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550 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY Brinker, who was born in St. Louis, Mo., May 4, 1870. Of their nine children, seven are living: Della, wife of Louis Hoying, who is associated with the Hoying-Westerheide Hardware Company of Minster ; Leonora, bookkeeper for the Kramer & Dickman Creamery Company ; Marie, stenographer for the Minster Mutual Fire Insurance Company ; Lavina, stenographer for the Kramer & Dickman Creamery Company ; Genevieve, assistant bookkeeper for the Minster Mutual Fire Insurance Company ; C. H., Jr., a sophomore in the Minster high school ; Bernadette, pupil of the fifth grade of the Minster public school ; and Walter and Frederick, deceased. The family are active members of the Catholic church, and Mr. Dickman is a charter member of Father Kunkler Council No. 2158, Knights of Columbus, of Minster. Politically he is a Democrat and served two terms on the village council and one term as village clerk, In January, 1903, the board of education of the Minster village school district elected him a member to fill the vacancy caused by the death of August Schmieder. He was re-elected in the spring of 1903, and in the same year was chosen as the clerk of the board, which office he has held to the present day. Through his efforts the board of education instituted a high school in 1906, thus giving the younger generation an opportunity for a better education than was afforded in the days when he attended school. The progress of the Minster high school is noted by the fact that at the beginning of the 1922-1923 class 142 pupils were enrolled. WILBUR T. DUBOIS, proprietor of the Wapakoneta Battery Service Station and dealer in automobile tires and accessories, with a well equipped establishment on Park street in Wapakoneta, is a native son of Auglaize county and has lived here all his life with the exception of a period during the days of his youth when he was engaged in the locomotive works at Lima. Mr. DuBois was born on a farm in Washington township on September 23, 1893, and is a son of William V. and Dorothea (Headapohl) DuBois, both of whom aIso were born in this county, members of pioneer families here. William V. DuBois is the owner of a well improved farm of eighty acres in Washington township, which is now being farmed by his son Milton. To him and his wife five children were born, all of whom are living, the subject of this sketch having two sisters, Ruth and Cora (twins), and two brothers, Edward H. and Milton DuBois; Reared on the home farm in Washington township, Wilbur T. Dubois received his schooling in the district school in the neighborhood of his home and remained at home until he was seventeen years of age when he became employed as a clerk in the Zeigler dry goods store at Wapakoneta. He remained there eight months and then went to Lima, where for a little more than a year he was employed in the locomotive works there, acquiring, during this time, a prac- HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 551 tical knowledge of mechanics which has stood him in good stead in his present vocation. Upon his return to Wapakoneta, Mr. DuBois resumed his former place in the dry goods store and was thus engaged for six months or more, at the end of which time he was made manager of the local store of the Inter-City Tea Company. He maintained this position for three years and then, in 1919, decided to turn his attention to the growing automobile industry and with this end in view secured employment in the plant of the General Tire and Supply Company on Park street, Wapakoneta. A year later, having meanwhile thoroughly familiarized himself with the details of this business, Mr. DuBois bought the place, changed the name of the enterprise to the Wapakoneta Battery Service Station and has since been doing business at the old stand on his own account, having there a well equipped battery recharging plant as well as a filling station (gasoline and oil) and an adequate stock of general automobile accessories, and is doing well. Mr. DuBois is a Republican, is a member of Wapakoneta Aerie No. 691, Fraternal Order of Eagles, and he and his wife are members of the First Lutheran church, the con:regation of which Mr. DuBois is serving as secretary of the church council, as superintendent of the Sunday school and as president of the Men's Brotherhood of the church. On September 9, 1913, Wilbur T. DuBois was united in marriage to Elizabeth M. Metzger, who also was born in this county, daughter of David and Nancy (Winemiller) Metzger, of Duchouquet township, and to this union four children have been born, namely : Dorothy E., born on September 8, 1914, who died on February 17, 1915; William D., born on October 12, 1915 ; Mary M., September 7, 1918, and Virgil. Mr. DuBois and his family have a pleasant home on East Harrison street. CHRISTIAN D. KATTERHEINRICH, a member of one of the pioneer families of Auglaize county and a partner in the enterprising business created at New Knoxville, now operated under the name of H. K. & K. Roofing Company (Hinze, Katterheinrich & Katterheinrich), was born on a farm three miles east of New Knoxville, in Washington township, and is a son of H. H. and Sophie Katterheinrich, who are now living retired there, as is set out elsewhere in this volume. Elsewhere also are further details regarding the settlement of the now widely connected Katterheinrich family in this county back in pioneer days. Of the eight children born to H. H. Katterheinrich and wife, four are still living, the subject of this sketch having a sister, Mary, and two brothers, William W. and Samuel B. Katterheinrich, the latter of whom also is connected with the H. K. & K. Roofing company, with which concern the former also formerly was associated, as is set out elsewhere. Reared on the home farm in Washington township, Christian D. Katterhein- 552 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY rich received his early schooling in the neighborhood schools and supplemented this by two years of attendance at the Baldwin-Wallace College at Berea, Ohio. He then became engaged in railroading and for three years was employed as a locomotive fireman, after which he went to Pittsburg and was for a while employed there in the plant of the Westinghouse Electric Company. He then became engaged in the life insurance business and followed this for about three years, at the end of which time he bought the Luecke interest in the H. L. K. Roofing Company at New Knoxville, which since has been known as the H. K. & K. Company, and has since given his whole attention to promoting the growing affairs of that concern, which not only carries on a general tinning and roofing business, but handles a general line of plumbing and building supplies and has created for itself a well established place in the community. Mr. Katterheinrich is a Republican. In his fraternal relations he is a member of the Masonic Order. Christian D. Katterheinrich married Clara Rodeheffer, daughter of John Rodeheffer„ also a member of one of the old families of this county, and to this union two children have been born, Leroy and Clarabelle. Mr. and Mrs. Katterheinrich are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr, Katterheinrich has served as superintendent of the Sunday school of that church. CHARLES E. GREEN, one of the trustees of Union township, president of the board of education of that township, a member of the county board of health, formerly and for years a teacher in the schools of this county, a former merchant at Uniopolis and at Waynesfield, now living on a well kept farm which he owns just south of the pleasant village of Uniopolis, was born at Uniopolis and has lived in that vicinity all his life. Mr. Green was born on September 28, 1872, and is a son of Henry and Hester Ann (King) Green. The late Henry Green, who for years was a well known mill man at Uniopolis, was born in England and was nineteen years of age when he came to this country. Upon coming here he located at Toledo, Ohio, where he remained for several years and then moved to Groveport, in Franklin county, where he became engaged in railway construction work and in saw milling, and there remained until 1866, when he came to Auglaize county and bought a saw mill at Uniopolis. For some years thereafter, or until the big timber was pretty well got out of the way in that vicinity, he operated this mill and then bought a farm of seventy-five acres in that neighborhood and spent the rest of his life engaged in farming, his death occurring in 1910. To him and his wife were born eight children, all of whom are living save two, one who died in infancy and Joseph, the subject of this sketch having three sisters, Ellen, Emma and Stella, and two brothers, William and Allen Green. Reared at Unio- HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 553 polis, Charles E. Green received his early schooling in the schools of that village and then took a course in the state normal school at Ada. For thirteen years thereafter he was engaged in teaching in the schools of his home county, spending his summers in employment in the village stores, and then became engaged in the hard= ware business with his brother, William, opening a store at Uniopolis. Later he and his brother opened a hardware store at Waynesfield. Upon leaving that store he bought a tract of twenty acres of land and began farming in Union township. Shortly before his marriage he bought an additional tract of thirty-three acres. For ten years he made his home on that place and then he moved to the farm, which he had bought, just south of Uniopolis, and on which he is now living, and has since made his home on this latter place, in the meantime having increased his holdings to 152 acres. Mr. Green is a Republican and has long given his earnest attention to local civic affairs, at present a member of the board of trustees of Union township. He also has for years served as a member of the local board of education and is also a member of the Auglaize County Health Council and of the county board of health. It was on June 29, 1904, that Charles E. Green was united in marriage to Rufina Focht, a member of one of the pioneer families of the Uniopolis neighborhood, daughter of Jacob L. and Maria Focht, and to this union have been born five children, Henry, Anita, Marjorie, Imogene and Kathyleen, all of whom are at home with their parents. The Greens have a very pleasant home and have ever taken an interested and helpful part in the general social activities of the community in which they live. ISAAC FRANKLIN WHEELER, a member of one of the pioneer families of Logan township, former trustee of that township and a substantial farmer and landowner of that township, now living retired at Buckland, was born on a farm about a mile west of Buckland and has lived in that neighborhood all his life, one of the best known citizens thereabout. Mr. Wheeler was born on July 3, 1860, and is a son of Horace and Mary Jane (Trotter) Wheeler, pioneers of the old Whitefeather (Buckland) settlement, who had come here from Licking county in 1851, and of whom further and fitting mention is made elsewhere in this volume. Of the six children born to Horace Wheeler and wife two are living, the subject of this sketch having an elder brother, James E. Wheeler, a retired farmer, who also makes his home at Buckland. Reared on the home farm west of Buckland, where he was born, Isaac Franklin Wheeler received his schooling in the neighborhood schools and remained with his father on the farm, a helpful factor in the labors of developing and improving the same, until his marriage at the age of twenty- eight years, when he bought a "forty" in that neighborhood and on 554 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY that place established his home. His affairs prospered and he added to his holdings until he became the owner of a fine farm of 178 acres, and on that place made his home until his retirement, in 1919, and removal to Buckland, where he is now living and where he and his family are very comfortably situated. Mr. Wheeler is a Democrat and has long taken an active interest in local political affairs, having served for one term as a member of the board of trustees of Logan township. He also has served as school director in hiS home district and in other ways has been helpful in public service. He and his family are members of the Bethlehem Christian Union church. It was in October, 1888, that Isaac Franklin Wheeler was united in marriage to Sarah Mack, daughter of Christian and Christina (Gephart) Mack, and to this union five children have been born, three of whom are living, Rowena, Frank and Louella, the latter of whom is at home with her parents. Rowena Wheeler married Ray Baum, of Spencerville, Ohio, and has one child, a son, Franklin. Frank Wheeler married Hazel Reed, of Buckland, and has three children, Roger, and Harold and Howard (twins). Mrs. Sarah Wheeler was born in the neighboring county of Allen, where her parents, both natives of Germany, had settled after their marriage. Her mother was twenty-one years of age when she came to this country, and her father was fourteen. The Mack family settled in Marion county upon coming to Ohio, and there Christian Mack grew to manhood, After his marriage to Christina Gephart he made his home in Allen county, where he became the owner of a farm of 170 acres. To him and his wife were born twelve children, six of whom are now living, Mrs. Wheeler having a sister, Lena, and four brothers, Isaac, John, William and Henry Mack. JOSIAH HARROD, a well known retired building contractor at Waynesfield and formerly and for years a member of the village council there, was born in Wayne township and has lived there all his life, a resident of Waynesfield since the days of his young manhood, an active factor in the development of the growing interests of that enterprising and progressive village. Mr. Harrod was born on a farm on the lower edge of the township, a mile or more south of Waynesfield, February 28, 1865, and is a son of James and Mary A. (Conner) Harrod, who were in their generation among the best known residents of that neighborhood. James Harrod was born in Knox county, Ohio, a son of Jacob Harrod, one of the pioneers of that county, and remained there until the time of the opening of the gold fields in California in 1849, when he joined the rush for the new Eldorado and was for three years engaged in prospecting in California. He had considerable success and upon his return came over into this part of the state and bought a quarter of a section of land south of Waynesfield, where he established his home and HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 555 continued actively engaged in farming until his retirement and removal to Waynesfield, where he spent the remainder of his life. To James Harrod and wife were born three children, of whom the subject of this sketch now alone survives, he having had a sister, Ida, and a brother, Levi Harrod. Reared on the home farm south of Waynesfield, Josiah Harrod received his schooling in the Waynesfield schools and early became employed as a carpenter, a vocation to which he ever since has given his attention. Upon becoming thoroughly established in the technical details of building, Mr. Harrod launched out as a building contractor on his own account, with headq-arters at Waynesfield and continued actively engaged in that line until his recent retirement, during this long period of active operations, having built many of the most important and substantial structures in that part of the county. Mr. Harrod is a Republican and for fifteen years served as a member of the Waynesfield town council. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church at Waynesfield and have a very pleasant home in that village. Mrs. Harrod is the owner of an excellent farm of 160 acres in Wayne township. She was born in that township, Sadie L. Plough, and is a daughter of J. H. and Lucy E. (Means) Plough. She and Mr. Harrod were married on December 8, 1889. Her father, J. H. Plough, who was a veteran of the Civil war, was born in Montgomery county, this state, and was living in Indiana when the Civil war broke out. He enlisted in an Indiana regiment and served for about four years. After his marriage he settled on a farm in Wayne township, this county, and here spent the remainder of his life. Of the three children born to him and his wife, Mrs. Harrod now alone survives. HENRY E. GOSSARD, proprietor of the general store at Bingville, in Union township, and owner of a good farm in that immediate neighborhood, where he makes his home, was born in the neighboring township of Wayne on February 1, 1878, and is a son of Jasper and Mary Adaline (Iswole) Gossard, the latter of whom is still living, making her home at Westminster, up over the line in Allen county. The late Jasper Gossard was born in Fayette county, this state, and was but a boy when he came to Auglaize county with his parents, James Gossard and wife, the family settling on a farm in section 2 of Wayne township. James Gossard, the pioneer, was a man of force and energy and became the owner of 520 acres in that vicinity. On that farm Jasper Gossard grew to manhood and after his marriage continued farming there for some years, at the end of which time he moved with his family to Wells county, Indiana, bought a farm of 100 acres there and for fourteen years made his home on that place. He then disposed of his interests in Indiana and returned to Ohio, buying a farm of 140 acres in the Westminster neighborhood in Allan county, where he lived until his retirement from the 556 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY farm, when he sold the place and moved to Westminster, where his last days were spent, his death occurring there on October 17, 1921. His widow still makes her home at Westminster. Henry E. Gossard was about six years of age when his parents moved over into Indiana and his schooling was received in the schools of Wells county, that state. He was twenty years old when the family returned to Ohio and he worked with his father on the farm in the Westminster neighborhood until his marriage at the age of twenty-two, when he rented the home place on the "thirds". For two years he continued farming on this basis, working the farm of 110 acres, and then continued it on the "halves" for five years, at the end of which time, in 1909, he bought a tract of thirty acres where he is now living at Bingville, in Union township, this county, and established his home there. To this tract, Mr. Gossard has added by later purchase until now he and his wife are the owners of 118 acres, including a "forty.' which the latter received by inheritance. In 1911, Mr. Gossard opened a general store at Bingville and has since given the larger part of his attention to that enterprise, though continuing to keep a pretty close observation on the operations of the farm. His store is amply stocked and equipped for the trade needs of the neighborhood and he is doing well in business. He and his wife are Republicans. On February 27, 1901, Henry E. Gossard was united in marriage to Clara E. Shannon, who also is a member of one of the old families of this county, daughter of James and Etta (Laudick) Shannon, and to this union one child has been born, a daughter, Lucile A., wife of Glen Waitman. GEORGE N. WAITMAN, one of the well known farmers in the upper part of Union township and a substantial landowner in that part of the county, was born and reared in the neighboring county of Shelby, but has been a resident of Auglaize county for the past fifteen years or more. Mr. Waitman was born a Churchhill and bears the name of Waitman by reason of his adoption at the age of seventeen years by his maternal uncle, William Waitman, in whose household he was reared. He was born on a farm in Shelby county on November 20, 1867, and is the son and only child of Samuel and Mary (Waitman) Churchill. Samuel Churchill, who was a veteran of the Civil war, also was born in Shelby county, a member of one of the pioneer families there, and after his marriage became a tenant farmer there, but later went to Lima, where he became employed in the paper mill and where his last days were spent. When he was two years old, George N. Churchhill was taken into the home of his mother's brother, William Waitman, a substantial farmer of Shelby county and also a veteran of the Civil war (Company G, 126th Ohio), and has ever since borne the name of Waitman. He was reared on the farm, given good schooling, and HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 557 for two years taught school in his home county. He married at the age of twenty-two and then began farming on a "forty" which he rented; in that county and which he afterward bought. To this farm he later added an adjoining tract of twenty acres and on this farm of sixty acres in Shelby county he made his home until 1907, when he disposed of his holdings there and came up into Auglaize county and bought the farm of 120 acres on which he is now living in Union township and where he and his family are quite comfortably situated. Since taking possession of this farm, Mr. Waitman has made numerous substantial improvements on the place and has a well equipped farm plant, he and his sons carrying on their operations there in accordance with modern methods of agriculture. Mr. Waitman is a Democrat and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. It was on December 24, 1887, that George N. Waitman was united in marriage to Eliza V. Young, who also was born in Shelby county, daughter of William and Loretta (Rairdon) Young, and to this union ten children have been born, all of whom are living save two, Oneida and Edna, the others being Harley, William W., Glen L., B. Harold, Ethel P., Bernice M., Herbert L. and George E. The Waitmans have a pleasant home on rural mail route No. 1 out of Uniopolis. SAMUEL B. KATTERHEINRICH, a member of the H. K. & K. Roofing Company of New Knoxville and one of the best known figures in the commercial and industrial life of that village, was born on a farm three miles east of New Knoxville, March 27, 1881, and is a son of H. H. and Sophia (Katterheinrich) Katterheinrich, both of whom also were born in Washington township and are still living on their home farm there, substantial representatives of two of the pioneer families of that part of this county. H. H. Katterheinrich, now living retired from the active labors of the farm, followed the vocation of wagon making for some time in the days of his young manhood and then became a farmer, making his home on an "eighty" he had bought in the northwest quarter of section 26 in Washington township, just three miles due east of New Knoxville, and has ever since resided there, meanwhile having substantially increased his landholdings, and has been living retired since 1919. To him and his wife were born eight children, four of whom are living, the subject of this sketch having a sister, Mary, and two brothers, William W. and Christian D. Katterheinrich, the latter of whom also is a member of the H. K. & K. Company, with which the former also formerly was connected. Reared on the home farm in Washington township, Samuel B. Katterheinrich received his schooling in the neighborhood schools and remained on the farm until after attaining his majority when he became engaged in railroading, not long afterward going to Pittsburg, where he took employ- 558 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY ment in the great plant of the Westinghouse Electric Company, where he remained until he returned to this county to take employment in the tinning and roofing establishment which his brother William and Mr. Hinze and Mr. Luecke had set up at New Knoxville. Not long afterward he bought his brother's interest in that concern and thus became a member of the H. L. K. Roofing Company, which was changed to the H. K. & K. Company when his brother, Christian D. Katterheinrich, bought the Luecke interest in the establishment, as is set out elsewhere, together with other details regarding the scope of operations of this progressive concern, which in addition to its general tinning and roofing business handles a general line of plumbing and builders supplies and has become a well established concern. Mr. Katterheinrich is a Freemason and is a Republican. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, has been the teacher of a Sunday school class in that church for the past six or seven years and is now the superintendent of the Sunday school, having served in that capacity since January 1, 1922. The Katterheinrich family is one of the old families of this county and repeated reference is made in this volume to one and another of the several branches of the family here. NELSON MORRIS, a well known bachelor farmer, who is farming the old Morris place east of Wapakoneta, where he continues to make his home with his aged widowed mother, is a member of one of the real pioneer families of Auglaize county, his grandfather, John Morris, a Virginian, the first justice of the peace of Union township, having been one of the earliest permanent settlers in the vicinity of the old Blackhoof Indian village, now knOWn as St. Johns, This pioneer, John Morris, a member of one of the old colonial families in Virginia, grew up in the Old Dominion and there married Mary Ann Clarkson. That was in 1832, the year in which the Indians left the Wapakoneta reserve for their new home in the West, and John Morris and his bride came out here into the then wilderness to find a home in the new lands thus opened for settlement here on the old reserve. He entered his claim to a tract comprising 144 acres in the southwest quarter of section 30 of Union township, a mile northwest of the old Blackhoof village (St. Johns), where old Chief Blackhoof had died and was buried just the year before, and on that unbroken woodland tract he and his wife settled down to make a home, the first task of the pioneers being to get up a log house and set it in such order as might be possible with the limited furnishings which they were able to bring across country with them. While they were getting this cabin in order they lived in one of the deserted Indian cabins, numbers of which still stood in that vicinity, and of whose inadequate shelter many of the settlers in this old reserve availed themselves upon their arrival here, as has been set HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 559 out elsewhere in this work. The first child born to this pioneer couple, a son, whom they named John, is said to have been the first white child born in Union township. The pioneer John Morris was an upstanding, energetic, go-ahead sort of a man and it was not long until he had a clearing on his place and a proper shelter for his family. In the spring of 1834, when the settlers in Union township came to organize for civic purposes, John Morris was elected first justice of the peace for the township and he held that magisterial office for several years, thus exerting an influence for good in that neighborhood which has been effective through all the years since then. In other ways he did well his part in the formative period of the community and his memory ever will be kept green there. On that place he spent the remainder of his life, developing an excellent farm, and lived to be well past eighty years of age, his death occurring on September 22, 1882. He was born in 1798 and was a son of a soldier of the Revolution. The late Henry Morris, an honored veteran of the Civil war and one of the sons of John and Mary Ann (Clarkson) Morris, was born on that pioneer farm there in the St. Johns neighborhood and grew to manhood familiar with the arduous tasks attendant upon the development of a woodland farm. 