss Elizabeth Shutt,
and in 1837 moved to Crawford County, Ohio, where they spent
the remainder of their lives upon a farm. Ten children were
born to them: Josiah; Urias; Isaac, our
subject; Eliza, the wife of Andrew Deppler;
Lavinia, deceased; Simon, deceased; Matilda,
deceased; William, deceased; Caroline, the
wife of George White, of Galion, Ohio;
Sullena, wife of John Hayes, of Sulphur
Springs, Ohio.
Mr. Smith's early
life was passed mainly in Crawford County, where he attended
school during the winter months, and in summer helped to
clear and cultivate his father's land. In 1860 he came to
Wood County, and bought land in Webster Township, which he
has improved and made into a fine farm, with a dwelling
house costing $1,800, and barns built upon modern
principles. He enlisted early in the Civil War in
Company F, 144th O. V, I. (Capt. Cook and
Col. Miller commanding), and served one hundred
days, receiving his discharge at Columbus, Aug. 24, 1864.
On Oct. 21, 1858, Mr. Smith was married at
Bucyrus, to Miss Susan Wolf, a native
of that place, born Oct. 11 1836. She was one of the
eleven children of Michael Wolf, a well known
citizen of Crawford County, a shoemaker, mason and farmer by
occupation. Two children were born to this union; (1)
Mary E., born in Crawford County, Mar. 27, 1860,
married William Phillips, and has two
children, Elnorah and Walter. (2) John
Andrew, born Jan. 27, 1862, died Feb. 1, 1865.
The family attend the Presbyterian Church, and take a
prominent part in various lines of social and religious
life. Mr. Smith's industry, thrift, and sound
business judgment give him a high standing among those who
know him. In politics he is a Democrat.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J. H.
Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 883
Contributed By:
Bob Weaver |
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J. E. SMITH,
the senior partner of the firm of Smith & Wineland,
well-known brick and tile manufacturers of Bloomdale, is one
of the representative self-made men, and belongs to a
prominent family. He is an Ohioan by birth, of Scotch
descent, and first saw the light in Logan county, July 12,
1858. He came to Wood county with his parents, W.
E. and Margaret Smith, when he was but seven years old,
and passed through the ordinary experiences of the boys of
that time, with an abundance of work, and but limited
educational privileges. The improved schools of today
have no firmer friend than Mr. Smith, his own
deprivations giving him a keen appreciation of their value.
Up to the age of twenty-one he remained at home, except for
two seasons on the farm of Thomas and Jerry Loman, in
Perry township. In the fall of 1879 he went to Page
county, Iowa, and, after working for one year on a farm, he
bought a team and rented a farm, starting in business on his
own account. He returned home, and on Apr. 24, 1882,
was married, in Bloom township, to Miss Dillie
Loman, youngest daughter of Richard Loman,
a pioneer of Perry township. For two years after this
happy event, he clerked in the store of Emerson
Bros., of Bloomdale, where he bought a home. In
the fall of 1885 he went to Iowa again, and rented a farm
for two years, in Page county, expecting there to make his
home; but in October, 1887, yielding to the desires of
others, he came back to Bloomdale, and resumed his work in
the store. Early in 1889 he bought a one-third
interest in the Bloomdale Brick and Tile Works, the firm
being Stacy, Smith & Co., and in 1891 he
became a half owner, with Mr. Wineland.
This business has prospered under his energetic management,
and he has engaged in other enterprises at the same time,
helping to organize the Bloomdale Building & Loan
Association, and serving as its first president, a position
which he declined the second year. He is a stockholder
in the Bloomdale Creamery Co., and managed it in 1895.
He is also a stockholder in the Lakeside Encampment, at
Lakeside, Ohio. It is said that it is the really busy
people who can find time to do things, and Mr.
Smith furnishes an example to support the rule, as he is
an active worker in the Radical United Brethren Church, a
trustee, class leader, and superintendent of its Sunday
school. He is a liberal contributor to Church work,
and to all measures designed to benefit the community.
His pleasant home is brightened by two children: Hazel,
now eleven years old, and Ruth, aged two years.
In February, 1895, Mr. Smith met with a
sad accident. While feeding a chopmill at the works,
on a very cold morning, his right hand, on which he wore a
glove, was caught, necessitating its amputation one inch
above the wrist. Mr. Smith is one of the
active managers of the Prohibition party in this vicinity,
having left the Republican fold in 1888. He has been
secretary of the county organization, and in 1894 was the
candidate for county recorder. He was elected village
councilman for the one-year term, in the spring of 1891, and
in 1894 was elected for three years, in which position his
abilities and qualifications for righteous government are
manifest. In the recent Presidential campaign, Mr.
Smith took great interest; he is a strong advocate of
the free coinage of silver, and was a candidate for
Presidential elector on the National ticket.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1137 |
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J. F. SMITH,
the senior partner of the firm of Smith & Wineland,
well-known brick and tile manufacturers of Bloomdale, is one
of the representative self-made men, and belongs to a
prominent family. He is an Ohioan by birth, of Scotch
descent, and first saw the light in Logan county, July 12,
1858. He came to Wood county with his parents, W.
E. and Margaret Smith, when he was but seven years old,
and passed through the ordinary experiences of the boys of
that time, with an abundance of work, and but limited
educational privileges. The improved schools of to day
have no firmer friend than Mr. Smith, his own
deprivations giving him a keen appreciation of their value.
Up to the age of twenty-one he remained at home, except for
two seasons on the farm of Thomas and Jerry Loman, in
Perry township. In the fall of 1879 he went to Page
county, Iowa, and, after working for one year on a farm, he
bought a team and rented a farm, starting in business on his
own account. He returned home, and on Apr. 24, 1882,
was married, in Bloom township, to Miss Dillie Loman,
youngest daughter of Richard Loman, a pioneer of
Perry township. For two years after this happy event,
he clerked in the store of Emerson Bros., of
Bloomdale, where he bought a home. In the fall of 1885
he went to Iowa again, and rented a farm for two years, in
Page county, expecting there to make his home; but in
October, 1887, yielding to the desires of others, he came
back to Bloomdale, and resumed his work in the store.
Early in 1889 he bought a one-third interest in the
Bloomdale Brick and Tile Works, the firm being Stacy,
Smith & Co., and in 1891 he became a half owner, with
Mr. Wineland. This business has
prospered under his energetic management, and he has engaged
in other enterprises at the same time, helping to organize
the Bloomdale Building & Loan Association, and serving as
its first president, a position which he declined the second
year. He is a stockholder in the Bloomdale Creamery
Co., and managed it in 1895. He is also a stockholder
in the Lakeside Encampment, at Lakeside, Ohio. It is
said that it is the really busy people who can find time to
do things, and Mr. Smith furnishes an example
to support the rule, as he is an active worker in the
Radical United Brethren Church, a trustee, class leader, and
superintendent of its Sunday school. He is a liberal
contributor to Church work, and to all measures designed to
benefit the community. His pleasant home is brightened
by two children: Hazel, now eleven years old, and
Ruth, aged two years.
In February, 1895, Mr. Smith met with a
sad accident. While feeding a chopmill at the works,
on a very cold morning, his right hand, on which he wore a
glove, was caught, necessitating its amputation one inch
above the wrist. Mr. Smith is one of the
active managers of the Prohibition party in this vicinity,
having left the Republican fold in 1888. He has been
secretary of the county organization, and in 1894 was the
candidate for county recorder. He was elected village
councilman for the one-year term, in the spring of 1891, and
in 1894 was elected for three years, in which position his
abilities and qualifications for righteous government are
manifest. In the recent Presidential campaign, Mr.
Smith took great interest; he is a strong advocate of
the free coinage of silver, and was a candidate for
Presidential elector on the National ticket.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 902 |
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J. H. SMITH,
a retired agriculturist of Jerry City, was born Nov. 13,
1817, in Mifflin township, Richland county, on the “Black
Fork of the Mohegan river."
John H. Smith, his father, was born in Frederick
county, Md., in 1789, but he came to Ohio when a young man,
the family settling in Harrison county. During the war
of 1812 he, and a brother-in-law, went to Richland county,
and spent their time making improvements upon a tract of
land; they returned home for a supply of clothing, expecting
to be drafted, but while there peace was declared.
Mr. Smith was married in Harrison county to Miss
Elizabeth Keefer, also a native of Maryland, and soon
after moved to Richland county. Of their ten children
our subject was the second in order of birth, but the eldest
living, the first child, Margaret, having died in
Bloom township; Maria, who died in infancy; Jacob,
who died in 1859; Elizabeth, deceased wife of Asa
Brown, of Michigan; Solomon, still living;
Sarah A., who died in infancy; Mary A., deceased
wife of David Wirick, of Bloom township; and Ellen,
deceased, who married Abraham Myers.
Mr. Smith attended the district schools of his day,
such as they were, and, as the eldest son, found no lack of
employment at home, where he remained until his marriage,
Apr. 22, 1841, to Miss Sarah Wirick.
She was born Mar. 18, 1822, daughter of Henry and
Catherine (Spade) Wirick, early settlers of Richland
county. They began their housekeeping on land
belonging to his father, and their shanty, though rude in
construction, was clean, and their furniture good for the
time. On Nov. 1, 1849, Mr. Smith moved on his
eighty acres of land in Crane township, Wyandot county, all
of which was in its primitive state, and lived there for
over two years in true pioneer style. Game was plenty,
but do much hunting. Later they bought a tract of 160
acres of wild land, which they cleared and cultivated,
making a fine farm which they still own. He also has
seven oil wells in operation at the present time.
Mrs. Smith has been her husband's faithful helper
in all his efforts, and he takes manly pride in
acknowledging her share in his success. Five children
were born to them, all of whom are living: Mary
married William B. Woolsey, of Wyandot county;
Frank H. lives in Cedar county, Mo.; Lodemia
married S. P. Balliet, of Wyandot county; Samantha
married Samuel Suder, who died seven months later,
and she now resides with her parents; Almarine is the
wife of Samuel B. Bowman, of Wyandot county.
Although now advanced in years, Mr. Smith is
vigorous and well preserved, and still works occasionally by
way of exercise. Since Oct. 1, 1889, he has lived in
Jerry City, and he owns ninety-one acres of land near by.
He has never been a believer in unnecessary self-denial, and
while he has saved as he could, he has always lived
comfortably. He and his wife have been active members
of the M. E. Church for a number of years, and they take a
generous interest in the welfare of others, and in all
public movements. Politically, Mr. Smith is a
Democrat.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1165 |
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J. W. SMITH.
Prominent among the representative citizens, and the
respected and influential men, of Bloom township is found
this gentle man. He was born in Logan county, Ohio,
Oct. 22, 1855, and is the eldest child of William and
Margaret (Clanachan) Smith. He spent his boyhood
and youth after the manner of farmers’ sons, learning to
plow, sow and reap, and in the winter season attended the
public schools of the neighborhood. When quite small
he was brought by his parents to Wood county, and he
remained upon the home farm until the age of eighteen, when
he went to Fostoria, Ohio, and learned the carpenter's trade
with Israel Cramer, after which he worked as a
journeyman for several years. Later he became a
partner of Thomas G. Campbell in contract work, being
associated with that gentleman for about two years, when he
became connected with R. A. McKee for the same length
of time. For a year after his marriage he made his
home with his father in-law, during which time he was
preparing a home of his own on the forty-acre tract, where
he still lives, and which is now a well-improved farm.
