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HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 475 pany. Besides these two sons, the late Frank Herkenhoff was the father of five daughters, Josephine, Caroline, Adelia, Frances and Alice. Reared at Minster, Anton L. Herkenhoff supplemented the course received in the excellent schools of that town by a course in St. Mary's College at Dayton, and upon his return from college became employed in his brother's store at Minster, and was thus employed until in 1896, when he formed a partnership with J. J. Dues, now a manufacturer of farm machinery at Minster, who at that time was operating a small machine repair shop at Chickasaw, over in Mercer county, and moved the shop to Minster. This partnership continued for about five years, at the end of which time Mr. Herkenhoff bought his partner's interest in the concern, and on August 1, 1901, incorporated the business under the firm name of the Minster Machine Company, the present concern, of which his brother, Charles F. Herkenhoff, is the president, Dr. C. L. Dine vice president, and J. W. Eiting the secretary and treasurer. Anton L. Herkenhoff has been general manager of this concern from the beginning, and under his capable direction the plant has been developed until now it is one of the most important industrial concerns in this part of the state, employing 150 men and doing a large business over a rapidly expanding trade area. The first operations of the Minster Machine Company were largely confined to the manufacture of oil field machinery, which presently were expanded to include the manufacture of power transmission machinery, and in 1916 the plant was further expanded to include the manufacture of high power drilling machines, and is even now preparing for further expansion. In addition to his interests at Minster, Mr. Herkenhoff has established himself substantially in other connections of an industrial character and is the president of the Strenie Tool and Manufacturing Company of New Bremen and a member of the board of directors and general manager of the foundry company at St. Marys. He also for years has given his attention to local civic affairs, and at the age of twenty-one was elected to represent his ward in the town council. He also has served as a member of the local board of public affairs, is a former president of the Minster Home Building Club, and was one of the organizers and most active promoters of the Minster Commercial Club. In his political views he is an "independent," and in his fraternal affiliations is connected with the Knights of Columbus, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and he and his wife are members of St. Augustine's Catholic church at Minster. Anton L. Herkenhoff married Caroline Dorsten, daughter of John Dorsten, also a member of one of the old families of this region, and to this union three children have been born, a daughter, Mary, who died on April 25, 1921, and two sons, John and Victor Herkenhoff. 476 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY JOHN GEORGE KNATZ, a well-known farmer and landowner of Washington township and a former member of the board of directors of the Auglaize County Fair Association, now living retired at Wapakoneta, is a native son of Auglaize county and has lived here all his life, a period of more than sixty-six years. Mr, Knatz was born in a log cabin on the old Knatz homestead place, west of Owl creek, in the southwest quarter of section 1 of Washington township, about two miles southwest of Wapakoneta, December 26, 1856, and is a son of Conrad and Louise Knatz, natives of Germany, who were married in their native country and shortly afterward came to America, proceeding on out into western Ohio and becoming pioneers of Auglaize county. Conrad Knatz bought a tract of eighty acres of uncleared land, the north half of the southwest quarter of section 1 of Washington township, upon coming here, and on that place put up a log cabin ten by twelve feet in dimension, with nothing but the ground for a floor, and started in to make a farm out of his woodland tract. From the beginning of his operations there he gave close attention to the character of the horse flesh he raised on the place and always had good horses about him, When he got this place cleared he traded one of his horses for an adjoining "forty" and thus began to extend his land holdings until he became the owner of no less than 320 acres of land and was accounted one of the most progressive farmers of Washington township. Of course, as his affairs prospered, his original log cabin gave way to a more comfortable and commodious residence, and his other farm buildings were in proportion. He always maintained his interest in fine horses and other good live stock, and was for years one of the most successful exhibitors along these lines at the county fair. Upon his retirement from the farm in his old age he moved to Wapakoneta and there spent his last days. To him and his wife were born five children, but two of whom now survive, the subject of this sketch and his brother, Dittmer Knatz, the others of these children having been Henry, John and Sophia. Reared on the home farm, John George Knatz, who is more familiarly known to his friends as George Knatz, received his schooling in the neighborhood district school (No. 6), and from the days of his boyhood gave attention to the affairs of the farm. He continued farming with his father until his marriage, when his father gave him a tract of 115 acres, a part of his present holdings there, and on that farm he established his home and began a program of development which presently gave him one of the best improved farms in the neighborhood. To this place he added by subsequent purchase until now he is the owner of 245 acres, well improved and profitably cultivated. In addition to his general farming, Mr. Knatz has long given considerable attention to the raising of live stock, and has done well. Even as did his father, he HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 477 has always taken a deep interest in the progress of the county fair association and for some time served as a member of the board of directors of that body. Though now living retired from the active labors of the farm, Mr. Knatz keeps a pretty close supervisory eye on things down on the farm and is alert to movements having to do with the advancement of agricultural methods hereabout. He and his family have a pleasant home at 610 West Auglaize street in Wapakoneta, just a pleasant drive distant from the farm. George Knatz married Sophia Weitz, a daughter of Charles and Mary Weitz, of this county, and he and his wife have four children, Carl H., Eda, Loretta and Alma, the last named of whom and Eda are at home with their parents. Carl H. Knatz, who is now looking after the affairs of the farm, making his home there, married Ola Frey and has two children, Harriet and Amoin. Loretta Knatz married Peter Rickert and has two children, Marjorie and Roland. Mr. Knatz is a Democrat with independent leanings, and he and his wife are members of the Evangelical church at Wapakoneta. JOHN J. HEITKAMP, one of Jackson township's progressive farmers and landowners and a member of the pioneer Heitkamp family of that part of the county, was born in Jackson township on October 26, 1874, and is a son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Goeke) Heitkamp, the latter of whom was born in the neighboring county of Mercer, and concerning whom further mention, together with additional reference to the Heitkamp family in this county, is made elsewhere in this work. Joseph Heitkamp was a son of Henry Heitkamp, the pioneer, who had entered a tract of land from the Government in the northwest part of what is now Jackson township in pioneer days and had there established his home, as is set out elsewhere. Joseph Heitkamp became a substantial farmer, the owner of a good farm of 200 acres, and his family was reared on the farm. This family consisted of eight children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the sixth in order of birth. Reared on the home farm, John J. Heitkamp received his schooling in the Egypt school house, and from boyhood has been devoted to farming, a vocation he entered on his own behalf when after his marriage twenty years and more ago he bought a tract of ninety acres in the vicinity of the old home and on that place established his home and has ever since resided. Mr. Heitkamp has a good farm and is doing well, having increased his land holdings by the purchase of an adjoining tract of fifteen acres, and thus now has a farm of 105 acres. This is well improved and he has an up-to-date farm plant. In his political views Mr. Heitkamp is an "independent." He has ever taken an interested part in local civic affairs and is now school director in his district. He and his family are members of St. John's Catholic church at Maria Stein, of which he was a trustee one term, and he also is a member of the 478 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY St. Joseph Society. The Heitkamps have a pleasant home on rural mail route No. 2 out of Minster and take a proper part in the social activities of the neighborhood in which they live. It was on April 24, 1900, that John J. Heitkamp was united in marriage to Rosa Bruns, who also was born in Jackson township, daughter of Bernard and Mary (Hagemann) Bruns, concerning whom further mention is made elsewhere in this volume, and to this union have been born nine children, Regina, August, Ida, Edwin, Emily, Leonard, Herbert, Clarence and Oscar. Mrs. Heitkamp is the second in order of birth of the nine children born to her parents, the others being Elizabeth, Frances, Josephine, Bernard, Charles, Regina, Louis and Henry, WILLIAM BRANDS, a well-known bachelor farmer and landowner, living just northwest of Wapakoneta, in the southeast quarter of section 19 of Duchouquet township, was born on the farm on which he is now living and has lived there all his life, with the exception of a period of ten years or more, when he was engaged in the business of laying cement sidewalks, his activities in that line then taking him to various cities throughout Ohio and the middle West. Mr. Brands (the name originally having been spelled Brantz) was born on July 10, 1857, and is a son of William and Mary Louise (Siheler) Brands, both of whom were of European birth, the latter born in Germany. The senior William Brands (Brantz) was born in the kingdom of Holland and was a young man when he came to this country and proceeded on out into Ohio, locating at New Riegel, in Seneca county. Not long afterward he came down into this part of the state and for a short time made his home at Minster. He then bought a tract of eighty acres adjoining the Duchouquet Reserve on the north, just northwest of Wapakoneta, and there established his home. That was an uncleared timber tract when he bought it, and he put up a log house for a dwelling place and started in to make a farm out of his place. As his affairs prospered, for he was a good farmer, he added to his land holdings until he became the owner of a fine tract of 200 acres there. On that place he spent the remainder of his life, one of the industrious and substantial farmers of the Wapakoneta neighborhood. To him and his wife were born nine children, those besides the subject of this sketch being Barbara, Gerhart, Lena, Minnie, Michael, Theresa, Joseph and John, Reared on the home farm in the vicinity of Wapakoneta, the junior William Brands received his schooling in the schools of Wapakoneta, and during the years of his young manhood was a helpful factor in the labors of developing his father's agricultural interests. Upon the death of his father he came into possession of the old home place, the original "eighty" of the Brands estate, and has since held that farm, now making his home there. He continued farming until in 1892, when he became interested in the then rapidly developing HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 479 industry connected with the laying of cement sidewalks and became a contractor along that line. For nearly ten years Mr. Brands followed this line, taking contracts for the laying of cement sidewalks in cities widely separated, including Dayton, Toledo, Cleveland and Hamilton, in this state, and as far east as Philadelphia and as far west as St. Louis. In 1901 he retired from that line and returned to his farm in this county and has since made his home here. Mr. Brands is a member of the congregation of St. Joseph's Catholic church at Wapakoneta and is affiliated with the Knights of St. John, with the St. Martin's Society, and with the Swabian Society. In his political views he is a Democrat. He lives on rural mail route No. 3 out of Wapakoneta.   GEORGE A. RASNOR, a well known farmer and landowner of this county, now living retired at St. Marys, where he has made his home for the past five years and more, was born at Eaton, in Preble county, this state, in 1849, and is a son of George and Lydia (Rudolph) Rasnor, who had located there upon coming to Ohio from Pennsylvania in the middle '40s of the past century. George Rasnor and his wife were born in Pennsylvania, where they were married and where they made their home for some years thereafter, he following the vocation of millwright. Upon settling at Eaton he continued that vocation for some years and then bought a small farm in the neighboring county of Darke, where he established his home and where he spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring in the early '90s. His widow survived him for many years, her death occurring in 1916. They were the parents of five children, the two elder of whom were born in Pennsylvania. G. A. Rasnor, the third in order of birth of these children, was but a child when his parents moved from Eaton to the farm in Darke county and his schooling was completed in the schools of the latter county. As a young man he started farming on his own account and bought a farm of forty acres in Darke county on which he made his home after his marriage at the age of thirty years for eight years, or until 1887 when he sold that place and came to Auglaize county and for two years thereafter made his home on the farm of his wife's father, Curt Meyer. He then (in 1889) bought a farm of 100 acres on the river road a mile north of St. Marys, in Noble township, which he proceeded to develop and on which he made his home for nearly thirty years, or until 1917, when he retired from the farm and moved to St. Marys, where he has since made his home, he and his wife being very comfortably situated at 417 North Perry street, the house which Mr. Rasnor bought upon moving to town. Mr. and Mrs, Rasnor are members of the United Brethren church and are Democrats. For some time during his residence in Noble township, Mr, Rasnor served as director of his home school district. It was   480 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   in 1879 that G. A. Rasnor was united in marriage to Adaline Meyer who was born in this county, daughter of Curt Meyer, who was substantial pioneer farmer, and to this union seven children wer born, all of whom are living, Oscar, Lydia M., Alonzo, Harry, Effie, Elmer and Irma, the latter of whom married Carl Behrn, Rasnor has been a practical farmer from the days of his young ma hood and in that time has seen some amazing improvements made in methods of agriculture.   BERNARD NAGEL, who died at his home in Jackson township more than three years ago, was for years recognized as one of ti representative farmers and landowners of that part of Auglaize county, and it is but proper there should here appear some model tribute to the good memory he left in that community at his passive Mr. Nagel was of European birth, born in Germany on January 13, 1845, and was but five years of age when he came to this count: in 1850 with his parents, Bernard and Elizabeth (Hesselfeld) Nag, also natives of Germany, who upon their arrival in America w, to Kentucky. For several years they made their home in Kentucky and then came up here into Ohio with their family and settled on pioneer farm northwest of Minster, in Jackson township, who they spent the remainder of their lives. On that pioneer farm t junior Bernard Nagel grew to manhood and early devoted himself to farming, a vocation he followed the rest of his life. After marriage he started farming in a small way on his own account, but as his affairs prospered added to his land holdings until he became the owner of 360 acres, one of the best improved farms in his neigborhood, the place having three sets of buildings and all the equipment essential to a well-managed and profitably operated mod, farm plant. On that place Mr. Nagel spent his last days, his death occurring there on December 24, 1919, he then being in the sever. fifth year of his age, and his widow survives him. Bernard Nagel, was twice married. By his first wife, Clara Holinda, he was father of five children, John, William, Elizabeth, Anna and Rose, all of whom married save the latter. John Nagel has been twice married, his first wife—Lena Berger—having died, after which he married Josephine Steineman. William Nagel married Mary Berger and has four children, Clara, Irene, Margaret and Ludwig. Elizabeth Nagel married John Kaiser and has five children, Clara, Hilda. Matilda, Henrietta and Richard, and Anna Nagel married Fred Steineman and has four children, Elsie, Marion, Louise and Carl. Following the death of Mrs. Clara Nagel, mother of the above children, Bernard Nagel married Anna Schulte, who survives him, and to that union were born seven children, five of whom are living, Bernard, Charles, Ernest, Clarence and Marie, all of whom are married save the two latter. Bernard Nagel (III) married Matilda Lang   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 481   and has four children, Virginia, Georgianna, Rosemary and Martin. Charles Nagel married Odelia Sweitermann and has three children, Lucile, Wilfred and Herbert, and Ernest Nagel married Mary Westerheide and has one child, a daughter, Rita Marie. Since the death her husband Mrs. Nagel has continued to make her home on the northwest of Minster, where she is very comfortably situated. She is a member of St. Augustine's Catholic church at Minster, as was her husband, and their children were reared in that faith, Mr. Nagel long having served as a member of the board of trustees of the valuable property held by St. Augustine's parish. He was a Democrat and had rendered service as a member of the local school board. Mrs, Nagel was born in Jackson township, as were her parents, Henry and Elizabeth (Wente) Schulte, both members of pioneer families in the Minster neighborhood. Henry Schulte was the owner of an excellent farm of 120 acres west of the Nagel place. He and his wife were the parents of ten children, eight of whom are still living, Mrs, Nagel having three sisters, Mary, Elizabeth and Louise, and our brothers, Joseph, Charles, Bernard and John Schulte.   FRED ZIEGENBUSCH, former mayor of the village of Buckland, a former member of the village board, former treasurer of the village school board as well as treasurer of Logan township, is engaged in the blacksmith business at Buckland and also is the owner of a well kept farm in the immediate vicinity of that enterprising village. Mr. Ziegenbusch is a native son of Auglaize county, born at Wapakoneta, the county seat, March 1, 1857, and is a son of Henry and Mary (Merkle) Ziegenbusch, both of whom were of European birth, the former born in the former kingdom of Hanover and the latter in the kingdom of Wurtemburg. The late Henry Ziegenbusch came to the United States in 1850 and in the following year (1851) established himself in the blacksmith business at Wapakoneta, where he spent the remainder of his life. He and his wife were the parents of twelve children, all of whom are living save h sons (Edward and August), the subject of this sketch having our sisters, Mary, Margaret, Anna and Emma, and five brothers, hones, William, Edward (II), Joseph and Anton Ziegenbusch. Reared at Wapakoneta, where he was born, Fred Ziegenbusch completed his schooling in the high school there and then became engaged in the blacksmith shop with his father, there becoming thoroughly trained in the details of that business. He remained in the shop with his father until after he had attained his majority and then, in 1879, went to Dayton, Ohio, where he began working at his trade and where three or four years later he was married. He continued his residence at Dayton until 1886, when he returned to Auglaize county and opened a blacksmith shop at Buckland, where he established his home and where he ever since has been engaged (30)   482 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   in business, a period of nearly forty years, during which time, by reason of the nature of his business, he has come to be one of the best known men in that part of the county. In addition to his blacksmith business Mr. Ziegenbusch also is the owner of a well improved farm of something more than eighty-one acres in the vicinity of Buckland, to the operations of which he has long given his attention and in the management of which he has done wellis Mr. Ziegenbusch is a Democrat and has long been looked upon a: one of the leaders of that party in Logan township. He has served as mayor of the village of Buckland for three terms (1898-1901). has served several terms as member of the village council or town board and also has served as treasurer of Logan township and treasurer of his school district. His wife is a member of the Christian church at Buckland. It was on December 20, 1883, that Fred Ziegenbusch was united in marriage to Anna Weeber, who was born. in Germany and was twenty-two years old when she came to this country. She lived with her brother, Jacob Weeber, until her mat riage to Mr. Ziegenbusch. To this union have been born four sons Fred W., William, Edwin and Herman, all of whom are married Fred W. Ziegenbusch married Carrie Heider and has three children: Anna, Margaret and Fred. William Ziegenbusch married Delgada Wheeler and has two children, Phyllis and Betty Jane. Edwin Ziegenbusch married Fern Jacquette and Herman Ziegenbusch married Mary Whetstone.   WILLIAM KUCK, SR., a well-known farmer of the New Knoxsville neighborhood, now living practically retired, proprietor of the old Kuck farm just southwest of the village in section 30 of Washington township, was born on that farm and has lived there all h life. Mr. Kuck was born in the year 1852 and is a son of William and Elizabeth (Bransman) Kuck, natives of Germany, who were among the pioneers of the New Knoxville community. The senior William Kuck had grown up to the trade of carpenter in his native country, and upon coming to this country and settling in this part of the state of Ohio, back in the days when work on the construction of the canal was beginning here, he secured work as a carpenter on the construction of the canal locks, and was thus engaged for several years, or until that big job of engineering was completed, thus earning the money with which he presently bought the farm of ninety-three acres just southwest of the village of New Knoxville, which was laid out in 1836. On that place he established his home and started in to make a farm out of it. His skill as a carpenter and builder kept in demand his services as a builder during the pioneer period, and much of the early building in and about New Knoxville was done by him, this including the old German Reformed church in the village, which in time gave way to the present handsome   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 483   edifice of that congregation at that place. He also set up a sorghum. mill on his place, and the pioneers for miles thereabout brought to him their sugar cane to be converted into molasses, he thus establishing an industry there which has been maintained successfully to this day. On that farm the senior William Kuck spent his last days. His widow survived him for some years. Of the children burn to them, six grew to maturity, those besides the subject of this sketch being Elizabeth, August, Sophia, Louis and Theodore. Another son, Herman, died when about fifteen years old. William Kuck, the second in order of birth of these children, was reared on that pioneer farm and received his schooling in the nearby New Knoxville schools. From the days of his boyhood he has given his attention to the affairs of the farm, and after his father's death operated the farm in his mother's behalf until her death, after which he bought the place and has since been operating it on his own account. To the original tract of a fraction more than ninety-three acres there he added an adjoining tract, and now has a well-improved farm of 108 acres and a well-equipped farm plant. The new buildings which he caused to be erected on the place are in keeping with all improvements there and are attractive and well kept. The old horse-power sorghum mill which his father established there long years ago has long been operated by mechanical power, for Mr. Kuck has kept the mill going during the sugar cane seasons and has one of the best sorghum plants in this part of the state. Though now practically retired from the active operations of the farm, Mr. Kuck keeps a pretty close supervisory eye on things and has not lost his interest in the general agricultural operations of the neighborhood or in the various other flourishing activities of that community. He is an earnest Republican, and he and his wife are members of the First Reformed church of New Knoxville, of which his parents were among the early promoters. Mr. Kuck married Caroline Katterheinrich, also a member of one of the pioneer families of this section of the state, and to this union seven children have been born, namely: Herman, who died in infancy, and Edward, Louis, Elizabeth, Bertha, Louise and Ella, three of whom are married. Edward Kuck married Cora Gleason and has one child, a son, Marion. Bertha Kuck married Arthur Wellman, and Ella Kuck married William Oelrich and has one child, a daughter, Catherine. Mrs. Caroline Kuck was born on a farm in the woods down in the neighboring county of Shelby and is a daughter of Herman W. and Elizabeth (Lutterbeck) Katterheinrich, natives of Germany, who came to this country after their marriage and proceeded on out into Ohio and settled on a woodland farm in Shelby county, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Herman W. Katterheinrich and wife were the parents of ten children, five of whom are still living, Mrs. Kuck having three sisters, Sophia, Ionise and Anna, and a brother, Louis Katterheinrich.   