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 private in the 54th regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which gallant command he served for three years and during which service he participated in some pretty strenuous action, including the battle of Shiloh, in which he was wounded. Upon the completion of his military service Henry Morris returned home and resumed his place on the farm, establishing his home on a tract of fifty-three acres which he had bought, a part of the old home place, and there spent the remainder of his life. He was a good farmer and gradually increased his holdings until he became the owner of a fine farm of 187 acres. He died in December, 1911, and his widow is still making her home on the farm, the operations of which are being carried on by the subject of this sketch. Henry Morris married Helena Hartung, also a member of one of the pioneer families of this county, daughter of August and Anna Hartung, and of the children born to this union all are living save one daughter, Viola, the others (besides the subject of this sketch) being Charles, William, Anna, Almeda, Alice, Jennie, Bertha and Jerome. Born on the home farm on September 10, 1867, Nelson Morris, son of Henry and Helena (Hartung) Morris, grew to manhood on that place and has lived there all his life He received his schooling in the neighborhood schools and from the days of his boyhood has been devoted to the affairs of the farm, which, since the death of their father, he and his brother, William, have been operating in partnership in behalf of their mother and the 560 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY other heirs and are doing well in their operations. They have a well improved farm and a well equipped farm plant there on rural mail route No. 1 out of Wapakoneta and the family is comfortably situated. The Morrises are Republicans and have ever taken a proper interest in local civic affairs. JOHN H. FRISCHE, president of the Washington township school board, a member of the board of directors of the Auglaize Fair association and one of the well known and substantial farmers of Washington township, proprietor of a well improved farm on rural mail route No. 2 out of Wapakoneta, was born in this county and has lived here all his life. Mr. Frische was born on farm in Washington township on January 30, 1870, and is a son of William and Mary (Stroh) Frische, both of whom also were born in this county, members of pioneer families here. The late William Frische was born in Washington township and after his marriage established his home there and continued farming there until his death in 1874. He and his wife were the parents of four children, all of whom are living save Eliza, who died at the age of eighteen months, the subject of this sketch having two sisters, Anna and Ida. The widowed mother of these children married secondly Louis Schneider and in 1880 moved to Pusheta township. John H. Frische was ten years of age when the family moved from Washington township to Pusheta township and in the schools of this latter township he completed his schooling. From the days of his boyhood he was well trained in the ways of farming and continued to make his home on the home farm until his marriage at the age of twenty-four, when he established his home on his present farm in Washington township, which he had inherited from his grandparents, and has ever since resided there. To the tract of 160 acres which he received there, by inheritance, he has added an adjoining tract and now has a well cultivated place of 186 acres. Upon taking possession of that place, Mr. Frische erected a new dwelling house and a new barn and has since added other buildings until now he has one of the best farm plants in the neighborhood, all modern in appointments and lighted by electric light. In addition to his general farming he gives considerable attention to the raising of live stock and is doing well in his operations. Mr. Frische is a Republican and has long taken an active interest in general civic affairs, for some time having served as president of the local school board in his home township. He is a member of the board of directors of the county fair association and has for years taken an interested part in the affairs of that successful organization. He and his wife are members of St. Paul's Evangelical church at Wapakoneta. Mr. Frische has been twice married. It was on April 11, 1894, that he was united in marriage to Amelia Prieser, who was born in Moulton township, daughter of HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 561 Fred and Marie (Doering) Prieser, and to this union one child was born, a son, Frederick W., born on July 16, 1895, who died on September 8, 1900. Mrs. Amelia Frische died on January 18, 1901, and on June 15, 1904, Mr. Frische married Rosina Schumann, also of this county. To this union two children have been born, sons both, Carl G., born on April 19, 1907, who is now attending high school at Wapakoneta, a member of the class of 1924, and John Louis, born on September 28, 1910, who is attending school in district No. 6. Mrs. Rosina Frische was born at Wapakoneta on April 26, 1875, and is a daughter of George and Katherine (Roode) Schumann, the latter of whom was born in Jackson township in the neighboring county of Shelby. George Schumann was born in New York city, but was reared in this county, he having been but a child when his parents came here and settled on a farm in Pusheta township. To George Schumann and wife were born seven children, all of whom are living, Mrs. Frische having four sisters, Margaret, Anna, Clara and Edith, and two brothers, Andrew and John Schumann. The Frisches have a pleasant home about four miles southwest of Wapakoneta and have ever taken an interest in the general social activities of that neighborhood. This was the place settled by Mr. Frische's grandfather, Henry Frische, back in the '40s of the past century and has been held in the family since the day of its original entry from the Government. SAMUEL H. SIBERT, M. D., a veteran practicing physician at Freyburg, former coroner of Auglaize county, a member of the county board of agriculture, a substantial landowner of the county and one of the best known physicians in this part of the state, is a native son of Auglaize county, a member of one of the real pioneer families here, and has resided in this county all his life. Doctor Sibert was born in the then village of St. Marys on April 13, 1858, and is a son of James Franklin and Catherine (Brandenburg) Sibert, the latter of whom also was born at St. Marys April 28, 1836, daughter of Henry T. and Elizabeth (Benner) Brandenburg, the latter a daughter of Christian Benner, the pioneer miller, who were married there. Henry T. Brandenburg was born in Frederick county, Maryland, January 31, 1805, and was ten years of age when, in 1815, he came with his parents to Ohio, the family locating at Dayton, where he grew to manhood and where he remained until 1833, when he came up into this part of the state and became engaged as a clerk for John Pickerell and Samuel Statler, proprietors of the historic old tavern at St. Marys. Not long after his marriage, Henry T. Brandenburg became engaged in the mercantile business at St. Marys and was thus engaged there until 1855, when he moved to his farm a mile east of St. Marys. In 1871 he sold that farm and returned to town, where he remained until in the fall of 1885, when (35) 562 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY he began to make his home with his grandson, Doctor Sibert, at Frey- burg, where his last days were spent, his death occurring on February 16, 1891, lie then being past eighty-six years of age, Mr, Brandenburg's eldest son, Christian Brandenburg, was a soldier of the Union during the Civil war and died in service at Camp Nelson, Kentucky. James Franklin Sibert, who also was a soldier of the Union during the time of the Civil war, was born in Carroll county, Ohio, in 1828, and was a young man when, in the late '40s, he came over into this part of the state and began to teach school at Uniopolis and later at St. Marys. Not long after his arrival here he married Catherine Brandenburg and then he began farming, continuing, however, to teach school during the winters, and was thus engaged when the Civil war broke out. In 1863 he entered the service of the Union army and went to the front as a member of Company D of the 180th regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which command he served for more than a year or until honorably discharged on account of impaired health. In 1865 he moved with his family to Missouri, where he established his home on a farm and where he became engaged in teaching school. He became the owner of a considerable tract of land in Missouri and later moved to Huffsmith, Texas, where his last days were spent, his death occurring there in March, 1905. His widow survived him for more than ten years, her death occurring on December 17, 1916. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. To James Franklin Sibert and wife were born five children, four sons and one daughter, the latter of whom (Rosalie) died in infancy, the others (besides the subject of this sketch) being Albert Sibert, who met his death in an industrial accident in 1888 ; Joseph F. Sibert, a detective on the staff of the Toledo & Ohio Central Railroad Company, with headquarters at Toledo, and Verne T. Sibert, an oil speculator and operator, now living at Logan, Ohio. Dr. Samuel H. Sibert received his early schooling at St. Marys and was graduated from the Lima high school in 1878. He early had devoted himself to the study of medicine and after leaving the high school entered the Ohio Eclectic Medical College at Cincinnati, where he spent one term. He then spent a term 1n the Pulte Medical College at Cincinnati and then entered Starling Medical College at Columbus, from which institution he was graduated in 1881. Upon receiving his diploma, Doctor Sibert returned to St. Marys and there opened an office for the practice of his profession, remaining there a year or more, or until December 2, 1882, when he opened an office for practice at Freyburg, where he ever since has been located. Of recent years Doctor Sibert has been giving his special attention to surgical cases and to the treatment of cancer. He is a member of the American Medical Association, the Ohio State Medical Society and the Auglaize County Medical Society and is also affiliated with the Eclectic Medical Association. The Doctor also is HISTORY OF AUGLAIZ& COUNTY - 563 affiliated with the local lodges of the Freemasons, the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Fraternal Order of Eagles at Wapakoneta and with the Swabian Society (Schwabischer Unterstuetzing Verein) at that place. He has done well in his practice and has made some excellent real estate investments, his holdings along that line including a farm of 120 acres in Pusheta township, this county ; a farm of 120 acres in Missouri and a farm of 130 acres in Texas, besides town property in this county. The Doctor has ever given a good citizen's attention to local civic affairs and for about sixteen years served as coroner of Auglaize county. He is now a member of the county board of agriculture. In 1884, about two years after locating at Freyburg, Dr. Samuel H. Sibert was united in marriage to Flora C. Katterheinrich, also a member of one of the old families of Auglaize county, who was born at New Knoxville, a daughter of William Katterheinrich, who died while serving as a soldier of the Union during the Civil war, and to this union three children have been born, a son and two daughters, Aldo Verne, Cleola Rosina Catherine and LaVera Mildred Elizabeth, the latter of whom married Philander R. Sammetinger, a farmer of this county and a veteran of the World war, and has one child, a son, Howard William. The elder daughter, Cleola Rosina Catherine Sibert, married Charles Frech, a farmer and son of John Frech, of this county, and has one child, Shirley E. Frech. Dr. Aldo Verne Sibert, only son of Doctor and Mrs. Sibert, is a veteran of the World war, with the rank of major in the Medical Corps of the army. He was graduated from Starling Medical College at Columbus and is now engaged in practice at Lima. Not long after the beginning of this country's participation in the World war he was commissioned a first lieutenant in the Medical Corps of the army and was assigned to the base hospital at Camp Sherman (Chillicothe, Ohio), presently being transferred to the training camp at Ft. Oglethorpe, Ga. There he presently was promoted to the rank of captain and was transferred to the camp at Waco, Texas, where he received his promotion as major, he then being but twenty-six years of age, and it was with this latter rank that he received his discharge at the close of the war. MICHAEL LAFAYETTE ZERKEL, one of Logan township's well known farmers, proprietor of a well improved farm on rural mail route No. 1 out of Hume, is a native son of the proud old "Buckeye" state 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, and thus may properly be accounted one of the real "old settlers" of the county. Mr. Zerkel was born in Champaign county, Ohio, February 21, 1847, and is a son of Louis and Elizabeth (Neese) Zerkel, both members of pioneer families in that county, of Virginia stock, who became residents of Auglaize county two years 564 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY after his county was organized. The late Louis Zerkel was born in Champaign county, a son of Abraham Zerkel, a member of one of the Virginian families that helped to settle that county, and there grew to manhood. He married Elizabeth Neese, who was born in the beautiful valley of the Shenandoah in Virginia and who was fifteen years of age when she came to Ohio with her parents, the family settling in Champaign county, and after his marriage continued to make his home in that county until 1850, in which year he came up into this part of the state and established his home on an "eighty" which he entered from the Government in the northeastern part of Logan township (section 24). He cleared that tract and later added an adjoining tract of sixty acres, this giving him a farm of 140 acres, where he spent the remainder of his life, one of the useful pioneers of that part of the county, as is set out elsewhere in this volume, together with other details regarding the Zerkel and the Neese families in this county. Louis Zerkel and his wife were the parents of nine children, of whom four are still living, the subject of this sketch having a sister, Sarah, and two brothers, Abraham and Annias Zerkel. As has been noted, Michael Lafayette Zerkel was but three years of age when his parents came here in 1850 and he grew to manhood on the home farm in Logan township, receiving his schooling in the neighborhood schools. From the days of his boyhood he was well trained in the ways of the farm and has followed the vocation of farming all his life. He married at the age of twenty-four and then began farming on his own account, buying a tract of fifty- five acres on which he made his home for fourteen years, at the end of which time he sold that place and bought his present farm of 138 acres, where he ever since has resided and where he and his family are very comfortably situated. Much of this place was uncleared when Mr. Zerkel came into possession and he cleared it and has improved it in admirable fashion, now having an excellent farm plant, and has done well in his operations. Mr. Zerkel and his wile are members of the Antioch Christian Union church and are Democrats. It was on October 19, 1871, that Michael Lafayette Zerkel was united in marriage to Margaret Pearson, who was born in this county, daughter of Joseph and Hannah Pearson, pioneers of Logan township, and to this union six children have been born, Jefferson, Lillie, Louis, Franklin, Mary Jane and Hubert, all of whom are married. Jefferson Zerkel, who is now living at Lima, married Elizabeth Berchon and has one child, a daughter, Mary. Lillie Zerkel married John Bowers, of this county. Louis Zerkel, who is now living at Hume, over the line in Allen county, married Olive Miller and has two children, Earl and Leroy. Franklin Zerkel, who is also now living in Allen county, married Selma Thomas and has two children, Lela and Goldie. Mary Jane Zerkel married Clarence But- HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 565 rup, now living at Lima, and has four children, Harold, Clyde, Dorsey and Clarence, and Hubert Zerkel married Mattie Matison and has two children, Margaret Elizabeth and Quitora Edna. JOSEPH MOSLER, a well known farmer and landowner of Auglaize county, now living retired at Wapakoneta, was born in this county and has been a resident of the county all his life. Mr. Mosier was born on a farm two miles east of Wapakoneta in Duchouquet township, April 10, 1860, and is a son of John and Elizabeth (Beaver) Mosler, who were for years among the best known residents of that section. The late John Mosler was born in Hamilton county, this state, and was but a lad when he came up into this part of the state with his parents, Ignatz Mosler and wife, in 1835, the family settling on a forty-acre tract which Ignatz Mosler had entered from the Government in Duchouquet township three years following the departure of the Indians from their reservation here, this section at that time having been included in the bounds of Allen county. Ignatz Mosier established his home on this uncleared tract, made a farm out of it and increased his holdings until he became the owner of 160 acres of land and was accounted one of the substantial pioneers of that neighborhood. His son, John Mosler, grew up on that pioneer farm and after his marriage established his home on a farm of 160 acres he had bought nearby, the northeast quarter of section 34 of Duchouquet township, two miles east of Wapakoneta, and after his father's death came in for the latter's quarter section, thus becoming a well-to-do landowner. He spent the rest of his life on that farm. To him and his wife were born fourteen children, five of whom are still living, the subject of this sketch, having two sisters, Susan and Anna, and two brothers, William and Samuel Mosler. Reared on the home farm east of town, Joseph Mosier received his schooling in old district school No. 11, just west of his home, and from the days of his boyhood was a helpful factor in the labors of developing the farm. After his marriage at the age of twenty-two he established his home on the home place and continued farming there in his father’s behalf until the latter's deatn, when he bought from the other heirs their respective interests in the place and thus came into possession. Mr. Mosler remained on the farm, actively directing affairs there, until his retirement in 1919 and removal to Wapakoneta, where he has since resided, the farm now being managed by his son, Ed. It was on October 10, 1882, that Joseph Mosler was united in marriage to Julia Metzger, who was born in Duchouquet township, daughter of Jacob F. and Susanna (Bobb) Metzger, who lived north of town, and to this union six children have been born, all of whom are married save Lewis Mosier. The other children are as follows : Edward, who married Catherine Sheipline and has seven children, Raymond, John, George, 566 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY Harvey, Nellie, Dorothy and Charles ; August, who married Dora Sheipline and has two children, Clarence and Pauline; Anton, who married Blanche Heins; Clara, who married Andrew Nuss and has one child, a son, Robert, and Florents who married Nellie Heins. Mr. and Mrs. Mosier have a pleasant home at 301 South Pearl street and are comfortably situated. They are members of St. Joseph's Catholic church and their children were reared in that faith. ANDREW MARKET, a well known farmer and landowner of Duchouquet township, proprietor of a well improved farm on rural mail route No. 6 out of Wapakoneta, has been a resident of this township since the days of his infancy. He was born in the city of Cincinnati on December 16, 1852, and is a son of Martin and Theresa (Smith) Market, who came up here in the following year and became numbered among the pioneers of this county, for the early '50s are accounted as having been well within what is regarded as the pioneer period in Auglaize county. Martin Market and his wife were born in Germany, where they were married. In 1850, almost immediately following their marriage, they came to the United States and located at Cincinnati, where they remained a couple of years or more, at the end of which time they came up here into Auglaize county and settled on a farm in section 26 of Duchouquet township, about two miles east of Wapakoneta. Upon settling there, Martin Market bought a tract of forty acres and there established his home. He did well in his farming operations and after he had got that place cleared bought an adjoining "forty" and later bought an adjoining tract of twenty acres, this giving him a farm of 100 acres, on which he and his wife spent their last days, well remembered members of that community. They were the parents of eight children, of whom four are still living, the subject of this sketch having two sisters, Theresa and Mary, and a brother, George Market. The deceased children of this family were Catherine, Franklin, Anna and Martin. Andrew Market was but a babe, not a year old, when his parents settled here in 1853 and he grew to manhood on the home farm east of Wapakoneta, receiving his schooling in old district school No. 7. From the days of his boyhood he was well trained in the ways of the farm and remained at home until his marriage, when he rented a farm in that neighborhood and for nine years thereafter was engaged in farming on his own account as a tenant farmer. He then bought eighty acres, a part of the farm on which he is now living, and as he developed and improved that place gradually added to his land holdings until he became the owner of 280 acres in Duchouquet township, a part of which he lately has given to his two sons, who are now farming there on their own account. Mr. Market and his wife are members of the English Lutheran church at Wapakoneta and are Democrats. They have a HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 567 pleasant home and are very comfortably situated in the "evening time" of their lives. Both have witnessed the development of that community from its pioneer condition and take a quiet satisfaction in the accomplishments of the years during which they have been factors in that development. It was on May 3, 1881, that Andrew Market was united in marriage to Maria Strohm, who was born in Duchouquet township, daughter of Mathias and Johanna (Hancock) Strohm, pioneers of that part of the county, and to this union two sons have been born, Elmer and Arthur, both of whom are now, as noted above, engaged in farming on the tracts turned over to them by their father. Elmer Market married Elizabeth Soern and has two children, Alberta and Melvin, and Arthur Market married Anna Soern and has four children, Ruby, Roland, Norman and Anna. SAMUEL EISLEY, a well known farmer in the northwestern part of Logan township and a substantial landowner of that township, is a European by birth but has been a resident of this .country and of Auglaize county since he was three years of age, a period of seventy years, and thus may be accounted one of the real "old settlers" of this county. Mr. Eisley was born in the republic of Switzerland on February 11, 1849, and is a son of John U. and Elizabeth (Bohrn) Eisley, also natives of that country, who in 1852 came with their family to the United States and proceeded on out into Ohio, locating in Auglaize county, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Upon coming here, John U. Eisley bought a small farm of thirty-five acres in just about the geographical center of Logan township and on that place established his home and began farming, his first task there being to make a clearing for the log cabin he erected for his family, for that district then was heavily wooded, he and his wife thus becoming pioneers of that section. On that place they spent their last days. Her death occurred in 1858, six years after her arrival here. He survived her many years, his death occurring in 1893. They were the parents of seven children, five of whom are still living, the subject of this sketch having two sisters, Elizabeth and Catherine, and two brothers, Jacob and Charles Eisley. As above noted, Samuel Eisley was but three years of age when he came with his parents to this country in 1852 and he grew to manhood on the home farm in Logan township, receiving his schooling in the little old log school house, which at that time served the needs of that district. From the days of his boyhood he gave his attention to farming and after his marriage at the age of twenty- two years began farming on his own account, for several years farming as a renter. He then bought the original "forty" of his present ample farm in Logan township, the northwest quarter of the southwest quarter of section 20 of that township, just north of the cross roads where church and school were located, and on that place estab- 568 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY lished his home and has ever since made that his place of residence, Since taking possession of that place, Mr. Eisley has brought it up to a high state of cultivation and has improved it in up-to-date fashion. He also has increased his landholdings and now has an excellent farm of 200 acres, a part of which belongs to his wife. The family is very pleasantly situated on rural mail route No. 4 out of Spencerville. It was in May, 1871, that Samuel Eisley was united in marriage to Sarah Deitsch, who was born in Marion county, Ohio, daughter of Michael and Lydia Deitsch, and to this union have been born ten children, Matilda, Sarah (deceased), Benjamin, Laura, Emma, Cora, John, Harold, Florence (deceased) and Alma. Of the surviving children of this family all are married save the last named, and Mr. and Mrs. Eisley, who in 1921 celebrated their golden wedding anniversary, have fifteen grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Matilda Eisley married John Mack, Benjamin Eisley married Lillie Kellermeyer, Laura Eisley married Theodore Koenig, Emma Eisley married Fred W. Lawyer, Cora Eisley married Henry Geokle, John Eisley married Elva Metzger and Harold Eisley married Ruth Griffin. Mr. and Mrs. Eisley are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and their children were reared in that faith, They are Republicans and Mr. Eisley has ever given his thoughtful attention to local civic affairs, at one time serving as a member of the local school board. JOHN C. McCORMICK, a veteran of the Civil war and one of the best known farmers and landowners of Union township, now living retired at his pleasant home there in section 1 in the northeastern part of the township, was born on that place and has lived there practically all his life, the exception having been a couple of years spent in Tennessee many years ago. Mr. McCormick is a member of one of the real pioneer families of this county. He was born on June 25, 1843, five years before the organization of Auglaize county, and is a son of John and Jane (Stewart) McCormick, who had come up here from Logan county some years before that date and had settled in the woods on the tract now owned by their son. The senior John McCormick was