In Bloom township, on Dec. 23, 1880, Mr. Smith
was united in marriage with Miss Mary A. Cotant. who
was born there Sept. 20, 1861, the fourth child in the
family of Charles Cotant. They have become the
parents of two daughters and one son - Mabel A., born
Nov. 2, 1882; Ethel M., born Sept. 20, 1889, and
James F., born Nov. 16, 1895.
On May 7, 1885, Mr. Smith joined Company H, 2d
O. N. G., and seven days later was made corporal; on Jan. 2,
1888, he was promoted to sergeant, and June 10, 1893, was
commissioned sergeant-major. On Jan. 12, 1894, he
re-enlisted for five years as sergeant-major. He is
well versed in military matters, and his command has often
received high mention for its excellent training. He
has won both a gold and a silver medal for good
marksmanship. His first Presidential vote was cast for
Rutherford B. Hayes, and since that time he
has supported the Republican party, taking an active
interest in its success and attending the county conventions
as a delegate. He has efficiently served as trustee of
his township, and in his Church relations be, his wife and
his elder daughter are members of the United Brethren
denomination, in which he is serving as trustee of the
Church and superintendent of the Sunday-school. A man
of the strictest integrity, Mr. Smith enjoys
the confidence of all, his word never being questioned.
He is a skilled mechanic, and, besides engaging in farming
and carpentering, he has also dealt extensively in slate for
roofing purposes, at Bloomdale.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1203 |
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JAMES SMITH,
deceased. The subject of this sketch, formerly
well-known citizen of Bowling Green, was born in the North
of Ireland in the year 1815. He came to America
when twenty years of age, and for two years lived in New
York City, but finally located at Little Falls, Herkimer
Co., N. Y., where he remained thirty years engaged in
merchant tailoring. He married native of Little Falls,
Miss Phally Dennis, who was born Aug.
15, 1824, the eldest daughter of Cornelius and
Betsy (Simmons) Dennis. They were
natives of Connecticut, but came to New York in early youth,
where they met and married. Mr. Dennis
was prominent resident of Little Falls, millwright by trade.
He lived to the age of eighty, but Mrs. Dennis
died at the age of forty years. Of their four
children, Mrs. Smith is now the only survivor.
The others were Thomas, resident of New York State;
Mary, who died in childhood, and Eleanor.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Smith continued to
reside at Little Falls, where children were born to them as
follows: Edmund, born June 30, 1847, died in
childhood; Clarissa, born July 20, 1849, who married
George West, and died June 19, 1872, leaving
one daughter, Mabel, now Mrs. Strouse, of
Fostoria, Ohio; George, born June 5, 1853, who
married Miss Maggie Tisseur, and died
Aug. 11, 1892, leaving three children - Floyd,
Laminne, and Marie; Julia A., born Mar.
29, 1858, who married Frank H. Boughton, of
Bowling Green, and has three boys, Walter, Solon
and LeRoy. Two great-grandchildren of Mr. and Mrs.
Smith - Phally and Clara Strouse -
live with their parents at Fostoria.
After thirty years of active business life at Little
Falls, Mr. Smith moved with his family to Bowling
Green, where he had made some profit able investments, and
spent the remainder of his days there in retirement.
Politically he was Democrat, and although he was never
politician, he took an intelligent interest in all public
movements. His death occurred in 1883, and since that
time Mrs. Smith has lived in her own home,
only two blocks from her daughter, Mrs. Boughton.
Her few remaining relatives take delight in her occasional
visits. member of the Presbyterian Church for twenty years;
but her age prevents her from taking an active part in
Church work.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 615 |
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JAMES J. SMITH.
The subject of this sketch is one of the oldest pioneers of
the county, and perhaps the oldest in Perrysburg township.
He was born in Johnstown, N. Y., Nov. 18, 1817, and was in
his seventeenth year when his parents came to Ohio. He
has, therefore, grown up with the country, and the wonderful
changes which have occurred during its growth and
development, have taken-place under his observation.
At that day many parts of this section were mere swamps
overgrown with grass and weeds, the forests, dense with
thick underbrush and teeming with wild animals, the home of
settlers, made in a little patch of clearing were “like
angels‘ visits," few and far between.
It is to such brave pioneers as this man and his
father, that this great State owes her present high standing
in the commonwealth. They are the men who literally
“blazed" the path for those less daring, who sought, in the
fertile lands of the West, that return for their
labors denied them in the more circumscribed and less easily
cultivated domains of the East. The debt of
gratitude, which the people of to-day owe to these hardy and
industrious early settlers, can never be repaid, but no
occasion should be lost in which to give them the credit due
their toils and sacrifices.
Mr. Smith was the thirteenth in a large
family of children born to John and Caroline (Griswold)
Smith, both members of old New England families.
The father was born in Woodstock, Mass., Aug. 23, 1764, and
his wife, Feb. 7, 1774. They were married Sept. 21,
1790, and came to Ohio, Sept. 15, 1835, locating on the
banks of the Maumee river in Perrysburg, where he died Mar.
1, 1842, his wife surviving him until Aug. 14, 1848.
Their farm comprised what is now the site of Lime City.
Of their family the following record is given: Mary,
born Aug. 14, 1791; Al1nira P., Aug. 7, 1793;
Caroline, May 31, 1795; John P., Dec. 12, 1797;
Lucius J., Nov. 21, 1800; Solomon, Apr. 14, 1802;
Harriet, Oct. 1, 1804; William, Nov. 23, 1807;
Sidney, Oct. 2, 1809; Henry G., and
Benjamin, twins, Mar. 26, 1812; and James Jay,
Nov. 18, 1817, our subject. The parents at one time
lived in Rutland, Vermont.
James Smith received his education in New
York, spending his boyhood days on a farm, and then learned
the cooper's trade. This he followed for twenty years,
and also carried on farming at the same time. He
made the first barrel that ever went into Pearl Mills, at
Maumee. He did much hard work on the farm, the ground
being swampy and at times covered with water; but years of
patient industry brought him his reward in rich harvests
from fertile fields, and a pleasant home where once stood
the virgin forests. He recalls many events of interest
of those early days, and remembers when the Maumee pike was
built. Mr. Smith is an
interesting talker, and, did space permit, many of his
stories of pioneer times would be of interest to our
readers, presenting, as they do, such vivid contrasts to the
history of to-day.
Our subject was married in Syracuse, N. Y., Dec. 23,
1840, to Miss Marana J. Barker, who was born in
Livingston county, N. Y., Dec. 6, 1820. Her parents moved to
Syracuse when she was six years old, and both died there,
the mother when forty years old, the father when ninety.
Of this union there were four children: (1) Sidney,
born Sept. 23, 1841, died when ten years old. (2)
Gustavus, a stone contractor, and a member of the
Michigan Stone Supply Co., of which he is also
superintendent, making his home in Detroit; he served in the
war from August, 1862, to May, 1865, as private,
sergeant-major, second lieutenant, and first lieutenant,
respectively, Companies D and E, 111th O. V. I.; he married
Miss Frances Woolson, of Syracuse, N.
Y., and they had one child, Herbert, born June 17,
1874, died in infancy. (3) Charles died when
four years old. (4) Kittie M. is
teaching school; she was educated in Perrysburg, was
principal of schools at Upper Sandusky for five years, and
held the same position at Defiance for three years, and in
Marion for four years, and now is principal of the high
school at Warsaw, Indiana.
Mr. Smith is a Jacksonian Democrat, and has been
trustee of his township; in the fall of 1895, he was
nominated by his party for representative, but declined on
account of his age. At one time he was an active
member of the old Fort Meigs Lodge, I. O. O. F. He has
been so long a resident of the community, and so prominent
in its affairs, that he is considered almost an oracle by
its citizens. A man of superior character, public
spirited, and ever ready to assist in all worthy
enterprises, he is one of the most highly respected
residents of Perrysburg township.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 914 |
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JOSHUA V. SMITH,
the oldest gentleman in Troy township, now makes his home in
Section 5. He was born in Bellefontaine, Logan Co.,
Ohio, on Oct. 5, 1819, and with his parents, Joshna and
Huldah (Alger) Smith, came to Perrysburg, Wood county,
as early as 1826. The settlements at that time were
widely scattered, the county was almost an unbroken forest,
a great deal of the land was covered with water, and the
work of civilization had scarcely begun. During the
seventy years of his residence here, he has watched the
wonderful changes that have taken place, and contributed his
share in the development and upbuilding.
His father was born and reared in Rhode Island, and at
the age of twenty years went to New York, where he met and
married Huldah Alger, whose birth occurred
near Albany, that State. In 1816, they emigrated
westward, locating in Ohio, and the following year made a
home at Bellefontaine; but the year 1826 found him a
resident of Perrysburg, where he engaged in the manufacture
of brick, and also worked at the mason's trade. He
removed to Troy township in 1832, locating near Stony Ridge,
on a arm for which he had traded property that he
owned in Perrysburg. He continued its
cultivation until his death. which occurred many years ago.
His wife survived him many years, dying on Jan. 31, 1879. In
their family were seven children, as follows: Lucy,
wife of Julius Blinn, of Toledo, Ohio;
Maria, who died in infancy; John Lee, who
died of cholera, July 27, 1854; Joshua V., of this
sketch; Jacob, who enlisted at Stony Ridge, in 1861,
for three years. in the 72nd O. V. I., and was accidentally
killed Jan. 7, 1865, by a limb falling from a tree; Mrs.
Elizabeth Van Camp, who died in Lemoyne, Wood county, in
1866; and Clarissa, wife of Samuel SHOOK
of Stony Ridge, Ohio.
The subject of this sketch was about seven years of age
when brought to Wood county, and secured his education in
the schools of Perrysburg. After leaving the school
room he spent his summers in farming, while during the
winter months for twenty years he bought furs for the firm
of Hollister & Blinn. He also engaged to
some extent in brick making. On the outbreak of the
Civil war he resolved to strike a blow in defense of the
Union, and was the first man to enlist in Troy township,
becoming a member of Company C, 21st 0. V. I. Aug. 29, 1861.
He was mustered in at Findlay, Ohio, and was made a wagoner
in the army of the Tennessee; but on account of illness was
honorably discharged Oct. 6, 1862. However, on July
22, 1863, he reenlisted, this time becoming a member of
Company L, 3d Ohio Cav., and was again assigned to the army
of the Tennessee. He participated in many engagements
in Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia, and after the close of
hostilities was discharged at Edgeville, Tenn., in August,
1865, with an army record of which he may justly be proud.
On returning to Troy township, he again resumed brick making
and farming.
In that township on Feb. 22, 1842, Mr. Smith
was united in marriage with Miss Mary Van
Camp, a native of Buffalo, Erie Co., N. Y., and a
daughter of Benjamin P. and Lorena (Walker) Van Camp,
who were also born in the Empire State. Her father was
a shoemaker by trade, and in 1836 removed to Lucas county,
Ohio; but the following year located on a farm in Troy
township, near Lemoyne. His death, how ever, occurred
near Bowling Green, Ohio, in 1875, and his wife was called
from this earth May 8, 1885. Their family consisted of
nine children: DeWitt, who died at Lemoyne, in 1886;
Mrs. Hannah R Utley, who died Nov. 19, 1884; Mary,
wife of our subject; Cornelius, of Bowling Green;
Harriet, who was the wife of George Reddick,
and died in Peru, Ind., in 1857; Henry, of Decatur,
Mich.; Mrs. Sarah Jolly, of Bowling
Green; Benjamin Franklin, of the same city; and Esther, who
died Apr. 19, 1879.