484 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   ANTON ALBERS, one of Jackson township's well known farmers and proprietor of an excellent farm on rural mail route No. 2 out of Minster, was born on that farm and has lived there pretty much all his life, the exception being a short period during the years of his young manhood when he was farming in the McCartyville neighborhood in the neighboring county of Shelby, Mr. Albers was born on August 16, 1866, and is a son of Anton and Bernardine (Fortman) Albers, both of whom were members of pioneer families in this section of the state. The senior Anton Albers grew to manhood on the farm on which his son Anton is now living and was the son of Bernard Albers and wife who had come to this country from Germany, Bernard Albers entering from the Government the farm on which his grandson now lives. His son. Anton, succeeded to that place and after his marriage established his home there in the north half of section 29 of Jackson township. about two miles north and west of Minster, and came to be the owner of 150 acres of land. On this place he spent his last days. his death occurring in 1878. His widow long survived him. They were the parents of seven children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the sixth in order of birth, the others being Bernard (deceased), Elizabeth (deceased), Catherine (deceased), Joseph and Josephine. By a previous marriage, to Theresa Huebe, Anton Albers was the father of three children, Frank, Bernadine and Mary, the latter of whom—Mrs. John Blacke of Minster-alone survives, Reared on the farm which he owns, the junior Anton Albers received his schooling in the "Egypt" school and was early trained it the ways of practical farming. His father died when he was twelve years of age and he remained on the farm, a valuable aid to his mother in the labors of improving and developing the same, untii he was twenty-eight years of age, when he went down into Shelby county and was for a year engaged in farming in the McCartyville neighborhood there. He then returned to the old home place and bought the same, established his home there and has ever since mad: that his place of residence. Mr. Albers has a well improved farm of 150 acres and is doing well in his operations. He is a Republican and has served the public as school director in his district, He and his family are members of St. Joseph's Catholic church at Egyp: and he has served during several terms as trustee of the church and is a member of the Catholic Welfare Society of Ohio and of the St. Joseph's Society. Mr. Albers has been twice married. By his firs' wife, Josephine Berning, he was the father of four children, John, Henry and two who died in childhood. Following the death of the mother of these children, Mr. Albers married Mrs. Theresa (Kothmann) Rosengarten, daughter of George and Josephine (Freiderich) Kothmann, of Mercer county, and widow of John Rosengarten, and   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 485   to this union two children have been born, Christina and Andrew. By her first marriage Mrs. Albers is the mother of two children, Clara and Francis. Mrs. Albers was born in Mercer county, where her parents, both of whom were born in the Minster neighborhood, had located after their marriage. Her father, George Kothmann, was a son of Herman Kothmann and wife, who had located in the Minster neighborhood upon coming here from Germany and reared their family here, George Kothmann and wife were the parents of nine children, those besides Mrs. Albers (the sixth in order of birth) being Louis, Henry (deceased), Bernard, August, Elizabeth, Anthony, Josephine and Mary (deceased).   BERNARD THIEMAN, a former trustee of Jackson township and one of the best known farmers and landowners of that part of Auglaize county, has been a resident of that section all his life, a period of nearly eighty years and has thus seen that region develop from its primitive state of woodland swamp and morass to its present highly cultivated and richly improved condition. When he was born that part of the present Auglaize county was still included within the confines of Mercer county and what is now Jackson township was the southern half of the original German township, for Jackson township was not set off as a separate civil township until the spring of 1859. When he was born the canal had not yet been opened for traffic and he thus has been a witness to and a participant in all the amazing development that has marked this region since that day. He has seen all this and been a part of it, doing well his share in this development, and he has many an interesting tale to tell of the doings during the pioneer period. Mr. Thieman was born on a pioneer farm in the near vicinity of his present home in Jackson township on January 15, 1844, and is a son of Frank and Rebecca (Wuesel) Thieman, both of European birth, the former born in the grand duchy of Oldenburg and the latter in the kingdom of Hanover. Frank Thieman came to America in the days of his young manhood and located at Cincinnati, where not long afterward he married Rebecca Wuesel, who had come to this country with her parents not long before, the family settling at Cincinnati. Shortly after their marriage Frank Thieman and his wife came up into this part of Ohio to put in their lot with the Stallo Town "colonists", who not long before had effected a settlement at what now is Minster and to make a new home in the then wilderness. Work on the construction of the canal had been begun about that time and for a time after coming here he worked on that construction, in the meantime entering from the Government a "forty" about two miles northwest of Minster and about the same distance west of the canal—the northwest quarter of the northwest quarter of section 21 of what then was German township, just at the north line of   486 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   what in 1859 came to be Jackson township—where he established his home. He built a log cabin there, cleared the place, drained it as effectually as his outlet would permit and pretty soon had a going farm. As his affairs prospered he added to his holdings until he became the owner of 160 acres and was getting his farm in good shape when death overtook him at the age of fifty-five years, in 1855. His widow survived him for some years. They had five children, three sons, Henry, Frank and Bernard Thieman, and two daughters, Wilhelmina and Mary, the Thieman connection in the present generation thus being a considerable one. Bernard Thieman was reared on that pioneer farm and his schooling was received in the "Egypt" school, to reach which he more often than not literally had to wallow through the mud of the woodland morass. He was but eleven years of age when his father died and thus, from boyhood, he had to keep up his part in the labors of improving and developing the home place, which was maintained under his mother's direction, he and his brother Frank and sister Wilhelmina later coming into charge. Before his marriage Bernard Thieman bought a tract of 100 acres in the southeast quarter of section 21 of Jackson township, about half a mile southwest of the Thieman home place, and after his marriage established his home on that ply, and has ever since resided there. It was not long before he found affairs progressing profitably and he presently bought an adjacent tract, to which he since has added from time to time until now he is the owner of 410 acres of splendid land, all in Jackson township, his farm being well improved and profitably cultivated. Of late years, of course, Mr. Thieman has relaxed somewhat from the more arduous labors of the farm, but he still keeps a pretty close supervisory eye on the direction of affairs and has ever kept pace with the advancement of methods in agriculture. He is a Republican of "indepenuent" leanings and has served the public as supervisor of roads in his district and also for some time as a member of the board of township trustees. Bernard Thieman married Mary Nagel, a daughter of Bernard Nagel, a substantial pioneer farmer whose farm in section 21 adjoined his on the north, and to this union have been born seven children, namely : Louis, who died in infancy; William, who married Frances Sherman and has three children, Bernard, Florence and Mildred ; Joseph, who married Emily Woehrmyer and has two children, Bernedetta and Dorothy; George, who married Olive Kleinhenz and has two children, Roger and Edna; Charles, a veteran of the World war with a record of nine months overseas service, trained at Camp Jackson and rendering service as a private in the 111th Field Artillery with the 29th Division, who is unmarried and living on the home place ; Josephine, who married John Feltman and has two children, Henry and Bernedine, and   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 487   Cecelia, who married Frank Severin and has four children, Urban, Marie, Elsie and Wilfred. The Thiemans have a very pleasant home on rural mail route No. 2 out of Minster. They are members of St. Augustine's Catholic church at Minster and Mr. Thieman is a member of many years standing of the St. Augustine's Society of that parish.   J. H. HEITKAMP, a member of the pioneer Heitkamp family in the northwestern part of Jackson township and the owner there of a fine farm of 200 acres, where he makes his home, rural mail route No. 2 out of Minster, was born in that part of the county and has lived there all his life. Mr. Heitkamp was born on March 18, 1867, and is a son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Goeke) Heitkamp, the latter of whom was born in the neighboring county of Mercer. Joseph Heitkamp was born in what is now Jackson township, Auglaize county, but which then was included in the original bounds of German township, at that time a part of Mercer county, and was a son of Henry Heitkamp, who had settled at Minster upon coming to this country from Germany and had for some time thereafter been employed in the work of constructing the canal, following his trade as a carpenter in that connection. He later bought a farm of eighty acres two miles or more north and west of Minster and established his home there, this having been the beginning of the extensive Hietkamp agricultural interests which later were developed in that section of the county. Henry Heitkamp and wife had six children, of whom Joseph Heitkamp, father of the subject of this sketch, was the second in order of birth. Joseph Heitkamp became the owner of 200 acres of land in Jackson township and was accounted one of the substantial farmers of the neighborhood in which he lived. He and his wife had eight children, those besides the subject of this sketch (the third in order of birth) being Mary, Catherine, Anthony, Bernard, John, Joseph and Elizabeth. Reared on the home farm in the northwestern part of the township, J. H. Heitkamp received his schooling at "Egypt" and remained on the farm, an aid to his father, until his marriage, when he bought an "eighty," a part of the place on which he is now living, in the neighborhood of the old home, and has since resided there. Mr. Heitkamp made a good farm out of his original eighty and has added to that until now he is the owner of a well improved farm of 200 acres. He has a comfortable home and an admirable farm plant and is doing well in his operations. J. H. Heitkamp married Caroline Mescher, daughter of Henry Mescher, and to this union eight children have been born, Clemens, Cecelia, Leo, Roman, Julius, Matilda, Stella and Urban, four of whom are married. Clemens Heitkamp married Matilda Neikamp and has five children, Hugo, Norbert, Kenneth, Grace and Dorothy. Cecelia Heitkamp married Benja-   488 = HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   min Vehorn and has four children, Rozella, Clarence, Elvira and Wilbert. Roman Heitkamp married Rozella Scheme' and Matilda Heitkamp married Henry Thobe and has one child, a son, Virgil. The Heitkamps are members of St. John's Catholic church at Maria Stein and Mr. Heitkamp was for some time one of the trustees of the property held by that parish. In his political views he is "independent" and he has rendered public service as a director in his school district.   CALVIN H. SIBERT, a well-known farmer and landowner of Auglaize county, now living retired at Uniopolis, where he has made his home for the past twenty years and more, is a native "Buckeye" and has lived in this state all his life, a resident of Auglaize county since he was three years of age, a period of more than seventy years, Mr. Sibert was born on the Piqua plains, in Miami county, on January 19, 1847, and is a son of Samuel and Henrietta (Shannahan) Sibert, who settled in Auglaize county in 1850 and here spent the remainder of their lives. Samuel Sibert was a Virginian by birth, who had come to Ohio with his parents in his youth and after his marriage had settled in Miami county, where he remained until 1850, when he came up into Auglaize county with his family and established his home on an eighty-acre tract of woodland in Pusheta township. Not long afterward he sold that place and then rented a farm in the immediate vicinity of Wapakoneta, but not long afterward bought a farm of 119 acres just west of town, the site now occupied by the fair ground, and there spent his last days, his death occurring on September 9, 1865, and his widow long survived hint They were the parents of seven children, all of whom are still living save one daughter, Elizabeth, the subject of this sketch having two sisters, Mary and Helen, and three brothers, Otho, Samuel and George Sibert. As noted above, Calvin H. Sibert was three years of age when he came to this county with his parents, in 1850. He was seventeen years of age when his father died, and he remained with his mother, assisting in the labors of the home farm, she having disposed of her interests in the present fair ground site and bought another eighty in Duchouquet township, until after his marriage, at the age of twenty-five, when he bought that eighty and began farming on his own account. As he prospered in his operations, Mr. Sibert bought more land, until he became the owner of a fine farm of 447 acres, and there he continued farming until his retirement in 1900 and removal to Uniopolis, where he has since made his home. Mr. Sibert is a Democrat, and he and his wife are members of the Christian church. It was on May 23, 1872, that Calvin H. Sibert was united in marriage to Catherine H. Bitler, daughter and only child of Henry and Margaret Ann (Parlett) Bitler, both members of old families in this county, and to this union   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 489   three children have been born, Ira, Ida and Samuel, all of whom are married. Ira Sibert married Emma Keifer and has one child, a son, Richard. Ida Sibert married Jerome Orr and has two children, Flossie and Calvin, and Samuel Sibert married Dora Focht and has four children, Bonnie, Calvin, Lyman and Minard. Mrs. Catherine H, Sibert was born at St. Johns, this county, her parents having been among the pioneers of that part of the county. Her father, Henry Bitler, was a Pennsylvanian by birth, and her mother was a, Virginian. Henry Bitler died of cholera in July, 1851, during the prevalence of the scourge of that dread disease that swept through this region at that period.   TOBIAS NUSS, one of the well known farmers of the Wapakoneta neighborhood, proprietor of a well improved farm a mile north of the river, northwest of town, was born on that farm and has lived there all his life. Mr. Nuss was born on March 27, 1861, and is the son and only child of Michael and Barbara Nuss, both of whom were born in Germany and whose last days were spent on that farm, well known residents of that neighborhood in their generation. The late Michael Nuss came to this country from Germany as a young man, about 1857, and proceeded on out into Ohio, locating in Pusheta township, this county, where he presently was married. Not long afterward, in 1860, he bought a tract of forty-five acres adjoining the Duchouquet Reserve on the north, in the southwest quarter of section 19 of Duchouquet township, a mile or more northwest of Wapakoneta, and on that uncleared timber tract established his home and started in to make a farm out of the place. When he got that tract cleared he bought an adjoining "forty," and as he developed that farm added to his holdings until he became the owner of a fine farm of 117 acres and was accounted one of the substantial men of that neighborhood. On that place he and his wife Tent their last days, her death occurring in 1899 and his in 1909. Reared on the home farm, Tobias Nuss received his schooling in St. Joseph's parish school at Wapakoneta, for his parents were faithful Catholics, and from the days of his boyhood was a valued lid to his father in the labors of developing and improving the farm, After his marriage he continued to make his home there, be and his father carrying on their farming operations in agreeable association, and after his father's death he took over the farm and has continued to make his home there. The place is improved in admirable fashion and Mr. Nuss has done well in his operations. h is a Democrat and is a member of St. Joseph's Catholic churoh. For six years he served as pike superintendent for Duchouquet town- ;hip, For the past fifteen years Mr. Nuss has relaxed somewhat from the active labors of the farm and has given a good bit of his attention to pump work, making a specialty of the repair of water   490 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   pumps and his services in that connection have come to be in wide demand. Tobias Nuss married Katherine Drexler, daughter of Tobias Drexler, a neighboring landowner in section 19 of Duchouquet township, and to that union five children were born, Andrew, Theresa, Frederick, Henry and Louise, all of whom are married save Theresa and Henry. The mother of these children died on November 19, 1915. Andrew Nuss married Anna Knuth and has three children,, Andrew, Clement and Clara. Frederick Nuss married Erma L. Miller and has one child, a daughter, Emily, and Louise Nuss married Willis W. Wyant and has one child, a daughter, Laverne. The Nuss home is situated on rural mail route No. 3 out of Wapakoneta.   JOHN R. CORDREY, postmaster at New Hampshire, justice of the peace in and for Goshen township and secretary-treasurer of the school board of that township, one of the best known men in Auglaize county, where he has lived since the days of his boyhood, is a native "Buckeye" and has lived in this state all his life. Mr. Cordrey was born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, January 30, 1855, and is a son of Riley and Mary (Smetts) Cordrey, both also natives of Ohio, whose last days were spent in Auglaize county. It was in 1867 that Riley Cordrey, a veteran of the Civil war, disposed of his interests in Tuscarawas county and came with his family to Auglaize c unty, the newer lands over here proving a lure which he thought well to heed. He bought a tract of 100 acres of unimproved land in the eastern part of Goshen township, Lot 19 of Warrant 12276 of the Virginia military lands tract, and there established his home, later buying an adjoining tract of 110 acres, this giving him a farm of 270 acres, and he thus presently became recognized as one of the leading farmers and influential citizens of that part of the county. It is recalled that Riley Cordrey was one of the first landowners in that section who began to push the movement for the reclamation of the waste lands in that part of the county and that it largely was due to his personal interest in this matter and his aggressive action that the first proper system of drainage was adopted and carried through, so that he served his generation well. On that place he and his wife spent their last days, both dying in the same year, her death occurring on May 10, 1889, and his, October 30 of that year, They were the parents of nine children, six of whom are still living, the subject of this sketch having four sisters, Alice, Arminta, Olive and Irena, and a brother, N. Elsworth Cordrey. The deceased members of this family were Cynthia, Alvarata and one who died in infancy. John R. Cordrey was twelve years of age when he came here with his parents in 1867 and he grew to manhood on the home farm in Goshen township, completing his schooling in the school house of district No. 1, there on the Belle Center pike (now the paved high-   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 491   way), just off the corner of his father's farm. Even in his youth he was a helpful factor in the labors of improving and developing the home place and when he had attained his majority his father gave him a partnership interest in the farm. When twenty-four years of age he married and about three years later moved over into Hardin county and was there engaged in farming for four years, at the end of which time he moved back into Auglaize county and bought a farm of seventy acres in Goshen township and there established his home, at the same time renting an adjoining tract of 200 acres and was thus engaged in farming until in 1905, when he suffered a sunstroke and was warned to give up farming forever, his physical condition after this disability being such as to preclude the necessary exertions attendant on practical farming. Upon leaving the farm Mr. Cordrey moved into the pleasant village of New Hampshire and has since made his home there. It was during the first Roosevelt administration that Mr. Cordrey was appointed postmaster at New Hampshire and he ever since has occupied that position. On January 20, 1905, hc was appointed a state examiner for one of the state boards and for more than five years occupied that position. Mr. Cordrey's first civil position was that of constable of Goshen township, to which office he was elected when twenty-one years of age. In 1902 he was elected township treasurer and for some years filled that position. For some years past he has been occupying the position of justice of the peace in and for Goshen township and he also is the secretary and treasurer of the township school board, a position to which his activities have done much for the promotion of the interests of the schools of his home township and for the consolidated school at New Hampshire. For years he has been looked upon as one of the leaders of the Republican party in this county. It was on December 28, 1879, that John R. Cordrey was united in marriage to Sarah J. Cummins, also of Goshen township, and to this union two sons have been born, Bernard A. and Harry E. Cordrey, the latter of whom, now living at Plain Center, Ohio, married Faith B. Bechtel and has one child, a son, Harry E., Jr. Bernard A. Cordrey married Elizabeth Bogart and is now the proprietor of the general store at New Hampshire. Mr. and Mrs. Cordrey are active members of the Baptist church at New Hampshire and Mr. Cordrey is one of the deacons of that congregation. He is a member of the Masonic lodge at Waynesfield and of the local tent of the Knights of the Maccabees at New Hampshire. Mrs. Cordrey was born in the neighboring county of Logan, daughter of Joseph and Anna (Vandevanter) Cummins, who about the year 1870 moved from that county with their family over into Auglaize county and settled on a farm in Goshen township, where Mrs. Cordrey grew to womanhood and was married. Joseph Cummins and wife had five children, three of whom are still living, Mrs. Cordrey having a sister, Mary, and a brother, John Cummins.   492 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   JACOB W. LOGAN, a former member of the board of county commissioners for Auglaize county, a former treasurer of Union township and a well known mill man now living retired at Uniopolis, is a member of one of the real pioneer families of this section of Ohio and has lived hereabout all his life, a period of more than seventy-five years. Mr. Logan was born in the neighboring county of Allen on October 25, 1847, and is a son of James and Christina (Weaver) Logan, who later became residents of Auglaize county, where their last days were spent. James Logan was born in Champaign county, this state, and was eighteen years of age when in 1833 he came up here with his parents, the family settling on a woodland farm in Allen county. That was fifteen years before the erection of Auglaize county, a large part of which at that time was included in Allen county. After his marriage James Logan continued to make his home in Allen county until in 1865, when he came down over the line into this county and bought a farm of eighty acres in Union township, where he established his home and spent the remainder of his life. He and his wife were the parents of ten children, all of whom grew to maturity save two and five of whom are still living, the subject of this sketch having two sisters, Sarah and Rose, and two brothers, James and Josiah M. Logan. Jacob W. Logan was seventeen years of age when the family located in Union township and he grew to manhood there, helping his father improve and develop the home farm. He married when twenty-one years of age and continued on the farm until in 1880, when he became engaged in the saw mill business at Uniopolis. For ten years, or until the big timber was pretty well gotten out of the way in that vicinity, Mr, Logan carried on his saw mill and then he erected a flour mill in the village and carried on with that enterprise for eight years, at the end of which time he sold the mill and moved to Wapakoneta, Two years later he resumed milling and for two years afterward operated a saw mill in Logan county, after which he returned to Uniopolis, where he has since resided, now living practically retired, Mr. Logan is a Democrat and has rendered public service in several important capacities. In 1890 he was elected to represent his district on the board of county commissioners and by re-election served in this office for six years (1891-97), thus having been a member of the board under whose direction the present court house was erected. He also served for five years as treasurer of Union township and has likewise served as assessor for the village of Uniopolis. He is a member of the Masonic lodge at Wapakoneta and he and his wife are members of the Church of Christ at Uniopolis. On March 16, 1869, Jacob W. Logan was united in marriage to Sarah E. Carter, a member of one of the old families of Union township, and to this union thirteen children were born, six of whom—Melville, Blanche,   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 493   Emma, Grover, Caine and Veema—are deceased, the survivors being Floy, Catherine, Sylvia, Charles, Jacob, Vincent H. and Von W., all of whom are married. The late Melville Logan married Melissa Gessler and had two daughters, Mrs. Mamie Roberts and Mrs. Eva McGufT. Floy Logan married Charles Beer and has four children, Ward, Donald, Marjorie and Harold, the first named of whom married Ruth Sailor and has two sons, Sailor and Donald. Catherine Logan married V. C. Burden and has one child, a son, Ferrell. Sylvia Logan married Otto Burden and has five children, Lela, Gerald, Ruth, Mary and Betty Jane. Von W. Logan married Mattie Armstrong and has five children, Hubert, Dorothy, Roger, Elaine and Von. Charles Logan has been twice married and by his first wife, Anna Hartzog, now deceased, has two children, Ruby and Roger. Jacob Logan married Mary Camelmire and has two children, Robert V. and Jacob. Vincent H. Logan married Clara Kuntz, of Wapakoneta.   