born in Perry county, this state, and was ten years of age when his parents moved to Fayette county, where they remained for ten years, at the end of which time they sought the newer lands in Logan county and established their home in this latter county. John McCormick at that time was twenty years of age and not long afterward, in 1835, he decided to have some of the new lands that then were awaiting settlement here in what then was Allen county and he entered his claim to a tract in the southeast quarter of section 1 of Union township and in the following year erected a cabin on that site and established his home there. It is narrated that in the fall of that year (1836) this cabin HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE, COUNTY - 569 was destroyed by fire and he had to make a fresh start. But this was no unsurmountable handicap and he presently had a new and better cabin on his place, which he gradually got cleared, and in time he became the owner of that whole quarter section and was regarded as one of the substantial pioneers of that neighborhood. There he and his wife spent the remainder of their lives, useful members of the community. They were the parents of seven children, three of whom are still living, the subject of this sketch having a sister, Mrs. Clarissa Graham, and a brother, James McCormick. The deceased members of this family were Helen, Mary, William and Newton. Reared on the pioneer farm on which he was born and which he now owns, John C. McCormick received his schooling in the little old log school house of district No. 1, at the section cross roads just west of the McCormick farm, and was a well grown boy when the Civil war broke out. In May, 1864, he then being twenty years of age, he enlisted his services in behalf of the cause of the Union and went to the front as a private in Company D of the 151st regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and with this command participated in the battle of Ft. Stephens. Upon the completion of his military service Mr. McCormick returned home and resumed his place on the farm. He married when twenty-four years of age and then took charge of the home place in his father's behalf and has ever since lived there with the exception of two years spent in Tennessee trying out farm life there with no great degree of satisfaction. Upon his father's death Mr. McCormick inherited thirty-two acres, to which he presently added by buying sixty-six acres of the home place and continued actively engaged in farming there until his retirement, now renting his fields though continuing to make his home there, where he has much about him to insure his comfort and pleasure during the "evening time" of his life, for he now is in his eightieth year. Mr. McCormick is an ardent Republican and is a member of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic at Waynesfield. It was on September 25, 1867, that John C. McCormick was united in marriage to Oral Jane Horn, who was born in Knox county, this state, daughter of David and Judith Ann (Reeser) Horn, and to this union nine children have been born, Denman, William, Raymond, Thomas, Charles, Arthur, Anna, 011ie and Emmet, all of whom are living save Arthur, who died on January 27, 1923. Besides this fine family of children Mr. and Mrs. McCormick have thirty-one grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren, in all of whom they take much pride and delight. The old McCormick home is pleasantly situated on rural mail route No. 1 out of Uniopolis and has ever been noted for its genial hospitality. The picture accompanying this review of the McCormick family is reproduced from a photograph of the family group taken on September 25, 1917, on the 570 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY occasion of the celebration of Mr. and Mrs. McCormick's golden wedding anniversary and represents the McCormick family with the nine children of this venerable couple, the thirty-one grandchildren and the great-grandchildren up to that date. GEORGE R. WELLS, cashier of the Citizens Banking Company of Waynesfield, a former treasurer of Wayne township, formerly and for years a teacher in the schools of this county, one of the best known men in the county, is a native son of Auglaize county, a member of one of the real pioneer families here, and has lived in this county all his life. Mr. Wells was born on a farm about two miles east of Waynesfield, in Wayne township, and is a son of Joseph C. and Martha (Jett) Wells, the latter of whom was born in Virginia. The late Joseph C. Wells, who in his generation was one of the substantial farmers of the Waynesfield neighborhood, was born at Lowell, in Washington county, this state, February 25, 1831, and was eight years of age when his parents, Harris and Sallie (LaGrange) Wells, moved with their family to this part of Ohio in 1839 and settled on a woodland farm tract at the forks of Willow Branch in section 21 of Wayne township, which then was a part of Allen county, a mile or more east of where the village of Waynesfield was laid out some ten years later, following the organization of Auglaize county, Harris Wells, the pioneer, was born in 1809, and was thus thirty years of age when he became a resident of this region. He was an energetic farmer, took an active part in public affairs, for years a justice of the peace in and for Wayne township, and as his affairs prospered added to his holdings until he became the owner of 640 acres of land. His last days were spent here, his death occurring in Waynesfield on August 28, 1869. Joseph C. Wells grew to manhood on that pioneer farm and after his marriage became a farmer on his own account, establishing his home on a tract adjoining the home place, which he bought from his father, and became a well- to-do farmer, the owner of an excellent place of 200 acres. He died on May 5, 1893. To him and his wife were born nine children, four of whom are still living, the subject of this sketch having three sisters, Jennie, Hattie and Olive. One daughter, Genevra, and four sons, William H., John, Joseph A. and Edward E. Wells, are deceased. Reared on the home farm east of Waynesfield, George R. Wells received his common schooling in the schools of Waynesfield and Wapakoneta, supplementing this by a course in the normal school at Ada, and then became engaged as a teacher in the schools of this county, a profession he followed for nineteen years, teaching during the winters and continuing his farming during the summers, He then took a course in a business college at Fostoria and when the Citizens Banking Company of Waynesfield was organized in 1903 he was selected cashier of that institution and has ever since occu- HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 571 pied that position, a period of twenty years, thus being one of the best known bankers in this part of the state. Mr. Wells is a Democrat and has ever given a good citizen's attention to local civic affairs, having for several terms served as treasurer of his home township. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church at Waynesfield, and they have a very pleasant home in that charming village. In February, 1883, George R. Wells was united in marriage to Permetha Elliott, who was born in the neighboring county of Shelby, daughter of Thomas and Mary Elliott, and to this union have been born three children, J. Burton, Lulu and Bonnie, all of whom are married. J. Burton Wells married Ella Burk and is living at Waynesfield, where he is engaged as assistant cashier of the Citizens Banking Company. Lulu Wells married Harley Thrusn and has one child, a son, Paul, and Bonnie Wells married 0. M. Bailey and has one child, a daughter, Josephine. LOUIS G. HELPLING, the well known art photographer at Wapakoneta, is one of the native sons of this county who have made something more than a local reputation in their respective lines, the fine character of Mr. Helpling's photography having long been recognized and acknowledged by competent critics of that form of art. Mr. Helpling was born on a farm in Pusheta township, this county, February 14, 1884, and is a son of Christ and Catherine (Braun) Helpling, the latter of whom was born at New Reigel in Seneca county, this state. The late Christ Helpling was a European by birth, an Alsatian, who came to this country in the days of his boyhood and early became trained to the trade of carriage making, a trade which he followed for some time after his marriage and then took up farming and in time became the owner of a farm of 200 acres in Pusheta township, where his last days were spent. To him and his wife were born nine children, all of whom are living, the subject of this sketch having four sisters, Mary, Emma, Rose and Helen, and four brothers, John, Edward, Michael and Christ Helpling. Reared on the home farm in Pusheta township, about a mile and a half southwest of town, Louis G. Helpling received his primary schooling in the district school in that neighborhood and then began attendance at St. Joseph's parochial school at Wapakoneta, finishing his schooling by a year's attendance at the public high school there, and then went to Delphos, Ohio, where he spent nine months learning the barber trade, and then went to Ada and after six months there returned to this county and began working at his trade in a barber shop at St. Marys. He remained at St. Marys for five years, at the end of which time he took a trip to the Pacific coast and at San Jose and Santa Cruz, Cal., spent the better part of a year, after which he returned to St. Marys and resumed his vocation as a barber there and at the same time gave close attention to 572 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY a study of the art of photography, which had long greatly interested him. Giving up thought of longer being a barber, Mr. Helpling started out as a photographer and secured a position in a studio at Youngstown, where he remained six months, going then from there to Sharon, Pa., where he spent about five months perfecting himself in the details of the photographer's art and then returned to Wapakoneta and bought the old established photograph gallery of W. E. Potter and has ever since been operating this establishment, meanwhile adding to and improving his equipment until now he has one of the best establishments of the sort in western Ohio and has long had more than a local reputation for the excellent character and finish of the products of his camera. In addition to his activities in his studio, Mr. Helpling also acts as the local agent for the sale of the Waltham pianos and is doing well. He is an active member of the Wapakoneta Chamber of Commerce and of the Kiwanis Club and is doing his part toward the development of the general commercial and industrial interests of his home town. He and his wife are members of St. Joseph's Catholic church, of which for three years he served as a member of the board of trustees; he is treasurer of the local council of the Knights of Columbus (No. 1272) and is affiliated with the local lodges of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Fraternal Order of Eagles and the Modern Woodmen. On June 15, 1909, at St. Marys, Louis G. He'piing was united in marriage to Kathryn Axe, daughter of George and Rose (Taft) Axe, of that city, and to this union four children have been born, namely : Frederick, born on March 18, 1910 ; John B., July 10, 1911; Virginia, September 4, 1914, and Martha Rose, January 30, 1923, the elder of whom are attending St. Joseph's school. The Helplings have a very pleasant home at 404 West Benton street. JOHN W. WHEELER, who died at his home in the immediate vicinity of Buckland in the spring of 1914, was one of Logan township's best known farmers and a man of influence in the community in which all his life had been spent. It, therefore, is but fitting that in this history of the county in which his life's labors were performed, some modest tribute should be paid to the good memory he left at his passing. Mr. Wheeler was born on a farm in the Buckland neighborhood on September 19, 1861, and was a son of Maline and Elizabeth Wheeler, who were among the pioneers of that community. Reared on that farm, John W. Wheeler grew to manhood there, receiving his schooling in the neighborhood schools, and when twenty-two years of age was married. After his marriage he became engaged in farming on his own account in that neighborhood and there spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring on April 10, 1914. He was a member of the Christian church, as is his widow, and was also affiliated with the local lodge of the Knights of HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 573 Pythias. It was on December 15, 1883, that John W. Wheeler was united in marriage to Alva A. Gochenour, also a member of one of the pioneer families of the Buckland neighborhood, and to that union were born five children, Bessie, Robert, Leona, Florence and Louella, all of whom are married save Robert. Bessie Wheeler married Otto Niswonger, of Wapakoneta, and has three children, Catherine, Roy and Howard. Leona Wheeler married Marion Baker, who is now looking after the affairs of Mrs. Wheeler's farm in the vicinity of Buckland, and has one child, a son, Robert. Florence Wheeler married C. J. Sullivan, of Detroit, Mich., and has one child, a daughter, Virginia, and Louella Wheeler married Daniel Brookhart. Since the death of her husband Mrs. Wheeler has continued to make her home on the farm just outside of Buckland, where she is very comfortably situated. She was born in that vicinity and is a daughter of John H. and Sarah C. (Weaver) Gochenour, who were married in Champaign county, this state, in 1853, and who, in 1859, came to Auglaize county and settled on a pioneer farm along the river on the south line of Logan township at the site of the historic spring, where old Chief Whitefeather had his Indian village in the days long gone and where Buckland came to be laid out when the railroad came along in the middle '70s. John H. Gochenour was a Virginian by birth, born in Shenandoah county, in the Old Dominion, January 13, 1835. Four years later his father died and his mother married John Dingledine, who, in 1849, came to Ohio with his family and settled in Champaign county, later coming up into Auglaize county and settling in Logan township. John H. Gochenour was but fourteen years of age when he came to Ohio and in Champaign county he learned the carpenter's trade. He married at the age of eighteen years and continued to make his home in Champaign county until in 1859, when, as noted above, he came to this county and settled on a woodland tract along the river in Logan township. As he got that tract partially cleared and developed he added to his holdings and as his affairs prospered bought other lands until he became the owner of more than 400 acres of land and was reputed one of the most substantial farmers of that neighborhood. He was a Democrat, one of the leaders of that party in Logan township, and for seven years (1893-1900) served as treasurer of the township. When the preliminary survey of the railroad was made through that part of the county, Mr. Gochenour, in association with his neighbor, Josiah Clawson, had a town site platted on their respective lands on either side of the proposed right of way and to this plat gave the name of Whitefeather, in honor of the Indian Chief, who formerly had his village there. When the railroad station afterward was established at that town site the railroad company gave the name of Buckland to the place, in honor of General 574 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY Buckland, of Fremont, one of the promoters of the road, and later by legal process the name of the village was formally changed from Whitefeather to Buckland. In 1874, Mr. Gochenour platted an addition to this town site and afterward filed three further additions. When the village was incorporated, in 1892, Mr. Gochenour was elected a member of the first town board. He and his wife were the parents of two daughters, Mrs. Wheeler and her sister, Jeanette. ABRAHAM B. ZERKEL, a former trustee of Logan township and one of the well known farmers and landowners of that township, proprietor of a well improved farm on rural mail route No. 4 out of Lima, was born on a pioneer woodland farm in section 24 of Logan township, about two miles east of the river, May 9, 1852, and is a son of Lewis and Elizabeth (Neese) Zerkel, who had settled there upon coming up into this county from Clark county some years before, and who thus became numbered among the pioneers of that part of Auglaize county. Lewis Zerkel was born in Clark county, Ohio, a member of one of the pioneer families that had settled there upon moving west from Virginia, and after his marriage established his home there, remaining there until 1848, the year in which Auglaize county was organized, when he came up here with his family and entered from the Government an "eighty" in the lower half of section 24 of Logan township and settled down there to make a farm out of this woodland tract. He did well in his operations and later added to his land holdings until he became the owner of a good farm of 140 acres, and on that place spent his last days, one of the useful pioneers of the neighborhood. He and his wife were the parents of nine children, of whom four are still living, the subject of this sketch having a sister, Sarah, and two brothers, Lafayette and A. Zerkel. Reared on the home farm in the northeast part of Logan township, Abraham B. Zerkel received his schooling in the school district No. 1 in the immediate vicinity of his home, and from the days of his boyhood was devoted to the affairs of the farm. When he reached his majority he bought a tract of forty acres in that neighborhood and started in to clear the same and make a farm out of it, and after his marriage established his home on that place. Mr. Zerkel has been successful in his farming operations and now is the owner of a fine farm of 155 acres, all of which lies in Logan township, with the exception of a tract of fifteen acres over the line in Allen county. It was on May 28, 1879, that Abraham B. Zerkel was united in marriage to Delilah Wiesenmeyer, also a member of one of the old families in that neighborhood, and to this union three children have been born, Bertha, Daisy and Fredericka, the latter of whom married Louis Bowersock and has five children, Ralph, Delilah, Louis, Jennie and Eunice. Bertha Zerkel married David Zimmerman and has two children, Raymond and HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 575 Doris, the former of whom married Goldie Shaffer and has one child, Audrey Bernice. Daisy Zerkel married Eldon Shappel and had eight children, of whom five are living, Eunice, Evadora, Adrian, Helen and Marjorie. The Zerkels have a pleasant home and have ever taken a helpful part in the general social activities of the neighborhood in which they live. Mr. and Mrs. Zerkel are members of the Lutheran church at Cridersville and their children have been reared in that faith. Mr. Zerkel is a Democrat and has for years been looked upon as one of the leaders of that party in his part of the county, he having served for several terms as a member of the board of trustees of Logan township. JAMES E. WHEELER, one of Logan township's veteran farmers and a substantial landowner of that township, now living retired at Buckland, was born on a pioneer farm in that township and has lived there all his life, a period of more than seventy years, thus being personally familiar with all the details of the amazing development that has taken place there since the days of his childhood. Mr. Wheeler was born on September 26, 1851, and is a son of Horace and Mary (Trotter) Wheeler, who were among the pioneers of that part of Auglaize county. Horace Wheeler was born in Licking county, Ohio, where he grew to manhood and was married. He made his home there until the spring of 1851, when he came with his family over into Auglaize county and settled on a farm of 123 acres which he bought a mile and a half west of the river, in Logan township, a bit north of west of the old Whitefeather Indian village, where Buck- land came to be laid out when the railroad came along more than twenty years later. It was on May 2, 1851, that Horace Wheeler established himself in this county. He was a good farmer and gradually added to his land holdings until he became the owner of 310 acres in Logan township and was regarded as one of the substantial men of that community. On that place he lived for many years, or until his removal to a farm in the near vicinity of Spencerville, where he died, not long afterward, in 1909. He was twice married and by his union with Mary Trotter was the father of six children, of whom but two are now living, the subject of this sketch and his brother, Franklin Wheeler, the deceased children of this family having been Catherine, William, Cynthia and Orlinda. By his second marriage, to Johanna Bitters, Horace Wheeler was the father of four children, Albert, Almira, Mary and Jesse. Reared on the home farm west of Buckland, James E. Wheeler grew to manhood there, receiving his schooling in the neighborhood schools, and remained on the home place until his marriage at the age of twenty- two, when he bought a tract of eighty-six acres in that same township and there established his home, continuing to farm that place 576 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY until his retirement in 1899, when he moved to Buckland, where he has since resided. James E. Wheeler has been twice married. On December 3, 1873, he was united in marriage to Rachel Burnfield, also of Logan township, who died in December, 1887. To that union were born six children, all of whom are living save one (Horace D), the others being William, Charles T., Jacob F., Mary Jane and Myrtle. On December 26, 1890, Mr. Wheeler married Nancy M. Sutton, who was born at Columbus Grove, in Putnam county, this state, and to this union ten children have been born, Edna, Mildred, Delsadia, Robert, Alva, Carl, James, Horace, Sarah and Eugene. Mr. and Mrs, Wheeler are members of the Christian church and are Democrats. Mr. Wheeler is affiliated with the local tent of the Knights of Maccabees. DAVID GILMER, a veteran of the Civil war and a substantial farmer and landowner of Wayne township, who died at his home in that township in the spring of 1908, was a member of one of the real pioneer families of that township and had resided there all his life. Mr. Gilmer was born on a pioneer farm in the northwest corner of Wayne township on October 1, 1841, this being in the days when Wayne township was included within the confines of Allen county, seven years before the erection of Auglaize county. His parents, Allen and Kezia (McCormick) Gilmer, were among the early settlers of that region, having come here in 1833, the year following the departure of the Indians from this section of the state. Allen Gilmer was a native of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, born in 1801, who had settled in Knox county, Ohio, whence he came to this part of the state, attracted by the new lands being opened for settlement here. and entered from the Government the northwest quarter of section 6 of Wayne township, where he established his home and where he spent the remainder of his life. He thus was one of the real pioneers of this part of the county and took an active part in the organization of the township, being a member of the first board of trustees elected for that township. He also served for years as a justice of the peace in and for Wayne township and in other ways served the community in pioneer days. Allen Gilmer and wife were the parents of six children, James A., Mary J., Sylvania, David, Livonia and John A., the latter of whom (occupying a part of the old home place in the northwest corner of the township) alone survives. James A. Gilmer, the eldest son, was a soldier of the Union during the Civil war and was killed at the battle of Knoxville. David Gilmer grew to manhood on the pioneer home farm in section 6 and in the days of, his boyhood took an active part in the labors of clearing and developing the same. In May, 1864, during the progress of the Civil war, he enlisted in the call for three-months service and was attached to Company D of the 151st regi- HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 577 ment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Upon the completion of this service he returned to the farm and after his marriage established his home there, not long afterward buying 112 acres of the home place, where he spent the remainder of his life actively engaged in farming, his death occurring there on May 8, 1908, he then being in the sixty- seventh year of his age, and his widow has continued to make her home there, where she is very comfortably situated. Mrs. Gilmer is a member of the Protestant Methodist church at Waynesfield, of which her husband also was a member, and has ever taken an earnest interest in church work. She was born, Belle Hillerman, at Covington, Ky., daughter of George and Mary Ann (Adams) Hillerrnan. To David and Belie (Hillerman) Gilmer were born four children, Kate, John S., Norma I. and Mabel Ann, all of whom are living save the first named, who died when twelve years of age. Norma I. Gilmer married Charles McCormick and has three children, David L., Mabel J. and Charles R. John S. and Mabel A. Gilmer continue to make their home with their mother on the old home place. The Gihner home is pleasantly situated on rural mail route No. 1 out of Uniopolis. WILLIAM M. FOCHT, a member of one of the pioneer families of Auglaize county and a substantial farmer and landowner of Wayne township, proprietor of a well kept farm on rural mail route No. 1 out of Waynesfield, was born on a farm in Union township, this county, April 12, 1868, and is a son of Daniel and Maria (Justice) Focht, who were among the well known pioneers of that township. Daniel Focht was born in Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, and was twenty-two years of age when he came to Ohio with his parents, Adam and Susanna Focht, in 1836, the family settling on a farm of 240 acres which Adam Focht had bought along Little Wrestle creek in sections 14 and 15 of Union township, which then was comprised within the bounds of Allen county, but which, in 1848, became a part of Auglaize county. Adam Focht and his wife were married on January 2, 1810, and upon their arrival here had ten children, those besides Daniel having been Samuel, John, William, Susan, Mary, Jacob, Louis, Adam and Matilda, all now deceased, this considerable family thus being widely represented hereabout in the present generation. With the assistance of his sons, Adam Focht developed a good piece of property there along the creek and was accounted one of the leading pioneers of that neighborhood. He died there in 1853. Daniel Focht helped clear and develop the pioneer farm which his father had opened and after his marriage, in 1855, to Maria Justice, established his home there and in time became the owner of all the home place, where he continued farming the remainder of his life, his death occurring in 1895. He was a good farmer and built up a good place. He also was properly active in the gen- (36) 578 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY eral affairs of the community and from time to time held various township offices. To him and his wife were born twelve children, all of whom are living save three, who died in childhood, and George, who died in 1918, the subject of this sketch having five sisters, Jane, Hannah, Dora, Enola and Leora, and two brothers, Jacob