To Mr. and Mrs. Smith have been born seven
children, six of whom are still living. (1) Corwin H.
died of cholera in 1854, at the age of twelve years. (2)
Abram V., who now resides in East Toledo, Ohio, enlisted
in 1862, in the 21st O. V. I., was taken prisoner at
Chickamauga and confined in Andersonville, Libby.
Belle Isle and Florence, being incarcerated for seventeen
months and five days. During that time he endured all
privations of Southern prison life. After returning
home he lost an arm, the effect of scurvy. (3) Charles C.
is married, and resides at Hartford, Mich. (4) Joshua B.
is married, and resides in Lucas county, Ohio. (5)
Huldah L. is the wife of Joseph Philes, of
East Toledo. (6) Millard Fillmore is
married, and makes his home in Marion, Osceola Co., Mich.
(7) Walter H. is also married, and lives in Mungen,
Wood county.
In his political faith, Mr. Smith is a
Republican, a stanch follower of the doctrines as formulated
by that party, and before its organization was a Whig,
casting his first vote for William Henry
Harrison, in 1840. He has served his fellow
citizens as trustee and constable, and is a member of
Woodford Post, G. A. R., at Perrysburg. In all matters
of public spirit and enterprise, he takes a prominent part,
and gives his aid to everything that will advance the
welfare of the county where he has so long found a pleasant
home, and is surrounded by many warm friends. He and
his wife are earnest Christian people, belonging to the
United Brethren Church at Lemoyne, Ohio.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1024 |
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JOSIAH SMITH
is a popular and highly esteemed citizen, whose genial
manner and genuine worth have gained him the regard of all
with whom social or business relations have brought him in
contact. He was born in Allegheny county, Penn., Nov.
3, 1842, and is a son of Martin and Catherine (Rhodes)
Smith, also natives of the Keystone State. The
father was born in 1810, the mother Apr. 5, 1811, and their
marriage was celebrated Jan. 31, 1828, while the following
children graced their union: Nancy B., who was born
Oct. 31, 1828, and is the widow of Frank Firman, of
Crawford county, Ill.; Mary Elizabeth, who was born
Jan. 12, 1831, died in childhood; Sarah Jane,
born Feb. 4, 1834, died in childhood; Rebecca, born
June 17, 1836, died in Pennsylvania; Roxanna, born
Dec. 17, 1837, is the wife of William Bell, of
Washington county, Penn.; Mary M., born Apr. 25,
1840, became the wife of Thomas Lockwood, and
died in Pennsylvania; Josiah is the next younger;
Maria C., born Oct. 23, 1845, died in childhood; Ann
Eliza, born June 4, 1848, is the wife of Aaron
Bell, of Pennsylvania; and John Wesley, born
May 4, 1853, completes the family. At the time of
their marriage the parents located in Fayette county, Penn.,
where the father worked as a farm hand. He died in
Allegheny county, Dec. 17, 1848, and his wife, who after his
death had married Samuel Culp, passed away
Mar. 24, 1872.
Our subject spent his school days in Allegheny and
Washington counties, in his native State, and after his
father's death went to live with an uncle, Solomon Swab,
with whom he remained until the breaking out of the war in
1861, when he enlisted Aug. 20, 1861, in Company D, 6th U.
S. Cav., at Pittsburg. In the spring of 1862 the
command went to the front, and, after a short time spent in
Virginia, went to Hampton Roads, and served with the army of
the Potomac, participating in a number of important
engagements. Mr. Smith was honorably
discharged Aug. 20, 1864, but re-enlisted in Company K, 1st
U. S. Vet. Vol. Regt., serving for a year, when he was
finally discharged, on Feb. 1, 1866.
On August 23, of the same year, in North Baltimore, our
subject was united in marriage with Mary Jane
Dirk, who was born in Hancock county, Ohio, Jan. 18,
1842. They located in Williams county, this State,
Mr. Smith conducting a general store in Pulaski
for about five years. In the fall of 1871 they located
on a farm near that place, but sold that property in the
fall of 1872, and in the following spring went to Minnesota,
where Mr. Smith took up a homestead in Nobles
county, there residing for three and a half years. In
the fall of 1876 he came to Wood county, and rented a farm
in Liberty township, but after eighteen months purchased
ninety acres of his present farm. He has since
extended the boundaries of his land, by the additional
purchase of thirty acres, and now has a highly-improved and
valuable farm, with well-tilled fields and excellent
buildings, most of which he has erected. In politics
he is a Republican, and for two terms has served as township
trustee. Both he and his wife are members of the
United Brethren Church, and take quite an active part in its
work. They had a family of three children, but
Jacob W., who was born Oct. 23, 1873, died in Minnesota,
at the age of nine months. Sarah Amanda
was born in Nobles county, Minn., July 18, 1875, and
Clark Vinton was born in Wood county, Ohio, Mar.
3, 1878.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1069 |
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LORIN SMITH,
one of the most prominent and highly respected farmers of
Montgomery town ship, was born Oct. 11, 1822, in Kiltzheim,
Baden, Germany. In his native country his name was
spelled Lorentz Schmitt. His parents
were John J. and Anna M. (Bauman) Smith, the former
of whom was farmer in Baden, and owned nice little home of
twenty-six acres, where he lived in comfort, and was
considered well off.
The parental family consisted of the following named
children: John J., Jr., Emily, Frank,
Frances, Margaret, Eva, and Lorin.
As they grew up the question of finding homes for them was
matter of concern to the parents, and, as glowing reports of
the wealth and land of the United States had reached the old
country, it was decided to send the eldest son, John,
and his sister, Emily, who had then reached the years
of maturity, to investigate the truth of these stories of
the New World. They accordingly came to the United
States, and at Stockbridge, Mass., soon found employment,
the son in hotel. Emily was married soon after
her arrival in this country. The reports sent back to
the family were so satisfactory that two years later
Frank and Frances joined their brother and
sister, and were so pleased with the success with which they
met that it was decided best for the rest of the family to
come also. In 1830, the parents and other children
left their old home, driving to Paris, France, with their
own team. There the horses and wagon were sold, and
they went by boat down the river Seine to Havre, where they
took passage for the United States on three-masted vessel,
"The Baird,” which had formerly been a mail vessel, and was
taking her first trip as an emigrant boat. Their
destination was New York, and they were fifty-two days on
the ocean, during which time they had narrow escape from
capture by pirates.
At New York City the family was met by the son, John
J., and they concluded to come to Ohio, then considered
the "Far West." This western trip had been under
consideration for some time by those of the family already
in the United States, and was one of the motives which
induced the parents to emigrate. The journey was made
up the Hudson river to Albany, thence over the Erie canal to
Buffalo, and by lake to Cleveland, Ohio, where house was
rented and a temporary home made, while the father and
eldest son looked about for suitable land to purchase.
Land could be bought where the great city of Cleveland now
stands, for eight dollars per acre; but learning that there
was better land farther west they set out on a journey which
ended in Peru township, Huron Co., Ohio. The incident
which caused them to locate here was a common one in the
history of the western States. Halting at a spring to
drink they found the water exceptionally cool and clear, the
land in the vicinity and the location on the ridge between
the sources of the Huron rivers favorable to health and
industry. The physical features of the country
corresponded with their correct ideas of agriculture, and
they lost no time in obtaining the land, which had been
somewhat improved, and on which an excellent orchard was
then growing. This farm was known as the Old
Johnson Farm" at the time of their purchase.
The family were moved to Huron county from Cleveland with an
ox-team.
The Smith family had a fair amount of
money on their arrival in America, as their property in
Baden had brought in considerably over $1,000, and they were
able to begin life in this country in a very fair way.
After few years residence in Huron county the father began
to look around for more cheap land. A large portion of
Wood county was then government land, but it was known as
the “Black Swamp," and did not tempt many settlers.
The father was a good judge of land, and seemed to think
that Wood county had great future. He entered, after
looking around, 162 acres in Section 5, Montgomery township,
and the deed, signed by Andrew Jackson, bears
the date of December, 1835, and is now in the possession of
our subject. A few years after the family located in
Huron county, the other members of it came west from
Massachusetts, except Emily, who had married
Joseph Keller, and died in Boston. Of the
other children, John J., Jr., died in Huron county,
Ohio; Frank died in the same county in 1872;
Frances died in Freedom township, Wood county;
Margaret married Peter Stang, and died in
Huron county; Eva is the widow of Joseph
Addleman, and lives in Huron county; our subject is the
youngest of the family.
Lorin Smith had studied in the schools of
his native land, and was very bright boy, being able when
seven years of age to both read and write the German
language. After coming to Huron county he attended
school there and obtained a good education. He worked
on the farm with his father, and, being an obedient son, the
latter showed his appreciation by giving him 162 acres of
government land in Montgomery township, Wood county, out of
which, however, he was to give his sister Frances
fifty acres, which he did. This was in 1841, and two
years later Mr. Smith visited his land, and made some
improvements on it. In the fall of 1844 he built a
cabin of hewed logs, 20 x 30 feet, which had a shingle roof,
the shingles for which he himself cut from oak trees.
Being thus provided with a home, the young man secured for
himself a wife in the person of Miss Mary T. Addleman,
to whom he was married in Huron county, Jan. 7, 1845.
Mrs. Smith was born Mar. 19, 1824, in the same
village in Baden as her husband, and is the eldest child and
only daughter of John P. and Mary Addleman. Her
parents left Baden in the spring of 1831, and drove with
their own team to Paris, where they waited two weeks for the
horse market to open. Selling their horses, they went
by boat to Havre, sailing from there on the vessel "Henry
III," which landed them at New York City after a voyage of
fifty-four days. They spent the winter of 1831-32 in
Buffalo, and in the spring of the latter year bought a farm
three and a half miles from that city, where they lived
until the fall of 1836. In that year they moved to
Huron county, two and a half miles southwest of
Norwalk, where they spent the remainder of their lives.
Their family consisted of four sons and one daughter.
On Jan. 14, 1845, our subject and his bride started to their
new home in Wood county. Three teams were necessary to
haul them and their goods, the roads through the timber
being very bad. Two days were occupied in the journey,
which was a rough and tedious one. They at once began
to make improvements upon the place. Their cabin was a
good one, but sparsely furnished, and the country about them
was a primitive condition. Many of their friends had
predicted their failure to put up with such a pioneer life.
This, however, only aroused their determination, and instead
of disheartening them inspired them to new effort. A
plentiful supply of provisions had been brought, which
sufficed until the land produced its first crops of wheat
and corn. Maumee was the nearest milling point, and it
required two days under the most favorable conditions to
make the trip. In June, 1847, the aged parents of our
subject came to make their home with them, and on September
21, of the same year, the mother died and was buried upon
the farm. She was sixty-seven years of age. The
father lived with our subject until 1853, when he returned
to Huron county, and their died at the age of eight-four
years. This worthy couple were consistent members of
the Catholic Church, and were honest, industrious German
people. The father was never naturalized, and
consequently never voted, but in all things was loyal to his
adopted country.
In the course of a few years the results of Mr.