FRANK L. SPRINGER, president of the board of trustees for Moulton township and a well known and substantial farmer and landowner of that township, is a member of one of the old families of Auglaize county and has resided here all his life, a resident of Moulton township for more than twenty years. Mr. Springer was born on a farm in Logan township on March 5, 1878, and is a son of Jacob L. and Alice (Wagoner) Springer, the latter of whom was born in the neighboring county of Shelby but was a resident of Auglaize county at the time of her marriage, her parents having moved up here years ago. The late Joseph L. Springer was born in Logan township, a member of one of the pioneer families there, and all his life was spent there. He had a well kept farm of eighty acres. To him and his wife were born three children, all of whom are living, the subject of this sketch having two sisters, Mrs. Myrtle Sillin and Mrs. Joyce Sillin. Frank Springer and his sister Joyce received their schooling in Logan township and the elder sister, Myrtle, received her schooling at Findlay, where during her girlhood she resided with her grandparents. Reared on the home farm in Logan township, Frank L. Springer remained at home, helpful in the labors of developing and improving the farm, until his marriage at the age of twenty-one, after which he began farming for himself, renting from his mother-in-law the old Crow farm along the river in section 23 of Moulton township and there continued thus engaged until in 1918, when he bought his present farm of 220 acres in that same township and has since resided there. Since taking possession of this place Mr. Springer has made some notable improvements on the farm, including a new house and barn, and has one of the best equipped farm plants in that neighborhood. In addition to his general farming Mr. Springer gives considerable attention to the raising of live stock, feeding out about 200 hogs and quite a   494 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   bunch of cattle every year, and is doing well. Mr. Springer has ever given a good citizen's attention to local civic affairs and is the present president of the board of township trustees of Moulton township, serving his second term on the board. He is a member of the local aerie of the Fraternal Order of Eagles at Wapakoneta and he and his wife are members of the Christian church at Buckland, It was on January 7, 1900, that Frank L. Springer was united in marriage to Hamie Crow, of Moulton township, and to this union two sons have been born, namely : Virgil L. Springer, who is now manager of the Farmers Exchange grain elevator at Buckland, and Todd Lincoln Springer, who is at home assisting his father on the farm. The Springers have a very pleasant home on rural mail route No. 7 out of Wapakoneta. Mrs. Springer was born in Moulton township and is a daughter of Oran and Mary (Musser) Crow, the latter of whom is still living, now making her home at Wapakoneta. Both the Crows and the Mussers are old families in Auglaize county and further reference to these families is made elsewhere in this work.   DAVID PRESAR, one of Pusheta township's well known and progressive farmers and landowners, was born in Pusheta township on March 22, 1881, and is a son of Charles and Anna (Hoehammer) Presar, who were the parents of eleven children, all of whom are living save one, Louise, who died at the age of twelve years, the others (besides the subject of this sketch, the seventh in order of birth) being Mary, Christina, Charles, George, Callie, William, Henry, Bertha and Cora. The late Charles Presar, father of these children and formerly one of the most substantial landowners in Pusheta township, was born at Miamisburg, Ohio, and was but an infant, about one year old, when his parents came to Auglaize county with their family and settled in Pusheta township, where he grew to manhood and where after his marriage he established his home and spent the remainder of his life. He was a good farmer and manager and came to be the owner of 740 acres of land in this county. David Presar grew up on the home farm in the northwestern part of Pusheta township, about a mile southwest of Wapakoneta, and was thus early trained in the ways of practical farming. He received his schooling in the Lenox school (district No. 6) and as a young man continued to make his home on the home farm, helpful in the labors of developing and improving the same, and thus continued until his marriage at the age of twenty-five years, when he bought the farm chattels on the home place and started in farming on his own account, renting the fields. That was in 1906. In the following year his father made a division of his lands among his children and in this division David Presar came into 166 acres in Pusheta township. For seven years he continued to farm that place and then he bought the place on which he is now living, on rural   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 495   mail route No. 2 out of Wapakoneta, and has since resided there. This place is a well improved farm of ninety acres and on it Mr. Presar has a well equipped farm plant. He owns 256 acres, but rents out the old farm of 166 acres, confining his personal attention to the operations on the place on which he is living. In addition to his general farming Mr. Presar gives considerable attention to the raising of live stock and is doing well. It was on October 23, 1906, that David Presar was united in marriage to Caroline Lunz, also a member of one of the old families of that neighborhood, and to this union four children have been born, Florence, Emil, Harold and Melvin, all of whom are now in school save little Melvin. Mrs. Presar also was born in Pusheta township, where she was reared and where she received her schooling. She is a daughter of Conrad and Frances (Kreitzer) Lunz, the former a substantial farmer and landowner of Pusheta township, at one time the owner of 120 acres there, who were the parents of six children, all of whom are living, Mrs. Presar having two sisters, Lena and Emma, and three brothers, August, Martin and Louis Lunz. The Presars are members of St. Paul's Lutheran church at Wapakoneta. Mr. Presar is a good farmer and keeps abreast of modern developments in agricultural methods, his farm being improved in up-to-date fashion.   JACOB A. WEBER, a former trustee of Moulton township, former ditch supervisor, a former school director and proprietor of a farm on rural mail route No. 7 out of Wapakoneta, is a European by birth but has been a resident of this country and of Auglaize county since he was twenty-six years of age, a period of more than forty-five years. Mr. Weber was born in the Province of Wittenberg in Prussian Saxony, May 24, 1851, and is a son of Jacob and Anna (Bender) Weber. He was reared and schooled in his home country and remained there until he was twenty-Six years of age, when (in 1877) he came to the United States, landing at Philadelphia. His first employment in this country was as a farm hand on the tract of a Jewish hospital in the suburbs of Philadelphia, and he was employed there for five months and ten days, at the end of which time, in the fall of 1877, he came to Ohio and through the solicitation of some old country friends who had become residents of this county settled in Auglaize county, where he ever since has resided. Upon locating here Mr. Weber was variously employed for three or four years, or until his marriage, after which he began farming on his own account, renting a farm in Union township. For eighteen years he continued farming as a renter and then in 1900 he bought the farm of ninety-one acres on which he is now living in Moulton township and has since made his home there. Despite the fact that some time ago Mr. Weber passed the traditional threecore-and-ten stage of life he continues active in his farm operations   496 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   and maintains a hearty interest in local affairs. He is a Democrat and has for years taken an interested part in local civic affairs. For four years he served as a trustee of Moulton township and he also served for eleven years as a ditch supervisor and for eight years as a school director. It was on February 2, 1882, that Jacob A, Weber was united in marriage to Flora E. Green, of Uniopolis, and to this union have been born seven children, Joseph F., John H., Fred C9 Flora E., Mary M., Lillie L. and Ida, all of whom are living and all married save Lillie L. Weber, who is a trained nurse. Mrs. Weber was born in Franklin county, Ohio, daughter of Henry and Henrietta Green, and was eight years of age when her parents moved with their family to this county and located at Uniopolis, where she was reared and finished her schooling.   HENRY C. SCHROER, one of the well-known farmers of Washington township and a substantial landowner living a mile north of the pleasant village of New Knoxville, was born on the place on which he is now living and has lived there all his life, a period of more than fifty years. Mr. Schroer was born on February 26, 1872, and is a son of Herman and Sophia (Wierwille) Schroer, natives of Germany, who had come to this country with their respective parents in the days of their youth and had become residents of this section of Ohio, both the Schroers and the Wierwilles having been early settlers in the New Knoxville neighborhood. The late Herman Schroer was a well-grown lad when he came here with his parents back in pioneer days and he helped to develop the woodland farm on which his father had settled there north of New Knoxville, in the southwest quarter of section 17 of Washington township, in the fertile inner curve of the valley of Clear creek. After his marriage he established his home on that place and became the owner of a farm of 245 acres, which he was developing in admirable fashion when death interrupted his labors in 1882. His widow kept the farm going and long survived him. They were the parents of eleven children, all of whom are still living save two, the subject of this sketch having seven sisters, Eliza, Sophia, Fredericka, Anna, Minnie, Sarah and Flora, and a brother, William Schroer, of whom further mention is made elsewhere in this volume. Henry C. Schroer was but ten years of age when his father died, and he thus early began to assume mature responsibilities in connection with the operation of the home farm, which he and his elder brother carried on in their mother's behalf. He received his schooling in the local schools, and after his marriage took over that portion of the old home place on which he is now living, established his home there and has continued to reside on that place, now the proprietor of a fine farm of 100 acres, which he has improved in excellent shape, and on which he has a well-equipped farm plant. In addition to his general farm-   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 497   ing Mr. Schroer has long given considerable attention to the raising of live stock, and is doing well. Henry C. Schroer married Elizabeth Duhme, who was born in Germany, and who came here in the days of her girlhood with her parents, Henry and Eliza (Kuhlman) Duhme, of whom further mention is made elsewhere in this volume, and to this union five children have been born, Gustave, Clara, Ewald, Reuben and Taletha, the two elder of whom are married. Gustave Schroer married Selma Schroerluke and has one child, a daughter, Mildred, and Clara Schroer married Ernst Schultz and has one child, a son, Willis. Ewald Schroer is his father's mainstay on the farm, and Reuben Schroer is now a student in the Mission House of the Reformed church at Cheboygan, with a view to becoming a clergyman. The Schroers are active members of the First Reformed church of New Knoxville, and for two years Mr. Schroer served the congregation of that church as a deacon. In his political leanings he is enrolled among the growing number of "independents" in this section of Ohio, and for two terms at different times has served as school director. The Schroer home is very pleasantly situated on rural mail route No. 1 out of St. Marys, and the latchstring is ever out to the family's many friends.   CLAUDE C. EMERSON, a former justice of the peace in and for Union township and proprietor of a well kept farm in the St. Johns neighborhood, was born in Union township on November 20, 1880, and is a son of Levi and Ida (Giberson) Emerson, who are now residing in the vicinity of Lima. Levi Emerson also was born in Union township and is a son of Adam and Jane Emerson, who had come here from Virginia in pioneer days and had established their home on a farm just north of St. Johns, where they spent the remainder of their lives, useful and influential pioneers of that neighborhood. Levi Emerson grew up on that farm and after his marriage settled on a farm of eighty acres which he bought in that same township. To this he later added an adjoining tract of twenty acres and on that 100-acre farm continued farming until in 1917, in which year he moved to the farm near Lima, where he and his wife are now living. To them were born four children, all of whom are living save one daughter, Jennie, the subject of this sketch having a sister, Minnie, and a brother, Ferd Emerson. Reared on the home farm in the vicinity of St. Johns, Claude C. Emerson received his schooling in the village schools and remained at home until his marriage when twenty-one years of age, when he began farming for himself as a renter. For several years he continued thus engaged and then he bought the farm of 100 acres on which he is now living and has since resided there. Since taking possession of this place Mr. Emerson has made numerous improvements on the same and now has an excellent farm plant, his operations being carried (31)   498 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   on in accordance with up-to-date methods. Mr. Emerson is a Republican, a member of the township Republican central committee and has rendered local public service as a justice of the peace iv and for his home township. He is a member of the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at St. Johns and he and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. It was April 10, 1902, that Claude C. Emerson was united in marriage Audrey Brackney, who also was born in this county, daughter of Reuben and Samantha Jane (Lusk) Brackney, and to this union have been born three children, Oris, Evelyn and William. Evelyn. Emerson married Luther Burden and is now living at Wapakoneta The Emersons have a very pleasant home in the St. Johns neighborhood.   J. M. GUY CAMPBELL, a former member of the board of county commissioners for Auglaize county and one of the best known farmers of Union township, was born on the farm on which he is now living, along Wolf creek about three miles east of St, Johns. and has lived there all his life. Mr. Campbell was born on November 1, 1878, and is a son of George and Sarah A. (Chiles) Campbell. the latter of whom, a member of one of the pioneer families of thai neighborhood, is still living on the home farm, which she owns, The late George Campbell was born in Virginia on May 5, 1822, and was but an infant when his parents moved to Ohio, the family settling in Franklin county. He was left an orphan in his youth and whe eighteen years of age he came up into this part of the state and secured employment in farm development work and in the timber projects that then were being worked out here, centering his activities in and about St. Johns. That was in 1840, eight years before the erection of Auglaize county, and he thus may be regarded a, one of the pioneers of this region. After his marriage Georg, Campbell returned to Franklin county for a few years and for some time gave his attention to cattle buying and thus became widely known hereabout. He presently bought a farm of 200 acres along Wolf creek in the south half of section 35 of Union township, facing the pike, and there established his home and spent the remainder o' his life, his death occurring on May 4, 1884, he then being one dad under sixty-two years of age. Since the death of her husband Mr: Campbell has retained possession of the farm and still makes he: home there, the operations of the place being carried on by her so: Guy. To George and Sarah A. (Chiles) Campbell were born six children, three of whom are living, the subject of this sketch having a sister, Zelia, and a brother, Dr. Theodore Campbell. Reared or the farm on which he is now living, J. M. Guy Campbell receive: his early schooling in the neighborhood school (district No, 7) and then took a course in the Wapakoneta high school. He was but   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 499   years of age when his father died and he thus early began to assume mature responsibilities in connection with the operation of the home farm. He married in his twentieth year and established his home on the home place, taking charge of operations there in his mother's behalf, and has so continued during the years since, keeping the farm up to a high standard of cultivation, and has long been regarded as one of the progressive and wide awake farmers of that section of the county. Mr. Campbell is a Democrat and has ever taken an active interest in local political affairs. In 1918 he was elected to represent his district on the board of county commissioners and served on that board during the succeeding term. He also has served for two terms as a trustee of Union township and as a member of the local school board and in all this public service has given ;his most thoughtful attention to the affairs in hand. In his fraternal ;relations Mr. Campbell is affiliated with the Masonic lodge at Waynesfield, with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (all branches) at St, Johns and with the lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at Wapakoneta, while he and his family are connected with the Methodist Episcopal church at St. Johns. It was an March 14, 1898, that Guy Campbell was united in marriage to Gertrude Lusk, also a member of one of the old families of this county, daughter of W. L. and Frances A. (Castle) Lusk, of Clay township, and to this union seven children have been born, Burton, Helen, Eloise, Huldah, Ilo, Winnifred and James, the three first named of whom are married. Burton Campbell married Mary Pursell and has one child, a daughter, Ruth. Helen Campbell married Emil Ambos, of St. Johns, and Eloise Campbell married Ralph Emerson. The Campbell home is very, pleasantly situated along the pared highway, rural mail route No. 1 out of Wapakoneta, and has ever been locally noted for its genial hospitality. This mail route was the first one established in this county upon the establishment of free rural mail delivery hereabout and Mr. Campbell was one of the active promoters of the same.   CLIFFORD O. BLAIR, official court reporter for Auglaize county and one of the best known men in the county, is a native "Buckeye" and has lived in this state all his life, a resident of Auglaize county, with his home home at Wapakoneta, for the past twenty years. Mr. Blair was born on a farm in Auglaize township in the neighboring county of Allen on October 2, 1880, and is a son of W, F. and Rosetta (Craig) Blair, the latter a daughter of William H. Craig. The Blairs are of an old and distinguished American colonial family, the founder of which in this country was no less a personage than James J. Blair, a noted Scottish divine in the time of Charles II, who in 1685 was sent as a missionary to Virginia, where in 1693 he founded William and Mary College and was ap-   500 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   pointed its first president. He died in 1743. The continuing influence of this ancient institution of learning, next to Harvard the oldest college in the United States, may be reckoned by the fact that no fewer than three Presidents of the United States (Jefferson, Monroe and Tyler), four justices of the United States Supreme Court, twenty-seven Governors of states, twenty-nine United State senators, fifty-eight congressmen, twenty-two justices of the Supreme Court of Virginia, thirteen Cabinet officers, four speakers of the United States House of Representatives, nineteen ambassadors and ministers of this Government and eleven generals of the army received their schooling in this institution. John Blair Sr., born in 1689, a member of this family, was three times acting governor of the colony of Virginia and his old home at Williamsburg is being preserved as one of the most distinctive landmarks of colonial days. His son, John Blair Jr., was a member of the convention which drafted the Constitution of the United States and was a justice of the United States Supreme Court under appointment of George Washington. The late W. F. Blair was born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, October 23, 1849, and was a son of Dr. Brice and Rebecca (Perdew) Blair, the former of whom was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, January 22, 1813, a son of Brice Blair, a substantial citizen of that county. Dr. Brice Blair was the father of fourteen children, all of whom now are deceased save one daughters Mrs. Harry Heffner. In 1879 W. F. Blair married Rosetta Craig and established his home on a farm in Auglaize township, Allen county, where he remained until 1892, when he was appointed superintend of the Allen County Childrens Home, a position he occupied for six years. To him and his wife were born five children, all of whom are living save one son, L. C. Blair, the subject of this sketch having two sisters, Mrs. H. F. Neufer, of Lima, Ohio, and Mrs J. H. Meyer, of Wapakoneta, and a brother, Harry A. Blair, of Jackson township, Allen county. Clifford O. Blair was twelve years ago when his parents moved from the farm in Auglaize township, Allen county, to take charge of the Allen County Children's Home and he was not yet eighteen when in 1898 he was graduated from the Lima Business College, where he had specialized in stenography with particular reference to court work, and immediately following his graduation he was appointed official court stenographer for the adjoining county of Mercer. Mr. Blair occupied this position for five years, or until 1903, in which year he received the appointment to the position he now holds and has ever since served as official court reporter for Auglaize county. It is not too much to say that Mr. Blair is recognized as one of the best and most experienced court reporters in Ohio. During his many years of service in this important and trying capacity he has reported more than 8,000 cases   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 501   in court, these including no fewer than six first-degree murder trials, in one of which the extreme penalty was imposed. Mr. Blair has always been a loyal supporter of the Democratic party and has long been regarded as among the leaders of that party in this county. He is a member of the Wapakoneta Outing Club and is affiliated with the local lodges of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Loyal Order of Moose and the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and with the local Swabian Society. On March 31, 1901, Clifford O. Blair was united in marriage to Nevada Sellers, of Lima, Ohio, and to this union two sons have been born, Robert Henry and Herbert Melville Blair, both of whom have been graduated from the Wapakoneta high school and are still at home. The Blairs have a very pleasant home at 102 East Benton street in Wapakoneta and have ever taken an interested and helpful part in the general social and cultural activities of the city.   HENRY BOCKRATH, a former trustee of Jackson township and a well known farmer and landowner of that township, now living retired at Minster, where he has made his home for the past seventeen years, was born in that township and has lived there all his life. Mr. Bockrath was born on February 24, 1854, and is a son of Henry and Bernardina (Bocklage) Bockrath, both of whom were of European birth, the latter a native of the grand duchy of Oldenburg and the former of the kingdom of Hanover, and had come to this country with their respective parents in the days of their youth. The late Henry Bockrath, formerly a well known farmer of Jackson township, was but a lad when he came to this country with his parents the family coming on out into Ohio and locating in the Minster neighborhood, about a mile east of town, where they established their home, On that pioneer farm he grew to manhood and after his marriage established his home on a farm in that same neighborhood, where he remained until his retirement and removal to Minster, where his last days were spent. To him and his wife were born three children, the subject of this sketch and his two sisters, Mary and Elizabeth. Reared on the home farm east of town, the junior Henry Bockrath received his schooling in the Minster sohools and the days of his boyhood was a valued aid to his father in the latter’s agricultural operations. After his marriage he for a time rented the home place and then bought it and on that farm of 123 acres continued to make his home until his retirement from the farm in 1905 and removal to Minster, where he since has made his home and where his wife died on July 26, 1909. Mr. Bockrath is a Republican of independent leanings and for six years served the public as a trustee of Jackson township. He also for three years served as school director in his district. He is a member of St. Augustine's Catholic church and a member of the St. Augustine Orphans So-   502 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   ciety. Henry Bockrath (II) married Margaret Rehring and to that union were born nine children, seven of whom are living, John, Mary, Henry (III), Matilda, Joseph, Louise and Ferdinand, all of whom are married save Matilda and Joseph. John Bockrath married Mary Kirtun and has two children, Lawrence and Catherine. Mary Bock. rath married Frank Kemper and has three children, John, Lawrence and Hilda. Henry Bockrath (III) married Julia Schneider and has ten children, Edwin, Alice, Victor, Esther, Mabel, Bertha, Frank. Henry (IV), Mary and Jeannette. Louise Bockrath married John Brandewie and has one child, a son, Louis, and Ferdinand Bockrath married Hulda Wiggenhorn. It thus will be noted that Mr. Bockrath has sixteen grandchildren, in all of whom he takes much delight.   CARL TOPP, proprietor of a well improved farm a mile or more southeast of New Bremen and one of the well known and progressive farmers and landowners of German township was born on August 5, 1869, and is a son of William and Anna (Klute) Topp, the latter of whom was born in Germany and had come to this country with her parents in the days of her childhood, the Klutes settling in the New Bremen neighborhood. The late William Topp wash at New Bremen and was a son of John William Topp and wife, were among the original settlers of that community in the having come up here from Cincinnati some time following their arrival in this country from their native Germany. John William Topp was the village shoemaker at New Bremen and died there during the cholera epidemic which swept through this region following the opening of the canal in the '40s. William Topp grew up at New Bremen and after his marriage bought a farm of eighty acres—the southeast quarter of the northeast quarter of section 8 and the southwest quarter of the northwest quarter of section 9 in German township—a mile or more from New Bremen and there established his home. He continued farming that place until retirement and removal to a small place he had bought on the outskirts of New Bremen, where he died a few years later. He and his wife were the parents of thirteen children, eight of whom are living, the subject of this sketch having four sisters, Mary, Caroline, Minnie and Sophia, and three brothers, Henry, John and Ernest Topp. Reared on the home farm in German township, Carl Topp received his schooling in the neighborhood schools and was early trained in the ways of practical farming, a vocation he has ever followed. For some time as a young man he worked as a farm hand for other farmers in the neighborhood and then returned to the home farm and was engaged in farming in association with his father until after his marriage, when he rented the home place, his father retiring at that time, and began farming on his own account.   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 503   Three years later he and his wife bought the place and have ever since made it their home, since then having made extensive improvemcnts on the farm, and are now very comfortably and very pleasantly situated. Since taking possession of this place they have added by purchase an adjacent "forty" and now have 120 acres and a well improved farm plant. Carl Topp married Minnie Thiemann, a daughter of Henry Thiemann, also a member of one of the old families of German township, and to this union have been born five children, Anna, Marie, Ida, Hermina and Walter, the two elder of whom are married. Anna Topp married William Topp and has three children, Helen, Irene and Vernon, and Marie Topp married Raymond Mohrman and has one child, Dorsey. The Topps are members of St. Paul's Lutheran church at New Bremen and are Democrats.   