and Floyd Focht. Reared on the home farm in Union township, William M. Focht received his schooling in the neighborhood district school and remained on the farm until he was nineteen years of age, when he went West and located in Iowa, where he remained until 1890, when he went to Colorado. In 1893, he returned to Auglaize county and took over the operation of the home place on a rental basis and continued thus engaged, following his father's death, until 1899, when he bought a farm of eighty acres in Union township and upon his marriage in the next year, established his home there. For fifteen years Mr. Focht continued to live on that place and then he bought the farm of eighty acres on which he is now living in Wayne township and has since made his home on this latter place, he and his family being very comfortably situated there. Mr. Focht has a well improved farm and a well equipped farm plant and is doing well in his operations. It was on February 17, 1900, that William M. Focht was united in marriage to Nancy Smith, who was born in Missouri, daughter of Samuel and Livonia (Gilmer) Smith, and to this union have been born four children, Grace, Vane, Clarence and Ralph, all of whom are at home save the second named. Vane Focht married Victor Earl and is living in Wayne township. JAMES A. HARROD, one of the large landowners of Auglaize county and a well-known farmer of Union township, living on his place between the creeks in section 4, in the northern part of the township, was born on that place and is a member of one of the real pioneer families of this region, the Harrods having been here since the year following the opening of lands to settlement upon the departure of the Indians ninety years ago. Within three years (1833-36), according to the tract book, there were no fewer than ten Harrods who entered lands in Union township, which then was included within the confines of Allen county, these having been James, Michael, David, Richard, Levi, William, Daniel, Jacob, John and Elizabeth Harrod, so that the Harrod connection hereabout in the present generation is an extensive one. James A. Harrod was born on August 4, 1859, and is a son of William C. and Phoebe D. (Jacobs) Harrod, the latter of whom also was a member of one of the old families of Union township, the Jacobs having been among the earliest permanent settlers of the valley of Wrestle creek, there at the headwaters of the Auglaize. William C. Harrod was born in Knox county, this state, December 3, 1832, and was but three years HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 579 of age when his parents, John and Eliza Harrod, came here in 1836 and settled in Union township, joining others of the family who had made settlement there somewhat prior to that time. John Harrod entered from the Government a quarter section and established his home on this woodland tract, where he developed the makings of an excellent farm and spent the remainder of his life, one of the useful pioneers of that section. On that farm his son, William, grew to manhood. Announcement of the discovery of gold in California in 1849 caught William Harrod at the adventurous age, and when twenty years of age he started overland for the new Eldorado with a party of other goldseekers. For five years he remained in the West and then returned home, but two years later he returned to California, where he remained two years, at the end of which time he came back and bought a half section of land along the creek in the northern part of Union township (section 4). Then he married and settled down on this farm and proceeded to develop and improve the same, continuing a resident of that township until his death. To him and his wife were born five children, two of whom are still living, the subject of this sketch having a brother, Samuel Harrod. There were two daughters, Sallie and Annabel, and another son, Charles Harrod. Reared on the farm on which he was born and where he is now living, James A. Harrod received his schooling in the neighborhood school (district No. 2) and remained at home until he had attained his majority, when he bought a tract of eighty acres up over the line in Allen county and started in to make a farm out of it. He was engaged in clearing and developing that place for five years, or until his marriage, when he rented the home acres from his father and established his home on the old home place, where he ever since has resided. Nine years after thus taking charge of this place he inherited 240 acres of the farm, and since then he has added to his land holdings until now he is the owner of no less than 600 acres, all of which lies in this county save his original "eighty" up in Allen county and an eighty he owns in New Mexico, taken on as an investment. It was in October, 1885, that James A. Harrod was united in marriage to Eva Greer, and to this union have been born six children, all of whom are living save two, Fred, who died on January 12, 1919, and a daughter, Frankie, who died in infancy, the others being Jennie, Clarence, Victoria and Owen. Clarence Harrod married Pauline Stimmel. The Harrods have a very pleasant home on rural mail route No. 6 out of Lima. In his political views Mr. Harrod is a Democrat. Mrs. Eva Harrod was born in Knox county, Ohio, and is a daughter of Jacob and Angeline (Biggs) Greer, both of whom also were born in Ohio. For some time after their marriage, Jacob Greer and his wife lived in Knox county, and 580 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY then, in 1873, moved to a farm in Allen county, where they remained for about twenty years, at the end of which time they moved to Creston, Iowa. Twelve years later they moved back to Knox county, this state, where Mrs. Greer died. Mr. Greer later made his home with his daughter, Mrs. Harrod, where his last days were spent. FERDINAND F. EDMISTON, a widely known auctioneer and dealer in real estate and the owner of a well improved farm northeast of Wapakoneta, in Duchouquet township, where he makes his home, was born in this county and has lived here all his life. Mr. Edmiston was born on a farm along the river in the northwestern part of. Union township on June 5, 1874, and is a son of Shelby ad Sophia (Dotson) Edmiston, who in their generation were among the best known and most influential residents of that part of the county. The late Shelby Edmiston also was born in this county, in Duchouquet township, and was a son of David C. and Caroline Edmiston, pioneers, who came here during the settlement period and became well established in that part of the county, David C. Edmiston having been the owner of more than 200 acres of land and one of the substantial citizens of the county. He was a Tennesseean by birth and it was in 1843 that he came to what is now Auglaize county and settled on a tract of land which he had entered in Duchouquet township, which then was a part of Allen county. Here he spent the remainder of his life. He had eight children and the Edmiston connection hereabout in the present generation is a considerable one. Shelby Edmiston grew up on a pioneer farm here and after his marriage became engaged in farming on his own account. He also, for years, operated a saw mill, established a successful tile factory and also operated a threshing rig, and was, as well, a considerable landowner, the possessor at one time and another of six or seven farms in this county. His last days were spent here, his death occurring in 1909. Shelby Edmiston and wife were the parents of eleven children, all of whom are living save four, Louisa and Gertrude and two who died in infancy, the others (beside the subject of this sketch) being McClellan, Clason, Viola, Alma, Joseph and Corbet. Reared on the home farm in the northwestern part of Union township, Ferdinand F. Edmiston received his schooling in the schools of that neighborhood, and from the days of his boyhood was engaged with his father in the labors of the farm and in the activities of the mill and the threshing rig. He made his home on the home place until his marriage, when in his nineteenth year, when he started out "on his own," giving his particular attention to the threshing industry and to the sale of farm machinery, gradually working into the line to which he now gives his special attention, and in which he has long been engaged, auctioneering and the dealing in real estate, in both HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 581 of which lines he is widely known throughout this and neighboring counties. In 1918 Mr. Edmiston bought the farm of sixty-five acres on which he is now living, in Duchouquet township, and has since made his home there, he and his family being very comfortably situated. It was in January, 1893, that Ferdinand F. Edmiston was united in marriage to Tena Buchanan, also a member of one of the old families of this county, daughter of John and Eliza Buchanan, and to this union have been born four daughters, Blanche, Ethel, Ida and Fannie, all of whom are married save the last named. Blanche Edmiston married Dennis Dudgeon and has two children, Chloe and Mildred. Ethel Edmiston married Granville Pepill and has one child, Jennette, and Ida Edmiston married Carl Gossard and has one child, a daughter, Margaret. The Edmistons have a pleasant home on rural mail route No. 9 out of Wapakoneta. Mr. and Mrs. Edmiston are members of the United Brethren church. NEHEMIAH SPRAGUE, who died at his home in Duchouquet township in the summer of 1921, had lived there for many years and at his passing left a good memory, for he was a good citizen. It therefore is but fitting that there should here be set out some modest tribute to that memory. Mr. Sprague was born on a farm in the immediate vicinity of Grand Rapids, Mich., July 18, 1846, and was a son of Henry and Margaret (Tyson) Sprague, both of whom were members of pioneer families in this section of Ohio. Henry Sprague had come to what is now Auglaize county with his parents when but a lad, and here had grown up and married. For some years after his marriage he made his home in the vicinity of Grand Rapids, Mich., and then returned to Auglaize county and bought a farm in Logan township. After some years of residence there he went to Kansas, and in that state spent the remainder of his life. To him and his wife were born twelve children, of whom six are still living. Nehemiah Sprague was eight years of age when his parents returned to Auglaize county, in 1854, and he grew to manhood on the home farm in Logan township, completing his schooling in the schools of that neighborhood. When twenty-four years of age he married and bought a tract of twenty acres in the southwest quarter of section 5 of Duchouquet township, and on that place established his home and spent the remainder of his life. As he prospered in his affairs Mr. Sprague added to his land holdings until he became the owner of an excellent farm of 100 acres, which he succeeded in bringing to a high state of cultivation, and on which he had a well-equipped farm plant. He and his wife made their start there in a log cabin which he built in the woods, and in which they made their home until he had effected his clearing and got the farm in shape for the improvements befitting his rising circumstances, and in due time they had a 582 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY very pleasant home there. The old home place is still maintained under the direction of the family. Mr. Sprague did well his part in the general movements attendant on the development of his section of the county and for several years served as supervisor of highway construction in his district. He and his wife were members of the Christian church and ever took a proper part in church work and in the general good works of the community in which they lived. It was in 1870 that Nehemiah Sprague was united in marriage to Sarah E. belly, who was born at New Hampshire, in this county, daughter of James and Rachel (Caldwell) Kelly, pioneers of that settlement, and to this union were born four children, two of whom, Herman and Lola, are still living. Mrs. Sprague, in her younger days was widely known throughout the county as a school teacher. She died on July 21, 1901, and Mr. Sprague survived her for almost twenty years, his death occurring on July 15, 1921, he then being three days under seventy-five years of age. Herman Sprague, who is now living at Toledo, married Catherine Frier and has two children, Harry and Evadna, the latter of whom married Norman Brady and has one child, a daughter, Ellen. LEVI RINEHART, a former trustee of Union township and one of the best known and most substantial farmers and landowners of that township, was born in Union township, a member of one of the real pioneer families in that part of the county, and has lived there all his life. Mr. Rinehart was born on October 27, 1873, and is a son of Arnold P. and Rebecca (Harrod) Rinehart, both of whom were born in that same township, the Rineharts and the Harrods having been among the early settlers there, and who are now living retired at Uniopolis. Arnold P. Rinehart was born on February 6, 1837, and is a son of Hugh T. and Julianna (Godfrey) Rinehart, who in the fall of the year prior to that date had come over here into western Ohio from Virginia and had settled in Union township, in what then was Allen county. Hugh T. Rinehart, as has been told elsewhere, became one of the most substantial and influential citizens of this county, a member of the first board of county commissioners elected in the new county of Auglaize in 1848, and in other ways active and influential in getting things going right here in the formative period of this region. He lived to a ripe old age, his death occurring in 1904. Of the eleven children born to him and his wife, three are still living, Arnold P. Rinehart having a sister, Sarah, and a brother, John A. Rinehart. Arnold P. Rinehart completed his schooling by attendance for five terms at the Ohio Wesleyan College at Delaware, and for seven years thereafter was engaged as a teacher in the schools of this county. In the meanwhile, when twenty years of age, he had married and settled on a farm of forty acres which his HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 583 father gave him. Later his father gave him an adjoining eighty, and as he prospered in his operation of this farm he added to his holdings until he became the owner of 400 acres. He continued actively engaged in farming until 1901, when he left the farm and moved to Uniopolis, where he bought the grist mill and was engaged in milling there for three years, at the end of which time he turned the mill over to his sons and then gave his personal attention to the grain business, buying the grain elevator there, which he operated for ten years, or until his retirement, and has since made his home at Uniopolis, where he is now living, in his eighty-sixth year. On September 25, 1857, Arnold P. Rinehart married Rebecca Harrod, daughter of Levi and Martha Harrod, and to this union eleven children were born, eight of whom are living, the subject of this sketch having two sisters, Alice and Edna, and five brothers, Arnold E., Frank F., W. Otto, John E. and Fred Rinehart. As these children are married and have families of their own, the aggregated families have given Arnold P. Rinehart and his wife no fewer than thirty- eight grandchildren and thirty-six great-grandchildren. Arnold P. Rinehart was for eighteen years justice of the peace in and for his home township. He also has served as township clerk and treasurer, and for thirty years as a member of the school board. Levi Rinehart was reared on the old home farm in Union township and his schooling was received in the neighborhood schools. The height of the gas and oil boom was on about the time he had reached the age of individual activity, and until his marriage he was engaged working in the oil fields hereabout. He married when twenty-one years of age and then established his home on a "forty" owned by his wife, a part of the John R. White place, about six miles northeast of Uniopolis, and there lived for seven years, at the end of which time he sold that place and bought 100 acres of the farm on which he is now living, and where he ever since has resided. Since taking possession of this place Mr. Rinehart not only has improved the place in up-to-date fashion, but has added to his holdings by further purchase until now he has a fine farm of 320 acres and one of the best farm plants in that part of the county, he and his family being very comfortably situated in their pleasant home there on rural mail route No. 6 out of Wapakoneta. Mr. Rinehart is one of the leading Democrats of Union township and has rendered public service as a member of the board of township trustees, in which capacity he served for four years. It was on April 20, 1895, that Levi Rinehart was united in marriage to Alice White, daughter of John R. and Sarah White, of Union township, and to this union have been born seven children, Emmons D., Lois K., Donald C., Carl D., Mabel, John H. and Mildred L., the first named of whom married Ada Blank and 584 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY has one child, a son, Dewey. Emmons D. Rinehart is a veteran of the World war, his service having been rendered in the Marine Corps, with which he served for ten months in Carribean waters, with his station in Cuba. THOMAS FRAZIER, a veteran of the Civil war and one of the best known farmers of Duchouquet township, proprietor of an excellent farm along the river, just below the mouth of Blackhoof creek, in the southwest quarter of section 12, is a "Buckeye" by birth and has lived in this state all his life, a resident of Auglaize county since he was eleven years of age, a period of nearly seventy years, and has thus been a witness to the development of this region since pioneer days. Mr. Frazier was born in Pickaway county on November 8, 1844, and is a son of John and Mahalia (Woodell) Frazier, whop later became pioneers of Auglaize county. John Frazier also was born in Ohio, a member of one of the pioneer families of Fairfield county, where he grew to manhood and was married. He later made his home for some time in Pickaway county and then moved up into Putnam county, where he remained for six years, or until 1856, when he came with his family to Auglaize county and bought an uncleared tract of 100 acres on the western border of Union township, just southwest of Uniopolis, where he established his home and spent the remainder of his life, clearing and developing the place, to which he added until he was the owner of a farm of 118 acres. He and his wife were the parents of two children, the subject of this sketch having had a sister, Rebecca, now deceased. Thomas Frazier was eleven years of age when he came to Auglaize county with his parents in 1856 and he grew to manhood on the home farm in the Uniopolis neighborhood, a useful factor in the labors of clearing and developing that place, and was living there when the Civil war broke out. In the spring of 1864 he entered the service of the Union army as a substitute and served for five months as a private in the 156th Ohio infantry regiment, during which period of service he participated in the battle of the Cumberland. Upon the completion of his military service Mr. Frazier returned to the farm and was there engaged in farming until his marriage two years later, at the age of twenty-two, when he bought a "forty" in Union township and started in farming on his own account. For three years he made his home on that place and then, in 1870, traded that farm for a tract of fifty acres along the river in section 12 of Duchouquet township, a part of the farm on which he is now living, and has ever since resided on this latter place, he and his family being very comfortably situated. Since taking possession of that place Mr. Frazier has improved it in proper shape and also has enlarged his holdings until he now has a well improved farm of 137 acres. He is a Republican, a member of HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE, COUNTY - 585 the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic, and he and his wife are members of the United Brethren church at Cridersville. It was on January 17, 1867, that Thomas Frazier was united in marriage to Minerva Speese, who was born in union township, this county, daughter of Andrew and Sarah Ann (Fleming) Speese and a member of the pioneer Speese family who were included among the early settlers of this county, and to this union five children have been born, two of whom—Anna and Jennie—are deceased, the others being Ella, Charles and Lillie, all of whom are married. Ella Frazier married Otto Buchanan, now living at Wapakoneta, and has three children, Florence, Lulu and Lillie, the first named of whom married Frank Sheipline and has one child, a daughter, Edna. Lulu Buchanan married Arthur Blank and has two children, Howard and Herbert. Charles Frazier married Jennie Burden and has had ten children, all of whom are living save two (Clyde and Scott), the others being Pearl, Raymond, Carl, Marie, John, Ellen, Walter and Irvin. Pearl Frazier married Orlie Bowersock and has one child, Dial. Lillie Frazier, now the wife of Elmer Smith, has been twice married, her first husband, Sloan Hardin, having died, leaving her one child, a daughter, Margaret. Anna Frazier (deceased) married Elza Orr and at her death left three children, Harley, Jerome and Ethel. The Fraziers have a pleasant home on rural mail route No. 9 out of Wapakoneta, about five miles northeast of the city, and their long establishment there has given them a wide acquaintance throughout that part of the county. JOSEPH M. BLACKBURN, a veteran of the Civil war and a well-known farmer and former landowner of Logan township, now living retired at Buckland, is a native "Buckeye" and has lived in this state all his life, a resident of Auglaize county since he was six years of age, a period of more than seventy years, during which time he has been a witness to the development of this region almost from its primitive state, for when he became a resident of Logan township there had been very little actual development work done there. Mr. Blackburn was born in Carroll county, Ohio, May 16, 1844, and is a son of George and Charlotte (Weber) Blackburn, who later became established as among the pioneers of Auglaize county, residents of the old Whitefeather neighborhood (now Buckland), and whose last days were spent here. George Blackburn was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, a member of one of the pioneer families over there on the eastern border of the state, and became a farmer and blacksmith. After his marriage he for some time made his home in the adjoining county of Carroll, and then, in 1850, two years after the erection of Auglaize county, moved over here and bought a tract of something more than 160 acres of land on the lower line of Logan 586 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY township, about a mile west of the river, just west of the old Whitefeather Indian village, the site of the present village of Buckland, which was laid out there upon the coming of the railroad in the middle '70s. On that place George Blackburn established his home, made a good farm out of his woodland tract and there spent the rest of his life, one of the influential pioneers of that section of the county. He and his wife were the parents of ten children, two of whom are still living, the subject of this sketch and his sister, Miranda. As will be noted above, Joseph M. Blackburn was but six years of age when he came to this county with his parents, in 1850, and he grew to manhood on the home place in Logan township. He received his schooling in the neighborhood schools and from the days of his boyhood has been devoted to the affairs of the farm. He was living there when the Civil war broke out, and in May, 1864, enlisted his services in behalf of the cause of the Union and went to the front as a member of Company G of the Ohio National Guard, and with that command served for six months, or until his discharge in the following September, during this period of service taking part in the historic engagement at Cumberland Gap. Upon the completion of his military service, Mr. Blackburn returned to the farm, and after his marriage, in the spring of 1874, established his home there, taking over the operations of the farm, of which he became the owner, and there he continued to make his home until his retirement in 1916 and removal to Buckland, where he has since resided. Several years ago he sold his farm of 207 acres. Mr. Blackburn is a member of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic and has for years taken an active interest in the affairs of that patriotic order. It was on March 30, 1874, that Joseph M. Blackburn was united in marriage to Susan Titus, of Salem township, this county, and to this union nine children have been born, Frank, Clifford (deceased), Rufus, Clarence, Lucy (who died in infancy), Guy, Grace, Rhoda and Gurn, the latter of whom is unmarried. The late Clifford Blackburn married Adda Pence and died leaving two children, Edwin and Burnetta. Mrs. Susan Blackburn was born in Galia county, Ohio, and was but a child when she came to Auglaize county with her parents, Louis and Susan (Nye) Titus, the family settling in Salem township, where she grew to womanhood and was married, Frank Blackburn, the eldest son of this family, married Alice Bobrink and is now living at Tampa, Fla. Rufus Blackburn, who is now living at Tiffin, Ohio, married Cora Barber and has four children, Loretta, Francis, Lowell and True. Clarence Blackburn, who is now living in Clermont county, Ohio, married Virginia Cook and has three children, Curtis, Olin and Eugene. Guy Blackburn, who is now living in Alabama, married Electa Bowman and has one child, HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 587 a son, Guy Jr. Grace Blackburn married Earl Swartzbaugh, of this county, and has one child, a daughter, Elizabeth, and Rhoda Blackburn married Earl Edward, also of this county, and has two children, Winfield and Catherine. ENOS NEESE, a former trustee of Logan township and a well- known farmer and landowner of that township, proprietor of a well- improved farm on rural mail route No. 1 out of Hume, is a native 'Buckeye" and has lived in this state all his life, a resident of Auglaize county since he was five years of age, a period of nearly sixty-five years, and has thus witnessed the development of this region since pioneer days. Mr. Neese was born in Clark county, Ohio. October 24, 1853, and is a son of Ambrose and Sarah (Lutz) Neese, who later became numbered among the pioneers of Auglaize county, they having settled here in the days before the Civil war. Ambrose Neese was a Virginian by birth and was but a lad when his parents, John G. Neese and wife, left the Old Dominion with their family and came over into Ohio, settling on a farm in Champaign county, where they established their home and spent the remainder of their lives. On that pioneer farm Ambrose Neese grew to manhood. He early took up the carpenters' trade, and after his mai riage established his home in Clark county, where he rem 1,ln rd until 1858, when he came up into Auglaize county and settled on a farm of 192 acres which he bought in Logan township. In 1869 he mo Jed back to Champaign county, but remained there only a year at the end of which time he returned to Auglaize county and bought a tract of 100 acres in the southeast quarter of section 28 of Logan township, about a mile west of the river, and there continued engaged in farming until his retirement in 1885, since which time