Smith's long days of hard work were manifest in the
fertile fields and blooming orchards into which the land had
been transformed. He bought eighty acres additional;
but when the Civil war broke out, and it was very hard to
procure sufficient help, he disposed of this property.
The old log house continued to be the home of the family,
and in it all the children were born. Theses are as
follows: Mary T., born Oct. 27, 1845, is now
Mrs. Peter Hettel, of Wapakoneta, Ohio; Caroline J.,
born Nov. 22, 1847, is the wife of James Fish, of
Freedom township, Wood county; Louisa A. born Apr.
25, 1850, is the wife of William Davidson, of Center
township, Wood county; John L., born Apr. 13, 1854,
died Dec. 21, 1885; F. B., born Oct. 31, 1856, was
married Oct. 22, 1895, to Miss Julia Shepler, of
Bradner, Ohio (he is a farmer in Freedom township);
Charles L., born Apr. 4, 1859, was married Dec. 19,
1889, to Miss Nellie Brandeberry of Pemberville,
Ohio; Frances A., born May 4, 1862, was married Oct.
29, 1889, to George Adams, of Montgomery township.
In 1869 Mr. Smith built his present elegant brick
residence, which is the finest farm house in Montgomery
township, and one of the best in the county. He has
added to his original property at various times until he now
owns 276 acres, and he has given his sons 170 acres.
The land is rich in oil, and is admirably adapted to farming
purposes.
The life of Mr. Smith presents an
excellent example of what industry, perseverance and good
management can accomplish. No man has worked harder
than he, and many a moonlight night, in his early days, has
found him toiling away until a late hour. He has become
master of the art of agriculture, and is able to procure the
best results from his work. He has developed his
splended farm from its primitive condition, and in
doing so has spent the best years of his life. With
his excellent wife, who has shared in all his labors and
privations, he deserves the greatest credit for the success
to which he has attained. This estimable couple have
passed their fifty-first year of married life; have reared a
large family, of which they may justly be proud, and have
accumulated handsome competency in an upright,
straightforward manner. No one can accuse Lorin
Smith of dishonesty, or question his integrity.
In all his business dealings he has never been sued, and he
is to-day man whom everyone respects. He became
naturalized citizen in 1843, but though loyal Democrat has
never been an office seeker. Both he and his wife are
members of the Catholic Church, although not able to attend
the services on account of the distance.
Notwithstanding the many trials and years of toil through
which Mr. Smith and his wife have passed, they
are well preserved, and Mrs. Smith, although
over seventy-two years of age, is still able to do her own
house work. Their life has been full of usefulness,
and in the evening of their days, which they are enjoying in
ease and comfort, they can look back over the past years
with the consciousness of duties well performed.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 569 |
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M. D. SMITH.
Among the leading and representative agriculturists of Perry
township, stalwart and sturdy tillers of the soil, there is
none who stands a more prominent figure than the gentleman
of whom this notice is written. His birth occurred in
the Empire State, on Apr. 10, 1850. His parents, Martin
D. and Mary J. (Elvert) Smith, were natives of Ireland,
and immigrated to the United States about 1849, locating in
New York, where the father followed farming, and there died
when our subject was but a child. He was then taken by
his mother to Lorain county, Ohio, where they remained until
1856, when they came to Wood county. In Ionia county,
Mich., the mother was again married, becoming the wife of
E. A. Pelton, and now makes her home in Eagleville,
Ohio.
On reaching a sufficient age our subject entered the
common schools of Lorain county, which were much inferior to
the schools of the present day, and there he pursued his
literary studies. To rural pursuits he was reared,
being employed on farms when quite young, and in 1866 went
to Bowling Green, Ohio, near which place he obtained work as
a farm hand, there remaining until 1873, when he returned to
Perry township.
On May 23, 1874, was celebrated the marriage of Mr.
Smith and Miss Sarah Hall, a native of Perry
township, born in Section 17, Mar. 5, 1859, and a daughter
of A. J. and Mary M. (Patterson) Hall. Her
education was obtained in the district schools of the
neighbor hood. By her marriage she has become the
mother of six children: Bertie E., born Aug. 16,
1876; Harry W., born Apr. 1, 1879; Charles
N., born Aug. 16, 1881; Andrew M., born July 29,
1883; Mary M., born Aug. 4, 1886; and Ray D.,
born Sept. 26, 1890.
For about ten years after his marriage, Mr. Smith
lived with his wife's people, and in the fall of 1884
removed to his present farm of forty acres in Section 17,
Perry township, which he had purchased three years
previously. In 1887 he replaced their first home,
which was of logs, with a very comfortable and modern
residence. All that he now possesses has been secured
through his industry and perseverance, as he received no
outside aid from any source. In business transactions
he is perfectly honorable and straightforward, is
progressive in his methods of farming, and justly ranks
among the prominent citizens of the community. His
political affiliations are with the Republican party.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1135 |
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O. W. SMITH,
one of the most successful agriculturists in Montgomery
township, is not only a shrewd and prosperous man of
business, but he has identified himself with various
movements tending to the public welfare, and thus made his
influence a power for good.
He is a son of H. E. and Hannah (Bates) Smith,
and was born Mar. 12, 1850, in Scott township, Sandusky
county, where he attended the "Earl Schoolhouse" in boyhood,
with John Long as one of his first teachers.
There has been a vast improvement in educational methods in
the rural districts since that time, and no man is more
ready to forward the movement than he. His early years
were passed at the old homestead. On June 19, 1871, he
was married in Fostoria, Ohio, to Miss Elizabeth Riley,
daughter of Thomas Riley, an Englishman by birth, and
a leading agriculturist of Jackson township, Seneca county,
who left at his death an estate of 240 acres. Mr.
Smith took his young bride home for a short time, and
then worked one year for Daniel Earl, a farmer in his
native township. The next two years he spent upon the
farm of Rufus Gossard, of Greensburg, Sandusky
county, now Tinney. In 1874 he purchased seventy-five
acres in Wood county, in Section 34, Montgomery township,
paying $700 down, and incurring a debt of $2,100. The
only buildings were a log house and barn, and the land was
sadly in need of tiling and ditching, and he promptly went
to work to improve the place, which is now one of the best
of its size in this section. With the exception of two
years of work upon his father's farm, he has lived at this
place ever since. His residence is tasteful and
comfortable, and his other buildings are models, the
scale-house being notably fine. He also owns three
dwelling-houses in Risingsun, and has given another to his
eldest daughter. His children are five in number, and
the three older ones are married and live at Risingsun:
Bertha is the wife of James Meeker;
Blanche married Walter Clay, and Jennie
married LeRoy Stahl. The other two,
Eldredge and Eskil, are at home. Mr. and
Mrs. Smith are leading members and liberal supporters of
the Radical U. B. Church, in which he is a trustee.
Politically he was at one time a Democrat, but he now votes
the Prohibition ticket; he is no office-seeker, and has
declined offers of minor positions more than once.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 873 |
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SOLOMON SMITH,
a worthy representative of the agricultural interests of
Bloom township, is a native of Ohio, born Sept. 13, 1829,
son of John H. and Elizabeth (Keefer) Smith.
His early life was uneventful, passed in the usual manner of
farmer boys; but, in 1852, he left home, going overland to
California in the spring of that year, and remained in the
Golden State until the fall of 1855, when he returned by the
Panama route.
On the first day of the year 1856, in Mifflin township,
Richland Co., Ohio, was celebrated the marriage of Mr.
Smith and Miss Mary Zody, who was born in Bedford
county, Penn., Jan. 5, 1831, and was six years old when
brought by her parents, Jacob and Catherine (Ebersole)
Zody, to Richland county. Although his father was
in comfortable circumstances he was unable to give our
subject any assistance at that time. He operated the
home farm until the spring of 1860, when he removed to
Section 8, Bloom township, Wood county, locating upon the
160-acre tract which he and his brother Henry had
bought the fall previous. He came by wagon, and,
besides his own family, which consisted of his wife and
three children, he was accompanied by his brother in-law,
David H. Wirick. Twenty-five acres of the land had
been cleared, and a log house, 1+8x20 feet, erected, but he
went earnestly to work to improve his place, and year after
year saw more land under cultivation. He had gone in
debt several hundred dollars, but as he was young, strong
and active, it did not discourage him, and it was soon paid
off.
To the marriage of our subject were born four children,
as follows: Abraham Franklin, a physician, of
Wawpecong, Ind.; George G. and Dora E., twins,
the former of whom died in Oregon, and the latter of whom is
now at home; and Iola E., wife of Isaac Loe,
of Portage township, Wood county. Mr. Smith now
owns 120 acres of fertile and productive land, to the
cultivation of which he devoted his time until meeting with
a very unfortunate accident on Sept. 8, 1894, when, at
Perrysburg, Ohio, he was run over by the cars, losing his
left leg just below the knee, and a part of his right
foot. In the fall of 1892, he had removed to that
city, but he returned to his farm in the spring of 1895.
The improvements upon the place all stand as monuments to
his thrift and industry, and it has been transformed into
one of the most valuable farms of the township. In
1887, Mr. Smith leased his farm to the Standard Oil
Co., and there are now four wells in operation, producing
about nineteen tanks of 180 barrels each per month; he
receives one-eighth of the oil. One gas well is also
in operation. Politically our subject votes the
straight Democratic ticket, but he is no office seeker, as
his time has been wholly occupied by his business affairs.
The family is one of prominence in the community, standing
high in social circles, and Mrs. Smith is a
consistent member of the Lutheran Church.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1220 |
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W. C. SMITH,
though young in years, is one of the most energetic and
enterprising agriculturists of Perry township. A
native of the Buckeye State, he was born in Logan county,
Apr. 18, 1860, a son of William E. Smith, a prominent
farmer of Wood county. He was but a child when brought
by his parents to this county, where he was reared as most
farmer boys and obtained his education in the district
schools near his home. A month before he reached his
majority he started out in life for himself, and for two
summers before his marriage worked as a farm hand.
The lady who now bears the name of Mrs. Smith,
was in her maidenhood Miss Ada Loucks. a daughter of
Samuel and Susan (Fretts) Loucks, who came to Wood
county in 1878, locating in Section 31, Perry township,
where they still reside. The daughter was born in
Westmoreland county, Penn., Mar. 20, 1866, and in Perry
township, on the 15th of June, 1882, became the wife of our
subject. One daughter graces; their union Sylvia M.,
born Apr. 1, 1890.
For two years after his marriage, Mr. Smith
cultivated his father's farm in Perry township; but in the
spring of 1884 he removed to Page county, Iowa, where he
rented land until October, 1885, when he returned to Wood
county and leased a house near the old homestead, which he
again operated. That same fall, however, he purchased
twenty-five acres of land in Bloom township, Wood county, on
which he resided for three years, but now makes his home on
his father's farm. He owns forty acres of excellent
land in Perry township. For some time he engaged in
ditching, by which business he gained a start in life.
Mr. Smith in giving close attention to his
farming interests, has but little time to devote to
political matters, but has studied politics. sufficiently to
determine that the principles of the Prohibition party more
nearly coincide with his views than those of any other,
especially on the liquor question, and accordingly gives it
his uniform support, though he was formerly a Republican.