JACOB DIEGEL, who died at his home in Washington township in the fall of 1921, had been a resident of this county since the days of his young manhood and at his passing left a good memory in the community in which he had long resided. The late Jacob Diegel was born in Lorain county, Ohio, May 4, 1841, and was a son of Jacob and Christina Diegel, who later came to Auglaize county and settled on a farm of eighty acres which the elder Jacob Diegel bought in Washington township. On this pioneer farm the junior Jacob Diegel grew to manhood. After his marriage he established his home on a farm in St. Marys township, which he and his brother owned, and there he remained for about eight years, at the and of which time he sold his interest in that place and bought a farm of eighty acres in the southwest quarter of section 13 of Washington township, west of Owl creek, to which he moved with his family and there he spent the remainder of his life in farming, his death occurring on November 4, 1921. He was a good farmer and had increased his land holdings there to 160 acres, the operations of which since his death have been carried on by his sons, well known and progressive farmers of that neighborhood. The late Jacob Diegel married Sarah C. Roberts, who was born in Washington township on January 29, 1845, a daughter of Jesse Roberts, one of the best known pioneers of that part of the county and concerning whom further mention is made elsewhere in this work. To that union were born six children, five of whom, Edward, William, John, Bert and Harry, are living. The eldest of these sons, Edward Diegel, married Matilda Smith and has one child, a son, Russell. The Diegel brothers are Republicans and take a proper interest in the general political affairs of the county. The Diegel home is pleasantly situated on rural mail route No. 2 out of Wapakoneta. The Diegel brothers, William, John, Bert and Harry, are farming 220 acres in Washington township.   504 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   WILLIAM BIERBAUM, one of the best known farmers and landowners of Washington township and the proprietor of a well- kept farm along the creek two miles northeast of New Knoxville, was born on that farm and has lived there all his life, a period of nearly seventy years. Mr. Bierbaum was born on March 31, 1854, and is a son of William and Elizabeth (Holtkamp) Bierbaum, natives of Germany, who were married in that country and who immediately thereafter came to the United States and proceeded on out into Ohio and settled in Auglaize county, thus having been among the pioneers of the New Knoxville neighborhood. The senior William Bierbaum had saved up a bit of money in preparation to his coming to America, his object having been to buy a piece of land here and settle down as a farmer. Through correspondence he had learned of the possibilities awaiting settlers in this section of Ohio, and at the solicitation of kinsmen in the New Knoxville settlement he had decided to put in his lot with the pioneers of this region. Upon coming here he looked around a bit and became attracted to the land lying along the creek in the west half of section 22 of Washington township, and he bought a partially cleared tract of eighty acres there, paying something more than $300 for the same, and established his home on the place and settled down to complete the clearing and get t' place under way for farming. Before his plans were fully can out death interrupted his labors, his death occurring in 1858, widow being left with three small children, two of whom grew to maturity, the subject of this sketch and his sister, Mary. Mrs. Bierbaum survived her husband many years, maintaining her home on the farm and increasing her holdings there until she was the owner of a farm of 120 acres, and there she spent her last days, her death occurring on July 13, 1892. The junior William Bierbaum was but four years of age when his father died, and he thus early began to assume mature responsibilities in the matter of carrying on the operations of his mother's farm. He received his schooling in the neighborhood schools and remained with his mother on the farm until her death, after which he took over the place of 120 acres and has since been living there, he and his family being very comfortably situated. Since taking possession of this farm Mr. Bierbaum has made numerous improvements on the place and has one of the best equipped farm plants in the neighborhood. Though for some time practically retired from the active operations of the farm, he maintains his interest in affairs and keeps alert to the modern advances in agricultural methods. Mr. Bierbaum is a Republican and has ever given a good citizen's attention to general civic affairs, but the only public service he has accepted was as school director in his district, an acceptable service which he rendered for nine or ten years some years ago. He and his family are members of the Reformed   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 505   church at New Knoxville, and he has served as a deacon of that congregation. William Bierbaum married Mary Henkener, also a member of one of the pioneer families of this section of Ohio, and to this union seven children were born, four of whom grew to maturity, George, Matilda, Emma and Sarah, all of whom are still living save Emma, who married Dr. F. Fledderjohann and died leaving two children, Orlando and Norman. George Bierbaum, who is now carrying on the operation of the home farm in his father's behalf, married Caroline Hoelscher and has four children, Olga, Robert, Ruth and Reuben. Matilda Bierbaum married William Hoelscher and has four children, Irene, Lenora, Myron and Elody, and Sarah Bierbaum married William Henschen and has four children, Velma, Miriam, Hosea and Margaret. Mrs. Mary Bierbaum was born at Cincinnati, but has been a resident of this section of Ohio since the days of her childhood. Her parents, William and Henrietta (Schlueter) Henkener, both were born in Germany, but had come to this country with their respective parents in the days of their youth, the two families locating in Cincinnati, where they were married. After their marriage they continued to make their home in Cincinnati for some years and then came up here into this part of Ohio and located in Shelby county, where William Henkener bought a farm and spent the rest of his life engaged in farming. William Henkener was twice married, and of the children born to his first wife three lived to maturity, Mrs. Bierbaum and her sisters, Emma and Kate. Following the death of the mother of these children, Mr. Henkener married Fredericka Schmidt, and to that union were born five children, four of whom are still living, Henry, George, John and Anna. The Bierbaum farm is very pleasantly situated on rural mail route No. 3 out of St. Marys.   FRANK P. HARDIN, assessor of Union township and a well known and substantial farmer and stockman of that township, proprietor of a well improved farm in the pleasant valley of Virginia creek northeast of Uniopolis, was born on the farm on which he is now living, and has lived there all his life, a period of more than sixty-five years. Mr. Hardin was born on August 22, 1857, and is a son of Jesse and Mary (Brentlinger) Hardin, both of whom were members of pioneer families in that vicinity, the latter a daughter of John Brentlinger, who had entered his lands in section 7 of Union township in 1834, two years following the departure of the Indians from this region. Jesse Hardin was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, and was four years of age when he came to Ohio with his parents, John Hardin and wife, the family settling in Knox county, where they remained for some years, or until the settlement of lands up in this part of the state began to attract the attention of prospective settlers. In 1835 John Hardin came here and entered claim   506 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   to a tract of land in section 10 of Union township, this land then having been a part of Allen county, and almost immediately thereafter cut out a clearing on the woodland tract, erected a log cabin on the same and moved his family here and established his home. He was a good farmer of the go-ahead pioneer type, well trained to woodcraft in his native Pennsylvania, and as his affairs prospered he added to his holdings there until he became the owner of no less than 600 acres along the creeks in sections 9 and 10 of Union township and was accounted one of the substantial and influential pioneers of that community, and here he spent the remainder of his life. He was twice married, his first wife having died in Knox county in 1833, and he was the father of eleven children. As most of these children lived to maturity and had families of their own, the Hardin connection in the present generation, of this line, is a no inconsiderable one. Jesse Hardin was four years of age when the family moved from Pennsylvania to Ohio and he was a well grown boy when his father moved from Knox county to his new lands in what is now Auglaize county. He thus took a hand at once in the laborious task of clearing and developing the woodland tract upon which his father had settled, and after his marriage continued to farm on that place. To the tract he received by inheritance following his father's death he added until he became the owner of more than 300 acres of excellent land and had a well improved farm. On that place he spent his last days, his death occurring in 1882. His widow survived him for many years, her death occurring in 1916, she then having been at the great age of ninety-eight years. Of the eleven children born to Jesse and Mary (Brentlinger) Hardin but two are now living, the subject of this sketch and his sister, Mary. The deceased members of this family were John, Martha, Louisa, Catherine, Lucinda, Martin, Joseph, Anna and Melissa. Reared on the old home farm, where he was born, Frank P. Hardin received his schooling in the neighborhood school (district No. 2) and from the days of his boyhood was trained to the ways of farming. He remained on the farm with his father during the days of his young manhood, helping in the labors of developing and improving the place, and after his marriage at the age of twenty-four continued to farm there. Within less than a year afterward his father died and he then came into possession of the home "eighty" by inheritance and has continued to reside there, he and his family being very comfortably situated. Mr. Hardin has added to his holdings there until now he is the owner of a fine farm of 242 acres, all a part of the original Hardin holdings there in Union township. In addition to his general farming he has for years given much attention to live stock, with particular reference to Percheron horses, Holstein cattle and Poland China hogs, and has done well in these operations, long   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 507   having been recognized as one of the leading stockmen of that part of the county. Mr. Hardin is a Democrat and for twenty-five years has been serving as assessor of Union township, thus being recognized as an authority on land values in that part of the county. It was on Christmas Day, 1881, that Frank P. Hardin was united in marriage to Harriet J. Parlett, who also was born in this county, a member of one of the old families here, daughter of John and Mary Parlett, and to this union have been born four children, Lillian and Roy, deceased, and Jesse M. and Carl F. Hardin, both of whom are married. Jesse M. Hardin has been twice married and by his first marriage, to Lora Countryman, has one child, a son, Franklin D. He married his deceased wife's sister, Grace Countryman, and by this latter union has one child, a daughter, Koneta. Carl F. Hardin married Emma Stephenson and has one child, a daughter, Yvonne. The Hardin home is very pleasantly situated on rural mail route No. 1 out of Uniopolis.   EARL S. KAUFFMAN, manager of the plant of the Uniopolis Lumber Company at Uniopolis and one of the best known business men of that part of the county, has only been a resident of Auglaize county for the past seven or eight years, but in that, time has made many friends here. Mr. Kauffman was born on a farm in Union township, Logan county, in the immediate vicinity of Degraff, January 26, 1878, and is a son of Levi and Sarah (Snyder) Kauffman, who are now living retired at Bellefontaine. Levi Kauffman was born in Champaign county, this state, and there grew to manhood, later locating on a farm near Degraff, where he continued engaged in farming until his retirement and removal to Bellefontaine, where he is now living. To him and his wife were born three children, the subject of this sketch having a sister, Blanche, and a brother, Frank Kauffman. Reared on the farm near Degraff, Earl S. Kauffman was graduated from the high school in Degraff village in 1895 and for two years thereafter taught school in the schools of his home county. He then took a trip West and was gone for three years, at the end of which time he returned to Bellefontaine and was for six years thereafter engaged there as a railway telegrapher. He then returned West and remained there until 1910, when he returned to Bellefontaine and became employed there in the extensive plant of the Logan County Lumber Company, where he became thoroughly familiar with the details of the local lumber buSiness and where he continued thus engaged until in January, 1915, when he accepted his present position as manager of the affairs of the Uniopolis Lumber Company at Uniopolis and has since made his home in this latter village, he and his family being very pleasantly situated there. It was on May 22, 1906, that Earl S. Kauffman was united in marriage to Carrie Emery, of Bellefontaine, and to this union four   508 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   children have been born, Earl, Maxine, Dana and Ned, all of whom are at home. Mr. and Mrs. Kauffman are members of the Presbyterian church and Mr. Kauffman is affiliated with the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias at Uniopolis. He is a Republican and takes a good citizen's interest in local public affairs, for four years (1918-22) having served as a member of the Uniopolis town council, and is a member of the local school board, clerk of the latter board. He is a thoroughly qualified lumberman and under his direction during the past few years the affairs of the Uniopolis Lumber Company have been greatly extended throughout the region it serves.   PHILIP P. METZ, a former trustee of Pusheta township and one of that township's well known and progressive farmers and landowners, was born on a farm in the neighboring county of Shelby, March 5, 1865, and is a son, of Philip and Catherine (Elsass) Metz, both natives of the French province of Alsace-Lorraine and the latter of whom was but three years of age when she came to this country with her parents, the family locating in Stark county, Ohio, and six years later coming to Auglaize county, where they established their home. The senior Philip Metz was seventeen years of age when he came to this country with his parents, the family settling in Stark county, Ohio, whence presently they moved to Shelby county and later to Auglaize county, settling in the Freyburg neighborhood in Pusheta township. After his marriage in this county Philip Metz moved back to Shelby county, where ne established his home on a farm and spent the remainder of his life, becoming there the owner of 600 acres of land. To him and his wife were born eleven children, all of whom are living save three, Sophia, Elizabeth and Chris, the others (besides the subject of this sketch) being Jacob, George, William, Michael, Mary, Caroline and Elizabeth. Reared on the home farm in Shelby county, Philip P. Metz received his schooling in the schools of that neighborhood and from the days of his boyhood his attention was given to the affairs of the farm, he having worked in his father's interest, helping to develop and improve the home place, until his marriage at the age of twenty-nine years, when he began farming on his own account on one of his father's farms. He continued thus engaged for about ten years, or until about twenty years ago, when he bought the farm of 120 acres on which he is now living in Pusheta township and has since resided there. Since taking possession of this place Mr. Metz has made numerous substantial improvements on the farm, among the more recent of which was the remodeling of his dwelling house and the stuccoing of the same and the erection of a new barn and a silo, and he now has a well improved farm plant. In addition to his general farming he has long given considerable attention to the raising of live stock and is doing well. Mr. Metz has ever   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 509   given a good citizen's attention to local civic affairs and for four years (1917-21) rendered public service as a member of the board of trustees for Pusheta township. He and his family are members of St. Johns Lutheran church near Freyburg. It was on April 10, 1894, that Philip P. Metz was united in marriage to Christina Sophia Helmlinger, who died on November 14, 1920. Mrs. Metz was born in Clay township, this county, June 13, 1872, and was a daughter of Louis and Magdaline (Clopfenstein) Helmlinger, who were the parents of six children, all of whom are living save Mrs. Metz, she having had one sister, Emma, and four brothers, George, Philip, John and William Helmlinger. To Mr. and Mrs. Metz were born four children, all of whom are living save one daughter, Amelia, who died in infancy, the others being Raymond, Cora and Floyd, the two latter of whom are still in school, attending the Lenox school (district No. 6) in the neighborhood of their home. The Metz home is pleasantly situated on rural mail route No. 2 out of Wapakoneta.   JOHN WINGET, who formerly and for years was a well known operator in the local oil fields and who is now a successful farmer in Duchouquet township, where he resides, rural mail route No. 4, cut of Wapakoneta, is a member of one of the real pioneer families of this county, his grandfather, Reuben Winget, having been among the first settlers in Duchouquet township after the Indians left there in 1832. John Winget was born on July 15, 1862, and is a son of Joshua and Elizabeth (Reichelderfer) Winget, the latter of whom also was a member of one of the pioneer families of this county, the Reichelderfers having come here in the early days of the settlement of this region. The late Joshua Winget also was born in Duchouquet township and was a son of Reuben and Lydia Winget, who, as noted above, were among the pioneers of that township, Reuben Winget having entered from the Government his claim to a tract of land in the east half of section 5 of Duchouquet township in 1832, the year in which the old Wapakoneta Indian reservation was opened to settlement, he thus becoming one of the original settlers of that community, where he spent his last days. It was on that pioneer farm there about four miles north of Wapakoneta that Joshua Winget grew to manhood. He early became interested in the lumber industry and for years operated a saw mill in that neighborhood, in addition to his labors as a farmer, and when the oil "boom" broke out here in the late '80s he also became interested in oil production and did much to help develop the rich oil pool which attracted so much attention in that part of the county, afterwards retiring from the farm and moving to Wapakoneta, where his last days were spent. He and his wife were the parents of four children, the subject of this sketch having a sister, Alice, and two brothers, Charles A. and William R. Winget. Reared on the home farm in Duchouquet township, John   510 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   Winget received his schooling in the neighborhood schools and as a young man helped his father in the operation of the farm and saw mill. When the oil fields were opened up he became associated with his father in operations in connection with the new industry thus developed and continued working in the oil fields until 1910, when he moved onto the farm of 130 acres on which he is now living in Duchouquet township and has since been engaged there in farming. On December 26, 1886, John Winget was united in marriage to Ada McDougal, also of Duchouquet township, and to this union have been born eight children, Edward, Joshua, Ray, John, Bernard, Amos, Ilo and Edith, three of whom are married. Edward Winget married Mamie Dickson and has four children, Lloyd, Otho, Catherine and Gerald. Joshua Winget married Lela McClintock and has one child, Mack, and Bernard Winget married Alvina Swivel and has one child, Phyllis. The Wingets have a pleasant home and Mr. Winget has a well equipped farm plant. In addition to his general farming he operates a saw mill and a threshing rig and gives considerable attention to the raising of live stock. In his political views he maintains his independence of party ties.   CASPER REITHMANN, a former trustee of Jackson township and one of the best known farmers of that township, proprietor of a well improved farm in the vicinity of Minster, was born on that farm and has lived there all his life, a period of more than sixty-five years, and thus has seen some amazing changes take place since the days of his boyhood. Mr. Reithmann was born on September 19, 1856, and is a son of Henry and Catherine (Massing) Reithmann, both of whom were born in Germany. Henry Reithmann was twenty-two years of age when he came to this country and for some time thereafter he was employed at Cincinnati. He then came up here into Auglaize county and bought a tract of forty acres in the Minster neighborhood and on that place established his home. When he bought this "forty" it had been partially cleared and there was a log cabin on the place, and it was in that cabin that he and his wife started their home keeping and it was there that their children were born. Henry Reithmann cleared that farm and added to it an adjoining tract of twenty acres and on that place spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring in 1869, and his widow survived him for more than twenty-five years. They were the parents of nine children, but two of whom are now living, the subject of this sketch having a brother, Joseph Reithmann, who married Josephine Plageman and has five children, Louis, Emma, Clara, Nettie and Albert. Reared on the home farm in the neighborhood of Minster, Casper Reithmann received his schooling in the Minster schools. He was but thirteen years of age when his father died, and as the eldest son of the family he thus early assumed mature responsibilities as an   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 511   aid to his mother in the labors of keeping the farm going. They were successful, however, and after awhile added an adjoining tract of thirty acres to the farm, this giving them a good farm of ninety acres, the place now owned and occupied by Casper Reithmann, who took over the farm after his mother's death in 1896. Since taking individual possession of this place Mr. Reithmann has made numerous substantial improvements on the place and has a well equipped farm plant. Mr. Reithmann is a Democrat and has for years taken an interested part in local civic affairs, having for four years served as a member of the board of trustees for Jackson township. He and his family are members of St. Augustine's Catholic church, of which he formerly was a trustee, and he also is a member of the St. Augustine Society. Casper Reithmann has been twice married. His first wife was Mary Schwegman, a daughter of Theodore Schwegman, who died leaving two children, Anna and Joseph, both of whom are married and have considerable families. Following the death of the mother of these children Mr. Reithmann married Agatha Plageman, daughter of Henry Plageman, and to this union have been born seven children, five of whom are living, Rose, Frank, Julius, August and Agatha, but one of whom is married. Anna Reithmann married Anthony Kuether and has seven children, Henry, Bernard, Caroline, Leo, Mary, Lawrence and Josephine. Joseph Reithmann married Agnes Prenger and has six children, Raymond, Marcella, Cecelia, Clarence, Dorothy and Lorena. Frank Reithmann married Nora Boehmer and has two children, Esther and Edwin. The old Reithmann home is pleasantly situated on rural mail route No. 2 out of Minster.   HENRY HOELSCHER, one of Jackson township's well known and progressive young farmers and the proprietor of a well improved farm in the neighborhood of Minster, was born on that farm on January 12, 1896, and is a son of John and Elizabeth (Bankemper) Hoelscher, both of whom (now deceased) also were born in Jackson township, members of pioneer families in that part of the county. The late John Hoelscher grew to manhood on a farm and after his marriage began farming on his own account, establishing his home on the farm now owned and occupied by his son Henry in the vicinity of Minster, developing there a well kept place of seventy-five acres. There he and his wife made their home until their retirement in 1907 and removal to Minster, where their last days were spent, Mrs. Hoelscher dying in 1918 and Mr. Hoelscher, in 1919. They were members of St. Augustine's Catholic church and their children were reared in that faith. There were six of these children, three of whom are living, the subject of this sketch having two sisters, Mary and Cecelia. Reared on the home farm, the place where he is now living, Henry Hoelscher received his   512 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   schooling in the Minster schools and was for some time, as a young man employed at Minster. After his marriage he established hie home on the home farm and began farming there on his own account, renting the place from his father. Upon his father's death he came into possession of the place and has since been living there, he and his family being very comfortably situated. Since taking possession of this place Mr. Hoelscher has made numerous substantial improvements on the place and has a well equipped farm plant In addition to his general farming he gives considerable attention to the raising of live stock and is doing well. Henry Hoelscher married Louise Ahrens, daughter of Henry and Bernardine Ahrens, to this union have been born three children, Alton, Robert Walter. Mr. and Mrs. Hoelscher are members of St. Augustins church and in their political views hold themselves free of party ties, preferring to be regarded as independent voters. Their home is on rural mail route No. 2 out of Minster.   