the farm has been under the management of his son, Enos, who bought the place upon his father's death and has since owned it. Ambrose Neese and wife were the parents of four children, all of whom are living save one, a daughter, Mary, the subject of this sketch ha wing a sister, Amanda, and a brother, William Neese. As noted above, Enos Neese was five years of age when he came to this county with his parents in 1858, and he grew to manhood in Logan township. He received his schooling in the district schools, and from the days of his boyhood has been devoted to the affairs of the farm. He remained with his father during the days of his young manhood, helpful ,n the labors of developing the home farm, and after his marriage established his home on that place and assumed the management of the farm, his father retiring at that time. After his father's death he bought from the other heirs their respective interests in the place and has since continued to make his home there, though of late years practically retired from the active operations of the farm, 588 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY which is now being operated by his son-in-law, Pearl Cook. Mr. Neese did well in his farming operations and years ago added to the home place an adjoining tract of thirty acres, this giving him a fine farm of 130 acres. He and his family have a comfortable home and are pleasantly situated. They are members of the Christian church. Mr. Neese is a Democrat and for six years served as a trustee of Logan township. It was on June 11, 1885, that Enos Neese was united in marriage to Matilda Wiesenmeyer, who was born in the neighboring county of Allen, and to this union one child has been born, a daughter, Zelma, who married Pearl Cook, a member of one of the old families of Auglaize county, and has one child, a son, Richard Eugene Cook. As noted above, Pearl Cook is now operating the Neese farm, and he and his family make their home with Mr. and Mrs. Neese. ELSWORTH BURDEN, senior member of the firm of Burden Bros., proprietors of the old Burden saw mill at Wapakoneta, this firm being regarded as among the leading lumber concerns in this part of the state, is a native son of Auglaize county and has lived here all his life. Mr. Burden was born on a farm east of Wapakoneta, in Duchoquet township, March 23, 1866, and is a son of John M. and Rachel (Bechdolt) Burden, natives of Pennsylvania, who had come here with their respective parents in pion3er days and had married here. John M. Burden was a cabinet maker by trade and also farmed for some time. He was a good lumberman and twenty-five years and more ago he started a saw mill at Wapakoneta, the mill now being operated by his sons, and continued actively engaged in this business until his sons took over the plant six years ago. Elsworth Burden completed his schooling in the old Third Ward school building (Williamson school) at Wapakoneta and as a young man began working as a farm hand, continuing thus engaged for about four years, during which time he was married. He then began farming for himself, as a renter, and was thus engaged for ten years, at the end of which time he moved to Wapakoneta and began working as a teamster at his father's mill. In 1908 he began buying timber on his own account, for shipping, and was thus actively employed until in 1916, when he and his brother, Fred Burden, bought their father's mill and have since been operating the same. In that same year Fred Burden established a mill at New Bremen— the Burden & Salms mill—and with both plants running practically full time since then have been doing an extensive business, about forty persons all told being employed in the two plants. The spe- cialty of the Wapakoneta mill is the manufacture of timber for heavy construction work and there is a wide demand for the products of the mill. Mr. Burden is a Republican and he and his wife are members of the English Lutheran church. It was on March 27, HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE, COUNTY - 589 1886, when just past twenty years of age, that Elsworth Burden was united in marriage to Anna Morris, who was born in Union township, this county, daughter of Henry and Helena (Hartung' Morris, and to this union ten children have been born, all of whom are living save one, John Henry, who died in infancy, the others being Effie, Harry, Emma, Ferd, Della, Antoinette, Luther, Marie and Helena, all of whom are married save Della, Marie and Helena. The eldest daughter, Effie Burden, married Vernon Kantner, of Wapakoneta, and has one child, Aldo. Harry Burden, who is a sawyer at the mill, married Frances Fricke and has three children, Milford, Eugene and Urban. Emma Burden married Anthony Eckensweiler, who is employed at the wheel works, and has three children, Alma, Leona and Ellen L. Ferd Burden, who is a cigar maker at Wapakoneta, married Hazel Frey and has six children, Vesta, Rowland, Marcella, Roger, Ned and Paul, besides one, Harry D., who died in infancy. Antoinette Burden married Dewey Harshbarger, now an employe of the Studebaker Auto Company at South Bend, Ind., and is living in that city, and Luther Burden, who is employed in his father's mill, married Evelyn Emerson. FRANCIS GURNEY KREBS, a well-known farmer and landowner of Wayne township, has been a resident of that township all his life. Mr. Krebs was born in the village of Waynesfield on December 27, 1865, and is a son of Dr. Rufus I. and Lucina (Myers) Krebs, both now deceased, the latter of whom was born in Licking county, this state. The late Dr. Rufus I. Krebs, who for years was one of the best known and most influential among the citizens of the Waynesfield neighborhood, was born at Littletown, Pa., June 24, 1832, and was a son of Isaac and Esther Krebs, Virginians, who in 1846 returned to Virginia, settling at Winchester, where they spent the remainder of their lives, the latter dying in 1861, and the former in 1884. Rufus I. Krebs was fourteen years of age when he moved with his parents to Winchester, Va. He early became interested in the study of medicine, and under the preceptorship of Dr. Hugh H. McGuire was prepared for college. In 1853 he was graduated from the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, and after a season of preliminary practice in the East came to Ohio and established himself in practice at Westminster, in Allen county. In 1858 Doctor Krebs gave up his office at Westminster and moved down into Auglaize county, locating at Waynesfield, where he continued active in practice until his retirement in 1885. Seeking relief by an outdoor life, the Doctor moved then to his farm north of Waynesfield, where he resided until 1897, when he returned to Waynesfield and in that pleasant village spent his last days, his death occurring there on January 19, 1900. To Dr. Rufus I. Krebs and wife were born three children, two of whom are living, the subject of this sketch 590 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY having a sister, Mrs. Jennie Harrod, wife of Ira Harrod. The deceased member of this family was the late Mrs. Laura L. Manchester, wife of Jason H. Manchester. Reared at Waynesfield, Francis G. Krebs, who is better known to his friends by his second name of Gurney, received his schooling in the excellent schools of that village and was about twenty years of age when his father moved to the farm north of town, where he became engaged in practical farming. He married when twenty-seven years of age and for two years thereafter rented his father's farm, and then moved to the farm on which he is now living in Wayne township and has since resided there. When Mr. Krebs bought this place the tract included eighty-one acres, but he recently for the accommodation of a neighbor sold a tract of fourteen acres off the place and now has sixty-seven acres, which is well improved and profitably cultivated. Mr. Krebs has a well-improved farm plant and is doing well in his operations. It was on March 30, 1892, that Gurney Krebs was united in marriage to Nellie McNutt, who was born in Lucas county, Ohio, daughter of the Rev. Aaron P. and Maria (Dixon) McNutt, and to this union have been born four children, Florence, Laura, Mack and Glenna, the two first named of whom are married. Florence Krebs married Ray McKee, now living at Milford, Ind., and has two children, Eva and Geraldine. Laura Krebs married Edward Shaw, of the neighboring county of Hardin, and has two children, Maxwell and Isabel. Mr. Krebs is a Democrat and he and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Waynesfield, of which his father, Doctor Krebs, was for many years one of the leading members. The Krebs home is pleasantly situated on rural mail route No. 1 out of Uniopolis. CHARLES H. DIXON, a former member of the board of county commissioners for Auglaize county, a former trustee of Logan township, and one of the best known farmers of that township, proprietor of a well-kept farm on rural mail route No. 1 out of St. Marys, is a "Buckeye" by birth and has lived in this state all his life, a resident of Auglaize county since the days of his boyhood. Mr. Dixon was born on a farm in Licking county, Ohio, January 29, 1854, and is a son of Elijah and Mary Jane (Kuntz) Dixon, who later became residents of Auglaize county, and whose last days were spent here. The late Elijah Dixon, who for more than thirty years was a resident of Auglaize county, also was born in Licking county, this state, a son of William Dixon, a Virginian, who was one of the pioneers of that county. Elijah Dixon was reared in Licking county, and after his marriage established his home on a farm there. He remained there until in 1864, when he became attracted to the possibilities for development that then were so noticeably apparent over in this part HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 591 of the state, and he disposed of his interests in Licking county and moved to this county, he and his family and his essential household and agricultural impedimenta coming through in a Conestoga wagon, and settling on a farm of eighty acres on the north line of Moulton township, about a half mile west of where the railroad later was laid. Elijah Dixon cleared that land, made a good farm out of it and presently added an adjoining "forty" to his holdings, so that he came to be the owner of a fine farm of 120 acres, and on that place spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring in April, 1896. He was twice married, and by his first wife (Mary Jane Kuntz) was the father of six children, three of whom are still living, the subject of this sketch having a sister, Melissa, and a brother, George W. Dixon. The deceased children of this family were Minerva and two who died in infancy. Following the death of the mother of these children, Elijah Dixon married Hannah Fishburn, who survived him. Charles H. Dixon was ten years of age when he came to Auglaize county with his parents, in 1864, and he grew to manhood on the home farm in Moulton township. He completed his schooling in the schools of that neighborhood, and when eighteen years of age was apprenticed to a carpenter for three years, thus learning the carpenter trade. He married when twenty-two years of age and then rented a farm in Moulton township, on which place he made his home for five years, at the end of which time he moved to a farm in Logan township, and on this latter place made his home for eight years, or until he bought the place in that same township on which he is now living. Mr. Dixon bought a tract of ninety-nine acres there, and later bought a small adjoining tract, and thus now has a farm of 115 acres, which he has improved in admirable shape, having one of the best and most up-to-date farm plants in the neighborhood. Mr. Dixon is a Democrat and has long been regarded as one of the leaders of that party in his part of the county. He rendered service for some time as one of the trustees of Logan township, and has also served two terms (1911-15) as a member of the board of county commissioners. It was during this incumbency that the disastrous flood of 1913 came, and it was thus that Mr. Dixon was able to render a valuable service to the county in the reconstruction of bridges which were washed out by that memorable flood. He and his wife are members of the Walnut Grove Methodist Episcopal church, and he is a member of the local tent of the Knights of the Maccabees at Wapakoneta. It was on August 6, 1876, that Charles H. Dixon was united in marriage to Dellana Warner, who was born in this county, a member of one of the pioneer families here, and to this union have been born ten children, all of whom are living save one (Frederick), the others being Lulu, Bernard, William, Jesse, 592 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY Alice, Newton, Gezella, Opal and Bryan. Of these all are married save Gezella and Opal. Lulu Dixon married F. C. Garber and has four children, Bernard, Charles, Marjorie and Marvelee. Bernard Dixon married Lulu Garber and has three children, Ivan, Clifford and Ada. William Dixon married Emma Davis and has three children, Donald, Dana and William Jr. Jesse Dixon married Maxine Reed and has three children, Ruth, June and Wayne. Alice Dixon married Ferdinand Vorhees and has two children, Nina and Wanda, Newton Dixon married Florence Foster and has one child, a son, George, and Bryan Dixon married Fairy Vulgamott. JOHN MOYER, one of the best known of the elder farmers of Wayne township and a substantial landowner of that township, living on rural mail route No. 1 out of Waynesfield, is a native of England but has been a resident of this country and of Auglaize county since he was ten years of age, a period of more than sixty-five years. Mr. Moyer was born in Lincolnshire, England, February 1, 1845, and is a son of Jeremiah and Maria (Farris) Moyer, both also natives of Lincolnshire, who in 1856 came with their family to the United States, landing at the port of New York on Christmas Day of that year. Jeremiah Moyer had come into possession of a tract of thirty acres of land in the northwestern part of Wayne township, this county, through the death of his brother, John Moyer, and upon his arrival in this country with his family proceeded on out here into Ohio and settled on that tract, where he established his home. He presently increased his holdings there to eighty acres and on that farm spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring in 1880. His widow survived him more than twenty years, her death occurring in 1903. They were the parents of seven children, Thomas, John, William, Mary A., Elizabeth, Jeremiah and George, all of whom save the two last named were born in England and all of whom are living save George and Elizabeth. John Moyer was not yet eleven years of age when he came to this county with his parents and his schooling was completed in the somewhat primitive school which then served the community in which the family had settled, for in the days before the Civil war that part of Wayne township there in the neighborhood of the headwaters of the Auglaize was still little more than a "backwoods" settlement. He grew up on the farm, helpful in the labors of developing and improving the same, and after his marriage began farming on his own account, buying a tract in section 5 of Wayne township, where he established his home and has ever since resided. Mr. Moyer has been a successful farmer and has increased his holdings there until now he owns a fine farm of 306 acres and has a well equipped farm plant. He and his family are Republicans. John Moyer married Christina Kauffman, also a member of one of the pioneer families of Wayne HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE' COUNTY - 593 township, and to this union have been born twelve children, five of whom are living, Jennie, Clement, William, Fred and Thomas, the others having died in infancy. Three of these are married. Jennie Moyer married Clem Ohler, now living at Lima, and has two children, Edward and John. Clement Moyer married Olive Harrod, daughter of Benton Harrod, and Fred Moyer married Delia Cook and has two children, Retha and Bernona. Despite the fact that Mr. Moyer is nearing his eightieth year he continues to maintain an active supervisory interest in his farming operations and also retains a hearty interest in the general affairs of the community of which he has been a part since the days of his boyhood back in what may be regarded as the pioneer days in this region, for when he came here the greater part of the land hereabout was still uncleared, and he has many interesting tales to tell of the "days of old." ISAAC N. ZERKEL, who died at his home in Logan township about three years ago, and whose widow is still living at her pleasant farm home there, was a native "Buckeye" and had lived in this state all his life, a resident of Auglaize county since he was six years of age, he having come to this county with his parents in the year in which Auglaize county was organized as a separate civic entity. Mr. Zerkel was born on a farm in Champaign county, Ohio, March 25, 1842, and was a son of Louis and Elizabeth (Neese) Zerkel, who later became established as among the pioneers of Logan township, this county. Louis Zerkel was a Virginian by birth, who after his marriage established his home on a farm in Champaign county, Ohio, where he lived until 1848, in which year he moved with his family up into Auglaize county, which was organized in that year, and settled on a woodland tract of 120 acres which he entered from the Government in section 24 of Logan township, about two miles east of the river, where he made his home and where he spent the remainder of his life, clearing and improving the place. He and his wife were the parents of eight children, four of whom, Abraham, Lafayette, Annias and Sarah, are still living. As stated above, Isaac N. Zerkel was six years of age when he came to this county with his parents in 1848, and he grew to manhood on the home farm in the northeastern corner of Logan township, receiving his schooling in the little old school house of district No. 1 at the section cross roads about a half mile west of the Zerkel home. From the days of his boyhood he was devoted to the affairs of the farm and after his marriage established his home on a part of the home place, where he lived until 1898, when he sold the piece of land he had inherited from his father and bought the eighty-acre place where he spent the remainder of his life, engaged in farming, a substantial citizen of that community, his death occurring there on June 2, 1920, he then being seventy-eight years of age. It was on December 29, 1870, (37) 594 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY that Isaac N. Zerkel was united in marriage to Mary Ann Wilson, who was born on a farm just east of Cridersville, in Duchouquet township, daughter of John and Caroline (Delong) Wilson, pioneers of that neighborhood, and to this union six children were born, all of whom are living save two (Harley and Hazel), the others being John, Marcella, Leslie and Fleda, who are married. John Zerkel, who married Ollie Whetstone, is now living in Oklahoma. Marcella Zerkel married J. W. Bowersock, of Logan township, and has three children, Mabel, Riva and Mary. Mabel Bowersock married Robert Sharp, and Riva Bowersock married Martin Place. Leslie Zerkel married Sylvia Devore and has six children, Gladys, Alden, Marcella, Irvin, Walter and Betty M., and Fleda Zerkel married Charles Hines and has four children, Harley, Edna, Mabel and Earl. Since the death of her husband, Mrs. Zerkel has continued to make her home on the farm, where she is very comfortably situated, rural mail route No. 7 out of Wapakoneta. She is a member of the Christian church, as was her husband. In his political views Mr. Zerkel was a Democrat. ROY HAWKEY, recorder of Auglaize county and formerly and for years engaged in the real estate business at St. Marys, where he makes his home, is a native son of Auglaize county and has lived here all his life. Mr. Hawkey was born at St. Marys on November 20, 1879, and is a son of Lloyd and Elizabeth (Brewer) Hawkey, the latter of whom also was born in this county, a member of one of the pioneer families of Noble township. Lloyd Hawkey was born in the neighboring county of Shelby, a member of one of the old familes there, and was trained to the vocation of brickmason. During the days of his young manhood he located at Wapakoneta, where he married and where he became engaged as a building contractor, with particular reference to brick construction. He later moved to a farm just north of St. Marys, where he followed farming in a small way and at the same time continued his operations as a contractor, until his retirement and removal to St. Marys, where he spent the remainder of his life. Roy Hawkey received his schooling in the excellent schools of St. Marys and upon leaving the high School became employed in the shoe store of H. Netsorg, where he remained for one year, at the end of which time he transferred his connection to the R. H, Armstrong store, also at St. Marys, where he remained for twelve years, during the long period of his clerkship there acquiring a very wide acquaintance thereabout. With a proper view to the capitalization of this acquaintance Mr. Hawkey then became engaged in the real estate business, with offices at St. Marys, and for thirteen years was thus engaged or until his appointment in February, 1922, to the office of county recorder to fill the unexpired term of Andrew H. Lampert, who had resigned that office to accept the appointment as HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 595 treasurer of the county to fill the unexpired term of George H. Katterheinrich, deceased. Mr. Hawkey entered upon the duties of the recorder's office on March 1, 1922, and is thus serving in that important public capacity, with Stanley Brandewie as deputy recorder. In the election of 1922 he was elected to succeed himself in that office. During the long period of his connection with the real estate business Mr. Hawkey made a specialty of clerking at farm sales and there are few men in this county who have a wider acquaintance than he. He is an ardent Republican and has long been looked upon as one of the leaders of that party in the western part of the county. In his fraternal affiliations he is connected with the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias at St. Marys and with the lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at Wapakoneta. Mr. Hawkey has been twice married. His first wife, who was Bertha Wiemeyer, daughter of Fred Wiemeyer, died in 1919, leaving one child, a daughter, Mary Elizabeth, born in 1906. On April 11, 1921, Mr. Hawkey married Julia Wagner, daughter of W. 0. Wagner, and to this union one child has been born, a son, William Lloyd, born on June 15, 1922. JAMES WILLIAM FINLEY, one of the trustees of Clay township, former assessor of that township and one of its best known farmers and landowners, proprietor of the old Finley farm in the eastern part of the township, was born on that farm there along the pike in the west half of section 13 and has lived there all his life. Mr. Finley was born on March 19, 1878, and is a son of John M. and Elizabeth (Mitchell) Finley, who were in their generation among the best known residents of that neighborhood. The late John M. Finley was a native of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. When but a boy he came to Ohio with his parents, the family settling in Union county. As a young man he came to Auglaize county and settled in Clay township. After his marriage he established his home in that township and became the owner of an excellent farm of 120 acres, as is set out elsewhere in this work. It was on that farm that James William Finley grew to manhood, carefully trained in the ways of farming, he and his elder brother, A. M. Finley, being valuable aids to their father in the labors of developing and improving the place. When he attained his majority his father gave him a partnership interest in the products of the farm and after his marriage at the age of twenty-four this arrangement was continued for another year, at the end of which time he rented the farm outright, on a cash rental basis, and continued to carry on his operations there on that basis for eleven years, or until his father's death, when he bought the interests of the other heirs in the farm and has since been proprietor, in the meantime having created there a fine, up-to-date farm plant. This farm was in the path of the destructive cyclone which swept over this region in the summer of 1918 and all the build- 596 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY PAUL ZINK, a veteran of the Civil war and one of the best known octogenarians in Auglaize county, formerly and for many years engaged in the blacksmith business at Wapakoneta and now living retired in that city, is a member of one of the real pioneer families of this county, where he was born, his parents having settled here ten years before the time of the formal erection of Auglaize county. Mr. Zink was born on a woodland farm in Duchouquet townings on the farm were razed with the exception of the dwelling house, garage and granary. Mr. Finley immediately set about the erection of a new set of buildings and now has a bigger and better plant than before, including a farm tractor and an individual electric lighting system. In addition to his general farming he feeds out about seventy-five hogs a year and is doing well. Mr. Finley is an ardent Republican and has long taken an active interest in local civic affairs, at present serving as a member of the board of trustees for Clay township. He also formerly and for two years served as township assessor. He is a member of the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at St. Johns. It was on December 24, 1902, that James William Finley was united in marriage to Margaret Waltz, who also was born in Clay township, daughter of Jefferson and Mary (Barhart) Waltz, both of whom were born in Ohio, and to this union three children have been born, namely : Neva, born on December 23, 1904 ; Franklin, December 2, 1909, and Irene, December 2, 1913. The Finleys have a very pleasant home on rural mail route No. 1 out of St. Johns and have ever taken a helpful and hospitable part in the general social activities of the community in which they live. ship, which then was included within the confines of Allen county, February 2, 1843, and is a son of Joseph and Susanna Zink, natives of the grand duchy of Baden, Germany, who were married in that country and who about a year following their marriage, in 1832, came to America and located at Pittsburgh, Pa., where they made their home for several years and where two children were born to them. They then came to Ohio and made their home in Piqua until 1838, in which year they moved up here and settled on a tract of forty acres which Joseph Zink had entered from the Government in Duchouquet township. On April 21, 1849, Joseph Zink met his death by a log falling on him while assisting in the raising of a barn, leaving his widow with nine children, the eldest of whom was sixteen years of age and the youngest but eighteen months. The widow Zink kept the family together, and with the aid of her sons continued the work of developing the pioneer farm. When the Civil war came on three of these sons became soldiers in the Union army, the subject of this sketch and his brothers, Joseph and Mathias. Mrs. Susanna Zink died on April 12, 1868. Reared on the home farm in Duchouquet township, Paul Zink received his schooling in the neigh- HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 597 borhood