He and his wife are earnest members of the United Brethren
Church, in which he has served as a class leader, and has
for several years taught in the Sunday-school.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1222 |
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WILLIAM SMITH,
is one of the honored and esteemed citizens of Middleton
township, and his well-spent life is in many respects worthy
of emulation. Educational, social and moral interests have
found in him a friend, and he has been an important factor
in agricultural circles, thus ad ding to the material
welfare of the community.
A native Pennsylvania, Mr. Smith was born in
York county, July 23, 1823, and is descended from honored
Revolutionary ancestry. His grandfather, Samuel
Smith, was one of the heroes of the war for
Independence, and the father, William Smith, Sr., a
native of York county, Penn., served in the war of 1812.
His wife bore the maiden name of Christiana Snyder,
and was born in Germany. They had a family of ten
children, but Samuel, Liza, Sarah, Liddie and
William are the only ones now living. The parents
both died in Crawford county, Ohio.
Our subject acquired his education in the public
schools near his home, and worked on the old home farm until
twenty-four years of age, when he started out in life for
himself. He purchased a farm of forty acres which he
continued to cultivate until 1858, when he came to Ohio.
He made his first location in Sandusky county, where he
rented a farm of eighty acres for three years, and then
removed to Seneca county, taking up his residence near
Kansas, where he operated 160 acres of land.. During
the war, however, he laid aside all business cares in order
to aid in the protection of the Union, enlisting, in 1863,
as a member of Company F, 126 O. V. I. He participated
in all the engagements of his company, and valiantly did his
duty until the war was over, when he was honorably
discharged at Columbus, Ohio, in 1865.
Mr. Smith then returned to
his farm in Seneca county, subsequently coming to Wood
county, and located in Portage township, where for two years
he engaged in the operation of fifty-six acres of land.
He then came to Middleton township, and purchased forty-two
acres of land, which constitutes his present farm.
This is now a very valuable tract, and the well-tilled
fields yield to him a golden tribute, while the buildings
upon the place stand as monuments to his thrift and
enterprise.
In 1847 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Smith and
Miss Catherine Snyder, a native of York Co., Penn., and
a daughter of Adam Snyder, a blacksmith of
that county. Ten children were born to them -
Albert, a farmer of Sandusky county; William, a
farmer of Wood county; Edward, an agriculturist of
Nebraska; Levi, who operates a tract of land in
Michigan; Barbara A., wife of Peter Bobey; John,
a farmer of this county; Angelina, wife of J. H.
Carnes, of Plain township; Jane, wife of Henry
Schuyler, of Convoy; Mary; and one who died in
infancy.
In politics, Mr. Smith is a stalwart
advocate of Republican principles, and is a faithful member
of the United Brethren Church. He was one of the first
to suggest the erection of Union Hall, gave $200 to the
enterprise, and by his labors aided in its construction.
He is now serving as one of its trustees, and does all in
his power to promote its interests, and to advance the moral
and educational welfare of the community. Over his
life there falls no shadow of wrong, and his exemplary
character and manly qualities have made him a popular and
highly esteemed citizens.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1009 |
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WILLIAM SMITH,
one of the most highly respected citizens of Bloomdale, was
born Dec. 29, 1829, on the island of Bermuda, of
Scotch-Irish parents.
His father, James Smith, a weaver by
trade, served for twenty-six and one-half years in the
British army, enlisting at the time of the battle of
Waterloo, but he did not take part in any of the Napoleonic
wars. While stationed in Canada, he married Martha
Elder, a native of County Derry, Ireland, and sometime
afterward was ordered to Bermuda, where our subject's birth
occurred. In the family were five children:
John and John W., both deceased in infancy;
William; James, a carpenter, of St. Louis, Mo.;
and Matilda, wife of James Caskey, of
Montgomery township, Wood county. On leaving the
British army, the father located in Scotland, where he
followed weaving for the remainder of his active life.
He died in April, 1879, at the age of eighty years, and his
wife passed away two weeks before, at the age of eighty-two.
They now lie buried at Newton Stewart, Wigtownshire,
Scotland.
William
Smith was about nine years of age when his father
left the army, being at that time a resident of Ireland, and
his childhood days were passed in several different places.
For one year the family resided in Glasgow, and then went to
Newton Stewart. Our subject's educational privileges
were limited, and at the age of sixteen he left the
school-room, and began learning the shoemaker's trade, which
required five years‘ apprenticeship, before he was deemed a
competent workman, so thorough are trades learned in the
mother country. He then went to Glasgow, but after a
year returned to Newton Stewart. Although economical
and industrious, he was unable to save much money, and as he
wished to launch on the sea of matrimony, and had not
sufficient means, he determined to come to the New World,
where better opportunities are offered for acquiring a
competence.
On May 26, 1853, Mr. Smith sailed from Glasgow,
on the "Java," which arrived in New York seven weeks later.
His destination was Slatington, fourteen miles from
Allentown, Lehigh Co., Penn., where he had an aunt living,
and, on arriving at that place, had only ten cents
remaining. Inspired by the hope of making a home in
America for himself and his intended, whom he had left
behind, he went earnestly to work at shoemaking; but after
three months his trade became slack, and for one month he
was employed in a slate quarry. It was now, late in
the fall of 1853, that he moved farther west with his uncle,
Hugh Carr, to Logan county, Ohio, where he was
employed the following winter driving a team. In
April, 1854, he hired out as a farm hand with William
McDowell, during the following summer saved enough to
send for his intended wife, Miss Margaret Clanachan,
who was a daughter of William and Mary (Laurie) Clanachan,
and was born in Wigtownshire, Scotland, Mar. 17, 1833.
She left Scotland, and June 15, 1854, sailed from Liverpool,
arriving in Logan county, Ohio, Aug. 21. On September
9, following, they were married in Jefferson township, that
county. They have become the parents of eight children
namely: James, a carpenter of Bloom township;
Walter, a farmer of Perry township; J. F.;
Samuel, a carpenter of Bloomdale; Robert, a clerk
of Bloomdale; Rosa, wife of Albert Stillwell,
of Perry; Mattie, at home; and Mary J., who
died in infancy.
For a time after his marriage Mr. Smith and his
wife lived with Mr. McDowell, and during the
following winter he worked at his trade. In the spring
of 1855, however, he rented twenty acres of land in
Jefferson township, Logan county, near Zanesfield, and
followed the occupation of farming until leaving that
county. On May 8, 1864, he enlisted in the
one-hundred-days' service, becoming a member of Company I,
132d O. V. I., under Capt. Porter, doing service
mostly in Virginia, and on being discharged at Camp Chase,
Ohio, in September, 1864, he returned to Logan county.
It was in January, 1865, that Mr. Smith brought his
family to Wood county, locating on forty acres of land which
he had purchased in Montgomery township, and he there made
his home until 1871, when he bought eighty-seven and
one-half acres in Section 30, Perry township, which he
operated until November, 1893. Since that time he has
resided in Bloomdale, having erected a comfortable dwelling
there, and is now living retired from active business cares.
In politics he is a stanch Republican, though no politician,
and filled the office of trustee of Perry township. He
holds membership with the United Brethren Church, to which
he is a liberal contributor, has served as trustee,
class-leader and superintendent of Sunday-school, and is now
a teacher in the same. He is a devout Christian, and
has ever taken a foremost and active part in the work of the
Church. In April, 1879, he was summoned to Scotland by
the illness of his aged parents, but arrived too late to see
them, as they had been buried two weeks before he reached
the old home. He has crossed the Atlantic eight times,
and revisited many of the scenes of his youth. In 1882
his wife and daughters - Rosa and Mattie -
visited Scotland, Mrs. Smith not having seen her
mother for nearly thirty years. Although he has been a
great worker, Mr. Smith is still well preserved, and
he is a kind-hearted, conscientious gentleman, enjoying the
confidence of all with whom he comes in contact.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1081 |
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FREDERICK
SOMMERS, a popular and enterprising man, is by
nativity an Ohioan. He was born in Medina County, Aug. 4,
1860, a son of Frederick and Rosetta (Groh) Sommers.
His father was a native of Germany, and at the age of twenty
five entered the German Army, serving seven years.
During that time he participated in the war with Algeria,
where he witnessed great suffering among the soldiers, who
were tortured by the Arabs in every conceivable manner. Soon
after his return he was married, and in 1854 emigrated to
America, sailing from Havre, France, and reaching New York
after of voyage of thirty three days. For seven years
they resided near Liverpool, Medina County, Ohio, then came
to Wood County. In 1862 the father enlisted at
Perrysburg, for service in the Union Army, in Company I,
111th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. During a long and
tedious march he was overcome by the heat, and for some time
was forced to remain in different hospitals. Later he
returned home on a furlough, and then started south again.
On being examined by a physician in Cincinnati, he was
declared unfit for further service, and so received his
discharge a month before the end of the war. Returning
home, he resumed farming, and gave his forty acres of land
and $600 for eighty acres in Liberty Township. There he died
Sept. 13, 1877, aged fifty four years. In his family
there were the following children: John, born May 2,
1854, now a practicing physician of North Baltimore;
Jacob, born June 2, 1857, a farmer of Henry Township;
Christina, who was born Jan. 21, 1859, married Thomas
W. Knight, and died Mar. 9, 1889; and Frederick,
who completes the family.
Our subject was reared on the home farm, and has always
carried on agricultural pursuits. He operates this place for
his mother, who is still living. She was born May 6,
1831, in Wurtemberg, Germany, and is a daughter of Jacob
and Frederick (Reck) Groh. She is a member of the
Disciples Church, and a most estimable lady. Our
subject has upon his farm eight oil wells which adds
materially to his income. The place comprises eighty
acres, and is now well improved. In politics he is a
Democrat, and he is a gentleman of genuine worth, who has
the respect of many friends.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical
Record of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago:
J. H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1196
Contributed By:
Bob Weaver |
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JOSEPH G. STARN,
a well known merchant of Bowling Green, dealing in
decorators' materials, was born in Galion, Ohio, Dec. 10,
1853.
His grandparents, Jacob and Mary Starn, were
among the early settlers of Wingard's Corners, Crawford
county, coming from Pennsylvania, where their son, Samuel,
our subject's father, was born in 1815. He was married
in Ohio, to Miss Elizabeth Dague, a daughter of
Gabriel Dague, a hardy pioneer of Medina county,
eighty-two years old at the time of his death in November,
1868. For some years the young people lived in that
county, where Mr. Starn was employed as master
mechanic on a railroad. Later he moved to Crawford
county, and then to Hancock county, farming and working at
the carpenter's trade. In 1864 he came to Perry
township, Wood county, and ten years later went to Fostoria,
where he died in 1891. His wife, who was born in 1823,
survives him and resides in Fostoria. They had nine
children: (1) Rachel, deceased, formerly the wife of
H. B. Nievel; (2) Martha, who died in
childhood; (3) Mahala, who married J. H. Nievel,
of Tiffin; (4) Hannah, the wife of J. B. Linhart,
a wealthy farmer living near Van Buren, Ohio; (5) Joseph
G., our subject; (6) Frank and (7) Johnson
residents of Fostoria; (8) Thomas C. who died in
early manhood; and (9) Edwin Wilkins, who died
Dec. 20, 1895.