WILLIAM N. BOWSHER, a well-known farmer of Duchouquet township, is a member of one of the real pioneer families of this part of the state, his grandfather having settled in this region shortly after the Indians left here back in the '30s of the past century. Mr. Bowsher was born on a farm in Duchouquet township on April 7, 1861, and is a son of William and Sarah (Shappell) Bowsher, the latter of whom was a member of the pioneer Shappell family which settled in the upper part of Duchouquet township in the early of the settlement of that region. William BOWsher was bon Pickaway county, Ohio, and was but three years of age when parents, Benjamin and Elizabeth (Delong) Bowsher, came with their family up into this part of the state and settled in Shaw township, Allen county. That was about the year 1835, thirteen years before Auglaize county was organized, and but three years after the Indians had left their old reservations at Wapakoneta and on Hog creek, so that Benjamin Bowsher may be accounted as one of the real pioneers of this section of the state. He and his wife were the parents of thirteen children, two of whom, Elizabeth and Matilda, are still living, the venerable aunts of the subject of this sketch. William Bowsher was the fifth in order of birth of these children and he grew to manhood on the pioneer farm his father had undertaken to clear and develop. He remained on that farm. a valued aid in this development work, until he attained his majority, when he bought a "forty" down over the line in the east half of the northwest quarter of section 32 of Duchouquet township, this county, east of Two Mile creek and adjoining the Shappell farm, and there established his home. He later added to this farm an adjoining "forty" and on that eighty-acre farm there along the county line he spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring on May 1, 1903,   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 513   To him and his wife were born nine children, all of whom are living save two (Daniel and Benjamin), the subject of this sketch having three sisters, Missouri, Mollie and Emma, and three brothers, George, Solomon and Rufus Bowsher. Reared on the home farm in the upper !part of Duchouquet township, William N. Bowsher received his ;schooling in the school house of district No. 9, right at a corner of his father's farm, and remained at home until he was twenty-one, when he took up the carpenter's trade and became a thorough carpenter and builder. For twenty-two years Mr. Bowsher continued !working at this vocation, three years of which time he made his home at Hume, over the line in Allen county, and then, in 1888, he retired from that business and established his home on a 100-acre farm owned by his wife in Duchouquet township, and has since made that place his home, actively engaged in farming, and has done well, he and his family having a pleasant home there on rural mail route No. 4 out of Wapakoneta. On March 12, 1886, William N. Bowsher was united in marriage to Susan J. Culp, also a member of one of le old families in this county, who was born in Logan township, daughter of James A. and Anna (Krauss) Culp, and to this union have been born three sons, Russell A., Merrill and Osborne, the er of whom died at the age of seventeen years. Russell A. Bower married Della Hoverman and is living in Duchouquet township. Merrill Bowsher, who also continues to make his home in this county, married Ethel Gross and has three children, Waldo, Eleanor and Winifred. Mr. and Mrs. Bowsher are members of the Lutheran church and they and their sons are Republicans. The Bowsher family has been represented in Ohio for nearly 120 years, for it was in 1804, the year following the admission of this state to statehood, that the family of which Benjamin Bowsher, grandfather of the suject of this sketch, was a member, came to the state and took up there location in Pickaway county.   H. J. HINZE, senior member of the H. K. K. Roofing Company of New Knoxville, general roofing contractors and dealers in plumbing and electrical supplies, a member of the town council of New Knoxville and for years one of the active figures in the general industrial and commercial life of that village, was born on a farm down in the neighboring county of Shelby, three miles south of New Knoxville, March 12, 1882, and is a son of William and Fredericka Hinze, the latter of whom also was born in Ohio. She died when the subject of this sketch was a small boy. The late William Hinze was born in Germany, where he grew to manhood. As a young man he came to this country and proceeded on out into Ohio, locating this county and becoming employed as a farm hand in the New Knoxville neighborhood. He married there and then bought a farm in the woods down in Shelby county and there established his (32)   514 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   home, becoming in time the owner of about 100 acres, which he cleared and developed and on which he spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring in 1894. He and his wife were the parents of nine children, six of whom are living, the subject of this sketch having five sisters, Caroline, Lena, Elizabeth, Sophia and AL:is Reared on the home farm in Shelby county, H. J. Hinze received his schooling in the neighborhood schools and as a young man took a prospecting trip out into South Dakota, where he spent two years working at Huron with a view possibly to locating there, but finding conditions to his liking returned to Ohio and located at Knoxville, where he became engaged in the tinning business partnership with George Luecke. Four years later this firm into partnership Samuel Katterheinrich and thereafter did ness under the firm name of the H. L. & K. Roofing Company. 1913 Mr. Luecke sold his interest in the firm to C. D. Katterheim and the business since has been carried on under the name o: H. K. K. Roofing Company. In 1916 this firm took over the agency for the installation of Delco lighting plants and also be, engaged in the general plumbing and electrical line, together general furnace work, in addition to its old established tinning roofing business, and has built up a very desirable trade, one o: most progressive and go-ahead concerns in the town. Mr, Hinze married Catherine Margaret Holtorf, daughter of Albert Holtorf, a member of one of the pioneer families of this county, and has three children, Beatrice, Howard and Kenneth. Mr. and Mrs. Hinze are members of the First Reformed church of New Knoxville and are Republicans. Mr. Hinze has long given close attention to local civic affairs and for the past ten years and more has been serving as a member of the village council.   MISS JENNIE WHITAKER, a tailoress employed in the Zofkie-Foos establishment at Wapakoneta, was born at Covington, Ohio and is a daughter of the Rev. Nathan Whitaker, who died at Troy, Ohio, in 1867. The Rev. Nathan Whitaker, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, was born in Buncombe county, North Carolina, and was a son of Israel and Mary Whitaker. He early turned his attention to study for the gospel ministry and in was due time ordained a local clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal church, presently being assigned to the Miami (Ohio) Conference and was preaching at Troy, this state, when his death occurred in 1867. He and his wife were the parents of eight children, two of whom are still living, the subject of this sketch and her sister Amanda. The deceased children of this family were Levi, Arthur, David, Elizabeth, Ada and Nancy. Mrs. Whitaker, widow of the Rev. Nathan Whitaker, was a skilled seamstress and after the death of her husband employed herself thus as a means of eking out the slender income   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 516   left for herself and children. She remained at Troy until 1889, when she moved to Wapakoneta with her daughters, Jennie and Ada. Mrs. Whitaker was born in Clermont county, this state, where she was married. She died at Wapakoneta in 1902.   JOSEPH J. MILLER, a well known farmer and landowner of Auglaize county, now living retired at Uniopolis, is a member of one of the pioneer families of this county, the Millers having been represented here since the middle '30s of the past century. Mr. Miller was born on a farm in Union township on July 4, 1855, and is a son of Simeon and Jane (Lusk) Miller, the latter of whom also was a member of one of the first families to settle in that part of at what is now Auglaize county, the Lusks having been represented there, even as the Millers, since the days of the opening of lands thereabout to entry. The late Simeon Miller grew up in Union township and after his marriage established his home on a "forty" he had bought in that township. To this he presently added an adjoining forty and continued farming there until he sold that place and moved into Duchouquet township. Some time later be bought another farm in Wayne township and on this latter place was engaged in farming until his retirement, his last days having been spent in the home of one of his sons in Perry township, Allen county, where he died on September 18, 1920, at a ripe old age. Simeon Miller was twice married and by his first wife, Jane Lusk, was the father of two sons and a daughter, the subject of this sketch, Benjamin and Mary Ann. Following the death of the mother of these children Mr. Miller married Nancy Lusk, his deceased wife's sister, and to this union were born three sons, Charles, William and Manford (deceased), and a daughter, Ida. Joseph J. Miller was seven years of age when his mother died and he then was taken into the household of his uncle, Joseph Hardin, of Union township, where he grew to manhood, receiving his schooling in the neighborhood schools. When twenty years of age he married and began farming his uncle's place. For twenty years or more Mr. Miller continued thus engaged on the Hardin farm and then he bought a tract of sixty acres in Union township and began farming on his own account. To this tract he presently added an adjoining tract of forty-nine acres, this giving him a farm of 109 acres, which he continued to operate for twenty years, or until his retirement in 1914 and removal to Uniopolis, where he since has made his home. In addition to the general farming which he carried on during the rears of his activity, Mr. Miller also was extensively engaged in dealing in live stock and was widely known as a stockman. He is a Democrat and has rendered public service as supervisor of roads in his district. He is a member of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias at Uniopolis. On September 13, 1874, Joseph J. Miller was   516 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   united in marriage to Martha Hardin, who also was born in Union township, daughter of Perry and Abigail (Ridley) Hardin, and he and his wife have two children, William E. and Blanche, both of whom are married. William E. Miller married Elvina Lemon and has five children, Everett, Rosetta, Carrie, Ethel and Irvin. Blanche Miller married Roy Shaw and has three children, Milo, Myron and Chloe. Mrs. Miller's father, Perry Hardin, also was born in Auglaize county and her mother was born in Licking county. Perry Hardin was a well-to-do farmer of Union township and he and his wife were the parents of seven children, three of whom are still living, Mrs. Miller having a sister, Catherine, and a brother, Herbert Hardin.   GILFORD D. HARDIN, a member of one of the old families of Union township, now living retired at Uniopolis, was born in Union township and has lived there all his life with the exception of a period of some years prior to his retirement, when he was living in the neighboring county of Allen. Mr. Hardin was born on June 14, 1850, and is a son of Mark and Margaret (Sloan) Hardin who had a fine farm along the creeks in section 10 of Union township, about two miles northeast of Uniopolis. Mark Hardin, who became one of the large landowners of that township, was born in Knox county, this state, and was sixteen years of age when he came to what is now Auglaize county with his parents, John and Catherine Hardin, the family settling on a tract of land which John Hardin had entered from the Government in section 10 of Union township in 1835. John Hardin was a go-ahead pioneer and became one of the substantial landowners of that part of the county, which at the time of his settlement there and until thirteen years later was included within the confines of Allen county. On that pioneer farm Mark Hardin grew to manhood and after his marriage became a farmer on his own account, buying a farm in that vicinity, and as his affairs prospered continued to add to his holdings until he became the owner of 640 acres of land. He and his wife were the parents of ten children, five of whom are still living, the subject of this sketch having a sister, Lydia, and three brothers, George Charles and Jacob Hardin. The deceased members of this family were Mary Ann, Nancy, John, Marion and Joseph Hardin. Reared on the home farm in section 10 of Union township, Gifford D. Hardin received his schooling in the neighborhood school (district No. 2) and upon attaining his majority began farming a tract of eighty acres which his father gave him in that neighborhood. After his marriage he continued farming there, meanwhile increasing his holdings to 142 acres, until he disposed of that place and bought a farm of 110 acres north of there along the county line. On this latter place he made his home for twenty-five years, at the end of which time he moved up into Allen county, where he and his wife   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 517   bought a small farm of thirty-two acres and where he lived until his retirement from the farm and removal to Uniopolis, where he has since made his home. On April 24, 1884, Gilford D. Hardin was united in marriage to Lillie M. Harrod, also a member of one of the old families of Union township, daughter of Levi and Susan Harrod, and to this union have been born six children, Alice, Grace, Ada, Claude, Clarence and Harry, all of whom are married save the last named. Alice Hardin married Edward Hartung and has three children, Carl, Zenith and Darrell. Grace Hardin married Edward Shade and has five children, Argyle, Lucille, Donna, Evelyn and Merlin. Ada Hardin married Edward Lytle and has four children, Opal, Ganelle, Foster and Catherine. Claude Hardin married Bertha Miller and has two children, Claris and Robert, and Clarence Hardin married Mary Pantry and has had two children, who died in infancy. Mrs. Hardin is a member of the Church of Christ.   WILLIAM H. KOLTER, one of Pusheta township's substantial and progressive farmers and proprietor of an excellent farm in the northwest corner of that township, about a mile southwest of Wapakoneta, is a native son of Auglaize county and has lived here all his life. Mr. Kolter was born at Wapakoneta on September 30, 1868, and is a son of Louis and Elizabeth (Elsass) Kolter, the latter of whom was born in Stark county, this state, and was about twelve years of age when she came to Auglaize county with her parents, the family settling in Pusheta township. Louis Kolter was born in Auglaize county, a member of one of the pioneer families here, and early became engaged in the milling business at Wapakoneta, where for some years after his marriage he made his home. He then moved onto the farm on which his son William is now living, south and west of town, and for some time operated a brick yard there. He died on that place on August 14, 1874. His widow survived him many years, her death occurring on September 7, 1916. They were the parents of six children, all of whom are living save one son, Jacob Kolter, who died at the age of fifty-four years, the subject of this sketch having three sisters, Caroline, Elizabeth and Louise, and a brother, Frederick Kolter. William H. Kolter was but a lad when his parents moved from town to the farm southwest of town and he finished his schooling in the Lenox school (district No. 6). He was not quite six years of age when his father died and upon him and his brother Fred thus early devolved the responsibility of keeping up the farm in their mother's behalf. When he was twenty-two years of age he became associated with his brother in a plan of farm management whereby the brothers bought the farm implements and stock on the place from their mother and rented the fields, beginning then to operate the place on their own behalf. Eight years later they bought the farm and two years after that William Kolter bought   518 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   from his brother Fred the latter's interest in the place, which consisted then of 100 acres, and has since then been proprietor. He later bought an additional tract of 100 acres and thus now has a fine farm of 200 acres, all of which he operates. In addition to his general farming Mr. Kolter feeds off about thirty head of cattle and about the same number of hogs each year, and is doing well. All the buildings on the place have been erected since he took possession and everything is modern and shipshape, his farm plant and dwelling house being equipped with an individual electric lighting system and running water from a direct pressure system. Mr. Kolter is a Republican. He and his family are members of St. Paul's Evangelical church at Wapakoneta and he is a member of the board of trustees of that church. On April 16, 1902, William H. Kolter was united in marriage to Anna Ramge, who also was born in this county, a member of one of the old families here, and to this union have been born two daughters, Helen, born on December 31, 1903, who was graduated from Blume high school at Wapakoneta and is now a junior in Bluffton College at Bluffton, Ohio, and Cora, April 25, 1908, who is now in high sohool. The Kolters have a very pleasant home on rural mail route No. 2 out of Wapakoneta. Mrs. Kolter was born in Duchouquet township and is a daughter of Henry and Mary (Burk) Ramge, who were the parents of eleven children, all of whom are living save two sons, William and August, who lived to maturity, and three who died in infancy, Mrs. Kolter hay. ing a sister, Katie, and four brothers, Eli, Chris, Charles and John Ramge.   HERMAN MECKSTROTH, one of the well known farmers of the New Knoxville neighborhood, living on the old Meckstroth farm on the New Bremen road about a mile southwest of New Knoxville, was born on that farm on May 26, 1879, and is a son of William and Elizabeth (Fledderjohann) Meckstroth, both of whom were born in that same township (Washington), members of pioneer fain- flies there, and the latter of whom died in the summer of 1921. William Meckstroth, who is still living at his old home there, where he has resided for so many years, was born on the farm just adjacent to this, on the line between Washington township and Shelby county, in section 30, and is a son of William Meckstroth, a native of Germany, who had entered his land there from the Government in 1835, more than ten years before Auglaize county came into being, this land at that time having been included within the confines of Allen county. On this pioneer farm the junior William Meckstroth grew to manhood, becoming a practical farmer. After his marriage to Elizabeth Fledderjohann, a member of the pioneer Fled• derjohann family of Washington township, he established his home on an adjoining farm and has ever since resided there, now making   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 519   his home with the family of his son Herman, the subject of this sketch. He formerly was the owner of a fraction more than ninety- three acres there, but for the convenience of one of his neighbors sold off ten acres of this place, the Meckstroth farm now comprising eighty-three acres. To him and his wife were born ten children, all of whom are still living save one, the subject of this sketch having two sisters, Anna and Mary, and six brothers, William (Jr.), Benjamin, Frederick, Jacob, Daniel and Wesley. Reared on the home farm, Herman Meckstroth received his schooling in the nearby New Knoxville schools and from the days of his boyhood has been devoted to farming. After his marriage he was for three years engaged in farming the farm of his mother-in-law, Mrs. Mary Aufdcrhaar, in Washington township, and then he returned to the old home farm and has since made his home there, managing the place in his fatherls behalf. The Meckstroth farm is well improved and has on it an excellent farm plant. In addition to his general farming Mr. Meckstroth gives considerable attention to the raising of live stock and is doing well in his operations. It was in 1905 that Herman Meckstroth was united in marriage to Dora Aufderhaar, who also was born in Washington township, daughter of William and Mary Aufderhaar, and to this union two children have been born, Lawrence and Olga, both of whom are in school. Mr. and Mrs. Meckstroth are members of the German Methodist Episcopal church of New Knoxville and are Republicans. Mr. Meckstroth has long given close attention to the affairs of the church and is now one of the stewards of the congregation. The Meckstroth home is pleasantly situated on rural mail route No. 4 out of St. Marys.   EDWARD J. HEITKAMP, one of German township's well known and progressive young farmers and the proprietor of a well improved farm in that township, situated on rural mail route No. 2 out of Minster, is a member of one of the pioneer families of this county, the Heitkamps having been represented in the western part of the county from the days of early settlement there. Mr. Heitkamp was born on a farm in the Egypt neighborhood in Jackson township on August 25, 1894, and is a son of Joseph and Sophia (Hackman) Heitkamp, the former of whom also was born in that township, a son of Herman Heitkamp, who came up into this part of the state from Cincinnati following his marriage there not long after his arrival in this country from his native Germany and who became one of the useful and influential pioneers of the Egypt neighborhood, as is set out elsewhere in this volume, together with further details regarding the Heitkamp family in this county. Joseph Heitkamp, son of this pioneer, became a well-to-do farmer in the Egypt neighborhood, the owner of a farm of 200 acres, on which he reared his family and spent his last days. To Joseph and Sophia (Hack-   520 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   man) Heitkamp were born six children, the subject of sketch this having three sisters, Rose, Anna and Agnes, and two brothers, Frank and Fred Heitkamp. Reared on the home farm in Jackson township, Edward J. Heitkamp received his schooling in the school at Egypt and remained on the home farm until his marriage, after which he bought a farm of 103 acres in Marion township in the neighboring county of Mercer and there made his home until in the fall of 1922, when he bought the farm of 120 acres on which he is now living in German township and he and his family have become very comfortably established there. In addition to his general farming Mr. Heitkamp has given considerable attention to the raising of live stock, feeding his grain, and has been feeding out about eighty head of hogs a year. He carries on his operations in accordance with modern methods of agriculture and has done well. He even now is contemplating improvements on the place he recently has acquired and expects soon to have one of the best equipped farm plants in that neighborhood. Edward J. Heitkamp married Rosalia Bertke, daughter of Henry and Agnes (Goeke) Bertke, of German township, and to this union have been born three children, Irene, Alvira and Velma. Mr. and Mrs. Heitkamp are members of St John's Catholic church at Maria Stein and are Democrats.   WILLIAM B. SCHROER, former land appraiser for Washington township and a well-known farmer and landowner of that township, living on rural mail route No. 1 out of St. Marys, was born in Washington township, a member of one of the pioneer families of the New Knoxville neighborhood, and has lived there all his life. Mr. Schroer was born on a farm about a mile north of New Knoxville on October 1, 1868, and is a son of Herman and Sophia (Wierwille) Schroer, the latter of whom also was born in that township, a member of the pioneer Wierwille family who were among the early settlers of that section of the county. Herman Schroer was born in Germany and was but a lad when he came to this country with his parents, the family coming on out here into western Ohio and becoming settlers of the New Knoxville neighborhood, where he grew to manhood and became a farmer, after his marriage establishing his home on an "eighty" in the woods north of New Knoxville, where his last days were spent and where he increased his land holdings to 245 acres. He and his wife were the parents of eleven children, nine of whom are still living, the subject of this sketch having seven sisters, Elizabeth, Sophia, Anna, Louise, Minnie, Fredericka and Flora, and a brother, Henry C. Schroer, concerning whom further mention is made elsewhere in this volume. Reared on the home farm, William B. Schroer "grew up" to the ways of the farm and has ever followed that vocation. His father died before his school days were over, and he thus early began to assume mature re-   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 521   sponsibilities in connection with the operations of the home farm, continuing to farm in his mother's behalf until his marriage, when he established his home on the home place on which he is now living, which then belonged to his mother, and has since resided there, he and his family being quite comfortably situated. Mr. Schroer has a well-improved farm of seventy-five acres and his operations are carried on in accordance with modern methods of agriculture. In addition to his general farming he gives considerable attention to the raising of live stock and is doing well. William B. Schroer married Matilda Wellman, also a member of one of the old families of Washington township, a daughter of Henry and Christena (Kruse) Wellman, and to this union two children have been born, a son, Arthur, and a daughter, Bertha, the latter of whom is at home with her parents. Arthur Schroer married Huldah Schroerluke and has two children, Elvera and Ruth. In his political views Mr. Schroer is a Democrat with independent leanings and has given proper attention to local civic affairs. In 1910 he was elected land appraiser for his home township. He and his wife are members of the First Reformed church of New Knoxville, and he has served the congregation of that church as a deacon. Mrs. Matilda Schroer was born in Washington township, where her parents had settled following their marriage. Both her parents were born in Germany, but were married in this county. They were the parents of nine children, three of whom are still living, Mrs. Schroer having two brothers, Louis and Herman Wellman.   HOWARD A. TAYLOR, one of the best known farmers of Union township and the proprietor of a well improved farm along the creek just on the northwest edge of Uniopolis, was born in the neighboring county of Allen, but has been a resident of this county since he was eight years of age, a period of more than fifty-six years. Mr, Taylor was born on April 28, 1858, and is a son of Joseph and Adaline (Meyers) Taylor, who later became residents of Uniopolis. Joseph Taylor, who was born in Pennsylvania, came over into this part of Ohio as a young man and became a farmer and landowner in Allen county, where he made his home until in 1866, in which year he disposed of his interests in that county and came down into Auglaize county and opened a general store at Uniopolis, at the same time buying an "eighty" on the outskirts of the village, where he established his home. To this tract he later added an adjoining tract of forty acres and upon his retirement from the goods business gave his whole attention to the cultivation of his farm of 120 acres and there spent the remainder of his life. He and his wife were the parents of eight children, of whom two are still living, the subject of this sketch having a brother, William Taylor. The deceased members of this family were Eliza Jane, John Meyers, Henry, Mary,   522 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   Harriet and Almeda. As noted above, HOWard A. Taylor was eight years of age when he came to this county with his parents in 1866 and he grew to manhood at Uniopolis, receiving his schooling in the excellent schools of that pleasant village. From the days of his boyhood he has given his attention to the development of the home farm there on the edge of the village and after his marriage, at the age of twenty-four, bought sixty acres of the farm from his father and continued to make his home there. After awhile his father gave him an additional "forty" and to thiS he later added by purchase an adjoining forty, so that he came to have an excellent farm of 140 acres, admirably situated and profitably cultivated. Some time ago he sold a portion of this land to his son Guy and th is has left 118 acres. In addition to his general farming Mr. Taylor has ever given considerable attention to the raising of live stock and has done well. It was in October, 1882, that Howard A. Taylor was united in marriage to Josephine Focht, who was born in Union township, a member of one of the pioneer families there, daughter of Adam Focht, and to this union three children have been born, Bessie, Guy and Mace, the latter of whom married Walter Smith, who lives in Uniopolis, and has two children, Pauline and Atlee. Guy Taylor, now one of the trustees of Union township, is the proprietor of a farm of seventy-two acres and is carrying on his operations there in up-to- date fashion. The Taylors have a pleasant home on the outskirts of the village.   