school and when seventeen years of age entered upon an apprenticeship to the blacksmith trade in the shop of Godfrey Weber at Wapakoneta, where he was working when the Civil war broke out. Though but eighteen years of age, he lost little time in proffering his services in behalf of the cause of the Union, and on October 14, 1861, was accepted as a private in Company C of the 58th regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and reported for duty at Camp Denison, whence he presently was sent to the front, and it was not long until he was in the thick of some pretty strenuous service. At the battle of Chickasaw Bayou, Mississippi, December 29, 1862, Mr. Zink was wounded and was sent back of the lines, in due time finding relief in the Government hospital at Evansville, Ind. Upon recovery he rejoined his regiment and continued in service until his honorable discharge on January 16, 1865. Upon the completion of his military service Mr. Zink returned home and resumed his work in the blacksmith shop. Following his marriage, in the fall of 1867, he became engaged in business on his own account, opening a blacksmith shop at 5 East Mechanic street, and there continued active in business until in January, 1918, when a stroke of paralysis compelled his retirement, and he has since been living retired, the business now being carried on by one of his sons, John H. Zink, who has been connected with the business since 1894. It was on October 8, 1867, that Paul Zink was united in marriage to Genevieve Braun, and it was thus that the golden wedding anniversary of this venerable couple was celebrated more than five years ago. Mrs. Zink was born at New Riegel, in Seneca county, Ohio, and is a daughter of Robert and Christina (Fischer) Braun, natives of the grand duchy of Baden, the former born on March 25, 1800, and the latter May 25, 1813, who had come to this country in their youth and who were married in Columbiana county, this state, July 17, 1834. Following their marriage Robert Braun and his wife made their home at New Riegel until in 1857, when they came with their family to this county and settled on a farm two miles south of Wapakoneta, where they spent the remainder of their lives, Mrs. Braun dying on July 23, 1872, and Mr. Braun on November 6, 1878. They were the parents of thirteen children and had besides an adopted son, an orphan, taken into their home when lie was three years of age. Mrs. Christina Braun's parents, Ignatius and Helena (Lam) Fischer, were among the pioneers of the Freyburg neighborhood, in this county Both were natives of Baden, born at Waldulm, the former on February 4, 1784, and the latter on April 3, 1783. Ignatius Fischer died here on September 11, 1840, and his widow survived until April 20, 1850. It is narrated that when in September, 1840, Mrs. Christina Braun received word at her home in New Riegel that her father, 598 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY Ignatius Fischer, was dying at his home in New Freyburg, she started for his bedside carrying her seven-months-old daughter, Otilla, in her arms, and walked the entire distance, stopping but one night for sleep in a settler's cabin. At the end of the second day she reached her father's bedside, only to find him dead, and the first faltering steps of the infant daughter were taken around the pioneer's casket. To Paul and Genevieve (Braun) Zink have been born twelve children, all of whom are living save five, Joseph, John and Michael, who died in infancy, and Kate and Amelia E., the latter of whom married William Schneider, and died on May 31, 1917, leaving four children, Eleanor, Margaret, Pauline and Charles. Kate Zink married Michael Wahrer and died on June 26, 1919, leaving seven children, William, Rose, Albert, Paul, Elizabeth, Genevieve and Charles. The surviving children of this family are L. Josephine, Anna H., John H., Teresia M., Albert, Robert S. and Charles E., all of whom are married save John H. and Charles E., and Mr. and Mrs. Zink have thirty-seven grandchildren. L. Josephine Zink married Frank Manger and has eight children, Henry, Marion, Michael, Genevieve, Robert, Paul, George and Rita. Anna H. Zink married Martin Duell and has six children, John, Henry, Edward, Roland, Francis and George. Teresia Zink married Fred Weimert and has eight children, Vernon, Marjorie, Roland, Harold, Richard, Cecelia, Mary and Pauline. Albert Zink married Carrie Peck and has one child, a daughter, Margaret, and Robert S. Zink married Laverne Goff and has three children, Leroy, Paul and Mae. Charles E. Zink, the youngest son, is a veteran of the World war with an overseas record. He was inducted into service on September 18, 1917, and at Camp Sherman was assigned to Company I of the 329th Infantry. In January, 1918, he volunteered for immediate overseas service, and on February 15 was transferred to Camp Merritt, whence twelve days later he sailed with the second detachment of replacement troops from Camp Sherman, landing at Brest, France, on March 10. Until April 9 this detachment was stationed at Angiers, where he was assigned to Company A of the 117th Engineers, 42d Division, and sent to the front lines, where he was on duty for seven months, and during which time he participated in no fewer than six major engagements, these including the Champagne-Marne, the Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne, Andennes and the defensive sector. Following the armistice he went on into Germany with the Army of Occupation and continued in foreign service until his return to the United States on April 28, 1919. He received his final discharge at Camp Sherman on the following May 17, and upon his return to Wapakoneta resumed his vocation as a tailor, a vocation which he had followed for fourteen years prior to his entrance into the army. HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 599 Charles E. Zink is an active member of the local post of the American Legion and in 1922 was post adjutant. He is a member of the board of trustees of the local council of the Knights of Columbus, and is also affiliated with the local lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the local lodge of the Loyal Order of Moose, and the local aerie of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. H. B. THIEMAN, better known among his hosts of friends throughout this section of the state as "Ben" Thieman, former postmaster at Minster, and for years one of the most influential citizens of that town, now engaged in the insurance business there, was born at Minster and has been active in affairs there for years. Mr. Thieman is a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Gossman) Thieman, both of whom also were born in this county, members of pioneer families here. The subject of this sketch has a brother, John Thieman. The late Henry Thieman, who for many years was one of Minster's best known citizens, and widely known in the days of the old canal trade, early became engaged in the cooperage buSiness at Minster, he and Frank Herkenhoff setting up there a plant they had brought up from Troy and making a specialty of pork barrels, this pioneer plant having been the nucleus around which eventually developed the extensive plant of the Minster Cooperage Company. During the Civil war period Mr. Thieman's wife (Elizabeth Gossman) was engaged as a dressmaker at Cairo, Ill., and while there was for a time dressmaker for Mrs. Gen. U. S. Grant. During her widowhood she for eighteen years was the proprietress of a hotel at Minster, one of the most popular hotels in this part of the state in its day, then known as the Schmieder House, named after Dr. J. P. Schmieder. Reared at Minster, Ben Thieman supplemented the schooling received in the local schools there by a course in the normal school at Ada, and shortly after this began to take part in the operation of his mother's hotel at Minster. For eighteen years Mr. Thieman was thus engaged, and then, under Governor Harmon’s administration, he accepted the appointment as assistant state fire marshal, a position he occupied for five and a half years, or until he resigned to accept the commission as postmaster at Minster. Mr. Thieman continued to serve as postmaster at Minster for several years, or until his resignation by reason of ill health, and for some little time thereafter he necessarily remained inactive while recuperating. He then took up his present line, life insurance. He assisted in the organization of the Columbus Mutual Life Insurance Company, and has ever since been connected with this institution, one of the best known insurance men in this section. So valuable have Mr. Thieman's services in behalf of this company proved that in 1920 he was elected to a post on the board of directors of that company. Mr. Thieman 600 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY is a Democrat. When twenty-one years of age he was elected to the office of clerk of Jackson township, and for two terms he continued to serve in that capacity. That was back in the middle '90s, and ever since then he has been one of the influential factors in local civic affairs, his counsel and judgment being sought on all occasions of local moment in town and township affairs. He was one of the organizers of the Superior Cigar Box Company and is a member of the board of directors of that company. Mr. Thieman attends the Catholic church, is an active member of the Minster Commercial Club, and is affiliated with the lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at Wapakoneta. He has been an Elk for many years, his original membership (1901) having been with the lodge of that order at Sidney, before the Wapakoneta lodge was organized. FLORIAN W. SMITH, one of the best known figures in insurance circles in this county, district agent for the State Automobile Insurance Company of Indianapolis, formerly and for years a teacher in the schools of this county, former deputy sheriff, former mayor of Uniopolis and for some years past supervisor of the Ohio State Bottlers Association, with office and residence at Wapakoneta, where he has made his home for almost twenty years past, is a native son of Auglaize county, a member of one of the pioneer families here and has lived in this county all his life with the exception of a period twenty years or more ago when he was connected with the Department of the Interior at Washington, D. C. Mr. Smith was born in the village of Uniopolis on July 14, 1876, and is a son of August and Clara (Tabler) Smith, both of whom also were natives of Ohio, the latter born in Fairfield county, a daughter of William F. and Charlotte (Purcell) Tabler, who were among the pioneers of that county. The late August Smith, former sheriff of Auglaize county, who died at Wapakoneta on January 16, 1923, was born in Union township, this county, August 14, 1849, the year following the formal erection of Auglaize county, and was a son of Felician and Julia Smith (Schmidt), both of whom were of European birth, the latter an Alsatian and the former a native of the grand duchy of Baden. For some time after his arrival in this country Felician Schmidt (whose family name in the second generation was Anglicized to its present form, Smith) was located at Canton, in Stark county, this state, but when the lands over in this part of the state were beginning generally to be settled he came over here and got possession of a tract of land in the southwest quarter of section 17 of Union township, in this county, just at the north edge of the Uniopolis town site, and there established his home, becoming one of the useful and influential pioneers of that neighborhood. It was on that pioneer farm that August Schmidt (Smith) was born and reared. He married when twenty-five years of age and continued HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 601 farming on the home place, remaining there until his election to the office of sheriff of Auglaize county, as the nominee of the Democratic party, in 1904, since which time he had made his home at the county seat, his last days having been spent in the home of his son, Florian. By re-election, August Smith served for two terms as sheriff (1905-9) and thus became one of the best known men in the county. Prior to his election to the shrievalty he had served for four years (1888-92) as clerk of Union township and had in other ways taken his part in public service. It was in 1875 that August Smith was united in marriage to Clara Tabler. To this union were born three children, of whom the subject of this sketch alone now survives, the other two, Jeannette and Charles A., having died in childhood. The mother of these children died in August, 1903. Florian W. Smith was reared on the home farm at the edge of the village of Uniopolis and was graduated from the high school there in 1893. He then took a course in the normal school of Lima College, preparatory to taking up the profession of teaching and for ten years thereafter was engaged as a teacher in the schools of this county. During the years 1895-97 Mr. Smith was superintendent of the Buckland schools. For six years thereafter he devoted his services to rural school work and in 1903-4 was superintendent of the Uniopolis schools. Meanwhile, during the vacation period in 1900 he served as a clerk in the office of the Interior Department at Washington, gaining there a bit of practical experience that has proved valuable to him in more than one relation of life since then. When his father entered upon his term of service as sheriff of the county, the family moved to Wapakoneta and Florian W. Smith was made deputy sheriff, a public service which he rendered for four years, at the end of which time he became a salesman and continued in the latter vocation until 1916, when he was appointed supervisor of the Ohio State Bottlers Association, having charge of that association's legislative program and its publicity agencies, a position which he still occupies and in the exercise of the functions of which he has done much to advance the interests of the association, which during Mr. Smith's incumbency has increased its membership 400 per cent. In 1922 Mr. Smith received the appointment as district manager for the State Automobile Insurance Company of Indianapolis, with direction over agencies in Auglaize and Mercer counties, and is now so occupied. For years Mr. Smith has been looked upon as one of the leaders of the Democratic party in Auglaize county and in the campaign of 1922 was made the nominee of the party for representative in the Legislature from this district. In addition to his service as deputy sheriff, above referred to, Mr. Smith had rendered prior public service as mayor of Uniopolis, to which office he had been elected in 1897, when but twenty-one years of age, and in 1912 he was elected councilman-at- 602 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY large for the city of Wapakoneta and served for one term in that capacity. He and his family are members of the First Lutheran church at Wapakoneta and he also is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Loyal Order of Moose, the Fraternal Order of Eagles and the United Commercial Travelers. On July 7, 1903, Florian W. Smith was united in marriage to Edith G. Shaw, daughter of Isaiah and Mary (Lump) Shaw, of Duchouquet township and both members of old families in this county, and to this union six children have been born, one of whom died in infancy, the others being J. Carl, Juanita K., Cullen C., who died on January 6, 1923, Eileen A. and William F. The Smiths have a very pleasant home at 109 East Mechanic street. LEWIS J. LINK, one of the well-known farmers and landowners of Moulton township, proprietor of a well-kept place about three miles west of Wapakoneta, was born on a farm in Pusheta township on May 21, 1866, and is a son of George and Elizabeth Link, both of German birth, the former born in Hesse and the latter in Wurtemburg. The late George Link, who in his day was one of the considerable landowners in Moulton township, came to this country in the days of his young manhood and settled in Auglaize county, where, after his marriage, he established his home in Pusheta township, where he continued farming until about 1867, when he moved up into Moulton township and bought an "eighty," the place on which his son, Lewis, is now living, in the southeast quarter of section 27, and there settled down to farming, remaining there until his retirement from the farm, in 1892, and removal to Wapakoneta, where his last days were spent. He was a good farmer and had increased his land holdings until he became the OWner of 320 acres of land and was accounted one of the substantial citizens of that part of the county. George Link was twice married. By his wife, Elizabeth, he was the father of three children, all of whom are living, those besides the subject of this sketch being Mrs. Sarah Dressler, of Dayton, Ohio, and Miss Celia Link, of Wapakoneta. By his first marriage he was the father of five children, two of whom, Florence and George, are deceased, the others being John and Fred Link and Mrs. Mary Engelhaupt, the latter of Pusheta township. Lewis J. Link was but a babe when his parents moved from Pusheta township to Moulton township, and he grew to manhood on the home farm in the latter township, receiving his schooling in the neighborhood district school. From the days of his boyhood he was attentive to the affairs of the farm, thus early being trained in the ways of practical farming, and continued operations in association with his father until his marriage at the age of twenty-five, when he assumed direction of the home eighty, his father retiring from HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 603 the farm at that time, and after his father's death came into possession of this place by inheritance. This farm was caught in the path of the cyclone of 1920 and the farm buildings all practically destroyed, this disaster necessitating a reconstruction of the place. Mr. Link carried out his reconstruction plans along modern lines and thus now has one of the best appearing farm plants in that neighborhood. In addition to his general farming, Mr. Link gives considerable attention to the raising of live stock, feeding out about 100 hogs a year, and is doing well. Mr. Link is a Democrat and for eight years served as a member of the school board in his home township. He is a member of St. Paul's Evangelical church at Wapakoneta. On December 20, 1892, Lewis J. Link was united in marriage to Anna Fritz, who was born at Wapakoneta, March 14, 1869, daughter of David and Mary (Presar) Fritz, and who died on October 11, 1917, and is buried in Greenlawn cemetery. To that union were born three children, two of whom, Alvina and Earl, are living, the latter now a student in the Wapakoneta high school. Alvina Link married Emil George, now a part owner of the Brown Theater at Wapakoneta, and has one child, a daughter, Marianna, born on March 27, 1919. The Link home is pleasantly situated on rural mail route No. 7 out of Wapakoneta. FENNER N. HORN, one of Logan township's best known farmers and landowners and proprietor of a well-kept farm on rural mail route No. 1 out of St. Marys, is a "Buckeye" by birth and has lived in this state all his life, a resident of Auglaize county since the days of his boyhood. Mr. Horn was born at Jefferson, the county seat of Ashtabula county, Ohio, May 13, 1856, and is a son of Joseph and Caroline (McMaster) Horn, the latter of whom also was born in Ohio, a member of one of the pioneer families of this state. The late Joseph Horn, who for twenty-five years was a resident of Auglaize county, was of European birth, born in the city of Baden- Baden, in the grand duchy of Baden, and was seven years of age when he came to this country with his parents, the family locating in New York. His father died there not long afterward, and he then came to Ohio, where he grew up in the household of his maternal grandfather. Some years after his marriage he became engaged in farming in Huron county, and there made his home until 1867, when he came to Auglaize county with his family and bought a farm of approximately sixty acres in the southwest quarter of section 6 of Logan township, on the Salem township line, about a half mile east of the canal, and there established his home. On that place Joseph. Horn spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring in 1892. He and his wife were the parents of ten children, five of whom are still living, the subject of this sketch having a sister, Alta, and three 604 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY brothers, Frank, Charles and William Horn. The deceased children of this family were Alice, Beatrice and Beulah, and two who died in infancy. Fenner N. Horn was eleven years of age when he came to this county with his parents, in 1867, and he grew to manhood on the home farm in the southwestern part of Logan township. He completed his schooling in the schools of that neighborhood and remained with his father on the farm until he had attained his majority, when he leased a twenty-acre tract of timber land and started in to clear the same. He married at the age of twenty-five, and then bought a small farm of sixteen acres in Moulton township, where he made his home for fifteen years, at the end of which time he rented a farm in Noble township, and on that place carried on so successfully that three years later he was able to buy the place of 100 acres on which he is now living, in Logan township, and on this latter place has since then made his home, he and his family being very comfortably situated. Since taking possession of this farm Mr. Horn has made extensive improvements on the place and now has a well-equipped farm plant. It was in September, 1881, that Fenner N. Horn was united in marriage to Irene Montague, who was born in this county, a member of one of the pioneer families here, and to this union have been born three children, Chloe, Everett and Harry, the latter of whom died when fourteen years of age. Chloe Horn married Walter Holsapple, and Everett Horn married Leona Hill. Mr. and Mrs. Horn are members of the Walnut Grove Methodist Episcopal church and are Republicans. W. NEWTON DINGLEDINE, veteran grain dealer of Buckland, former mayor of that town, for many years clerk of Logan township, now living retired at his pleasant home in Buckland, is a native "Buckeye" and has lived in this state all his life, a resident of Auglaize county since he was seven years of age, a period of sixty-five years, and is thus one of the best known men in the county. Mr. Dingledine was born in Champaign county, Ohio, November 3, 1850, and is a son of John and Clara (Caldwell) Dingledine, who became residents of this county some years after that date and whose last days were spent here. John Dingledine was a native of the Old Dominion, born in Shenandoah county, Virginia, and was a son of Philip and Mary (Barrington) Dingledine, both of whom also were born in Virginia, members of Colonial families, and whose last days were spent in Champaign county, this state. Philip Dingledine was a farmer and landowner and proprietor of a saw mill in Champaign county. John Dingledine grew to manhood in his native state and was there married. .When thirty-one years of age he came to Ohio and located in Champaign county, where he remained until in October, 1857, when he came to Auglaize county with his family and settled on a tract of 176 acres he had bought HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 605 west of the Auglaize river in Logan township, this tract including all of the northeast quarter of section 34 of that township, two miles north of where Buckland came into being when the railroad presently came along. He established his home on that tract there in the woods and entered upon the task of clearing the same and making a farm out of it, but these labors were interrupted by his death less than six years thereafter, his death occurring in February, 1863. His wife died in that same year and three children thus were doubly orphaned. Two other children of this family had died previously. Of the surviving children but two now are living, the subject of this sketch and his brother, John Dingledine. The deceased children of this family were Samuel, Mary and Charles. It will be noted by a comparison of dates above that W. Newton Dingledine was but seven years of age when he came to this county with his parents in 1857 and he was thirteen when he was bereaved by death of his parents. He was taken into the household of John Gochenour, one of the leading farmers of that neighborhood, and there grew to manhood, completing his schooling in the local schools. Upon the attainment of his majority Mr. Dingledine came into his inheritance, his share of his father's estate, and he became a practical farmer, looking after the interests of his farm—a part of the old home place north of Buckland—and the grain interests he meanwhile was developing, until 1881, when he left the farm and moved to Buckland, where he built a house and where he since has been making his home. It was in 1882 that Mr. Dingledine became engaged in the grain business at Buckland and became proprietor of the grain elevator there. That was four or five years after the completion of the railroad and it soon became apparent that Buckland was a good shipping point. For more than twenty-five years Mr. Dingledine remained in the grain business at Buckland and then, in 1909, he sold his elevator there and bought the grain elevator at Glynwood, about midway between, Buckland and St. Marys and another excellent shipping point in that part of the county, and continued in business at that point until his retirement in 1921. Mr. Dingledine is a deacon in the Christian church at Buckland. He is a Democrat and has been serving as clerk of Logan township with the exception of an interruption of service during several terms from 1886 to 1893 ever since the year 1876, which probably constitutes the record for length of individual public service in this county. During the period of interruption in his service as township clerk, Mr. Dingledine was serving as township treasurer, so that his record may be regarded as one of continuous public service for more than forty-five years. He also has rendered service as mayor of Buckland and for six years was treasurer of the town, and for some time also WAS a member of the township board. On 606 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY December 10, 1871, W. N. Dingledine was united in marriage to Mary J. Neese, daughter of Shen and Mary (May) Neese, and to this union was born one child, a daughter, Clara A., who married M. K. Clover, of St. Marys, and has four children, Cade, Mary, Jesse and June. Mary Clover married Willis Kishler and has one child, a son, Marvin. JOHN W. BRACKNEY, a member of the board of county commissioners for Auglaize county, a former trustee of Clay township and in other ways for years active in the public affairs of this county, one of the best known men in the county, was until lately the proprietor of a well improved farm, the old Ritchey farm in Clay township, which Mr. Brackney recently sold and is now making his home in Wapakoneta. He and his family are very comfortably situated there, living in the George B. Bice home on East Mechanic street, which he bought. Mr. Brackney was born on a farm along the highway less than two miles east of St. Johns, in Clay township, November 11, 1870, and is a son of Reuben and Samantha J. (Lusk) Brackney, both of whom were members of pioneer families in that neighborhood, the Brackneys and the Lusks having been among the early settlers of that section, back in the '30s, in the days just