Mr. Starn passed the first five years of his
boyhood in Galion, but, his parents removing then from that
town, his education was obtained chiefly in the district
schools of Arlington, Ohio, and Perry township, Wood county,
and in the high school at Fostoria. At the last
mentioned place he learned the trade of decorator, serving a
two-years' apprenticeship. His employer then put him
in charge of one of his shops where he remained until 1873,
when he went to Akron came to Wood county, and for some time
followed his trade in Bowling Green. He was married
the same year to Miss Maggie Minear, a
native of Hancock county, born Sept. 29, 1856. They
have one living child, Harold, their first born,
Glennah, having died at the age of nine. In 1880
Mr. Starn moved to Fostoria and formed a partnership
with his father in the grocery and queensware trade; but
about a year later he sold his interest, and returned to
Bowling Green to work in the auditor's office. The
term expiring, he began clerking, and this he continued for
several years with different firms - fires, failures and
sickness giving him a number of unwelcome vacations.
In January, 1890, he opened his present store, where he
keeps a well selected stock of paper hangings, paints and
artists’ supplies. He also contracts for the artistic
decoration of interiors, taking orders in town and country.
He has a number of other business enterprises, and is a
director in the Globe Building and Loan Association of
Columbus, a stockholder appraiser in the Indemnity Building
& Loan Co., of Cleveland, and owns a farm of forty acres
near Bowling Green.
He is an active and influential worker in the
Republican party, and has held the office of clerk of Plain
township for seven years, and been trustee of Oak Grove
cemetery for nine years, serving as secretary and treasurer
of the board, and devoting much time and energy to the
improvement of the grounds. He belongs to the
fraternal orders of the K. of P. and the P. O. S. of A.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical
Record of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1160 |
|
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C. D. STEARNES,
son of Justus and Mary (Hall) Stearnes, and who
resides in Perry township, is in no whit behind his brothers
in "push," energy or capacity, for any amount of labor
necessary to accomplish the desired result. He
perpetuates the characteristics of the family for thrift and
prosperity, and is wide-awake, up-to-date man,
public-spirited, and citizen of whom any community might be
justly proud. His integrity has never been questioned,
and his good management has brought him merited success.
Mr. Stearnes was born June 14, 1856, in the "old
stone house," which stands in Section 14, and was his
father's residence for many years. It now belongs to
J. D. Stearnes, one of the sons. During his
youth our subject attended the district schools of his
locality, and then learned the rudiments of agriculture
under his father, whose excellent ideas on the subject he
has since practiced with beneficial results. At
various times he assisted his father in carrying out
contracts for ditching, but most of his time until his
marriage was spent on the farm.
On Feb. 7, 1878, Mr. Stearnes was united in
marriage with Miss Elizabeth (daughter of William
and Anna (Van Nemon) Courtney), who was born in Hancock
county, Ohio, Apr. 13, 1858. This union has been
blessed with the following children: Sylva, born Jan.
22, 1879; Jay J., born Oct. 5, 1880; William A.,
born Feb. 9, 1882; Orrin C., born Nov. 23, 1883; and
Joseph H., born Sept. 10, 1886. After his
marriage Mr. Stearnes bought from his father
107 acres of land in Section 14, Perry township, and moved
former school house onto it, as there were no buildings of
any kind thereon, and there made his home until Dec. 1,
1884, at which time he returned to the old homestead,
working portion of his father's farm for the succeeding five
years. He then went back to his first farm, where he
resided until August, 1891, at that time taking up his
residence on the old Thomas Beach place, which he
purchased in 1891, and where he now lives. He has
remodeled the house, built good barn, and otherwise improved
the place. He has recently bought the E. O. Meaks
place of forty acres in Perry township, and now has 224
acres of land, and is considered one of the best and most
progressive farmers in the township. In politics
Mr. Stearnes is stanch Republican, and he is ever ready
to work for the interests of his party and for the good of
the community. He served one year as assessor, and was
constable for two or three years, filling these offices with
much ability and to the satisfaction of the public.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical
Record of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 622 |
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J. D. STEARNES,
a worthy representative of the old and prosperous family of
that name which is well-known throughout Wood county, is a
successful farmer of Perry township, where he stands high in
the regard not only of his immediate community but also of
all citizens in the county who have had business or social
relations with him.
Mr. Stearnes is the third child of Justus and
Mary (Hall) Stearnes, and was born Sept. 1, 1854. His
first schooling was obtained at Sugar Grove, in Perry
township, and was the best that could be afforded by the
district schools in those days. He has seen many
changes since then in the methods of education, and has used
his influence in the betterment of the schools of his
locality. No one in the county is a warmer friend of
education, or has done more in its interests, than Mr.
Stearnes, and the advantages now enjoyed by the
children of Perry township are in a great measure due to his
untiring efforts in their behalf.
Mr. Stearnes was reared upon a farm, and
early in life showed such business ability that he was
intrusted with matters of great magnitude for one of his
youth, and he managed them with discretion and excellent
judgment. He remained upon his father's farm until one
year after his marriage, and in 1876, removed to the farm on
which the "Old Stone House" stands and which is still his
home. This old mansion, his first residence, is one of
the land marks of Perry township, and was built in 1840 by a
Mr. Brown. Mr. Stearnes
purchased 117 acres here of his father, and at once moved
onto it, his entire possessions being conveyed to the place
in three loads, such as a one-horse sled could carry.
The land was wet, and but little draining had been done,
and, with his poor team and still poorer equipment, our
subject found an up-hill task before him. His energy
and industry were, however, equal to the emergency, and by
constant labor and untiring perseverance, as well as good
management, he succeeded in bringing it under a fine state
of cultivation. He has at present 160 acres of
excellent land, and in 1892 built one of the finest pressed
brick residences in Wood county. His barns and
outbuildings are also of the best, and the entire place
bears evidence of careful thrift and labor. Mr.
Stearnes has done considerable ditching by contract
throughout the county, and, since the discovery of oil and
gas in this section, has done a large amount of work in
teaming, etc., for the oil producers.
Our subject was married Sept. 2, 1875, to Miss Sarah
Kyes, who was born Aug. 21, 1855, in Freedom township,
this county. Her father, Samuel Kyes, was a
native of Lorain county, Ohio, and was a farmer by
occupation. He served as a one-hundred-days’ man in
the war of the Rebellion. His wife, mother of Mrs.
Stearnes, was Mary, daughter of John
Fish, who died in 1864. Their children were as
follows: Sarah, wife of our subject; Caroline,
wife of Everett E. Householder, living near Hoytville,
Ohio; and Mary A., wife of Albert Addelsperger,
of Seneca county, Ohio. On the death of his first wife
Mr. Kyes was again married, his choice being Mrs.
Mary A. Silverwood, who bore him two sons. Of
these, William lives in Bowling Green, Ohio, and
Samuel was killed by a falling tree when a lad of
seventeen. The father died in Center township, Wood
county, when nearly sixty years of age. Mrs.
Stearnes was only nine years of age when her mother
died, and the children were scattered among different
families, she working for her living until her marriage.
She is a most estimable woman, and is a good wife and
mother. The following children have come to bless the
union of our subject and his wife: Nellie, born June
27, 1876; Alice, who died when three years old;
Samuel, born May 11, 1880; Albert B., born Dec.
17, 1882; Sarah A., born Apr. 9, 1885; and Pearl,
born June 17, 1888.
Mr. Stearnes has always been an ardent
Republican, and is a leading member of his party in Perry
township. He has served three years as township
trustee, and has been a director of School District No. 5
for some nine years. In both these offices he has done
much for the growth and welfare of his township, and is
looked upon as one of its most valued citizens. By the
will of his father, Mr. Stearnes was made one
of the administrators of his estate, consisting of over 300
acres of land and $10,000 of personal property. He is
a member of No. 445 Lodge, K. of P., at West Millgrove, and
both he and his wife belong to the Rathbone Sisters, of
Bloomdale.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 601 |
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ELMER E. STEARNS,
a well-known and popular educator of Wood county, where he
is also employed in the oil business, makes his home in
Bays. He is a native of this county, his birth having
occurred in Perry township, Nov. 20, 1862. His
paternal grandparents were Justus and Sarah A. (David)
Stearns. The former, who was born in Pennsylvania,
on coming to Ohio, located in Richland county, and the year
1833 witnessed his arrival in Montgomery township, Wood
county. For a time, in later years, he kept a tavern at
West Millgrove; but his last days were passed at Bowling
Green, where his death occurred Sept. 8, 1888.
John Stearns, the father of our subject, was
born in Montgomery township, July 6, 1839, was reared in
that and Perry townships, and in Crawford county, Ohio,
wedded Elizabeth Myers, a native of that county.
After two years' residence in Perry township the parents
removed to Plain township, but now make their home in
Bowling Green. They reared four sons, of whom our subject is
the eldest, the others being: William S., who is
married and resides in Liberty township; Charles, who
is married and lives in Milton township, Wood county; and
Frank J., who is also married and operates the old
homestead farm in Plain township.
In the latter township Elmer E. Stearns passed
the days of his boyhood and youth, being educated in its
schools and at Weston. He completed his scholastic
training in Wooster, Ohio, after which he began teaching,
being first employed in Plain township in 1884. He has
also taught in Milton township; but for the past three years
he has followed that profession in Liberty township to the
entire satisfaction of all concerned.
In 1886, in Plain township, Mr. Stearns
was united in marriage with Miss Naomi C. Buvinger,
who was born in Dayton, Ohio, and is a daughter of
William and Hattie (Goodenough) Buvinger, natives of
England, who, on coming to Ohio, located in Huron county,
whence they came to Wood county, and now make their home at
Bowling Green. To out subject and his wife has been
born a daughter - Flora B. Mrs. Stearns
is now engaged in teaching at Bays, which profession she has
followed for the past ten years in Wood county. Both
she and her husband are numbered among the progressive and
capable educators of the county, and, being themselves
excellent scholars, have the power of imparting their
knowledge to others.
On political questions, Mr. Stearns
affiliates with the Republican party; socially, he belongs
to Weston Lodge No. 81, I. O. O. F., while both he and his
wife are identified with the Daughters of Rebekah, and
religiously, hold membership with the Disciples Church, at
Bowling Green. They are earnest Christian people, and
take a prominent part in everything that will promote the
moral and educational, as well as the material, welfare of
the county.
Source: Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record of Wood
County, Ohio, Past and Present - Vol. II - Publ. Chicago: J. H.
Beers and Co. 1897 - Page 1336 |
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J. H. STEARNS.
This prominent and prosperous farmer of Perry township is a member of the
well-known family of that name in the county, and of which a
sketch appears on a preceding page.
Our subject was born in Perry township, Nov. 8,
1851, the eldest child of Justus and Mary (Hall) Stearns.
His education was obtained in the district schools of his
locality. and he was brought up on the same farm which he
now owns and resides on. On Sept. 17, 1871, he was
married to Miss Ella, daughter of Adam and Mary
Wininger,
who was born in Loudon town ship, Seneca Co., Ohio, Oct.
9, 1853. The young couple went to housekeeping on the farm
of Mr. Stearns’ father. The T. & O. C. railroad was then in
progress of construction, and Mr. Stearns, Sr., had a
contract for grading which he sub-let to our subject, on the
completion of which the latter received in pay eighty acres
of land in Jackson township, this county. About 1874 or
1875, soon after the B. & O. R. R. was put through to
Deshler, Mr. Stearns bought land extensively near that
place, eighty acres of which he platted in town lots, and
sold to an advantage. During his residence at Deshler, which
was about three years, he was engaged in filling contracts
for ditching, timber, etc., and at the end of this time he
returned to Perry township, and bought 120 acres of the farm
on which he now resides. His various investments had brought
in a large amount of money, but owing to his kindness in
going security and bail for people who left him to pay their
indebtedness, he lost a considerable portion of his
property. He now, however, is the owner of 210 acres of as
good land as can be found in Wood county, and is prospering
as a man of his indomitable courage and perseverance is
bound to do. In spite of his adverse fortune at times, he
has known no such word as discouragement, and has at once
set about remedying any disaster that might overtake him.