JOHN W. HOWE, who died at his home at Uniopolis in the summer of 1922 and whose widow is still living there, was for many years one of the best known men in that part of Auglaize county, farmer and landowner, school teacher, justice of the peace, clerk of the township and school examiner, and in all these various relations in life had rendered well his obligation to the community, so that at his passing he left there a good memory. Mr. Howe was a son of the Rev. Thomas D. and Mary (Spry) Howe, whose last days were spent at Uniopolis. The Rev. Thomas D. Howe was a minister of the Methodist church, a native of Bainbridge, in Ross county, this state, who in his itinerary many years ago was assigned to the circuit in which Uniopolis then was located. During the time of his service there he became so deeply attached to that community that upon his retirement from the ministry he returned there and in that pleasant village spent his last days. He and his wife were the parents of five children, the subject of this memorial sketch having had a sister, Lucinda, and three brothers, Newton, Elbert and Harry. The late John W. Howe was the eldest of these children and his schooling was received in the several towns in which his father served as minister during the period of his school days, and he early prepared himself to teach school. It was thus   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 523   that he became a resident of Uniopolis, for it was while he was engaged as a teacher in the schools of that village that he married and established his home there, becoming the owner of a farm of eighty acres at the headwaters of Huffmans creek just at the southeast edge of the village. He carried on his profession as a teacher for some years, meanwhile developing and improving his farm, and on that place spent the rest of his life, a useful and influential resident of that community, his death occurring there on July 1, 1922, Mr. Howe was a Democrat and ever took an interested part in the general civic affairs of the community in which he lived. Along in the '80s he served for some years as clerk of the township, for nine years he served as local school examiner and also for some years as justice of the peace in and for his home township. John W. Howe was twice married. His first wife, who was Rachel Rinehart, a daughter of Hugh T. and Jemima (Godfrey) Rinehart, died leaving three children, Effie, Thomas T. and Bert, and on August 19, 1883, he married Melvina Hester, also a member of one of the pioneer families of this county, and to this union were born three children, W, Ray, Alfred T. and Carl T., the first named of whom is unmarried, Alfred T. Howe married Goldie Morrison and has one child, a son, Reginald. Carl T. Howe married Norma Blank and has two children, Donald and Rebecca. Since the death of her husband Mrs. Howe has continued to make her home at Uniopolis, where she is very comfortably situated. She is a member of the Church of the Disciples of Christ. Mrs. Howe was born in Union township and is a daughter of Daniel and Rachel (Woolery) Hester, members of pioneer families in this county, the Hesters having been represented here since the coming of the family here from Greene county, Ohio, in 1832, the year in which the Indians were moved West. They came to Ohio from Virginia.   CHARLES L. HUNTER, former postmaster at St. Marys and formerly and for years actively engaged in newspaper work in that city, one of the best known newspaper men in western Ohio, was born at St. Marys and has lived there all his life. Mr. Hunter was born on January 6, 1869, and is a son of Anderson R. and Julia A. (Emerick) Hunter, both also natives of Ohio, the latter born in Mercer county on May 25, 1844, and both of whom are now deceased. Anderson Hunter was born in Stark county, this state, August 29, 1824, and in the days of his young manhood located at St. Marys, where after his marriage he established his home and spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring there in June, 1892. His widow survived him until October 25, 1918. Anderson R. Hunter was for many years widely known hereabout as a buyer of live stock and he also was engaged in the retail meat business at St. Marys. To him and his wife were born eleven children, all of whom are living save four, three who died in infancy and Anderson R. Hunter, Jr., who died at   524 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   the age of fifty-two years, the subject of this sketch having one sister, Mrs. D. E. Howe, and five brothers, James, John, Norville C., Russell A. and Wilbur S. Hunter, living. Reared at St. Marys, Charles L Hunter received his schooling in the excellent schools of that city and when eighteen years of age, in 1887, entered upon his career as a newspaper man and general printer, a vocation he followed until the time of his appointment in March, 1914, to the position of post- master at St. Marys, which position he occupied until the expiration of his commission on February 1, 1923. Upon entering the newspaper office at St. Marys back in the '80s Mr. Hunter started in with the determination to learn all departments of the business and he thus became an all around newspaper man, familiar with all de- tails of the craft from the "case" up, and was general manager of the Daily Leader at the time of his appointment to the postoffice. Mr. Hunter's service in this latter capacity covered the period of national stress during the time of this country's participation in the World war, when many new and onerous duties were being laid on postmasters in connection with the administration of local war activities, and it is needless to say that in the discharge of these duties he was proved in every way equal to the emergency. He also served as a director of the local Community Welfare Association, an organization growing out of war needs, and in that capacity rendered equally valuable service to the community of which he is so vital a part. Mr. Hunter is a member of the local Chamber of Commerce and has for many years been recognized as one of the most potent factors in the development of the commercial and industrial activities of his home town. He is a 32 degree Mason, affiliated with the consistory at Dayton and with the blue lodge, the chapter and council of the Masonic bodies at St. Marys, and is also a member of the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. For some years he has been the secretary of the local Masonic bodies. On July 4, 1891, Charles L. Hunter was united in marriage to Matilda Caldwell, who was also born in this county, daughter of Ephraim and Matilda (Boltz) Caldwell, and to this union have been born four children, all of whom are living save Hannah, who died in March, 1910, the others being two daughters, Julia M. and Helen Marie, and a son, Robert G., who married Vivien Clark, of Wapakoneta, and has one child, a son, Charles C., born on December 23, 1918. Robert G. Hunter is a machinist operator in the office of the Daily Leader at St, Marys, having charge of the linotype machines. The Misses Julia M, and Helen Marie Hunter have for some years past been engaged in Chautauqua work, directors for the Ellison-White Company of Portland, Oregon, and in this capacity have appeared in all the important towns in the West. Both young ladies were graduated from the St. Marys high school and Julia M. Hunter supplemented the training there received by a course in the Columbia School of Expression.   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 525   HENRY W. OELRICH, former ditch supervisor for Washington township and a well known farmer and landowner of that township, proprietor of a well kept place on the outskirts of New Knoxville besides other lands in the township, was born in Washington township and has lived there all his life save for a period of several years when he was trying out conditions in South Dakota. Mr. Oelrich was born on a farm in the New Knoxville neighborhood, in section 16 of Washington township, this county, February 19, 1866, and is a son of Henry and Mary (Peterjohann) Oelrich, natives of Germany, who had come up here from Cincinnati, where Henry Oelrich had been engaged in working at his trade as a chairmaker after coming to this country, and had bought a tract of fifty-two acres northwest of New Knoxville. There he lived for several years and then he bought a tract of 160 acres of uncleared land along the creek in section 16 of Washington township, where he settled down to the hard task of clearing the place and making a farm out of it and where he spent the remainder of his life. He and his wife were the parents of eight children, of whom six are still living, the subject of this sketch having four sisters, Dina, Christina, Anna and Mary, and a brother, Fred Oelrich. Reared on the home farm there along the creek a couple of miles northeast of New Knoxville, Henry W. Oelrich received his schooling in the local schools and as a young man continued farming on the home place, where he was thus actively engaged for fifteen years, at the end of which time he went to South Dakota with a view to prospecting about a bit with the possibility in mind of looating there if conditions proved to his liking. Mr. Oelrich in addition to his training as a farmer also had become a competent carpenter and upon his arrival in South Dakota began working there as a builder. For three or four years he remained there and then decided that Auglaize county after all was about the best place in the world and he returned here and bought the tract of thirteen acres on which he is now living in the immediate vicinity of New Knoxville and has since resided there. Upon taking that place Mr. Oelrich erected a substantial dwelling house there and he and his family are very comfortably situated. In addition to this tract he has a well improved farm of 100 acres in section 16, which he rents out. Mr. Oelrich has long taken an active interest in local civic affairs and for three years served the public as supervisor of ditches in his home township. In his political leanings he is in- dined to "independence" of mere party ties. Henry W. Oelrich married Sophia Hinze, daughter of William Hinze and also a member of one of the old families of this county, and to this union have been born five children, William, Huldah, Florence, Alfred and Esther, the two elder of whom are married. William Oelrich married Ella Kuck and has one child, a daughter, Catherine, and Huldah   526 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   Oelrich married R. B. Meckstroth and has one child, a son, Donald. The Oelrichs are members of the Reformed church at New Knoxville and Mr. Oelrich has served the congregation of that flourishing church as a deacon.   JOHN A. RITCHIE, one of the well known farmers and landowners of Duchouquet township and proprietor of a well improved farm on rural mail route No. 4 out of Wapakoneta, was born in that township and has lived there all his life, a period of more than sixty-five years. Mr. Ritchie was born on September 13, 1857, and is a son of Adam and Nancy (Sprague) Ritchie, who in their generation were among the best known and most influential residents of that neighborhood, the latter a member of the pioneer Sprague family which settled here about the time the Indians were leaving in the early '30s of the past century. Adam Ritchie was a Virginian by birth, born in Rockingham county in the Old Dominion, and there grew to manhood. Upon seeking a location in which to start out "on his own" he came over here into western Ohio and entered from the Government a tract of land here in the woods, in the north half of section 8 of Duchouquet township, and there established his home and settled down to the difficult task of making a farm out of his place. In this task he succeeded and as his affairs prospered added to his holdings until he became the owner of an excellent farm of 160 acres, and on that place spent his last days, he being eighty-four years of age at the time of his death. Adam Ritchie was twice married. His first wife, who in the early days was lovingly called "Aunt Polly" and whom he married before leaving Virginia, died a few months after coming out here into the wilderness and he then married Nancy Sprague, a daughter of Samuel Sprague, one of the pioneers of this region. To this latter union were born four children, two of whom are living, the subject of this sketch having a sister, Elizabeth. There was another son, Jacob Ritchie, and another daughter, Irene, both now deceased. Reared on the home farm there four miles north of Wapakoneta, John A. Ritchie received his schooling in the district school house just west of his home and remained with his father until his marriage at the age of twenty-one, when he rented a farm in the neighborhood and began farming on his own account. Two years later he bought a tract of eighty acres in that same neighborhood, a part of the place on which he is now living, and has since made his home there. Since taking possession of this place Mr. Ritchie has made many substantial improvements and has a well equipped farm plant. He also Las increased his holdings until now he owns a fine farm of 189 acres. Mr. Ritchie is an active member of the local grange of the Patrons of Husbandry at Buck- land and has for years taken an interested part in the activities of that body. He and his wife are members of the Christian church   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 527   and are Republicans. It was on September 19, 1878, that John A. Ritchie was united in marriage to Mollie Romshe, also a member of one of the old families of Auglaize county. Mrs. Ritchie was born on a farm in the northwest quarter of section 6 of Duchouquet township and grew to womanhood there, about a mile northwest of the Adam Ritchie farm, she and her husband thus having been schoolmates and friends from the days of their childhood. She is a daughter of George and Mary (McClintock) Romshe and both the Romshes and the McClintocks were among the pioneers of that part of the county and influential in the days of the development of that region.   J. EDWARD KOVERMAN, one of Jackson township's well known farmers and landowners, proprietor of a well improved farm about a mile east of Minster, was born on that farm and has lived there all his life. Mr. Koverman was born on March 19, 1866, and is a son of Conrad and Johanna (Graff) Koverman, both of whom were born in Germany but whose last days were spent in this county. Conrad Koverman came to America as a young man and located in New York city, where he became associated with a kinsman in the manufacture of playing cards. His health presently failed him and he was advised to get out in the open. He thus decided to get a bit of land and begin farming. Through one of his acquaintances out here in Ohio he was induced to come to Auglaize county and after his arrival here became so much impressed with the possibilities that awaited the settlers here that he bought a tract of eighty acres in section 36 of Jackson township, in the southeast corner of the township, a mile or more east of Minster, and there established his home, he and his wife spending the rest of their lives there, useful and influential pioneers of that neighborhood. They were the parents of ten children, the subject of this sketch having three sisters, Alvina, Sophia and Elizabeth, and six brothers, John, Frederick, Henry, William, Bernard and Casper Koverman. Reared on the home farm, where he was born, J. Edward Koverman received his schooling in the schools at Minster and from the days of his boyhood has been devoted to the affairs of the home farm, and has thus been engaged in farming there all his life, having established his home on that place after his marriage. Upon the death of their father he and his brother Henry Koverman took over the operation of the home place and have since been thus engaged in partnership. They have made many substantial improvements on the place and have a well equipped farm plant. In addition to his interest in this farm J. Edward Koverman has a tract of forty acres of his own, which he also is farming, and is doing well in his operations. He is a Democrat and for sixteen years served his local district as supervisor of roads there. J. Edward Koverman married Mary Meyer, daughter of Henry and Christina (Swenser) Meyer, and to this union have been born nine chil-   528 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   dren, John, Bernardine, Anna, Rose, Bernard, Andrew, Margaret, Louis and Herman, all of whom are unmarried and at home. The Kovermans have a pleasant home on rural mail route No. 1 out of Minster. They are members of St. Augustine's Catholic church at Minster, and Mr. Koverman also is a member of the St. Augustine Orphans Society.   (L)RUDOLPH A. RULMANN, M.D. (R) dR. CLARENCE F. RULMANN (OBIT: OCTOBER 19, 1918 DR. RUDOLPH A. RULMANN, former president of the Auglaize County Medical Society, former president of the local school board at Minster, a former member of the town council and in other ways active and helpful in public service there, a practicing physician of more than forty years standing in that community, and thus one of the best known physicians in this section of northwestern Ohio, is a European by birth, but has been a resident of this country since the days of his boyhood, and is thus as much an American at heart as though "native and to the manner born." Doctor Rulmann was born in the former Kingdom of Westphalia, now a province of Prussia, lying between Holland, Hanover, Brunswick, Hesse-Nassau and the Rhine Province, January 19, 1860, and is a son of Herman B. and Augusta (Mueller) Rulmann, also Westphalians, of pure German descent, whose last days were spent in this country, of which they became residents in the '60s of the past century. The late Herman B. Rulmann, formerly and for years a well-known miller at Minster, was trained as a miller in his home country and after his marriage there became established in the milling business. He continued thus engaged in Westphalia until in 1865, when he became attracted to the opportunities then awaiting newcomers on the other side of the Atlantic and came to the United States with a view to establishing himself in the milling business in this country. Leaving his family behind, pending the result of his prospecting trip, he spent some time looking around in the vicinity of Cincinnati and presently found the site he was looking for at Reading, about ten miles north of Cincinnati, in Hamilton county, this state. Then he sent for his family, and in 1869 his wife and son came over, arriving at the port of Baltimore on July 4 of that year. Doctor Rulmann was then but a lad, less than ten years of age, and his first sight of the city of Baltimore, decked out with the colors appropriate to the observance of the national holiday, and the enthusiasm of the people in their celebration of America's natal day, created an impression upon his youthful mind which never has been effaced. From that moment he was an American, eager and willing to cast in his lot with that of the people whose country his parents had gladly adopted for their new home. The Rulmann family remained in Hamilton county for two or three years and then moved over into the neighboring county of Franklin, in Indiana, and settled at Oldenburg, in that county, where Herman B. Rulmann became engaged in the mill-   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 529   ing business, and where his wife died in 1875. He presently married Mary Hackman, and in 1888 moved from Indiana back into Ohio and located at Minster, where in the meanwhile his son, the Doctor, had become engaged in practice, there became engaged in the milling business, head of the Rulmann Milling Company, and so continued the remainder of his life, his death occurring at Minster on January 9, 1906. Doctor Rulmann, as noted above, was nine years of age when he came to America, was about twelve when the family moved to Oldenburg, Ind., and was fifteen years of age when his mother died. He completed the course in the local schools at Oldenburg, and in 1874, at the age of fourteen, was placed in. St. Francis College, where he spent two years, at the end of which time, in 1876, he began reading medicine under the preceptorship of Doctor Averdick at Oldenburg. In the fall of the following year (1877) he matriculated at the Ohio Medical College at Cincinnati, and on March 1, 1881, was graduated from that institution. During the course of his medical studies Doctor Rulmann had been casting about for a location when he should be equipped for practice and he had decided upon Minster as a likely place for a young physician. He lost little time in getting located after he had received his diploma, and on April 22 following his graduation opened his office at Minster, where he ever since has been engaged in practice. Recognizing upon his arrival there the need of a first-class drug store in the town, Doctor Rulmann opened a drug store in the same year in which he bccame engaged in practice. After his father became engaged in the milling business at Minster he became secretary and treasurer of the Rulmann Milling Company and was for years thus engaged, in addition to his other interests. Twenty years and more ago Doctor Rulmann was appointed health officer for that community, and in that capacity, in which he served for years, did much to bring about proper standards of sanitation and hygiene. He also has rendered efficient public service in other ways, for six years was president of the local school board, served for some time as a member of the town council, and has for years been looked upon as one of the leaders of the Democratic party in that part of the county. The Doctor is a member of the American Medical Association, of the Ohio State Medical Society and of the Auglaize County Medical Society, or which latter body he served as president for two years, and has ever taken an active interest in the deliberations of these bodies. He and his wife are members of St. Augustine's Catholic church at Minster and have ever taken a proper interest in parish affairs, the Doctor being a member of the St. Boniface Benevolent Society, the society for the amelioration of the condition of orphans, and similar organizations of the parish. He is a member of the local aerie of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Dr. R. A. Rulmann has been twice (33)   530 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   married. In 1881, the year in which he became engaged in practice at Minster, he was united in marriage to Isabel Schmieder, daughter of Dr. John P. Schmieder, of Minster, for years one of the leading citizens of this county, who had located at Minster in 1846, had served as mayor of that town and in other ways had been influential in directing the affairs of the community, and who died in 1887 while serving his second term as state senator from this district. To that union were born two sons, Albert H. and John P., the latter of whom died in his youth. Albert P. Rulmann, who is living at Flint, Mich., married Eleanor Goeke and has one child, a son, Leroy, Mrs. Isabel Rulmann died on February 19, 1886, and in 1888 Doctor Rulmann married Josephine M. Vogelsang, daughter of Frederick and Elizabeth Vogelsang, of Minster. To this union four sons have been born, Clarence F., Herbert, Oscar and Leroy, all of whom are living save the first named, who died on October 19, 1918, thus bringing to an early close what gave promise of being a useful medical career. The late Dr. Clarence F. Rulmann was prepared for medical college under the able preceptorship of, his father and was in due time graduated from the medical school of Ohio State University and became engaged in practice, which he followed until his untimely death. He married Elizabeth Hinders, who, with their daughter, Mary Elizabeth, survives. Doctor Rulmann's other sons also are all married. Herbert Rulmann married Luetta Vallo. Oscar Rulmann married Theresa Boerger and has one child, a daughter, Martha, and Leroy Rulmann married Deloris Schulte and has one child, a son, Rudolph A., named in honor of his grandfather, the Doctor.   