follOWing the departure of the Indians from this region and when that part of what now is Auglaize county was included within the confines of Allen County. Reared on that farm, John W. Brackney received his early schooling in the Brackney school (district No. 6), there at the center cross roads in section 4, nearby the lower line of the Brackney farm, and supplemented this by a course in the St. Johns schools, after which he began teaching in the schools of this county and was thus engaged during the winters for five years, his service in this connection having been rendered in districts 1, 3, 5 and 6 of Clay township. In the meantime, while in his twenty-first year, Mr. Brackney married and began farming on his own account, for the first year of this individual endeavor renting land from his father. He then bought a "forty" down on the Geyer pike in that township and for about ten years made his home on this latter place, meantime increasing his holdings there to eighty acres. During this ten years of cultivation of that place Mr. Brackney got the farm in fine shape and then sold it and in 1902 bought his recent place of 120 acres down near the old Logan Indian reservation line and just below the old Wapakoneta Indian reservation line, the place then known as the P. E. Ritchie farm, and until lately made his home there. Upon taking possession of that farm Mr. Brackney entered upon a course of improvement and development which gave him one of the best improved farms in that section of the county as well as one of the best equipped farm plants, this including an entire new set of buildings, HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 607 a modern dwelling house equipped with individual lighting and running water systems, the latter an air-pressure system, and all the conveniences which modern genius has devised to better the old conditions of farm life. In addition to his general farming Mr. Brackney long gave considerable attention to the raising of live stock, feeding out about one hundred hogs a year, and did well in his operations, long being recognized as one of the real progressive farmers of the county. Mr. Brackney is an ardent Republican, for years one of the leaders of that party in this county, and in the notable election of 1922 was elected by a majority of 599 to represent his district on the board of county commissioners for the second time. During the period of Mr. Brackney's useful service on the board of county commissioners he has impressed his personality definitely on affairs about the court house and has become recognized as a definite and forward- looking force in the public life of this county. Prior to his entrance upon his duties as county commissioner in 1921 Mr. Brackney had rendered valuable local public service in his home township, having served for two terms as a township trustee, two years as township clerk and four years as township assessor, and also has been for years a member of the local school board, for some time during this latter service acting as president of the board. He and his wife are members of the Mt. Tabor Methodist Episcopal church and take an interested part in the affairs of that progressive congregation. It was on September 10, 1891, that John W. Brackney was united in marriage to Louisa Gross, also a member of one of the old families of Clay township, and to this union have been born seven children, four of whom, Turah, Reuben B., Tillie, and Homer, are living, the deceased children of this family having been one who died in infancy, Wilbur L., born on September 12, 1901, who died on May 3, 1903, and Hazel, born on March 24, 1907, who died on April 18, 1920. Turah Brackney, born on July 21, 1892, married Herman Reinhart, now living at Santa Fe, in this county, and has seven children, Kenneth, Mary, Mabel, Carl, Mildred, Paul and Maxine. Reuben B. Brackney, born on September 17, 1893, and who is farming in Clay township, married Carrie V. Metz and has two children, Helen R. and Berneda. Tillie Brackney, born on August 30, 1897, married Ira Rhoades, a farmer of Logan county, and is now living in Stokes township, that county. Homer Brackney, born on August 25, 1909, is still in school. Mrs. Louisa Brackney was born in Clay township on December 15, 1870, and is a daughter of Jacob and Matilda (Schuler) Gross, the latter of whom was born in Jackson township in the neighboring county of Shelby. Jacob Gross was born in Clay township, Auglaize county, a member of one of the pioneer families of that township, and after his marriage settled on a farm in Clay township, in the 608 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY upper half of section 27 of that township, and became the proprietor of a fine farm of 120 acres there. To him and his wife were born five children, but two of whom are now living, Mrs. Brackney and her sister, Mrs. Hannah Mollenauer, of Marion county, this state. CALVIN M. GROVER, a former trustee of Union township and a well known and substantial farmer and landowner of that township, proprietor of "Groveland Stock Farm" about two miles northeast of Uniopolis and former president of the Uniopolis Grain Company, is a native of the old Keystone state but has been a resident of Auglaize county for nearly a quarter of a century and thus feels himself to be "perfectly at home" here. Mr. Grover was born on a farm in Columbia county, Pennsylvania, February 8, 1868, and is a son of Stephen and Celinda (Smith) Grover, both of whom also were natives of Pennsylvania. Stephen Grover was born in Columbia county and there spent all his life, his death occurring when his son Calvin was a small boy. Calvin M. Grover grew to manhood in his native state and from boyhood was trained to the ways of the farm. In the late '90s he came to Ohio and settled in Auglaize county, buying a tract of thirty acres, a part of the old Peter Crouse farm northeast of Uniopolis and after his marriage shortly after established his home there, his wife adding to his holdings there a tract of forty acres, a part of the Crouse farm. On this farm of seventy acres Mr. Grover carried on his operations so profitably that he presently was able to buy more land and he has increased his holdings until now he is the owner of a fine farm of 200 acres and has an admirable farm plant, he and his family being very comfortably situated. On "Groveland Stock Farm" Mr. Grover feeds out from 100 to 150 head of hogs and a couple of car loads of cattle annually and is doing well. It was in 1899 that Calvin M. Grover was united in marriage to Clarissa Crouse, who was born in Union township, daughter of Peter and Matilda (Chrest) Crouse, and to this union three children have been born, Edward, Howard (deceased) and one who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Grover are members of the Uniopolis Methodist Protestant church and take a proper part in the affairs of that congregation. They are Democrats and Mr. Grover has long taken an active part in local civic affairs, having served for one term as one of the trustees of Union township. He took an active part in the organization of the Uniopolis Grain Company, was elected first president of that organization and for nearly five years served in that capacity. Mr. Grover is a member of the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at St. Johns. For four years he served as treasurer of the Fairmount Cemetery Association. The Grovers have a pleasant home on rural mail route No. 1 out of Uniopolis. Mrs. Grover's parents, Peter Crouse and wife, were natives of Pennsylvania and were reared in their native HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 600 state, where they were married. In 1851 they came to Auglaize county and settled in Union township, Peter Crouse buying there a tract of land (now included in "Groveland Stock Farm") on which he spent the remainder of his life engaged in farming. He and his wife were the parents of eight children, of whom four now are living, Mrs. Grover having a sister, Sarah, and two brothers, John and Gabriel S. Crouse. ADAM HELMLINGER, one of the veteran farmers of Clay township and a substantial landowner of that township, now living practically retired on his well kept place on rural mail route No. 2 out of St. Johns, was born on the farm on which he is now living, a member of one of the pioneer families of that neighborhood, and has lived there all his life, a period of seventy years, and has thus seen that region develop from its original woodland state. Mr. Helm- linger was born on August 7, 1852, and is a son of Ludwig and Christina (Munch) Helmlinger, Europeans, natives of Alsace-Lorraine, who came to America in 1834, following their marriage, the sailing vessel on which they came being nine weeks in making the passage over. They landed at the port of New York and with little delay made their way out here into western Ohio and settled on an "eighty" which Ludwig Helmlinger entered from the Government in section 20 of Clay township, which then was a part of Allen county, where they established their home. The first home there on their woodland tract was a log cabin, but as they got this place cleared and developed they presently had a more commodious and comfortable home and became well established pioneers of that region. Ludwig Helmlinger was a good farmer and as his affairs prospered he added to his land holdings until he became the owner of 420 acres in Clay township, where he and his wife spent their last days. They were the parents of nine children, three of whom are still living, the subject of thiS sketch having a sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Knarr, and a brother, Louis Helmlinger. Reared on the farm on which he was born, Adam Helmlinger received his schooling in the little old log school house known as the Eheman school (district No. 7) and from the days of his boyhood has been devoted to the affairs of the farm. He continued helpful in the labors of developing the home place until after his marriage, when he established his home on the "eighty" which he had received from his father, a part of the home place, and has since resided there, in the years that have intervened since then having created there an excellent farm plant. To this tract on which he started farming for himself he has added until now he has 399 acres in Clay township, which he rents out, having some time ago retired from the active labors of the farm. It was in 1883 that Adam Helmlinger was united in marriage to Caroline Regula, who was born and reared in the neighboring county of Shelby, daughter (38) 610 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY of Peter and Katie (Metz) Regula, and to this union three children have been born, Gus, Amelia and Luella, all of whom are married. Gus Helmlinger, who is farming a part of the home place, married Barbara Klopfenstein and has three children, Ethel N., Roger W. and Bernice L. Amelia Helmlinger married William Zorn, a Shelby county farmer, and has two children, Levera and Irene, and Luella Helmlinger married Louis Klopfenstein, a Clay township farmer, and has three children, Geraldine, Wilson and Nelson. The Helmlingers are active members of the Evangelical Lutheran church in section 20, long and familiarly known as the Helmlinger church. JOHN H. HUT, a well known farmer of Pusheta township, living on rural mail route No. 8 out of Wapakoneta, is a native son of Auglaize county and has lived here the better part of his life. Mr. Hut was born in German township on May 2, 1857, and is a son of Theodore and Mary (Gressbrink) Hut, the latter of whom was born in Kentucky. Theodore Hut was a European by birth, born in the grand duchy of Luxemburg, and was but a lad when he came to this country with his parents, the family proceeding on out into Ohio and settling at Minster not long after the settlement there of the Stallo colony. Theodore Hut grew up there and became a shoemaker. After his marriage he settled on a farm in German township, but some years later moved to Toledo, where he became engaged at his trade. Late in life he returned to Minster, where his last days were spent. He and his wife were the parents of six children, two of whom are still living, the subject of this sketch having a brother, Edward Hut, of Toledo. John H. Hut was but a child when his parents moved to Toledo and he was reared there, receiving his schooling in the schools of that city. As a young man he learned the trade of butcher, becoming thus employed when eighteen years of age, and for nearly twenty years followed that vocation, or until his marriage at the age of thirty-five, when he began farming, renting from his father-in-law, Joseph Baker, the farm of eighty acres on which he is now living in Pusheta township. Following the death of Mr. Baker, Mr. Hut's wife inherited that place and the home has since been maintained there, the family being very comfortably situated. Since coming into charge of this place Mr. Hut has made extensive improvements, these including a new set of buildings on the place, and he now has a well equipped farm plant. In addition to this farm he rents an adjoining "eighty" and thus is farming 160 acres. In connection with his general farming he gives considerable attention to the raising of live stock and is doing well, his sons being valuable aids to him in the operation of the farm. It was on May 27, 1892, that John H. Hut was united in marriage to Anna Baker and to this union ten children were born, eight of whom are living, and but one of whom (George) is married. George Hut married Agnes Sholl HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 611 and is farming for his father. The other children of this family are Alfred, Philip, John, Theodore, Gertrude, Bertha and Theresa. The mother of these children died on March 29, 1922. She was born at Crestline, Ohio, and was a daughter of Joseph and Theresa (Heueisen) Baker, who were the parents of five children, Mrs. Hut having had a sister, Mary, and three brothers, George, Joseph and John Baker. Mrs. Hut was but a child when her parents moved from Crestline and settled on a farm in Washington township, this county, and her schooling was completed at Botkins. Mr. Hut is a member of the Church of the Immaculate Conception at Botkins and his children have been reared in the Catholic faith. He is a member of the local branch of the Knights of America (No. 937) at Botkins and in his political faith is a Democrat. TIPTON G. EMERSON, a well known farmer and landowner of Clay township, proprietor in conjunction with his wife of a well improved farm on rural mail route No. 1 out of St. Johns, where he and his family are quite comfortably situated, was born in the village of St. Johns on September 28, 1870, and is a son of Dr. Thomas and Mary F. (Rogers) Emerson, both of whom were born in that same neighborhood, members of pioneer families there, and who were in their generation among the best known residents of that part of the county. Doctor Emerson was for years a practicing physician and druggist at St. Johns, his home being on the Union township side of the village. Of the five children born to him and his wife two are still living, the subject of this sketch having a sister, Mrs. Clyde Copeland, of Union township. Reared at St. Johns, Tipton G. Emerson received his schooling in the excellent schools of that village and early took to farming. He married when twenty-four years of age and then began farming for himself as a renter here. Some time later he moved to Henry county, where he engaged in farming for five years, or until in 1918, when he returned to Auglaize county and settled on the farm of sixty-three acres (the Slater place) in Clay township on which he and his family are now living, his wife having inherited that place. In addition to his general farming Mr. Emerson gives considerable attention to the raising of live stock and is doing well. He has ever given proper attention to local civic affairs and for five years served as clerk of the school board. It was on October 11, 1894, that Tipton G. Emerson was united in marriage to Mary Slater, also of the St. Johns neighborhood, and to this union have been born seven children, all of whom are living save one (William), the others being Bessie E., Ralph W., Sophia, Francis M., Robert W. and Alice M., the first two of whom are married. Bessie E. Emerson married Lewis Campbell, a farmer of that neighborhood, and Ralph W. Emerson, who also is farming in Clay township, married Eloise Campbell. Mrs. Mary Emerson was born in Clay town- 612 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY ship and is a daughter of William and Sophia (Geyer) Slater, the latter of whom also was born in that township, a member of one of the pioneer families there. William Slater (born Schlachter) was a native of Germany, born in the grand duchy of Baden, and was six years of age when he came to this country with his parents, the family settling on a farm in Huron county, Ohio. There William Slater grew to manhood and when eighteen years of age came to Auglaize county to make his home with a widowed sister here. At the age of twenty-one he married here and about five years later moved to Michigan, but about five years later returned to this county and bought a tract of eighty acres in Clay township and settled down to improve and develop the same. He was quite successful in his farming operations and eventually became the owner of a fine farm of 360 acres. Of the four children born to William Slater and wife all are living save one daughter, Elizabeth, who died at the age of thirty-eight years, Mrs. Emerson having a sister, Emma, and a brother, George Slater. PHILIP F. GRAESSLE, a member of the board of county commissioners for Auglaize county and a well known and substantial farmer and landowner of this county, proprietor of a well improved farm on rural mail route No. 3 out of Wapakoneta, in the west central portion of Logan township, was born on that farm and has lived there all his life. Mr. Graessle was born on April 15, 1867, and is a son of Daniel and Susan (Hager) Graessle, both of whom were members of pioneer families in that part of the county. The late Daniel Graessle was of European birth but had been a resident of this country since the days of his early childhood, he having been under two years of age when in 1840 his parents, Bernard and Caroline (Maier) Graessle, came to America with their family and proceeded on out into Ohio, settling in Marion county. Bernard Graessle had been a resident of Ellmendingen in the grand duchy of Baden and was there a practical farmer in a small way. Upon locating in Marion county he bought a small farm and there established his home, remaining there until 1854, in which year he disposed of his interests in that county and came over into Auglaize county and bought a "forty" in the woods in the western part of Logan township, about three miles west of the river. He cleared that place, extended his holdings until he became a well-to-do farmer and there spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring in 1896. Daniel Graessle, who was born on November 26, 1838, was fifteen years of age when he came with his parents to Auglaize county and from the very beginning of his residence here was a helpful factor in the arduous labors of clearing and developing the home farm in Logan township. After his marriage he established his home there, became owner of part of the home place, developed and improved his land HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 613 and gradually added to his holdings until he became the owner of 300 acres of land in that part of the county, and on that place spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring on March 19, 1909, he then being in the seventy-first year of his age. To Daniel Graessle and wife were born twelve children, all of whom are living save two daughters, Sarah and Catherine, the subject of this sketch having four sisters, Caroline, Fanny, Laura and Hannah, and five brothers, John W., George, Louis H., Samuel and Daniel B. Graessle. Reared on the home farm in Logan township, Philip F. Graessle received his schooling in the neighborhood schools and from the days of his boyhood his life has been devoted to farming, with the exception of a period during the days of his young manhood when he was working as a carpenter. He married when twenty-three years of age and then established his home on the old home place, taking over the management of the farm and has ever since been engaged in farming there, having bought a forty of the home acres after his father's death. Mr. Graessle has ever taken a good citizen's interest in local political affairs and in 1920 was elected to represent his district on the board of county commissioners and is thus now serving in that capacity, the other members of the board being John W. Brackney and Elmer H. Youngs. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and he is a member of the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Kossuth. It was on December 20, 1890, that Philip F. Graessle was united in marriage to Lorena Zimmerman, who also was born in this county, daughter of Jacob and Susan (Croft) Zimmerman, of Logan township, and to this union ten children have been born, all of whom are living save two sons, Robert F. and Carl B., the latter of whom is one of the numerous "gold star" heroes of the World war from this county. Not long after this country began its decisive participation in the World war in 1917 Carl B. Graessle enlisted his services in behalf of American arms and in September of that year was sent for training to Camp Sheridan, Alabama. There he was made a sergeant and was attached to the 146th infantry regiment of the 37th Division and with that command was dispatched overseas. With this command Carl B. Graessle participated in much active service in France, including the historic battle of the Argonne and in this battle received his fatal wound, his death occurring in base hospital No. 50, Navarre, France, November 5, 1918, six days before the signing of the armistice which brought the great war to its conclusion. The surviving children of the Graessle family are Susan May, Howard, Lela, Edna, Lowell, Andrew, Frederick and Kermit, two of whom, Howard and Lela, are married. Howard Graessle married Edna Wheeler and has one child, a son, Frederick, and Lela Graessle married Stanley Place and has four children, Ned, Mary C., Betty Lorine and Susan. 614 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY FERNANDO C. ROMSHE, one of Auglaize county's best known cattle breeders and the proprietor of a well improved farm in the northwestern part of Duchouquet township, about three miles north of Wapakoneta, was born on a farm in the immediate vicinity of where he is now living, December 24, 1881, and is a son of Justus and Rebecca (Shaffer) Romshe, both members of pioneer families in that neighborhood. Justus Romshe, who is still living there, was born on a farm in the northwest quarter of section 6 of Duchouquet township and is a son of George and Mary (McClintock) Romshe, the latter of whom was a member of the pioneer McClintock family which settled in that neighborhood, there along Two Mile creek, in the early days of the settlement of this region, aS is set out elsewhere in this volume. George Romshe was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, and was but four years of age when he came to this country with his parents, Justus Romshe and wife, the family proceeding on out into Ohio and settling in the Troy neighborhood in Miami county, moving thence in 1838 to Logan township, this county, about two miles northeast of where Buckland later came to be laid out, the Romshes thus having become recognized as among the early pioneers of that section, the pioneer Justus Romshe dying there in the fall of 1879. On that pioneer farm George Romshe grew to manhood and in turn became a substantial farmer on his own account, the owner of a considerable tract of land lying in Logan and Duchouquet townships, his home being established over the line in this latter township. Forty years and more ago he served for two or three terms as a trustee of Duchouquet township. It was on this farm that Justus Romshe was born and grew to manhood. After his marriage he took up farming on his own account, establishing his home on a tract on Two Mile creek just east of the home place in section 6 of Duchouquet township, and has there ever since resided, now the owner of an admirably improved farm of 130 acres. To him and his wife were born two children, the subject of this sketch having a sister, Mollie. Reared on the home farm in Duchouquet township, Fernando C. Romshe received his schooling in the Whiteman school and from the days of his boyhood has been devoted to the affairs of the farm. He married when twenty-two years of age and continued farming on the home place for about eight years, or until 1912, when he bought the "eighty" in that neighborhood, on which he is now living, and has ever since resided there. Since taking possession of this place Mr. Romshe has erected a new set of farm buildings, including a fine barn 44 by 92 feet in dimension, and has a well equipped farm plant. For twenty years he has given his thoughtful attention to the breeding of Aberdeen-Angus cattle and is widely known hereabout as a stock man. He is a member of the American Aberdeen-Angus Breeders Association and has done his part In ex- HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 615 tending the interests of that association throughout the country. He was one of the active promoters of the organization of the Central- Western Ohio Aberdeen-Angus Breeders Association and is president of the same, elected four years ago. At an initial meeting held in Chicago in the summer of 1919 and at a subsequent meeting held at Columbus, Ohio, Mr. Romshe was one of the proponents of the movement which brought about the creation of "Aberdeen-Angus Day" in Ohio, and at the first annual picnic of Aberdeen-Angus breeders of this section held at Sidney in the May following (1920) he was elected to preside. At the second meeting held at Wapakoneta on June 26, 1921, he also was in charge, a considerable number of breeders being present not only from this state but from Indiana and Pennsylvania. The third annual meeting was held at Bellefontaine on June 8, 1922, and the current annual meeting is billed for Kenton, May 14, 1923. Mr. Romshe also has given his attention to the general interests of the community in which he lives and Is the president of the Buckland Telephone Company. For years he has been an active member of the local grange of the Patrons of Husbandry at Buckland. He and his wife are members of Grace Lutheran church and in their political views maintain an independent attitude. It was on May 18, 1904, that Fernando C. Romshe was united in marriage to Anna M. Frank, who was born at Pittsburgh, Pa., daughter of Adolphus and Lena (Sturm) Frank, and to this union three sons have been born, Howard F., Aubrey G. and Franklin A. The Romshes have a very pleasant home on rural mail route No. 4 out of Wapakoneta. ARTHUR S. BAILEY, one of Clay township's well known and substantial farmers and landowners, proprietor of the old Reuben Brackney farm east of St. Johns, is a native "Buckeye" and has lived in this state all his life, a resident of Auglaize county since he was sixteen years of age. Mr. Bailey was born on a farm in Montgomery county, this state, December 17, 1885, and is a son of Napoleon B. and Amanda E. (Carver) Bailey, both of whom also were born in that same county, members of pioneer families there. The late Napoleon B. Bailey started out as a stonecutter when