In an expressive Western phrase he is a “hustler," and has not
a superior in the township for ability to succeed in what he
undertakes. "Cy,” as he is familiarly known, is popular
throughout his community, and has many warm friends, who
admire his industry, go-aheadativeness and cheerful
disposition.
In politics Mr. Stearns is a Republican, and has served
his township three terms as assessor. He has also been the
treasurer of the township; but has refused a re-election. He
is a member of the Evangelical Church at Salem, in which he
has held offices of trust and honor. He is a liberal
contributor, not only to his own Church, but to other
religious denominations, and has assisted in the
organization and building of various religious and other
institutions. Socially he belongs to the Knights of the Maccabees, at Fostoria.
To Mr. Stearns and his wife came five children,
namely: Emma J., born Dec. 29, 1874; John A., born June
23, 1878; Wilber H., born Oct. 11, 1880; Alice E., born
Apr. 14, 1884; and Justus, born Sept. 4, 1886. The
beloved wife and mother passed to her final rest Oct. 2,
1894, and was buried in the cemetery at Fostoria. She
was a most estimable woman, and a consistent member of the
Evangelical Church. Her departure was deeply mourned by her
family, but Mr. Stearns is devoted to his
children, and endeavors to fill the place of the departed
one by unremitting attention to their comfort and interest
in their welfare.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical
Record of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 677 |
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JOHN A. STEARNS,
a wealthy, retired agriculturist, residing in Bowling Green,
is a native of Ohio, born July 6, 1839, in Montgomery
township, Wood county, a son of Justice Stearns.
John A. Stearns was about twelve years old when his
father moved to Perry township, and his boyhood was mainly
spent in the hard toil of clearing his father's two farms,
and helping in the sawmills, so that his educational
opportunities were quite limited. In 1864 he enlisted
in Company E, 144th O. V. I., for one hundred days and at
the end of the term came home.
One Jan. 1, 1862, Mr. Stearns was married to
Miss Elizabeth Myers, a native of Crawford county, Ohio,
born Feb. 5, 1842. They have had five children,
of whom four are living: Elmer, born Nov. 20, 1862, a
farmer and oil pumper at Bays, married Miss Naomi
Buvinger and has one child - Flora; William S.,
born Oct. 31, 1865, married Miss Minnie White, and
they live to Liberty township; Charles, born May 24,
1868, married Miss Lillie Lashway, and they have one
child - Lawrence; Frank, born July 4, 1870, married
Miss Estelle Parker, and they have one child -
Helen; and Alma, born Sept. 8, 1872, died Oct. 2,
1873. Mr. and Mrs. Stearns also reared an
adopted daughter, Ada Daily, who was born Feb. 11,
1868. She married Fred Hendricks, of Plain
township, and they have one child - Ina.
After his married Mr. Stearns lived for two
years on a farm in Perry township, and later moved to Plain
township, where he now owns 300 acres of land which is given
to general farming. At the present time he is also
interested largely in oil producing. After living at
the farm for over thirty-three years, Mr. Stearns and
him wife moved to Bowling Green to enjoy the wealth which
has come to them during their years of effort. They
are prominent members of the Presbyterian Church at Bowling
Green. In politics he is a Republican, and has held an
influential place in the party for many years, and was for
six years a trustee in Plain township. Socially he is
affiliated with Lodge No. 641, I. O. O. F., the G. A. R.,
Neibling Post - both of Weston.
Mrs. Elizabeth Stearns is a daughter of
Josiah and Elizabeth (Parks) Myers, both natives of
Hampshire county, W. Va., where they were married, and
afterward, in 1839, moved to Ohio, the journey being made in
a covered wagon. There were born to them eight
children, viz.: William, Samuel, Lambert and John,
all of whom served in the Civil war, Samuel and
John veteranizing (they camped one winter on or their
grandfather's farm in West Virginia; many of their relatives
served in the Confederate army); Evaline, wife of
B. Jones; Elizabeth, wife of our subject; Anna,
Mrs. C. Wooley; and Camilla, wife of Joseph
Davis. There was also an adopted son, named
Sidney Brows, who served in the Civil war, the family
thus (the sons-in-law having also joined the army) giving no
less than nine able-bodied men to the Union cause.
On arriving in Ohio, Mr. Myers took up
government land in Crawford county, where he lived form 1839
till 1866, in which latter year he removed to Missouri where
he died in 1879, his wife in 1870. His father,
William Myers, was a native of Pennsylvania; the father
of Mrs. Myers, Samuel Parks, was a minister of
the M. E. Church, in Virginia. In his political
preferences, Mr. Myers was an ardent Whig, later a no
less zealous Republican, and a true friend to the bondman,
his Ohio home being for a long time known as an "Underground
railroad station," where fugitive slaves were cared for a
given a lift on their desperate "run to Canada." In
addition to his prominence as a successful agriculturist in
Crawford county, he acted as guardian for many estates, so
great was the confidence reposed in him by the people, and
he served with much ability and characteristic fidelity in
various public offices of honor and trust, among which may
be mentioned that of county commissioner, an incumbency he
filled for several years. No one was better known in
Crawford county, and when he left no one was more missed
than Josiah Myers.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical
Record of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago:
J. H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 574 |
|
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JUSTUS STEARNS
(deceased). As one of the pioneer agriculturists of
Wood county, a good citizen, and an enterprising and
prosperous business man, the subject of this sketch held for
many years a prominent place in the community with which his
activities identified him. The family of which he was a
worthy representative is an old one, and it is probable that
the numerous branches in this country could all be traced to
three brothers, Isaac, Charles and Nathaniel
Stearne, who came from England in the ship "Arabella"
with Gov. Winthrop, and landed at Salem, Mass., June
12, 1630. The spelling of the name has been changed by
many from the original Stearne to Stearns, Sternes,
Sterns, Starns or Stearnes. Richard
Sterne, Archbishop of York during the reign of James
II, was of this same family in England.
The late Justice Stearns was born in Clifford
township, Allegheny Co., Penn, July 8, 1810, where his
grandfather, John and William Stearns,
Silas Otis and James Stearns, who were natives of
Connecticut, who had settled in the latter part of the
eighteenth century. John Stearns reared a large
family, among whom was a son James, our subject's
father, who was born Aug. 5, 1777. The family moved to
Pennsylvania a few years later, where John Stearns
died, his wife surviving him several years, and dying at the
age of eighty years. James Stearns was married
in Allegheny county, Penn., to Miss Abilene Harddin,
a daughter of Amos Hardin, and settled upon the farm
where our subject was born, remaining there until the fall
of 1822, when he moved to a farm near Bloomingdale, Richland
Co., Ohio, his household goods being transported by ox-team
in primitive fashion. He died there of lung disease,
May 5, 1837, and his wife survived him until in September,
1861, when she died in Berrien county, Mich., at the home of
their youngest son. Both were members of the Baptist
Church. While he made a comfortable living, he was not
a man to accumulate great wealth, nor did he possess the
robust physique with which his sons were endowed. Ten
children were born to this estimable pioneer couple, the
names with dates of birth being as follows: Lydia,
Jan. 6, 1804 (married James Wells, and died in
Berrien county, Mich.); Amos, Jan. 21, 1808 (married
Hiram Stevens, and died in what is now Morrow county,
Ohio); Justus, July 8, 1810; William, Feb. 17,
1814 (he was a farmer in Chautauqua county, Kans., and died
there); Rhoda, Feb. 16, 1817 (married Asa Fields,
and moved to Utah, where she died); Masena, Mar. 24,
1819 (married, first, William Hebbert, and, second,
, Dayton Mills, and died in Berrien county, Mich.,
Nov. 29, 1895); Wealthy, Oct. 22, 1821 (married
William Herbert (deceased), and resides at Bloomdale);
Silas, Mar. 15, 1823 (died in Berrien county. Mich.);
and Otis, in Feb., 1829 (he is now a farmer in
Berrien county). With the exception of Amos,
all of the sons followed the political faith of their
father, and were Old-line Whigs.
Justus Stearns attended school at his native
place for some years, but at the age of twelve he came to
the new farm in Ohio, where the hard toil of pioneer life
occupied his time. He was a strong, robust boy, and,
his parents being poor, he often worked hard and late to
obtain needed articles of clothing. His only capital
was a strong constitution and a mind fertile in resources,
but he managed to make his way in life and attain more than
an ordinary degree of success. He was married, Mar. 1,
1832, in Richland county, to his first wife, Miss Sarah
A. Davis, and in the following year, he moved to Wood
county with his wife and one child, Mary J., and
entered land in Section 31, Montgomery township. He
made his home there in the midst of the wilderness, building
his first cabin on the east branch of the Portage river, and
many years of toil and privation were undergone before the
forest became a well ordered farm. Five children were
born to his first marriage: Mary J., July 28, 1833
(now the widow of J. H. Bucher, of Perry township);
Silas D., Aug. 9, 1835 (resides in the State of
Washington); James H., Sept. 9, 1837 (died in Perry
township in May 1860); John A., July 6, 1839 (now
resides in Bowling Green); Orrin, May 9, 1841 (died
in Perry township). The mother of these died Apr. 12,
1843, and was buried in West Millgrove cemetery. On
July 3, 1843, Mr. Stearns was married near
Greensburg, Sandusky county, to Miss Eliza Cross, by
whom he had five children: Sarah A., the widow of
Wilson Patterson, of Weston, who died July 18, 1894;
Newton and Nelson, twins, the former of whom is a
farmer in Plain township, the latter deceased in infancy;
and two other children who died at an early age. The
mother died July 28, 1850, and on Oct. 10, 1850, Mr.
Stearns married Miss Mary Hall, a native of
Fairfield county, born Jan. 12, 1822, daughter of Joseph
and Mary (Mills) Hall. Her great-grandfather came
from Ireland at an early date. Five sons and two
daughters were born of this union: Josiah H., a
prosperous farmer, of Perry township; Benton, a
farmer of Weston township; J. D. and C. D.,
prominent farmers of Perry township, and William E.,
a well-known farmer of Plain township; Belle and
Laura died in childhood. The mother of this family
died Apr. 16, 1887, and was buried in Weston. On July
17, 1888, Mr. Stearns was united in the bonds of
matrimony for the fourth time, his bride being Mrs. Mary
A. Keyes, whose maiden name was Schooley; she had
been twice married, first to a Mr. Silverwood, and,
second, to Samuel Keyes. She survives, and now
resides in Bowling Green, in an elegant residence completed
shortly before the death of Mr. Stearns.
In the fall of 1850 Mr. Stearns moved to West
Millgrove and built the first hotel in that place; but not
liking that business he soon gave it up. In the spring
of 1851 he traded his first farm of R. W. Kelly for a
farm in Perry township, and some money to boot. Here
he lived for more than thirty years, adding to his
possessions from time to time until he owned over 700 acres.