ALLEN FOCHT, a former trustee of Union township and one A the best known of the older farmers and landowners of the Uniopolis neighborhood, was born on the farm on which he is now living, just east of Uniopolis, and has lived there all his life, a member A one of the real pioneer families of that part of the county. Mr. Focht was born on March 5, 1853, and is a son of Samuel and Louisa (Justice) Focht, the latter of. whom was a daughter of Allen Justice, who had entered his land in section 15 of Union township in 1835, ;hree years after the Indians had departed from this region. Samuel Focht, who was one of the early commissioners of Auglaize county Ind in his generation a man of force and influence in this community, was born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, in 1812, and was a son A Adam Focht, also a Pennsylvanian, who in 1836 came to Ohio Ind settled on a woodland tract which he had acquired in section 14 A Union township, which then was included within the confines of Mien county, Auglaize county not having been organized until twelve Tears later. Adam Focht had ten children, Samuel, Daniel, Lewis, Adam, John, William, Jacob, Susan, Mary and Matilda, and the Focht connection of this line in the present generation is an extensie   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 531   one, He established his home on that woodland tract, with the aid of his sons developed a good farm there, and there spent his last days, his death occurring in 1853. Samuel Focht, the eldest of these seven sons, was the "pathfinder" in the family's migration to this part of Ohio. When about twenty-three years of age he came over here into western Ohio, looking about for a desirable place of settlement in the new lands country hereabout, and became attracted to the possibilities which awaited settlers in Union township. He first bought the tract on which his son, Allen, is now living, and later bought an "eighty" in the north half of section 20, just southeast of where Uniopolis later was laid out, and his father then disposed of the family interests in Pennsylvania and came out here into the then wilderness with his family, prepared to make a new start. It was thus that the Fochts came to be numbered among the pioneers of this region, and the family is still widely represented hereabout. Samuel Focht was a man of initiative and enterprise, and not only succeeded in making a good farm out of the place on which he had settled there along the creek, but he likewise succeeded in impressing his personality upon his pioneer neighbors. He was the second justice of the peace elected in and for Union, township, and served for two terms in that magisterial capacity. When in the late '40s the movement for the erection of a new county here was inaugurated he was one of the earnest promoters of that movement, and in 1851, in the second election held in Auglaize county, he was elected to represent his district on the board of county commissioners, receiving 1,368 votes as against 140 for his Whig opponent. By re-election he served for six years on the board of county commissioners, and thus was a strong force in bringing about proper civil conditions in the county's formative period. In 1864 he was elected a member of the board of infirmary directors, and for twelve years thereafter was kept in that office. In other ways he did well his part in the community, nor was he unmindful of his own personal affairs, for he increased his land, holdings around his original eighty to more than 200 acres and had one of the best farms in the neighborhood. He died on January 7, 1895, in the eighty-third year of his age. Samuel Focht was twice married, and by his first wife, Mary Bethers, was the father of four children, two of whom, William and Sarah, are still living, the deceased members of this family havndng been Daniel and Matilda. By his union with Louisa Justice he was the father of four children, all of whom are living save one son, Adam, the others besides the subject of this sketch being a daughter, Mary, and a son, Louis Focht. Reared on the farm on which he was born and where he is now living, Allen Focht received his schooling in the Uniopolis schools, and from the days of his boyhood has been attentive to the affairs of the farm. After his marriage he rented   532 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   a portion of the home acres and continued to make his home there, later buying 120 acres of his father's tract, and his father gave him forty acres, this giving him a total of 160 acres, which he still owns, although for some time he has lived on the place practically retired from the active labors of the farm, renting his fields. Mr. Focht is a Democrat, as was his father, and has rendered public service—for several terms a member of the board of township trustees, and also for some years as a member of the school board. He has a pleasant home there on rural mail route No. 6 out of Wapakoneta, and he and his family are quite comfortably situated. Allen Focht has been twice married. On November 29, 1872, he was united in marriage to Rebecca Blank, also a member of one of the pioneer families of Union township, and to that union were born five children, all of whom are living save one son (Charles), the others being Louetta, Dora, Emma and Elmer, the last named of whom is unmarried and is now living in Idaho. Louetta Focht married Elmer Shaw and has one son, Neal Shaw. Dora Focht married Samuel Sibert and has four children, Bonnie, Calvin, Lyman and Minor. Bonnie Sibert married Frank Werner and has a son, Joseph Franklin. Calvin Sibert married Pauline Brantz and has a daughter, Dorothy. Emma Focht married Floyd Gesler and has three children, Joy, Richard and Edith. Joy Gesler married Earl Bondurant and has a son, Donald. On October 13, 1887, Mr. Focht married Catherine Bitler, daughter of Daniel and Angeline (Seiwell) Bitler, also members of old families in this county, and to this union four children have been born, Nova, Hazel, Dalles and Dewey, all of whom are living save the last named, who died in childhood. Dalles Focht is a veteran of the World war, having rendered service in the Ordnance Corps, eleven months of which service was rendered overseas. Nova Focht married Robert Hegele, a veteran of the World war, and is now living at Piqua. Hazel Focht married Walter Chenowith, also a World war veteran, and is now living in Allen county.   ELI RAMGE, a member of one of the pioneer families of Auglaize county and a well-known farmer and landowner of Duchouquet township, proprietor of a well-improved farm on rural mail route No. 4 out of Wapakoneta, was born on a farm one and one-half miles west of Wapakoneta on March 20, 1866, and is a son of Henry and Mary (Burk) Ramge, both of whom were members of pioneer families in that neighborhood, the Ramges and the Burks having been among the early settlers there. The late Henry Ramge was a son of Philip Ramge, a native of Germany, who had come to this part of Ohio not long after his arrival in this country and had taken up a forty-acre tract in Duchouquet township, two miles east of Wapakoneta, where he established his home and spent the remainder of his life. On that pioneer farm Henry Ramge grew to manhood.   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 533   After his marriage to Mary Burk, one of the neighbor girls, he began farming on his own account on a rented farm, but a few years later bought a farm along the river across from Greenlawn cemetery, west of Wapakoneta, where he continued farming for forty-six years, at the end of which time he moved to Wapakoneta, where he bought property and spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring in 1916. Of the children born to him and his wife six are still living, the subject of this sketch having two sisters, Catherine and Anna, and three brothers, Christian F., Charles and John Ramge. Eli Ramge received his schooling in the Wapakoneta schools, and as a young man gave his attention to the home farm west of town. Twelve years after his marriage he bought a tract of eighty acres in Duchouquet township, the place on which he is now living, and has since resided there, he and his family being very comfortably situated. Since taking possession of that place, which was not wholly cleared when he bought it, Mr. Ramge has cleared about twenty acres and has made numerous substantial improvements on the place, including the erection of a new barn. He also has increased his land holdings by the purchase of an adjoining "eighty," and now has an excellent farm of 160 acres. In addition to his general farming, he gives considerable attention to the raising of live stock and is doing well, It was on March 6, 1895, that Eli Ramge was united in marriage to Amanda Falker, who also was born in this county, daughter of Henry and Mary (Stalder) Falker, and to this union three children have been born, Edna, Harry and Edith. Edna Ramge married Roy Shively, and has three children, Juanita, Marjory and Betty Lucile. Mr. and Mrs. Ramge are members of Grace Lutheran church and are Republicans.   EDWARD F. REICHELDERFER, president of the Home Bank of Cridersville, proprietor of the grain elevator and lumber yard in that town, for thirty years past the treasurer of the Cridersville town corporation, one of the large landowners of Auglaize county, and in other ways actively identified with the general interests of this community, is a native son of Auglaize county, a member of one of the real pioneer families of this part of the state, and has lived here all his life. Mr. Reichelderfer was born on a farm just west of the village of Cridersville on November 9, 1867, and is a son of John and Susan (Crider) Reichelderfer, both of whom were born in that same vicinity, the latter a daughter of Ephraim Crider, the pioneer miller and founder of the town of Cridersville, who platted the town site there in the spring of 1856, following the survey of the railroad through this section of the state, the first railroad to enter Auglaize county. The late John Reichelderfer, a veteran of the Civil war and former county commissioner, was born on March 31, 1841, and was a son of William Reichelderfer, the pioneer, who in 1837 had entered an "eighty" in the west half of the northeast quarter of section 34   534 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   of township 4, range 6 east, then a part of Allen county, now included in the civil township of Duchouquet, in Auglaize county, just west of the present town of Cridersville, on the Allen-Auglaize county line, and had become one of the most useful and influential pioneers of that community. William Reichelderfer developed a good farm there in the then timber wilderness and became the owner of a quarter of a section of land. He and his wife were the parents of nine children, and the Reichelderfer connection hereabout in the present generation is a no inconsiderable one. John Reichelderfer was reared on that pioneer farm and was twenty years of age when the Civil war broke out. He enlisted his services in behalf of the cause of the Union and went to the front as a member of Company G of the 81st regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which gallant command he served until mustered out on July 20, 1865, the war then being over. During this term of service Mr. Reichelderfer participated in the Atlanta campaign and in some of the important engagements of the war. Upon the completion of his military service he returned home and not long afterward married and began farming on his own account. He was a successful farmer and became the owner of 260 acres of land in the Cridersville neighborhood, 1890, in association with his son (the subject of this sketch), he became engaged in the grain business at Cridersville, erecting an elevator there, and continued thus engaged the remainder of his life, his death occurring on December 20, 1904. He also was one of the organizers of the Home Bank of Cridersville, established in 1903, was the first president of that institution, and at his death was succeeded by his son, the present president of the bank. He was for many years recognized as one of the leaders of the Democratic party in that part of the county, served his township in various public capacities, first as constable and then as a township trustee, in which latter capacity he served for seven years, and for two terms (1884-90) rendered valuable service to the county at large as a member of the board of county commissioners. John Reichelderfer was twice married, and by his union with Susan Crider was the father of two children, one son, the subject of this sketch, and a daughter, Celesta, who married John Danner. The mother of these children died in 1884, and Mr. Reichelderfer married Sophia Danner, who survived him. Edward F. Reichelderfer was reared on the home farm near Cridersville and his schooling was completed in the Cridersville schools. As a young man he became engaged in the livery business at Cridersville and was thus engaged for something more than three years, or until 1890, when he became associated with his father in the grain business at Cridersville, a mutually agreeable association which continued until his father's death in 1904, since which time he has carried on the business alone. In 1907 he added to this enter-   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE, COUNTY - 535   prise a general line of lumber and builders' supplies and established a coal yard in connection with the same, his elevator and lumber and coal yards constituting one of the leading industries of the town. Upon the death of his father, Mr. Reichelderfer also succeeded to the presidency of the Home Bank of Cridersville and has since been at the head of that institution, one of the best known bankers hereabout. He has maintained and extended his land interests and is the owner of 500 acres of farm lands in this and Allen counties. He also is a member of the board of directors of the Lima Coal Company of Lima and has other interests, the direction of which makes him one of the really busy men of this county. Mr. Reichelderfer is a Democrat and for the past thirty years has been serving as treasurer of the Cridersville town corporation. He and his family are members of St. Matthew's Lutheran church at Cridersville, and for the past twenty years or more he has been a member of the board of trustees of that congregation. It was in 1890 that E. F. Reichelderfer was united in marriage to Rosa DeLong, also a member of one of the pioneer families of the Cridersville neighborhood, daughter of Ezra and Lydia (Fetherolf) DeLong, and to this union three children have been born, Lela, Chester and Vera, the latter of whom is the wife of Clayton Graham, of Lima. Lela Reichelderfer married Clarence Wheeler, of Toledo, and Chester Reichelderfer is at home, a valued assistant to his father in the latter's various business enterprises. The Reichelderfers have a very pleasant home at Cridersville.   WILLIAM MOYER, a well-known farmer and landowner of Union township, is of English birth, but has been a resident of this country and of Auglaize county since the days of his youth, a period of nearly seventy-five years. Mr. Moyer was born in Lincolnshire, England, August 6, 1849, and was seven years old when, in 1856, he came to this country with his parents, Jeremiah and Maria (Farris) Moyer, the family landing at the port of New York on Christmas Day of that year. As is set out elsewhere in this volume, Jeremiah Moyer's objective upon coming to this country was the hard-timber region out here in western Ohio, and upon his arrival he lost little time in coming here with his family. He settled on a tract of thirty acres in the northwestern part of Wayne township which had been left to him by the death of his brother, John, and there established his home, later increasing his holdings to an "eighty," and there he and his wife spent the remainder of their lies, his death occurring in 1880, and hers in 1903. When they came to America they had five children, Thomas, John, William, Mary A, and Elizabeth, and two others, Jeremiah and George, were born after their arrival here. Of these children all are living save George and Elizabeth, and the Moyer family of this line in the present   536 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   generation is a no inconsiderable one. As noted above, William Moyer was but a lad of seven when he came to this country wi his parents in 1856, and he grew to manhood on the pioneer ho farm there near the headwaters of the Auglaize, in Wayne townshi completing his schooling in the neighborhood schools. He was ear trained in the ways of practical farming, and after leaving the ho place bought an eighty-acre farm in Union township, where he si has made his home, he and his family being very comfortably si ated. William Moyer married Lavina (Harbison) Kerr, a membe of one of the pioneer families of this county, daughter of David and Elizabeth (Saggesser) Harbison. Mr. and Mrs. Moyer have a daugh- ter, Edith. Mr. Moyer is a Republican and is a member of the Masonic lodge at Waynesfield. The Moyer home is pleasantly situ- ated on rural mail route No. 6 out of Wapakoneta.   FRED A. ACCUNTIUS, superintendent of the Auglaize county infirmary and one of the best known men in the county, lwas born on a farm in the western part of Clay township and has been a resident of this county all his life, with the exception of a period of three years spent in the West during his young manhood. Mr. Accuntius was born on April 26, 1888, and is a son of Adam and Cardine (Gross) Accuntius, both of whom also were born in Ohio and who are now living retired at Geyer village. Adam Accuntius was born in the neighboring county of Shelby, where he was reared and where he was living when the Civil war broke out. He enlisted his services in behalf of the cause of the Union and served as a soldier for three years and three months, a member of Company M, 1st Ohio Light Artillery, going into service in September, 1861. Upon the completion of his military service Mr. Accuntius returned home and presently was married in his home county to Cardine Gross, who also was born in Shelby county. Not long after his marriage he came up into Auglaize county and bought a "forty" in the northeast quarter of section 19 of Clay township, where he established his home. Mr. Accuntius was a good farmer and before very long added to his holdings there an adjoining "forty." He continued to increase his land holdings as the years passed and as his affairs prospered until he became the owner of more than 600 acres of land in this county and continued actively engaged in farming until his retirement and removal to the village of Geyer, where he is now living, having sold his land, and is devoting his attention to other forms of investment. To Adam Accuntius and wife were born fourteen children, all of whom are living save two—John and Michael—the others (besides the subject of this sketch) being George, William, Henry, Louis, Charles, Mattie, Sarah, Mary, Elizabeth, Caroline and Anna. Reared on the home farm in Clay township, Fred A, Accuntius received his schooling in the neighborhood schools and as a young man   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 537   went West with a view to possible location, but after three years of prospecting along several lines out that way returned to Auglaize 'county and was shortly afterward married here. He then rented a bit of land from his father and started in farming in Clay township. When his father sold his farm, Fred Accuntius moved to Wapakoneta, where he made his home for four years, at the end of which time he resumed farming, taking hold of a farm in Moulton town; ship. A year later he moved to a farm in Duchouquet township and was there engaged in farming for three years, or until on March 1, 1922, when he entered upon his present duties a3 superintendent of the Auglaize county infirmary, located in that township, and is thus serving now in that capacity, under appointment of the board of county commissioners. Fred A. Accuntius married Zelma Shadrach, daughter of John and Cornelia (Taylor) Shadrach. He and his wife have adopted a son, Fred. Mr. Accuntius is a member of the local lodges of the Fraternal Order of Eagles and of the Loyal Order of loose at Wapakoneta, and is also affiliated with the Swabian Society of that city. Auglaize county has one of the best equipped county ;infirmaries in northwestern Ohio, and its present superintendent is 'giving his whole attention to the operation of the institution, with a desire constantly to better conditions along all lines there.   EDWARD J. DIEGEL, one of the well known and progressive farmers of Washington township and proprietor in association with his brothers of a well improved farm west of Owl Creek about five miles southwest of Wapakoneta, was born on a farm in St. Marys township, this county, on January 29, 1871, and is a son of Jacob and Sarah (Roberts) Diegel, the latter of whom was a daughter of Jesse Roberts, who had settled in section 13 of Washington township in 1836, establishing his home there along the banks of Owl creek and becoming one of the substantial pioneers of that community. Jesse Roberts was born in the vicinity of Xenia, in Greene county, this state, in 1811, and upon coming up into this part of the state entered a quarter of a section of land from the Government. In addition to his farming operations he also became widely known as a manufacturer of plows throughout that neighborhood and also carried on a cabinet making business, thus making many of the coffins used thereabout in pioneer days. He was a man of industry and good management and at the time of his death in 1874 was the owner of no less than 640 acres in this county. Reared on the farm, Edward J. Diegel received his schooling in the neighborhood schools, both in St. Marys and in Washington townships, and from the days of his boyhood has been devoted to farming. He remained on the home place, helpful in the labors of developing and improving the same, until his marriage when he established his home on the farm on which he is now living, a 100-acre tract of   538 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   the old Jesse Roberts estate, which had come to him and his brothers by inheritance, and has since resided there, carrying on the operations of the farm, with the expectation eventually of purchasing the respective interests of his brothers in the place. He has kept up the repairs on the place and has a well equipped farm plant, In addition to his general farming, Mr. Diegel gives considerable attention to the raising of live stock and is doing well. He and his wife are members of the Hope Evangelical church and are Republicans. It was on January 1, 1906, that Edward J. Diegel was united in marriage to Matilda Smith, who was born and reared in the adjoining county of Mercer, a daughter of William and Caroline (Meyers) Smith, and to this union one child has been born, a son, Russell T. Diegel, born on November 7, 1911, who is now a student in the Owl Creek school. The Diegels have a pleasant home on rural mail route No. 2 out of Wapakoneta.   GEORGE C. THIELK, a well-known farmer and substantial landowner in the western part of Washington township, proprietor of a well-improved place on rural mail route No. 1 out of St. Marys, was born in that township and has lived there all his life. Mr. Thielk was born on November 7, 1875, and is a son of John and Julia (Stroh) Thielk, the latter of whom was born in that same township, a member of one of the pioneer families of the New Knoxville neighborhood. The late John Thielk was born in Germany and was twelve years of age when he came to this country with his parents, the family for some time after their arrival here making their home at Dayton, Ohio. They came up here into Auglaize county and settled on a woodland farm along the creek in section 18 of Washington township, about a mile and a half north of New Knoxville, and it was on this pioneer farm that John Thielk grew to manhood. After his marriage he bought an adjoining tract of seventy-five acres, there along the creek, the place on which his son, George, is now living, and there spent the remainder of his life, a successful farmer. After clearing his original tract and getting it ready for cultivation he bought other land and at the time of his death was the owner of a fine farm of 200 acres. He and his wife were members of Zion's Lutheran church at St. Marys and he had served the congregation of that church as a trustee and as an elder. He also had rendered public service as a member of the school board. To him and his wife were born five children, all of whom are living save two, William and Mary, the subject of this sketch having a sister, Anna, and a brother, Edward Thielk. Reared on the home farm in Washington township, George C. Thielk received his schooling in the nearby district school (district No, 4) and from the days of his boyhood has been attentive to the affairs of the farm. He continued farming with his father until the latter's   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 539   death and then he took over the home place of 120 acres and has since resided there, he and his family being very comfortably situated. Since coming into possession of this place, Mr. Thielk has made numerous substantial improvements and has a well equipped farm plant. In addition to his general farming he has long given considerable attention to the raising of live stock, with particular reference to pure bred Duroc hogs and Shorthorn cattle, and is doing well. In his political views, Mr. Thielk is a Democrat. George Thielk married Sarah Kuck and to this union have been born four children, Ruth, Harold and Rachel and Paul, deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Thielk are members of Zion's Lutheran church at St. Marys and for thirteen years Mr. Thielk served the congregation of that church as a deacon. Mrs. Sarah Thielk also was born in Washington township and is a daughter of Gustav and Elizabeth (Storck) Kuck, who later became residents of Van Buren township in the neighboring county of Shelby, where they became well established on a farm. Gustav Kuck and his wife both were natives of Germany. They were married in Cincinnati and not long afterward came up into this part of the state, where they spent the remainder of their lives, both now deceased. They were the parents of six children, four of whom are living, Mrs. Thielk having a sister, Matilda, and two brothers, William and Henry Kuck.   DAVID LANDIS, a veteran of the Civil war and one of Waynesfield's best known octogenarians, a farmer and landowner of this county, now living retired at the village, where he has made his home for the past four or five years, is a "Buckeye" by birth, a native of the neighboring county of Darke, and has been a resident of this state all his life, making his home in Auglaize county since the days of his boyhood. Mr. Landis was born on March 7, 1842, and was fourteen years of age when his parents, Jacob and Elizabeth (Rudy) Landis, came up into Auglaize county from Darke county and established their home on an eighty-acre tract in the woods at the headwaters of the Auglaize, in the south half of section 4 of Wayne township. That was in 1856 and much of the country thereabout was still in a pretty wild state. Jacob Landis got his tract cleared and his farm established and then became engaged in the cigar- making business, traveling throughout the West in the sale of cigars, and died in the West while on one of his trips. He and his wife were the parents of twelve children, four of whom are still living, the subject of this sketch having a sister, Sadie, and two brothers, Francis and Jacob Landis. As noted above, David Landis was fourteen years of age when he came here with his parents in 1856, and he grew to manhood on that pioneer farm in the northern part of Wayne township, and was living there when the Civil war broke out. In the spring of 1864 he enlisted in the 100-days service and went   540 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   out as a member of Company D of the 151st regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Upon the completion of his term of military service, Mr. Landis returned home and resumed his farming operations, a vocation he followed until his recent retirement. For years he farmed as a laborer, always finding his services in demand, and then he bought the home eighty and started in farming on his own account, continuing thus engaged on that farm until his retirement in 1918 and removal to Waynesfield, where he has since made his home and where he and his wife are quite comfortably and pleasantly situated. Mr. Landis is a Republican and has ever given a good citizen's attention to local political affairs, but has not been a seeker after public office. On December 25, 1892, David Landis was united in marriage to Sarah Tabler, a daughter of Thomas J. and Frances (Gilmore) Tabler, and to this union two children have been born, a son, Heber (deceased), and a daughter, Mae, who is now engaged as a teacher in the schools of Toledo. During his long and active life Mr. Landis has seen some amazing changes in conditions throughout this part of Ohio and has many interesting stories to tell of pioneer days and of the days of the big timber hereabout.   