he began to take an active part in affairs but later took up farming and became a substantial landowner of Montgomery county, owner of a farm of 297 acres. To him and his wife were born five children, all of whom are still living, the subject of this sketch (the last in order of birth) having a sister, Ada, and three brothers, Lewis M., Wilbur H. and Walter E. Bailey. When he was sixteen years of age Arthur S. Bailey left the home farm in Montgomery county and came to Auglaize county with his elder brother, Wilbur H. Bailey, who had married and settled in this county. For three years he made his home with his brother and then, at the age of nineteen, was married and started farming on his own account, 616 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY renting the farm of his father-in-law, Reuben Brackney, along the highway about two miles east of St. Johns. A year later he bought a farm of sixty-four acres over the line in Union township and began to farm that place, continuing to farm also a part of his father-in-law's farm, and in 1914 bought an adjoining tract of thirty-six acres in Clay township, this giving him 100 acres. In 1916 Mr. Bailey sold this farm to his brother-in-law, C. C. Emerson, and then bought his father-in-law's farm of 183 acres and has since been operating the latter place, one of the well improved farms in that neighborhood. in addition to his general farming Mr. Bailey feeds off about a car load of cattle and about fifty hogs a year and is doing well. It was on November 24, 1904, that Arthur S. Bailey was united in marriage to Jennie Brackney, who was born and reared on the farm on which she is now living, daughter of Reuben and Samantha J. (Lusk) Brackney, both members of pioneer families in Clay township, and to this union three children have been born, Robert E., Howard E. and Roger S., the first named of whom is attending high school at Wapakoneta, a member of the class of 1925. Mr. and Mrs. Bailey are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at St. Johns and are Republicans. Their home is quite pleasantly situated along the Wapakoneta-Bellefontaine paved highway, rural mail route No. 1 out of Wapakoneta. CARL DITMAR FISCHER, president of the Wapakoneta Machine Company and general manager of that company's extensive plant at Wapakoneta, was born at Wapakoneta July 23, 1881, son of Carl Daniel and Louise (Upmeyer) Fischer. The late Carl Daniel Fischer in his generation was looked upon as one of the most important personal factors in the development of the induStrial life of this section of Ohio, all of which is set out in a memorial sketch relating to him elsewhere in this volume and to which the attention of the reader is invited in this connection. Of the four children born to Carl Daniel and Louise (Upmeyer) Fischer two survive, the subject of this sketch having a brother, Emil J. Fischer, now living at Terre Haute, Ind., president of the Standard Wheel Company of that city. There were two daughters, Margaret and Amelia, now deceased, Reared at Wapakoneta, Carl Ditmar Fischer received his early schooling in the schools of that city and supplemented this by a course in Rose Polytechnic Institute at Terre Haute, his studies and research there being specially directed with a view to taking an active part in the conduct of his father's extensive manufacturing interests. He was graduated from that institution with the degree of Mechanical Engineer, and spent another year of close application to the practical side of these studies at Indianapolis. In 1904 he assumed charge as general superintendent of the plant of the Wapakoneta Machine Company, which his father had established in 1891. In 1906 he was made general manager of this concern and following the death of his HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 617 father in 1921 was made president of the company, the position which he now occupies. Without disparagement to the direction of this concern's affairs during the earlier years of its growth, it may be said with propriety that the plant's greatest expansion has taken place since Carl Ditmar Fischer's incumbency as general manager. The Wapakoneta Machine Company's specialty is machine knives and tools, with particular reference to heavy shear knives for rolling mill use and other special purposes. The products of the plant enjoy a special distinction in a most exacting field, these products not only being shipped generally throughout this country but entering largely into the export trade. During the time of this country's participation in the World war the plant of the Wapakoneta Machine Company was dedicated practically 75 per cent. to war work, operations being carried on day and night in order to expedite its manufacture of hubs for artillery carriages and escort wagons and of special shear knives used in the cutting of the steel plates for battleships. Like all busy men, Mr. Fischer finds himself constantly called upon to further the general civic and social movements of the community and he ever has given of himself unsparingly in behalf of such movements as are calculated to advance the common good. As was his father before him, he is a leader in the local Chamber of Commerce and has served that body as president. He also is active in the counsels of the local Kiwanis Club at Wapakoneta, which has translated its motto "We Build" into actualities which lately have become apparent in numerous important directions. Mr. Fischer is a Republican and from the days of his young manhood has been an active participant in the councils of that party in this county. He is a member of the city school board and in that connection has rendered a real service to the schools of the city. During the recent (1922) campaign he was an active factor in behalf of the school bond issue, a measure designed to provide adequate funds for the expansion of the school facilities of Wapakoneta. This measure carried by a substantial majority. Mr. Fischer is a Freemason of high degree, a member of the blue lodge at Wapakoneta, and has attained to the Scottish Rite (32̊) of that ancient order, affiliated with the consistory at Dayton, and is likewise a noble of the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, affiliated with the temple at Dayton. He also is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and has attained to the encampment degree of that order, and is also one of the active members of the local lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at Wapakoneta. Mr. Fischer's most delightful diversions are music and tennis. He is an enthusiastic tennis "fan" and is now serving as president of the local tennis association, made up of the more ardent devotees of that popular sport hereabout. He is a skilled musician and contributes his services as pianist to 618 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY the gatherings of the Elks and of the Kiwanis Club. On September 18, 1905, Carl Ditmar Fischer was united in marriage to Bertha May Boyer, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Ferguson) Boyer, of Terre Haute, Ind., and to this union two children have been born, daughters both, Jessie Marian and Doris Marie. Mr. and Mrs. Fischer are members of St. Paul's Evangelical church at Wapakoneta and take a proper interest in the general affairs of that congregation. They have a very pleasant home at 718 West Auglaize street. CHARLES C. NEFF, one of the well known farmers and landowners of Logan township and the proprietor of a well improved farm on rural mail route No. 3 out of Spencerville, where he has made his home for the past ten years, is a member of one of the pioneer families in this county, a family that has been represented here for nearly sixty-five years. Mr. Neff was born on a farm in Logan township, this county, July 14, 1874, and is a son of John and Abilia (Zerkel) Neff, the latter of whom is a member of the well known Zerkel family of Logan township, which has been prominently represented there since the days of the settlement of that part of the county. John Neff, who is now living retired at Lima, was born in Marion county, Ohio, and was nine years of age when in 1858 he came with his parents, Christian and Magdalena Neff (natives of Germany), to Auglaize county, the family settling on a tract of eighty acres of land which Christian Neff bought just east of the river opposite the site of old Ft. Amanda, in Logan township. On that farm John Neff grew to manhood. After his marriage to Abilia Zerkel he began farming on his own account, renting the Elizabeth Zerkel farm of ninety-three acres in Logan township, and thus continued there as a renter for twenty-one years, after which he bought the Lewis Zerkel farm of 120 acres and continued to make his home there until 1920, when he retired from the farm and moved to Lima, where he and his wife are now living. John Neff was a good farmer and in addition to his place in Logan township he also had a farm of seventy-seven acres in Allen county, which he has sold. To him and his wife have been born eleven children, all of whom are living, the subject of this sketch having six sisters, Laura, Lena, Elizabeth, Stella, Almedia and Almira, and four brothers, Simon, Solomon, Alva and Lawrence Neff. Reared on the home farm in Logan township, Charles C. Neff received his schooling in the neighborhood schools and remained on the farm until he was twenty-four years of age, when in 1898 he became interested in oil development projects and took up work in the oil fields. For fifteen years Mr. Neff was thus connected with the oil fields and then, in 1913, he bought the Neff homestead farm of eighty acres in Logan township on which he is now living and has ever since resided there, he and his family being very comfortably situated. On October 29, 1900, Charles C. Neff HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 619 was united in marriage to Martha Whetstone, daughter of Lewis Whetstone, also a member of one of the pioneer families of Logan township, and to this union one child has been born, a son, Merl V. Neff. Mr. and Mrs. Neff are members of the Antioch Christian Union church and are Democrats. Since taking possession of the farm on which he is now living Mr. Neff has made numerous substantial improvements and has a well equipped farm plant. In addition to his general farming he is giving considerable attention to the raising of live stock and is doing well in his operations. JACOB GROSS, a well known farmer and landowner of Clay township, proprietor of a well improved farm in the St. Johns neighborhood, was born at Olden, Mo., October 18, 1871, and is a son of William and Caroline (Welsh) Gross, the latter of whom was an Alsatian by birth and had come to this country with her parents when she was twelve years of age, the family proceeding from the port of New York on out here into Ohio and settling in Auglaize county. The late William Gross was born in Clay township, this county, and most of his life was spent here engaged in farming, though for a few years following his marriage he made his home in Missouri. His widow survived him and the last ten years of her life were spent in the home of one of her daughters in Wells county, Indiana, where she met her death in the cyclone that swept over that section in 1920. William Gross and wife were the parents of eight children, all of whom are living, the subject of this sketch having two sisters, Sophia and Gertrude, and five brothers, Adam, Frank, Otto, Lawrence and William Gross. Jacob Gross was but a child when his parents returned to this county from Missouri and he grew to manhood on the home farm in Clay township, receiving his schooling in the Rinehart school (district No. 8). He early began working on his own account and as a young man took a trip through the West, spending one summer in the Dakotas. Then he spent a year in Chicago working on a tug boat and upon his return home resumed farming. He married at the age of twenty-four and then rented the farm of his father-in-law, the David Brackney place in Clay township, and was engaged in farming that place for about twelve years, at the end of which time he sold his farm equipment and for five years thereafter was engaged in farming for others. In 1917 Mr. Gross resumed farming as a renter and in the following year bought the farm of fifty acres on which he is now living in Clay township and which he since has improved in admirable fashion. In addition to carry on the operations of this place Mr. Gross rents an adjoining farm of 150 acres and thus is cultivating 200 acres of excellent Clay township land. In addition to his general farming he feeds out about seventy-five hogs a year and is doing well. It was on March 3, 1896, that Jacob Gross was united in marriage to Flora Brackney, daughter of David and Hannah (Jack- 620 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY son) Brackney, of Clay township, and to this union two children have been born, a son and a daughter, Frank Gross, born on September 3, 1898, and Lucile, September 4, 1912. The Gross home is pleasantly situated on rural mail route No. 1 out of Wapakoneta, the paved highway. Mrs. Gross is one of a family of twelve children born to her parents. Of these children five are still living, Mrs. Gross having three sisters, Tola, Gerna and Martha, and a brother, Moody Brackney. Her father, David Brackney, is one of the well known farmers of Clay township, the owner of 112 acres of land there, and is a member of the pioneer Brackney family which was established here in 1836, not long after the Indians had left this region. FRED BURDEN, who is associated with his brother, Elsworth Burden, in the sawmilling business at Wapakoneta and who also is a partner in the Burden & Salms saw mill at New Bremen, one of the best known lumbermen hereabout, was born in Auglaize county and has lived here pretty much all his life, the exception being a period during which he was employed at Dayton and later when for a time he operated a saw mill at Anna, down over the line in Shelby county. Mr. Burden was born at Wapakoneta on March 23, 1876, and is a son of John M. and Rachel (Bechdolt) Burden, natives of Pennsylvania and the latter of whom died when he was a child. John M. Burden, who was for years engaged in the saw-milling business at Wapakoneta, founder of the mill now operated by his sons, was an expert cabinet maker, a vocation he long followed. He also was for some time engaged in farming, the proprietor of a farm east of Wapakoneta. About the year 1894 he set up a saw mill at Wapakoneta and continued operating that mill until his sons Elsworth and Fred took it over in 1916, since which time he has been living retired at Wapakoneta. He was twice married. By his first wife, Rachel Bechdolt, he had five children, all of whom are living save one who died in infancy, the others (besides the subject of this sketch) being Elsworth, William and Louella. By his second marriage he had six children, all of whom are living save Myrtle, who died at the age of nine years, the others being Ancil, Stella, Pearl, Arley and Gerald. Fred Burden completed his schooling at Wapakoneta and after leaving school he was for a time engaged working as a farm hand. He then, when nineteen years old, went to Dayton, where he worked for two years, at the end of which time he returned to Wapakoneta and began working in his father's mill and not long afterward, at the age of twenty-three, was married. For eight years he continued working at the saw mill and then he moved out onto a truck farm and was for two years engaged in truck gardening. He then went to Springfield, where he spent seventeen months working in the handle factory and then returned to Wapakoneta and resumed truck gardening, continuing thus engaged HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE, COUNTY - 621 for five years, at the end of which time he bought a saw mill at Anna and was engaged in operating that plant for four years, or until in 1916, when he sold that mill and returned to Wapakoneta and in association with his elder brother, Elsworth Burden, bought the old established mill of his father and has since been engaged in business in that city. Extensive improvements have been made to this plant since the brothers took it over and it has built up a large trade, particularly in the manufacture of timbers for heavy construction work. It also was in 1916 that Mr. Burden started the mill at New Bremen, operated under the firm name of Burden & Salms, and in the two plants about forty persons are employed. The Burden enterprises buy standing timber and ship lumber all over the country. It was on November 6, 1898, that Fred Burden was united in marriage to Adella Kinninger, who also was born in Wapakoneta, in the house in which she and her husband are now living, daughter of Anthony and Emma (Bignos) Kinninger, and to this union four children have been born, all of whom are living save one, Louella, who died in infancy, the others being Edwin, Venard and Bernice, the two latter of whom are still at home. Edwin Burden, now manager of the Auglaize Granite Block Company of Wapakoneta, married Margaret McAtee and has one child, a son, James, born on May 5, 1922. Mr. and Mrs. Burden are members of St. Joseph's Catholic church at Wapakoneta and are Republicans. Mr. Burden is a member of the local council of the Knights of Coplumbus, of the local lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and of the local lodge of the Loyal Order of Moose at Wapakoneta and in the affairs of these several organizations takes an active interest. L. J. THRUSH, better known to his many friends in this county as "Dode" Thrush, president of the board of education for Clay township and one of the best known farmers of that township, proprietor of a well improved farm, a part of the old William Thrush estate in section 11, was born on that section, June 12, 1865, and is a son of William and Elizabeth (Rhoades) Thrush, who had settled there about ten years prior to that date and had become useful and influential pioneers of that neighborhood, the old Lusk settlement. The late William Thrush was born in Fairfield county, this state, the son of John and Ellen Thrush, and had grown up thoroughly trained in the ways of farming. When a young boy he moved with his parents to Logan county and later went over to Delaware county and was there married to Elizabeth Rhoades, who was born in Virginia and who had come to Ohio with her parents when but a child, the family settling in Delaware county. Not long after their marriage William Thrush and his wife came on up into Auglaize county and settled on a "forty" in section 11 of Clay township, where they established their 622 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY home. That was about 1855. Mr. Thrush was a good farmer and manager and as his affairs prospered he added to his holdings until he became the owner of 400 acres of land in Clay township and was accounted one of the go-ahead and substantial citizens of the county. He lived to a ripe old age, his death occurring in 1904, and at his passing left a good memory in the community which he had done much to develop. In 1864 he had become associated with the Bethel Methodist Protestant church near his home. To William Thrush and wife were born nine children, of whom all are living save two, Lavina and George W., the subject of this sketch having three sisters, Delitha, Florence and Belle, and three brothers, Byron R., Martin D. and Elmer Thrush. Reared on the home farm in Clay township, "bode" Thrush received his schooling in the Lusk school (district No. 1) and from the days of his boyhood has been devoted to the affairs of the farm. He married in his twentieth year and then rented one of his father's farms and on that place made his home for about four years, or until 1889, when he moved to another of his father's farms, the place on which he is now living, and after his father's death in 1904 came into possession of this place by inheritance and has continued to reside there, he and his family being very comfortably situated. Mr. Thrush has a well equipped farm of 156 acres and in addition to his general farming gives considerable attention to the raising of live stock, feeding out about eighty hogs a year. In his present operations he is being ably assisted by his fourth son, Cecil, who is married and makes his home on the farm. It was on March 5, 1885, that L. J. Thrush was united in marriage to Nora G. Lusk, who also was born in Clay township, daughter of Wesley and Rachel (Chiles) Lusk, members of pioneer families there, and to this union have been born eight children, Grover, Harley, Atha, Hazel, Percy, Cleta, Cecil and Russell, all of whom are married save the last named, who is still in school, attending the Lusk school, which both his father and his mother had attended in their school days. Grover Thrush married Mrs. Leona (Idle) Moore, who by her first marriage is the mother of one child, a son, Clay Moore, and is farming in Clay township. Harley Thrush, who is farming in Wayne township, married Lulu Wells and has one child, a son, Paul. Atha Thrush married Carl McPharon, now living at Bellefontaine, district agent for the Middleton Mutual Life Insurance Company, and has two children, Ruth and Jeannette. Hazel Thrush married Eldon Wilcox, a Union township farmer, and has five children, Earl, Robert, Howard, Wesley and Warren G. Percy Thrush, who also is farming in Union township, married Hazel Naus and has one child, Maurice. Cleta Thrush married Emery Coats, a carpenter, living in Clay township, and has one child, Jean ; and Cecil Thrush, who remains on the home farm, assisting his father in the management of the same, married Blanche HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 623 Rhoades and has two children, June and Roland. The Thrush home is very pleasantly situated on rural mail route No. 1 out of St. Johns and has for many years enjoyed an enviable reputation for hospitality. Mr. Thrush is one of the leading Democrats of Clay township and has for some time been serving on the local board of education for that township, the present president of the board. He formerly, years ago, served for five years as a constable in that township and there are few men in that part of the county who have a wider acquaintance than he. For one term he served as treasurer of the Auglaize County Fair Association. SEABURY CHILES, known familiarly among his many friends as "Bose" Chiles, former assessor of Union township, now living in Clay township, where he owns a well improved farm and is comfortably situated, was born in Auglaize county and has lived here all his life, a period of more than sixty-six years. Mr. Chiles was born on a farm just east of the Wesley Chapel church in the north half of section 26 of Union township, February 22, 1857, and is a son of William and Temperance (Richardson) Chiles, both members of pioneer families in that part of the county, the Richardsons having settled here in 1834 and the Chiles in 1836. William Chiles was reared on a pioneer farm in Union township and after his marriage became engaged in farming on his own account, the owner of a farm of ninety acres, on which his last days were spent. He and his wife were the parents of nine children, five of whom are still living, the subject of this sketch having two sisters, Rachel and Alice, and two brothers, Cicero B. and Fernando T. Chiles. Reared on the farm on which he was born, "Bose" Chiles received his schooling in the White school (district No. 7) and from the days of his boyhood has given his attention to farming. He married at the age of twenty-one and then began farming on his own account, renting a farm in that neighborhood, and remained on that place for thirty years, or until 1908, when he bought the farm of fifty-five acres on which he is now living in Clay township and has since resided here. Since taking possession of this place Mr. Chiles has made numerous improvements and now has an excellent farm plant. In addition to his general farming he has long given considerable attention to the raising of live stock, feeding out about fifty hogs a year, and has done well. He has ever given a good citizen's attention to local civic affairs and for two terms during the time of his residence in Union township served as assessor of that township. It was on August 25, 1878, that Seabury Chiles was united in marriage to Belle Roney, also of Union township, and to this union four children were born, namely : Grace, who is the wife of E. J. Bowsher, express agent at Wapakoneta ; Ruby, who married Harry Spees, who is now employed in the railway round house at Lima, and has seven children, Paul, Donald, Ralph, Edward, Koneta, Walter and Jamie ; 624 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY Monte Daisy, who died on November 11, 1896, aged thirteen years, and Kittie E., who married Grover C. Oakley, a building contractor at Maplewood in the neighboring county of Shelby, and died on April 8, 1918, leaving three children, Marvin, Juanita and Bernard. Mrs. Chiles was born on July 29, 1860, and was reared in Union township, receiving her schooling in the Basil school. She is a daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Barr) Roney, who were the parents of six children, two of whom are still living, Mrs. Chiles having a sister, Mary. Joseph Roney was a master mechanic, skilled worker in both wood and iron, and was at one time the foreman in the old machine shop at Lima. The Chiles home is very pleasantly situated on rural mail route No. 1 out of St. Johns. CHARLES McCLINTOCK, a member of one of the pioneer families of Duchouquet township and a well known and substantial farmer and landowner of that township, was born on the place on which he is now living, in the northwestern part of the township, and has lived there all his life with the exception of some years during the time of the height of the oil "boom" in this region when he was engaged in oil production activities, making his home then at Lima, Mr. McClintock was born on November 11, 1856, and is a son of Charles and Mary Jane (Steen) McClintock, who were among the influential pioneers of that part of Auglaize county. The senior Charles McClintock was born in County Donegal, Ireland. As a young man, in 1836, he came to American shores, making the acquaintance on the way over of a County Donegal girl, Mary Jane Steen, whom he married not long after their arrival at New Brunswick. Three years later, in 1839, he and his wife came to Ohio with a view to making their home in this state. At Columbus they secured the service of a man with a one-horse wagon to convey their household stuff to Springfield, paying him $20 for the trip. There he decided to settle on a farm a mile and a half northeast of Fletcher, over in the adjoining county of Miami and he paid the wagoner another $20 to get his goods over there. On that farm in the Fletcher neighborhood the McClintocks remained for eight years, or until in 1847, the year before Auglaize county was erected, when they came up here and settled on a "forty" which Mr. McClintock had bought along Two Mile creek in the northwest corner of Duchouquet township (section 31), which then was included in Allen county, the family home being established there on October 16, 1847. The hospitable neighbors rallied around and gave every assistance in the labor of erecting a double log house for the newcomers and during the two weeks while this constructive work was going on Mr. and Mrs. McClintock and their children were entertained in the home of John Hoop, storage for their goods being provided in the Hoop barn. The family moved into their new log house before it properly was com-