Soon after the completion of the B. & O. railroad through
Deshler, Ohio, Mr. Stearns and his sons, J. H.
and S. D., became interested in a town site there,
and in various industries, mercantile and manufacturing, and
also in a hotel enterprise, all of them requiring an outlay
of many thousands of dollars. The ventures were
attended with success for a time, but later proved a
failure, leaving heavy obligations to be met. A forced
sale of his extensive property would have caused serious
loss, but with rare business sagacity he devised a way out
of his difficulty. He sold to his sons, J. H.
and S. D., some of his real estate located in Perry
township for a good price, taking their notes, and, as they
were of the energetic, clear- headed sort who can make the
most of a chance when they get it, they promptly paid their
notes as they matured, enabling him to pay his debts without
serious inconvenience, the whole business reflecting credit
on all concerned. Mr. Stearns possessed great
foresight, and the debts of his own contracting were never
the source of any trouble to him, his temporary reverses
being caused through entanglement with the affairs of
others. In 1885 e moved to Plain township, where he
had bought a large tract of land, which was supposed to be
worthless, but he improved it and sold it at a handsome
profit. His last years were spent in Bowling Green,
where he died Sept. 8, 1888, and his remains now rest reside
those of his third wife, at Weston. He was a man of
great vitality and strength, and his feats of lifting at
"raisings," in his prime, were remarkable. For over
fifty years he was a member of the Disciples Church, to
which he contributed liberally, and he was throughout his
life a leader in any enterprise or movement which appealed
to his judgment as likely to benefit the community.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J. H.
Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 575 |
Orrin Stearns |
ORRIN STEARNS,
(deceased). The subject of this sketch, veteran of the
Civil war, was born in Montgomery township, May 9, 1841, and
was the fourth son and fifth child of Justus and Sarah A.
(Davis) Stearns, mention of whom is made in another part
of this volume.
Mr. Stearns received common-school education,
and was reared as farmer's boy. On Sept. 23, 1861, he
enlisted in Company B, 55th Regiment, O. V. I.; on June 1,
1864, was promoted to corporal, and on July 8, 1865, was
further promoted to the rank of first sergeant. He was
mustered out July 11, 1865, at Louisville, Ky. While
home on veteran’s furlough in 1864, he was married, on
Feb. 4, in the “Hays House," Fostoria, to
Miss Sarah A. Brandeberry, the ceremony being
performed by J. V. Jones, a justice of the peace.
Mrs. Stearns was born in Perry township, Apr.
25, 1846, and is daughter of Isaac and Nancy (Fish)
Brandeberry, the former of whom was born in Richland
county, and the latter in Columbiana county, Ohio.
In the spring of 1866 our subject came to his farm,
which he had bought in the fall of 1865, and where his widow
now lives. It then consisted of 120 acres, on which
stood an old frame house and another frame building.
Mr. Stearns had saved $1,500 from his army
pay, and his wife was given $2,000, so they started in life
in comfortable circumstances. In 1876 he built one of
the best brick residences in Perry township. Mr.
Stearns died, Oct. 23, 1888, from a lingering
illness contracted while in the army, and he was buried in
the Fostoria cemetery. While not physically strong, he
was able to at tend to his work, was an excellent business
man, dealing extensively in stock, and retired from active
life fourteen years previous to his demise. He was
representative citizen and stanch Republican. and served as
director of the Infirmary and as trustee of Perry township.
Kind hearted, he was always ready to assist the needy and
deserving, and his death was great blow to the community.
He was member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he
held various offices, and to which he was most liberal
contributor. Socially, he belonged to the I. O. O. F., and
G. A. R., at Fostoria, and was buried by the latter
organization with all its rites and ceremonies.
Since her husband's death Mrs. Stearns
has taken charge of the farm, which now consists of 230
acres, and is one of the best in the county. She is
woman of considerable business ability, and has improved the
place in many ways. She is devout Christian, and
liberal contributor to the Methodist Episcopal Church, of
which she has been member since fourteen years of age.
While Mr. and Mrs. Stearns had no children of
their own, many others have been given home with this
admirable couple, who took great pleasure in such
philanthropic work.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J.
H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 600 |
INSERT PORTRAITS
John W. Sterling
Mrs. Amelia Sterling |
JOHN W. STERLING
Source: Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past and Present - Vol. II - Publ.
Chicago: J. H. Beers and Co. 1897 - Page 1216 |
|
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B.
P. STRATTON, a member of the well
known firm of Stratton, Powell & Co, leading hardware
merchants at Bowling Green, was born at Milan, Ohio, Aug. 10
1859.
His grandfather, Daniel Stratton, came
from Beaver County, Pennsylvania, to Norwalk, Ohio, as a 'Fireland
Pioneer' at an early date, and lived there for many years.
He died at Tontogany, Wood County, in 1876. Our subject's
father: N. T. Stratton, was born in Norwalk, he has
followed farming as an occupation all his life, most of the
time in Wood County. In 1871 he engaged in lumbering, and
had a General Store at Averill, Michigan, but he now resides
at Yale, Michigan. In politics he is a Republican, and
he has always been an earnest supporter of progressive
movements in his locality. He married: Miss Jennie A.
Smith, who was born on Aug. 18 1834, in Milan
Township, Erie County, by whom he had seven children:
Frank, who resides at Portage, Ohio; B. P., our
subject; John W., of Yale, Michigan; Hattie,
wife of Harry Higgins, of Yale, Michigan;
Mellie, the wife of Frank A. Griswold, of the
same place; Burt S., and Louie, both residents
of Howell, Michigan. Our subject's mother died in 1884,
deeply mourned by a large circle of friends in the M. E.
Church, of which she and her husband had been members for
many years.
Mr. Stratton's early education was obtained in
the schools of Wood County, and in Flint, Michigan, where he
studied for about eight years. For a short time he worked on
his father's farm in Wood county, but soon established a
store at Portage, dealing in hardware and all sorts of
implements. This he sold in 1885, and coming to
Bowling Green, he and J. W. Powell Formed a
partnership in a similar business, which is now known far
and near, and is regarded as one of the most substantial, as
it is certainly one of the most popular, in northern Ohio.
Much of its success is due to the personal influence of
Mr. Stratton, whose fine presence and courteous manners
have one him friends wherever he is known. His energy
and judgment are highly appreciated in business circles, and
he is a valued member of the Crystal Oil Co., holding the
offices of secretary and treasurer; he owns a one-fourth
interest in this company. In municipal affairs, also,
is his advice prized, and he is a leading member of the city
council of Bowling Green, where his influence can always be
relied upon for any measure tending to promote the good of
the community. Mr. Stratton married Miss
Hattie J. Avery, an accomplished and honored young lady,
of Weston, and his two children, Pearl and Harold.
He is a member of the fraternal order of the Knights of
Pythias, and of the Masonic Order.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical
Record of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago:
J. H. Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1177
Contributed by Bob Weaver |
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DANIEL STREETER.
The name of this gentleman is well and favorably known
throughout Washington township, where he is
prosperously engaged in general farming. He is a
native of the Empire State, born in the town of Alabama,
Genesee county. June 6, 1830, and is a son of
Solomon and Sallie (Arnold) Streeter, both natives of
Vermont, in which State they were married. They later
removed to New York, and the year 1838 witnessed their
arrival in Ohio, coming by steamboat to Sandusky City, then
by the Huron river to Huron county, where the father carried
on agricultural pursuits for two years. In 1840 he
located in Ottawa county, where he bought a farm and there
spent his remaining days, dying in 1856. The mother
died in that county the year of their arrival there.
In their family were ten children - Maria, Fannie, Helen,
Maranda, Filah, Caroline, Julia Ann, David, Benjamin and
Daniel.
The last named attended the
district schools of Ottawa county, pursuing his studies in
an old log school house, with primitive furniture, and at
the age of sixteen years laid aside his text books to take
up the sterner duties of life, as he then started out to
make his own livelihood, working by the month as a farm hand
until his marriage. In 1865 we find him in Wood
county, where he bought ninety-five acres of good land, but
has since disposed of forty acres of that amount. The
remainder he still cultivates, converting it into one of the
best farms of the locality, whereon are seen all
modern improvement which stand as monuments to his thrift
and enterprise.
Mr. Streeter gives his cordial support to the
Democratic party, served as trustee in Ottawa county for a
couple of years, and has also been a school director.
For a time he was a member of the Grange, and his religious
connection is with the United Brethren Church. He is a
man in whom his neighbors have entire confidence and, who
will hold his name in kindly remembrance long after he has
departed hence.
In 1854 was performed the marriage ceremony which
united the destinies of Mr. Streeter and Miss Mary Jane
Hollingshead, of Bay township, Ottawa Co., Ohio.
Her birth occurred on the 20th of August, 1827. By her
marriage she has become the mother of nine children, only
four of whom now survive: Samuel George, a
butcher of Tontogany; Mary Irene; Robert B.; and
Eva Estella.
Samuel Hollingshead, the father of Mrs. Streeter,
was born in Huntingdon county, Penn., Jan. 19, 1789, and was
a son of John Hollingshead, of Irish and German
descent. For nine months he served as a soldier in the
war of 1812, and later re-enlisted, aiding the States until
the close of that struggle. It was in 1812 that he
first came to Ohio, where he ever afterward made his home.
On June 25, 1822, at Freemont, this State, he wedded Mary
Whitinger, who was born here, though of Pennsylvania
parentage; her ancestors had lived where the battle of
Lundy's Lane was fought. She died at Port Clinton,
Ohio, June 23, 1862, and her husband, who survived her,
passed away at the same place in March, 1875. In their
family were ten children: John, who died
in infancy; Elizabeth, widow of James H. McGruder,
of Port Clinton; Mary Jane, wife of our subject;
William C., who resides on the old homestead in Ottawa
county; James, deceased, who wedded Elizabeth
Atkinson, of Port Clinton; Margaret D., deceased
wife of Absalom Shook*, of Illinois; Robert M.,
who married Lucy Dickens, by whom he had seven
children, and after her death wedded Louisa Goda;
Statira, wife of Wesley Belknap of Iowa;
Josephine, deceased wife of Clouse Harmes, of
Fremont, Ohio; and Samuel, who was a member of the
home guards of Ottawa county, and died in the South during
the Civil war. During his father's service in the war of
1812, he saw the great battle between Perry and the English
troops, and assisted the soldiers in removing stores from
Put-in-Bay to Toledo. From the latter place he walked
to Port Clinton, having nothing to eat upon the entire trip.
He was also on the lakes for four days without food, so that
he experienced all the privations and hardships of war in
those early days. By trade he was a gunsmith, but in
later life gave his entire attention to farming. He
served as justice of the peace during the early days, and
although without a knowledge of law, his own judgment and
wisdom guided him to almost unerring decisions; he also
served as commissioner of Sandusky county for eighteen
years; was associate judge and treasurer of Ottawa county,
and, lastly, was representative of that District. In
politics he was an earnest Democrat, and both he and his
estimable wife were members of the United Brethren Church.
Source: Commemorative Historical & Biographical Record
of Wood County, Ohio, Past & Present - Publ. Chicago: J. H.
Beers & Co. 1897 - Page 1108
NOTE:
* Absalom Shook md. Margaret Hollingshead on 27 Feb. 1851,
in Ottawa Co., OH |
NOTES:
|