DITTMAR KNATZ, one of the large landowners of Auglaize county and proprietor of a well-improved farm in the northeast part of Washington township, about three miles southwest of Wapakoneta, was born on that place and has lived there all his life. Mr. Knatz was born on August 1, 1866, and is a son of Conrad and Elizabeth (Filling) Knatz, natives of Germany, who were married in that country. Not long after his marriage, Conrad Knatz came to this country and proceeded on out here into western Ohio, where he worked for some time as a farm hand and then bought an "eighty" in the woods there between Owl creek and Clear creek, in the southwest quarter of section 1 of Washington township, sent back to the old country for his wife, and settled down to make a farm out of his place. He put up a little cabin of a house and started in to clear his land, which he presently got under cultivation. As his affairs prospered, for he was a good farmer, he gradually added to his holdings there until he became the owner of 350 acres and was accounted one of the substantial farmers of that neighborhood. On that place he made his home until his retirement from the farm and removal to Wapakoneta, where his last days were spent. To him and his wife were born seven children, of whom but two are nOW living, the subject of this sketch having a brother, George Knatz. Reared on the home farm, Dittmar Knatz received his schooling in the local schools, and from the days of his boyhood has been attentive to the affairs of the farm. He continued farming with his father until the time of his marriage, when he took over the operation of 120 acres of the home farm and on that place established his home. Mr. Knatz has   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 541   done well in his farming and live stock operations, and during the years in which he has been thus engaged has added to his land holdings until now he is the owner of 600 acres of land in this county, all lying in Washington township save a forty up over the line in Moulton township. On this tract he has four sets of buildings and he continues to give his personal attention to the farm of 225 acres surrounding his home place, which has been improved in admirable fashion, he having a very well-equipped farm plant there. In his political views Mr. Knatz is a Democrat with "independent" leanings. He has ever taken a good citizen's interest in local civic affairs and for about fifteen years served as pike superintendent in his district. He also has rendered service as a school director. He and his wife are members of St. Paul's Evangelical church at Wapakoneta. Dittmar Knatz married Agatha Burk, daughter of Erhart Burk, and also a member of one of the pioneer families of this county, and to this union have been born four children, three of whom are living, Clara, Albert and Helena, all married save the latter. Clara Knatz married Edgar Berg and has three children, Edgar, Eldon and Elizabeth, and Albert Knatz married Fredia Henxtler, and has two children, Evan and Vernon. The Knatz home is pleasantly situated on rural mail route No. 2 out of Wapakoneta. Mr. Knatz's paternal grandparents, George and Anna (Ritz) Knatz, were farming people in Germany. The former died at the age of fifty-three years and his widow survived him for twenty years. Their four sons, Conrad and the latter's three brothers, all served in the German army. Conrad Knatz was born on August 11, 1829, and was twenty-four years of age when, in the fall of 1853, he sailed for America, the vessel on which he sailed requiring nine weeks and three days to make the passage from Bremen to New York.   BENJAMIN HEGEMANN, one of the best known residents of Minster, until quite recently manager of the grain elevator of the Farmers Exchange Company at that place, and now manager of the local branch of the Kuenzel Mills Company at Loramie, has been a resident of Minster since the days of his childhood, and his long connection with the grain business has given him a wide acquaintance throughout that part of this county and in adjacent sections of the neighboring counties. Mr. Hegemann was born at Covington, Ky., December 14, 1882, and is a son of August and Anna (hoer) Hegemann, natives of Germany, who later became residents of Minster, and the latter of whom is still living there. The late August Hegemann was a manufacturer of brick and tile in his home country and he remained there until after his marriage, when (in 1881) he came with his wife to America and located at Covington, Ky., where he became employed in the rolling mills. Three years later, in 1884, he moved with his family to Minster, and in that neighborhood be-   542 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   came engaged in farming, a vocation he followed much of the time thereafter until his death, though for some time he was connected with the operations of a stave factory. He was the owner of a tract of twenty-five acres in the vicinity of Minster. His death occurred on June 29, 1917. To him and his wife were born four children, two of whom are deceased : Anthony, who died in infancy, and William, who died at the age of twenty years, the survivors being Benjamin Hegemann and his brother, Herbert Hegemann. As will be noted by a comparison of above dates, Benjamin Hegemann was about two years of age when his parents moved to Minster, and he was reared there, receiving his schooling in the local schools. Upon leaving school he worked with his father on the farm for four years and then became employed as an iron molder and worked in the foundry for five years, at the end of which time he became employed in the Wernsing grain elevator and there became familiar with the details of the local grain trade, which later became so important to him when he became engaged in a managerial capacity. Mr. Hegemann remained with the Wernsing elevator for twelve years, or until that concern was sold, and in 1920 he was made manager of the elevator of the Farmers Exchange Company at Minster, a poSition he occupied until his retirement from that concern in July, 1922. On November 2 following he was made manager of the elevator of the Kuenzel Mills Company at Loramie and is nOW thus engaged. Mr, Hegemann is an ardent Republican and has ever taken an active interest in the campaigns of that party in this county, for sixteen years a central committeeman and a member of the executive committee. He is a member of St. Augustine's Catholic church and has long been one of the most active workers in the affairs of that parish, advocate of Council No. 2158 of the Knights of Columbus, past president of the Knights of St. John, recording secretary of the St. Boniface Benevolent Society and a member of the St. Augustine Orphanstch Society. He also is a past worthy president of the local aerie of the Fraternal Order of Eagles at Minster, and is affiliated with the lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at Wapakoneta. He is an active member of the Minster Commercial Club.   WILLIAM A. FISHER, a well-known farmer and land owner of Pusheta township, a former member of the board of education of that township and proprietor of a well-improved farm on rural mail route No. 5 out of Wapakoneta, was born in Pusheta township and has lived there practically all his life, the exception being a short period during which he was farming in Duchouquet township. Mr. Fisher was born on a farm in the vicinity of where he is now living, about four miles southeast of Wapakoneta, March 11, 1873, and is a son of William H. and Wilhelmina (Veit) Fisher, the latter of whom was born in Clay township, a daughter of Valentine Veit,   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 543   one of the pioneers of that township, whose land entered there from the Government in pioneer days is still held in the Veit family. William H. Fisher, a substantial landOWner of Pusheta township, now living retired in Wapakoneta, was born in Pusheta township on July 15, 1846, two years before the organization of Auglaize county, and is a son of Blaizie Fisher, who had entered a "forty" in that township and a similar tract in Clay township in pioneer days, these original land holdings still being held in the Fisher family. Reared on the pioneer farm there in Pusheta township, William H. Fisher received his schooling in the old Weimert school house (district No. 1) at the cross roads in the northeast corner of section 11, and after his marriage established his home on a farm in that neighborhood. He was a good farmer and as his affairs prospered added to his holdings until he became the owner of 240 acres in this county, and he continued actively engaged in farming until his retirement and removal to Wapakoneta, where he and his wife are now living. They have thirteen children, the subject of this sketch (the second in order of birth) having seven sisters, Mary, Katie, Minnie, Edith, Cora, Carrie and Alma, and five brothers, Frank, George, John, Ferd and Harry Fisher, all of whom were reared on the home farm and some of whom received their schooling at Wapakoneta. William A, Fisher received his schooling in the Weimert school, which his father had attended and which his children are now attending, and from the days of his boyhood has been attentive to farming. He remained at home farming with his father until his marriage at the age of twenty-three, when he rented an eighty-acre farm from his father and began farming on his own account. For seventeen years he was engaged in farming this place, and then he bought a tract of eighty-seven acres in Duchouquet township. Four months later he sold that place and bought the place of 100 acres on which he is now living, and to which he has added by subsequent purchase an adjoining tract of seventy-one and one-fourth acres, this giving him a fine farm of 171 1/4 acres, which he has improved in admirable fashion, and on which he is carrying on his operations in accordance with modern methods of agriculture. Since taking possession of this place Mr. Fisher has made numerous improvements, including the remodeling of the buildings and the erection of a silo, and has a well equipped farm plant. In addition to his general farming, he gives considerable attention to the raising of live stock, feeding off about 100 hogs a year, and is doing well. It was on September 15, 1896, that William A. Fisher was united in marriage to Katie Wagner, who also was born in Pusheta township, and to this union have been born six children, of whom three are deceased—Edward, who died on December 31, 1921, and two who died in infancy. The remaining children of this family are Fredonia, Alvena and Frank-   544 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   lin, the two latter of whom are still in school. Mrs. Fisher is a daughter of George and Mary (Linder) Wagner, both members of old families in this county, the latter born in Clay township. George Wagner was born in Pusheta township and was a well-to-do farmer, To him and his wife were born seven children, six of whom are living, Mrs. Fisher having three sisters, Mary, Josephine and Flora, and two brothers, Frank and Alois. Mr. and Mrs. Fisher are members of St. John's Catholic church at Freyburg and take an interested and helpful part in parish affairs, Mr. Fisher having served for several terms as a member of the church's board of trustees and also as church treasurer. He is a member of the local council (No. 1272) of the Knights of Columbus at Wapakoneta and he and his wife are Democrats. Mr. Fisher has taken a proper interest in local civic affairs in his home township and for eight years served as s. member of the board of education for that township,   (L)MRS. ANNA ELIZA ALLEN HESTON AND (R) MISS MARTHA ALLEN MISS MARTHA H. ALLEN, one of the large landowners of Union township and a former teacher in the schools of this county and in the Lima high school, now living at St. Johns, where she has a very pleasant home, was born in Union township and is the daughter and only child of James W. and Anna Eliza (Pippin) Allen, the latter of whom was born in Missouri. Anna Eliza Pippin was but a child when her parents died in Missouri and she was reared in the household of her uncle, William Lusk, who came with his family to this section of Ohio in the middle '40s and settled in Clay township of what then was Allen county, but which not long thereafter was included in the newly erected county of Auglaize. When fourteen years of age she was taken int the home of her aunt, Mrs. Joseph Hardin, in that same neighbor hood, and was living there at the time of her marriage to James W. Allen in 1860. James W. Allen, who was a veteran of the Civil war, was born in Union township and was a son of Warren and Mary (Coleman) Allen, who had come here from Delaware, Ohio, and had settled on a half section of land, which Warren Allen had entered in Union township. Reared on the farm on which he was born, James W. Allen became a farmer on his own account after his marriage and was thus engaged when the Civil war broke out, On August 6, 1862, he enlisted his services in behalf of the cause of the Union and went to the front as a private in Company B of the 45th regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and while serving with that gallant command was taken prisoner by the enemy and was confined in the horrid rebel prison pen at Andersonville, Ga., where he died on May 26, 1864, as a consequence of the terrible privations there endured. On February 6, 1868, Mr. Allen's widow married Joseph S. Heston and it was thus that the soldier's daughter, Martha, was reared on the Heston farm there in Union township, a mile   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 545   north of the pleasant village of St. Johns. Miss Allen's early schooling was received in the neighborhood school (district No. 9), adjoining the Heston farm, and at the St. Johns school, and she then entered the Wapakoneta high school, from which she was graduated in 1878. In 1880 she entered the Lima high school and after a post-graduate course of two years there began teaching school, her first experience in this line of educational work being in the schools of this county. She later was engaged as a teacher in the grade schools of Lima and after some years of service in that connection was made teacher of mathematics in the Lima high sohool. In this latter capacity she rendered service for two years, at the end of which time she returned to the home farm neighboring on St. Johns, 375 acres of which she received by inheritance, and has since resided there, renting her fields, and is very comfortably situated, her land holdings now aggregating 480 acres. Miss Allen is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church at St. Johns and takes a proper interest not only in the work of that congregation but in the general social and cultural activities of the community in which she lives.   ARNOLD E. RINEHART, a well-known farmer of Duchouquet township and proprietor of a well-kept farm on rural mail route No, 9 out of Wapakoneta, is a native son of Auglaize county and has lived here all his life, a member of one of the real pioneer families of the county, his paternal grandfather, the well remembered Hugh T, Rhinehart, a member of the first board of county commissioners for Auglaize county, having been one of the most forceful figures in the formative period of this now well-developed and flourishing section of the state. Mr. Rinehart was born on a farm in Union township on June 23, 1860, and is a son of Arnold and Rebecca (Harrod) Rinehart, the latter of whom was a member of the pioneer Harrod family, which were numbered among the first settlers of Union township. Arnold Rinehart, who is now living retired at Uniopolis, also was born in Union township and is a son of Hugh T. and Juliana (Godfrey) Rinehart, who had settled there upon coming to this region in 1836. Hugh T. Rinehart, of excellent memory in this county, was born in Tazewell county, Virginia, October 23, 1813, and until his seventeenth year lived on his father's farm there. He then apprenticed himself to learn the blacksmith trade, and upon acquiring "the art and mystery" of that trade three years later, when he was in his twenty-first year, married Juliana Godfrey, who also was born in Tazewell county, November 1, 1813, and settled down to make a living for himself at his trade. Possessed of a pioneering spirit, however, he presently began to be attracted by the lure of the farther horizon and to long for some of the new lands that then were open for settlement out here in western Ohio, and in 1836, three years after his marriage, came here and entered from (34)   546 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   the Government his claim to an "eighty" along Wrestle creek, in section 14 of Union township, which at that time was a part of Allen county, and there he and his wife settled down in the log cabin which he quickly got erected on the spot and started in on the difficult task of making a home and developing a farm in the then practical wilderness. Hugh T. Rinehart was an energetic and resourceful man and it was not long until he had begun to create a distinct impression in the community, his neighbors recognizing him as a leader from the start. When, in 1848, Auglaize county was erected into a separate civic unit, he was put forward by his neighbors as the representative from his district on the board of county commissioners and was elected in the first election held in this county, thus having been one of the three commissioners who brought about the formal organization of the county. He was a good farmer and a good manager and as his affairs prospered gradually added to his land holdings in this county until he became the owner of right around 1,000 acres of land and was accounted easily one of the most substantial citizens of this part of the state. From the time of his arrival here he had taken an interested and active part in local civic affairs, had served as a land appraiser when the public lands here were being appraised, for fifteen years served as justice of the peace in and for Union township, had also served variously from time to time as township trustee, township clerk and township assessor, and in the late '50s and early '60s was a member of the state board of equalization. As a lad he had become a member of the Methodist Episcopal church back in Virginia, and he and his wife were ever earnest supporters of that faith. Their last days were spent on the old home place which they had seen develop from its primitive state, her death occurring there on June 13, 1881. Mr. Rinehart survived his wife for more than twenty years, his death occurring on March 30, 1904, he then being in his ninety-first year, and at his passing left a good memory, for he had rendered well his duty in all relations of life. Hugh T. Rinehart and wife were the parents of eleven children, of whom a goodly number grew to maturity and had families of their own, so that the Rinehart connection in the present generation is a considerable one. Arnold Rinehart, one of the sons of this pioneer couple and the father of the subject of this sketch, grew to manhood on the farm on which he was born, in Union town. ship, and after his marriage to Rebecca Harrod began farming on a tract of eighty acres in that township, which his father gave him, establishing his home there. To this he later added by purchase a! adjoining "eighty," which gave him a good farm of 160 acres, and there he continued actively engaged in farming until his retirement and removal to Uniopolis, where he is now living. To him and his wife were born ten children, those besides the subject of this sketch   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 547   being Alice, Frank, Otto, Levi, Edna, Martha, Hugh, John and Fred. Reared on the home farm in Union township, Arnold E. Rinehart received his schooling in the neighborhood schools and remained at home until after his marriage, when he made his home on a farm in the Waynesfield neighborhood, where he lived for several years and then moved to a farm of 100 acres which he rented in the vicinity of Cridersville, and five years later bought that place and has ever since made his home there. Since taking possession of this place Mr. Rinehart has made extensive improvements on the place and now has a modern and well-equipped farm plant. It was in 1889 that Arnold E. Rinehart was united in marriage to Mary Speese, who also was born in Union township, a member of the pioneer family of that name which were numbered among the early settlers of that township, and to this union two sons have been born, Claude H. and Bud F. Rinehart, the latter of whom is unmarried. Claude H. Rinehart married Blanche Delong and has one child, a son, Claude Jr. The Rineharts are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Cridersville. Mr. Rinehart is a Democrat and has ever given a good citizen's attention to local civic affairs.   C. H. DICKMAN is treasurer and general manager of the Kramer & Dickman Creamery Company of Minster. This was at one time one of the largest business concerns of the kind in northwestern Ohio, and its history furnishes an important part of the record of general agricultural activities in Auglaize county. For a number of years Mr. Dickman had been in the employ of an old and well-known citizen and business man of Minster, J. B. Kramer. Then in 1888 these two men became associated in a co-partnership for the purpose of making high-grade butter by the gathered cream system. While J. B. Kramer furnished much of the capital, the active men in the business were Mr. Dickman and John T. Kramer, son of J. B. Kramer. Mr. Dickman became manager, and young Mr. Kramer became the butter maker. The industry began in a small building on the site of the present main plant in Minster. The first butter was made December 10, 1888, and only fifty pounds were churned the first day. In 1895 a new system was adopted, when the firm began using the whole milk instead of the gathered cream. That was the plan of operation for ten years, and after 1905 a return was made to the gathered cream system. In a short time after the plant began receiving the whole milk, the average weekly receipts arose to 250,000 pounds. There also followed a rapid expansion of the business. In August, 1895, a building was erected at McCartyville, Ohio, and machinery installed for skimming the milk. In 1896 another skimming station was started northwest of New Bremen, and this station soon became a lively center of the milk industry. In 1898 the firm bought the creamery at New Knoxville and thor-   548 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   oughly remodeled it, and this subsequently became one of the busiest departments of the company's activities. In September, 1900, the company bought the John Barhorst creamery at Fort Loramie, and shortly thereafter erected a skimming station at Moulton. In less than twelve years the Summit City Creamery, as the business was known, had reached out and expanded so as to cover nearly all the territory around Minster. In 1908 the business was incorporated under the laws of Ohio, with a capital stock of $15,000, and for a number of years its annual products had been around and above 500,000 pounds of the very finest creamery butter. This butter is marketed all over western Ohio and also in New York city, and bore the standard brand, the "XXX," which purchasers readily identified and which brought the contents of the package the highest market price. In the year 1909 the company installed a Frick refrigerating system, making the first artificial ice in Minster. In September, 1920, Louis Huenke, with two of his sons, C. V. and Howard, and Harry Komminsk, took over the interest which had up to this time been owned by J. B. Kramer and sons. Besides the creamery business the company handles large quantities of poultry. Since 1920 the company has been buying eggs and is specializing in and encouraging the production of high-grade infertile eggs, having wonderful success in educating the poultrymen in the production of better eggs. This has been a prosperous business, which was built up from a small beginning. It reflects the business energy and integrity of several well-known local citizens, and besides their share of the prosperity attending the growth and development of the business, a splendid farming community has been given an immense impetus toward diversified industry and increased prosperity through this organization whose headquarters are at Minster. C. H. Dickman, who throughout has been the guiding business manager of the concern, was born at Minster on November 22, 1862, a son of C. H. and Mary Angeline (Kramer) Dickman. Mr. Dickman's parents were both natives of Minster. His father was born on May 12, 1837, and died on January 14, 1899. His mother was born on April 26, 1840, and died on June 9, 1897. His grandfather, C. H. Dickman, was a native of Germany, born in Westerbackum, Oldenberg, September 4, 1805, who came to America in 1833, and in 1835 pioneered to Minster, Ohio. He was a cabinet maker by trade and his first work of importance in Minster was the building of the altars and pulpit in the first log church. In addition to his cabinet making, he engaged in a general store business and was a member of the first council in the village of Minster. He died on July 21, 1841, leaving a wife, Maria Angela (Drees) Dickman, and two small sons, Charles Henry and Bernard. The maternal grandfather, Bernard Kramer, was a locksmith by trade and a native of Handorf, Oldenburg, Ger-   HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 549   many. He was one of the early pioneers and settled in Minster in 1833. Mr. Dickman's father was a well-known stock buyer in the early days, also a farmer, and subsequently became identified with a flouring mill, and later was in the Star Brewing Company of Minster. He was a Democrat in politics, and for a number of years served as city marshal of Minster. All the family are members of the Catholic church. C. H. Dickman, Sr., and wife were married in St. Augustine's church, Minster, on June 12, 1860, and were the parents of twelve children. The nine now living are : C. H. Dickman; Mary, wife of Hy. Rakel, of Cincinnati; Catherine, widow of the late August Luckman, formerly a shoe merchant at Minster; Bernard, a resident of Piqua, Ohio; Josephine, wife of Fred Goeke, of Piqua; John, a steam engineer living at Chicago, Ill.; Joseph, a steamfitter living in California ; Rosa, wife of Anthony Kramer, who is with the Standard Oil Company at Minster, and Charles, a printer living at Chicago. Those dead are a son, Frederick, who died in infancy, and two daughters, Elizabeth, wife of Herman Altemeyer, also deceased, and Agnes, wife of John Rohlfing, now living in Chi, cago. C. H. Dickman received his early education in the public schools of Minster, and at the age of fifteen began learning the cigar- makers' trade. Thus it will be seen that he became dependent upon his own resources at this early age, and his success in life can be attributed to the fact that he has not only worked hard, but has made intelligent use of his opportunities. After working at his trade a little more than two years, he found other employment, and in 1880 he took a job driving a huckster wagon for J. B. Kramer, and was in his employ for seven and one-half years, making regular weekly trips through the country, buying butter, eggs, poultry and other produce, for which he offered in trade dry goods, notions and groceries. In the fall of 1887 he went to Sedalia, Mo., making his home with his uncle, the Rev. B. Dickman, and his cousin, Joseph A. Dickman. In the spring of 1888 he went to Montrose, Henry county, Missouri, and started a produce business, which he conducted with success until in the fall of the same year, when he returned to Minster and became associated with his former employer under the firm name of Kramer & Dickman, in the creamery business, and has now given upwards of thirty years to the development of an industry which vitally touches the welfare and prosperity of hundreds of farmers in the neighborhood around Minster. At the organization of the Minster State Bank he became a stockholder of this institution and has held a directorship in it since 1914. On January 29, 1890, Mr. Dickman married Agnes Deiters, the youngest daughter of Bernard Deiters and wife. She was born on a farm east of Minster and died on April 26, 1891. Both her children are now deceased. For his second wife Mr. Dickman married Elizabeth